Page 60 of Wedding Cake Carnage
“Did you hear that?” I tip my head toward the sea of cars. The sun has set, the light is murky, but I spot a figure crouched next to an all too familiar sedan as a baseball bat rises into the air. “Oh my God, it’s her. That’s your car.” I snatch the gun from his hands and bolt without putting in a second thought.
Everett is willing to do just about anything to a woman—with her consent, of course—but shooting them isn’t one of those things. But I’m not above putting a bullet in this maniac’s body. I’ll do whatever it takes to stop her. I haven’t killed a person yet, but I’m not taking it off the table either.
Everett’s forceful footfalls line up with mine. “Stop,” he hisses, his phone already in his right hand as he does his best to alert Noah I’m presuming.
But I’m not listening to Everett. In fact, the only thing I hear is the sound of my heartbeat detonating in my ears, one bionic boom at a time.
“Freeze!” I roar as I come up within thirty feet of her.
The woman turns around, the look of surprise rife on her face. It’s the brunette I saw last month, the one with the gorgeous bone structure and the breathtaking good looks that could stun a stranger into submission.
“It’s you,” I pant. “Hailey James.”
A pained smile spreads over her face. “This is how you repay me, Essex? Withher? What do you see in this simple girl?” She shakes her head with disgust written over her face. “She’s plain, dull, there isn’t a spark of life in her. I have everything you could ever want. Just come with me.” She holds out her left hand, the bat still firmly secured in her right. “We could have our baby back. We could have everything. Let’s leave this world behind and make our own. We have the funding. We can have everything we’ve ever wanted. The baby. She waits for us. She needs us to make her happen.”
“Put down your weapon and I won’t shoot,” I shout as Everett walks around me. “Everett, don’t move. She’ll use you to her advantage. She’s not going anywhere on my watch.”
“Hailey, put the bat down,” he coaxes. “We’ll get some pizza and talk it over like old times, right? I miss our talks. Do you miss them, too?”
My stomach sinks as if there was a thread of truth in that, but I know there isn’t. Everett is just that believable right now, and I’m thankful for it.
“Yes,” she hisses as tears come to her eyes. “I miss everything about us. Come to me, please,” she beckons as she extends her hand farther his way.
Everett eyes it, and I can tell he’s determined to take a chance in hopes to disarm her himself. He goes for her hand and she swings the bat—and I don’t hesitate to shoot. Her body falls backward as the bat flies wildly through the air. She’s clutching her shoulder as Noah runs over and the two of them help get her hands behind her back. Noah pulls a zip tie out of his pocket.
“I’m all out of cuffs.” He looks my way. “With you around, I might need to carry extra.”
Everett comes my way, and this time it’s me wrapping my arms tightly around him.
“And now it’s really over,” I whisper.
Noah gets her to her feet as she grunts out in pain. The sound of patrol cars wailing their way over lights up the air.
I take a bold step forward, toward this lunatic who’s been making our lives a living hell. “You’re not really Hailey, are you?”
Her eyes widen as she looks from Everett to me. “How do you know?”
“Your father donated a large sum of money to the hospital that was looking after you for the last six years. You never had Everett’s baby inside your body. You just wanted him then, like you do now. You lied about everything.”
“I didn’t lie.” A husky laugh emits from her as blood pools over her tan blouse. “My car fell off an icy embankment. They accused me of trying to take my own life! It wasn’t true! We could still have that baby. I wasn’t done with Essex.” She looks his way. “I’ll never be through with you.” Her voice grows small as she collapses in Noah’s arms.
Everett and I watch as the sheriff’s department loads Pierce and Jackie away. An ambulance picks up Hailey—Harlowas it were, and Noah promises she’s not getting away. He’ll be watching her himself. We watch as the barrage of patrol cars and the siren of the ambulance disappear back out of sight as if none of it had happened. And just like that, it all feels like a faraway dream.
Everett presses a tired kiss over my lips. “Do they still do the YMCA at weddings?”
“I don’t know, but I think we should go find out.”
“If they do, I’m sitting that one out.”
“How about a slow dance?”
“How about a slow dance in a dark office with just you and me?”
I bite down on a smile. “Things have been known to get pretty heated when the two of us are left to our own devices in just about any office space.”
“That’s what I’m wishing for, Lemon.”
“Brace yourself, Judge Baxter. I’m about to make all of your wishes come true.”