by Regan Black
With a loud report, the gun went off.
CHAPTER 17
Kyle’s forward motion knocked Theresa back. He managed to twist himself so that he fell in the opposite direction. At first, he thought he’d gotten lucky and she’d missed, but he realized he was wrong. The searing pain in his back meant he’d been shot. At damn close range too. A fleeting thought slammed him, mingled with the pain and the shock. Maybe he was finally getting what he deserved. Had the time come for him to join the rest of his unit in death?
But no. Hell no. One deep, shuddering breath and his self-preservation instinct came roaring to life. He had to live. For Jacob and Nicole and also for himself. Dying this way would change nothing, bring back no one. He pushed to his feet, working past the pain.
Dimly he realized he heard someone screaming. A high-pitched shrill sound of absolute terror. Nicole? But no, he opened his eyes and realized it was Theresa Mabry. She’d dropped her pistol and now stood hunched over, arms wrapped around herself, keening. The vivid red of the blood splatters all over her shirt must have belonged to him. His blood.
Where was the pistol? Despite fading in and out of consciousness, he tried to reach the weapon. The last thing they needed was for Theresa to pick it up again and finish what she’d started. But he couldn’t seem to locate it.
Dazed, he looked down at himself, trying to ascertain the extent of his injury. Pain radiated in his lower back and legs, and he, too, had blood spatters, but he couldn’t see an injury. Maybe he’d just been grazed. Surely he couldn’t have been that lucky?
Moving slowly, the pain intensified. He realized dimly that he was, in fact, bleeding. A lot. So much for the flesh wound. “I got it,” Nicole said, grabbing the pistol. “Lie back. Please. You’re hurt.”
He must have blacked out. When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on his side and Nicole was crouched down with him. She’d found something—a towel? a shirt?—and had pressed it into his wound to staunch the bleeding. He hoped like hell it worked. The pain had intensified. She seemed to have shot him in his lower back or upper thigh. Vital organs in one, major blood vessels in the other. Nothing like facing death to make a man realize how much he truly wanted to live.
“Kyle, can you hear me?” Nicole leaned close, her expression worried, fear clouding her beautiful eyes. “I’ve called 911. An ambulance is on its way. You’ve got to hang in there.”
Dazed, he nodded, looking around for Theresa. The awful noise had stopped, but she hadn’t run. Instead, she’d scrunched herself into a corner, knees up, head down, clearly still locked into whatever kind of private hell her actions had caused. Shock, most likely. And maybe, just maybe, a shred of remorse.
None of that mattered now. He tried to breathe, to think past the pain as he’d been taught. If he could just reach a place where he could focus on something else…
The next time he came to, he found himself in a hospital bed. Instantly, he flashed back to before, when he’d nearly died. His heart rate skyrocketed, but when he looked around he realized it wasn’t the same at all. Now Nicole sat in a chair at his side. Baby Jacob napped in a carrier on the floor next to her.
What the hell had happened? And then he remembered. Theresa Mabry had come to the house intent on harming Nicole. Instead, he’d taken her down. In the process, she’d managed to shoot him.
“There you are,” she said, sounding cheerful. Laughter danced in eyes that earlier had been full of worry and fear.
He grimaced, making a face at her. “I take it I’m going to survive?”
“The doctor says you should.” For whatever reason, she seemed to be struggling to maintain a straight expression. “He said if you had to pick a place to get shot other than the foot, your rear end is one of the safest. He said it’s painful, but there are no major organs or blood vessels there.”
“Rear end?” Pushing himself up, he ignored the searing pain. “You’re saying Theresa Mabry shot me in the…ass?”
Right then and there, she abandoned her attempt to control her mirth. The happy sound of her laughter even coaxed a reluctant smile from him. In the rangers, they’d always joked about the buttocks being the safest place to sustain a gunshot wound. He’d never actually known anyone who’d been shot there, however. Until now.
He waited until her giggles had died down. Finally, she got herself back under control, wiping at her streaming eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But I was so scared, so worried, and then when the doctor told me that, it was such a huge relief…” She shook her head. “And then it suddenly struck me as funny. Come on, Kyle. You have to admit, it’s pretty hilarious.”
“Embarrassing is more like it,” he allowed, refusing to see the humor in it.
Nicole immediately waved his concern away. “Pshaw. Don’t take it so seriously. I for one am glad she missed vital organs.” Anger flashed in her eyes. “I’d much rather be teasing you about this than agonizing over whether or not you’re going to make it.”
He nodded. “You have a point.”
To his shock, she leaned in and kissed his cheek, her silky hair brushing his face. “Hopefully, they’ll let you come home soon so I can take care of you.”
Home. He liked the way that sounded when she said it. Home with her and his son and his dog.
“Where’s Gus?”
She smiled. “He’s safe. I put him in the laundry room of my house, along with a bowl of water and a quilt to lie on until I get back. Did you see what he did? He was intent on protecting Jacob from that crazy woman.”
“I saw. He’s a good dog.”
“He’s an amazing dog,” she corrected. “I’m so glad you got him.”
