Chapter 59: Good girls tell no lies
'Is it easier when you don't have to start again? When you don't want to make amends? I want to know that feeling.'
-Chvrches,'Good Girls.'
Joel didn't even let his horse fully stop before he jumped off it. He saw Ellie and Lizzie out in the field. He yelled for them to come back to the house.
He ran into the house frantically, finding Becca and Betsy sitting in the living room.
Becca's eyes widened when she saw the distressed look on his face,'What's wrong?'
Joel swallowed harshly and shook his head,'Ralph's dead. He was found tied to his horse.' He took a deep breath to calm himself,'They carved into his chest they're coming.'
Becca nodded resolutely as she took a moment to figure out what to do. She always knew this moment was going to come. She thought she mentally prepared herself for it. Nothing could prepare her for this.
There was a real possibility herself, Joel or Ellie might die. They could all be killed. This could end up going so badly.
She shook her head, ridding her mind of those emasculating thoughts. She couldn't think like that. Not right now. Not when they had so much to live for.
Betsy sighed and placed her hand on her back,'I'm gonna be right here with you, baby. I'm not gonna leave you.'
Becca nodded as Joel dropped down to his knees in front of her. He took her hands and held them tightly. She could see the fear in his eyes. He was scared too.
'I ain't gonna let nothin happen to ya.' He squeezed her hands tightly,'I can promise ya that. I won't let them touch you or Ellie.'
'What about you?' She searched his face and took a deep breath to keep calm for their baby,'Who's going to protect you?'
He didn't know how to answer that. No one's ever asked him that question before. He's always been used to taking care of himself. He didn't just have himself to worry about anymore.
Ellie and Lizzie came running into the living room. Ellie looked at the adults' faces in the room. Something was wrong.
'What's going on?' Ellie sighed as she held onto Lizzie's hand tightly,'They're coming aren't they?'
Joel's eyes widened in surprise. The teenager was more perceptive than people gave her credit for. She was stronger too. She needed to be.
Joel nodded as he got up and walked over to Ellie, holding his face in her hands,'Remember what we talked about?'
She nodded determinedly as she looked over at Becca,'We stay together and protect each other.'
'Damned right we do.' He sighed,'Tommy's gathering as much men as he can to protect Jackson.' He shook his head,'I don't think they'll be able to breach without getting killed.'
'We don't even know how many there are.' Becca frowned,'There could be hundreds for all we know.'
She placed her hands over her stomach, contemplating the next steps. She was determined to see this through. She wanted their baby to be born into peace not violence.
Becca averted her eyes between Joel and Ellie,'I'm going to get dressed in something more comfortable. Then I'm gonna get my weapons and kill anyone who tries to come here.'
'No.' He shook his head adamantly,'Absolutely not. I need you to be safe. They can't know you're pregnant.' He stared at her desperately,'They can't. I can't have ya out there. If something were to happen and I can't protect ya…' He met her gaze,'Tommy has an underground bunker you can and Ellie can stay in.'
'Fuck that.' Ellie seethed as he let go of Lizzie's hand,'This is my fight too, Joel. I'm not a baby anymore. I can shoot just as good as you. You taught me.'
'I'm with her.' Becca sighed,'I can't just hide and let others fight my battles for me. We brought this trouble here.'
Betsy snorted and shook her head,'Bullshit. You didn't bring trouble into this town. I've been here for almost fifteen years. This town has always been corrupt. They just hide better than others. The council controls everything. They know everything.' She narrowed her eyes,'They killed Richard because he was gonna expose them.'
Joel and Becca shared a knowing look. They've always had suspicions Richard died under mysterious circumstances. He was older, but she had been his nurse. He was in excellent health and in great shape for a seventy year old man. He shouldn't have just died like that without warning.
Sharon said it was a heart attack and declined an autopsy. They would be fighting for Richard's memory too. He meant a lot to them.
Joel toyed with Richard's wedding band around his finger, remembering what Tommy told him earlier. They executed people and controlled them. Jackson was no better than a QZ. They just put painted a pretty picture.
The council needed to be gone if Jackson was going to thrive.
'I heard Sharon talking to Aaron the other day.' Lizzie grabbed Ellie's hand as everyone looked at her,'Sharon was afraid of something. She said they weren't going to be happy when they found out.' She cleared her throat,'I didn't understand what she meant by that. I still don't.'
Becca felt the anger rising within her at each passing second. She got up from the couch and sighed,'I'm going to get changed.'
