All the Wrong Reasons

Part 20

Chapter 20

Colin watched as her eyes darted away from his.  He would have laughed if it wasn’t for the fact that blood was flowing rapidly out of the deep gash in her arm.  What his wife termed a scrape, was, in fact, deeper than she made it out to be.

“You’re lying,” he sang trying to keep the mood calm.

She bit her lip and glanced at him from underneath her eyelashes, “I am not.”

He gave her a smile, “Your charms will not fool me for I know what you are doing.”

“Fine,” she snapped, “Someone shot at me.”

Colin let out a loud laugh before realizing that she wasn’t laughing along with him. Staring into her eyes, he looked for signs of deceit.  He saw none.  Standing, he cupped his hands around his mouth before screaming, “Peirce!  Ramsey!  Come here now!”

Cassandra jumped and Cooper scooted closer to her.  She sent him a fierce glare, “What are you doing?  They can’t do anything about it.  Well, Ramsey can seal the wound, but there is nothing more to do.”

“We’re going after him,” Colin stated with finality.

Her head was shaking before he even muttered the last word, “You will not follow the man.  The idea is preposterous.  I didn’t see his face; he could be anyone.  You would never know who the man is Colin.  Do you honestly think that he would keep his disguise?  He most likely shed it as soon as he was in the clear.”

“You don’t know that,” Colin said with uncertainty.

She shook her head once more, “I may not know that, but I do know that this is a foolish task.  It is getting dark, and he is armed.  You do not know who the man is, and he has a head start.  The odds are not in your favor.  I do not want you hurt.”

His eyes widened at her proclamation, “Is that why you truly do not want me to leave?  You don’t want me hurt?”

“I do not want you hurt,” she whispered as Ramsey and Peirce sped into the foyer.

“What is it?” Peirce asked at the same time Ramsey screamed, “That is blood!”

He watched as his wife let out a laugh, “You say it as if you are not used to seeing my blood.  Do not forget the many times I have injured myself.”

“Yes, I shall not forget.  Now, where is your bag?”he asked in a professional voice.

She waved her hand in the direction of the chambers, “Beneath my bed.”

Colin watched as the person he thought of as a child did what he could not.  Instead of asking questions and worrying about the culprit, he should have made sure his wife was okay.  As he was standing there, her face became more ashen.  He did not know what was happening to her, but he wanted it to stop.

“Who did this?” Peirce growled while bending down to inspect her arm, “It’s a wound from a pistol.”

“I know Peirce; she told me,” Colin stated, “She couldn’t see the man’s face.  If she did, I would have had her describe him to me.”

Peirce nodded in acceptance, “You could have drawn the man.  Why don’t we go after him?”

Colin motioned to Cassandra whose eyes were darting between the two as they spoke, “She pointed out the fact that the idea was an ill one.” 

“Why is that? We should just let the man roam free to do more harm?  We should just allow him to get away with the crime he committed?” Peirce asked while jumping to his feet.