by Cole Baxter
"I love you too," she murmured.
I gazed at her eyes for a moment just in case it was the last time I saw her.
With her eyes in my mind, I got out of the car, put her phone in my pocket with the camera facing out, and crossed through the gate that was wrenched open. I wondered if someone was already here who wanted to do the same thing I wanted. Maybe I'd have to get in line with other men who wanted to kill Ellis Whitman.
When I knocked on the front door, I noticed it was open. I pushed it open and cocked an ear.
I could hear Ellis's voice and he was yelling at Shannon.
"I DID WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE!" he shouted at her. "TO PROTECT THIS FAMILY'S NAME!"
"YOU ARE A MONSTER!" she screamed at him.
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?" he asked. "EVERYTHING HAS BEEN HANDED TO YOU ON A SILVER PLATTER!"
"I . . ." she took a deep breath and then looked behind him to me. Her eyes widened and she stopped talking.
It took Ellis a moment to register what was happening, but he spun around and saw me after a moment. There was poison in his voice as he spoke. "Well, hello, Blake," he said. "I can imagine why you're here."
"You would imagine right," I said. "I guess you were the one who taught your son to be a killer."
"Excuse me?" Ellis said. "That boy was a liability. He clearly learned nothing from me."
"So, you admit it," I said casually. I hoped to God the microphone on the phone was working and all of this was being recorded. "You killed him."
"He needed to be ended," Ellis said simply. "As do you."
I chuckled. "Yeah, I wish I could be killed that easily," I said. "But I'm like a cockroach."
"Oh, really?" Ellis said and pulled a gun out of his waistband. "Because I'm pretty sure if I shoot a cockroach, it will die."
"You see," I said, nodding, "I thought that too. I didn't shoot myself, of course, but I tried everything else. Pills. Booze. Jumping. Nothing worked. I woke up each time, bruised and bloody and sore, but I was still drawing breath. So, I'm pretty sure I have nine lives or something."
"Do you?" he asked as I found myself looking down the barrel of his gun. "Because I think that you've used them all up."
I looked at him without an ounce of fear. "Please," I said to him.
Ellis raised his eyebrow. "What is this?" he asked. "One of the tricks they teach you in police academy?"
"Oh, it's not a trick," I said. "It's just what a lot of pain will do to you."
"So, there's nothing you could live for?" he asked, looking at me curiously. "Because you're making this far too easy for me, Blake."
"Oh, sorry," I said. "What can I do? Scream? Try to run? You have a gun on me, Ellis. There's nothing I can do."
I put my hands up and stared at him and the gun pointed at my chest.
I wished that I could kiss Laurie one more time. I loved her. I'd tried so hard not to, but I did. I loved her more than I ever could have imagined. Now that I was staring death in the face, I wanted to live. I wanted to be with her, get to know her better, love her like she needed to be loved. I wanted to kiss her and lie in bed with her and blissfully stare at the ceiling. I wanted to live. But it was too late for that.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Laurie
I couldn't believe what I was hearing over my phone's microphone. This sounded like the plot of a thriller movie.
Ellis had admitted to murdering Devon. Now, much to my dismay, Ellis was threatening Blake with a gun. Ellis had decided that nothing else mattered in his life but this moment. He was acting irrational and he certainly wasn't listening to reason.
I had to act now or never.
I knew Anna was watching over the other end, but Blake had my phone so she wouldn't hear me saying I was going in. Then I remembered Blake's phone.
Grabbing it, I put in her number and texted, Anna, I'm going in. Send backup. Send backup now!
I had never considered using a gun before in my life. I had never thought that I would ever be able to pull the trigger. But right now, more than anything, I knew that I probably could. I knew that I could pull the trigger on Ellis and not think twice. If he so much as thought about shooting Blake, I would do it.
I just hoped that he wouldn't because I didn't actually have a gun and I was terrified of what would happen when I got inside.
