Landon (In Safe Hands Book 1)

by S. M. Shade

  His granddaughter had been abducted, raped and killed when she was ten years old. Though her murderer is spending his life behind bars, Jed realized there were many who weren’t. And that the government kept a nice little hit list for him. Once he found out who we are and what we do, he was more than happy to help in a way that won’t cost him his freedom.

  We chat for a bit before Justus turns to me. “Better get going if you’re going to make the drive back before your coach turns into a pumpkin.”

  “You’re funny as a fuck in church.” I shake Jed’s hand and promise to stop by without a body in tow sometime, and head to my car.

  I’m nervous on the drive home, even though there’s no visible blood on me. I’ve seen enough crime shows to know there’s always transfer between a body and the person toting it around. The sky is just beginning to lighten when I pull into my garage.

  Stripping off all my clothes, I build a fire in the fireplace and toss them in before taking a long hot shower. I fall into bed and inhale the light scent of lemon. Zoe is using a new fabric softener and it smells wonderful. Almost as good as her. Fuck, what would she think if she knew how I’d spent my night? No wonder none of the guys from ISH can maintain a relationship.

  I wake with Zoe still on my mind. I’ve never even considered a relationship before, but after knowing Zoe for only a month, the thought is a lot less ominous. I don’t know what it is about her that makes me want to tell her things I don’t tell anyone. It’s probably a good thing she has a boyfriend, though I’ve never heard her mention him.

  I’ve barely slept, the sun is still high in the sky, taunting me with everything I can’t have. It’s on days like this, when I wake early and restlessly pace the house with nothing to do, that I really feel different. Finally, I decide to head to the basement game room to shoot around on the pool table. It’s one of the few rooms I’ve kept relatively clean, since the guys sometimes come over to play pool.

  It doesn’t distract me from thoughts of Zoe. If I told her about me and what I do, would she understand? Would she run screaming at my limitations and the fact that I’m technically a criminal? Good idea or not, I know I’m getting closer and closer to saying fuck it, and telling her everything, including how much I want her, and not just in my bed.

  Chapter Five

  Zoe

  Ethan dives on my bed on Monday morning, nearly bouncing me out of it. “Wake up!”

  “What?” I groan.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks, his voice filled with joy.

  I fight to focus my eyes on the paper he’s waving in front of me. “About what?”

  “Driver’s education! You paid the fee? I can really go?”

  Smiling, I roll over. “Yep. Learn to be a careful driver and we’ll put you on my insurance.”

  “I have to start saving for my own car!” he cries, bounding out of the room.

  “No working during the school year!” I call after him, but he’s already on his phone, telling anyone who’ll listen that he’s getting his license. It’s good to see him so happy. Things have been better for both of us since I’m making more money. It’s not enough to afford rent in a better area, but I don’t have to eat peanut butter for a week to make sure Ethan has food. Always a plus.

  I’ve been able to get us both some badly needed clothes, buy Ethan a new pair of glasses, and get our teeth cleaned. It’s amazing the things you have to neglect when it’s a choice between health and food. The future is looking better, so I should’ve expected the phone call that drags us right back to the past.

  My caller ID shows the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and I’m sure it’s a wrong number until the man asks, “Is this Ms. Zoe Page?”

  “Um…yes, I’m Zoe.”

  “Ms. Page, I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but there’s been an accident.” Cold fear trickles down my spine. Ethan is in the next room. I can hear him. Who could they be calling me about?

  “Who? What happened?” I stammer, shutting my bedroom door.

  “I’m afraid your parents were in an auto accident last night. The EMT’s and doctors did all they could, but their injuries were too grave.”

  My heart thumps against my ribs. “Are you telling me they’re dead?”

  “Yes, Ms. Page. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  The sheriff gives me the number to the county morgue. I barely hear what he’s telling me until he repeats himself. “We need someone to come down and ID the bodies, Ms. Page.”

