“You brat! Come here!” she screams as she chases me.
Layla’s cries fill the room.
I get my hand on one knitting needle, but I can’t stop my momentum and keep falling to the floor. With all my might, I twist at the last second and lift the needle.
Susan lands on top of me, knocking the wind out of me. I gasp for breath.
Oh my God. Did she shoot me up with bleach?
“What did you do?” Susan howls.
I open my eyes, not realizing I’d closed them. She and I both look down between us where a knitting needle sticks out of her chest. Holy shit. I shove her off me and scoot away as the door opens.
“Jace!” I scramble backwards, toward Layla, who’s wailing.
“What happened?” He’s suddenly at my side. “Why are you bleeding?”
“I’m not.” I point to his manager’s wife, who’s lying on her side, moaning. “She is.”
56
RORY
As I playthe video for the police, Jace holds Layla with one arm while he keeps the other around my shoulders. I can’t stop trembling, but it helps to have him by my side.
When the recording ends, the policeman shakes his head as he takes notes. “She seemed like a nice lady.”
“I thought so too.” The EMTs carried her out on a stretcher ten minutes ago. I can’t believe I suspected my friend Quinn when our stalker was Susan all along. “Is she going to live?”
“Paramedics got here quickly, and I don’t know for sure, but it looks like you missed her heart, so that bodes well for her.”
Jace’s jaw clenches. “Susan ran after my wife with a fucking syringe. And that’s after she tried to poison her.”
His wife. My heart melts and I wrap my arms around him.
The cop nods. “My partner found the syringe and cup. I’m going to need a copy of that audio file.”
I nod. “Whatever you need.”
“And don’t worry. You’re not being charged with a crime. The recording helps. Otherwise, we might not have all the evidence to arrest her. She could’ve said you were the one who attacked her.”
Jace scowls, but I put my hand on his chest. “I’m okay. Layla’s fine too. That’s all that matters.”
When the cop walks away, Jace pulls me closer. “I can’t believe she was stealing money.”
“She had me fooled too.”
“What’s going on?” Frank calls out from the doorway. “Why are the cops here?”
Jace curses under his breath. “It’s gonna suck to tell him.”
I rub his chest. “I can do that.”
“No. He’s my manager. He deserves to hear what happened from me.” Jace kisses my temple.
“Let me take Layla.” I hold out my arms, but he shakes his head.
“You’re supposed to be resting.”
