Devotion Page 22

  "Oh, no you don't," Annette mutters.

  I ignore her threat and scurry to the ladder. My hands extend out to grab the top rung, but I feel a force shove me hard in my back.

  I fly forward and crash through the ladder. As my body tumbles out into the dark void, I understand Annette has finally finished what she started.

  72

  Annette

  I did it. It's done. I've finally eliminated everything that stands between Corey and me. No longer will Katherine be able to maintain her manipulative hold over the man who I love more than anyone else ever could.

  She landed hard. I watched Katherine go face forward and collide with the ground in such a sickly fashion that there's no chance in hell she could be alive. Still, I have to check. I can't leave her body lying there for all to see.

  I find a safe way to the driveway below without a ladder, knowing that there is a small garden shed attached to the side of the valley Katherine obviously didn't understand was there. She could have almost escaped me if she'd known that little fact. But I would have caught up with her, eventually. She still thought Corey was the one haunting her dreams, judging by the confusion on her face.

  With my feet on solid ground, I walk up to Katherine with a smile that's filled with relief. She drove me to this moment. I did everything I could to have her believe Corey was a bad husband, yet that wasn't enough. I had to make her fear for her own life, but the damage she'd done to Corey's mind would not allow him to let her go.

  Katherine's body is limp on the ground. She's face down in the mud where she belongs. I'm tempted to leave her there, but given she left me with no option but to kill her, I now have to dispose of her body and convince Corey and everyone else she fled town. If it weren't for Ava, the task wouldn't be so hard. She is sleeping in her room drugged up on enough cough medicine to see her through till midday tomorrow.

  Sometimes I feel sorry for Ava. It's not her fault that her mother is the worst parent in the world. I'm sure Ava's grandmother will do a better job of raising her.

  Squatting down, I check Katherine for a pulse. I don't find one and try a second and third time to make sure I'm not doing it wrong. The CPR courses I've completed through the school over the years have finally come in handy.

  Katherine's gone. Luckily for me, Katherine fell and landed close to her own car. Her sedan is shielding her body from the neighbors and the street. It's about the only thing she's ever done right.

  With the cover of the darkness and heavy rain, I grab Katherine by the ankles and drag her back to my house to take her into the basement and do what is necessary. I'm not looking forward to what comes next but, I did what I could to prepare myself for this moment.

  The Internet is a wonderful thing and can provide someone with education on any topic imaginable. Using a teacher's laptop in their classroom while they were at lunch, I researched the proper disposal of a body. There's no chance they'll trace any of it back to me. Plus, no one will think to look there to begin with.

  It takes some time, but I pull Katherine's body into my house, across the hardwood floors to the basement door. I unlock the entrance with its only key and switch on the lights, giving myself a few moments to breathe.

  At the bottom of the stairs, I have everything laid out. Plastic sheets and rope wait for Katherine's body. I was expecting to have to deal with a lot more blood, but she is only bleeding a little from her arm and forehead.

  Dragging Katherine down to the basement could make too much of a mess and spread her DNA around, especially if her head thuds along each step. Instead, I lay down a thick pile of blankets and roll her onto them to help get her body to the basement.

  I reach the bottom of the stairs after an exhausting effort and drop her legs to the floor. After a quick breath, I walk out to the setup I've prepared in the dust-covered room.

  I took a while to draw up enough courage to go through this, but she forced me to this point. I guess a part of me knew this day was coming from the start. It's not the first time I've had to take matters into my own hands when a supposed friend has betrayed me.

  Katherine was away from Battery Beach when my former best friend Lisa took it upon herself to date my ex-boyfriend less than a week after he had dumped me. I didn't kill her like I should have, but I made it clear that if she ever stepped foot in this town again, it would be a deadly mistake.

  This time is worse. Corey is my soulmate. There's no doubt in my mind that we will be together forever. No one else knows him the way I do. I learned more about him with a single kiss than any of the shallow women he has been with in the past.

  I was right to throw Katherine off the roof. She wouldn't have been easy to threaten out of town. Scaring her off would never work.

  I close my eyes and breathe in for a moment to draw in all the focus needed to clean up. When I exhale my held breath, I shift my gaze to the bone saw laid out in the middle of the room. I only take two steps toward the tool when I hear a groan.

  Spinning round, my eyes land on Katherine. She's still alive. I mustn't have checked her pulse right.

  I instantly run for a hammer I have sitting on an old workstation in the corner. My fist grabs hold of the wooden handle and squeezes tight. I need to finish this now before I lose my nerve.

  "Corey," Katherine whispers. Her eyes are closed. "Help…"

  "He's not coming," I mutter. "Ever."

  I rush to Katherine and drop over her chest, hammer in hand. My hand raises it up high without question, ready to silence her. "You did this to yourself."

  73

  Annette

  The hammer drops from my hand to the floor after I step away from Katherine. My breath sucks in and out as I struggle to maintain the overwhelming amount of adrenaline flowing through me like a river.

