“What?” I breathed.
“You are!” he screamed and got to his feet. “First Ian and now the motherfucker who killed him!”
“I-I don’t understand,” I stammered.
“Bitch, please. Don’t try and act stupid. You knew I wanted you. Even Ian knew I wanted you,” he growled and took a step forward.
I held my hands up in surrender. “Mark, please. I swear I didn’t know. But now that I do, let’s talk about this,” I pleaded. I needed to keep him talking and give him time to sober up.
“There’s nothing for us to talk about. I had it all set up perfectly and that son of a bitch in there ruined everything!” he yelled and pointed to the bedroom where Kellan was hopefully still sleeping.
“You had what set up?” I asked. He wasn’t making any sense and the more he talked, the more he confused me.
He stared at me with an arched brow. “Tell me, Avery, why did Ian leave you?”
I couldn’t hide the look of surprise on my face. No one knew about that other than my parents and Kellan, or so I thought. “How did you know?”
He laughed cruelly. “Because I’m the one who convinced him to leave you after I told him you’d been having an affair with another officer.”
“You did what?” I screamed as red-hot rage began to flow through my veins.
“It was perfect! He was going to put in for a transfer and then I could have you all to myself. But then that motherfucker in there killed him and I had to spend almost a year coddling you and your brats! Just when I was about to make my move, you up and moved to Devil Springs without any warning. One day it was just, ‘Oh, fuck you, Mark, I’m moving,’ and then you were gone. Then, after all the time I spent convincing you to get rid of your kids for the summer so you would be lonely and depressed when I approached, you go and start fucking the bastard that killed Ian!” he roared.
I was so shocked by the words coming out of his mouth that I hadn’t realized he had moved closer to me. Pain erupted in my cheek when his hand made contact with my face. “You turned me into a monster!” he bellowed followed by another fist to my face that had me falling to the floor.
“I’m sorry!” I cried. “Please stop, Mark! I’m sorry!”
“You aren’t yet, but you’re gonna be! I’m a fucking police officer, Avery! If that truck had gone over the bridge like it was supposed to, I would be a murderer because of you!” he yelled as he towered over me.
Lowering his voice, he pointed his gun at my face and took aim. “I will be a murderer because of you.”
The deafening report of a single gunshot echoed through the small cabin. And something warm and sticky splattered across my face and chest. I couldn’t hear anything, but I could feel the vibrations of footsteps moving across the floor. All the while, I kept my eyes squeezed closed and remained curled into a ball on the floor.
When hands landed on me, I started screaming and blindly swinging my fists. The hands moved and firmly gripped my wrists to hold them down. “No!” I screamed and tried to get free. Something soft pressed against the shell of my ear and I heard, “It’s me. I got you.”
My entire body sagged in relief as I dissolved into a fit of tears. “Kellan!” I cried as I clung to him. “H-he, he,” I stammered.
“I know, baby. Keep your eyes closed,” he said before he wiped something over my face. “Okay, keep them closed while I help you stand.”
I did as he said and let him lead me out of the kitchen. When we came to a stop, he wiped over my face again with a wet cloth. “Open,” he said very close to my ear. He stepped back and I read his lips more than I heard the words when he said, “Let’s go outside.”
My entire body was trembling, but I managed to walk outside while clinging to his arm. He helped me sit in one of the patio chairs and squatted down in front of me. “I have to call this in,” he said and visibly swallowed. “I’m probably going to be arrested, but the club will handle it. Don’t try to interfere. Just wait for Phoenix to get here and do what he says.”
I nodded as tears streamed down my face.
“I need the words, baby.”
“I’ll do what he says. I love you, Kellan,” I cried and pulled him against me.
He held me for a few short moments before he pulled away and pulled out his phone.
39
Savior
“Phoenix Black.”
“It’s Savior. I’m at my parents’ lake house and I just killed a police officer,” I said and swallowed the bile rising in my throat. “I need you to call Copper and come get Avery. I’m calling it in now.”
