by Twyla Turner
“Alexis,” Sloan said softly, not wanting to scare her, with the weapon still in her hands.
She lifted her blood splattered face to his. The moment their eyes met, her cold eyes cleared, and tears instantly filled them. Her entire body started to tremble, her arms falling to her sides before the gun slipped from her shaking fingers. Her knees started to give, and Sloan lunged for her, to grab her before she fell. He pulled her into his arms, and away from the dead body. They sank to the floor, Sloan gathering her close, as she sobbed in his arms.
He looked at the body again, and recognition hit. He remembered the odd man and the bad feeling he’d felt when he’d met him in the parking lot of the hardware store. Dammit! I could’ve stopped this weeks ago. Why didn’t I trust my fucking gut?!
Sirens brought Sloan out of his internal anger towards himself. He realized that one of the neighbors must have called 911. He pulled back and lifted Lexi’s chin up so that he could look at her.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s over. He’s gone.” Sloan soothed her.
She nodded her head, in understanding. Her green eyes sparkled, with a mixture of relief and horror over what she did. Sloan knew the look well. The look of a person that had just killed someone for the first time. There was relief that you were still alive, but horror over the fact that you could take someone’s life. He knew it would take a while, maybe never, for Lexi to stop seeing Eric’s dead face when she closed her eyes. Countless faces, still visited him years later.
The two police officers that had come to the house earlier in the week burst into the house with guns drawn. Lexi shrunk into Sloan’s arms, in fear. He held up his hands showing the cops that he held no weapons. The officers quickly assessed the situation, dropped their guns, and then holstered them, as they walked further into the house.
“So I think it’s pretty safe to assume that this is or was Eric Benson?” Officer Chase asked.
“Yes,” Sloan answered for Lexi.
The other officer radioed in for the coroner after he checked for Eric’s pulse.
“Can you tell us what transpired here?” He asked Sloan.
“No. I got here right after.” Sloan answered, honestly. “Do you think you can talk?” He asked Lexi, gently.
She took a trembling breath and pulled out of his arms.
“I-I think so.” Lexi stuttered.
Sitting at the dining room table, Lexi spent the next half hour giving a statement to the cops. They checked the crime scene for evidence, making sure that her story matched. And the coroner came, placed Eric’s body on a stretcher, and wheeled him out of the house.
“Well Miss Bolden, it seems pretty cut and dry here. We know that Mr. Benson had jumped parole and that there was a restraining order placed on him to stay away from you. You were well within your rights, and your gun is registered.” Officer Chase said as he closed his notebook. “So that’s about it. If we need a further statement from you and need you to come in, we’ll be sure to contact you. Otherwise, you folks try to get back to normal. At least you know that you’re safe now.” He encouraged before they took their leave.
Sloan pulled Lexi into his side and kissed her temple. He looked up at the ceiling and released a huge calming breath. Thank you, God.
“How about I run you a hot bath, so you can relax. I’ll clean up down here.” Sloan suggested, glancing over at the puddle of drying blood on the floor.
“Okay,” Lexi said, in a quiet voice.
After Sloan finished cleaning up the blood off of the floor, he went upstairs to care for Lexi. He lifted her out of the cooling bathwater and gently dried her off. He massaged lotion into her aching and battered limbs, and then slipped a short cotton nightshirt over her head. Then he lifted her off of the stool in the bathroom and carried her to bed.
“Are you hungry?” Sloan asked her thoughtfully.
“No.” She answered simply.
“Alexis?” She looked up at him, hearing the question in the one word. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of you. You were so brave and fought so hard. You have nothing to be ashamed of or feel bad about.” Sloan praised.
“But that’s the thing…I don’t feel bad. I feel relieved and…and…happy.” Lexi admitted. “I’m so fucking happy that, that bastard no longer walks this earth. I’m not bothered by the fact that I killed him. I’m disturbed by the fact that I don’t give a shit. That can’t be good. Can’t be normal.” Lexi sighed heavily.
“That man nearly killed you and put your best friend in a coma. He terrorized you for far too long. Hell, I think we should do a damn happy dance, or plan a ‘good riddance’ party! So don’t beat yourself for one minute, thinking that you should feel bad. You’re feeling exactly what you’re supposed to feel.” Sloan said passionately.
“Thanks, Sloan,” Lexi said, a genuine smile spreading across her face, for the first time in hours. “I love you.”
A huge grin broke out on his lips, to match Lexi’s.
“I love you, too.” He kissed her hard on the lips, so glad that she was alright. “Now, let’s get some sleep.”
They laid down in the bed, facing each other. They stared at one another for a little while, a sense of calm after the storm blanketed them.
“Oh, I just remembered something that Eric said,” Lexi stated, propping herself up on her elbow. “When I fought back, he said something about me being tougher, and if I learned it from the Marine. How would he know that you are a Marine?” Lexi wondered, with a deep frown on her face.
“Because I met him,” Sloan admitted, quietly.
“What?” Lexi gasped, in shock.
“I didn’t know who he was at the time, but one day coming out of the hardware store, he was standing next to your car and petting Tank. He struck up a conversation with me. And kind of as a warning, because I had a bad feeling about him, I sorta casually passed on the information that I was a Marine, just in case he got any ideas.” Sloan explained.