  I wanted to do it more than any other act in my life. It's not that I'm incapable of giving Katherine what I know she deserves, but a better idea came into my head as her eyes opened at the last second and stared straight into mine. She didn't beg for her life or even try to fight back. I assumed most people would rebel in their final moment of existence. Instead, Katherine accepted her fate and waited for me to strike.

  That didn't sit well with me. I need to see nothing but utter defeat in her eyes in her last moments.

  "Annette, please… What are you doing? This isn't you," Katherine whispers.

  "No talking. We're past that."

  "Please… You can still—"

  "I said don't talk to me!" I charge over to Katherine. Her eyes follow mine as I bend down and scoop up the hammer. Again, I crouch over her chest and raise the weapon in my hand up high, readying it to silence Katherine forever. Maybe killing her will be enough satisfaction. Maybe I don't need to take this thing to the final level.

  "You're better than this," Katherine says through a croaky voice. Her eyelids are only half open as if she is gradually losing consciousness.

  I let my arm lower calmly as my shoulders ease up. Katherine's eyes fully close. Her begging must have taken all the energy she had left. It pains me to my stomach to place the hammer down on the floor, but I know the payoff will be so much more if I can escalate what has already begun.

  Katherine is still breathing. I observe the rise and fall of her chest and stand to take a step back from her body. I know what I must do now as I pace up and down the limited space of the basement.

  "You thought I'd end your life this easily," I say to Katherine. But she doesn't respond. She's either unconscious or is the world's greatest actor. After taking that fall and being dragged down the steps, I highly doubt this is an act.

  This is perfect. Everything I worked so hard to achieve is coming together. If only I could enjoy this moment forever. But I know it's time.

  My idea is so simple and will confirm what I already know to be true in my heart.

  I pull my cell out of my back pocket and unlock it. Within moments, I navigate my way to my list of contacts and hover my finger over Corey's name.


  I need him now more than ever before. Together, we will end Katherine's life.

  74

  Annette

  I've spent almost an hour getting everything ready for Corey to arrive. I can't wait for him to get here and be part of Katherine's final moments. Together we will repair the past. Then we can leave this place and the pathetic people that dwell within the region. Corey's not from this town, so I know he won't have any problem leaving it behind to start our new life. Then we can wipe the last six months clean from our minds.

  Standing almost outside my front door while rain continues to soak the ground, I wait as calmly as possible for Corey to appear.

  A set of headlights twist and turn around the corner ahead and charge straight for my house. I see Corey arrive in his sedan. He slams on the brakes as he hits my driveway, causing his tires to screech. In less than a second, he leaps out from the driver's seat and rushes toward me, his door slamming in a hurry.

  "Where do you think she's gone?" Corey says, referring to Katherine. I told him over the phone that she had grabbed Ava and run away, only leaving behind a simple note. I had to shift Katherine's car and park it a few streets over from mine to help sell the story.

  "I don't know, sorry. I only realized when I got up in the middle of the night to drink some water that she'd left with Ava."

  Corey shakes his head. "I've tried calling her cell, but she won't answer. I think it might be switched off as it keeps going to voicemail." He clutches his forehead with both hands and squeezes. "This is insane. Where the—?"

  "Hey, it's okay. I promise you, before this night is through, everything will be the way it should be."

  Corey's eyes lift from the ground and focus on mine. "How can you be so sure? Her behavior has been so erratic since we got married. What if she has—?"

  "Hey, hey," I say to him as I place both hands behind his elbows. "Don't panic. I'm confident they're both fine. Come inside with me, out of the rain."

  Corey resists as I gently pull him toward the house. "No, we should search for Katherine and Ava. Grab what you need and meet me in my car. I'm gonna drive us around town so we can find them."

  I expected this to be his response. "That's a good idea, but I think you should come inside first. I have to show you something that I know will help."

  "We really don't have time to—"

  "Follow me, please. You need to see this before we do anything."

  Corey glances over his shoulder at his car and then to me. "Okay, but whatever this is, make it quick. They could be anywhere by now, and the longer we take to leave, the further away they get."

  "I understand," I say as I grab Corey's hand and lead him inside. Once we're in through my front door, I close it behind us. He walks further into my house and scratches the back of his head. He is too eager to rush out and save Katherine, but I know that's because he's a good man who always wants to do the right thing. Even though no one would hold it against him if he let Katherine go, he continues to be there for her. That will change before the night is through.

  "What did you want to show me? And how does it help us find Katherine and Ava?" Corey asks, facing me.

  I step up to him and get inside his personal space. "Before I show you, I need you to understand something. Everything that's happened leading up to tonight has been for one simple reason: you and Katherine don't belong together."

  "What?"

  "Hear me out. You have to admit that your marriage with Katherine has been nothing but a train wreck."

  "I'll admit that we've had some hard luck over the last few weeks, but—"

  "Is it bad luck, or is the universe trying to tell you that things will never work out for you and Katherine? Come on, think about this."

  Corey exhales louder than the rain beating down outside. "I know what you're saying, and I guess there's a lot of truth to it."

  I step closer. "You did everything you could. You gave her chance after chance, but it still wasn't enough for her, was it?"

