Chapter 32

Dmitry and Dennis were on their way home, both anxious to return. He looked over at his man and smirked.

“I guess things are heating up between you and Tabitha.”

He took his eyes off the road momentarily to glance at his boss.

“You know about us?”

“Everyone knows; it’s not like we can’t see how you look at each other. We’ve known for a long time now. You don’t have to keep it a secret, especially from me. As long as you don’t let it affect your job, I won’t have a problem with it.”

“I give you my word it won’t,” he replied, feeling greatly relieved that his boss knew and was okay with it.

He was sure Danica had a hand in getting Dmitry to go along with it. He was also grateful to her for talking Tabitha into asking him out.

He wanted to ask her himself, but when it came to the opposite sex, he was always shy around them.

Pulling into the driveway and through the gate, they saw the electrician’s truck parked outside.

They both got out of the vehicle.

“I guess Sam is still working on the problem,” Dennis said as they entered the house.

Dmitry nodded his head.

“Looks like it. I’m going upstairs to check on Danica and the baby. If you’re hungry, go to the kitchen and get the cook to make something for you.”

Walking up the stairs, he stopped and turned back to look at Dennis.

“I’ll let Tabitha know you’re still here.”

He wanted to surprise Danica, so he went into the bedroom first, calling out her name as he removed his tie.

Not receiving a reply, he figured she was probably in the nursery with David.

He looked around; something seemed off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Leaving the bedroom, he went to the baby’s room.

He could hear the soft creaking of the rocking chair, thinking he should put some oil on the hinges like she had been asking him to.

He stopped at the door, looked in, could see the back of her head, and could hear David’s soft little noises, which he always made.

Though it was her hair, same color, same style, something didn’t feel right.

For one thing, she always hummed softly to David when she rocked him.

Yes, something was not right.

“Danica,” he said in a low voice as he slowly entered the room.

Walking around in front of her, he stopped dead in his tracks.

His heart started racing, the palms of his hands became sweaty, and his eyes widened in shock.

Bepa was wearing a wig and one of Danica’s outfits.

She was rocking David with a smile and a gun resting against the baby’s chest.

He knew he had to stay calm in order not to startle her.

He had to play it cool and go along with whatever sick fantasy that was going through her mind.

“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked in the calmest voice he could muster.

She looked up at him, giving him a huge smile.

“I’m glad you’re home. We’ve missed you,” she said, glancing down at David.

He cleared his throat.

“I’ve missed you both too. I see the baby is sleeping; let me hold him.”

He wanted to get the baby away from her and then take her into a separate room to deal with her.

“I don’t think so. He’s quite comfortable here in my arms.”

“Put him in the crib, and then we can go to our room and talk.”

She looked at him, her eyes glossy.

“Do you love me? I love you and our son. We are going to have a great life together.”

“Of course, I love you, Danica.”

Her mellow mood changed to one of anger.

“I am not that bitch; it’s me, Bepa,” she hissed, and she removed the wig and threw it to the floor, the gun still in her hand.

He swallowed the lump that was stuck in his throat.

“I… I know; it’s just the wig that threw me off. I didn’t mean to say her name. Where are Danica and Tabitha?”

“You don’t have to worry about either of them; I’ve taken care of them. Tell me you love me and that we can be together as a family.”

He looked at his sleeping son and felt as though his heart was going to break.

“Yes, my love. I love you, and we are a family now. We will move away from here and start all over with no one to get in our way. But you must trust me. Tell me where the two women are, and put the baby in his crib.”

“They are tied up and perhaps dead, so we’ll have to get rid of the bodies before we leave.”

She got to her feet and handed him the baby.

“Put him to bed, sweetheart, and then I want you to kiss me.”

The thought of kissing her made his stomach turn, but he had to stay calm and go along with her until he could get the gun from her hand.

Placing David in his crib, he turned to look at her.

“Put the gun down, sweetheart; I will not kiss you while you are holding it.”

When he saw her eyes light up and her smile, he knew she was delusional and believed everything he said.

Just as she placed the gun on the table and was walking toward him, they heard a voice and turned their heads in the direction of where it was coming from.

***

Meanwhile, Danica opened her eyes.

It took several minutes for them to adjust to her surroundings.

She forced herself to calm down as she remembered what had happened but had no idea how much time had passed.

She tried to move her arms but realized they were tied behind her back—her feet were also tied together.

Since she had a rag or something in her mouth, she couldn’t scream.

But her motherly instincts kicked in right away.

She had to get to her son no matter what it took.

The rope around her wrists didn’t seem too tight, so she struggled, twisted, and—in time—was able to wiggle out of them.

Taking the rag from her mouth, she worked hard on getting her legs untied.

Getting to her feet, she felt weak and had to grab onto the wall.

She knew she was in one of the guest rooms.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way out of the closet.

She decided to sneak back to her bedroom, where she could get the gun from Dmitry’s safe.

As she made her way down the hall, she heard voices from the nursery and knew it was Bepa and Dmitry.

Their bedroom was just across the hall from David’s room, so she had to sneak quietly past without Bepa hearing her.

The bedroom door was ajar, so she entered and went to the closet.

Opening the safe, she pulled out the gun.

