Briar Valley: The Complete Duet

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

BLINK TWICE - JOY OLADOKUN

KILLIAN

Letting the axe hit the demolished block of wood, I swipe hair from my eyes. The darkness has kept me company for several hours along with the torment of my thoughts. Endlessly playing, over and over again, they refuse to abandon me.

Danger.

Danger.

Danger.

Each thud of the axe hammers that word into my brain. It’s a sick, taunting mantra, tattooing fear into the fabric of my weary heart. I’ve never felt fear like the moment Micah called and told us Arianna was gone.

We tucked them both into bed to let them rest. The poor kid was hysterical after the afternoon’s events. Still trembling, Willow was hollow-eyed as she whispered goodnight and climbed in with her little girl.

It hurt to see them both like that, returning to the terror that drove them here. Nothing we said could fix it. Not even Lola could get through to her granddaughter.

Taking a long draw from my beer, I glance at the cabin across the road. The lights are still off. Zach and Micah left both girls to sleep a while ago. I know we should give Willow some space, but fuck. That’s the last thing I want to do right now.

We almost lost them.

That was a close call.

Dragging myself inside, I grab another beer from the fridge and wrench the cap off with my teeth. I should have put a bullet between those fuckers’ eyes when I had the chance, even if it got me arrested.

“Kill? That you?”

“It’s me,” I grumble back.

Both splayed out on Zach’s bed, a half-empty bottle of liquor between them, I find the twins exchanging furtive whispers. Taking another sip of my beer, I prop myself against the doorframe.

“Ran out of wood to chop?” Zach asks, lacking his usual fire.

“I couldn’t just sit there after today.”

Micah takes another drink from the bottle. “We were talking about what to do.” He winces as he swallows. “Zach thinks we should leave Briar Valley with them.”

“Seriously?” I frown at him.

Zach nods solemnly. “It isn’t safe for them here and I won’t let her run alone.”

“We’re all safer here,” Micah disagrees with him. “We can defend ourselves.”

His twin cuts him a scathing look. “Nowhere is safe.”

I’ve never once considered leaving Briar Valley. Never. Even when my parents died and left me up shit’s creek with two kids to look after, it wasn’t an option that crossed my mind. This has always been my home.

It’s the last remaining connection to my folks, and the place where I intended to grow old. All that changed when she came along. Willow. The town isn’t the centre of my world anymore… she is.

“What do you suggest then?” Micah sighs.

“We leave immediately. Tonight, if we can.”

“No,” I interrupt. “Micah’s right. Running without a plan is risky and stupid. We can protect Willow and Arianna from here. The whole town is behind them.”

“And if this nutjob threatens the other people hiding here?” Zach points out.

Violence hums through me in a low current.

“Then we kill him.”

Micah flinches. “Kill him?”

My mouth waters at the thought. “I don’t need any help in that department.”

“This plan doesn’t work if you land yourself in prison for first-degree murder.”

“I won’t get caught then.”

“You expect us to help?” Zach scoffs.

Reaching into the pocket of my jeans, I finger the cool item buried inside. “Nope, Dimitri Sanchez is my kill. But there’s something else we need to do together.”

Palm outstretched, I show the sparkling engagement ring to them. I dug it out of the family safe earlier. It was a crazy fucking idea that formed in my mind after coming so close to losing both Willow and Arianna.

I let the twins study the white-gold band, studded with a gleaming sapphire. It was my mama’s ring, left to me in her will. Since the idea hit me, I’ve become certain it’s the right call.

Willow is my whole fucking world. I don’t give a shit what it takes, I have to keep her by my side for the rest of our lives. This life means nothing to me if she’s not in it.

“Kill?” Zach’s eyes are saucer-like.

His twin looks equally unnerved, but neither of them have run away screaming. They’re leaning closer, even if it’s subconscious. I’m offering them their whole damn futures on a platter with this ring.

“Do you both love her?” I ask bluntly.

Zach bites his lip. “Yeah. I do.”

Micah doesn’t hesitate, echoing his twin with a nod. “Yes.”

Pinching the engagement ring between my fingers, I turn it over in my palms, considering the glistening jewel cut into a perfect teardrop shape. Mama always had good taste. It’s a beautiful piece, and one that I never thought I’d use.

