Sam came over to her, hesitating at first then pulled her into his arms. She didn’t resist, her cheek against the warm, solidness of his chest. She sighed deeply and felt Sam’s arms tighten around her. ‘I have to wait for the homicide detectives,’ he said softly, ‘and they’ll probably want to talk to you too.’
She nodded but said nothing. ‘Isa? Baby?’ She looked up into his face, his beautiful face, his eyes that held nothing but love for her. ‘I don’t want to use this as an excuse, but I have no shame anymore. Will you come back with me afterward and talk things out? I promise I won’t hold anything back, and if you want to leave afterward, I won’t try to stop you.’
Isa felt her body wilt. ‘Yes, alright.’ Sam had to bend his head to hear her and then his mouth was an inch from hers, and she could feel his warm breath. He brushed her lips with his but then someone called his name, and he looked up. Sam shot her a disappointed look but stepped away to talk to the leading detective. Isa suddenly felt cold and wrapped her arms around herself. Why did she feel even now she was being watched? She scanned the people who had gathered around to watch the fire. Are you one of them? She shivered despite the heat of the blaze and felt exhaustion take her over.
He couldn’t take his eyes from her lovely face, so drawn, so tired and scared. It’s nearly over, he thought, so nearly over my darling. He could see she was broken, even from here, her body language was so defeated. He could imagine her giving herself to him, welcoming the knife that would slide into her body as a relief, her lovely rose-colored lips parting with gasps of pain as he stabbed her again and again. The sound her last breath would make, the smell of her rich salty blood.
Soon, Isabel, soon. Hours rather than days. He allowed himself a fantasy of walking up to her now and driving a lethal blade into her belly, in front of Sam, in front of the police. They would shoot him dead; he had no doubt, but he cared little for that. Isa would be with him in death. But no. He had a plan and, so far, everything was going exactly as planned.
Everything.
Isa saw her first. The smoke from the fire hung low around the street and at first, she didn’t know what she was seeing. She walked to the door and squinted into the gloom. Casting a glance over her shoulder at Sam, who were talking to some paramedics, she slipped into the street.
Casey was in a nightgown, the pale blue silk stained by the smoke. She was staring into the fire, confusion, disbelief, despair on her face. Isa hesitated and touched her arm.
‘Casey?’
Casey turned to her. ‘Isa.’ She said her name again, mouthing it. Her eyes didn’t seem to be registering. She touched Isa’s face. ‘Are you dead? Has he done it?’
Isa swallowed. ‘No… Casey, why are you out here? You have no shoes on.’
Casey shook her head, as if she didn’t understand. ‘You’re supposed to be dead. I don’t…’ She glanced at the fire. ‘Where’s Paul?’
‘We don’t know, Casey.’
‘Where is he? We were… he was going to kill you. Tonight. Then we were supposed to go away. I persuaded him. He was going to stab you to death; he showed me the knife. Then he was going to shoot Sam for me. You were both supposed to be dead by now. Dead. Where is he? Are you dead? Am I dead?’
‘Wait, Paul wanted to kill me?’
Casey gave a short bark of laughter. ‘No, not Paul, you fucking idiot, that pathetic sap just wanted to fuck you…’
Her eyes were wheeling now, looking from Isa to the fire back to Isa. Then she stared over Isa’s shoulder. Isa turned, half expecting to see someone coming at her with a knife. Even though Casey was rambling, the calm way she discussed Isa’s murder, and worse, Sam’s, made her tremble, nauseated.
She breathed again when she saw it was Sam.
‘Isa, what’s going on?’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t know. She’s out of it.’ She turned back to Casey who was gazing into the flames.
‘He was going to leave me behind. But I persuaded him. I made him love me. He was going to make everything better. Better.’
Sam took Casey by the shoulders. ‘Who, Casey? Who is it?’
Her eyes wheeling about, half-crazed, Casey looked back at Isa, her eyes searching her nemesis’s face. ‘How does it feel? How does it feel to be so beautiful? How does it feel to have someone love you so much he’d die for you?’
