Aladdin (New Modern Wicked Fairy Tales)
Page 7
“What the—?” was all Eddie managed to get out before Boardwalk Louie and two of his men burst into the entryway.
The parlor door was open, and Bart saw Louie turn toward them and take in the scene.
It happened so fast, he didn’t even have time to move. Louie’s men saw Eddie with a gun in his hand and they just came in and let him have it.
Bart moved to protect Libby with his own body, when a shot rang out from across the room. He swung his head around to see Libby’s grandmother standing there with a rifle, and she’d shot one of Louie’s guys. He was down for the count.
The distraction was all Bart needed. He grabbed the downed man’s gun.
He hadn’t shot anyone since the war, but he knew how to use it.
He pointed the forty-five at the other man and dropped him instantly.
Louie had come in last, without a gun in his hand. He clearly thought his boys would take care of everything. Now, he reached for his weapon, but Bart swung his own weapon in a narrow arc, pulling the trigger, and dropping Louie with a round to the chest.
“Goodness, what a mess.” Frances Bancroft looked around at the carnage as she approached, still holding the rifle.
Bart quickly untied Libby and the other man.
“Oh Bart, thank goodness you came when you did.” Libby put her arms around him in a hug. “And grandmother! You saved the day!”
A low groan caught Bart’s attention. Eddie was still alive, although he’d been shot twice, once by each of Louie’s guys.
“It’s Vizard,” Libby said, frowning down at the man.
“Eddie,” Bart told her as he looked at the blood pooling under his friend. “His name is Eddie.”
Bart knelt beside him, unmindful of the blood on his expensive pants.
“The police have been called.” Frances put the rifle down.
“Bart...” Eddie’s voice was faint and full of liquid. “I screwed up. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Bart leaned a little closer so he could hear him better. “You’re gonna be okay. Help is on the way.”
Just looking at him, Bart knew it wasn’t true. And he saw the truth in Eddie’s eyes. He knew it, too
“Is... is your lady friend okay?”
“Yes.”
“And the... the other guy?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad... I’m cold, Bart.” Eddie shivered and closed his eyes.
For a moment, Bart thought that was it. His heart felt swollen and hot in his chest, beating way too hard.
Then Eddie opened his eyes again and spoke. “Guess Boardwalk Louie got impatient for his money, huh?”
“Guess so,” Bart said, looking up to see Libby coming over with a blanket. He took it from her, grateful, and covered Eddie, even though he had a feeling they weren’t going to be able to keep him comfortable for much longer.
“Just hush now. Help is coming.”
“I gotta say...” Eddie reached out with a bloody hand and grabbed Bart’s lapel, pulling him closer. “Bart... I’m so sorry. I was stupid.”
“Forget it, Eddie.”
“I don’t...” Eddie coughed. He turned his head, but blood sprayed from his mouth. Bart used the edge of the blanket to try to wipe Eddie’s face.
Eddie tried again. “I don’t have a lot of time, Bart. But I need to say this.”
“Okay, Eddie.” Bart was doing his best to hold back tears.
“I said I taught you everything, but it ain’t so.” Eddie’s voice was rough, trembling. “You know so much more than me, Bart. You’re gonna turn out so much better than I ever did.”
“You didn’t turn out so bad, Eddie…” Bart’s eyes and throat burned.
“You’re a good man, Bart,” Eddie whispered. “Better than me. I’ve always been... a little jealous... of you...”
“Of me?”
“I love you like a brother, Bart.” Eddie’s hand fell from his lapel and his eyes fluttered closed. “You’re a good man, Bart Lamplighter. A good brother. The best...”
Eddie’s body went still.
Bart waited for him to open his eyes, to speak again, but there was nothing.
Libby came over, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I think he’s gone.”
He nodded, his throat tight with that knowledge.
“Libby, you need to stay away.” Bart stood, shaking her off. “Eddie was wrong. I’m not a good man.”
“Yes, you are.” Libby didn’t move away. Instead, she moved closer. “Your friend Eddie was right. You’re a much better man than you think you are, Bart Lamplighter. Although maybe not quite as smart...”
He raised his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”
“I’ve known all along,” she confessed. “You don’t keep your old money by being stupid.”
“You... know...?” Bart gaped at her.
“Of course we knew,” Frances replied. “Do you think I’d allow a stranger around my granddaughter?”
“If you knew... why...?” Bart looked back and forth between them, confused.
“Because I love you, Bart.”
He blinked at her, not quite able to take it all in.
