19
It had been two days since the cops had left her house after asking her questions, and they weren’t any closer to figuring things out than they had been before she called them. In fact, the more they asked her to provide details, the more she thought maybe she’d just imagined everything.
A large cat could have left the dead bird on her porch; they were in Colorado by the mountains, after all.
Kids could have slashed Murphy’s tires because they thought it would be fun.
No one was in her car the morning she’d felt that things had been moved around. She’d just been overtired and in need of more coffee.
And having the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end could have just been a chill or a temperature change, not the sudden awareness that someone was watching her.
Yes, the list of all those things might make it sound like things were escalating, but there was no way to tie them all together, so Tessa figured she had imagined everything. The police had taken her statement, but she could tell that they weren’t sure this was an actual incident either.
Murphy, on the other hand, was livid. Not that she hadn’t mentioned some of those things, but because they were happening at all.
And she was pretty sure that if today hadn’t been Owen and Liz’s wedding day in their backyard, Murphy would still be grumbling and far too overprotective. However, because it was her best friend and practically sister’s wedding day, Tessa was going to push all those thoughts from her mind and focus on the only thing that mattered.
Liz and Owen’s big day.
“I can’t believe how quickly everything came together,” Blake said from her seat in Liz’s bedroom. The women had decided to take over Liz’s house while the men were at Tessa and Murphy’s so the bride and groom wouldn’t see each other. It might be a backyard wedding, but they had gone all out to make sure it was the perfect event for these two.
“This is Liz and Owen we’re talking about, of course, it came together as fast as it did.” Maya stood by the window looking out into the backyard where the seats and wedding venue had been set up.
Tessa couldn’t help but grin at that since her backyard had also been taken over in the process. It was a good thing they hadn’t put the fence back up between the two properties since it made it easier for them to spread out and make a backyard wedding look like a fairy princess’s dream.
As it was, flower girl Rowan was already bouncing in her lacy, pale peach dress. “It’s so pretty.” Rowan picked at one of her curls, and Blake reached out and tugged at her daughter’s hand. Once the wedding was over, Tessa was pretty sure that the little girl’s shoes would be off and her hair undone, but she didn’t figure Blake would care. As long as they made it through the ceremony with shoes on, it was a win.
Liz smiled at them from her side of the room where she stood with Tessa in front of a full-length mirror they’d brought in for the occasion. “We wanted tiny lights for when it got darker and light-colored flowers. Nothing too ostentatious, but perfectly simple for Owen and me.”
“You guys nailed it,” Tessa said softly and kissed her friend’s temple. “And I have to say, this dress is stunning.”
Liz blushed and ran her hand over her baby bump. “We wanted something that would work if I started to show more…and since I popped out last week, I’m glad we did.” Tessa had gone with Liz to pick out the floor-length white dress that had a lace overlay and a waist that billowed out just enough to cover her baby bump at any size. Her best friend looked like a Grecian goddess, and Tessa knew she wouldn’t make it through the day without crying. Thank God for waterproof makeup.
“You did good,” Tessa said with a smile. “And I think your bridesmaids look pretty kickass.
Maya, Blake, and Tessa had gone with variations of the peach color, and each wore a different dress to highlight their figures. Everything was light and airy and perfect for an outdoor, summer wedding that was still casual.
“Wait, are you guys bridesmaids if you’re married? I know the maid of honor is really the matron of honor if she’s married, but what about the others?” Tessa was the maid of honor, while Graham was the best man. She knew Liz had thought about pairing up couples, but everyone had decided it would be much more fun to switch it up. That left Tessa with Graham, Blake with Jake, Maya with Murphy, and Border would be walking Noah down the aisle next to Rowan as the supervising ring bearer. Considering everyone would just end up with their significant others once the ceremony was over, it didn’t really matter who walked whom down the aisle. They were all one big giant family anyway.
The entire Montgomery clan would also be showing up, as well as some of Liz’s former and current coworkers. The couple had also invited Abby, but the other woman had declined to no one’s surprise. Once the wedding was over, however, Tessa planned to spend more time with Abby. The other woman didn’t have that much family, and Tessa and Murphy didn’t want the woman to ever feel like she was alone.
