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2/5/2021

Ring: Epilogue: In my Imagination

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Epilogue:
In My Imagination

“Tonight’s special guest is a multi-award winner best-selling author. Her latest work, ‘The Scarlet Garden,’ the long-awaited sequel to the young adult novel sensation, ‘The Emerald Sea,’ just hit shelves at number one earlier this week! And I’ve already finished reading it.” The audience got louder. “Let’s give it up for a friend of the show, Isabella Swan!” Laurent said cheerfully as he stood from his desk chair with his hands opened wide to the crowd. They were standing and clapping for me as I walked out onto the stage.

Smiling, I took his hand and gave it a quick shake before I sat down. There was no nervousness anymore. I knew exactly what I was doing, and I was damn good at it. And we were actually friends, so it was fun. “I always get the best welcomes when I come here! Thank you so much!”

He sat too, adjusting his tie as he did. “It’s because we love you here,” he chuckled. “So, we’ve got a lot to talk about today!”

“We do!” I agreed. “It’s been a very busy year.”

Leaning in, he spoke as if we were alone at dinner. “So, first, I am so excited about The Cop’s Story coming out. I’m so glad it’s on HBO, and that’ll be a mini-series. Frankly, I think nothing other than a hard-R would do it justice. I’ve already got my DVR set.”

Softly, I laughed. “I’ve got my popcorn ready. Um, it’ll be gritty for sure. I’m thrilled. Angela, the director, has really done it beautifully, and I was delighted to work with such a talented person. It was amazing to be on the set like that. She doesn’t hold back any of the punches. And I feel like I’m a much better screenwriter this time around, so I’m a bit more confident, and I can relax and enjoy the experience.”

“Well, since you won an Oscar for the best-adapted screenplay, I think you should be at this point,” he chuckled, and the crowd clapped for me. It made me blush for a second. It always caused me to a flush when praised like this, but I was good at playing this role. “I watched it again when I found out you were going to be on. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies, and it deserved every award it won.”

“Thank you!” I beamed. “I’m really proud of it. Honestly, it’s a little piece of my soul since it was written during such a rough period in my life, as was the original novel. I poured so much into it, and I’m glad it showed in the final product. But it helped that I was able to work with a crew who was so passionate about the source material. They wanted to make it my vision, and they succeeded in every way.”

“All of your stories are just incredible,” he sincerely promised. He leaned in again as he got more serious. His tone changed, and his expression was solemn. “Speaking of that period, the seventh anniversary of the I-90 Tracker, Royce King, being captured is coming up in the next few months. How are you doing with that? You went through so much, as did your husband.”

I forced a smile. I had been asked some sort of version of this question so many times. And I would be for the rest of my life. For the rest of my days, I would be bound to ‘The King and the Killer DA,’ as they had been dubbed in the press, but I would never give them any power. “I’m doing great. Luckily, I have an amazing support system. My partner and my family and friends are just incredible people. It was a traumatic experience, but we’ve been able to move past it with lots of therapy. I’m good at not letting the monsters into my head, which is helpful. I still think about it every day, but it’s not emotional.”

“Do you ever speak to Bree Tanner?”

This time my grin was more genuine. “Yes, often. We email back and forth.” She didn’t go by that name anymore, though. She was under special protection and had changed it years before. The girl who saved my life was now Becca and married to a lovely woman named Julie, who was a grief counselor. They adopted six dogs and lived in the middle of nowhere on a farm somewhere in Washington. She was vegan and grew most of her own food. “Once you share an event like that, it’s hard not to connect with someone. She’s doing well, but she’s very private. It’s something we have in common.”

“I think we can all understand that, but that’s fantastic to hear. I’m glad she’s doing okay.” Once again, his posture and tone changed, like switching on a light. “So, you’re not just here to promote The Scarlet Garden, which there needs to be a Harry Potter-style movie series of.” I giggled at his words. “Just my personal opinion,” he chuckled as he lifted his palms up innocently. It was already in the works after the final one in the trilogy came out, but I couldn’t talk about either of those things yet. “But you’re here for a children’s book that you’ve done with your husband, too!”

“I am!” I beamed as I clapped my hands together. This was why I was really there and what I was most excited about. “I wrote a story for our son Charlie’s fifth birthday earlier this year, and his extremely talented father, Jasper Hale, did all the pictures for it. It’s called ‘In my Imagination,’ and it’s a mix of everything he loves. Cars, dinosaurs, cowboys, animals, monsters, and candy. You know, things all kids do. It comes out just in time for Christmas, and all profits go to funding school library programs around the country.”

They showed a couple of pages on the screen beside us. It was my talented man’s work on full display for the world to see. It was so beautiful. He got better with every passing year, but he did it constantly. It was how he healed.

Our baby loved it so much, but Jasper made sure he was involved in the art on every page. Besides me, Charlie was his Daddy’s favorite subject to draw, and he adored being in a book. Since starting preschool, he told all of his friends and anyone who would listen to him. I had already arranged to give every child at his school a copy of their own and would read the entire thing for them before throwing the cutest release party ever. There would be people in costumes, games, music, dancing, and all the kinds of foods children love.

Laurent looked so impressed. The audience ‘Awed’ and ‘Oohed’ at each new page they saw. “That is just stunning. I adore the colors. You know, I don’t have any kids, but I’m going to buy copies for my nieces for sure. They’re three and five and are going to love it.”

“That’s fantastic! I hope they do!”

He shifted, moving on to the end of the interview. I knew this was one of the topics they were going to bring up. It was time to hustle. “So, do you have any fun plans for the new year? You’re one of the busiest ladies in the business.”

Boy, he wasn’t kidding.

“Well, after I get done with the press tour up here, I’m taking a little vacation. But it’s only a week. Then I’ve actually got two weddings coming up where I will be a maid in the next few weeks. My good friend and agent, Eric, is marrying the other screenwriter from A Rabbit in the Snow, Felix Von. And he also worked on The Cop’s Story.” They put up a picture of them at the premiere. The couple was in matching suits. The next was with me in the middle, looking tiny in comparison to the two gentlemen. They wanted me to talk about it, to help promote our work. Marriages were always marvelous news, and the awards season was coming up. “Oh, my God. They’re so sweet together! He looks so happy.”

Shaking his head, Laurent chuckled. “Two weddings, though? That’s a lot of cake.”

