Page 74 of Evidence of a Folktale

“No, I can’t,” she protested.

“Go, now!” Bel ordered. “Run back the way we came. Get Eamon.”

The Wolf groaned again as he fumbled to sit up.

“Run, Taron!” Bel screamed, and the actress finally obeyed. She crawled out of the broken window, their captor clawing at her heels, but she was too fast. She wriggled free of the crash and took off running, and Bel prayed Eamon was driving with the windows down. Taron was barely bleeding, but it was enough to alert the Impaler. He’d find her. She’d be safe. Beljusthoped he picked up the scent in time to help her too.

“I’m gonna kill you,” The Wolf coughed as he turned his rage on Bel, and she took that as her cue. The back window had shattered, and its frame had collapsedin on itself. Crawling out would prove difficult, but she refused to remain locked in this metal cage with a predator. Flattening her body, she slid over the glass shards until her head slippedoutinto the snow. The Wolf captured her ankle, but his grip was weak. He’d suffered the most in their crash thanks to her, and she kicked his hand off with ease.

The broken glass stung as her stomach grated over it, but then her shoulders were free of the car, then her chest, and then her hips. As soon as her thighs hit the snow, she curled her legs below her and started crawling. Her every muscle ached, but she refused to stop. The news had falsely reported her death thanks to a car crash once before. She wasn’t about to make that a reality.

“You’re going to pay for ruining everything,” The Wolf shouted behind her, and before she could register the closeness of his voice, his body crashed into hers. She collapsed face-first into the snow as his weight crushed her. Her world blurred white, and she was instantly back on that mountain. Blaubart’s gunshots echoed so harshly through her memory that her ears rang. She sputtered into the cold, the snow flooding her tongue, her eyes, her sanity, and terror vaulted through her limbs. She dug her bare and freezing palms into the razor-sharp cushion below her and shovedontoher back. The Wolf rolled with her, but she only landed one decent punch before his fists found her throat. And then he squeezed. Bel choked as he strangled her, the force crushing her windpipes. She flailed below him. Her nails clawed at his fingers like a wild animal, but her will to live was nothing compared to his grip. It tightened mercilessly as he straddled her waist.

“You’ll pay for this,” he snarled, smiling at how her face changed color. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t fight back. Everything hurt. She flailed and sobbed and choked, but it was no use. She had seconds before his fists crushed the life out of her.

“I’m going to—uff!” The Wolf flew sideways as something hard connected with his skull, and he crashed to the snow unconscious, blood dripping from his forehead.

“Oh my god!” Taron screamed, throwing the bloody tree branch to the ground as if it was on fire. “I killed him… Bel? Oh god, Bel, please be alive.”

Bel could barely move, her voice useless, but shemanaged to offerTaron a weak thumbs up. The woman heaved a dramatic sigh at the proof of life before collapsing into a heap of tears beside her, and Bel felt guilty for ever suspecting the actress. She wasn’t the killer, nor had she lied about The Wolf’s letters. And for all her talk about not wanting to be a real cop, she’d just saved Bel’s life.

“I can’t believe I killed a man,” Taron sobbed, and Bel slid her hand over the freezing ground to grab the woman’s leg. She hadn’t killed The Wolf. His chest still moved, but Bel couldn’t find her voice, so she gripped the actress’s knee.Clearlyneeding the reassurance, Taron captured her fingers in a death grip, and the women lay side by side in the snow until the melody of skidding tires filled the air.

“Isobel!” Eamon’s fear ripped through the cold, and Bel burst into tears, the dam in her chest finally breaking free at the safety that whiskey-rough sound heralded. “Isobel!” He collapsed to his knees and slid his arms beneath her, yanking her against his chest, and compared to the freezing snow, his cool skin was a welcomed fire.

“She’s alive,” Taron sobbed. “She crashed the car so I could escape. He tried to choke her to death, but I killed him. Oh god, I killed a man. I’m a murderer.” She dissolved into tears again, throwing herself against Eamon for support, and he stiffened. It hurt to laugh, but Bel’s spirit chuckled at the interaction. He terrified most people, yethereTaron was hugging him like a little kid. Eamon awkwardly patted her back, and the rattle of handcuffs told Bel Griffin had wisely heeded her boyfriend’s warnings.

“He isn’t dead, Miss Monroe,” Griffin said as he locked The Wolf’s hands together. “You just knocked him out, and good thing you did.Seemsyou saved our detective here.”

“I didn’t kill him?” Taron jerked off of Eamon’s shoulder. “Oh thank god. She stayed behind to save me, but then I saw him choking her. She wasn’t getting up, so I found that branch and hit him. I didn’t know I could hit anyone that hard.”

“Thank you,” Eamon said. “You saved the woman I love. I’m forever in your debt.”

“She told me to find you when we crashed.” Taron glanced between the couple and the sheriff. “Not the cops.”

“The Bajka Police Department is a little preoccupied at the moment. Plus, Emerson knows ifthere’s one person who’ll drop everything and drive like a lunatic, it’s this guy.” Griffin thumped Eamon’s back. “Yes, Eamon drove my truck,” he added when a string of questions flooded Bel’s eyes. “And no, I never want to get in a car with him again.”

“Thank you,” she mouthed, and the sheriff reached down to cup her cheek before dragging the barely conscious driver off the ground.

“You have the right to remain silent,” he started as an ambulance siren filled the air.

“And thank you,” she whispered, meeting Eamon’s gaze.

“Don’t thank me,” he growled. “I was too late… again. Taron saved you.”

“After she saved me first,” the actress said. “I never want to be a cop. Playing one is fine, but don’t ever make me get a real badge. Your girl here is something else. Sheliterallydove into a kidnapper’s car to save me and then beat him up so he’d crash. We need to write an episode like this into the show… if you’d be okay with it?”

Bel smiled weakly to give her approval before wrapping her arms around Eamon’s neck so he could carry her to the waiting EMTs. “Don’t feel guilty,” she whispered with a raw throat, praying this incident didn’t trigger the guilt he’d felt at the hospital. “We caught the guy. I’m just annoyed at myselfthat I lethim take my phone.”

“Calling me was smart, and your phone’s fine. It’s in my pocket, but you shouldn’t be talking right now,” Eamon said. “Let’s get you to the hospital first.”

“I love you,” she said as he loaded her into the ambulance.

“I love you too, Detective. More than you know.” He lifted her knuckles to his lips before threading his larger fingers through hers. Their intertwined hands fit together like a key sliding into its lock, and by the expression he wore while staring at them, the sight had a profound impact on him. “But please stop talking. I don’t want you to damage your throat.” He kissed her forehead before moving out of the EMTs’ way. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you the entire time.” He tightened his grip on her fingers. “I’m not going anywhere, remember?”

Bel grimaced as she sank into the stretcher. Everything hurt without the adrenaline pumping through her veins, and its absence signaled her body to crash… or maybe it was because Eamon was with her, and if Eamon was here, she was safe. He wouldn’t let the wolves near her.

“Oh my god!”Violet was a tornado of emotions as she burst through the cabin’s front door. She kicked off her heels, still wearing the towering stilettos despite the snow, and shoved the overflowing grocery bags on the table before launching herself at the couch. She landed gently on top of the reclining Bel and started sobbing as she hugged her friend.

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