She gritted her teeth. “Don’t make me shoot you both right now.”
A car drove by and slowed. Victoria shot at the vehicle, making Reid jump. The car squealed its tires as it sped off. The gun was now aimed at them again. “Put the boy in the back seat, and you drive.”
Victoria had gone mad. She followed him as he put JJ in the back seat. She opened the passenger door, keeping the gun trained on him until he was in the car. The car was still running. “Where am I going?”
“Out of town.” She never wavered with the gun.
“He’s just a child.”
“He’s taken everything from me.” The gun shook in her hand.
JJ was in the back seat, curled up in the fetal position. He didn’t deserve any of this.
“Keep driving until I tell you to stop.”
A police cruiser pulled to a stop on an intersecting side street. Victoria lowered the gun, keeping it aimed at him but making sure no one outside the vehicle would see it. “Don’t think about doing anything heroic.”
Too bad the police were out looking for Andrew. They wouldn’t spare a second glance at them. Just as he feared, the car turned the opposite direction.
He needed to think of something. Victoria had the upper hand. He could wreck the car, but that would put JJ at risk of injury. It wouldn’t be a guarantee that she would be hurt or that she wouldn’t shoot him during the wreck. Maybe, he could talk her down, convince her to let JJ go.
“You don’t have to do this.” He gripped the steering wheel.
“I do.”
“But why this? Isn’t there another way?” She’d never get away with it. Even if she succeeded in her plan, the police would know it was her.
“Not since the idiots I hired killed Joe.” Disdain dripped from her voice. “They were supposed to take care of the boy. No one would have been the wiser.”
If Reid could keep her talking, would she let her guard down? “Why JJ?”
“Because my unfaithful husband went out and created a child. We tried for years, and I couldn’t get pregnant. He has a fling with some waitress, and she gets pregnant.” Spit flew from her mouth. “Do you know how I found out about him?”
Reid shook his head. “No.”
“My idiot brother. He knew all these years and never said anything. I overheard him talking to someone on the phone. Assured them Joe would keep some secret because he had a secret child.”
Reid grimaced as he imagined her overhearing the conversation.
“I did some snooping around Joe’s office and found a bank statement and a copy of a will. He didn’t tell me he had a will and that he’d left everything to that brat. If he lived.”
“But none of this is JJ’s fault.” Reid couldn’t understand how anyone could blame a child and then want him dead.
“He took my husband from me. The child we always wanted but couldn’t have. Joe followed them around, wishing he could be a part of the child’s life. But I wouldn’t let him. And now, the boy’s taking my money. I’m not going to let it happen.”
“You won’t get away with this. They will catch you.”
“It doesn’t matter as long as the boy dies and doesn’t get the money.”
JJ sobbed in the back seat.
Victoria lowered the gun as she turned toward JJ. “Shut up!”
Reid took the opportunity to grab the barrel and try to pull it from her hand as he slammed on the brakes. They jerked forward, deafening pops sounded, and gunpowder and talcum powder filled the air. His face stung where the airbag had hit him. Victoria began screaming and punching him, trying to get the gun he’d taken from her. The deflating airbag made fighting her hard.
The rear passenger door opened, and JJ jumped out.
“No!” Victoria stumbled out of the car to chase JJ.