“Yes! I’m so excited!” I laughed. “For the cake. Not the effort that comes with it. I’m actually going to be the matron of honor at my best friend’s. And I might be more nervous than her because I never had one with lots of people, but she’s a vice principal, and she’s used to being in front of crowds. It’ll also be at her dad’s church, and her future in-laws are planning something with a thousand people.” I shuddered playfully. “Just a cold sweat thinking about it.”

Honestly, it hadn’t shocked me that much that Edward asked Alice out to rebound from Tanya. He was an idiot who thought with his penis and wanted to stop hurting. What surprised me was that he got her pregnant within six months, and they moved in together before the baby was born. And he was never happier. It was a remarkable difference. Instead of cocky and brash, he was a calm and caring father. He was still weird, but they were strange together. T was happy for them. I enjoyed being a godmother, and Vanessa, their daughter, and Charlie were best friends. It made it better.

Jasper tolerated him at best and was vaguely sassy and sarcastic, like the snide asshole he could be, at worst. It always amused me.

“So, if people want to buy ‘In my Imagination’ or ‘The Scarlet Garden’, or any of the other amazing stories you’ve written, where can they go?” He held up both books that sat on his desk. They also came up on the screen.

“As always, you can go to my website, Isabella Swan dot com. You can also follow me on pretty much all social media platforms at that name, and there are links everywhere. And, if you’re old school, you can go to your neighborhood bookstore and help support a local business!”

Laurent stood up and held out his hand to me. “Isabella Swan, everybody!”

I got a standing ovation. Beaming, I bowed a little. Then they went to a commercial break to reset for the end of the show. A production assistant escorted me to the green room. Jasper was waiting for me, grinning as he sat on a couch and watched from a television screen on the wall.

“Very well done, Mrs. Hale,” he said in a charming voice. It was our last stop of the day, and he was alone. He stood and walked to me, putting his hands on my shoulders before he leaned in to kiss my lips tenderly. “They always love you, but I can see why,” he flirted.

Though he was still my personal bodyguard, the job was much different than it was before. Sometimes there were pushy fans, but I was never scared for my life. Often, he acted as a wrangler, forcing folks to wait their turn and get in line. But that generally only happened when we were in big cities like LA or NYC.

His real passion was being a stay at home father to our son. They spent almost every day together, making art, playing sports, or whatever fun things his father could come up with. He tried to pretend he enjoyed the quiet time now that he started school, but I could see he missed his little buddy.

His cell phone interrupted our moment. Sighing, he pulled it from his pocket. When he saw the number, he grinned. He put it on the speaker right away. “Hello?”

“Hi, Daddy!” Charlie shouted. “Mamaw said I could call you.”

“Hey, sweetie!” I cooed, leaning in.

Our son switched it to the camera. “HI, MOMMY!” He yelled. His two-year-old cousins, twin blond-haired, blue-eyed girls, were right beside him. We could see right up his nose. They all had McDonald’s cups and chocolate on their faces while in the back seat of Justin’s big SUV. “We went to the park with Mamaw and Gramma Caroline. It was fun! I miss you, though.”

“We miss you, too,” Jasper smiled at him. He was glowing with his happiness. “But we’ll be home in a few days. You should see how much stuff Momma has bought you. And you, ladies.” The girls grinned at their favorite uncle.

“Thank you!” They said in a chorus. They were the cutest. “Oh! We’re here! Okay. I love you! BYE!” And then he hung up on us without waiting for an answer.

We both laughed softly as he put his cell phone away. Jasper shook his head. “He’ll get the hang of it someday.” He brushed his fingers over my cheek. “So, what else do we need to do today?”

“I’m all done. We are free to start that vacation now.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting them drape down his back. His grin grew wicked as he pulled me closer, one of his hands running up my spine.

“And how would you like to spend this evening?”

Playing coy, I pecked his lips as I pushed my fingers into the back of this thick, now graying hair. “I don’t know. Do you have any ideas, sir?”

He buried his face in my neck, pushing our chests flush with his hand on my ass. “How would you like to go out and do a scene? We can have some champagne and cake after.” His tongue moved over his ear. “Or during. I can eat it off of you.”

I shuddered at his touch. He always knew how to work me to make me turn into putty in his hands. Another one of his skills that only improved with the years. “That sounds incredible, but I can’t have any champagne.”

Jasper instantly stopped, pulling away to look into my eyes. He was too smart to not put it together right away. He was already beginning to tear up, a hopeful smile tugging at his full lips. We had been trying again for years. We were worried my eventful pregnancy would stop us from having another. “How far along are you?”

“Nine weeks.”

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2/4/2021

Ring: Chapter Thirty-one: Under Duress

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Chapter Thirty-one:
Under Duress

They sedated me so I could sleep. And though I understood why, I didn’t like it. I had been awake for over a day and had gone through a series of traumatic events. My entire week had been too much, especially for a pregnant lady. My mind would not shut down on its own. It was on high alert and would be until I could convince myself I was safe.

When I woke up, Jasper was moving around my room, cleaning up and organizing it. I wasn’t going to be allowed visitors until the doctors said I could, but that didn’t stop everyone I knew from sending me something. There were flowers and balloons everywhere. A lot of them were baby-themed. There was also food waiting for me. On the small table, there were bags, and they had a lovely smell wafting from them.

“What’s that?” I asked in a light voice as I moved the bed up with the controller.

He turned in surprise. My husband hadn’t expected me to be awake yet. Clean and showered, he was in fresh clothing. Jasper had changed into slacks and a button-down shirt I assumed Sam brought to him. I liked how the pants fit him. He was always so handsome, even when he was anxious.

“Hey. I didn’t mean to bother you. Um, I had something delivered for when you woke up. I wasn’t sure what you would be up for, so I ordered a bit of everything. I didn’t want you to have to wait for it,” he explained in a rush. He was trying to take care of me in the only ways he knew how. I smiled to myself. “It’s just Newk’s, but I know you like them. Let’s see, I got you potato soup, the mac and cheese, that club sandwich you like, too. And I didn’t forget the pickles. And there’s baked chips and fruit salad. And sparkling water. And there’s chocolate cake,” he listed off as he took it all out.

“And, and, and is there anything else?” I teased softly. “Stop. Come here. Take a breath.” I wiggled my fingers at him. He came to the bed right away. “Kiss me.”

He leaned over me and took my mouth, his hands on my cheeks. I grinned against his lips at his intensity. It made me dizzy with pleasure. I held him in place with my fingertips twisted in his clean white shirt. The baby fluttered with excitement in my belly.

