'Til Death - Part 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

head. “End him?”
    Mack’s eyes flash. “Is he standing in the way of what you want?”
    I jerk my head, a nod.
    “Then yeah, we fuckin’ end him. That bastard is the reason Katia found out the way she did; the least you can do for her is make him pay for that.”
    “She’s not going to know, so what does it matter?” I grunt.
    He shrugs and drops his arms to his side. “No, but you’re still goin’ to do it.”
    “If I don’t find her,” I say, my voice low and deep. “If I don’t explain . . .”
    “Marcus, you gotta let this shit go.”
    “I fucked her up. I destroyed her.”
    “Yeah.” He sighs. “You did. You’re livin’ with it. Right now, that’s all you can do.”
    Fucker is right.
    That’s all I’ve got left.
    ~*~*~*~

KATIA
    T he drive towards where Marcus used to live is awful. It’s slow. It’s painful, and I pull over four times dry-retching because I’m sure I’m going to vomit. I don’t, but my stomach coils so tightly the feeling never quite disappears. When I reach the long driveway, I struggle to catch my breath. I’m sure he doesn’t live here anymore, since he lost his business, but I’m hoping whoever does live here will know where I can find him.
    I drive down and find a park, and then I get out of the car. It’s late afternoon and the sun is just beginning to set. I stare up at the old house and my knees shake. So many memories flood my mind. I stare at the driveway and I remember the moment I ran to him after he’d been away for weeks. I also remember how he turned me away. How blind I was. Tears prick my eyes and anger swirls in my chest. It was all a big, fat, ugly lie.
    I move my eyes towards the part where the business used to be, and gasp. I have to blink and rub my eyes twice, but the words are as clear as they were the day I left. Tandem Holdings is big, bold and still in the same spot it was all those years ago. Did he just sell the business? Walter probably took over and just never changed the name. I’m sure it’s that simple.
    I just figured Marcus would want it out of his house.
    Maybe it’s not his house. Maybe that’s Walter’s, too.
    I clutch my purse to my side and march up to the front door. I have to be strong, professional and brave. No emotion. No feelings. Just business.
    I push the front doors open and see the office hasn’t changed. Everything is as it was. There’s a young blond girl sitting at the reception desk. Taking a deep, trembling breath, I walk up to her.
    “Hi, how can I help?” she asks.
    “I was just . . .” I swallow. “I was just wondering if Marcus Tandem still worked here?”
    She blinks at me. “Of course. He owns it.”
    My knees want to go out from beneath me. He still owns it? I don’t understand. Everything he did was to keep his business, but losing me would have taken it. He should have lost it. He should have paid . How the hell can he still own it? I steady myself and in a weak voice I whisper, “He owns it? Are you sure? I thought . . . Walter owned it.”
    “Walter passed,” she says.
    That filthy, scheming son-of-a-bitch . He would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Nothing. Not even murder, because that’s the only way Walter would have ‘passed’. I suddenly feel sick, and my hands wrap around my stomach as pain radiates through my body, lodging into my heart.
    I fell in love with a cold-hearted monster.
    “Are you okay, ma’am?”
    I nod, closing my eyes angrily.
    “Can I get you some water?”
    I lift my head. “Where is he?” I croak.
    “Marcus?”
    “Yes.”
    “He’s at a benefit.”
    “Where?” I demand.
    She narrows her eyes. “I’m not able to give that kind of information out, and—”
    “Do you know who I am?” I bark, suddenly filled with rage.
    All the years of pain and hurt have finally swarmed together to create a terrifying rage that I have no control over. He took my life. He ruined me. He lost nothing when I lost everything . All this time I’ve been