Page 88 of Talon

Allison leans in closer, her voice dripping with venom.“I should have killed you months ago. As soon as you started causing trouble, Kyle said we should get rid of you. I didn’t listen to him, but he was right. Your father almost didn’t go through with the wedding. We had a huge fight the night before. Because of you.”

“What are you talking about? My father didn’t say anything about that to me.”

“I’m talking about your pathetic attempts to stop the wedding,” she sneers.“Randolph is my richest husband yet. The others were worth a few hundred thousand at most. But him … He’s worth millions. Marrying him and then killing him for his money was supposed to be easy, until you got in the way.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. So, my suspicions about her true intentions were right all along. I should’ve done more to protect my father from this manipulative monster. But it’s not too late; I can still try to save us both.

“Even if you kill me,” I warn her,“you won’t get away with it. People will find out.”

“By then, I’ll be long gone,” Allison replies dismissively, her confidence unshakable.“Nobody will be able to touch me.”

“Money can’t buy you happiness, Allison,” I say, trying to appeal to any shred of humanity left in her.“You’ll always be running, looking over your shoulder. Talon won’t ever stop looking for you. If you kill me, everyone in Underground Vengeance will make it their mission to hunt you down.”

“You think they’ll care once you’re dead? You’re just a little fuck-toy for that biker. The minute they toss dirt on your grave, he’s going to forget all about you.”

“No. That’s not true. He loves me, which is something you will never understand. You don’t know what love is. You’ve never had it, and you never will. Someone like you is too selfish to truly love another person.” I glance at Kyle to see if any of this is getting through to him. His gaze slides to Allison, but his expression doesn’t change.

Allison’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t respond. Instead, she turns to the hulking man beside her and nods. My heart races even faster, knowing my time is quickly running out. But I refuse to give up without a fight. I’m not going to die down here. Now that I have Talon, I have so much to live for. There’s no way I’m giving up. Not until I take my last breath.

I glare at Allison, a fire igniting within me as I muster all my courage.“You know, from the day I met you, I knew something wasn’t right. I had this feeling you didn’t really love my father. I didn’t know you were just after his money, but it make sense now. I should have been on the lookout for gold diggers like you.”

Allison’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t deny it. Instead, she laughs—a deep, sinister laugh that chills my soul.

“Congratulations, detective. You’ve uncovered the truth,” she mocks, her eyes gleaming with malice.“But you’re too late. Yes, I’m a fraud, a thief, and a killer. And you? You’re just another obstacle in my way.”

“Obstacle?” I retort, anger boiling inside me.“Is that all your victims are to you? Just obstacles? My father loved you, and you planned to kill him for his money!”

“Love is for fools,” she sneers, taking a step closer to me.“And your father was the biggest fool of them all. But it will all be over soon. He won’t suffer anymore. And with any luck, he won’t even wake up long enough to hear of your untimely death.”

Desperate to buy myself some time, I ask,“What about the person stalking me? What was that all about? Was that you, too?”

She grins wickedly, revealing the twisted depths of her cruelty.“Oh, that was just for fun,” she admits, glancing at Kyle.“My lover here has been stalking you. He pinned the voodoo doll to your front door, and then he tried to run you off the road … It was quite entertaining, until you met Talon. After that, everything went downhill.”

“You stalked me?” I gasp, staring at the man who’s been tormenting me for weeks. If I’d met him on the street, I would have walked right past him, never the wiser.

“Surprise,” Kyle smirks.

“Your little whirlwind romance with that biker ruined our plans. But don’t worry, we’ll make sure you and your precious boyfriend both pay for it,” Allison taunts, her eyes filled with hatred.

I clench my fists, trying to suppress the terror threatening to overwhelm me. I have to find a way out of this, not just for myself, but for my father and Talon, too. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all this, it’s that love may be a weakness, but it can also be our greatest strength. I can’t die now, not after finding the love of my life. I’m going to escape. Somehow.

“Once we get rid of you, we’ll just have to wait a few days before taking care of your dear old dad. Then, all that money will be ours, and we can finally live the life we deserve.”

“We should kill the biker, too,” Kyle says.

“Yes, of course.” Her eyes light up with greedy anticipation.“Imagine it, Kyle—lying on a tropical beach, sipping cocktails, not a care in the world … Just you, me, and our millions.”

“Sounds perfect,” he grins, his gaze flicking back to me with unsettling hunger.

“Enough talk,” Allison snaps, her impatience getting the better of her.“Kill her. Do it now.”

My heart hammers as Kyle approaches me. His hands stretch toward my neck, ready to strangle me. Desperation courses through my veins, but there’s nothing I can do—I’m completely at their mercy. As he leans in close, I squeeze my eyes shut, bracing myself for the end.

Suddenly, the door to the morgue bursts open with a deafening bang, and a familiar figure comes barreling into the room. It’s Talon. His face is a mask of rage as he charges toward us.

“Get away from her!” he shouts, his voice echoing through the chamber like a thunderclap.

Our eyes meet, and a promise passes between us. No matter what happens, we’re getting out of this alive.

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