“Usually I would have sympathy for someone like you,” I murmur.
She sobs harder.
“But you knew what kind of man he was.”
Her breathing stutters.
“You knew he killed his first wife to be with you.”
Her eyes widen.
“You knew what he was doing in the manor and you turned the other way because he gave you credit cards, vacation homes, and access.”
I tilt the knife slightly.
“And now the consequences have come.”
The blade flashes once.
I drag the blade clean across her throat.
The edge bites deep and opens her skin from ear to ear in one brutal motion. Flesh parts instantly under the pressure of the steel. A thick burst of dark blood surges from the wound and spills down the front of her dress.
Gina convulses against the ropes.
A wet choking sound tears out of her as blood floods her mouth and pours over her chin. It splashes across the table and drips steadily onto the floor.
Grant yells through the phone.
Her body thrashes once more, heels scraping violently against the floor as her lungs try to pull in air that never comes. Then the strength leaves her. Her head sags forward. Her body jerks once.
Then she goes still.
I step away from Gina’s body and wipe the blade once against the side of my jacket.
Grant’s voice tears through the phone speaker. He is screaming now. The rage has collapsed into something raw and hysterical.
“You fucking bitch!” he shouts. “I will kill you. I swear to God I will kill you!”
I ignore him. Instead I walk back toward the duffel bag sitting near the edge of the dining table. I unzip it slowly.
Grant’s father watches me with wide eyes.
I reach inside the bag. Then I pull it out.
Seth’s bat.
Barbed wire coils tightly around the barrel. Nails jut out along the metal at uneven angles, bent and rust stained from use. The weight settles into my hands the moment I grip it.
Grant’s voice cracks through the phone again.
“Stop! Brooke stop.”
“No.”
Thomas’s composure shatters.
I rest the bat loosely against my shoulder.
