“How did you know I knew about you?” I ask, to keep him talking.

              “You don’t think I would come in here and pretend to be my brother without knowing everything about him and you, did you?”

              “I want to know. How did you do it? Were you spying on us?”

He simply shrugs.

              “It doesn’t matter how I did it. What matters is I pulled it off, and you so graciously helped me without ever even knowing it. The thing is, this wasn’t something we planned to do overnight. We have been waiting for this opportunity for years and living right under your nose. The best part of waiting all this time to become Turner Calloway was the look on my brother’s face when he saw me. You should have been there to see our happy little reunion; it was priceless, I tell ya. Everything went according to plan. My brother fell right into our trap before he knew what hit him.”

A thunderous, malevolent, and vindictive laugh erupts from Trent. Every distasteful and wretched image of this ultimate betrayal imbeds itself in my mind. I jerk myself free of his grasp and I start savagely swinging and connecting with any part of his body I can find.

              “You fucking prick!”

I am kicking and screaming and he takes it. He takes every swing and hit and scratch that I am throwing his way.

              “I hate you, you sick fuck! Turner has never done a damn thing to hurt anyone. You’re his brother, you fucking piece of shit!”

He just laughs, which fuels my fire even more. My arms and legs start to scream with pain with every connection I make to his body, and he just fucking laughs at me.

              I pull back when my strength gives out on me and the tears finally start to fall.

              “How could you?” I sob. “How could you do this to your own brother? Do you have any idea the hell that your mother has been through? Do you?”

“Ah, my mother. How is dear old mom, anyway? Never mind, don’t answer that. You, Melody, and Turner will soon be together for one last little family reunion and I can ask her myself.”

God he is so malicious and so full of hatred it makes me almost feel sorry for him. I start to laugh, and I mean laugh, as he has no clue where his mother is and he won’t be able to get to her at my brother’s house.

“What the hell is so funny?” he growls while right up in my face.

              “You are. You think you’re the only one who has done their ‘homework?’ Well, you may have, although it was pretty half-assed. But let me tell you something- you fucking failed the test, asshole. My brother had you pegged the minute he laid eyes on you. Your little plan is fucked. You and your father may think you’re in the driver’s seat of this preposterous game you’re playing, but you’re not.”

He studies me closely as I lean in closer to him. His expression changes from shock to despair quicker than the beat of my racing heart.

“Yes, that’s right, fuck face. Melody is gone. She knows everything. You will never get your revenge on her. She’s gone and she’s safe. So all this so-called homework you did is about ready to blow up in your fucking face. You may think you’re the one calling the shots here, but newsflash, Trent. Any minute now my brother is going to come barreling through that door and trust me, you’re going to regret every last one of the few short minutes he lets you live.”

Chapter Sixteen

Without saying a damn word he analyzes my every feature to see if I am telling the truth. I am, and he knows it. His facial expression turns from that of a cold-hearted monster to a freaking animal as he grabs me by my throat and raises me up in the air, slamming my body into the wall.

              “You stupid cunt! I will kill anyone who walks through that motherfucking door, including your pansy ass brother. No one will stand in the way of what is rightfully mine, even him.”

Releasing his hold on my throat, I crumple to the floor coughing and gagging, trying to catch my breath.

              “Get the hell up, Clove. We’re fucking leaving here, now.”

His face contorts into a glare of pure hatred as he grabs my arm and yanks me up. I wince and cry out in pain as he drags me to the door.

“If you want to see Turner, you will do exactly as I say. I know you have a couple of cops sitting out there. I am going to slip into the backseat and you are going to drive. Do not do anything stupid. One phone call is all it will take and he will be dead. Do you understand what I am telling you?”

              “I understand.”

I will do exactly as he says as long as it gets me to Turner. With this in mind, I turn the knob on the door and enter the garage. He opens my car door and shoves me inside before lying down on the floor behind my seat.

“I will shoot you on the spot if you do anything at all. You look and wave at them and keep fucking driving, bitch. Don’t you fucking speed or do a damn thing to get us pulled over until we get to where we need to be. Oh, and one more thing. Give me your phone.”

His voice doesn’t sound as distressed or troubled as it did before. He’s calm, and for some reason I don’t like calm Trent. What does he have planned? Where is he taking me?

              “Phone, Clove. Now.”

His hands come over the top of the seat and I reach down and hand it to him. He opens the car door and drops it on the ground.

“Now get us the hell out of here,” he commands.

With trembling hands, I turn the key in the ignition and start the car. I see the unmarked cop car is still sitting there as I slowly back out into the driveway. Fuck, they’re going to follow me since they think I am going to Zack’s house. Shit, what do I do?

Acting as if nothing is wrong, I politely wave as I pull past them. My eyes keep flickering back and forth between the road ahead and my review mirror. When I see the cop car make a U-turn and start to follow me, panic starts to set in. My heart starts to beat loudly and feels like it is going to explode. When I turn the corner, they are just a few car lengths behind me. Shit. This is bad; I can sense it. I am going to have to try and outrun them, but first I know I have to make Trent aware of the situation and this is going to piss him off even more. Who knows what he will do if I don’t, though?

“Where am I going?” My voice is a stuttering mess.

              “Get on the highway and head south until I tell you to.”

“Um, the cops are following us,” I blurt out and chew on my bottom lip while I wait for his response.

              “I figured they would. I got it all planned out. All you have to do is drive like you normally would and shut your damn mouth.”

Fuck you! I want to scream back at him. I fantasize about getting on the highway and driving like a bat out of hell, and then ramming this fucker into the nearest pole, killing us both. That way neither one of us will get a damn thing out of this whole fucked-up situation.

It doesn’t matter if I live or die right now, anyway. My life is over whether he kills me or I kill myself. Turner is never going to want me back after this, and even though I have said time and time again I would be able to live my life without him, I know I won’t be able to. He is my life, and without him my existence is empty and meaningless. The only thing that matters to me right now is seeing him, even if it’s for the last time.