She walked out of the living room and up the stairs to their bedroom. She heard Joel's heavy boots walking up the stairs. She sighed exasperatingly as she went through her closet. She knew he wasn't happy with her decision to fight. He would just have to get over it.
Joel walked into the bedroom as she took a flannel off the hanger,'I don't want to hear it, Joel. I made my decision.'
'And I'm your husband.' He placed his hands on his hips, staring at her,'You're having my baby. Don't I get a fuckin say?'
She slowly turned around to face him and threw her flannel and leggings on the bed,'Is this the part where you tell me I should obey you?'
He snorted and shook his head,'You and I know that ain't gonna fuckin happen.' He walked closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders,'What if something happens to ya?' He swallowed the lump in his throat,'I refuse to lose ya, Becca. If…I lost ya I don't know what I would do. I wouldn't be able to do this…'
He cringed at how much a pussy he sounded. As if his happiness relied on her, but in a way it did. She brought joy into his life. He wouldn't be able to go on without her. He would leave Ellie an orphan.
She sighed and held his face in her hands,'I'm not gonna die, husband. We've fought too hard for this. I'm not going out there guns blazing.' She nodded,'I wouldn't jeopardize our child, but I will defend you and Ellie. Our home. We've fought too hard for this. I've spent too much of my life being complacent. I refuse to be a victim anymore. I'm through with running. Anyone who tries to hurt you or Ellie is going to get a bullet in them.'
His shoulders slumped dejectedly, knowing there wasn't any way to change her mind. He wouldn't dare take this away from her. This was her dignity and pride. He understood that better than anybody.
He rested his forehead against hers and placed his hands on her stomach,'What did I do to deserve ya?'
'You fought for us. You gave me a choice. You got me out of Silver Lake.'
He sighed and stroked her cheeks,'You don't owe me anything.'
She sat on the edge of the bed as he dropped down on his knees between her legs,'You're right. I don't owe you anything.' She looked over his face,'I love you so much. I love our family and our life together. I want to keep it.'
He placed his hands on her legs and squeezed them gently,'There's a lot of reasons why ya shouldn't love me.' He averted his eyes downward,'Ya coulda went to California and got the hell away from me.'
'They would always find me, Joel.' She ran her hands through his hair,'I'm exactly where I want to be. I know you've made mistakes. So have I.' She shook her head,'None of that shit matters anymore. The bullshit we've put each other through the last five years. The only thing that matters is our future.'
He kissed her lips softly before pressing his lips all over her face tenderly, whispering,'I love you so much. We're gonna be okay. We're gonna get through this and have our baby.' He bent his head down and kissed her stomach, whispering,'I love our baby so much, Becca. So fuckin much already.'
She stroked his hair and smiled tearfully,'So do I. We've been through worse.' She shook her head and sighed,'What do we do? Do we stay here?'
He kissed her stomach before standing up and letting out a deep sigh. It was back to business,'This is as good of a place as any.' He shrugged,'I think it's better we stay here and hunker down for now. We're keeping watch. We'll know when they're coming. Ain't no one coming yet. At least for now.
She got up and took off her dress to change. His eyes looked down to her stomach. Her body was still slender, but her stomach was much bigger, her skin stretched and taunt. He always knew she would be a beautiful pregnant woman.
His beautiful wife. He would make sure she saw this through. He would die if it meant protecting them. He would gladly give his life up for them. He wasn't about to tell her that though.
She buttoned up her flannel and nodded,'So we wait?'
'Yeah.' He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest,'There's guarding the ranch. Maria's gonna come with the baby. We all need to be together.'
She sat back on the edge of the bed to put on her leggings. He smirked slightly as she struggled to bend over. He went over to over and crouched down, silently helping her pull them up her legs.
He snorted as his eyes trailed up her legs,'Ya wanna be all Clint Eastwood and ya can't even pull up your pants.'
She chuckled slightly and playfully kicked his chest,'Fuck you. My aim's always been better than yours anyway.'
His eyes rested on her stomach and he grinned,'Not from where I'm sitting.'
She rolled her eyes at his lame joke. She got up from the bed and took his hand, squeezing it tightly,'You going to stay here too or be like a cat on a hot tin roof?'
'I can't just sit around.' He shook his head,'That ain't me, but I ain't leavin tonight if that's what you're asking. Tommy's coming with the boys. We're gonna plan things out. We can't go into this without a plan.'
