Page 16 of His Dangerous Secret

Actually, no. That’s not true. It’s a picture of me at the lake house, naked, and a man, also naked, with his back to the camera. I know it’s Riggs, but from the look on his dad’s face, he doesn’t.

“You’re going to say something now,” he says slowly. “And one thing only. And if what you say isn’t the name of this man, I’m going to put a bullet between your eyes. Nod if you understand me.”

It’s next to impossible to force my body to move, but somehow I manage it.

So this is what pure panic feels like. What do I do? I can’t tell him the truth, of course. Do I make something up? He knows I’m not on any dating apps. Hell, he doesn’t even let me have a phone. And whenever we go somewhere, he’s with me, so there’s no possible way I could have met a man without him knowing.

That only leaves the men who work for him, whose names I’m forbidden from knowing, and his son…

“Now tell me, Ava,” he continues, cocking the hammer on the pistol. “Who is this man?”

My fingers and toes might as well be made of ice. I’m trembling so hard my front teeth are clicking together, but at the same time, my chest is on fire. Am I going to have a heart attack?

I tear my eyes away from his and glance back down at the photo, as if somehow it might give me the answer I need on how to get out of this. It’s a miracle he hasn’t recognized his son already.

“Ava,” he growls again. “This is your last chance. I’m going to count to five. Five…four…three…”

There’s no doubt in my mind he’s going to go through with it. I can’t even imagine how many other people he’s killed in his lifetime. What’s one adulterous woman to add to the list?

“Two…”

“I—”

“It’s me, Dad!” Riggs’ voice booms from the doorway, and Michael whirls to face him. “That’s me and your wife, Michael. Right after we made love and I came inside her.”

I don’t know whether I want to leap for joy or cry out in terror. He came for me. I knew he couldn’t let me go through with tonight.

But where is his weapon? He couldn’t be stupid enough to come completely unarmed. If Michael doesn’t kill him, his men will.

“That’s a good one, boy!” Michael roars with laughter. “Now get out of here and let me handle this. You don’t need to see what comes next.”

He doesn’t believe him…

“It’s not a joke, Father,” Riggs retorts. He looks completely unafraid. “I’ve had my eye on her since she first moved in. At first I thought she didn’t like me – the way she stayed away from me – but it was just because she didn’t trust herself around me. I made love to her at the lake house, and when you were on your business call last night at dinner, she blew me at the table.”

There’s a moment in very nature documentary where they have the camera on a predator – a lion or a tiger – ready to pounce on its prey. The calm before the storm. You’re just waiting for the violence that happens next.

And that’s exactly how I feel as I watch Michael staring down his son.

“If you’re lying to me, boy—”

“I don’t lie, Michael. And you should know that,” Riggs counters. Where is his gun!? What is he doing? “We’re in love, and I’m going to be taking her away from you now. I’m going to be leaving you and your terrible business behind as well.”

“Boy, I’m going to give you one chance to end this now before something bad happens.”

“Don’t believe me?” He shrugs, sauntering forward without a care in the world. “Ask her. But keep the gun on me, Dad.”

Michael does turn to me, but he doesn’t speak. The look on my face must betray the truth, because I see a resolution appear in his eyes. He turns back to Riggs, and I watch in horror as he raises the gun.

The shot causes my ears to ring and my heart to leap from my chest. My scream can’t be heard over the dull roar assaulting my senses. Riggs’ face distorts as the shot hits him, tears through his shirt and twists his body like he’s been hit by a car.

The second shot rings out, and I scream so hard my throat sings with pain.

The bullet misses Riggs and embeds itself into the wall. I have to do something; I can’t just watch the love of my life die.

I throw myself forward, lunging at Michael, but it’s too late. I’m not fast enough. But what happens next, I never could have expected.

Riggs whirls like a boxer and brings his fist down like a hammer against his father’s nose. The look of shock on Michael’s face as he turns and topples is matched only by the shock I feel at seeing my love on his feet, not on the ground bleeding from the gunshot he took to the chest.

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