A/N: Possible trigger warnings - blood, attempted rape (nothing graphic), violence, guns
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Evelyn stepped into the Andover house, water dripping off the curls framing her flushed cheeks. The old, oak floorboards creaked under her feet and even more so when Grant pushed in beside her, closing the door and locking it behind him. Evelyn glanced back at the lock and clasped her hands together in front of her, chewing on her lip. She startled herself a bit when she glanced to her right to see a fairly large gold framed mirror. She remembered seeing the mirror the first time they visited the house, but, in the dark hall, the reflection was a bit too spooky.
Grant placed his hand on her lower back as her eyes darted to his face. His expression was gentle and sincere. "Are you alright?"
She nodded. "Yeah...just cold."
He smiled. "Well, it's 'cause you're all wet. Why don't we take this coat off and I'll light the fire in the sitting room so we can get started? Hm?"
"No, it's ok. It'll dry."
"I insist. It'll make you sick."
"I -"
"Evelyn..." he spoke softly yet warningly. "We don't want you getting sick."
He stepped behind her and tucked his fingers under her coat collar, pulling it off her shoulders and making sure to brush her collarbones as he did. Her body tensed and her breathing hitched.
"Why're you so stiff? It's only me." He spoke into her ear.
"The storms just made me anxious, I guess."
"Don't like storms?"
"I do...I just don't prefer to be out in them."
He nodded and circled around her again. "Well, we're not in it anymore. You're safe now."
She raised a brow. "Am I?"
Grant's soft expression faltered for a moment until he chuckled. "Of course you are. Now, let me go light the fire to warm us up."
He strode through the doorway down the hall as Evelyn could hear him moving the fireplace tools around, more than likely to move the wood. Evelyn, not wanting him out of sight too long, followed. She padded into the sitting room, the distinct sound of her heels echoing through the empty house. The sitting room was as open and beautiful as she remembered; except now there were a few boxes of papers and some jewelry boxes in the center of the room. She figured these were the lists of assets and few physical items he could bring.
She watched him get the fire going as he stoked it several times. The room now filled with a bit of light amid the pitch-black sky. Suddenly, a crack of lightning seemingly shook the house as Evelyn jumped and grabbed her chest. Grant chuckled.
Evelyn, intrigued by the flashes of lightning, strode over to the window to get a better look. The trees surrounding the house swayed furiously as leaves were ripped from the branches and thrown onto the muddy car park. She could hear Grant behind her rising to his feet with a grunt followed by the sound of his shoes tapping towards her. He stood beside her, gazing out the window as well.
Another roll of thunder caused Evelyn to jump a bit. Grant reached out and grabbed her hand, rubbing her fingers gently with his thumb. "You're awfully skittish, Evie."
Refusing to meet gaze, she halfheartedly smiled. "Not usually."
"Why now?"
She shrugged. "I honestly don't know."
"Well...as I said," he detached his hand from hers and reached out, stroking down her waist. "...you're safe."
Evelyn gulped and quickly moved away, slipping off her shoes and sitting in front of the boxes with her legs crossed. "Let's get started on these, shall we?"
Grant eyed her crossly. This was going to be harder than he thought.
---------------
Tom drove as quickly as he could...well, as quickly as he could considering he couldn't see more than four feet ahead of the car. He kept both hands firmly on the wheel, the harsh winds threatening to blow the car right off the road. The tires slipped and skidded on the wet ground many times.
"Do you know how much farther we are?" Matthew asked next to Tom, his knee bouncing anxiously.
"I'm not sure yet. I don't think we're too far." He answered as calmly as he possibly could while his mind raced at 98 miles per hour.
From the back seat, Thomas and Ben shifted around due to their long legs cramping and the troubled thoughts circling their minds.
Ben felt saddened and as if he were partly to blame for this situation. He was more worried about his status than he was about the girl he fell for. While his feelings for Evelyn were not where they were in the previous months, that didn't mean he wouldn't do what he had to do to right his wrongs and protect her.
