Bossman's List

by Ashlee Price

  I didn’t care. The pain in the side of my head was too much to even think through. I wasn’t going to let him win, and when he moved towards me, my hand reached into my waistband and pulled out the gun that I’d just gotten. I’d been planning to use it on Camilla, but I was more than willing to kill Tyler before her. He was the one who’d ruined everything, and he was back again to finish the job. It was because of him that Camilla didn’t want me. Maybe if she saw that he was dead, she would rethink her stance on loving me. If she saw what the alternative was, maybe all of this starvation nonsense would become a thing of the past.

  The billionaire did not have the qualms that I would have thought about facing a loaded gun. Before I could draw a bead on him he was coming towards me with intent in his eyes. He wasn’t going to go down without a fight. But then, neither was I.

  “You can’t have her, Tyler. She’s mine!”

  The man rushed me and we both fell to the floor, Tyler on top of me. For a rich businessman he was a lot stronger than he looked. I remember thinking how much I’d underestimated him because of his money. I’d thought him soft, but there was nothing soft about the man who was now wrestling the gun from me.

  My finger was on the trigger, but I couldn’t get enough pressure to squeeze it. I just had to get him off of me for a moment and then I would be able to end this. My eyes went to Camilla as my finger found the space to pull the trigger. I wanted to see her eyes when I killed him.

  A sudden burn moved through my chest, and it occurred to me that I wasn’t supposed to feel any pain. I looked between our bodies, Tyler moving back and standing up as I looked at the growing red spot on my front. All I felt was shock. This was not how it was supposed to end.

  Part 10: Possess

  The day of the trial for the mall shooter is at finally at hand, but it’s on the same day as a wedding Camilla is going to attend and she’s torn by dual emotions. Tyler is going to testify, and although she isn’t going to take the stand, she wants to be there for him. It brings back a lot of memories of that horrible day, but at least she has Tyler by her side, and they’re both ready to get it all behind them.

  Later, the sadness and anxiety are set aside for the wedding of the season. Everyone is talking about it, and Tyler is even going to be part of the grand event. It has Camilla thinking about marriage and her relationship with Tyler. She wonders how long it will be until she and Tyler are walking down the aisle together. Soon…

  Chapter 1 – Camilla

  “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, Camilla. I know that this is going to be hard on you. I can handle it if you want to stay here and just take the day off. You haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately, and I’m afraid it’s because of this.”

  It wasn’t because of the court date today or the wedding later in the day. It was really because I just had too much in my mind. I still had dreams about the shooting, but I had more dreams of Zane and my captivity with him. Sometimes when I woke up and it was dark I felt like I was right back in that warehouse. I didn’t know if I was ever going to stop having the dreams. I didn’t know if I was ever going to get the sleep I used to get before everything happened. A lot had happened this year, and I was still trying to come to grips with it. It wasn’t easy, but I was trying.

  Today was one of those moments that I needed to go through. I didn’t want to go see the face of the mall shooter. Even though it had been painted across every television for months, I certainly didn’t want to see him in person. But I knew that I didn’t have a choice. I was going to have to face it all sooner or later, and today was the day.

  “No, I’m going. I wouldn’t want you to go by yourself.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I nodded and told him that I was sure, even though I wasn’t really. I was terrified, even knowing that he couldn’t do anything to me. Zane couldn’t hurt me either, but he still bothered me. I still dreamed that he would come back and snatch me again. Everything else was going well, but the past was creeping back slowly into my mind.

  “Are you sure you’re okay, Camilla?”

  “Yeah, just a lot to think about. How are you not nervous? You’re the one that’s going to take the stand and identify him.”

  “I’ve waited for this since it happened. I want to make sure that they put him away for a long time for what he did.”

  I knew that he really felt that way, like it was his duty to make sure that the man met justice. Tyler was like that, and I was thankful that he was that kind of man. If he hadn’t been, then I would have never gotten away from Zane and I would most likely be dead now. It was a sobering thought that made me squeeze his arm and want to pull him to me. I’d never felt safer than when I was with him, and I wished that I could give him the relief that he’d given me.

  “I’m so proud of you, Tyler. You know that, right?”

  “Is that my doctor talking, or my fiancée?”

  “We’re both proud of you. Besides, I’m not a doctor anymore.”

  “You’ll always be a doctor, Camilla. You’re just going to take some time off. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it doesn’t change anything. I just get a little bit more time with you, and I’m all for that. Now I get you all to myself.”

  I cringed at his words. It was something that Zane would say. But I knew that Tyler was different. If he wasn’t, I didn’t know if I could date anyone else. Tyler knew how Zane had changed me and he helped me to not go down that road, but even off-handed comments like that made my mind go places I didn’t want it to.

  “So are we ready??”

  “I am if you are, Camilla.”

  I was as ready as I was ever going to be. Instead of dreading it like I’d been for months after I found out the man was going to insist on a trial, now I was thankful that at least it would be over and by the end of the day I wouldn’t have to think about it again.

