Deadly Deception: A Dark Romance

by J.C. Valentine

  Not that I’m complaining. The less contact, the better, as far as I’m concerned.

  But I know I’ll have to make a better effort soon. It will be easier to get in close and make my move if it seems natural. If I come out of left field, Glenn might suspect something and have a chance to waylay me.

  I reach out and take his hand.

  For a passing moment, Glenn glances over at me in surprise, and then his fingers give mine a little squeeze of acceptance. There, I’ve done it. I made the first move. Everything else from here on out will be exponentially easier.

  “It’s gorgeous out here,” I comment as a southerly breeze catches my hair and moves it about my shoulders just enough to inspire goose bumps. “I can’t believe it’s been this long since we’ve done this.”

  “We’re definitely overdue for it. I’m glad you decided to join me.”

  I laugh. “As if you would have come out here without me.” When his silence is his only answer, I look up at him in offence. “You would have left me at home?”

  He shrugs, and just like that, our hands drop free of one another, making that distance that has grown between us over the years yawn open once again, shining a bright spotlight on how we’ve reached this point in our marriage. “It’s not like we’ve been all that close lately.”

  “Still,” I argue. “That you would have just up and left if I’d said no is pretty hurtful, Glenn. What kind of husband does that?”

  “A husband that isn’t happy.” He stops in the middle of the path and turns to face me.

  It strikes me at that moment that this is as real a moment as we’ve had between us in forever.

  “Neither of us have been happy in a long, long time, Faith. I think we both know that. Hell, anyone who takes a passing look at us can see it.”

  I grimace, hoping that isn’t true. If it is, it will make killing him and getting away with it so much harder.

  “Then what is the point of us coming here this weekend, if we’re so deep in the hole that we can’t see out of it?”

  Glenn takes one of my hands in both of his, his expression earnest. “Every marriage has its share of problems. I’ll be the first to admit that ours certainly does. At least we’ve recognized it and are trying to do something about it. This is the first step. This weekend is going to show us if it’s worth it to keep trying.”

  After everything he’s done behind my back, seeing that woman when he knows I despised her, despise him for the lies and the deceit? He has a lot of nerve, thinking we could ever come back from that. He’s made his choice, and now he is going to have to live with it. Or die because of it, as it were.

  I put on my actor’s mask, thinking I should get an award for my superior acting skills. Especially if I manage to pull this off and come out of it unscathed.

  “You’re right, Glenn. We have a lot of work to do, and if we’ve come this far, then I think we can make a go of it. I’ll try if you will.”

  “That’s why I’m standing here.” He smiles as he leans down and plants a sweaty kiss on my lips.

  My stomach rolls, and it takes all my willpower not to scrub the moisture from my face and grimace. Instead, I look up at him with as much adoration as I can manage and allow him to take my hand and continue leading us down the path. Covertly, I turn my head when I’m sure he isn’t paying attention, and wipe my mouth on my forearm, wishing I had brought a toothbrush and some disinfecting wipes.

  Twigs snap under our feet, spiders with long legs and small bodies dart across our path, and Glenn moves errant branches out of the way to clear the path for me. Birds chirp high up in the treetops, a woodpecker chisels a tree trunk somewhere nearby, and little critters rustle in the leaves on the forest floor. It all makes for a wonderful atmosphere that is relaxing and pleasant. It would be too easy to forget why I’m here and get lost in the moment.

  In the distance, I can hear the water ripple, and I know we’re getting close to our old lookout point. It’s a place we discovered on our honeymoon. A weekend that I’d found devastatingly romantic. Two young adults just starting out, with hardly a penny to their name. We’d made the cabin and the forest our romantic getaway, and it had been—back then.

  In a way, it was almost just as romantic and fitting that it should all end where it began.

  Now that I thought about it, I know it’s the perfect setting. We’ve come full circle.

  “You’re quiet.”

  I look out toward where I know the water to be. Soon the trees will give way to the shallow cliff’s edge, and the stiff, cool breeze from the water will kick back at us, countering the summer heat.

  “Just enjoying the moment,” I answer.

  Glenn accepts that, and we continued walking, slower now, as if he, too, feels the end approaching.

  “Do you remember when we first came up here?” he asks.

  “Our honeymoon.”

  “It was a perfect weekend, just like this one. And you were wearing that pretty yellow sundress with the flowers that made your skin glow.”

  I remember that day like it was yesterday. He’d been so in love with me, and I’d been happy to be his wife, to be free of the past and all the tethers that had bound me. For the first time, I’d felt freedom, despite having committed to a lifetime of holy matrimony. At the time, it’d felt like the lesser evil.

  “We were so happy then…”

  I don’t offer any commentary. Why is Glenn walking down memory lane now? He had years to do this, to try to fix what he’d broken, but he was choosing this day, this moment, to try? I grow angry inside. How dare he, after putting me through years of hell, try to steal this, what should be a moment of pure bliss, from me? It just reinforces that he is still the selfish asshole he always was.

  He should have made amends sooner. Now, at the eleventh hour, his attempt to suck me in with pleasant memories is far too late. My mind is made up.