“Are you ready to become a Gallagher?” Blake asked. “I mean, once you’re in, they kind of don’t let you go.”
Liz’s smile was so bright that Tessa finally let a tear fall down her cheek. “I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life to be a Gallagher. Not only is the man I love one, some of my favorite people are, as well.” She gave Tessa a wry look. “And a certain best friend of mine might just end up being a Gallagher in the end also.”
If Rowan hadn’t been there, Tessa would have flipped her best friend off. As it was, she glared at Liz before rolling her eyes. She and Murphy might be serious, and they might be living together beyond just being roommates, but she wanted some time before she took that next step. Falling in love had been scary enough that she wanted to soak in that feeling for a bit. Talk of marriage and everything that came with that could wait just a little while longer.
The ladies helped Liz finish getting ready until the time came, and soon they were outside waiting to walk down the aisle so Liz and Owen could finally become husband and wife.
“You look fucking amazing,” Murphy whispered in her ear, his hands around her waist, giving her a squeeze. “I can’t wait to ruck that skirt up to your hips and fuck you so hard your breasts bounce right out of that top. Seriously, what was Liz thinking, dressing you up like a peach? It just makes me want to take a bite, and lick and…suck.”
She knew her cheeks were bright red, but she ignored him, considering her parents were sitting right in front of them with the rest of their friends and family. Murphy Gallagher was a very bad boy, and she really, really liked it.
Before she could say anything, Graham tugged her away and into his side. “Keep your hands off my date.” He waggled his eyebrows as he said it, and Blake threw her head back and laughed.
“That’s my husband over there, Tessa Stone. Be gentle,” the other woman teased.
They were still far enough back that though they could see the audience, no one could hear them except for the wedding party. Owen stood by the officiant, and Border had the kids off to the side, so Tessa didn’t mind whispering what she was about to say.
“I’ll keep my hands off your husband, but don’t I remember hearing a story about you having your hands all over my boyfriend’s dick?”
Murphy let out a choked laugh, and Graham pinched the bridge of his nose. “Dear God, Tessa.”
“What? It’s true. Isn’t it? Didn’t Blake pierce that very pretty dick of yours?”
Blake nudged her in the side and laughed. “You know, it really was a pretty dick. You’re one very lucky woman.”
Tessa grinned. “Yes, I am. And thank you for the piercing, I love it.”
Jake, Murphy, and Graham each let out a groan. Maya, Blake, and Tessa just gave each other high fives and grinned.
“I can’t believe I’m going to have Murphy’s dick on my mind when I walk down the aisle,” Liz said wryly.
“Just think about your soon-to-be husband’s, and you’ll be fine.” Maya patted Liz gently on the shoulder, though there was laughter in her eyes.
“I have no idea how I became part of this family, but I am so happy that I get to go up with all of you and tell the man I love that I’m going to be with him forever. Thank you so much for being with me today. For being with us today. You have no idea how much this means to both of us. Now, come on, because I do not want to wait any longer to call Owen mine and become Mrs. Liz Gallagher.”
And with that, everyone took his or her places as the music started up. Tessa glanced at Murphy one last time and smiled, knowing that today was only the beginning. Tomorrow would be even better.
The party was in full swing, the newly married couple softly kissed one another as they swayed in the center of the homemade dancing area. Sometimes it paid to have people in the family who knew how to use their hands and could build pretty much anything.
Tessa leaned into Murphy’s hold, swaying gently to the music. She knew he didn’t have as much energy as he wanted to go out there and dance the night away, but it didn’t matter to her. She had the arms of the man she loved wrapped around her, and all she wanted to do was stay there.
Unfortunately, she’d had too much punch and really needed to use the restroom. Though Tessa had offered to open up her house for the wedding, Liz and Owen had nixed that idea, saying that their house would be more than enough for everyone since it had three bathrooms, and they didn’t want everyone taking over Tessa’s home. That meant that her bathrooms would be free, and she wouldn’t need to wait in line.
Thank God.
