Hold On - Part Three (The Hold On Series Book 3) (5 page)

I gulp. “Lili.” Now I know so much about her, I’m terrified. If I hated her before, it’s nothing to how I feel now. “What are you doing here?”

She walks into the room and I notice she’s not limping anymore. “I could ask you the same question.” She places her arms on her hips and examines the room. “Are there any lights in here?”

My lips are parched and I rub them together but it doesn’t help. “No. There is no electricity here.”

She snorts. “What a dive.” She walks over to the sink and turns on the faucet. Water comes out but I know it will be cold. She wiggles her fingers under the stream and then turns it off again. She wipes her wet fingers down the side of the jeans she’s wearing.

I want to tell her that this place is not a dive. It’s Ethan’s and while it might not have everything, I like it here. I feel safe, or rather, I did. That’s obviously changed now. “How did you find this place?”

She walks over to the front window and looks outside. “I followed Ethan’s bike. I knew the bastard would try to double-cross me.”

“You followed him here?” I wonder how she could have got here so fast. I didn’t hear a car approach.

“Yes.” She doesn’t elaborate.

“He’s not here.” I walk over to the couch. I stand behind it, not because I think it will offer me any protection from Lili if she tries to do anything to me, but I’m too unnerved to sit down on it.

She looks at me and raises her eyebrow. “Well that’s obvious. So where’d he go?”

I glance over at the window that she’s standing beside. “Um, I’m not sure.” I reach across my body to scratch my arm. “Maybe he has gone to do that job you wanted him to do.” I know he didn’t, but I can’t tell her what is really going on.

She narrows her eyes at me. “You still didn’t tell me what you are doing here?” She takes a step toward me.

I point toward the bed in the corner of the room. “I was sleeping. I couldn’t stay at my apartment, Ethan kicked me out.”

She laughs. “Yes, you were getting in the way.”

“I’m not in anyone’s way out here.”

“But why did you come
here
? You were supposed to go to the hotel room with your sister. I checked - you weren’t there.”

“Tessa?” I stop breathing for a moment. “You went to see Tessa?”

“No, I called the hotel, dummy,” she says. She didn’t go to the hotel which means Tessa is safe. I visibly relax. “I wanted to make sure you were really out of the picture. I needed for tonight to go to plan without any distractions.”

She paces up and down the room and I can tell she’s agitated.

“I didn’t go to the hotel because I wanted to be alone. This seemed like the perfect place to be alone.” I shift on the spot. “I was upset after Ethan told me he didn’t love me, and I needed some time to adjust to that.” I drop my head like I would if I was truly upset.

“He doesn’t respond to weakness and you’re weak. You’re a mouse, Sarah.”

I don’t want to argue with her. I don’t want to make this situation any worse than it already is. If I can keep her calm and talking, perhaps I can convince her to leave me alone, that I’m not worth anything. “I am.”

“He needs someone capable. Someone who can take care of him.” She continues to pace. “He needs someone like me.”

I want to tell her that she’s wrong, but I know that would be a big mistake so I nod instead. “You’re right. I’m not strong like you.”

“Stupid little Sarah.”

I cringe but don’t respond.

“Is this your place?” She cocks her head to the side as she studies me.

I’m not sure how to respond. I can’t lie and say it is, but I can’t very well tell her that it’s Ethan’s place can I? I hesitate as I try to think of the best answer.

“It must be Ethan’s.” She nods her head knowingly. I wish I had been faster answering so she didn’t jump to the correct conclusion so fast. “This little hole is Ethan’s hide out and the fact that you are here and know about it, means he might care for you a little after all.” She takes another step toward me.

I shrink back as she does. “It is his, but he doesn’t care about me. You heard him, I was just someone to sleep with. A convenience.”

She turns around and walks toward the window, looking outside. “Are you sure that you are alone here?”

Any answer I give will make me vulnerable. If I say that I am alone, she’ll know she can hurt me without anyone finding out. If I say I’m not, she’ll know I’m lying. And hurt me. This is a lose-lose question. I decide to tell the truth. “Yes, I’m alone.”

