“She’s fine. Treated for minor burns and released a couple of hours ago. I wouldn’t let her in to see you unless she agreed to go home with Jack and get some rest. I also told her there was no way you’d wake up until morning. So it’d be good if you didn’t mention this discussion.”
Mike’s face pulled into a weak smile. “I won’t tell her if you won’t.”
When he opened his eyes again, Sean had taken Quinn’s place in the chair by the bed.
“I’m not going to freak out.”
“So you say.” Sean scooted closer. “But we all remember that panic attack in the ER a few years back. You broke stuff.”
Mike cringed. “Seriously, I can barely lift my head. I don’t need a babysitter.” But having someone by his side didn’t hurt. He was so, so happy to be here instead of dead, but the place still gave him the willies.
“Jack called. He’s bringing Rachel over now. She’s been driving him up the wall since dawn and being a general pain in his ass.”
“So she’s all right.”
“That she is.” Sean snorted. “That is some woman. She literally bashed Gunner’s brains in to protect you. You’d better marry that one ASAP.”
“Plan to.”
Sean laughed. “Those must be good drugs. You didn’t even break a sweat when you said that.”
“Any woman who defends my wounded body with a tree branch is a keeper.”
“Amen.”
“Did Gunner make it?”
“So far.” Sean sounded disgusted. “But he has a serious head injury. Rachel has quite a swing. The doctors don’t know if he’s going to come out of it. The state police detective has been sniffing around. Quinn chased him off, but you’ll have to give a statement.”
“I know.” Worry wormed its way through the drugs. Even if David died, Rachel’s actions were clearly defensive. He’d kidnapped her. He’d tried to kill Mike. There was a clear record of stalking and escalating violence. David was a killer. But Mike wasn’t working the case. He was flat on his back and useless.
Well, damn. Just when he thought he didn’t have anything else to worry about.
Rachel walked in a few minutes later, and Sean ducked out. Watching her cross the room, Mike’s heart doubled in size. Except for a bandaged hand, a few bruises, and a general air of exhaustion, she looked great. Safe. Alive.
His.
Her eyes were misty, and she swiped a hand across her cheek. “I swore I wasn’t going to cry anymore. I don’t think I’ve cried this much in my entire life.”
“Come here.” The tears in her eyes were making him choke up. Mike held out a hand.
She took it gingerly. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Everything but the leg is fine.” Mike tugged her closer.
She leaned down and kissed him, then laid her head on his hospital-gowned chest. “I was so afraid.”
Mike untangled his IV line from her hair and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s over. He can’t hurt you again.”
“No, I meant I was afraid I was going to lose you.” She shuddered against him. “I love you.”
Mike stroked her hair. “I love you too. When David had you, I could barely function.”
“But you did, and you found me. But let’s not do any more of that, OK?” she said against his throat. “Let’s just be nice and boring from now on.”
“Good idea.” But Mike honestly didn’t think life with Rachel would ever be boring. He kissed the top of her head. “Are you going to be able to live with what you did?”
“You mean if he dies?”
“Yeah.”
“I watched him stab you. He tried to burn my horses alive.” She picked up her head. Anger lit her eyes. “Yeah, I’m good with it. Though I might have nightmares that I didn’t hit him hard enough.”
Mike coughed. Pain shot through his leg. The drugs were wearing thin. “The state police detective is going to want a statement. When he does, you might want to express that a little differently. Remorse would be good. Feel free to cry some more.”
She made a disgusted noise that sounded disturbingly like Sean. “Jack already lectured me at breakfast. Then he arranged for his lawyer to go with me at ten.”
Thank you, Jack.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up.” She sniffed and straightened. “I didn’t want to leave last night, but I was handily manipulated by Quinn.”
“It’s a sign of affection. He only bullies people he cares about.”
She smoothed the thin blanket over his chest. “Did Sean tell you my house isn’t habitable?”
“No. But I saw the firemen hosing it down last night.”
