Forever Hers

by Walters, Ednah

  That didn’t sound good. Upstairs in their room, she turned and faced him, her expression serious but calm. But the way she played with the strap of her purse told a different story.

  “Tell the FBI everything you know and let them take over this case,” Amy said.

  “Why? We’re close to getting Nolan.”

  “I know, but I also know he’s cold and calculating. He’s murdered two people and he’s still a free man, Eddie. What if he decides to kill again, go down taking as many people as he can? You could get hurt.” She blinked rapidly. “When I thought he’d loved Penelope so much and tried to replace her with me, I felt a little sorry for him. Now, I think he killed her because she rejected him. He’s crazy and I’m scared of what he’ll do when cornered.”

  Eddie gripped her arms and looked into her eyes. “First, I made you and Raelynn a promise, which I mean to keep. I must see this through. Second, I have too much to live for to let him take me out. I plan to be a devoted husband to you and a father to Raelynn and her brothers and sisters.”

  She laughed, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Brothers and sisters?”

  “Twins run in our family.”

  “You haven’t asked me to marry you yet, and I haven’t said yes,” she reminded him.

  “I plan to once this mess is behind us and after I meet your parents and talk to your father. We Fitzgeralds have traditions we hold dear and one of them is meeting the parents and having the talk. Oh, and I will need a ring too, so do you think you can wait?”

  “For as long as it takes,” she whispered.

  He felt calmer than he’d ever felt in his entire adult life. Amy was home. Loving her was what he was meant to do.

  “I love you, Amy.”

  She reached up and touched his face, her hand so gentle, her gaze so intense as though she was seeing him for the first time. “I love you, Eddie.”

  He moved from her hand and went to place the DO NOT DISTURB sign outside the door. If Lori came upstairs, she would understand. Then he turned and walked to his woman, the love of his life, and kissed her, slowly. Her lips parted to welcome him.

  Carefully, he lifted her and carried her to the bed and removed her clothes, pausing to taste every inch of skin. He pulled off her boots and removed her garter belt then slowly rolled off the stockings, kissing her skin until he got to her toes. The lushness of her body never failed to take his breath away, but tonight, the love shining in her eyes held him captive as he stripped.

  There were no more barriers between them, no more fears. Just love between a man and a woman meant to be together. There was something different about their joining. With every thrust, he gave her a piece of his soul. When her movement grew frantic, he was there with her, giving, taking. With their hands joined and their eyes locked, they exploded at the same time, two parts of a whole.

  He gathered her in his arms, kissed her forehead and moved lower to claim her lips in a languid affirmation of their feelings. He didn’t want to leave and the way her arms tightened when he moved said she felt the same way. It was a while before he stirred.

  “I have to make the meeting with Agent Ross.”

  “I know.” She cupped his face and gave him a sweet, gentle kiss. “Come back to me.”

  CHAPTER 22

  The door to the motel room opened before Eddie knocked. A dark-haired man glared at him. “Yes?”

  “I’m here about Nolan Reither,” Eddie said. He held the note Agent Ross had given Amy.

  “Where’s Ms. Kincaid?”

  “Where’s Agent Ross?

  “Let him in,” a female voice called from inside the room. The male agent stepped aside and held the door open for Eddie.

  Agent Ross was on the phone. “Leave them alone for now. I’ll call you in a few minutes.” She hung up and studied Eddie with piercing brown eyes. The blue contacts and wig she’d worn earlier were gone. Her natural hair was pulled back in a ponytail. “We were discussing your two friends parked outside Nolan Reither’s home. I specifically told Ms. Kincaid you should stop interfering in an FBI investigation.”

  “You haven’t given us a reason to believe your investigation is producing results, Agent Ross,” Eddie said calmly. “You pulled a gun on a defenseless woman without identifying yourself first. I will need both your names, badge numbers, field office and supervisor’s name.”

  “Who the hell are you?” she snapped.

  “Detective Eddie Fitzgerald.”

  She glanced at her partner, who walked to a table with a laptop, sat and started typing. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. Richmond P.D.?”

