Trigger warning activated for all the action scenes in this chapter.
Barney
Barney's blood was rushing through his veins at full speed, and his head was pounding. As he geared up, he kept thinking about Marcy. How could this be happening again? He'd promised Joe. He'd promised that man he'd keep his daughter safe.
And he'd failed. Again.
As much as he wanted to keep his promise of throttling Lee for getting her into this mess, he knew it wasn't his fault. It was the bad guy's fault.
"Ready," Gunner said, appearing and laden with weapons and armor.
"We have to hang back," Barney said as they hurried to the truck. "They told Lee to come alone."
"Where's Toll?"
"Not losing his shit, I hope," Barney answered, starting the truck and heading for the marina. He was going to locate a spot to sit and watch. He knew he had to stay out of sight.
"Barney," Gunner said as they hit bumps and swerved potholes. His hand was pressed into the ceiling to hold him as still as possible. "I don't feel good about this."
Barney said nothing, but he felt the same way. He just really hoped he was wrong.
Toll
He was terrified. All he could think about as he threw on his armor and grabbed his guns was whether or not Norah was going to get out of this alive. Barney had given him a very quick update about Lee's past haunting him, and all he could feel was anger that Lee hadn't warned him and that if this hadn't come up, Lee and Norah would still be together.
Because that explained everything. Lee had broken Norah's heart to keep her safe. Toll was very sure of it now. Norah would never have even looked at Toll if this hadn't happened, and that made him feel incredibly sad and frustrated. If she did survive and this ended tonight, would she tell him she was going back to Lee?
He didn't think his heart could take it.
He ran to his car, yanking the door open, throwing his stuff inside, and cranking the engine to life. He put all these thoughts at bay for now, focusing instead on how to get her out of there alive. That was the most important thing right now, not his feelings. He had to keep his head on straight.
For her.
Norah
She was trying to find something sharp in that room to help free herself. She felt so many emotions about Mike being dead. She felt so bad that he'd gotten caught up in this, whatever the hell this even was.
She grunted when she bumped into the table. There was nothing here she could use. It was infuriating. She calmed herself, knowing she couldn't get scared or else that was the end of her. Whoever this person was, they wanted something, and she had time to figure out an escape before he could get it. She felt sure of it.
The door whipped open a few moments later, and she turned her head to see the man coming to get her. She fell onto her arms on her back and tried to kick out, but he swatted her feet away like they were gnats. He slung her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing and carried her down to another room. The sight of tools on the table they passed made her feel a bit sick. What was he going to do to her?! She tried to kick him again, and he growled and threw her down onto the ground, winding her. He tied her ankles together next to stop her from kicking him, which apparently he was growing tired of. He hauled her back up and slammed her into a chair.
"Fight me again, and you won't live to see tomorrow," he vowed. She glared at him. Then she noticed there were two other men in the room with them, and they were heavily armed. She felt scared now. What was happening?
Footsteps in the hall outside made her turn her head. Who was coming now? She watched the door open and two men shove someone inside before shutting the door and leaving the figure standing there alone. Her heart dropped.
Lee.
Tool
He felt anxious. He also felt a bit bad for harassing Lee so much about the pipe. Pipes were replaceable, people were not. If he made it back in one piece, Tool would tell him not to worry about it anymore.
"What's happening?" Victoria asked. She'd come over since Gunner had left in the middle of the night without telling her what was going on, and she was now perched on the stool across from Tool, who was behind the counter. He met her gaze.
"It would appear that Norah has been kidnapped by someone who wants to hurt Lee," he explained. Victoria gasped and pressed a hand to her mouth.
"No!"
Tool nodded, and her face grew ashen.
"Promise me they'll bring her back, Mickey," she begged. "She needs to come back!"
"I think all we can do is pray, love," Tool said. He rested his hand on top of hers. "All we can do is pray."
Lee
He went alone as requested. He left his weapons. He left his body armor. He left his phone. He followed all the instructions to the letter.
But he'd let Barney know everything first.
As he stood there looking at Norah in the chair across from him, he did his very best to keep a clear head so as to help them both get out of here. He could see her working to stay calm, and he appreciated her efforts. Anyone else probably would have lost their head by now.
He didn't even flinch when the boat started to move. He knew that was coming. He hoped his team had his back the way they liked to brag they would.