“I don’t know how you’re smiling right now. You are so strong.”

“No, I’m not.” I shook my head. “I just can’t help it. I love it when you kiss me, and he can tell how much I enjoy it too.” I put my hand on the curve. “Again,” I ordered. He obliged, letting me hold on to his hair to keep him in place. His palms were flat on the mattress on either side of my head to hold himself up.

There was a knock on the door, interrupting our moment. Sam peeked his head inside and smiled. “Well, hey there, Sleeping Beauty! Can I come in? I’ve got some information to share.”

“Hey! Where’s Bree-” I began to ask, but Jasper interrupted me.
“She needs to eat first. She hasn’t since yesterday.”

I wrinkled my nose at him. “Then bring me some food,” I complained. “I can chew and listen at the same time. Where’s Bree?” I repeated. “Is she okay?”

Nodding quickly, he sat at my bedside. “Yeah. She’s sleeping comfortably right now. She’s in this hospital, too. A couple of floors above us. They’ve already run her through the wringer with tests.” He shook his head with a pained expression. “Poor kid. I’ve never seen the abuse that bad in a living victim.” He looked at Jasper. “Man, you should take a look at her X-rays. It reminds me of a POW. It’s sick. And they’ve been doping her up to the fucking gills. I’m not sure how she’s still going.”

“I’ll have to believe you. I turned in my gun and badge this afternoon. I’m officially retired,” he replied with no emotions in his voice before turning to me. “Darlin, what do you want?” He swept his hand over the selection of food.

We both stopped to look at him in surprise. He had been putting it off for so long that some small part of me thought he would go back to it once we figured things out. I was wrong. But it wasn’t the first time I had been that week.

“Half the sandwich, the pickles, and chips, too. And a little of the mac and cheese,” I answered in a breath. My stomach growled loudly in demand. I smiled when he brought it to me, pulling him down for another kiss. “Eat the other half,” I ordered. I knew he hadn’t eaten, even if he had got cleaned up. “And the fruit.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he smirked. He wasn’t the only one who could be bossy when they needed to be.

I looked back at our friend. “What do you know?”

He blew out a long breath through his lips. “A lot more than we did this morning. Okay, so James Hunter, aka Riley Kingston, aka Riley Biers, aka Matthew Biers, aka-” He stopped himself with a roll of his eyes. “I think you get the point. Anyway, our man in the closet has a dozen or so names, but amazingly, when he gets in trouble, things disappear in his cases. Papers or evidence. Poof!” He made a big hand gesture. “His problems go all away. Just in the past year.”

“It’s almost as if he had a girlfriend in the DA’s office,” I mumbled through a bite of a chip.

“Yup. But from what I can tell, the help didn’t start until the very beginning of last year. Late January. After King was already captured. A few months before that, Hunter got dinged for a DUI and got into a fight with the officer. He ended up only serving a month. He also served six months for raping a young woman about five years ago. Get this. When he was a kid, he spent a year in a special troubled teen’s house because he set fire to his neighbor’s chicken coop with all the birds locked inside. Hundreds of them.”

“Jesus,” Jasper sighed as he rubbed his forehead. “I bet he pissed his bed, too.” I looked at him in confusion at such a declaration. “It’s called The MacDonald’s Triade. Animal cruelty, arson, and bed-wetting after a certain age are all linked to sexual predators and violent offenders. It’s not conclusive, but they generally have some combination of the three, if not all of them. Royce ticked all the boxes, too.”

I bit into my sandwich and sat with that information for a moment. “What about her? Do you know anything about the DA? When I asked her why she said ‘because you took her men away.’” I smirked at my husband. “You were wrong, by the way. Villains do monologue in real life.”

He shook his head, an odd expression on his face. “How are you making jokes about this?”

“It’s my defense mechanism?” I shrugged and took another bite. “I’m just happy it’s over.”

Sam smirked at our exchange. “Ms. Bryce Rachelle is, of course, a fake name. Unlike his, it is a carefully crafted false identity that goes back six years. Right around the time King first got caught with Bree Tanner.” He sat up a little straighter as he fixed his tie. “Now, this woman was smart, but that idiot she recruited to help her isn’t, which is probably why he had so many bogus names, because he kept getting arrested. He’s been demanding to see his lawyer, Ms. Sunderland. He doesn’t know what’s happened yet.”

Leaning over, he pulled out a file from a briefcase. Removing a picture, he lifted it to show it to both of us. It was a young, flat-chested, mousy-haired woman with crooked teeth and glasses. She had blue eyes that were glazed over. She was smiling and holding a drink up. “This was the last photo I could find of Victoria Sunderland, a lawyer practicing out of Rochester, New York.” He plucked another from behind it. It was the photo, but further out. There were maybe a hundred people in it. “This was taken at the law offices of Mr. J. Jenks’s annual Christmas party, where she was a junior counselor.”

Sam pulled out another print. It was a newspaper clipping. It had a photograph of the defense’s table from behind. The headline was, “‘It was a date! Playboy King says the entire thing was consensual.’ There was a team of lawyers surrounding the monster. I recognized some from the trial. At the very end sitting behind them was the woman. She was shoved into a corner, looking at Royce.

“Son of a bitch… She told me she worked on that case.” I shook my head. They both looked at me, surprised. “When she was asking me questions in Albany for the trial.” I gazed at the photo for a long minute. I couldn’t see it. “Are you sure it’s the same person? Could she have stolen someone’s identity?”

He pulled out another picture. It was a more recent one of the DA. He put the one from the Christmas party side by side. “So, her credit cards show that in the past five years she’s gotten her teeth fixed, Lasik, her hair regularly dyed, Botox and fillers, too. And her tits enhanced. All things your rich serial killer boyfriend can pay for.”

I rolled my eyes as I handed it back to him. “She said that he was her king, and she was his queen. Gag. Fucking nut job.”

“Have you spoken to Ms. Tanner any?” Jasper inquired gently, like he was worried about upsetting me. I knew she would talk about this for a very long time. She might be answering questions for years. So would I.

Waffling his head from side to side, he sighed. “She’s really confused, and honestly, I don’t know how much she knows. Ms. Tanner didn’t know either of their names, real or fake, other than King’s. She called them mistress and master. She was in charge when King wasn’t there.”

“Are there any more of them running around?” He asked next. Our friend shook his head in answer. “So, a mentor and an apprentice situation, and they kept Bree like a human trophy? Christ.”