When I had been with Devon, I had wanted to die. There was nothing more that I wanted than to stop existing in this world and not come back. But after I escaped from Devon and after I had woken up in the morgue, I realized that death was not what I wanted. It had been a slow process, and it took a lot of courage and a lot of therapy. But I wanted to live, and I was certain of that.
I wanted Blake to live too.
I rushed into the house before I could even think much more. I knew the livestream was still going, and the scene I found was exactly as I had seen on the computer.
Shannon was standing on the stairs, looking terrified and distraught. Ellis and Blake were in the grand entrance of the Whitmans’ house and Ellis had a gun pointed at Blake. I didn't know what kind of gun it was, and I supposed it wouldn't matter. They all shot bullets that would be deadly if shot at such close range.
A million moments passed through my head. I thought of all the times I had stood in this front entrance. I had been afraid then. I had been judged then too. These people had no love for me. I had been so young when Devon and I married. And yet, I had survived those moments and walked out of there. I had survived all those moments and I would survive this one too.
"Hello, Mr. Whitman," I said, giving him a hard smile. "Just so you know, Blake has my phone's camera livestreaming to the cops from his pocket, and they are on their way." I pointed it out to him and his eyes narrowed. "If you shoot that gun, you're certainly going down for our murder as well as Devon's. As I said, you basically confessed, so now you're just adding additional charges."
"Pfft," he scoffed. "That's such bullshit."
"Is it, though?" I asked. "It's really livestreaming. You can check."
"Laurie, you know you're full of shit. The two of you couldn't operate a—"
"Really?" I asked. "Because I run a website for abuse victims and I wrote a book. Do you think that doesn't require technological skills? A lot has changed, Mr. Whitman, since I last stood here in your front hall. I was nineteen years old when we first met. Nineteen. And you taught Devon how to destroy me."
"I taught Devon how to act like a man," he said. "Clearly, he screwed it up."
"No." I shook my head. "He did it perfectly fine, actually. He ruined me. He killed me."
"If he'd killed you, you wouldn't be standing here right now looking like a stupid blogger," he spat at me.
He still had the gun pointed at Blake, and he didn't move it. Blake and I made eye contact, and I could tell he desperately wanted me to leave. I wasn't going to, though. I wasn't going to leave when I knew that I was his only fighting chance.
"Well, then," I said, smirking. "I guess it's you who screwed up. Because if you didn't teach him right, that’s your fault, not his."
He slowly turned his gun from Blake to me. From what I had read about psychology, this was a good thing. It meant some part of his mind could still be swayed by logic or at least some sort of words.
"What did you say?" he hissed. "Are you defending him?"
"Ha!" I snorted. "The last thing I would do is defend Devon. I'll never do that again. There were too many days in public with scarves and careful makeup to ever do that again. But you, Mr. Whitman, were the one who sheltered a murderer. You were the one who coddled him, and you were the one who thought you were correcting his errors by committing even more murder. That is just messed up."
He growled at me. "Devon deserved to die," he ranted. "He was the one bringing shame on this family. He shouldn't have given you a fighting chance! He should have killed you when he had the chance!"
"Technically, he did kill me," I responded. "But I didn't stay dead. Apparently, God had other
plans for me, so here I stand. So go ahead. Shoot me and shoot Blake in front of the cops."
Shannon was standing on the steps, frozen with fear. I felt so bad for her. She was a victim. She wasn't in on this, and that was made clear by the silent tears slipping down her face. I really did feel bad for her.
"Which one of you should I shoot first?" he muttered. "I can't decide. Can't shoot both of you at once."
"You could kill me," I said. "But it's not going to make an ounce of difference in the movement I've started. In fact, it's going to make me a martyr, Mr. Whitman. You're not going to be able to live like this in the new world that is coming. Women aren't going to stand for this anymore. Women are strong, and they aren't going to be beaten down by men anymore."
He actually laughed out loud at that. "That is a world that will never exist," he said.
