All she cared about was it was over, and she was about to have an enjoyable night with Aaron.
Bethany checked her makeup in the mirror once more when she heard the doorbell. Her stomach fluttered, and she rolled her eyes. How could she be so nervous about a date with the man she’d spent the last few weeks snuggled up in bed with and spending every moment they could together?
“Aunt Beth, A.J. is here.” Cameron’s voice echoed up the stairs.
Bethany walked slowly down the stairs. It had seemed like such a long time since she’d dressed up in a sexy dress and stilettos, but when she got to the bottom, the look of pure sexual desire in Aaron’s eyes made every pinched toe she’d have later that night worth it.
“You look stunning.” Aaron met her eyes and clasped her hands in his.
“You are looking pretty stunning yourself.” Bethany blatantly allowed her eyes to take in his body from head to toe.
Dressed in black dress pants and a light-blue shirt, Aaron was gorgeous, and the color of the shirt made his eyes seem even bluer than usual. He wore a grey sports coat that highlighted his broad shoulders and for a moment she wanted to forget the date and drag him upstairs to strip him out of his sexy attire. At least until she heard her father behind her.
“Don’t you two look spiffy.” Her dad smiled.
“Thank you, but your beautiful daughter will outshine me every time.” Aaron shook hands with her father.
“I don’t disagree with you there, A.J.” He grinned. “She’s just like her mother.”
After a quick chat with her dad, they made their way to Isabelle’s restaurant, A Taste of Hopedale. On the way, they talked about their day and how she was in the process of looking for a new job. Aaron told her about the mystery that was Pam and one of the latest residents of Keith’s Compound, Damon.
“Neither of them will say what happened, but they won’t even stand in the same room together.” Aaron opened her car door and helped her out of his Charger.
“I’m sure it will come out at some point.” Bethany linked her hand into the crook of his arm.
“Right now I just want to concentrate on you and me and having a quiet romantic night.” Aaron kissed her cheek and then moved his lips to her ear. “Then take you back to my place and remove that dress but leave the shoes.”
“I like your style, sexy.” Bethany winked.
Supper was incredible, and the conversation was even better. The sexual heat between them was making it difficult for her to remember they were in a public place.
“Isabelle’s cooking is amazing, but she’s looking for a new chef to help out.” Aaron nodded as the waiter poured another glass of Merlot.
“The food is incredible. Who’s she hiring? Bethany smiled as she slipped off her shoe and slowly slid the tip of her foot up Aaron’s calf.
“He’s a friend of Lora’s brother.” Aaron’s voice quivered a little as her foot rose higher.
“That’s great.” Bethany giggled when he shifted his seat.
“You’re truly an evil woman,” Aaron growled as the waiter walked away.
“What time did you tell Matt to meet us?” She rubbed her foot against his erection straining against his zipper.
“In forty minutes.” Aaron reached under the table and ran his hand over the top of her foot and as far as he could reach up her calf without looking obvious.
“Damn.” Bethany sighed.
“You can say that again.” Aaron licked his lips and groaned when she lowered her foot.
“I need to use the little girls’ room.” Bethany slipped her shoe back on and sashayed away from the table.
Bethany was smiling as she made her way through the beautiful restaurant. She almost didn’t notice the woman that was waving to her from one of the tables.
“Beatrice. Beatrice.” Bethany glanced to the side and wanted to run in the opposite direction.
“My name is Bethany, Raquel.” Bethany tried not to sound annoyed, but she was.
“Oh, I’m such a scatterbrain. I see you’re on a date with A.J.” Raquel nodded toward Aaron.
“Yes, I was just on my way to the ladies’ room.” Bethany started to walk away.
“I feel I should warn you, as a woman with her ear on the pulse of Hopedale; he’s got a playboy reputation,” Raquel smirked at her supper companion.
Bethany stopped and slowly turned toward her old bully and smiled. The woman with her looked at her with the same smirk Raquel wore.
