Just as Erin was about to say something, to protest that the children were innocent in all of this, that he could hurt her, but let Haley and the children go, the phone that Foyet had alluded to began to ring. Feeling a shiver of fear run up and down her spine, she gave a tight, tense, smile to everyone in the room as she waited for Foyet to answer. "Aaron, Aaron, Aaron, do I have a surprise for you. One second, let me put you on speaker, so that we can all chat together."
She watched as Foyet pulled the phone away from his ear and tapped on the screen, and then Aaron's voice was pouring out of the speaker. "You will not touch a hair on their heads."
"You don't get it, Aaron. I'm the one in charge here, and I decide what happens. As I've already told Haley and Erin, it is a shame that your children are going to D-I-E. Is the brat in Erin's belly yours?"
"Erin? Why are you there?"
"Because I was stupid and didn't call you or David after Foyet called me. Only, he didn't say it was him, he claimed to be a Marshal. The fear kicked in my flight reflex, and I'm here now. I'll do my best to protect everyone, but I don't have my service weapon."
There was a short pause before Aaron spoke once more. "No, Erin, I need you to focus on your baby. I'm on my way, the team will be right behind me. And then, everything will work out for good. We'll tell Jack and Elise the truth, and how much we love them, and how families are complicated and messy."
"Lie after lie after lie, Aaron. Is that why Haley left you? Because you could never tell the truth? I mean, I am looking at a very adorable lie of yours right now, and I must say that if my girlfriend told that outrageous a lie, I would have left her. Instead, I stabbed her, like I stabbed you. Like I might stab Haley and Erin. Haven't decided on that one yet."
That was the moment that Erin started to cry, realizing that this was most likely going to be her last few minutes on Earth. There was so much more that she wanted to do, so much she wanted to say to David and her children, and now it was going to be too late. Glancing over at Haley, she saw that the woman was crying as well, and she wished that she could close the distance between them once more, to comfort her in this moment. "Put Jack on the phone. Now."
There was real steel in Aaron's voice, and Erin shuddered a little, knowing that the man was going to try to move heaven and earth to reach them before Foyet hurt them. But she also knew that he was going to be too late. There was no way Foyet would let them go. "Here, Jackie boy, Daddy wants to talk to you."
Jack looked around the room at them, frowning a little to see that she and Haley were crying. "Hi, Daddy. Is George a bad guy?"
"Yeah, buddy, I'm afraid he is. But I need you to do something for me. While I talk to George and Aunt Erin and Mommy, will you and Elise work the case with me?"
"Of course, Daddy!" He got up and took hold of Elise's hand, dragging her over to Erin's side before hugging her tightly. Erin found herself loathe to let go of Jack, but then Elise was joining in the embrace, and she had to fight to hold in her sobs, not wanting to scare them any more than they might already be. "I love you," he lisped out before hurrying over to Haley's side, hugging her with the same abandon, Elise again joining in. Erin felt her heart break as she watched Haley tighten her hold on their children until Jack began to wriggle in her arms. "Mommy, you're holding on so tightly. Don't be sad, Elise and I are going to work the case, and Daddy will come and make everything all better."
"I just love you, both of you, so much," Haley cried out as she burst into the sobs that Erin wanted to cry. "Now go, work the case and make Daddy proud." He nodded as he shoved the phone into Haley's hand and dragged Elise out of the room, their feet thundering up the stairs. Foyet chuckled evilly, and Erin straightened her spine, determined to not break before this man. He might want to murder them, but she would not cower.
"I'll be right up there to play with you, Jackie boy. Occupy your sister while you wait!" he called out as he walked over to Haley's side, pulling out his gun and using the barrel to play with Haley's hair. The look Foyet fixed on her told her that if she even dared think about moving, he'd shoot Haley and then her so quickly, she wouldn't see it coming, and Erin swallowed back bile as her baby started to dance in her uterus, as if picking on her distress. Instinctively, she caressed her baby bump, sending up prayers that Aaron would be fast enough to save them from the fate she was certain to experience.
"Haley, are they gone?"
"Yes."
"Good. I know that you and Erin didn't sign on for all of this, and I am so sorry that I wasn't able to protect you both. I, I don't think that I'll make it in time. Haley, Erin, do not show him any fear. You are both far stronger than he will ever be. Haley, I love you."
"And I love you. Hurry, and I know that you can make it. But if, God forbid, the worst happens, tell your children about love. Let them know that their mothers loved them so much that they looked death in the eye and spit in his face. And as you raise Jack, let him see what love is like. Tell him that you weren't always this serious. Find a new love, move on, and raise them together. Dave will need your help, too, I think. After all, he'll have four children to help raise, and your best friend shouldn't go it alone. Promise me, Aaron."
"I promise, Haley. I will tell him all about our time together in high school, and how much he was wanted, and how dearly you loved him. And I'll do the same for Elise, I give you that same promise, Erin." Haley locked eyes with her once more, and she gave a sharp nod to the woman as she dug her fingers into the firm flesh of her belly, trying to connect with her beloved little one.
"Still with the lies, Aaron. I hope that they make you all feel better, but we all know the truth of the matter. I'm going to kill Haley, and then Erin, and finally hunt down both your little bastards. Before they die, they'll know that it didn't have to be this way. That you could have taken the deal I offered you and none of this would have happened. All you needed to do was not go after me. But you couldn't do that, you had to listen to your ridiculous sense of honor."
Before any of them could say another word, Foyet moved the gun, placing the barrel at the base of Haley's neck before pulling the trigger twice in quick succession, her body falling to the floor in front of Erin's eyes. Before she could move, or react, the gun went off once more, and she felt a searing pain tear through her shoulder before she, too, crumpled to the ground, the world fading to black as she was enveloped in a haze of overwhelming agony.
