AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Exactly,” Chase affirmed.
“Chase! Hey, what are you talking about? What are you doing?”
All three of them turned to see Janet lumbering toward them on the walkway.
Seyla struggled against the bindings. “Janet! Help! Chase has gone crazy! He wants to kill us!”
Janet ran at Chase, knocking him to the ground. “That’s not what we agreed to! You told me I would get her job!”
Chase rolled away from her. He yanked a gun out of the back of his jeans. “You should know better than to trust a desperate man, Janet.” He shrugged. “They lie.”
Seyla’s heart dropped. She’d seen enough movies to recognize Chase had a suppressor on the gun, like Jax mentioned in the woods. Nobody would hear it if he shot them.
Janet’s face, now red and blotchy, contorted into a menacing glare directed at Chase. A scowl crooked her lips. “You promised. I did what you asked. And this”—she waved at Seyla and Jax—“wasn’t part of the deal, either. I agreed to scare her, not kill people. And there’s no way I’ll let you destroy the sanctuary!” She advanced on him again.
He cocked the gun, and Janet froze. “Behave, Janet, or you’ll end up like them,” Chase warned, flicking the gun at Jax and Seyla. “Besides, you only went along with this after I threatened to expose your son’s parole violation. So don’t pretend loyalty with me.”
Seyla struggled against the duct tape while they argued, twisting her feet to gain enough room to wriggle free. The pressure on her right foot eased. Success! She twisted the foot more, then jerked hard, yanking it free from the tape that had held it to the foot rest. With painstaking slowness, she pushed at the ground with it until she angled the wheelchair closer to Jax.
“No one’s getting Seyla’s job, because there won’t be any sanctuary to work for. I need that money, and nobody, you included, is going to get in my way.” Chase backed away from her. “I already lost my car. My wife. I won’t lose anything else.”
Had his car been stolen? Or repossessed?
And what did he mean in regard to his ex-wife?
How many lies had the man told them?
On the heels of that thought came another—he had no cane with him. How was he able to do all this with multiple sclerosis? Had he lied regarding his condition the whole time?
She slipped her foot back under the duct tape to pretend she remained bound. “What do you need the money for, Chase?”
He huffed, shifting his glare to Jax, who went still. “I won’t follow in my father’s footsteps. I refuse to. I don’t have anyone to end my misery like he did.” His gun wagged up and down like a finger emphasizing a point. “I used to be like you,” he said to Jax. “How does it feel to lose control over your own body? To not be able to move when you need to? To be at the mercy of others?” His lips drew back in a grimace. “Now you know how I feel.”
“You seem like you’re doing pretty well right now,” Jax said in a flippant tone.
Was his goal to upset Chase? If so, he was doing a phenomenal job of it. Seyla wasn’t sure whether to voice her agreement or not, so she opted to remain silent.
“It’s not as advanced as I need people to believe it is. That said, I lose a little more function with each passing month. Thankfully, I’m a planner. I didn’t wait until I was too weak to take action. The good news, for me at least, is that I won’t be like this much longer. I’m getting an experimental treatment in India. Unfortunately, that takes money. Money I can prove I have once this place is sold. You, unfortunately,” he said, eyeing Jax with an expression resembling regret, “will die feeling helpless. Know that I am truly sorry for that.”
“This has nothing to do with Jax,” Seyla said, unable to keep quiet any longer. “Why can’t you at least let him go? If you’re leaving the country anyway, it shouldn’t matter what he knows.”
Chase narrowed his eyes at her. “Honestly, he wasn’t supposed to die. He was supposed to buy the sanctuary. Instead, you poisoned him, ruining the entire plan. You’re the reason he’shere.” He changed his focus to Jax. “Believe it or not, Jax, I’m doing you a favor.”
Jax scoffed. “I think you and I have vastly different definitions of what a favor is.”
“You care for her. I can see that. I’m saving you from having to experience the pain and bitterness of her inevitable betrayal. Can’t you see that? This is all for the best. The Pattersons will have the money they need to help their granddaughter, too. She can get better. I can get better. I can play tennis again. Have a future. I can’t let anyone get in the way of that.”
Janet lunged at him. She grabbed for the gun, staggered backward, and dropped to the ground, blood blooming from her right side.
Chase pulled out the stun gun.
Seyla closed her eyes. Tears pricked the inner corners of them as Chase used the stun gun on Janet.
“Sorry, Janet. Wrong choice.” He stood up and approached Seyla. “Let’s get this over with. Please don’t try anything. I’m as good a marksman or better than your boyfriend here. I intended to miss you in those woods. I won’t miss now.”
“Chase, you love the sanctuary. Why can’t we find another way to get the money? I’d help you.”
He laughed. “You have no idea how much I hate this place, do you?”
