Malt Me (Liquor Cabinet Series #1)

by D. L. Gallie

  I feel a prick in my arm.

  Finally I feel calm and at peace.

  I can’t keep my eyes open.

  Black.

  I wake up a few hours later, Jordan is still by my bed, but this time Mike is gone. I see Mum and a Skye huddled together on the recliner. Mum and I lock eyes and we both start to cry. She jumps up, comes over to the bed, wrapping me in a Mum hug, and we cry together. This hug being exactly what I need.

  Skye comes over, climbs onto the bed and joins our hug. The three of us sitting there, crying, locked in each other’s arms for a traditional Merlot family hug. Jordan steps back, but I grab his hand and he joins in on our hug too. We all sit there with our arms wrapped around each other.

  My stomach growls, and I realise I haven’t eaten in what feels like forever. We all burst out laughing as my tummy growls again. Jordan says, “Looks like our mummy-to-be is hungry?”

  Mum’s head pops up and she questioningly asks, “Mummy-to-be??”

  ”Surprise, we’re pregnant,” I say with a smile, looking at Mum. “With twins.”

  Skye yells, “Fuck me dead, said Foreskin Fred.”

  Mum smacks Skye in the arm, and scolds her, “Language, Skye.”

  I laugh.

  Looking over at her, I say, “Skye, you need to stop hanging around Mike.”

  Mum envelopes me into another big hug and through what I hope are happy tears says, “Ohh, honey. I’m so happy for you.” She reaches over towards Jordan and grabs his hand, giving it a squeeze. She draws back and grabs my cheeks, pulls me in and kisses my forehead. “You gave me such a fright, baby girl.”

  “I’m sorry Mum, I’m never planning on doing that again. Besides now that he’s dead there’s no one else to hurt me.”

  Mum looks up shocked. “What do you mean he’s dead?”

  Looking towards Jordan confused, I say, “You didn’t tell her?”

  Mum interrupts, “Tell me what?”

  Taking a deep breath, I proceed to tell her what happened. We both have tears falling down our cheeks by time I’ve finished retelling her what happened. I look to my lap and whisper, “Mum, I killed someone.” Shyly I look up at her. “How do I live with that?”

  Mum tilts my head towards her, wiping away my tears. “Now you listen to me, Mackenzie Merlot. He made his own bed and he now has to lie in it forever. You did what you needed to do to survive and to save those babies. If anyone thinks differently, then they will have me to deal with.”

  Staring at Mum in shock, I know she’s right, if I hadn’t done what I did, it would be me in the morgue instead of him. It’s a hard to describe my feelings right at this moment. On one hand, I have relief. I’m relieved that I’m finally safe, but I also feel remorse. I’m remorseful, for killing someone, but I also feel sadness. I’m sad that someone is dead, even if he was a psychotic asshole douchehole.

  We are all sitting there in silence when there is a knock on the door. Officer Kincaid and Officer Hamilton come in. I take a deep breath as I think they are here to arrest me for killing Clint.

  Officer Hamilton is the first to speak, “How are you feeling, Kenzie?”

  Hesitantly, I reply, “Okay, I think. Relieved that he is dead and can’t hurt me anymore. Scared that you are going to arrest me for killing him.”

  Officer Hamilton takes a seat. “I can assure you that we are not here to arrest you, but I do need to get your side of what happened, before we can officially rule his death as self-defense.”

  She sets up a tape recorder on the bed trolley and presses record to take my statement. Taking a deep breath, I recount everything that I remember. When I’m finished, they both look at each other, and I think to myself, “Ohh shit, I’m going to jail. My babies are going to be born in jail.” I don’t realise that they are speaking to me until I hear my name being called; I shake my head. “Sorry, I missed what you said.”

  Officer Kincaid looks pissed that he has to repeat himself. “As I was saying, from what you have told us and the report from the coroner; the injury that Mr. MacNicholson received was not intentional. You pushed him away in self-defense and I might add; you have a mighty good left hook. The wound to the side of his head was pretty impressive.” He smirks. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

  Officer Hamilton says, “Once you are released, we will need you to come down to the station to sign your statement. I’ll type up what you’ve told us today, and then this matter will be finalised. Mr. MacNicholson doesn’t have any family, except for a cousin that we are trying to track down. I doubt she will contest any of this. The evidence is all there, and add in the previous history, there is no lawyer who would touch it. Rest up, Kenzie, and we’ll see you in a few days.”

