Remember Me: Oakville Series:Book Two (32 page)
O
NCE WE
found the store Amber purchased her dress at, it didn’t take long to find out where she is. When you have a group as intimidating as ours, people tend to give you whatever you ask for. Beasley’s badge helps too. The phone call from Leena came as we were waiting for the caretaker to take us to the island. This is the longest five minute boat ride I’ve ever been on. I feel like I did the night we were going after her when Beau had taken her. He’s made it perfectly clear she’s not making it out of there alive and I’m terrified we won’t get to her in time. I can’t lose my girl.
The boat hasn’t come to a complete stop before I’m jumping out onto the dock. The only thing I can think of is getting to Amber before Jax hurts her. As I run along the pathway to the house, I can hear Beasley right on my heels. Everyone else is not far behind him. When I get about twenty feet from the door, I hear it and my blood runs cold. The gunshot is deafening. My feet stop moving all on their own. I’m frozen in fear. Beasley doesn’t stop, he blows right past me with Angel in tow. Paul comes up next to me and places his hand on my shoulder.
“Take a deep breath and let’s go. We are all here with you,” he encourages as he nudges me along. I have to know if she’s okay. I follow Beasley through the door and immediately stop, stunned by the sight before me. It’s nothing like the scenario that flashed through my mind when that shot rang out. Amber is standing in front of Jax who is sitting on the floor. Jax is holding his knee, which is bleeding profusely. I look up to Amber who’s holding the gun and pointing it at Jax’s chest. My sweet girl shot Jax. I don’t know which emotion I feel the strongest, pride for how brave and strong she is, or fear for what she’s capable of when pushed. Something in her eyes gets my attention. My Amber is standing in front of me but there’s something about the cold look in her eyes that’s not my Amber at all. I notice the slight shaking of her hands as she continues to point the gun at Jax and slowly move to get a little closer to her.
“Princess, we’re here now. You’re safe. You can give me the gun,” I tell her in the most calming and soothing voice I can. For the briefest second, her eyes leave Jax and meet mine. That’s when I know she can’t walk away while there’s the slightest chance he can ever hurt her or anyone she loves again. I get it. I feel the same way, but I know Amber. Sometimes better than she knows herself. She won’t be able to shake the guilt. No matter what he’s done, or how much he got what he deserved, she will allow the guilt to eat her alive. I move a little closer. “I know you’ve made up your mind, Princess, but if you do this, he wins.” She quickly glances at me with a questioning look. “The guilt will destroy you, no matter how deserving of this he is.” She looks so torn. I can’t stand to see her in this kind of agony. Just like that, I know what needs to be done. I know how to make it all right again. I failed in protecting Amber and our babies before, but I can protect her now. I can make sure this monster never harms her again. She can have her sense of security along with the knowledge that he got what was coming to him.
“Kyle, he needs to pay for all of the awful things he’s done,” she says as the tears begin to roll down her cheeks. “He was going to kill me. He has no conscious, why should I?” She is getting more emotional now. Beasley starts to move toward her, but I put my hand up to stop him. This is our battle. I have to protect my family. I inch up behind her and whisper in her ear.
“Do you really want him dead instead of in jail?” I ask, already knowing the answer. She won’t ever feel safe again if he’s breathing.
“He won’t ever give up until I’m dead, even jail won’t stop him,” she whimpers. I look back at Beasley. He nods his head in confirmation. We all know Amber’s right, he won’t stop until he finishes what he started. Still looking at my father-in-law, he nods again. He knows exactly what I’m thinking — it’s what he wants to do to keep his daughter safe and guilt free.
“I’ve got your back, Son,” Beasley confirms. Taking a quick look around the room at our friends, I hope they will all understand what I’m about to do. When I get to Angel, I can tell he knows.
“We all have your back. Do what you need to. There isn’t one person in this room that would do anything differently,” Angel encourages. I’m protecting my wife and family and I don’t think I’ll lose one second of sleep over it. That may make me a bad person, a murderer just like he is, but at least my intentions are good. I’m trying to save someone, not just take a life. If I have to pay for this at some later time, so be it.
“See this is your problem. You’re all a bunch of spineless saps. I knew Amber didn’t have it in her, but I’m a little surprised you don’t have the balls to do it, Kyle.” Jax chuckles.
