Stone Cold Fox (89)

“So have you found out if it’s a boy or a girl yet?” She grinned. No greeting. “It’s herbal,” she said, handing me a cup of the tea.

“We’re going to be surprised,” I said, taking it from her, biding my time. The steam rising from the cup made me want to toss it right in her face. A scalding burn, but it wouldn’t be enough.

“That’s our Bea. Always full of surprises.” Gale laughed, claiming me as her own, a sick little pet she was waiting to put down. Laugh it up, Gale. She’d never see it coming. She had underestimated me. “Take a seat,” she urged, but I remained standing, on the offensive.

“I’ve just come from Syl’s.”

“Oh! And how is she doing?”

“She told me everything,” I growled. My chest was rising and falling at an increasingly rapid rate. I was hungry for her fall. Starving. Gagging for it.

“But she doesn’t know everything,” Gale said, her voice now rising, taunting me. “I’m actually surprised it took this long for her to tell you. That was only a matter of time. She actually has a good heart, unlike some of us. But like I said, she doesn’t know everything.”

“Care to elaborate?” I hissed, swaying back and forth ever so slightly, like a prizefighter staying warm before getting back in the ring.

“I haven’t decided yet.” She grinned at me again. Keep it up, Gale. I wanted it again, the barbs, the banter, but it was no longer just for fun or to scratch a pesky itch. This was all fuel for my explosion ahead. “It’s much more fun to engage in the element of surprise. Don’t you agree?”

“It will only devastate Collin. How could you do that to him? You’re supposed to love him. Allegedly. Isn’t he the reason you’re doing all of this? Honestly, Gale. It’s pretty pathetic.”

“Initially, yes. It was about him. But the more I learned about you, how dark your past actually is, it became about so much more than Collin. It became about our families. I don’t care how beautiful you are, how much makeup you put on, how you dress in designer threads on some other man’s dime, it’s all a cover, Bea. You know what you are. Raised by a criminal, you’re still a criminal. Trash. So I’m happy to wait for the perfect moment to expose you for what you really are. It’ll hurt him, yes, but in time, you’ll just be a memory. None of us will ever say your name again. And you’ll go running back to her, just like we’ve planned. Exactly where you belong.”

Her revelation hung in the air, sucking the life out of me.

The heat inside me was nearing critical mass.

My throat was bone-dry yet again.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe at all.

Like I was dreaming, floating in a scene of my own subconscious, unable to flee or fly away.

Had she really said that? Go back to her? Her. Her.

I dropped the teacup. The glass shattered on the tile, but neither of us moved.

“Careful,” Gale said.

“She’s lying,” I muttered to myself, not even looking at Gale, more like looking through her. I was possessed by what she had just said. How? “It can’t be true. It can’t be . . .”

“Why?” Gale asked, biting her lip in pure excitement. “Why, Bea? Why can’t it be true?”

I could hardly hear her. All sounds were muffled. A slight ringing in my ears. Eyes out of focus. I barely registered my surroundings at all in those brief few seconds, until she asked me another question.

“Because you killed her?” Gale’s lips curled, her nostrils flared; it was animalistic. She was turned on, a slow burn that was finally turning into uncontrollable flames. Everything she had been waiting for. She knew. She always knew.

“Shut your mouth,” I hissed, forcing my body to go still, fists starting to form in my hands. “You think you deserve your life? You really believe that you’re be—”

“Better? Of course I do, Bea. Dynasties rise and legacies withstand the test of time because of honor and loyalty and a commitment to being the best. Collin wouldn’t listen to me or his family. I had to take more serious measures on my own. Dig deeper, use more resources. It’s more fun, too, isn’t it? The long game. It’s exhilarating. I can see why you enjoy it so much. And after all, I’m not afraid of hard work.”

Hard work? My mind was coming back and my body would just have to catch up. Hard work? I rolled my head from side to side. Hard work? My hands were now fully in tight fists against my body. Hard work. Yes. It was almost time.

“So yes, I know all about it,” Gale continued. “You. Her. And I’ve been doling out your punishment with her help. Slowly but surely, until you swallow every last drop.”

Finally, I backhanded Gale across the face with all of my strength. The cracking sound startled both of us and lit us up, the energy between us now crackling, too.

“I’m not surprised by the violence, Bea. But try using your words.”

“Fuck you, Gale,” I bellowed, a guttural exclamation of my derision for her.

“Despite your best efforts, though, you didn’t manage to kill your mother,” she said, caressing her cheek, now bright red from the impact. Weak capillaries. Weak bone structure. “She was difficult to find, but I have capabilities that most people don’t. And, as you know, I had nothing but time. Your identity is generally rock-solid by most advanced measures, but you can find out anything for a price. Money talks. Not that I have to tell you that.”