Grave Secrets

by Trout, Linda

  “Oh, God. Not again!” Melissa wailed.

  Sara turned. The woman held the limp body of her baby in front of her. Sara hadn’t thought she could take any more shocking news, but the instant she got a good view of the child, she almost passed out. “Kaycee!” Even though it had been six months since she’d seen her, Sara would have known her daughter anywhere. Except the baby wasn’t breathing. Melissa had apparently held her so tight, she’d smothered her.

  Leo would have to kill her to keep her from her child. If he tried, she just might kill him instead.

  Before Melissa knew what was happening, Sara rushed her—snatched the child out of her arms. Don’t think. Just act. Quickly! How long had it been since she’d stopped breathing? Sara had been so engrossed in the discussion with Leo, she’d lost track of time. Please don’t let me be too late!

  She laid Kaycee on the floor and started CPR, eternally grateful she’d paid attention in the classes they’d taken before the baby’s birth.

  “Leave her alone! She’s mine!” Melissa screeched as she gave Sara’s shoulder a sharp tug.

  Sara refused to be distracted. She heard a loud thump, then caught a glimpse of the woman crumpled on the floor before she refocused all her thoughts, all her energy on saving her daughter’s life.

  “Keep your hands off her, slut,” Leo said.

  Thank God there was at least one decent bone left in his body, regardless of his reasoning. The woman would have let Kaycee die rather than allow her real mother to save her.

  After a few moments, Kaycee coughed, then started crying. It was the sweetest sound Sara had ever heard. Her own heart thudded so hard against her chest she was sure even the half conscious mistress could hear it. Sara sobbed, tears of joy streaked down her face. It was hard to catch her breath. Her hands trembled. Kaycee was alive. My baby is alive. Oh, thank you, God.

  Sara scooped Kaycee from the floor, cradled her, and gently ran her fingers over the most wondrous sight in the world. Oh, my God, Kaycee. My beautiful Kaycee. She couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t touch her enough, couldn’t smell her enough. With Kaycee in her arms, Sara didn’t think she’d ever stop smiling. Even Leo waving a gun around didn’t deter her.

  Melissa struggled to a sitting position, arm outstretched. “No-o-o! She’s mine!”

  Sara’s smile dropped. “You’ll never touch my child again. Ever! Try it, and I’ll break your arms.”

  The two women stared at each other.

  Melissa sneered. “As if.” The only thing that kept her in place was Leo’s leg, angled between the two of them.

  Instantly all the moves Cat had taught her flashed across Sara’s mind. Yes, she could definitely inflict some serious damage to the woman. Including breaking her arms.

  With the threat of Melissa out of the way, Sara turned her attention to Kaycee. She rocked her daughter back and forth, humming the lullaby she’d sung when they’d first brought her home from the hospital. Sara showered her with kisses to her forehead, cheeks, her chubby little fingers. She didn’t know how long she sat there—she would’ve sat there for an eternity as long as she could cuddle, love and live again. Having Kaycee back had been her only reason for living for the last six months.

  Tiny tears still clinging to her lashes, she stopped crying and gazed at Sara as if she knew her. And Sara believed she did. All the pain, the heartache she had suffered since Jason’s death instantly faded. She had Kaycee in her arms where she belonged. Nothing else mattered.

  “Don’t they look happy, Bonnie?”

  That brought the woman to life. “It isn’t Bonnie, you moron! It’s Melissa. It was going to be Melissa Adams as soon as he got rid of her.” She tilted her head in Sara’s direction.

  “Wh—?” Sara couldn’t believe her ears. Jason wouldn’t do that to her. Not leave her for this Barbie Doll, foul mouthed fake. Not after all they’d been through. Then she looked around the house and saw a few signs of him scattered around. A painting he’d liked leaned against the wall, the type of informal furniture he’d preferred before he’d become head of the company. Which was totally opposite of what he’d furnished their house with. However, when her gaze came back to Melissa, she decided they were just things. Sara held in her arms the only truly important item in the entire house.

  She was curious, though. “Why did you take Kaycee? Why steal my child?”