“Oh my God,” Lexi whispered. “What a fucking psycho!”
“Yeah. He said his name was Derek. And I didn’t know who he was until I saw him dead on the floor tonight. If I’d have known, he would’ve been dead then, and you wouldn’t have had to deal with all the shit he put you through, and Tank would’ve never been poisoned.” Sloan said angrily.
“It’s okay. You couldn’t have known.” Lexi soothed, and decided to change the subject. “I feel like such a jerk! How did your meeting go? Through all this drama, I forgot to ask you.” Lexi said, in apology.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s understandable.” Sloan assured her. “It was good. I decided to do it.” Sloan smiled boyishly.
“Really?!” Lexi exclaimed.
“Yeah. Basically, it’ll be a show about people who have tried to do their own home renovations, and failed miserably. Then I come in and fix it. The majority of my salary will come from the homeowners, like a normal renovation. But I will get ten thousand dollars per episode, for the first season. With room to negotiate after the show has been aired, and we see how high the ratings are.” Sloan said, still unable to believe the turn his life had taken.
“Wow! That’s incredible.” Lexi said, excitement oozing from her every pore. “So when does taping begin?”
“After I’ve finished the mansion. Which gives them time to finalize the deal, and how the show will be setup. And they’re actually going to contact the owners that have already commissioned me for their renos. To see if they’d be willing to be on the show.” Sloan said, looking up at the gauzy canopy above them.
“I’m so proud of you, Sloan,” Lexi said as she brush her fingers through his silky hair. “And now that the threat of impending doom has been removed from over our heads, you can focus on your career instead of protecting me.”
Sloan turned towards her and kissed her softly. The kiss quickly escalated, and Sloan made love to Lexi with a type of desperation, born of gratitude and relief that she was finally safe. And for the first time, Lexi gave herself to him w
ith pure abandon, with the knowledge that she no longer had to look over her shoulder.
Wrapped in each other’s arms, they fell into a deep contented sleep.
~~~
Sloan ran through the streets of the deserted Afghan city, his best friend Vick at his side. They were running from an unknown enemy. In the distance, Sloan could hear the horrified screams of a woman. He realized that it was Lexi, and he started to run even harder. A shot rang out, and he looked to his side where Vick had been. But he was no longer there, and Sloan glanced back, seeing his friend’s lifeless body on the ground behind him. He skidded to a stop and ran back to him. But instead of Vick’s body, it was Lexi’s.
A single shot had gone through the middle of her forehead, and her lifeless eyes stared up at the bright sky. Sloan screamed in anguish. And he looked up to see her ex Eric standing a few feet away, laughing.
Sloan let out an animalistic roar and charged head first at the evil man. He rammed Eric in the stomach, and they both went flying. When they landed, Sloan was on top of him. He straddled Eric’s body, and wrapped his fingers around his throat, and started to choke the life out of him. He looked up when he heard someone calling his name and saw Vick standing there.
“SLOAN! STOP! You’re killing her!” Vick shouted.
Sloan’s eyes flew open, his heart pounding in his chest. He realized that he was sitting up in bed, and he looked down to see his hands wrapped tightly around Lexi’s neck, as he straddled her body. Her hands were beating against his arms, and terror filled her widened eyes.
Sloan released her neck like he had been scalded. Lexi immediately crawled from under him, and towards the edge of the bed, in a panic. Reaching the edge, she fell out of the bed, and she crawled to the corner, balling up in fear.
Sloan sat stunned. Dear God! What have I done?
••••
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank my beta-readers Nadia and Sammy, for always coming through in the clutch. I’m sorry I don’t always give you a whole lot of time, to give me your feedback. But your constant encouragement, means the world to me.
I have to give some love to my amazing cover artist, Suzy Almblade. Girl, you’ve got some mad skills. I have no doubt that your artwork will become famous someday.
I want to give a shout out to my amazing readers that have become my biggest champions. I’m so blessed to have found many of you, in all the different Facebook reader/author groups. And I’d name each one of you, but I’d feel terrible if I left someone out. Though I know, you all know who you are because we communicate often through social media.
I also want to thank those of you who signed up for my ARC. I appreciate your honest reviews.
As always I want to thank my parents, for their constant support. I swear I’ll make it up to you someday.
And last, I want to thank iHeart Radio’s Calm Water station and Frank Sinatra station. For without you, I may never have finished this novel.
About Author
Twyla Turner currently resides in Arizona. She was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, a Midwest girl at heart, though constantly moving from place to place, and always thinking of where she wants to go next. Having been an avid romance novel reader since junior high and minoring in Creative Writing. She felt that it was finally time to start combining her love of travel and writing, as well as her life experiences and putting them down on “paper”. Which experiences, she’ll never tell…well maybe, if you ask nicely.
Other books by Twyla Turner
The Struck Series:
Star-Struck
Awe-Struck
Damaged Souls:
Scarred
Open Wounds
Healed (Coming this May)
THR3E
Cupid’s Secrets Anthology:
Love in the Wild
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