A Girl by Any Other Name (75 page)

“‘Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave,’” Eddie said,

quoting another of Doc Holiday’s famous lines.

“Let her go, Eddie. We can settle this between ourselves like men.” I glanced around looking for

anything that might help me get him away from her.

My eyes paused at the wrought-iron table. There lay a hammer, a chisel and a steel file…all

rusty. My heartbeat accelerated with the pure pulsing fury I’d felt in every cell of my body since that

day all those years ago.

He laughed. “You fucking idiot, I don’t want you. This girl is owed to me. She was my Lenore

long before she was yours. Now put that fucking gun down or I’ll slash the other side of her face.” I

raised my weapon to the side and slowly put it to the ground. “Kick it over here.” I did as he asked.

“Take me. I’ll be a better hostage for you.”

He choked out another laugh as if he couldn’t contain it. “Hostage? Having a hostage would

imply that I want to get out of here. I don’t. This is my endgame. I did it all for her. You have no idea

how difficult it was listening to you carry on about how she was the one, how much you loved her,

how you were going to find her again. Do you know how fucking hard that was for me?”

“Eddie, don’t do this. What happened to your family wasn’t Sylvie’s fault.”

“Her name is Gabby. That is her fucking name,” he screamed at me.

“I’m sorry, Gabby.”

“Do you think I even fucking care about my family? They’re dead to me.”

Sylvie whispered something just then. I grimaced as Eddie bent down to hear her. “Let him go?

But I want him to watch and he wants to be here too, don’t you, Cal?”

“Yes.”

“This is going to be fun. Here’s how it works, Tanner. In the beginning, she’ll beg me for her

life, praying the whole time, but after a few hours, she’ll beg me to end her. To take her away from

the pain. I live for that moment. I don’t want to kill the girl. I want to murder her hope, her spirit.”

“Don’t do this. You know you’ll never get away with it.” As if to cement my argument, we heard

a car pull up on the gravel driveway. “The cops are here.”

“That’s a real fucking shame, because I won’t get to enjoy this as much as I wanted.” He kissed

Sylvie on the cheek, grazing his teeth against her neck. She closed her eyes tightly, but the tears still

fell. I felt their sting against my own skin.

“Don’t… Don’t hurt her,” I pleaded.

I saw Joe, emerging from a back bedroom so quietly I thought he might be floating. He placed his

finger to his lips, holding his gun up. I struggled to maintain the rigid mask of fear, against the sense of

hope his presence brought. I knew my task was to keep Eddie occupied so Joe could get a clear shot.

“You must have nine lives, Tanner, because I emptied my clip in you that night.”

Before I could register his statement, Eddie turned and shot Joe in the chest. My heart sank and

my own hope died as Joe’s body fell backwards from the impact. His head slammed on the floor as if

it was made of concrete, not wood. The echo of the shot was unbearably loud and reverberating,

competing with my heartbeat. Eddie turned back to me, smiling malevolently. “I’m a much better shot

now.”

Sylvie started shaking at the sight of Joe sprawled on the ground. She let out a small scream.

Eddie gripped her hair, pulling her back.

“Don’t move,” I commanded to her as Eddie took the heated gun, running it down her skin. She

winced in response. “Stop! You’re burning her!”

“Cal, it’s been great catching up, but I need to end this.” He pointed the gun at me.

“Whatever you do to her, I will do to you tenfold. I promise I will kill you, even if I have to rise

from the depths of hell to do it. Your whole body will be as useless as your dick. And like you, I will

enjoy every minute of it.” I put down my hands.

He laughed, as if we were sharing a personal joke. “You think you can taunt me, you piece of

white trash shit? Tell you what, maybe I’ll shoot your leg again. That way, you can just sit there and

watch us. Because the truth is, I would love you to see me in action. I’m going to make your precious

Lenore scream in a way that you could only dream of.”

