𝙷𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝 [𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚝]

Chapter 18

Evan's POV

Part of me feels regret in what I'm doing. I know they may very well both hate me for it, but I'm doing this for them. I still believe that he is dangerous. If they get him, there may be a better chance of them leaving Leslie and Catherine alone.

I know he'll come to find me. I'm sure he probably wants to hurt me in some way, and while that's scares me some, I know I have to do this. So, I wait. I debate calling Cat. She is still mad at me, and I know she'll be mad at me after this. I don't know what I'd say. I have her contact pulled up in my phone when I hear footsteps getting closer to me.

"Don't even think about calling her," I hear him say harshly as he sits down. I look up to face him. I saw him with Catherine, but now, I see him clearly. He has a noticeable scar on the side of his face. Strangely, that's not what grabs my attention... it's his eyes. Now I notice, Leslie's eyes belong to him. They're a deep brown, and looking into them, I see my daughter's eyes. But... I guess I see his daughter's eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"Trying to keep you from getting Catherine killed like you tried with me and Leslie," he snaps.

"I had no intention of hurting her," I respond.

"They would've bugged your phone by now," he continues as if I had not even spoken. "You push send, and they will track her down, and they will kill her."

I look down at my phone, at Catherine's contact, again. Then, I put it back in my pocket. As much as I hate to admit it, he's probably right.

"Now what?" I say agitatedly. "You gonna rip out my throat?"

"Oh it's tempting," he says to me. I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. "But for Leslie's sake I will give you another option. You're gonna pick up in my trail somewhere else, somewhere Muirfield will follow. Somewhere you wanna live, where you can get lost and never come back."

"That's it? I just abandoned Catherine into your so-called hands? And Leslie? I just leave her with you?"

"No," he says and lowers his head. "You're gonna..." he stops. Whatever this is, he doesn't want to say it. "You're gonna take Leslie far from here. You're gonna die her hair, change her name, change your name, everything you need to make sure no one finds her. You're both gonna disappear. I don't want my child anywhere near this. The farther away she is... the safer she is."

"You would just leave her... well, I guess that doesn't surprise me... you didn't show up until now..."

"Why you!" he snaps. I watch his eyes flash a yellow color. He looks as if he wants to claw out my throat. "You have no idea, do you? You don't know what's going on here? You don't know my story. Heck, you don't even know hers. And you have no idea of the people you just signed up with, do you? They're dangerous. Sure yeah, to me, but also to both of them."

"And you're not? The vigilante who's killed countless New Yorkers? Cat's better off with a menace like you?"

"She seems to think so."

"She's just fascinated by you. That's the only reason why she's with you. And Leslie, well, at least she has a viable excuse, but you're still a poison to her. Cat, her logic I don't understand."

"Or maybe she's in love with me."

"You really think that dragging her into your world, forcing her into some type of twisted relationship with a monster is protecting her? How long do you think this fairytale will last?"

"You're on the wrong side. You need to stop this hunt now."

"Hunt? You're to blame. You knew that Muirfield were after you but you put Catherine and my Les right in the middle of it all. You put their lives on the line just so you could be selfishly with Cat. Did you not even think of what that will do to them?"

"Are you so naive to that this Black Ops agency is just gonna let them go? I know them. They'll hunt Leslie until the day she dies now. They see her the same way the see me. They see a mistake that needs to be erased. I don't even want to describe the things they'll do to her and the torment they'll put her through. I know they'll ask you how you found me. How long do you think you'll last before you give up her name?"

"I would never," I stress to him.

I could never do that. I love her...

"They've killed men ten times stronger than you," he insists. "When push comes to shove, you will break. Then who's the threat to her?"

"There won't be a threat once you're gone," I snap at him.

I'm so sorry Leslie... I'm doing this to save you...

A man steps between us, and I take off running. I hear him behind me through empty train cars. We reach the last car, and I stop. I hold a locator in my hand and activate it.

It's done.

"Stop!" I hear behind me. I turn to face Vincent. "I will not let you hurt her."

"What do you think you can offer her?" I ask. "You really think Cat wants to hide out like hunter prey for the rest of her life? She deserves to be with a man."

The train car stops, and I wait... I see Vincent look down at the device in my hand, but it's too late. His eyes meet mine. They are wide with the revelation of what's about to happen. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire rings out as bullets fly and shatter the windows. Glass scatters everywhere. Agents enter the car holding him at gunpoint. He is hit with a tranq that he pulls out of his back before collapsing.

Leslie's POV

We get back home. I take shower and wash my wound. A bullet kissed my shoulder. It didn't leave a severe wound, but it is there. It stings at first when the water hits it, but then it becomes soothing.

Considering the day I've had, I don't plan to go on any more adventures. I change into my pajamas and sit down on the couch with Cat. She stays with me just in case something were to happen. We expect dad to be home within about ten minutes, but almost half an hour goes by and no dad.

"Where do you think he went?" I ask Cat.

She has a look on her face like she has a theory she doesn't like.

"Cat?" I question.

"I'm not sure," she says. "I'm just hoping he didn't try again."

"What do you mean try again?"

"Try contacting Muirfield again. Try taking down Vincent again. I think he still may see him as a threat."

"A threat to what?"

"... Us."

No one says anything for a few minutes. The only thing breaking the silence is the sound a the tv quietly playing in the background.

"Ok," Cat says. "I'm going to freshen up just a touch since I know I'm a mess. I'll be right back."

With that, she grabs a bag she brought with her and walks into the bathroom. Catherine typically has something on hand like deodorant or an extra shirt or makeup in case she's working a long shift. I continue to watch tv and just chill. It's been a little bit more of an exciting day than I had hoped for.

I notice that I haven't been paying much attention to anything going on around me, so I mute the tv and listen for a second. At first, I don't hear anything, but then something is revealed... footsteps... lots of them. Before I can check it out though, the door is busted in and several men in black battle gear enter carrying guns. I turn to fight, but am tranqed before I can do anything. I fall to the ground as everything goes black...