Sharp Edges (27 page)

I felt like he’d sucked
all the air out of my body. I couldn’t breathe. Instead, I just stared at him in horror.

An evil grin spread across his face. “Figured it out yet?”

“I…”

He grabbed my right breast and squeezed it painfully. “Does this help?
It’s not the first time I’ve touched your tits.”

“No!” I cried out, pushing against him
, but he was strong.

He grabbed the back of my hair with one hand and
my throat with the other. “Now listen here, you stupid bitch,” he spat. “We’re going for a little ride. You come, without a fight, and I won’t kill your fucking mom or your pain-in-the-ass kids.”

“They’re alive?” I whispered.

His eyes penetrated mine. “For now. You come with me peacefully and they’ll stay that way. Otherwise, I’ll skin them alive, right in front of you.”

Realizing he’d probably killed Scott and Darcy, I knew his threats were
more than valid.

I let out a whimper and nodded.

“Good,” he said, loosening his hold on my neck. “Don’t you dare try and fuck with me, though. I’ll make sure you regret it for the rest of your life.”

I shook my head. “I won’t.”

Just then, someone rang the doorbell.

“Fuck, who the hell is that, now?”
he snapped.

“I don’t know,” I replied in a shaky voice.
“The cops?”

He paused for a minute and shook his head.
“No. I don’t think so. Get rid of whoever it is,” he ordered, pushing me out of the kitchen. “Tell them you’re in mourning or something,” he said following me. “Say what you have to say to make them leave or I’ll kill everyone in this house.”

The doorbell rang a second time
as we moved towards the front door. He pulled out his gun and stood to the side of it. “Open it,” he whispered.

I cleared my throat and opened the door.

“Jesus, Lindsey,” exclaimed Jake, his hands on his hips. “What the hell is going on?”

“I’m
… just… tired,” I murmured, trying to remain calm. “It’s been a really, long day.”

His studied me
. “Are you okay?”

I
forced a smile. “Yes. I’m fine. Like I said, just had a long day.”

His eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second and then returned to normal. “I understand,” he said. “The funeral was today?”

I nodded quickly. “Yeah. I really need to lie down now, Jake. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

“No problem. I’ll se
e you soon. Sleep well,” he answered, turning away.

I stared at him longingly as he stepped off the porch. Even after everything he’d done,
I knew that Jake was saner than the person standing next to me, aiming a gun at my head.

“Clos
e the fucking door,” whispered Parker.

Trembling, I obeyed
.

“
Jesus Christ. He’s just as stupid as you, even for a cop. A funeral? The body hasn’t even been released yet.”

My eyes filled with more frustrated tears
. To him Scott was just a body, nothing more.

He gr
abbed my arm and pulled me towards the kitchen and the back of the house.

“Please,” I whispered. “I’ll do anything you want if you stop this. Please.”

He yanked on my arm harder. “Guess what? You’re going to do exactly what I want anyway. Just shut the fuck up before I kill you right away so I don’t have to listen to your whiny voice one more minute.”

“Why are you doing this?” I choked. “I haven’t done
anything
to you.”

He pushed me against the back door and put the gun to my face. “You’re right
about that, you didn’t do anything to me, but you fucked with my brother, Jerry. I’d do anything to protect him. Kill
anyone
who messes with him.”

“Jerry is your brother?”

He smiled, cruelly. “What, you don’t see the resemblance?”

I shook my head.

He traced the gun along my cheek. “We had separate fathers,” he said with a psychotic gleam in his eyes. “No big deal. Our mother was a fucking whore, just like the rest of you sluts. A good-for-nothing slut who sold herself out and never protected either of us when we really needed it. But
I
won’t let my brother down. Nobody will ever
fuck
with him again, not if I can help it.”

“But…”

His face twisted into a scowl. “No more questions. Let’s get out of here and have us a little fun.” He then pulled me away from the door and opened it.

“Just one more question,
did you really kill Scott and Darcy?” I whispered.

He
grabbed my arm and pulled me outside. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Please,
” I begged. “Just tell me.”

He stopped and turned to face me.
The satisfied grin on his face made me recoil in horror. “Let’s just say…”

Before he
could finish, a large shadow rushed Parker from the side, tackling him to the ground. I quickly moved away from the two struggling men, and back into the house.

I slammed the door and locked it.
“Ohmygod,” I sobbed.

A gunshot
went off, and it was at that point I’d remembered my own revolver. I rushed to the bedroom to grab the gun from my closet when I heard someone kick the back door down.

Terrified
, I raised the gun and pointed it towards my bedroom door, my hands shaking as I waited.

Crap, the safety
!

I unlocked it and
pointed the gun towards the door just as it was flung open. Frightened beyond belief, I pulled the trigger and fired.

“Lindsey!” grunted
Jake, falling down to his knees.

“
No!” I choked, rushing towards him as he collapsed to the floor. I bent down on my knees and touched his flushed face. “Jake, oh, my God – are you okay?”

He groaned.
“I…”

It was then that I heard the click of a gun and looked up to find Parker aiming
his towards my head.

