Page 39

No one comes here. No one. Not neighbors or delivery drivers, not friends or family. No one comes to our cabin in Windwinter. So when I walk in the front door to see lights on, my blood runs cold.

Killian’s still outside trying to wrestle all of our bags out of the car, I can hear him cussing out there. My parents flew out last night to go back overseas and Violet had to get the kids home and back into a routine, so it’s not any of them. Who the fuck is in my house?

With my heart beating wildly in my chest, I scramble forward to grab my gun from the side table, but I’m met with hard resistance just before I can get to it. I’m thrown sideways as I hear a triumphant laugh, and the scream dies in my throat as I look up to see Ryan pointing a gun at me.

Again.

“I knew you’d come back eventually.”

Fuck. Fuck! My eyes flick to the side table I was trying to reach, but he’s standing between us. I can’t reach it. Killian’s shotgun is closer, but there’s no way I get to it before he fires. “What the fuck do you want, Ryan? How the hell did you even find me?”

“Oh, it’s a fun little story, actually. I knew your parents were out of town, so I let myself in with the spare key they keep in the planter. I was looking for money, maybe some jewelry. What I found was much better.”

I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t. His eyes are fixed toward the front window.

“You’re not alone? I should’ve fucking known.”

Killian. He didn’t know. After all the news stories, he still didn’t know. “I’ll never be alone again, and this one already escaped murder charges once. I can’t wait to watch him do it again.”

Cussing under his breath, Ryan orients himself to face the door, keeping his gun trained on me. “I’m going to assume he won’t be walking in with a gun, so I’ll take him out first. It won’t make any difference to me.”

“Oh?” I press, biding time and raising my voice as loudly as I dare. “Don’t you want to gloat about how you found me first?”

“Family photos. Ones I’ve never seen before, of course. Ones they didn’t want anyone to see. You, your bitch sister, and your parents right here in this little cabin. I always wondered where you ran off to with them. I have to admit, it made me a little jealous,” he laughs, cold and almost maniacal. “But that’s okay. I’m a big boy. With the mountains in the background, it wasn’t hard to find you. The internet is a wondrous place. And now, I’ve got you all to myself, and no one even knows you’re here except the walking dead man.”

There’s no way in hell we just survived everything we did for Ryan to end up killing us. I won’t let it happen. “So now what?” I ask, still trying to stall. “You kill us both and go back to your miserable life?”

Slowly, I start moving toward the kitchen, pausing only when he raises the gun a little higher.

“Relax. If you’re going to kill me, I’d like a drink first. Feel free to shoot if you see me reaching for a knife.”

Ryan scoffs, but follows me, flicking his eyes toward the door every few seconds. What the hell is taking Killian so long? “Pick up a drinking problem?”

“Not at all. Wouldn’t you want to take the edge off a bit before you’re sent into the afterlife?”

He doesn’t seem to have an argument as I pour a shot of tequila. “You rich bitches think you’re so clever. You think your money will hide you, but I found you. And you know what? I don’t think I will kill you. Not yet, anyway. You’re not nearly terrified enough.”

”Because I don’t fear you anymore,” I say coldly, downing the shot and slamming the glass on the countertop. “Men like you are all the same. You think guns make you strong, that the dick between your legs makes you better than everyone else. You can overpower me, sure. You can kill me. Hell, you probably will kill me. But what does that say about you? How does shooting an unarmed woman half your size make you strong, or powerful, or worthy of anything?”

“Who said I’m going to shoot you? I have much bigger plans for your body, Jo. It would be a shame to put bullet holes in it so soon.”

The ice in his tone sends a chill down my spine, but one I won’t show on my face. He turns his back to the front door just like I wanted him to.

Over his shoulder, I see Killian creeping toward us with a gun in his hands. Here we go.

“Ryan, just get on with it. Okay? Your games are boring. I get it. You’re mad at me and you need to hurt me in order to get a boner again. I’ve had better sex humping a pillow, so—”

He slaps me across the face so hard, my teeth rattle. “You want me to get on with it? Fucking fine. You’ll beg me to kill you soon enough.”

