Envy: A Second Chance Romance (Deadly Sin Series Book 2)

by Penelope Marshall

  "No, you don't. I should've come back like I promised. I'm so sorry, Kells."

  I ran my fingers through his hair, clutching onto a fistful at the nape of his neck. "Shhh."

  "Forgive me?"

  I thought about what he was asking, but realized that I no longer harbored the hate that I carried for so many years. In its place was a feeling of hope—hope for a future with him.

  "I forgive you, Liam, but I need you to forgive yourself and leave the pain here—in this moment. Can you do that?"

  He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed tightly. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Kells," he whispered.

  My heart skipped a beat. "Well, that's good since I've never stopped loving you."

  We stood there, locked in each other's embrace, letting the last few years melt away. Sweetly, he kissed my neck before loosening his grip and stepping away from me.

  He wiped away what little wetness was left at the corner of his eyes, and smiled at me. "Shall we finish and get this old place sold?"

  "Sold, right," I echoed with defeat.

  Even after our moment, he still wanted to sell it.

  "Why do you say it like that?"

  I glanced over at the door. "Oh, nothing. I just—"

  He pressed his finger under my chin and shifted my face back toward him. "I wanna buy you something bigger and better."

  "But this is home."

  His hand dropped to his side as he looked around the room. "You really wanna keep it?"

  "I really wanna be with you, so if you don't then—"

  "No more of that, Kells. No more living to please me. I want you to be happy, and I'll do whatever you ask me—" he paused, "—I'll do whatever you ask me for the rest of my life if you'll have me?"

  "What are you trying to say, Liam?"

  "I want to come home to you every night, and not because some piece of paper says I have to, but because you're home to me. I love you."

  I couldn't contain myself or the joy I felt after his confession. I leapt from my feet, jumping straight into his arms. "I love you, too," I whispered.

  He twirled me around the room, my feet knocking over a high stack of personal papers.

  He chuckled and set me down. "Shit, there goes my grand gesture."

  I kneeled down and began to shuffle the papers back into a pile. "We should probably get back to cleaning anyway."

  He grabbed my hand. "Wait, wait, wait. What is that?"

  I shot up from the floor, thinking he'd seen a spider or something. "What?"

  Kneeling down, he picked up a paper with the word WILL printed across the top. "It's a Will. My uncle's Will."

  "But his Will is on the kitchen table still. I just saw it before the pizza came."

  "No, this is an older Will."

  I knelt next to him and leaned in to read the paper more closely. "But doesn't the newer Will take precedence?"

  He nodded. "Yes, but do you see the signatures?"

  I focused in on the portion of the paper he was pointing at. "Yeah."

  "His handwriting is far shakier in this one versus the newer one. That doesn't make any sense. You'd think the older he got, the less dexterity he'd have, thereby making writing far more difficult."

  "But you don't know that for sure, after all, you're not a doctor."

  "No, but I'm a lawyer and deal with this kind of shit all the time."

  "What kind of shit?"

  "I need to have a word with Kerris."

  "Why?"

  "This Will says that I'm the sole heir to my uncle's estate. There is no mention of the clause—of you."

  "Oh," I said disappointedly.

  This was Liam's out, and I was scared he was going to take it and never look back. I stood up. "Do you want me to call him?" I asked, hoping he would ease my anxiety by reassuring me the new Will wouldn't change anything.

  But his reply didn't give me any insight as to which way he was leaning. "No, no. He should be here in a little while for his nightly check-in."

  My lips separated, but before I could say anything else the doorbell rang.

  Liam whipped around. "Fuck, it's like a damn club in here. I've never had so many visitors in my life."

  "I'll get it."

  Quickly, he stood up, wrapping his fingers around my wrist. "No, I'll get it. What if it's Jacob again?"

  "I can take care of him."

  "It's not your place to take care of him anymore. He's stepping on my fuckin' toes now."

  He stormed out of the room, and I was afraid he was going to take out all his frustrations on Jacob. Although, I thought he was an ass, he certainly didn't have the wits or muscles to go up against Liam in any arena.

