All I Know So Far

Chapter 44. Cowards Die Hard

Noella

We pulled up to the old warehouse, and just like KC predicted, Barry was here. I saw Tara's SUV parked on the side of the warehouse and Gemma ran up to check it. "They're not in there," I called out. I knew Barry too well, he would never let the kids go that easy. He wanted revenge, he wanted pain. He wanted me to experience how he felt when he stripped his cut off his back.

The lights to the warehouse were open and Jax drew his gun. He instructed the guys to surround the building, but I just stared at the double doors. I proceeded to walk in the direction of the entrance but Jax stopped me. "What are you doing? This is too dangerous!"

I stopped and stared at him, "he wants me to go inside."

"You are not going in there alone!" he put his gun back and held me still, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"Jax, I need to go inside, there's no other way!" he stared at me for a moment as he let my words sink in. He hesitated, "We go in together." I decided not to protest as we walked towards the entrance. Jax matched my steps as we walked side by side, we matched the pace of my heartbeat. I was nervous and anxious and determined all at the same time.

When he swung the door open, the kids were sitting in the middle of the floor. Ava was the first to notice us as she and her brother ran to us. My heart leaped as I held them in my arms, a feeling I would never take for granted again.

"Are you guys okay?" my voice came out shaky.

"I'm tired," Abel said sleepily. Jax scooped the kids up and called out for Opie to come to take them. I looked at the spot on the floor and noticed Thomas's empty car seat. "Where's Thomas?" I said looking at Ava. "Uncle Barry," she said before she let out a yawn. My heart stopped as I ran further into the warehouse. Jax called out for me but I couldn't hear him over my panting.

I kicked open every door I could find, hoping that one of them held Thomas. "Thomas!" I screamed as I became frantic. My foot pushed open the second to last door and there he was, sitting on Barry's lap. Barry watched me carefully as he bounced the infant, his gun sitting next to him.

"Hello my Ella," his demeanor was calm. He had nowhere else to be but here, and he was going to milk it. "Barry, what are you doing?" I skipped over the dramatics.

Barry chuckled, "I'm returning the favor, I'm doing exactly what you did to me."

"Barry give me back my baby."

Barry's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "your baby?" he chuckled, "you see I knew something about you had changed. I knew you'd fold when you signed us over to them, trading us all in for daycare and biker dick. You're pathetic."

Each word was like venom rolling out of his mouth. He was angry with me, angry with what I'd become, and even angrier with my decision for the Alchemists.

"I should have known you'd finish your mother's job, you're just like her. She thought she could get rid of me too, always in your father's ear trying to force him to get rid of me. She said I was like a 'bomb'" he shook his head and laughed, "like that b**** was any better. My only regret is that I didn't light the match myself." I stared at Barry in disbelief and he could see that he had shocked me. For years, this man had been around my family only to find out that he was the one who destroyed it.

Jax entered the room and drew his gun, but then Barry held his at Thomas's head. I found myself on my knees pleading with him to let the baby go. Barry laughed in amusement seeing me beg, but seeing Thomas begin to cry was a more terrifying sight.

"Please, I'll give you whatever you want, just let him go," tears blurred my vision as I reached out for Thomas.

Barry got out of his seat and held Thomas roughly, his gun swinging in the air. "You see, you were supposed to hold on to us that way! I gave my life for this club, I killed, I did time, I sacrificed everything. And you spit it all back in my face for this thug," he gestured towards Jax who was doing everything in his power not to kill him. Or at least, not until Thomas was safe.

I looked at Jax's gun with tear-filled eyes and grabbed it. I moved too fast for Jax to react and held the gun at Barry. "You call me pathetic, but you're the one using a baby as leverage. How about you put the baby down and kill me like the coward I know you are. Finishing what you started, right Bear?"

I could see him hesitate before placing Thomas on the chair where he sat. I instructed Jax to grab him as Barry and I stood at a standstill. This is exactly what he wanted, to come face to face with me. To face the woman who took everything he believed in. There was no doubt in my mind that Barry wanted my life. But in order to have mine, he was also willing to lose his.

Suddenly, the rest of the crew joined in as they walked in on the commotion. Guns were drawn at Barry left and right, but he never reacted. He knew that he still had an advantage over me. "I guess this is how it ends, huh?" he said smiling. His smile was sad, maybe even regretful, but whatever love I had for him had vanished.

"This is how you wanted it to end," I said putting my hand on the trigger. He nodded his head and did the same. I couldn't tell you who shot first or last, or if there was a countdown. All I could hear were gunshots as I watched Barry's body vibrate with the impact. The scene was so barbaric, but I knew that this was the only way a man like Barry wanted to be put down.

I began to feel woozy as I found myself tumbling to the ground. I could hear a deafening sound fill my ears as Jax ran over to me. He was screaming my name as he placed his hand on my stomach. Holding on to a wound I hardly felt. The blood on his hands was the only indication I had that I had been shot. 

I could feel nothing at that moment. There was no slideshow of my life playing in my head or some sad song in the background. There wasn't even a white light to call me home. The last thing I saw was his face, my sweet husband's face filled with tears as he screamed for help.