"There he is," a man in the corner said, stepping forward to see him better. "The man of the hour."
Lee surveyed him carefully. He did not recognize him, but he imagined he was a bodyguard or the muscle. He wondered where the person he knew was after him was hiding.
"Does the zoo know that you escaped?" he asked casually. "Or was it the psych ward?" He ignored Norah's looks of "what the f*** are you doing?" from her corner. This was all part of his tactics. He liked to wind people up and annoy the shit out of them first before dealing with them.
"He said you were funny," the man said, shaking a finger at him.
"And where is he?" Lee asked. "I don't expect him to let the opportunity of murdering me pass him by."
"Oh, he's here," the man said, a shine to his eyes starting now. "But I'm allowed to play with you first."
"With those little things?" Lee asked, tilting his head towards the table of tools. "His imagination really has run out of good ideas, hasn't it? They're probably dull too, right Hugo? I'm guessing that's your name. Or did they come up with something ironic like Tiny?"
"They're not for you," the man now dubbed Hugo said, glossing over the jab about his name, and Lee was taken off guard for a slight moment. He really should have seen that coming. He was grabbed on either side by two men, and a moment later, a fist came at his head hard and fast.
He heard Norah's muffled scream, and he wished he could tell her he was fine. He'd been knocked around plenty of times before. This wasn't new. He gave his head a shake and got to work. He was free of the two men holding him in a few seconds, and he went for the table of tools and managed to grab something before Hugo got a hold of him. They crashed to the floor, and Lee twisted to stab him in the side with the scalpel he'd grabbed. Hugo roared and reached to pull it out of him while Lee got up and ran for another tool. He was jumped on by the two other men before he got there, and he worked to get out from under them, but they were too heavy and strong on him. They held him down while Hugo resurrected himself and grabbed Lee by the neck and pulled him up. Lee took some blows before getting some in himself. Then Hugo threw him at the table, and Lee hit it hard before rolling off it and hitting the floor hard on his back. Winded, he worked to get up, but Hugo flipped the table into his face, and Lee went down again. He felt himself getting dragged by the ankles next, and then Hugo was sitting on him and trying to strangle him. His vision was getting a bit blurry when something hit Hugo from behind, and Lee gasped for air once the big man let him go. Then he saw that Norah had somehow thrown herself at Hugo to make him let go. He felt rage when he saw Norah get slapped and thrown backwards. He was on Hugo's back, wrapping an arm around his neck tightly when he got rammed with a tazer in his back; it made him yelp.
Lee hit the floor hard, twitching and trying to get his bearings back. Hugo was laughing as he dragged Norah back to her chair. He smacked her again in the face for good measure, and then he came back to Lee.
"Up we get," he said, hauling Lee up and putting him into a chair next. Lee was disoriented as he was bound to it, but he hadn't been tazered for long, so he was recovering with each passing moment. Hugo then patted his face heartily before leaving them again. The other two went to stand guard by the door. Lee coughed and spat the bit of blood from his mouth before looking at Norah again. She had tears in her eyes now.
"I'm sorry," he told her. "This is what I was trying to avoid. This was not what I wanted to happen to you. Ever."
"Shut up!" one guard barked. Norah just shook her head, and he felt his heart twist. He had no idea what was going to happen next, but he had a very bad feeling about it.
Barney
"Settle down," Barney told Toll, who was pacing and anxious. They had taken Tool's boat after the yacht left, making sure to keep their lights off and follow at a safe distance. Barney felt just as wired as Toll, but he wasn't going to lose his head over it.
"Who is this guy?" Toll demanded. "What do they want?"
"Revenge."
"Why Norah?" Gunner asked.
"To make Lee do whatever it is they need him to do," Barney answered. "Why else?" Gunner bowed his head and looked out into the darkness. Toll was still pacing. Barney drove them carefully, his mind racing. He had to get this right. He had to.
Or else Joe would flat out murder him this time.
Norah
Watching Lee get beat up was horrifying. She had been shocked the other two hadn't seen her hopping over to leap onto the man strangling Lee, but they apparently were too invested in what was right in front of them than what was going on in the background. She tucked that tidbit of information away for next time.
