Chapter 12 #2
“I’m not stupid. Did you think Paige was the only woman I had working for me or who thought we were special?
She wanted to leave me for you.” He shook his head.
“Just because you have money. I have money, too. Not as much as you, but plenty to keep her happy, but she didn’t know that or she wouldn’t have left me. ”
Meri was happy now that her father had her get a gun and know how to use it.
She kept it in the cupboard behind the salad plates.
Somewhere no one, especially her nieces and nephews, would ever think to look.
She gingerly pulled it from its hiding place, making no noise, and tiptoed back to the foyer, but didn’t enter.
Chase saw her and gave her a signal that he would drop to the floor. He stepped closer to Marco. “You’re just a little man and she finally realized what a real man is. She wanted me because she knew I’m a real man.”
Marco narrowed his eyes and balled his hand into a fist, and hit Chase with a left hook.
As he’d indicated to Meri, he dropped like a stone.
“Drop your weapon,” shouted Meri as she stepped out of the kitchen.
Marco aimed his gun at Chase’s head.
A shot rang out and Marco staggered back against the door. His left hand went to his chest and pulled back, covered in blood. “No. This can’t happen. You’re—” His gun dropped from his right hand, and his knees collapsed as he fell to the floor.
Meri knew from his eyes that he was dead, but she still didn’t go near him. Instead, she scooted farther into the living room, never taking her gaze from his body.
Then Chase was there. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “It’s okay. We’re safe now. He’s dead. He can’t harm us anymore.”
Meri buried her face in his chest, unable to look at Marco’s body any longer.
Chase took the gun from her and held her for a few minutes.
He pulled away. “We need to call the police.” He continued to hold her close. “Shhhh.”
Her body still shook.
He rubbed her back. “Shhhh. It’s alright. He can’t hurt us or anyone else ever again.”
Finally, she pushed away. “I know. I’m fine…really.”
“I’ll call the police, then I’ll check on my men. It looks like he set off some sort of smoke bomb in the hall. Don’t open the door for anyone. I’ll answer it when the police get here.”
“Okay.”
“When they get here, they’ll need to find Officer Donnelly. He was the last one here and,” he jutted his chin at Marco. “He probably took his shirt and hat, so I would open the door without question. Hopefully, he didn’t kill him, too.”
He went to get his phone. A few minutes later, he hung up. “They’re on their way. I told them about the officer. They’ll be looking for him, too.”
“I hope he’s all right.” I hope I’ll be all right. I just killed a man.
Chase walked out into the hall. Smoke lingered in the air, causing him to cough. He saw Josh sitting up and shaking his head, likely to clear it. The smoke was disorienting.
Zed was coming around and trying to stand, but not having much success.
Chase went to help him and was relieved when both men were up again. “Come into the apartment where you can get fresh air. We’ll open the unbroken windows and get this,” he waved his hand through the smoke. “Out of here.”
The three men entered the apartment.
Meri was in the kitchen with a glass of wine in her hand.
He noticed her hand was shaking in the aftermath of killing a man.
Chase walked over, took her glass, and set it on the counter.
Then he took her in his arms. He knew what she was feeling.
He still felt that way if he had to kill someone.
“Let’s go back to the table and wait for them.
You look like you’re about to collapse on your feet.
Thank you, by the way. You saved my life.
If you hadn’t taken that shot, we would be lying on the floor dead now instead of him.
You know, I expected him to come, but not so quickly and not in disguise. ”
She nodded. “I know, and that helps a little.”
They sat for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts, until Chase reached over and took her hand. “I want to go to the ranch now, as soon as we can. How do you feel about that?”
She squeezed his hand. The shaking had finally stopped and the tension in her shoulders and back was less. “I’d like that very much. I want to leave all this behind and concentrate on something besides fearing for my life.”
“Good. As soon as we finish with the police, we’ll leave. Do you have a bag packed?”
“Yes. I had never unpacked when we came here. How quickly can we leave?”
He chuckled. His eyes softened as he cupped her face. “Sweetheart, I own my plane. We can leave whenever we want.”
Her eyes widened. “That’s great. I’ve never been on a private plane before.”
“The first time is the best. You get to find out where everything is. Once you start using it for business, like I do, it loses its appeal as anything but another office.”
“Will you have to work while we’re gone?”
He shook his head and gently squeezed her hand.
“No, I’m making sure I won’t. This will be a real vacation for me…
for us, the first I’ve taken in years with absolutely no work.
Oh, I’ve been to the ranch many times over the years, but I have always worked.
This time, it truly is just for fun.” He continued to hold her hand, but now he was making circles with his thumb on the underside of her wrist.
Little jolts of electricity traveled through him as he made the movements.
The more he moved on her skin, the more intense the feeling.
He needed her with him, but more than that, he wanted her with him, like he’d wanted no one before, including Paige.
He’d kept putting Paige off when she talked about a date for the wedding.
Now he thought he knew why. He’d been waiting for Meri.
He’d marry her tomorrow, if she would agree.
He hated the thought of a dead man in her foyer, and knew it upset her, but what was he supposed to do about it? Taking another sip of wine, he swallowed. He observed how the act of drinking the wine had an unexpectedly calming effect on her, which was necessary for her at that moment.
He would do his best to give her calm, regardless of Marco’s body. It was the best he could do for now.