12

12

KADE

Stacey shakes her head and tightens her arms around herself, looking off into the distance now, waiting for me to pull the trigger again. To put an end to her life. Waiting to give up everything to win me my freedom.

Bernadette’s sadistic laugh comes through my earpiece, loud enough for Stacey to hear. “Are you intentionally playing with your food?”

“You know I like the chase,” I say, removing my finger from the trigger as it spasms.

Accidentally shooting her in the head is one of my biggest fears. Especially after my fuck-up earlier. She has a gash on her cheek from where I hit her, and I feel ill that I hurt her.

“I’m not in the mood for games, Kade. You have a job to do. And I’m busy.”

My eye twitches, my jaw ticking, and I swallow hard. “I do this, and you’ll cut all ties with me?”

Stacey closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, before opening them again to glare at me. A tear slides down her cheek.

“If that’s Bernadette, tell her that her days are limited. When they find the old bitch, she won’t last a day. That evil, vile, disgusting rapist of a woman.”

Damn.

“She’s feisty. I understand her appeal to you before. Pretty, spunky, with a little bit of attitude,” Bernadette says. “Well, give us a show then, Kade. Shoot her. Shoot the slut who cheated on you with your brother.”

“She didn’t cheat on me,” I snap.

Stacey frowns as I add, “Watch your fucking mouth.”

“Excuse me?” Bernadette replies in confusion.

I lower my aim from Stacey and walk to my bike, grabbing my phone and smashing it onto the ground until it’s in pieces. I pull the earpiece out and detach the wire, tossing it into a nearby bush.

Stacey stares at me like I’m a lunatic. “What are you doing?”

I don’t respond as I shoot the cameras, getting both the first time and breaking the last connection Bernadette has to where I am, what I’m saying and what the fuck happens next.

The sound is deafening, the gunshots still echoing far in the distance, and I turn to see Stacey’s shoulders tensed as she stares at me in shock.

My ears ring as I drop my arm to my side, the weapon dangling from my twitching fingers until it hits the ground. I lose my breath for a long minute, just staring at her.

This is it.

This is the moment I’ve been playing in my head since I crashed my car trying to get to her a year ago. My first fucking chance to actually speak to her face to face.

“Did you get my voicemail?”

She stands as still as a statue, unsure what to say as confusion fills her. Her hand moves behind her back, feeling for the handle of the car door. She’s scared. She’s scared of me.

I’ve broken the last piece of us that was left hanging by a thread. But I had to. I had to make Bernadette believe I would hurt her, so I could get this moment right now.

Tear trails stain her cheeks, and I want so badly to wipe them away.

But she’ll probably slap me – or scream. Either would be a nightmare.

What the fuck do you expect?

“Did you get my voicemail?” I ask her again, desperate as I step forward, causing her to back into the car, and I freeze. “A year ago. I crashed the car trying to get to you. I called. I left a voicemail. Did you listen to it? I meant every word.”

My hair is a mess as I pull off the helmet and throw it aside, fixing my mouth covering before raising both my hands to show I don’t have anything on me.

“Freckles…”

“Don’t you dare call me that! Don’t you dare!” Her face contorts as she fights tears, her chin trembling as she points a finger at me. “You tried to shoot me.”

My voice is low, quiet. “I intentionally missed.”

She steps forward, and I flinch back. “You hit me.” My eyes lift to the cut on her cheek. It’s quite deep. It’ll likely scar. “Why?”

“I had to make it look real,” I reply quietly.

“Make it look real?” she retorts. “Were you performing the entire time? Everything you were saying to me? When you beat up Jason again?”

“Freckles,” I say again, my chest tight. I’m running out of time. “Please. Just tell me if you heard my voicemail.”

“No. Was it another threat? Another deal to kill me to save yourself? I feel sorry for you, Kade. I really do. I want you out of the mess you’re in, and I’m willing to give up my life to give you your freedom, but don’t you dare try and call me that name.”