  Just after they leave, the doctor comes in. He wants to keep me in for another night, just to make sure everything is okay, as he feels my blood pressure is still a little high.

  Later that afternoon, Jordan and I lie in each other’s arms, his palm gently resting on my belly. I look up into his eyes and for the first time in a long time I feel calm and relaxed.

  We are finally free…or so we think.

  Mum and Skye left this morning. I told them that I was fine and between Jordan, Mike, and occasionally Sarah hovering around me, I have someone with me at all times. It’s quite overbearing to tell you the truth. I know they mean well, but I really want some alone time.

  They have just pulled away when Jordan gets a call from one of the brewers at Malt Me and he needs to head over there ASAP to sort an issue out. I’m secretly happy as it means alone time for me.

  I grab my Kindle and head to the kitchen to grab a glass, pour a jug of soda water and head out the back. I’m lying on the lounger when he comes downstairs; he says. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  “There’s no rush, babe. I have my Kindle and the babies and I are fine. Plus I know you, either Mike or Sarah have been summoned and will be here soon.”

  He leans down and places a gentle kiss on my lips and pulls back to rest his forehead on mine. “Maybe, I’ll be back as soon as I can”

  “I’m fine, babe, trust me.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Text or call me if you need anything.” He opens the side gate and heads to his Jeep.

  Finally I am alone, I lie back and instead of reading, I start playing Candy Crush. Hearing someone come down the driveway, I guess it’s Mike, but I’m surprised at who I see walk through the gate.

  I can’t believe Clint is gone. He and I have always been there for each other, until he met her that is. Then his life became all about her. Mackenzie this. Sweetcheeks that. Fuck her!

  When it comes down to it, I’m the only one who has ever been there for him, just like he was there for me when I needed him. Family always comes first, and that’s why I have to end her, to get revenge for Clint.

  Arriving at her place, I wait for Jordan to leave. I broke into the brewery last night and made a few little modifications, so he would have no choice but to go.

  Kenz is all alone now.

  Getting out of my car, I make my way over to their house and I go down the driveway. Reaching over, I open the gate and slam it shut; with the force of the slam, it pops open again.

  She jumps when the gate bangs, looking up, she seems shocked that I am here. “Shit, De-Niece, you scared me,”

  “Yeah, well, you get that,” I spit. The dumb bitch looks at me confused, fuck she is stupid. With my hands on my hips, I stand there and stare at her. “You are one fucking stupid mole. You have everyone wrapped around your little finger, well not me. They will drop everything to help you, when really you are just a stupid bitch. I mean, you let my cousin kidnap you; twice.”

  The look of shock on her face with that revelation is priceless. “And I’m here today to get payback for you taking him away from me. All he did was fall in love with you, and you killed him. As one final favour to him, you will not see tomorrow, your babies, or your precious Jor ever again.”

  Mackenzie
stands up. “Yo…You’re his cousin?”

  “Oh My God, bitch, catch up. Yes, Clint’s my cousin, but if you really cared about him you would know that.”

  She is still just standing there staring at me, so I take my chance and lunge for her. I knock her onto the lounger before we roll off with a thud onto the pavers. I manage to roll her onto her back and I straddle her chest. I start swinging, punching, and hitting any part of her body that I can.

  She just lies there screaming. I spit, “This is for my cousin, you heartless fucking bitch.” I’m swinging my arm back for one final blow when my arm it is yanked back. I go flying through the French doors, falling to the floor inside with a thud, in a shower of glass and splintered wood.

  There is an excruciating pain in my left side; I look down to see a splinter of wood and glass sticking out of my abdomen, blood pooling beneath me.

  Everything starts to go fuzzy and in that moment I know that I am dying. Everything is dwindling away, as a cold numbing feeling rushes all over my body, the pain subsiding. Rolling to the side I grunt in agony and whisper, “See you all in hell,” before everything goes black.