Thomas, plain and simple, felt quite murderous. He never got the chance to beat the living shit out of the pervert Pamuk so he would get his chance to release some anger. Thomas felt as if he'd been given quite a few second chances lately, and he planned to make the most of them.
Harry, from the middle seat, was only bothered by his thoughts and not his legs. He wished he would have reacted faster, dug into his suspicions at the beginning. Anytime he would suspect that Grant was acting suspiciously, he would brush it off; he assumed forging wills and seduces heiresses for money was only something that happened in novels - now here he was thrown right into the center of one.
Both Matthew and Tom felt similarly to Harry - how on earth was this happening to them.
Tom had only been working for the family for a week and now he was driving in one of the worst storms Downton had ever seen to rescue the elitist family's niece-in-distress. Tom was rather anti-patriarchal and felt as if the whole 'women are owned by men' thing was so 1800s, so he saw this as an opportunity to put a chauvinistic pig in his place - which made this hectic drive even more worth it. However, this was Evelyn, not some snobby entitled debutante, so he knew she would not be overcome so easily.
Matthew didn't have a cohesive thought at the moment. He felt a whirlwind of emotion in his brain and chest. He was angry at himself for not sticking with his gut on Grant's odd behavior. He was bitter at Evelyn's stubbornness; while he knew he had no right to be, and while he admired how headstrong she was, he wished she would have understood that his only goal now, and forever, would be to protect her. He prayed when, or if, they arrived that she would still be untouched, unscathed, unharmed...and alive. Matthew clenched his fist, hot air blowing from his tensed nostrils.
"You said he had a gun, Harry?" Matthew asked, trying to map out a plan in his mind.
Harry nodded, leaning forward a bit. "He did, that was plan C."
"A gun?!" Thomas barked.
"Save that rage for when we get there, Thomas." Tom tried to diffuse for the moment. "What were plans A and B?"
"Well..." Harry began."...plan A was to get her to sleep with him...ruin her virtue and use that to trick the family into marrying her off to avoid scandal."
Thomas about ripped the leather seat with his furious grip.
Tom sighed, feeling sick. "And plan B?"
"Plan B was to blackmail her with a letter he had from...I don't remember who it was from...but it said she was involved in Kamal Pamuk's death somehow."
"That's a lie," Thomas spat. "she wasn't involved she wasn't even upstairs when it happened. She was with me."
Matthew looked over his shoulder at Thomas, his brows furrowed. "She was with you...?"
Thomas rolled his eyes. "Don't get all worked up, lover boy. In case you forgot Evelyn and I are friends. She was...calming me down after a nightmare is all. She's kind like that."
Matthew turned back around and nodded.
"Friends? O'Brien told me you and Evelyn ki - well actually never mind...probably not the time." Tom stopped himself and clenched his jaw, the distinct 'oops' look in his eyes.
Matthew's head whipped to Tom before twisting to look at Thomas, who stared out the window chewing on his finger. Matthew shook his head and spun back around, knowing he wasn't going to get an answer right now.
"You can finish that later, Tom."
Thomas threw his head back on the seat and rolled his eyes. "Good job, mate."
Ben's eyes shifted to each voice as he watched the little spat, feeling slightly annoyed at their childless behavior but feeling mostly grateful for the distraction. Harry felt the same way, although he didn't feel as if they were being childish at all - he was quite invested in the drama.
"I'm not trying to stir anything up! I'm just nervous so things slip when I'm nervous!" Tom defended, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.
"Just...hold off beating Tom until we're out of the storm, please." Ben tried to rationalize. "Matthew you said you had the letter what exactly did it say? And who was it from?"
"Right," Matthew whispered to himself as he reached into his left coat pockets to grab...nothing. Humming to himself, he reached into the right one and grabbed...nothing.