“The roof needs to be replaced, among other things. It’s going to take a few weeks to get it repaired.”
“Move in with me,” Mike said with no hesitation.
“With my sister and her girls?”
“Would be kind of tight.” Besides, he was done with the sleeping on the couch thing. But he also noticed she hadn’t turned him down. He was lying in a hospital bed, the pain growing in his leg was enough to drop a rhino, and he was happier than he’d ever been in his life. “We’ll work something out.”
Jack stuck his head in the door. “Can I talk to Mike for a minute?”
Rachel slipped out into the hall. The tightening of Mike’s chest had nothing to do with his injury.
Jack approached the bed, arms crossed over his chest. “OK, now that you can’t run away, tell me why you’ve been avoiding me.”
Mike looked down at the waffle weave white blanket. “It was my fault Beth was nearly killed.”
Jack’s face scrunched into a what-the-hell expression. “Your fault? Why would you think that?”
“I should’ve known. He was murdering women right under my nose. How did I miss that? How could I talk to him and not know what he was?”
“Mike, you can’t blame yourself.” Jack put a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “None of us knew. In the twenty years I worked homicide, do you think I caught every killer? Not even close. So get that thought right out of your head. That’s too much responsibility for anyone to carry.”
Tension eased out of Mike. “Thanks for taking care of Rachel and her sister and the girls. It has to be bedlam over there.”
“Yeah, but it’s a comfortable sort of chaos. Last year I was a cranky bachelor who lived for the job. Today, I’m living with two seniors, three women, four kids, and two dogs—and I’m getting married next week.” Jack’s face stretched into a wide grin. “You’re all welcome to stay as long as you need to. We have plenty of room.” He glanced at his watch. “I’d better get Rachel over to the state police station so she can get this statement out of the way.”
“I’m a little worried about that.”
Jack nodded in understanding. “I talked with the state detective who’s handling the case. Seems Gunner’s place is quite the treasure trove. He’s been spying on people since he was just a kid. Started with stills, thousands of them. Recently he progressed to video surveillance. He installed hidden webcams inside the vents of Vince and Tanya Mitchell’s house, with live streaming. In addition to videos of Tanya showering and doing the nasty with old Vince, Gunner had some audios that sure sound like Vince making deals with Lawrence Harmon. Mitchell and Harmon are both under investigation right now. Plus, Gunner’s facing kidnapping charges and two counts of murder. Will Martin died overnight.”
A nurse hustled into the room, checked Mike’s wristband, and injected something into his IV.
Relief ebbed through Mike, or maybe it was just the pain medicine. Whatever it was, he was too tired to fight it. “I appreciate this, Jack.”
“She’ll be fine,” Jack continued. “She didn’t do anything wrong, and my lawyer’s going to be there.”
“Thanks for that. She can be…difficult.”
“You got a live one, that’s for sure.”
A week later, Mike eased his bulk out of the passenger seat of Sean’s SUV. Pain shot up his
leg as he hopped onto the concrete apron in front of the community center. He winced and leaned on the open door.
Sean was already at the curb with a pair of metal crutches. “Are you sure you’re up for this? You’ve only been out of the hospital for two days.”
Which Mike had spent sleeping and hobbling around Jack’s place. Rachel was recuperating there as well. “Nancy said I should be here. Something must be up.”
“If Quinn finds out I brought you here, he’s gonna kill me.”
Mike tucked the crutches under his arms. “He’s working tonight.”
“Yeah, but he has spies everywhere. It’s not healthy to piss off my brother. He’s liable to misplace the lidocaine just when I need it.” Sean scanned the overflowing parking lot and vehicle-lined street. People were pouring into the community center from every direction. “Something’s definitely up.”
Rachel and Sarah got out of the back and joined them on the sidewalk. Rachel took her place at his side as they started up the walk.
“I’ll go park.” But as Sean turned to his SUV, Troy Mitchell came out of the building. Wide-eyed, he stopped dead and stared at the group on the sidewalk.
“Shit.” Troy pivoted and took a running step in the opposite direction.
