Chapter 19

All the blood in Blake’s body was pounding inside of her ears. Molly moved toward her, and Blake sidestepped, trying to run past her to get to the door, but Molly was too fast, lunging and grabbing Blake’s upper arm. Her arm burned in Molly’s viselike grasp.

Despite all the ideas she’d had over the last few days, Blake’s mind drew a blank when she tried to think of what to do at that moment. How could she get away from Molly? Even if the woman released her grip on Blake’s arm, she was blocking her path to the door. Blake could try to run out into the café, but Molly would catch her long before she could unlock the front door. She was trapped.

Her eyes flicked to the left, spotting her phone on the island, lying next to the knife she’d used to cut open the coffee beans. “Uh, Molly, this has to be some kind of misunderstanding. Why don’t I just call Kyle? We can get her down here, and you can explain this to her.” She heard the tremble in her voice, somewhat surprised she could force the words out at all through her tight throat.

“Shut up, Blake. You’re just digging yourself deeper.” Molly’s eyes followed hers to her phone. She had always thought Molly was so pretty, but the usual warmth normally behind those hazel eyes was gone, replaced by something hard and cold. “You haven’t called your sister yet? I figured that would be the first thing you’d do.” The iciness in her voice made Blake shiver. Molly’s face was tight as her eyes darted around the room, landing on Blake’s computer. She yanked the USB cord out of the laptop and wound it around Blake’s wrists.

“What are you doing?” Her only hope was to distract Molly long enough for Kyle to arrive. But she had no idea how long that might take. It all depended on how long it took Kyle to check her voice mail. And time was not on her side.

Or maybe she could reason with Molly. She winced as the cord tightened around her wrists. “Molls, this isn’t you.” Her friend tied off the cord and backed Blake up until she hit the island. “You’re my friend. I don’t know why…” She swallowed deeply as she yanked and twisted her wrists, which were secured in front of her. Blake’s heart hammered so loudly that she could barely hear herself speak. “You’re my friend,” she said again. “I know you don’t want to hurt anybody.”

Emotions flickered behind Molly’s eyes. “I never thought I would be a killer. I never planned to be. But I couldn’t let Nikki… well, I couldn’t let her ruin everything, could I?” She shook her head, regret plain on her face. “I tried to get you to leave this alone. Jesus Christ, I did everything I could to steer you in Todd’s direction.”

“T-Todd? What do you mean?”

“Blake, come on. I’m actually a little offended that the police don’t have him in jail after all the damn clues I left.”

“Oh God, all the things I said about Todd…” Nausea threatened to take hold. “He was innocent the whole time.”

“Innocent?” Molly let out a harsh laugh. “Hardly. You’re forgetting he was cheating on his wife, and I’m pretty damn sure he’s the one who got Nikki back on the drugs. The morning that I”—Molly’s hazel eyes flickered before her face went cold again—“the morning Nikki died, I came across her and Todd on the street, fighting, right out in the open. Nikki was trying to shake him down for money. She needed her next fix. Told Todd if he didn’t give her money, she would go to Sabrina.” She shook her head. “He’s not innocent, Blake.”

“But he’s not a killer.” She raised her bound hands to reach for Molly, but her friend shoved her hands back down. “Now you’re trying to justify framing him for murder?”

“Don’t you get it, Blake? I was trying to help you!” Frustration colored Molly’s tone. “I painted ‘Stop’ on your damn door with that orange paint, trying to scare you into staying out of it. You just wouldn’t take the hint.” Her eyes misted, and she blinked to clear them. “I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

Terror ran through Blake’s bloodstream. “Then don’t. Don’t hurt me.”

“It won’t be easy.” Molly’s words were barely a whisper. “It wasn’t easy to kill Saffron, either.” Molly’s gaze drifted down, her eyes focused on the white packages on the floor, almost as if she were psyching herself up to hurt Blake.

Blake lunged forward, shoving Molly hard, and ran for the door. Her friend grunted, stumbling back. The coffee beans were strewn like loose pebbles on the tile. A foot from the door, Blake skidded on the beans. Unable to catch herself, she fell, letting out an “ooph” as she landed hard on her arm.

Molly was on her in an instant, her iron grip back around Blake’s biceps, yanking her up as she cried out in pain. All pretense of civility vanished as Blake’s instincts took over and she tried to fight, to shake off Molly’s grip. But the redhead responded by grabbing her other arm and pinning her up against the island with her body, her size advantage making that easy.

Fear seared Blake’s throat, and a metallic taste filled her mouth. “Why?” she choked out. “Drug smuggling? Murder? Why did you have to kill Nikki? And Saffron?”