She hated how broken Lee looked as he held her gaze. She had figured out that they were waiting for someone other than the man who was beating on him so much. She tried not to feel scared about who that might be. It was becoming more and more clear to her that Lee had broken up with her to spare her this, whatever was happening here. She knew he'd realized that it didn't seem to matter.
When the door opened again, she looked over Lee's shoulder to see Mike walking in. She felt confused. How was he alive? She'd seen his dead, vacant stare.
"Well, hello," Mike said, stopping in between her and Lee. She tensed as she noticed he no longer had an American accent but now had a British one. He'd been faking!
"There's the man of the hour," Lee said sarcastically. She wished he would stop provoking them. Didn't he see how badly that was going for him?
"You're mistaken, Lee," Mike said, crossing his arms. "That's you."
"You didn't have to get her involved," Lee advised, gesturing with his head towards Norah. "You could have just come for me. I was waiting."
"I know you were. Dad told you, right?"
Norah could see from Lee's face that he was trying to hide his surprise that Mike knew this piece of information. Hell, she was surprised too, but for a different reason. Were they related?! Mike laughed.
"Yes, well, you'll be seeing him very soon," he shared.
"You killed him," Lee said.
"Of course I did. He was useless to me anyway."
"Where's Mum?"
"People really shouldn't have predictable routines," Mike said, tilting his head at Lee.
"You bastard," Lee spat. "What did she ever do?"
"She loved you," Mike replied. "And she picked your side."
Lee ground his jaw, and Norah could tell he wanted to say more but stopped himself.
"You're officially alone now, Lee," Mike went on. "How does it feel?"
"It'll feel better once you're no longer breathing," Lee answered, clenching his fists. Mike scoffed.
"Yea, okay. So let's get to business, shall we? You know what I want, and you know what I'm willing to do in order to get it." Mike went over to Norah now, and she shrank back as he stood behind her and reached to play with her hair. He shifted it from the front to the back, tucking it behind her ear. He rested his other hand on her left shoulder.
"Pretty little tenant you got," he commented. Lee clenched his fists.
"If you touch her..." he started menacingly.
"If you comply with everything, she'll be just fine," Mike said dismissively.
Norah wasn't sure if she entirely believed this man. She was so angry at herself for being so easily tricked by him
"Is she really just a tenant?" Mike asked as he reached a hand around to hold her throat. She felt like she couldn't breathe suddenly, and he wasn't even applying any pressure.
"She is," Lee said.
"I think now is not the time to be lying to me," Mike said softly. He nodded, and one of the men brought him a knife from the table. He took it and examined it before resting the blade against her throat under his hand.
Toll
He was feeling very out of control, and he hated it. He needed to know that Norah was alright. He needed her out of that situation and safe at home. He felt like this was his fault somehow, that because he was finally happy, the universe decided to rip it away from him and make her get hurt as payback.
"We'll get her," Gunner promised him now, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We will, man."
Toll didn't say anything back. He had no words to say anyway. He sure as hell hoped that Lee was making sure Norah was not getting hurt right now.
Lee
"Leave her out of this," Lee ordered as he glared at his opponent threatening to kill Norah. "This is between you and me."
"It is, and this is how I hurt you," the other man said. "I already know that hurting you has zero effect. If I hurt her, though, you'll fold like a house of cards."
"She's nothing to me," Lee tried. He hoped Norah knew he was lying to try and save her. She had her eyes closed with tears leaking out of them now.
"You always were the worst liar," the other man scoffed. "Even our parents knew that."
Lee ground his jaw slowly. He noticed Norah had opened her eyes again and was looking at him confused again.
"Well, Ben, you always made it very clear they were your parents," Lee said. He saw Norah's eyes show more shock upon hearing his name, and he gathered Ben had told her a different name. He wondered how long Ben had been interacting with Norah, if he had at all. He tried to recall if Norah had mentioned anyone new to him, but he came up empty.
"They were," Ben agreed. "I will never understand what made them decide to bring home you two vagrants. I had it going good until that happened."
"Ever heard of having a heart?"
"I've never had one," Ben snorted. "How's Link anyway? Oh, right..."
"Don't you dare say his name," Lee growled, fists clenched again.
"You do know I was really aiming for you, right?"
The sound of brakes squealing and glass smashing entered Lee's mind on cue. He would never get that out of his head. Ever.