  “I-the morgue?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I have the number and address for you.”

  After taking down the information, I hang up and flop onto the bed. I don’t know how to feel. They hated me. They hated Ethan. But they were our parents. Shouldn’t I be crying? Shouldn’t I be feeling something other than shock?

  They have no other family, so like it or not, planning the funerals falls on me. Maybe I should just call their preacher. He’s the one they’d want handling things, not me. A stubborn hurt part of me just can’t make that call. He’s the one who told them to rid themselves of their evil children.

  They forced me to go to church, and I complied until I turned eighteen. When I told them I wasn’t going to go anymore, that I didn’t believe the same as them, they kicked me out. I had nothing but a part time job, not even a real high school diploma since they homeschooled me. If it hadn’t been for a local homeless shelter, I’d have been on the street. They gave me a place to stay, paid for me to get my GED and helped me find a full time job. Four years later, they repeated their actions with Ethan when he came out.

  Suddenly, I’m pissed. How dare they do all that to us then expect me to do anything for them? Dead or alive. Maybe they had a will. I know what lawyer they use. Hopefully, they’ve left instructions for someone else to handle everything. After a quick internet search, I leave a message at their lawyer’s office.

  “Bye, Zo!” Ethan calls from the living room as he leaves for school.

  “Be careful!” I shout, my usual parting words to him. He’s having a good day. There’s no reason to tell him yet. He’s been through enough, and I can deal with this.

  I’m still sitting on my bed, my mind running a thousand miles per minute when Frannie knocks on the door. “I’m coming in, hooker! I got to pee!” Her key rattles in the lock and I hear her use the hall bathroom before she hunts me down.

  “Zo?” She peeks in the room and sees me curled up on the bed. “Shit, what’s wrong?”

  “They’re dead. I can’t fucking believe it, Fran, but they’re dead.”

  Her eyes widen and she sits beside me. “Who’s dead?”

  “My parents, both of them.”

  “What? What happened?”

  “Car crash. A cop called. I have to ID the bodies. Ethan doesn’t know. I have to call in to work. Miss school, I guess,” I babble until she wraps her arms around me.

  “Slow down, girl. One thing at a time. Are you okay?”

  Shame colors my cheeks. “I am. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am.”

  “There’s no way you should or shouldn’t feel, especially given what they did to you and Ethan. When are you supposed to identify them?”

  “I don’t know. I have to call,” I reply with a sigh, picking up the phone again. The receptionist at the county morgue explains in a soft voice that I can come in anytime today, then they can release the bodies to the funeral home. As soon as I disconnect the call, the phone rings in my hand. It’s the lawyer.

  “Ms. Page, I’m very sorry to hear about your loss,” he says.

  “Thank you. I know you handled a few things for them, and I thought they may have a will I’m unaware of.”

  Frannie brings me a glass of water while I’m talking, then starts digging in my closet. “Yes, I have a will they filed about eight years ago. If you’d like to come in, we can go over it, but it’s not really necessary. As their oldest child, they left everything to you. I have the insurance company’s information as well, so you can
contact them and file a claim for the life insurance.”

  “They had life insurance?”

  I can hear the ruffling of papers. “Yes, ma’am. Two policies, one for five hundred thousand dollars that lists you as a beneficiary and one for two hundred fifty thousand that goes to your brother, Ethan Page. Assuming they didn’t let the policy’s lapse, of course.”

  Now I know I’m fucking dreaming. Laughter bubbles up from my chest and I toss the phone aside, letting the hysterics take over. “Shit,” Fran mumbles, which just makes me laugh harder.

  She snatches up the phone and says, “I’m sorry, Zoe can’t continue right now. She’ll have to call back.” A pause, and then. “Yes, yes, I understand. Thank you.” She scribbles something on a piece of paper before hanging up.

