Page 60 of If The Fates Allow
“Absolutely not!” Willa chased after him, cutting across the thick green grass. “You are not about to run off in the direction of gunshots and expect me to stay behind.”
He didn’t argue and took her hand as they sprinted to the forest. Upon entering the dense woodland canopy, Willa shrunk behind Noah when she immediately noticed the unnatural quiet. There were no animals—no noise—almost as if the forest were as frightened as she was.
“This isn’t right,” she said, clutching his hand tightly. “Something is very wrong here, Noah.”
He signaled for her to be quiet with a finger to his lips, and they kept to the side of the trail, making sure to stay well hidden among the trees. The deeper they went, the more the silence grew until they reached the sharp bend leading directly into the graveyard.
Stopping behind Noah, she tried to make out the soft rumble of voices ahead. “Whoever is out there is in the graveyard,” Willa whispered. “I can see movement but can’t make out how many.”
“I hear your brother.” Noah turned and grabbed her upper arms, moving her further into the brush. “Don’t leave this spot. I’m going to sneak along the water’s edge and try to make out what is happening.”
“I will do no such thing.” She shook her head furiously. “You either take me, or we turn around and leave.”
Noah swiped a hand through his hair. “Are you always going to be this stubborn?”
“Yes, she is.” From behind Noah, a figure emerged from the shadows. “And now that you’re getting a taste of our Willa’s true nature, I hope you’re not having second thoughts on marrying her, Dr. Anderson.”
Bonnie.
Holding a gun.
A gun aimed at Noah’s face when he spun around.
Immediately, Willa was in front of the man she loved, blocking him from harm. Bonnie didn’t scare her. The woman had practically raised her.
“What are you doing?”
“Why didn’t you just go, Willa?” Bonnie sighed but kept the gun level. “I swear sometimes you’re no better than my cats. You’re always so curious until a tail gets cut right off.”
Perhaps she should be afraid. The look in Bonnie’s eyes held a hint of madness in them. Noah must have noticed, too, because she was quickly shoved behind him again. “We’ll leave.”
“Oh, I’m afraid it’s too late for that, but this turn of events is a good thing. You see, we’ve come to an impasse and need assistance.” The gun wagged in the direction of the graveyard. “Walk ahead, please.”
Noah debated, assessing how much of a threat Bonnie was to them. “And if I don’t?”
“Then we’ll have three bodies to bury instead of just the two.”
Chapter 20
“Not that I think you can’t do it, Willa.” Bonnie kept the gun trained on the back of Noah’s head, smiling wistfully as she made the remark. “But you’re going to have to work extra hard to keep a man like him satisfied.”
With her head held high and spine straight, Willa wanted to scream as she was forced to walk arm-in-arm with Bonnie. Noah remained a few steps ahead on the forest path, glancing back every so often to check on her.
There were more people in the graveyard, and when they neared the curve, Willa half expected to see her mother on the ground, dead after some sort of lover’s quarrel where Bonnie and her father had finally decided they could no longer deny their love.
And there was a dead body.
Only it wasn’t her mother.
Coming around the bend, they entered a section of forest where the canopy of trees thinned, and the night sky shone brightly above. The lack of coverage gave the world a minuscule amount of light, but it was enough to illuminate the ghastly scene playing out in the graveyard.
Willa sucked in a sharp breath, and Noah halted abruptly as they assessed what was happening. In a heap on the ground lay her father,rolled to his side. Wearing his usual dull brown wool trousers and plain cream colored shirt, the blood from the wound on his chest soaked the material all along his front.
“He’s dead, Dr. Anderson,” Bonnie said, answering their unspoken question. “At least, he better be.”
Scrunching her robe tightly around her, Margaret stood serenely beside her husband’s body. She held a red lantern and, catching sight of Willa, clucked her tongue in disapproval. “Stupid girl. I purposely didn’t give you the tonic so you could run off but look at you. Standing here, caught right in the thick of it.”
“Now, now, Margaret. We’ll not begrudge our Willa,” Bonnie scolded. “Besides, it’s working out for the best. Cal talks big but obviously can’t handle things as promised.”
