Real Girl: Aston Creek High (Book 4)

by Sheridan Anne

  “No. You’re a desperate, try-hard and it’s not because of me. You’ve always been that way though, only now, you’re letting the rest of the world see it. Though I’d be careful if I were you, you’re letting your crazy show.”

  “VIRAGO? What’s taking so long?”

  Maria’s back stiffens at Slade’s voice and I chuckle. “Oh, there’s your late husband’s bastard son. Should I call him in? Let him know that step-mother-dearest has come for a visit?”

  “Say a damn word and your life will be over,” she says, curling her arm around my waist and starting to pull me toward the back door. “You’re coming with me.”

  “You clearly haven’t thought this through,” I laugh, desperately trying to keep her from getting me out of the house. “Honestly, I’m a little disappointed. You’d think being Anton Mathers’ cousin, you’d be a little better at this. Let me help you out, there’s a buzzer on the back door. You try to take me through it, they’ll know straight away and if I don’t respond to Slade in the next three seconds, he’ll be in here and I can guarantee that when he sees you, he won’t hesitate to kill you.”

  Maria grins wickedly. “Well then, I guess it’s time to see whose reflexes are faster. Can he get to me quicker than my blade can slice across your neck?”

  Well, shit. That’s not exactly the response I was hoping for.

  I press my lips together, not wanting to make this any worse than I already have but something has Maria pausing and looking out toward the kitchen entrance. I bet she hears the seconds ticking inside her head.

  She has a choice to make and I don’t know if it’s her conscience that has her reconsidering or if it’s the knowledge that when she opens the door, she’s going to have every person in the other room coming for her.

  Could she kill the child she raised? I don’t know. I sure as hell didn’t think she was capable of killing her husband, but we’ve all done surprising things over the last few days.

  A frustrated groan is pulled from deep inside her chest and I feel it vibrating against my back. Maria releases the pressure of the knife on my neck and gives me a hard shove, pushing me toward the living room.

  I don’t know what kind of game she’s playing. There’s no way my family in the next room is about to allow her to waltz out the front door with me. Slade would sooner die than let me go again.

  If this was my game and I was the crazy woman with the knife, I would have simply gotten my hostage to un-boobytrap the back door and be out of there in seconds. What can I say? Maria has always had a flair for the dramatics. Hell, if there’s attention to be had and it’s not on Maria, then she’ll have a problem with it.

  I grin while trying not to walk too fast. After all, she didn’t completely take the knife away. It’s still there and extremely life-threatening. I’m still feeling the burn from the small cut she gave me and it’s not nice. It stings like a bitch.

  The second we step into the living room, Maria’s voice rings out loud and clear. “I want to see everyone’s hands.”

  Blake’s head is the first to whip my way, instantly recognizing the voice. His eyes go wide. He hasn’t seen this woman for nearly seven months, and when he did see her last, she was a doting parent, giving him everything he ever wanted.

  Slade is next to react. He instantly flies to his feet and goes to rush toward me but Maria tightens her hold on me; a silent warning that he needs to take her threat seriously.

  He comes to an instant standstill, the panic clear on his face.

  Shay stands, keeping her hands clearly visible as Nessa and Damian do the same with caution. Shay’s eyes darken in a way that I’ve never seen before, her voice low and demanding. “Take your hands off my niece before I take your hands off your body.”

  Maria laughs. “Don’t use that tone on me. I’m the one who’ll be making the demands around here.”

  Shaylee is backed into a corner. With the knife at my throat and the knowledge of how easily she shot her husband, there’s nothing she can do. She won’t risk it.

  I meet Slade’s eyes, silently begging him to get me out of this situation, but the helplessness reflected in his own is making my hopes plummet. If I were anyone else, he’d take a risk in trying to free me, but he won’t play with my life. All it would take is one quick flick of her wrist and I’ll be dead.

  Slade shakes his head; a message telling me not to do anything stupid. I don’t doubt a million different game plans are flying through his mind and he’s desperately searching for a way to free me, but for now, it’s a waiting game.

