Never Let You Go: Save Me Series Book 2 Read online

  “Did you break the news to him?” Phillip asked, clasping his hand in hers. It killed Rodney to see that but he had to remain calm. Allowing his emotions to take over would ruin everything. They had them right where they needed them. Now it was go time.

  “I did,” Amelia replied. “We’re broken up. Are you gonna let him go?”

  Phillip shook his head and laughed. “You think it’ll be that easy? There’s a bedroom down the hallway. How about you prove it to me? Show me you really wanna be with me. And what better than to let Rodney watch? If you two really are broken up, this won’t be hard for you.”

  Rodney saw the look of fear on Amelia’s face. He wasn’t going to let it happen but the thought of Phillip with her made him see red. It still wasn’t time to jump out at him. It had to be perfect. It had to catch both Susan and Phillip both off guard. The cold metal of the gun was right in his palm, ready to go. He had to fight through the numbness of being in the same position for hours. Hopefully it wouldn’t hinder his aim too badly.

  “Whatever you want, Phillip. Take me to bed.”

  Phillip cupped her cheek and brushed his lips over hers. Rodney closed his eyes and didn’t watch.

  “Let’s get Rodney up and into the room. I want him to see how a real man is with a woman.”

  Rodney opened his eyes and looked toward Amelia. It was time. As soon as Phillip stepped far enough away and Amelia was out of range, he’d pull the gun on him. Bending close to Rodney, Phillip noticed the tape on his mouth was down.

  “I see you got the tape off of your mouth.”

  “And off my wrists,” Rodney replied, pulling the gun from behind his back, aiming it right between Phillip’s eyes.

  “You son of a bitch! How’d you…”

  “Take a step back! Now!” Rodney lifted the gun closer, his arms like noodles as he forced his body up. It was hard getting it to a standing position but he fought through the pain, vertigo, and numbness. He wasn’t going to allow Phillip or Susan to get away with any of this.

  “You bitch! You brought the gun to him, didn’t you? You cut him loose when I wasn’t watching!” The anger on Phillip’s face made him turn red. “I thought… I thought you wanted to be with me again.”

  “Think again. Throw me your gun. Slide it on the floor.”

  Phillip hesitated at first and kicked the gun toward Rodney. He also pulled out a knife and did the same. Rodney tossed Amelia the gun and motioned toward Susan. “Hold that on her. I don’t know if she’s faking and is up to something.”

  “What are you gonna do now? Hold the gun on us all night? You don’t have the sack to shoot us.”

  “We’ll do whatever it takes, Phillip. Whatever it takes to get you two out of our lives.” Rodney had tunnel vision. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Phillip. “Do you have your phone, Amelia?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Call the cops. Get them out here.”

  “There’s no signal out here, Rodney. I’ll try and dial but I don’t know if it’ll hit a tower or not.”

  Rodney continued to hold the gun up, never breaking eye contact with Phillip. Waiting patiently, he devised another plan in his head in case they couldn’t reach 911. Then he heard Amelia speak - it was fast, demanding the cops come out, giving precise directions on how to get there. She hung up and took a deep breath, her smile confirming she had gotten through.

  “They repeated everything. They have the information they need. It was a really bad connection, but they’ll be here soon.”

  Rodney nodded and kept the gun on Phillip. “Good. That’s real good.”

  “Oh, and one thing, Phillip,” Amelia said, her gun trained on Susan but her eyes on Phillip. “I’d never be with you again. You are the lowest of scum. And to think that I could just break up with Rodney that easily confirms that you don’t know what love is. We will do anything for the one we love.” She looked over at Rodney, her beautiful smile melting his heart. “Right, Rodney?”

  “Damn straight, Amelia.”

  After what felt like an eternity, red and blue lights lit up the front windows. Rodney took a deep breath, relieved that they were there. For a bit, he worried that the signal really hadn’t gone through and they were wasting time. The cops came through, taking over, arresting both Susan and Phillip. Pulling Amelia and Rodney aside, they took their statements on what happened, also mentioning they’d have to go to the station for formal reports.

  Out in the front yard, Rodney stopped the cops as they were putting Susan in the back of the cop car. Staring her straight in the eye, he clenched his jaw to keep from saying something he’d regret.

  Instead, he said, “This is over, Susan. Justin deserves a good life. You’re going to prison. It all stops tonight.”

  Susan ducked her head and looked at the ground. “I never thought we’d get here, Rodney. I’m sorry.”

  “Those two words apparently don’t mean a damn thing to you, Susan. You’ve said them over and over to both Justin and me. Each time, you got worse. I thought you losing Justin and your marriage was rock bottom. It wasn’t. Hopefully, being shoved in a cop car and going to prison will be your rock bottom. I don’t see how much lower things can get.”

  Susan didn’t have anything to say in response. The cops put her in the car and drove off. Amelia pulled Rodney in for a tight hug, burying her face in his chest. It felt like a nightmare or like a big action sequence in a movie.

  “I guess we better go give our statements. We need to get home to Justin. Susan’s sister needs to know what happened, too.” Rodney kissed the top of Amelia’s head. “Thank you for coming to get me.”

  “Thank you for saving me,” Amelia replied, looking up at him.

  “I did no such thing.”

  “You save me every second of every day, Rodney. If we can survive all of this, there’s nothing that will come between us. I’m glad you stopped in the bar for a drink that night. Otherwise, I can’t even imagine where I’d be right now.”

  “Ditto, Amelia. I couldn’t have said it better myself. I just wish I found you sooner.”

  Dipping his head, Rodney brushed his lips over Amelia’s. The kiss grew deeper, their embrace tighter. The only way to go after their encounter with Phillip and Susan was up. With those two eliminated from their lives, things would get one hundred times better. Rodney couldn’t wait for the future.

  A life without Amelia wasn’t an option.

  A life without Rodney would be hell on earth.

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