“Thank you so much for your concern about my well-being, but let me give you some advice, Raquel.” Bethany bent over and kept her voice low enough that only the women at the table would hear. “I’m well aware of Aaron’s past reputation. I’m also very familiar with yours and how nosey, vindictive bitches like you work. Just so you know, I’m not the same timid teenager you terrorized in high school. So yes, I know of his past reputation but trust me, I’ll keep him very satisfied. My advice to you, keep comments and opinions to yourself, or you may need that surgically altered nose, altered a second time.”
Raquel’s eyes widened with what looked like fear. The other woman dropped her head and would not look up at as Bethany stood up. Before she left the table, Bethany smiled down at Raquel.
“It was so nice seeing you again. Try the strawberry cheesecake, it’s incredible.” Bethany turned on her heal and sauntered to the ladies’ room feeling proud.
Bethany was inside the stall when the bathroom door opened and she heard a woman practically growling with anger. It was like Deja vu, and without thinking, she lifted her feet off the floor.
“I can’t believe he has that bitch here. He’s mine. Mine.” The woman whined, and Bethany was sure she recognized the voice.
“Jocelyn, you need to get over this…” Bethany didn’t hear the rest of the sentence because she knew who was outside the stall.
“He’s mine, and if he thinks he can move on, I’ll make him sorry he ever left me,” Jocelyn shouted.
Bethany couldn’t believe nobody could hear her outside the bathroom and she didn’t know what to do at that point. Aaron told her that Jocelyn seemed unstable and probably used drugs. Bethany may have more confidence in herself, but she wasn’t about to step out and be confronted by someone hyped up on drugs.
“Jocelyn, what are you doing with that?” The other woman sounded panicked.
“What? This?” Jocelyn giggled. “I’m going to show my man what I can do.”
“Jocelyn, give me that.” Bethany heard a struggle and the unmistakable sound of a gunshot.
What the fuck?
“Jocelyn… you…God…you… shot… me.” A thud echoed through the room, and Bethany fumbled to pull her phone from her purse.
“You’re next.” Jocelyn’s voice sounded deeper and crazed.
Bethany quickly texted Aaron and told him Jocelyn was in the bathroom with a gun, but before she finished it, the bathroom door swooshed as if it was pulled open and clicked closed again.
Bethany dialed nine-one-one as she bent over to glance under the door of the stall. The legs of the woman Jocelyn shot lay in front of the stall and not moving. After listening for several seconds, she turned the lock, pulled the door, and tapped call.
Bethany stared down at the motionless body on the floor. Blood was changing the color of her yellow blouse to a crimson red, and her chest wasn’t moving. Bethany took a step toward the body and as she focused on the face, she shook her head in confusion. Jocelyn’s glazed eyes appeared to stare back at her.
“Poor bitch didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.” Bethany’s head snapped up as the woman she’d seen with Jocelyn at the diner that day stepped into view, a gun held confidently pointed at Bethany.
Bethany dropped her phone down to her side and kept the screen turned flat against her leg. Hopefully, the operator would be able to hear the conversation and the woman staring at her wouldn’t notice the bright display.
“You killed your friend.” Bethany forced the words out of
her dry throat.
“You’re really smart.” Kylie nodded, the sarcasm in her voice evident as she grinned.
“Why would you do that?” Bethany stood a couple of steps from the door, but Kylie blocked her escape.
“Because I was sick of her constant whining over that cop. I mean, he’s hot, but Jesus, move on with your life.” Kylie looked down at Jocelyn’s body as if she was talking to her.
“What do you want?” Bethany didn’t know what else to say.
“I need to get out of this fucking town, and since you are the only person left that could tie me to Randy’s murder, I had to take care of you first.” Kylie took a step and nudged Jocelyn’s head with her toe. “I’ve already gotten rid of this fucktard.”
“You were the one with Slash?” Bethany recognized the insult that Kylie had used on Slash.
“Yes, I was.” Kylie raised her eyes to meet Bethany.
“I didn’t see you. I only saw him.” Bethany shook her head when she made the connection and knew she was in deep trouble.
