“It’s going to be all right,” she said low into the woman’s ear.
Dust and dirt and cobwebs were thick from lack of care, and milk urns and pump equipment were just as they were left when the ranch had been abandoned. Drains in the concrete floor surrounded stalls on the other side, troughs underneath to catch blood of cattle when the barn had once been used as a slaughterhouse. Disgusting. The creepiness of this place enveloped Savanna.
Tony strode with his hands clasped behind his back, studying his prey, which at the moment was Korbin. Two of the goons with guns covered Korbin, and only one covered Savanna and Fallon.
“You’ve caused me a great deal of trouble, Mr. Maguire.”
“You should give up now,” Korbin said.
Tony snorted. “This coming from a man wanted for murder.”
“The police are going to find out about you. Nate knows all about your plans. We just left his house. He’s going to tell police, if he hasn’t already.”
“Nate doesn’t know anything.”
“The identity theft you’re planning is a ruse. Isn’t that something? What about the virus you’re going to try to infect all those companies with? Nothing?”
It was dangerous for Korbin to push a man like Tony. Right now. When the guns were all trained on them. Savanna looked for a way out. If she could overpower the man before her and Fallon...
“Killing us won’t solve your problem,” Korbin said.
“Perhaps not, but it will give me great satisfaction. I will gladly claim responsibility for your deaths. And I will go to mine with a smile.”
Fallon began crying again. She believed their situation was hopeless. While it did appear that way, Savanna refused to give up. She watched Korbin look over at Fallon. A quiet rage simmered inside of him.
“You.” Tony indicated Fallon. “Back up into that stall.”
Fallon clutched Savanna’s side. “No!”
Savanna pushed her to Korbin. “I’ll go.” She backed up into the stall, looking down at the drains, seeing the trough underneath through a layer of grime.
Tony walked over to a ledge beside one of the stalls and lifted a rusty knife. Savanna had seen enough documentaries to know what that was for. He’d slice her neck and let her bleed out.
“No.” Korbin started toward her, Fallon clinging to him. But the two men moved forward with their guns, aiming not at him but at Fallon.
Tony strode toward her, the rusty instrument hanging from his hand and a sick smile curving his mouth. The armed man watched, not paying close attention.
Savanna looked at Korbin, trying to assure him she wouldn’t go down without a fight. He saw her and checked the two guns on him.
Tony lifted the knife. Savanna grabbed his wrist and pushed him into the man with the gun. Korbin shoved Fallon so that she sprawled to the ground. Savanna went down and pulled her toward her while Korbin fought two armed men.
She watched in horror as one of them was about to shoot him. But he wrestled a gun from one man and shot that one.
As he was about to shoot the third to the stunned disbelief of Tony, a group of men in black rushed into the barn yelling, “FBI. Drop your weapons!”
And it was over just like that.
Tony and two of the armed men were cuffed and hauled off, and the shot man was taken away on a stretcher. One of the agents talked to Korbin while two more stood guard over Savanna and Fallon.
“I’m Savanna Ivy.” She stuck out her hand to Fallon, who was still scared and pale.
“I know. I heard all about you.”
Of course she had. “I’ve heard a little about you.”
Fallon turned to her. “You have?”
“Yes. Korbin told me. He feels awful about your mother. It’s changed him.”
Fallon looked reluctant to believe it. “Is today any indication?”
“Yes. He’s fighting for his life back, the one he should have had with you and Niya.”
“He told you her name?”
“He told me a lot about her.”
“But...I thought the two of you were...”
Savanna smiled, a fake one, really, because secretly that hurt. “We were, but...” She shook her head. “He isn’t ready for that yet.”
“When I heard, I...” Tears sprang easily to the girl’s eyes, still sensitive from her ordeal. “My mother. Shot. I couldn’t fathom it. And because Korbin...”
“It isn’t Korbin’s fault that Damen got involved in this. He wants to have a life with you in it, and not just because you’re Niya’s daughter. He loves you.”
“You’re awfully understanding for someone who’s romantically involved with him.”
Savanna shrugged. “I’ve been through this before.” The second choice, the expendable one. The one who wasn’t quite enough.
Fallon observed her a while. “If Korbin loves you, he’ll stick around.”
“Yeah, I know the drill.”
“No, I mean it. He loved my mother and he stood by her no matter what. He never cheated on her and he treated her like a queen. I see that now. It took me a while, but I saw it.”
Savanna smiled through the ache in her heart. “Yeah, I know that about him.”
“May we have a word with the two of you?” an agent came over to them and asked.
Savanna saw that Korbin was being handcuffed.
“What are you doing?”
The agent glanced back. “We don’t have a choice. Your boyfriend is a hero, but he’s still a suspect in a murder. We have to take him in.”
Chapter 18
Demarco kicked the plywood again, trying to loosen the nails. But the boards were nailed good to the beams and weren’t budging. He paced his tiny space. Where the hell was Damen?
Hearing someone at the front door, he started yelling.