It was horrifying to think about it.

“She did confirm she was the one that wrecked the cars and vandalized your house. Hunter or Sunderland was always in town to keep a close eye on her. She said they’d pump her up with something in a needle, tell her what to do, and point her towards the house. But he was the one that ran you off the road.”

“Then did what’s her name kill Mrs. Tanner?” I asked. He shrugged. He didn’t know for sure yet, but he would find out soon enough. I suspected so. I closed my eyes. “I wonder if he’s attempted to murder anyone else, or if it was just us.”

Sam sighed. “We got more questions than we’ve got answers at this point. I’ll try to connect all the dots, though.” He grimaced a little. “I know you’re tired, but when they let you out of here, we’ll have to talk about what happened.”

“I know,” I remarked. I would think about that later. “Can I go see Bree now?”
The men looked at each other.

My husband was the first to speak. “Darlin, you need to get some more rest.”

As soon as he started talking, I shook my head. “I told her I would find her. I need to. And I have to talk to her. I have to make sure she’s okay-” I began to get riled up.

Jasper stood right away to calm me down, rubbing my back. “Okay, okay-”

“No, It’s not. I need to keep my word. She saved my life!”

“Yeah, you can see her.” Sam rose from his chair. “I’ll go get the nurse. You’ll probably need a wheelchair.”

I pushed myself out of bed. “I don’t need one.” My legs tried to buckle. My man grabbed me in his arms, pulling me to his chest. “Alright, maybe it’s a good idea,” I said as I plopped back down hard enough on the mattress to make it complain. “Woo, those drugs linger.” My brain was swimming.

“You should get some more rest,” he repeated in a worried whisper. I shook my head again. “Yes, I know you’re stubborn.”

“I need to see her.” I didn’t know how to explain it. I made a promise I had to keep.

Luckily, Sam knew better than to argue with me and brought me a chair. After I put on a robe, I plopped down into my spot. Before we left, Jasper shoved fuzzy pink slippers onto my feet so they wouldn’t get cold.

“You know, I’ve had enough of hospitals. Maybe we should do an at-home birth,” I mumbled as we rolled into the elevator.

My husband grunted softly. “We’ll need a house for that first. Let’s not think about that right now.” He was correct, so I just nodded.

There were two agents standing by the door. Sam briefly knocked before poking his head in. “Hi, Ms. Tanner. I got a visitor for you if you’re up to it.” I didn’t hear the answer, but he stood to the side.

Jasper moved me inside. The bed was completely flat, and she was lying on her side in the dark. When she saw me, she pushed herself up. She had an IV in her arm, and there were several bags, big and small, attached to the pole. They had probes on her chest, monitoring her heart. It beeped faster.

“Hey,” I smiled. “There’s my hero. How are you?”

She looked down in shame. Her lips were trembling. “I am so sorry for everything I’ve ever done to you. I didn’t want to, but they made me. Please-”

I pushed myself out of the wheelchair and was over to the bed before either man could react. Wrapping my arms around her thin body, I held her to me. She was crying, holding onto the back of my robe. “It’s okay. It’s all over. It’s not your fault. You did what you had to do to survive, and I am glad you did.” I put my hands on her shoulders. “They were just things, and I didn’t need them. Everything I require in this world is with me in this room right now.” I touched my stomach and looked at my husband for a brief moment.

Bree pushed her face against my sore neck. I leaned into it. “I want my mommy,” she whimpered.

“Me too,” I admitted softly. My own, hers, Caroline and April. “Your mother was an amazing woman, and I have never respected a human more. She loved you more than anything. I know she is so happy right now.”

“They told me that nobody cared about me. They said no one was even looking.”

“She never stopped.” I glanced over my shoulder again. “They never stopped. But it was like a puzzle where someone purposefully stole half the pieces and repainted the others. We all thought for sure you were dead.”

Jasper cleared his throat. “Were you the only one he kept? Are there others?” He was so scared that this wasn’t over.

Gazing at him for a moment, Bree swallowed down her emotions. She knew she had to be strong. “He tried to keep most of them. At least for a little while. But they would do something to make him angry, or he would make an example of them to the others. Sometimes it would be a day. Other times it would take months. I don’t know why I was different.”

“Because you were the one that got away and tarnished his perfect image. If you hadn’t come along and spoken out, he could have kept on doing it forever,” he explained, then shook his head. “If Bella hadn’t made the connection, he’d still be doing it right now.” Our eyes met for a moment.

I sat beside her on the edge of the bed.

“Am I going to prison? I’ve done so many horrible things. They made me help them.”

“Made you,” Sam spoke up. “Those are the crucial words there. You did everything under duress. Besides, we need a witness to make certain Mr. Hunter ends up in lockup for a very long time. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe.”

“I’ll make sure you get everything you need to live comfortably for the rest of your life,” I promised, taking her hand. “I owe you everything.”

“We do,” Jasper agreed and went to her. He was so much bigger than her, towering over the bed. He kneeled down in front of her. “I will never be able to thank you enough for what you’ve done for my family. I’ll be able to have one because of you.”

My stomach fluttered. I giggled faintly and looked down at it. “He’s pretty grateful, too,” I mumbled and put my hands on my sides.

“It’s a boy?” She asked with a slight smile. I nodded. “I had one, too. But he died,” she breathed. “It was… too early, and I never saw a doctor.” She paused and took in a ragged breath. “It made Mistress so mad. She wanted our Master to marry her and start a family. They were going to say they adopted him. He’s in heaven with Mama now, though. It’s better this way.”

“Ugh, it’s like if the Joker and Harley Quinn stole a kid,” Sam complained.

“When?” I asked softly, ignoring him.

“A few months before he got caught.” She looked down at the bed. “I don’t know the exact dates, I’m sorry.”

I looked between the two of them. “That might be why he escalated.”

“They,” our friend corrected. “Ms. Tanner has already informed us that Ms. Sunderland was involved in all the murders, too. She helped select and hunt victims.”

She nodded, still not looking up. “It was like a game.”

The words hung in the air.

I squeezed her hand as I looked at her. “Well, not anymore. They’re gone, and it’s over now.”

We only stayed a few more minutes. The doctors came in for more tests, and I needed to rest. They were going to keep me overnight just because of everything I had been through in the past few days. They wanted to make sure my stress levels were under control and that the baby hadn’t been affected by it all.

