As we walked in my eyes snapped to Johnny, he was laying on the sofa looking pale, I could see the gash on the side of his head. It didn’t look too bad, the bleeding had stopped and didn’t look too deep, he would probably have concussion when he woke up and needed to get to hospital pretty quick for an x-ray just in case he had a fracture of the skull or anything.
Ben moved round to my front, so I pulled Lia behind me again so he was nowhere near her. I flicked my eyes to his gun to see what it was; it was a 9mm handgun, where on earth did he get that?
“Ben just let Lia go. You don’t want to do this. Let her go now, then you and I can talk about it if you want.” I suggested trying to reason with him, I forced myself to keep my tone light and not too threatening.
He laughed and shook his head, “Yeah ok Ethan, she walks out of here and you go all assassin on my ass, right? Maybe you’re forgetting that I’m the one with the gun this time, and I won’t ask you if you want to die, I’ll just do it. You’ve been in my way for too fucking long now and enough is enough.” he said angrily, looking at me like I was something he’d stepped in.
“If you have the gun then what are you worried about? You’re right, you have the complete advantage and I’m totally at your mercy. Just let Lia go and you can do what you want to me. Don’t make her watch you kill me, she’ll never forgive you for it.” I said trying to sound defeated. Lia whimpered behind me and gripped the back of my shirt as she pressed her trembling body to mine.
“She’ll forgive me eventually.” he shrugged his eyes not leaving mine. Johnny groaned and squeezed his eyes shut tighter as his hand moved to the side of his head. “Oh look the other asshole’s waking up now too. Now he gets to see you die first Ethan, then he’ll know what’s coming for him.” Ben chirped playfully.
Lia let go of my shirt and moved to go to Johnny but I grabbed her hand, yanking her back behind me protectively. I couldn’t let her move away from my body, she crashed against my back and I instantly regretted how rough I had been, but I’d just panicked I couldn’t help it. The only things I cared about in the world were Lia and our baby, Johnny could bleed to death for all I cared, I know I sound heartless but that’s the honest truth.
“Ethan, let me see if he’s ok.” Lia whispered pleadingly in my ear.
I shook my head, my eyes not leaving Ben for a second. He looked totally crazy and I knew that when I got the chance there would be no hesitating this time. I wasn’t going to hurt him, I was going to kill him. He would never leave her alone and there was no way I was risking him getting near my girl again.
Johnny pushed himself up to sitting and looked around; he looked slightly confused as he squinted at me. Suddenly I saw understanding cross his face and his eyes flicked to Ben who was pointing the gun at my face.
“Ben you son of a bitch, you need to get the hell out of my house.” Johnny ordered, but his voice lost most of its authority because it was barely above a whisper.
Ben ignored him and looked past me to Lia, I felt her flinch against my back and my hands tightened into fists in response. “Ali, come here.” he waved her over pointing to his side.
I stiffened and shook my head, “Not happening asshole.” I growled.
He sneered at me and stepped forward pressing the gun against my forehead. “You don’t give the orders here Ethan, I do!” he shouted angrily.
This was it; I couldn’t let him shoot me because I needed to protect my girl. I just prayed that I was fast enough to get the gun off of him and it didn’t go off in the scuffle. I reached one hand behind my body and shoved Lia away from me in the direction of Johnny, praying she would fall on the sofa and not the floor. She yelped in surprise.
Ben’s eyes left mine for a second to see what she was doing, so I took the advantage and rammed my body against his, making him stumble back a few steps. I grabbed the gun with one hand as I punched him hard in the chest making him groan. I yanked the gun from his hand and slammed the metal against his face as hard as I could.
I heard Lia scream my name but I couldn’t look back, not until he was dead. He fell on his ass against the wall looking at me with wide eyes, blood running from his nose and mouth. I couldn’t help but smile, he really was stupid, he should have killed me as soon as I walked in the door, he must have known he had no chance against me.
Ok time to have a little fun before I kill him. “Rule number one; never take your eyes off of the trained killer.” I smirked at him as his mouth dropped open in shock. He was clutching at his chest as he gasped for breath where I’d probably just re-broken the ribs that were only just healed from the last beating I gave him.
“Rule number two; never point a gun at a guy who knows how to use it better than you do.” I said as I slid the slide catch on the gun and pulled out the pin. I pulled the slide from the lower receiver, dismantling his gun in a matter of seconds. I dropped all three pieces of his now useless gun in his lap. He looked down at it with his mouth hanging open in shock, his eyes wide and scared.
“Rule number three; if a guy gives you a chance to live, you take it. You don’t come back for more.” I growled angrily. I knew I should have just killed him last time.
I grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him to his feet slamming him against the wall roughly making him yelp and hiss through his teeth. I could hear Lia crying behind me as I threw my knee into Ben’s side a couple of times making sure I did a good job on his ribs. He screamed and gasped for breath as his body went limp again where he couldn’t support his own weight.