'I hope you know that Maria and I plan to sit in on these discussion with the boys. That includes Betsy, Ellie and Lizzie too.' She frowned,'We're not some fainting women, Joel. We've fought just as hard as men. Maria lost her husband. All of her children. So did Betsy. All but Am. Ellie lost Riley and her mother. Lizzie's whole entire family wiped away. I've lost my entire family.' She sighed and held his face in her hands,'We've managed to build lives for ourselves. We've created families. You're damned right we're going to fight to keep it.'
He nodded as they walked out of the bedroom,'When this is all over we're getting married all over again. It ain't gonna be hidden away in some barn neither.' He glanced back at her as they headed down the stairs,'We're gonna have a wedding right in the damned field of our farm for everyone to see. We'll invite the whole damned town. Then I'm takin ya back to Arrowhead for the weekend.'
They stopped at the bottom of the stairs as he turned around to face her,'I'm gonna fuck ya on every fuckin surface of that cabin like I wanted to back then.'
Her eyes widened at the determined tone in his voice. She knew what he was doing. He was making sure their future was cemented. He wasn't doubting they wound survive this. She hoped he was right.
This couldn't be the end. It couldn't all be for naught. If there was such a thing as a God-would he be this this cruel?
She kissed him softly and stroked his goatee, whispering,'You tell me the date and I'll be there.'
There was a loud knock on the door, interrupting their tender moment. They both stared at each other in alarm. Ellie came running out into the vestibule, rifle aimed in front of her face.
Joel couldn't help but smile proudly. As a father, he should be concerned his daughter was so comfortable with weapons. This was a different world and time. It was a dog eat dog world out there.
Becca grabbed her rifle as Joel took out his pistol. Joel headed to the door first and looked out the peephole.
He sighed in relief when he saw Tommy and Maria holding Sebastian.
'It's good.' He turned to his girls and gave them a small smile,'It's just Tommy.'
Becca and Ellie lowered their weapons, shouting out into the living room,'Everything's okay! It's Tommy!'
Becca smiled to herself and shook her head. The teenager was better at being in a relationship than them. Becca could learn a thing or two from her.
Joel unlocked the door as Tommy and Maria walked in. Ellie immediately took Sebastian and went into the living room to bring him to Betsy.
They all went into the kitchen while they waited for the rest of Tommy's men. Becca always considered them to be Joel's men as well. He's led these guys for five years. He trained a lot of the guys. He made them better marksmen. They looked up to him.
It was about damned time her husband earned some respect around here too.
Maria and Tommy dropped four duffel bags onto the kitchen table and unzipped them. Becca and Joel's eyes widened as they looked over the various assailant rifles and AK47s. There were also a couple sniper rifles.
Joel's eyes gleamed with glee as he picked up the AK47. He ran his fingertips over the sleek metal and shook his head in disbelief,'I always wanted to shoot one of these.'
Tommy nodded and smirked,'I know right? I love shooting this thing. I feel like fucking Rambo.'
Joel's eyes were filled with awe as he inspected the engineering of the weapon,'I wanna test this baby out later.'
Becca and Maria looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Boys and their toys.
Becca bumped his shoulder, murmuring so only he could hear,'You never looked at me like that.'
He smirked as he glanced over to her, whispering,'Ya ain't blown a head off with just a single shot.'
He saw her eyes lower down to his crotch and crossed her arms over her chest,'I haven't?'
His eyes widened as he went to say something, but choked. He honest to God started coughing. She flustered him. She was the only woman to render him speechless.
'You okay, baby?' Maria frowned,'You sound like Doc Holliday.'
Tommy laughed at the reference of one of his favorite movies. He really loved his wife. She brought humor into everything. He had a fight in this too. So did she.
'I'm fine.' Joel shook his head as he placed the gun on the table,'Thanks for this. We appreciate it.'
Becca looked up at Tommy and frowned,'You don't have to do this. It isn't your fight.'
'Damn right it is.' He shook his head,'This is our fight just as much as it is yours. We're fighting for our freedom. They killed our friends. They brought this fight to us.' He shrugged,'They want it? We'll give it to them.'
Joel's eyes became watery as he hugged his brother tightly, whispering,'Thank you.' He gripped the back of his coat as he kissed his cheek,'Thank you so much.'
Becca saw the appreciation on her husband's face. He knew he couldn't do this alone. He was grateful to have his brother's willingness to help him.
Maria went over to Becca and wrapped her arms around her, whispering,'It's gonna be okay. You and your baby are gonna be fine. We're gonna kick some ass like we did back at that base.'