“You don’t think he was smart enough to be running our operation, do you? I’m the brains behind it. I’m the one who got the whores for Randy to fuck in exchange for his drugs. I blackmailed Larry to bring the drugs into his pharmacy and keep it quiet. You see, Larry sold opioids out of his pharmacy, and I found out, so I negotiated a cut. I get a hundred percent of the profits, and I don’t call his cousin the cop.” Kylie took a step toward Bethany.
Bethany tried to take a step toward the door, but Kylie pointed the gun directly at her head. It wouldn’t help her escape if she let the crazed woman shoot her.
“I begged Slash to take all the cash we had and move down south, but no he didn’t want anyone left that could identify him as Randy’s killer. Idiot. It was the only one he did kill. I did all the other cleaning up. I had to get rid of Levi because he figured out Larry was the one pretending to be the cop through emails and I had the stupid kid convinced I was his friend. The funny thing is it was my idea to get Larry to fuck with the kid. Then Larry got nervous. Slash couldn’t even take those kids without my help, but that other kid screwed that up and got my man killed. We had everything we needed. Why did all of you have to fuck it up?” Kylie looked about ready to snap, and Bethany didn’t want to be her next victim.
Bethany swallowed hard but didn’t say a word because she was terrified she’d set Kylie off more than the girl was already off her rocker.
“Then I tell this twit she has to stay away from A.J. because he’ll fuck up our business. Does she listen? No. She acts like a crazy stalker and follows him around like a starving dog. I mean I love the girl, but there’s too much coke up her nose and not enough brains in her head.” Kylie shrugged.
“What are you going to do?” Bethany trembled as Kylie stepped toward her.
“Well, I need to get out of Newfoundland, and since I just told you everything, I can’t just leave you here. Now, you and I are going to walk out of the bathroom and out of this snooty place.” Kylie lifted the gun and Bethany held her breath.
“Why don’t you just leave? I’ll stay here and to give you enough time to get out of town.” Bethany prayed that there was still someone listening to her conversation. “You don’t need to shoot me.”
Kylie seemed to think hard as she stared down at Jocelyn. Bethany hoped she was mulling over the choice and deciding it sounded like a better plan than taking Bethany as a hostage.
“No, because you’ll go running out to that pig boyfriend of yours as soon as I leave.” Kylie moved the gun, motioning for Bethany to walk ahead of her.
“Kylie, people are going to see you leading me out like this.” Bethany moved slowly toward the door.
“Yep, and they’ll think twice when I shoot the first person that I see when I step into the dining area.” Kylie snickered.
“Please, don’t hurt anyone else.” Bethany turned toward the woman pushing the barrel of the gun into her back.
“I could shoot that bitch you were talking to before you came in here.” Kylie grinned. “She doesn’t seem like a nice person.”
“That doesn’t mean she deserves to die.” Bethany might dislike Raquel, but she wouldn’t want to see the woman murdered in cold blood.
“As long as you behave yourself and A.J. doesn’t try to be a hero, you and I will walk out of here without anyone getting shot.” Kylie rolled her eyes and motioned for Bethany to pull open the door.
The din of several conversations going on in the dining room made her stomach clench. The place was full, and although she didn’t know much about guns, Bethany knew Kylie could probably kill several people before anyone could stop her.
Bethany dragged her feet as she made her way toward the main entrance, being careful not to make any mistakes that would set Kylie off on a shooting spree. Bethany glanced toward the table where she’d left Aaron, but he wasn’t there, and she searched as much of the place as she could without looking obvious to Kylie.
She didn’t see him anywhere. It was possible he’d gone to the men’s room. Bethany hadn’t realized she’d stopped moving until Kylie poked her in the back with the gun again. She took another step and reached for the door.
“Kylie, I need you to drop the gun.” A voice she recognized came from behind them.
“I don’t see that happening, what’s your name again? Oh yeah. Jordan. Larry really fucked you over, didn’t he?” Kylie grabbed Bethany around the neck and backed up, putting Bethany as a shield in front of her.
