Of Loss & Betrayal (Madison & Logan 2)

I did as Kristina asked, and she scanned the label, presumably making sure I wasn’t trying to trick her. She looked satisfied by what she saw.

“Take the whole bottle.”

I shook my head. Kristina was crazy if she thought I was going to help her to end my life. “No. You might as well shoot me because I’m not going to do it.”

She didn’t look sane as rage flashed across her face. “Listen, you selfish bitch. Either take the pills or get shot in the face.” The hot flash of fury was replaced by a calculated look. “You know, it’s not just your life at stake.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, dread coursing through my body.

Kristina smiled garishly. “I can come and go into Logan’s apartment any time I please. How do you think I got in the other night? Stupid, trusting Logan never changed his locks, and I still had the key from when we lived together. Conveniently he didn’t remember that little fact since he lost his memory.”

“So you did stage that whole thing,” I said, anger welling up inside me. “You’re sick.”

Kristina shrugged. “Whatever gets the job done.” She actually looked proud of herself. “You guys are so careless. Logan had a set of your keys just hanging in his foyer. He didn’t even notice when I took them.”

So that was how she had gotten into my apartment. As afraid as I was, it seemed like Kristina was willing to give me some answers, so I pressed for more.

“Were you two really engaged before Logan lost his memory?”

Kristina smirked. “Oh, you’re just dying to know, aren’t you? You can’t possibly believe that Logan would choose me over you.” She clenched her free hand into a fist. “You’ll just have to keep on wondering.” She grimaced. “Hurry up and take the pills. You’re just wasting time.”

I was terrified, but if Kristina wanted me dead, she would have to do it herself. Maybe she wouldn’t have the guts to shoot me.

That notion disappeared when she spoke, her voice low. “Don’t force me to hurt Logan. If I shoot you, he’ll know it’s foul play and sooner or later he would start to question me. So, if I shoot you, I’ll have to kill him too.” Her eyes glinted. “Maybe it’s better if you’re both dead, so you can never be together.”

Panic seized me. “You could never hurt him. You love him.”

Kristina laughed long and hard. “You stupid girl.” Her expression sobered, her gaze menacing. “I’d rather kill him than have him be alive and not love me. If he thinks you killed yourself, I’ll have a chance with him. But if you’re murdered, he’ll never rest until he finds the perpetrator. I’ll be forced to kill him, too.”

“Kristina, please,” I begged. I had no pride, as I not only begged for my life, but for Logan’s, as well. “Please don’t do this. You don’t want to do this. It’s not too late. Just leave and I won’t call the cops. I’ll pretend like it never happened.”

“You must think I’m an idiot. Hurry up and take the pills or I’ll go ahead and shoot you.”

My hands shook as I opened the pill bottle. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t think I would be able to swallow the pills, but the thought of Logan being in danger terrified me. What the hell was I supposed to do?

“Hurry up!” Kristina screeched. She was getting more and more agitated. “If you don’t take the fucking pills in the next ten seconds, I’m blowing your brains out. Then I’m going to Logan’s apartment and shooting him in the head.”

I grabbed a glass from the bathroom counter and quickly filled it with water. I was shaking so hard that water sloshed out of the glass onto the floor. I dumped the pills out onto my hand and took a deep breath. My heart thudded as I raised my hand and put the pills in my mouth. I took a sip of the water and swallowed, wincing as the pills scraped my throat on the way down since there were so many of them.

What had I just done? Had I made the right decision? How could this be the end of my life?

Dozens of thoughts rushed into my head as my mind rebelled against what I had just done.

“Go lie down in bed.” Kristina waved the gun toward the bedroom. “Hurry up.”

I walked back into the bedroom and lay down, tears streaming down my face and soaking the pillow. I thought about my father. He would be devastated. He would never understand why I had seemingly taken my own life. My thoughts drifted to Logan, and pure anguish rushed through me. After all that we had been through with Cassie’s death, this seemed particularly cruel to him. Would he ever know that I did this to save his life?

I could feel myself getting groggy, and my thoughts were getting hazy. I was vaguely aware of Kristina standing above me, but, in my fog, I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I wondered if she would still shoot me even though I had taken the pills.

Before I could feel afraid again, I slipped into unconsciousness.

Chapter Twenty

I squinted against the sun, shading my eyes with my hand. Despite the brightness of the sun, it was cold and I shivered.

“Maddie.”

My heart dropped and I whirled around toward the direction of the voice. My pulse raced when I saw Cassie standing in front of me, smiling.