Page 34 of His Brother's Wife
“Lena, go home. I got this.”
Lena shook her head. “Nah, you stay, I stay. I thought I might skip out and get some coffee for us and Trevor and Dustin. Maybe a sandwich?”
“God, that sounds good. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Lena grinned. “Not at all.”
Ama grabbed her purse. “At least let me give you some money.”
“Don’t worry about it. Be right back. Ham and turkey on rye, right?”
“You’re an angel.”
Lena gave her a strange smile, then left. Ama pondered her expression for a moment, then shrugged and went back to her work.
She was so absorbed in what she was doing, that when Lens brought the food and coffee back, she forgot about the drink until it was cold. She picked idly at the sandwich.
“Isn’t it good?”
She looked up to see Lena at the door. “No, it’s lovely, Lena. Sorry. I got distracted. Did you eat?”
Lena nodded. “I’ll put that coffee in a microwave if you like? Reheat it?”
Ama glanced at the cold coffee cup and wrinkled her nose. “No, it’s okay. It’s never the same. Sorry for forgetting about it.”
Lena shrugged. “It’s no problem.” She hesitated at the door and Ama smiled at her ruefully.
“Seriously, Lena, you should go home. I’m almost done here.”
“Then I’ll wait.” She went out of the door and Ama frowned. Lena was acting …weirdly? Was that the right word? Usually her younger friend would be out of the door as soon as office hours were over, ready to party all night with her friends. Ama didn’t know how she had the energy to do that and still be early for work every morning.
Ama stood and stretched her aching body. The two glass walls of her office, which looked over the conservatory’s atrium, reflected her own image back at her now that the atrium was in darkness.
A thump came from outside of her office, and she glanced around, expecting Lena to poke her head around the door and apologize for dropping something. Instead, she heard a muffled cry and darted to the door. Tugging it open, she saw a masked man grabbing Lena.
“Hey!” Anger and adrenaline rushed through Ama as she went to help her friend, wondering where the hell Trevor and Dustin were. She body-slammed the guy, who was twice her size, and he dropped Lena, but grabbed Ama and tackled her, shoving her back into her office.
Ama staggered back, and the man was on her, driving his fist into her stomach. Ama couldn’t get her breath and Lena attacked the man from behind as Ama tried to stand.
The man knocked Lena across her desk, and as Ama rushed at him, he grabbed her and slammed her down onto her desk.
Amalia kicked him hard in the balls and the man went down. Ama slid from the desk and ran to help Lena. She almost made it. As Lena screamed, Ama was grabbed from behind.
“No! Don’t hurt her!”
But her attacker threw Ama full-force through the plate glass window. The glass shattered and Ama slumped to the floor.
Pain. So much pain.
Her attacker rolled her over, and Amalia realized she had been impaled on a shard of glass which now protruded from her side. She felt faint. Her attacker gave what sounded like a laugh and yanked the glass out of her. More pain. But she couldn’t scream or move. Then she heard Lena screaming. “No! No! Don’t, please don’t. I did what you asked me to do!”
Ama gave a gasp, pushing herself up into a sitting position just as the man drew the lethal edge of the glass across Lena’s throat. Ama screamed at him.
“No!”
But it was too late. Lena’s throat split open and she clutched at it as it began to gush blood. She looked at Ama, her eyes huge with terror and sorrow. “I’m sorry,” she croaked, and then slumped to the ground, pumping red, hot blood onto the floor. Ama tried to move, but the pain of the wound in her side made her struggle and her attacker easily picked her up. As he threw her over his shoulder, she caught a glance of Trevor and Dustin slumped outside the office. Were they dead? There was no one else in the conservatory this late, no one to know she was being taken. She screamed and yelled, but then her assailant slammed her head against the wall and knocked her out.
The news broke as Enda was driving back from the airport and he nearly crashed the car. “No, no, please …”