“Please Ethan,” he wheezed, trying to push me off of him weakly as her gagged over and over.
“Rule number four, and I need you to listen to this one very carefully; you never hurt your sister, ever.” I growled slamming him against the wall again, smiling as his head smashed hard against the wall. I could hear Johnny and Lia moving behind me, I didn’t turn around because I didn’t want to take my eyes off of Ben. Shit I couldn’t let Lia see this, I didn’t want her to see this again in her nightmares or something. “Johnny, get Lia outside and have Andrew call the police and tell them I’ve just killed your stalker.” I ordered.
I heard Johnny gasp behind me, “You can’t kill him Ethan. You’ve got him now, there’s no more threat. You can’t just kill him in cold blood.” he said quietly, he sounded like he was in a lot of pain.
“Just get my girl out of here so she doesn’t see.” I ordered sternly. I couldn’t have Lia see me kill someone; I didn’t want her to think of me that way.
Lia was crying, “Ethan please don’t. I don’t want you getting in trouble for it. Please Ethan please, just let the police take care of it.” she begged sobbing hysterically. I gulped, I hated it when she begged me for something, it broke my heart because I had to give her everything that she wanted, but I needed to kill him and end it once and for all.
Could I let him live? I let him off last time because I didn’t think there was any chance of him going near her again, I didn’t bank on how deranged he actually was. Even if the police locked him up for a couple of years I would still know he was out there, there would always be a threat from him; she would never be totally safe.
I tightened my grip on him digging my fingers into his upper arms making him wince. I couldn’t not kill him. I had to do it or I’d go insane.
Just as I made up my mind to kill him I felt a hand on my arm. I looked over my shoulder to see Lia begging me with her eyes, she looked so hurt and broken, so scared and vulnerable that it almost killed me.
“Please don’t. The baby and I need you; you can’t get into trouble and leave us. Please Ethan, please.” she whispered, her beautiful tear filled eyes never leaving mine.
I felt my hands loosening on him, she was right. If I killed him now it would be cold blooded murder, and I couldn’t use the excuse of it being self-defense or in the line of duty because he wasn’t a threat anymore. If I killed him now it would be because I wanted to, not because I needed to, and that’s what the law would s
ay too. I would go to jail for murder, or at the very least, manslaughter.
I nodded and moved my hand to grip around Ben’s throat, squeezing tightly as I slammed him against the wall again looking at him warningly. “You seriously are the luckiest scumbag in the world, you know that? If I was her I would let me kill you, you’re lucky your sister is a better person than I am.” I growled as I let him go. I stepped back from him, anger still boiling through my system and I just prayed that I wouldn’t live to regret not taking my chance when I had it. Lia pressed her face against my shoulder and sighed, I could feel her trembling. “Lia go get Andrew.” I ordered sternly, I couldn’t relax until Ben was being led off in a cop car. Ben’s eyes flicked to her and I felt my body jerk slightly, “Don’t even look at her.” I warned.
He sneered at me, “I’ll look at her all I want and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. Right now I’m just imagining her naked.” he hissed as he rubbed his throat, looking at me hatefully.
He smirked at me and I totally lost it. Before I could even stop myself I brought my arm up and slammed the heel of my hand up under his nose as hard as I could, forcing the bone of his nose up inside his head. I knew it would kill him, the force that I hit him would push his cartilage up and pierce his brain killing him almost instantly. I knew it would happen, but I just didn’t care. It was worth jail time to know that she was safe from him and that it was finally over for her now.
Lia gasped as Ben’s head was thrown back smashing into the wall, his eyes going vacant, he didn’t even have time to feel it before he died. His body went limp and he slumped to a pile on the floor.
Lia screamed and Johnny shouted a string of profanities but I couldn’t care less. The guy that made my girls life a misery for the last six years was dead and I couldn’t even force myself to feel bad about it. Jail was totally worth the knowledge that he would never be able to hurt her again.
Chapter 28
“Ethan! What did you do?” Lia screamed as she crouched down next to Ben’s lifeless body.
“Don’t bother checking, he’s dead,” I said emotionlessly.
“No! No Ethan, do something! Please, I can’t lose you please!” she screamed grabbing my shirt and pulling me down next to her looking at me desperately.
I shook my head and wiped her tears away with my thumbs. “I’m so sorry Lia. I had to, I couldn’t not do it,” I said apologetically.
She was looking at me heartbroken as she clung to me, her whole body shaking violently. “Make him wake up, please make him wake up. You can’t have killed him Ethan please!” she begged breathlessly.
I nodded slowly, “I have Lia. You’re safe now,” I turned to Johnny who was sitting on the sofa with his mouth hanging open in shock, his eyes wide as he just stared in horror at Ben’s body on the floor. “Johnny, I need you to take care of Lia now. I know you love her, you need to make sure her and the baby are ok. Can you do that for me?” I asked pleadingly.
He gulped, “Are you going to jail for that?” he asked, his voice breaking as he spoke, his eyes not leaving Ben.