She smiled sadly as she held on Maria. She remembered being so scared she was going to die that day. She would never be able to let Joel or Ellie know how much she loved them. She had been so angry at Tess. She didn't feel regret in killing her. Only that she made it too easy. Too quick for the pain she put Joel through.
'I'm not as fit as I used to be.' Becca snorted,'Got some extra cargo.'
'That rifle works just fine.' Maria snorted,'As good of aim as you got? That sniper rifle's gonna come in handy.'
Joel overheard the conversation and smiled proudly. His woman was a hell of a shooter. She had surprised him at the Firefly hospital. He recalled her bravery and the way she expertly shot those men to defend him. After being abused and raped, she kept her mind focused on the task at hand. She didn't falter. Him or Ellie wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for her.
He fell in love with her that day at the hospital. There was no doubt about it. He saw her in a different light. Her strength.
She wasn't some wilted flower like he thought. She had been afraid, but she never stopped fighting for herself. For them.
There was a knock on the door. Joel went to to answer it while Tommy dutifully followed behind him. Just like old times. The Miller brothers were about to wreck havoc again.
Now that the two women were alone, Maria placed her hand on her back,'Now that Joel isn't around. How are you feeling?'
'I'm scared.' She whispered admittedly as she closed her eyes,'I'm so scared I'm gonna lose him, Maria.'
'He isn't reckless like he used to be.' Maria shook her head,'I was never a fan of him in the beginning. I didn't hide the fact that I didn't trust him. When he came here with Ellie before he met you, he was…cynical, bitter and a mean son of a bitch. He still can be, but when he came back with you. He was different.'
She looked up at her and smiled softly,'How was he different?'
Maria took a moment to consider her question and shrugged,'He was calmer and…patient. When you first got here and locked yourself in your apartment, he stayed with you. He kept vigil outside every night, making sure you were alright and fed. I saw the way he cared about you and Ellie. He takes care of the people he loves. I can respect a man like that. He's a good man. Just like Tommy. They both have their faults.'
Becca snorted and shook her head,'We both have ours too.'
Maria laughed and nodded,'We sure do. We're a motley crew, but we're a family and we take care of each other.'
Becca nodded as Tommy and Joel walked back into the kitchen with five men walking behind them. She recognized them as being Tommy's best men. She's seen them around the ranch. She wasn't know if they knew she was pregnant, but they were going to find out.
Joel saw the men's eyes on Becca's stomach. He went to stand in front of her as his eyes fell on them slowly, one by one,'Any of ya say anything about this and I'll shoot ya dead. This is our business.'
They all looked over at Tommy who silently shrugged. He didn't have a a say in this. It wasn't his child or his wife. He would've done the same.
The men all nodded their heads in agreement as they affirmed their support and loyalty. They've been with Tommy through thick and thin. He hoped he could trust them, which he didn't do it easily. He didn't have a choice.
Lizzie, Betsy and Ellie walked into the kitchen. Betsy brought the baby over to his mother as she held him tightly. They all sat down to talk. The man stood while the women sat down at the table.
Tommy laid a map flat down on the table and braced his hands against it,'This is a map of the entire town.' He pointed to the small etched lines underneath,'Richard studied the blueprints. He went underneath the tunnels himself without any of his knowing.' He nodded as he stared hard at the map,'He saw something. He seemed shaken up, but wouldn't talk about it. He ended up dying a day later.'
Joel and Becca looked at each other. There was something amiss in this town. The council was hiding something dark and sinister. They could feel the chill running through their bones.'
Joel peered over his shoulder as he looked at the map. It was Greek to him,'What do ya think he saw?'
'I don't know.' Tommy shrugged as he looked back at him,'Only way to find out.'
Joel narrowed his eyes and nodded,'We'll leave at dawn.'
Becca sighed as she leaned back against the chair. Logically, she knew she couldn't go, but she didn't want her husband to go either. It would be the only way they could understand what was going on.'
'I'm coming too.' Ellie glared at him,'I can be useful and I won't get infected.'
Only two other people in the room understood what she meant. Becca understood the logistics of it.
Joel was uncomfortable with the idea, but knew she would just probably follow along anyway. Better he knew and could keep a firm eye on her.
He wasn't thrilled about leaving his wife alone either, but Maria, Lizzie and Betsy would be with her. She would be highly guarded. He would make sure of it.
Joel placed his hand on Becca's shoulder and leaned down, whispering,'It's the only way we're gonna know, Bec.'
She nodded as she placed her hand over his that was resting on his shoulder, smiling wryly,'Better bring the AK47.'
He smirked as he kissed the back of her head,'I already planned on it.'