“Help! I’m in the basement! Help!” He kept screaming, “Help!”
A few moments later, he heard glass shattering. Whoever was there had heard him. He sagged against the cool metal of the bars for a second.
“Demarco?”
“Cora?” Cora had found him.
“Demarco!” He heard her feet thudding above and then reaching the basement door. She rushed down. Seeing him, she breathed and said, “Oh,” as she reached the barred door, gripping it with her hands.
“Oh, Demarco.”
“How did you find me?” he asked.
“I guessed he might have taken you to his house. I was hoping and praying.”
“You’re a good guesser. The key.” He pointed. “It’s hanging by the stairs.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t accustomed to so much excitement, violent excitement. He vowed to keep her from ever going through anything like this for as long as he lived.
Her fingers shook as she maneuvered the key in the lock. When it snapped open and the door swung free, he felt a rush of gladness.
Taking her into his arms, he hugged her and kissed her all over her face. “I love you.”
Her hands bracketed his face. “I love you, too.” She had begun to cry. “Oh, Demo. I have terrible news.”
She still held his face. He braced himself for what was coming, already knowing.
“Damen is dead.”
He shut his eyes. Would prison have been better? He’d have probably gotten life.
“Police found him in an RV park. They believe he tried to kill Korbin again and Korbin ended up killing him.”
Damen had failed as Demarco thought he would. While he’d hoped Damen would survive his bad decisions, it was still difficult to realize he’d never see his brother again. Damen was gone.
“They asked if we’d go to the coroner’s office to...” She fought back tears. “Identify the body.”
He
nodded. Taking her hands, he held them between their bodies and looked into her eyes. “There’s something else I need to do.”
Even though he felt stings of anger that Korbin had killed his brother, his course was set. And even though he feared what Gunderman would do to him once he turned in the weapon used in Collette’s murder, he had to do the right thing. From now on, he would do the right thing and not think twice about it.
“What is it?”
“Let’s get out of here.” Keeping one of her hands, he led her up the stairs.
In the car, she asked, “What is it you have to do?”
“I’ll show you. Let’s go home.”
For the rest of the ride there, memories of Damen shook him. He and Damen when they were five, blowing out candles together and then playing with the new army toys they’d gotten. Damen laughing. Camping out with their friends. Shooting off illegal fireworks. The innocence. Damen had been good then. Before his first girlfriend. Before animals growled at him whenever he got too close. Before he’d done his first crime.
And then Demarco had met Cora. He’d fallen so in love. Damen had never found that. At times, he’d watched Demarco and Cora with a glint of resentment. Demarco caught it sometimes. He hadn’t wanted to believe his brother hated him for finding love. If there ever had been a woman Damen had loved, it was the one he’d asked to marry him. Demarco hadn’t seen him look at her the way a man did when he loved her. But he’d claimed he had. And then the woman had found another man. The wedding was called off.
That had been the turning point for Damen. He began spending time with felons. His group of friends expanded. He’d connected with Korbin, probably the only good man out of the whole bunch. And then a new breed of criminals. Korbin had been smart enough to walk away. Now this.
Cora pulled into their garage and he preceded her into the house. He went to the guest bedroom closet that they used as storage. He reached up and took down a shoe box.
Cora stood in the room, watching. He took the box to the bed and set it there. Then he opened the lid. Inside, the gun Damen had used to kill Collette was inside a gallon-sized plastic bag. He felt Cora’s hand squeeze his forearm and only then realized she’d put her hand there.
“Demo...why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to frighten you. And I wasn’t sure what to do with it.”
“I-is this...?”
“Yes.”
“But...how...?”
“I saw him.” Replacing the lid on the shoebox, he took her hand. “Come with me. I need to show you something else.”
“There’s more?”
Damen had taken his cell phone and had destroyed it so no one could track him. But Demarco had recorded a video of Damen on his own phone, and copied it to his laptop. At his laptop, he opened the file and let Cora sit down to watch. She did, with both hands flattened on the desk. He could see her profile and it grew increasingly horrified. When the video ended with Damen turning from the river, she put her hand to her mouth. He could feel her thoughts. How could Demarco have ever doubted his brother had killed Collette?
“That was Korbin’s gun,” Demarco said. “He must have given it to Collette because she was afraid of Damen, and Korbin was going to help her get away. Damen thought they were having an affair, but she must have been planning to escape him. That’s why he killed her. In a jealous rage.”
“You knew?”
“Cora...I...”
“All this time, you knew he did it and you said nothing. You didn’t even tell me.”
He could see that last part bothered her most. “I’m sorry. I had a hard time accepting that Damen could do such a thing. But now, looking back, I recorded this because somewhere inside of me I knew I’d had enough. I could no longer protect him. It just took me a while to accept it, to mourn the loss of Damen. Because I knew I was going to lose him.”
“Oh, Demo.” Cora was both sympathetic and reproachful. “If police have this—” she held up the phone “—it proves Korbin couldn’t have killed her.”
