Baron looked at Lyric. She was sleeping peacefully. It was only 5 AM. He had slept for a few hours, but once he woke up, he couldn't fall asleep again. The entire evening replayed in his head, especially the words she had said.
"If Finn's dead, no one will give a shit about me."
He knew she was right. Finn was a big player in town, and he was only alive because he was smart, and people feared him. Most people. Baron didn't fear him. Baron didn't fear anyone. And he was probably the only person that Finn feared. The soul stealer. Maybe it was time to steal another soul even though this one hadn't been trespassing on his property. He looked at her again. She was the sweetest thing to watch when she was sleeping.
"I meant what I said last night. I love you," he spoke lowly. "And now I'm setting you free."
He quietly made his way out of bed. He tucked her in, and placed a kiss on her forehead. He got dressed, and gave her one last look. She was still sleeping. He had to do this for her, and he had to make it back to her. He was putting her on the line once he did this, and if he didn't succeed, he wasn't just gonna lose his own life in the process. He was gonna give her right back to Finn.
With his trusted shotgun standing up against the passenger seat, he drove into town. It was still early when he arrived, and most of the town was sleeping. He drove to Finn's house, and walked up to the door. It wasn't even locked. Either Finn had shitty men on his team, or he thought he was untouchable.
"Who are you?" Someone asked.
A big man had stopped in his tracks on his way out of a room. Baron knew who he was. One of Finn's men named Luke.
"Shit, you're the soul stealer!" Luke yelled. "Shit! Intruder! He's here! The soul stealer is here!"
Baron fired his shotgun, and Luke dropped dead. This wasn't how he had wanted it to go. He had pictured himself killing everyone inside the house, but he wanted Finn first to make sure he at least died.
"Luke!" Another man, Karl, appeared. "Oh my god!"
Another shot, and Karl dropped dead too.
"Fuck!" Baron growled.
The entire house would be awake by now. He reloaded the shotgun, and moved forward. He didn't get far. Someone knocked him down from behind. He dropped the shotgun, and reached blindly for it.
"Don't you fucking move!" Someone growled.
He looked up to see Sheamus pointing his own shotgun at him.
"I got him, Finn!" He yelled.
"Well done," Finn appeared. "Who do we have here? Why is the soul stealer coming into my house all of the sudden? I thought the deal was that you don't mess with people as long as they stay away from your property."
Becky came in from behind. She took Baron by surprised when she dropped down next to him and sniffed him.
"He smells like sex," she said. "Someone didn't shower afterwards."
"And who did he fuck?" Finn asked.
"I can't smell that," Becky rolled her eyes.
"Here's a wild guess for you," Finn tilted his head. "I think I know where my muffin is hiding."
"Don't you fucking lay a finger on her!" Baron growled.
"Bingo!" Finn grinned.
"I'll go get her," Becky said.
"Do you want me to come along?" Sheamus asked.
"No, I got this. It's just Lyric. She can't even fight," Becky answered.
Lyric woke up alone. Something felt off. The house was too quiet. Normally Baron would be playing low music, and she would smell coffee and toast. She got back in her clothes from last night. Just as she pulled the zipper up on her jeans, someone knocked on the door.
She felt nervous, and without thinking she ran to his room with weapons and grabbed one of his guns. The knocking continued, and she moved towards it without a sound. She looked through the peephole and saw Becky outside.
"Fuck!" She muttered.
She hid the gun behind her back, and unlocked the door. Becky stood there grinning.
"Good morning, sunshine," she said.
"How did you find me?" Lyric asked.
"Baron dropped by and woke us up," Becky answered. "Luke and Karl are dead, so naturally Finn is a bit pissed off. If you don't show up pretty soon, he'll start taking that anger out on your new boy toy."
"He'll kill him regardless," Lyric said.
"True," Becky laughed. "But he might not torture him first if you arrive soon."
Lyric hesitated. She wanted to save Baron, but she knew it was a death sentence no matter what.