“Oh, and by the way... Canard and Duchy? They don’t exist. Any Kansas City cattle tycoon would know enough about Chicago to know that.”
He stared at her. “You’ve really known all along?”
“Almost from the beginning,” she told him again. “Bart, allow me to introduce Mr. Smythe. He works for our family doing, umm… odd jobs. Mr. Smythe has something he wants to give you.”
Mr. Smythe, who had been quiet this whole time, even after Bart untied him, stepped forward.
“Mr. Smythe,” Bart said, inclining his head. “Are you all right, sir?”
“I’m fine.” The old man rubbed his wrists where he’d been tied. “A little shaken by all the, uh, bloodshed...”
He glanced around at the bodies littered at their feet.
“Yes, I’m sorry about that.” Bart winced.
“He was here to talk to you, Bart.” Libby broke in. “He has something to show you.”
“Yes, you are Bart Thomas Lamplighter?” Mr. Smythe reached into his suitcoat and pulled out an envelope.
“I am.” Bart flushed at the admission. It wasn’t the confession to Libby that he’d imagined.
“Well, as a representative of the firm of Flugg, Forebanks, and Pennypacker, it is my pleasant duty to present to you this envelope which contains a summary of the will of the late Mr. Clay Fisk Fogler. You may of course peruse the document at your leisure but the long and the short of the matter, sir, is that the late said Mr. Fogler left his entire estate to you, lock, stock, and barrel. May I be the first to congratulate you.”
“But... why... how...?” Bart stuttered, looking stunned as Mr. Smythe handed over the envelope and shook his hand with the other.
“I guess his ex-wife contested it,” Libby said. “That’s why it didn’t happen right away. But she lost in court. The will held up. Everything is yours.”
“That means... I’m rich?”
“You are,” Mr. Smythe assured him. “Quite.”
“Which means you can walk out that door right now if you want to,” Libby said. “You don’t need me to be rich, Bart.”
“Libby...” He took her hand. “I wouldn’t. I didn’t... I was coming here to tell you today. To tell you everything.”
“It doesn’t matter to me, you know.” She took his other hand. “If you have money or you don’t. I know you, Bart. I know you inside and out. I knew, when you asked me to marry you, that it wasn’t about the money. I’ve always known.”
“How could you know?”
“Because you love me.” She smiled up at him. “And I love you. And that’s the best reason in the world to get married, you know, whether you’re rich or poor.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Frances said.
They could hear sirens in the distance. The police were on their way. Bart wondered what kind of tr
ouble he might be in. But he had a feeling, given Mr. Smythe’s presence and Frances Bancroft’s influence, that it wouldn’t be all that much. Even with the body count.
And poor Eddie.
“You really knew all along?” Bart asked, incredulous.
“I’ve known the man you are since the moment I met you, Bart Lamplighter.” Libby put her arms around his neck. “Your friend Eddie knew it. So did Clay Fogler. You can’t help it, Bart. You are a good man. The man I’m going to marry.”
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ABOUT SELENA KITT
Selena Kitt is a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling and award-winning author of erotic and romance fiction. She is one of the highest selling erotic writers in the business with over two million sexy books sold!
Her writing embodies everything from the spicy to the scandalous but watch out-this kitty also has sharp claws and her stories often include intriguing edges and twists that take readers to new, thought-provoking depths.
When she’s not pawing away at her keyboard, Selena runs an innovative publishing company (excessica.com) and bookstore (excitica.com), as well as two erotica and erotic romance promotion companies (excitesteam.com and excitespice.com) and she also now runs the Erotica Readers and Writers Association (erotica-readers.com).
Her books EcoErotica (2009), The Real Mother Goose (2010) and Heidi and the Kaiser (2011) were all Epic Award Finalists. Her only gay male romance, Second Chance, won the Epic Award in Erotica in 2011. Her story, Connections, was one of the runners-up for the 2006 Rauxa Prize, given annually to an erotic short story of “exceptional literary quality.”
Her books, Babysitting the Baumgartners, Adventures with the Baumgartners, Heidi and the Kaiser and Unfolding are now adult films by Adam & Eve, directed by Kay Brandt.
She can be reached on her website at www.selenakitt.com
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A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Beauty
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Bluebeard
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Briar Rose
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: The Frog Prince
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Goldilocks
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Gretel
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Peter and the Wolf
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Pinocchio
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Rapunzel
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Red
A Modern Wicked Fairy Tale: Wendy