The gun clatters to the floor as rough hands tear at my clothes, but before he can remove any of them Killian cocks the shotgun and steps closer. “I suggest you take your hands off of her in the next two seconds. I won’t ask again.”

Ryan jerks away in shock, giving me enough time to scramble backwards, and Killian nods to his side like he’s beckoning me over. “Use your foot to push away his gun, Joey. Don’t leave prints.”

Fuck that. If he dies, I want the world to think it was me.

Yet I do what he asks, almost giddy at the look on Ryan’s face. “You said I wasn’t scared enough to die yet. Are you?”

“You really brought that fucking murderer with you?” he spits.

Killian releases a breath when I’m safe at his side, then takes a step forward to hit Ryan in the mouth with the barrel, never moving his finger from the trigger. “I’m the man with the gun now and that’s all that matters. You danced around it when you thought you were in control, but I want you to say the words. What did you plan on doing to her body?”

As much as I love seeing Ryan scared and bleeding on the floor, I still shiver from the ice seeping from Killian. He doesn’t even sound the same as he stares down at my ex fiancé unblinkingly, and I have to wonder if this is what Senator Lawson saw just before he died.

I hope it is.

“I-I—” Ryan stutters, then drops his shoulders with a scowl. “Fuck it. I was gonna take her, then show her what happens to bitchy little girls who don’t respect their betters.”

My stomach churns at the thought.

“That’s what you think you are? Her better?” His grip tightens. “Are you better because you’re in debt? Because you’re so pathetic you refuse to get a job and instead harass a woman that wants nothing to do with you? Because you can overpower her? Rape her?”

His voice rises with the last one, his emotions getting the best of him as he hits Ryan again.

The crunch of his nose breaking makes me smile.

What the hell does that say about me?

“The fuck!” Ryan yells, covering his face and trying to scoot backward. “Alright, fuck! I’m sorry, just let me go!”

“You scurried into the wrong hole this time, rat. You will not terrorize her anymore. Joey... I don’t want to take this from you, but I need you to tell me what you want.”

What do I want? I want to hurt him. I want to claw his fucking eyes out and cause enough pain that he begs me to just kill him, and then I want to hurt him some more.

“Keep him there. I’ll be right back.” Pivoting, I race to get my handgun from the side table and make sure it’s loaded and ready to fire, then walk back into the kitchen knowing exactly what I’m going to do. “Any last words?”

“You’re not going to shoot me. Fuck you. Those are my last words.”

Killian steps forward like he’s about to hit him again, but regardless of the fact that he’s trembling, he gains control again. He really is letting me decide Ryan’s fate on my own.

And now I’m even more tempted to shoot him.

“You’re right,” I say instead, pulling my cell phone out of my pocket and waving it at him. “I’m going to do something much worse for you.”

“You’re not gonna do shit unless you want your little boyfriend to go right back to prison. He assaulted me!”

“I’d do much worse if it was up to me,” Killian says coldly. “Your life means nothing to me, and I’d gladly go back to jail if it meant you were in the fucking ground. Look at her face. You assaulted her first, and I have every right to defend my woman.”

Grinning, I add, “Not to mention, you were caught breaking into my parents’ house. There’s a police report for that, and for all the times you’ve stalked and hurt me in the past. And this time, we’re not in a house with your name on it. As of two days ago, this cabin belongs to me and me alone. So I think that will mean quite a few charges, don’t you?” I look to Killian. “You’re the expert, but I’d say this would include stalking, breaking and entering, attempted rape, attempted murder, and...” I glance around, noticing the dishes in the sink. “Robbery, too. That should put him away for a while, don’t you think?”

With a tense jaw, Killian nods. “Too bad he’s not going to Blackridge. I made more than a few friends in there that would love to meet a rapist.”

I’m sure he’ll have a good time wherever he goes, and honestly? I don’t care what happens to him from here.

The last thing standing between me and a happy, healthy future is about to go to prison for a very long time.

As I call the police and give them the address, I feel a weight lift off my shoulders. This is how I want to live my life — not with pain and suffering, but with peace.

The sirens drawing nearer illustrate just how close we are to that peace.

“I won, Ryan,” I say as his face goes white and the police knock on the door. “I finally fucking won.”