Chapter Thirteen #2
“I’m so sorry, Torren,” she cried. Tana was hurting him, and seeing the pain in his eyes and how easily he accepted her rejection just about gutted her.
It hurt her heart to know that Torren didn’t believe that he was worth her trouble because he was.
She hated that this was the only way to keep both Beth and Torren safe, but she had no other choice.
“You know what—just walk away like everyone else, Tana. I’m used to that.
” Torren lay back in his bed and closed his eyes.
“Let’s go, Doc.” The doctor nodded at her, and they wheeled Torren’s bed into the elevator.
Tana stood in the hallway watching the doors close, hoping that he would open his eyes and look at her one last time, but he never did.
The doors closed, and she felt as though someone had ripped her heart from her chest. She slid her hand against the wall, trying to steady herself.
Now wasn’t the time to fall apart—that would have to wait.
Now, she needed to find her daughter and make sure that Matt would never be able to hurt any of them again.
Matt waited for Tana at her little house, knowing that his wife was a smart woman.
She would eventually figure out where he was waiting for her.
Still, he was getting sick of sitting around, listening to Beth go on about how hungry she was or how mean he was.
She was right—he was plenty mean, and if his little angel didn’t shut her fucking mouth, she would realize his anger firsthand.
“Give it a rest, Beth. I will find you something to eat when I’m good and ready.
You just shut your mouth and drink your water.
” Beth shot him an incredulous look that reminded him so much of Tana.
He shot off his chair and raised his hand, only backing off when she screamed and covered her face with her arms. At least his daughter was smart enough to back down, something her mother never learned.
Tana always seemed so defiant whenever he would have to smack her around.
She always deserved it, and when he got done with her, she wasn’t as smug and condescending as she first was.
Beth was at least smart enough to protect herself—maybe keeping her around wasn’t such a bad idea.
She was the twin that reminded him most of himself.
Besides, he didn’t know if he had it in himself to kill his flesh and blood.
Tana had it coming, and he was more than willing to get rid of his wife.
His fresh start would just have to involve a kid or two.
The twins were still young enough that they would probably forget all about their mother—he would make sure of that.
At the sound of a car pulling into the driveway, he looked out the front window to find his wife sitting in her car.
Tana was smart enough not only to find him but to show up alone.
It was about damn time—he was waiting for over an hour now.
“Mommy?” Beth questioned when the front door opened.
“Sit down, Beth.” Matt barked. He grabbed his gun from the counter and trained it on his daughter. He needed to use her as leverage; otherwise, Tana would think she had the upper hand, and he wouldn’t allow that.
“Beth!” Tana’s voice sounded shaky, and he knew that she wasn’t going to just let him have their daughter. She was going to put up a fight, and he would enjoy beating that fight out of her. “Baby, are you all right?” Beth nodded her head, a small sob escaping from her little chest.
“She’s just fine, Tana. You need to stop right there, not one more step closer.
” Tana froze in place, and he knew that it was all part of her act.
His wife usually wasn’t so accommodating.
“It’s nice to see that you can obey me, Tana.
” He barked out his laugh, causing Beth to jump in her seat.
“Let’s see how well you do, and maybe I’ll let Beth go.
” Tana looked at him like she didn’t believe a word that he was saying.
“And I’m supposed to just take your word for it, that you are going to just let our daughter walk out of here? How about you let her run across the street, and I’ll stay here to take her place.” Tana held up her hands as if surrendering, and Matt couldn’t help his laugh.
“Sure, honey,” he chuckled. “I think you’d like that, wouldn’t you?
Beth here can run along and play at your new boyfriend’s house, and everyone will just leave us alone?
” He shook his head, tsking her as if he wasn’t buying her lies.
“How about you come on in here, slowly, and have a seat in this chair.” Matt kicked a chair out from under the table, and Tana made her way into the kitchen and gingerly sat down in the chair that he slid towards her.
“Look at you playing nice. I have to say I like this side of you, sweetheart.” Tana’s smile was mean, and he knew that it was taking all her restraint to be a good girl.
“Listen, Matt, I’m here just like you want.
How about you let Beth go, and we can handle this like adults.
We can talk and work out what’s best for our family, like civilized people.
” Tana was watching him, waiting for him to make the next move.
Hell, she was almost daring him to rough her up a little.
“What guarantee do I have that you’ll continue to behave once I let Beth go?” Matt challenged her. “You have my word, Matt. That used to mean something. I was your wife; my word should still be enough.” Matt laughed at Tana as if she were telling a joke, and that seemed to piss her off some.
“There you are, honey. I knew that you’d show your true colors sooner or later.
That anger right there is what’s going to get you into trouble.
” Tana plastered a smile back onto her face, and he knew that she had put her defenses back up.