"What do you want?" Lee asked angrily. "Just spit it out already."
"I want my money," Ben answered. "If you lie to me, she bears the consequence of it."
"I don't have it," Lee said firmly. Quick as a flash, Ben slashed Norah's left shoulder through her shirt, making her scream through her gag. Lee did his best not to scream with her. He knew Ben would inflict as much pain without killing her for as long as he had to. He wasn't going deep yet, but he knew that was coming eventually.
"Let's try again," Ben suggested. "Where's my money, Lee?"
"I donated it," Lee answered. "To the orphanage where your mother picked me and my brother up." Another slash. Another scream. The look on Ben's face as he watched Norah writhe in pain made Lee feel very sick. His adopted brother was clearly enjoying it.
"Leland," Ben said impatiently. "You're hurting her. Can't you see that?"
"How about you hurt someone your own size?" Lee challenged. Ben rolled his eyes, and Lee got punched in the face by Hugo. He got punched a few more times all over before Ben signaled for him to stop.
"Feel better?" he asked Lee.
"Never felt so alive," Lee answered, spitting out more blood.
"Let's try again," Ben said, putting his knife away. It made Lee feel anxious. What was he going to do to Norah now? "Where is my money?"
"Long gone."
"Did you know that some people enjoy getting choked?" Ben asked, running his fingers up and down Norah's neck. "Apparently it enhances pleasure. Who knew?"
"Stop it," Lee ordered, straining his hands. Ben smiled as Norah twisted to get away from him. He wrapped his fingers around her throat and applied some pressure, making Norah elicit sounds of terror.
"All you have to do is tell me where my money is, and I stop," Ben reasoned. "It's that simple." Lee felt agony inside as Norah's feet started banging against the floor when Ben squeezed a bit harder.
"It's in the basement," he said loudly.
"No, I looked everywhere in that house," Ben said, shaking his head. "Try again."
"Under the trap door in the basement," Lee said. "Under the bed." Ben released his hold, and Norah gasped in air.
"Hm, apparently I missed that. Interesting. Oh well. Was that so hard?" Ben asked, pulling out his phone to call someone who was apparently at Lee's house waiting. Norah was still crying, and Lee felt horrible inside. He was failing her in a way he thought he could avoid. This was the entire reason he hadn't given in and told her he loved her.
Ben patted Lee's shoulder as he passed. He took Hugo with him to wait in the hall for an answer from his man on the ground at Lee's house. Lee knew he didn't have a lot of time before Ben discovered his money was not down there. He hadn't lied. He really had donated it. He kept moving his right hand, trying to create wiggle room to pull it out, but it wasn't working so well. His heart ached to know his adopted parents were dead now because of Ben. When his father hadn't written him again or answered him, he'd tried so hard to believe that his father had just cut ties to keep himself safe.
After five minutes, Ben returned, and he stopped in front of Lee. It was clear that he knew Lee had lied.
"Did you know that I tried to suffocate you a week after you were brought home?" he asked.
"I remember," Lee said.
"Your brother ratted me out after catching me. A moment later and you wouldn't be here right now."
"What's your point?" Lee asked, knowing there was one.
"I just enjoy recreating fond memories," Ben replied. "But first..." He punched Lee in the face as hard as he could, making his head snap back. Norah started screaming again the more Ben hit him. Lee didn't care. He was just relieved he wasn't beating on her. After the last punch, Ben turned to Norah.
"Do you really want me to beat her up too?" he asked Lee.
"You really are demented," Lee retorted.
"We always knew that," Ben agreed. "How's Caesar, by the way? I hope his little girl is alright. She's really lucky, you know. An inch to the right and she'd be dead."
Lee ground his jaw as he looked at Ben. Of course it had been him. He'd been behind all of this. What was the reason, though? There had to be a reason. It didn't make sense to Lee. Ben didn't play games usually.
"I had to get you out of the house somehow," Ben said, reading his mind. "I needed to learn all about you. And her."
Lee tensed as Ben smoothed a hand over Norah's head now.
"I wanted to find my money first, too, but that was a bust. So, I went to plan B. I faked an assault on her by my friend over there and saved her to get her to trust me. See, she thinks I'm this loser guy named Mike who buried his best friend and is misunderstood by everyone. Once I played to her weakness for helping others and being a weirdo, I had her. She came her very willingly tonight."