The room was pleasantly quiet since we were all alone again.

“Come and lay down with us,” I said as I rubbed my belly. “The mattress is uncomfortable, and there isn’t enough space,” I added in a cheerful voice, patting the spot beside me. “But it’s perfect for two and a half.”

Tiredly, he chuckled before crawling into bed with me. We laid on our sides, spooning as we had done in the morning. I put his hand on my stomach, where I could feel our son. I knew he wouldn’t be able to for maybe months, but it was still comforting.

“So Goddess, what do we do now?” He asked as he placed his chin on my shoulder. His lips touched my lock and key necklace, his kisses light and soothing. There were so many things we needed to do, but there was only one thing I wanted.

Enjoying the sensation, I bit my lip for a moment before peeking at him from the corner of my eye. “I think I might be ready for that extended honeymoon, sir.”

“Mexico or Europe?”

I smiled. “Both.”

The End.

2/3/2021

Ring: Chapter Thirty: Point Blank Range

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Chapter Thirty:
Point Blank Range

We both watched her go silently. When the door closed behind her, I turned my attention back to the fragile young woman standing a few feet away from me. Swallowing my fear, I knew she was my only hope. “Bree,” I whispered her name as sweetly as possible. “Oh, my god. You’re alive. I am- I am so very happy you are. I- It’s been my greatest wish to meet you,” I said in a rush. She refused to meet my eyes, hers glued to the concrete floor. She was going to pretend she didn’t hear me. “I’ve wanted to thank you for so long.” I forced a smile. My lips were trembling. “You don’t know how much you’ve given me. The past year and a half of my life have all been thanks to you. All my happiness and success. I’ve read everything I could find on you. You sound like such an amazing person. Your mother would be so thrilled to know you’re alive. It’s all she ever wanted. She never stopped fighting for you.” Her head snapped up in surprise at the mention of her mom.

That was it.

“She loved you so much.” Tears dripped from my eyes, blurring my vision. “She was such a sweet woman. I’ve never met someone so strong. I hope I can be as good a parent as she was. Please. Please, give me a chance to be,” I pleaded. “I didn’t do anything on purpose. I promise. I’m sorry.”

“No. Mistress-”

“She isn’t your master!” I stopped her quickly. I spoke firmly. “You are not a slave. You’re a grown, intelligent woman. You don’t have to listen to anything she says.”

“I can’t,” she whispered, torn. She was shaking. “I have to, or they’ll hurt me.” That was clear from every scar on her skin. They covered her arms like stripes. Some were fresher than others. They tortured this poor girl into doing whatever they desired.

Frantically, I shook my head. “Together, we can stop her from hurting you ever again. All you have to do is cut my hands loose. I’ll do the rest. Please. We can walk out of here free. And they’ll never harm you again.”

Bree sucked in a deep breath. “Master said no one loves me, but them. No one cares,” she hissed angrily, her tiny fist curled into her side.

“He lied. No,” I promised. “She searched every day. She loved you.”

“It doesn’t matter. She’s gone. No one cares about me now. Only my mistress.” She scratched at her elbows, and I noticed the needle marks in her skin. Jasper had been wrong. She wasn’t drunk but drugged.

Shaking my head, I looked up towards the ceiling. I wasn’t sure how to convince her. I searched for the right words. “I do! I care. And my husband has been searching for you for so long. His partner too! They all care about you, and they want you to come home and be happy.” I heard stomping up the metal stairs. Our time alone was coming to an end, and my chances of survival were getting slimmer by the moment. “Bree.” She didn’t look at me. “Bree, please. You have the power to choose. She doesn’t care about you. She’s a monster, but you’re not.”

Her glazed over eyes stared into mine. She was so broken. “You don’t know what I’ve done.”

“I don’t care what you’ve done. It’s not your fault. You didn’t want to do this. Everyone will forgive you. I forgive you,” I breathed as the door opened. “It’s okay,” I mouthed as the DA came running back in. She was a victim, just like I was.

“The cops are fucking here already,” she snarled viciously as she ran towards us. “You said we weren’t followed.” She pistol-whipped her with the revolver as hard as she could. It sent her to the knees on the floor. “You fucking idiot. Now we have to rush.” She turned to look at me. “I guess we’ll go with Plan B.” She put down the gun to select a blade. “Lucky you. You get to die like a King.”

She picked up a long, thin knife off the table. Gripping it in her fist, she lifted it above her head and aimed it directly at the side of my neck. Closing my eyes, I braced myself for it to come. I thought about how much I loved my husband and the son I would never meet. Tears streamed down my face, but I wouldn’t make a noise. I didn’t want her to enjoy this any more than she already was. My only solace was knowing that she wasn’t going to be free much longer, either. If I were truly lucky, Jasper would get to me before I bled out.

But the strike never came. Instead, there was a gunshot. Warm, sticky blood sprayed all over me. I gasped in shock. My eyes opened just in time to see the lawyer sink to the floor on her knees before ever so gently slumping to the side. It wasn’t as dramatic as television made it look. The weapon she was holding slipped onto the ground beside her.

The entire back of her head was gone. I could see her brain damaged beyond repair. Bits of it were missing, and I realized some of it was on my clothes. Her eyes were open, but there was nothing behind them anymore. The shot had been from point-blank range, almost pressed to her skull.

Slowly, I looked at Bree. She was holding Jasper’s engraved six-shooter in her trembling hand. Staring at the lifeless body on the floor, she was ready for her to get up. To fight back and hurt her again. But everything was still except for the smoke that curled from the barrel in the too-bright lamplight.

She was crying, and her chest was heaving in an attempt to catch her breath. Slowly, our gazes met. We stared at each other for a second.

“Thank you,” I whimpered.

Peering at the gun, she licked her cracked lips and put it on the table as carefully as she could. She picked up one of the smallest of the sharp implements. First, she cut my legs free before moving behind me to do my wrists. When I was loose, I turned in my spot to hug her as tightly as I could. The tiny knife clattered to the floor as she embraced me back. It didn’t matter that we were both covered in gore.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to,” she sobbed.

Rocking us, I stroked the back of her neck. “It’s okay. We’ll be alright. It’s all over now. They’re all gone.” I kissed the top of her head. “You saved me. My hero. Thank you,” I repeated the words over and over again.

“I’m going to go to prison. I did so many bad things,” she wailed as her blunt nails tried to find purchase in the back of my shirt. “I didn’t want to,” she reiterated. “They hurt me so much.” She looked at the body on the floor. “I killed the mistress. Oh, god.”