  “L.A.P.D., and when your friend is done, I will need to verify that you’re legit.”

  “You’re a long way from home, detective.” Her partner turned the laptop around and Agent Ross peered at the screen. “Suspended without pay for assaulting a decorated officer and the D.A. Do you have problem with authority, Detective Fitzgerald?”

  Eddie shoved his hands in the front pocket of his pants and smirked. “Absolutely. Now’s my turn.” He indicated the laptop. The other agent glanced at Agent Ross, who nodded, then slid the laptop toward Eddie. Eddie sat and typed fbi.gov then found ‘Contact Us’ and clicked on ‘Local FBI Offices.’ “Your badge numbers, please.”

  “Okay, you’ve made your point,” Agent Ross. “I should have identified myself to Ms. Kincaid.” She leaned forward and studied him. “Since you’re not allowed to carry a weapon, why are you packing?”

  She was good. His gun was strapped to his ankle. “My gun’s not government issued, if that’s what you’re asking. Can we stop playing games and get to work? After all, we want the same thing—Reither behind bars.”

  The two agents exchanged a glance then Agent Ross nodded. “Okay. Ms. Kincaid said you have evidence that could put Nolan away for good. We want it.”

  “No, I think you misunderstood her. We know of evidence that could put Reither away for good. He keeps mementos from important events in his life. The ring he removed from Amy Kincaid’s finger the night he shot her fiancé for instance. The cell phone he took from her house after using it to call the police and reported a break-in. Her car keys. House keys. I’m sure he collected something from Penelope Digger’s place the night he killed her too. All you have to do is get the box.”

  “Where’s the box?” the two agents asked at the same time.

  “In the back of his car, wrapped up and hidden inside his camping gears. Don’t ask how I know.” Eddie paused and grinned. “Let’s just say my surveillance team is better than yours.”

  The two agents looked at each other and the guy got up and left the room, already punching the numbers on his cell phone.

  “My people saw him remove two boxes from a storage facility,” Agent Ross explained. “We visited it and found nothing incriminating. We checked the boxes and found pictures of Ms. Kincaid, hardly a smoking gun.”

  “Depends on where and when they were taken. If they were taken recently or after their divorce, they can prove he was stalking Amy.”

  Agent Ross sighed. “They had no dates, but we’ll check the backgrounds.”

  “How long have you been on this case?”

  “About six weeks. We were digging deeper into his background while combing the state and the neighboring ones for the bodies of Ms. Kincaid and her daughter. We believed he’d killed them both. How long have you guys been on the case?”

  Eddie smiled. “Two weeks. It started with robberies in a little town in northern Idaho.”

  ***

  Amy piled pillows behind her and reached for her laptop, her eyes going to the clock by the bed. Eddie left thirty minutes ago, yet it seemed like forever. The waiting was going to kill her. Her gaze drifted to the bed across from theirs. Raelynn was fast asleep, a peaceful expression on her face.

  Amy checked her e-mail first. There were three messages from her mother. They all had ‘urgent’ on the subject line.

  Heart pounding, Amy clicked on
the first one, read it and reached for her cell phone. Her father had a heart attack. She punched in the numbers with shaking hands as she read the second message, hoping to find the name of the hospital.

  The phone was picked up after one ring. “Amy?”

  “Mom, where are you? How bad is Dad?”

  “Don’t come here, Amy. Run as far—”

  There was a thud and a sharp cry from her mother followed by her father yelling something in the background, “Leave her alone. Amy, we’re so—”

  Amy’s stomach dropped. Nolan. How had he escaped from his place with Rod and Hailey standing guard?

  “You son of a bitch, leave them alone,” Amy snarled into the phone.

  “Amy, you know I hate it when you swear,” Nolan said in a censoring tone.

  “What do you want?” Amy turned on the bedside light and ran to the closet to find pants and a top, then grabbed a coat and slipped it on.

  “You know what I want.” His voice became soft. “You. It’s always been you, Amy. I tried to replace you, but no one can ever take your place. Come home, Amy. Come to me.”

