The Endless Road to Sunshine - Nicky James Page 0,150
of yours would piece it together. How many times did I invite you over, Jason? Four? Five? And you just kept turning me down. Welcome to my humble abode. Please. Come in.”
Jason inched into the room, hands spread at his sides, displaying the fact that he was unarmed. He scanned the room and returned his attention to Reggie. “Let him go.”
Reggie laughed. “You know I can’t do that.”
“What do you want?” Jason took another step closer.
Reggie tsked. “Close enough. Stay right there. We’ll make this quick because I don’t have time to dick around. Besides, I have no intention of making this poor boy suffer for too long. I simply think you haven’t learned your lesson yet. A demonstration is in order. Morgan should have done this a long time ago instead of being so secretive. You’re a smart man, Jason, but you can be so dumb sometimes. I wondered why you didn’t put it together sooner.”
“There was nothing to put together. Morgan saw things that weren’t there.”
“Are you saying his actions were unjustified?” Reggie’s voice rose a few degrees, his anger overtaking his calm composure.
I whimpered, my feet scraping aimlessly at the concrete ground, scrambling for better purchase.
“I’m disappointed in you,” Reggie continued. “You speak so ill of the man you promised to love forever.”
“That was before I discovered he was a sociopath. Skylar is innocent in all this. Let him go, and we can talk this out if that’s what you want.”
Reggie laughed. He tightened his grip, cutting off my air supply again. The panic was immediate, and my eyes bulged as I kicked and thrashed the best I could with tied limbs.
Jason moved forward, and the tip of the knife broke the skin under my neck. “Don’t,” Jason yelled.
“Stop! One more step and I end this right now.”
Jason froze, hands up, placating. “Put the knife down. Come on, he can’t breathe. Reggie. Please. Punish me. Let Sky go.”
“I am punishing you, Jason. This right here is your punishment. This boy tempted you into breaking your marriage vows. For that, he must pay the price. You must pay the price. Admit it, Jason. I know what you’ve done. I know, just like Morgan knew. You’re a good-looking man, easily seduced, easily corrupted. It is now my job to help you stay on the right path.”
Reggie’s grip was like iron. My toes lifted off the floor when he yanked me higher. I choked, sputtered.
“Okay. Okay.” Tears streamed down Jason’s cheeks. “You don’t need to demonstrate. I get it. I know now. You’re right. Morgan wasn’t clear, but you’re being very clear. I understand what I’ve done wrong. Let Skylar go. This isn’t his fault. It’s all mine. Punish me for my wrongdoings, not him.”
“Don’t you see that I can’t do that? I’ve been sent to protect you. I will never raise a finger against you, Jason. That is not my purpose. Morgan would be most displeased.”
My vision darkened at the edges from the lack of oxygen. I couldn’t fight. What little strength remained waned. Blood from the knife tip trickled hot, pooling against my skin and in the crook of Reggie’s arm where he held my throat. Stars burst in front of my eyes, and I thought they were fireworks. Why couldn’t I hear them?
I tried to focus on Jason’s face, but it was fading in and out. His words drifted in the air, their meaning lost. Growing quieter.
I stumbled as Reggie turned us, shifting to keep Jason in his line of sight. His arm released tension with the action. Not a lot, but enough I was able to suck in a scant amount of air. It was enough to clear my head a fraction, and I realized we were facing away from the door.
Jason caught my eye, and even with as scrambled as my head was, I got the sense he was trying to communicate something. I didn’t understand. My chin quivered, and more tears fell.
“He can’t breathe,” Jason said again. “Let him breathe so we can talk about this.”
Reggie chuckled. “Oh, Jason. I wanted you here so you could watch him die. Do you see what happens when you give in to temptation?” But Reggie’s hold loosened again, and I gasped.
“However, like I said on the phone, Morgan’s methods aren’t mine. Do you know how long it takes to strangle someone? It’s so misrepresented on TV. You see, a person will probably go unconscious fairly quickly, like Skylar here. It was close, wasn’t it?”