Fatal Jealousy (Black Widow Book 1) (13 page)

He snorted, “It’s because of her crazy sister. I can’t risk her separating us. It will be harder for her to drive a wedge between Ellie and me, when we are married.”

Dale Senior gave his son a worried look, “That shouldn’t be a reason to get married. Son, you need to have a good reason to do this. Marriage isn’t a joke.”

Before Carson could answer, the bridal march song started, “Pop, do you mind staying up here with me? Keep me from running?”

“Sure thing. And if you do start running, I’ll trip you, and you can fake a concussion before your mother finds out and gives you a real concussion.” He said with a laugh.

Carson laughed, “Mom doesn’t scare me as much as Ellie does.”

Dale Senior raised his eyebrow, “Really?”

“She threatened to kill me herself if I got shot again, and she meant it.”

Kris came first. She looked beautiful in her lilac dress that matched the purple and white bouquet. Then Audrey came next carrying Stacey-Ann. She was quiet and still before she saw Carson. But when they got close, she couldn’t stop laughing and jumping around. She reached out for Carson several times, but he kept shaking his head at her.

“That should be your first reason for marrying Ellie,” Dale Senior whispered.

And then Ellie came in from behind the curtains. She had a beautiful smile on her face, her eyes focused on Carson as she walked towards him, a lovely bouquet of lilies in her hand.

Carson looked at her and he felt like his breath had been taken away. He was relaxed and everything around him became still and very quiet. Nothing existed, but a beautiful soul walking towards him. He couldn’t shift his eyes away from her. It was like he was under a spell, and all he could do was fall in love with her even more.

“Hi,” she whispered once she got to him, “I thought you’d have run away by now.”

“Why in the world would I want to do that? You are never getting rid of me.”

“I know. I’m stuck with you for life.”

Chapter Fourteen

Ellsa sat at the bar licking her wounds with the help of a few tequilas, after getting thrown out of Ellie’s home. This person wasn’t her. She didn’t go to dingy places, drink cheap liquor and feel sorry for herself. She was better than this, and yet she couldn’t help but wallow in the gutter.

How dare they humiliate her like that? And worst of all, in front of Kris and Audrey? Ellie might be her sister, but she was going to regret what she did. And Carson, he had no idea what he’d just started.

She drove so far just to get away from the humiliation. She didn’t even know the name of the stupid town.

A man sat in the stool next to her, ogling her like he was seeing a woman for the first time, “Hi honey, how you doing tonight?”

“Getaway from me,” Ellsa uttered with disgust.

He held a lock of her hair and rubbed it in between his fingers, “What’s wrong? I was just trying to be nice.”

Ellsa pulled away, “Don’t touch me.”

The man sneered, “What, you think you are so special?”

“Yes I am. The hands that touch me earn a million as an annual income. How much do you make a month, or should I have said a day?”

The man got right into her face, “You are a high priced whore! It doesn’t change the fact that you sell your body for money. How much do
you
earn a day?”

“Do I look like a prostitute to you?”

He winked at her, “I saw what you have under that coat. Trust me, I’m going to be worth your while. It will be so good,
you’ll
be paying
me
.”

Ellsa slapped him across the face and poured the tequila in his eyes, “Touch me again, and I’ll kill you!”

He grabbed her and roughly pulled her off the stool, “You little bitch!” He hissed, “I’m going to teach you a lesson!” He dragged her out into the alley and pinned her against the wall. He felt her up as she struggled to push him off her.

She stopped fighting when something in her mind clicked, “Okay! I’ll do what you want. You don’t have to force yourself on me.”

The man looked at her with a glimmer in his eye, “You are not going to run, or blind me with your pepper spray?”

She tilted her head and looked at him. She then ran her fingers over his lips, “Of course not. I’m going to do you a favor.”

The man moaned, closing his eyes, “What?”

“Stop your life from getting even more pathetic.”

“Please do.”

Ellsa pushed him down a few inches to reach his ear, one hand on his chin the other stroking the back of his neck, “You asked for it,” She whispered. And with one swift quick move, she snapped his neck. The man’s body fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Ellsa stepped over him and walked back into the bar, “Can I have another glass of tequila?”

