I stared at her, unbelieving. Is this a nightmare?
Carey moved closer to the bathroom.
No, no, no! Time seemed to stop, crawling in slow motion, and it was if my brain couldn’t function.
“Wes!” The word came out garbled, as if I were underwater.
Carey undid the safety and hissed at me, “I said, shut up!”
“Hannah Taylor, I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you, but I don’t have time for lies.” She stood at the foot of my bed, her arms crossed against her petite frame.
I jumped out of bed, and she moved in front of me, blocking my path.
Carey went inside the bathroom.
In the slow, stupid grip of my panic, I noticed that Li Na was even more beautiful in person. Her hair was perfect. She wore her signature bright lipstick, a black leather bomber jacket, and slim-fitting pants. Dressed to kill.
My heart thudded so hard, I thought it might burst.
“What are you doing here.” I couldn’t make it sound like a question.
She smiled, playing along, revealing her perfect white teeth. “You ruined my life. And because I have nothing left to lose, I’m here to ruin yours.”
The gun went off in the bathroom. I could hear the glass from the shower stall shatter and explode.
Finally finding my voice, I screamed, tears streaming down my face. “Wes!”
Li Na at least had the decency to let me finish. Then she stepped forward, her high heels clicking on my hardwood floor. Who wears high heels to murder someone? I thought, wildly, but I refused to let that be my last thought—I grabbed my lamp off the nightstand and wielded it, threatening to strike her with it.
I thought of Wes. I thought of our baby, tiny and growing inside me. Can I reason with her? “You don’t have to do this—”
She took another step forward. “You can’t hurt me anymore, Hannah. I’m not afraid of you.”
I threw the lamp at her face, but she dodged in time, the impertinent, thieving, murderous c-word of a CEO that she was. She came at me again, but that was when Wes barreled out of the bathroom, stark naked and dripping wet, pointing Carey’s gun at her head.
“Wes! Wes.” My shoulders shook with sobs as he bolted for us. He shoved the gun against Li Na’s head.
She looked at his penis and frowned. “I am not impressed.”
He frowned back. “The feeling’s mutual.”
“Just do it,” she snapped, sounding bored. She motioned to the gun. “It’s better this way. You get your revenge, I go quick. Win-win.”
“Wes—don’t. Don’t do it!” I shrieked.
Wes looked like he really wanted to do it.
“Please. Let her rot in prison like she deserves. Let her wear prison clothes and eat prison food and be somebody’s bitch. Please.”
Both Li Na and Wes groaned.
But he didn’t shoot her.
And he gave me enough time to call the police.
* * *
We’d finished our interviews with the police and the FBI. Carey’s body had been removed from the bathroom, and Lauren had hired a service to clean up the rest of the mess.