“Put the knife down,” Lucock warns, inching in closer to us.
I feel Maria shake her head, her face hitting the side of mine. “I can’t do that.”
“You need to let Skylah go and then we can talk about helping you.”
“Helping me?” she scoffs. “You’re not going to help me. No one is. That’s why I’m helping myself. My husband is dead and my home is gone because of this little bitch. She’s sucked the life out of me for thirteen years just like her mom did and now I’m finally putting an end to it.”
“I can’t let you do that,” Lucock says as the other cop takes a discreet step to the side, giving himself an even better shot at Maria.
Maria shakes me violently and my throat presses harder against the knife. “She killed my husband,” Maria screeches as Slade pushes in closer.
“You killed him,” Slade spits, unable to keep his mouth shut. “You aimed the gun and shot him through the chest.”
Maria’s wicked gaze slices to him. “I may have pulled the trigger but this little slut killed him. If she didn’t look so much like her mother…”
Slade scoffs. “You’re blaming Skylah for looking like someone that she shares her DNA with? Sounds like you should be blaming your husband for being a sick fuck who thought he could stick his dick wherever the fuck he felt like it.”
“He didn’t do it on purpose,” she yells. “He was sick. He couldn’t help it.”
Slade raises an amused brow, the look on his face making it perfectly clear what he thinks of that. Hell, the same look is mimicked on every face in the room, even the cops. A rapist isn’t sick. They’re just fucked up human beings who do and take whatever the hell they want with no regard for anyone but themselves.
Slade steps forward, ignoring the way the cop warns him against it. “Lucien Valentine was nothing but an entitled rich prick who took advantage of teenage girls. Face it,” he laughs, low and deadly. “He just enjoyed getting his rocks off inside young, tight pussies, not old dried up ones like yours.”
Maria harrumphs, not knowing how to deal with a guy like Slade. People always conform to what she wants. They know better than to challenge her. She’s had practice dealing with me but when it’s coming from someone else, it always throws her off.
Slade takes another step and Maria backs herself against the wall. “You want to feel the knife against my throat, don’t you?” he says, getting even closer and making her breath catch in her throat. “You want to slice it across my neck and feel the red-hot blood seep out over your knife and hand. I remind you of him. I’m proof of the life that he refused to give you. Did he tell you he couldn’t have children? Is that why you arranged to have Rochelle and Jacob killed and take their kids?”
Maria’s hands begin to shake. “Get away. You don’t know anything.”
Damian starts moving in, pushing Nessa into Shay to make sure she doesn’t try anything stupid. But let’s face it, Damian will always, always have Slade’s back. If Slade jumps, Damian jumps. There’s no way he’ll be sitting this one out. Besides, Damian seems like the kind of guy who would want to boast about saving the girl. He’s not going to let this opportunity slip between his fingers.
Having no other option, the cops begin to move in and I know without a doubt that this is either going to end with Maria dead or being carted off in handcuffs. She just openly admitted that she knew about her husband raping young women and that she was the one to pull the trigger. Not to mention, her reaction was proof enough that she knows something about my parents' murders. They’re not about to let her go.
Slade is so close that with his long arm span, he could just reach out and grab me. It’s making Maria more nervous than I’ve ever seen her but it also makes her vulnerable. Her senses are off and her emotions wild.
Slade is baiting her and it’s working like a charm, the fact that she’s admitting her crimes in front of these two cops is just an added bonus.
Slade’s eyes come to mine and I read him like a book. The cops have thrown her off and the second that happened, his game plan fell into place. She’s not in control anymore. She’s scared and because of that, Slade did what he does best and proved why he’s the feared king of Aston Creek.
We’re only going to get one shot at this.
With Maria’s eyes dancing around from Slade to Damian, to the cops and back again, she doesn’t notice my hand slowly raising from my side. I bring it up just under her wrist, hovering it close but not touching her. If she sees me trying to make a move, she won’t hesitate.
This has to be fast, precise, and reckless. Even the slightest hesitation, could have either me or Slade getting hurt.
His eyes come back to mine and seeing my hand in place, he gives one firm, fast, nod and I don’t hesitate.
We move at exactly the same time.
My hand flies up to her wrist, grabbing hold and throwing it away from my body as hard as I can. Her hand flies out toward Slade, freeing me so I can throw myself to the floor, tearing my arm out of her tight grip.
Maria’s shocked gasp sails through the silent house as Slade dives for her and not a second later, Damian comes racing in, scrambling to get to me.
He grabs my wrist and gives me a hard tug, sending me sliding across the floor before protectively throwing himself down on top of me.
I push Damian off as best I can and flip myself onto my back, desperately needing to see Slade. I catch him just as his heavy body drags Maria down to the ground, crushing her beneath him as the cops race to his aid.
Slade groans low and my eyes bug out of my head.
Is he hurt?
It happened too quickly.
Shay and Nessa are at my side, someone tugging at my arms as someone presses a soothing hand to my throat. I don’t spare them a second, needing to make sure Slade is alright.
I pull out of their grip and scramble across the floor to get to him. Damian’s hand curls around my upper arm, holding me back as my heart races wildly in my chest.
The cops are at his side, one pulling him up off Maria as the other grabs the handcuffs from the back of his belt. The second Slade is cleared off Maria, the cop drops down, instantly flipping her onto her stomach and slamming a knee down into her back and making her shriek in protest.
She’s cuffed within moments and the second Slade is properly on his feet, he turns, desperately searching for me.
His hand goes to his waist and I let out a loud gasp as blood begins seeping through his white shirt and staining his hands, the knife lying carelessly on Shaylee’s living room floor.
Damian releases his grip and I run.
My body crashes into Slade’s and I look up, meeting his eyes as his other hand catches me, steadying me before curling protectively around me. Tears fill my eyes. “You’re hurt.”
He shakes his head, dropping his forehead to mine as he lets out a deep, relieved sigh. “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay, Virago. Are you alright? Let me see your throat. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“Slade,” I cry, needing to repeat myself, annoyed that he isn’t listening. “You’re hurt. She stabbed you.”
“I know, baby. It’s fine. Just a flesh wound. I’m okay.”
I let out a breath. If it was anything more, he would have said so. I stay curled into his chest for another minute, listening to the sounds as the cops pull Maria up to her feet and begin reciting her rights.