Icy fear flooded my veins as I stared at the gun pointed at my heart.
“Not so feisty now, are you?” Beatrice-Rose sneered.
My eyes flicked up to her face. There was a look of wildness there, of insanity.
“Caleb. Oh God, where is he? I swear if you hurt him—”
“Hurt him?” Her upper lip curled as if I’d insulted her. “Hurt my Caleb?”
“Where is he?”
“Where is he?” she mimicked, her voice taunting and childlike as she moved closer to me.
I cried out in pain as she slammed the gun into my cheek.
“Hurts, doesn’t it? Uh-uh-uh.” I prepared to strike, but Beatrice-Rose stepped back, shaking her head and pointing the gun at my head again. “Make another move, and I’ll blow your brains out. Red.” Feral amusement lit up her eyes. “Red. Get it?” She laughed, and there was madness in it. “You’ll earn your name once your brains and blood are splattered on the floor. Red. Red. Red!”
“You’re crazy.”
She froze, the amusement leaving her face. “What did you say?” Her voice held a warning to tread very carefully.
“Just let me go. Let me go, and I won’t tell anyone about this.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you think I’m stupid? You’re never getting out of here.”
A fresh wave of terror slid up my spine. Beatrice-Rose was going to kill me.
“Where’s Caleb?”
“Don’t say his name! You don’t deserve him. Move!” she ordered, slamming a door open. The banging noise echoed throughout the empty house. “Down those stairs.”
It was pitch-dark, the smell of turpentine and fresh paint hitting my nostrils. She moved behind me, shoving me forward. I grabbed the railing to keep from stumbling, scraping my knuckles against the rough stone walls.
“I said move!”
This was my chance. If she was close enough behind me, I could surprise her, grab her, and push her down the stairs.
But the lights came on suddenly, blinding me. Before I could recover, hands shoved at me mercilessly, and I fell down the stairs with a scream. I was fast enough to shield my head, but I grunted as pain shot up my left leg when I landed hard on it. I realized there were only a few stairs. If there had been more, I would have been hurt far worse.
I could hear her laughing.
In my back pocket, my phone vibrated. I had to find a way to get it without her seeing me. I had to answer it or dial 911, but she was already skipping down the stairs toward me, a triumphant smile on her face.
“Not so pretty now, are you? Maybe I should cut up that face he loves so much before I kill you. Then he wouldn’t love it anymore, would he?”
Anger bubbled in my throat, pushing away the fear. I had been helpless before. I knew how fear could numb your limbs and mind so you were trapped, at the mercy of someone evil.
But not this time.
No, not this time. I wouldn’t go without a fight. I’d kill her before she killed me.
I could feel my pocketknife biting into my back as I carefully sat up. If Beatrice-Rose came closer, I could jump up and stab her.
Still, I looked around for any additional weapon I could use to defend myself. It was obvious the owners were renovating. Some of the furniture was stacked on the other side of the room. There was drywall everywhere, exposed beams, and tables covered in plastic. There should be tools, maybe on those tables, but they were too far away.
“All my life, I’ve never been good enough,” Beatrice-Rose snarled. “But with Caleb, it’s different. He made me feel beautiful, important. I was enough. You should have stayed away. He’s mine. He’s mine, and you stole him from me. But I’ll get him back. He always comes back.”
“Not this time. Not if you kill me.”
“We’ll see about that. Daddy killed Atlas, didn’t he? Daddy killed Atlas, and I forgave him. And Caleb will forgive me just as I forgave Daddy for killing my pet rabbit. You’re Caleb’s Atlas. You’re his rabbit. Do you see?”
She stood there, aiming the gun at my head, scratching her arm absently until it started to bleed. Her eyes were almost pleading for me to understand.
Keep her talking. Keep her distracted.
When she started pacing back and forth, muttering under her breath, I carefully reached for my phone behind me, pressing the emergency button. When I heard the quiet voice of the operator, I sagged in relief and placed the phone on the floor, hiding it behind me. Now they would hear; now they would come.
“Put the gun down, Beatrice-Rose. Please.”
Her eyes seemed cloudy, crazed. “Daddy killed Atlas with a hammer. Did you know that? Because Atlas ruined his shirt. He hurt Daddy’s feelings. You hurt Caleb. You hurt him!”
“I understand,” I said quickly. “I see what you’re trying to say.”
She nodded, smiling at me like a proud teacher whose student answered a difficult question.
“But shh.” She placed her index finger on her lips. “You can’t tell. You can’t tell, okay?”
I nodded.
“I tried really hard to be a good girl. But Caleb can’t see that anymore because you’re in my way! You ruined everything, Red. You ruined Caleb.”
“I’m sorry, Beatrice-Rose.”
Slowly, I pulled the pocketknife from my back pocket, unfolded it.
“I was going to give you a few more days with Caleb before I got rid of you, but that moron Justin got himself arrested. I heard Caleb on the phone. He’s on his way to the station to see that lowlife now. There’s no more time to waste. I have to get rid of you. It was all Justin’s fault, all his plan.”
Relief flooded through me that Caleb was all right.
She stepped closer, swinging the gun beside her like a toy. My palms were damp with sweat as I gripped the pocketknife.
“Was it his idea to plant drugs in my purse? The drugs in Caleb’s car?”
She paused. “I would never do anything to hurt Caleb! That was all Justin’s doing! I nearly killed that moron for doing that to my Caleb. And if he hadn’t run away, I would have. The drugs in your purse?” She laughed. “That was all me. Not very original, I’ll admit, but I wanted Miranda to see! To think that they were your drugs in Caleb’s car. Then she’d hate you.”