A drunk man staggered to her, “That was fast. He is a man with empty promises.” He laughed, “So is it my turn?”

“What?”

“I swear I live up to my promises.”

She turned and looked at him and smiled, “Are you sure? There is no going back from it.”

He ran his hand up her leg, “Very sure.”

“Hey! Let her go!”

Ellsa turned to the voice. At first she wasn’t sure who it was until he shoved the drunk away and spoke to her.

“Ellie, are you okay?”

She bit down angrily, “Hi George. What are you doing here?”

He smiled at her. She fell in love with him because of that smile, “I could ask you the same thing. What are you doing here Ellie?”

She swallowed hard, pushing the anger down.
If he calls me Ellie one more time...
she thought.

He put his hand on her back, “please come with me.”

Without a word, she went with him. She got into his car and didn’t say a word until he spoke first.

“I’m sorry if I’m intruding, but I thought you were an art teacher?”

“I was until they fired me. All I can do now is sell my body just to eat.”

George gave her a confused look, “But on your Facebook page it says married with a daughter. What happened?”

Ellsa tilted her head and stared at him, and then something in her mind just clicked.

She began to cry hysterically.

George put a hand on her shoulder, “Ellie, what’s wrong?”

“My daughter died and my husband became my pimp. George, my life, is a nightmare!”

“Shh. Don’t cry. You can stay with me for the time being and then we’ll figure something out.”

Ellsa kept on with the ruse even when they got to his loft. He had pictures of all sorts of people around his home. She smiled when she saw his football trophy. He’d won that their senior year, and then a rage took over her when she saw the picture next to it. It was of him and Ellie, so happy and celebrating. That should have been her.

“That’s my favorite picture. I hope you don’t mind that I have it out?”

She shook her head pulling her lips into a tight smile, “Who are all the other people?”

He smiled, walking to a group shot, “These are the kids from my drug free project. Half of them are graduating High School this year.”

Ellsa hung on his arm, “You are an everyday hero.”

He blushed, “I try.” He then handed her the clothes he was holding, “You can change into these. You can have my bed too, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Ellsa smiled seductively at him, “A hero and a gentleman. However can I repay you?” She dropped the coat, exposing the lingerie underneath.

George swallowed hard as he drank her up with his eyes, “Ellie you don’t have to...”

She moved closer to him, “But I want to.” She grabbed his shirt and stared up at him under her eyelashes, “It would be a pleasure.”

George dislodged her hands and took a step back, “What did that man do to you? This isn’t you Ellie.”

Ellsa got enraged, “What, I’m not good for you either?”

He caressed her cheek, “Of course, you are. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to do this the rest of your life.”

Ellsa leaned into his hand, “You were always so sweet to me George.”

“You were my girlfriend, it was my job to make you feel special each and every day.” He pulled away and went to the kitchen, “How about some pasta?”

Ellsa shrugged her shoulder, “I hate pasta.” She sat at his island, not bothering to cover herself up.

George looked at her with an arched eyebrow, “You used to love pasta. Ellsa was the one who hated it.”

Ellsa pulled the knife out of the holder and toyed with the tip, “Speaking of Ellsa, why didn’t you date her?”

George kept dicing the tomatoes, “She wasn’t you.”

“Excuse me?” She hadn’t intended to sound offended. And by the look on George’s face, she couldn’t take it back.

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s a nice girl, but she just wasn’t you.”

Ellsa’s hold on the knife tightened, “We are twins.”

“She was shallow and you were...” he looked at her affectionately, “You are beautiful inside and out. Everything about you is real and so wonderful.”

Ellsa stood up and walked around the island to him, “So Ellsa wasn’t good enough?”

He placed the knife down and turned to her, “Nothing personal, but Ellsa is a handful, a prima donna and I have no patience for that. I’m sure there are others who feel the same way.”

“Huh, that is something to investigate,” she closed the gap between them, “too bad you won’t be around to find out.”

“What? Why?” And then the smile on his face turned into a horrified stare. He stepped back, his hand over his bleeding chest.

