Page 133 of Falling Too Late

“Alex was miserable before you, but he was fun. He would come out to parties and look at me as if I hung the fucking moon. I could give him anything. Clothes, games, movies. Anything he wanted and he was still fucking miserable. That made me feel good because I fucking hated my life, too, but at least I had money and both my parents. And then you came around. . .” He approached me, his hand caressing my cheek, thumb roughly grazing over my lips. “I didn’t get it. You were nothing to get a hard-on over. Fucking scared, dirty, skinny-ass thing. You always looked like someone was going to reach out and hit you.” He pushed my face back, disgust in his voice. The person standing in front of me was not the same man who had been caring for me for the last six years. The person who’d been at my side through my heartache.

Jon spoke as if he was unhinged. His eyes darted all over the place. He moved to the back door, unlocking it and stepping outside. He whistled and looked around. “Where are the dogs?”

My stomach dropped. What would he do to them?

“Alex took them with him. . .”

Jon looked back outside before closing the door.

“I don’t get it, Jon, if you hated me so much then why did you befriend me?” I asked, trying to distract him away from my dogs.

I wouldn’t let him hurt them.

“Because he always wanted you around! And then suddenly, Alex was happy. He didn’t want things anymore. It didn’t matter what I bought or what event I invited him to, he didn’t care. He just wanted to stay home all the time and be with you!” He laughed maniacally. “And then, I figured it out. He was happy because of you.” He used the gun to point at me. I recoiled. “So, if you can’t beat them, join them. I bought things for you instead, invited you instead. Then I thought to myself, what’s so special about her? What about a girl could make the most miserable guy I knew happy? I waited for five fucking years for him to finally makehis move on you. He never did. And you know what, I wanted a slice of the fucking cake. I wanted to know what it was about you.” He scoffed. “Then my fucking dad just about gambled the entire family fortune away. He was going to run that fucking firm into the ground, and then I was going to be just as broke as Alex. I couldn’t let that happen, so I did the only thing I could do: I went to a financial backer, and I got the money I needed to keep the firm. Forced him to sign it over to me and sent his ass to Florida for retirement with a nice little nest egg.”

“I didn’t realize that your parents were. . .”

“Deadbeats. My dad got lucky in the beginning with his trials. Made money fast and flaunted it. As he’s gotten older, he’s squandered most of it. My mother realized all he was good for was his money, and soon found herself a lover on the side. They fought like cats and dogs growing up. Neither were happy. So, me taking over the firm was the best thing that could happen for the both of them—and my sister. She still gets to live her cushy life, none the wiser. Of course, no one wants to work with the boss's son. We started losing clients. How the fuck was I supposed to pay back the fucking loan sharks without any income!”

He moved to the kitchen and yanking open the drawers one by one, searching for something. “So again, go back to the fucking sharks and pay them to plant easy evidence. Get my firm out there winning trials under my name. Easy, done, it's just money, and as long as business is thriving, money is easy to come by.” He wiped a hand down his face. “Where the fuck is the duct tape?!”

I almost laughed. “I don’t have any.” I’d never kept it in my life.

As Jon rambled on, I kept glancing out the back window, hoping to catch Alex before he came back. I didn’t want him rushing in here not realizing the danger he was in.

“What are you looking at?”

I jolted in surprise; Jon turned and looked back through the window.

The coffee pot hissed and sputtered as it finishedbrewing.

“The coffee! It’s. . . It's done. C-can I pour you a cup?”

I didn’t know what I was doing, but I didn’t want him focusing on the outside. “Come on, Jon, you look tired, let me take care of you.” I softened my tone. I was hoping that maybe if I pretended to care for him, he might relax.

“Yeah, coffee sounds nice.” Jon’s demeanor seemed to change at my offer. He relaxed his shoulders again, dropping the gun to his side.

I would use this to my advantage.

I stood cautiously. I pulled two mugs down and poured him a cup. Glancing over my shoulder, he was looking outside again. I opened the cabinet above the coffeepot and pulled down a small glass vial, pouring out the contents into my hand and grinding the brittle petals between my fingers into his mug. I opened the fridge, poured some milk, and added sugar into his cup, just how he liked it.

“So, tell me more. I want to understand.” I handed him the mug. I held my own between my hands, letting the heat soak into them and tried to stop the trembling. I tried to arrange my face in a concerned look, giving him my full attention. I needed him to pay attention to me and not outside.

I can’t lose Alex again.

He hesitated for a moment, taking a sip of the coffee. “Wren, you have to understand, at first, I hated you. You took the attention of my best friend. He wanted to be around you all the time like some love sick puppy. But eventually, I was able to understand why. I came to appreciate you just as much as, if not more than, him. That day when I came to the house. . . I was only trying to help you.” He reached for me, his hand running down my arm before he squeezed my hand.

“What do you mean?”

“You wouldn’t sleep. You weren’t eating. I had to do something to get you to let go of him.”

My stomach dropped. “What did you do?”

“I would have been the better choice, Wren. I could give youeverything you ever wanted. Everything you ever dreamed of. I waited for you to let him go. I waited for you to move on, but you,” he pointed his finger at me, “you stubborn woman, were going to wait for him to get out of there, and then what? What would that do for me? I needed to get rid of Alex so you could move on. Conveniently enough, the same loan sharks do shady shit like kill-for-hire.”

I remembered Alex’s scar, and contempt grew inside me, understanding settling.

“You. . .hired someoneto kill him?”

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