The scrapes on her hands. Lee looked at Norah and wondered why the hell she hadn't told him it had involved someone trying to hurt her. He didn't understand it at all. He would have been much more prepared for this if she had.
"Oh, and Lee?" Ben said, resting his head next to Norah's. "She tastes amazing. I totally get it."
Lee felt like his teeth might break if he clenched them any harder. Norah had another tear leak out and trail down her cheek. What the hell had happened? Lee was trying to understand.
"Alright," Ben said, picking Norah up now. "Maybe I don't get my money, but I'll get the satisfaction of knowing that you'll never breathe air again once I'm done with you." Lee was picked up by Hugo after being freed and rebound, and they were marched to the front of the yacht, Norah being carried.
He had a pretty bad feeling about what was coming next.
Norah
Never in her life had she ever experienced anything like this. Her shoulder was bleeding and aching. Her throat was aching. Her heart was aching. Lee getting beaten was emotional torture. He never made a sound, though, every time Ben hit him. They were at the front of the boat now, which had stopped, and she was feeling very scared about how this was all going to end.
"Last chance, Lee," Ben said. "Where's my money?"
"I told you. I gave it away," Lee answered. "It's not my fault you won't believe me." She couldn't tell if he was lying or not. She didn't think he would, not with their lives at stake.
"Alright," Ben said, moving her to the edge. She did her best to put the brakes on with her bound feet, but he was stronger than her and easily got her there. "Her death is on you, just like Link's."
Norah was watching as Lee seemed perfectly calm, the bright lights of the yacht making her squint. Then she saw the red laser dot land on the chest of the one man holding him. She felt puzzled, and then she realized Lee's team must be coming to the rescue. Her eyes met Lee's, and he mouthed one word to her:
Duck.
She yanked out of Ben's grip and landed on her side on the floor of the boat as bullets started to fly. She saw Lee twist around and manage to get a hold of his captor's knife, freeing himself. His speed and agility while dodging bullets was incredible. She watched in horror as Hugo began attacking him, but Lee managed to duck and dodge and shove his knife into Hugo's throat before too long. Norah was pretty sure she would never forget the gurgling sound Hugo made while trying to breathe through all that blood. Lee and Ben started to fight next, and she started to move and try to get something to cut herself free. She cried out when Lee got thrown and landed hard on the boat deck. Then, Ben wove through the chaos towards her, grabbed her, and pulled her back up, aiming a gun in Lee's direction, so she screamed to get Lee's attention. He turned just as Ben aimed and fired at him. He was struck in the shoulder, and the impact made him stumble backwards. Norah screamed his name through her gag, feeling her heart break, as Ben pulled her to the edge. She was so sure Lee was going to die right in front of her. He didn't fall over, though, and he held up the knife in his hand as he stared down Ben.
"Too bad you'll never save her," Ben said before shoving her off the boat.
Lee
He didn't give it a second thought as he threw the knife in his hand towards his adoptive brother. The knife landed in Ben's chest, and Ben's eyes widened slightly as he fell backwards and off the nose of the boat after Norah. Lee reached to take down another gunman and yanked the flashlight out of the man's belt before running to the nose of the boat, doing a swan dive into the darkness below.
Toll
"Barney!" Toll shouted as he saw Norah get thrown off the boat. He lowered his rifle as Gunner finished off the remaining gunmen. They'd snuck aboard a few moments before, and just in time too.
"Yea, yea," Barney said. "Go. We got this." He hurried ahead with Gunner following behind. Toll ran for the side of the boat, seeing Lee dive off the nose of the boat before he could jump himself. He ran for Tool's boat instead, planning on finding them to pull them out. He'd jump in too if he had to.
Norah
She had inhaled as deeply as she could before going under, kicking her legs hard and regretting getting them bound from trying to kick Hugo earlier. It wasn't getting her back to the surface, which caused some panic. She couldn't get her hands free, and she started to see flashes of her life before her eyes. She sank further, the surface getting farther away. Her brain was going a million miles an hour. She'd never see Oscar grow up. She'd never see her sister get married. She'd never have kids. She'd never get to do or see all the things she wanted to do and see before she died. And her father...she'd never see him again; he'd be so devastated.