He smiled triumphantly. “Looks like you shot lover
boy by mistake. How unfortunate for you.”

I stared at him incredulously. “I thought…”

He snorted. “What, that he’d killed me?”

I didn’t answer.

“Let’s go, Lindsey,” he demanded. “Hand me your gun first.”

“It’s
there,” I said, pointing towards the floor.

He reached out his hand.
“Fine, bring it to me, and no funny business.”

I glanced at Jake’s still form and swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Get the fucking gun now!”

I no
dded and crawled towards the revolver, grabbing it.

“Bring it to me,” he ordered.

Before I could move, Jake’s arms snaked out and grabbed Parker’s ankles, making him lose his balance. Parker screamed in rage as he fell forward. Then, at the last minute, he twisted his body and aimed his revolver at Jake’s head.

But,
I fired my gun first.

The bullet
caught Parker in the cheek and I watched in horror as his face became a grisly mess of cartilage and blood.

“Oh God!”
I shuddered, closing my eyes.

“You okay?” asked Jake, crawling towards me.

I dropped my gun, now shaking uncontrollably. I nodded and wiped my face.

“
Lindsey,” he whispered, standing up.

“I
…I don’t understand,” I asked, incredulously. “How come you’re not dead?”

He smiled
, grimly. “I’m wearing a bulletproof vest.”

“How di
d you know?”

“I knew there was something wrong right away,” he said, pulling me
up and into his arms.

I
pushed him away. “I have to go check on my family.”

“Of course.”

He followed me as I rushed out of the room and ran up the upstairs.

“Thank God
!” I cried, never feeling so relieved in my life. Tied to three of my folding chairs were my mother and two children, very much alive but obviously terrified beyond belief. I removed the duct tape from my mother’s mouth while Jake began freeing the children.

“Did
you catch that bastard?” hollered my mother.

I kneeled down to free her feet.
“Yes. He’s gone. Are you guys okay?” I asked noticing the bruise on her face.

“I’m fine,” said my mother. “So are the kids.”

Regan wiped her tears and nodded. “Is he really gone?”

I
stood up and pulled Regan into my arms while Jake freed Jeremy. “Yes, honey.”

“He said he’d kill you if we tried to escape,” sobbed Jeremy.

“He’s gone, honey,” I said. “He can’t hurt anyone.”

“I’ll call the police,” said Jake
, standing back up.

“Thank you
,” I said, now holding both of my kids tightly.

“Who was he?” asked my mother
, rubbing her wrist. “I didn’t even get a chance to see his face. He wore a mask.”

I told
her everything I knew while Jake walked back into the bedroom and listened in.

“I’m so glad I made it back into town,” he said
after I finished. “I almost missed my flight.”

“I though
t you were supposed to be gone for a couple of days,” I said.

He sighed. “
I was misled to believe that my informant had skipped town, and then to top it all off, somebody stole my cell phone. I have a feeling that this Parker character was responsible for that, too. I think he wanted me out of town so he could get to you.”

I stared at him for a minute and then turned to my mother. “Watch the kids. I need to talk to Jake alone for a minute.”

She nodded. “Of course, dear.”

“What’s up?” he asked, following me downstairs.

I turned around to face him. “I know.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You know?”

I glared at him. “The photos, the lies, your little boy!”

Jake took a step backwards.
“My what?”

I laughed coldly
. “Your
son
. I met Connie.”

“Connie?”

“Don’t play me for a fool, Jake. I met your wife!”

He stared at me
blankly for a minute and then started laughing.

“Oh, you find this funny?”

He moved towards me, still shaking his head in amusement. “Lindsey…”

I stared at him incredulously.
“How dare you laugh!”  I snapped.

“Lindsey,” he said, grabbing
both of my wrists and pulling me towards him. “Just settle down.”

I struggled to break free, furious
. “Jake, dammit, let me go!”

He tightened his grip. “Lindsey
, listen to me, Connie is not my wife, she’s married to the guy I’m renting the house from.”

I froze and stared up at him. “What?”

He chuckled. “Yes. His name is Tony Bradley and I’m renting the house. Actually, his mother purchased it for him after he and his wife separated. Now he’s renting it out to make some extra cash, I guess.”

I raised my chin defiantly
. “Okay, what about those pictures you have of me in your nightstand? What in the hell is that all about?”

Jake
closed his eyes and sighed. “Fuck. I was going to tell you about those photos in time…”

“
Is that so?”

He nodded. “Yes. Tina gave those photos
to me. She found them in the trunk of Jerry’s car and was pissed as all hell.”

My eyes widened
. “Jerry took them?”

“Either Jerry or Parker. I didn’t tell you right away because I
knew you were terrified out of your mind already.”

I released a long sigh and then looked up at him
. “I’m sorry.”

He pulled me back into his arms.
“No,
I’m
sorry. I should have told you.”

“It would have saved me a lot of
stress and worry,” I said.

“
You’re right. I was just trying to protect you, though. I guess it backfired.”

“Speaking of protection, what
ever happened to Carter?”

Jake’s face fell.
“He’s dead, too. I found him in your flower garden when I went through the backyard. Apparently, Parker took him out.”