"Would you like that to be your final words?" I narrowed my eyes. I was done talking to him. I'd heard it all before.
He shook his head. "No. I want my final words to befuck yous."
I pulled the trigger.
It took him a few seconds to open his eyes.
"Next time, it will be loaded."
He didn't reply.
"I never want to see your face again. From this moment on, you have no sister, no nephew, and no one gives a shit about you. If I see you again, you'll never see me coming, and I won't give you the satisfaction of knowing your life is about to end. Do I make myself clear?"
"Fuck yous," he spat, his saliva spraying on my face.
I stepped back a foot, wiped my face with my sleeve, and then without a word, punched him in the gut. He doubled over, and I took the butt of the gun and slammed it against the back of his head. He went out cold, dropping to the floor. I checked for a pulse to make sure he was still breathing because it wasn't my intention to kill him.
At least not tonight.
Marcowas still alive when I left. If he woke and wanted to get some sort of revenge on me, we'd be long gone.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Erin
I didn't realize we would be going to California so soon. I couldn't meet up with my friends before we left like I had thought I would, but I did send them a message so they wouldn't think I got kidnapped again. It was probably for the best. I was tired of repeating my story. At least with Ric, he knew everything.
Before getting to Los Angeles, we made a stop in Las Vegas. It was a place I'd never been and always wanted to go. We drove down The Strip, trying to decide which hotel we wanted to stay at. They were all extravagant, and I expected them all to be nice inside. We finally decided on the Cosmopolitan because it was somewhat in the middle.
After we checked into two rooms, the three of us walked along The Strip, gambled a little, and ate at a buffet. It was refreshing to be able to walk outside and not have a time limit or know that I had to go back to spend several days in a small windowless room. It wasn't as cold as New York, and therefore, I didn't mind walking from one hotel to the other.
"Think we can see a show tonight?" Vicky asked as we walked toward the fountains at the Bellagio.
"What would you want to see?" Ric inquired.
"Anything," she answered. "You know, just to say we did."
Ric pulled out his phone. "Let me see what the shows are."
We stopped at the fountains and waited for the show to start. It was dark, but the water was illuminated with lights. Vegas was magical with all the bright lights, the noise, the people. It really was Disneyland for adults. I turned toward the street, taking everything in. Across the road, at Bally's, I saw a sign for a show.
"What about that one?" I pointed.
They both looked. "Paranormal mind reading?" Ric questioned.
I shrugged. "Yeah. Since the hotel is right there"—I pointed next door—"I think we can walk across the street and see if they have any seats open."
Before we started walking away, the fountains started. We watched the show, the smell of water filling the air as the water sprayed to great heights. It was beautiful and mesmerizing, and I wanted to watch it for hours. Instead, after the water show ended, we made our way across the street. Lucky for us, they had tickets available. When the paranormal mind reading show was over, we started back toward our hotel across the street next to the Bellagio.
I grabbed Ric's arm and rested my head on him as we walked hand in hand. "Thank you for this. I've had fun today."
"There's still so much to do," he said.
"We'll have to come back. L.A. isn't far, right?"
"Four hours or so, but maybe thirty minutes in a plane."
"I don't even remember the last time I flew."