Sean grabbed him by the back of the collar. “What did you do?”
Troy stiffened. “Nothing. Let go of me.”
“Why did you try to run away?” Sean lifted him onto his toes.
“Get your hands off me.” Troy pointed at Sarah. “I haven’t been anywhere near her. You can railroad my old man, but I am not going to prison.”
Mike looked closer. Troy’s eyes were clear. His clothes were clean. Most importantly, he didn’t stink like booze.
“I haven’t missed a single AA meeting or been to the bar or done anything else my lawyer says I shouldn’t,” Troy bristled. “Whatever Will did, he did on his own. I had nothing to do with it, and you can’t prove otherwise.”
Sean pulled him closer. “Troy, if you ever bother her again, prison will be the least of your worries.”
Sean let go, and Troy race-walked away.
“He’s sober.” Rachel’s eyes narrowed with distrust as she watched Troy’s departure. “I hope he stays that way.”
“Me too.” Sarah was smiling.
Rachel grabbed her sister’s arm. “You’re not—”
“Definitely not,” Sarah blurted out. “But it would be better for the girls if their father weren’t a drunk.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can find a place to park.” Sean stepped into his vehicle.
Mike moved toward the entrance. Rachel opened the door for him. Inside, town residents packed the main meeting room to standing-room-only.
“Chief! Over here.” Three men vacated their seats in the back row. Mike’s face heated at the attention, but he let people herd him toward a seat. More tired than he wanted to be, he eased into it gratefully. Somebody took his crutches. Someone else pushed a chair in front of him. “Better get that leg up.”
Rachel slid into the chair next to him, with Sarah on her other side.
A gavel banged at the front of the room. Chairs scraped on the wood floor, and voices hushed as the crowd took their seats, giving Mike his first view of the front of the room. Fred was at the podium. Behind him, three members of the town council sat at the long table. Vince’s seat was conspicuously empty. Herb and Frank were grinning. Lee slouched miserably over a piece of paper.
A hand landed on Mike’s shoulder. He glanced up to see Sean standing behind him.
Up front, the mayor cleared his throat. “I’m distressed to report that Councilman Mitchell was arrested this morning on multiple counts of fraud and accepting bribes.”
Excited murmurs rose from the audience.
“Tell us something we don’t know,” someone yelled over the noise.
“Yeah, Fred. Like what’s going to happen with the Lost Lake project?”
People went silent. All eyes turned back to the mayor.
Mike rubbed his aching thigh, just above the thick bandage. Quinn was right again. Mike should be taking it easy, not sitting in on a long-winded town meeting. On the bright side, his gut was burn-free. His ulcer had already responded to the lack of stress and the handful of pills he was swallowing twice a day.
Fred sagged. “Lawrence Harmon was also arrested this morning. I have no idea what’s going to happen to the development project at this time.”
The din swelled to a crescendo.
Fred banged his gavel again, but the crown ignored him. Two people pushed their way through the crowd to the front of the room. Mike grinned as Nancy and Phyllis nudged Fred out of the way.
Nancy plucked the gavel out of Fred’s hands and brought it down on the podium with authority.
Phyllis took the microphone. “Settle down.” She waited for the crowd to quiet. “Fred can’t be expected to know what’s going to happen with the project yet, but there are several matters that he should be addressing.” She paused for effect, scanning the crowd with clear gray eyes. “Like why he suspended the police chief who has served this town for more than a decade.”
Mike’s hand froze on his leg. Did he hear what he thought he heard?
Nancy pulled a sheaf of papers from a portfolio and raised her glasses from where they rested at the end of their chain. She leaned over the mic. “We have here a petition signed by over five hundred residents, calling for town council to rescind Chief O’Connell’s suspension.”
Applause and whistles broke out. Phyllis tapped on the microphone. The noise level dropped. “We’d have more names if we weren’t in such a rush.”
