Billionaire Protector - Alexa Hart Page 0,72

see that I’d angered her.

Good. Keep hittin’ nerves, Penn.

“Are you calling me crazy? Because the last person who did that was my husband, and he’s six feet underground now.” Kate’s eyes narrowed hatefully.

“So you killed your husband for callin’ you out as a nutjob? That doesn’t seem fair at all.” I kept pushing.

“My husband,” Kate was screaming now, “couldn’t even make a baby with me. Low sperm count, yada yada. Pathetic. Despicable. And the only thing I asked for was that we adopt a child. Make our family whole. But no, no. He wouldn’t let me do that. He said perhaps we were meant for a different type of life. Moved us out here to the middle of no-fucking-where. Said it would be ‘good for my mind’.” Kate spit on the ground. “I knew exactly what he meant by that. He didn’t think I was fit to be a mother. He didn’t think I had sound judgment, and stability, and all that other shit that apparently everyone else has.”

Beyond nutjob. She lost it a long, long time ago.

“I told him if he ever called me crazy again, I’d kill him. And would you believe that dumb son of a bitch didn’t take me seriously? He’d take me seriously now. If he wasn’t worm feed at this point.” She laughed incredibly hard at that.

Holy shit.

So Kate wasn’t just crazy... She also had killed her husband for calling her crazy and wanted to simply take Murphy as her own because she wanted a kid. Just like that.

“How do you know Tim?” The question popped out randomly. Mostly I just wanted to keep her talking.

Kate laughed. “That dumbshit is my cousin. He’s an idiot, but he’s ruthless. And sometimes, Penn, ruthless is necessary.” She pointed the gun briefly at Anne. “The only way I got him to agree to letting me keep Murphy was by helping get this dummy over here settled in and comfortable. He’d already tracked her all the way to Colorado. He may be dumb as shit, but he’s got eyes everywhere. And it turns out,” she shot a quick smile at Anne, “that was one of the easiest damn tasks I ever completed in my whole entire life. She practically walked right up to my door, all I had to do was keep her here.” More laughter.

I glanced at Anne, who was still staring at Kate and screaming God knows what under the tape. She was more angry than scared. Anne was furious.

“Little orphan Annie over here, just walkin’ into trouble over and over like she hasn’t got one brain cell in that pretty little head of hers worth using...” Kate shook her head, and something like a panther growl sounded from beneath Anne’s duct-taped mouth.

“To be quite honest, if Valerie was younger, I’d take her and Murphy both in and just kill Tim. He’s out of options as far as a good life goes anyway. But I’m not. Not yet.”

She turned her full attention back to me. “You, my handsome little friend, are going to call your father and tell him that he comes up with five million dollars in a pretty suitcase placed right on my store’s doorstep, or he’ll have one less son to worry about. And I daresay you Hardicks have been dying off quick enough on your own. I’m pretty sure Daddy will comply.”

I could have strangled her then. So flippantly referring to my mother... to Sarah... This crazy bitch was not going to hurt anyone, and she certainly wasn’t going to make off with Murphy in her arms.

“Say he does. Say you get your money, split it with your dumbshit cousin, and take off with Murphy to a tropical island or something. Look at the boy’s eyes, Kate. He’s terrified of you. He will never love you like a mother.”

Kate frowned deeply. “He will. He’ll forget this. It’ll be a bad dream.”

“And Anne? He’s going to just forget her too? Do you know how long he’s going to be begging for his mommy – his real mommy – night and day and day and night? Are you going to be able to handle that, Kate? That constant reminder that not only is Murphy not your child, he doesn’t want you as his mother. He wants Anne. And he always will.” Treacherous territory to be entering, considering she’d buried her husband for calling her one name, but it was working.

Cool-headed criminals usually accomplished what they set out to do. But if I could get