I wrinkled an eyebrow. "Really?" I asked. "Because I think it's already here. Look at the number of women speaking out against men. This will be the last generation who lives like this."
He looked like he wanted to explode, but he didn't say anything at all. Instead, he moved the gun from Blake and back to me.
Just as I thought he was about to pull the trigger, the door burst open.
There, in all their glory, leading the charge, were Sam and Anna. They were both in full uniform, and they both had their guns pointed at Mr. Whitman.
There were several officers behind them, all with their guns drawn.
"HELP ME!" Shannon screamed.
I realized that I had looked away for a moment and Ellis had taken the opportunity to move toward Shannon. He had grabbed her and it looked like he may just shoot her instead.
But that wasn't going to happen, not with all the cops in the room.
It was the first time I truly saw what a police partnership could do. Leading the charge, and actually having a casual conversation in the middle of it, Sam and Anna advanced and simultaneously took Ellis down.
"Nice one," Sam said as Anna hit him on the head with the butt of her gun and then Sam knocked him the rest of the way down.
"Eh, it was sloppy," Anna responded with a shrug. "I need to do some fight training."
Ellis fell to the ground and his face smashed against the marble tiles.
"Tuesday?" Sam asked.
She groaned. "Tuesdays are game show nights," she said. "How about Wednesday?"
"I mean, I guess," he said with a shrug. "Wednesdays are when I volunteer at the humane society."
"Adorable, just get a dog already," she said as she actually stepped on Ellis's back to keep him down.
I shot a glance at Blake, and he raised his eyebrows with a smile as he came toward me.
"They're—" I said as he wrapped his arms around me.
"I know," he said as he kissed the top of my head. "They're weird. I love you."
"I love you too," I said, and then he kissed me on the lips.
The next few minutes were a blur. They picked Ellis up after they put him in handcuffs and dragged him out to the squad car. They moved toward Shannon, and my only moment of clarity was to call out to them.
"Hey! Stop," I said. "She didn't do anything. She's a victim."
"We still have to bring her in for questioning," one of the officers said.
I met Shannon's eyes. I knew they did, but I needed her to know that she was safe. "It's okay," I said to her. "I'm not going to let them blame you for any of this."
She didn't say anything, but she had tears in her eyes, and she nodded, which was enough for me. "Thank you," she mouthed at last as she was led away. At least she wasn't in handcuffs like Ellis.
Soon, it was just Blake and me and the officers in the house.
"Are you all right?" he asked me as the paramedics came in. I wasn't sure who called them, but I was grateful for the foil blanket that they wrapped around me.
"Yeah," I said. "I actually don't need this. I feel . . . rather good."
"Usually, shock has the opposite effect," he said.
"Maybe I'm not in shock," I replied, grinning. "Maybe I'm going to be all right."
"Laurie." Sam was suddenly beside me. "We need to bring you in for questioning too."
"What? Why?" I asked in shock.
He looked apologetic. "I'm sorry," he said. "We just . . . we need to. It's the rules, and—"
"Right," I said. "Well . . . all right, then."
"Come on, Sam," Blake complained. "Can't you stop following the rules for one second?"
"I wish I could," Sam said. "But you know that we need to bring her in. You too, actually."
"Oh, my God," Blake said. "You saw the whole damn thing on the livestream!"
"Blake, don't you remember the first day of police academy?" Anna joined Sam. "Everyone involved has to give a statement."
"Oh, God." Blake rolled his eyes and turned to me. "It's going to be all right. It's just paperwork."
"No, I understand," I replied. "If they didn't get everyone's statement . . . well, I suspect Ellis would be trying to get out of being arrested by saying it was all on us."
"Yeah, probably, but he's going to stay arrested," Blake said. "And hopefully, he won't be granted bail, and then the jury will find him guilty and sentence him to be executed. He's guilty." He turned and looked at Sam, his eyes narrowed. "You at least have enough evidence for the arrest to stick, don't you, Sam?"
