What it Takes (48 page)

“Were we?” he asked snidely. “Then why’d you undermine our marriage?”

“I didn’t,” she said quietly, taking a smaller step, keeping her eyes on his face. His eyes were frighteningly alive with hatred and anger and she shuddered.

“Yes, you did. Everything you’ve done has put a wedge between us. That stupid bastard son of yours was just the beginning,” he hissed.

Kelsey felt his words like a slap. No one had ever called Zach that before.

“It was like looking at Sean every day,” he mumbled, a far-off look in his eyes. “Remembering . . .” He paused for a moment before he looked at her, full of anger again. “It’s like you knew. You knew all along what that would do to me. You tortured me with Sean’s memory on purpose.”

She shook her head, trying to understand. “Richard,” she soothed, “that was never my intent. I didn’t have a job. I didn’t have a place to live. His father had left me. I loved Zach, but that wasn’t enough. You and Janelle could give him everything he needed and more. I wasn’t abandoning him. I was giving him a better life.”

“Blah, blah, blah!” He thumped his empty bottle on the table. “You’re so full of shit, you know that?”

She took two steps closer, cold beads of sweat building on her brow. Richard stood and stumbled as he positioned himself between her and the doorway to Zach. Her eyes bounced from his face to the gun in his hand and she retreated a step.

“You ditched your brat with us so you could run off and be the next Julia Roberts.” He was waving the gun over his head for dramatic emphasis. Zach’s cries got louder as they argued.

“Richard,” Kelsey started softly, fighting the urge to run past him.

“Shut up!” His lip curled. “I don’t want to hear your damn excuses.” He walked to the refrigerator, never taking his eyes off her, aiming his weapon at her as he got another beer. “And if raising your brat wasn’t enough,” he said after a swig, “I had to listen to Janelle go on and on about you. ‘She’s doing a commercial,’ ‘She’s gonna be on TV,’ ‘She’s got a movie part,’” he continued in a high-pitched voice before taking a pull on the beer. “After hours at the office, I got to come home and hear all about
your
charmed life. Knowing you wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for me. If I hadn’t adopted your son, where would you be? And you thank me by taking my family from me, you ungrateful bitch! What do you think that did to me?”

“I don’t know,” she murmured, tears starting to flow down her cheeks. “I didn’t know you felt that way. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, you will be.” He stumbled two steps closer, a sneer on his lips. “After tonight, you’ll be very sorry.”

Zach’s screams were becoming hoarse and pitiful.

“What’re you going to do?” Kelsey whispered, unwilling to imagine his plans. Images of Patrick, Janelle, Zoe, George, and Zach had her heart pounding in her ears.

“You really want to know?” His lips broadened and thinned, showing his graying teeth in a terrifying way. Hesitantly, she nodded as she took a step closer to Zach’s room. Richard held the handgun to her forehead, and the cold metal chilled her to the bone. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said quietly as she stepped back. “Since you’re so used to scripts, I thought I might tell you about the role you’ll be playing tonight.”

She swallowed hard, trying to steady her riotous nerves. Her eyes darted to the bedroom door behind him and back to the barrel of the gun aimed at her. “Okay,” she agreed.

“Good,” he said, swigging his beer as he held the bottle neck hooked between his first and middle fingers. His evil grin returned. “I’m going to shoot you.”

Her eyes widened slightly and her shoulders tensed.

His eyes danced at her reaction. “Not yet, of course. But if you move again, you’ll set everything in motion. So, in a way, you’ll be in control. You like that.”

He tossed his head back, laughing as though he’d just told the funniest joke ever. For a second, Kelsey thought about running past Richard, but the laughter stopped just as suddenly as it had started and he glared at her.

“I’ll shoot you, but only in the leg. I just want you wounded and helpless.” He took a step closer and she could smell the fermented hops on his breath as he began to circle her.

She was frozen with fear but turned her head just enough to watch him.

“Helpless and bleeding on the floor as I bring your son out of that room.” His words whispered across her ear as he pointed with the gun in his hand, “I’ll march him in here and shoot him.” A violent shudder went through her body. “I don’t want it to be too quick.” He stood behind her and continued to whisper, “Can you hear his pleas for help? Can you see the pain in his eyes? You’re going to watch him die. You’re going to be face to face with him as you watch the life leave his little body.”

“No,” she said as a sob escaped, fueling his enjoyment. “Please don’t. I’m the one you want to hurt, just kill
me
instead.” Her heart broke, knowing her pleas were useless. “Think of what this will do to Janelle.”

Richard continued to circle as he took a long, slow pull of his beer. He stopped and stared at her through narrowed eyes. “You’re pushing your luck,” he hissed. “Do you think I care what it does to her?
She
walked out on me.
She
filed for divorce. I want her to suffer too.” He tilted his head and smirked. “It’s two birds with one stone.” He paced again and she tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her lip from quivering. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, you’ll watch your son die as you lie too helpless to do anything about it. And then . . .” he said slowly.

“You kill me,” she stated hopelessly, dropping her closed eyes to the floor.

“Oh no, no, no. That would be too generous of me. You’re only going to wish you were dead.” Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at him. He held the gun to his own head and laughed. “You’ll get to watch me die. I want you to live with those images for the rest of your life. I want you to suffer the way I’ve suffered.” He stepped close to her again. “I want you to feel the guilt you so rightly deserve, knowing you caused all of this to happen.”

“Let me fix it then,” she pleaded with him, wanting to step forward but frozen in fear.

“Fix it? You can’t fix this!” he exclaimed.

