Chapter 36
Chloe
Chapter Thirty-Six
Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
I need to breathe. The moment I stop, I’ll lose focus.
I have hope, and Cillian and I have a plan.
A plan is a hell of a lot more than what I had earlier when I left Mom’s house.
I’m nearly back there. I just hope she’s okay. And I hope everything works out.
The problem is I have to play everything by ear when I get back. There is no plan that’s set in stone on what I’m supposed to do. I just have to try to touch Lance and let the poison take effect.
I run through a scenario of what I’m going to say all the way back, and when I pull up on Mom’s drive, I get out the poison and rub it on the palm of my left hand.
I’m right-handed, so I should be able to use that hand to get into the house without touching anything with my left.
Carefully, I open the door and get out, dreading going back inside with that man.
I think of Roxanne. She’s at the restaurant, completely oblivious to what’s going on. Maybe it was for the best. I can’t imagine how hurt she’ll be when she discovers Adrian was a complete fraud.
I’m glad now that she confessed to not being madly in love with him. This would be worse if she were.
I’d say the Ricci women were cursed with bad luck in men, but that’s not true. I had my father and Cillian. Two of the best men I’ve ever known.
Summoning strength from somewhere, I make my way up the garden path and head back into the house.
My steps become more labored the closer I get to the back room.
I keep worrying that Lance has hurt Mom. Every time that thought crosses my mind, my lungs burn like acid is eroding them.
I reach the door and find Mom and Lance inside the room. Thank God Mom isn’t hurt. She’s still sitting on the sofa in the same spot.
“Well done. You did it,” Lance congratulates me with an impressed smile. “You didn’t do anything to alert anyone, did you?”
“No. You saw what I did. Cillian drank the wine.”
“Well played. I knew your mother was the perfect leverage to hold over you. Your beloved left in his car just after you. It seems he’s on his way to his uncle’s place, but he won’t make it. That poison should take effect while he’s still at the wheel.”
I could almost rejoice. We fooled him. Good. He believes I did everything he told me to do. Now I just need to touch him.
“You monster.”
“You’re the one who made the choice to kill your husband. So, who’s the monster today?”
“Fuck you.”
“No, but I will fuck you. I’ll fuck you right here in front of your mom. Then I’ll kill the two of you.”
He lunges for me, and I allow him to grab me. Mom screams, but I try to stay focused.
Once Lance has me in his grasp, I shove my hand with the poison in his face and make sure I rub it into his skin.
“You little bitch. You can’t fight me.”
“Get off me.”
He manages to kiss my neck before he suddenly jerks back as if someone hit him from behind.
He loosens his grip on me, and I take the chance to get away from him.
“What the fuck?” Lance grabs his head and shouts. The pain in his voice makes the pitch louder. Blood suddenly runs out of his nose, and as it drips onto the floor, he glares at me. “You did something to me.”
“Die, you asshole.”
“I’ll take her with me.” He points the gun at Mom and cocks the hammer like before. But he doesn’t get to shoot her.
A gunshot rips through the air and lodges in the side of his head.
It came from behind me.
I turn to find Cillian in the doorway. He's standing tall and mighty with his gun pointed out.
I’m not sure if Lance saw him before the life left his body, and I don’t care. He’s on the ground now in a pool of blood and the poison still taking effect. His head swells up and becomes lumpy and veiny, making him look like some kind of mutant monster.
I look back at Cillian, and we stare at each other for a moment. Relief floods me in waves, rippling through my body.
The danger is gone now.
It’s over.
Finally.
I walk out to the garden.
Roxanne is sitting in the garden on the swing. She’s been out here all morning, chain smoking. She quit years ago when I was still around, but I know she has a cigarette from time to time, especially when she’s depressed.
When I approach her, she looks at me. She puts out the cigarette because she knows I can’t stand the smell. Then she stares ahead looking empty.
I sit on the swing next to her and hope I can find the words of comfort she needs.
Everyone is still reeling from the disaster that unfolded yesterday. Mom was so shaken we had to take her to the hospital to check her over. That was bad, but I knew Roxanne would be feeling especially terrible.
She spent the night here because I knew she didn’t want to be alone at her apartment. I stayed, too, for the extra support I knew Mom and Roxanne would need.
Roxanne arrived an hour after everything went down with Lance/Adrian. When she learned the truth about Adrian and heard he was dead, she broke down in a way I’d never seen her do.
I was glad she never got to see the real Adrian, but at the same time, I wish she had. It might have helped ease the pain of her loss.
She remembers him for the fa?ade he was, behind the smokescreen of the supportive boyfriend she thought she might have a future with. It’s sickening that someone could be so manipulative, and you never really know who they were under their masks.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
“No. I’m not okay.” Her voice holds the listless tone of someone who’s in a catatonic state.
“That was a stupid question. Of course, you’re not okay.”
“I feel so violated. I don’t know when that feeling is going to leave me.” She takes a quick breath of air and pushes her hair over her shoulder. “I can’t believe Adrian, or Lance, or whoever the hell he was, was such a fraud. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I don’t know where I went wrong. I’m so good at spotting these things, but I’m still stumped.”
“I’m so sorry. I was happy for you when I first met him. I liked that he was good to you. You deserved someone who could take care of you and make you happy.”
“But it was all a show.” She sighs in that lethargic tone again. “And there I am, cursing Harlan and giving you advice when I couldn’t even see what was right in front of me.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Roxanne. He fooled all of us. Even Cillian. You can’t feel bad about that.”
“I can’t help it. Of anyone, I knew him the best. I was with him nearly every day. Sometimes every night.” She winces. “He used me.”
“I know you don’t want to hear this now, but it’s better that you know the truth now than later on down the line when it would be too late. And hurt more.”