--------------
Back at Downton, the Crawley family hadn't moved much at all since the men set off on their search and rescue mission. Robert was the only one who ventured from the parlor as he went to make a few phone calls: one to Violet and one to Isobel. Cora had suggested that he call them and let them know what's going on. She feared that if something drastic were to happen to Evelyn, she wanted Violet to know beforehand. The same went for Isobel considering Matthew was also involved.
"Where are they now?" Isobel's voice carried over the phone, her worry evident.
"I'm not sure. They left only forty minutes ago." Robert explained.
"And this man, is he -"
The line suddenly went dead.
Robert pulled the phone from his ear and looked at it oddly. He quickly realized that the lines must have gone down - he was surprised that they had lasted as long as they had with the intense nature of the storm. Robert sighed in frustration and placed it back on the dock, striding back into the parlor to continue his pensive pacing.
"The lines have gone dead," Robert explained to a fidgeting Cora.
She gasped. "What if the boys try to contact us?"
Robert shook his head. "I don't know. I managed to get ahold of Sheriff Brookes before I called Mama and I let him know where they were going - he said he would try to get a unit out but he couldn't make any guarantees. He doesn't want to risk any of his men."
"And we willing risked our own," Edith mumbled.
Mary shot her a hateful glare. "I bet this is eating you up, isn't it? So much attention being on Evelyn and she isn't even here."
Edith rose to her feet as her nostrils flared. "While Evelyn and I might not be the best of friends I would never wish anything to happen to her. What kind of person do you think me, Mary? Besides, you two haven't made up either from your last spat. You've assumed she's forgiven you but have you asked for forgiveness?" She spat.
"Would you two stop it!" Cora scolded. "Now is not the time!"
All of a sudden, the front door flew open as Violet, with an umbrella over her head, strode in. "What's the latest word on the children?"
Robert eyed her confusedly. "Mama I got off the phone with you fifteen minutes ago how on earth did you get here? And in this storm?"
She closed her umbrella and hung it on the coat rack. "Oh, well, I told Atticus to get me here as quickly as he could and if he didn't he was fired. I also told him that if he wrecked he was fired. He was quite conflicted but he flew like the wind."
Robert shook his head, dumbfounded by his mother. "We haven't heard anything from them yet."
"Shouldn't they be there by now?" She asked, striding across the room to take a seat next to Mary.
"On a normal day it would take twenty minutes to get to Andover but with this storm, it would take twice as long. Now the lines have gone dead as well so we probably won't know a thing until they make it back."
"Maybe it wouldn't have taken them so long if Atticus drove instead of Tom," Mary remarked, trying to lighten the mood. She succeeded a bit with a few breathy chuckles out of the tense family.
Robert sighed. "Mama you left the door open. Uh...Edith, darling can you close it please since you're standing? I'm going to try the phones again."
Edith huffed but trudged to the door. Right before she closed it, something white on the gravel below the door caught her eye - it was a letter...her letter to Grant. Edith whipped down and picked it up. It must have fallen from Matthew's pocket when he ran out. Holding it to her chest, Edith sighed and shut the door. She knew Grant would know her name and what she had said in the letter...but if there was no letter to prove it, maybe she would not be blamed for this bit of Evelyn's situation as much.
Edith kept the soggy envelope behind her back as she stepped into the library, tearing her eyes away from her father, who was hunched over the phone, to the roaring fire.
"Any luck, Papa?"
He shook his head. "I don't think so."
She casually stepped towards the fireplace, standing in front of it and holding out her hands as if she were warming them. She looked at the letter and guilt filled her heart. Should she destroy it? Or keep it and take responsibility for what she did? Edith had never been one to feel any guilt for her actions but now she felt as if she was partly to blame for what was happening to her cousin. While Edith felt as if she would never really make amends with Evelyn, she might be able to right her wrongs and take some of the coldness and hatred off of herself.
