Page 110 of Roots of the Wicked

My hands were in prayer position. “Please.” I took a step closer, unconcerned about my own safety. TK was aligned with me, moving closer as well.

“Stay back!” Amanda yelled, pressing the pistol harder into the back of Jax’s head. When she lowered the gun and pointed it at her stomach with a teasing sneer, my heart dropped, hit the floor and shattered.

“You think I didn’t know about your love child?” Amanda smirked in my direction.

“Please, don’t. I’ll give you whatever you want, don’t hurt her,” I sobbed, my voice ragged, tethered, brittle. I was fighting to hold myself together, unsure of what to do with my body. All I knew was I had to get Jax away from Amanda.

“Get the fuck out of my way Chase!” TK shouted behind me now. “You’re going to get yourself and Jax killed. You’re blocking my fucking shot.”

“Amanda, we can work this out. You don’t have to do this. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I apologize for any hurt and pain I caused you.”

“You can’t remember my fucking name, so I know you don’t remember the first two times we were together either. Let me remind you,” she said. “Most recently, in January of this year. I died my fucking hair black to get your attention, and you ended up leaving me in a fucking hotel room. Your fucking assistant was nicer to me than you.”

“I’m sorry. The paperwork you signed says…”

“Shut the fuck up about paperwork!” She yelled, shaking the gun at me. The tension in her face was pulled so tight, it appeared she was wearing a mask. “Three years, two months, two weeks, and four days ago was the first time we went out. I wore my natural brown hair then. Our pictures were plastered all over the television and internet. They said we were the it couple. They predicted marriage and babies in our future. We hit it off so well, I thought the same. After a month, you just up and walked away, no calls, no text, nothing.”

“Heather?”

“Bingo,” she replied quickly, with a sneering laugh.

Back then, I had engaged in a couple of relationships, but none had lasted more than six weeks. One of the women had been named Heather, but I couldn’t remember the last name. Had she had a facelift? She looked nothing like the woman I remembered dating as she was now a blonde.

“Heather, please accept my sincerest apology for the hurt I caused you. I was upfront about my relationship goals. The media sensationalized our relationship, turned it into something it wasn’t.”

I took another step closer with my hands raised. TK inched up as well, his feet shuffling near.

“You better stay the fuck back!” She barked, her tone so menacing it stopped me in my tracks.

“You tossed me away like I was a sack of shit, when all I ever wanted was to love you?”

“I’m sorry if I made you feel that way.”

“You sat there, staring me in the face months ago and interviewed me. I figured, third times a charm. But, you looked me right in my fucking face, and not only did you not know who I was, you remembered nothing about me. Do you know how much that hurt? Our time together, it meant nothing to you but, it was everything to me. We were good together. You told me I was good for you, then you threw me away and went out with the next woman on your to-do list.”

Three years ago, Heather had convinced me to take her to Vegas. We had gone out on four dates in a months’ time. One of the dates included a weekend in Vegas. A lot of drunken sex was involved, but there were never plans for a future together. She’d managed to get me shitfaced and attempted to convince me into a quickie drunken marriage. It was one of the reasons I had decided to let her go. She was coming on too strong, talking about marriage and children.

TK and I both took another cautious step that stopped us both when Amanda aimed the pistol at him, then quickly back on Jax.

“Come any closer, and I’m squeezing this fucking trigger!” she shouted.

“There must be a way we can work this out. What can you gain from hurting Jax? She didn’t do this. I pursued her.”

“Satisfaction,” she said. The disturbing scowl she cast resembled the snarl of a lioness aiming to rip her prey’s throat out. “The satisfaction of knowing I finally got your attention. Of knowing, that I made you hurt. I got new tits for you.” She hit herself hard in the chest with her free hand. “A new ass, nose job, and changed my hair color twice to get your attention, and it still wasn’t enough.”

Her crazed eyes filled with tears, the left twitching at the corner.

“Put that damn gun down!” Came a roaring voice from above, like it had fallen from the sky.

Thumping footsteps sounded on the stairs, drawing our attention. TK kept his gun aimed at Amanda, but like the rest of us, his attention had landed on the man making his way down the stairs.

“Dad?”

My father approached, his cane knocking loud against the floor with each step. I had been concentrating on Amanda with Jax so hard, that I hadn’t heard him until he had spoken and was midway down the steps.

He stood behind our group in the midst of our standoff, leaning on his cane and glaring at Amanda with fire in his eyes. My attention shifted back and forth between the two. Did he know her? I couldn’t worry about that right now. I had to find a way to get Jax away from Amanda.

An overpowering force took ahold of me at the sight of her threatening to hurt Jax and our unborn child. I was mindless as tunnel vision had started to set in. I didn’t care about danger or getting hurt. I only cared about getting Jax away from Amanda.

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