Chapter Eighteen

“Take it easy, Girl. He’ll be here,” Darrell said behind her as she peeked out the front window.

“I know. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, so I feel a bit edgy.”

“Everything will be okay. I trust that man more than most, or I never would have wanted you with him.”

She walked over and hugged him. “You’ve been the best dad a girl could ever ask for.”

He cleared his throat and hugged her tightly. “If I got to pick my daughter, you would have been it.”

They looked at each other and caught the emotion in both their gazes.

She laughed. “We’ve got to stop, or we’ll both cry.”

Darrell scowled. “Hell, Girl. I never cry. I just got dust in my eye.”

She snorted. “Okaaay. We’ll say that.”

The knock on the door made her jump, making the older man chuckle. She peeked out the window before opening the door.

“Hi,” she said, stepping back and letting Zeke in.

He bent and kissed her on the lips. “Good morning. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes.”

“Call me later,” Zeke told Darrell.

“You got it. Be safe, you two.”

“We will,” Zeke said, wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her to the passenger side of the car. He opened the door and helped her in before getting her seat belt on.

Once they pulled out, he reached for her hand. “How’d you sleep last night?” he asked.

“Horribly.”

“Me, too,” he said.

Her eyes widened. “Are you that worried?”

He grinned. “Hell, no. My body is so achy from not having you. Even masturbating doesn’t help.”

The thought of watching him stroke himself made saliva pool in her mouth and her cunt seep cum, wetting her panties.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he growled. “You’re making it worse.”

She turned her head to look outside her window. She tried hard to get the image out of her head, but it was impossible.

They pulled in behind the building and parked. He turned to look at her and sighed.

“If we don’t get out now, I’ll have your panties off and my face between your legs.”

She almost moaned. “That was mean.” Now, she knew her body wouldn’t relax anytime soon.

Zeke smirked. “Hey, if I have to live in agony, you do, too.”

“Wow. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He got out and came around her side of the vehicle and helped her out before taking her hand and leading her into the building.

She yelped when Zeke quickly shoved her behind him. She almost asked what he was doing until she heard Fletcher’s father speak.

“I warned you, Kayla,” the man said.

“What the fuck do you want?” Zeke said.

Zeke’s voice sent a chill down her spine. She’d never heard him speak in that deadly tone before.

She slowly took her phone out of her purse and texted Darrell about the situation.

“I want you both gone,” Harold said.

“Gone? As in dead?” Zeke asked.

“It’s the only way.”

“So, you’re a murderer, and for what? Because we made your son sad?” Zeke said snidely.

“Well, yes. I’ve disappointed him too many times before. He hasn’t talked to me in years. I told myself if there were a way to help him, I’d do whatever it took.”

“You’ll go to prison for the rest of your life,” Zeke growled.

“No one knows I’m here. We’ll go out the back and get in your car.”

Kayla peeked around Zeke’s arm to see the gun in the older man’s hand. Zeke pushed her back.

“Jesus, don’t you know there are cameras everywhere? Darrell told me about them.”

The man froze, and his brow puckered. “No, I don’t think so.”

Zeke snorted. “Aren’t you on the city council? Don’t you remember how Darrell fought to get cameras put in around town?”

The man faltered. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I have to help my son.”

“The hell you do, you fucking bastard.”

Kayla looked down the hall to see Fletcher with his gun out and pointed at his father.

“Son, I’m doing this for you.”

“Oh, bullshit. I don’t want them killed. How would that make me happy? I know I’ll never have Kayla, but it would hurt me to see her hurt or worse. Haven’t you had enough of killing, Father?”

Kayla felt Zeke stiffen and placed her hand in the middle of his back.

“Son, we talked about this. It had to be done.”

“You sick fuck,” Fletcher yelled. “There was no reason in the world good enough to kill my mother.”

“Son, she was going to run away with that disgusting man. We would have never lived it down,” Harold said.

“You took two people’s lives because you thought your reputation would be tarnished? What kind of reason is that?” Fletcher growled. “I wish I’d been able to prove it. Your ass would have already been in prison. But that’s okay. You can go now and live out the rest of your life there. What do you think will happen to your reputation then, Father?”

“Son…”

“Enough. Put the gun down,” Fletcher said.

“I can’t go to prison,” Harold said.

“You don’t have a choice,” Fletcher said.

“There are always choices, Son.”

Kayla had no idea what happened. Zeke lunged forward at the same time Fletcher yelled, and then she heard the gunshot.

When she was able to see what happened, Fletcher’s father was dead on the floor with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head and the gun still clenched in his hand. Blood, bone fragments, and brain matter were sprayed all over the floor, walls, and ceiling.

Zeke took her into his arms and turned her away from the horror. “Don’t look, Baby.”

“He killed himself?” she whispered.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I would guess it was because he knew he’d go to prison, and he couldn’t take the shame of it.”

“So, Fletcher has to deal with all this.”

Zeke tightened his arms around her. “Not by himself. We’ll be there for him.”

She nodded and rested her head against his chest. It was finally over, at least the fear of what might happen. Now, they’d deal with the aftermath.