Stunned, Mike shut his gaping mouth. Rachel squeezed his hand and wiped a tear from her eye. He glanced over his shoulder and gave Sean a questioning look. Sean shook his head, as if he had no idea what was going on either.
Nancy held the microphone toward the mayor. Fred’s mouth opened and closed like a skinny trout. “There will be an immediate inquiry—”
“Can it, Fred.” Nancy straightened her cardigan. “The whole thing was obviously orchestrated by Vince so he could get away with the very things he was just arrested for doing.”
Phyllis tapped her sensible, low-heeled shoe on the worn wood floor. “We need Michael, Fred, much more than we need you.”
Fred’s face reddened, but he didn’t attempt to argue the point. He walked around to the back of the table, where the three remaining council members had their heads together. A minute later, Herb Duncan jumped out of his chair and practically soft-shoed to the podium. He hugged Nancy and Phyllis. “The town council unanimously votes to offer Chief O’Connell both our profound apologies and his job.”
The crowd surged to its feet. People around Mike turned and offered hands and congratulations. Sean planted himself next to Mike’s injured leg.
Herb’s voice boomed over the speakers. “Mike, you take as long as you need to heal up. Your job’ll be waiting whenever you’re ready.”
Chapter Thirty
A few days later, Rachel sat next to Mike on the sloping back lawn of Jack’s estate. Their joined hands rested on her thigh, their fingers interlaced. Mike’s leg was propped on a cushioned chair. A cool breeze rustled through the trees and sent fallen leaves tumbling across the rolling green grass.
Jack and Beth exchanged vows in a quiet ceremony. Rachel highly approved of the lack of froufrou. Beth was lovely in an ivory dress that skimmed her barely rounded belly and fell to just above her knees, Jack tall and handsome in a dark suit with Quinn at his side. Their I-dos were punctuated by the pop of corks from bottles of sparkling apple cider and champagne.
Everyone moved toward the paver patio, where the caterers were passing glasses around.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sappy lately.” Rachel wiped her eyes and held Mike’s crutches while he got to his feet. He didn’t say anything, but his face tensed with pain. “Do you want to go inside and rest for a while?”
“No, I’m ti
red of lying around, especially when all I can do is lie around.”
“I know. The whole recovery process stinks.” She slowed her steps to match his pace. “But you need the rest.”
He leaned down, whispering in her ear, “Come with me, just for a couple of minutes.”
She followed him past a horde of screaming kids and barking dogs. “You shouldn’t be on that leg for long. Quinn will have your hide.”
“Quinn will be fine with it. The therapist said I could start putting some weight on it.” At the rear of the house, Mike gestured to the golf cart Jack used to get around the huge property. Rachel hiked up the skirt of her black fancy all-occasion dress and hopped into the driver’s seat.
“Move over.” Mike nudged her. “I can manage a golf cart.”
“But should you?”
“Just move over. We’re not going far.”
She slid across the bench seat. Mike stowed his crutches and climbed behind the wheel. He drove down the path to the barn. Horses grazed in the pasture, placidly swatting flies in the warmth of the autumn sun.
“It’s pretty here.” She sighed.
“So is your place.” Mike got out and repositioned the crutches.
“My barn is a pile of rubble and my house needs a complete renovation.”
“That can be done.” He swung toward the barn.
Walking on her toes so her heels didn’t sink into the soft dirt, she followed him. “The insurance money should cover the barn. I’ll be lucky to get a new roof on the house. But it’ll do.”
Mike led her inside the cool building.
“Why are we here?”
“I wanted to get you alone, and I wanted to show you something.” Mike stopped in front of a stall. Straw rustled inside.
Rachel took a tentative step forward. “Beth’s horses are outside.”
“They are.”
It couldn’t be. He didn’t.
Lady stuck her graceful head over the half-door and nickered.
He did.
The waterworks started up again as Rachel stroked the mare’s forehead. “How did you—?”
“Wasn’t easy. Blake refused to sell her to me.” Were Mike’s blue eyes misty? “The bill of sale is actually in your name.”
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