Dying for Love (A Slaughter Creek Novel)

by Herron, Rita

  The Commander dropped down in pain. The chopper was just about to lift off. Zack clung to the edge, looking terrified. “Jump, Zack!”

  Zack shook his head, fear paralyzing him.

  John held out his arms. “Come on, son. I’ll catch you, I promise.”

  The boy was shaking, but he lunged into John’s arms. John caught him, hugging him hard. Zack’s little body shook against his, then John grunted again as Blackwood kicked him in the knees.

  His legs gave way as his knees buckled, and he went down, Zack still clinging to him.

  “Run, Zack!” John released his son and pointed toward Amelia. She was running toward them, screaming his name.

  Smoke and flames hurled upward, filling the sky, creating a hazy fog behind her.

  John rolled over and saw the Commander trying to make it to the chopper again. But he lunged up, caught him around the knees and dragged him to the ground. “You son of a bitch, did you give Zack to Axelrod to turn into a suicide bomber?”

  The Commander snarled in his face. “Hell, no. I had his men take him someplace safe until I could get him.”

  “How did you find Mark? Were the Baylers in on your scheme?”

  “Axelrod was prepared to search every shelter in the state, but lo and behold, a baby boy showed up in Slaughter Creek’s very own Gateway House right away. Your mother was never very bright, and she was certainly no criminal mastermind.”

  John’s nostrils flared.

  “DNA proved the match, and the Baylers were only to be involved for several days. But I kept having to deal with . . . distractions . . . and by the time I came for Mark, the Baylers were attached, continually subverting me and ignoring my demands. So they had to die. Fools.” A ruthless smile curved his mouth. “I always planned to reunite Mark with Zack and raise them myself.” His father hissed. “Somebody had to teach them to be men.”

  John hated him for everything he’d done, for what he’d put him through, for the way he’d hurt Amelia and their boys. “You’re never going to get them.”

  He slammed his fist into his father’s face. But the Commander aimed the gun at him, ready to pull the trigger.

  Rage hit him, and John snatched it and slung it over the cliff.

  Below the ocean crashed and roared.

  He and the Commander traded blows, rolling near the edge. Blood spurted from his father’s nose and mouth.

  “You can’t kill me,” Blackwood growled.

  John grinned this time. All the fury eating at him collided, fortifying his strength.

  “Watch me.” He kicked Blackwood in the gut, causing him to cough blood, then grabbed him and slung him over the edge of the cliff.

  Blackwood bellowed his name. “You have to save me. I’m your father.”

  John stood on wobbly legs, staggered to the edge, and looked down where Blackwood was clutching the sharp, rocky cliff. His body dangled over the edge, the raging water beckoning below, waves crashing in a thunderous roar.

  “Good bye, Commander.” Hatred for his father burned through him, and he stomped on his father’s fingers, bones cracking. The Commander struggled to hang on, but John stomped them again, bones and cartilage shattering, then he kicked the Commander in the face with his boot so hard the man let go and plunged to the water below.

  John stood, staring down into the sea, searching for him to emerge, to somehow surface on the shore.

  But a sliver of moonlight illuminated the ocean, and he spotted a wave catching his body and tossing it out to sea.

  “John!”

  He spun around and saw Amelia hugging Zack, the two of them trembling and hurrying toward him.

  He ran toward them, then pulled them into his arms. They hugged each other, Amelia and Zack crying against him.

  But the fire thundered behind them, orange flames lighting the sky.

  He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss, then kissed the top of Zack’s head. “I have to find Nick and Jake.” They were his brothers.

  Amelia nodded, and he raced back toward the blaze.

  Amelia hugged Zack to her, grateful to have found her sons. The poor little guys had been through so much. She just prayed they could all be together and be a family.

  She wanted John to be part of that family, too.

  Fear seized her as he ran into the building. Fire and smoke consumed the structure, and it was crumbling down. The roof collapsed with a big boom, the walls cracking and splintering, erupting into a big ball of flames.

  “Is he coming back?” Zack said, his nails digging into Amelia’s arm.

  “Yes,” Amelia said. They’d been through too much to lose each other now that they’d finally found the twins.

  But as seconds turned to minutes, her hopes evaporated. What if John didn’t survive?

  What if she’d lost him for good?

  John found Nick trying to drag a flaming board off Jake. The ceiling and walls were collapsing around them, the smoke so thick he could barely breathe.

  He jerked off his jacket, wrapped it around his hands, and pulled at the plank. Together he and Nick finally lifted it, then slapped at the flames on his sleeve.

  “Let’s get out of here!” John shouted.

  He and Nick helped Jake up, and they ran through the fire, dodging more debris and jumping over patches of embers as they escaped.

  When they made it outside, they were all heaving for fresh air. John searched through the smoke and saw Amelia and Zack waiting by the water.

  “Did you get him?” Nick asked, his voice hoarse from the smoke.

  “He went over the cliff,” John said. “The waves caught him and carried him out to sea.”

  Amelia called his name again, and he ran toward her, wiping soot from his sweaty forehead as he approached. She was holding Zack, the two of them clinging to one another.

  It was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.

  “John . . . I was so afraid I’d lost you.” She choked on tears, and threw herself at him again.