I soaked in the finality of his words. I looked at my girl, feeling the weight of the words I needed

to communicate.
Think of me. I’m in your heart. I love you
. But I didn’t utter a word, because the

look she gave me wasn’t one of resignation, but revenge. I shook my head slightly. She was readying

to do something that she shouldn’t. Her deep earthy eyes spoke to me as though we had our own

language. I knew her well enough to know she wasn’t going to heed my warning.

She bit into the flesh of his arm, draped around her neck, drawing blood. He screamed and

pushed her with such force that my mind couldn’t react to it. Her head broke through the glass of the

iron table, smashing it into a million pieces. She lay there bleeding with his tools of torture around

her.

I didn’t think. I reacted, sprinting the small gap between us. I knocked him to the ground. His gun

fell, skidding a few feet. He tried to struggle, but I used all six feet two inches of my frame to hold

him still. I punched his face. The years of frustration, rage and misery coursed through my arms,

which felt as powerful as missiles and just as heavy. I slammed my fists until the hard bones in his

head caved and his features became a mushy, bloody pulp, causing his physical appearance to mirror

the monster that lived within him.

I crawled over to Sylvie. I cradled her in my arms. “Baby, look at me.” I picked the glass out of

her hair and rocked her. “You’re going to be okay, my brave girl. Please fight for me one more time.”

“Is she alive?” Joe croaked from the corner, bringing coherence back to my thoughts. “She hit

her head hard.”

I felt for a pulse, praying to God to let me hear her heart beat. I exhaled a long breath when I felt

it. “She is. It’s faint, but I feel it. She’s alive.”

“So is he,” Joe replied as the faint sounds of sirens, signaling more cars, were heard.

I looked over and heard Eddie wheeze. He shifted in the corner as if his body refused surrender.

He was no danger now. I had torn his face apart. I doubted he could see let alone hear. It wasn’t now

that I was worried about, though.

I saw the gun lying in front of me. I grabbed it, holding Sylvie close to my chest and covering her

other ear to protect her eardrums. I pointed it at the oozing red bullseye that was his head and pulled

the trigger.

I kept my body steady under the recoil. Hell, I even savored the ringing in my ears and metallic

taste in the air. My other senses could fail as long as I had my eyes. As long as I could see him die.

His body twitched, so I shot another round. Until the slight tremble of his hands ceased.

“Now he’s not.”

“Good,” Joe said, laying his head back down. It occurred to me that Joe had wanted me to kill

Eddie. What he’d wanted to do himself.

Could a jail hold Eddie? A mental hospital? It was highly probable. Was I willing to take the

risk? Not a fucking chance in hell. Not when it came to her. He didn’t deserve to exist in the same

world as her.

I looked down at her, whispering the only words I knew. “I’ll see you soon. Stay awake. I love

you. I need you. Do not die on me.” I whispered the mantra praying she had heard my words.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Excerpt from
Raven Girl

Age 13

“Cal?”

I stirred slightly.

“I need to talk to you.” She was shaking my shoulder. We’d fallen asleep staring at the night sky.

The sleeping bag provided little padding against the hard earth, so I’d suggested she rest her head on

my chest. I had ulterior motives for that. We’d been testing out my telescope, but then we’d started

talking about constellations, books, music and anything else that came into our heads. The dialog of

youth, vibrant and exciting, was a thing of wonder, rarely recaptured in adulthood. As usual, our

conversation had lasted long into the night until we’d both fallen asleep.

“Are you awake?”

“I am now,” I grumbled. “Jesus, girl, you know I have to leave in a little bit to get home before

my daddy wakes up. Why won’t you let a man get any sleep?”

“I have something I need to tell you. It’s important.”

“Can’t you wait until morning?”

“I’m afraid I’ll chicken out in the morning. I’m going to say it and then we’ll never have to talk

about it again. Will you listen?”

“Shoot.”

She was quiet for a minute, and I almost wondered if she had fallen asleep again. I hadn’t

opened my eyes at all, so part of me thought I might be dreaming. “If I ever go away or leave

unexpectedly, you can find me in Portland.”