So I was right.
“That cheap key chain you bought for him? I burned it.” She snickered. “It’s gone. You know how I got into Caleb’s apartment, right? He gave me his code. He loves me so much that he gave me the code to his apartment. He trusts me. You, however, couldn’t be trusted. You’re a fake, a liar.”
Her eyes narrowed in anger. “But how the fuck do you get away with everything? Miranda’s even on your side now! How dare she accuse me of lying to her about you? You’re really good at hiding your true self. You fooled her. You fooled Caleb.”
“You’re right. Let me go. Just let me go. I’ll talk to Caleb.”
“Liar,” she spat out. “You think I’d believe you? You think I’m stupid?”
“Of course not. You were the one behind the fire at the shop, right? You paid them. You paid those boys.”
“Of course. Idiots. What a waste of space. Couldn’t even kill you. Couldn’t even stop you from coming to his party.”
“You nearly killed Kar and her family!”
“I should have told them to burn that slut’s house too. I’m going to kill your friend Kara after I kill you.”
“No!”
With rage in my veins, I leaped up, leaning heavily on my uninjured leg, and slashed at her hand. I lost my balance and fell on the floor with a thud.
She screamed. The gun clattered on the floor and slid under the couch.
“You fucking bitch!” she shrieked, blood dripping from the deep cut.
The gun! I have to get the gun!
Heart racing madly, I crawled on the floor, but the shooting pain in my leg made me cry out in pain. She grinned at me, confident now that I was injured, and went for the gun.
Gritting my teeth, I rose and, with a desperate cry, hobbled and threw myself at her, stabbing her in the back with my knife. I felt the sickening slide of the metal as it buried in her flesh.
She bellowed in pain, spun around, and punched me in the jaw. I staggered back, dazed. My injured foot gave out, and I fell on the floor, hitting the back of my head. Nausea rose in my throat.
“I’m going to kill everyone you love, you fucking bitch!” she screamed.
Swallowing the bile, I got up. The world spun. I blinked away the blurriness and saw Beatrice-Rose crouched on the floor by the couch, the knife obscenely sticking out of her back Her right arm rested on the cushion of the couch to support her, her left hand groping blindly underneath for the gun.
With rage and adrenaline fueling me, I rushed at her, pulling the knife from her back. She shrieked in pain. Without hesitation, I stabbed her hand. I felt the tip of the knife as it wedged itself in the couch. She was trapped.
She howled like an animal, flailing around. When she dragged her free hand from under the couch, I saw the glint of metal. She turned her head and glowered at me with hate in her eyes—just as I grabbed her hand holding the gun.
The deafening sound of a gunshot rang in my ears.
* * *
Caleb
Slamming on the brakes, I jumped out of my car and ran toward the house where Beatrice-Rose had seen me earlier. And then I heard the gunshot.
The pungent taste of mind-numbing fear was ripe in my mouth, shooting through my limbs like ice as I ran to the front door and kicked it open. I shouted for Red, sprinting through empty rooms.
She had to be okay. She had to.
“Red!” I yelled.
From the basement, someone screamed. I raced through the basement door and down the stairs. When I reached the bottom, I froze at the sight in front of me.
Jesus. Jesus. Blood soaked Red’s hand where she held her arm protectively against her chest. Beatrice-Rose’s face was ravaged with loathing as she held the gun to Red’s head. Her other hand was stretched behind her, a knife pinning it to the couch.
“I’m going to kill you. Then I’m going to kill everyone you love. Every one of them, you fucking bitch!” Beatrice-Rose shouted at Red.
“Beatrice-Rose,” I whispered softly. “Put the gun down.”
Her eyes were wide with horror as she turned her head toward me, her arm swinging in my direction. The gun pointed at my chest.
“Caleb! It’s not what you think. Veronica tried to kill me—”
Red let out a bloodcurdling scream as she leaped on top of Beatrice-Rose. The gun fell from Beatrice-Rose’s hand, landing a few feet away from them. Red twisted Beatrice-Rose’s arm and pulled, dislodging the knife, then shoved her to the floor.
Beatrice-Rose screamed in pain as she landed on her back, cradled her bleeding hand in front of her. Red straddled Beatrice-Rose, punching Beatrice-Rose’s face with her good hand. Blood gushed from Beatrice-Rose’s nose, but Red wasn’t done. She kept on pounding, clawing, hitting viciously like a wild animal.
“Jesus. Red.” I grabbed Red’s waist and dragged her away kicking and screaming. Her arms and legs kept striking, even as Beatrice-Rose lay unconscious on the floor. I turned Red to face me as my arms wrapped around her.
“Red. It’s okay. You can stop. It’s over. It’s over.”
When she stopped struggling in my arms, I held her close, tucking her head under my chin.
“Caleb?”
“Right here, baby. I’m right here.”
“She had the gun pointed at you… She was going to shoot you… She was… She…”
“Shh. Baby, it’s all right. She didn’t. She didn’t.”
Her arms wrapped around me, holding me tight. When I brushed her right arm, she winced. “You’re shot!” I exclaimed.
“No. I’m…fine. Just nicked me in the arm.”
When her legs gave out, I scooped her up. She rested her head on my shoulder as we heard the sound of sirens.
“You kicked her ass, Red.”
“Damn right I did.”
I held her tightly. “You scared the hell out of me. I thought…” My throat closed. When I felt her lips on my neck, I buried my face in her hair. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, Caleb. I want to go home. Let’s go home.”
I pressed my forehead against hers and kissed her. “Always.”
