A Second Chance (40 page)

‘I… I understand your point, Mel, really
,
’ she started, praying
she could
pull
this
off.
Say something neutral
to
distract her from her purpose
, she thought desperately
.
T
he
other woman’s angry
glare was
not
encouraging
.

‘
Really
? You think you really
do?
’
Mel
laughed bitterly
.
‘
W
hat do you know about trying to build your future with the man who loves you
?
He loves you but doesn’t want to admit it, for whatever messed
-
up reason.’

Mel
had stepped closer
, the gun menacingly close to
Jade’s
midriff.

‘
Oh, I forgot.’ Mel laughed again, her voice high and dismissive
.
‘
H
e had a wrecked up affair with this idiot of a woman who
thought
she could keep him with her baby
.
W
hat
a plan, Jade
.
’
S
he
kept laughing, only to suddenly sober up, her suspicious eyes going to Jade’s slim frame
.
‘
Are
you
pregnant
,
too
?’
H
er
mouth stretching in
to
a smile, she waved her gun
,
pressing it against Jade’s stomach. ‘I wonder, do you have a little something to keep Liam tied to you, huh?’

The
cold metal wormed its way against
Jade’s
skin, the light fabric of her dress barely an obstacle between her flesh and the deathly barrel.

‘No, of course not
,
’
Jade
answered calmly, forcing herself to stand still and fight the urge to step back. ‘I am definitely not pregnant, Mel.’

‘Good
.
’
Mel
seemed a bit mollified, her eyes momentarily unfocused as she sighed
in
relief
.
‘I told this other bitch what I thought
,
too. She called my office, after Liam never answered her calls. She had no clue he was away for a few days
,
and I didn’t feel
like
enlightening her
,
either. I just let her have it, telling her all about his aversion to marriage. That I saw him doing it over and over again with other women, and she better
not
hold her breath for getting back together. It was surprisingly easy to make her upset.’

Jade
’s
blood r
an
cold
. Mel
might have been the trigger for the avalanche of disasters happening after Liam and Jess split. Whatever she
had
told Jessica
,
it must have upset her a lot, since she
had given
up on her plan to make him
jealous and
wait for him to come around. Instead
,
she
had become
desperate and talked about it to her sister, the rest of the story unraveling itself from
that
point. Mel couldn’t be blamed for all of it, of course. But she
had played
a role in the tragedy that
had
almost broke
n
Liam,
and she had
definitely
benefit
ed
from his vulnerability.

‘I
’m not hoping
for anything, Mel
,
’
Jade
said, trying to sound strong and convincing
.
‘
B
ut we
’
re together now
,
and there is nothing really to be done about it. Do you really think that waving your gun at me will make Liam want to hook up with you?’

She must have touched
a sore spot.
S
uddenly
Mel’s
calm was gone,
her
pretty face distorted in anger and hatred so acute that
Jade
could almost feel it on her skin.

‘
You
think you
’
re smart, right? That I
’
m some kind of pathetic idiot that hasn’t thought it all through,
h
u
h
?’
S
he
stepped back two steps, her voice stronger. ‘
But
who says I have to be the one blamed for the accident? That someone didn’t break into the gala and assault you in the washroom, trying to steal your jewelry
,
these insignificant trinkets?’
H
er
eyes went triumphantly over
Jade’s
neck and ears as she shook her head with determination. ‘I
’
ll just slip away back to the table. And when Liam sees that you
’
re gone, he will finally realize where to turn for comfort. We will be together, sooner or later.’

She was insane. Absolutely and
unquestionably
so.
Perhaps
there was no reason to this madness,
and
Jade’s
attempts to appeal to Mel’s more rational side
were
doomed to fail. She would have to come up with
a
different approach and fast. She thought about Liam, who
was
probably wait
ing
for her already, wondering what kept her in here for so long. The thought that he might come to check on
her
froze her blood to ice. He couldn’t come here, she thought feverishly. Not when Mel was waving this gun around with a wild look in her eyes. Who knew how she would react to see
ing
the object of her affection coming to the rescue of her rival?