I shook my head instantly. “You won’t. I promise. I will do everything I can to make sure you get all the help you need. Jasper will make sure you won’t,” I said as I pulled back to look into her face. She refused to meet my eyes again. I touched her cheek. “My husband is going to be so happy to meet you.” I stroked it with my thumb and smiled. “Let’s go outside. My friend is probably out there. He’s one of the best FBI agents in the country. He won’t let anything bad happen to you anymore.”

Nervously, she stared at my face before nodding. Together we stood. She was almost too weak, her knees wobbling. I was feeling the same, but I needed to get outside. With one more look back at the corpse, we went through the door. I realized we made a bloody trail right to it. It dripped from our clothes, and it was even in my hair. One of my sleeves appeared especially soaked. It was on the side closest to where she was standing.

The trip down seemed so slow. It wasn’t until we got to the second floor that I could see out of one of the dirty windows. There were so many cars outside. I smiled slightly to myself. I didn’t know how they got there so quickly, but I was grateful they had.
Then I heard their shouting. “Movement! We’ve got movement in the building!”

“Everyone stands down until I give the command,” Sam’s voice echoed over the crowd. It was coming through their radios. It floated on the wind. “I need visuals on all floors! I need to know where that shot came from.”

When I got to the front door, we pushed the heavy metal bar to let us out into the daylight. The cars were all at least fifty feet back, dozens of officers in a variety of uniforms standing in different positions. Some of them had big guns and were in SWAT gear. They were getting ready to storm the building. Jasper was in the middle of them in a bulletproof vest, arguing frantically with someone as he cried. Sam was at his side, speaking quickly. All of them turned to look at us at once.

And the world stood still for a moment.

We just kept walking. There was nothing else to do. We had to move forward.

My husband flew towards us. No one else had time to react before he did. He was moving so fast it almost toppled me over when he got to me. His arms curled around me so tight it hurt. I wanted them tighter.

“I thought you were dead. We heard gunfire.” His hand twisted into my curls so he could bring my mouth to his. It was so furious. It reminded me of our kiss in the hospital when he got shot. I was just limp against him, letting him take me. I needed it.

When he pulled away, he was weeping so hard his knees buckled. He sank down in front of me, his hands still on my shoulders. Jasper pressed his face into my belly, sobbing with relief. I wasn’t even sure he had noticed the blood yet.

“We’re fine,” I promised softly, smiling a little. Gently, I brushed my fingers through his hair to get his attention. “Honey, this is Bree.” He looked up in surprise, his jaw dropped to his chest. The world started to move around us. Sam was the second to get to us. She pushed herself closer to me, and I took her hand again. “She saved us.”

Swallowing back his tears, he stared at her. Snot dripped from his nose. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” He peered at me and slowly slid his grip down my arm to my left hand. Then he looked at his palm. It was covered in blood. “You’re bleeding,” he whispered.

I gazed at it. My shirt was ripped, and blood was pumping from an open gash. I could see the muscle. I wasn’t feeling anything but numb. “Oh, would you look at that? Huh. I didn’t even notice.”

“Medics are right here, kiddo,” Sam promised, then yelled at someone to get over there. He came around to Bree slowly. He stooped a little to make himself smaller. “Hey, sweetie. I’m Special Agent Uley, and we have been looking for you for a very long time. It’s so nice to meet you finally. I never thought I’d get the honor,” he said charmingly. It made her smile genuinely, just for a brief moment. She was still terrified, though.

People pushed us towards ambulances. I stopped them. “There’s a dead body on the fourth floor. She was about to kill me, and Bree had to stop her.” I reached for my friend. “Nothing can happen to her. I promised. We need to help her. Please.”

“Of course,” he cooed to me in a gentle voice. Everyone was worried about me going into shock. “You get on the gurney, and we’ll take care of this. Y’all are safe now.”

They tried to separate us, but I didn’t want to let go of Bree’s hand. “Sam, stay with her, please. Promise to protect her,” I pleaded with him. He nodded quickly in agreement. I gazed into her eyes and prayed she believed me. “He’s one of the best men I know and the godfather of my baby,” I swore. “He’ll make sure everything is okay, and I’ll come to find you again as soon as I can. I swear. I owe you my life,” I babbled as I began to sob. We hugged once more. “Thank you.”

The ride was brief, and people fluttered loudly around me the entire time. Jasper was still crying silently, trying to ignore it as he watched from the corner he was wedged in. I smiled at him in an attempt to reassure him.

My bloody clothes were cut away from my arm. It was only a graze, a part of the bullet coming apart and ripping through my skin. After they cleaned it up, they stitched it back together. It took twenty altogether.

“What did she do to you?” Jasper questioned softly. It was the first words he had spoken since he was on his knees.

“Just smacked me a couple of times. But I’m fine. She was a little bitch,” I grumbled. “I head-butted her, though. I’m lucky I don’t have a concussion,” I rambled. “Probably shouldn’t do that twice in twenty-four hours.”

He didn’t believe me in the least.

A nurse came in with the fetal monitor machine. Wordlessly, I lifted my gown. I knew how it worked, and I was ready to make sure he was okay in there. They strapped them in place and left us in peace for thirty minutes to let them work. The baby’s heartbeat was so powerful, like music to my ears.

Smiling, I leaned my head back against the pillow. “I love that sound so much.”

“Me too,” he agreed, taking my hand as he sat on the edge of the uncomfortable hospital chair. We gazed at each other for a long minute as we listened. “Is it terrible I wish I could crawl into that bed with you and hold you?”

“Why can’t you?” I questioned. I rolled, so I was on my side and patted the space behind me. There was more than enough room if he squeezed in.

As carefully as he could, he moved in behind. He was so worried about hurting me, but there was nothing he could do to harm me. Pressing against him, I wrapped myself in his warmth and comfort. “My brave girl,” he whispered in my ear.

We laid silently for a few moments. I put his palm on my heart, closing my eyes. The event replayed in my mind, even if I didn’t want it to. “How did you find us so fast?” I blurted out. The whole ordeal took less than two hours, and it was barely ten in the morning.

“Your cell phone.”

