Mine to Hold (Mine #3)(56)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“Power,” Claire finished.

Because power was so important to the Harrisons.

“You broke him. And when Ethan fell, he took my father down with him.” His smile flashed again, chilling her. “Of course, the old man always was a twisted bastard. Didn’t realize quite how much, not until Ethan told me…”

The gun was inches from her chest.

“Walk toward the balcony.” He jerked the weapon toward the balcony door. “It’s a phenomenal view out there. A real helpful bellman let me see it earlier. I flashed some cash and got a free pass up here.” He licked his lips. “Did I mention that folks here are bribed too easily? No matter. I made sure to tie up those loose ends this time.”

Claire walked, backward, toward the balcony. Her hands were still down.

“I was supposed to be president.” A muscle flexed along his jaw. “I was groomed for that position. I spent so many years being perfect for that.”

She didn’t speak.

“Then the dream was gone. Scandal was all my family knew. Scandal because of you.”

“I thought—I thought you wanted to help me. In the hospital…”

“I wanted you to vanish. I figured that if you disappeared, there would still be some hope for me.”

Claire opened the door and slipped out onto the balcony. It was cold out there, and the wind sent her hair whipping around her face.

“It’s a killer view, isn’t it?” Austin asked as he followed her out.

Claire glanced over and saw the lights of the city below. Killer.

“My father drained our fortune tracking you. Trying to free Ethan. He used all of his money, and even though I was working my ass off, he took mine, too, and I had nothing.”

“Austin, you—you don’t need to—”

“I know exactly what I need to do. I need to get rid of the problems in my life. I need to be free. It’s time for my new start.” His shoulders straightened. His hold on the gun was rock-steady. “That’s what I’ve been doing, you see. Cleaning house. My father was a dead weight, so I had to get rid of him.”

Her breath choked out.

“He never would’ve stopped. He would have bled me bone dry as he tried to free Ethan, but that just couldn’t happen. If Ethan ever got out, hell, he’d go after you again, and the scandal would be even worse.”

“You’re here with a gun. You just shot a cop.” He’s crazy. “You think the scandal isn’t going to be bad from this? You need to think again.”

He laughed. “Ah, Claire, I didn’t shoot a cop. You did.” He lifted the gun, and she saw that he wore black gloves. “No fingerprints from me, and you…you’re wearing gloves right now because it was cold outside and you didn’t get the chance to take them off when you came back to the suite.”

He was right.

“You shot the cop because she realized you had killed Senator Harrison and his PI, Sloan. And after you shot her, you panicked. You knew there was no escape, so you did the only thing you could do…you then took your own life.”

A dull ringing filled Claire’s ears. “No.”

“You tried suicide before. You just didn’t try hard enough.” He nodded toward her. “Don’t worry. You’ll do better this time. A jump from this height will make sure you end up in the morgue.”

“Y-you said you had help in the hotel.” A bellman. “The cops will find him. The cops will get him to talk and—”

“The dead don’t talk.”

His words had her heartbeat stuttering.

“And, by the way,” he added darkly, “you killed the bellman, too. Even used this same gun for the crime.”

Claire wouldn’t look over the edge of the balcony again. “Why would I have killed him? I don’t—”

“You’re crazy, Claire. You’ve been seeing my dead brother this week. Getting phone calls from him.” He laughed. “Talk about perfect timing! When I heard that shit, I couldn’t believe how wonderfully things were falling into place.”

Her heartbeat shook her chest. “Don’t do this. Please.”

“I’m not doing it. You are. You killed all those folks. And now, you’re going to jump over the edge of that balcony, and you’re going to kill yourself.”

“I-I won’t do it.”

“You’ve hurt enough people.” He advanced toward her with slow, gliding steps. “It’s time for the nightmare to be over. You caused all of this—”

“No!”

“Now you’ll be the one to end it.”

She braced herself. Where was Noah? He’d been downstairs, talking with Lane. Noah should be coming up to the suite at any moment.

Would Austin shoot Noah, too?

Claire couldn’t let that happen. “I’m not going to jump.”

“Yes, you will.” His grin flashed. “Because if you don’t, I’ll go downstairs. I’ll find your lover. And I’ll put a bullet in his brain.”

A tear slipped down Claire’s cheek. “You were the one who planted the bomb at his other hotel.”

“What?” His brows rose. “Damn, maybe you are crazy.”

No, he was. “You’ve been planning to kill Noah all along.”

“You destroyed everything, Claire! I had a great future. I could’ve had—”

Claire lifted the gun that she’d taken from Gwen’s holster. She’d hidden that gun so carefully.

Not anymore.

Austin’s mouth hung open as he stared at the weapon.

“I’m not going over that balcony,” Claire told him. The weapon was shaking in her grip. “And you’re not going to hurt Noah.”

His gaze dipped to the weapon, then back to her face. He laughed at her. “You don’t have what it takes to pull that trigger.”

“I do.” Actually, it was taking all of her strength not to pull it right then. “I’ve lost everyone close to me. My parents. My sister. I won’t lose Noah. I’d do anything to protect him.” Claire pulled in a deep breath. “So drop your weapon, or I will shoot you.”

He took another step toward her. “You bitch! You don’t get to tell me what—”

“Claire!” Noah’s roar reached them, spilling through the open balcony door.

Claire didn’t take her eyes off Austin. “You’re going to be arrested,” Claire told him. “Gwen’s not dead. She’ll recover. She’ll tell everyone it wasn’t me who shot her. She’ll—”