Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (37 page)

“You messed with the wrong people,” said Amanda. She
picked up Rebecca by the collar. Then she slapped her and threw her against the
bed. “That was for Emmy.” Amanda grabbed Rebecca again and kneed her in the
abdomen. “For Nathan.” Finally, Amanda grabbed Rebecca and threw a right hook.
“And for Kellan.”

Rebecca lay on the floor, blood pouring from her nose.
She looked up at Amanda in hatred. The latter poked Rebecca hard in the thigh
with her heels. Rebecca let out a scream. “For Judith, too.”

“Shut up!” Rebecca yelled. “I came too far for you to
spoil this now. You
will
pay for Hilbert.”

Amanda started to
advance on Rebecca. The latter pulled out a gun. She pointed it at Amanda, who
froze. Rebecca fired.

“So, let me get this straight,” Nathan said. He was on
the phone with Detective Sutton. “The woman who’s been after Amanda all this
time happens to be Christopher’s stepsister?”

“That’s right,”
Sutton replied.
“He called me just right now to confess. He told me
that he’s afraid Rebecca will go too far.”

“Why has he kept quiet all this time?”

“We didn’t discuss that. Christopher did tell me that
Erika is a name Rebecca used to hide herself. Her plan was to tear you and
Amanda apart as a personal vendetta.”

“Did Christopher tell you where we can find them?”

“He did. I already sent a team on the way.”

Nathan memorized the address. He nodded, thanking
Sutton, and hung up.

“Who was it?” Caldwell asked.

“Detective Sutton. He found out where Amanda is, and
who’s keeping her. They’re on their way.”

“Then let’s go.”

Nathan and Amanda’s bodyguards got inside the former’s
car. They were still at Lansing West, having tried to come up with a plan.

“Does Mr. Hayden know?” asked Medina.

“Most likely,” Nathan replied. “Detective Sutton would
keep him updated.”

“How did Sutton find out? Was he able to locate
Amanda’s car?”

“No. The way he found out was surprising.” Nathan
explained about what Christopher told Sutton.

“I thought Christopher was all right,” he added.

“You can never be a hundred percent sure about
people,” Caldwell said. “Personally, I never had any suspicions about him.
Amanda also happened to like him a lot.”

“Well, she won’t be
happy that he betrayed her.”

The blast of the shot reverberated. Amanda felt a
graze on her arm. She fell backward, shocked.

Rebecca used the corner of the bed for support. She
stood up, keeping the gun pointed at Amanda.

“Careful who you mess with, bitch.”

Amanda looked up at Rebecca. She maintained her gaze,
unwilling to become intimidated.

The door opened. Rebecca turned around.

“Point that gun away from her,” a honeyed voice spoke.
Rebecca froze on the spot. Amanda moved to look past her. When she saw who was
at the door, her jaw dropped.

“Hilbert!” Amanda gasped. He stood, aiming a gun at
Rebecca.
He’s alive!

“Love! I—I thought you were dead!”

“You both would have liked that, wouldn’t you?”

“H-how could you say that? I love you, Hilbert. I
thought Amanda had been the death of you.”

“Is that why you were going to kill her?”

“For you, yes! It’s because of her that you got thrown
in jail and nearly killed. How come you’re free?”

“That’s none of your concern. Now, drop the gun and
kick it toward me. Slowly,” Hilbert added.

“I must kill this bitch.”

“Give me the gun. That’s an order.”

Rebecca hesitated. She looked at Amanda, and then back
toward Hilbert. Reluctantly, she dropped her gun, and then kicked it toward
him. Hilbert picked it up, putting it in his pocket.

“What now? You’re just going to let her go?” Rebecca
asked Hilbert. He was pocketing his own gun.

“What f-ing part of your brain told you it was a good
idea to mess with Amanda?”

Rebecca blinked, confused.

“Wouldn’t you have wanted to kill her yourself if you’d
died because of her?”

“No one crosses Amanda, Rebecca. No one.”

Without warning, Hilbert slapped Rebecca hard. She
stumbled to the floor, managing to land on her palms. She felt blood start to drip
from her nose again.

“Never lay a hand on Amanda again.”

Rebecca shook her head at Hilbert. She then touched a
hand to her cheek.

“You are so pussywhipped. Don’t you see that you’re
losing everything thanks to her?”

“I don’t care what you think. You’re going to pay for
trying to kill her.”

Hilbert picked Rebecca up by her collar. His right
hand reached into his jeans pocket. He withdrew a knife. Rebecca panicked at
the sight.

“Wait! You can’t kill me, Hilbert. I did all this
because I love you. Amanda took me away from you. You were all I had, so I took
everything she had, too.”

“You’re delusional, Rebecca. I’ve always been clear
with you. There was nothing serious between us.”

Rebecca looked into Hilbert’s eyes. There was some
finality in them.

“No, please. Please!”

Hilbert’s hand moved fast. The blade sank into
Rebecca’s abdomen. She stiffened, her mouth open. The pain was so intense she
couldn’t even scream.

“Hilbert, no!” Amanda said. It was too late. No matter
what Rebecca had done, Amanda didn’t want her to die.

Hilbert withdrew the knife. He stabbed Rebecca again
in a different spot. She screamed then. Hilbert still held on to her neck.

“I’m sorry, but you had to pay.”

Rebecca’s vision began to turn black. She focused on
Hilbert. So much for the love she felt. In the end, Rebecca would die by his
hand.

“Goodbye.”

Slowly, Rebecca dropped to the floor. She touched her
abdomen, grimacing in pain. Hilbert wiped off the knife with her clothes.