  Nausea squeezed her stomach. She wanted to call him a liar, maybe mention Penelope, but she bit her tongue. Instead, she put on her shoes, snatched up her purse and the hotel key card then pressed a kiss on Raelynn’s forehead and crept out of the room.

  “My parents have been nice to you, Nolan,” she whispered. “They’ve treated you like a son. Why would you hurt them?”

  “They wouldn’t tell me the truth. I asked them nicely if they’d talked to you, if they knew you were in town,” he retorted then his voice changed and became whiny. “They forced my hand, Amy. I didn’t mean to hurt your father. You are right. He’s been good to me. And your mother...” His voice trailed off followed by sniffles.

  Amy’s stomach hollowed out. Before, he’d threaten to blow his head off whenever he shifted to self-pity mode. “I’m on my way, Nolan. Wait for me.”

  “Okay. You will help us disappear, won’t you? Just like you disappeared. This time it will be just the two of us. You and I, Amy.”

  Thank goodness he didn’t mention Raelynn. “Yes, Nolan. Just the two of us.”

  “That man I saw you with in Sandpoint…”

  “He’s nobody.” Her voice caught at the lie. “He’s just the person I work for.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Amy. If I see him...”

  “I’m alone, Nolan. I came back home alone. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Nausea hit her again and for one brief moment, she braced herself against the wall and fought to steady herself.

  She put the phone in her pocket and wiped her hands on her coat. Her hands were clammy and she could feel sweat forming on her forehead. With unsteady legs, she walked to the door next to theirs and knocked. TV sounds filtered through the closed door. She didn’t wait long before Lori appeared.

  Lori took one look at her and frowned. “What’s wrong? You look terrible.”

  “I have to go to my parents’. My father had a heart attack,” Amy fibbed smoothly. “Could you stay in our room and keep an eye on Raelynn until I come back?”

  “Of course. Just a second.” She ran back inside her room and returned with her key card. “Does Eddie know?”

  “I’ll call him next. Don’t let Raelynn out of your sight, Lori. No matter what happens. Take care of her for me.” Lori gave her a strange look, but Amy didn’t explain.

  She wanted to call Eddie. She needed him, yet how could she call him when Nolan made it clear he didn’t want to see him? She was the one Nolan wanted. As long he still thought she was the same ignorant, scared woman he’d terrorized, she would have an advantage over him.

  What if she choked like she did with Burgess, uh, Blackwell? What then?

  Downstairs, Amy hailed a taxi, jumped in and gave the driver her parents’ address. Her stomach churned faster the closer she got to the house. She and her parents might not have gotten along for years, but the e-mail messages from her mother had been so positive. She had finally started seeing through Nolan.

  The taxi pulled up outside the manor.

  “Keep the change,” Amy said, paying the driver. She stepped out of the car and looked at the hulking manor. The lights were off in all the rooms, making the house seem dark and menacing against the star-lit sky. Cold fingers crept up her spine.

  Come on, Amy. Hold it together.

  Her phone started to vibrate. She ignored it.

  ***

  The black SUV in front of Eddie signaled left and he did too. Soon Nolan Reither would be behind bars and Amy would be free of him forever. Eddie grinned with satisfaction. His phone went off. He frowned when his sister’s name appeared on the LCD screen.

  “Lori?”

  “Has Amy called you yet?”

  Something in her sister’s voice set off alarms in his head. “No. I left her in bed.”

  “She left about fifteen minutes ago and I just tried her cell phone, but she didn’t pick up. Something’s wrong, Eddie.”

  Eddie frowned, pulling up behind Agent Ross’ SUV. The curb was packed with cars. Someone was having a party, the noise spilling outside. “Left for where?”

  “Her parents’ place. Her father had a heart attack. Why would she go home instead of the hospital? Then she said something even stranger.”

  “What?”

  “That I shouldn’t let Raelynn out of my sight no matter what happens, and to take care of her,” Lori added.

