Page 35 of Slay Bells Ring

“Hey, hey, hey!” the man calls out. “Hello? Still here? Are you going to free me now or what?” The way he says it, so obnoxious, I’m actually kind of glad he won’t be leaving this cabin alive.

I’m the one who deadpans, “No. Now I’m going to kill you.” I stand.

“But, but you said you’d let me go—”

“No, I didn’t. I said I wouldn’t use this knife on you.” I set said knife down on my chair as I walk behind the man and set my hands on his shoulders, feeling them tense instantly. “You were going to die here either way. Luckily for you, you cooperated, so I’ll make it quick.”

One hand moves to the top of his head, curling in his short hair, and the other moves to cup his chin and curl around his bottom jaw as the man stutters out, “Wait, wait, wait.” But he already gave us the information we wanted, so there’s nothing for me to wait, wait, wait for.

Holly doesn’t look away. She watches as I jerk my arms in opposite directions and snap the man’s neck. Theman’s head slumps forward, and I immediately work on untying him. I need to get him outside with the other body.

After I put on my boots and throw on my jacket, I heave the man over my shoulder and carry him outside. It’s not snowing right now, and the sun shines brightly overhead. The area is covered in snow; assuming it doesn’t snow anymore, I’ll have my hands full with shoveling out the cars. Hopefully the main roads are, at least, a little cleared off.

Although… it might be smart to take one car out of here and dump the other.

The idea comes to me as I set the second man’s corpse down near where the first is, right up against the backside of the cabin. A decently-sized propane tank rests nearby. Before leaving the area, I check the meter. It’s not full, but it’s full enough.

Hmm.

Within a minute, I’m back inside the house, sitting down near Holly, who hasn’t moved a muscle. I think she’s still reeling at the truth—it’s one thing to suspect, but another thing to know it for a fact. She probably feels as if the last thirteen years of her life were a lie.

“The snow has stopped,” I say, and all Holly does is make a verbal sound of agreement. “With some shoveling, I could probably get us out of here, if you’re ready. And if you’re willing to listen, I think I might know a way we can get rid of the bodies and make it look like you’re dead, too.”

Her green eyes focus on me. “Why?”

“If he thinks you’re dead, he won’t send any more hitmen after you. You can catch him off-guard.” I pause. “I assume you’ll want to confront him and get him to admit to everything, and then get your stabby on. Maybe use this for real.” I offer her the knife back, but she doesn’t go to take it, to my surprise.

A slight frown tugs at her lips. “And what about you?”

“I guess that depends if you want my help.” My fingers curl around the knife handle as my gaze falls to it. “I told you already I never planned on leaving this mountain alive, but if it means anything, I do want to make things right. I want to help you. I can help you take this Howard Giles guy down, and then…”

“And then what?”

“I have a getaway stash. It’ll be enough to start a life somewhere else. You can leave Holly Cooper behind and be whoever you want to be.”

Holly looks away, her brows furrowed. “What if I don’t know who I want to be?”

“You’ll figure it out, I’m sure.”

She fiddles with her hands on her lap before turning her gaze back to me. “Say I ask for your help and we kill Howard. Say I take your getaway stash. What will you do? Where will you go? Will you find another cabin in the middle of nowhere to drink yourself to death in?”

I decide to tell her the truth, or at least part of it. “I don’t know.” Honestly, it’s not that I can’t think of a future—I could always go back to the Guild for more work. They’re blissfully unaware they almost lost one of their prime contractors—but it’s more like I don’twantto think of a future.

Not without her.

Going back to the Guild, doing what I do best… I don’t know if I could do it, if I could pretend like I was fine. How could I possibly go on while knowing Holly was out there, somewhere? It’s been days, mere days, but I’d feel as though she took a part of my soul with her.

So, no, I don’t know what the future would hold for me, but this story isn’t mine. It’s Holly’s, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure she gets her happy ending.

To get the attention off me and what my future holds, I ask her, “The real question is, Holly fucking Cooper, are you ready for the climax?”

The look she gives me is one of silent determination. The woman before me might’ve injured herself stupidly the night she tried to kill me, but she’s tough. She’s resilient. She doesn’t look away from the face of death; she stares right at it and dares it to make a move. I can’t help but wonder what kind of person she’d be if I hadn’t played my part in shattering her life thirteen years ago.

Holly is measured in taking the knife from me. “I’m ready,” she says. “Are you?”

“Little killer, when it comes to this sort of thing—” AKA when it comes to murder and infiltration. “—I was born ready.”

We don’t pack everything, though we do take some of the food and water that’s left with us. We also take a few blankets, in case we get stuck anywhere and we’re forced to huddle together in the car. As for which car we’re taking, it’ll obviously be mine. After some shoveling, I go searching for the vehicles belonging to our two hitmen, and I bring them closer to the house, so they’re caught in the fire, too.

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