Page 128 of Let Me Show You

“Who the fuck is that?” I ask.

She laughs. “Don’t worry about it.”

“How can I even trust you?” I seethe.

“Oh, I’d much rather see you bleed out than her. You have thirty minutes. If you arrive a minute late, she’ll have a bullet in her head. And I won’t stop until you do too.”

The call ends, and all of our conspiracies about Brittany make perfect sense.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

KATIE

I don’t know why those smoothies would affect me like that, but I’m assuming it’s all the fiber. The last thing I want to do is leave because I’m not feeling well, so the best solution is to grab the Pepto pills I have in my glove box for these types of emergencies.

A smile fills my face as I leave the celebration and walk toward my car. It’s only a few blocks away, and I can still hear the band playing in the distance. As I get closer, I unlock my phone and scroll through the few pictures I have of Owen, Noah, and me together. Earlier, when he said it was our first family photo, I nearly cried.

My emotions bubbled over, and I lost my words. It’s been only Owen and me for so long that when he said that, it felt right. We are a family, and I love him with all my heart.

When I turn the corner, I see my car and notice all four of my tires are slashed.

“What the actual fuck?” I say out loud just as I’m getting ready to call Noah. Before I can, I’m grabbed, and my arms are secured behind my back. I struggle, trying to break free, but the man holding me is too strong. A few seconds later, I’m peering into dark brown eyes.

Brittany.

“Let me go!” I scream. All I want to do right now is claw out her eyes.

A maniacal laugh escapes her dark red lips. “No.”

Taking another step forward, she grabs my cheeks and squeezes hard, digging her nails into my skin. “I never understood what he saw in you.”

I glare, wishing she’d drop dead.

“Gabe never had the best taste in women,” I throw back.

Her fist connects with my stomach so fast that she knocks the wind out of me. My pain only causes her to laugh. As I suck in air, she tells the guy who’s holding me to bring me to her Suburban.

“Why’re you doing this?” I croak.

She opens the back door, then crosses her arms and stares. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re the ticket that will lead Noah directly to me. Honestly, I should've taken this route a lot sooner.”

“You don’t have to do this, Brittany. Just let me go, and we can pretend none of this happened,” I say, thinking about Noah and how Owen’s with my mother. They’ll all be looking for me if they aren’t already.

“Don’t think so. There’s no turning back now.” She reaches into the back and grabs a roll of duct tape.

The sound of her pulling it from the roll nearly pierces my ears.

“Please,” I beg again. “My son is with me.”

“I don’t give a fuck about your kid.” She rips the tape and slaps it hard over my mouth. I struggle to break free, but it’s no use.

“Nicolas, don’t you fuckin’ let her get away.”

Moving behind me, Brittany tapes my wrists together, then wraps it around my thighs and ankles until I can hardly move. I try to scream, but it’s so muffled no one would ever be able to hear me. Tears stream down my face as I come to terms with what she’s done. Adrenaline courses through my veins, and I wish I would’ve let Noah accompany me like he wanted. But I was stupid and insisted he stay.

My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and Brittany grabs it and smirks. It’s Noah. She turns it off, then slams it on the pavement. The screen shatters, and she picks it up, then throws it in her vehicle.

“I’m gonna kill him,” she seethes. “Then this will all be over.”