Marrying the Millionaire (32 page)

Leaving him to play by himself, Carson
headed in her direction. “He’s having a great time,” he said,
coming to a stop in front of her.

Forcing herself to smile, she said,
“Yes. He is. We got off to a rough start. But I think next time
will be better–if there is a next time.” Kayla highly doubted after
today Carson would come back again.

“
Oh, there’s definitely
going to be a next time. In fact, I moved here last week just so I
could be closer to him. I want to be a big part of CJ’s life.”
Sincerity washed over his face.

Carson’s admission left her
momentarily speechless. “You what?! You’re lying. You’re just
pulling my leg.”

Carson took a seat on the bench beside
her. “No. I’m not. I’m renting an apartment not far from the Tanger
Outlet Mall right now. But as soon as I find a job, I’m going to
buy a house.” To verify what he was saying, Carson pulled out his
driver’s license and showed it to Kayla. Sure enough, he was now a
resident of Hilton Head Island.

“
You moved here without a
job just so you could be closer to CJ?”
How can he afford to do such a thing?

“
Yes. I did. But don’t
worry, I’m going to make sure I pay you your child support on time
from now on.”

Okay. No job and he moved
here; he’s definitely changed. I wonder what made him come to his
senses. Something had to have happened.
“Did you break up with Tricia?”

“
Yeah. Tricia and I have
been over for a while now. But that has nothing to do with why I
moved here, Kayla. You. I moved her for you, too. When I told you I
wanted you back while at Isabelle’s party, I was dead serious. I
miss you. For the sake of our son, will you please consider giving
me one more chance?”

Puckering his lips together, Carson
leaned into Kayla, going in for a big kiss. Kayla slapped the
living heck out of him! Frowning, she jumped up from the bench and
glared down at him. “Carson Terrell Crawford! Any thoughts you have
of the two of us getting back together are useless! It’ll never
happen! Even if I didn’t love Richmond, I wouldn’t want you!” She
hated being so blunt, but with a man like Carson, she had to be.
Bluntness was the only kind of language he understood.

Watching her hand materialize on his
face, Kayla’s face scrunched and she was ready to go home to be
with her man. The only man for her—Richmond.

“
SO HOW DID THINGS GO with
Kayla yesterday?” the killer asked Carson, pressing the pre-paid
cell to his ear, glaring out the window inside his family room.
Dark clouds formed in the sky. Leaves on the trees
rustled.

“
I piqued her interest
about the two of us reuniting, and she’s not interested just yet,”
Carson confirmed.

Dissatisfied with Carson’s answer, the
killer cringed. “I paid you a lot of money to make her fall in love
with you again. And I expect you to make it happen.”

“
It’ll happen. Just give me
some time. The one thing Kayla has never been able to do is get me
out of her system. A few more dates and some time together, and I’m
going to have Kayla eating out of the palms of my hands. She’ll be
dropping her panties for me faster than you can blink your eyes.
Just you wait and see,” Carson spoke with great
confidence.

Highly doubting Kayla would leave
Richmond for Carson, the killer cleared his throat. Tried to
maintain hopeful. “I’m glad you think highly of yourself, Carson.
Trying to take Kayla away from my son isn’t going to be easy,”
Russell snorted.

Chelsey snuck up behind Russell,
wrapped her arms around his waist, and squeezed the living crap out
of him. “When you gon’ make some time for me, Big Daddy?” Chelsey
slid her hand inside his pants, raked his testicles with her nails,
then squeezed his flaccid shaft.

Damn, Russell hated when Chelsey snuck
up on him like she had. “We’ll talk soon.” Displeased with Carson’s
results, he ended the call. Shaft throbbing, he turned around,
pushed Chelsey on the sofa, then jumped on top of her like white on
rice. “Come here, girl, and give Big Daddy some loving.”

Around 5 pm, Russell laid in his bed
downstairs, with Chelsey sleeping hard and snoring next to him.
Worried if Carson could convince Kayla to take him back, he fought
hard to keep tears from falling from his eyes. Fully aware that he
was one sick, selfish bastard, sharp pains prickled his chest near
his heart.

Done with his short nap, he kicked the
covers off his feet, crawled out of bed, and walked into his study.
The only place where he found solace. The one place he could be who
he truly was—a murderer.

Making sure the door to his office was
locked, Russell did the usual. He removed the painting of his
favorite horse, Gypsy Rose, from the wall. Unlocked the safe.
Grabbed his diary and favorite pen. Then sat in his recliner in
front of the window. Heavy burden weighted his restless spirit as
he stared out the window.

Dark clouds now spread in sheets over
his wide land. Wind blew the leaves on the trees, making them
rustle harder. Drizzles of rain poured from the sky.

Chest tightening, he flipped to the
next blank page in his diary and put the tip of the pen on the
first line.

Dear Diary,

I feel horrible. Like God
wasted his time when he made me. He did.

As much as I love my son,
Richmond, I can’t stop the madness going on inside my head. I can’t
stop doing everything possible to protect myself from being found
out. I even went as low as to pay Kayla’s ex, Carson, to pretend
like he’s interested in her, just so she won’t find out about
me.

While I don’t have any
hard feelings towards Kayla, I know she’s smart. If she sticks
around, it’ll only be a matter of time before she realizes that it
was me riding in the car with her grandfather the night he got in
the car accident. When I’d confided in Leroy about what I did to
Salina, he went nuts inside the head. Haywire. He’d gotten so
upset, he’d called Kayla, and that’s when I grabbed the wheel and
the car slammed into the tree.