“We all want a future with Willow.”

“More than anything,” Micah agrees.

Zach nods too. “Of course.”

“She wants to run away right now. We have to give her a reason to stay.” I meet their widened green eyes. “This could be it. We need her to realise that we’re her forever.”

A nervous smile lights up Zach’s face. He manages to tease one from me too, and Micah joins us with an excited grin. All three of us end up chuckling and clasping hands.

“This is a bit insane.” Zach barks a laugh. “She might say no.”

“It’s going to work,” I return.

Raising the bottle of whiskey into the air, Micah toasts and takes another large glug. He passes it to Zach next, who has a guzzle for courage before handing it to me last.

“You sure?” I ask them both.

Zach clears his throat. “She makes us a family, Kill. I want that. I want her.”

Glancing at Micah, he meets my eyes without fear. “I can’t imagine a world without her in it. I want her in our future, whatever it looks like. I’m sure.”

“Then we do this right,” I say, taking my own gulp of the whiskey to seal our deal. “The three of us will propose. We’ll make her see why she has to stay.”

“Arianna is going to scream her ass off.”

Micah rolls his eyes. “She’s going to make us have a princess-themed wedding, isn’t she? This is going to be a circus even by Briar Valley’s standards.”

Zach claps his twin on the shoulder. “At least it gives Killian an excuse to get his toes painted again. We all know how much he loves that.”

“I can still break your nose, Romeo.”

“We’re going to be tied together for life,” he continues smugly. “You’ll have to put up with me until we’re old and grey.”

“Or he could kill you before then,” Micah suggests. “Willow will get by with the two of us. Plus, more room in the cabin. It’s a win-win.”

Breaking into laughter, we drink more liquor to celebrate. We have a plan. A future. A fucking reason to be together again. I have my family back, and it’s because of Willow. She brought them back to me. That woman changed everything.

I never planned to commit to a long-term relationship in my life, let alone one with Zach and Micah involved. But right now, I want nothing more than to see Willow’s finger with our ring on it, tying her to all three of us forever.

That’s worth fighting for.

It’s a risk I’m willing to take.

We all pass out by the end of the empty whiskey bottle. I’m the first to rise from my drunken stupor when the sun is up in the sky again. Splashing my face in the bathroom, I throw on a fresh pair of jeans and a scruffy flannel shirt.

Stepping outside in the early morning air, the first thing I notice is that Ryder’s latest truck refurb is gone. They weren’t supposed to be selling it until next week. Unease settles in my heart, and I quickly walk across the road.

I don’t feel fear. It’s not something I’m acquainted with. Or rather, it wasn’t until I had something to lose. But as I approach my deceased parents’ cabin, I’m struck by the emotion so intensely, I break into a run.

“Willow?” I scream.

Tearing my way through the kitchen, I fly into the master bedroom where we tucked them in last night. The bed is empty, sheets tangled in a ball. I spin around in a circle. The wardrobe is ajar and cleared out.

“Fuck! Willow!”

Flying into Arianna’s bedroom, it’s the same story. The wardrobe is bare. Her favourite hair ribbons and dresses are gone. The stupid butterfly sculpture that Micah first gifted her isn’t on her bedside table anymore.

Gone.

Gone.

Fucking gone!

The suitcase that had been left discarded on the floor has vanished, along with the few valuables that Willow had in her cabin. It’s like she never existed. If I couldn’t see the new paint and furniture, I’d doubt anyone ever lived here.

Nobody answers my screams.

I’m utterly alone.

Fisting my long hair, I fight the urge to smash the entire cabin to pieces. If that slimy bastard Sanchez has them, they can’t have gotten far. I’ll raze the forest to the ground and let Briar Valley crumble if that’s what it takes to find them.

“Killian!”

Spinning on the spot, I train my terrified gaze on Lola and Albie, both stepping inside the cabin. They look rumpled and exhausted. Lola’s expression is completely distraught, ageing her into a fragile slip of a woman.

“Grams?”

Her lip wobbles. “I’m sorry.”

I haven’t seen her look like this since her husband died. She could barely stand from the weight of her crushing grief. That same emptiness is buried in her eyes now.

“They’re gone.” I gesture around me. “We have to look for them. He’s got them!”

