The man laughed, his smile widening. “I didn’t do it, but I know who did. From what I understand, she fought. Even after he cut her carotid.”
Bile rose in Marlee’s throat. She wished she had her gun because she’d unload the clip in this man’s face.
“Is that hard to hear?” he asked, his smile still in place. “All these years, you’ve been searching for your sister’s killer. And you’ve been close so many times, I can’t believe you didn’t find us.” The man tapped a finger to his lips. “You know, if I were you and knew how close I’d come, it might make me sick.”
Marlee glared at him, hate rising in her like a tidal wave. “Do you get off saying these things to people?”
“Maybe,” he replied. “Before today, the closest you got to us was a year after your sister’s death. I stood ten feet from you. The man who killed your sister was right next to you, and you didn’t even know it.”
“And you let me live? That’s hard to believe.”
“It wasn’t my choice,” he told her. “I wanted you dead then. I’ve been trying to get her to let me kill you every day since.”
Her. Marlee knew he was talking about Stella.
The man shrugged. “Had I ignored her orders years ago, we wouldn’t be here today. You’ve ruined things for all of us.”
“I’ve ruined things?” Marlee asked with a snort. “What about all those families torn apart by the murders of their wives, mothers, sisters, or friends? And then the kidnapping of the newborns from their wombs? Shall we talk about that devastation? Everything that’s happening is of your own creation. Yours and Stella’s.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “Of course, you’d say that. You, who live in your perfect little house with your perfect family, perfect job, and perfect life. You have no idea what it’s really like out there in the world. How savage people are, how bloodthirsty. It’s survive or die, and I’m a survivor.”
“And if it was your wife who was murdered? Your baby cut from her womb?”
“That wouldn’t happen to me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Boy, are you ever cocky. I hate to tell you this, but your days are numbered.”
“Says you?” he asked with a laugh. “You came out to the woods without a phone or a weapon, simply because I told you I had Cooper. Love is stupid and blind, and it has done nothing but bring you to your death.”
Marlee shifted her feet. “Maybe so. But if you think any of my new friends are going to let this go, then you know nothing about them. They will hunt you down. Even if I’m the only one you kill—”
“Oh, you aren’t. Remember, I got to Jace earlier.”
She could only blink at him. He had no remorse in his voice or in his expression. This was pure evil staring back at her. She’d known it when she encountered him at the house. She’d known it when she spoke to him on the phone. And she knew it now.
But it changed nothing. She was still out here. He’d set all of this up, which meant that regardless of what she said or did, she wasn’t getting out of this alive.
“You think I was kidding about the bomb where I stashed Cooper?” The man shook his head. “’Fraid not. There’s also a trap in the woods by Stephanie’s dead body, waiting for them just in case someone gets smart enough and finds where you dumped the vehicle and then follows you out here.”
Marlee wasn’t at all upset to hear about Stephanie’s death since it confirmed what she had suspected about the FBI agent.
The man then lifted a pistol and aimed it right at Marlee’s heart.
“Chuck.”
Marlee’s and Chuck’s heads turned at the sound of the voice. Marlee watched as Stella came into the light. Stella kept her eyes on Chuck as she slowly walked toward him.
“What are you doing?” Stella asked.
He gave her a flat look, his gun still aimed at Marlee. “I’m sure you’ve heard everything I said. You know exactly what I’m doing.”
“But why? We can get away.”
“You’re deranged if you think we’ll get away. We might escape this place, but we’ll be hunted from now until they catch us,” Chuck replied.
Stella shrugged and continued walking toward him. “So what? What we do is dirty enough. There’s no need to sully ourselves more.”
“More?” he repeated with a laugh. “Right. Because you didn’t just send Martin to Dallas to kill Penny.”
“That was different.”
Marlee looked between the two of them. Stella was focused on Chuck, but he kept his attention on Marlee, glancing at Stella every now and again.
Chuck shook his head. “It’s not different. Marlee caused all of this.”
“No,” Stella said. “That was me when I began this business. I’m to blame for all of it. Macey wasn’t supposed to die. I refuse to allow you to hurt Marlee.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Chuck bellowed. He lowered the gun and narrowed his eyes on Stella. “After everything that’s happened in this town because of her?” he asked and motioned to Marlee with the pistol. “You still want to let her live?”
Stella halted and took a deep breath. “I do.”
“Did you grow a conscience when you befriended that old woman? So what if she lost a child? So what if she loses another? That’s life. You don’t think twice about doing it to others,” Chuck pointed out.
Marlee had to agree with him. While she appreciated Stella trying to stop Chuck from shooting her, he had a valid point.
Stella lifted her hands and continued walking to him. “We’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. We need to get clear of here now. Who cares about some woman who has trailed us? She didn’t catch us before, and it was only by happenstance that she did this time. She won’t again. We won’t let her.”
Marlee held her breath when Stella reached Chuck. She wasn’t sure what would happen, but Marlee knew it wouldn’t be good. Chuck outweighed Stella by quite a bit, not to mention, he had a weapon. The odds of Stella coming out on top were slim to, well … none.
“We can be together. As a couple,” Stella continued. “Your words earlier weren’t ones I wanted to hear, but I’ve had time to think things over. I don’t want to be alone. I want you by my side. My partner in all things. We’ll run the company together.”
Stella finished by reaching up and cupping Chuck’s face with her hands. His head lowered as their lips met. Then there was a loud bang that caused Marlee to jump. Stella jerked, her face locked in a look of surprise as she crumpled to the ground. Marlee watched Stella gasp for breath as blood poured from a wound in her abdomen.
“Do you think I’m that fucking gullible?” Chuck asked Stella. “You had your chance with me, and you threw it away. I’ve seen the real you today, and it disgusts me. Yeah, I’m going to run the company, and I’m going to run it like it should’ve been run to begin with. And you know what? Anyone who gets in my way is going to eat a bullet. Just like Marlee.”
Marlee’s lips parted when the gun swung her way. She didn’t have time to think as he pulled the trigger. At the same instant, someone grabbed her from behind and yanked her to the ground.