Isa said nothing. Sam came and stood next to her, put an arm around her. Casey looked at him, a half smile on her face.
‘How will it feel when you watch her bleed to death, Sam?’ She didn’t wait for an answer. She walked towards the fire. Sam stepped forward, but it was Isa who stopped her. Casey looked at Isa’s hand on her arm. She stared at her with tears in her eyes.
‘It’s not fair. Why do you get everything you want? Where’s my happy ending?’
Isa was angry now. ‘You spoiled, malevolent bitch. Do you think watching my brother murdered is a happy ending? Finding about you is a happy ending? Living with the fact someone wants to butcher me, a happy ending? Fuck you, Casey.’
Casey cackled, knowing she’d gotten to Isa. Isa clenched her fists. Sam, his face livid, stepped between the two women.
‘Casey, go home. I’m sure the police will want to talk to you.’
There was a commotion near the burning apartment. Men shouting. The lead detective, Mike Hamill came jogging over, exhausted and with a strained on his face. Sam stepped forward.
‘Mike?’
Mike took a deep breath in. ‘We found two bodies inside. One is obviously Carter – we think he was dead before the explosion. The other is burned too badly to recognize.’
Casey screamed. She started to run towards the fire, but Isa and Sam grabbed hold of her. She fought them, sobbing and howling, kicking and biting.
‘No, no! He’s not gone; he’s not gone, no! Get off me, get your fucking hands off me.’
She kicked Isa hard in the stomach, felling her then falling on top of her, attacking the prone woman.
‘Fucking bitch! You’re supposed to be dead, not him! I’ll kill you; I’ll kill you. I’ll rip your insides out. No! No!’
Mike dragged her to a police cruiser and shoved her, still screaming into the back of it. He told the young cop with her to take her to the station then came back to see if he could help them. Sam rushed to Isa’s side, his eyes filled with concern. She smiled at him, wincing a little. ‘I’m okay.’
Sam pulled her into his arms for a brief second. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered, and she nodded.
‘It’s alright.’
Mike Hamill cleared his throat awkwardly. ‘Sorry folk, look, we need to get statements back at the station so can you both go straight there? Are either of you injured?’
They both shook their heads and Mike gave them the directions. Sam took Isa’s hand. ‘Look, I know you have your car but can I get one of my men to drive it back to my apartment? I would rather we go together to the station – forgive me for not wanting you out of my sight on this night.’
Isa agreed and as they sat in the back of his town car, his chief security guard Ken driving, Sam held her closely.
‘I’m so sorry for not telling you about Casey,’ he said softly, ‘it got away from me. I guess I didn’t want my past with her to affect this new life with you.’
Isa looked askance at him. ‘Well, you dodged that bullet, huh?’ She suddenly grinned and Sam laughed bemusedly.
‘I know, I know. God, what a mess.’
Isa’s smile faded. ‘Sam, look. I’m so tired of all of this. Maybe we moved too fast, got married too quickly.’
‘No,’ Sam said, his voice trembling. ‘We’re meant to be together, Isa, of that I am certain.’
She looked up at him. ‘I think so too, but we have to find a better way to communicate if we’re going to trust each other.’
‘I do trust you; you’ve never done anything to test it. I know I have and god, Isa, I’ll do anything to regain that trust.’
Isa sighed and let her body r
elax against his. ‘We’ll work on it. I swear to God, I won’t let this beat us.’
He kissed the top of her head. ‘Thank you,’ he whispered and felt her nod.
Casey Hamilton stared out of the back of the window of the police cruiser as it sped back toward the city. The young officer driving her, Zack, glanced back at her.
‘You feeling better now, ma’am?’
She tried to smile. ‘One man I loved is dead; the other is obsessed with that little tramp. So, no, officer, not really.’
Zack wasn’t impressed. ‘But you did try to have her killed, isn’t that right?’
Casey smiled without humor. ‘And I even failed in that. Or rather he failed me.’
‘Who is he? And why do you hate Mrs. Levy so much?’
