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“Now, let’s go swim. I’m burning up,” he says, pulling me up, throwing me over his shoulder, and jumping in. I try not to scream, but it slips out anyway. When we surface, I hear a whistle being blown. I wipe the water from my eyes and look around, making sure Lexi is okay. It blows again. When I look over at the lifeguard, he’s staring at me and Aiden shaking his head. I turn to hide my smile and splash Aiden.
“You got us in trouble,” I snicker, sticking my tongue out.
“Sweetheart, you knew I was trouble the second you laid eyes on me,” he says, flashing a salacious smile. My heart beats faster, remembering him walking in the door. Trouble doesn’t even begin to cover what I thought when his emerald eyes met my turquoise ones.
Chapter eight
“Nope, we’ll be home alone,” I say seductively into my phone, walking up to Aiden’s front door. I had planned on surprising him with dinner at his place, but right when I answered his call, the security guard downstairs said hello and Aiden immediately knew where I was. Busted. “Lexi is out with Sydney for a few hours.” Aiden growls into the phone. “You better hurry up,” I say before ending the phone call.
I’m thinking about the things we can do without having to worry about little ears as I open the door. My mind is so distracted with Aiden and what’s to come, I don’t register it until it’s too late. Someone is standing in the entryway. Pointing a gun right at me.
“Shut the door, Addison,” Jessie grates out. I quickly look her over. Her eyes dart to the door and back to me. “Now!” I flinch at her demand. There’s a desperate air that surrounds her. She’s rocking back and forth from foot to foot and the hand that’s holding the gun shakes.
“Okay, Jessie. I’m shutting it,” I say, putting up my hands. I still have my phone in one hand. Unfortunately, Aiden’s not on the line. I shut the door but not all the way, hoping when Aiden gets here he’ll be able to hear us before coming in. I’m also hoping she doesn’t notice.
As soon as I turn around, she tells me to drop my phone and kick it away. I do what she says because it’s obvious she’s unstable right now. She looks like shit. Her button-up shirt is askew and her hair looks like it hasn’t been washed in days. Then it hits me. Presley.
“Jessie, where is Presley?”
“No!” she snaps, shaking the gun at me. “You don’t get to ask where Presley is at. She’s not yours!” My chest tightens, worrying about the safety of Presley. Please, God, let her be okay.
“I know she’s not, Jessie. She’s yours.” My voice is rushed as I try to placate her. “Your beautiful little girl needs you, Jessie. Just put the gun down.” I take a step toward her. She straightens her arm, steadying the gun right at me. I stop moving and put my hands up again.
“That’s what you’d like, isn’t it, Addison? How’s it feel to be at the end of a pointed gun? I can tell you, it’s much better on this end.” Her voice drips sarcasm as she regains a little more control. I remember how I pulled a gun on her when she ended up in Aiden’s bed, uninvited. I don’t know if she knows, but I’ve been here before and it never turns out well for the person behind the gun.
I wonder what her original plan was. She couldn’t have known I was coming over. Aiden was her target, not me. But why? She hates me. I take a couple steps to the side, in the direction of the living room. I need to move away from the door so she’s not facing it.
“Stop moving!” she yells. I immediately stop. She’s pivoted enough that the door isn’t in her direct view anymore.
“Jessie, you don’t want to do this. Think about your little girl.”
Her laugh is low and snide. “Oh, yes, I do. You have taken everything away from me.” I feel the crease between my eyebrows form. She twists her lips, studying me. “Oh, you haven’t heard? Your dearest brother is trying to take my daughter away from me.”
“I hadn’t heard.”
“Liar! Who told Brooks he had a child?” She waves the gun around as her voice escalates. I keep my eyes on her trigger finger. How is it I’ve become a psycho magnet? “You know…” she pauses and stares at me for a beat, “…Presley wasn’t even part of the plan.” She shakes her head and mumbles under her breath, then lets out a small laugh. “I hadn’t planned on getting pregnant,” she quips. There’s a small part of me that is relieved Jessie isn’t that much of a conniving bitch that she’d planned on using a child for revenge, but it’s a miniscule part because she did end up using a child.
“What exactly was your plan?” I ask, confused. I need her to keep talking. Aiden should be here soon.
“To make your life a living hell by marrying your brother.” Her tone is matter-of-fact, like it explains everything, but it doesn’t make any sense. That was a huge assumption Brooks would have married her. Even then, I’m not sure how marrying Brooks would have made my life a living hell. It would’ve sucked having her for a sister-in-law, but living hell is a bit of a stretch. I’ve lived in hell and that doesn’t even come close. I think the rational part of her brain is wired wrong. “But then I got pregnant. Timing was close enough to when I saw Aiden and made Ryan think we had sex. It was like a gift from God. Aiden and I were meant to be together. But then you had to show up and ruin everything. Again.” She spits.
My skin prickles from the anger of her words. I know it’s about to happen before it does. The gun goes off and my whole body tenses, and I instinctively put my hands up to my head, waiting for the bullet to rip through my body.
I slowly blow out the breath I was holding and gather myself, standing up straight. I haven’t been hit. Jessie, still holding the gun pointed right at me, flashes a wicked grin. “You have destroyed me. I have nothing left to lose because of you. You have taken everything from me,” she seethes. Her eyes are cold and empty.
“Jessie, don’t do this. You’re not thinking right now,” I plead. Tears well up in my eyes. I am at her mercy. I know she’s past the point of reason. I send out a silent plea. Please, God, I don’t want to die.
I close my eyes briefly and a tear escapes down my cheek. My mind races through images of Aiden and Lexi. I hope they know how much I love them. When I open my eyes, I catch a glimpse of movement toward the backside of Jessie. Aiden. He opens the door slowly, walking behind her.
The gun goes off simultaneously as Aiden takes a flying leap.
Darkness follows.
***
“Addison,” I hear Aiden repeating my name. My head feels like a hammer is beating down on it. My vision blurs at first when I open my eyes, but everything becomes clear quickly. I bring my hand to my head. I’m lying on the ground and Aiden is crouching beside me.
“Damn, my head hurts.” I try to sit up.