  Quickly, I trailed behind, hoping I could help buffer the situation in some way. He pulled the door open, and his body language said it all.

  "What the fuck are you doing here?"

  A familiar voice replied from outside. It was Jesse. "Come outside and fight like a man, prick."

  "Prick? You're the one showing up at my motherfuckin' house at all times of the day."

  "Are you scared?"

  "Of a little bitch like you? Please."

  I moved to the right to gain a better view of Jesse who noticed me right away.

  "Kells, tell your pussy boyfriend to come outside. Tell him that I have a bigger dick than he'll ever have," he taunted.

  I bit my lip. I was truly scared for him, and what Liam was bound to do.

  "Tell him, Kells," Jesse urged.

  Liam took a step toward the door when I realized what time it was. "Stop!" I yelled to Liam.

  He glanced over in wonder.

  "It's 7:58. You can't leave."

  "I think this is worth losing the house for," Liam replied.

  I couldn't help the frown that washed over my face. "No—it's really not."

  Liam let out a sigh—his fists unclenching as he turned back to Jesse. Unfortunately, Jesse was less willing to move on, and with one swift movement threw a punch, landing it directly across Liam's jaw. Liam's body twisted to the side, but he quickly recovered, straightening his posture.

  I darted over to Liam and pulled him back. "Don't let him ruin this for us," I begged.

  Liam gripped my wrist and stepped back. "I'm only doing this for you," he replied, looking down at me.

  "I know," I whispered.

  He stepped back and pushed the door closed, walking away from a fight I know he wanted to see through. But Jesse had other ideas. As we walked toward the kitchen to clean up the blood dripping from his lip, the bang of splintering wood shot through the room.

  I spun around just in time to see Jesse running toward us. "Jesse, what are you doing?"

  Liam pushed me to the side, grabbing Jesse by the throat. I don't think Jesse knew what he was in for when he broke down the door. Even after being knocked to the ground twice by Liam, Jesse still figured he could take Liam down. What an idiot.

  Liam's muscles flexed as he slammed Jesse on his back—his hand still wrapped around Jesse's neck.

  "You piece of shit. You owe me a new door," Liam growled.

  Jesse scratched at Liam's hand, trying to pull them from his neck. His face was red, and his eyes began to bulge from their sockets. I reached out, wanting to stop Liam from killing him. The last thing I needed was for him to go to jail. After all, we'd just found each other again.

  Jesse's foot stomped on the floor as a gasp escaped from his sputtering lips.

  I couldn't take it anymore. "Let him go, Liam. Don't kill him."

  "She just saved your fuckin' life," Liam said, letting go of Jesse's neck before slapping him in the face. "Get the fuck outta my house before I call the cops."

  The color returned to Jesse's face as he rubbed his neck while staring at the ceiling.

  "Get out of here, Jesse!" I yelled.

  "This shit ain't worth the money," Jesse eked out from his bruised throat.

  "What money?" I asked.

  He didn't reply.

&n
bsp; Liam leaned over him. "What fuckin' money?"

  The sound of a gun's hammer cocking back stole our attention away from Jesse. Kerris was standing next to the mangled door, aiming a gun directly at Liam.

  "What are you doing, Kerris?" Liam asked.

  Kerris motioned for Liam to move away from Jesse. "I tried to make this as easy as possible. All you had to do was walk out the door. But shitty help and this gold-digging bitch are gonna make the next two weeks impossible."

  "What are you fuckin' talking about, Kerris?" Liam asked again.

  "Why couldn't you just walk out the door?" Kerris asked as he pulled out two syringes from his blazer pocket.

  "The Will is a fake isn't it?" Liam asked.

  I was confused. "Fake?"

  Kerris began to pace back and forth, keeping the gun trained on Liam. I guess he thought I wasn't a threat.

  "Do I really need to spell it out for you?" he asked.

  Jesse stood up, still rubbing his neck. "Just kill 'em. This bitch is a lost cause anyway."

  Liam's anger whipped through the room like a hurricane. "Why did you fake the Will? And why concoct this crazy clause? Why not just have him leave the house to you? I'm assuming that's the end game, right?"

