Page 65 of A Flower for Angus

“I killed him and his loathsome father,” she taunted with a smile of satisfaction.

“Why should you have what Adrian had?” Poppy asked, bewildered.

Abby’s eyes narrowed. “Because if he’d done right by my mother, I would have been the heir to Condoloro Enterprises. It’smybirthright! Instead, he used my mother like a common whore and then refused to acknowledge me,” she raged. “My mother died a horrible death and I didn’t even know who he was until she told me on her death bed. He used women until he was ready to have anicemarriage with anicegirl who would give him a legitimate child and life would be lemonade and rainbow stew for the handsome billionaire. Money always wins and the rest of us are dispensable.”

Abby started pacing and Angus’s arm slipped protectively in front of Poppy’s body.

“After my mother died over 12 years ago, I started making plans. I would dismantle his perfect little world one piece at a time, starting with his perfect wife,” she hissed.

At Poppy’s gasp Abby shot her an evil grin. “I made friends among the family connections he refused to acknowledge. They accepted me, but he would have nothing to do with them, as if he were the perfect human being himself,” she jeered. “Adrian met me many times in different disguises, the kid was a complete idiot. I helped him revenge himself on dear old dad by acquiring a gambling habit. The pathetic, whiny brat with everything had no idea how to use it to his advantage. Given the world on a silver platter he still wanted more without expending any effort to cultivate what he had. What a waste of human space on the planet.”

Angus had to give the woman credit, in spite of her manic rant she kept the gun steady and pointed right at him. If she’d engineered Julian’s first wife’s death in a mass casualty situation, and executed Adrian in cold mob style, then she was a groomed killer. Deadly and determined. He wondered who else was on her kill list besides Hanrahan behind them?

“Did ye kill Julian too?” Angus asked carefully. If they made it out of this alive, this was his opportunity to clear Poppy once and for all.

“Of course not,” she scoffed. “Going to the house myself would have been a mistake. His retired friend gave him the extra meds in a drink and a chat between old buddies,” she scoffed. Her eyes twinkled with nasty mirth. “Everyone has a price, don’t they? Secretaries, board members, and even old friends. And if they can’t be bought, they always have secrets to exploit. He retired to Florida six months later, but leaving loose ends isn’t my style, so he retired to a bayou instead.”

“W-What about the funds going missing?” Poppy stuttered.

Abby waved the gun impatiently. “While this has been fun having an audience to appreciate all my efforts, I don’t have time to explain anymore and you probably wouldn’t understand if I told you. Now move behind the desk, both of you.”

Angus tensed. It was now or never.

***

POPPY FELT FAINT. THISwas it...this was where she and Angus were both murdered by the diabolical killer in front of them. When Vince’s head suddenly popped around the corner, Poppy’s eyes widened. She couldn’t help the involuntary gasp, which alerted Abby that someone was there.

When Abby instantly whirled partially around and shot automatically into the darkened hallway, Poppy grabbed for the 9mm in her purse with shaking hands.

“Step out where I can see you or I’ll kill them both right now,” yelled Abby.

When a knife hit her in the left shoulder, Abby huffed and fell back a few steps, her gun hand slipping down. Recovering, she screamed in rage and raised the gun back towards Angus to fire.

Poppy was faster. She pulled the trigger on her 9mm and watched in horror as Abby’s shot went into the floor while the gun slipped from her hand. She slumped to the carpet while blood gushed from just below her right shoulder.

Oh. My. God. She’d killed someone. It all happened so fast.

Unable to take her eyes off Abby’s still body, Poppy just stared, the gun shaking in her hands. She was frozen in the two-handed shooting stance she’d been taught at the local gun club.

Suddenly Angus was there and easing the gun from her trembling fingers.

Vince stepped inside the office where he cautiously made his way to the woman on the floor and kicked her gun away. Then he knelt down and checked for a pulse in her neck. “She’s alive, I’ll call 911.” He nodded to Angus. “You better have Poppy sit down before she falls down.”

“Ye’re right about that,” Angus agreed, helping Poppy down into one of the office chairs in front of the desk. He sat in the other chair and held her cold hands. “Are ye all right, lass? That was a damned good shot, ye just saved my life.”

“I-I was aiming for center mass but I missed,” she croaked inanely. When the room started spinning Poppy dropped her head between her knees. “I think I’m going to be sick.” Whether it was the fact that she thought she’d killed Abby, or relief because she hadn’t, Poppy wasn’t sure. She just knew she felt like losing the contents of her stomach. There was so much blood everywhere. The metallic odor burned in her nostrils.

“Close yer eyes and take a few deep breaths, lass. Breathe out slowly. Ye got this,” he crooned, moving as close to her as he could get and rubbing the back of her neck. “Steady on, wee one.”

Morgan suddenly appeared with piercing eyes in the doorway with his service weapon drawn. With a huge sigh of relief, he put it away. “Looks like it’s all over, thank God. You must be Vince, I’m Morgan Kincaid. Is she dead?” He indicated the woman on the floor.

Vince nodded. “No, I’ve called 911. The man in the chair wasn’t so lucky, she killed him.”

“Did any of you sustain injuries?”

“No, we are all good,” Vince replied.

The ding of the elevator and the clumping of boots in the stairwell sounded in the room as Morgan finally switched the lights on. He held up his FBI badge at the approaching officers. “It’s all over, men. I’m with the FBI and the scene is under control. No need for weapons. One dead and one suspect with life threatening injuries. Scene secured for the emergency unit arrival.”

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