Part 32 (2/2)

I s.h.i.+ver, realizing I never knew Dyllan at all. He was an even worse monster than I thought.

”I'm sorry,” I murmur through a crackle, my eyes flas.h.i.+ng toward the silent child in her arms.

”Not yet, but you will be. You see, I decided tonight to do things a little differently. Instead of simply killing you and the child you don't deserve, I'm going to take your life the way you took mine. You'll still die, of course, but Trip here will become mine.”

”No!” I squeal while leaping to my feet, but she pulls out a gun and holds it to his head that still s.h.i.+elded from my view under the night sky and blanket.

I stop my rus.h.i.+ng a.s.sault, and she smirks.

”Don't worry, his daddy will still be involved. Tag Masters is a very attractive man. He'll need someone to help him raise his little boy when he's devastated by his love's untimely death. He'll be searching for a nanny, and Russell will quickly offer my name as a great candidate. It's amazing what someone will do when they have dark secrets in their closet. I couldn't have done this without him.”

Russell-that son of a b.i.t.c.h. He's probably back home with Tag now, plotting my replacement.

”Tag will never fall for you.”

Her eyebrow c.o.c.ks up.

”Oh really? Grief is a strong emotion that makes you feel a need for closeness. Trust me, I know. When Dyllan beat my child out of me, I grieved for over a year, wis.h.i.+ng someone would care. When I tell your doting fiance of my loss and who I am, we'll bond. Like I said, grief is a very powerful emotion. It will drive him to fall for me when I show him how much I care for his son, the son you don't deserve, the son you took the chance of having away from me.”

I hate her and pity her at the same time. She's deranged, and that b.i.t.c.h is planning on raising my child. If I was her though, I'd be just as deranged and p.i.s.sed. I can't imagine losing my son, and if it costs me my life... so be it.

No matter what she says, Tag will never love her. Eventually, he'll see right through her. I know he will.

”What are you going to do to me?” I ask, my body still trembling. ”Kill me like you killed Dyllan?”

”Yes, and Rene,” she laughs.

”You killed Rene? Why?”

She laughs harder. ”That girl was crazy. You should be thanking me.”

Did this lunatic really just call someone else crazy?

”She was the one you pointed the finger at when the police told you it was a woman. It worked out in my favor, and with her dead, security lightened up, making it easier for Russell to do my bidding.”

I shake my head, completely in shock. She's definitely a coldhearted b.i.t.c.h.

”Why kill Dyllan if you loved him so much?”

”Because Dyllan was a son of a b.i.t.c.h who stole my child. Not to mention, after Billy Prize asked him if he was the one stalking and threatening you a while back, he came in search of me. When I killed him, it was in self defense.

”It was unbelievable. After he robbed me of my child and left me alone in the hospital to deal with my grief, he went off stalking you himself. He was trying to find a way back into your life. He didn't give a d.a.m.n about me or our dead baby.”

”I'm sorry you lost your child, but don't do this. I never would have been with Dyllan if I had known he was married.”

She scowls, seeming angrier now.

”You didn't know because you didn't care. You took everything from me. It's only fair you pay me back. Every f.u.c.king time I try to kill you, it's like someone steps in and saves your pointless life! It's not fair! But not tonight. Tonight you'll finally die, and no divine intervention will spare you from the cold place of death you deserve.”

”I would have died if you hadn't called Tag. That was your fault the last time.”

She rolls her eyes and scratches her head with the gun that was pointed at me.

”That p.i.s.sed me off. I wanted to mutilate your f.u.c.king face-show the world how ugly you truly are. Russell gave me the code, called me when you left, and I timed it perfectly for when you'd arrive. I wanted your boy-toy to reach the house before the cops. I didn't want them to s.h.i.+eld him from seeing the monster you really are. But, as I said, my plans have now changed. If your face is mutilated, it'll haunt him. He'll never forget you, and I need him to forget you in order to be with me.”

”This is never going to happen, you know. Tag loves me, and he won't fall for your bulls.h.i.+t trap.”

Her eyes burn with a crazy glare as she stares at me with a smug smirk on her face.

”Oh, he'll fall. You're not as irreplaceable as you think you are. He'll forget you and fall in love with me just like your dad forgot your mother and moved on. I'll raise Trip who won't even remember his dead mother, just as you don't.”

My heart stings, burns, and falls to pieces. That stab hurt worse than the knife she literally twisted in my side.

”Now, I think that's enough talk. I just wanted you to know so your last few moments of life would be spent knowing your son and fiance would belong to me - the woman whose life you stole.”

She pulls the gun out, holding it directly at my head, and my breath leaves my chest. I close my eyes, awaiting my fate, and then I hear the blast ring out three times. I don't feel anything, and I'm worried time has slowed in my adrenaline rush.

I open my tearstained eyes to see her body on the ground, blood seeping to the sand, as the bundle in her arms lays under her chest.

”No!” I scream, throwing myself at her, and then I hear more screams from the distance.

”As.h.!.+”

Tag.

”Trip!” I squeal while struggling against her with my restrained hands, trying my best to pull my baby free.

”Please no!” I sob.

Arms wrap around me and jerk me up from the sand as Tag scoops me to his chest.

”Let me go! Tag, Trip's under her! He's dead!” I sob wildly.

”No, baby. Trip's at home with Wren and the others. He's safe, baby.”

I gasp, worried this is all a dream as the detective pulls free the lifeless baby doll that fooled me.

My sobs grow louder, deafening as I press my head into Tag's chest, and he coos in my ear as he rocks me against him.

”It's okay, baby. It's okay.”

”I should have noticed her in the pictures,” the detective says, shaking his head. ”Dyllan Mathews had several pictures of Ash with a blond woman following close behind. I never even noticed it, and it's my f.u.c.king job.”

”You were looking for Rene,” Tag sighs.

”How did you find me?” I croak.

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