  It’s my day off and I just kissed De-Niece goodbye as she races off to work. After making another coffee, I head to the lounge room. I sit in my brown leather recliner and relax to enjoy Bold and the Beautiful. It’s my guilty pleasure, but I will never admit it to anyone. It has just finished when I get a text

  Jordan – hey asshat, any chance you can head over and check on Kenz? I’ve had to go to the brewery, as there was an issue with one of the fermenters

  Me – Sure can, I’ll grab her a dozen cheeseburgers and head over

  Jordan – Thanks man

  I after my show, I turn off the box, place my coffee mug in the sink, and head over the Jordan and Kenzie’s place. From the bench, I grab my wallet and keys before I head over to Jordan and Kenzie’s.

  When I drive up, I see De-Niece’s car there, seeing her here makes me smile. I’m glad she is making an effort. I know she doesn’t particularly like Kenz for some reason, which is weird cause everyone loves Kenz.

  Getting out of my car I hear yelling coming from the backyard; it sounds like De-Niece is screaming at Kenz. Running down the driveway, I get to the gate and I see De-Niece straddling Kenz. She’s screeching and my heart drops. I hear her yell, “This is for my cousin, you heartless fucking bitch.”

  She swings her arm back to lay into her again. I drop the food, running over, I yank her back, pulling her off Kenz. She falls backwards, hurtling through the French doors with a crash.

  Looking over, I see Kenz is barely breathing I grab the phone out of my pocket and dial 000. Cradling Kenz in my arms, as I wait for the ambulance, I rock us back and forth, mumbling to myself, “No, no, no, I’m so sorry Kenz.”

  The ambos come down the driveway and they head towards De-Niece, I shout, “Not her, she’s the one who did this. Help Kenz, please, she’s pregnant, please help her.”

  Looking up, I see Officer Hamilton and Officer Kincaid walk through the gate. Hamilton looks at everything with wide eyes and shock. Kincaid goes over and talks to the paramedics and Officer Hamilton comes over to me. “What the hell happened here?”

  I’m staring at her, but it isn’t until she touches my arm that I register she is talking to me. “Huh?”

  “What happened here?” I proceed to tell her what I walked in on, and then I look towards De-Niece just as the paramedic places a white sheet over her body. Stumbling backwards, I realise, she is dead.

  My phone starts to play Jordan’s tone, Wash It All Away by Five Finger Death Punch. I grab it from my pocket and answer, “Hey dude. You need to get here now.”

  “What the fuck?” he shouts through the phone.

  “Ummm, De-Niece is dead and Kenz is in pretty bad shape.” I manage to say before I drop my phone and vomit.

  I collapse to my knees and proceed empty my stomach onto the lawn. Once I’m finished, I ease back onto my heels and I stare up at the sky. Shaking my head in disbelief at what I just walked in on.

  Hearing Kenz moan shocks me back to reality, and I race over to her and grab her hand, squeezing it tightly. She looks towards me; her eyes well up with tears and she starts to sob. With my free hand, I push the hair on her face away. “It’s okay, Kenz, Jordan is on his way here. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”

  She has a death grip on my hand, and just as I turn back towards her, Jordan barges through the gate. He freezes when he sees the sheet, but as soon as he sees Kenz on the stretcher, he races over to her. “Ohh, baby, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.”

  They have just taken Kenz away. I’m sitting on the garden edging when I hear one of the officers say that it’s okay to remove the body. It’s when he says body that shock sets in.

  Holy shit, I killed someone.

  Holy shit, my girlfriend was working with the enemy.

  As soon as I hang up from Mike, I race out to my Jeep and speed home. Luck must be on my side today as every light is green. Pulling onto our street, I see that there are police cars and an ambulance outside our place.

  Getting out of my Jeep, I race down the driveway, and I immediately see a white sheet covering a body. My heart sinks, and then I hear Kenz groan. Racing over to her, I see that the left side of her face is swollen and turning purple. Mike is holding her hand and throwing up. She sees me and starts to sob.

  The ambo interrupts us, “Sorry, guys, but we really need to get Mrs. McRoberts to the hospital. You can ride with us or we can meet you there.”

