Crazy In Love: A Standalone Christmas Thriller
Page 26
But it wasn’t all good news. Detective Torres wasn’t as bad of a detective as I thought. He was about to take down Adeline Bell. Maybe he’d even turn on Tucker and Violet next. He was actually a really freaking great detective. Which meant…he’d find me too. Eventually. Unless I pulled this off perfectly.
“You’re a good detective,” I said. “You don’t need my address. You’ll find my body soon enough.”
“Ensley. Please just put the gun down. We had a deal.”
“Oh, you mean like when you promised to help me? You of all people should know about empty promises.”
“I can still help you. You can come down to the station and we can talk. We can work out something if you confess everything.”
Did he not hear what I’d just said about empty promises? Maybe he was still a bad detective. And I was done with him. Done with this game.
Adeline Bell was about to be caught. She’d failed. Violet would probably get arrested soon after. Failure after failure. They were such a disappointment. I’d idolized them and they’d…messed it all up. Violet’s boyfriend was literally talking to a detective. And Ben’s escape probably hadn’t helped Adeline. For all I knew, Ben had led everyone straight to her. Violet and Adeline had both fallen in love and ruined everything.
But me? I’d pivoted my original plan to successfully frame Aiden for murder. Now I had to pivot again to successfully get Aiden out of jail. Did I love him? Yes. Was I risking everything just to get him out of prison? No. I wasn’t crazy. I was only doing this because my plan was flawless. I was done with this game because I’d mastered it. No one was better than me.
“Goodbye, Detective Torres. I hope you have a great Christmas. Make me look good on the news.”
“Ensley!” He screamed into the phone.
I tossed it onto the counter. After all, I needed him to hear the gunshot. I needed him to know for a fact that I’d really offed myself. The gun trembled slightly in my hand as I walked over to Sophia at the kitchen table.
She was still struggling against the ropes. Trying to scream through the gag. It was like watching myself. That was the only reason why my hand was trembling. Because I sure as hell didn’t feel sorry for her.
I leaned forward so I could whisper in her ear. “You asked who killed Noah. Sophia, you stole my face. My husband. My money. You have my ID in your purse. You’re not Sophia anymore. Technically, you’re Ensley Collins. Which means…you killed him.” I pulled away and shot her in the side of her head.
Blood splattered on the table beside her, completely ruining her beautiful Christmas table setting. There couldn’t be two of us in this world. Even my husband was smart enough to know that. Plus, her dying was the only way to save myself and Aiden. She looked just like me. Yet, she had a different name. I needed her name. I needed the life she was giving up. And I needed her to take the blame instead of Aiden. Because she looked just like me. She was trying to be me. And I was the one that killed my husband. When you try to steal an identity, you should make damn sure that person isn’t a murderer.
I lifted her wallet off the counter and pulled out Sophia Tremblay’s ID. That and the money were all that I need to start my new life. But I still had to do one more thing.
I checked to make sure Detective Torres had ended the phone call before I grabbed a few pillows from the family room. I removed the gag from Sophia’s face and untied her hands. Then I wiped off the handle of the gun and shoved it in Sophia’s hand. I knew it wasn’t perfect. But…it seemed good enough. Besides, I doubted anyone would connect the dots. After all…Detective Torres had arrested the wrong person for murdering my husband.
I lifted the gun in Sophia’s hand and pressed the trigger down with her finger. The bullet shot through the pillows.
Then I dropped her hand, the gun falling slightly out of her grip. It looked natural enough to me. A suicide spurred on by guilt.
I looked down once more at Sophia Tremblay. It was good that the bruises had been makeup. They’d never even suspect that this was Sophia Tremblay. She’d done her best to hide her new face from the police.
I smiled and grabbed my money, my new ID, and the holey pillows. Snuggle Muffins and I had better things to do on Christmas morning than to stare at a dead body. I had already planned out our whole day. We were going to bake cookies, sing carols, and hopefully make some snow angels. Snow angels were a favorite of ours.
“You ready to start our new life, Snuggle Muffins?” I asked as we walked down the hall together.
The little bell on his hat jingled.
“Aiden will know I’m not dead. He’s the one that told me about her having my face.”
Snuggle Muffins’ bell jingled again.
“I agree. He’ll find us soon. Until then, the two of us are going to have so much fun.” I started humming Baby it’s Cold Outside as I closed the front door of Sophia’s house behind us. The snow had picked up. It was the kind of Christmas morning that everyone always dreamed of. Well, maybe not the murder part. That was just a special present for me and the man who had stolen my heart when I’d kidnapped him. Merry Christmas, Aiden.
* * *
Thank you for reading Crazy in Love! For more crazy twists and turns, check out my bestselling romantic suspense series, Made of Steel.
I fell in love with the boy next door the first time I ever saw him. And he never said it, but I’m pretty sure he loved me too. Until suddenly…he didn’t.
In the blink of an eye, I lost everything. But losing him hurt the most. Everyone I loved was taken from me. But him? He chose to stop loving me.
It’s been ten years since he left me. I’ve gotten over him. Or at least, I think I have. Until I start college and realize he’s living right down the hall from me. I try to tell my heart to listen to reason. Because I can’t possibly still be in love with the boy next door.
And even if I was, it wouldn’t matter. Remember how I lost everything? I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to walk away alive. Those people are still after me. The boy who broke my heart would never recognize the person I’ve become anyway. I barely recognize myself. He left me to the wolves. He’s the reason my life fell apart. No matter how I feel, I can’t talk to him. If I did, I could get us both killed.
Get Made of Steel now!
A Note From Ivy
Merry Christmas! After last Christmas, I got the idea for this crazy book. So I told my husband we had to keep playing Christmas music and keep all the holiday decorations up until I wrote it. So it was Christmas in our house until March. I don’t think he minded, minus the constant Christmas music.
Fast forward to this year. I couldn’t wait until this Christmas season so I could finally release it! This year I said we had to decorate for Christmas early because I wanted to get in the mood for the release. So my Christmas tree has been up since the weekend after Halloween.
Anyway…I’m driving my husband crazy. BUT at least I haven’t murdered him. Yet. Love you, Ryan! <3
And I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!
Ivy Smoak
Wilmington, DE
www.IvySmoak.com
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