  Blake straightens on the couch, trying to turn himself to face Maria but from where he’s sitting with his leg up, it’s not easily done. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Maria’s head whips around, her eyes wide as she looks at my brother. “Blake?” she whispers in a tone that suggests he’s the only reason she’s living. I sense her behind me, scanning over Blake’s body from head to toe. She sucks in a sharp gasp, clearly taking in the pins that are currently holding his leg together. “Tell me you’ll still be able to play? I need you in the NBA.”

  Blake narrows his eyes at her. “Are you fucking kidding me? You have a knife at my sister’s throat and you’re worried about the NBA.”

  “Of course I am,” she says with a heavy sigh as though her reasoning is crystal clear. “Your sister is the reason I lost everything. You understand, don’t you? I need you to come back home. I’ll look after you and get you all the best doctors. It won’t be like it was before but we’ll build it all back up and then when you get signed to the NBA, they’ll all come crawling back. You’ll see.”

  Blake’s mouth drops, gawking at her as though she’s finally lost her mind.

  I try not to laugh but it’s nearly impossible. She’s fucking crazy if she thinks Blake’s about to go back with her to a burned down mansion so she can use him to climb back up her precious social ladder.

  The laugh gets the best of me and it bubbles up my throat, earning me a sharp glare from Slade as Maria jostles me, warning me to shut the hell up.

  Blake shakes his head. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Your husband did this to me.”

  She shakes her head, pushing me toward Blake. “But didn’t you hear? Lucien is gone now. He’s dead. You have nothing to worry about. You can come home.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you, Maria,” he repeats. “Look at yourself. You shot and murdered your husband in cold blood and now you’re holding my sister hostage with a knife.”

  She scoffs in my ear. “You make it sound so bad.” My body gets shaken. “This is nothing. Lucien had to die and really, it was all Skylah’s fault. This here is just a little necessary evil to get a point across. I need you to come home with me. Come and get in my SUV and I’ll let Skylah go. I promise.”

  Indecision flashes in Blake’s eyes and I narrow my eyes at him, lowering my voice into a deep, warning growl. “You move a fucking inch and I’ll kill you myself, Blake.”

  Blake’s eyes come back to mine and I see him considering it, but it’s not like he can do anything about it. The guy can’t even move enough to scratch his own ass. He won’t be going anywhere tonight.

  There’s a loud knock at the door and everyone holds their breath. Maria glares at every single person standing around the room, warning them that if they were to even move a muscle that they’ll be seeing the last of me.

  My eyes flick toward the door, impatiently listening to the loud silence.

  There’s a short wait with tensions rising high. I watch as Damian grips Nessa’s hand. She wants to do something, she wants to help me but he won’t let her risk it.

  My heart thumps heavily in my chest as Slade stares at me, not once taking his eyes off me. He knows I want to do something, call for help or make a run for it, but he refuses to allow me to gamble with my life like that.

  I wonder if I slammed my elbow back into her stomach if she’d drop the knife or if her natural reaction to pull in on herself wo
uld have the knife slicing deeply across my throat?

  She wouldn’t care if I died tonight, she wouldn’t miss me if I was to pass on to a better place, and she wouldn’t even blink an eye if I was to bleed out at her feet.

  The knock sounds again, this time heavier and more demanding. There’s a short pause before a loud booming voice comes through the wooden door, almost as though the guy is leaning into it. “Skylah Mahony? This is officer Lucock. Please answer the door. I am very aware that you are home.”

  My eyes bug out of my head as Maria tightens her hold on me. “Who called the cops?” she whisper yells, spitting the words through clenched teeth.

  Everyone’s hands move higher, making it clear that no one has a phone. This is pure coincidence with perfect timing. In fact, timing is never good like this, especially when it has something to do with me. This has to be a sign from above. This has got to be my mom and dad looking out for me and Blake. I’m sure of it.