  The forest finally clears a path, and we step out into the fading sunlight and onto a patch of wild grasses that overlooks the babbling river Glenn had taken me fishing on once or twice. It’s calm and scenic and most importantly, private.

  There isn’t another soul for as far as the eye can see.

  “Mm, feel that cool air.” Glenn’s head is tilted skyward, and he releases his hand to fluff his shirt that’s clinging to his chest from sweat.

  I take a moment to enjoy it myself. As much as I enjoy beautiful weather, I never much liked the summer or the heat.

  “We should have brought chairs or something.”

  I scan the area. Under better circumstances, I would agree. But as it was… “Well, the ground is just fine with me. Come on, let’s sit.”

  I could have chosen any place in the grass, but I go for the most obvious place instead: the cliff’s edge.

  Glenn’s hand shoots out. “Faith, be careful.”

  Clearly, he’s afraid. This only emboldens me. Stopping a few feet short, I angle my body toward him and extend my hand. “Come on. Come sit with me.”

  Fear etches lines between his brows and around his eyes. “What’s wrong with right here?”

  I laugh lightly. “All the way over there? Don’t be silly. The view is better over here.”

  He doesn’t look like he believes me. Why should he? I have every intention of making his fears come true.

  “I’d prefer it here, honey.”

  I frown, genuinely upset that he’s making such a fuss. “Oh, come on. Don’t be such a scaredy-cat.”

  “We could fall.”

  I tilt my head and purse my lips. “Do you really think I’d let that happen?”

  He takes a moment to think it over, and then, to my pleasure, takes measured steps, creeping closer until his hand fills mine. I bring us right to the edge but don’t make any moves to sit. The wind is stronger here, and I can tell from his sweaty palm and the death grip he has on my hand that Glenn is seconds away from bolting.

  “See, this isn’t so scary, is it?” I drink in the view, suck in a dee
p breath of clean air, and sigh audibly. “I love it up here. The view is killer.”

  “It sure is. Can we go now?”

  Annoyed, that’s what I am. “Just a few minutes longer.” The request is delivered straight, more of a command than anything. Glenn has no choice but to wait, and he does.

  “You know, I was thinking,” I begin, “we haven’t taken any good pictures of us together in a while.” I turn a brilliant smile on him, the one I always used in the past to sway him to my thinking. “Did you bring your phone?”

  Glenn pats his pockets, finding it in his front left one. “Yep.”

  “Good! Let’s take a few before we go. I want to capture this moment.”

  “Okay, but let’s move a little more over there first.”

  Away from the edge? “No way! That would ruin it. We should have the water and the trees and everything in the background. It’ll be pretty!”

  How could he argue with that? The truth is, he can’t.

  “All right, but let’s make it fast. This spot makes me nervous.”

  I roll my eyes playfully. “Such a worrywart. Fine, let’s hurry.”

  Glenn pulls up the camera feature on his phone and draws me into his side, then holds the phone up high so he can fit us both in the frame. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I smile brightly, genuinely happy in that moment, but for reasons no one who may ever see it will ever know.

  The camera makes small clicking sounds as Glenn snaps several shots, and then he lowers his arm and it’s over.

  The time has come.

  I take a breath, a moment to do a gut check, making sure there are no last-minute reservations, and then I look up at my husband and smile.

  For a brief second, when he looks down at me, I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. And then I decide that this is no time for second guessing myself. I’ve made my choice, and he’s made his.

  “I love you, Faith,” Glenn says so purely, I almost believe him.

  “I love you, too, Glenn,” I lie for the last time. And then I reach out with both hands, flattening my palms on his chest, and shove.

  Nineteen

  ~Declan~

  I saw it all. The moment of possible connection. The photo op. And the moment when Brenda made her decision.

  And the most horrifying moment of all: the moment she pushed Glenn with all her might…and he only stumbled a fraction before regaining his footing.

  That was the moment when I held my breath. The moment when I saw confusion followed by realization come over the man, followed by hurt and anger and a myriad other emotions flash in Glenn’s eyes that all spelled one thing: danger.

  Brenda had made her move, and she’d failed. It was the worst possible thing that could have happened.

  Glenn grabbed her by the upper arms, his angry words lost on the wind, but I don’t have to know how to read lips to understand the context. Glenn was enraged. The question was, what was he going to do about it?

  I wasn’t about to wait around and find out. Best case, Glenn would haul her back to the cabin and call the police, charge her with attempted murder, and she’d be locked up. Worst case, he’d do to her what she’d attempted to do to him. I couldn’t abide by either option.

  As the two struggle, I step into the open and make my presence known.

  “Let her go!”

  They freeze, two figures not much more than shadows against the setting sun.

  “Cal?” Brenda’s soft voice is filled with shock and a plea for help.

  “Who the hell is Cal?” Glenn wants to know.

  “Brenda, come over here.” I crook my finger and point to a spot on the ground beside me. I will take control of this situation by force if I have to. No one is going to hurt Brenda if I have anything to say about it.

  Glenn is even more confused. He looks to his wife. “Who the hell is Brenda?”