  Pure, unadulterated hate emanated from the woman’s eyes. “You had everything. The big house that should’ve been mine. All that money and a living kid. I figured I was due. I came by after his funeral and you had all those bigwigs there. I found the baby, so I took her.”

  A living child? Suddenly she knew. “It was Alice, wasn’t it?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Leo demanded.

  Sara ignored him, focusing on Melissa. “You buried Alice in Jason’s grave. What happened to her?”

  “There was a baby in his grave? I’ll be damned.” Leo leaned his head back and actually cackled.

  Sara gave him a scathing look before turning her attention back to the mistress.

  It took Melissa a long moment to answer. Finally, without any signs of remorse, she said, “She’d been sick, couldn’t get her to stop crying so I hugged her close until she did. Then she died. Just like Jason.” This time she threw Leo a venomous glare. “I figured the best place for her was with her daddy. So I buried her there the night of his funeral, while the dirt was still loose.”

  Sara couldn’t imagine being in a cemetery late at night by yourself digging up a grave in the dead of winter to bury your dead child in it. A shiver slid down her back at just the thought. Without thinking, she said, “It must have been hard for you. How old was Alice when she died?”

  “About a month.” She suddenly quit talking, as if she finally remembered she was giving information to Jason’s widow, then turned her head to the side so Sara couldn’t see her eyes.

  Sara gazed at her daughter. Jason had had two daughters, probably born within a week of each other. Yet he’d never let on. He’d been so loving and tender when Kaycee had come home. Had he shown any of that love to his other child? Had he even been there when she was born? Or afterward? She almost felt sorry for Melissa. But not quite.

  “I would’ve traded everything I owned to have my daughter back.”

  Melissa’s head whipped around. She looked astonished, then pissed. “It should’ve been mine, you know. Not this dump in backstreet suburbia. He gives you the mansion and I get the leftovers!”

  “It’s all just stuff. Nothing more.”

  “Everything was going perfect until Leo screwed it up,” Melissa continued as if she hadn’t heard Sara.

  Sara glanced at the determined expression on Leo’s face. She had to get her and Kaycee out of there.

  “Yeah, everything’s always someone else’s fault, isn’t it, Bonnie? And don’t try to sidetrack me. We still have some unfinished business to take care of.”

  Melissa struggled to her feet, the bruise on the side of her temple where Leo had hit her earlier turning a dark purple to match the bruise on her cheek. “I told you we can work this out. We have our ways, Leo. You and me. We were always good together. Remember?”

  Sara had been so thrilled to find Kaycee, she’d forgotten the things she’d heard before she’d so foolishly rushed inside. Only by doing so, she had her daughter back. She would never regret being so rash. Slowly she stood, then inched toward the door.

  “Don’t even think it,” Leo said as he waved the gun in her direction. “Put the kid down.”

  Her heart hammered against her chest. Maybe if she and Melissa both rushed him they could overpower him. Reluctantly she took Kaycee to the playpen in the corner of the room and laid her inside. Sara caressed her cheek, soaking in the sweet scent she’d missed so much. Her heart was about to burst with the love she felt for her daughter. Would either one of them live through this? Surely Leo wouldn’t kill a baby.

  He waved the gun toward the door. �
�Come on. We’re going to take a little ride. The discussion y’all had gave me the perfect spot for you, Bonnie.”

  He’s going to kill her and dump her body in Jason’s empty grave! But what was he going to do with her? Tie her up and leave her behind? A sickening realization hit her. The only person being left behind was Kaycee. Oh, God.

  Trembling, Melissa stood her ground. “I don’t take orders from you anymore. Jason showed me a side of life—a side of myself—you could never appreciate. I have value, Leo, and I have Jason’s baby. There isn’t anything you can do about it.”

  Back off, Melissa. You have no idea what you’re dealing with here. And she’s my baby, not yours! Sara tried to think of a way to distract him, to get him to focus on something else.

  “You think you’ve moved up in the world?” His eyes narrowed to slits. “Just ’cause that tight assed cousin of mine coughed up enough money for this place and got you knocked up don’t mean a friggin’ thing. Hell, that ain’t even your kid.”

