Page 85 of Filthy Liar

Then I turn to my wife, cupping her face with my hands as I look her over. A strip of wrinkled duct tape dangles from some strands of her hair and a red line about the same width as the silver adhesive mars the fair skin surrounding her mouth. "Are you okay, Love?"

Her hands fist in my shirt as she gives me a jerky nod. "But I think they were going to kill me."

The fear in her voice breaks my heart and I'm pulling her close, tucking her head to my chest as I breathe against the softness of her hair. "Never, Darling. I would never let that happen." I close my eyes, basking in her presence. In her safety. In her— "They?"

Val nods, her expression turning stony as she tips her head to look up at me. "Jessica is how Warren found me."

I open my mouth, then clamp my lips back together, because there's nothing I can say. This is my fault. Everything would have been over if it hadn't been for me in my own bullshit.

My wife almost died because of me.

I pull Valerie back against me, holding her even tighter. "I should have just fucking paid them all off. Warren. Jessica—"

"Abso-fucking-lutely not." Valerie pushes at my chest, and now she's the one glaring at me. "Neither one of them deserves to get anything from you."

"It's not about the money, Val. It's about keeping you safe." I lift my hand to smooth back her hair, but it's hopelessly tangled in the duct tape, and I don't want to make matters worse. "I promised I would keep you safe, and I have failed. Horribly."

She shakes her head, the movement aggressive. "You are the only reason I'm alive, Fynn. If it wasn't for you I would've been dead weeks ago." She looks around, eyes falling on where Sylvia sits in the back seat, arms crossed tightly against her chest, lower lip pushed out in a pout. "Even now, if it wasn’t for you, I would be dead on that boat."

I can give her the comment about the initial danger she was in, but if it wasn't for me we wouldn't be here at this dock. We would be safe at home. "I have enough money to make anything go away, and from this point forward I will be using it any time the need arises. I won’t have someone take you from me again."

Valerie starts to argue, but stops short, her brows pinching together. “How did you know where to find me?” She stands a little taller, forehead furrowing. “How did you know I’d been taken at all?”

“I was coming to find you.” My chest tightens at the memory and my arms flex where they hold her. “I saw them grab you and force you into the car.” Again, I feel as if I’ve failed her. “If I’d only left a few minutes sooner—”

“They would have just gotten me some other day.” Valerie blows out a breath. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Jessica really doesn’t like me.” She presses her lips together and turns toward the boat. “Like, wants me dead, doesn’t like me.”

“Doesn’t matter now, Darling.” I want to calm her fears. “You won’t have to worry about her ever again.”

Valerie chews her lower lip, expression pinched. “Because of all those gunshots?” I could swear she looks upset by the possibility. I’m not surprised. My wife is sweet and has a vicious streak, but she’s not the kind of person who would ever wish someone dead.

Even someone like Jessica.

“We will likely never know what happened in there.” I was kept in the dark about much of what Elaine planned tonight, and I intend to keep it that way. Elaine can deal with Warren’s infraction however she wants. He brought his business into her territory and I doubt she’ll be forgiving.

Jessica, however, might be a different story.

“There you are.” Elaine strides through the lot, heading straight for us, looking as polished as ever in spite of what just happened. “Thank you for grabbing my mother before she could get herself hurt.”

“Of course.” I tip my head toward the backseat where Sylvia is stewing. “Do you need me to take her home?”

Elaine shakes her head. “I’m finished here.” She holds my gaze. “Unless you’d like for me to tie all the loose ends to a brick.”

I wish I was as good of a person as my wife is, but I’m not. “Will the loose end cause me or my wife any problems in the future?”

Elaine throws her head back on a laugh, the sound loud and throaty. She wipes at the corner of one eye, lips holding a smile. “No.”

I tip my head in a nod of understanding. “Good.”

Elaine motions to where Sylvia is watching us, mouth still creased in a pout. “I’ll get my mother out of your hair then and let you two get on with your evening.” She says it like we just met up for drinks, and maybe to her, tonight is the equivalent.

I help Sylvia from the car, standing by as Val squeezes her in a tight hug. “Thank you so much. You were amazing.”

“This isn’t my first rodeo.” Sylvia shrugs it off. “I’m just glad I got to shoot someone this time.”

“You weren’t supposed to shoot anyone, Mother.” Elaine’s reprimand lacks any sort of bite. As if she might be a little proud. “And where in the hell did you come up with the idea for that swingers club?”

Sylvia smooths out her floral printed shirt. “I didn’t come up with it.” She gives her daughter a grin. “It really exists.”

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