"I hope so," Sam said and turned to Anna, who rolled her eyes.
"You saw the entire thing play out in front of you," she said. "Sam, sometimes, it's okay to lean a little toward speculation," she said. "But at the same time, I don't know how much clearer things could be for you. He admitted live on camera that he did it. He killed Devon. He attempted to kill Blake and Laurie and even Shannon! It's all on film!"
"Why don't we just go to the police station?" Blake said. "I'm just eager to get this all over with."
"Will you be all right?" Sam asked. "Going there?"
"Yes, Sam," Blake said. "As long as it's quick. But not because I'm going to have a meltdown. I just want to go home and have a beer."
Instead of looking angry, Sam smiled. "I think we can all agree on that," he said. "Come on, you two. At least you're not in handcuffs."
"Thanks," Blake said and took my hand. "Is this okay?"
"Yeah," I said, smiling. "I understand. And I have nothing to hide. Besides, I feel stronger than I have in a long time."
"That's because you are strong," Blake assured me.
"Only because of you," I said. "If I didn't go through all of this, I don't think I'd be able to feel this way. I feel . . . like I did when I was eighteen. Before Devon broke me."
"He may have broken you," Blake said as we walked, "but you've been put back together stronger than you ever were before. You did that, Laurie. You fought for yourself. You put those pieces back together and made them steel."
His words touched my heart and made me swell with pride. Pride for what I had accomplished, what I'd overcome. I smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. "Thank you." We headed toward Blake's car, and I was surprised the officers didn't insist that we ride in the backseat of their car.
Everything would be fine. I had to trust that it would. I was strong now, and I knew I could get through this with my head held high.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Laurie
They wouldn't let Blake in the room with me while I gave my statement. The old me would have freaked out, but the new me assured them that I was fine. I was able to stand on my own two feet and give my testimony without Blake being there.
I was lucky enough to have Sam and Anna in the interrogation room, and they seemed pretty friendly about the whole thing. Of course, it was still intimidating to have them sitting opposite me and asking questions in the sparse room. They hadn't handcuffed me and I wasn't under arrest, but I could see the place in the middle of the table where they would cuff someone who was under arrest. A lot of darkness had happened in this place, and I felt the negative energy surroundin
g us as Sam opened his folder.
"All right, Laurie," he said. "Now, this is just a formality, but you have to know that everything you say can and will be used in a court of law to help in the conviction of Ellis. So we need you to be as accurate as you can in your statement. Understand?"
"I understand," I assured him.
"Do you want a lawyer present?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No," I said. "I'll be all right. I just want to go home, so I'll answer any questions you have, detectives, and I'll be as accurate as I can."
"Great," he said. "We really shouldn't be long. I want to start a bit further back, and I know you don't want to share this, but I need to start by asking where you were when you were convalescing."
I knew that I had to tell them. I had kept it a secret as long as I could, but I'd already told Blake, so now, I felt like it was finally time to come out with it. Devon was gone. Ellis Whitman would be behind bars. Everyone was safe from their retaliation.
"I was with Mario and Belinda Grace," I said. "They're friends of mine, doctors, actually. They placed me under their medical supervision, and it was best that I stay with them while I recovered."
"Right," Sam said as he wrote. "And how did you meet the Graces?"
"We met while I was in the hospital," I replied. "They didn't do anything wrong, Detective. And I'm really not sure why you need to know anything further about them. They will, of course, assure you of my alibi for the time I was with them."
"I—" He paused and looked at Anna.
"She's right. The Graces have nothing to do with this case other than helping Laurie recover, Sam. They didn't do anything wrong, and there is no need to pursue that line of questioning," Anna assured him.
He stopped writing. Something passed between them, and he nodded, crossed out some notes, and rewound the tape to the point before the question and then hit Record again.
I breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at Anna with a nod.
She smiled and picked up the line of questions. "Now," she said. "Did you have anything to do with Devon Whitman's murder?"