Run With Me (31 page)

I don't want to try to pardon
my part in this, but the man who hired me is even more to blame than
me. It kills me that he's going to keep living his life while mine is
over. He should pay for what he ordered me to do, because I know it
wasn't just about burning down the house and sending a message.

I could see it in his eyes.
He told me there wouldn't be anyone in the house, that it was empty.
But he knew it wasn't. That was the whole point....he wanted the
woman dead, I know it, and now he's hunting me to keep the truth
locked away. One day, maybe, someone will read this and put the
pieces together. And then they'll know the truth.

So my final words are a name.
The name of the man who ordered the job that has changed my life,
ruined many others. That name is Michael Carmine. 

Colt

The final words are still
repeating over and over in my head as I watch Kitty reading the page.
That name is Michael Carmine.

As she reads I see her eyes grow
more and more with confusion, until they open wide at the final
revelation. She quickly turns to me, a look of shock on her face.
“Carmine? It was him all along?”

I nod, and she returns to the
book once more to re-read it. I can understand that. I've re-read it
several times already, but the words stay the same, revealing no more
of the story. But what more is there to tell? What more do I need to
know? Suddenly, everything makes sense in my head. Now, as Pullman
said, someone has put the pieces together.

Kitty lifts her head from the
book again, and starts trying to figure things out. “But didn't you
tell me Carmine said it was a guy called Teddy Klein? Why would he
say that?”

It's the first question I asked
myself as well. And there's only one explanation.

“
Because he's been playing me
for a fool,” I say. “Because Klein and he have always been
rivals, and now Carmine wants him dead. Why bother using one of your
own guys when you can just manipulate someone like me into doing your
dirty work for you? They were all lies, Kitty. Lies to keep me off
his back and get me to do the job for him.”

I remember how he looked when I
asked him who the man who ordered the arson attack was. I remember
his mouth briefly curling into a smile as he spoke the name of Teddy
Klein, knowing that all I'd want from then on was revenge against
him. I remember how he suddenly relented, suddenly became willing to
give Kitty up, all for the greater prize of having me kill Klein. I
didn't question the turnaround then. All I wanted was for Kitty to be
safe. Now, though, it all makes perfect sense. He manipulated me,
twisted me into seeking revenge against Klein, when it was him all
along. Him who ordered the murder of my family. And it wasn't an
accident. It was murder, revenge.

“
But why would he do it,”
asks Kitty. “Why would he kill you family? Because Sophie owed him
money?”

This is what's lingered in my
mind for the last hour. Why did he do it. It can't have been just the
money. No, it must have been more personal than that.

“
I think he wanted her,” I
say, my hands gripping hard at the wooden table at the thought. “He
gave her a way out of paying back the money, and she said no. So, he
took revenge in his own way. She rejected him, so he killed
her....and my little girl.” My voice grows weak as I finish the
sentence, my thoughts once again consumed by images of that night.

I drop my head and feel Kitty
wrapping her arms around me from behind. But my sorrow is brief,
pushed to the back of my mind quickly. I don't linger in mourning.
Instead a burning desire for revenge consumes everything. All my
hurt, all my grief and suffering is numbed by my hatred, my fury. And
now, now it's even more intense than ever. For years I've yearned for
vengeance against a nameless killer, a ghost of my past who I'd begun
to believe I'd never catch up with. Now I know for sure who's been
behind everything. Not only the murder of my family, but of Tara, of
Kitty's aunt and uncle, of Dale. It's all been one big web of lies,
but this small confession has unraveled them.

Despite his part in it, I say a
silent thank you to Robert Pullman. He may have started the fire, but
he was always being controlled by a puppet master. Now, the veil has
been removed and I know my true target. He managed to evade me once
before, knowing I was coming for Kitty. But not this time. This time
I'll see him pay for everything he's done. For me. For Kitty. For all
the lives he's destroyed. I'll finally get vengeance for all of us.

Kitty's voice once again brings
me back as I slowly lift up my head. “So, what now?”

I stand up and feel her backing
away slightly behind me, her arms falling off me. Then I turn to her
and tell her what she already knows. “I'm going to kill him.”

“
And Rugger too?” Kitty's
eyes are glowing with a flame just like mine. A flame of fury and
vengeance. Of bloodlust.

“
Rugger too,” I say coldly,
our eyes locked together.

She nods as she moves towards
me, then hugs me. She's not the type to wish death on anyone, but
this is different. Rugger killed people she cares deeply about. He
tried to kill her several times, tried to kill me. He deserves to die
just as much as Carmine, and I'll happily see it done.

“
What time is it?” Kitty
asks, her head still locked against my shoulder.

I know what she's asking. She's
asking whether I want to leave right now. Jump inside the car and
start back south towards LA. “Time to sleep,” I say, knowing that
my mind will be too active this evening to get much rest.

A loud burst of thunder shakes
the foundations of the cabin once more, and with it comes a fresh
deluge of rain. It wouldn't be nice trying to reach the car in this
anyway, nor would driving in it be particularly pleasant. By morning,
hopefully the storm will have passed and we'll be able to get back on
the road. For tonight, however, we're stuck here.

The bed in the corner of the
room is small, only a single. I walk Kitty over towards it and lay
her down. I can't help but think she looks great in my shirt. She's a
natural beauty, and looks great even without any make up on and with
her hair messed up by the earlier storm.

“
I'll take the sofa,” I
whisper, but her hand reaches up to me. She pulls me down onto the
bed and I curl up behind her, the both of us hardly fitting on the
small mattress.

“
Stay with me,” she says
quietly. “I don't want to wake up alone.”

I remember that she spent
several nights alone here, in fear. They can't have been the nicest,
and she probably doesn't want to repeat that experience.

