Chapter 43: A jealous Ex

Chapter Forty Three
What’s going on?” I ask in a small voice. “What happened?”
He takes a deep breath.
“Well, let’s start at the beginning. You knew that man, right? The one on the stretcher who was wailing and screaming? He’s your ex-boyfriend, right?”
I blink a few times.
“Yes, that’s Vinnie. We came up to the cabin together, but as I mentioned, we broke up and he took off. What was he doing back on the mountain?”
Xander sighs, shoving a hand through his hair and leaving the black strands ruffled.
“Well, it seems that Duke had a change of heart after leaving you handcuffed and alone in the cabin. He decided that he was going to be the hero. So he turned tail and came back to the cabin to allegedly ‘save you.’ I guess he thought he was going to find you still handcuffed, and begging to be released.”
I stare at him.
“But by then, you’d come,” I say in a slow voice.
Xander nods grimly.
“Yes. I’d arrived by then, and it seems that when Duke peered in through the window, he saw us. Making love,”Xander clarifies. “I was going at it hard, and you were moaning up a storm, which made him see red.”
I stare at my man, still trying to process this turn of events.
“We were enjoying each other intensely,” I acknowledge. “But that hardly seems to justify murder. What happened next?”
Xander sighs.
“Well, it seems that our lovemaking set him off. He totally lost it and rushed back down the mountain to his own place before grabbing a gun that he keeps in a safe. Then he came back, and you already know what happened next. He started taking shots at us.”
I squint.
“All because I’d moved on? That’s hardly a reason for homicide!”
Xander shrugs.
“I’d say it’s a very good reason, if you ask me.”
But I shake my head vigorously.
“No, Duke broke up with me! If anything, he was happy that the relationship was done.”
Xander merely shakes his head once more.
“The heart is a fickle thing, sweetheart. Nonetheless, he wasn’t prepared to see you going at it hard with a new lover, and he lost it.”
I nod.
“Right. But then why is he the one with the wound?”
Xander expression goes grim then.
“Because after I left you in the kitchen, I made my way to the bedroom where I keep my hunting rifles. I pulled one out, and took a shot at the antagonist. I blew his knee out,” he says matter-of-factly.
My eyes go wide.
“You did?”
Xander nods, his expression grim.
“I wanted to kill him, but decided to let God handle that instead. No, I just maimed him.”
With that, I sit back, blinking as my heart races. Holy shit! I just had two men dueling over me in the woods, and unlike a romance novel, it doesn’t make me feel good. Instead, I just wish it had never happened.
“So what’s next?” I ask in a low voice.
Xander sighs, suddenly looking very, very tired.
“Your ex is obviously psychologically unstable. And honestly, I don’t know what law enforcement is going to do with him.”
I shake my head.
“I know but still. I mean, shooting at someone—anyone, even an ex-girlfriend—is totally insane, and completely unacceptable no matter the circumstances.” I shake my head, frowning. I really spent three months of my life with that lunatic? How did I not know that Vinnie was so far off the reservation? After all, I was aware that the optometrist was an unlikable, disrespectful, pathetic man-child who didn’t know how to use the member between his legs, but I didn’t know that he was plain batshit crazy. How did I miss that?
“I know, sweetheart,” Xander sighs. “But—”
His words are cut off as the door bursts open, revealing Addy. Her brown curls are flying and her cheeks pink.
“Oh my God, are you alright?” she asks, darting inside, bubbling with nervous energy. “I came as soon as I heard.”
My eyes widen because it looks like Sassys been crying up a storm, given her swollen eyes and puffy face. But my buddy barrels forward.
“What happened?” she demands breathlessly. “Is everything okay? Are you both alright? What the hell is going on?”
I look at Xander as my mouth opens. Oh no. Now the shit’s hit the fan, and I don’t know what to say. Do we tell Sassy everything? Is there any way to water down the relationship, or somehow make it seem less damning than it is? But how would we do that, seeing that there’s already been an active shooter incident, with Duke no less?
Xander glances at me and I can tell he’s torn about what to do. He clears his throat and stands.
“Sassy , sweetheart, we’re so glad you’re here. As you know, Janelle and I went through a crazy incident together up at the hunting cabin. But we’re fine,” he says in a firm tone. “No one’s hurt and we’re both totally fine.”