“Princess, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you before. I’m here now. Let me make this all go away. I will carry whatever burden it brings with it so you can be free of fear. Give me the gun, Amber,” I whisper in her ear as I place a soft kiss behind it. She turns slightly to look into my eyes. She’s trying to see if I’m serious, so I let her know with a look that I am. I will do anything to ensure she’s safe and happy. I move my hands over hers and she loosens the grip on the gun. As she slides her hands out from under mine, I can feel the tension leave her body. Beasley comes up and pulls her aside. I may be doing the wrong thing but it’s for the right reasons. I wait a few more seconds to see if there are any signs of guilt or hesitation. When I don’t feel either, I take a deep breath and pull the trigger. I don’t even flinch as I watch the blood start to flow from his chest and his eyes close. I expect the guilt to hit, but all I feel is relief.
“Jax! No!” Leena screams and rushes to him. I turn and take Amber into my arms. The feeling of holding her makes it all worth it. She’s crying hard, finally letting it all out. I let her be for a few minutes, but I really want to get the hell out of here. Before we get to the door, Leena is in our way, blocking the door. She’s yelling and screaming about Jax and how much she loved him. Becky is standing off to the side of me and I glance over at her. She’s looking behind me and her eyes suddenly widen. She turns and pushes me as hard as she can, sending Amber and I to the floor. As soon as we hit the floor, I hear a gunshot quickly followed by a second. I look up just as Leena drops to the floor, bleeding from the chest. I turn to look behind me and see a fresh wound to Jax’s head and a gun in his hand. The son of a bitch had it all along. He was just waiting for his moment. Thankfully, Becky and Beasley saw him pull it and were able to think quickly. If she hadn’t pushed us out of the way, that could be one of us instead of Leena dead on the floor. Beasley got his revenge on Jax after all and with that shot, we know he’s gone this time. Helping Amber off the floor, I pick her up, cradle her in my arms, and carry her the hell out of this nightmare. It’s time to finally have the life we’ve wanted since we were teenagers. I’m going to give that to her.
“Let’s get you home, princess.”
“K
YLE, WAKE
up, it’s time to go.” Gently, I lean down and shake his shoulder. “Baby, it’s time. We need to go.” Well, that gets his attention. He flies out of the bed, almost knocking me over in the process.
“Did you say it’s time? Are you okay? Is there a lot of pain? Should I call the hospital?” he spits out all in the same breath. I can’t help but laugh. He’s so nervous, like one of those dad’s you see on television running around without knowing where he’s going. I’m waiting for him to drive away while I stand here watching.
“Relax. Take a deep breath.” He does as I ask. When he looks into my eyes, he smiles. There’s my man. “Yes, it’s time, and I’m more than okay. There hasn’t been a lot of pain yet and I have called Dr. Monty as well as Holly who will call everyone else.” After answering all of his questions, I kiss him. Just then, another contraction hits and he’s right back to being the nervous wreck he was minutes before. What is he going to do when they get really bad? “Okay, we need to get going. Paul and Holly should be here any minute to pick us up,” I inform him. He still needs to get dressed. Not that I mind watching him walk around shirtless in his boxers. He stands up, takes my hand, and begins to lead me to the stairs. Poor man is so flustered he has no idea he’s still naked. I slowly look down at his boxers and wait for his eyes to follow.
In three, two, one…
“Oh shit! I need to get dressed. I’ll be right down, princess,” he says as he begins rushing around our bedroom. The giggle escapes me before I can stop it. I head downstairs to the kitchen and wait for Paul and Holly to get here. While I’m waiting, I start to think over the past year. I can’t believe we have made it this far.
I was more than ready to shoot Jax that day. I knew he’d never stop trying to kill me as long as he was alive. It was the only way out. When Kyle took that gun from my hand and did it for me, relief washed over me. He was right, I couldn’t do it without the guilt following me around forever. It’s just who I am. Beasley handled the police and made sure they knew it was self-defense. Not that they really cared after hearing the long list of terrible things Jax had done.
We went straight home from there. Kyle rented a car and the two of us drove home together alone so we could talk along the way. We were able to hash everything out in those few short hours. He explained and apologized for not being there for me the way he should’ve when things started going badly with the triplets.
“Princess, I didn’t know how to handle all of it and I was a coward. I’m so sorry I didn’t support you the way I should’ve.” He could’ve handled things better, but he didn’t purposefully try to hurt me. It didn’t take long before we were pulling over at a rest area and making out in the car like a couple of teenagers.
“Amber!” Holly yells, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Are you planning on having this baby here in the kitchen?”