Hearing that, Brian sighed silently. As bad as he felt for her, he knew Mark had it worse. He'd need his mom more than anything else after he woke up. "I get it. Be back soon," he said.
Molly nodded. Brian left quietly and closed the door gently. She felt empty all of a sudden.
It was not like she walked into this blind. She knew that Brian's life was a bloody one. Two years ago, when she had decided to stand by his side, she had realized that her life would be totally different. Everything would change. But when it came down to it, she freaked out. She hadn't expected that. Even if it had been necessary to kill them, she still felt sad when a vibrant life ended by her hand.
Leaning against the head of the bed, Molly closed her eyes. But she found this was no release. Everything that had happened on the ship invaded her thoughts, and she relived it all. A shot rang out, a foe fell. And the worst part was that sometimes they died with their eyes open. She had had to steel her heart against pity and fight violently. If she hadn't, they would have no qualms about killing her or Brian.
When she thought of Brian, her heart began to calm down. When she had fought at his side, there had been no time to think of anything else. There had been only one aim in her mind--to keep herself safe, and to prevent him from getting injured because of her. She didn't want that to happen again.
As time went by, the night finally gave way to dawn. The morning light began burning in the east like fire. The warm light made its way inside the room through the windows, declaring the beginning of a new day. A new day meant better things.
Brian and Eric worked hard to destroy every trace of evidence that they'd ever been on the ship. They worked covertly, but even where local law enforcement held sway, the authorities didn't stop them. It was as if they'd turned a blind eye to the pair's actions. And why not? They'd saved the police a great deal of trouble. They didn't have to put themselves in harm's way. Not only that but Brian and Eric had also closed a criminal case that they hadn't been able to solve for a long time.
The city was alive with bustling people when they finished the whole thing. Both Brian and Eric were exhausted. Leaning against the hood of the car side by side, each of them lit a cigarette, looking at the sea, which looked bleak now, with their deep eyes. And they finally had a chance to reflect on what happened that night. They had barely escaped with their lives once more.
"She's really different now..." Eric sighed with emotion as Molly came to his mind. He had been impressed by her performance last night. He knew Victor had trained her, so he had been waiting for something like this to happen. But she had still managed to surprise him. When he had seen her skill with a gun, he had come to one inescapable conclusion: She had been born to stand at Brian's side. She matched him so well. Only a woman who was able to keep her cool in the face of danger could protect herself, and let Brian focus on the task at hand.
Brian lowered his eyes slightly, raised the cigarette to his lips, took a puff. Soon, they were both wreathed in smoke. In the sunlight, the smoke was almost invisible. "But her heart is fragile," he replied.
Hearing that, Eric glanced at Brian. Of course he knew what his cousin meant. With a faint smile, he lowered his eyes. Then looking at the calm brine, he said in a sly tone, "True love is worth any sacrifice." He squinted, as if his eyes were covered by something. "It's good for the soul..." he added.
His meaningful words sounded dismal. With a smile on his lips, he could not help but sneer at himself. He took a puff of the cigarette and then dropped it. He ground the cigarette with one of his feet. Pausing for a moment, he looked at Brian and said, "Let's go."
Brian nodded and did the same with his cigarette. Then both of them got into the car. They sped to the hotel, ready to call it a night.
At noon, all the members of the Long Family gathered at the dining hall of the hospital. Since Wing had come out of her coma, Hawk, Frank and Smart all had flown here. All of them wanted to see her and make sure she was okay.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Began with the First Meeting