George is shaking, the chain securing him to the hook rattles, and every breath he takes comes out in a wheeze. “What about him?”
“What did he have to do with my father?”
George swings his gaze between Kerri and me. “Nothing.”
“Then why did my dad and Marcus argue over him?” she demands through clenched teeth.
“No, see,” I say before George can answer. “We’re not doing this right.” I point to the toolbox. “You’re going to lay it all out right now, without Kerri having to pull figurative teeth, or I’ll pull more of your literal teeth. Do we have an understanding?”
George pees a little.
I’ll take that as a yes.
He drops his gaze, his voice low and hoarse when he says, “Patti cheated on Marcus. She and Ralph agreed it would be a one-time thing. It was never supposed to get complicated, but he went to Ward & Caldwell when he got in trouble with his taxes. And your father…” George glares at Kerri. “He must have seen Patti and Ralph together because he knew about them. He never told Marcus, but heknew, and that’s why he refused to take him on as a client. Patti panicked. She thought he was going to tell Marcus.”
Kerri, her entire body so tense I’m shocked her spine doesn’t snap, blinks away tears. “Why didn’t Patti just divorce him? Why cause all this…death?”
George gives her a weak and bloody grin. “Prenup.” The word whistles out from the space where his front tooth used to be like a curse. “If there’s proof Patti had an affair, she loses everything. The clause is in perpetuity.”
“Of course,” she says with a broken and bitter laugh. Then she notches her chin, glances at me, and I swear to fucking God, the agony in her eyes shreds me down to my soul. She turns away, ignoring George’s screams for her to come back. It’s only when she reaches the stairs and curls her hand around the railing does she stop as if savoring his pleading.
“You said you weren’t going to kill me,” he wails.
“I’m not,” she tells him, her voice eerily calm. She’s gripping the railing so tightly her knuckles are white. “He is.”
With the grace of a queen, Kerri ascends the stairs. It’s only once I hear the door click softly behind her that I turn back to George. Knife in hand, I close the distance between us. Stare deep into the eyes of a breathing corpse. “You heard the lady, you miserable piece of shit.”
It’s a good, long while before I give the devil his due and slit George’s throat.
16
KERRI
How is it possible I’m numb and yet I feel everything simultaneously?
I’ve asked myself this question at least a dozen times since Havoc drove us down the mountain. I want to scream and cry and give in to the riot of emotions colliding inside of me. But a lifetime of discipline forces me to remain dignified despite my inner chaos now that we’ve returned to ‘civilization.’
During the hour-long drive from the Death Star to Mayhem, George’s confession ricocheted around my mind, drowning out the ’90s grunge rock that filled the awkward silence. At one point, Havoc asked if I was okay.
I lied and said I was okay.
I’m afraid I’ll never beokayever again.
And I for sure wasn’t okay when I walked up those stairs after confronting Patti’s brother. My entire world dropped out from under me. But I’m keeping it together because this is what I do. I don’t come apart. Not when my father was shot, and not when that bastard tried to run me off the road. I’m resilient.
I’m a Ward.
Wards don’t crack under pressure.
So why am Ithiscloseto coming undone?
I don’t know what Havoc did with George’s body after he was…finished…with him. I didn’t ask, and he didn’t tell. Nor do I want to know. Havoc joined me in bed right before dawn. He took me in his arms and made love to me. It wasn’t an angry fuck. Havoc slid into me from behind like he was slipping into a warm bath. His hips rocked against me, slow and rhythmic. My orgasm was almost hypnotic when it hit. And when he drifted into his climax, he wrapped his arms around my torso, held me against him, and shuddered until he spilled his last drop into me. We didn’t even clean ourselves. Instead, we fell asleep as we were, with his face buried in my hair and me caged in his embrace.
Because we both knew those were our last private moments together.
We woke a few hours later and left the mountain with an unspoken understanding that he’ll return to his life, and I’ll piece together the shattered remains of mine.
But together, we’ll bring Patricia Caldwell to justice.