She gets closer, and my insides shrink to nothing at her red, swollen eyes and the look of disgust on her face. “Stac—”

The slap knocks my face to the side. “I tried to tell you before you ran off and left me on my knees on your bedroom floor. You won’t silence me again. You wouldn’t listen before, but I’m fucking talking now. I was raped. I was raped by my own stepbrother and all his friends. Jason was drugged, and he was raped too! And you…” She covers her mouth and steps back once. “You left me when I needed you. My dad died, and I was alone and scared.”

“I know,” I say quietly, stepping forward and trying to take her hands, but she pulls away. “I saw the full footage of that night. That’s when I tried to find you and crashed my car. I called you. I left you a voicemail.”

She doesn’t pull away again as I snatch her hands in mine. With my gloves on, I can’t feel how soft her hands are.

“I’m sorry,” I say, my voice breaking. “I’m so sorry, Stacey. I’m sorry I left. I’m sorry I didn’t realise you were being abused at home. He was hitting you, controlling you, and I had no idea. He—” I swallow. “That motherfucker took our daughter from us, and I left. And then I walked away from you a year ago. I’m just so fucking sorry, and I have no idea how to make it up to you.”

Her forehead lowers to my chest; she must be able to feel how fast and hard my heart is beating. “Please just shoot me and get your freedom, Kade. I can’t hear this – not when I’m ready to give up. Please don’t give me something to live for.”

I shake my head and lift my hand to her hair. “I’m not going to shoot you. I wanted to speak to you where she couldn’t hear me,” I say, wetting my lips. “Everything I’ve been doing since that contract, she’s been there. In my head – and watching me. I couldn’t stand the chance of her finding out—” I stop, and it’s then I taste my own salty tear on my lips, soaking through the material. “She couldn’t find out that I…”

She backs away from me. She’s pale and looks exhausted. “Find out what?”

I swallow a lump threatening to suffocate me and force out the words, even though they’re muffled through the material covering my mouth. “That I’m still in love with you.”

“You’re not,” she replies, her cheeks soaked. “If you were still in love with me, we wouldn’t have just spent years in hell, Kade. If you were in love with me, you would have stayed by my side when I tried to tell you the truth a year ago. You don’t love me – I’m just someone you used to have in your life when it was normal, so you hold on to the thought of me.”

“That’s not even slightly true. If I could go back, I’d go back to the very beginning with you. I’d protect you and our daughter and hide you both from the ugliness of the world.”

“There is no going back,” she replies, her voice shaking from both the coldness around us and the terror I’ve put her through. “Our girl is dead, and so is our relationship.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I love you.”

“Please stop saying that, Kade,” she says, sniffing, her jaw shaking. “I want you free from the Sawyers – can you just hurry up and complete your contract? I have nothing left, but you have a family waiting for you to come home. Please. Please let me give you this.”

Carefully, my boots move forward again, carrying me towards her until her back presses to the SUV. “I would rather kill myself. I did what I had to do to get us here. I had to apologise to you. I’m not going to complete the contract.”

Stacey shakes her head. “Then she’ll kill you.”

“I’m aware.”

She flinches as I tuck a curl behind her ear.

“I’ll deal with Bernadette. I just needed to apologise. You don’t have to ever forgive me, but I want you to know that if I had all the time in the world, I would spend it trying to win you back. I’d prove myself worthy of you, Stacey. Because there hasn’t been a day that’s passed where you haven’t kept me going. My love might not be enough for you, but it’s all I have left. I love you. I love you so fucking much that I want to live.”

She doesn’t pull her hand away. “Then live. Finish your assignment.” Her breaths are uneven as she shakes. “Please live for me.”

I close my eyes. “I can’t.”

Tyres screech in the distance, and we both snap our heads in the direction of the cars heading straight for us.

“Finish the task, Kade,” she demands, stepping out of my hold. “We have no future together, but you can have one. Love isn’t enough to fix us. Even your kind of love.” Her head turns to look at the SUVs speeding towards us, then her pleading expression is back on me. “Please shoot me. Please. Before she reaches us.”

I narrow my eyes. “That’s not Bernadette. Barry must’ve tracked your phone.” I turn and head for my bike, snatching up my gun from the ground. “Motherfucker.”

