Page 82 of The Better Bride
Chapter 30
Mysti May
2:53 PM SATURDAY
“Mysti Biscuits? What’s happening? What’ve you done?”
Norbert’s voice in my ear does nothing to calm my heart as its beats echo in my mouth. Everything I can taste is blood, and I can’t tear my eyes away from the man in front of me.
“Mysti, answer me.”
How do I tell him about this? Alphonso motions for me to hang up the call, and, with the gun in his hand, I have no choice but to comply.
“N-Norbert? Now’s not really a good time. Something just came up.”
I can hear him begin to protest, saying, “Are you with a man right now?”
I don’t answer, since all my words are trapped in my throat, and so he continues, “Have you been drinking?”
“I’m going to have to call you back…”
I press the red button to hang up, cutting Norbert off mid-sentence. He’s going to hate me for that later, but maybe if I explain, he won’t be too mad at me.
“That’s better,” Alphonso says as I slip the phone back into my pocket. “My my, Mysti May…you really are a little vixen.”
“You know how it is, Alphie, I can’t help that men keep falling for me.”
He smiles slightly as I slip into using his pet name from when we were together. I had hoped that after I managed to get away from him, I’d never have to see Alphonso again. I, at least, thought he’d be able to get over me after all this time.
But, apparently not.
“Unfortunately for this ‘Norbert’—you’re mine.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Yes, that’s right. Mine and mine alone.” He seems to be talking to himself now, more than to me or my friends, but then his attention suddenly snaps back to us in the doorway, and he smiles like the he is
“And speaking of alone…” Alphonso nods his head toward the girls and lazily motions with the gun to the bathroom door. “Leave us.”
Becky reaches forward to touch my hand reassuringly.
“I won’t repeat myself a third time,” Alphonso says darkly, and from behind the corner, two equally muscular and menacing men approach us all. “Leave us.”
Sammi, Becky, and Percy all walk obediently from the doorway toward the bathroom, followed into the tight space by the two jacked-up bodyguards.
Alphonso and I are totally alone.
“I’ve missed you, Mysti,” he says as he gets up from the chair. He clicks the safety back on his gun but doesn’t holster it just yet. “Do you know how much it’s hurt to be without you?”
“I—I can’t imagine…”
“No, I bet you can’t,” he says, almost coldly, and for a moment I’m taken back to when we married. Alphonso can be incredibly passionate…but when he’s angry, it’s fucking terrifying. There’s nothing like it.
Well, I won’t need divorce papers if I’m dead.
“I thought last night that my gifts,” he motions to the cocaine and roses that are still spread out over the table, “would be enough to win you back. But clearly, I’ve got to work harder.”
As he approaches me, I move to the side. We circle each other like two lions facing off. I’m trying not to back myself into any corners, but the carnage of the hotel suite makes it hard.