the baby’s. Then she died anyway. When Jake found out about your pregnancy, he figured it was payback. So we waited.”
“Walter Alexander’s your father,” Kate said.
“Not so stupid after all.” Hannah smiled. “He also goes by Karl McKellen. The head of McKellen Publishing. Your boss.”
Sickness brewed in Kate’s stomach. “What happened to Jake?”
Her eyes turned icy. “Cold feet.”
“You killed him.”
“I didn’t mind that he wanted to use you to extract the ultimate revenge. To fuck Ryan Harrison’s wife on a regular basis, to take his family and everything that had once been his? That was brilliant. But once Ryan killed Tabofren a second time, just after the Grayson merger, Jake lost his backbone. He was too worried about getting caught, about Ryan finding out about you and your boy. He wanted us to back off when we were so close to finally getting what we wanted. I couldn’t let him ruin everything. I gave up my life to make sure that drug went through.”
“Oh, my God.” Bile rose in Kate’s throat.
“Go ahead, be sick. Won’t matter to me. You won’t be around much longer to matter anyway.” A smug smile graced Hannah’s lips.
“You…you had the manifest changed so it looked like Jake died on that plane, just like me, didn’t you?”
“Parallels. That was artistic, you have to admit. And everything would have been fine except for you. You just had to start digging into things that were better left dead and buried. And Jake, that dumbass. So stupid for leaving that picture in your fucking house. I should have killed him years ago.”
Kate swallowed. No one was coming for her. Mitch wasn’t moving. She didn’t know if he was dead or alive at this point. “You killed the research patients.”
Hannah didn’t answer.
“And Janet Kelly. You took Ryan’s car that morning. Was she threatening to turn you in?”
“Do you really think I’m going to answer your questions?”
Kate caught movement behind Hannah. “Did you kill your father too?”
“That was an accident.” A hint of pain crossed Hannah’s features. “We got into an argument. His sacrifice is nothing, though, compared to the number of people who have died because drugs that should be used to save lives are denied from the people who really need them. What’s the purpose if they can’t be useful?”
Mitch levered himself up at Hannah’s back. Blood trickled down his forehead. He blinked twice and swayed.
Panic coursed through Kate. She needed to keep Hannah focused. “The FDA makes regulations to keep patients safe—”
Anger flashed in Hannah’s eyes. “Don’t lecture me about safety. If patients had access, my mother would still be alive. My sister would still be here today. If a few people have to die for the good of many, so be it.”
Mitch rammed into Hannah from behind, knocking her back against the counter. The gun rocketed across the floor. On a moan, he fell into a chair and crumpled to the ground. Kate scrambled to her feet and reached for a candleholder on the kitchen table. When Hannah tried to push herself up, she swung.
The candleholder hit Hannah across the face. Kate skirted out of Hannah’s grasp. She slipped in a puddle of blood. Hannah wrenched herself off the floor and launched herself at Kate. They struggled and rolled across the kitchen. Hannah pinned her to the floor.
Kate’s arms ached, her muscles throbbed, but she wasn’t going to die like this. Hannah reached for the gun. Kate kicked and clawed, managed to clamp her hand over Hannah’s on the handle of the gun.
No. No. No. Not like this. She had too much to live for. Kate fought with every bit of energy she had. Reed. Julia. Ryan. She couldn’t lose them.
When the gun went off, Hannah’s eyes widened. Her body froze, and she looked down at Kate in shock.
The barrel of the gun was pointed at Hannah’s chest. Her body slumped. She fell off Kate. The gun landed on the hardwood floor with a clank.
Kate scrambled to her knees, frantically checked Hannah’s pulse. Nothing.
“Come on, Come on,” she muttered, pushing down on Hannah’s chest. Blood pulsed from the wound, pooled on the ground around her.
Kate stumbled back, fell on her butt. Hand shaking, she looked around. And spotted Mitch lying motionless across the room.
***
Ryan’s car screeched to a halt in Kate’s driveway. He caught sight of the security detail’s car parked across the street when he pulled in. A body was slumped over the steering wheel, and something red was splattered across the windows. His pulse jacked