Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 133688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“You wanna know the reason Gabe wanted to start a family with me? He said he wasn’t convinced you’d keep your baby full-term.” Her words stab through me as I relive the devastation of the miscarriage and how worried we were about Owen surviving.
“But you did,” she says with a snarl. “And our boys are the same age. In the same class. Who would’ve ever predicted such a thing? He’s a sweet kid and has the same mannerisms as Gabe, but then again, so does my Anthony. Too bad they’ll never know they’re brothers.”
She forces herself under my skin with her words.
Brittany laughs as if she finds something funny about this situation. “Loretta knew the whole time and never told you, did she? Guess she planned to take it to her grave until I showed up again.”
With every passing second, I grow angrier. Pissed that Gabe would do this to me, would lie, but then again, he had a way of promising things without delivering. I’m sure Brittany hadn’t seen that side of him yet, but he would’ve done the same thing to her as he did to me—because a tiger can’t change its stripes. Not that any of that matters now.
Nicolas knocks on the metal door. “He’s here.”
Brittany tucks the gun in the back of her jeans and walks outside, closing me up inside.
“Is he by himself?” I hear her ask.
“From what I could tell when he pulled in.” Nicolas grumbles.
For a moment, while I’m completely alone, I let the elephant-sized tears fall. They’re not caused by sadness but by deep-rooted anger.
A car comes to a stop, and moments later, Nicolas speaks. “Put your fucking hands up,” he demands, and I wish more than anything I could warn Noah.
“I need to see Katie to make sure she’s okay,” Noah says.
The door lifts, and I see the panic in Noah’s expression. All I’m concerned about is Brittany murdering him and forcing me to watch. I think that was her plan all along.
Noah takes a step forward, and Brittany points the gun directly at me. “I kept my end of the deal. She’s alive…but soon won’t be.”
“Brittany,” he hisses. “I knew your word was shit.”
“That night at the bar, I had to bear witness to you killing the love of my life. Now I finally get to return the favor,” she says.
I keep my eyes on Noah, hoping he understands how much I love him. I wish this wasn’t happening, and we were back at the grand opening eating hot dogs and listening to music. Today was supposed to be different. It was supposed to be our day.
Brittany steps closer to me. “Any final words you’d like to say to her?”
She places the gun to my temple, then turns and looks at him. Noah yells and rushes forward, giving Brittany enough time to turn her body and pull the trigger.
It happens too fast.
The shot.
The ear-piercing sound.
Then watching Noah fall lifelessly to the ground.
I scream out and try to break free as Brittany’s laughter echoes throughout the space.
“It’s over,” she says with a relieved breath. “It’s finally fucking over.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
NOAH
The shot goes off, and immediately, I feel pain as I fall to the ground. Brittany's laughter rings in my ears as more gunshots are fired.
I stay still, not wanting to draw any attention toward me.
“Put the gun down,” I hear Brittany say. She's breathing heavily as feet shuffle around me.
“Not happening,” Eric tells her, loading another round. Though my head is turned the other way, I know he's killed Nicolas. There's not a doubt in my mind.
“Put your fuckin' gun down!” Brittany screeches.
Eric chuckles, completely unfazed by her. “You first.”
“I'll shoot,” she says, and I open my eyes as she moves farther away from me. Eric’s using the car as a shield while Brittany steadies her shaking hand.
I hear Katie crying, and I want nothing more than to go to her, but I can't move.
“If you know what's good for you, you'll get in your SUV and drive the fuck away,” Eric warns. “You have no idea what you've done.”
“Fuck you,” she hisses. “I’ll finish what that bastard started. This has nothing to do with you,” she screams and pulls the trigger.
Based on Eric's laughter, she misses. “Shoulda probably gone to the range for some target practice before trying to act like a badass. Pathetic.”
Brittany points her gun again, and I hear a revving engine accompanied by tires squealing.
Then I watch as a silver Toyota slams into Brittany from behind at a high speed. Her body flies over the hood, and she lies in a crumpled hump on the ground.
Seconds later, Eric comes into view. He walks past me and goes to Katie. I manage to roll over on my side, my chest burning, and she comes to me after she's free.
“Noah, Noah. Baby,” she says, moving my body around, frantically sobbing.