Page 80 of Red Rabbit
They both were alert and instead of watching me they turned and monitored the surrounding trees. My heart was racing and I still wasn’t sure if I trusted them. Then I saw a third man walking through the trees. He was tall and blond with a confident walk of someone in charge. He came to a stop near Vandal and crouched down, peering at the body. He whistled in appreciation and looked up at me.
“I take it you got your revenge?” When he smiled, I saw dimples and he winked a bright blue eye at me. He stood up as I lowered the gun and nodded.
“I’m Cal,” he said. “Kaelin, right?” He didn’t move towards me but he hooked his thumbs in his vest and nodded back towards the house. “Graham is in pretty bad shape—” He trailed off as he saw my eyes look past him through the trees and I saw two other men supporting Graham as they hurried him out of the house.
“Graham—” I said, taking a step forward.
“I’ll take the gun, love,” Cal said, stepping casually in my path with his hand out. “Then let’s get out of here, yeah? This forest creeps me out.” He winked at me again. This time I didn’t hesitate and handed him the gun. He stepped aside and I rushed towards the house.
“Graham!” I ran over to him, my voice getting lost in the rotors of the helicopter hovering above us. The two men I saw carrying him were busy strapping him onto a medic board. “Ohgod, Graham!” There was so much blood. Fear choked me. I couldn’t lose him. Not again.
Cal came up to my side and leaned close to be heard. I jerked away but there was nothing but kindness in his eyes when he pointed to the harness in his hands and held it out to me.
“Put this on!” He shouted. I took it and stepped into it. He stepped towards me again and he met my gaze in a silent question. I nodded and he helped me pull the straps and hook them the way they needed to go. Graham was already on the helicopter and Cal turned to me again.
“Want to ride with me?” I bit my lip and while I didn’t really want to be touched I also didn’t want to get hauled up there alone. I nodded and he stepped into me and hooked us together then wrapped me into his arms and gave a signal. My breath left me as we were lifted into the air and I clutched Cal as we were pulled up. Hands grabbed me at the door and a headset was placed over my head. I saw Cal settle on Graham’s other side and leaned over him, placing a hand on his chest.
“We got you man,” he said. He nodded towards me. “Your girl’s here too.”
I watched Graham go limp and Cal and I shared a look over his body as dread washed over me. The helicopter dipped to the side as it banked and I looked down. Even though I was finally leaving hell behind, my chest was tight at the thought of losing Graham. He’d saved me. Now I hoped someone could save him.
REDEMPTION
When a star falls to earth we make a wish
Their undoing is our redemption
What then does it mean when a soul shatters?
If we are stardust and moon rise,
fragments of the universe,
surely we come undone only to be made whole again.
An unraveling—
of the broken and the beautiful.
Just as we wish upon a starfall,
Maybe our pieces that shatter,
Our soulfall—are the wishes the stars make on us.
34
KAELIN
6 MONTHS LATER
NEW YORK CITY
The sounds and smells of the city assaulted me and the cold winter wind pulled at my dress as I stepped out of the car. The red carpet stretched up the steps of the museum and the media was pushing against the barrier, monitored by police.
I had a moment of panic at the loud yelling and their aggressive nature before my assistant and event planner were there, pulling me up the steps. The banners above the museum snapped in the wind with the logos of Phox and the anti-human trafficking organization the event was for. The charity gala was something I organized.
After coming home, I decided as CTO I was going to make some changes. The rest of the C-Suite and board were more than happy to follow along. They seemed to want to do everything to make me happy these days after finally welcoming me back to the office.