  He hugged her and Zack to him, and buried his face into her hair. “No, Amelia, I’m right here.” He would never let her go again.

  Amelia thought they’d never get back to Slaughter Creek. Zack had been a trooper and seemed relieved to be away from the island. He’d already relayed some details about what had happened to him, how the Commander had tried to break him and turn him into a soldier, but he had escaped inside his head into a fantasy world of banshees and monsters and made the man think he was crazy so he’d leave him alone.

  He was a smart little boy. But his way of coping reminded her of herself.

  She’d gently explained that she and John were his parents.

  “I have a mommy and a daddy,” he said, his eyes big with wonder.

  Amelia stroked his hair. “Yes, Zack. And you have a brother.”

  “Mark, the boy who talks to me?”

  “Yes.” Amelia squeezed his hand. “I’ve been looking for you for a while now. We’re going to take you to see your brother, and we’ll go home.”

  Tears blurred her eyes as he curled up against her. “I’m finally getting a real home. And Mark and I can play together.”

  “Yes, sweetie, you’re going to have a real home.” And so would she.

  Amelia swallowed her tears as he closed his eyes, curled against her, and fell asleep.

  John glanced at him with an odd expression, emotions riddling his face. Sighing, he put his arm around her and pulled her and Zack up against him. She laid her hand on his chest and closed her eyes, comforted by the beating of his heart and grateful to finally have found all her boys.

  When they landed, John carried Zack to his SUV. It was late, but she and John agreed that they had to reunite the twins that night.

  “Mark helped show us where you were.”

  “He’s my brother?
” Zack asked again, as if he still couldn’t believe what they’d told him.

  “Yes, you’re twins just like me and my sister, your aunt Sadie. When we were little, we shared a connection. I think you and Mark do, too.”

  John smiled at her, and the three of them walked inside hand in hand. He spoke with the guard, then the psychologist in charge, then they walked to Mark’s room.

  Amelia knocked softly, then pushed the door open. Mark was in bed, but he had a smile on his face. “I knew you were coming.”

  Tears filled her eyes. She knew how empty and lost she’d felt without Sadie all those years. Her sons must have felt the same way.

  “I tried to talk to you,” Zack said. “I saw the pictures you drew, too.”

  “The banshees are scary,” Mark said.

  Zack crawled onto the bed beside his brother. “I know. But I think our daddy killed the monsters.”

  Amelia’s heart gave a pang. Yes, John, the boys’ father, had killed the biggest monster of all, his own father.

  And he’d done it to save her and their sons.

  John rubbed her shoulder. “Do you think they’re going to be okay?”

  A sense of peace enveloped Amelia. “Now that they’ve found each other, they will.” She touched his cheek. “And now that they have a real father.”

  His eyes darkened, flaring with a wariness that tore at her heart. But there was need there, too. Need and hunger and the raw desire she’d felt between them years ago.

  And again these past few days.

  “How about us?” he murmured against her ear. “Will we be okay?”

  She looped her arms around his neck. “What do you think?”

  “Can you forgive me for what I did years ago? I . . . am the Commander’s son.”

  “He was a sperm donor, nothing more. You are your own man.” She traced a finger along his jaw. “You’re brave and honorable. You tried to save me and the twins years ago. And now you’ve brought us back together again.”

  John’s throat ached. “I love you, Amelia,” he whispered. “I always have. I just forgot it for a while.”

  A slow smile curved her mouth. “It’s all right, I forgot who I was, too.” She cradled his face with her hands. “But none of that matters. We have a family together. Two little boys who need us. We’ve already missed so much.”

  John’s dark gaze met hers. “I don’t want to miss another second. I want us to be together.”

  “I want that, too.”

  The boys looked up at them, identical faces, the connection between them as strong as if they’d never been separated at all.

  Amelia felt that way with John. All her life she’d been looking for love, family, a home. Only she’d thought she didn’t deserve it.

  But she had actually found it a long time ago when she was still in that sanitarium. And now she’d found that same love again.

  She fused her mouth with John’s, savoring his kiss because it felt like she was finally coming home.

  And she was. She was finally going to have that family with John and their sons.

  Maybe one day she’d even get to put that wedding ring quilt on her bed for her and John to sleep under.

  Acknowledgments

  I want to thank Lindsay Guzzardo for her editorial insight and suggestions—she made this book so much better! And to Maria Gomez, my fabulous editor, who lets me write dark.

  Also thanks to Reba Bales, my sister, who answered questions regarding the prison system and mental illness.

  And as always, thanks to my critique partner, Stephanie Bond, and fellow writer Jennifer St. Giles for their brainstorming ideas and willingness to read any version.

  Last but not least, thanks to the fans of the Slaughter Creek series who asked for Amelia’s story!

  About the Author

  Photo © 2008 Marie Williams

  Best-selling author Rita Herron has written more than sixty romance novels and loves penning dark, romantic suspense tales, especially those set in small Southern towns. She earned an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award for her work in Series Romantic Suspense, and has received rave reviews for the Slaughter Creek novels Dying to Tell and Her Dying Breath. She is a native of Milledgeville, Georgia, and a proud mother and grandmother.