I am Leo (Book 3)

Chapter 8

Dean POV

“So have you ever handled a firearm before?” I ask her as I load mine before handing it to Violet

“Hhmm, once or twice yeah” she says sweetly. Duncan finishes placing the empty cans on the stump and stands up

“Okay, whenever you’re ready Vi” he says taking his place behind me

“Okay, so just keep your hand steady, aim and squeeze the trigger” I say and she nods

“Got it” she says and I step back. What happens next has us dumbstruck. How the f**k? She shoots the cans, in a sequence from the inside out hitting each one, turns around with an innocent smile, makes the pistol safe before handing it back to me

“Like that hon?” she asks still smiling

“How… when did you… I mean wow!” Duncan stutters, I on the other hand is still shocked

“Oh it’s nothing, my dad was an avid sport shooter, we used to do it as our father-daughter activity. It’s been a few years since I had to do target shooting but that was fun right?” she exclaims, the exhilaration and joy plastered all over her face. I don’t think I’ve ever been this attracted to her

“Well this saves us a lot of time and bullets” Duncan chuckles

“You could’ve asked. But I must admit, showing off like that has a certain unhealthy amount of satisfaction to it” she says winking at me

“Shall we do something else?” Duncan asks, my eyes don’t leave her

“We’ll be right in bro” I say putting my gun away

“Cool” he says and leaves. I slowly step up to her wrapping my arms around her waist

“Now that was sexy as f**k love” I say looking into her eyes

“Well, glad I could impress you with something” she says and I frown a bit

“What? You impress me each day” I say confused

“It’s just, I feel so useless with this whole thing. You guys know everything and the more I try and help, the more I feel in the way” she sighs out looking at my chest

“Hey no, you helped a lot really. Besides, this is all new to you, hopefully you won’t need to, but you’ll get the hang of it” I say brushing a stray hair off her forehead

“Yeah I guess” she says

“And besides, I have terrible decorating skills. Imagine what a place would look like if I was left alone there” I joke and she giggles

“Oh boy, disaster!” she says making me laugh

“Beer cans and clothes all over the place” I say taking her hand

“Blue and black, I swear you need some color in your life handsome” she says chuckling

“I know right? There’s at least 9 other colors in the world” I say dramatically making her laugh harder

“Millions and millions more” she says her eyes now reflecting her happiness

“Oh dear god, what would I have done without you?” I say again being overly dramatic, by now she’s crying with laughter

“Probably died not knowing that there are thousands of shades of blue” she says in mock seriousness

“Well at the very least I found my favorite shade” I say cupping her cheek

“Really? Which one?” she asks cheerfully

“Your eyes. They make me think of the blue where the sky and the ocean meet on the horizon” I whisper

“Oh wow. That must’ve been the most honest and romantic thing anyone has ever said to me” she says giving me her gorgeous soft smile

“You underestimate me love” I say before capturing her lips in a kiss so honest and passionate I feel light headed. We break the kiss, coming up for air

“It seems I have” she says smiling. I’m head over heels for this woman. I take her hand and we walk back to the cottage. The tugging feeling of dread still in my soul. Tomorrow we’ll get that thing, then we can be together, hopefully we’ll have a happily ever after.

Violet POV

I wake up early the next morning after a night of mostly tossing and turning. I’m afraid, no I’m petrified going in there today. No seriously, this is a paralyzing fear, the kind of fear that makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. I roll onto my back glancing over at Dean. He slept unusually well, but then again he’s used to this. I move to get up but he wraps his arms around me pulling me down

“Morning love” he says in his gruff morning voice

“Hey handsome” I say smiling. He slowly opens his eyes and for the first time I can’t see any emotion in them

“You didn’t sleep well did you?” he asks but I shrug

“It was okay” I lie

“I know you’re scared, and you should be” he says making me chuckle

“Wow, terrible pep talk handsome” I joke but he stays serious

“No really, it keeps you alert. Just know I hate this plan and we will not let anything happen to you” he says and I nod

“I know, you’ll protect me like you always do” I say and he smiles, a genuine heart stopping smile

“Promise me you’ll stick to the plan, no matter what” he says and I nod

“I promise” I say honestly. He gets up and takes a shower leaving me to my thoughts. I can do this, how hard can it be right? Trap the spirit, perform the ritual and boom problem solved. Yeah that’s easy, real easy. But the aching feeling of terror just seems to grow, little by little. A few hours later we pull up to the street. The house still seeming to hold so much more than you’d think passing it.

