“They might hate you for it,” she said. “For a while. Maybe a long while.”
“I can deal with them hating me.” Lyndon shrugged, but then got very serious. “But I can’t deal with you hating me.”
Leigh pushed away from the desk and stood up. As she walked around the desk toward him, she noticed the victorious smile wrapping around his lips. He stood up, waiting, ready to receive her kiss, her adulation. When she reached him, she looked adoringly at him and he leaned in for the kiss.
Leigh pressed her finger against his mouth and pushed. His head went back and he frowned. “Get over yourself, Mr. Prior. There are patients to see. Let’s go.”
Kimberly felt the ulcer forming in her stomach as she knocked on the door to the shady motel room. Over one shoulder was a Louis Vuitton canvas bag with seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Over the other was her pink Prada carrying a handgun. It was her intention to leave this place with everything she had come here with.
When David opened the door, he frowned, looking confused at first, but quickly smiled. “What happened to the rich bitch? You look . . . you look like yourself, Paige.”
Kimberly cringed at the sound of that name, but she hoped it would be for the last time. She had purposefully disguised herself so she wouldn’t be recognizable. She was wearing some rags she found in Marisol’s room, a raven-black bob wig and thick glasses. If things went down the way she intended them to, no one could say they recognized a woman that looked anything like Kimberly Chase. She had even removed the plates from the cheap Toyota she had rented with cash for the day, a car no Chase would be caught dead in.
“Can I come in already?” she asked, looking around nervously. She hadn’t spotted anyone since driving into the parking lot or walking up the stairs to David’s front door.
David stepped aside as she hurried in. He took his sweet time closing the door behind her.
“Let’s get this over with.” Kimberly tried to breathe slower to calm her heartbeat down, but she was only getting more nervous.
David, dressed in jeans and a Tigers T-shirt, was laughing as he leaned against the door. “What, you don’t want to hang out a little while for a tearful good-bye ?”
Kimberly dropped the bag of money on the bed with cheap paisley hotel sheets. “There’s your money. Now I need your guarantee you’ll leave and never come back.”
“Now, Paige.” David walked over to the bed and grabbed the bag. He opened it up and turned it over. The cash fell onto the bed and he tossed the bag away. “I’m starting to get the feeling that you don’t trust me.”
“For the last time,” she answered, “my name is—”
“There’s a million bucks here, right? You wouldn’t be shortchanging me.” He ran his fingers over the money with an ear-to-ear smile on his face.
“Why would I do . . . ?” Kimberly was halted by the menacing look he gave her. “Are we done here?”
David’s eyes squinted as he walked to within inches of her. Kimberly reached for the purse on her right shoulder with her left hand, but he grabbed her arm and she screamed. He pushed her back twice before she slammed against the wall.
“I taught you to lie better than that, Paige.” David let go of her arm, but only to take hold of her neck.
Kimberly winced when she felt his rough, dry hand wrapped around her neck. He pushed his body up against hers.
“Stop.”
“How much money is on that bed, Paige?”
When she didn’t respond, his hand squeezed. Kimberly’s hands grabbed at his arm, trying to pull his hand away, but she wasn’t strong enough. “David.”
“How much, Paige?”
“Okay!” she yelled.
He let go of her neck and Kimberly fell to the floor. The gun was in the purse. If she could only just get the gun, this could all be over.
“How much?” he asked, looking down at her.
“Seven hundred and fifty thousand,” she answered. Kimberly yelled as he kicked the wall next to her.
“You disappoint me,” David said, “but you were always a troublesome little bitch, weren’t you?”
“I can get you the rest, but not now.”
“Get up!”
Slowly, as her knees allowed, Kimberly stood up from the floor. When she looked at him, he was smiling and she knew from experience that meant the worst was yet to come. She would have no more chances.
As she reached into her purse, she shuffled around for the gun and in that moment, David started for her. She looked up, grabbing the gun just in time. She was screaming as she pulled it out. Just as she got her hand on the trigger, David grabbed the gun and turned it around, twisting her arm. The pain was excruciating.
“David, you’re hurting me.”
“You think this is hurting you?” He twisted more until she screamed and had to let go. “You’ve forgotten what my hurt can really be, bitch.”
Kimberly backed away. She was going to die. He was certainly going to kill her now.
“You always were a simple bitch,” David muttered as he studied the gun in his hand.
“David, I have children. I can’t—”
“This is a sweet piece. How much did it cost?”
Kimberly remembered how he loved to play this game. He would act as if hurting her were the furthest thing from his mind. He would talk about anything else until she let her guard down, let her fear subside. Then he would knock her across the room. Kimberly cursed herself for being unable to kill him. She had the chance, but she’d waited too long. Now she was going to die because she was too chicken to do what could only be seen as justice.
David disarmed the gun, looking in admiration at the cartridges.
“You can have it,” she exclaimed. “It’s worth five grand. You can sell it.”
“What in the hell am I going to do with a gun registered to Michael Chase?” He tossed the cartridge in the garbage. “No, you’re going to pay off that last two-fifty a different way.”