“Do you think I wanted to?” Rage shook Molly’s voice. “I didn’t have a choice. Dammit! If it wasn’t for Derek making the wrong deliveries, this never would have happened.” She dropped one hand from Blake and raked her hand through her copper hair. “When I realized I had received the wrong order, I came here. I didn’t know at the time that Sabrina had switched coffee brands. I was just going to open the bags and take what’s mine. And I thought I had found them all—three bags’ worth. It wasn’t until later that I realized I’d missed a bag.” Her mouth set in a grim line as she shook her head. “No one was supposed to be here. You’re never here that late. And Jesus, Nikki wasn’t even here half the time she was supposed to be working. I panicked.”

Blake stared at her, her jaw slack as things started to sink in. The whole time, it never had anything to do with Nikki. She’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Sean… Oh God, Sean! He’d been accused of all kinds of terrible things, and he was innocent of it all. Will I even get the chance to apologize? Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision.

“Did you do this all yourself?” she asked shakily, not wanting to believe Molly was some criminal mastermind.

“Whatsa matter?” Molly glowered at her. “Don’t think I’m smart enough to pull this off without a partner? How many people did you accuse, Blake? Todd? Sabrina? Sean?” She let out a humorless laugh. “It’s a wonder your boyfriend even still talks to you.”

The tears Blake had been holding back began to spill over. She went to swipe at her face before she remembered her hands were bound. “Shut up. Just shut up.” The last thing that would help was letting emotion take over. She needed to use her head; she needed to think.

Molly’s hands dropped to her sides, and her face softened a fraction. For one brief moment, Blake saw a glimpse of the Molly she’d known for the last five years. “I am sorry, Blake. I tried to warn you. I knew it was just a matter of time before you put the pieces together.”

That’s it. Keep her talking. Make her remember I’m her friend. Blake gave Molly a watery smile. “You know me, Molls. I love puzzles. I couldn’t leave it alone, especially when the café was involved. But I guess I wasn’t as good at puzzles as I thought. I never thought it was you. Even when…”

Blake thought back to the day she’d gone home sick from work. After she’d been attacked, she’d been so busy that Rachel had taken her home early. The thumping. There had been so much thumping. “How early were you at my house that night? The night you painted on my back door.”

Molly’s shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I just wanted to try to scare you, so I came over when it was dark. There was paint scattered all over Café Muerte when they were working on that mural. It wasn’t hard to snag some of it. I really was trying to help you. I thought if I scared you, you’d finally realize how freaking dangerous it all was.” Molly stared off into space as she recalled the memory. Then she shook her head, bringing herself back into the present. “But then, Kyle and Jason showed up, and your little sister had to go searching around your house, so I had to leave and come back. I almost dropped the idea of painting your door at that point. But after I found out you were planning to talk to Saffron, I knew I had to step up my game.”

Blake’s tears started anew as she thought of Saffron. “But why did you have to kill Saffron? And how did you even know I was planning to talk to her?”

Molly blew a strand of red hair out of her face. “You told me, remember? Blake, you’ve got such a big mouth. If I wanted to know what you were looking into, all I ever had to do was ask. It wasn’t difficult. As far as Saffron”—Molly shrugged as if killing Saffron was barely a blip on her radar—“I had a feeling she was on to me, just by the way she was always watching me. She was so damn nosy. I don’t know if she knew for sure, but after I heard that she wanted to meet with you, I couldn’t take that chance. And you, Blake…” She sighed and shook her head almost sadly. “You wouldn’t stop investigating. And you didn’t want to follow the clues in Todd’s direction even though that damn coffeepot had his fingerprints on it. And stealing that coffeepot was a hell of a lot more difficult than getting ahold of a can of paint.” Molly’s grip on Blake’s arms tightened as she shoved her body harder against the island. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Hurt me?” she whispered. Molly wasn’t just going to hurt her. She was going to kill her.

Think, Blake! Her mother’s voice was so strong inside of her head that she nearly jumped. Think. She had to think. She was standing in the middle of an industrial kitchen. There were weapons all around her. But her hands were tied, and her very organized sister-in-law had put everything away. Blake’s eyes searched frantically then locked on the bowls. Two bowls for the large mixer sat behind her on the island, about a foot to her left. She hadn’t filled them with coffee. The thick stainless-steel bowls probably weren’t heavy enough to do much damage, but if she could get ahold of one and get a good whack in, she could at least stun Molly long enough that she could get out the back door. From what she could see, Molly didn’t have a weapon. All Blake had to do was outrun her and get to her car, which was right outside the back door.

“I can see the wheels turning in your head.” Molly’s voice jerked Blake’s attention back to her. “Don’t, Blake. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it.”

Just keep her talking. Even if you don’t get a chance to get away, all you have to do is keep her talking long enough for Kyle to get here.