  “Kenz, I’m coming with you. I’m just going to check on Mike, and I will meet you in the ambulance.” She just nods her head.

  Walking over to Mike, who is now sitting on the garden bed edge, I see that his face is green. He doesn’t look too good. Reaching out, I squeeze his shoulder, “Dude, are you okay? What the fuck happened?”

  He just sits there staring into space. I don’t think he even realises that I am speaking to him. Shaking him, I shout, “Dude!” He finally looks up at me. “Are you okay, man?”

  He shakes his head. “Dude, I killed De-Niece.”

  Now it’s my turn to stare in shock, before I can say anything Mike says, “I got here and she was on top of Kenz, hitting and punching her. I grabbed her off Kenz, and she went through the French doors. I’m so sorry, Jordan, this is entirely my fault. I didn’t know she was his cousin. I swear, I didn’t know”

  The ambo leans over the fence and says, “Mr. McRoberts we have to go now.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right there.” Crouching down, placing my hands on Mike’s shoulder, I look into his eyes. “Dude, I have to go with Kenz to the hospital. Are you going to be okay?”

  He nods his head. “Yeah, yep, yeah. I’m okay. I have to wait here to give my statement. Go be with Kenz.”

  As I’m walking away, I start to worry about Mike.

  I’m admitted straight away and it’s Nurse Tara on duty. She walks over to my bed and smiles at me. “Well, well, well, we meet again, Mrs. McRoberts. If I remember correctly, you said we wouldn’t be seeing each other until the birth of your lil’ ones.” She looks around the room. “And I don’t see any little ones in this room so I’m guessing you told me a big fat porky.” I can’t help laughing but I cringe as my face hurts like a bitch when I do anything at the moment. She finishes my obs and leaves.

  A few minutes’ later, Jordan walks in, our eyes meet across the room. “Fuck me, Kenz…your face. Your arms. Are you okay?”

  “Depends on your definition of okay,” I laugh, “But apart from feeling like I was beaten up, I’m doing pretty well. I asked Tara to make an appointment with Jeannie. Dr. Greene is here delivering a baby, and she will check in before she leaves.”

  Jordan is sitting on my bed holding my hand, gently stroking the back like he does to calm me down. Looking into his eyes, I see worry, and that scares me. Lifting my hand to his cheek, he leans into it. “Jor, I promise I’m doing okay. Things could be a lot worse. If
Mike hadn’t turned up when he did, who knows what would have happened? I guess we now know who Clint’s missing cousin is. How did we not know? I just don’t understand.”

  Jordan looks into my eyes. “I don’t think we will ever know. Mike is pretty shaken up; he looked so broken when I left. He was waiting to make his statement, but the coroner turned up so the officers had to speak with her first.”

  I look at him confused, “Coroner, why is the coroner there?”

  “When Mike pulled her off you, she went through the French doors. A piece glass and wood splintered off and went into her guts. She bled out and died.”

  “Holy fuck, are you serious? Oh My God! How’s Mike?”

  “Not sure, I haven’t spoken to him since I arrived here.”

  “Babe, leave me and go and see Mike. He needs you now. I’m fine and the babies are fine, I’m just sleepy.” To emphasize what I just said I lie back, close my eyes, and pretend snore. I smile when I hear Jordan laugh; it’s that deep throaty one that gives me tingles in my girly bits. “Okay, Faker McFakerson, I’ll go and check on Mike, BUT if you need anything call me. I’ll be back first thing tomorrow, and I’ll bring a change of clothes.”

  “Sounds good to me. Now go check on Mike, he needs you now. I promise, I’m fine.”

  Jordan leans down and kisses my cheek. “Rest up, Kenz.” Then he bends down to my belly and kisses it twice. “And you two lil’ ones, be nice to Mummy. She’s been through a lot, and even though she’s a fighter, she needs her rest too.” He kisses my belly again, twice, before leaving, closing the door quietly behind him.

  A few moments later, the door opens again. I think Jordan has come back, but in walks Sarah with a coffee and muffin. God, I love this girl. She smiles at me, as she kicks the door shut with her foot. “Seriously, girl, we need to stop hanging out here.”

  “But the beds are so comfortable.” We both burst out laughing.