Pierce wasn’t a liar, but when he did, his eyebrow twitched at the end for a fraction of a second. If you weren’t watching closely you would miss it, but luckily for me I was. And as he spoke that eyebrow twitched like it was dancing the Macarena.
“I’m worried because if Mari leaves now people will say I cheated.”
My throat tightened. Was he considering not letting Mari out of their deal? How long did he plan to keep her hostage in his house? And why was it her responsibility to pay for his mistakes?
“Well, you kind of did,” I said when Pierce started up his pacing again.
His eyebrow twitched at the same time as his forehead rose. “No, I didn’t.”
I may know that he didn’t cheat. Mari and Pierce may know he didn’t cheat, but Katy and the rest of everyone else who lived in Pelican Bay didn’t have that information. Katy at times appeared like a nice enough girl, but she was always two dollars short and doing whatever to make ends meet. She could sell that story to the local paper and make a mint.
“In the town’s eyes you did.” And it wasn’t like Pierce could tell people he had a fake fiancée with Mari because that would make him look even worse. He’d fallen into a sticky situation.
They Kensington men had a history of jilted lovers.
Pierce shook his head again and stopped his circle to lean up against one chair at the dining table. “Katy won’t tell anyone.”
I didn’t question him any further, but I wasn’t as sure of the woman. I’d never met a man who trusted his worst enemy as much as Pierce. If Katy had information to bring Pierce’s global domination of Pelican Bay down, I had no doubts she would use it.
But it wasn’t my place, and it wasn’t my town. “If you trust her so much, I say we stick to the original plan.” That meant I got Mari to myself sooner.
We would sneak away in the middle of the night, pretending she returned home to take care of her elderly grandmother. Something else would happen and the town would move on. Something was bound to happen, eventually. Then Mari would be old news. They weren’t battling a major East Coast crime lord any longer, but they were home to one of the largest motorcycle clubs in Maine. Sooner or later, someone would shoot someone. It was the Pelican Bay way.
I always viewed this town as a powder keg waiting to explode.
Pierce stared out the window considering my words, and I waited to hear what he would say before I continued my argument. The silence stretched out between us until it shattered like a wine glass falling to the floor. A scream, bloodcurdling and signifying danger rolled over us from the second floor of Pierce’s home.
We both froze for a nanosecond and then raced to see who would make it to the top of the stairs first.
“Mari!” I yelled before I crested the top step. I’d only heard her scream in the throes of passion, but I couldn’t mistake the sound from anything. It stopped my heart and froze my insides.
“Oliver!” Came from the corner of Pierce’s office. I pushed Pierce out of the way to be the first to make it in the room, my steps slamming to a stop as soon as I crossed the threshold and took in the situation.
Mari stood halfway into the room while Melissa used Pierce’s enormous desk as a blockade between her and the rest of us. Her eyes were wide, and she scanned the room like a caged animal looking for a way out.
I stepped closer to Mari needing her in my arms, but Melissa twisted a gun in my direction. The metal barrel caught a gleam of sunlight from the window and I cringed. Her hand shook, but her finger was on the trigger. Any misstep and she might fire.
“I came to talk to Pierce and caught her going through his desk drawers.” Behind Pierce’s desk, looking over the water, the balcony doors were open. I never figured out why my cousin had such a wonderful view of the ocean but turned his desk the wrong way. Rather than look out at the beautiful water he faced the drab hallway.
“I don’t want any trouble,” Melissa cried, even though she continued to wave the gun hap hazardously at each of us.
I inched closer to Mari, hoping Melissa wouldn’t notice, but then stopped when her gaze fell to my feet.
“Then why did you bring a gun?” Pierce asked, walking into the room like his fired housekeeper didn’t scare him.
She twisted in his direction and her finger squeezed the trigger. A loud bang echoed in the small space, causing Mari to scream and cover her ears. I turned, expecting to find Pierce lying dead on the floor, but he was only frozen in his tracks, his eyes wide in disbelief that Melissa took a shot at him. There was no sign of where the bullet landed, but by the lack of blood stains on the floor, it was safe to assume she missed her target.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Pierce yelled.
It wasn’t the time to question the mad woman with the gun, but Pierce was never one to keep his mouth shut.
Ignoring Pierce, she turned her attention to Mari. “You were supposed to help me!”
Mari raised her hands in the air. “I visited the nursing home. Pierce is paying your grandma’s expenses.”
Melissa crouched on her knees, put her hands to her head, and screamed as loudly as possible as if she was the one being tormented.
In the distraction, Pierce pulled his phone from his pocket and hit a red button on the screen. Then casually as soon as Melissa regained her position, he slipped it back into his pocket.