“Kylie, I don’t want to hurt you, but if I feel like you’re going to hurt anyone else, I’ll take you down,” Jordan warned.
“This is all her fault. If she’d kept her mouth shut, Slash and I could’ve been in Mexico by now.” Kylie pushed the gun against the side of Bethany’s face, but the woman’s voice sounded calm as if she was having a normal conversation.
“Slash killed three people and kidnapped two kids. He was about to shoot another kid and had to be taken down.” Aaron tried to reason with her.
“Slash only killed Randy, Jordan.” Bethany winced when Kylie squeezed her arm tighter around Bethany’s neck.
“Keep your fucking mouth shut,” Kylie growled into Bethany’s ear.
“Slash was about to shoot a kid.” Aaron moved into view, and Bethany almost sighed in relief when she saw him wearing a Kevlar vest and holding a gun.
“He wouldn’t have shot that kid.” Kylie snorted.
“Kylie, you need to let Bethany go and put down your gun.” Aaron’s gaze met Bethany’s and then flicked back to Kylie.
“You need to go fuck yourself.” Kylie pushed the barrel of the gun painfully hard against Bethany’s cheek.
Bethany winced, but it pissed her off that this woman thought she could use her as a shield. This woman had sent her life into a tailspin, and as terrified as she felt at that moment, anger started to bubble up over that fear.
Bethany kept her eyes focused on Aaron and waited for Kylie to drop her guard just a bit. She waited too long to find happiness in love and now that it was possible with the only man she’d ever loved, she wasn’t about to let another bitch ruin her happiness.
As she tried to formulate a plan of escape in her head, she saw both Aaron’s and Jordan’s glance over her head and their eyes widened. Before she could do anything, she felt a heavy weight against her back. There was also a loud explosion to her right, and she felt a painful burn across her shoulder.
The weight on her back slowly slid down her body and disappeared. It took her a second to realize that she wasn’t restrained anymore. Her ears rang, but the pain in her shoulder got worse, and she saw Aaron move toward her. His lips moved, but she couldn’t hear over the loud roar in her ear.
Aaron grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away. Bethany still couldn’t hear him, but when she turned, Kylie lay on the floor. That didn’t seem to bother her, but the woman who stood over Kylie made Bethany’s head spin.
“Ra … Raquel?” Bethany gasped
at the sight of her former bully holding a chair in her hands.
“She was going to shoot you.” Raquel stared at Bethany with wide eyes. “I may have been a bitch to you, but I would never want to see you dead. Who is this nutcase?”
“She’s killed three people that we know of and hurt a lot more. Thanks to you, we can make sure she gets put behind bars. That’s if you didn’t crush her brain.” Jordan stepped toward Raquel and took the chair out of her hands as he helped her step over an unconscious Kylie.
Bethany didn’t think twice as she pulled away from Aaron and wrapped her arms around Raquel. Never in a million years did she think she’d stand in the middle of a room and hug Raquel Evans for saving her life.
Bethany heard a muffled voice next to her ear but when Aaron appeared next to Raquel, he shouted, and she glanced down to where his eyes were focused.
“Bethany, you’re bleeding,” Aaron shouted
“My shoulder is burning. I think I got shot.” Bethany stepped back from Raquel, and the room started to spin.
The last thing she saw was Aaron and Raquel reaching for her at the same time, then black.
Chapter 30
Aaron paced the hallway of the hospital as he waited for the doctor to tell him about Bethany’s condition. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her wound, but the enormous amount of blood covering her right shoulder looked awful.
He’d seen when Raquel stepped behind Kylie, but for a second he thought maybe they were working together, but the chair was raised over Kylie and brought down hard on the woman’s head.
He heard the gunshot but saw it embedded into the post next to the entrance. Kylie dropped to the floor. His only concern after that was to make sure Bethany was out of danger, and the gun was secured.
His heart almost stopped when he got the text from Bethany and before he could move, Jordan entered the restaurant with the news that they’d found out the name of Slash’s girlfriend. Jordan came to tell Aaron they were about to arrest her at her apartment.
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