Retracting the letter from the blaze, she sighed...until. A bulb by the fireplace suddenly exploded as a crash of thunder shook the floor. Edith gasped and threw her arms out unintentionally...the wet letter slipped from her fingers and immediately caught fire. Edith stood agape as she watched the letter go up in flames. She was too shocked to notice that the Downton house had gone dark as the power had blown completely.
Robert shot up from his stooped position to gaze around. He ran his fingers through his hair and groaned. "Carson!"
Carson appeared moments later. "Yes, My Lord?"
"Go to the storage room, carefully, and gather some oil lamps. Bring the staff up here as well with as many lamps as you can carry."
Carson nodded and exited the library. Robert turned to see Edith staring into the fire. "Edith?"
She shook her head to pull herself from her trance. "Yes? Oh, I'm fine. The crash just scared me is all."
"Yes...we'll worry about that later. Let's go back to the others."
-------------
Evelyn looked through a stack of paper containing a list of various assets, some of which had stars beside them that apparently indicated what could be detached. She gazed over them skeptically...they all seemed so random.
"So...one candlestick can be detached but the other one can't?" She asked as she found yet another discrepancy in the list.
Grant huffed and smacked his papers onto his lap. The veins in how forearm, now visible after he had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, throbbed in pure irritation of the nitpicky girl. He sighed and looked at her as kindly as he could. "I told you a moment ago, Evelyn, there may be some mistakes and if it seems like it doesn't make sense...it probably doesn't."
"If it doesn't make sense...it probably doesn't." She repeated, biting her lip.
He nodded. "Right."
She continued to chew on her lip as she looked back down at the paper. Grant watched her lips intensely as he sucked at his teeth and looked down at his wristwatch. It was already seven p.m. He knew he couldn't keep her here much longer if he wanted to keep anyone from looking for them...
If only he knew that a whole brigade was headed their way.
Grant laid his papers on the floor. "We've been at this for a while, why don't we take a break?"
"I'm fine." She said bluntly, her eyes darting around on her paper.
Clenching his fist, Grant was about ready to abandon plan A altogether...knowing she wouldn't be up for his advances. But for the fun of it, he figured he'd give it a try. After all, no matter how it came to him, he would be leaving as the sole proprietor of the Levinson fortune.
Rising to his feet, he strode behind her sitting frame and kneeled down. "Why don't we take a walk around the house? Just to loosen our muscles up."
"I said I was fine...I'm tired and hungry I just want to finish."
He'd had enough. Snaking his long finger's under her upper arm, he squeezed tightly. Leaning down to her hear, he spoke demandingly. "Let's walk around the house, Evelyn."
Feeling the pulse in his arm throb at the tight grip, her breath quickened. She nodded reluctantly before being jerked to her feet. Grant released her arm before harshly shoving her towards the hall. "Walk."
While devising a plan in her head, she obeyed and began to walk. Exiting the sitting room, she looked down the foyer at the front door.
"Don't even think about..." he warned behind her.
Hanging her head, Evelyn turned down the hall and walked away from the door and towards the kitchen. She was harshly stopped by Grant's hand on the back of her dress. "Uh uh...up the stairs."
She didn't move. "What is this, Grant?"
"What do you mean, darling, we're just walking around is all." He barked sarcastically.
"There is no entail...is there?"
He chuckled darkly behind you. "Of course not...your father wanted to give everything he owned to you and only you. Quite foolish if you ask me to relinquish such a fortune to a little girl. I made the executive decision to put someone more suitable to take care of the fortune in your path."
"And that would be you..."
"Smart girl."
"I'm not giving anything to you, Grant...your plan might have been to coax me into falling for you but that's all been blown to shit so what now?"
"The princess has a foul mouth." He smirked. "Now you have two options...you marry me and I won't divulge a significant piece of information that could all but ruin you and your family or...I kill you and forge your signature on the release form, turning everything pertaining to that inheritance over to me. In case you couldn't tell, I'm quite good at forgery."
