Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
“I couldn’t agree more. Ms. Melanie Brandon, will you marry me?”
“I would love nothing more.”
The ceremony is quicker than I expected, and I’m now the proud husband of Melanie Steele. The world has finally been set right in my eyes as I stare at the most beautiful woman, and we belong to each other.
The celebration doesn’t last long because we have to deal with the uproar that Beth created. She went on and on about Damon’s plan to kidnap Melanie and how she helped them and that we probably killed him. Luckily, the only people to hear her outlandish comments were the cops who worked with us.
Damon’s death had been ruled legal in the rescue attempt of the daughter of a government official off a public college campus. Of course the shooting didn’t quite take place there. We moved it to the outskirts of Steeleville where our men could handle the bodies, while Miles men cleaned up the warehouse on the docks.
Chrissy didn’t survive the transport, but that wasn’t Melanie’s fault. Let’s just say not all of Miles’ men are forgiving. I reassured Mel that the bitch only lied about being pregnant to so she’d let her guard down. Frankly, I’m glad she’s dead because that’s one last problem to worry about. If Beth is going to be an issue, she’ll have to go as well.
“Stop frowning, son,” my mother strolls in. “Your guests are going to think you made a mistake.”
“I’m supposed to be enjoying my reception, but I’ve just got back from the police station with that crazy bitch trying to ruin everything.”
“What? Didn’t you hear what just happened? She can’t ruin everything anymore.”
“What?”
“Beth wasn’t completely disarmed before she got in the back of the police car. She had pills stashed. She popped them after we left. She killed herself.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes,” she says with a sigh.
“That’s good and terrible. Where’s Melanie?”
“She’s with her father.” My mother points toward the dessert table where Melanie pretends to straighten the already perfectly organized treats. Her emotions were visible on her gorgeous face. I could get lost just staring, but she needs more than that. She needs me and I need to act like the husband I signed up to be. The one she deserves.
“I need to tell her.” I pass my mother and walk over to my wife who looks as if she’s barely holding it together. Her father steps back, understanding it’s now my place to step in. I give him a respectful nod and he walks away.
I whisper, “Raven.”
Her tear-filled eyes meet mine. “It’s all my fault.”
Cradling her face, I stare into her beautiful eyes and tell her the truth that she needs to hear. “No, it’s not. Don’t say that shit.”
She shakes her head, scrunching her eyes shut and refusing to believe me. “First Chrissy and now Beth.”
“If that’s the case, baby then it’s all my fault. They were after me not you.”
“I killed them,” she hisses under her breath. I pressed her to my chest.
“No, you didn’t. No, you didn’t. Come take a walk with me, Mrs. Steele.” I take my beautiful wife’s hand and lead her outside the reception area. It’s a gorgeous night; the breeze is just perfect with the fall leaves beginning to land on the ground. It would be a wonderful day if it wasn’t for the mess that those we buried had created.
“My beloved Raven, Chrissy died because they refused to allow her a chance to attack you again. That was their choice, not yours. I agree with them. If you had let her attack you that day, Miles or myself would have killed her then.
“When it comes to Beth, your father had gotten more information from her parents. There’s a reason they cut ties with her. Those bastards knew how crazy she was. I wasn’t the first guy she’d gotten obsessed with. You weren’t the first woman she’d gotten close to or the first she tried to kill. Her real name is Elizabeth Anne Smith and she’s twenty-one not eighteen.”
She gasps, knees buckling. “I can’t believe it.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“That’s not what I mean. One day I was over, I saw the ID and she nearly freaked on me, but then she quickly corrected herself and said it was her fake ID to get into clubs in Dallas.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s my fault for introducing her into our lives.”
“No, it’s her parents. They tried to deny what their daughter was, and they got her out of trouble the first time. They thought she was safe, but she wasn’t on her meds.”
“Enough,” Melanie huffs, throwing her hands down at her sides. “I want to celebrate us. I don’t want to deal with anyone else’s problems. We made it and we had an entire banquet hall full of hundreds of people there for us. Let’s go in and cut our cake, dance, and then you can strip me bare and worship Mrs. William Steele.”