Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery Addison Moore (the reading strategies book .txt) 📖

Flo moans, “Oh, I can’t stand Nicole Amaretto!” She floats up to her bestie. “But right about now, I can’t stand you either. Make her admit she did this to me, Lottie, so I can kill her with my bare hands.”

I’m pretty sure the powers that be won’t allow that, but I’ll do as I’m told regardless.

“You wanted Nicky for yourself, didn’t you, Lorena? That night at the Chanterelle Hotel, you saw your opportunity to make that happen. I heard you telling Flo that you were going to protect her from Nicky. You made sure a lot of people heard you say something to the affect that he wouldn’t hurt her anymore. He was hurting her because he was cheating on her, and he was cheating on her with you.”

Lorena bucks as if I shot her.

“And you didn’t stop there. You told Flo that same night that you didn’t play second fiddle to anyone. Not even to Flo. And then you told her that when it came to the Ruthless Witches, you would be number one. Right before you pretended to shoot her with your finger. You wanted Flo’s boyfriend. You wanted her position in the Ruthless Witches, too. You thought it was all going to fall into your lap once you got Flo out of the way, didn’t you?”

“No,” she riots back at me. “I didn’t think that, so you can wipe that smug look off your face. Earlier that night I told Nicky he had to choose—Flo or me. He kept pursuing her even after he started two-timing her. It’s as if he couldn’t get enough of his precious little Angel Face. If Flo found out I was the witch sleeping around with her man, what do you think would have happened to me? And do you know how humiliating it was going to be for Flo to see that I was expecting? And how humiliating for me it would have been that the man I tried to steal, still only had eyes for her? At least at that time he did. I was livid. I couldn’t see straight. You’ve probably never been that angry in your little life. But I was fit to kill. And I wanted both of them dead. Nicky was too quick for me.”

“And what did any of that accomplish?” I shake my head at her.

She shudders with a laugh caught in her throat. “There was a turf war brewing. I was only going to speed things up.”

My mouth falls open. “And you did spur that along, didn’t you? The Canellis and the Lazzaris still think the Morettis were responsible.”

“I don’t know if they do or don’t.” She shakes her head. “But I’ve given them an excuse to go after New Jersey until kingdom come.”

I shake my head. “They never needed any excuses. You killed both your best friend and her unborn child—for what? So you could take her place in this world? So you could be her?”

Lorena takes in a breath as if she were gulping for air.

“So it’s true? Flo was having a kid?”

“That’s right.” I nod.

“No,” she cries out mournfully.

“Yes. And now she’s not only missing out on her kid, she’s missing out on her very next breath. Do the right thing, Lorena. Turn yourself in.”

“The hell I am.” She reaches under the hemline of her thigh-high dress and pulls a gun from a slender pink holster before pointing it right at me. “I’m sorry, Lottie. This is where it ends for you.”

“No!” Flo roars it out as she grabs me by the wrist and yanks me toward the woman. Flo lands my hand right over Lorena’s bare arm “You don’t get to hurt my friend, Lo!”

Lorena inches back as the gun shakes in her hand, but Flo secures my hand to the woman’s shoulder.

“What the hell was that?” Lorena cries out. “How did you do it? How did you sound just like Flo without moving your lips?”

“Because she’s not me, you moron!” Flo growls the words right at her, and I look to Flo in an attempt to knowledge the lunacy transpiring. “How could you?” she shouts. “I gave you everything! If you wanted that cheating jackass of a man so bad, I would have given him to you as well. But you took everything from me!”

“You gave me nothing!” Lorena fires back. “You took the lion’s share of everything in our lives and made sure Donata and I suffered with the leftovers. The only thing that cheered us up about not having you around was the fact that we were finally going to step out of your shadow and make a name for ourselves. This was our shot, and we weren’t going to blow it!”

Their one shot.

So that’s what Flo heard them talking about that day at my bakery. They wanted to step out of her shadow. But one of them stepped in the wrong direction entirely.

“You were greedy and conceited and unstoppably selfish,” Lorena continues. “You didn’t care about anybody but yourself. And now with you gone”—she closes her eyes a moment—“I’m twice the monster you were.”

Flo lunges for the gun. “Run, Lottie!” she cries out as she and Lorena are suddenly struggling for control of the weapon. Flo’s entire being ignites as bright as a hot pink star before her ghostly frame becomes far more transparent by the second.

“Flo!” I cry out just as she dissipates to nothing.

“Don’t worry about me, Lottie,” she says, still struggling with Lorena with every ounce left in her. “I’ve got a kid to get home to. You protect yours. I’ll never forget you.”

“And I’ll never forget you.”

“Lemon!” Everett’s deep voice echoes over the expanse, and just as I turn to look his way, a gunshot goes off.

It feels as if the entire world stills for one horrific moment.

Everett pulls me in and shields himself over my body just as Noah dives past us and tackles Lorena one-handed. Ivy Fairbanks runs out after him