Holding You Close (Ex-Con Duet 4)

I try to stay calm, but my breathing increases, and I feel red-hot anger. Though Loretta told me most of this, it hurts coming from Brittany.

“We were together for over a year, sneaking behind your back. There were plenty of times I fucked your husband in your bed. The same one you woke up in that morning and made before you went to work.” She smears it in my face.

“I pleased him in ways you never could, and he had said the only reason he married you was because he felt obligated.”

I don’t want to hear anymore, but she continues.

“Gabe was going to hand you the divorce papers the next week. I’d taken money from my savings so he could hire a lawyer to do it. But all of that was ripped away from me the night your fuckhead boyfriend killed him. Noah stole my happily ever after, and I’m ready to take that from him.”

I want to tell her it was an accident, and Noah never intended to hurt Gabe, but it’s not like she’d believe me anyway. Brittany paces, then she puts the gun to my temple. Though the metal is cold, it feels as if it’s burning my skin.

She’s a loose cannon, and I don’t doubt that she’d kill me. I slam my eyes shut and say a prayer that Owen will be taken care of if something happens to me. Tears spill down my cheeks as I imagine him not having me in his life. It’s bad enough he’s growing up without a father—losing me would destroy him. And Noah too. Everyone would be devastated, and the truth is, I’m not ready to die. Not yet. Not when I feel like my life has just begun.

“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.”