Demarco nodded. He’d gone over this a hundred times already. “Even if I claim to have seen Damen leave his house, Korbin still could have killed her. But he didn’t have time to get rid of the gun. He was being arrested for a different crime—the hit-and-run. Korbin was being held for questioning at the time this recording was taken.”
“Why dispose of the gun if it was Korbin’s?” she asked.
“He killed Collette in the heat of the moment. He probably wasn’t wearing gloves then. Only when he stole the car.”
Cora stood. “You have to give this to police.”
There was nothing stopping him now. “That’s the one more thing I have to do.” Evil and corruption would be gone from their lives from here on out.
“You should have given it to the police as soon as you saw him and made this video.”
“Yes. That would have been the right thing to do. After this, I’m going to devote my life to you and me and doing just that. The right thing.”
Chapter 19
Korbin saw Demarco waiting in front of the police station as he walked with Savanna through the doors. Demarco had known all along that he was innocent. Korbin should be furious. What if he had never come forward? The DNA evidence may have been enough to prove he didn’t kill Collette. That was the only reason he wasn’t furious, that and the dilemma Demarco had found himself in. Damen had caused a lot of people unwanted drama.
Reporters swarmed him and Savanna, thrusting microphones at them and hurling questions, most of which he didn’t catch. Savanna, or her parents, had sent some security guards, who formed a barrier for them.
“The FBI has made arrests of several janitors across the country,” a reporter said. “What were they planning?”
“What kind of attack did you thwart?” one of the reporters shouted.
“How does it feel to be a national hero?”
Korbin grinned at that reporter. Him? A hero? Cameras went off and he faced forward again.
“Hey, Savanna, how did you two meet?”
Demarco waited by the sedan that would take them away from here. Korbin stopped before him. Detective Gunderman had told him that he turned over Korbin’s gun and the video of Damen. No charges had been placed against Demarco for withholding the evidence in exchange for his cooperation and testimony.
“I wanted to apologize in person,” Demarco said.
What should a man say to another apologizing for nearly ripping his life apart? He could think of nothing, so he said nothing.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me. But I do have a surprise for you.” He opened the back door and Korbin saw Fallon sitting inside. She looked tentative and moved deeper into the vehicle as more cameras clicked and video cameras rolled.
Korbin looked at Demarco, who shrugged. “I watched the news. I figured the least I could do is get things started in the right direction for you and your stepdaughter.” He handed him a card, an invitation. “And invite you to my next antiques auction review. You had to leave early from the last one.” He looked at Savanna. “It would be a shame to waste such a beautiful dress.”
Korbin shook Demarco’s hand. Some day he’d forgive him. When all of this was a distant memory. All except...he looked over at Savanna. Would she also be a memory?
“Thanks,” he said to Demarco.
Demarco gave him a slight bow. “I hope to see you soon.”
Getting into the car, he looked at Fallon with her long, curly blond hair and striking blue eyes. Savanna got into the front and the car began to move. Behind them, Korbin saw Demarco talking to reporters. When the sedan turned a corner, he disappeared from sight. He turned to Fallon. She looked at him in that tentative way, still not sure how she felt about him.
“I was going to go home, but I r
an into Demarco on my way out of the station,” she said.
“I’m glad you didn’t.”
She opened her mouth to say something and then shut it. Then she tried again. “Why is it so important that I be in your life?”
Had she really asked that question? “You’ve been like a daughter to me since you were fifteen.”
“I hated you when I was fifteen.”
“Yeah, but that didn’t last. Every stepkid hates the one who isn’t their real parent. It’s a stage. As soon as you saw what a great guy I was, you came around.”
She smiled. “You can be a real charmer. No wonder my mother fell for you so fast.”
He chuckled and then noticed Savanna’s head turning as though she wanted badly to look at them. This couldn’t be an easy exchange for her to hear. But it was important that he make Fallon understand how he felt about her, that she meant as much to him as any kid of his own would.
“We were a family,” he said. “And even though your mother isn’t here anymore, you’re still part of my family. You’re the only daughter I’ll ever have.”
Fallon lowered her head, and he felt her uncertainty.
Korbin reached for her hand, taking it from where it was curled into her other hand to hold it in his. “If I could change what happened, I would.”
Fallon lifted her head, all the pain of her loss shining in her eyes. “She trusted you.”
He stayed silent, letting her say what she needed to say.
“She knew what you were into, but she wasn’t afraid because she had you.” Tears sprang to her eyes, each one a dagger into his heart. “How could you have let her die like that?”
Korbin grasped her hand and kissed the back of it, then put it back down and covered it with his as he struggled with the familiar guilt. “I’ve asked myself that same question many times. I should have known she was in danger. I should have protected her. But I didn’t. I didn’t know what Damen was getting us into. He never told me. But I promise you, if I had known, your mother would have been nowhere near that place. I would have gotten us away from here. From Damen. You have to believe that.”
The Eligible Suspect Page 22