I settle onto the bed behind
her, my arm wrapped over her chest and clung to her hand, as she
quickly falls back asleep. There's no sleep for me, though. I'll take
no rest here. I lie and listen to the raging storm, weather which
mimics my feelings. Thunder crashes and lightning sparks down from
the heavens, each strike bringing flashes of fire and burning bodies
into my mind. With them comes the sight of Carmine, sitting behind
his desk smoking a cigar and clasping a glass of whiskey. Laughing at
me from afar. For manipulating me so easily. Just waiting for the
news that Teddy Klein has been shot dead. That he will have gotten
away with murder once more.

The hours pass, and my eyes soon
begin to grow heavy. Eventually, I tumble into a nightmare. Or is it
a dream. I see Carmine, sitting at that same desk. The smile is gone.
The whiskey glass is no longer in his hand, because they're raised.
Raised above his head in submission. He's pleading, trying to
explain, telling me I've got it wrong. He turns his head away,
shutting his eyes, but I don't speak. Then, a loud bang and a cloud
of smoke, and I wake up.

I sit up quickly, in a sweat.
Kitty is already awake, wiping my forehead. “Nightmare?” she asks
me. Between heavy breaths I answer. “No. A fantasy.”

When I stand I see that it's
light outside now, and that the rain has finally relented. I move to
the door and hitch it open, feeling the cooling breeze flow over my
body. The skies are blue now, but the trees still sprinkle the
residue of the storm down through their branches and leaves. It's
time to go.

Kitty clearly knows this,
because she's already beside me, ready to move. We walk towards the
car and Kitty climbs into the passenger seat. I move to the trunk and
pick up a plastic gas canister, then return to the cabin. I take one
final look around before dousing the entire place in gasoline. Then I
walk out, light a match, and flick it inside. Within seconds the
entire shack is burning bright in the center of the clearing.

When I return to the car I can
see Kitty's eyes set in a deep frown. I don't know if it's confusion
or pleasure at seeing the place go up in flames. “Why are you
burning it down?” she asks as I step inside.

“
We need to cover our tracks.
Our DNA will be all over it, and I don't have time to fine comb it
right now. In any case, Dale won't be needing to use it any more, so
no one's going to lose out.”

She nods in understanding, but
something in her eyes tells me she's sad to see her refuge, if only
for a short period of time, be destroyed.

With the flames still climbing
up the walls, however, I turn the car around and begin driving back
down the track. Kitty continues to look in the wing mirror until the
cabin is out of sight, before staring dull eyed down the road.

The next day and a half go by
without much incident. After a long day's driving my lack of sleep
catches up with me, and we spend a familiar night in a motel off the
freeway. The following morning, we get back on the road, always wary
of any police cars and officers nearby. Kitty is no longer being
shown on the news, but the newspapers are still reporting that the
investigation into the deaths of Tara and her aunt and uncle are
ongoing, and that no leads as to Kitty's whereabouts have been found.

She's going to have to keep her
head down until I've finished the job. Then, and only then, can we
look to the future. My apartment should be safe for her. Even if
Carmine knows about it, he certainly won't be expecting me to come
after him again. This time, I have the element of surprise on my
side, and I intend to use it.

When we return to LA, I drive
her straight to my place. I give her a key, but tell her not to
leave, unless in an extreme emergency. She needs to keep her head
down until I return, and stay out of sight. She hugs and kisses me
before I go, but they're only abbreviated moments of affection. There
are no lingering looks, no final words. Her eyes tell me she trusts
me, that she holds no fear that I'll fail. So she just looks at me
one last time and nods. A nod that says 'do it for all of us'.

Half an hour later I'm parked
down from Carmine's club once more. I've already changed out the
number plates, just as a precaution in case one of Carmine's men
recognizes my vehicle. But I'm far enough away here to be
inconspicuous, sitting and waiting inside with a pair of binoculars.
I've kept vigil here twice already, and hopefully this will make it
third time lucky. Hopefully, now that the dust has settled and
Carmine thinks everything has been resolved between us, he'll have
dropped his guard and returned to business.

It's grows quickly dark as I
watch, but I see no sign of my target. As before, I'm not privy to
other locations for Carmine's offices or residences. I begin to
wonder if he's still in safety mode. Still paranoid that I'll come
after him to cover my back. Is he holed up somewhere, waiting for
news of Klein's murder?

Then I see a familiar shadow
lurking down the alley. Tall, moving slightly more awkwardly than I'm
used to seeing. All those injuries he's suffered, from being shot by
me in the motel to attacked by the bear in the woods, have slowed him
down. It's amazing he kept on coming after us, after Kitty. I guess
he must have just got lucky each time, like me with my shoulder. I
have regained almost full movement already, although it still hurts
like hell.

I watch as Rugger ambles out to
the edge of the alley and lights up a cigarette. The light burns in
the darkness of the alley and partially illuminates his face. Even
from this distance, I can make out those cold, craggy eyes.
Emotionless and black, like a shark. And just as lethal. I briefly
wonder what made him into such a person. Perhaps if I'd continued
down the same path as before I'd have ended up just like him. A
merciless killer. Nothing more.

He quickly sucks up the last of
the smoke and drops the cigarette to the ground. Then he paces
forward, grumbles a few words to the bouncers on the door, and steps
into a car. It moves off now, down the street away from me, and I
quickly spring to action, following behind him, but keeping my
distance.

I've tailed people in the past a
hundred times, but most people aren't looking for someone following.
Most people are so oblivious to it, in fact, that I could literally
sit behind them for miles without them being any the wiser. Rugger
isn't just anyone, however, so I stay back and out of sight. It's
late, and there aren't too many cars out right now, making it ever
harder to blend into the background. An obvious pair of headlights
following behind him will almost certainly set off a red flag in
Rugger's head.