  "You're pretty smart for being your uncle's nephew," Kerris taunted. "Any lawyer worth his salt is gonna question why someone would leave their estate to a non-family member when there are living heirs available. So I had to figure out a way to trick you into forfeiting your right."

  "By bringing me home? What if it didn't work?"

  "Well, that's where this sweet little thing comes in," Kerris replied, cavalierly pointing his gun at me.

  "How do I play into all this?" I asked.

  Jesse chimed in. "Don't you get it? No, you couldn't. You're just a pretty face with nothing else to offer."

  "Shut the fuck up," Liam roared.

  "Keep talking, asshole, I got something for you. Once Kerris is—"

  Kerris interrupted, "Shut the hell up, both of you!"

  "Just tell us what the fuck you did," Liam urged.

  "If you insist." He smiled. "I remembered how you left this girl high and dry, and when I ran into her at the bar and chatted with her for a bit, I realized how much of a man-hater she was. After that it was pretty easy to put two and two together as to why she hated men so much—it was you, Liam."

  "What's that have to do with anything?" I asked.

  "Well, I knew if I put you two together in this house for two weeks, you wouldn't be able to stand each other and eventually walk out. The house would then be forfeited—"

  Slowly, Liam moved toward me, holding up his hands for Kerris to see. "But it goes to a charity if we forfeit it. I don't get what you get out of this whole thing."

  Kerris chuckled. "Oh, the charity. Kinda easy to be on the board of a charity's committee, and be placed in charge of contracts and acquisitions when you're a lawyer. Once you forfeited, it would be pretty simple to sell the house to an anonymous buyer, i.e. me, without anyone the wiser."

  Liam held out his hand for me to grab, while still keeping his gaze focused in on Kerris. "But why would you want this place? It's a shithole."

  "Sure, it's a shithole now. But once I sold it to the developer who'd been hounding your uncle to sell to them for four times what the place is worth, then I'd be sitting pretty for a few years."

  "Why would my uncle not sell if he were offered that much money?"

  Kerris laughed. "That old man quite literally loved you to death, and he wanted to leave something for you, even though he knew you hated him and this house."

  "I didn't fuckin' hate him," Liam cursed.

  "Well, you sure as hell could've fooled me." Kerris waved his gun around as he spoke.

  Liam's fists clenched. "Did you kill him?"

  Jesse began to laugh. "No, I did. You're welcome." He took a bow.

  Liam leapt for Jesse, but Kerris pulled the trigger before Liam could reach him. Liam fell to the ground, gripping his stomach. No longer caring about Kerris and his gun, I scrambled over to Liam.

  I pulled his hand away, revealing a large circle of red blood pooling around a small bullet hole.

  Tears began to stream down my face. "No!"

  Liam looked down at the blood. "Fuck."

  "It's okay. You're gonna be okay."

  I felt a presence standing behind me. "No, he's not." The black muzzle of a gun crept into my peripheral vision.

  Liam's eyes widened, and I knew Kerris was standing right behind me, raring to finish him off.

  Fuck this.

  He wasn't taking away the only person I cared about. I spun around and with all my strength, jabbed him in between the legs. He doubled over, dropping the gun next to Liam who picked it up and aimed it at Kerris' head.

  Kerris backed away, holding his hand out, trying to block a bullet if one came. Angrily, I stared at the weasel of a man, wishing Liam would just pull the trigger. My wish was answered in a split second when the loud bang of the gun blared through my ears, but Kerris was still standing.

  I glanced back at Liam, whose eyes were trained in the opposite direction. I panned the room, searching for what he was staring at. A few feet away, I found Jesse lying still in a small heap.

  "He was coming for us," Liam whispered.

  I felt a hardness wrap around my neck and pull me from the floor.

  "Put the gun down," Kerris growled.

  "Fuck you, Kerris!" Liam sat up, pointing the gun in my direction, his teeth gritting from the obvious pain.

  A cold, sharp point touched my temple, and I struggled to pull away from it.