Casey sighed. ‘Because she has everything. She’s beautiful, heart-stoppingly, unnaturally beautiful. She’s good and kind and smart and successful. Everybody loves her. My husband is...’ She laughed without humor, shaking her head. ‘I’ve never seen love like that. Never. He certainly never looked at me like that. I don’t know what that feels like. To be wanted so completely, to have someone want to crawl through glass for me, to die for me. I hate her because she is everything I could never be.’
Zack shook his head. ‘From what I understand, someone’s been stalking her and threatening to kill her for nearly a year. Would you wanna live like that?
Casey shrugged. ‘The sooner she’s dead, the better I’ll feel. But then again, doesn’t look like that’s going to happen now.’
Zack shook his head. ‘Who is he then? Your lover, the psychopath?’
The first few days after the fire had been surreal. After the emergency services had cleared out, Sam, Isa, and Zoe had watched them take the body away. Black-bagged and anonymous.
Later, at home, Isa had a million questions for Sam, but only one mattered.
‘Is it him? Is it Karl?’ The hope in her eyes had nearly floored Sam. He put his arms around her as Cal cast a worried look at him but nodded: Tell her the truth.
‘We can’t say. The police told me the body is male, tall but it’s in an appalling condition. We’ll have to wait for dental, or DNA to identify it.’
Isa wasn’t deterred. ‘But who else could it be? He’s the only one…’ Her voice trailed off as she saw Sam’s expression. ‘Sam… please. Please tell me it’s him.’
Sam swallowed over the lump in his throat. ‘Darling, we have to wait. Yes, it is probably him. But I want to be absolutely sure. You understand that, don’t you? I cannot risk being wrong and dropping our guard. I’m not gambling with your life. We need to wait.’
She nodded then, but he could see the disappointment in her eyes and ached for her. He knew she was at the limit of her strength, of being able to cope living under a death sentence. He pulled her into his arms. They could only wait now for the formal identification.
Every day she waited, longing to hear that the body in the fire was Karl’s. Sam still wouldn’t let her go anywhere alone; when Zoe left her side, Sam would arrive like clockwork. Isa tried not to feel irked by their constant and unswerving vigilance; she knew how scared Sam was, still but every day there was something, something that made her think it was really over.
Isa felt the tremendous weight of guilt. Seb. Paul Carter. Sam could see it crushing her. He finally sat her down one day, after she’s had an out of character freak out over something minor.
‘You listen good now. You are not responsible for everyone. You can’t save everyone. People make their own decisions. You are only responsible for the decisions you make. I know it will take time, but you need to start now today.’
She looked confused. ‘Start what, baby?’
He smiled and kissed her softly. ‘Letting go, darling. Letting go of the past because you know what?’
She smiled. ‘What?’
‘We have an awful lot to catch up on and a heck of a lot of living to do.’
She laughed then, but her eyes grew with the wonder of it. ‘We have forever?’
‘You bet your sweet we do.’
And finally, Isa believed him.
Two weeks before Christmas, on their way back from the city, Sam dropped Isa off at Zoe’s new place on his way to work. Isa waved him off then went in. She saw Zoe come out of the backroom and smiled at her friend. Then she saw her friend’s expression and felt fear shoot through her. ‘What is it?’
Zoe, her usual bravura missing, was pale. ‘I don’t know; I don’t know how she got in. I turned around, and she was there. She won’t let me near her.’
Isa frowned. ‘Who, honey? Who’s where?’
Zoe nodded towards the back room. Isa opened the door and gasped. Casey was sitting on the floor, facing away from her. There was blood everywhere, smeared across the walls, the floor, the counters. Words written in the blood.
You are next.
Isa swallowed. Casey was swaying from side to side, singing softly to herself. As Isa moved to her side, she recognized the song.
Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite…
Isa crouched by Casey’s side and touched her hand to the other woman’s shoulder.
‘Casey?’
The other woman turned and smiled, not really seeing her. With a lurch, Isa saw her wrists were cut; not deeply but enough to bleed heavily. For the first time, Isa felt real pity for the pathetic creature in front of her. She put her arms around Casey and pulled her up. She led her over to the couch and sat her down.
‘Zoe?’