  “Mrs. Mahony? The lights are on and there are four cars outside your home. Please open the door before I am left with no other option but to use force. We need to speak about the fire at the Valentine's mansion. We have some unfortunate news regarding your new husband.”

  Damian meets Slade’s eyes and Slade shakes his head.

  I’ve never felt tension like this before.

  The silence is killing me. I could hear a pin drop.

  There’s a noise on the other side of the door before a shadow passes in front of the window. The shadow steps in closer and soon enough, officer Lucock is pressing his face right up against the glass and peering in.

  His eyes widen in shock as he takes in the scene before him.

  I meet his eyes over Slade’s shoulders, silently sending up a ‘thanks’ to mom and dad. ‘Help,’ I mouth, trying not to move an inch.

  Officer Lucock nods and looks slightly to the left, taking in Maria’s face. I don’t know what he’s seeing there but I know it couldn’t be good as her fingernails bite into my arm. There’s no way the officer is just going to walk away now. He’s coming and there’s going to be a showdown. Maria knows it just as well as the rest of us do.

  I watch as officer Lucock grabs hold of the radio on his uniform and speaks into it before he moves out of sight. I can’t help but look back at Slade as another voice sounds. “We’re coming in.”

  There’s a loud bang that makes me jump as has Maria desperately trying to drag me back toward the kitchen. Slade steps as she does, not allowing the distance to grow between us.

  There’s a fire in his eyes. He’s worked out his plan.

  Chapter 25

  There’s another bang followed by another and not a second later, Shaylee’s wooden door splinters as it’s broken off its hinges. Officer Lucock and his colleague comes storming into my home, guns out, and pointed right at Maria. One directed at her head, the other at her chest, but it just so happens that for a clean shot at her chest, it would have to go through mine first.

  Maria’s not stupid. She knows they’re not going to shoot at me. Though, if they knew the kinds of things I’d done over the past few weeks, maybe it’s in their best interest to take me out.

  Is my life ever going to be normal? I thought I was finally in the clear and now this? This is complete bullshit. Maybe Slade should go and find a girl who doesn’t attract drama like a magnet. Who am I kidding? Slade would still take me even if I was the devil himself. Love’s a funny thing.

  “Put the knife down,” Lucock warns, inching in closer to us.

  I feel Maria shake her head, her face hitting the side of mine. “I can’t do that.”

  “You need to let Skylah go and then we can talk about helping you.”

  “Helping me?” she scoffs. “You’re not going to help me. No one is. That’s why I’m helping myself. My husband is dead and my home is gone because of this little bitch. She’s sucked the life out of me for thirteen years just like her mom did and now I’m finally putting an end to it.”

  “I can’t let you do that,” Lucock says as the other cop takes a discreet step to the side, giving himself an even better shot at Maria.

  Maria shakes me violently and my throat presses harder against the knife. “She killed my husband,” Maria screeches as Slade pushes in closer.

  “You killed him,” Slade spits, unable to keep his mouth shut. “You aimed the gun and shot him through the chest.”

  Maria’s wicked gaze slices to him. “I may have pulled the trigger but this little slut killed him. If she didn’t look so much like her mother…”

  Slade scoffs. “You’re blaming Skylah for looking like someone that she shares her DNA with? Sounds like you should be blaming your husband for being a sick fuck who thought he could stick his dick wherever the fuck he felt like it.”

  “He didn’t do it on purpose,” she yells. “He was sick. He couldn’t help it.”

  Slade raises an amused brow, the look on his face making it perfectly clear what he thinks of that. Hell, the same look is mimicked on every face in the room, even the cops. A rapist isn’t sick. They’re just fucked up human beings who do and take whatever the hell they want with no regard for anyone but themselves.

  Slade steps forward, ignoring the way the cop warns him against it. “Lucien Valentine was nothing but an entitled rich prick who took advantage of teenage girls. Face it,” he laughs, low and deadly. “He just enjoyed getting his rocks off inside young, tight pussies, not old dried up ones like yours.”

