Read Online The Arrangement (The Blankenships Book 9) by Evelyn Glass - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Evelyn Glass
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they’d just come through. God, they should have come up with some kind of exit plan. They’d figured out how to get inside the building, but never even talked about how to get out again. They should have made a plan.
Her distraction, though, had given Alex a chance to gather himself. Instead of the hot anger that had driven him to spit out the man’s name, she saw cold fury radiating off him now. His hands were loose at his sides instead of fisted. He took a step toward Schwartz as well, only he took it just a little bit sideways as well. Yes. Perfect. Make it so he can’t see both of us at once. “Come on, Aaron,” Alex said, his tone conciliatory now. “What’s with the gun? How long have we known each other? I hardly think this is necessary.”
Another step, and the words had drawn Schwartz’s focus to Alex’s face. “You don’t know much at all about what’s necessary,” Schwartz snapped back. Zoey took a slow and careful step away from Alex. His eyes flicked back to her, but she was still standing there, her arms upraised. Please, let the pickup be good enough. Please let it be. “That’s the whole fucking problem.” He spat out the curse like a man who thinks of himself as rarely swearing, who believes he’s been driven to it by someone else’s extreme behavior. “Your mother—”
“My mother,” Alex agreed. “What a piece of work, huh?”
The man’s eyes were darting around in a way that made Zoey feel even more nervous. He’d cracked, at some point. At some point, this had been a daring plan, an exciting venture, but it had all gone to hell for him. And he hadn’t known what to do, so he’d kept on going. He wasn’t a cold murderer; he was a frightened, greedy coward.
But a girl she’d just started to care about was dead because of him, and she couldn’t just let it go. She couldn’t.
“You didn’t know anything about your mother,” Schwartz said, his tone shifting again, almost cracking with emotion that had come from nowhere. “She was a good woman, she was kind and sweet and loving.”
Alex nodded, agreeing again. “She was. Until my father ruined her.”
“Yes,” Schwartz said, surprise layering his words. “Yes, exactly. He ruined her. He ruined everything.”
“I would have had him killed too,” Zoey said. Schwartz glanced to where she had been standing and realized she had moved. He spun to focus the gun’s sights on her again, and Alex took two steps closer, putting him within grabbing distance of the man. He didn’t move though, not yet. He seemed to understand that she needed more. “I understand why you did it, Aaron. Philip was killing her, wasn’t he? With the infidelity and the beatings. And he’d threaten the children, too, wouldn’t he? Hers, and because she wasn’t a complete monster, the other women’s. He broke her soul.”
“Yes,” Schwartz said, his eyes still flicking and wild. “Yes. Someone had to do it.”
“Someone had to do it,” she agreed. “But why did it have to be you?”
“Because no one else could do it!” He roared, and she began to feel hopeful for the first time since the bastard had opened the office door. “No one else had enough access to him; no one else had enough of his trust. I was Philip’s closest adviser, and it still took me months to get close enough. You have no idea how paranoid he was, how careful. And then she started to suspect, and there was the mess of the will—neither of us had expected that he would do something that foolish—and her pre-nup wasn’t good enough to protect the children.” He stared at her with those wide, staring, murderous eyes. “Everything she did was for the children. She loved the children with all of her heart.”
That was when things went deeply, powerfully crazy. Alex dove for the man, carrying him down to the ground. Zoey threw herself flat and rolled away from them. The gun slammed, a sound so extreme that
Her distraction, though, had given Alex a chance to gather himself. Instead of the hot anger that had driven him to spit out the man’s name, she saw cold fury radiating off him now. His hands were loose at his sides instead of fisted. He took a step toward Schwartz as well, only he took it just a little bit sideways as well. Yes. Perfect. Make it so he can’t see both of us at once. “Come on, Aaron,” Alex said, his tone conciliatory now. “What’s with the gun? How long have we known each other? I hardly think this is necessary.”
Another step, and the words had drawn Schwartz’s focus to Alex’s face. “You don’t know much at all about what’s necessary,” Schwartz snapped back. Zoey took a slow and careful step away from Alex. His eyes flicked back to her, but she was still standing there, her arms upraised. Please, let the pickup be good enough. Please let it be. “That’s the whole fucking problem.” He spat out the curse like a man who thinks of himself as rarely swearing, who believes he’s been driven to it by someone else’s extreme behavior. “Your mother—”
“My mother,” Alex agreed. “What a piece of work, huh?”
The man’s eyes were darting around in a way that made Zoey feel even more nervous. He’d cracked, at some point. At some point, this had been a daring plan, an exciting venture, but it had all gone to hell for him. And he hadn’t known what to do, so he’d kept on going. He wasn’t a cold murderer; he was a frightened, greedy coward.
But a girl she’d just started to care about was dead because of him, and she couldn’t just let it go. She couldn’t.
“You didn’t know anything about your mother,” Schwartz said, his tone shifting again, almost cracking with emotion that had come from nowhere. “She was a good woman, she was kind and sweet and loving.”
Alex nodded, agreeing again. “She was. Until my father ruined her.”
“Yes,” Schwartz said, surprise layering his words. “Yes, exactly. He ruined her. He ruined everything.”
“I would have had him killed too,” Zoey said. Schwartz glanced to where she had been standing and realized she had moved. He spun to focus the gun’s sights on her again, and Alex took two steps closer, putting him within grabbing distance of the man. He didn’t move though, not yet. He seemed to understand that she needed more. “I understand why you did it, Aaron. Philip was killing her, wasn’t he? With the infidelity and the beatings. And he’d threaten the children, too, wouldn’t he? Hers, and because she wasn’t a complete monster, the other women’s. He broke her soul.”
“Yes,” Schwartz said, his eyes still flicking and wild. “Yes. Someone had to do it.”
“Someone had to do it,” she agreed. “But why did it have to be you?”
“Because no one else could do it!” He roared, and she began to feel hopeful for the first time since the bastard had opened the office door. “No one else had enough access to him; no one else had enough of his trust. I was Philip’s closest adviser, and it still took me months to get close enough. You have no idea how paranoid he was, how careful. And then she started to suspect, and there was the mess of the will—neither of us had expected that he would do something that foolish—and her pre-nup wasn’t good enough to protect the children.” He stared at her with those wide, staring, murderous eyes. “Everything she did was for the children. She loved the children with all of her heart.”
That was when things went deeply, powerfully crazy. Alex dove for the man, carrying him down to the ground. Zoey threw herself flat and rolled away from them. The gun slammed, a sound so extreme that
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