Kyle had to admit she was right. “Speaking of that crazy woman, what happened to Theresa Mabry?” he asked. “She looked like she was in bad shape. I assume she was arrested.”
“They’re taking her in for a psychiatric evaluation. She went into some kind of awful shock after she shot you. I think everything that’s happened to her just pushed her over the edge. She lost her son, her husband, her business and her grandson, all in a short span of time.”
Sweet, innocent, compassionate Nicole. He felt a rush of love as he eyed her. “You sound as if you feel sorry for her.”
For a moment, she considered his words. “You know what? I actually do. I don’t like her and I’m having trouble forgiving what she’s done, but she’s still a grieving mother. She’s been through a lot.”
“So have you,” he pointed out. “Yet I can’t imagine you doing something as crazy as what she did.”
Though she only lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug, he could tell his words pleased her.
“I don’t pretend to understand what went on inside her head,” she said. “Before she pulled out the gun, she claimed she talked to all the contractors in town and warned them they’d better not help me repair my house,” she continued. “She wanted me out of that house. She thought I stole her son. In the end, I think she blamed me for everything. All of it. She was blind to what kind of man her son really was.”
“Surely contractors won’t pay any attention to whatever nonsense she told them,” he said. “They need to earn a living too.”
“I hope that’s true. I really need to get that house repaired so I can put it on the market and sell it.”
Once again, she’d managed to surprise him. “Sell it?” He frowned. “Why are you going to sell it?”
She bit her lip and looked away. “Well, I could give you several reasons. I could say I need something smaller, less fancy. I could mention how I’ve never felt at home there, because Bill chose that house without consulting me.” She sighed. “All of those things are true.”
When she lifted her chin and met his gaze, worry clouded her eyes. “But the most defining factor is money. I can’t afford that house. Bill drained our bank accounts, leaving me
nothing. I don’t have a job, though of course I’m going to have to find one. But I’m thinking if I could get enough money from selling that house, I could purchase something more modest, a place for me and Jacob to live.”
“I’ll help you,” he said instantly.
“You’re already helping me.” Her sad smile made him ache to kiss her. “You’ve been more than generous, letting us stay in your home and feeding us. I owe you a debt I can never repay.”
He waved her words away. “I mean I can help you make repairs. That way you don’t have to pay a contractor. You know I’ve always been handy. Remember I worked for Bob’s Custom Homes back in high school.”
Judging by the way she looked at him, she wasn’t sure how to respond. “That’s really kind of you, but…”
Crossing his arms, he waited.
“But you’re injured.”
“So? Only my backside and my pride. I just won’t sit down while on the job.”
His teasing remark made her smile. “Fine. Once you’re well enough, you’re welcome to give me an estimate. I’m still going to get some other contractors to come out too.”
“Don’t bother. I’m not going to charge you for labor. Materials only. I like to keep busy, and it’ll give me something to do. And you can help, if you want. It might do you good to learn a new skill.”
She eyed him, her gaze searching his face. “Why are you offering to do this, Kyle? You’ve done more than enough, you know. You don’t have to do anything else.”
“I want to,” he replied. “Not just for you, but for my son.”
* * *
Of course. Though Nicole smiled and nodded, Kyle’s words put everything in perspective. She’d been a fool to think he had begun to trust her, to love her again. He couldn’t have made it clearer if he’d tried. Everything he’d done—his actions—had all been for his son. She loved him for that. But she also despaired. She wanted—needed—Kyle to love her as much as she loved him. She’d never stopped loving him. And she knew she always would, no matter what happened between them. Maybe with time, the love he’d felt for her would rekindle. She could only hope it would.
After the doctor came in to announce the happy news that Kyle was being discharged, Nicole waited another hour while they completed paperwork. Though Kyle’s clothing was in horrible shape, he refused to let her go back and get him anything else to wear. He said he just wanted to get out of the hospital and put all this behind him. They both cracked up at his choice of words. She was glad Kyle could now laugh at what had happened to him.
She helped him to her car, glad she’d chosen to follow the ambulance to the hospital. Despite his bandages and the pain medication he’d been given, it took Kyle a bit to figure out a comfortable way to seat, something she figured would be an issue until he healed.
“I hope Gus is okay,” he commented. “I’m not sure how he’ll react to being locked inside a room. At least since I’ve had him, he’s used to having free reign of the house.”
“I wasn’t sure what to do. But no matter what, I think Gus should get an extra-large dog treat,” she said. “We’ll make a quick stop at the pet store so I can pick something up.”
Kyle waited in the car with Jacob while she rushed inside the small pet supermarket. She chose both a large treat and a new toy and bought them, carrying her purchases back to the car and handing them to Kyle.
Kyle peeked in the bag and whistled. “He’s going to love these.”
“I hope so,” she responded. “He deserves them.”
Driving back to her old house with Jacob making happy sounds from his infant carrier in the backseat, Nicole couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d forgotten something. She’d fed Jacob while at the hospital and changed him, so that wasn’t it.
Her cell phone rang just as they were turning onto her street. It was the sheriff’s office. “I wanted to let you know we have a confession. We now have you husband’s murderer in custody.”