“Yeah, I’ll go down for murder because I meant to kill him. The threat was neutralized,” I confirmed trying not to show any emotions about it. I still didn’t feel bad; I would do that again in a heartbeat. Even though I was losing the two most important things in the world, it was totally worth it to make her safe. She would be ok, Johnny would look after her and the baby, I knew that because he was a good guy at heart and he loved her too, so he would want her safe and happy.
Lia slumped down onto the floor, sobbing hysterically, mumbling for Ben to wake up and not be dead. Suddenly she pushed herself up and grabbed his shirt shaking him roughly, “Wake up you asshole! Don’t you dare take him away from me! You wake up damn it! You owe me, so wake the hell up!” she shouted angrily as she slapped her hands on his chest over and over.
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her away from him before she hurt herself. She couldn’t even stand so I lifted her into my arms as she clung to me sobbing hysterically.
“Please don’t leave me. Why? Why did you do that? Ethan you knew you would get into trouble, so why did you do it?” she choked out.
I kissed her forehead softly, savouring the feel of her skin under my lips in case this was the last time I would feel it. “I had to Lia. I did it because I love you, that’s all there is to it,” I whispered pulling her closer to me.
I sat on the sofa next to Johnny, rocking Lia in my arms; she was going into shock or something.
She was shivering but sweating at the same time, her face pale and her hands trembling. I pulled out my cell phone and tossed it to Johnny.
“Call Andrew, he’s right outside. Tell him to come in here and I’ll explain everything. He can call the police,” I told him as I brushed Lia’s hair from her forehead, still rocking her soothingly.
He gulped and nodded, he scrolled through to find the number and I turned my attention back to the love of my life. After a minute I looked at Johnny because he hadn’t started talking yet, was Andrew not answering? He was just sitting there staring at Ben’s body, the phone in his lap.
“Johnny, call Andrew! You need an ambulance and so does Lia, I think she’s going into shock,” I said sternly. Why the hell was he not calling him like I told him to?
He shook his head, “I don’t want you to get into trouble for it. I was just thinking…..” he muttered trailing off.
“Johnny, call Andrew!” I cried angrily.
He shook his head again, “No one knows what happened. No one knows that you’d already broken his gun when you hit him. What if we said you did that after? We could tell people he was still holding the gun when you killed him, that would mean it was self-defense,” he said looking at me with wide eyes.
I gulped not knowing what to say, he would do that for me? Lie to the police so I wouldn’t go to jail for something I deserved to go there for? He leant forward and gripped Lia’s hand pulling her away from me slightly, making her sit up in my lap.
“Ali, did you hear what I said? We could tell the police that Ethan killed Ben when he was still holding the gun. He’s a bodyguard, he’s trained how to protect, we could say he was protecting us both from Ben. We’ll say he broke the gun after,” he said, looking at her intently.
She sniffed and looked at him hopefully before looking at me, her body still hitching with sobs.
“W….will that w….work?” she stuttered wiping her teary face on the back of her hand, but more tears immediately fell in their place.
I couldn’t breathe, Johnny would lie for me? He would help me after what I did for him? I looked at him confused. “Why would you do that for me? I stole your girl, I got her pregnant. I took the best thing that will ever happen to you,” I asked searching his face for something, I had no idea why he would do that.
He gulped and looked at Lia, “Because I love her too and she needs you. You’re a good guy Ethan and if I was able to do what you just did then I would have killed him too. I would have done the exact same thing as you and that doesn’t make you a bad person. She needs you to look after her, they both do. I need Ali to be happy and you’re obviously the one she needs, not me. You don’t deserve to go to jail for killing him after everything that he did,” he said sadly as he stroked the side of Lia’s face smiling at her tenderly.
Holy shit, he really is a good guy when he’s clean. Suddenly I could see what she saw in him because if he was like this all the time then it was no wonder she fell for him in the first place.
“You wouldn’t get in trouble?” Lia asked, looking at me hopefully.
I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know the answer for sure but I didn’t think I would. If Johnny and Lia both stuck to the story that he was still holding the gun when I went for the kill then I would have been doing it as part of my job. I couldn’t get in trouble for doing my job; I was protected in that way, so technically I should be able to get off of it.
“I don’t think so, not
if we all said the same thing,” I whispered, kissing her cheek softly, making her arm tighten around my neck almost choking the life out of me.
She looked at Johnny, “You would do that? Really?” she asked begging him with her eyes.
“Sure, if you’ll marry me,” he said shrugging giving her a wicked grin. I felt my body stiffen, I would rather go to jail than be out and watch her marry him. She laughed and slapped his shoulder and he laughed too. “Of course I would Ali, did you really need to ask?” he smiled sadly and picked up my cell phone from his lap. “I’ll call Andrew and then we all just say exactly what happened apart from the fact that Ethan disabled the gun after he killed Ben,” He looked between the two of us. I nodded and looked at him gratefully, shit how on earth do I repay him for this?