"What significant piece of information do you have, exactly? I'm not involved in too many scandals I don't think." She spoke facetiously.
"I know that you were involved with the death of Kamal Pamuk. Carried his body around the house...where was he, Evelyn? In your room by chance? Had my plan to snatch your virtue been a sham?" He smirked.
Evelyn froze...Edith.
"Since you haven't come back with a smartass remark I'm assuming it's all true then." He gripped the back of her dress again and pushed her to the stairs. "Now...up. We're still going to take our little walk so you have some time to think over my proposition. Also...I'm still holding out for a little bit of plan A. Go."
---------------
"You lost it?" Harry asked.
Matthew huffed. "It was in my pocket I know it was."
"We'll look for it when we get back at the house...I'm sure it just fell -" Tom spoke until...
Harry's eyes widened. "Look out!"
A deer appeared a few feet in front of the car as Tom swerved, sending the car off the road and into the mud-filled pit on the edge. All the men pulled themselves sat back up, all breathing heavily with bugged eyes.
Tom put the car in reverse in an attempt to get back on the road. Despite Tom holding the peddle to the floorboard, the car only spewed mud out from under the tire. "Damn it!" He slammed his fist on the wheel and hopped out.
The other four men in the car got out as well as they immediately jumped into action and tried to push and pull the car from its mud prison.
"There's no use! We'll have to start jamming stuff under the wheel to try and get some traction!" Tom fussed, throwing his cap to the ground in anger.
Matthew gazed down the road as far as he could see. "How far are we, Tom?" He shouted over the loud rain.
"Maybe five minutes!"
Matthew nodded. "I'm running the rest of the way!" He began to shed his coat and vest, tossing them on the ground by Tom's cap.
Thomas followed Matthew's lead while discarding his vest and tie. "I'm going with him! Who needs to stay and help you, Tom?"
"I'll need both Ben and Harry! Can you two manage on your own?" Tom asked sadly.
If this were any other circumstance, Tom would have left the car and went with them; however, there was no telling what state Evelyn would be in and he'd be damned if she was going to walk home in this weather.
Matthew looked at Thomas. "I think we can."
"Alright. Oh! Take this! It's all I have!" Tom reached under his seat and pulled out a cricket bat, handing it to Matthew.
"This will do to! I think Harry proved that!" Matthew remarked.
"Be careful! We'll be there as soon as we can!" Tom shouted as he, Ben, and Harry shuffled around in the mud to find sticks, leaves, or anything else to lodge under the tire.
Matthew and Thomas broke out into a full sprint in the direction of the Andover house.
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At Downton, the family and staff had gathered in the library by the fire as the house was becoming cold. Oil lamps lit the room well enough for the small mob. The staff has only recently learned of the events as they sat silently, praying that their Evelyn was ok.
Mrs. Patmore held a cheesecloth in her fist, occasionally using it to wipe a tear. Mrs. Hughes rubbed her back. "I knew something was wrong with her...why didn't I insist she tell me?" Mrs. Patmore queried, mostly to herself.
Anna smiled sympathetically. "She's done this for a reason...knowing her she figured she could protect everyone by facing it on her own."
That's exactly what she's done.
The sound of the front door opening caused everyone in the room to rise to their feet until Isobel hastily entered the library. Everyone sat back down.
"I'm so sorry it took me so long. Any word from them?" She asked as she weaved her way to Robert and Cora.
Robert shook his head. "Nothing yet."
"How long have they been gone?"
"An hour and a half, at least," Cora answered as she tugged at her sleeve.
Isobel sighed and nodded, taking a seat next to Violet.
----------------
Evelyn stared at her feet as Grant pushed and shoved her around the house. She would occasionally glance up in search of any blunt object; however, with the exception of a few light fixtures, there was nothing around. She debated several times on whether or not she'd be able to pull one from the wall.
