“Duke found out I was working with Serene, I don’t even know how or when. When I realized he knew, I tried to reach Serene, sent her a message. But Phil went out of town. They’d been waiting for him to leave so they could do what they’d been planning. With him around, they couldn’t have lured you here. They always planned to use Cameron, they knew you’d come if it was her.”
She shakes her head sadly. “It was terrifying. I thought we were all going die. Fiona is such a bitch. I have never hated anyone, but I hate her,” she says in a burst of anger. She sags in her bed as if it took all of her energy.
I squeeze her hand, trying to soothe her.
“She imagined herself Lady Macbeth. She found the perfect pawns in your father and Duke.”
“I’m just glad she’ll never touch Cameron again,” she says, her eyes drooping.
“Yes, thank God for that.”
She smiles weakly. “So, what’s next, Dina?”
“I got a job with a law firm in Houston. A big one, Remington Wilde is a legend and he’s opening a new pro bono practice to help the people seeking asylum after being trafficked and he hired me to do research for him.”
“Wow. That’s amazing,” she says, but it’s clear she’s flagging.
“I’ll call you okay? When I’m settled.”
She nods and then yawns. “I think this pump thing just gave me another dose of pain meds, I’m so tired.”
“Sleep. You need it. I have to go anyway.”
“Dina, thank you. I’m sorry that you had to do that and I’m sorry about Wes,” she says.
“Hush. Let’s look forward. I’m ready to leave all that behind and you and Carter. You did it. I’m so happy for you.” My heart, cold and cracked and broken sighs in relief at the small flare of warmth. If I couldn’t have it myself, I’m glad she does. No one deserves the fairytale more.
I kiss her forehead and walk out of the hospital. My debt to James will never be paid, but at least, I’ve done something he couldn’t.
Given his sister peace.
Justice
CARTER
“How is she today?” my mother asks as soon as I answer the phone.
“She’s okay. They’re going to let us take her home tomorrow. But everything will depend on us getting the emergency guardianship approved.”
My mother lets out a relieved sigh.
“Joe is out of his mind. I can’t believe you asked us not to come,” she scolds.
“It wouldn’t have been helpful for Beth and honestly, it’s been a heavy couple of days without guests to worry about,” I rub a weary hand over my face.
A scream from the other side of the door carries out into the hallway and I wince and hold my breath, hoping my mother didn’t hear it.
No such luck.
“What was that? Carter, I thought you said she was okay? Who’s screaming?” she demands.
“It’s another patient. You talked to her yesterday, and you know she’s fine. But, I do have to go. I’ll call you as soon as we get the all clear to travel. Love you, Bye.”
I hang up, and drop my phone into my pocket. I grimace at the blood smeared on the front of my shirt before I head back into the room.
When we got to the house five days ago and saw the smoke billowing from the windows, I had nearly lost my mind. I jumped out of the car before it had come to a complete stop.
I ran into the house without thinking. Phil and Serena followed me. Thank God, because I don’t know how I would have found Beth’s room without her. The fire hadn’t spread to the upper floors and the stairs were passable. We burst into the room and found a scene that was something out of horror film.
The dead Wolfes, Dina who looked dead, lying on the floor with a gun in a her hand and my Beth, my baby, was lying broken, bleeding, on the floor.
I picked her up. Phil got Dina and Serena went up the nursery and got Cameron. When we got out of the house, the paramedics were there.
I handed her over and they told me she was breathing. My legs gave way under the weight of my relief. I lay there, sobbing like a baby, staring at the bright blue sky, smoke clogging my lungs. And then we heard that Fiona and Duke were both missing, that they had been responsible for what happened in that house, my rage nearly consumed me.
I didn’t let it. Beth was in bad shape. Her lungs were damaged from the smoke she inhaled. She had to be intubated to help her breath and to keep her choking on the extra mucus her lungs were making in a desperate attempt to heal themselves. Yesterday she came off the machines and is breathing on her own.
Her arm was broken at the elbow and she needed surgery to repair it. The least of her injuries was the gunshot wound to her leg. It was a clean through and through that only needed stitches.
I’ll never forget the things she said when I found her. She thought she was dying, she was saying goodbye and crying.
I haven’t slept since well since that day.
Because Duke Tremaine was still at large.
He tried to kill Beth and Cameron. Then the yellow bellied coward tried to run from what he’d done.
The police tracked Fiona to Waco the morning after the fire. She put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger when they knocked her door down of the hotel she checked into to hide.
It took us more five days to find Duke. He’d made it all the way to Etta’s house. She welcomed him in and called Phil, to let him know where he was. She found out that week that she was Susan Kendicott’s daughter. And since then, she’s been eager to help in the efforts to bring Drew Wolfe and his cohorts down.
She let us in and showed us to the room where he was fast asleep, lulled by a false sense of security. I woke him and told him I was there was to kick his ass. Man to man, with our hands as our only weapon.
Duke is laying on the floor, clutching his nose, blood seeps from between his fingers and his face is one big bloody bruise. That’s my handy work. It wasn’t really a fair fight, given how grossly out of shape he is. He got a few good swings in. But mostly he tried to run from the vengeance my fists were bent on delivering in the name of my woman.
I promised Serena we wouldn’t take justice into our own hands. But there are different kinds of justice and there’s no court in the land that give me the pound of flesh this man owes me. I took a small piece of it.
He deserves so much worse than an ass kicking. I want him to know what it means to suffer. And short of anything that would get me jail time, I can’t think of anything more fitting than him spending the rest of his life behind bars.
“You can’t do this. I have rights,” he wails.
I turn to him and give him a look of disgust.
“You’re going to get to exercise them when you’re arrested and charged with all of the crimes. Fiona was nice enough to incriminate you in. She left them everything they need to prove that she was your unwilling, unwitting accomplice. So shut the fuck up and save your sobbing for the police”
We text Serena to let her know they can come in. Etta comes back in, her gun trained on Duke until the Feds can come and arrest him. We wait until we see him cuffed and in the back of the squad car.
Only then, do I turn my car around and head back to Beth.