  "Put the knife down, asshole," Liam ordered, cocking the hammer of the gun back.

  He inched us toward the door, making sure to keep his head behind mine. His warm breath flowed down my neck as he panted heavily. "Do you really think you can shoot me half wounded, lying on the floor?"

  "Are you gonna let her go?"

  "Fuck no."

  I stared at Liam, knowing he was too hurt to do anything to help me. I mouthed the words I love you to him as Kerris pulled me further away. Liam winked at me as his finger moved from the side of the gun to the trigger.

  A loud bang pierced through me, and a sharp tug at my throat knocked me off my feet.

  "Fuck me!" Kerris yelled. "You shot me, you bastard."

  Kerris writhed on the floor, grabbing at his shin where flesh and bone smashed together forming a mangled mess.

  "Call the cops, Kells," Liam said, slowly standing to his feet, still aiming the gun at Kerris. "You're gonna pay for my uncle, you greedy son of a bitch."

  "Your uncle was a stupid old man who didn't deserve to have this house."

  Liam cocked the hammer of the gun once again, his face red with fury. I laid my left hand on the gun, and my right on his shoulder. "Let the police take care of this," I begged softly.

  "He killed my uncle."

  "And he's gonna pay. If you kill him, he won't have to atone for everything he's done. Your uncle wouldn't want you to go to jail."

  He looked around the room then back down at Kerris still thrashing about on the floor. I could feel the tension in his arms recede as he lowered the gun. Relief washed over me, knowing I wouldn't have to see him through metal bars for the next few decades.

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed 9-1-1, pressing my forehead on his shoulder.

  "9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

  EPILOGUE

  LIAM

  6 months later…

  It was hard to realize my uncle died to add a few extra zeros in Kerris' bank account. It was equally hard for Kelley to know that her ex was the one who administered the fatal dose of succinylcholine, to mimic a heart attack, while Uncle Henry slept.

  Of course, Jesse wasn't alive to explain why he'd taken part in the evil scheme. But, during the trial, Kerris had mentioned Jesse's eagerness during a long night of drinking at The Lounge to earn some money to win Kelley back. When Kerris concoc
ted the plan and brought Jesse on, he didn't seem fazed by having to commit murder to further his agenda.

  Funny how the people we trust the most are the first ones to drive the knife into our backs. It was true for Demi, Whynter, Kerris, and Jesse. Unfortunately, life doesn't allow for do-overs—hindsight is all we get, and I prayed that I'd had my lifetime share of near-death experiences at the hands of people who were supposed to love me.

  I went to visit Uncle Henry's grave, hoping for some absolution or a slight reprieve from the heaviness I'd been dragging around. Laying all my regret at his feet, I left the cemetery with a peace I hadn't arrived with.

  KELLEY

  I decided staying in the house would be too hard for Liam, and I wasn't willing to put him through that just because I loved the house and the memories in it. Together we decided to donate the house to AMVETS to use as a halfway house for homeless Vets.

  Even though that wasn't a part of Uncle Henry's original Will, it was something that Kerris actually had gotten right. Uncle Henry loved the military, and donating the house would be the best way to honor his memory.

  Liam decided to stay in National City and start his own practice, not wanting to go back to the revolving door of criminals getting off on technicalities.

  As for me, all I'd ever really wanted in life was to be a mother. Granted, most women had bigger aspirations, but to me being a mother would be the greatest blessing. Liam proposed a few months after we donated the house, and I still relived the moment like it was yesterday.

  Three months earlier…

  "Are you happy with me?" he asked as we sat on the beach watching the sunset, while the soft evening breeze danced around us.

  I turned from the ocean and lodged a tendril of hair behind my ear. "Of course. Why would you ask that?"

  "I just wanna make sure you aren't settling for me."

  "Settling? You're everything I've ever wanted—everything I've always needed."

  He pushed himself up from the sand and held his hand out. Twining my fingers with his, he helped me up to my feet.

  "What are you doing?"

  Pulling a small box from his pocket, he got down on a bended knee and presented the box to me, slowly opening it to reveal a large round cut diamond solitaire.