“You have any suicidal thoughts?” She whips her head around as she turns back to me. “I mean, it was devastating to be dumped by your long term boyfriend last year, and now, finding out that you were used for sex by your new roommate, that must be hard to take.” A smile forms on her lips. “Someone weak like you might think about taking their own life after that sort of rejection.”

“I’ll get over it.”

“Are you sure?” She takes a step toward me. “Because coming out to Ethan’s shack after he ripped your heart out like he did and piercing a knife through your chest. It would be romantic and poetic, all at the same time.”

I need something I can use. I glance around the room. My phone is on the table, so I could grab that and call the police. Would they get here in time? I’m not sure.

The moonlight glints off the brown bag in the corner of the room. It contains Ethan’s gun. My heart beats faster as I contemplate walking over to it. While I hate guns, I hate the idea of Lili trying to hurt me and set it up as a suicide even more. I could grab it, but then what? I have no idea how to use it. I might only draw attention to it so she can take it from me and use it against me. I’ll need to think fast.

“He knows you killed Winona.” I stand up straighter and look right at her. “He’s on to you.”

She doesn’t expect this and takes a step backward. “What did you say?” she spits.

“You killed Winona. He told me that you did.”

She begins to smile again. “He told you that did he? Very interesting.”

“Did you?”

She takes a quick look around the room. “He’s right, I did.”

A cold shiver runs through my body. I’m standing in the room with a real life killer.

“It was easy.” She looks pleased with herself. “And she deserved it. She cut a piece of my heart out when she made Ethan fall in love with her, so I returned the favor. I cut a piece of her heart out. Literally.”

I can feel my knees want to buckle underneath me, but I can’t let myself crumble. I take a step toward the corner of the room. “She was your best friend.”

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” She takes another step toward me.

“Now you want to kill me?”

She moves forward. “Nothing would give me more pleasure right now.” She parts her lips like she’s aroused and I can hear her breathing become heavier. I shudder in response. “What’s the matter, little mouse? Afraid the cat is about to get the better of you?” She sneers at me.

I can feel the wall behind me and I bend down. I expect she things I’m cowering from her. I reach behind my back into the top of the bag, feeling for the gun. My heart skips a beat when I touch it.

It takes all my nerve to grasp it and bring it around to my front, pointing the barrel in her direction.

She halts and looks between me and the gun. “What are you going to do with that?”

“Go Lili. Get out of here and leave me alone. I won’t let you hurt me. I won’t let you hurt Ethan.” I can see that my hand is shaking but I hold the gun as steady as I can.

“You won’t shoot me.”

“Yes, I will. Get out of here.”

Lili hesitates. I need to show her that I’m serious so I point the gun to the side and pull back the trigger. Nothing happens.

She laughs. “Pathetic. The safety is on, silly little mouse.” She lunges toward me.

I jump out of the way in time. I still have the gun pointed at her and I search the side and underneath looking for the safety. I have no idea what I’m looking for. I feel along the length of it until I find a small switch. I move the button back toward me.

I fire to the left of her.

A loud bang echoes through the room, hurting my ears. The recoil jolts my hands back and it ripples through my arms and up toward my shoulders. My neck whips back a little.

The power and force scares me. I just shot a gun for the first time in my life. The ease at which a small metal object in my hands has just released enough strength to kill a person is unnerving. I don’t like it.

“Holy fuck, bitch. You nearly hit me.” Lili looks back toward the wall where the bullet made contact. I can’t see the hole.

“I will shoot you, Lili. So you need to leave, right now.” My voice is shaking. All of me shakes.

“You’re too stupid to shoot me. You’re weak. You won’t hurt me.”

I fire again to her side, deliberately missing her. She’s right. I can’t shoot it directly at her. I’m ready for the recoil this time, although it still jolts up my arm making my hands feel numb. I have no idea what Ethan will say to his shack being shot up.

Lili is standing dead still. She doesn’t know what I’m going to do next. Neither do I, and it scares me. I point the gun back at her.