At that moment, someone else burst through the door.
Hilbert and Amanda turned to look. She gasped when she recognized Christopher.

“What are you doing here?”

Christopher, though, only had eyes for Rebecca. He
crouched down next to her.

“Sister? No! Who did this to you?”

Hilbert cast a disdainful look at them.

“This bitch tried to kill Amanda. Be glad I got to
them in time.”

Christopher looked at Hilbert. He then shot a confused
look at Amanda.

“So we meet again,” Hilbert told Amanda. “You look
more beautiful than I remember.”

Amanda saw that Hilbert looked different, too. Jail
had roughened him up some. He had a five-o-clock shadow, and he’d dyed his hair
black.

“How did you escape? What do you want with me?”

Hilbert chuckled. He started walking to his right.

“You shouldn’t fear me, sweetheart. Despite what you
think, I don’t like hurting you. I just saved your life.”

Amanda said nothing. She stood up.

“Let us go.”

“That’s not a good way to thank me for what I just
did. Rebecca would have killed you. There was no way I could allow that.”

“You’re sick.”

Hilbert nodded.

“Sick in love. You’re under my skin, Amanda. Not a day
has passed that I didn’t think of you. It hurt so much to see you testify
against me.”

Hilbert shook his head, looking away from Amanda. She
stole a glance toward Emmy and Judith. They were still unconscious. A tearful
Christopher caught the look. He moved toward Judith to check on her.

“I wanted to be angry,” Hilbert continued. “But I
couldn’t do it for long.”

“Do you expect me to believe you can fall in love?
You’re the worst kind of manwhore out there. Women are just…trophies to you.”

“I admit I toyed with the idea of having many
girlfriends years ago. Since I met you, though, I haven’t wanted anyone else
the way I want you.”

“Romantic talk never suited you, Hilbert. You’re but a
filthy serial rapist.”

Hilbert suddenly advanced toward Amanda. She flinched.
He reached a hand toward her, but stopped.

“Calling me a rapist implies that those women didn’t
want to be with me. It was the other way around. What I had with them was
consensual. They were all adults.”

“You manipulated them. There’s nothing consensual
about that.”

“What would you know?”

“I know all the facts about the case. There was one
girl you took to bed who was only sixteen.”

Christopher’s expression turned to dismay. Hilbert
took a deep breath.

“She lied to me.”

“Bull.”

“That’s enough! All that is in the past. Now, I want
you to be mine.”

Amanda shook her head. She turned around, trusting
Hilbert not to hurt her.

“How did you escape?”

“Long story short, I provoked a guy and got him to
hurt me just enough to get sent to the hospital.”

“That must have been weeks ago. Where have you been
all this time?”

“I had more trouble fighting off the bastard than I
anticipated. At least that got everyone to believe he really did kill me.”

Amanda couldn’t help laughing.

“That guy would have done a service to the world if
he’d succeeded.”

Hilbert tensed up.

“You think worse of me than I am. All I’ve done is to
try to make you mine.”

“By force? Love doesn’t work that way. It’s time you
let go of your obsession with me.”

“I’m through attempting to convince you that my
feelings are stronger than that. Now I’ll show you.”

Hilbert walked to Amanda. Her eyes widened.

“Don’t dare come any closer!”

Hilbert didn’t pay attention to the warning. When he
got close enough, Amanda struck hard with her palm. The blow caught Hilbert in
the jaw. He growled.

“Stay away from her,” Christopher warned. He was still
next to Judith.

“I haven’t seen you in months. At least let me touch
you, Amanda. I can hardly contain myself.”

“If you lay a hand on me, I swear I’ll beat you up and
be long gone by the time you stop drooling.”

Despite his restraint, Hilbert went red.

“You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.”

Amanda shook her head. The movement caused her to look
to the side. She noticed Judith was awake. She was looking at Christopher with
wide eyes.

“You were made for me, Amanda Tilley. I’ve wanted you
ever since I met you. Oh, and if you think I’m so bad, I waited for you to come
of age. Did you see me hitting on you while you were young?”

Amanda knew that was true. She had to give Hilbert
that at least. He’d respected her, at least until she was about to turn
eighteen.

“Even if you were a proper gentleman, Hilbert, I still
wouldn’t choose you. My heart belongs to Nathan.”

“Shut up! You
will
come with me.”

Hilbert raised the gun again. Amanda crossed her arms,
as if waiting for him to leave.

“I’m staying here. If someone’s leaving, it’s you.”

“Believe me, you don’t want me to force you.”

“I dare you to try.”

Hilbert narrowed his eyes. He was becoming angrier.
Amanda stared him down, not breaking his gaze.

At that moment, there was the sound of screeching
tires. Hilbert’s head whirled toward the window.

“Who did you bring with you?”

Amanda shook her head.

“I didn’t tell anyone to come!”

Judith and Christopher looked toward the window, too.
Hilbert walked to it, opening the blinds.

“Damn it! There’s about a dozen cop cars out there.”

Amanda’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe they had
found her so quickly.

“You set me up!” Hilbert said, walking back toward
Amanda. She took two steps back.

“I didn’t! I swear, Hilbert.”

“Liar!”

Hilbert slapped Amanda with the back of his hand. She
fell to the floor, breaking her fall with her hands. Christopher advanced
toward Hilbert.

“Stay back!” he said, pointing his gun at Christopher.
The latter halted. Hilbert turned back toward Amanda. He made sure to keep
Christopher in sight.

“Come with me now!” he commanded. She shook her head.
Hilbert grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her up. As soon as she was on her
feet, Amanda yanked Hilbert’s hand off her.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Hilbert looked angered. He raised his gun again.