"Do I really need to wave my gun around you?" Becky asked.
"No," Lyric answered. "I'll come."
"Good girl," Becky said.
She turned around, and started moving towards her car. She had only taken a few steps when she felt a gun press into the back of her head.
"You know what, Becky? I never liked you," Lyric said.
She fired the gun, and Becky sank to the ground. She dropped down and went through Becky's pockets, pulling out the car keys. She ran back inside, got into a pair of shoes, and ran to Baron's weapon room. She grabbed another shotgun and loaded it. Enough was enough. She wasn't going back to Finn, and she wasn't gonna let him kill Baron either.
"Becky's here," Sheamus said.
He looked out the window as Becky's car pulled up. He moved away from the window, and looked at Finn.
"Why is he still alive?" He asked.
"I want her to see him die," Finn answered.
"Should I call the others?" Sheamus asked.
"No, I think AJ's been trying to push me off the throne, so he'll probably try and help this bloody bastard. We'll tell them afterwards," Finn said.
She walked into the house. She had seen Sheamus in the window, but the red haired idiot hadn't stayed long enough to see that only she exited the car. It gave her a small advantage. The gun was in the waistband of her jeans behind her back. With the shotgun raised, she walked in the direction of the voices.
"I can always take AJ out for you," Sheamus offered.
That was his last words. A loud shot was heard, and he dropped dead. Finn looked towards the door where Lyric stood with the shotgun. She pointed it at him, but he pointed his gun at Baron's head.
"Drop it!" He barked. "Or loverboy here gets a bullet."
"You'll kill him either way," she said.
"I know I will," he chuckled. "But I also know you, muffin. If there's the slightest chance of saving someone you care about, you'll take it. So what's it gonna be?"
"Don't do it!" Baron yelled. "Kill him! Don't worry about me!"
"Five minutes," she looked at Finn. "At least give me five minutes to tell him goodbye."
"Put the shotgun down, and you'll get it," Finn said.
She let out a loud sob, and placed the shotgun down on the floor.
"Step away from it," Finn said.
She stepped away from it. Finn pointed his gun at her as he walked over and picked up the shotgun. He lowered his gun with a chuckle, and looked at Baron.
"Did you teach her how to use this?" He asked.
"I sure did," Baron answered.
"Why do you even care about this man?" Finn asked.
He turned around while asking, only to stare directly at the gun in her hand. She pointed it at his forehead.
"Because I love him," she answered.
"Muffin," he tried.
She fired the gun before he could finish the sentence or raise his own gun again. Her holding a gun had been so far away from anything Finn could imagine that he forgot how to react. Instead he got a bullet in his head, and he sank to the ground lifelessly.
"Don't fucking call me that!" She growled.
She heard footsteps coming towards her, and she pointed the gun in the direction.
"Wow, spitfire," Baron held up his hands. "It's just me."
She dropped the gun, and fell into his arms. He held her tight while she cried into his tee.
"I got you, Lyric, I got you," he said.
"Why the hell did you go here, you idiot?" She cried.
"I wanted to set you free, but apparently you did a pretty good job at that yourself," he chuckled.
"I almost lost you," she cried.
"But you didn't," he kissed the top of her head. "Because you can't fucking get rid of me now."
He picked up his gun and shotgun, placed an arm around her, and guided her out through the door. They went to his car, and he placed his weapons in the trunk. She looked up and down the street, and then at the open coffee shop across from them.
"Let's get something for the road," she said.
"You want coffee?" He asked.
"Look at me, Baron," she held out her arms. "I'm standing on the street, and no one is coming for me."
"A flat white sounds good right about now," he said.
He grinned at her as he walked over to her and kissed her.
"Coffee for my woman," he said.
"By the way, there might sort of be a body to bury when we get back," she said.
"She was trespassing," he chuckled. "Just another soul for the soul stealer even though you were the one to steal it. We need to get you a cool nickname too."
"How about cold ass bitch?" She asked.
"We'll work on it," he laughed.