I go back to my room and lie on the bed, closing my eyes. I’ve got the house to myself tonight and tomorrow. No Alicia. No Hunter. Just me. I suppose I better get used to the feeling. It won’t be long before it’s back to being just me permanently.
I can’t wait.
43
Bex
* * *
“We should get bikes and ride them around this place. What do you reckon?”
I smile at Ursula over the top of my half-empty glass of wine. “I’m pissed at him. I’m not sure I want to go that far.”
“Hire a wrecking ball and demolish the whole thing?”
“That’s going further in the wrong direction. Can I just sit here and mope instead?”
“You invited me around to pick you up, not let you mope.”
“As I recall, I said come over, and we’ll watch a movie together.”
“Well, the credits have rolled. Brewster got his millions, as will you if you’re willing to stick this out. Got to say, I think you could milk him for a lot more than a couple of hundred thousand. Look at this place. It’s got to be worth a fortune. You should demand more.”
“Do you remember the thud I heard coming from his trunk? That could easily be me if I push him too far.”
“So you are afraid of him. I knew it.”
“I didn’t say that. I said I was pissed at him for the way he’s acting.”
“So do something about it. Walk away.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Even if I walk away, I’m still married to him.”
“Yeah, but he told you to get an annulment, so do that.”
“And I have to see him in the office every day.”
“Shit, I didn’t think of that.”
“Not to mention I’d be walking out on Alicia.” I shake my head. “I’ll see this through to the end. Take the money he’s offered, which is more than enough. Then we run our store, and hopefully, we can put all this behind us.”
“What about the other thing?”
“What other thing?”
She pours out more wine into our glasses. “The whole Melanie, corrupt detective thing. How do you get out of that without getting Hunter to confess to murder?”
“I’ve arranged to go see Catherine on Monday after work. If I can persuade her to go on record with what Brody said to her. You know? All the blackmail stuff, maybe I can get that squashed as well.”
“Or you could ask your mafia overlord to deal with it for you.” She makes a gun gesture with her hand. “One in the head to Detective Brody, and your problems are solved.”
“Wow, I never saw you as the cold-blooded murdering type.”
“I’m just saying if Hunter’s good for anything, I reckon it’s dealing with problems.”