He was handing her the unloaded gun, still playing his game. Kimberly backed away, ready for him. “I can get you the money.”
“No, you can’t.” He smiled, looking her up and down. “It appears your husband does know what you are. He’s holding the purse strings and you’ve gotten all you could. There’s no more without telling him.”
“I have two children, David.”
“I’m not going to kill you,” he said. “So spare me the mommy guilt trip.”
“No, I mean they have trust funds, the boys. I can . . .” She stopped as David slowly shook his head. “What? You want more now?”
“I think I’m entitled considering you tried to kill me.”
“Enough with the games.” Kimberly wiped the tears from her face. “How much?”
“You pay in trade.” He pressed his nose against her and made a sniffing sound. “Damn, you smell like . . . money.”
Disgusted, Kimberly cringed and pushed him away. “No, David. Just stop it. How much money do you want?”
“Money isn’t going to cut it.” He used his body to slam hers against the wall.
When he started grinding against her, Kimberly thought she was going to be sick. “David, get off of—”
“You’ve lost your touch.” He was trying to kiss her now, but Kimberly kept moving her face to avoid his mouth. “Paige would have fought harder.”
David stopped and leaned back, studying her. “You’re a completely different person than my little Paige. And I want a taste of this new woman.”
“I’m over fifteen,” Kimberly noted. “Isn’t that a little too old for you?”
David laughed and quickly slammed his hand against the wall right next to her head, making her jump with a scream. “You’re a little long in the tooth, but I still want a taste and I’m going to get it.”
“Not on your life.” Kimberly punched him hard enough in the stomach to make him back off her. “I’d die first.”
David took a second to recover, but didn’t seem an
gry. He looked more bored than anything. He turned his back to her and returned to the bed. “I can understand why you’d feel that way. You can give me some and I’ll go away forever or I can call NBC, CBS, and FOX right now. The local affiliates will pay me plenty more than the two-fifty you owe. That damn Chase family is, like, serious celebrity.”
“You can’t.”
“I will.” He picked up one stack of bills and flipped through it. “I’ll give you one day to think it over. Meanwhile, I’m upgrading to a nicer hotel.”
“I can bring the money in one day,” she promised. “That’s all I need. If you—”
She stopped as he turned and threw a stack bills at her. She ducked away just before it hit her in the head.
“We can hit it now or tomorrow,” he yelled. “You tell me what works best for you.”
Kimberly rushed out of the hotel room as fast as she could. Neil had been right. She couldn’t kill David. Despite hating him with every fiber of her being, there was some hold he had on her that kept her from doing it.
But it still had to be done and Kimberly didn’t have time to shed tears over her pitiful weakness. She had to hire someone to kill David, and they had to do it by tomorrow.
10
A very was flattered at Anthony’s attempt to ease her mind with a romantic night out. She was a little concerned that the prices at Al Angelo’s Italian Restaurant in L.A. were a bit steep, but she was enjoying herself too much to care. The doctors said Charlie’s recovery, because of the love and support of his family, was miraculous. Only two and a half months after being shot, Charlie had been making incredible progress. He would be home soon. Nikki was hopeful again and her optimism affected that of all her children.
Despite her joy over this, Avery found it hard to concentrate on the positives. Her last encounter with Carter was still with her; the taste of his lips on hers was still with her too, distracting her from everything else. She could still feel the strength of his hands when he grabbed her. Avery used to complain about his being so physical, but she really loved it. His aggressiveness excited her. She loved knowing he cared about her enough that she could make him lose his cool, but he never let it go too far. He was always in tune with her response, knowing when to take it easy or when to go harder.
But that was when she was his woman and he was her man. Now she had no right to think about his hands on her; no right to imagine her body rubbing against his lean, muscled physique; no right to see his face when she closed her eyes. Here she was sitting across from a man who loved her and understood her. He was a man who listened to her, soothed her pain and had been her shining light at probably the most difficult time in her young life so far. He was a man who wanted to protect her from what she feared the most.
No, Anthony never took her in a way that made her dizzy with passion. She did want him, desire him. He was good in bed, thoughtful and caring. He was intelligent and sophisticated. His passion for teaching inspired her and his dry, geeky sense of humor made her laugh even when she didn’t want to. Avery always felt loved and safe in his arms, but never overwhelmed. She never felt lust that threatened her sanity when she was making love to him, but the one time she had felt that, where had it gotten her?
Anthony was a good man, a man most women would love to marry. And here she was lying to him, sitting across the table from him, lying by forcing a smile on her face.
If she was honest she would tell him that she didn’t want to go out for a romantic evening because she was too exhausted physically and emotionally. Her guilt made her a liar. She hadn’t slept with Carter, but in her heart she knew she’d already committed adultery. In her heart, she knew that he was still there and he took up more room there than her own husband did.
Anthony didn’t deserve this. He deserved the exclusive love every man deserves from his wife, her complete devotion. It was easy to give in Florida, but now it seemed like the hardest thing to do. She had to work harder, be better.
“Baby?” Anthony snapped his fingers in the air to get his wife’s attention.
