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“Don’t you dare call me that,” I hissed, pointing my weapon at him once more. “I’m not Sammy. Hell, I’m not even Samuel. Not anymore. Samuel died in that car. Just like you all planned.”
“We used to be friends. This isn’t you. You’re not a killer.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Alton.” I leaned into him, my face mere inches from his. “Iama killer. You turned me into one. And it’s time you pay for what you’ve done. Not just to me. But to Jonah.”
Setting my gun onto the coffee table, I retrieved his weapon and forced him to hold it against his head, carefully adjusting the angle so the wound would appear self-inflicted. I was fully prepared to use one of the guns I’d brought, but using his makes it even cleaner.
“Please,” he whimpered again, a wet stain covering his crotch, the acrid stench of piss filling the room. “I don’t want to die.”
“You should have thought about that before you agreed to kill me.” When I added pressure to the trigger, Alton’s entire body trembled as he pleaded for his life.
I was surprised he didn’t try to fight me. Not like he’d win. Still, I expected some pushback. Instead, he just continued to sob and beg for forgiveness until a blast echoed in the room, leaving behind a splatter of blood and tissue on the opposite wall.
I carefully released my hold on his hand and allowed his arm to fall limply beside his body, ensuring it still held the gun. Then I stood and removed a glove, bringing the glass of scotch I’d poured earlier up to my mouth.
I downed it in several long swallows, a weight lifting off my shoulders as I took a final look at the gaping hole in Alton’s head.
One down. Two to go.
ChapterThirty-Three
Imogene
The sound of a gentle rapping cut through a dreamless sleep, and I bolted upright, still slightly disoriented from being woken so abruptly. If it weren’t for Ollie’s barking, I would have thought I’d imagined the noise.
Rubbing my eyes, I tapped the screen on my phone to see it was a little after two in the morning. Who could be knocking on my door this late?
Maybe it was Liam. I knew he’d had a rough few days with both the cops questioning him about Benjamin Astor and the GeoCom stock tanking. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn he’d gotten drunk and then showed up on my doorstep, even if we hadn’t spoken since our argument in Pebble Beach.
But when I checked my doorbell app, and saw Gideon standing on my porch, I sprang out of bed, my feet pounding down the stairs and into the living room, flinging the door open.
“Gideon,” I exhaled breathlessly. “Is everything okay?”
He parted his lips to respond, then snapped his mouth shut, his eyes focused on my chest.
As I glanced at the t-shirt covering my body, the logo for the teen program Samuel founded prominent, along with his name, I realized what caught his attention.
After he died, I’d taken this t-shirt from his things. Wore it practically every hour of the day. As time went on, I eventually wore it less and less, typically just to bed. It didn’t even faze me when I threw it on last night. And I just answered the door to see the new man in my life while wearing my dead boyfriend’s t-shirt.
In my defense, I hadn’t expected to see Gideon. He told me he’d be out of town until tomorrow at the earliest.
“Sorry. It’s a habit. I usually wear this to bed. I didn’t even think?—”
Before I could utter another syllable, Gideon crushed his mouth to mine, pushing me into my house without invitation.
He didn’t need one, though. I didn’t care why he knocked on my door in the middle of the night. Nothing mattered other than the warmth of his lips against mine, his greedy fingers digging into my skin.
It had only been four days since I’d last tasted him, but after spending every possible minute with him last weekend, those four days may as well have been four years for how much I craved him.
When he finally tore away, I panted, struggling to catch my breath.
“Don’t ever apologize for your past, Imogene.” He tightened his grip on my cheeks, not allowing me to escape. “It made you who you are. Just like each one of my scars made me whoIam. So don’t apologize for who you are.” His lips slowly descended toward mine. “Because I’ll tell you a secret.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m starting to fall for you. Exactly as you are now.”
Hooking my arm around his shoulders, I hoisted myself onto my toes and brushed my lips against his.