“I’ll be right back, I have to go to the little maid of honor’s room.” She turned in Murphy’s arms and kissed him softly. “Love you.”
His eyes darkened. “Love you, too, Tessa mine.” She kissed him again and made her way toward her house, smiling at those she passed. Everyone seemed to be having such a wonderful time, and she was glad that Liz and Owen had decided to have the wedding where they had.
She unlocked her back door and walked inside, turning on the hall light to guide her way since the sun was just now setting. She went into her master bath, did her business, and checked her makeup since there were still a few photos being taken. Smiling, she adjusted her dress and couldn’t help but blush at the thought of what Murphy would do to it—and her—later.
She was just about to head through the back door when she heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Murphy must have come inside to grab something. With a smile on her face, she walked toward the kitchen and froze.
“Andy? What are you doing in here?” Fear crackled up her spine and settled in her belly. Though every instinct told her to run, she knew it would be a mistake. She stood in place, not quite comprehending what was happening.
Her ex-boyfriend ran his hand over his neatly pressed suit and shook his head at her, frowning. “Why wouldn’t I be here, Tessa? Why do you think you can run from me?”
She blinked, confused yet still scared of what might happen. She hadn’t heard from Andy in years, and yet it sounded as if he had been thinking about her all this time.
“I don’t know what you mean. You should go, Andy.”
Her mind felt as if she were a half step behind what was going on, until everything finally clicked. The bird, the tires, the car, the feeling of being watched…seeing him earlier in town. Everything finally made sense, and yet the nausea sliding its way through her made her want to flee and forget that any of that had happened.
“I’m not leaving anytime soon, Tessa. And you do not get to leave either. You don’t get to leave me. Not again. I got rid of the damn pencil pusher. That asshole Brent. I can’t believe you’d be with some little prick that ran away as quickly as he did, but he left when I told him to. But then Murphy got in the way. Murphy always gets in the way.” He took a deep breath, and Tessa tried to inch toward the doorway behind her, only to stop when he shot her a dangerous look. “Don’t move. Don’t you fucking move. I thought you’d finally pay attention and look at me when I left you that present on your doorstep, but you didn’t even see me. You didn’t see me when I slashed that asshole’s tires. You didn’t see me when I walked through your office and got the keys to your car. You never saw me. And that was your first mistake. Or maybe your first mistake was calling the cops on me in the first place all those years ago. You are mine, Tessa. You don’t get to just walk away because you think you’re tired of me. You’re the one who made the error, and now, you’re the one who’s going to pay.”
“You should go,” she whispered. “Please, Andy, please just let me go.”
Oh God. What was happening? How could any of this be happening? He’d done all of that to her. He’d either threatened Brent or had told her ex so many lies that he’d walked away without a second glance. Andy had stalked her, and knew far too many things; things that she’d never dreamed possible.
And now he wasn’t going to let her go.
How…how was she going to get out of this?
Only, she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to get out of this at all.
“The only place you’re going is with me. You’re going to forget about that fucker outside and be mine until I decide I’m done with you. And that’s not going to be anytime soon.”
Then he moved.
It wasn’t until she saw the light glinting off the metal that she noticed the largest butcher knife she had was missing from the block. He came at her, knife raised, and she ducked. She shouldered him in the stomach, and he let out an oof. After she’d kicked him in the shin, she ran towards the front door, knowing she needed to get out of the house.
But he pulled on her hair, tugging it from its arrangement and forcing her backwards. She turned and put her hand up to cover her face from the oncoming blade. She screamed as the knife plunged into her forearm and sliced down.
Scorching pain radiated and shocked her system, causing bile to crawl up her throat. She kicked out and clamped her hand over the gushing wound on her arm, falling back on her butt at the movement. Andy screamed and looked down at the blood covering the blade.
Tessa scooted back so she pressed along the wall, holding her arm against her. The fact that the cut didn’t hurt any more than it did told her that it was much worse than she’d thought.
“Tessa?”
Murphy’s voice filtered into her ears, and tears spilled down her cheeks.
Andy turned at the sound of her lover’s voice, and she was afraid that Murphy was too late.
She was too late.