  Corey's eyes drop to the floor. "No."

  "So why fight for her? Why put yourself through hell to rush around and find her?"

  Corey glances to the front door as if he can see through it to his car. I grab his jaw and gently guide him to me. "Let her go."

  "Okay," he says. "You're right."

  A warm tingle rushes down and over every inch of my skin as I pull his head toward mine. I kiss Corey and feel him kiss me back. My eyes flutter with ecstasy, making me draw him in tighter. Our tongues meet and become one.

  Our lips stay together for what feels like an eternity. When they finally part, I gaze into his soul and thank him for seeing the truth. "I love you," I say. The words fall out of my mouth. I stored them away in my heart the second we first met. His eyes narrow in on mine.

  A smile breaks through my intense stare as I don't dare to shift my focus from Corey's face. "You have no idea how long I've waited to tell you that."

  "Annette, I didn't know—"

  "Shh. It's okay. Everything will be as it should soon enough. Follow me." I pull Corey by the hand and guide him toward the basement. I left the door wide open with the light on. "After you," I say, pointing him down the steps. He needs to see this first.

  We take the stairs slowly and descend into the depths of the cellar. It's not until we reach the bottom that Corey sees Katherine tied to a chair around the bend at the back wall of the underground room. He doesn't utter a word.

  I drift past him and into the space toward Katherine. She's gagged and can't move an inch.

  "What's this?" Corey asks.

  "Our greatest test."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Katherine has been nothing but a burden in our lives. She has wasted precious time we could have been together and tried to take our happiness away. We have to put an end to her ability to destroy us."

  "Are you saying that we should—?"

  "You know this needs to happen. We will never be rid of the insufferable headache that she forces upon us unless we do this, Corey."

  He steps forward, never taking his eyes off Katherine's desperate pleading face. "Unless we do what?"

  I move in close to him and wrap my hands around Corey's back. "Unless we kill her together."

  75

  Katherine

  What's happening? I must be dreaming; caught in a nightmare I can't wake from. It's the only explanation my brain can make sense of as I witness Annette's attempt to convince Corey to help murder me. And to add to the chaos, I think he's considering what she has to say.

  Corey stares right at me. Not once has he tried to stop Annette. The moment he walked in and saw me gagged and tied to a chair, he should have charged at Annette. He should have attacked her with every piece of strength he could muster. But instead, he remains motionless in the middle of this screwed-up room.

  I try to yell through the gag in my mouth but it's no use. Annette stuffed a sock in there before wrapping a few layers of duct tape around my face. She then shoved me into this old wooden chair and bound my arms and legs to it with rope. I'm powerless to defend myself from whatever is about to happen.

  "Are you sure this is the only way?" Corey asks Annette at his side. She holds up the now dirt-covered hunting knife from before in her fist and points it at me.

  "We have to stop her from ruining our lives any further. She already tricked you into seeing past me more than six months ago. You married her when we could have been together from the start. We can't let Katherine waste another moment of our time."

  Corey nods.

  My eyes bulge as I struggle to comprehend what's unfolding before me. I feel like I'm witnessing my death in slow motion and can't do a thing to stop it. Surely my husband isn't about to kill me with my best friend's help. I shut my eyes and try to block out the world, but it's impossible to escape the anguish burning my insides.

  Then I remember something through the haze of this severe concussion I am no doubt suffering from: Annette has Ava. I scream as lou
d as I can through the gag, begging them not to harm my daughter. They might kill me, but they won't do the same to my beautiful little girl, will they? No one is that disturbed.

  "Help me do this," Annette says as she guides Corey's hand to her fingers clutching the handle of the sharp blade. There doesn't seem to be trust between them yet, but Annette wants Corey to be an equal part of this sick deed.

  They take a step closer to me in unity. I writhe around and kick my legs, fighting back despite being bound with thick rope. But it's futile. There's nothing I can do now but plead to my husband with my eyes.

  Corey has to see through the lies and brainwashing Annette has thrown upon him. Why can't he fight off her deception and repel the manipulation that is forcing him into doing the unthinkable?

  "That's it," Annette says, encouraging Corey forward like a trained animal doing its master's bidding.

  They both stop within striking distance and lower the knife down to my midsection. Corey shifts his focus to Annette.

  "We can do this," she says. "It'll be over before we know it. Then we'll be free to move on and pretend none of this ever happened."

  My nostrils flare as I fail to scream through the gag. The sound breaks through enough to draw Corey's attention away from Annette for a second, but she pulls him in again with her spare hand.

  "Don't let her deceive you. It's what she's done from the start."

  "I know; you're right. This has to happen, but I don't think I can go through with it."

  Annette pauses. "I understand what you are saying, but we have to do this, together. It's the only way to secure our bond. It's the only way to break the hold she's had over you all this time."

  Corey closes his eyes. There has to be doubt creeping into his mind. He doesn't want to kill me. He's not insane like Annette. Right or wrong, it's all I have to work with. Now I need him to wake up and realize where he is and what he's about to do.