it was all too easy to disappear. I knew that firsthand. Sooner or later the net would close in on Roberts. We could only hope it did before that Winchester fired again.
The Gazette' s sales had gone through the roof the last few days. The city hadn't seen such juicy copy in a long time, and people were buying up papers in droves. Between Athena
Paradis's murder, the turmoil at Franklin-Rees after Jeffrey
Lourdes's death, the NYPD wanting blood for Joe Mauser, and the societal fallout from David Loverne's murder, it was a gold mine for newshounds.
Joe Mauser's death had been relegated to the back pages.
A cop dying in the line of duty just didn't sell as many papers as a murdered pretty blond white girl. It was strange that this pissed me off so much, considering Joe Mauser's bullet had left a nasty scar on my leg. Just one year ago, Mauser wanted to kill me. I held no ill will toward the man. If someone had done to my family what he thought I'd done to his, I would have wanted blood, as well.
I got off the subway and began walking toward our apartment. The summer sun was dipping below the clouds, the shimmering towers of NewYork fading into night. The streets began to fill as people straggled home from work. Finally, after over a year I felt I was becoming a part of this city. It hadn't been easy, thanks to assholes like Frank Rourke. Since the dog crap prank, my desk had been left alone. I had gone along with it, laughed it up, threw it in the trash and left it at that. If you let guys like Frank know they'd drawn blood, they'd grow addicted to the taste. I could bleed on my own time.
I approached the apartment building and fished in my pocket for the key. I wondered if we should move to a safer neighborhood, live in a building with a doorman. Now that
Amanda was living with me I wasn't completely comfortable with her walking home alone, especially since most days she came home later than I did. I had to take care of the woman
I loved. Put her needs before mine. I was determined to prove
Jack wrong. I could balance work and relationships. I didn't have to give in just because he did. Jack was a legend, but an old school legend. I was strong. I could make it work.
As I turned the key in the lock, a voice broke the night and froze my blood. I recognized that voice, only now it was louder, angrier.
I heard it again, turned around. Saw several pedestrians staring up, up at the rooftops, their mouths open in masks of horror. A man dialed his cell phone frantically. A woman grabbed her son and ran.
Then I heard it again.
'Henry Parker!'
High above us, perched atop a four-story brownstone, illuminated by the moonlight, was William Henry Roberts.
One hand was empty. The other held a knife. The knife was held to Mya Loverne's throat.
'Mya!' I shouted. Her eyes were frightened beyond rational thought. Some sort of towel or cloth was in her mouth. I ran forward, then stopped.
'Parker!' Roberts cried again.
'Leave her alone!' I shouted, unsure of what else to do. I wasn't close enough to get to them. No cops were in sight.
Fucking Carruthers had pulled off my security detail, and now…
I called you, Henry.
Mya.
'This,' Roberts said, his voice a mixture of pathos and breathless glee, like a man taking perverse excitement in reprimanding a dog. 'This is what happens. I control information, not you, Parker. I give you history to write about. So consider this a present, Henry. From me to you.'
And with that, before I could react, before my weak legs could respond or my mouth could cry out, William pushed
Mya off the roof.
I shouted 'No!' as her body plummeted out of view. The horde of onlookers gasped. Mya disappeared into the alley behind the building. I ran toward it, then heard the most horrible sound of my life. A terrible thump as something hit the ground.
Then I looked up, and Roberts was gone.
I ran as fast as I could, the world around me disappearing in a blur. I sprinted into the alley, then covered my mouth in shock.
Mya was lying on the ground. Her eyes were open, staring at the sky. I could see a small pool of blood below her.
I ran over and grabbed her hand.
'No,' I whispered, frantically checking her wrists, her neck, anything. I thought I felt a pulse. Weak, but there. I could hear 911 calls being made somewhere behind me.
'Mya, please, oh please God say something. Don't you dare die. Don't you dare. Please. '
Then she blinked. Once, twice. Her mouth quivered. A noise came from her mouth, a small bubble of blood bursting over her lips.
'Somebody get an ambulance!' I shouted, wiping away the blood. 'Please!'
'They're on the way,' another voice yelled.
'Don't you go,' I said to Mya. 'Don't you go. You're going to be fine.' My eyes darted, hoping to catch a glimpse of Roberts, but the murdering bastard was nowhere to be found. I took Mya's hand. It was growing cold.
I called you, Henry.
'I know you did, and I'm here. Please, baby, please stay with me.'
'Henry? Oh my God…'
I recognized that voice. I stood up, my footing unsure.
Amanda was standing in the alley. Her face was white.
'Oh God, Henry, what happened?'
'Amanda…'
I looked at Amanda. Her beautiful eyes. Those arms that had held me so close. The strong heart that had given itself to me. Trusted me.
Just like Mya had trusted me years ago. And now Mya was lying, broken.
No.
Amanda stepped forward. 'Henry, oh God, is she alive?
Please say something. '
'I…'
I heard a gasp behind me. Mya's mouth was opening and closing. Another bubble of blood burst, coating her chin. I knelt back down and wiped it off. Not again. Not Mya. Not Amanda…
'Henry, please…'
'Get the fuck away from me!' I screamed, bolting up. My body felt ready to explode, and in my mind's eye I saw everything I touched, everything I loved, broken in pieces. I couldn't see Amanda. Not like this. Not like Mya. I'd already failed one woman. I couldn't do it again.
'Henry, please talk to me.'
'Get the fuck out of here! ' I yelled again, this time stepping toward Amanda, a fire in my eyes that I could see reflected via fear in hers. She stepped back. I stepped forward.
'Get out of here,' I said, panting. 'Don't ever come back.
Leave now.'
'No,' Amanda said, tears flowing from her eyes. 'Don't do this. I'm not Mya, I'm not…'
'Get away from me, and never come back.' She didn't move. 'I said get the fuck away from me! '
Amanda looked at me, crying, unable to say a word. Then she turned and ran into the night. And I turned back to Mya, took her hand. 'Baby, don't leave me…it's Henry…please don't leave me…I'm here…'