“You ready?” Dean’s voice breaks through my daze and I look over to his concerned face

“Now or never” I say and he nods. I move to open the door but he stops me

“Violet” he says, his voice soft and I look back

“Yeah?” I answer. He looks vulnerable and scared

“I just… if something goes wrong I just want to tell you that I… I uhm…” he struggles with his words so I take his hand

“Yeah?” I urge him on

“I want to say that I’m in love with you” he blurts out making me gasp

“Dean I-“ he cuts me off

“I know you can’t say it yet, or won’t it doesn’t matter. I just wanted to tell you if I don’t get the chance” he says

“I like you a lot Dean, and you know I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. When this is over, we can try something, something real” I say and he nods smiling

“I’d like that” he says before I give him a quick kiss

“Now let’s go get this asshole” I say and with that we exit the car. A few minutes later they’re busy drawing the symbol on the living room floor. It looks a lot like Dean’s tattoo but it has some weird letters in the spaces between the points of the star, well pentagram.

“There, now stay inside this at all times okay?” Dean says covering it with the rug

“Yup, got it” I say nodding stepping inside

“Don’t move out of this no matter what” he instructs again

“I won’t” I say. He reaches back and pulls out his pistol handing it to me. I look at him in shock

“Use it if needed, just not on us” he says with a naughty smirk, I take it and tuck it behind my back

“Okay” I say and he turns to leave but I grab his hand “Dean” I say softly and he turns back

“Be safe” I say and he nods kissing me before disappearing up the stairs. Now I wait, again. Their footsteps fading slowly as they make their way upstairs. Sitting alone, in the empty room makes my skin crawl, knowing that at any time this thing can appear. My senses perk up as I sit there, listening to their hushed footsteps moving around slowly upstairs. A door creaks softly and I hear one moving into what was the master bedroom. Deep breaths Vi. A creaking sound makes me snap my head to the direction it came from, but there’s nothing. Calm down. Another door opening, more hushed movements. I try and listen for anything else, but there’s nothing, no birds singing or the sounds of the wind outside. Just silence. KNOCK-KNOCK. I jump to my feet, my heart beating loudly in my ears as I look at the door.

“Wh-who’s there?” I call out, but before I can form a coherent thought the front door swings open and my heart sinks. Oh god no

“Hey sis!” he says in his deep voice stepping inside

“H-hey Killy, what are you-“ I stop when I see he’s not alone

“Lara! Hey” I say smiling. They step inside closing the door behind them

“Hey you! Long time” she says pulling me in for a hug. I hug her back retreating back to the living room

“What are you doing here?” I ask nervously as they sit down

“Oh, this one wanted to get a head start on the landscaping. Nearly drove me nuts” he says chuckling as she slaps him playfully

“Hey! I wasn’t that bad! And besides, the whole yard needs renovation” she says taking a seat. I nervously glance up the stairs before sitting down. This is not good.

“What are you doing here?” Killian asks sitting down

“Oh I uhm, the pest control guy phoned. They’re upstairs now” I lie and he nods sitting back

“Thought they’d be done by now” he says frowning, I chuckle

“They’re very thorough, they need to check everything to make sure the problem is-“ a loud bang makes us all jump. I reach for the gun, then another shot rings out

“Dean behind you!” Duncan’s voice echoes through the house

“Stay here” I command them, my brother is shielding Lara, huddled on the floor

“No Violet! Get back here!” he demands but I take out the pistol, look back and gesture for them to be quiet

“Violet!” he whisper yells but I run up the stairs. Then another shot

“Aaaahhh!” I hear Dean yell and I bolt to the main bedroom. The scene before me is nothing short than something straight out of a horror movie. Dean is lying face down, blood gushing from his back. Deep red cuts protrude from his back, blood pooling around him.

“Dean!” I yell out and run to him, before I reach him a massive force hits me from the side sending me flying. I hit the wall with a loud THUMP, I gasp hitting the floor. My vision is blurry, my lungs don’t want to take in air and my mind is blank as a black mass forms in front of me. It slowly builds taking the shape of a man. His face comes into focus, I can feel the sweat soak my skin, the throbbing of my own eyes, the ringing screams vibrating in my ears, and the thumping of my heart against my chest. My fingers are curled into a fist, nails digging into my palm the fear engulfs my conscience, knocking all other thoughts aside. His eyes are cold, his face looks like grey leather as his wicked smile spreads far beyond normal making my stomach turn. I’m going to be sick. I move to sit up, backing up till I’m flush with the wall, my back pressing against the cold wall, my chest now rising rapidly as my eyes stay locked on the spirit. BANG! Another shot rings out and he disappears in a cloud of smoke

“What are you doing here? Run Violet!” Duncan commands. At first my body doesn’t move, my limbs turned to lead.