Sudden panic gripped me, vacating the possibility of sleep. “Huh? Why would you go away?” I

tightened my arm around her.

“That’s not important. The important part is where I’ll be. Will you come find me?”

“Why the hell would I want to go to Portland?”

“Because I’ll be there.” The anxiety in her usually confident voice worried me. She whispered

the next part to me. “I think I’m your Lenore.”

“Are you smoking crack or something?”

“No, I just had to tell you that. Sorry.” She sounded disappointed in my response. I embraced

her.

“Portland, Oregon or Portland, Maine?” I asked.

She laughed with relief. “I’m glad you’re paying attention. Portland, Oregon.”

“It would be just like you to send me to the wrong state.”

She giggled, patting my chest, “Goodnight, Tex.”

I was almost asleep again, but a question seized me, fighting against my need to rest. “Why

Portland?”

“I’ve researched it. It’s nice there. Sometimes the sky is blue and sometimes it’s gray. It’s a city

big enough that it’ll be difficult to find me, but small enough that I won’t get lost.”

“How the hell am I supposed to find you then?”

“I’ll find you. You just have to come there. Will you promise?”

“I think you’re crazy.”

“I know.”

“I’ll promise you anything if you go to sleep.”

“’Kay.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sylvie

I heard the two voices, talking quietly in the room with me. Cal and Joe. Joe and Cal. I loved

them both, but in different ways. Joe was my friend and he’d been there for me. I would always love

him for that, but Cal… Cal owned my heart.

I called out to them, but no sound escaped my lips. It was exhausting just trying, so I stopped and

concentrated on what they were saying, but that was difficult too. I just got bits and pieces. One called

me Sophie and the other Sylvie. I was glad neither called me Gabby. Gabby was dead, but I was

alive…wasn’t I?

Then darkness fell.

I heard him. Cal’s deep voice, sexy and soothing at the same time, spoke quietly, barely louder

than a whisper. His slow Southern twang with the hint of gravel broke through my clouded mind like

sunshine. He was reading to me. After a while, I recognized the text as Steinbeck’s
Of Mice and Men
.

It was close to the end. Had he read the whole book? Then I heard him shuffle closer to me. I felt his

warm breath against my ear. I wanted to turn toward him, but my body betrayed me. “Hey, Sleeping

Beauty, I know you’re not a fan, but that’s exactly why I’m reading it. You’re so stubborn that I

wouldn’t put it past you to wake up and tell me to stop.” The next sentence, he said slower, each

word dripping with anguish. “Please wake up, baby. Please fight.”

Then darkness fell.

I heard him again, but someone else’s voice too. “I can’t believe this, son. I feel so guilty for

doubting you. For what this girl’s been through.”

“It’s okay, Momma, it wouldn’t have turned out any different if you had believed me. I’m just

glad I can tell you now.”

It was Cal and his mother?

“What can we do?”

Mandy?

“The doctors say she might be able to hear us. I’ve been reading to her and talking to her. They

say it can help. Why don’t you sing to her, princess? She’d like that.”

I heard the riff of a guitar. Mandy was playing the guitar?

Then the familiar lyrics of a song. I tried to place it, but it wasn’t until Cal joined her that I

could. It was
Who Says You Can’t Go Home.

Mandy stopped suddenly. “Cal, don’t sing with me. You’re no Bon Jovi.”

“What? It’s a duet, and besides, you’re no Jennifer Nettles either.”

I wanted to laugh at their amusing sibling banter, but no sounds formed.

“I’m closer than you. Besides, you know you’re tone deaf. Do you want this girl to wake up with

a headache?”

“As long as she wakes up,” he said in a quiet, sad voice.

“She will.”

“Mandy, I’m a good man, right? God wouldn’t let me find her again only to take her away from

me, would he? I know I’m the reason she’s here.”

“You’re not, Cal. He’s the reason. And I don’t know what God’s plans are for our Sylvie, but I

do know that my big brother is the best kind of man there is.”

I tried my hardest fighting the darkness this time. I wanted to see him. To touch him. I felt my