A/N: Thanks for reading. Enjoy!
"You're saying Rachel and Leila are both dead?", Bryant asks Christian after Christian's told us about two bodies being found in Leila's hotel room.
"I'm saying it's possible. There's no concrete proof it's them, but there' no proof it's not. Those two are so cunning it's possible they could have set the entire thing up by placing two look alikes in the room." I can barely get all my thoughts and questions in order.
"It could have been anyone.", I say. "Neither of them were the best people. They had more foes than friends." Two people I know for certain that didn't kill them, Christian and I. We wanted them out of our lives, but resorting to murder isn't in our nature. One possible person could be the other person in the office, Bryant. Christian, reading my mind, turns to Bryant who has gone pale.
"Are you ok?", Christian asks.
"I'm in shock. Rachel had changed into a person who I didn't recognize anymore. She was vindictive and just downright evil. Now she's dead." He catches the look Christian between Christian and I. "You don't think I did it, do you?"
"Bryant, I don't want to think you did it, but you did say you saw Rachel last night.", I answer.
"And she was alive when she left my place. What happened after she left is unknown to me. If we're going to be naming possible suspects, what about you Christian? You had a past with Leila whose teaming up with Rachel, another thorn in your side, made you afraid for yourself and Ana. Maybe you paid them a visit in an attempt to get them to back off. Things could have gotten heated, and before you knew it, they were dead.", Bryant says.
"Christian didn't kill anyone. He was with me last night."
"How convenient. Ana, I never thought I would think this, but what about you? Your stress could have caused you to snap."
"Would you listen to yourself?", Christian snarls. "You're accusing the woman who you were once hopelessly in love with of murder. You know damn well Ana doesn't have malicious bone in her body. The room was registered to a guy named Timothy Erickson. He and Leila met on the plane from New York to Seattle. Leila said they had a thing going on. He could be the one who did it. One key element in this is security footage which the hotel likely has. It would show anyone who came and went into that room." Bryant's face doesn't change with this tidbit. "I'm taking Ana back home so she can rest." Christian helps me to my feet and turns back to Bryant. "If I hear anything, I'll let you know."
"Same here. Ana, take care of yourself.", Bryant says before padding out of the room.
"I still believe it's odd Rachel paid him a visit on what may have been the night she died."
"He could be telling the truth, and their deaths might not have taken place until today."
"Do I need to feed you myself?" Christian places a fork full of salad on his fork and waves it in front of my mouth. To play along and make him happy, I accept the bite. "There you go." I notice the whispering and giggling from the two elderly women at the table next to us in Canlis.
"We're drawing attention.", I mutter.
"They're just jealous.", he replies with a smirk. "You suggested this place, yet you've barely touched your food. I want to know just as much as you do about what happened at the hotel, but not eating isn't going to help. You and the baby need nutrients."
"We need a name." I take over and start feeding myself. "Have you got any in mind?"
"No, but I don't a weird name. You see some people naming their kids odd names. That's not going to be us. Are there any you like?"
"I've always kind of liked the name Oliver." Christian takes a drink of his water and seems to be thinking about the name. "But it's just one name out a zillion. We have plenty of time to decide on one."
"I like..no...I love the name Oliver. We can put it at the top of the list."
"We might end up loving other names."
"Names?!", we hear Mia shriek. Christian and I were too busy with our conversation that we didn't see her come into the restaurant. The elderly women next to us directed their stares to Mia. She winces apologetically. "Sorry." Grabbing the chair next to me, she places her hands in her lap and starts acting like a kid anticipating Santa. "I heard the word names which makes me wonder if you already know if the baby is a boy or a girl."
"We don't know.", Christian answers with a straight face. "Ana and I were just discussing how we're going to start a list of possible names for a boy or a girl."
"There are many, many names we could choose.", I shrug.
"How are you feeling today? You've been getting some rest, haven't you?" Christian called our family yesterday after we returned from the doctor's office. He assured each of them both the baby and I are fine but in need of rest.
"I'm feeling better than I was, and yes, I've been resting."
"Besides eavesdropping on us, what are you up to?", Christian asks.
"I've been running errands for mom and dad. They along with everyone else have been supportive after the Will debacle so I volunteered to pick up dry cleaning, go to the post office, etc. My last stop is here where I'm going grabbing some lunch to go." Mia's another person who had a disdain for Rachel. Christian and I glance at each other as the mood darkens. "Ok what's with the serious faces?"
