CHAPTER SIXTEEN
WYNN
We’ve been waiting for a few hours, and it’s close to midnight.
The gym is mostly empty except for a few people we asked to be here.
Maverick put the word out that we needed privacy tonight, and with all the underground fighting this place does, everyone got the message.
They understood that shit was going down and they needed to steer clear.
“Well, at least I won’t have to do this again for a while,” Maverick says as I fold another towel and stack it next to the pile.
“I guess if being a doctor doesn’t work out, I’ve got this to fall back on,” I tell him as I grab the last one.
“Meh, I’ve seen better.” He cracks a hint of a smile as he neatly arranges the piles together and then starts putting them in his arms.
We’ve folded about ten loads of towels for the gym, but it’s kept me busy. I don’t mind the quiet work because it means I’m not pacing and it calms my brain.
“I’ll go grab the last load from the laundry.”
“All right. I’ll take these up front,” he says before we head in opposite directions.
The laundry is located in the utility room down in the basement of the building.
I have to take the back stairs to get down there, and the only light comes from the emergency exit sign.
When I get there, the dryer is almost finished, so I decide to wait.
There are several washers and dryers down here along with extra equipment for the gym.
It’s a catch-all for the most part, but with concrete floors and not much lighting, it could very well feature in a horror movie.
On top of that, the old dryer is loud, which is why I don’t hear someone coming up behind me until it’s too late.
“Turn around,” Boris says, and I feel him press a gun to my lower back. “Slowly.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I say as I do what he says. I raise my hands to show him I’m not armed but otherwise remain still. “It’s not too late to turn yourself in.”
Every time I’ve seen Boris Walton, he’s been dressed like he’s about to walk into a courtroom. His hair is always perfectly styled, and his smile is smug like he knows nothing will ever stick to him.
The Boris Walton standing in front of me now could not be any more different.
He’s wearing jogging pants and a zip-up hoodie with sweat stains around the pits.
His hair is messy and unclean, and he looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks.
The dark circles under his eyes make him seem strung out, but for all I know, he could be on drugs.
“Where is she?” he hisses as his eyes dart around frantically.
“She’s not here.” I try to keep my voice calm and even, but he’s not having it.
“You’re fucking lying. I’ve been watching this place all night. She hasn’t left.” He uses the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe his nose, and I see white residue on it. Yeah, he’s definitely put something up there. “If you don’t tell me where she is, I’ll kill you and then I’ll find her on my own.”
“I guess that’s what you do, isn’t it?”
“What?” Boris’s eyes snap back to me with confusion.
“You kill the people that get in your way.” His expression changes to anger as he takes a step toward me. “What I don’t understand is why you had to kill your wife. She seemed perfectly fine covering up for you.”
“She was fine,” he snaps, and sweat runs down his forehead. “Until you came along.”
I’m surprised by this admission because I tried to talk to her, tried to get her to leave or report him. Every time I treated her, she refused to tell me anything or let the police get involved.
“She was planning to leave me.” He lets out a humorless laugh. “Me! Can you believe it? You got in her head, and the next thing I knew she was saying she was going to tell everyone what I’d done to her.”
I’m momentarily shocked that all those times I begged her to leave him, something finally convinced her. If only I’d be able to get through to her sooner. Yes, she made her choices, but I can’t imagine anyone could easily leave a man with as much power as him.
“She was always so fucking stubborn. Once she made up her mind, that was the end of it. Well, I showed her, didn’t I? The sound of her neck cracking after I threw her down the stairs was the peace I’d been waiting on for years. Years!”
He shouts the last part and waves the gun like a maniac. I hold my breath that everything stays calm as I take a small step toward him.
“But then you started in on Kate. With your wife gone, you needed a new punching bag.”
“I’m not going to let that ungrateful little bitch ruin me.
She wanted to act like her mother, so I treated her that way.
I could have put her in a nice rehab center, but no.
She had to be a fucking brat and go the press.
” He huffs like this is the most ridiculous thing he’s ever heard.
“I’m going to find Kate and shut her up once and for all. Right after I deal with you.”
His thumb cocks the hammer back on the gun, and I can feel my heartbeat in my throat. It’s now or never.
“I think we’ve got it,” I say, and Boris’s eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “Come on out.”
There’s a door behind Boris that leads to the utility closet where Officer Niks and her team have been waiting.
They snuck down here after she cleared the scene and set up cameras.
The emergency exit was the only door not locked, and I knew Boris would be waiting to get me alone.
It was a gamble that paid off, and watching Boris drop his gun as they cuff him allows me to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“All right, Kate, you can come on out,” Officer Niks says into her phone.
The dryer has stopped, so I hear footsteps before Kate appears in the doorway and launches herself into my arms.
“Oh my god, that was terrifying to watch on the cameras upstairs. I wanted to run down here a hundred times.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” I say into her hair as I lift her against me and close my eyes. My heart releases a little prayer of gratitude that she’s finally safe. “I love you, Kate.”
She leans back so she can look at me, and I see the tears in her eyes. “You do?”
“Of course I do,” I tell her and place a kiss on her lips. “I love you so damn much, and now that this is over, I plan on spending every damn moment of my life loving you.”
“I love you too,” she says with a laugh as we hold each other tighter.
“You have the right to remain silent,” I hear Officer Niks tell Boris. I put Kate back on her feet but still keep her glued to my side as Officer Niks finishes reading Boris his Miranda rights.
“And you’re in luck,” she tells him. “Our newly elected Senator Delrose is excited to make an example out of you. She set up a sting operation over the state tonight and rounded up you and all your buddies. She’s already set a press conference for first thing in the morning and is going to make sure all of you rot in prison. ”
“You can’t do this!” Boris shouts and jerks against his cuffs.
“Do you have anything you want to say to him?” I ask Kate as they start to walk Boris out of the basement.
She turns her attention to me as she shakes her head. “Nothing I say will ever matter to him. Not even words of hate. So I’d rather save my breath for the person I love.”
“That’s my good girl,” I tell her as I pull her in my arms and kiss her forehead. “Now let’s go home so we can get back to work on making those babies.”
“How many babies are we talking?” she asks, leaning closer.
“Lucky seven?”
Her eyes widen in shock before they turn mischievous. “I’ll have as many as you can carry.”
“I guess it’s a good thing we’re friends with the guy that owns the gym.” I curl my arms up in a flex as I lift her. “Because, baby girl, I can carry the world as long as you’re by my side.”