Page 68 of Never Fear (Whiskey Ridge)
He held his hands up in surrender, eyes darting between her face and the gun now aimed directly at his forehead. “I forgot. Shit. I’ll go back and?—”
“No!” Monica screamed, and then a gunshot echoed throughout the building, sending needles straight through my ear drums.
The man careened sideways, his body landing directly on my lower leg. I bit my tongue to hold back the scream building from the pain that came with it. He had to be at least two hundred and fifty pounds of dead weight, and all of it was on my calf and ankle.
“There’s nogoing backto make it all better,” Monica spat at him.
I almost reminded her that he was dead and couldn’t hear her, but it was better to keep her attention off me and on the corpse bleeding out all over mybare legs.
Her venomous gaze fell to me.And I thoughtIhad a resting bitch face.
“Would you like to know why you’re here, McKenna?”
“That’d be nice.” My voice quivered, tone high.
Monica tucked the gun into the waistband of her slacks and brushed her hands on her black blouse. Instantly, like she’d been wearing a mask, a sort of fake pleasantry seeped into her being and she began pacing, arms draped lazily behind her back.
“Your boy toy killed my boyfriend.”
There was no hiding the fact that I was fucked now.
“That night he took your precious little friend to get back what was rightfully his?” She pinned her gaze on me. “Your stupid little boys shot him and his men. I was going to get revenge for Lance no matter what, but then my father died—” Her sentence cut off on a maniacal laugh. “It was almost perfect.” Then she turned serious. “I had no doubt one of them killed him. Which was naive of them, really. Because all it did was bring me right to your doorstep.”
She took slow, drawn-out steps toward me, like she was a cat playing with a mouse caught in a trap with nowhere to hide. Despite Austin’s nickname for me, I was, without a doubt, not the cat in this situation.
I was the fucking mouse, and about to get eaten whole.
Less than a foot from me, she crouched so I had nowhere to look but straight at her.
“You left the notes,” I concluded. From the beginning, I’d suspected it had to be someone who’d been close with Lance. But Marv’s daughter being behind it? I would have never guessed that.
A sadistic smile painted her face. “Only one. Lance’smen did the rest of the dirty work for me. I’m not the only one pissed about his death.”
Figures.
She’d killed the man helping her tonight, though.
“Let me guess—there are others in on this too,” I surmised.
Her smile only grew. “Like I said, McKenna, I’m not the only one. As flawless as you may think they are, your brainless boys make mistakes.” Shetskedthree times, cocking her head to the side. “Lance never worked alone. He had connections everywhere. He kept me hidden?—”
“So he could fuck other women,” I interrupted. If I let her keep going, she’d talk herself in circles. And even though my life was on the line, I was growing bored.
Her lips twitched as pure malice lit up her eyes. Her mask was slipping. “No.”
“Yes.” I tried to slide my leg out from under the man’s body, but it was no use. “I saw him talking with them outside the diner. At least ten others, if I remember correctly.”
“Talking—”
“Touching. Feeling. Kissing.”
At the last word, she struck. Pain bloomed in my cheek, and I swallowed the metallic taste in my mouth.How many fucking times was I going to get hit today?
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.” My now-slick tongue ran across my lower lip. “Your revenge plot is all for a fucking cheater. How does that feel?”
Her lip curled back as she seethed. “If you think making up little stories will save you, you’re wrong.” She pulled outthe gun, running a finger along the barrel before aiming it my way.