Her eyes drifted over to a closet down the hall that had no doorknob in it. Raising a brow, she noticed that the doorknob had been laid on the floor in front of the door. The thick, brass, heavy doorknob with a screw sticking out of one end.
She licked her lips, preparing to rip herself from Grant's grip and beeline towards the heavy object she could see until she heard and door open and she was shoved inside. The force had caused her to lose her footing a bit, Grant tightened his grip and pulled her up only to slam her back into the now closed door. His hand latched onto her throat as she clawed at it, turning her head to try and loosen his grip. In the midst of her struggling, she saw a light fixture by the door that was nearly detached from the wall, hanging on by a few wires.
I can get that one.
"Considered my proposal yet?" He asked as cocky triumph laced his words.
Evelyn shook her head rapidly, not wanting to agree to the blackmail but not wanting to deny it in the fear that he'd pull the gun.
He nodded. "Well...while we wait."
He dipped his head down and slammed his lips onto hers, tightening his grip on her neck when she tried desperately to pull away. Figuring clawing at his hands was going to do nothing to him, she attempted to reach up towards the light fixture - just barely being out of reach. Grant's free hand gathered the fabric of her dress until he was able to grasp her bare leg, forcing his hand through her tightly closed legs. He was unphased by her small fists pounding into his neck and chest.
Evelyn managed to throw her body to the left and closer to the fixture. Reaching up again, she could feel the cold metal as her fingers desperately twitched to get ahold of it. Grant's hand wandered up to her stomach and soon traveled back down to her lacy hem until...
Bingo
Evelyn ripped the fixture from the wall and brought it down into the side of Grant's head with as much force as she could muster. He yelped and released his grip, crashing to the floor in a groaning pile. The force on Grant's skull had caused the fixture to fly from her hand and land behind him. Not wanting to risk being grabbed, she left it and darted from the room.
Darting to the brass doorknob, just as a precaution, she picked it up and sprinted down the stairs, heading towards the back door which was closer than the front. Once she made it to the back door, she gasped once she saw a padlock on it - she was certain that wasn't there when she was here last. With a frustrated growl, Evelyn took off down the hall towards the front door.
Above her, she could hear the rush footsteps of Grant. Her heart pounded faster knowing that he was conscious and enraged. With the front door finally in sight, Evelyn bolted to the basic lock. After undoing only one of the two locks, her hair was yanked viciously and her body fell into Grant's heaving chest. She looked down at the shiny black pistol in his fist.
He leaned to her ear, his grip on her hair giving her a splitting headache. "I guess you didn't like my proposal all that much. That's alright, I'll let your family know how valiantly you found while we were being mugged."
Evelyn whirled around, swinging the doorknob at his chin until he quickly dodged the oncoming blow and instead smashed her head into the hall mirror out of sheer rage. Grant stared into the mirror to see the shattered glass, hair, and blood seeping through the shards.
Ignoring the gory scene, he searched for a fairly unshattered portion of the mirror to check his own gash from Evelyn's first strike. He rubbed his jaw and sucked his teeth, looking down at the still body at his feet with a little pool of blood around her head. He kneeled down and sighed, stroking her pale cheek with his finger.
"Shame. You were quite a beautiful girl. I had your wedding dress picked out and everything. This could have been so much easier, Evelyn. Now I have to clean all this blood off of my floors."
-------------
Thomas and Matthew hadn't broken their sprint once until they made it to the house. The men were completely out of breath and wheezing. Thomas jogged to Grant's car and scanned around it for any sighs of them. Matthew stepped closer to the house in search of any light at all.
"Anything?" Thomas called.
Matthew shook his head. "No. Not yet!"
——————
Grant shot up to his feet, how eyes widening in disbelief. He could have sworn he heard voices. Inching his way into the sitting room, he hid behind the wall and glanced out the window as he saw the two soaked, muddy men approaching the house cautiously. It was only now that Grant had realized that the storm had let up quite a bit as the rain was only a drizzle and the wind was just a breeze.