She felt her vision start to darken the longer she held her breath, but she knew breathing in wasn't an option. She was starting to feel light headed when a blinding light hit her and a pair of hands grabbed her. She couldn't really see who was there, but they were pulling her upwards. Her brain said to kick her feet to help, but her body wasn't listening.
When they broke the surface, her automatic reflex was to breathe in and breathe in deep. She was gasping around her gag, trying to get more air in.
"It's alright," Lee's voice said, tugging it off so she could breathe easier. "You're alright."
Norah didn't have words to say. She was still gasping but was now crying and shaking as well. She felt him holding her as he tread water, the flashlight digging into her back. She saw his shoulder in the semi-light and all the blood there.
"Y-You're bleeding," she said, her teeth banging together from shock.
"I know," he answered.
"Aren't there s-sharks?" she asked, feeling terror again. Lee said nothing as he started to swim, pulling her along with him. "Lee!"
"It's fine," he said.
"Oh my God, we're going to die," Norah moaned. She started to hyperventilate and freak out when Lee suddenly grabbed her face and sank his lips onto hers. Her brain stopped panicking and started calming down almost instantly. He pulled back and looked at her, and she looked at him, barely noticing the spotlight on them.
"Lee," she started.
"I know," he said back. A boat pulled alongside them after a few moments.
"Need a lift?" Toll asked from above.
"Yea," Lee answered. He pushed Norah up, and Toll hauled her out first. He pulled Lee out next. Norah was looking at Lee as Toll untied her hands and feet before picking her up into a hug. She closed her eyes, trying to feel his comfort.
"You feeling alright?" Toll asked Lee after pulling back from Norah.
"Fine."
"Good," Toll said, and he punched Lee right in the face.
"NICK!" Norah shouted, appalled. Lee had fallen over from the impact, and he coughed. She went over to him and crouched next to him, placing her hands on his shoulder.
"I'm fine," Lee told her.
"You know what you did," Toll said to him angrily.
"What did he do?" Norah asked, looking up at him.
"It calmed her down," Lee said, massaging his jaw. "She was panicking."
Norah realized Toll had seen Lee kiss her and was angry about it. This made her angry. She got to her feet and stood in his face.
"We almost get killed, and you're upset because he kissed me? Are you serious right now?!" she exploded.
"I'm just making it clear," Toll said defensively.
"You could have really hurt him! He's been punched in the face a thousand times tonight already!"
"He's tough."
"I can't even look at you right now," Norah said, turning away from him and going into the cab of the boat.
"Norah," Toll tried.
"Don't!" she yelled at him, disappearing. Toll started to drive the boat without saying another word, but his jaw was clenched. Lee approached her and started examining her wounds. She let him without a sound. Her shoulder still hurt, but she soon realized they weren't critical cuts. She shivered to think how far Ben could have gone, though. She wondered what made him spare her from all the tools on that table.
"I'm sorry," he said to her as she looked at him. "This was why I wanted you away from me."
"It didn't really matter, did it?"
"No," he said softly.
"Was he really your brother?"
"Adopted brother, yes. He always hated me and Lincoln. He was a drug runner and made a lot of money. I shut his business down, and one day, he came after us and ran us off the road, killing Lincoln as revenge. There was enough evidence to prove he'd done it maliciously; a witness had seen it after all, so he was put in jail. He was released recently on good behavior with a motive for revenge against me."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about him," Norah said. "I'd just met him last night, and he seemed genuine. He said his best friend had died, who was actually his father. He said his wife had left him..."
"His wife did leave him because he went to jail and she found out what he was doing. That made him hate me much more than usual. And from the sounds of it, he killed his father and mother...my adoptive parents."
"Oh my God," Norah moaned, pressing a hand to her eyes. "He was the one who saved me from my attacker last night. I thought he was legit a good guy, but I guess that was his plan all along."
"Why the hell didn't you tell me about it? About him?" Lee asked, sounding a little angry.
"I...I really don't know. I didn't want you to worry about me...and Mike...sorry, Ben...seemed harmless."
"Shit, Norah, that is not something you should ever hide from me, okay? Never."
"I'm sorry," she whispered. Toll was slowing them down now, and she saw that Barney and Gunner were jumping down into the boat from the yacht. Barney had a detonator in his hand.
