Page 14 of Striker’s Foul (Shiver of Chaos #3)

STRIKER

“ I can’t believe it took us this long,” Browser says over speakerphone.

I glance at my watch and realize my wife will be home soon.

Earlier today, we quietly got married at the courthouse with Gambit and Rogue as witnesses, along with just a few close friends, Julian among them. Amelia insisted on going to work afterward, but I’m planning to take her on a real honeymoon in the next couple of months.

We didn’t want a big wedding—just her, me, and Jude.

But I knew Julian, Gambit, and Rogue deserved to be there too.

She invited her two friends from the roadhouse, and I invited Hemingway and Blythe.

Fanci was there too, along with Leif. It was perfect, and exactly what I needed to settle the beast inside me that needed her branded as mine.

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either. That bastard was sneaky as fuck. Are you sending it to Evander and then Blythe to blast across the internet?” I shake my head as I look over all the evidence we finally have on Harold.

“Yep. I’m in shock he thought he could get away with it. The insurance company has been hounding him for years, and he still siphoned money off the top of the policy. That agent is going to lose their job,” Browser says.

Finding the life insurance policy on Lilliana wasn’t surprising, but seeing someone else getting paid out instead of Amelia, the beneficiary, was a red flag. The woman who admitted herself into the psych ward to avoid questioning was a easier to find once we uncovered her other secrets.

“But the fact that he had his mistress murder his wife and made it look like a suicide?” I shake my head.

His mistress was underage when he got with her. She’s only a few years older than Amelia, but with all the work she’s had done, she looks way older.

“That was crazy too,” Browser says.

My phone rings, and Julian’s name flashes on the screen. Even before I answer, I know my life is about to change.

“Panic alarm at the roadhouse,” Julian yells, then hangs up.

I rush out the door, dialing Gambit as I go. “Something’s going down at the roadhouse. Get everyone round up.”

“On it,” he says, then ends the call.

I know this is Harold making another move. He can’t afford to leave Amelia alive. She’s the only one who can prove she hasn’t spent a penny of that inheritance. He’s maxed out and desperate for the payout on the policy.

“Keep my son here,” I tell the prospect guarding the driveway, and he nods.

I didn’t even tell Jude what’s going on. He’s been seeing a counselor to help with his PTSD. On top of that, Harold cornered him at school, demanding to know if he knew who he was. I love my son. Jude told him nope and that he didn’t care.

Amelia

I ’m wiping down the bar top as Les finishes cleaning up the kitchen. The bell dings, but I don’t look up.

“Sorry, we’re closed.”

A loud bang makes me drop to the floor. I look up just in time to see Harold aiming a gun at me.

“Gunman!” I shout, hoping Les and any others hear and get to safety.

“Har—Dad, what are you doing?” I ask, stretching my arm toward the red button under the cash register. I press it, setting off the silent panic alarm.

My other hand instinctively moves to my stomach, where my two tiny babies are growing. Getting pregnant so easily wasn’t as shocking as finding out Luke doubled down. We’re expecting twins.

“Why did you have to come back? Why couldn’t you just stay away? I was perfectly happy with you gone.” Harold’s voice has an edge to it, and I try to peek through the flap on the bar top.

He fires again, shattering the glassware over my head. I’m freaking out. I need to get my employees and myself out of here without him hurting any of us.

“Dad, I told you before, we didn’t have to interact. You didn’t have to acknowledge me, but I had to know about Luke. I had to come back. I wanted Jude to know my home.”

“No,” he screams. “This is my home. And your fuck buddy ruined everything. He found out my secrets. He knows.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t care.”

I glance around for a weapon and spot the handgun strapped beneath the bar. I forgot Julian hid it there for me. I didn’t want it, but he said I needed something, just in case.

Moving quietly toward it, I try to keep Harold distracted.

“You have your own life now. A place in DC. A girlfriend, I heard. You don’t have to be a part of our lives.” I try to give him an out.

I remove the gun and flip off the safety, just like Julian taught me. Holding it tight to my chest, I pray I won’t have to use it.

“My girlfriend wants more. She wants kids. She wants to be my wife, but I can’t have a wife.”

“Why can’t you?” I don’t understand.

“Because I’m better known as the widower whose daughter ran off. I get more votes, you stupid girl.”

“Dad—”

“But it will all change now. Lilliana just couldn’t let the disease take her or even kill herself, like I tried to talk her into. All she cared about was you. She wouldn’t leave you without a fight.”

“She did commit suicide.” I don’t want him to know I suspect differently now that I’ve met his mistress.

He scoffs. “I wish. It would have been easier. It was a good thing the sheriff at the time only needed a slip of a few bills here and there to let things slide. I slit her wrists after the sleeping pills I put in her tea took effect. She was in the bath. It was perfect, left no trace. But then that crazy bitch tried to drown her too. Everything turned to complete chaos.”

My breathing sharpens, and my jaw locks up. He murdered my mother. It wasn’t his mistress. It was him. He killed her.

“She was your wife.” I can’t stop the tears from falling. Stupid hormones.

“Yeah, well, she caught on that I was cheating and was going to leave me. Before that, she learned how I got rid of that stupid Branch kid. She discovered I slept with his mom once or twice and even questioned if I was his father. But I knew who his father was. I paid off some guys to shank him in prison before he could tell anyone I was one of his wife’s Johns. Now get up here, or I kill her.”

I hear a whimper and peek around the edge. He has Leticia by the hair and the gun pressed under her chin.

“Don’t hurt her.” I stand up, keeping my other hand low so he can’t see the gun. “Let her go.”

He pushes Leticia aside. I raise my gun and fire as he does the same, and then a third gunshot rings out.

Mine hits its mark, dead center in his chest. His goes wide, striking the bottles above my head.

Glass and liquor cascade down around me.

The third bullet rips through his head, spraying Leticia with blood and brain matter.

Leticia and I both scream as I hear Luke holler my name.

“Luke,” I yell.

“Stay right there, angel. There’s glass everywhere,” Luke orders me, and I stop in my tracks and wait for him.

He wraps me in his arms as the front doors burst open and police and more rush inside.