Backlash {Fourth book in the "Born to Be a Hunter" Series}

Phone Call

After kissing my family goodbye, I went to my car and unloaded every weapon out of the back. The last thing I grabbed was my sawed-off shotgun and I looked at it. I had made it even before I built my car. The barrel was rough still, but it shot like a dream. It was light enough to aim and fire easily with one hand. It was sad for me to set it into the trunk of the impala along with all the other things that came from my Camaro's trunk.

When I had finally emptied my car, I got into the driver seat and roared out of the garage, a trail of dust following me into town from the bunker that I called home for much of my life.

I went past my favorite burger joint where I taught Mary to say her alphabet. She always worked best with a bacon cheeseburger in front of her.

I went past the dive bar where me and Dean would "recover" from hunts gone bad. Of course, he would go to a motel with some chick while I went home to my loving husband and got a pep talk from my baby girl. She would tell me that I did my best and I would save many more people in the future. She, then, would hug me and fall asleep in my lap.

I went past the local pizza place where Matt had pizza for the first time. It was hilarious to see him burn his mouth with the extremely hot pizza and just glare at me for not warning him.

And I finally went to Sam's favorite lookout point. It over looked a deep valley that, when the sun sets, the trees looked like they were on fire. Sam took me and Matt there for our wedding reception picnic.

That was where I planned to meet Ketch. It seemed fitting that it be the last place I go to freely, since it was the first place my family was whole.

I drove to an opening near the cliff and parked. I waited for a good hour before I started to get antsy. I pulled out my phone to see if my GPS was on and in the process, I saw that I had a missed call and a voice mail from Matt. I pressed play on the message and brought the phone to my ear.

Matt's voice came through, "Jack? Jackie, are you there?"

His voice was full of anger, "What is wrong with you? Don't leave me like this. I need my wife and Mary is going to need her mother."

My breathing started to quicken, but I knew I had to keep my composure.

"And leaving us like this? Leaving her? It's so damn selfish. And so friggin' unforgivable. Come on." He said, sadness rising in his voice. "I swear, you are lucky you left because I am so close to killing you right now." I nodded to myself, understanding his emotion.

Matt's voice was so soft I knew he was crying, "I hate you."

My heart sank, and the tears started to stream down my face. What I was doing was finally setting in. But I agreed with him. I hated myself too. I hated that this was the only way and I hated the Brits for everything they did and were doing. I just wanted my normal life back. It hurt. But what hurt worse when he repeated his sentence through sobs.

"I hate you." He said.

He took in a deep breath and continued to confess, "No. No, I don't hate you. I love you." He laughed at himself through his tears. "God, I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. But, I can't help it. You make me crazy."

He paused, "I need . . . I need you here. With me. But I understand. And I forgive you. Even if this is the last time you hear me say it, know that I love you with every fiber of my being. And if you can't find a way back to me? Know that I will not stop fighting to get you back. Never."

"I love-", was the last thing he said, and the voicemail cut off.

I decided to call his phone, but he didn't answer. His sweet, happy voice sounded in my ear saying, "Hi. You've reached Mathias Winchester's phone. Please leave a message."

I hesitated, "Hey, Matt. It's me. Uh . . . I wanted you to know that I'm sorry." I felt like I couldn't breathe, but my voice kept going. "For all of it. Everything. With all the things happening, it's not like I've exactly been there for you lately. I haven't been a great wife."

I paused to take a breath, "God, I'm so damn stupid. I screwed everything up. I wish I could fix it. And I'm trying, but it just seems like I'm making everything worse. What am supposed to do, then? Huh?"

My hand went to my stomach and I sighed, "I'm pregnant again, Matt. This one's a demon. They grow faster than other babies I'm guessing. It hasn't even been a month and I'm already beginning to show."

"Matt, while I was in hell, I made a deal with Crowley. Once I die, he's going to take my soul and fully mature the baby with it. He will bring it to you guys. He promised to do it if I agreed to take out Dr. Hess and all the other Brits." I said, emotions swimming.

"I'm gonna zap Mary home then do a spell and blow up the entire Brits headquarters. I'll take all of those asshats with me. I'm going to make them pay. But I'm probably not going to make it."

I was full on sobbing now, "This might be the last time you hear from me. So, I, uh . . . I love you. So much. Tell Sam, Dean, Mary, and this new baby the same."

I started to hear trucks making their way through the woods. I knew they were coming for me. I saw the dust rising in the air and knew that I had to wrap it up.

"I'm sorry." I said finally before ending the call, putting my phone on the ground and stomping on it, killing the GPS signal. I couldn't have my family getting themselves in the way.

Three big hummers slammed to a stop as I wiped the tears from my face. Ketch and his assault teams hopped out and aimed their guns at me.

"On the ground, Winchester!" yelled one of the men. I held my hands up in surrender but remained standing.

"I said, 'Down'!" he repeated as he kicked at the back of my right knee, knocking me face first into the ground. I tried to push myself off the ground, but the three men threw me back down and started to cuff me with well-warded handcuffs.

I blew dirt away from my mouth and saw two boots in front of my head. After I was cuffed, the men picked me up and put me to face Ketch, who was standing in full assault gear.

"Good to have you back, old friend." He said with a giant smile.

I spit in his face and snarled, "Eat me."

He wiped his face and nodded toward the middle truck. Someone put a holy water- drenched, cloth bag painfully over my head and pushed me forward into the back of the hummer.

Zc