Chapter 40
LILY
“You sure the kid isn’t there?” I ask Barrett for the tenth time, and he rolls his eyes.
“Would you trust me already?”
I give in and nod, staring at the mansion, knowing I should trust my cousin after he made a few calls for intel to make sure the coast is clear.
Sighing, I get out of the car.
“Let’s do this.”
Following him through the gate and weaving up the path surrounded by foliage, we make it to the front door without a hiccup.
Then I ring the bell.
It takes a minute before it swings open, and when it does, I come face to face with my ex-husband.
Alexander’s eyes go wide at seeing us.
“What are you doing here? Don’t bring your crazy mess to my doorstep, Lilian.”
I roll my eyes, stepping over the threshold, and pushing him backwards as Barrett follows behind me, closing the front door.
“Is Melanie here?” I ask Alexander, and he frowns, looking from me to Barrett and back.
“What are you wearing?” he asks, taking in my latex outfit before his eyes widen. “It can’t be true? I figured you’d gotten yourself involved in something, but…”
“Focus, Alex.” I snap my fingers in front of his face. “Is Melanie home?”
“What? No.” He shakes his head. “She’s at her friend’s house.”
“I told you,” Barrett mumbles as he passes me, and then to Alexander. “Where’s your wife?”
“Tamara?”
“Jesus, Alex. How many other wives do you have?” I hiss and he frowns.
“Stop calling me that. It’s Alexander.”
I roll my eyes. “I’ll call you whatever the fuck I want to call you.”
“Why are you here? Don’t bring your toxic drama into my home!” Even as Alex carries on, Tamara’s voice calls down the hallway.
“Alexander. Who was at the door?”
I shoot Alex a smirk.
“Let’s go.” I shove his chest, and he stumbles back, nearly tripping, his face turning red with anger, but before he can start spewing his bullshit, I draw my gun on him. “Don’t say a fucking word, Alex. Get moving.”
He stumbles back again, but keeps his mouth shut, shuffling ahead of us to enter the back part of the house.
Stepping into the room they call the parlour, which is just a fancy name for a living room, we find Tamara sipping on a glass of red wine as she flicks the pages of a magazine.
“I think we should redecorate Melanie’s bedroom something like this. It will be more versatile to upgrade when she’s a teenager.”
“I thought she was dying,” I hiss, and Tamara’s eyes dart up from the magazine to find us standing there with a gun pointed towards her husband.
“What the hell?” She bolts up from the sofa, the magazine tumbling from her lap to the floor, her red wine spilling over onto the white carpet.
Who the hell has white carpet?
“You look surprised, Tammy,” I sneer. “Is it because I’m not locked up?”
“Don’t call me Tammy,” she hisses, the glass in her hand now shaking as she starts to tremble. “What are you doing here?”
“Cut the shit, Tammy.” I let the name slowly roll off my tongue. “I know it was you.”
“Lilian, what is going on?” Alex asks, his voice grating so I shove the gun against his temple.
“Call me that again, and see what fucking happens.”
“S-sorry,” he stutters, and I roll my eyes. Such a fucking pussy.
“You need to leave!” Tammy cries, her hand flying to her mouth like she actually cares about my ex-husband.
“We’ll leave as soon as we’re finished here,” Barrett snarls, and Tamara stiffens before her eyes flick to the patio doors.
“Try and run. I dare you.” I smirk and her brows shoot up, her eyes going wide with panic.
“Why don’t you take a seat?” Barrett suggests, so I shove Alex in the back, forcing him forward to the sofa, where he sits down next to his wife.
Taking my phone out, I pull up the picture AJ passed on to me and hold it up in front of them.
“Recognise this person?”
Alex squints, looking at the screen, while Tamara stiffens, straight as a board.
“Wait… is that you?” Alex frowns, turning his gaze to his wife. “Why were you at the police station?”
“Why don’t you tell him why you were there?” I sneer at Tamara as her gaze flicks between us.
“I… I—”
I point my gun directly at her head, and a whimper escapes her.
“Fine! Okay!” she screeches, glaring at me before she looks at her husband. “She’s a killer, Alexander. She’s been killing all of those poor men.”
“Pfft.” I roll my eyes. “Not one of them was innocent. They were all predators. The worst of the worst. I was just doing what the law couldn’t.”
Alexander’s eyes nearly bug out of his head. “I didn’t want to believe it but… y-you?”
“Why won’t you just die?!” Tamara screams, the sound piercing in the fancy room, before she leaps up from the sofa, stomping her foot on the white carpet, her hands balled into fists at her sides.
I laugh. “You stupid woman. Were you the one that put the hit out on me? Was that before or after you knew I was the Crimson Angel?”
