Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)(65)

“You want me to settle for half of the money?” I shrugged. “Why would I do that?”

She took a step forward, shrinking the gap between us. “Because you’ll get all the money now and you can do whatever you want with it. You can spend it however you wish, whenever you wish.”

“Hm.” I leaned my hip against the dresser, pretending to consider her offer. “What do you think, Knox?”

His jaw was clamped tight. His eyes were hard. His body vibrated with anger. “That we should call the police and report a break in. I’m sure whatever is in that syringe is sufficient to charge her with attempted murder.”

She curled her hands into balls and the corner of her jaw twitched. “What he thinks is irrelevant. This is between us.”

“And when would I have to decide?”

“You have until seven in the morning to give me an answer. My attorney will have the documents ready to sign by ten a.m., but you have to fire your attorney. I want as little people involved as possible.”

“Wow. What a bargain,” I mocked. “Will the agreement give you the remainder of my half of the trust?”

“I’ll split the remainder between Derrick and me. We’re the only other beneficiaries.”

I chuckled cynically. “That’d be quite a windfall for you.”

She lifted her chin. “Seven and a half million dollars doesn’t make much difference for someone like me. I have more than enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life.”

“I’m not sure what I think is more entertaining.” I smiled without showing any teeth. “That you’re deluded enough to think I’d actually believe a word out of your mouth, or that you think I’m dumb enough to accept your offer.”

Her gaze flitted to the side. “I don’t have any motive to lie.”

“Really?” I scoffed. “Because according to my attorney, he estimated my share of the trust to be around a hundred million dollars. He also said you have a yearly allowance with the remainder going to Derrick and me.” Her face turned red, but I kept going. “So thank you for the offer. It was entertaining to listen to your lies, but I don’t need until morning to tell you to f*ck off.”

I pointed my finger at her. “I plan to go after the entire share and more if I can get my hands on it. In fact, I won’t stop until you spend your final days completely destitute. You’re a liar, and I have the feeling you’re a murderer, too. You killed my mom when she asked for money to support me, didn’t you? You killed my cat. You trashed my townhome and threatened me.”

“You can’t prove it,” she sneered. “Nobody will believe a trashy nobody over me.”

I lifted up Knox’s phone and flashed the screen. “I think I’ve got all I need here.”

“No,” she yelled, her face contorting.

In one fluid motion, she lunged forward, grabbed the syringe from the dresser and flicked off the plastic lid. With her eyes narrowed and her lips twisted, she held it over her head like a warrior with a battle axe. My hand clamped around her wrist, pushing her arm away from me. Our eyes locked. Our arms moved forward and backward. My fingernails dug into her flesh like talons.

Grunts and groans filled the air. I lowered my shoulder and rammed it into the center of her chest. Her body slammed into the dresser, and a giant puff of air exploded from her mouth.

“You bitch,” she roared through clenched teeth.

She kicked the side of my leg and my knee buckled, giving her a split second advantage. She inched the syringe within striking distance of my neck, and I felt the tip drag along my skin.

I opened my mouth to scream for Knox, but he was already there. His hand wrapped around mine, and he shoved the syringe away from me, plunging it in the side of Darcey Benton’s neck.

Her eyes flared and a scream erupted from her mouth. Within seconds, she collapsed to the floor, her hands clutching her heart.

Knox crouched in front of her body and pressed his fingers just below the needle lodged in her neck. “There’s nothing we can do for her,” he said unnecessarily.

My vision swayed, and I collapsed on the end of the bed, dropping my head into my hands. Guilt sliced through my chest and I couldn’t breathe. “Oh my God,” I wheezed between gasps. “What did I do?”

“We did what we had to,” he said gently. “There was no way in hell I’d let that woman hurt you.”

“What now?” I mumbled between rolling sobs. My body shook from head to toe. She was evil, but I’d never hurt anyone before. With every drawn out tremor, I felt like I was coming apart at the seams.

I just helped kill someone.

Darcey Benton is dead because of me.

This isn’t happening.

I can’t breathe.

I’m going to be sick.

He pried my hands away from my face and kissed the top of my head. “We’re going to call the police, my contact at the FBI, and your attorney.”

My stomach rolled for the hundredth time as I gaped at Darcey Benton’s lifeless body. Her eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling. Her mouth was lax and her hands were curled around the lapels of her jacket. I couldn’t believe this woman intended to kill me over money.

“What are we going to say?” My voice sounded as if I had swallowed a cup of glass.