“Violet run!” he yells again. Slowly, my brain picked up my feet in an unbalanced gait, carelessly dropping the lead weights to the ground with each harrowing step I took toward the door

“Take this and go! NOW!” Duncan bellows snapping me out of the petrified trance. I grab the shotgun, turn and run down the stairs, met with another grizzly scene. My brother is slumped over, his head hanging limply, resting on his chest

“Oh god Killian!” I scream dropping to my knees. He’s bleeding, I grab frantically at anything to try and stop the blood. My arms and hands not responding in time, it feels as if time itself has slowed.

“Lara!” I call out but there’s no response. f**k!

“Killy hold on” I whisper running to the kitchen, grabbing whatever is not packed to try and slow down the bleeding. I rush back, pressing it over the wound on his chest and the back of his head

“Vi” he groans and I feel relief, if only a little

“Killy hold this okay, I’m getting help” I say placing his hand over the wound at the back of his head. I grabbed my phone, called 911, rambling down the information.

“Where’s Lara?” I ask my brother

“Right here” she says and I spin around. Her almond colored skin glistening with sweat, her dark brown hair falling out of her once perfect ponytail, her hazel eyes blazing with anger, her white blouse now covered in dark red stains, but it’s the axe in her hand that draws my attention. Her voice is ominous and low

“I waited years for this” she says taking a step forward. I scramble to my feet

“L-Lara, you’re okay” I say nervously stumbling backward

“I will be” she says an evil smile spreading on her lips

“We need to get out of here” I say again, my mind racing trying to find a way out

“You will, in an unconventional way, but you know life sucks” she says raising the axe, taking a swing at me. I jump back dodging the blade but my foot gets caught on something and I fall flat on my back

“What are you doing?” the words rushing out as she stalks closer

“You ruined my life. This is payback” she says stepping over my brother’s limp body

“W-what?” I gasp out as I try to get away. Why is my right arm not working?

“Your dear old dad bought the company my father worked for, then he dissolved it” she says seething “My father lost his job, started drinking, my mother was on meds. Eventually my dad committed suicide, mom went off the deep end and me and my sister were placed in foster care” she says shaking with anger

“I… we didn’t know Lara please” I beg standing up against the wall

“Do you know what happens in some foster homes? What they do to young girls who can’t defend themselves?” she asks the bitterness dripping off her tongue

“No I-“ she lets out maniacal laugh sending chills through me

“You won’t. Little rich girl with her privileged life, perfect family, blissfully unaware that her daddy dearest was a murderer” she says with a murderous look in her eyes

“Lara I’m so-“ I could finish my sentence. She charged swinging the axe wildly at me. I ducked down, rolling away

“Why won’t you die?!” she yells again before swinging at my head. By now my body is on auto pilot, the survival instincts controlling me as I struggle to get away from this psychopath. I see an opening, the emergency services can’t be that far away anymore, I scramble toward the door but she rams me into the wall

“It’s over” she hisses grabbing a handful of hair whipping my head back forcefully throwing me to the ground, then I feel a hard blow to the side of my head. My vision blurs as a bitter taste flood my mouth, blinking and still trying to get away I glance up at her, she raises the axe above her head bringing it down I close my eyes. The paralyzing realization of death now staring me in the face. BANG! My eyes fly open just in time to see her eyes roll back in her head before her limp body falls to the floor. Dead. I glance up, there he is, my brother slumped over with the shotgun still in his hand

“POLICE! Come out with your hands up!” a strong voice orders but I just move over to my brother, cradling him in my lap, placing my hand over his chest wound

“We’re in here! Please help!” I yell out through tears. The door bursts open, the police rushes inside guns raised

“Please help him” I beg as one of the officers kicks the shotgun away with his foot. The paramedics rush inside, push me away from him and start working

“Are there more ma’am?” one policeman asks. I blink slowly turning my head toward him

“Ma’am?” he says gently touching my shoulder

“Yeah, upstairs” I answer quietly. The scene playing out around me like a movie in slow motion

“Violet” he whispers “Violet” he says again, and I blink “Violet!” he says and I snap my face towards his

“Violet, come on we have to get you some help” Duncan says leading me outside. The street is an array of blue and red colors lighting up the night. A paramedic guides us to an ambulance, and we sit down. They’re asking questions, explaining things but I just sit there watching the various people moving in and out of the house. The ambulance with my brother in leaves with sirens blaring into the quiet night. Then they wheel him out, I get up and walk toward his unconscious body being wheeled to the ambulance

“Ma’am we need to go, please-“I cut the paramedic off

“He’s my fiancé. I’ll ride with him” I lie, calmly climbing in the ambulance, dazed.