  Maria harrumphs, not knowing how to deal with a guy like Slade. People always conform to what she wants. They know better than to challenge her. She’s had practice dealing with me but when it’s coming from someone else, it always throws her off.

  Slade takes another step and Maria backs herself against the wall. “You want to feel the knife against my throat, don’t you?” he says, getting even closer and making her breath catch in her throat. “You want to slice it across my neck and feel the red-hot blood seep out over your knife and hand. I remind you of him. I’m proof of the life that he refused to give you. Did he tell you he couldn’t have children? Is that why you arranged to have Rochelle and Jacob killed and take their kids?”

  Maria’s hands begin to shake. “Get away. You don’t know anything.”

  Damian starts moving in, pushing Nessa into Shay to make sure she doesn’t try anything stupid. But let’s face it, Damian will always, always have Slade’s back. If Slade jumps, Damian jumps. There’s no way he’ll be sitting this one out. Besides, Damian seems like the kind of guy who would want to boast about saving the girl. He’s not going to let this opportunity slip between his fingers.

  Having no other option, the cops begin to move in and I know without a doubt that this is either going to end with Maria dead or being carted off in handcuffs. She just openly admitted that she knew about her husband raping young women and that she was the one to pull the trigger. Not to mention, her reaction was proof enough that she knows something about my parents' murders. They’re not about to let her go.

  Slade is so close that with his long arm span, he could just reach out and grab me. It’s making Maria more nervous than I’ve ever seen her but it also makes her vulnerable. Her senses are off and her emotions wild.

  Slade is baiting her and it’s working like a charm, the fact that she’s admitting her crimes in front of these two cops is just an added bonus.

  Slade’s eyes come to mine and I read him like a book. The cops have thrown her off and the second that happened, his game plan fell into place. She’s not in control anymore. She’s scared and because of that, Slade did what he does best and proved why he’s the feared king of Aston Creek.

  We’re only going to get one shot at this.

  With Maria’s eyes dancing around from Slade to Damian, to the cops and back again, she doesn’t notice my hand slowly raising from my side. I bring it up just under her wrist, hovering it close but not touching her. If she sees me trying to make a move, she won’t hesitate.

 
; This has to be fast, precise, and reckless. Even the slightest hesitation, could have either me or Slade getting hurt.

  His eyes come back to mine and seeing my hand in place, he gives one firm, fast, nod and I don’t hesitate.

  We move at exactly the same time.

  My hand flies up to her wrist, grabbing hold and throwing it away from my body as hard as I can. Her hand flies out toward Slade, freeing me so I can throw myself to the floor, tearing my arm out of her tight grip.

  Maria’s shocked gasp sails through the silent house as Slade dives for her and not a second later, Damian comes racing in, scrambling to get to me.

  He grabs my wrist and gives me a hard tug, sending me sliding across the floor before protectively throwing himself down on top of me.

  I push Damian off as best I can and flip myself onto my back, desperately needing to see Slade. I catch him just as his heavy body drags Maria down to the ground, crushing her beneath him as the cops race to his aid.

  Slade groans low and my eyes bug out of my head.

  Is he hurt?

  It happened too quickly.

  Shay and Nessa are at my side, someone tugging at my arms as someone presses a soothing hand to my throat. I don’t spare them a second, needing to make sure Slade is alright.

  I pull out of their grip and scramble across the floor to get to him. Damian’s hand curls around my upper arm, holding me back as my heart races wildly in my chest.

  The cops are at his side, one pulling him up off Maria as the other grabs the handcuffs from the back of his belt. The second Slade is cleared off Maria, the cop drops down, instantly flipping her onto her stomach and slamming a knee down into her back and making her shriek in protest.

  She’s cuffed within moments and the second Slade is properly on his feet, he turns, desperately searching for me.

  His hand goes to his waist and I let out a loud gasp as blood begins seeping through his white shirt and staining his hands, the knife lying carelessly on Shaylee’s living room floor.