  Brenda’s mouth flaps like a fish, and then, in one decisive move, she snaps it shut. I take their moment of distraction to move closer, and at his new proximity, I see the exact moment she decides to come clean. “It’s my alias. Cal is the hitman I hired to kill you.”

  Glenn’s entire face freezes in shock and horror. Most people don’t know when they are going to die, not even when it is delivered upon them, but in those rare moments that they see it coming, they look exactly like him.

  “You—you hired someone to kill me?” His voice rises with panic and so much more. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he bellows.

  Brenda chooses that moment to wrench free and darts away from Glenn, toward me, the lesser of two evils at that moment. Glenn grabs for her, but she evades his touch, just barely.

  “I’ll kill you!”

  “You won’t touch a hair on her head,” I say calmly. It’s in moments like this that I am at my most peaceful. That moment just before I make my kill. The moment of truth.

  Glenn lunges for me, and I react. Brenda lets out a shriek as we collide, wrestling with each other until I’m suddenly thrown free. I stumble backward, my feet unable to find purchase, and my arms pinwheel in a desperate effort to balance myself.

  For a brief, suspended moment in time, I think this is it. I’m going to die. But I’m not afraid. Not at all. The unknown has never been a fear of mine, and I already know where I’m going after this life ends. I accepted it long ago. I only have one regret, and to my shock, it isn’t what I thought it would be.

  I regret not kissing Brenda that night in my apartment.

  If I had it all to do over again, I would throw my rules to the wind that is currently aiding in my demise, and I would plant one on that woman that would carry with me well into the afterlife.

  At the edge of my awareness, I hear the frantic shouting and angry words, the struggle of an ongoing fight, probably physical.

  And then I’m not falling anymore. I land on my back, in the grass, with my head hanging over the rocky edge overlooking the tranquil waters below. Somewhere my body registers minor injuries to my extremities, my lungs winded from the explosive landing, but a quick mental check reveals all is relatively well.

  My senses, expanded outward in the onslaught of what had been assumed my execution, stop their outward progression and reverse direction, quickly gathering inward, pulling toward me at rapid speed. As they return to me, they sharpen once again to razor focus, and I lift my head toward the commotion…

  Just in time to see Glenn Overmeyer sail past me and over the side. His cries fade on the wind as he descends, but my attention is no longer with the dying man. As I pull myself to sitting, my gaze is glued to the woman who captured my attention from their first meeting. Eyes wide as saucers, lips that I ache to kiss parted as she pants, arms still outstretched in front of her, she is a vision in golden sunlight.

  At that moment, something dawns on me.

  Am I…in love?

  The realization doesn’t make any sense to me. I can’t pinpoint an exact time or place that it had occurred, and I’ve never experienced anything its equal, so I have no point of reference. But that’s what it has to be. This overwhelming need to shelter, protect, and kill for her, to wrap her up in my arms and promise that I will ensure everything will be okay is something that can’t be ignored.

  I don’t have the first clue what to do with all of that, so I do what I’ve always done: I act on instinct.

  “You killed him.” My assertion is delivered with a gruff, almost intimidating tenor that breaks Brenda free from her dazed state, and she looks at me with a new kind of horror. I roll to my feet and approach slowly, as one might a frightened animal.

  I remember that feeling she is experiencing now. The first kill is never easy. Not for a normal person. Denial, fear, panic, maybe even sickness. All things I had never known to be true. My first kill had filled me with elation, fulfillment of the highest order, a sense of purpose, of being right where I belonged. And a longing to do it again.

  But this is Brenda, an everyday housewife and homemaker, whose primary source of ex
citement is probably changing up the meal plan or refreshing her haircut. She’d wanted her husband dead, but wanting it and carrying it out with your own two hands are totally different things. She hadn’t bargained for the fallout of her actions.

  But I’m not about to let her fall apart alone. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep her together, whole.

  “I-I didn’t mean to,” she stutters. “It just happened.” Her eyes flare even wider as I grow closer. “Oh, God, please don’t tell anyone!”

  Silly girl. Doesn’t she know that I am the last person who would ever say anything?

  Uncharacteristically, I reach out and, with unsure hands that hold a hint of a tremble, grasp her arms. Locking eyes with hers, I tell her the truth. “I would never tell a soul what happened here today. Never.”

  Searching my eyes, she must reach the conclusion that I’m telling the truth. Finally, she smiles a small, almost invisible smile, but I catch it because I’ve memorized every line and curve of her beautiful face. That smile reflects in the creases beside her eyes, in the almost infinitesimal way her cheeks plump, and the way her ears lift and her hair moves. I see it all, every last detail.

  “What are you doing here?” she breathes.

  I knew the question was coming. It was the most obvious one. The last time she saw me, I’d kicked her out of my apartment and told her under no uncertain terms that I was done, canceling the contract without argument. As far as she knew, I had moved on.

  But I couldn’t move on. That was the thing. She’d changed something in me, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure out what that was or why it had happened. I just know that it had, and now I have to deal with it. I have to play the hand I was dealt and see if it turns up aces.

  “I don’t know, honestly.” I’m still holding onto her arms, aware that my grip is tightening, and in one quick movement, I release her. My palms are hot and clammy, tingling as if they want to touch her again and never stop.