As they got closer to the house, Skye noticed a black car on the side of the driveway almost to the road. Turning down the drive and parking in front of the house, she honked the horn, then got out of the SUV. Tyler unbuckled himself, and Skye opened up the back door, grabbing their bags, then walking up the steps and knocking on the door.
Inside the house, Parker ordered Ross to tell Skye to come in. “Come on in. The door’s open. I’m here in the living room. Come on in.”
Skye opened the door, and Tyler bolted through the door. “Momma, where’s the bathroom?” Tyler yelled as he ran through the house.
“Tyler, slow down. It’s back there just off the kitchen. Be careful and don’t bother Tammy Jane,” Skye told Tyler as he disappeared around the corner.
“Daddy, it’s Skye. Where are you?” she yelled.
“In here, damn it,” Ross Howard yelled back at his daughter. Skye dropped the bags by the front door, then walked through the foyer and into the living room. When she looked up she came face to face with Parker holding a gun to her daddy’s head and Tammy Jane lying in a pool of blood, next to where her daddy was cuffed to the chair.
“Well, Skye, it’s nice to see you again,” Parker greeted her.
“Parker, please let my dad and Tyler go—please—you can do whatever you want to me, but please let them go,” she begged. Tyler came into the living room just behind Parker and Jasmine. Parker quickly scooped him up and turned the gun on Tyler.
Skye screamed and begged Parker to let Tyler go, but Parker laughed. “Look, Skye, this is how it's gonna go.” Parker waved the pistol around, then he pointed it at Tyler, then her dad. “Which one goes first? If you do as I tell you, then Tyler here and your daddy might get out of this alive. As for you, my lovely Skye, I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do to you yet. Why don’t you bring your pretty little self over here and sit down? We gotta talk,” Parker said, pointing to the chair in front of her.
Skye walked around the chair and sat down. “Parker, please let Tyler sit by me…you’re scaring him. He never did anything to you. Please?” Skye begged.
“Fine,” he said and then put Tyler down. The boy ran to Skye and jumped into her lap.
“Okay, are we all happy now?” Parker snarled. “Can we get down to business now?” Parker sat across from Skye on the couch her momma had purchased right before she died, and it killed Skye to see him sitting on it. Jasmine sat down next to Parker on the couch and wrapped her arms around him. Parker elbowed Jasmine off of him. “Not now, Jasmine. I’m trying to work here.” Parker scowled at her.
“All right, Skye, this is how it’s gonna work. Tomorrow morning, you will go to the Crawford Savings and Loan, and I want you to withdraw all the money from your daddy’s accounts. Then I want you to request a bank transfer from your accounts in New York to the bank here. Then I want you to bring it all back here, and then I’ll know what I want to do with you. For now, let’s all get comfortable. We’re in for a long night,” Parker grumbled.
As the night wore on, Skye finally got the courage to get up and walk over to Parker. She wasn’t sure it was the smartest thing to do, but it was her only choice. Parker watched her as she walked over to him. Jasmine was already asleep on the couch, and Tyler had made a bed with his coat on the floor. Ross Howard, on the other hand, watched as his daughter confronted their captor.
“Parker, why are you doing this? I told you I wouldn’t say anything. Tyler doesn’t deserve this. He’s just a kid, and you’re the only father he has ever known. Why are you doing this to him?” she begged.
“Can I tell you my side of the story?” Parker asked. “Do I have a choice, Parker? I thought it was pretty clear what I saw, but go ahead.”
Parker sat back in his chair, staring wildly at Skye as he told his side of the story. Parker took a deep breath. “The other night when Camden got shot, it was an accident.”
“An accident? Really, Parker? Then why did you turn the gun on me and threaten to kill Tyler and me? And why are you holding us hostage? And why are you forcing me to get you money?” she screamed.
When she screamed, it woke Tyler, who sat up. “Momma, are you okay? Why are you yelling?”
“Tyler, baby, why don’t you go upstairs and Mommy will tuck you into her old bed, all right? Just go upstairs, and it’s the first door on your right.” Tyler got up and went to the stairs, looking back at his mom. Skye repeated, “Go on, baby. Mommy will be right up there.” Then she turned to Parker. “Don’t say a word. I’ll do what you want. Just let me get Tyler upstairs. And please let me take my dad to his room? You can handcuff him to his bed, if that’s what you want, but at least be civil, please?” Skye begged, and Parker finally relented.
“Fine. Jasmine, wake the hell up and uncuff the old man,” Parker ordered.
Jasmine rubbed her eyes, then got up. “You don’t have to be a jerk, Parker,” she said as she pushed her hand into her jeans, pulled the cuff key out, and unlocked Ross’s hand from behind him. Ross rose up from the chair, rubbing his wrists as Parker gave Jasmine the pistol and she followed them all upstairs.
The four of them went to Ross’s room first, and Jasmine locked Ross’s hand to the old antique metal-framed bed. She then followed Skye and Tyler to Skye’s old bedroom.
Jasmine stood in the corner of the room near the door, then she quietly pushed the door closed so Parker couldn’t hear. She whispered to Skye, “Skye, Skye, please, I need to talk to you. Please, I wanna help.”
Skye turned to Jasmine and said, “How can I trust you? You’ve been sleeping with Parker behind my back, and now you’re helping him to kill my son and my father, then me.”
“No, Skye, I never wanted this. Yes, I was sleeping with Parker, but I’m not a murderer. I thought we were going to run away. Then next thing I knew, we were flying here,” Jasmine explained. “You don’t have to believe me, but I want to help. In the morning, just go get the money. I’ll keep Parker busy while you’re gone. Then once you get here with the money, I’ll distract him and you can get away. Then Parker will be forced to leave. He won’t have a reason to stay. I’ll make sure he gets out of the country and as far away as possible.”
“But what about you, Jasmine?” Skye asked.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m a fighter. He may think he has me under control, but I’ll kill him myself if I have to,” Jasmine said, just as she heard Parker screaming from downstairs, asking why it was taking so long.
Jasmine yelled back she was trying to get the brat to sleep. Then she turned to Skye and placed her finger on her lips to stay quiet. Jasmine slowly opened the bedroom door. Skye kissed Tyler good night, then walked downstairs.
“What took so fucking long?” Parker asked.
“I was trying to get Tyler down since you have scared him to death, Parker. He doesn’t understand why you’re doing this,” Skye scolded him.
“Fine, just go to sleep then. What time does that bank open?” Parker asked.
Skye looked back at Parker, her face red with anger. “How the fuck should I know? I haven’t been home in ten years. I can assume maybe nine a.m. when Mr. Franks, the bank president, comes in, but that’s a guess. And besides that, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I don’t even know if the bank will even be open. This is a small town. Parker. Please, just turn yourself in.”