Still Waters Run Deep

Chapter 33: The Final Blow

Chapter 33:

The Final Blow

It was his eyes that had given him away. Emily didn't care that he had a death certificate. She didn't care that no one had seen him in years or that he had an obituary that stated his family had a private ceremony celebrating his life by spreading his ashes in his favorite places. She didn't care that the whole town thought he was dead. She knew he was alive. She felt him.

Ever since her first run in with him outside Maurice's bar she'd known, somewhere deep inside there was a deeper reason behind why Del Toro was doing what he was doing. She'd felt that familiar intimacy. When she'd been stabbed she'd realized it was about more than just keeping her quiet. There had always been a familiar personal connection between them.

And now she knew why.

When that gun had been pulled on her she'd looked right at him. She'd looked into those eyes and she was taken right back to the afternoon in the locker room when he'd tried to force himself on her. She'd never forget the madness behind that gaze, like he could just take whatever he wanted. Like she was less than human, just a possession for him to have.

He'd been obsessed with control then. She could only imagine the high he got from having the run of the city. Besides, only Ben would have come up with a stupid ass nickname like Benito Del Toro. She felt like an idiot for not piecing it together sooner.

She was afraid Ali wouldn't believe her, but not only did Ali believe her...she led the charge in trying to find him. She didn't care how crazy the truth sounded. She knew her wife...and she saw the look in Emily's eyes when Emily said his name.

The flash that Ali had seen in Emily's eyes was the terrifying truth. It rattled Emily too much for it to be a mistake. The revelation had shaken Emily so much that her blood pressure and heart rate had nearly sky-rocketed. The thought that Ben Coogan was after her family horrified her.

"Hey, it's okay." Ali grabbed her hand. "He can't hurt us anymore. I won't let him."

Ali had to talk her down from her anxiety attack. Once Emily's stats had stabilized Ali very calmly rubbed her cheek and spoke softly, her tone both even and menacing.

"When I get my hands on him he's a dead man." Not just on paper. When she saw him his death certificate would be authentic. "I will kill him for this, Emily," she uttered, her free hand hovering just over where the bullet had gone into Emily's stomach. "I swear to God he will never hurt our family again."

Emily squeezed Ali's hand, a pained grimace on her face. She was starting to feel the discomfort of her injuries.

"The cops are never going to believe me." Emily sighed.

"Fuck the cops. We have Toby and the girls," Ali replied.

Emily was surprised to hear Ali dismiss the law enforcement so quickly given she'd been begging Emily to let them handle it.

"I thought you wanted them to handle it." Emily frowned in confusion.

Her brain was jumbled, but she certainly remembered Ali giving her hell for not telling the police what was happening. Ali had threatened to leave her over it, which is why it stuck out in Emily's mind like a sore thumb.

Ali shook her head.

"I was wrong. Em, I understand now. I saw what you're dealing with." Ali caressed her arm. She'd seen it firsthand. Emily had all but died in her arms because of how close she was to exposing him. "What he did to you...and to Lily, to us?" Her face reddened in fury. "If we tell the police without evidence to back it up they won't take it seriously. They'll sit on it. And that will give him more time to come back at us. We need solid proof."