‘
Wait
,
’
Jade
said, trying very hard to sound firm. Showing her weakness wouldn’t help. Mel could be
stopped
only by pointing out the flaws of her plan
and their effect on
her happy
ending
.

‘
If
you really
g
e
t
rid of me, Liam will know it was you
,
’ she said, praying for inspiration. ‘
He
… he must have noticed you following me, Mel. And he
’
ll put two and two together
.
H
e
isn’t blind
,
after all.
’

‘But you won’t be here anymore
.
’
T
here
was something oddly detached about
Mel’s unblinking
blue gaze as
she
seemed to weigh her options. ‘I guess he might suspect me, sure. But won’t it only make it more exciting in the end? To think that I love him enough to kill someone else
!
T
here
is no bigger proof of love than that
.
’

It
was
the
reasoning of a madwoman,
Jade
thought
,
trying to come up with an argument to
par
ry
the attack. But she didn’t get anywhere, for suddenly two women entered the large open space of the restroom, obviously ready to refresh their
makeup
.
T
ime
, which
seemed to have stopped before, suddenly galloped forward, events blurring together in
seconds.
Jade saw them look at Mel, their eyes widening in panic as they fled screaming. She
wanted
to follow, but knew that
Mel
was desperate enough to shoot her if she tried.

Suddenly Liam burst into the room,
his face
pale as he
looked
at Mel with disbelief
.
He would try
to come between
the two women
and
she
couldn’t let him do it,
Jade
thought
miserably, not when he had no idea how sick Mel really was.

‘Mel, stop it right now
,
’ he was saying, her hollow laugher the only response. ‘
This
isn’t funny.’

‘
No
, it isn’t
,
’ she agreed, smiling at him with something she must have perceived as charm. ‘
You
weren’t
supposed to be here, though. You
’
re messing up my plan, Liam.’

He would try to act, Jade thought desperately. She knew that the other women must have alerted everyone out there and that security was literally seconds away from taking over. But
Mel
had the gun
,
and she would use it if Liam
tried to
physically overpower her.
Her
disappointment
at having
him fight her would be the drop needed for this goblet of madness and illusions to overflow.
Jade
couldn’t let
th
at
happen, not when he had been through so much already.

These
thoughts went through her head
at
the speed of light as she watched him
approach,
his face determined. He wanted to get between
the two of
them and was probably hoping that Mel wouldn’t harm him.
But Mel has nothing to lose
, Jade thought.

She moved, her bravery born of desperation. As Mel looked at Liam, momentarily distracted,
Jade
launched
herself at Mel
, crashing into
her and
sending
the gun flying from her hand. But she was a moment too late, for Mel managed to pull the trigger, the dry sound of gun
fire
resonating in the room.
Pain
radiat
ed
in
Jade’s
arm, paralyzing and burning as she staggered back. Liam
jump
ed
to her rescue as other men
rushed into
the room, some of them with uniforms and
t
asers
to
subdue
Mel
. Her
angry
screams filled the
small space
, adding to the surreal sensation of being on a set of a movie, dark and serious.
Jade
looked down at her arm, surprised by the amount of blood
trickling into
the crease of her elbow, pooling there in a sickening puddle.
She felt dizzy and allowed herself to slump against the wall, the coolness of the hard marble almost welcome against the skin of her back. Slowly, she slid into a seated position, her hurt arm awkwardly stiff as she tried to hug her knees in a weak attempt to gain back her self control.

Together with the
stress
she had endured
,
the sight of blood
was enough to make her almost pass out,
and
only her resolve to stay calm
saved
her from slipping
completely
into oblivion. Liam’s voice kept asking her if she was all right, and
when
she opened her eyes,
he was
bending over her
, his face
close to
her
s
.

‘Liam?’ she asked hesitantly, her teeth chattering in the
after
math
of her shock. ‘
Are
you
OK
? God, I thought she would shoot you
.
’