From the other side of the house, Abbie heard the front door open and close, then someone was marching down the hall towards the kitchen.
Abbie's hand went instinctively for the gun in her waistband, but she felt the cold touch of Alice's fingers on her wrist as she withdrew it.
"I know what you want to do," said Alice. "I know you're angry, and believe me, I understand that anger. But I'm begging you not to kill my daughter. Not unless she gives you no other choice. Please. I know what she's done, but I can't take any more bloodshed."
Abbie's hand was still fixed on her gun. She continued to withdraw it but let it fall by her side in a loose grip. She met Alice's eye, and as Angel stepped onto the balcony, followed by Ollie, Abbie made the hardest move she ever had.
She nodded.
They turned to Angel, who whistled and looked at Abbie.
"Well, well," she said. "This is a surprise, but Abbie, I have to say, I'm excited to see you."
Abbie took the bait. "Why's that?"
Beaming, Angel withdrew the same heavy pistol from her handbag as she had earlier.
"Because I get to kill you again."
Thirty-Four
Alice still had the gun she had used to lethal effect at Louis' place. As Angel pointed her weapon at Abbie, Alice aimed for her eldest daughter.
As per Alice's instructions, Abbie kept her gun by her side.
Angel looked at her mother. Rolled her eyes.
"Come on, mum. Can you really stand to lose another daughter?"
"I don't think I can," said Alice without hesitation. "So I pray you don't make me pull this trigger."
She kept the gun raised. Angel watched her mother for at least thirty seconds, her own gun still trained on Abbie. Abbie got the impression that if Angel saw Alice shake or waver in any way, she would pull her trigger and trust her mother didn't have the stomach to kill a daughter.
Alice didn't waver. The gun remained steady; Alice's eyes showed nothing but determination.
"Spoilsport," muttered Angel and lowered her gun.
Alice did the same.
"You were telling the truth about the guns," Angel said. "Though I don't suppose that matters now. I came to pick up Louis, take him to Pedro. Where is he?"
"He's with his son," said Alice. “He’s with Kyle.”
"His spare," said Angel, then nodded to where Max had earlier dumped Jacob. "I had his heir killed, after all. Punishment for trying to steal from our family. Whatever you've done since, you'll never undo that."
"You must be so proud."
"Oh, I am." Angel paused. "Curious, too. What happened to Pedro? Two of his guys were here, but he had ten more at the house. Don't tell me you dealt with them."
"Killed the lot," said Alice. "Sorry to disappoint."
Angel looked to Abbie. "Damn, girl. You're even more impressive than I could have imagined. You really crawled out the water and started gobbling up people like a sea monster?"
"Something like that," said Abbie.
"Well, aren't you frightening?"
"I've heard it said."
Angel didn't look frightened. She turned to her mother.
"What about the money?"
"There was no money," said Alice. "Pedro was a businessman. Didn't want to work with someone he considered unhinged, unreliable. Soon as he had our entire cache of guns, he planned to put a bullet in your head, just like he did to Jacob."
Alice didn't credit Abbie for coming up with this theory, but Abbie didn't mind. She was too busy enjoying Angel's expression. Alice's eldest daughter at first appeared ready to laugh at the comments. When she saw her mother's eyes, realised she wasn't being had, the laugh turned to frustration. After a handful of angry seconds, she pushed the angst away, replacing it with another laugh.
"I suppose I should be thanking you, then, for saving my life?"
"I suppose you should."
"But what do we do now? Where do we go from here?"
"I'd argue that's simple," said Alice. "It's clear after everything you've done, you can't stick around. I can never forgive you for not letting me try to rescue Ariana after her fall, nor for what happened to Jacob. Not to mention I'd be too stressed watching my back if you remained in town. No. You'll have to leave."
"Leave?" said Angel, eyebrows raised.
"Tonight would be best," said Alice. "But I still love you. I'll always love you. With that in mind, I won't make sure you're gone until tomorrow evening. Give you plenty of time to jet off wherever you're heading next."
Angel bore her teeth. She looked ready to fight, and Alice must have seen it. Raising the gun again, she trained her sights on Angel's chest."
"Oh, come on, mother," said Angel. "Would you really?"
"I don't know," said Alice. "Can you believe that? I've got a gun pointed at my daughter, and if that's not mad enough, I honestly don't know if I'd pull the trigger. Inside, most of me is screaming that I could never, because you'll always be my little girl. Then I see Jacob, lying at Louis' feet, and I see you standing in my way when all I want is to try save your sister. I see all that, and I see your smug little smile, and I think if you could let your sister drown and murder an innocent teenager, what else could you do? I don't care much for myself, but I wonder about Alex and Tony because you think they betrayed you too, right? By falling in love with Louis, by sleeping with Abbie. So are they safe? And if I decide they're not, my next decision is whether I'm looking at a trade: if I put a bullet in you tonight, do I save them? Is it a choice between losing two more children or only one? It's all churning away up here." Alice jabbed her head. "You'll never know how much it hurts."
Angel's cocky smile was gone. Having listened to every word her mother said, she was unnerved. Having stepped onto this balcony believing there was no chance Alice would kill her, thinking Abbie was the
