The Dance Part 2

Chapter 267 Demise

Lila stayed hidden in the tree line afraid to move in the morning sun for fear he would find her and return her to the cabin. She could hear Nato calling her name as if she were playing a game of hide and seek with him. She was determined not to go back to that cabin for she never wanted to relive the nightmare she had just been through with him.

Bam silenced Matt as they hiked up the trail. "Quit talking." Bam motioned for Matt to stop his chatter. Both men stood silently as they heard the faint call of a familiar name.

"It's him!" Both men took off in the direction of the voice. Lila continued to head down the mountain more slowly now not wanting to catch Nato's attention by her movements in the woods. She sensed he was close as his calls grew louder. Lila heard the crunch of wood and leaves approaching and she took off like a scared deer. She burst through the woods and right into the path of Matt and Bam practically knocking them over. She was wild eyed, covered in twigs and dirt, and could barely make a coherent sentence. She fought to get loose from their grasp not realizing it was them, her family, her rescuers.

As Bam worked to calm her down, Matt took off for the truck to get their first aid kit leaving him alone with Lila. He wrapped his arms around her trying to still her as she flailed about like a wild animal. When she finally recognized him, she collapsed into him. He laid his pack and rifle to the side to brush the dirt from her face. As he did, he heard the familiar sound of a rifle being locked and loaded. Before he could grab his rifle, he found himself in the sight of Nato's scope.

"I see you found her."

"She's not going back with you." Bam was resolute in his remark. "I'll kill you first." Instinctively, Bam moved Lila behind him to provide what little protection he could to her.

"So protective." Nato glared at Bam. "But I think it's a little late for protecting her honor. Ain't that right Lila? Go ahead, tell him how you gave yourself to me."

"It wasn't like that Joshua." Tears now washed a path down her face as she tried to protect Bam from the ugliness of what transpired in the last twenty-four hours.

Nato drew his rifle back up taking aim directly at Bam. Nothing would please him more than to kill him and claim Lila as his prize again. Nato steadily drew a bead on Bam's chest and slowly squeezed the trigger. A shot rung out, and in that very instant, he was dead.

Bam and Lila turned to see Matt drop his rifle to his side. He had pulled the trigger finishing Nato off just like he had warned him that night on the porch. He had been deadly serious about protecting Lila and that was the only mistake Nato made. Nato never truly believed Matt had it in him to protect Lila.

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Bam held Lila in the truck as Matt drove to the nearest medical center. She was physically exhausted, dehydrated and still somewhat shell shocked over her ordeal.
At the hospital, Matt placed a call to the local authorities giving them the details and location to Nato's body.

A nurse escorted Lila to an exam room and helped her disrobe to clean her external wounds but it was the internal wounds that would take longer to heal. Nato had already partially revealed to Bam what transpired in that cabin. She knew he would have questions and she knew he wouldn't like the answers. But she wouldn't have changed anything because what she did reunited her with him.

She sat in a white paper gown in a cold hospital room waiting for him to come and talk with her before the authorities took her statement. He said nothing as he entered the room but walked swiftly to her encircling her in his arms. All the emotion from the last few days spilled out of her in anguishing sobs. He only held her tighter until there were no more tears to shed.

Bam traded places with a police officer and another female who he later learned was a counselor. After the officer had taken her statement, the counselor stayed behind to provide support for Lila. Lila wouldn't allow Bam back in the room, partly because of the graphic details she shared and partly because she knew he would blame himself for not protecting her better.

After an hour, the counselor left Lila with her card and some advice on how to share her story with her husband. When Bam returned, she asked him to take her home. One of the nurses on duty gave Lila a pair of clean scrubs to change into for the drive home. Matt waited patiently for his brother and Lila in the lobby of the hospital. Matt looked as shattered as Lila as in some small way he too was duped into Nato's plot. Lila took Matt's hand and walked with him to the truck for the long ride home. Bam rode in the backseat with her as she slept with her head resting in his lap. The drive was long and silent for all three of them. Matt had taken the opportunity when they stopped for gas to call home. He had the foresight to ask Jill to let the kids stay where they were and to ask the family to avoid a big homecoming. When Jill pushed for more details, Matt broke down on the call telling her what he had done and in general what had happened to Lila. He could hear her quiet cries on the other end of the phone.

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Jill busied herself by putting fresh linens on Bam and Lila's bed. She started a fire in their fireplace and prepared some food and drink for the weary threesome. It was Jill that welcomed all of them home. And it was Jill that took Lila upstairs and helped give her a warm bath washing the last few days' events from her. She gently shampooed Lila's hair and afterwards wrapped her in a clean robe. Lila didn't say much and Jill didn't press her for details, instead opting to tuck her in bed and reassure her that everything would be better with a goodnight's sleep.

Jill and Matt offered to stay with the couple but Bam sent them home to check on their boys and his children. He slowly climbed the stairs to their room. He, too, needed to wash away his conflicting emotions and the tears that streamed down his face for failing to protect her.