"Two women were found murdered in a room at the Edgewater. It's believed one of them is Rachel.", Christian replies.
"Who was the other one?"
"Possibly a woman named Leila Williams. She and Rachel were old friends. You're probably going to find out anyway, but I also had a past with her." Mia raises a brow, comprehending how Christian knew Leila. Thankfully, the women at the other table have now left, and the remaining tables around us are empty. "Yeah in that way."
"A woman from your past happened to be friends with a woman from Ana's past and present." Mia starts rubbing the sides of her head. "Man. This is a tangled web."
"We don't think Rachel's meeting Will was an accident. We're fairly certain it was a set-up.", I tell her.
"Set up or not, he still cheated. Are those two what caused your blood pressure to rise?"
"Partly." Mia clenches the tablecloth.
"I could kill them." Instant regret over her choice of wording hits. "I didn't mean I would actually kill them. Rachel helped end my relationship, but I wouldn't stoop to murder.", she stammers. "You guys know I wouldn't really hurt someone like that."
"Mia, you would never.", Christian assures her. "But Will might." I try and go back to my food, but my appetite has greatly diminished.
"I get Will's public enemy number one in your eyes, but he's not a violent guy."
"I'm only stating the possibility."
"Ana, wake up.", a voice demands. I recognize the voice...Rachel. No. She can't be here. She's dead. I ease my eyes open and see not only her but Leila standing next to the bed. Sinister grins are splashed on their faces. "Did you have a good nap?" I sit up in the bed and look around the room for any sign of Christian. When I laid down, he said he was going to make some calls. I try to get to my feet, but I'm quickly pushed back on to the bed by Leila.
"Where are you going?", Leila asks. Seeing my mouth open, she covers it with her hand. "Don't even think about screaming. If you do, we'll kill you."
"I thought we were anyway.", Rachel says.
"We are, but we'll kill her sooner. Plus, you don't want us to have to hurt Christian. I know for one don't want him hurt especially since I'm planning on being with him once you're out of the way." I look past her and to the shiny object Rachel's waving around. She smirks and steps closer with the knife.
"Please don't.", I beg. "Don't hurt me. Don't hurt my baby."
"You mean the little oopsie Christian made with you? He and I will have our own baby, and he'll forget all about knocking you up. He'll forget you all together."
"He sure will.", Rachel chimes. "If there's any one to blame for this, it's you. Ana, you're the one who's making us do this. I was happy with Bryant, but he was stupid and couldn't get over you. Then I find out you had also ruined Leila's chance for Christian. Bryant and Christian are going to open their eyes and see we're the ones for them."
"No. Christian will never be with you.", I snarl at Leila. "I'm the one who he's in love with. You're nothing to him." Leila throws her head back towards Rachel.
"I changed my mind. Let's kill her now." Rachel nods and steps closer to the bed. The knife is getting closer and closer to my body.
"No! Leave me alone! Get away!"
"Ana, baby, wake." Christian. He's here. My eyes flash open to find him next to me on the bed. I struggle to get my erratic breathing under control.
"They were here. Leila and Rachel were in the room." I sit up and only see him.
"You were having a nightmare. They're not here. The only ones in the room are the three of us."
"It felt so real. Maybe it's a sign that they're not really dead." He pushes my hair from my face, cupping my chin. "You look like you're about to tell me something important. I was right. They're alive."
"No. They're not. Welch has a contact at the police department. The police got hold of the hotel's security footage. They saw Leila and Rachel go into Leila's room with Timothy Erickson. The only person to leave the room was Timothy Erickson. Also, a couple across the hall heard what sounded like arguing, but when the guy went to see, he was told by Erickson that he and his girlfriend had a movie on. The guy believed it. The police went to Erickson's office and questioned him. He tried to say he wasn't in the room, but the police informed him about the security footage. They noticed he had what appeared to be scratches on his face. He started sweating bullets and confessed to killing both Leila and Rachel. The three of them were having a three-way, but he saw Leila and Rachel seemed to be more into each other than him. He tied Leila to the bed and gagged her, but Rachel got upset and started scratching at him. That pissed him off so he grabbed her by the neck and started choking her. She fell to the floor just as Leila got free. She tried to run for the door, but he got her and started banging her head on the floor until she was dead." Hearing how Leila and Rachel died is jarring.
"They can't bother us anymore."