“Hit?” Alex chokes. “Someone’s trying to kill you?”
Tamara rolls her eyes this time. “Jesus, Alexander. You really are a dunce sometimes.” Then she turns her attention back to me.
“No, actually. I didn’t put a hit on you, but I wish I did.
When the man came and questioned me about you, and he told me who you really were…
” She curls her lips. “You’re a vile beast.”
I can’t deny it. I am. Everyone has seen the news reports and the full page images leaked to the media of my victims.
“What man came to question you?” Barrett asks, and Tamara’s lips thin.
“I never caught his name.”
“Hang on a minute…” Alex butts in, turning to his wife. “Someone came to you about my ex-wife, and then you went to the cops and turned her in? All without consulting me?”
“You would have stopped me,” she barks, and Alexander’s face morphs into fury.
“Damn right I would have. Didn’t you stop to think about how this will affect us? My sons?”
“She’s killing people, Alex. Who cares about those brats? They are probably just as evil as she is.”
Alex bolts up off the sofa, his hands balled into fists as he glares down at Tamara.
Huh. I guess he does love our boys more than he loves this bitch.
“They are good kids,” Alex sneers, and Tamara glares right back.
“Uh-oh,” I remark. “Lovers’ quarrel.”
Barrett chuckles from behind me, but Tamara’s glare is stabby as hell when she levels me with it.
Before I know what’s happening, her wine glass is sailing through the air towards me.
I duck, just in time, hearing it smash somewhere behind me before I start stalking towards her.
“There’s always been something wrong with you!” she screams, stumbling to the side before picking up a vase from the end table and hurling it my way, the attempt going wide, smashing against the wall.
“You’re a sick bitch! The things you’ve done! No wonder Alexander could never love you.”
Tamara’s words don’t hurt. I already know I’m not wired the same as most people, and Alexander’s love isn’t something I’m seeking.
As I continue to stalk her around the room, occasionally ducking the objects she throws at me, I ask her more questions.
“Who was the man that came to you?”
She scoffs. “I told you I don’t know. Don’t you listen?”
“But you so easily helped him, didn’t you?” I ask, looming closer.
“How else am I going to get you out of the way?!”
I stop stalking her, my brows hitching at her admission, as Alexander’s strained voice cuts through the room.
“Why would you do this?”
She scoffs at Alexander. “You piece of shit. You won’t change your will. Everything is to go to your thug sons and your ex-fucking-wife. What about me?”
“You mean, what about Melanie, right?” I ask, and Tamara glares at me, her top lip curling as her fingers dig into the cushion on the fancy chair across the room that is only there to look pretty and not actually sit on.
“Melanie has got it good. She won’t ever need to worry,” she tuts. “Me though? I’m expendable. When this limp dick dies, I’ll be left with nothing while you and your sons soak up the riches I’ve spent the last fucking twenty years earning!”
“What the hell, Tamara?!” Alex yells, but I ignore him.
“So, this is all about money? You want me disgraced and out of the way?” I ask, honestly curious. “Telling the twins about Melanie was about money, too?”
“Telling the twins about Melanie was to draw a wedge between you. Break up this happy fucking family so that maybe Alexander would see you for what you really are and remove you from his will and add me in your place. But as usual, I’m always in your fucking shadow while you sit pretty in your fucking tower, living off the money that rightfully belongs to me. ”
“My tower?” I scoff. “I was married to a man that never loved me. A man who still continued a relationship with you right through my marriage. Any coin I got from Alex over the years was for my fucking sufferance.”
“Ouch,” Alexander mutters.
“Shut up, Alexander,” Tamara and I hiss in unison, and Barrett chuckles.
“The man that came to see you had to have given you a reason when he asked you to do his bidding,” Barrett snaps, drawing us out of our marriage turmoil and reminding me why we’re here.
“He just said it’d put more pressure on you,” she snaps, crossing her arms over her chest. “So you know it was me who told the police. Why are you here? To kill me? In front of Alexander?”
“Yes,” I answer simply, while Alexander says the opposite.
“No.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Like you get a say.”
“Let me do it,” he rasps, his voice sounding more dangerous than I’ve ever heard it.
My brows shoot up. “What?”
Tamara scoffs. “You can’t even kill a fly, Alexander. You’re too pathetic to end a human life.”
“Can I borrow your gun?” Alex turns his eyes to me, and I see how serious he is right now. “Let me kill this bitch myself. I want to make sure she’s out of my life for good.”
“You kill her, and you can’t take it back,” I point out, and he shrugs.
“I’m sick of being used by this bitch. Sick of her mind games.”
Tamara scoffs again, but we don’t pay her any attention.