Chapter 6
Liam swore under his breath.
He told the security guard to hold on, then turned to Hale.
“They’re at the mansion,” he said.
“Tearing the safe apart. They’re looking for the will. If they destroy the original—”
“Then the copy I have is still valid,” Hale said, cutting him off.
“But we need them caught in the act. That’s another felony charge. Go. Now. I’ll call Detective Miller, tell him to meet you there.”
Liam ran to the car, me right behind him.
We peeled out of the parking lot, tires screeching.
Liam drove 20 miles over the speed limit, weaving through traffic.
I held on to the door handle, my other hand on my stomach.
Please, I thought.
Please let the cops get there first.
We pulled up to the mansion 12 minutes later.
The front door was wide open.
Lights were on all over the house.
We could hear crashing and yelling from upstairs.
No cops yet.
“Stay here,” Liam said.
He grabbed his gun from the glove box.
“Lock the doors. Call 911 again. Tell them we’re here. Don’t get out for anything.”
He didn’t wait for me to answer.
He jumped out, ran up the steps, and disappeared inside.
I locked the doors, fumbled for my phone.
I was just about to dial 911 when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.
Jason.
He was coming around the side of the house, carrying a metal crowbar.
He saw me in the car.
His face twisted into a snarl.
He ran straight for me.
I screamed.
I scrambled into the backseat, trying to get away from the door he was running toward.
He reached the car, grabbed the handle, and pulled.
Locked.
He raised the crowbar and smashed the window.
Glass showered all over me.
He reached in, unlocked the door, and dragged me out.
I kicked and screamed, but he was too strong.
He threw me over his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes, carrying me toward the garage.
“Let me go!” I screamed, hitting his back.
“Jason, let me go! The cops are coming!”
“Shut up!” he yelled, dropping me on the concrete floor of the garage.
He loomed over me, the crowbar in his hand.
“You and your stupid baby ruined everything. We were supposed to be rich. We were supposed to have it all. Now I’m gonna make sure you never take anything from us again.”
He raised the crowbar over his head.
I closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around my stomach.
This is it, I thought.
I’m gonna die.
Then I heard a gunshot.
Loud.
Echoing off the garage walls.
Jason froze.
The crowbar slipped out of his hand, clattering to the floor.
He looked down at his shoulder.
Blood was seeping through his shirt.
He turned.
Liam was standing in the garage door, the gun in his hand, his face like stone.
“Touch her again,” he said, his voice low and dangerous, “and the next bullet goes between your eyes.”
Sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer and closer.
Jason tried to run.
Liam stepped forward, kicked his legs out from under him, and pinned him to the floor.
He held him there until the cops ran in, guns drawn.
They pulled Jason off the floor, cuffed him, and dragged him away, screaming and cursing.
Liam ran to me, dropped to his knees, and pulled me into his arms.
He was covered in glass and dust, his hands shaking.
“Are you okay?” he kept asking, checking me over.
“Baby, are you hurt? Is the baby okay?”
I nodded, sobbing into his chest.
“I’m okay,” I said.
“We’re okay. Liam, you shot him.”
Liam looked over at the blood on the garage floor.
He nodded.
“I’d do it again,” he said.
“A thousand times. To protect you. To protect our baby.”
The cops found Margaret in the master bedroom, still tearing the safe apart.
They cuffed her, too.
She didn’t fight.
She just stared at Liam, her eyes cold as ice.
“This isn’t over,” she said, as they led her past us.
May you like
“You’ll pay for this. Both of you.”
But for the first time, I didn’t believe her.
