Blood On Her Hands

Chapter 44

The men began to flee. They barrelled towards the sliding doors and then thinking better of it, helped each other up the fence. One of them was moving noticeably slower than the others. He clutched his right shoulder, red dripping from the gaps in between his fingers. He more so fell over the fence than hopped over it. Julio and I watched them in a heavy silence. 

The hands that had gripped the gun with the strength of iron were trembling. The weapon fell from his grasp and he turned to me with quivering lips. I held out my arms to him and he collapsed into them and squeezed me tightly. He was crying. 

“I couldn’t let them hurt you,” he said between sobs. “I was scared they would kill you.” 

“They didn’t. We’re okay, Julio. You did good.” I held him as police officers rushed into the yard. The trail of blood made it obvious where the men had gone. They shouted at each other, some running back to try and catch the men and others coming towards Julio and I. An officer picked up the gun that had been discarded in front of Julio. The one beside him asked us if we were okay. 

“Yes, Julio shot one of them with his father’s gun,” I said, feeling strangely sober despite the recent events. Perhaps it was having Julio beside me, clearly more broken than I was. One of us had to be brave and Julio had already taken his turn by firing the gun. 

The officer nodded as a tall figure sprinted into the yard. It was Vincent. Gone was the apathetic expression he had been wearing all morning. It was replaced by a pained frown. His chest was heaving with labored breaths though I imagined he hadn’t had to run far from his vehicle to the yard of the house. He scanned the yard and shrugged off the officer who asked him to identify himself. I watched his eyes take in the blood on the grass and the sway in his balance. 

“Vincent!” I called out as Julio peeled himself off of me. 

Vincent’s head snapped in my direction. He looked as if he could melt into the ground after spotting me but he ran over instead. He scooped me into his arms and let out a delirious chuckle. It was such a distinct difference from how he had been at the station. He had been hiding any trace of emotion then but now it felt like he was pouring all of his emotions onto me. Against him, I could feel how fast his heart was thudding in his chest. I squeezed him back and breathed in the signature scent I had come to love. 

“You scared me half to death,” he said into my ear. 

I heard the grass shift under someone’s weight. I had forgotten that Julio had been standing only a foot from us. 

“What is he doing here?” 

We released each other. Julio’s perplexed expression flickered back and forth between the two of us. His tear stained face was red and his eyes were bloodshot. 

The cover had been compromised for a while since the anonymous caller had found out who Vincent really was. With such an obvious attack like we had experienced just minutes prior, there was no point in trying to hide things anymore. Things were coming to a crescendo and all cards were on the table. 

“He’s not actually my coworker,” I said before Vincent could try to explain. Julio should hear it from me. “He’s a detective who I’ve been helping in trying to figure out what really happened to Adonis.” 

Julio’s eyebrows pulled together. “He wasn’t guilty after all?” 

Vincent shook my head. “No. We’ll have to explain more of it later. Right now, we should get you two to the station for some questioning. There’s a lot to sort through.” 

Julio nodded his head slowly as if still trying to get a handle on everything. Then, with a glance down at his PJ’s, he asked, “Can I brush my teeth first?”