Cut Too Deep(71)

He jabbed the knife toward her. “Because I’m having my fun,” he told her. “I’m taking my time.”

“No. There’s more to it.”

She pressed her lips together, her jaw tight. Anger escaladed inside her. How dare he do this to her? After everything she’d been through, what gave him the right to come back into her life just when everything was going well and destroy it for her again? Why did she mean so much to him?

Something dawned on her, and the tension seeped from her body. Slowly, she shook her head. “I don’t think you want to kill me. Do you still have feelings for me, Garrett? Is that what this is all about? Maybe it’s not love, but it’s something—an entitlement or an ownership, perhaps? I don’t think you thought you’d end up in an accident that night. It was a stupid decision, but it was one that almost got me killed and landed you in jail. You can blame me if you want, but I never wanted you to get in that car.”

Garrett’s face was pale and taut. “Don’t push me, Jenna. I’ll kill you if I want to. I’ve killed those others, so don’t believe for one second that I’m not capable of it.”

“Oh, I know you’re capable, which is the exact reason I don’t think you want me dead. You’ve had plenty of opportunity, yet you’ve followed my suggestions and done as I asked, and I’m still alive.”

He let go of Mikey and charged forward to tower over her, his face in hers. His putrid breath washed over her as he tried to intimidate her, but she held her breath and stayed stock-still. “I could kill you if I wanted to!”

“Do it then. Let the other two go, and get it over with. You know you’re going back to jail after this, Garrett. There’s no point in taking anyone else down with us.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Ryker catch Mikey’s eye and jerk his chin toward the baseball bat still lying half under the bed.

Mikey edged backward, the back of his foot touching the bat.

She needed to keep Garrett’s attention focused on her. “Do it then. Come on! Do it. I’m right here, you pathetic piece of crap.”

His hands shot out, the knife falling from his fingers and clattering to the floor, and his hands wrapped around her throat, closing in a vice. Jenna choked, and clawed at his fingers. Her breath swelled in her lungs, burning.

“Get off her!” Ryker yelled, He started to scrabble to his feet, using the bed to try and pull himself up, but his useless arm fell to his side, blood spilling onto the floor.

Her eyes darted frantically to Ryker, trying to make him understand that she didn’t want him to save her. She only wanted him to take Mikey and run.

Her vision clouded at the edges and then turned black, like paper scorching. Behind Garrett, Mikey rose up to full height, clutching the baseball bat. Her ex-boyfriend’s attention was purely directed at her, watching her face as she imagined it turn from red, to purple, to blue as the oxygen slowly drained from her system. His hands tightened and he gave her a slight shake as if to hurry up the process. There was no sign of humanity or compassion in his eyes. He was focused on one thing, and that was killing her. Finally, she’d pushed him too far.

Mikey moved behind him, leaning back on his right foot, taking the bat, clutched in two hands, with him.

The black around her vision descended, her lungs feeling as though they would explode, but then she heard a crack, just as if Mikey had hit a homerun, and suddenly the hands around her throat vanished.

Jenna fell to the floor, gasping for breath in painful wheezes, clutching at her throat.

Garrett stayed upright for a few seconds, and then he folded at the knees and crumpled to the ground, narrowly missing Jenna. His eyes were still open, but they stared up at spot high on the wall, unseeing, and she knew he was dead.

Stunned silence fell over them all.

Ryker was the first to move. “Oh, shit, Jenna. Are you all right?” He half crawled toward her on his knees, holding the arm that had been stabbed tight against his body to prevent further blood loss.

She tried to tell him she was okay, but her voice came out as a rasp. Her throat burned as if she’d been swallowing fire. He reached her and she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck and choking back a sob. It felt so good to hold him again, to inhale his scent, feel his warmth, and know they were both alive. She didn’t ever want to let go.

Mikey dropped the baseball bat, the crash making them jump.

“Oh my God, Mikey,” Ryker said, releasing her to turn to his brother. “You saved our lives. You have no idea how proud I am of you right now.”

The boy let out a strange sob, and fell to his knees beside them. Jenna let go of Ryker with one arm to pull Mikey into the hug, creating a circle.