  Tyler drove, having let the driver off for the day. We had a long day ahead of us, but it was going to end on a better note. I was looking forward to the wedding, but this part I wasn’t too happy about. There was also the fact that Ivy was going to be at the courthouse. I didn’t have anything against her because of her relationship with Tyler – I trusted him – but she tried to remind me of their relationship every time the mood struck her. That mood struck too much, and I was already thinking about what I was going to do if she did it there.

  “Why do you look mad all of a sudden?”

  I looked to Tyler and saw that he was studying me. I hated that my face wasn’t better at hiding my emotions. It was usually rather easy to see what I felt. The thought of Ivy was the reason for my frown, but I didn’t want to tell him that. I didn’t want to admit to such envious thoughts. They seemed so petty at a time like this.

  “Nothing. Just not looking forward to any of this.”

  I stopped him before he launched into the fact that I didn’t have to go. There was no obligation and all of that. “I’m going for you, Tyler. I wouldn’t miss it. When you’re on that stand, I want you to look out and know that I’m there for you.”

  He laced his fingers in mine and I leaned back on the soft leather of the seat. It had been far too long since we were at peace, and I was ready for the day to be over. I would tell my clients that closure was very important, and I knew that it was. I wanted to hear the man found guilty and justice to be served for all of those lives that were lost. More than that, though, I just wanted to move on with my life.

  When we got there the courthouse loomed in front of me and the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach was back. I felt like I was going to be sick, and after we stopped, I rushed out of the car to get some fresh air. I don’t know why, but I was incredibly nauseous. Tyler thought that it was because of the hearing, but I knew that it wasn’t that. I just felt off.

  “Let’s just get through security and then I’m going to go freshen up.”

  He nodded his head and looked at me with worry. I wasn’t going to faint right then and there,
but he looked at me like I was. I tried to tell him not to worry, but Tyler was worse at it than I was. When it came to me, he was far more uptight than he let on. He wanted everything to be perfect when life wasn’t perfect.

  “It’s fine, really, Tyler. It might have been that new smoothie, I don’t know.”

  He questioned my answer with a brow arch, but I ignored him. Putting my purse and keys in the small plastic container, I smiled at the police officer who scanned my things. I was fine, and after today, I was going to be better. Well, maybe not fine, but I was on my way there. All I had to do was get through the day.

  Chapter 2 – Tyler

  I waited for Camilla by the bathrooms. She was in there quite a while and she looked worse for wear when she finally opened the door and came out.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  She smiled and gave me the brave face she thought I wanted to see. I could tell that there was something wrong, but Camilla was still close with her feelings. For someone who got other people to bare their soul to her, she wasn’t all that forthcoming.

  “Stop asking me that or I’m going to think that you’re the one who doesn’t want to be here. There are other witnesses, you know.”

  That was not it at all. I had no qualms about going in there and pointing to the man who’d murdered all of those people in the mall. I’d gotten a good look at him, and I knew that my words were going to carry weight. There was nowhere else that I would want to be but right where I was.

  “No, this has to be done.”

  “Well, I’m here with you. Sometimes I wonder if we would have met if this hadn’t happened.”

  “Do you think it was fate?”

  Camilla grinned and leaned her head against my shoulder as we walked up the stairs to the courtroom. “I don’t know what it was, but I’m glad for it.”

  I was too, and I enjoyed our moments together before we had to go into the courtroom. It wasn’t going to be a time for that, so I took the chance now to her feverishly to remind her how much I loved her. Maybe it was to remind me of what I had when I was with her. She completed me, and just the fact that she was willing to be here for me was enough to tell me what was truly in her heart.

  When we pushed the door to move in, I saw several people that I remembered from that day, as well as the next few days when I’d had to go down to the police station for questioning. I stopped and said hello to a few while Camilla went to speak to the shopkeeper’s family. She’d apparently known her better than I’d thought. I waited for her to finish visiting before finding a seat near the front.

  The judge wasn’t there yet and there was a buzz of conversation all around. Camilla sat down, but her eyes were taking everything in. I wondered what she was thinking with such a serious look on her face. How many of the people in the room were her old patients? She’d nodded to a few, but it wasn’t something that would have been broadcast. Camilla was on vacation from her practice, but her secretive ways would never stop. That was just part of who she was.

  I tried to focus on everyone there, the ones that had lived. There had been a memorial a couple of weeks after the shooting for all of the families, and there I’d met most of the people involved. They were now in the room together and there was a lot of anxiety in the air. It felt like a reunion of sorts. Too many of the people there with me had been affected by that day. It was the final chapter in a horrid book that most would want to forget. It was hard not to notice that the families of the deceased greatly outnumbered the survivors.

  The man who’d changed so many lives was seen being brought in by one of the bailiffs. He looked smaller without the gun in his hand, and months of prison had changed the look in his eyes. There was no remorse for his deeds, but I was positive that he regretted what he’d done because of where he was now. The man looked beaten, and I tried hard not to feel bad for him. It was easy to hate him as a monster, but it was just a man in front of me.

