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His muscles coiled and tensed. He had no idea how fast he could make a move. Jenna was still closer to the door than to Mallory. He hoped she’d stay back there instead of trying anything.
Mallory found what she was looking for and straightened up, still holding the bag. Besides whatever she’d given Soraya, she could have all sorts of potential weapons stashed in there as backups. Now that he’d been dealing with her for the past half hour or so, he knew she was deeply unhinged. He wouldn’t put anything past her.
“I changed my mind.” Mallory brandished the papers she’d brought and crushed them in her fist, then tossed them aside. “Jenna’s right. Pedro is the number two on the team. You’re number one.”
“So?” One word. Keep it simple. His tongue was moving almost normally; hopefully the rest of his body was too.
“I’ll take you. That way you don’t have to quit.”
“That’s not going to happen,” said Jenna. “Billy’s taken.”
“You’re divorced. Everyone knows that.”
“But you’ve been taking pictures. You know it’s more than that.”
“No. No. I don’t know that. Billy sleeps with people. That’s what he does.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Jenna didn’t hesitate, and there wasn’t a bit of doubt in her voice. “He isn’t like that and he never was. He didn’t sleep with you, did he? That’s why you went after Pedro instead.”
“Shut up, Jenna!” Mallory screamed. Billy flinched and prepared to pounce no matter what Jenna said. She turned to him and he saw the pain and delusion in her eyes. “This is between me and Billy. I like your family. Your kids are cute. I didn’t hurt them. I could have, but I didn’t. I’ll take really good care of them.”
He cleared his throat, determined to get more and better words out, and to not miss this chance to speak. “I love Jenna. She’s the one, always.”
The relief of being able to speak, even if only a few words, and being able to say those words in Jenna’s presence…incredible.
“Shut up. You’re lying. You just want me to go away.”
“It’s true.” Jenna chimed in gently. “He’s being honest with you. We both are. We love each other.”
“He loves you?” Her voice sounded so outraged that Billy almost sympathized. Almost.
“He does. And I love him. And we both love our kids.”
“Then fuck you both.” With a move so fast, Billy barely had a chance to register it, she pulled a knife from her bag and hurled it directly at Jenna.
Before Billy even knew what was happening, his body was flying through the air, stretched to his full length, as if reaching his glove for a line drive between second and third bases. Pure muscle memory in blazing, lightning-fast action. The knife sliced through the air. He saw a flash of silver as the light hit the blade. He heard Jenna scream. He felt a burning sensation slash across his arm.
And then he hit the floor and knew nothing more.
Thirty
Jenna felt the slash of that knife as if it had hit her own body. She rushed to Billy’s side. He lay sprawled on the floor, unconscious, with a scary four-inch knife sticking out of his arm. Mallory came toward them but Jenna threw her body over Billy’s and screamed at her. “Stay away from him. Back off. Back off!”
She sure had found her voice over the past few days.
Voices and footsteps sounded from the hallway, and a moment later people flooded into the kitchen. Earl Granger, Thomas, Galen, and a few volunteer firemen rushed to help her with Billy.
Mallory went into full meltdown, screaming and kicking at the firemen who tried to restrain her. But Granger knew how to handle a suspect, and before long he had her handcuffed and in custody.
“I’m taking her to the sheriff,” he announced. “Jenna, I’ll need statements from you and Billy.”
“Later,” Thomas said firmly as he knelt next to Billy.
Granger nodded and squeezed Jenna’s shoulder as he passed by, hauling Mallory along with him.
As she came close to Jenna, Mallory hissed at her. “You think you won, but you didn’t. You divorced him and it’ll never be the same between you.”
“You’re right.” Jenna glared up at her. “It’ll be even better.”