She backs away. “You shoot me, and you’ll go to prison. They’ll lock you away for killing someone.”

“You should know,” I say. “Because that’s what they are going to do to you. They are going to put you away once they find out you killed Winona.”

She pauses. “They won’t find out.”

“I’ll tell them.”

“It’ll be my word against yours.” She narrows her eyes. “And you won’t be able to tell anyone anything if you’re dead.”

I swallow. “No. You’re going to leave me alone.”

“How many bullets do you have left, Sarah?”

Bullets? I have no idea. I don’t know how many this gun holds and I don’t know if it’s been fired before tonight. She already knows that I don’t, it’s pointless denying it. I shake my head slowly.

“You’ll fire off a few more rounds into the walls until you get your confidence and you’ll be out.” She reaches behind herself and pulls out a long bladed knife. The metal is dull and jagged but I have no doubt its sharp. I imagine it’s had a lot of use. “Once you’ve finished firing up this dive, I’m going to come over there and slice open your throat. That’ll prevent you telling anyone anything.”

I keep my eyes on the knife. She means what she says, I know she does. “You’re right, Lili, I can’t shoot you. It’s not my style. I’m not a murderous bitch like you are; I don’t take people’s lives.”

I point the gun up to the ceiling and fire off all the remaining rounds. Dust and plaster stream down over both of us. The noise will be heard from miles away and that’s what I’m counting on.

There were four rounds left in the gun when the loud bangs stop, the harmless clicks the only thing that can be heard now as I continue to pull the trigger. When I’m finally sure that there are no more bullets in the gun I make a run toward the front door.

The dust is blinding and I stumble as I run for it, but I know the layout better than Lili. She has the disadvantage of not knowing where the rug and small table are.

Before I reach the door it bursts open. I can’t see who is there but I can feel him.

“Fuck,” says Ethan as I fall into his arms. “I came as fast as I could.”

“She’s got a knife.”

Ethan looks past me into the room. Amidst the dust, Lili advances toward both of us.

She points the blade at him. “I could make it look like double suicide,” says Lili. “Or maybe she killed you for what you did to her, and then took her own life. There are witnesses that saw how cruel you were, Ethan. They’ll believe me.” She presses the blade against her own arm. “I was lucky to make it out alive.” Beads of blood appear where the jagged edge of the metal bites into her arm. “I put up a good fight.” She lifts it back up and slashes it down the front of her top. “But I survived. You didn’t.”

Her cuts aren’t serious, but seeing the dark blood appear on her clothing makes me want to throw up, so I look away instead.

“No, Lili. No more death.” Ethan walks slowly toward her with his hands raised. “We’ve both been around too much of it.”

She lifts the knife higher in a warning. “Don’t try anything, Ethan. I will kill you.”

“I love her, Lili. I love Sarah.”

I watch her hand tremble. “No you don’t. She’s just a good fuck.”

“Do you know why she’s a good fuck?” He waits but Lili doesn’t answer him. “It’s because of how I feel about her. When you love someone the sex is spectacular.”

I can’t believe he’s saying this to her. I hold my breath waiting to see what she does as he continues to move closer.

“She’s everything you aren’t, Lili. She’s vulnerable but strong. She’s gentle yet determined. She’s pure of heart, whereas your heart is black. She sees only the good in people, it’s a rare gift. That’s why I love her and why I could never care about anyone like you.” He takes another step forward. Only one more step and he’ll be within her reach. I whimper in fear waiting for her to strike.

But she falters. She doesn’t want to hear these words and she’s visibly recoiling from them. She lifts her arm up across her face to try and block them from coming closer to her.

Ethan stops. “I want to spend the rest of my life with someone like her.”

Both Lili and I gasp at the same time. Neither of us expected him to say it. He wants to spend the rest of his life with someone like me. Does that mean he wants to spend his life
with
me?

He turns his head. “If she’ll have me.” His gaze is soft and loving, and so out of place given the situation.

I’m struggling already to keep control of my emotions. I don’t know what he’s playing at or whether this is just another one of his tricks. “Ethan!” I scream as Lili lunges forward with the knife outstretched in her hand.