Panic stricken, I’d hopped
out of the car and had run as fast as I could to his house. Wanting
to make my dear friend Leroy Van Buren look like a murderer, I
planted Salina’s picture and the syringe in the hidden safe he’d
always talked about.

At the sound of the doorbell ringing,
Russell lifted his eyes from his diary. The doorbell rang again,
verifying he hadn’t been hearing things. Maybe Suade had come by to
visit, like he said he would. If Chelsey knew what was good for
her, she’d better stay hidden in his bedroom like he’d taught her
to do whenever he had a visitor.

Locking the safe with his diary
inside, he rehung the picture and made his way to the door. He
placed his eyes over the peephole. Seeing Kayla standing on his
porch shielding herself with a black umbrella, his chest rattled
like he had mucus in his lungs. Dear Lord, could she be there to
confront him? The question in his mind stabbed at his heart. For
her sake, and his, he prayed not.

Fear knotted Russell’s stomach as he
pulled open the front door. “Hi, Kayla. What a mighty nice
surprise.”

Kayla’s mouth pulled into a sour grin,
like she was sad about something. “Hi, Russell. I’m sorry to come
by here without calling, but I really need to speak with you in
person.”

“
Sure, come right on in.”
Kayla lowered her umbrella, stood it in the corner of the porch,
then entered his home. Even the muscles in Russell’s back ached as
he led her through the foyer, then into his family room. “Have a
seat.” He gestured to the sofa.

“
Thanks.” Kayla took a seat
on the sofa. “You have a beautiful home.”

“
Thanks.” Russell sat on
the couch across from where Kayla sat and crossed his legs at the
knees. “So what brings you by?” His nerves jittered inside his
gut.
She’s on to me.

Her expression grew more serious. “I
need your help, and I have nowhere to turn.”

“
What’s going
on?”

Kayla reached inside her
purse, pulled out a picture, and handed it to Russell. Russell’s
chest throbbed as he gazed down at the picture of him and Leroy
clutched between his hands.
Dear God, she
knows. She knows I killed Salina.
Bile
surged to the top of Russell’s round stomach, and he felt like he’d
throw up any minute now. His life as he saw it was over. Doomed.
Shot to hell.

Kayla took a deep breath. “You lied to
me, Russell. You said you didn’t know my grandfather, and I want to
know why.”

Russell swiped his hand down his
trembling face. “Oh, this is the Leroy you were talking about," he
said, trying to play it off. “Yeah, I know him.” He tapped his
finger on Leroy’s face.

Kayla’s arched brows indicated she
knew that Russell had known the Leroy she was talking about all
along. “I need your help. Without going into detail, I think my
grandfather was in trouble the night he died, but I’m not sure. You
and he were friends. Do you by any chance have any information
about where he was coming from the night he got into the car crash?
Or do you by any chance know who he was with the night he
died?”

Grief threaded through Russell’s blood
like thick yarn threading through a needle, clogging his arteries.
Handing the picture back to Kayla, he felt as if she could see
straight through him and his lies. For all he knew, she had a wire
on her and was recording everything they talked about.

“
I’m so sorry, Kayla, but I
don’t have any knowledge of what went on with your grandfather the
night he died.”
Now get the hell out of my
house, and don’t ever come back! Carson’s got to get your nosy
behind out of here. Like yesterday. Like tonight. You’re nothing
but trouble.

Kayla’s squirrel-shaped eyes rounded
with sadness. “Thanks for listening to me.” She stood. “If you hear
of anything, will you please let me know?”

Russell patted her on the back. “Sure,
I will. Does Richmond know you’re here?”

Kayla shook her head. “No. I wasn’t
sure if you’d want him to know that you and my grandfather were
friends, so I didn’t say anything about coming over here to
him.”

Begrudging Richmond’s love interest,
Russell laid a heavy hand on Kayla’s shoulders. “I think it’s best
if you don’t tell Richmond you paid me a visit. He and I are just
getting our relationship back on track. And well, well, if he
thinks I’m back to lying all the time again, it’ll stunt the growth
of our relationship. By the way, I think you’re the best thing
that’s ever happened to my son.” When the words came out of his
mouth, he almost choked.

Believing him, Kayla’s mouth eased
into the prettiest smile. For a second, he almost felt sorry about
what he’d planned on doing to her. “Have a good night.” She pulled
open the door, let up her umbrella, then walked outside in the now
thundering rain.

Disgruntled, Russell shut
the door. Gas-like pains roiled in his gut and shot to his chest.
Experiencing chest discomfort, he placed a hand over his
heart.
Salina’s dead because of me. Leroy
is dead because of me. I destroyed Leslie’s life. Destroyed
Richmond’s life. Oh God, I destroyed my granddaughter’s life. I had
no right to take Isabelle’s mother from her. Had no right to
kill…Salina.

A sharp pain stabbed
Russell’s chest. Gasping for air, his vision blurred. Feeling like
he was having a heart attack, he prayed that if he died, he’d go to
Heaven instead of hell. Struggling to breathe, he leaned against
the door. He parted his mouth to call for Chelsey, but only a quick
breath came out.
Death’s coming to get me,
and I’m going straight to fucking hell.
Riveting in pain, grunting, and unable to move, he squeezed
his eyes together.

“
Who was at the door?” he
heard Chelsey ask, standing behind him. “Russell, are you okay?”
She placed her hand on his shoulder. “Russell! Russell!”

Slowly turning to face her, clenching
his pained heart, he slumped to the floor and landed on his back.
Glaring up at Chelsey’s white, blurry face, the last person on his
mind was Salina. Russell inhaled a deep breath. The space around
him slowly turned pitch black.