“So, I’m just supposed to let you kill me?” She began to inch her body along the island, putting as much distance as she could between her and Molly. “What do you think that’s going to do to your brother?” She didn’t know if Molly had a heart or any sanity left, but in the hopes that she did, Blake was going to try her damndest to tug on it. “He was so upset when Saffron died. Don’t you think my death will hurt him too? Do you really want to do that to him? Take away all his friends? And my God, what do you think is going to happen when he finds out about you? This will kill him. Are you even thinking about Micah?”

“Micah is all I’ve thought about!” Molly stepped closer to her, the glint back in her eyes, and Blake moved a fraction more to her left, closer to the bowls. “You have it so easy, Blake. Your family had money. Ryan’s a doctor. Your mom bought you this place.” She gestured widely around the room. “But me? Micah? When our dad died, all he left us with was a mountain of debt. I was afraid we were going to have to declare bankruptcy. We would have lost Sliced. That restaurant is everything to Micah. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to fix it. So I did.” She straightened her posture, and Blake realized that Molly actually took a sense of pride in what she’d done.

“You say that as if Micah would be happy that you’re a drug smuggler. A murderer!” she said in disbelief.

Molly stepped closer to her again until they were almost touching. “He’s never going to find out.”

She shook her head slowly. “You’re wrong. I almost had this figured out. Saffron had figured it out. Someone else will too. What are you going to do, Molly? Kill everyone?”

“No.” She raised her hands, and Blake flinched as Molly reached for her. “Just you.” As Molly wrapped her hands around Blake’s neck, she took one last breath. A scream ripped out of her throat like a jagged blade while she struggled to free her hands.

“Blake!” Someone called her name. Was it her mom’s voice again?

Molly’s hands were wrapped so tightly around her neck, and she was squeezing so hard that Blake couldn’t take a breath to answer. Maybe it was her mom calling for her. Maybe she was dying.

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. She clawed at the hands around her throat, and when that didn’t work, she pushed at Molly—her chest then her face. But Molly was a woman possessed. The madness in her eyes seemed to give her an inhuman strength. And Blake was weakening, her struggling futile.

Her lungs constricted. Her chest burned as if someone had lit her insides on fire. She couldn’t get any air.

“Blake!” She wasn’t dreaming. It was Kyle. And Molly heard it too. She jerked her head up in surprise to look toward the door, releasing her grip on Blake’s neck. Blake managed to jerk a hand free of the USB cord wound around her wrists.

Blake gasped, gulping in a deep, replenishing breath. The harsh sound echoed in the kitchen. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to let out a yell. “Kyle!”

Molly grabbed at her again, but Blake was half turned, her hand reaching out on the island, toward the only thing within reach she could use as a weapon. She got a grip on the stainless-steel bowl as the back door burst open. “Freeze!”

Blake raised the bowl as Molly turned her head toward Kyle and Jason, who stood in the doorway, their guns drawn. Although Blake was weak, she brought the bowl down with all of her might on the side of Molly’s head. The woman staggered back, and Blake slid forward, the room spinning as her head swam. She swayed toward her sister, toward safety.

But the blow hadn’t stunned Molly as much as Blake had hoped it would. Blake managed only a couple of steps before Molly regained her bearings. With one hand, she grabbed Blake’s hair, yanking her back, and with the other hand, she grabbed the large knife from the island. Molly raised the knife over her head, and Blake wrenched sideways as she prepared herself for the blade’s tearing pain.

But then the sound of two loud gunshots ripped through her ears like cracks of lightning. She felt Molly’s body jerk violently backward. Only then did Molly’s hand finally release the grip on Blake’s hair, and Blake nearly fell forward.

Kyle rushed toward her just in time to catch her as her knees buckled. Jason kept his gun aimed at Molly, who lay on the floor, groaning.

Blake clutched at her little sister, uncontrollable sobs erupting from her raw throat.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, Blake. I’ve got you. It’s over now.” Kyle’s voice sounded so much like their mom’s, which only made Blake sob even harder.

Gently but firmly, Kyle steered her to the back door, keeping one arm around her as she reached for her walkie and called for backup and an ambulance.

“She… she admitted it,” Blake finally choked out. “She killed Nikki and Saffron.”

Kyle nodded toward the packages of white powder that had tumbled out onto the floor. “And I’m guessing this was the motive.”

She wiped at her face and started to answer just as someone flung open the back door. “Blake, I heard—Jesus Christ!” Sean stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening as he took in Molly writhing around on the floor, bleeding, and all the packages of white powder. Then his eyes jerked to Blake. “Are you okay?” He grasped her by the shoulders and hauled her away from Kyle and into his arms. “Please tell me you’re okay.”

Her throat was too clogged to speak. Her muscles had turned to water, and everything inside of her felt splintered. But Sean’s strong arms wrapped around her, supporting her, pressing her into his body. And the broken pieces inside of her started to merge together. His warmth radiated through her, and the spicy scent of his cologne calmed her.

“I am now,” she finally whispered against his chest. “I’m okay now.”