Growling furiously, Grant jogged back into the hallway and scooped up Evelyn's body into his arms, freezing when he could feel the slightest breath coming from her ajar lips.
"How are you still alive?" He spoke through gritted teeth as he trudged down the hall and to the kitchen where he dropped her to the tile floor with a thud.
He pulled his pistol from his slacks and spun the barrel, ensuring a bullet was read and in the chamber. Grant's body went stiff once he heard the front doorknob rattling.
———————
Matthew tried the doorknob a few times until Thomas appeared beside him.
"Anything?" He asked.
Thomas nodded. "The fireplace is going in the sitting room along with some papers and boxes. I didn't see them though."
Matthew nodded frustratedly and twisted the doorknob more aggressively before backing up and ramming his foot into it. The door didn't budge. He tried again. Nothing. A third time. The wooden door cracked.
"Move. Let me have a go before you break your ankle."
Thomas pushed Matthew out of the way and kicked the door without hesitation. The door flew open with its now loose hinges barely holding on.
Matthew would have said 'I loosened it for you' but now probably wasn't the time.
The men stepped to the door but stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of the blood and glass. Matthew gripped his chest and kneeled down, picking up a bloody shard that has a few piece of brown hair.
"Oh God..." he whispered to himself. He rose to his feet and desperately shouted. "Evelyn!"
Thomas pushed passed Matthew, taking the cricket bat from him and venture slowly down the hall, anger bubbling in him. His eyes picked up on the droplets of blood leading down the hall.
"Matthew..." he nodded to the droplets and Matthew stood by him.
The men walked cautiously down the hall, the floor creaking with nearly every step. The blood lead then into what they assumed was the kitchen as they could see what appeared to be a fridge on the inner wall. Rounding the corner, they only a barely breathing bloodied mess.
"Evelyn!" Matthew and Thomas rushed into the kitchen. Matthew grabbed her and propped her up against his chest, her eyes fluttering slightly as the sudden jolt of movement. "Evelyn, can you hear me?"
Her eyes turned up at the voice until she suddenly hissed in pain. The oozing gashes on her right temple and eyebrow were deep and painful, not to mentioned the roaring headache.
Matthew looped one arm around her back and the other under her legs as he cradled her into his arms, unpaused by the blood now staining his shirt.
"Let's go." Thomas said as she peeked out of the kitchen and down the hall for people or shadows.
Once he determined that the coast was clear, he lead the way with his cricket bat ready to strike. Though he was ready for an oncoming threat, Thomas wasn't prepared to be run at from his blind spot. Out of nowhere, Grant charged at Thomas and slammed him into the wall. Thomas quickly got control of the situation as the two men wrestled like bears. Matthew moved Evelyn away and sat her against the wall by the front door before turning back to Thomas.
Grant pulled his gun from his waistband and aimed it at Matthew until Thomas grabbed his wrist and pointed it upward seconds before it fired. Evelyn was sprung slightly awake by the now ringing in her ears adding to her throbbing headache.
Matthew covered his head from the ceiling debris before diving at the cricket bat Thomas had dropped. Waiting for the right moment, Matthew reared back and smacked the bat into the back of Grant's neck. Grant let go of Thomas and jutted his foot out behind him into Matthew's knee, causing him to cry out in pain and fall back into the wall before Grant jumped back on Thomas; however, Thomas being the bit of the giant that he was gave one massive blow to Grant's face and sent him tumbling to the ground. Thomas wasted no time smashing his face to a bloody pulp.
"Thomas stop!! We need him alive!" Matthew shouted.
Thomas pulled himself, reluctantly, off of Grant and stared at his blood-dripping fist. He rose to feet and gently touched his nose, realize it was bloody and probably broken as well from being body-slammed into the wall. Not to mention the indent from the impact now distinctly on display on the wallpaper.