Her breath caught. “Was it one of the mistresses?”
“Yes.” He hesitated. “Well, sort of. At first, each of them blamed the other. Leslie had us convinced Brenda was the murderer, since she was the one who saw him last.”
“Was she?” Nicole asked. “The one who killed him?”
“We’re still trying to sort that out. With Leslie pinning everything on her, Brenda got scared and confessed that she and Leslie were both in on it. According to Brenda, the two women made a pact, determined to make sure that Bill Mabry cheated on a woman for the last time. When Bill stopped by to visit Brenda before work, she gave him coffee laced with antifreeze.”
Nicole gasped. “I’ve heard of pets dying from getting into that. I didn’t know it could hurt people.”
“Yep. Unfortunately, ethylene glycol is a favorite among those who decide to poison someone. It’s seductively sweet. Some people use it slowly, over time, aware it will build up and kill their victim in the end. Others—like Brenda and Leslie—put a lethal dose in whatever beverage they use.”
“But that only implicates Brenda,” Nicole said.
“True. But since Leslie knew about it, we can charge her with accessory to murder. We’re trying to obtain proof now. What a way to go. Antifreeze in a cup of coffee.”
“Wouldn’t he have noticed the taste?” she asked, trying to wrap her mind around all of this.
“Maybe, maybe not. Bill also apparently had a habit of pouring a bit of bourbon in his coffee. And by a bit, I mean a lot. Both women are now in custody.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m not sure I should even ask this, but will Theresa Mabry be told?”
“Not anytime in the immediate future. She’s in no condition right now.” The sheriff paused. “But eventually, Theresa will be answering for her crimes.”
“I understand.” Mind whirling, Nicole ended the call. Dropping her phone into the cupholder, she filled in Kyle on the details. “It’s over,” she said. “It’s really over.”
They pulled into the driveway and he covered her hand with his. “I’m glad. You can finally put that chapter of your life behind you.”
She sat there for a few seconds, trying to think. “I still feel like I’m forgetting something.”
“It’s been a rough day. I’m sure it’ll come to you eventually.”
He was right. It was only when they unlocked the door and went inside her house to let an overjoyed Gus outside that she remembered the hidden wall safe. She told Kyle. “Maybe that’s what whoever broke in here was looking for.”
“It probably was. Though we still don’t know why someone shot at the house, I’m going to guess they were trying to scare you. As for the safe, if there are drugs inside, you’re going to need to call the sheriff.”
“Of course.” They let Gus in and got him settled, happily chewing on his bone, his new toy close by. “Come on—let’s go see,” she said, heading for Bill’s office with Kyle following slowly behind her.
He leaned against the doorframe, watching as she once again removed the painting, exposing the safe. “Yeah, but can you figure out the combination?” he asked.
“I already have.” She had to smile. “It was the second one I tried. His mother’s birthday.”
Kyle chuckled at that. “Good thinking.”
Once she’d keyed in the combination, the lock released and she pulled open the safe door. Inside, there were several stacks of cash, rubber-banded together, along with a simple manila folder. She pulled it all out and showed it to Kyle.
He let out a low whistle. “I’ll be damned.”
“They’re all twenties,” she said. “There must be several thousand dollars here. Do I have to turn this in to the sheriff?”
“Didn’t you say Bill emptied your bank accounts?”
At her nod, he continued. “I think you can assume that’s where this money came from. I think all
the drug money was kept at the trucking company. This must have been his emergency stash. I wonder if he had fake IDs inside that folder.”
“Nothing would surprise me anymore,” she said. “Let’s look and see.”
Setting down the folder on the desk, she slowly opened it. Inside, she found a sealed business-size envelope. “It doesn’t feel thick enough for fake IDs,” she commented as she slit the seal. She pulled out several folded pages, legal-size paper, and read the first page in disbelief. “It’s a life insurance policy.”
“Wow.” Tilting his head, Kyle regarded her, his gaze steady. “Maybe he didn’t leave you destitute after all.”
She swallowed hard. “Honestly, I’m afraid to look. What if he made his mother his beneficiary? Or one of his mistresses? That would be something he’d do.”
“You won’t know unless you look,” he chided.
“Okay.” She began to skim over the document, stopping immediately when she found her name. “It’s me,” she finally said. “This is a policy for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. And I’m the sole beneficiary.”
It was too much. Heaven help her. She covered her face with her hands and started to cry.
Kyle came over and pulled her into his arms. He didn’t speak, just held her, while she struggled to make sense of what she’d just found.
“It had to be his way of making amends,” she finally whispered. “I can’t think of why else he’d do such a thing. He certainly didn’t love me.”
“Are you sure?” Kyle asked, stroking her hair. “I mean doesn’t it seem like he did, maybe a little?”
“No. He loved the idea of me. I was nothing more than a possession to him.” She shook her head. “A man doesn’t treat a woman he loves the way he treated me.”
Kyle didn’t respond, not at first. Instead, he took her face in his large hands, so she had to look at him. His eyes were full of warmth, the emotion blazing from them unmistakable. “I love you,” he said.