Page 58 of Never Gonna Lie (Forbidden #2)

Chapter Fifty-Eight

JAMES

M y eyes go wide in surprise as I shove the door open, my gun still aimed high as I point it directly at Emma’s head. “What the fuck?”

“My sentiments exactly,” Theo says behind me.

A sinister grin appears on her face, so unlike the woman I’ve known for the last ten years. “James, so nice of you to join us,” she drawls, her eyes cold and calculating. “Such a shame you arrived before I had a chance to send my package off.”

“Where is she, Emma?” I growl, my finger twitching on the trigger. Thoughts of this wretched bitch lying dead in a pool of her own blood springs to mind, and a shiver of excitement runs through me—she’s got it coming.

“I see you got my email about the accounts. That was some fine acting on my behalf. I should have won an Oscar for that.” She shrugs. “Oh well, next time.”

“You sent the email? ”

“Of course, however else was I to get my plan into motion?” she asks incredulously. “I needed you busy dealing with Drew so I could finalize everything.”

“Er, I’m confused,” Theo points out, ever the one to bring a comedic effect even in the most dire of circumstances. “What, why, when, and how?”

Emma gives a toothy grin, a manic look to her eyes. “Well, it’s been about twenty years in the making.” She shrugs. “Both that little brat and her mother have been a thorn in my side for too long.”

“You raised her,” I say in disbelief. “Treated her like your own!”

I shift on my feet and she notices, her beady eyes watching my every move as she spits, “She was never mine . I tolerated her.” Emma moves to stand in front of the desk, seemingly uncaring that I have a gun pointed at her and a very happy trigger finger.

“He was the love of my life, but I was always a shadow compared to his precious Sophia and Raven, even after I got rid of her.”

“Got rid of who?” I ask, confused. “The fuck you talking about?”

Emma huffs as if I should already know the answer, and she’s bored of explaining it.

“Sophia, of course.” She gets a faraway look in her eyes as she continues, “I fell in love with Drew at a young, impressionable age, but he was already in love with that… woman ,” she spits.

“I waited and waited for him to come to his senses, but by then she had already dug her claws in by getting pregnant with that brat, and I lost him.”

I’m still completely lost here. This crazy ass woman isn’t making any sense. “You knew Drew before you married him?”

Emma smiles, one filled with deranged glee.

“Sophia was my best friend. I’d heard so much about the wonderful Drew that I started following him around.

Watching him as he played football or worked a shift at the diner.

I was always there, he just didn’t see me.

When Sophia would ask me to meet him, I would always make excuses, having my own plan in place—removing her and keeping him for myself. ”

“You did all of this because of… jealousy ? You were so desperate to have someone that didn’t belong to you that you killed another to have it?” I ask incredulously. “You’re off your fucking rocker, you know that, right?”

“I don’t think she realizes, man. She’s fucking crazy,” Theo side whispers, but it was loud enough for Emma to hear as her head whips toward him.

“I’m not crazy,” she shrieks, pulling at her hair.

“Do you know what it’s like watching the man you love with the wrong woman?

To watch him have a baby with her when it should have been me ?

” Emma pauses, composing herself before straightening.

“The best thing I ever did was kill Sophia; she was never good enough for him. And I don’t regret a single second.

” The last statement’s said so matter-of-factly, a chill runs down my spine.

I scoff. “So instead of being happy for the man you claimed to love, you decided to destroy him and his family instead?” I roll my eyes at the stupidity of this bitch. “Raven’s good, kind. Why would you do this to her?” I side-eye the two goons in the corner, watching their movements.

“Because she’s the last living thing of his precious Sophia .

I would never be number one in his eyes until she was taken care of,” she hisses.

“Raven being attacked by the thugs at the casino was the perfect opportunity to get rid of her once and for all. He was better off without her dragging him down.”

“What about the charity? Was that just a cover-up for you being involved in… this ?” I feel sick to my stomach that this woman has been parading around like she’s been doing good, but in actual fact, it’s been the complete opposite .

“Ah, yes,” she muses. “The charity has been wonderful in… acquiring everyone I’ve needed over the years.

Brought in a lot of money too.” Her eyes light up in glee, and I’m desperate to put a bullet in her head.

“I started it when I was just out of college. A wonderful man came to me and told me that if I helped him, Drew would be mine. And it happened.” Emma claps her hands with excitement.

“What man?” I ask through clenched teeth, wanting this to be over with. I need to find Raven because the longer I’m with this woman, the more I’m tempted to kill her.

Emma’s head snaps toward me before waggling a finger at me. “Ah, ah, ah, James. I’m not giving all of my secrets away. You’ll just have to wait and find out. I do believe he’s getting ready for his big reveal.”

“I’d ask if you have any remorse for killing a woman and being involved in all of this, but I already know the answer,” I drawl sarcastically with an eye roll.

Emma bounces on the tips of her toes, and I wonder how I’ve never seen this side of her before. She’s either a really good fucking actress or I’ve been completely blind.

“It’s been hard living a double life, but I got years with the man I love, so it wasn't all wasted.” She stops bouncing and crosses her arms over her chest. She gestures her head toward me and Theo, her eyes never leaving me as she says, “I just didn’t factor in you two bozo’s.”

“She sounds like a Scooby-doo villain,” Theo whispers from somewhere behind me.

“You know you’re not walking out of here alive, right?” I growl, my tone laced with promise. “You’ve hurt the woman I love… big mistake.”

Emma laughs, one filled with condescension as she says, “I have two fully armed gentlemen standing to your right, James, of course I am. ”

A thump sounds to the right, then another. I keep the gun trained on the crazy woman standing in front of me, but I turn my gaze and see Theo standing over two unconscious bodies. “You mean, had two fully armed gentlemen?” he sniggers.

I raise an eyebrow at him. “We’re gonna be having a little talk about that later.”

Theo slaps his hands together and gives me a grin.

Turning back to Emma, who’s stood ramrod straight, a look of fear flittering across her features, I say, “I think this is the part where you put your hands behind your head and beg for your life.”

The police, who we’d been waiting for, come bursting through the door, shouting for weapons to be lowered and to get on the ground.

I flick my gun down, dangling it from my index finger in an act of non-aggression, and place my hands in the air.

Two men grab Emma and place her in cuffs, hauling her out of the door and to who knows where.

I’m just gutted I didn’t get to put a bullet in her head.

The cops walk over to me, taking the gun from my hand. “I have a license for it.” I tilt my head toward Theo. “He’s my lawyer.”

The cop removes the bullets and puts the gun into an evidence bag. “You’re gonna need to bring the paperwork down to the precinct before we can hand this back to you.”

“No problem,” I agree.

He walks off, and Theo comes and stands next to me. “Did that really happen, or did I wake up in the twilight zone?” He keeps blinking, then rubs his eyes.

“Yup,” I drawl. “That just happened.”

“Thought so.” He nods his head slowly. “I need a drink.”

I bark out a laugh. “You always need a drink, tips. ”

Movement toward the door catches my eye, and I see an officer rushing by with Raven in his arms. Not wasting another second, I chase after them.