  Tears pour down my face as I choke off the laughter. “I’m sorry, but he said we were inheriting seven hundred fifty thousand dollars!” I collapse into giggles again. “Isn’t that ridiculous? It’s a mistake. They wouldn’t leave us shit.”

  Frannie hugs me, then hands me a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. “Get dressed, hon. We’ll figure it out. The lawyer gave me the insurance info. All we have to do is call and check.”

  I pull myself together and get dressed, choosing to put off dealing with the insurance company until later. I’m sure there’s nothing there anyway. They made the will before they disowned us, so I’m sure we inherited the house, and if I sell it I can at least get us out of this apartment. First things first, the morgue.

  Frannie accompanies me back to the sterile room that smells strongly of chemicals. They give me the choice to view on a screen, but I need to see them, really see them and know it’s real. It still doesn’t feel real, even when a man in a white coat leads me into the room where they lie on two gurneys, only their faces uncovered. I haven’t seen them in almost five years, but they haven’t changed much. The coroner has done his best to clean them up, but the blood crusted wound on my mother’s forehead sends a sick spike through my stomach.

  My father looks like he’s just taking a nap, like he did every Sunday after church. “How did they die?” I ask, surprised at the flat tone of my voice.

  “Mrs. Page had a head injury. Mr. Page’s chest was crushed. Both died on impact. They didn’t suffer,” the man in the white coat assures me.

  “Thank you.” After signing a paper, he tells me they will be released to the funeral home of my choice and hands me a paper bag with their personal belongings. Shit. I don’t know what funeral home. I mumble the first one that comes to mind. It was right down the street from our house growing up.

  “I’ll have them picked up. Just contact the funeral home to make the arrangements.”

  “Thank you.”

  Frannie drives us to a small diner. “I’m really not hungry,” I tell her.

  “You need to eat something. You skipped breakfast and it’s past lunchtime.”

  I manage to choke down most of a turkey sandwich while Frannie stares at me like I might burst into flames. “I’m okay, really. Just a little overwhelmed. Thanks for going with me.”

  “Do you want to pick Ethan up from school?”

  “No, I’ll tell him when he gets home. I should email my professors though, and let them know I won’t be in today.”

  “You need to tell them you won’t be in this week, Zo. You have to deal with the funeral and a lot of little things you don’t realize yet,” she says softly.

  Nodding, I compose a short email saying I’ve had a death in the family and won’t be attending classes. After sending it, I look up at Frannie. “I guess I need to call Landon, too, but I’m not taking off a week. I can’t afford it.” She gazes at me when I let out a long sigh.

  “What?”

  “I don’t want to talk to him. He’s going to be all sorry for me, and I just can’t take it right now.”

  The phone is plucked from my hand and she lays a finger across her lips as she dials him. “Landon? Hi, this is Frannie, Zoe’s friend? She won’t be coming to work today. Her parents have been killed in an accident.” Her eyes widen, and I wish I could hear his side of the conversation. “She doesn’t feel like talking at the moment, but she’s fine. She has a lot to take care of right now.”

  After listening for a moment, her face hardens. “No, you don’t need to speak with her. I told you, she’s not up to it. Don’t be a dick. When she has taken care of her family matters, she’ll be back to wash your dirty laundry.” She presses end and hands me back the phone.

  A snort of laughter escapes me, which just makes me laugh harder. I can just picture his face at her words. “You’re such a lady,” she says, making me giggle again.

  “What did he say? Was he insisting I come in?”

  “No, just insisting on talking to you.”

  “Oh.” I take a sip of my drink and check my phone. “Ethan will be out of school soon. I should be home when he gets there.”

  I flop into my recliner as soon as I get home. It’s early afternoon. Why am I so exhausted? Frannie disappears into my bedroom and emerges with the paper she was writing on earlier. “These are the two companies that hold the life insurance policies. I know you think there isn’t any money, but you need to find out before we go to the funeral home. They’ll want to know how you intend to pay.”

