Page 97 of One of Six

"I'm not a stupid boy, Dad. Good riddance." Richard sneers, and now I'm afraid. Not just for me, but for David.

I swallow hard.

"That old bastard got what he deserved."

"Why did you kill Deedee? She was pregnant with your baby!"

"Was she?" He laughs.

My eyebrows knit together. "Judge?—"

"He got her pregnant. She came to me crying, rape. I shoved her." He shrugs. "Not my fault she was at the top of the stairs and gravity took care of everything else."

"You make me sick."

"Redd caught Judge and someone else burying her. He came to me. I couldn't let him go, so I had my men throw him off the roof. Made it look like an accident." He laughs. "I own this town."

"Not anymore," I cry. "You're a murdering bastard, and I hope they give you the death penalty for what you've done."

"Give me the phone, Beatrice. I'm done talking." He grins. "Or maybe I should shoot your daddy next."

"What?"

Richard is highly amused. "My brother spent years trying to protect you, even when he thought you were his niece. He loved you because of Elisabeth."

"I'm sure Ed has contacts he can use to spread rumors about you. Make sure you get a welcome from all the inmates looking for new meat,” I hiss.

"You think you have the upper hand, but you don't." His voice is deadly calm. "Phone!"

I push the phone over to him. "I know what's on it. So do the feds."

"It won't matter." Richard gets up and quickly looks through the phone and he grows angrier. He walks to the office door, turns, points the gun, and fires.

42

ESSEX

The soundof the shot stops my fucking heart. I start running. Shouts surround me, but I don't stop. I run towards the house.

Nico swerves in front of me on his bike. "Get on," he shouts.

I jump on behind him, wondering why the hell I didn't think of my bike. I wasn't thinking. I'm not sure I am now.

At the top of the driveway, Anders and Harding already have three men on the ground while Jesus takes great pleasure in cuffing their hands behind their backs.

Nico curses, his eyes on Anders. "Sexy as fuck!"

Gunshot!

I give my brother a quick look as I jump off the bike and rush into the house. I pause in the office doorway, my heart about to pound out of my chest. I grab my chest and drop to my knees behind Bea. My arms slip around her waist as Joker pulls her hands away from a bleeding David so he can apply thick gauze to stop the bleeding.

Bea sags against my chest and I whisper, "I love you," before burying my face in her neck. I'm so damn relieved that she's okay. It kills me that her father is lying at her knees, bleeding and unconscious.

The room is getting crowded, so I get up and take Bea with me. The paramedics come in and do their thing. "Is he going to be, okay?" Bea asks Joker, who moves out of the way of the paramedics.

"I honestly don't know."

The paramedics move David as we back out of the room.

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