"Everyone good?" he asked, looking around.
"For now," Lee answered. He was still cleaning up her wounds, which she saw weren't as deep as she thought. It still hadn't felt good, though.
"We fished him out," Barney advised, referring to Ben. "This'll just look like a mechanical error. There won't be anything left of any of them to show they died another way."
Lee just nodded his head, and Norah felt slightly sick. It didn't last long, though. Those men had intended to kill her.
"You've been shot," Gunner noted, looking at Lee now.
"I'm working on it," Lee replied, finishing with her and removing his shirt next to deal with his wound. She saw that it had grazed his shoulder; the blood just made it look worse than it was. Barney had taken over driving, and Toll joined them and put a protective arm around her. She was still mad at him for punching Lee, though, and pulled away from him.
She jerked from fright as an explosion sounded behind them when they were farther away.
"It's over, right?" Toll asked Lee now. "You're in the clear now?"
"Yea," Lee answered, looking away from him. He finished taping gauze to himself and pulled his shirt back on even though it was wet. Norah stood hugging herself. Her mind was racing. She had no idea what to do or think right now.
When they got back to the marina, she refused Toll's hand and got out by herself. She started to walk, not caring where she ended up.
"Norah!" Toll called after her. She didn't stop. Only when Barney's truck pulled alongside her a moment later did she slow her pace a little.
"Hop in," Barney said.
"No thanks," she replied.
"It's not a suggestion."
She stopped walking, and he hit the brakes and stopped too. They stared at each other, and she finally caved. She went to the other side and got in. She assumed Lee and Gunner were riding with Toll. She rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes.
She was just so tired.
Barney
All he could see was Marcy. After he got Norah in dry clothes and sitting across from him in his office, he looked at her face and saw his sister looking back at him. She'd been so broken after her experience, but Norah just looked numb with a hint of anger.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Yes," she answered.
"Please don't lie to me."
"I'm not."
"Yea, well your mother said she was fine too, but she lied...and look where that got her," Barney said a bit harsher than he intended.
"My mother?" Norah asked, confused. "What do you mean?" Barney sighed. He hadn't wanted to tell her this, but he felt he needed to. He needed her to understand how serious this was and that it could have detrimental effects on her.
"Someone was after me," he started. "And to get to me, they used your mother. She was my sister...the only person I had in my life. They knew it would break me. They hurt her, Norah. They hurt her badly."
"Oh my God," Norah whispered.
"She was never the same after," Barney continued. "She sunk into a depression off and on a lot. She met your dad and had you girls, but that didn't help her. None of us could save her, but it was my fault. I'm the reason your mother took her life, Norah. I failed her, and I failed you...right after telling your father I'd keep you safe no less."
He felt bad as his niece started to cry. He hadn't wanted to make this moment worse for her. He'd just wanted to help her understand.
"So I need to know," he said now. "I need to know if you're okay or not because I don't want to watch you sink to the bottom and take your own life because you really weren't okay and were just too damn proud or afraid or angry to say anything."
Norah looked at him again, her eyes wet. She took her sleeve and wiped the tears away a bit fiercely. Then she got to her feet.
"I'm fine," she said strongly. "You don't have to worry about me."
"Norah..."
"In fact," she went on over his voice, "you'll never have to worry about me again."
"What do you mean?"
"It means exactly as it sounds," she answered.
"Norah, I swear to God...if you're gonna go off yourself," he started, but she moved to stand right in front of him, shaking slightly.
"You're gonna what?" she challenged. "Kill me? You'd be too late."
"I'm being serious," Barney tried.
"So am I. I'm not my mother, Barney," she said fiercely. "I'm not weak like that. Unlike my mother, I care too much about the people in my life to do that to them."
"Your mother wasn't weak," Barney argued.
"Well, she wasn't exactly strong, was she?" Norah countered. Barney could see it then, the anger towards Marcy in Norah's eyes for what she'd done. He understood it. Hell, he'd had many imaginary fights with Marcy since it happened.
"You wanna be mad at someone, then be mad at me," Barney advised. "If it weren't for me, she would never have gotten hurt and never would have sunk that low."