Not wanting to fire the weapon and frighten the baby, she grabbed the silencer and placed it on.

It was time to take the bitch down once and for all.

Peeking her head in the door, she saw Bepa place her gun down, and just before she could take a step toward Dmitry, she shouted out, “Get away from my family, you bitch.”

She pulled the trigger and saw Bepa’s mouth drop open just as the bullet hit her right in the heart.

Lowering the gun, she stared as the woman fell to the ground and died instantly. She had never killed another living being, and she was in shock.

He walked over to her, taking the gun from her hand. He placed his hand on her chin and turned her head to look at him.

“Baby, it’s OK; she’ll never bother us again.”

He was so proud of her, the way she took Bepa out without hesitating.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears, and threw her arms around his neck. She felt his arms tighten around her as he kissed the top of her head.

Then she pulled away, ran over to the crib, and picked up David.

Taking in his sweet baby scent, she kissed his head. The thought of never holding him again made her so sad, and she never wanted to let him go again.

Dennis had gone down to the basement when he couldn’t find Craig. There, he followed the trail of blood around the corner.

Dropping to his knees, he felt for a pulse but couldn’t find one. He felt a pang of sadness, knowing his friend was dead.

Now his thoughts went to Tabitha and Danica. Running up the stairs, he pulled out his gun as he made his way up to the next level where the bedrooms were.

At the nursery, he went in and looked down at the dead body on the floor, then over at Dmitry and Danica.

“Are you all right?” he asked, looking at the couple huddled together with the baby in her arms.

“Yes,” Dmitry answered.

“Where’s Tabitha?” he asked, fearing she too was dead.

Danica looked over at him.

“I don’t know. Go see if you can find her.”

He ran out of the room, going from room to room. He finally found her sprawled out on the floor.

“Sweetheart, wake up, please wake up.”

He felt for a pulse and found one, breathing a sigh of relief.

When her eyes opened, he leaned down and kissed her lips gently.

“Thank God you’re all right.”

Her head was pounding, and she felt the blood when she touched her head.

“Dennis, Bepa is here, and I’m afraid she has harmed Miss Burke and the baby.”

He held her gently in his arms.

“They are okay, and that bitch is dead. She can no longer hurt anyone.”

He helped her up.

“I will have the doctor come and check you out.”

“Take me to see her and the baby. I’ve got to see for myself that they’re okay.”

He nodded, and with his arms around her waist, he helped her as they returned to the nursery.

When they got there, Dmitry had covered up the dead body.

When Danica saw Tabitha, she handed David over to Dmitry and pulled the girl into her arms for a big hug.

“Thank God you’re all right. I am so sorry you went through this.”

“I’m okay, Miss Burke, but how are you and David?”

“We’re fine, but you’re bleeding, so we will get someone to take a look at you.”

She looked over at Dmitry.

“Will you call the doctor to come and have a look at her?”

“I will, but let’s leave this room and go into our bedroom. I will call the doctor and have him come over right away.”

They entered the main bedroom and had Tabitha lie on the bed until the doctor arrived.

Bless his sweet little heart, David was still fast asleep, so she placed him into the bassinet.

Danica went and got a towel and a wet face cloth and cleaned off Tabitha’s blood from her head and face.

Her wrists were red and swollen from the ropes, but she refused to acknowledge the pain as she cleaned up Tabitha.

Dmitry and Dennis went and sat down on the sofa after pouring themselves a large shot of straight whiskey.

“I want to take her and David away for a few days. I think we’ll go back to my island. Make the arrangements with the pilot to leave within the next few hours.”

“Yes, sir, right away. As you probably guessed, something has happened to Craig. I found him dead in the basement.”

Dmitry lowered his head and rubbed his forehead.

“He was a good man, very loyal and faithful, and I know he was a good friend of yours. I will see to it that his wife and children are well taken care of for the rest of their lives. Tell them they have nothing to worry about; five million dollars will be placed in her bank account within the week.”

When the doctor arrived and checked out Tabitha, they were told that no permanent damage had been done, only that she would have one heck of a headache for a while and just needed to rest.

That was when Dmitry decided to take her and Dennis with them to the island—the place was big enough for all of them.

“We’re going to your island?” she asked him when they were alone.

“Yes, I want to get you and David away from here while everything gets cleaned up and taken care of. I’ve invited Dennis and Tabitha to come with us. I hope that’s okay with you.”

She went over, put her arms around his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder.

“It’s more than okay with me. I just feel so bad that she had to get hurt because of me.”

“It’s not your fault, my love, but I do think our problems are behind us. Let’s get ready for our trip. We could all use some time away to relax. I want you to know that I love you so much, and I was so scared that I had lost you.”

She reached up and kissed him.

“You are never going to lose me.”

A few hours later, they boarded the plane and headed to his private island.

The women were both exhausted, so he had them lie down on the bed while he and Dennis watched David.

A little later, they both went in to check on the girls and found them both asleep on the bed.

Dennis chuckled and nudged Dmitry in the ribs.

“Under different circumstances, seeing two women in bed together would be one heck of a turn-on.”

Dmitry rolled his eyes at his friend.

“You’re a sick fuck—let’s leave them be.”