Chapter 25 Lion's Den
The moment Carson walked out the door, I felt cold, I stood there for a long time, not knowing what to do. Fred watched me.
“You’re not really going to let him go alone, are you?” he asked.
I turned to him slowly. “I don’t want to,” I said. “But he told me not to follow,"I added.
Fred crossed his arms. “And you’re just going to listen to that?”he said.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I’m scared,"I said.
Fred picked up his phone. “Let’s track him,”he said.
I stared at him.
“You said his phone has a location on, right?” he asked.
I nodded slowly.
“Then we’ll follow from a distance,” he said. “Quietly. No shouting, no jumping in unless we have to.”he said.
“Okay,” I said. “But we'll stay back,"I replied.
“Promise,” Fred replied.
We followed the little blue dot on Fred’s phone screen. Carson was driving to the edge of town, near the old storage lots.
The place looked empty on the map, but I didn’t like it. Not one bit.
“Why would she ask him to meet here?” I asked.
“Because she doesn’t want witnesses,” Fred said. “This place is perfect for a setup,”he added.
“Do you think she’ll hurt him?” I asked.
Fred didn’t answer right away.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I wouldn’t trust her,”he added.
—
When we got close, Fred parked behind a tall fence. We couldn’t see much from the car, so we got out quietly and walked around the edge. I kept my phone in my hand, the screen still showing Carson’s location. He was just up ahead.
“I think he’s inside that old warehouse,” Fred whispered.
The place looked half-broken. One side of the roof was caved in, and the windows were covered with old wooden planks.
“Let’s go slow,” I said.
We moved quietly. My heart was beating so hard, I could feel it in my throat.
Then not long after we heard Carson's voice, conversing with her.
“No police. I’m alone, just like you asked,” he said.
We stopped and crouched behind some barrels, I peeked through a small hole in the wall.
Carson was standing inside and Bridget was there too. She wore a long black coat, and her hair was tied back. She looked calm—but too calm.
“You came,” she said.
“I want answers,” Carson said.
Bridget laughed softly. “Still brave, even now,” she said.
Carson stepped closer. “What is this about?”he said.
Bridget then pulled a small flash drive out of her coat.
“I came to give you this,” she said.
“What’s on it?” Carson asked.
“Proof,” she replied. “More than what you found. Greg’s real plans. The rest of the money. The blackmail tapes. Everything,”she added.
“Why now?” Carson asked. “Why help me now?”
Bridget looked away. For a second, she looked… sad.
“Because I lost,” she whispered. “I lost everything. Greg used me, promised me power, love… a future.”she said.
“And you believed him?” Carson asked.
“I did,” she said. “I thought you’d come back to me one day. I thought maybe you’d see I was better than her,”she replied.
My heart stopped, she meant me.
“I never loved you, Bridget,” Carson said softly. “I told you that,”he said.
Bridget laughed again, but it sounded broken.
“I know,” she said. “But it still hurts,”she added.
Then suddenly, footsteps echoed loud and fast.
Bridget looked up sharply.
“What’s that?” Carson asked.
Bridget turned toward the back door.
“No,” she whispered. “Not yet,”she added.
Suddenly gunshots exploded, we ducked low behind the barrels outside.
“What the—” Fred said.
Carson shouted, “Get down!”he shouted.
Men in black masks rushed into the warehouse. I couldn’t see their faces. One had a gun. Another carried a metal bat.
Bridget screamed.
“Greg sent them!” she shouted.
Carson ran to her and pulled her down.
“You set me up?” he yelled.
“No!” Bridget screamed. “I didn’t know they’d follow me. I was trying to help—”she screamed.
“Shut up!” one of the masked men shouted, swinging his bat at Carson.
Carson blocked it with his arm and groaned in pain.
Fred grabbed my hand.
“We have to do something,” he said.
“No!” I said. “We can’t go in there—”i said.
Another shot rang out.
“Let's go!” Fred shouted.
He kicked the door open, and we rushed inside.
“HEY!” Fred screamed.
One of the masked men turned and pointed the gun at us and I froze.
But Bridget jumped up and threw a broken chair at him.
“RUN!” she shouted.
Fred grabbed a metal rod and hit the man’s hand. The gun flew out and slid across the floor.
Carson tackled the last man and held him down and finally, everything went quiet.
The masked men were either knocked out or running away. Carson was breathing hard, and so was every other person.
I ran to him and held his face.
“You’re okay?” I asked.
He nodded, then hugged me tight.
“I told you not to come,” he said softly.
“I had to,” I whispered. “I couldn’t let you face this alone.”
He smiled weakly. “You saved me,”he said.
I looked at Bridget. She sat on the floor, crying softly.
“You didn’t know they were coming?” I asked.
She shook her head. “They tracked me. Greg’s done with me. I’m nothing to him now,”she added.
Carson picked up the flash drive.
“This… this better be worth it,” he said.
“It is,” she said. “It’s everything. I was part of the plan, I helped them hide things, move money, and fake reports. I even followed you… listened to your calls. But then… you changed. You became more than what they expected, ”she added.
“And you?” I asked.
“I was jealous,” she said. “But now… I just want to survive.”she added.
Fred called the police. They arrived in minutes and the men were taken. Bridget was taken too, but she didn’t fight it.
Before she got into the police car, she looked at Carson one last time.
“I did love you,” she said.
He didn’t reply.
She got in, and the car drove away.
That night, we didn’t talk much, Carson’s arm was bruised and I helped him wrap it with a bandage, while Fred stayed in the guest room.
We sat together on the couch, quiet.
“We almost died,” I whispered.
“But we didn’t,” he said. “We’re still here. Still together.”he added.
I leaned on his shoulder.
“Let’s finish this,” I said. “Let’s bring them all down.” I replied.
He nodded.
“Together,” he said.
And for the first time in a long time, I felt stronger even with fear, and even with scars.
Because we still had each other.
And we still had a fight to win.