  Something cold had long since settled in his gut. Now it spread. “I’ll find out what’s going on, Lori. And she was right. Don’t let Raelynn out of your sight.”

  “You’re scaring me, Eddie,” Lori said. “What’s going on? She said she’d call you, but obviously she didn’t.”

  “Let’s talk later. I gotta go.”

  “Be careful.”

  “Always.” Eddie jumped out of his car, ignored the agents pouring out of more SUVs behind him and walked toward Agent Ross as he speed dialed Amy’s number. It went unanswered. Before he could speak, Agent Ross raised her hand.

  “Thanks for your help, detective, but we’ll take it from here. And please, take your people with you.” She inclined her head towards Rod and Hailey’s rental and went back to issuing instructions to her men.

  “He’s gone,” Eddie said.

  “What?”

  “Reither isn’t here. He’s at the Kincaids’ house.” Eddie started across the street.

  Agent Ross called after him. “How do you know?”

  “Only one thing would make Amy leave her daughter behind and visit her parents in the dead of the night.” He didn’t wait to see whether she believed him. He needed to get to the Kincaids but had no idea where they lived, which left Rod and Hailey.

  Rod rolled down the window as he approached their rental. “Are the suits here to arrest Reither?”

  “Yeah, except he’s at the Kincaids’.” Eddie yanked open the back passenger door and slid inside. “Get us there as fast as you can.”

  Rod gunned the engine. “No one has left his house and there’s no back exit.”

  “And the last image showed him entering his bedroom,” Hailey added.

  “Forget how he slipped past you,” he snapped, tension coiling inside him. “Just go.” Across the street, the agents were attempting to break down Nolan’s door. Agent Ross and her partner hopped in their car and followed Rod down the narrow street. “Amy received a phone call that her father had a heart attack and left the hotel.”

  “The professor rides his bike to campus every day, hardly a candidate for a heart attack,” Rod said.

  “Exactly. The fact that she didn’t call me meant Nolan had threatened her or her parents if she did.”

  Fear like he’d never known wrapped around Eddie and refused to let go. He always took pride in his ability to stay calm and in control in any situation, anticipate whatever move any criminal pulled and adjusted his thinking. Until now. He couldn’t focus on anything except Amy. Getting to her
. Keeping her safe.

  ***

  Amy hurried to the front patio and tried the door, but it was locked. Praying her parents hadn’t started using a different hiding place, she lifted the welcome mat with an unsteady hand and searched for the spare key. It was there. She took a deep breath to calm herself, but her heart still pounded and her hand shook as she unlocked the door. The squeaky hinges pierced the night, sending a shiver up her spine. She hesitated before entering the house on trembling legs.

  She reached for the light switch.

  “Don’t turn it on,” Nolan snapped from somewhere ahead. “Close the door and come here.” A flashlight flickered on, the shaft of light falling across the dining room table.

  Amy gasped when it bathed her parents seated side by side at the dining room table, their arms strapped to their chairs with duct tape. Her father had a cut on his cheek. Her mother’s eyes were puffy as though she’d been crying, her usually sleek bob haircut a mess. Their mouths were taped so they couldn’t speak, but they both shook their heads.

  “So sad to see you’re still the dutiful daughter, Amy,” Nolan said from the shadows. “Even after the way they treated you, you run straight into my trap to free them.”

  Amy squinted and tried to see him behind the flashlight. Her eyes didn’t adjust fast enough, so she didn’t see the overturned side table until her knee connected with its leg. She hissed as sharp pain radiated up her leg.

  Nolan flooded her with the light and she noticed the books on the floor, the empty shelves to her right, smashed photographs and slashed couch cushions—all signs of a break-in—and right then she knew Nolan’s plans. Just like he’d used burglary to cover his other crimes, he was about to do it again.

  Nausea hit Amy hard. He was planning to kill them tonight. She swallowed, straightened and faced Nolan. His hands were crossed at the wrists, one holding the flashlight, the other a gun. She forced herself to focus on his face, which was pale under the light and his black clothes.

  He smirked when her gaze locked with his. “I’m here, you can let them go.”