“Okay, so we’ll do this the hard way, Matt.
What do you want from us?” Tana pointed between herself and Beth.
Their daughter reached for Tana, and he slapped her arms down, causing her to cry out in pain.
“Please, Matt, don’t hurt her. Just let me hold her—she’s scared.” Matt shook his head, heaving out an angry breath.
“Not a chance. She stays in her chair, and you stay in yours.” Matt motioned between the two of them with his gun.
“Fine, then tell me what I can do to move this along. What do you want?” Matt needed to consider her words carefully.
What he wanted was to take his willful wife out of the equation; that way, he could move on and find someone new.
But divorce would be too easy for her—it was too neat and tidy.
He wanted to mess her up a little. Hell, he wanted to kill the bitch, but if he did that in front of Beth, he’d never turn her to his side.
She would blame him for her mother’s death for the rest of her life.
“What I want is for us to take a little ride, honey. I’m going to lock Beth in her room, and then you and I are going to take a drive.
” Tana’s tears fell freely down her face, but he wasn’t going to fall for her theatrics.
“I’ll come back to find you later, Beth.
Mommy and I just need to have a conversation, and then you and I are going to go on a trip.
Would you like that?” Beth looked up at him, and confusion clouded her features.
“Will Sarah and Mommy come with us on the trip?” Matt shook his head.
“No, honey. We’ll try to pick up Sarah before we leave, but Mommy is going to stay here.
” Tana sobbed again, and he told them both to stand.
It was time to get the show on the road.
He didn’t want to take the chance that Tana was followed; he wanted to get her out of there and find a quiet place off the beaten path to take care of his wife.
“I want you both to head upstairs and don’t make any sudden moves, honey.
I won’t hesitate to shoot you both.” Tana took Beth’s hand and walked towards the stairs.
When they all reached the bottom of the steps, the kitchen back door flew open, and Matt saw two hulking figures rush into the small room.
He knew that his only hope for escape was to get his hands on Beth.
She would be easy to manipulate and light enough to move quickly.
“Don’t do it, Matt,” the Sheriff yelled, pointing his gun at Matt’s chest. The hulk standing next to the cop looked just like the guy Tana was with earlier.
“You? I shot you. How are you here?” Matt asked, stalling.
“You shot my brother, asshole,” the Hulk spoke.
“Please, Matt, just let us go, and I won’t press charges,” Tana pleaded.
“No, bitch. You don’t get to walk out of here again.
Neither of you does.” Matt spun around to face Tana and Beth and pointed the gun at his daughter.
Then everything happened so quickly—he wasn’t sure how he ended up on the floor, but he knew that he had been shot.
He looked up to find Tana standing over him, holding her side, blood covering her hands.
“See you soon, honey,” he whispered just before he drew his last breath.
“Tana, no!” Tag rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms before she hit the floor.
“Is Beth okay?” She looked over to her daughter as Sawyer knelt in front of her, checking her out. “She’s good, Tana.” He pulled out his cell and called for backup and an ambulance.
“Torren?” She looked at Tag—he was so like his brother.
“Is he safe?” Tag nodded, and Tana breathed a sigh of relief.
She knew that she had been shot, but it didn’t hurt anymore; she just felt numb all over.
“I’m so cold,” she cried. “Why am I so cold?” Tag gently laid her on the floor and took off his jacket to cover her.
He took off his T-shirt to press against her stomach where she had been shot, applying pressure. She groaned in pain at the contact.
“Sorry, Tana. I need to get this bleeding under control.” Tana didn’t miss the worried glance Tag gave to Sawyer.
“Where is that ambulance, man?” he barked.
“Tag,” Tana coughed, sending pain spiraling through her body.
“Tell Torren that I’m sorry. I only broke up with him to get here to Beth.
” She reached up and took her daughter’s hand into hers.
“My girls are my life, and I would do anything to keep them safe. I’m sorry that I had to break your brother’s heart to do that.
Torren is worth sticking around for.” Tana coughed again and roiled in pain.
“You can tell him yourself, Tana. The ambulance is here, and they are going to fix you right up,” Tag said.
“Be a good girl, Beth, and take care of Sarah,” Tana whispered, and she squeezed her daughter’s little hand.
Tana’s world started to go dark just as the emergency team rushed into her house.
Her one regret was leaving her daughters without a mother or father to love them and watch them grow up.
She thought about Torren and the sadness that she saw in his eyes every time he spoke of his mother’s death and his father’s betrayal, and she wondered if her girls would grow up feeling the same way about her.
She saw Torren’s beautiful face just as the darkness consumed her, and she felt inexplicable sadness that she would never see him or touch him again.
Tana longed for one last chance to tell him that she loved him and to see the way his face lit up from just those three little words.