“Kneel.” The gun she held was now pointed directly at his chest.
“Dane, wait.” His arms were raised, palms up. She was going to kill him. He’d always thought this day would come but he’d hoped he would have the chance to explain a few things first.
“I said kneel! Put your hands behind your head.”
He dropped his bag and put one knee to the concrete and then the other. “Dane, just let me tell you…”
“You…you have nothing to tell me, Paul.” She cut to him at an angle. “What you did. You killed my father. For what? Money? Power? I saw the warehouse. I watched you from afar all this time. Hell, I drink at least one of those damn packets every day as a reminder of what you did and why.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful and tossed them to the ground.
“I didn’t!”
“You didn’t what?”
“I swear, Dane. I didn’t kill him. It wasn’t what I wanted.”
“You’re lying. It’s exactly what you wanted.” She shook her head. “You wanted me, and I refused you and you got back at me by taking my father’s discoveries, and you murdered him for them.”
He shook his head. “No. That’s not the way it happened.”
“Are you saying you didn’t break into my father’s house the night he died?”
“You…you’ve been talking to Kim?” Her eyes suddenly darted to a pickup truck in the corner. “You…you have to stay away from her, Dane. She’s dangerous. You don’t know. Please don’t get near her.”
“Paul. You don’t get to tell me anything. You murdered my father for money. That’s all it boils down to. He treated you like a son. You were like a brother to me.”
“I know. I know. But it’s more complicated than that, Dane. Let me tell you. Then I swear to God, kill me. Shoot me dead, you’ll be doing me a favor, but don’t trust her for anything. She’s a psychopath.”
But he knew that look. When you grow up with someone, you know what they’re going to say. Her mouth a straight line, tears in the corners of her eyes, she shook her head from side to side, angrily. She took three steps forward. “I don’t think so, Paul. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”
He squeezed his eyes shut when she raised the gun.