Matthew rose to his feet as well, glancing at Evelyn and shaking his knee before walking to Grant's still frame and searching his pockets in search of his car keys. Matthew noticed Grant's arm twitch and followed it to his wrist where he saw him gripping a...doorknob?
That doorknob was plowed into Matthew's jaw, flinging him to the floor for the moment before Grant flipped the doorknob around and stabbed the screw into Matthew's side. Thomas throw himself onto Grant and wrestled him to the ground until an uppercut to the nose threw Thomas next to Matthew.
Grant shakily shot up to his feet and rounded the men, like a lion watching its wounded prey. He glanced at Evelyn slumped against the wall and chuckled. He towered over Matthew and Thomas with a smirk as his hand was hidden behind him, most likely holding his pistol in his waistband.
"You always thought you could beat me, Matthew. Even in school. You always tried to one up me. Not this time, mate. This time, I win."
Grant reached his pistol and...
BANG! BANG! BANG!
With a painful cry, Grant fell to the floor, blood seeping from his knee and shoulder. Evelyn, who had managed to stand propped against the wall, held pistol in front of her with both hands, complete shock on her face at what she had just done.
"Oh God...I shot him. I-I...it fell out of his pocket and I just grabbed it and I panicked -" she stuttered out as tears followed.
Matthew immediately threw his arms around her shaking body as she cried into his neck, wrapping her weak arms around him. Though pain rippled through his arm from the stab, he pushed it away.
Thomas grunted as he kneeled down to check Grant's pulse. "He's still alive, Evie. You didn't kill him. It's ok." Thomas spoke soothingly as he met her pitiful gaze. "...though I wish you would have."
Evelyn pushed herself away from Matthew's chest to look into his eyes. "Matthew I'm so sorry. I was so stupid I should have listened to you and not tried to fix this on my own. I'm so -"
He placed his hand on her cheek and smiled. "Shhh. I only care that you're ok. Ok? That's the only thing I'm worried about. Not what could have been done differently, but the fact that in the end you're alive. Ok?"
With a sniff, she nodded. "Yes."
The sound of cars approaching caught their attention as three police cars followed by Tom, Ben, and Harry pulled up to the house. The officers filed into the house, took the gun, and dealt with Grant.
Matthew led Evelyn outside but she stopped him, pulling from his grip and throwing herself into Thomas's arms. He grunted but hid the pain best he could. Evelyn then stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to Thomas's cheek before shakily returning to Matthew's side.
The police chief, Sheriff Brooks, strode up to them and kneeled in front of Evelyn. "Are you alright, Lady Evelyn?"
She nodded. "I think so."
"Good. I contacted Doctor Clarkson so he's opened the hospital up and he's ready for you all. I want to ask Lady Evelyn some questions but I'll give her time to recoup for a bit."
Matthew nodded. "Thank you."
With his arm tightly around Evelyn, Matthew guided her to the car. Evelyn's legs suddenly went out from under her as she grabbed her head. Matthew's arms darted under her to hold her up.
"I'm really dizzy," she stated with a groan.
Matthew didn't hesitate before picking her up and cradling her in his arms, letting her rest her head on his chest. She gazed up at him and gently ran her finger along his bruised and bloodied jaw. Her finger then moved to his cracked lip. Soon, she noticed the bright red blood covering his white shirt on his shoulder.
"He hurt you."
Matthew shrugged. "I think he's worse off than I am. Or Thomas. I'd worry more about Thomas's hand than my face."
Evelyn's eyelids began to flutter, signifying she was getting tired - whether it be from the events or from a potential head injury he couldn't be sure.
"Don't go to sleep on me, Evie. I know it's hard but we need to get you to Doctor Clarkson and I know he wants you awake. Just a little bit longer."
"Then I can go home?" She asked in a barely audible whisper.
Matthew smiled, his eyes brimming with tears. "Yes, love. Then you can go home."
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A/N: I still have some editing to do on this chapter but I wanted to go ahead and get it up.
I hope you all like it!!🥰