  I watched some of the expressions on the other people’s faces. It was clear to anyone who was paying attention that no one there was happy to see him. He’d ruined so many lives, and there was still not a clear reason. He refused to give it to the police, so everyone had to wonder why he’d done it. As he looked at each person, making sure to make eye contact like he didn’t want to forget a thing, I was convinced that there was no reason. He did it because he just wanted to. How could there be any kind of reason for such madness?

  The judge came out and everyone sat down after him. The room became silent. It felt eerie in a way. I sat down next to Camilla and sought out her hand, thinking that she needed some comfort. I was ready for my name to be called and my chance to take the stand. It would end it, and I could finally put my energy into something else.

  ***

  It wasn’t as dramatic as the TV shows that Camilla liked to watch at night, but there was a satisfaction in pointing out the person who’d caused so much destruction. He stared at me with his dead eyes, and I could tell that there was nothing there. If everything went as it should, the sentencing wouldn’t be too long from now, but the fact was that the man was already gone. He’d been seen by several citizens and law enforcement officers, and there was no way he was going to get off. I’d done my part, and as we left, the weight that I hadn’t even known was there was lifted.

  “Why don’t we get some lunch and then get back to the house for a while?”

  The silkiness of her voice piqued my interest. It sounded so smooth, and I could tell that there was something naughty on her mind. That was how Camilla was. She would get hot in a moment, and when she was, she was scorching hot. I hoped that she was thinking along the same lines I was. That quickly my brain was on one track and hoping not to be derailed.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  Camilla shrugged and sent me the answer through her eyes. I melted right there, and I knew it was going to be a long lunch. I would have rather skipped the food altogether.

  “I don’t know. I’m sure we’ll think of something. We can’t mess around too long, though. The wedding starts at four and I don’t want to be late.”

  I should have been bothered about the wedding. If it made any sense I would have been, but I wasn’t. I was happy for the bride and groom. It was going to be a little weird to see my wife marrying someone else, but she was not the one I was supposed to be with.

  “We won’t be late. Why don’t we get something to go so we’ll have a little more time?”

  “You’re so impatient, Tyler. You can’t wait a little while longer?”

  “No.” Not with the look in her eyes that she had then. I couldn’t wait a moment longer.

  We started in the car.

  Chapter 3 – Maya

  “Tyler is here with Camilla.”

  “Good. I was hoping that I would see him before the wedding. Will you see if he’ll come here?”

  My cousin Angie was aghast at the idea. I wasn’t too worried about what she thought. It was already strange to have my ex-husband at my wedding, but nothing about this was normal. I’d found Dylan on a website and Tyler was now engaged to his therapist. It was all a mess, and I just wanted to make sure that everything with Tyler was okay. It had been a while since we’d talked, and seeing him was just another step of closure.

  When he came in, I wasn’t prepared for the wave of emotions that came over me. It was like I was seeing him on the day we’d married so long ago. It was only five years, but it seemed like a lifetime now. His hair was shorter than he usually wore it, and the twinkle in his eyes that had died during our marriage was back. I hoped it was back in mine as well.

  “You look good, Tyler.”

  “Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”

  I told him that he should. He immediately apologized for not doing it straight away. I would forgive him this time. “You know you look radiant, just as you did when I was the nervous groom waiting for you.”

  “You were never the nervous type. I think you were on the phone right
up until the music started. There was a deal that you were trying to do, remember?”

  His head went down, and when he pulled it back up he really looked at me. “Don’t take any crap from this one, Maya. You deserve all the happiness that’s possible. You deserved better.”

  “Not better, just different. Thank you for coming. I know that it’s going to be a little unconventional, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Even though it didn’t work out for us, I’ll always love you. You know that, right?”

  Tyler told me that he did and that he felt the same way. It was not the stereotype that I had of exes, but it was so much better than the average setup.

  I hugged him and then kissed his cheek. It was my way of saying goodbye to him. Although I still felt affection for him, it was nothing to how I felt about Dylan. When I saw Tyler leaving, I was ready to go down the aisle to the man waiting for me. However unorthodox our method of meeting was, I knew that it had always been Dylan that I was supposed to be with. I needed his gentle touch. I was more sensitive than most, and I’d only wilted under such a heavy hand. Dylan let me be what I wanted to be and gave me space when I needed it.

  Looking in the mirror one last time, even I could see the change. It was the first time in a long time that I was happy. I fixed the few strands of hair that had fallen into my face from the up-do and took a deep breath. I was about to change my life, but this time for the best.

  ***

  “You didn’t tell me that Tyler was going to be here.”

  “We’re dancing and you want to talk about Tyler?”

  “I just didn’t know he was going to be here.”

  “I thought I did tell you. Are you mad?”

  “Surprised, but not mad. Did you know about him and Camilla?”

  I had to laugh. There had been something bothering him the whole way through the ceremony and the cake cutting. People were all around so I couldn’t really ask him, but now with everyone watching, we could speak a little while we had our first dance.