Lola takes a step towards me, her hands outstretched. “No, he hasn’t.”

“What the fuck do you mean?”

Albie gulps hard. “She’s safe, Kill.”

A red haze descends over me. Rage. Blistering, volcanic rage, rising in a pyroclastic cloud that will destroy everything in its wake. I face off against them both, my hands shaking either side of me.

“Where is Willow?” I spell out.

“She’s gone,” Lola answers.

“Gone… where?”

She wipes her teary eyes with the edge of her cardigan. Albie’s arm is tightly wrapped around her, ensuring she doesn’t slump into a devastated puddle.

“I couldn’t stop her from leaving,” Lola weeps. “I tried, Kill. I really did.”

Spinning around, I search the cabin again, my desperation rising. All I want is a single clue. A scrap of home. Something to tell me that Lola’s wrong. There’s nothing left.

“Where is she?” I growl at them.

“Willow left last night.” Lola’s smile is drenched in anguish. “She stopped to say goodbye around midnight. We gave her some cash and a burner phone.”

“No. That can’t be true.”

“She wouldn’t tell me where they were heading. It isn’t safe. I’m so sorry, Killian.”

I lose all sensation in my body. It drains out of me like a popped balloon. All of last night, we were plotting our future and celebrating what should have been the best day of our lives. Asking Willow for her hand in marriage.

“You’re lying. Why are you saying this? Where is she?”

“It’s true, Kill,” Albie mutters. “Ryder dropped them off in the city several hours ago.”

“Ryder? Where is he? I’ll fucking kill him!”

His face darkens. “You leave him out of this. He only wanted to help.”

“Help? This is suicide!” I yell.

Albie steps in front of Lola as if to protect her from me. “Sanchez knew where she was. This is the only way to throw him off the scent. Willow knows that.”

“No! Bullshit!”

Crying freely, Lola pulls a folded piece of paper from her cardigan pocket. She offers it to me—a dagger for me to stab my own heart on. I make myself take it, despite the razor blades scraping down my throat.

“She told me to give that to you.”

I unfold the scrap of paper, tracing a finger over the swirls of ink, smudged by the occasional smeared teardrop. Looking up at the ceiling, I take a breath and make myself look back at the letter.

Killian, Zach and Micah.

Growing up, I didn’t understand what love meant. All I can remember was feeling alone. The miles I travelled to reach Briar Valley was the loneliest journey of my entire life.

I didn’t know if it was real.

Or if I’d ever make it.

You three weren’t part of the plan. All I wanted was to give Arianna the chance to live a life that she could be proud of. Hell, one that I could be proud of. It’s all I ever thought about. Being a good mum.

My heart wasn’t available, but that didn’t stop you from stealing it regardless.

Killian, with your gruff smiles and hidden sweetness. Zach with your compassion and dedication to your family. And Micah with your brave soul, wrapped in so much pain. I love every broken piece of you guys.

You gave me a family.

You gave me a future.

You gave me a reason to live again.

Perhaps I’m selfish for asking this of you, but please, don’t hate me for making this choice. You can be angry. Be furious. But please, I beg of you… don’t hate me.

I have to protect my daughter.

She will always come first.

I’ll live in hope that one day, we will meet again. Until then, please keep my heart safe. I’m enclosing it in these pages for safekeeping. I don’t need it if you’re not here with me.

I love you all.

Know that.

Forever your girl,

Willow.

Something wet and unknown spills down my cheeks. I can’t bring myself to brush the moisture aside. Let it pour. She’s earned that much. Willow has taken the final icy wall around my heart and punched her fist through it.

“What did it say?” Albie asks.

“She isn’t coming back.”

Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the engagement ring, holding it in the palm of my hand for them both to see. Lola glances between me and the ring while Albie’s eyebrows rise into his hairline.

“You were going to propose?” she asks.

“Yes.” I let my eyes fall shut. “We love her. Enough to ask for forever.”

“Oh, Kill. I don’t know what to say.”

My world ends. Drops off a cliff and falls apart at the seams. The tears are unleashed. I can’t stop them now. My last scrap of hope dies a slow death in the ink-stained pages of that letter.

“We love her and now… she’s gone. We’ve lost her.”

To Be Continued