“That’s why.”

“Ellie?”

“No, Ellsa.” She followed as he backed up  “I wasn’t good enough ha? Ellie was your angel, your all natural shining star.” When he fell on the ground, she climbed on top of him, “too bad she’s not here to help you.”

And then she stabbed him countless times through the chest right into his heart. She stopped when he began gagging out blood. She stood up and went to the bed, grabbing his bed throw and wiping the blood off.

“I hope you don’t mind if I use your laptop?” She turned to look at his fearful bloody face. “Of course, you don’t,” she turned to the laptop and typed in the name Taylor Jones.

Ellsa paid Taylor a visit at his penthouse apartment and did the same thing to him. She had a slight five second pang of remorse about killing such a rich and major NFL star. But knowing Ellie would be hurt by the death of another boyfriend erased that guilt.

Ellsa moved on to every guy who had Ellie’s picture up on the social network as the date to remember, and then she paid her recent ex-boyfriend a visit.

She’d planned on paying extra attention to him.

“Hi Ned,” she said pushing her way into his home.

“What are you doing here Ellsa?”

She smiled at him, glad that someone for once recognised her, “I came to say hi and see how you are doing.”

Ned kept the door open until she sat down, giving no indication that she was going to leave anytime soon, “What do you want Ellsa?”

“Are you still in love with my sister?” He looked away. Ellsa bit down, “That must mean yes. Why?”

“Because compared to you, she’s a breath of fresh air. I would have done anything for her, just to have her. And I would have done anything to get rid of you.”

His words burned her, like hot coal against her skin. She stood up and headed for the door. She stopped when she got to him, “It was nice seeing you again.”

Not turning to look at her, “The feeling isn’t mutual. Just leave.”

Ellsa walked past him, when he didn’t turnaround to watch her, she pulled a syringe out of her jacket pocket and stuck it in his back.

Ned fell onto the floor, stiff.

She knelt down and turned him on his back. She held his hand up and watched it fall on the floor with a thud. She smiled as she watched his fear filled eyes watching her, “What’s your opinion on fire?”

She turned on the gas, hung around for a minute, and then lit a small fire near him, giving her enough time to leave the building before the apartment blew up.

Chapter Fifteen

Ellie and Carson spent their honeymoon in their apartment. Stacey-Ann stayed with Audrey and Kris- who had moved into Audrey’s apartment temporarily as Seth re-painted her apartment. They spent a week and a half doing nothing but making love and being in each other’s arms. If they hadn’t missed their daughter so much, they would have paid Kris to keep her a little longer.

Carson held Stacey-Ann out and watched as she kicked her legs around vigorously, “Is this a sign that she is going to start walking soon?”

“Or you could have fed her too much sugar. Why?” turning away from her painting.

He held Stacey-Ann close, “I don’t think I’m ready for her to start walking just yet.”

She laughed, “Why not?”

“Because soon she’ll be dating and I’ll have to arrest and grill every single one of her date's hours before they ring my doorbell. Give them a number of things to ponder on before they think about asking my daughter out on a date again.”

“She’s growing up hubby, you can’t stop the aging process.”

Carson smiled, “Say that again.”

Ellie stood up and went to him, “Hubby,” she cooed.

He kissed her lightly on her lips, “That sounds so good, it turning me on.”

She kissed him again, “take your daughter to her room so that I can address that as a wife should.”

He had stolen a last kiss before he rushed off, “You don’t have to tell me twice.” He placed Stacey-Ann in her crib and turned on the baby monitor, “you will have all my attention right after mommy and I play for a few hours.”

Ellie leaned against the door frame holding Dale’s phone and his packed bag, “Unfortunately, that is going to have to wait because daddy has to go away and catch bad guys.”

As upbeat as she tried to sound, he could still hear the sadness in her voice, “I’m sorry.”

She smiled, dropping the bag and handing him the phone, “It’s okay, we understand. Just stay safe.” She cuddled against his chest, her heart beating a mile a minute. She always got very scared when he had to take a trip. And by the sound of Audrey’s voice, it was going to be one of those cases that would take weeks to resolve.