Avery was jolted out of her haze and images of Carter faded away, replaced by an image of Anthony laughing at her.
“What?”
“You’re kind of spacey tonight, huh?” He nodded to the waiter standing eagerly between them.
“Sorry.” Laughing embarrassedly, she looked up at him. “Uh . . . I’m sorry. What?”
“Dessert, baby,” Anthony said.
“Our dusky flourless chocolate torte is world class,” the waiter offered. “Or the lemon polenta pudding with—”
“No.” Avery pushed the desert menu away. “Thanks, but I’m full.”
“We’ll take the check.” Anthony patted his full stomach before reaching across the table and placing his hand tenderly over hers. “I thought you were having a good time. I’m afraid to ask why not.”
“I am.” She smiled at the comfort of his touch although she wished she felt more than comfort. “This is nice, honey. I’m sorry. I’m just thinking about Dad coming home and how Mom is going to try to do too much.”
Anthony sighed in relief. “I thought you were going to say Carter was still bothering you. I won’t let him—”
“No,” she said. “Carter isn’t going to be a problem for us anymore.”
“You seem so sure, but from the way he’s behaved since you left, that isn’t logical.”
“He told me he was—”
“When did you talk to him?” Anthony sat back, a discomforted frown on his face.
Avery hadn’t told him about the country club incident. She was too afraid of showing herself and hurting him if she got too emotional. “It’s not important.”
“I consider the man trying to take my wife from me important.”
Avery paused while the waiter brought the check. “He’s not trying to do anything. You were right when you came up with this plan. Once he found out the baby isn’t his, he lost interest.”
Anthony looked skeptical. “Just tell me when you saw him.”
“Why does it matter?” she asked. “Everything is a game with him. Once he realized there was nothing left to win, he didn’t want to play. He’s not going to bother me again. You should be happy.”
“I’d be happy if you seemed happy,” Anthony said.
Avery didn’t know how to respond to this. She could only do, feel so much. Anthony’s gaze was making her more uncomfortable by the second. If she spoke it would be a lie.
“What?” she asked in response to his constant stare.
“When was the last time we had sex?”
Avery blinked, completely taken off guard. “I . . . It’s been . . .”
“Not since we came here,” he answered. “That was over two months ago, Avery.”
“I can’t believe you’re . . .” Avery checked herself, lowering her voice. “I can’t believe you’re saying that. Things have been insane with my family and—”
“I’m still your husband,” Anthony said, “and I have needs.”
Avery couldn’t tell him that she hadn’t wanted him, really wanted him since seeing Carter the first time outside her parents’ home.
“You have needs? Well, I have a twenty-five-pound stomach, Anthony. I have a mother at her wits’ end and I have a father in the hospital suffering from a gunshot wound. But let me make sure your libido is at the top of the list at all times.”
Anthony didn’t respond. He turned his attention to the bill, slipping the cash inside the leather check presenter.
“I want to stay here.” This was not at all how Avery intended telling him she didn’t want to go back to Coral Gables, but she was angry now.
Anthony’s head shot up, his face a look of pure surprise. “What do you . . . what do you mean? Until your father is better, right?”
“I went to see my ob-gyn, the one I went to a couple of days before I left. I had all my records forwarded to her office.”
“You didn’t think to share this with me?”
&
nbsp; “I’m doing it now,” Avery said. “Dr. Channing said—”
“Avery, what’s the matter with you?” He shook his head, looking around. “She’ll find out the records are false once she examines you.”
“She’s already examined me.” Avery reached for her purse and riffled through it just for something to look at besides Anthony’s injured expression. “And she won’t tell anyone.”
“Keep the change,” he said as he handed the waiter the check presenter. Once he left, he started in again. “Have you forgotten? We’re talking about the Chase family here. The family you told me can get access to any information they want. It doesn’t matter if she’ll tell them.”
“They aren’t looking anymore,” she stressed.
“How do you know that?” Anthony asked. “Nikki said they never give up.”
“They do if there’s nothing more to find out. Your idea worked.”
Anthony was shaking his head, his lips pressed together in frustration. “For now, but when that baby comes a month early, Carter will—”
“You don’t know that,” Avery said. “And who knows if the baby will even come on time? Mama says first babies almost always come late.”
“When did your mother get her medical degree?” He rolled his eyes to match his sarcastic tone.
“I was the first and I came late,” Avery answered. “And I remember you saying the same.”
“You and me.” Anthony huffed his annoyance. “That’s a convincing focus group. I’m sure Scientific American magazine is awaiting your mother’s call.”
Avery wasn’t going to feed into that. “Dr. Channing said I shouldn’t fly anymore now. It’s not safe.”
“Fine,” he said. “Then we’ll drive.”
“From L.A. to Coral Gables?” Avery asked. “I’ll give birth somewhere in East Texas.”
Anthony wasn’t giving up. “What about the train?”
“Mom needs me,” Avery added. “With Dad coming home, he’ll need care around the clock. Between that and the gallery, she needs all the help she can get. Sean isn’t around and Taylor is still in school.”
“You can’t help her,” he argued. “You’re going to be having a baby.”
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