Ethan pivots to the left. The blade catches him on the shoulder and tears open his tee. Blood pours down the side in slow spurts but it doesn’t look like it bothers him. He reaches up and grabs Lili around the throat and slams her back against the wall.

“You’re evil, Lili. I could end you right here. I could save the world from your filth.”

Her throat gurgles from being held too tight. Her eyes are wide and bulging with rage at his attack. She didn’t predict that he would turn on her like this. Her knife comes down on his arm and he winces but doesn’t let go. I can see the flesh pucker and pull apart where he was cut, a bright stream of red coats his arm and drips down onto the floor. It looks like dark rust in the fading moonlight.

Lili brings the knife up again but her eyes roll back in her head as he chokes her. She drops the knife as she tries to pry Ethan’s fingers away from her neck the whole time gasping for breath.

“No, Ethan, No!” I scream.

“She’ll never give up, Sarah. She’ll chase us both for as long as she’s alive. I can’t let her get away with it.”

“You can’t do this.”

His grip loosens. “I can’t let her get away with what she’s done.”

I run over and kick her knife away out of instinct. I walk in front of him and place my hand on his arm. “Don’t hurt her, let her down. It shouldn’t end this way. Let her go to jail like she’s supposed to.”

Ethan let’s Lili fall to the floor. She slumps on the ground, spluttering and gulping long breaths as the oxygen rushes back into her lungs. She rubs her hands over her neck and I can see thick marks where Ethan’s fingers dug into her flesh.

Ethan drags me away from her but I can’t take my eyes off her. I can’t believe anything I’ve just seen or experienced. It’s all happened so fast and seems so unreal.

Then, like it’s happening in slow motion, I watch Lili crawl on the ground toward her knife. “Ethan!”

Alex appears in the doorway pointing his gun at Lili. “Drop the knife!”

She drops it and holds her hands up in surrender. “He attacked me. He tried to strangle me. Arrest him.” She points at Ethan. “Look at what he’s done.”

Alex looks warily at Ethan and then back to Lili. “You are under arrest, Liliana Magaro.”

She swallows another raspy breath. “For what? I haven’t done anything. You don’t have anything on me.”

I hear sirens approach, quickly followed by the headlights of the police cars as they screech to a halt outside the cabin. I’m shaking.

I wonder how they got here so fast. Even Alex looks surprised that they are here. He keeps his gun pointed toward Lili but turns to Ethan. “Get that looked at.” He indicates the knife wound on Ethan’s arm that is still leaking blood. “But you will have to answer questions about what happened.”

“She was going to kill us,” I say

“I was not. She’s lying!” Lili yells.

Ethan sits down on the couch. His face is pale. “Are you okay?” I ask.

“I don’t feel good.”

Alex walks over to Lili and helps her up. When she’s standing he holds her hands behind her back as he places handcuffs on her.

Two police officers appear in the doorway with their guns at the ready.

Alex takes Lili over to them. “You got here fast,” he says as he shows them his badge.

“We got a call about fifteen minutes ago.”

Fifteen minutes ago? Fifteen minutes ago only Lili and I were in the room. I hadn’t even fired a gun yet. Who called them fifteen minutes ago?

“Good timing,” says Alex.

“It’s a set-up,” yells Lili. “They attacked me!”

“We’ll take your statement at the station, ma’am,” says the police officer, as he leads her outside.

Ethan groans and attempts to stand. Alex walks over to him and helps him to his feet. He grabs a pillowcase off the bed and wraps it around Ethan’s arm. “He’s losing too much blood,” he says. “We have to get him to a hospital.”

“I’m fine,” says Ethan. It’s clear that he’s not. “It’s just a scratch.” He groans again.

“Is she going to get away with it?” I ask Alex.

He furrows his brow. “We don’t have a strong case, not for the murder of Winona. But we are lucky that backup came quickly. Did you call them?”

I shake my head. “No, I thought you must have before you got here.”

“I didn’t have time.”

“Then who did?”