When I grab my helmet and throw my leg over the bike, Stacey takes my arm. “Please stay. You don’t need to do this alone.” Her eyes are desperate. “Please.” She tugs. “They can help you. You can still finish your assignment. I’ll be okay. I promise I’m okay with dying to save you.”

I shrug my arm free, fixing the covering over my mouth when it slips. “I’m not fucking shooting you, Stacey. And them helping will only get everyone killed.”

Stacey grabs one of the bike’s handles. “Tell me what you said in the voicemail.”

I stop trying to twist the key, dropping my head. “It’s a bit pointless now, don’t you think?” I look up at her and pull down my visor. “Like you said, we’re done. We didn’t have a chance anyway. It was always going to be me or you who died today, and I would never let anything happen to you. I just needed time to say I was sorry before it was too late.”

Her hand snaps out to grab my gloved fingers, the other pulling up my visor. “I want to know what you said in the voicemail.”

The doors fly open in the distance. Boots hit the ground – people are running towards us – but my eyes are on Stacey.

She moves closer, gripping my hand like I’ll vanish on the spot. Her forehead is nearly touching the helmet. “What did you say in the voicemail?”

I lift my free hand to her face, my fingers spasming over the gash on her cheek. Instead of telling her what I said, I smile, even though she can’t see my mouth. “The first time I saw you, I was yours. I’ll always be yours, Freckles. Our girl will be proud of the woman you’ve become. You’ll both always be my girls.”

Before she can respond, I lift my gaze over her shoulder to see Barry coming towards us, his gun raised, pointing straight at me. “Get the fuck away from her,” he warns. “I don’t give a fuck who you are, sir. Stacey is my priority.”

I raise a brow and glance at Stacey, who shakes her head, raising her voice enough for him to hear. “No, don’t shoot! He’s okay!”

Barry stops, his eyes flickering between the two of us, realising I’m not trying to kill her – and lowers his aim. Before he can say anything, my dad grabs him by the nape, ordering him never to point a gun at his son again before shoving him aside.

Mum is crying. Jason and Ewan are holding her hands to comfort her while my dad marches towards me looking more than pissed off.

I feel ill, like a sudden dizziness has taken over me – I’m going to vomit.

It’s the same feeling I get when Bernadette makes me go cold turkey – the stomach cramps and sweats and everything else. I end up blacking out and waking up covered in vomit – not knowing what the fuck happened. I’d put it down to withdrawal symptoms, but I’ve had a few lines of coke today, so it can’t be that.

Stacey leans down to me – I didn’t know I’d folded forward – our eyes clashing as she grabs my helmet and pulls my head up. “Are you okay?”

I huff and force myself to straighten, my eyes flickering to Stacey and my parents. I pull my hand free, but Stacey tries to grab me again. “Let me go,” I snap. “This is dangerous for all of you. Do you have any idea what Bernadette will do to get me back?”

“Then she can go through all of us. Please, Kade. Please don’t go,” she whispers, begging me. “I need you.”

Everything relaxes. Fuck, I stop fighting her. How can I leave her again?

There’s no chance I’m getting away from them now. And their stupidity in trying to save me will get them all killed. I give them a day before they’re six feet under. Barry better have a plan – he’s been running the show since I left a year ago, taking care of missions and assignments and all the guards.

But he just had a baby girl. And he’s still here? Fuck.

None of them are going to understand that I was trying to keep them all safe all these years, and now they’re fucking up my plan.

But then Stacey’s face screws up when a squealing voice fills the air, and every single one of my nerve endings shrivel. Jason tries to grab the annoyance, but she slinks under his arms.

“Kade!” Cassie yells. “Oh my God! I missed you so much! Tell them we’re getting married and to stop bullying me! Oh and get your filthy hands off him, you whore!”

“Fuck off,” I mutter through the material covering my mouth.

Stacey scowls, her hand clenching into a fist as if she’s going to punch her. And as much as I’d love to see it, I won’t put Stacey under any stress.

Cassie comes running straight for us, but I roll my eyes and put a bullet in her skull before she can reach me.

Stacey flinches and turns away in revulsion as Cassie’s body drops to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Gone. Dead. Good-fucking-bye.

Dad steps over her body and shakes his head at me. “Stop being a fucking asshole and get in the car.”