Zoe came to the door. Isa nodded at Casey.
‘Can you get me the first aid kit and some hot tea?’
Zoe did as she asked, bringing her a bowl of warm water too. She grimaced when she saw Casey’s mangled arms.
‘I’ll call Sam,’ she said quietly. Isa nodded. Zoe squeezed her friend’s shoulder and disappeared.
Isa cleaned Casey’s wrists gently. Casey was as malleable as a child. Isa worked in silence, examining the wounds on Casey’s wrists. She wouldn’t need stitches, so Isa dressed them and wound a bandage gently around them. She held the cup of tea to Casey’s lips and made her drink. Casey sipped the hot liquid then looked at Isa, her eyes watery and red as they watched her enemy tending to her.
‘Why are you being so nice to me?’ Her voice was a whisper. Isa, surprised by the question, felt her face go red. ‘I tried to have you killed.’
‘Honestly? Because I want to believe that you’re not all bad. I want to believe you were just taken in by that monster that he promised you something you needed. I don’t know what, I’ve never known. I don’t pretend to understand you, Casey, or understand why you hate me so much. But I won’t let him ruin anyone else’s life. Casey, look at me.’
Casey looked up at her just as Sam appeared at the door. Isa shook her head at him as he opened his mouth to speak. She turned back to the other woman.
‘Casey, is Karl alive? Have you seen him?’
Casey gazed back at her and smiled.
Isa cleaned the last of the blood from the walls. Sam came back into the room as she was dumping the dirty water into the sink. She smiled at him.
‘Is she okay?’
Sam shook his head. ‘I don’t know, darling. She’s pretty messed up, but she won’t let me call a doctor. Can’t force her. I took her home, called Halsey. He’ll question her in the morning.’
‘I don’t think she meant to kill herself.’
‘No.’
She noticed his face was drawn. ‘Hey…’ She put her arms around him. ‘It’s okay, baby. After what’s been going on the last few months, this is nothing. It is a strange thing to say but a bit of blood on the walls…’
She slid her arms around his waist and kissed him. He responded and she felt him relax in her arms. He sighed and buried his face in her hair.
‘Do you believe her?’ He muttered.
‘That Karl is dead? I don’t know; I really don’t. I hope, though. I hope, is all.’
Sam nodded, glanced at his watch and smiled. ‘Well, would you look at that, managed to waste a whole day. C’mon bub, I’m taking you home.’
Sam’s cell phone buzzed. ‘Levy.’
Isa watched as his expression changed, brightened. He grinned at her. ‘Yeah, yeah, thanks. We’ll be right there. Tell him to rest, though, would you, I know him, he’ll be pacing the halls. Yeah, thanks.’
He clicked his phone shut. ‘That was Halsey. He’s got something to tell us.’
Isa felt as if she were moving through syrup – slow, confused and yet…
‘You’re sure?’
John Halsey grinned at Sam, who was smiling and shaking his head. ‘Yes, Isa, we’re sure. Karl Dudek is dead. The DNA, what we found of it, checks out. We think he murdered Paul Carter and set the fire but messed it up, got caught in the blast himself. He’s dead.’
Isa was quiet for one more second then burst into tears. ‘It’s over? It’s really over?’
Sam pulled her into his arms. ‘It really is, darling. You’re safe – at last.’ He sounded as if he didn’t quite believe it himself. All the months of tension, of grief, poured out of Isa then. Behind them, she heard Zoe start to cry to. Det. Halsey patted Sam’s shoulder. ‘I’ll give you some space.’
Isa beckoned Zoe into their little huddle, and the three of them hugged until finally, Isa’s sobs stopped. She wiped her face with the back of her hand.
‘I’m sorry, it’s just…’
‘No need to explain or apologize. We know,’ Sam said softly.
Zoe smoothed her daughter’s hair back behind her ear. ‘We can start rebuilding now. All of us,’ she said pointedly, glaring at the two of them and making them laugh. Sam took Isa’s hand, and from his pocket, he pulled the wedding ring she’d left him with. ‘May I?’
The Billionaire Bad Boy Plan Page 54