It dawned on me then that he hadn’t replaced my cracked screen because it bothered me, and the tracing software wasn’t for when I lost it. He just didn’t want me to worry about the possibility of kidnapping, but, of course, he had. I had been more concerned about the direct attacks. We were both right to be troubled by the terrible possibilities. But he had to consider every way they could harm us. There were so many scenarios that it was impossible to think of them all. Also, it explained why he was in such a hurry to retrieve it from the car the day before. It was probably in my purse in the van, still at the crime scene.

Breaking my heart, it was too much to think about.

But all that mattered was that it was over. And they would never hurt anyone else ever again.

Thanks to Gina for proofreading!

2/2/2021

Ring: Chapter Twenty-nine: Dash Away

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Chapter Twenty-nine:
Dash Away

A security guard drove us to the hotel, another following behind us in a different car. Jasper wasn’t exactly happy about it. They had just released the room as a crime scene so we could go get our things. He didn’t understand why I felt like I needed to go back there. I couldn’t explain it either.

“We can just go to my parents and get some rest. We can get it later,” he argued calmly.

It was almost sunrise. We were both exhausted, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep for a very long time. Sadly, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I would probably be out for thirteen hours. I needed it, though. But I was too wound up.

“No. I want my stuff now. I need fresh clothes and all my toiletries. Maybe we can just get a different room. That would be quicker than going all the way to their place. We can take a bath together then go to bed,” I offered. If we went to his parents, we would have to recount the entire thing, and there would be much talk and worry. I wasn’t ready for that. “They have those big Jacuzzi tubs, and it would feel so nice.”

He smiled a little. “If that’s what you want, darlin.”

“Yes,” I grinned. “I very much want to sit on your lap in a big hot bath.”

“I can wash your hair for you,” he added. I nodded eagerly. Jasper leaned in and kissed my forehead lightly on a spot that wasn’t bruised. His lips lingered there. Gently, I ran my fingers over his tense jaw. “I feel so powerless. This makes me realize I had none to begin with. I wanted to lie to myself and say that I do, but everything is chaos, and if someone is determined, there isn’t much you can do to stop them. Especially if they’re fearless.”

“Or stupid,” I replied. “That man, whoever he is, isn’t a mastermind. It’s got to take a lot to organize a multi-state revenge plot.” I looked out the window. “Whoever our tiny terrorist is must be the brains of the operation.”

He shrugged. “There isn’t any way to know until we catch them. If we ever do.”

“We will.”

“I hope.”

“Soon,” I promised. He said nothing. Gently, I rubbed my fingers along his chin again. “Hey, I have a bit of a knack for these sorts of things.” He smirked, still not looking at me. “I can’t believe I figured out his name like that. It wasn’t that clever, but I think I helped!”

He chuckled at my tone. “I’ve told you before you’d do amazingly at the bureau. You could run circles around half of the boneheads there. You could be catching the bad guys, not writing fanciful stories about doing it.” Sighing, he stared out the window. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize him.”

“When? Between punches?” He didn’t respond. “He changed his hair, and you weren’t really in a position to at the time. I didn’t either, and we both saw him not that long ago. But it’s not like we were close pals, either,” I countered. Softly, he grunted. “But it doesn’t matter. He’s in custody now, and he can’t hurt anyone else.”

“That woman is dead,” Jasper quietly stated. “I feel it in the pit of my stomach.”

“Probably,” I sighed as I played with my shirt. There were tiny specks of blood on it. It was a mix of mine and his. I couldn’t think about that, though. I would throw it in the trash as soon as I got into the room. “You know what I feel in my gut right now?”

“What?” He asked slowly.

Smirking, I glanced over at him. “Kicking. Now that I’ve realized what it feels like, I’m constantly noticing it. It’s so light.”

He brought his hand to my stomach. “I wish I could feel it.”

I moved it, so it was lower to where he was showing his displeasure at being still awake. My stress levels weren’t good for him, and I hadn’t eaten in hours. It was a battle to figure out which was best to do first. Leaning my head against my husband’s shoulder, I held it to my belly. “Charlie says, ‘Hey, can we chill for a bit?’ He already needs a vacation, and he hasn’t been born yet.”

He put both hands on either side of my stomach and leaned down to speak directly to it. “Me too, kid. I need to take your mother on a real honeymoon before you get here. The one she deserves after everything she’s gone through. She acts so strong, but I can tell how hard she’s trying.” He kissed it lightly.

“I can be tough because I know you’ll be there for me. I just knew I had to make it until you got there, and I was right. My hero,” I whispered.

“It shouldn’t have happened in the first place. But it’s not a mistake I’ll ever make again. I’m going to check every room we walk into for the rest of our lives.”

“I believe you,” I sighed. His face was pulled down in his anguish, his eyes foggy, and his mouth twisted into a quivering pout. He was trying to keep it together for me. “Shh…” I hushed him gently as I pecked his lips. “It’s okay.” He shook his head, and I nodded in answer. “No. We’re staying positive. Remember? Being happy will piss them off more. They want to scare me, but they won’t. Fuck them. As long as I have you, I have everything I need.”

He smiled slowly. “Yeah, you’re right.”

We pulled into a parking space in the garage. We were on the first floor, so we walked towards the main entrance with a guard in front and one behind. They were keeping an eye on our surroundings, making sure everything was normal, and no one was doing anything suspicious. There were only a few people milling about, most of them were tourists coming or going to the airport. They were in pajama pants with their rolling luggage, talking loudly to each other as they laughed and joked around with their Starbucks coffees in hand. It was still so early. The morning sun was just starting to blaze across the sky.

My eyes constantly scanned around for threats too. Jasper clasped my hand as we moved at a decent clip. It was like they were escorting the president or something. We were almost to the front entrance when I glanced over my shoulder.

There was a tall woman with a bright red curly bob that was cut close to her chin. It was obviously a fresh style, the angles sharp. She had big shades over her eyes, but it wasn’t enough to change her appearance to make her unrecognizable to someone who had stared at her for months. I had seen her more, and I had even spent several days alone in the same room. We watched her work for ages.

Automatically, I twisted around to glare at her. “It’s her,” I quietly declared. Everyone else did too to see what I was talking about. The lady was maybe twenty-five yards away. Startled, she stopped moving when we did. I knew if I was mistaken, she wouldn’t be bothered and kept going wherever she was headed. But she was following us. “We were wrong.”

Clearing his throat, Jasper straightened his shoulders. “Hi, FBI. May I speak to you for a moment, ma’am?” He began in a polite, professional voice as he strode towards her slowly. It was purposefully non-threatening. She said nothing, her chin held high. Quickly looking around the parking lot, she stumbled a couple of steps back before turning to dash away. “FBI! STOP!” He shouted as he ran after her. One of the guards went after him. “Freeze!”