“You’re right… You’re absolutely right.” She dabs at the corners of her eyes. “I’d like to think that part of me knew he was a fraud and that’s why I wasn’t in love with him. That doesn’t make me hurt less, though.”
“Of course not.”
“I guess I have to take each day as it comes. One day at a time, right?”
I rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “One day at a time.”
She pulls in a deep breath and faces me. “Don’t worry about me, Chloe. I don’t want you to.”
“That’s not something I can help. Of course, I’m going to worry about you.”
“I know, but you have your own life to live. Cillian came through for us again. For you. If he’s the silver lining we got out of this mess, I’ll take it. He makes you happy and keeps us safe.”
I smile back at her. “I think he is our silver lining.”
“Then it all worked out the way it was supposed to.”
“Girls.” Mom’s voice has us turning toward her. She’s just walked out the back door with a tray of cookies.
She was supposed to be resting. When Dr. Chase checked her over, her blood pressure was sky high. He suggested she stay overnight, but she didn’t want to be in the hospital for another day. I checked her this morning, and her pressure seemed to stabilize.
“Mom, you should be in bed,” I scold her when she reaches us.
“I’ve been in bed for way too long.” She chuckles.
Roxanne stands, takes the tray from her, and starts eating the cookies. “These are amazing.”
Mom smiles. “I thought you’d need a pick-me-up.” She pulls Roxanne in for a hug, then she looks back at me. “I’ve come to relieve you of your duties. Your husband is here, and I think it’s time you go home with him.”
Cillian’s back. I haven’t seen him since yesterday. I would have gone home last night, but we both felt it was appropriate that I stay with Mom and Roxanne.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to go?” I stand.
“Of course. You must go. It’s time you two have some alone time.” Mom nods with enthusiasm.
She was happy to hear that Cillian and I are staying together. I didn’t get to savor that moment properly because we were in the height of danger.
“Okay. Call me if you need me. I'll check on you tomorrow.”
“That would be great, sweetie. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I give Mom a hug, then Roxanne.
I leave them and head back into the house, where I find Cillian waiting for me in the living room.
I skip into his arms feeling more at ease now that everything is okay.
“Ready to go home?” He smiles and searches my eyes.
“Absolutely.”
“Let’s go, lass.”
When night falls, Cillian builds a fire in the barbeque pit out on the terrace.
We sit side by side on a blanket and watch the fire blaze and burn.
Cillian made me hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream, so I sip on that while he watches me.
We didn’t do much talking when we got home earlier. He took me straight to bed.
As much as I wanted to talk to him about what’s going to happen next, I had no complaints. I was happy to be his and happy to feel like his wife again.
“Are you okay?” His voice is a soft rumble in my ear as he brushes my shoulder with his.
“I am now. Yesterday was a lot, though.”
He nods and gazes ahead at the flames. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt such fear as when I had to let you leave me to go back to Lance. I didn’t know if our plan was going to work.”
“I know. I was scared, too. Thank you for trusting me.”
He smirks. “I always trust you. It’s everyone else I don’t trust.” The seriousness returns to his face. “If I had been a minute later, I don’t want to think what could have happened. After poisoning that bastard, he still nearly shot your mother, and he might have had just enough energy to kill you, too.”
The dark dread of the same realization grips me, but I push it aside and tug on his arm. “It didn’t happen. You got there in time and saved us.”
He leans in and plants a kiss on my forehead. “I hope that never happens again.”
“Me too.” I set my mug down next to me and shuffle so I’m facing him. “How do you feel now that you got justice for your parents?”
He drags in a deep breath. “I’m not sure. It doesn’t feel like it’s enough. But I guess it feels like it’s something. Now the chapter is closed, and I can truly move on.”
“That sounds like something good.”
“It is. My parents would have loved you.” He smiles and touches my cheek.
“I wish I could have met them.”
“I do, too. They both would have been happy that I found my soul mate.” His eyes lock on mine, and his words warm my heart.
“Cillian… that means a lot to me. You are my soul mate, too.”
“I’m sorry it took you leaving me for me to see sense. Or for Jessica to cause a wedge between us.”
“It sounded like she was bitter that you didn’t choose her.”
“She’s always been bitter about that.” Tension fills his eyes. “I didn’t choose her in the past either when she tried to ruin my relationship with her sister. Erika—that was her name. If you were wondering why I’m so hostile toward Jessica, that’s the reason.”
“She seriously tried to ruin your relationship?”
“There is nothing that woman won’t do. She set me up so it looked like I was cheating with her. Erika saw us. She had months to live by then but she decided to take her life. I never knew if what she saw pushed her or if it was just everything. That’s the whole story. So, I guess I do keep that picture you saw for memories.”
I keep my eyes on his, my heart hurting for him. “I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. I never want you to feel like I don’t want to plan my future with you. Or like you aren’t my everything and she was. It was never about that. Death was my enemy and I didn’t want to bring you into my world, knowing I wouldn’t always be around to protect you.”
“I understand that now.”
“And now you know for sure. So, how about we start planning for forever?” He gives me a hope filled smile.
“I like the sound of that. What do you have in mind?”
“Lots of trips to exotic destinations and filling your belly with my babies.”
I find myself laughing. “I like that idea.”
“Good, because we’re going to start working on the baby part immediately.”
“I’m all in for that, too.”
“I love you, Mrs. O’Ridian.”
“I love you, too, Mr. O’Ridian.” We fall into a kiss, and I think of how we came to be, where we are now, and where we’re going.
My life has been one circle of unpredictable events that have all led me right here. Right into the arms of the man who saved me, healed my broken heart, and filled my spirit with new life.
I’m happy now.