“I’ll pay for rehab,” she offered. Anything to keep him talking. Janelle had promised her thirty minutes with Richard before she called Nathan. If Kelsey could keep Richard talking, maybe Nathan could get here before Richard was able to set his plan in motion.

“I don’t need fucking rehab!” He turned and threw the now-empty bottle, shattering it against the wall. The noise set Zach off and he called for “Mommy” again. “She’s right here, now shut the hell up, you stupid son of a bitch!” Richard turned to her with a sneer. “Oh, I forgot your rules. Sorry.” She swallowed hard and watched as he turned and walked sluggishly to the kitchen with his back to her. Kelsey slowly took a few steps toward the hallway.

“If you just stopped drinking, maybe things would get better,” she suggested, not feeling as hopeful as she was trying to sound. Zach’s screams were tearing her apart. Her tears flowed like rivers down her cheeks, her heart pounded in her chest, and her feet wanted to run in two directions at once.

He stopped suddenly and aimed the gun at her. “That’s not the damn problem! You are!” His eyes bore into Kelsey’s and she knew the end was near as he turned to the bedroom.

“Please,” she pleaded hysterically. “Please don’t hurt him. I’m the one you’re angry with. Hurt me,
kill
me, but please leave him alone.”

“I can’t do that.” He watched her cry with a curl in his lip. “My problems started with him and they’re going to end with him.”

“I’m so sorry,” she squeaked between sobs. “I never meant to hurt you.” Richard covered the distance between them and backhanded her before she had a chance to brace herself. She stumbled backward as he stood in front of her, finger on the trigger. She tried not to look at him. “Please, he doesn’t deserve to die,” she said softly, tears stinging the new cut on her cheek.

Kelsey saw Zach’s newborn face, the way it had scrunched up as he cried. His deep blue eyes that had only lightened a little over the years, closed tightly. She pictured him after his first bath at the hospital, happy and calm, staring into her face as he had drifted off to sleep. She saw herself handing him over to his proud new papa and a raw wave of betrayal washed over her. She looked into Richard’s gaunt face and felt helpless and afraid. What had she done to her child?

A loud sob escaped and she put a hand to her stomach, now churning with emotions too numerous to name.

As he laughed maliciously, Kelsey realized she couldn’t hear Zach anymore. The silence chilled her more than the cries had and she glanced at the door.

“Shall we get this over with?” Richard asked.

She looked up in time to see the gun aimed at her.

“No!” she screamed as the sound of the gun exploded in the room and a searing pain shot through her thigh.

The room went silent as Kelsey fell to the ground, screaming, one hand trying to break her fall, the other gripping her leg. She lay on the floor thrashing in pain, unable to focus on anything—sight or sound. Her hand was warm and sticky with her blood and her eyes were fluttering as she tried to focus on something, anything in the room. She looked up and saw Richard squatting over her, laughing.

“We’re just getting started,” he snarled as her hearing returned. He stood and turned to the bedroom while she held her leg and tried to sit up. He reached for the knob. “Zach, your ‘mommy’ wants to see you.” He slowly turned it. “I hope you aren’t sleeping. You’re going to miss all the fun.” His callous reference to Zach’s death caused a chill to run down Kelsey’s spine and grip her heart. Richard threw the door open and a cool breeze hit her in the face, restoring her senses enough for her to focus on something other than the pain. “What the hell!”

Kelsey watched as a grown man launched himself out of the bedroom and pushed Richard against the table. As Richard’s hand got knocked upward, the gun went off. Kelsey exhaled and closed her eyes, thankful that Janelle had called Nathan. She tried to stand but fell back down, trying not to cry out with the pain.

“Kelsey, go!” yelled the new voice in the room.

Every other word out of Richard’s mouth was a curse and Kelsey dragged herself around the fight as quickly as she could, making her way to the bedroom. The gun went off again, and she hit the floor as something behind her shattered. She tried to stand up but lost her balance and fell back to the floor. She sat up with her back to the wall, watching the chaos in front of her. Richard was wrestling with the other man; his back was to her so Kelsey still couldn’t get a good look at his face, but there was something familiar about him. As she watched, Richard began to push him backward and he glanced over his shoulder.

Her blood turned to ice as she sat up straighter.

It was Patrick.

“Get out! Now!” Patrick shouted.

Kelsey swallowed the overwhelming fear and crawled to the bedroom as fast as she could. When she reached the door, she turned to watch. Patrick had Richard’s hand, the one with the gun, in his grip while Richard had him by the wrist. They knocked a lamp over; it shattered at their feet as Richard continued to push Patrick backward to the bedroom. Richard was yelling and swearing, and Patrick was quiet and focused.

Kelsey looked at the bed. “Zach?” she called weakly, her body beginning to give in to the exhaustion of the day and the blood loss. When she didn’t get a response, she sat up as much as she could. The empty bed stood in front of an open window, and the only thing she could think was how odd that was.

“You’re so dead!” Richard exclaimed and Kelsey turned to see Richard and Patrick almost chest to chest. The gun went off, and they both fell to the ground, Richard on top of Patrick.

Thirty

W
hen Kelsey saw Richard’s leg move, she screamed and kicked the door shut. Her heart was racing and her head swimming as she dragged herself to the bed. Her hands were on the mattress when she heard the door open behind her. She almost had her chest on the bed when a man’s hands grabbed her. She screamed and closed her eyes as they pulled her off the bed and back onto the floor. Strong arms wrapped around her as she struggled to get away.