"Fine," Norah said. "Then I am very, extremely, incredibly angry at you. It's all your fault, and my father made the right choice in kicking you out of our lives. Goodbye, Barney." Then she walked out, and he stood to follow when he was stopped by Tool, who had been listening in the hall.
"Let her go," he advised. "She needs time to process what you just told her."
"I made it worse," Barney said, sighing again.
"A lot has happened to her tonight," Tool said. Barney looked to see Gunner embracing Victoria and Toll standing there looking helpless as Norah pushed past him. Lee was nowhere to be found.
"I know, and it's my fault," Barney started.
"You didn't know, so how can it be your fault?" Tool challenged.
"I should have made her leave," he argued. "I shouldn't have let her stay here and become so invested in all of us."
"She did that on her own, and there was nothing wrong with that."
"Only there was something wrong with it," Barney pointed out. "She almost died tonight."
"I'm too tired and too old to argue with you about this right now," Tool said. "Get some sleep, and we'll reconvene in the morning."
"I need to know where she went," Barney started. He still didn't entirely trust that she wasn't going to do something rash.
"She went home," Tool cut him off. "Where else?"
Barney started to wonder what kind of new problem was going to arise between Norah and Lee now that this was all over. He could only imagine.
Toll
Despite the relief that Norah was alive, he couldn't help but feel dread. He'd seen the way Norah had looked at Lee after that kiss in the water, and he just knew.
He knew.
"Norah!" he called after her as he ran to catch up to her once seeing her head for the door. The door hit him hard as he slid through it before it shut after her. "Norah, wait. Stop." He caught her arm and turned her to face him. "Let me drive you." He could tell she wanted to say no, but it was late, and she looked exhausted.
"Fine."
It was a quiet ride, and Toll could feel the conversation that was going to take place start to grow bigger the closer they got to Lee's place. The porch light was on; Lee knew she would be coming back. He noticed the tarp covered body off to the side and gathered that it was one of the leftover henchmen that had no idea what hit them when Lee got home. He knew Lee would deal with it later.
When he cut the engine, he just sat there not saying anything for a moment. Then he looked at her. She was crying.
"Norah," he said softly.
"I'm so sorry," she interrupted, looking at him now. "I really thought I could move on, but I can't."
"I see."
"I just want you to know that in some other time, some other place, if we had met, I think we could have had a wonderful story together," she said. "I think the right girl is out there waiting for you, and I hope you find her."
He felt his throat go tight, and he almost started to cry himself. He'd been so close to having something he'd desperately wanted: Someone to love and love him back.
"Thanks for trying," he managed to say.
"I'm sorry," she said again, her voice a whisper. He just shook his head and moved to pull her into a hug. She hugged him back, and he felt her tears soak into his shirt.
Then she was gone. Toll started the car again and pulled out of the driveway slowly. He felt like his heart was going to break into a thousand pieces.
He hoped Lee Christmas knew just how lucky he really was.
Norah
She walked into the house and found Lee standing there waiting for her. She had so many thoughts going through her head right now, but all she wanted was sleep. It was almost four in the morning now, and her body was done. She felt like she was in some sort of protective bubble, that her brain hadn't fully comprehended that she'd been hurt and almost died. It was also struggling with the knowledge that her mother had endured something like this herself. No wonder she'd taken her own life if it had been a lot worse than this. She felt so guilty for saying her mother was weak to Barney, but in that moment, she'd been angry. She'd been angry at her mother for a while but the guilt for that anger kept it from coming out fully. Norah understood why her father had banished Barney now. He hadn't wanted it to happen to her.
And yet it still had.
She felt bad for saying it was his fault and that her father had made the right choice sending him away. She didn't know how to come back from that, though. She wondered if he'd know she was just mad right now. And tired. God, she was so tired.
"Come on," Lee said, reaching for her hand. "Let's get you some sleep."
"They're all gone?" she asked. "For sure?"
"Yes," he promised. "It's all over. You're safe now."
She took his hand then, reassured, feeling his warmth go through her as his fingers enclosed over hers and he pulled her along with him to his bedroom. Her brain was heavy with sleep by the time she was horizontal and pressed against Lee's chest, his arms around her snugly and promising to keep her safe. In that moment, she just focused on Lee holding her while she fell asleep.
She'd deal with everything else tomorrow.