Page 114 of The Complete Truth Duet
“I’m not coming back!”
He leveled me with a glare. “But you’re not ruling it out, either, are you?”
I didn’t have an answer to that.
Yes, leaving her was safer.
Yes, it’d destroyed me.
Yes, I’d spent every minute since the fire imagining getting her back.
Without question, I was going after Thomas Lyons, and there were only three scenarios for how that would end.
More than likely, I’d get caught and sentenced to life in prison. And if that were the case, I didn’t want her life stopping with mine. Knowing Cora, she’d have baked cakes with nail files in them for the rest of her life. She was stubborn as hell, and God knew I wasn’t strong enough to ever shake her off. But I wanted more than that for her. I wanted her to make a life. A real one.
The idea of her being with any other man was enough to send me off the edge of a bridge. He’d never be good enough. But I smiled at the thought of her having a family, a bunch of little blond girls who could call her mom without fear of retaliation. This was the scenario that had convinced me to leave her the cash.
The other possible outcome for me was that I’d fail. Thomas would somehow kill me or get me locked away first. Cora was already on his radar because of Catalina, but the last thing she needed was to be connected to me in any way, shape, or form. She’d become his next target and I’d be six feet under, helpless to save her. This was the scenario that had made it so obvious that Penn Walker needed to die. Without him, there was nothing connecting Shane Pennington and Cora Guerrero. If I failed, she had money. She had Drew. She had a safety net.
However, it was that last possible outcome that played in my head every night when I stared up at the starless ceiling. It was the one where I’d killed him and gotten away with it. The world would be a better place, and I’d walk away free and clear. The chances of that happening were almost zilch. You couldn’t take out the city’s DA and expect to ride off into the sunset. But it was the one scenario that gave me hope of getting her back, and no matter how hard I’d tried, I couldn’t let it go.
I didn’t want to admit it. But it was that last scenario that was fueling me day in and day out.
And as I’d learned the day I’d choked the life out of Dante while his terrified brother watched, knowing he was next: There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for Cora Guerrero.
Turning back to the gurgling coffee pot, I poured a mug as I declared, “I’m not talking about this anymore. When Thomas takes his last breath, then we can worry about what I’m going to do or not do next.”
“Right, well. I guess I should tell you that, if you’re hoping Cora lives long enough to be part of that equation, you might want to hurry up on the whole making-Thomas-stop-breathing thing.”
Fire hit my veins. “What the fuck does that mean?”
He arrogantly tipped his head. “You heard me. Thomas made a little appearance tonight. Trumped up some child endangerment charge against Cora, had her arrested, and took River.”
Another blast of adrenaline hit me hard. “What the fuck? Where the hell were you?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Lying in the bed next to her. I can’t fight the cops, Shane. That’s how a man gets dead. Fast. I got her an attorney, but Thomas sent him home. They play golf or some shit. He cornered Cora though. Told her to make sure Catalina stays gone or they’re both dead.” His mouth kept moving, but no words made it past the sound of my heart roaring in my ears.
Visions of Lisa lying on that carpet exploded in my head. Only this time, Cora was beside her. Both sets of their cold, dead eyes staring back at me.
Before I knew it, I had my fists wrapped in the front of Drew’s shirt, my face vibrating as I ordered, “He does not ever come near her again. Do you understand me?”
He gave me a hard shove, but my body was so amped my every muscle was screaming. He might as well have been pushing a brick wall.
“That’s why I’m here, asshole. You gotta speed this shit up. Get off your ass, quit playing Nanny McGee, and handle this once and for all. Or get out of my way and let me take care of it on my own.”
I stared at him with wild eyes. “He’s mine.”
“Then consider this your courtesy heads-up. I’m not feeling real patient anymore. He’s been breathing for four fucking years, Shane. You want your twenty-nine minutes. Take ’em. But if I get a clear shot before then, it’s over. You got me?”
