Chapter 49
“And what’s that?” I asked, my heart pounding painfully from the suspense.
“You stay out of this and protect Petra, let me do the killing of Skyler and you save yourself from a life sentence” Thomas said, reaching his hand out to collect my gun which I reluctantly handed to him.
“Fine I will stay out of this but give me your word that Skyler will die by your hands’ ‘ I had to make him promise or at least give me his word that Skyler would be given the punishment she deserved… Death.
“I swear Alex she will die by my hands and from this weapon you handed me” Thomas put his hand to his chest as if he was swearing an oath.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.
“I would advise the two of you to leave the premises and leave the police to me, it’s high time that you show yourself to your wife before she gets sick with worry” He added.
“I will do that soon detective and thanks again for your help I really appreciate it” I shook his hand and got into Liam’s car ready to head back home.
“You better do something about that shirt” Thomas said laughing, Liam drove off in high speed eager to get away from there and even more eager to hear what happened.
“The mechanic grappled me from behind making me unable to fire my shot, he almost overpowered me but I managed to reach for my gun before he could squeeze the life out of me” I said rubbing my throat with the base of my palm.
“Damn! He must’ve been a loyal dog for him to have protected Skyler like that” Liam said in surprise.
“Skyler ran out before I could get his heavy body off me”.
“She didn’t take her car, if not I would’ve seen her”.
“She went out through the back entrance I presume…. Only lord knows where she’s headed now” I was worried about Petra so much now, I would be battered with despair if anything happened to Petra.
Liam drove on in silence, it was a gloomy night and the line of events did not help matters at all. We got home at last drained and tired, I got rid of my shirt and washed off any remnants of blood before I entered the house. Arianna was surprised to see me shirtless and half soaked but she was in shock because of the fact that I was still alive.
“Alex!! Is this really you?” She gasped in surprise.
“In flesh and blood Ari” I said smiling.
“But I saw the news….. The police said….. I mean… ” She stuttered confused.
“I drove into the water because that was the only way to stop my car after Skyler had cut the brakes and faking my death was my idea of doing some background investigation without being suspected by Skyler” I explained to her skipping the dangerous parts.
“Wow this is amazing! We have to tell Petra she has been worried sick”.
“We’ll tell her together tonight but after I eat something and freshen up” I said heading up the stairs to the guest bathroom.
“That reminds me…. What happened to your shirt Alex?” Arianna asked the question I had been trying to avoid.
“I uhh… stained it with some taco sauce so I had to leave it at the dry cleaners shop” I lied.
“Leave him alone Ari let’s go set the table” Liam said pulling Arianna into the kitchen.
As the warm water ran down my body I thought about earlier this evening, why didn’t I pull the trigger as soon as I saw her? That would have been better than the way things went. To be fair I didn’t expect the mechanic to be close by and I guess she was stalling with her words and comments.
‘You should have shot her’ The voice in my head said harshly.
“I know but I needed to know what changed her…” I said to my reflection in the mirror.
‘Isn’t it obvious? It was her desire for you that turned her into this hateful monster, you would do the same too if your darling Petra was suddenly stolen by someone else’ The voice said sarcastically.
“She was planning on blackmailing me with Emily’s video so she wasn’t entirely innocent” I replied.
‘That was only to protect what was dear to her and that is your love which apparently you had given to somebody else… besides she would never do anything to drag your name in the mud’.
“She’s a murderer!!” I shouted at my reflection much to Liam’s surprise who had just walked in.
“Are you alright buddy?” Liam asked worriedly.
“Yeah I’m fine, I was just arguing with my subconscious about the whole Skyler issue”.
“What was the argument about?”.
“It was saying I am the one to blame for making Skyler turn into a psychotic killer, if only I hadn’t gotten into an affair with Petra all this wouldn’t have happened” I lamented with my head in my hands.
“If you hadn’t had that affair with Petra would you have lived happily with Skyler? How long will it be before she uses the video to blackmail you to do her bidding? Buddy you’re not to blame on this one, I’ve been with girls who had been so close to me but after break up they still got over me and moved on….. Skyler could have moved on without any bloodshed but she wanted war and that’s what she’s getting” Liam was right, Skyler wasn’t innocent as a matter of fact she was evil down to her heart.
“You’re right buddy, thanks for the advice I really needed.
“Now let’s go eat then we’ll call your beloved wife for a little chat” We proceeded downstairs where I had an amazing dinner which filled my starving bowels, Liam was in a mood to chat tonight and his jokes were just as funny as ever but I could see that he was obviously doing this to relieve the pressure and eased the mood of the night….. Smart guy.
It was finally time for me to call Petra, Arianna called Eva and told her to give the phone to Petra because there was someone that needed to talk to her.
“Hello?” Petra’s voice was weak and low.
“Hello my pet” I said with tears flowing down my cheeks.
“Alex? Is that you?” Her voice was getting louder now.
“Yes darling it is… Did you miss me?”.
“I don’t believe it!! How can you still be alive? The police said the chances of you surviving were slim” she rushed her words in excitement.
“Let me switch it to video call” I hit the switch button and Petra’s beautiful face came into view, she gasped in surprise when she saw me and she started crying too.
“I thought you were dead Alex… I was so sacred” She sobbed continuously and Eva kept the tissues incoming.
“I survived my love, without a scratch. I’m coming to get you out of there baby and that’s when I’ll explain everything to you darling”.
“I want to hold you in my arms Alex…. I thought I had lost you even though a part of me felt you were going to come back”.
“Thank you for taking care of her Eva, you’ve been such a helpful sister to her and a wonderful friend to me as well” I said to Eva, making her smile excessively.
“Just doing my sisterly duties, when will you come Alex? I’m tired of this hospital cell” Eva said.
“It’s not a cell Eva and I’ll be there by 11 o’clock sharp because right now I need some rest… are you okay pet?” I asked because she had stopped crying and she was now laughing hysterically.
“I don’t know why I’m laughing dearest, it must be from the relief of seeing you alive” Petra laughed again.
“Well keep that smile on until I come tomorrow, I’ll see you soon my love”.
“Okay baby. I love you” She blew a kiss at me.
“I love you more honey” I blew her a kiss back before ending the video call. I thanked Liam and Arianna for their hospitality and went upstairs hoping to get some rest after a hectic day but I was still ravaged with thoughts of Skyler and whichever evil plot she had in mind for me and Petra. As I closed my eyes I couldn’t shake the feeling of foreboding that came over me. I should have known then that my idea to pick Petra up by that time was such a terrible idea.