  My phone beeps with a text from Ethan that says he’s going to Colin’s for dinner. Sighing, I take the paper. No time like the present, I guess. The first company puts me on hold and I glance at the clock, suddenly realizing Frannie is late for work.

  “Frannie, you’re late. You’d better go.”

  She looks at me like I told her to run naked through the yard. “I called in. I’m not leaving you alone.”

  “I’m fine, Fran, really. Don’t miss work.”

  “I’m going to the funeral home with you. So shut up.” She throws a pillow at me.

  “I love you,” I tell her.

  “Love you too, girl.”

  Finally, my call is taken by a man who sounds bored to death. I give him my parents name and the policy numbers they put into their will and he puts me on hold again. When he comes back, his Ben Stein voice drones in my ear. “Okay, we’re going to need you to fax the death certificates and we’ll process the claim within two weeks.”

  Surprise makes me sit forward in my seat. “So, they did have a policy?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Benefits are payable to Zoe Page in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars.”

  The phone hits the floor and Frannie jumps to her feet. “Zo! You’re white as a republican. What did they say?” She kneels in front of me.

  “Half a million dollars. I get half a million dollars.”

  She embraces me. “And there’s a second policy. I know you’re overwhelmed right now, but at least something good will come of this.”

  “I’m okay,” I assure her, taking a deep breath and retrieving the phone. After apologizing to the man, I write down the fax number and information. “I guess I need to go to the funeral home.”

  “Let’s get it taken care of before Ethan gets home,” she suggests, grabbing my hand and tugging me to my feet. What would I do without her?

  The funeral director is very nice and helps me through the unfamiliar process. Frannie helps me choose two coffins and plan the service. We pick a date for the funeral and approve the obituary. When we leave, I still feel numb, but not as overwhelmed or lost when it comes to what to do.

  When we return home, Ethan is just climbing out of Colin’s car. I turn to Fran before she can get out of the car and hug her. “Thanks for everything today, Fran, but I need to tell Ethan alone. We’ll be fine. I promise I’ll call if I need you.”

  “All right.” She looks hesitant, but lets me go.

  Ethan handles the news better than I expected. Like me, he was never close to our parents, they weren’t the kind of people who’d let you get close. In their opinion, all they needed was the church.

  After I fill him in on everything that’s b
een done, we sit on the couch and talk.

  “I feel bad that I don’t feel bad enough,” he says with a sigh, sounding far older than his age.

  “I know how you feel. Most people would be inconsolable if they lost a parent, let alone two, but things are different for us.”

  “I think because we lost them a long time ago. I’d already accepted I’d never see them again.”

  “Maybe you’re right.”

  “What happens to the house and all their stuff?” he asks.

  “They made a will years ago before we were tossed out. It’s still valid and leaves everything to us.”

  His eyebrows shoot up. “Not their church? Boy, will they be pissed.”

  A smile cracks across my face for the first time that day. “I’m sure they will.”

  “So, maybe we could sell the house?”

  “That’s the plan. I figure I’ll go see what shape it’s in tomorrow. Do you want to come and see if there’s anything you want?”

  “I can’t imagine they kept any of my stuff, but yeah, I’d like to see.”

  I wrap him in a hug before he can protest. “We’ll be fine, Ethan. We have each other.”

  His eyes meet mine, wise and sad. “It’s all we’ve ever had, Zo, and it’s plenty. I’m all right, really.”

  “Well, just promise you’ll talk to me if you need to.”

  “I promise.”

  “I think we need ice cream tonight. What do you think?”

  “Hell, yeah.”

  Slinging my purse over my shoulder, I open my front door and come face to face with Landon.

  “I was just going to knock,” he explains, taking a step back.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I just wanted to check on you.” He turns to Ethan and sticks out his hand. “Hey, I’m Landon.”

  “Ethan,” my brother replies, shaking his hand. His gaze darts between us and he grabs the keys from my hand. “I’ll wait in the car.” He’s off before I can protest.