The other was beside me, maybe three feet away, as we stood on the curb under the awning. We were both staring in surprise. “Call the police,” I ordered before looking over my shoulder nervously. As soon as I did, a van pulled up right behind us. It must have been going fifty miles an hour, speeding forward before slamming to a stop.

The door slid open, and before I could realize what was going on, I was being yanked backward, and something was put over my head. It slammed shut instantly. There was a bunch of banging against it as the man who had just been standing at my side tried to get it open. When I attempted to struggle, something bashed me against the temple hard enough to knock me to the ground. Then the vehicle shot away, smacking me around, so I wasn’t able to get up. Then it stopped again, ramming me forward into the seat.

Once more, it was opened, and we started moving before it closed. I could hear Jasper in the background, screaming frantically, but it quickly faded away. Someone pulled my arms behind my body, binding them tightly. The person was panting.

“Good work,” Ms. Rachelle praised in an amused voice. “If you want a job done right, you send a woman.” She grabbed the drawstring bag around my neck and tied the strings, so it was tight. It squeezed my throat uncomfortably until I almost choked. I tried not to panic. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to have you like this,” she cooed dangerously in my ear.

“Why?” I whimpered.

“He took away my men. Both of them now. I’m taking you and your baby away. An eye for an eye. Pretty simple, really.” Then she punched me in the head.

We didn’t drive for long. It was hard to keep track of time, though. When we came to a stop, I was forced to my feet. The sounds were echoing around us, so we were probably inside somewhere like a garage. An enormous metal door was pushed open, and I was marched up several flights of stairs. We went through another, and I walked a few yards before I was shoved down again into a chair. One of them duct-taped my ankles to the legs. I tried to struggle, but the other pulled the strings until I could do nothing but try to breathe.

Then the bag was torn away. The room was dark except for a single blinding bright light centered on me. It was aimed at my eyes and stunned me for a moment. When I could focus, two women came into view. Ms. Rachelle was standing a couple of feet away from me, smirking proudly with her hand resting on her hip. “Hello, Bella,” she sang just like Royce did when I visited him in jail.

She glanced over her shoulder at the other person. She was the smallest female I had ever seen. Not only in terms of height but weight. She was so thin I could see every bone in her arms. Her cheekbones were sharp to an almost point. This was our tiny terrorist.

I recognized her face instantly. I had searched for every picture of her I could, every article. Dreaming about her, she often haunted my thoughts. Her once beautiful dark black skin was now marked, and her hair had been clipped to the scalp.

“Bree,” I whimpered her name. She looked at me in surprise, her eyes getting a little wider. Clearly, she didn’t expect me to know it. “No, no, no,” I panicked, thrashing in my spot. The DA struck me across the face harder than her boyfriend did the day before. The girl flinched back automatically, even though it wasn’t directed towards her. “Why?!” I wailed.

The lawyer bent down to look into my eyes, maybe a few inches away. “Because it’s what he wanted. And I always gave him what he wanted,” she smiled as if it was a fond memory. She seized my throat and squeezed. “You took my King away from me. I was his Queen. How can someone this stupid and unimpressive like you spoil our fun?” She tightened her grip. “As long as he was alive, I had a chance to get him out. I could save him. We had plans in place.” She paused, shaking her head. “And you ruined it all. I should be married right now! I should be the pregnant one,” she shouted in my face. Her spit sprayed my skin. “We were going to have a family. Everything was perfect, and you had to mess it up.” She was actually squeezing hard enough to cut off my air. She leaned in, so our noses were almost touching. “I’ve never hated someone more, and I am so sick of hearing your fucking name.”

With all my might, I head-butted her. I could thank the fake Riley for that idea. It worked well against me the day before. She screamed and slapped me so hard it made the chair lift before settling back to the ground. When I peeked up, Bree met my eyes but instantly looked away and ducked her face. She was visibly shaking.

It hurt like a motherfucker, but I was able to catch my breath.

She picked up a gun from a table beside us. It was the first time I noticed it. There was a horrifying array of knives. Then I remembered how his victims were always covered in slice and stab wounds.

She ran the barrel over the cheek she had just slapped before putting it under my chin, so I would look at her. “Don’t worry, it’s going to last so much longer. We’ll take this slow, just like he would have wanted.” She briefly grinned. “He would have loved this so much. Royce dreamed of having you alone.” She caressed her fingers over one of the blades while still holding my head up. “He’s the one who taught me how to use these properly. Where to cut to make it take as long as possible.” She gave me a cruel smile. This woman was a complete psychopath and was having a splendid time. “I will even give you a gift before I make you swallow your idiot husband’s cheesy ass cowboy gun.” She wiggled it at me before pressing it to my lips. I hadn’t realized it was Jasper’s stolen weapon, but it made perfect sense. “I’ll let you see your baby first.”

“No-” I automatically shrieked in her face, but she shoved it into my mouth. It went all the way down my throat. The metal taste was unpleasant and made me gag. It took everything I could not to throw up.

“This isn’t a chat, bitch. You get to listen to me now. I’ve had enough of listening to you morons talk. Ugh, I hate the sound of Dr. Hale’s stupid southern accent. How can people this simple be so successful? And your book was garbage!” She shook her head in disgust. “That’s not what happens to a human body when they’re stabbed. Do your fucking research.” She pulled it out finally. “But you’ll see for yourself in just a few minutes,” she almost giggled.

Then I heard something outside. Vehicles rolling, crunching over the gravel and asphalt. The DA was still for a moment, hoping it would pass. I didn’t know where we were, but we were probably in the middle of the city. There were cars everywhere. But then there was more of it before several car doors slammed. When I glanced towards the windows, I realized they were covered in fresh newspapers.

She took in a deep breath through her nose, simply annoyed at possibly being interrupted. She peered over her shoulder again at the frail girl. “Were we followed?” She asked in a quiet but firm voice.

“No, mistress,” she breathed, her head ducked so hard it made her shoulders curl in. Her eyes were trained on the floor.

“You better hope you’re right,” she said calmly. She tapped the tip of my nose with the gun. “Don’t you move a muscle,” she sang the words. The lawyer straightened up to her full height, weapon gripped at her side. “I’m going to look outside. I’ll be right back.”

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Thanks to Gina for proofreading!