Chapter 52
I sipped my iced lemonade. My purse with my gun inside tucked tightly on my shoulder. I held the phone to my ear while I waited for my food.
"You still working at that sales job?" My dad asked.
I almost snorted a laugh. "No, I left. Been trying to figure out my next move."
"Good. Figure it out down here with me. You should spend the summer with me and your uncles on the farm."
The cashier smiled holding up my takeout.
Pressing the phone against my shoulder and ear, I accepted the food with a silent thank you. "I don't know if I'm built for farm living, Dad." I pushed out the door, my eyes already scanning the parking lot. It was all clear. "You know I'm a city girl,” I continued
He chuckled. "I forgot I raised a pampered princess."
"You must have," I smiled walking to my car a few feet away. "But honestly—it doesn't sound that bad now that I think about it. I could use a break from everything."
"You just let me know when you're ready, I'll send the plane ticket," he said warmly.
My call waiting beeped. I took the phone from my ear and saw Ronnie's face. "Dad, can I call you back? It's Ronnie." I pressed my fob to unlock the door.
"Yeah, go ahead, sweetheart. Love you."
"Love you too." I set my drink on the roof to open my door before clicking over. "Hey, sis."
"Bitch, guess who just called me?" she began.
"Who?" I asked placing the food inside.
CLICK—
The hair on the back of my neck rose.
"Don't move," a voice said low.
"Gianna?" Ronnie's voice rose in my ear.
"Put your hands up."
The phone slid from my hands as I did what I was told. "My wallet is in my purse," I said carefully. "If you just let me reach inside, I can grab it."
"Shut up. Drop the bag."
My stomach dropped instantly. That voice. Female.
Shaky. Crying. I let the bag drop from my shoulder and it hit the ground with a faint thud from the heaviness of the gun.
From the ground I could hear Ronnie still faintly yelling through the phone. "GG?! Gianna?!"
Slowly, carefully, I turned my head slightly. And my blood ran cold.
It was Boss's wife—Eva.
Mascara smeared beneath swollen eyes. Hair a mess. Hands trembling around the gun pointed directly at me.
"Oh my God," I whispered, turning around to face her fully.
"Yeah," she said bitterly. "Oh my God is right."
My pulse was pounding so hard I could barely hear straight.
"What are you doing?" I asked cautiously.
"What am I doing?" she repeated sharply. "What the fuck have YOU been doing?!"
She stepped closer and the smell of liquor hit me instantly. Her eyes looked wild.
"You ruined my fucking life!" she screamed.
"Eva—"
"No!" she shouted so loud I flinched. "You don't get to stand there acting innocent! Acting scared now!" Tears streamed down her face. "You knew he had a wife! Kids! And you kept fucking him!"
"I never wanted to hurt you," I said carefully keeping my hands raised. "I swear to God I didn't."
"But you did!" she cried. "You took him from me!"
My brows pinched together in confusion. "What?"
"You made him hate me!" she sobbed. "You made him wanna leave us!" Her voice cracked violently. "He was gonna leave me for you!"
Ice slid down my spine. "What are you talking about?" I whispered.
"He said people grow apart." Tears poured harder down her face. "Like all those years meant nothing! Like carrying his babies meant nothing!" She pointed the gun harder at me. "All because of YOU!"
My heartbeat stuttered.
Eva's face twisted as she cried harder. "And then he tried to walk away from me!" she screamed. "After everything I did for him! After prison! After I held him down when nobody else wanted him!"
My stomach dropped.
"He would've still been alive if it wasn't for you!" she sobbed.
An eerie feeling settled over me. My mouth parted. "He's…dead?" I whispered.
"I didn't mean to do it," she choked out.
I fought against the terror that gripped me. I had to reason with her. "You can't do this here. Someone inside is going to hear you and call the police. Just go now, okay? Go home to your babies before you do something you regret."
She sniffled wiping her runny nose with one hand, eyes vacant, staring at me. "What makes you so special, huh?"
"I'm not." I shook my head quickly, eyes scanning the nearly vacant parking lot. "I'm just a regular girl. I swear."
"I'm just as pretty as you," she mumbled.
I nodded quickly. "You are. So pretty."
She started crying harder. Real ugly crying. "I gave that man everything," she whispered. "Everything."
"I know." I kept my voice calm despite my pulse hammering wildly in my ears. "I know you did."
"I loved him when nobody else did." Her hand trembled violently around the gun. "I would've died for him."
My eyes flicked toward the restaurant entrance.
Please…
Somebody come outside.
Please.
"I believe you," I said softly. "I really do."
The restaurant door suddenly opened. A young employee stepped out carrying a trash bag before freezing completely at the sight of the gun. My heart jumped. Eva heard the door too. Her head whipped around sharply.
"HELP" I screamed instantly. I shoved her hard.
Everything happened at once…
Eva stumbled backward.
BANG.
The sound exploded through the parking lot. For a second I wasn’t sure what had happened.
Then—
Agony. A horrible burning pressure slammed into my stomach so hard my knees buckled.
I looked down in shock. Blood. So much blood.
"Oh my God!" the employee screamed. "CALL 911!"
My phone somewhere on the ground exploded with Ronnie screaming my name. "GG?! GIANNA?!"
Eva stared at me in horror. The gun slipped slightly in her trembling hand. "No…" she whispered.
My legs gave out completely and I crashed onto the pavement hard, both hands instantly flying to my stomach. Warm blood poured between my fingers. Pain ripped through me so violently I couldn't breathe.
"Oh my God…" Eva choked out backing away from me. "No no—I didn't mean—"
"Help…" I gasped weakly.
The employee was already sprinting towards me yelling frantically for someone to call an ambulance.
Ronnie's voice was shrieking through the phone. "GG! TALK TO ME! WHAT HAPPENED?!"
Eva looked around wildly realizing what she'd done. Then she ran.
I curled onto my side gripping my stomach harder as blood soaked through my fingers onto the ground beneath me. Everything sounded far away suddenly.
People yelling.
Footsteps.
Ronnie screaming through the phone.
My breathing turned shaky and wet. And all I could think about was Remy.
God…Remy.