  He waved the weapon in the direction of the playpen. Sara panicked and threw herself between the baby and Leo. She’d do whatever she had to in order to protect Kaycee. Melissa stayed rooted to the spot.

  “See? Now there’s a mother’s love,” he proclaimed, looking at Melissa as if she were a bag of trash. “You said I didn’t know jack shit, but honey, you ain’t worth shit.” He raised the gun and fired, the sound exploding in the room. Melissa jerked backward from the force of the impact.

  Sara screamed. Kaycee cried. Melissa slumped to the floor—blood pouring through a hole in her chest, a surprised expression on her face. Frozen in place, Sara couldn’t move, couldn’t take her eyes off the woman as blood pooled around her.

  She’d be next. Right here, right now. Sara turned toward the still crying Kaycee. Hating to see her daughter so upset, she bent and picked up a pacifier, placing it in her mouth, Sara stroked her baby’s cheek until she quieted. Tears streaming down her own cheeks, she faced Leo and moved away from the playpen. If he was going to shoot her, she didn’t want her daughter covered in blood. She just prayed after he killed her, he’d leave and let Kaycee live. Hopefully one of the neighbors would hear the gunshots and call the police. They’d find Kaycee a good home. She hoped. Only the thought of someone else raising her precious child tore Sara apart. She’d spent so much time and energy trying to get her baby back that it didn’t seem fair she wouldn’t get to spend more than a few minutes with her.

  “You know, I’ve always loved you.” Leo’s expression softened as he took a step toward her before stopping. He lowered himself onto the arm of a deep leather chair, much like the one in Jason’s home office. Probably went to the same place to buy it, she thought. The gun was pointed at the floor, which didn’t fool Sara. He’d already demonstrated how quickly he could turn from passive to forceful.

  “You—you do?” No way was she going to provoke him. Now that she’d found Kaycee, she wanted to live a long life to see her baby grow to adulthood, marry, and have children of her own. She mentally crossed her fingers that things would work out in her favor. If she got the slightest opening, she’d—

  “Remember when we first met?”

  She squinted. What was he getting at? “I think so.” At his glare, she amended, “Yes, of course I do. What was I thinking? It was at college.”

  His features relaxed somewhat. “At a basketball game. You were all flushed from the cold, your hair windblown, and you dropped your scarf while trying to get your gloves off. I remember the gloves and scarf matched.” He snorted. “How many college students care about that sort of crap? You looked so funny trying to get yourself untangled I couldn’t help but be attracted to you. I picked up your scarf before anyone trampled it.”

  “That was very sweet of you, Leo. I appreciated it.”

  He paused as he looked unseeing into space. “Inconsiderate assholes. People don’t have respect for other people’s property. I would’ve taught them a lesson if I’d had to, you know.” He looked back at her, determination reflected in his eyes.

  She stared at him as if he’d lost his mind, which he had. He’d just killed a woman, confessed to killing Jason as well as their grandfather all in order to get control of a company, yet he sat here talking about respecting others? Oh, Lord. She had to find a way out of this.

  “You got it in time, though, so no one needed a lesson.” She gave a weak smile, afraid it came out more of a grimace.

  He smiled back, looking for all the world as if he weren’t holding a gun on her. “Yeah, you even shared some popcorn with me. You were all upset when we lost the game, too.”

  “You remember that?”

  “Sure. You let me hug you for the first time.”

  She thought a moment. “That’s right. Then we went for pizza before you walked me back to the dorm. My roommate had gone to a frat party and hadn’t bothered to invite me. I’d thought about staying in and studying but since I loved basketball, decided to go by myself.” She smiled for real this time. “You were the perfect gentleman and saved me from an evening of solitude.”

  “It’s the least I could do.”

  “As I recall, we wound up spending a lot of time in that pizza parlor. What happened, Leo? Suddenly you just weren’t there anymore. Why?”

  His smile faded and he grew somber. “You really don’t know?”

  She shook her head. “No. I don’t.”

  The hard glint returned to his eyes. “I dropped out of school.”

  Perplexed, she asked, “Why?”

  “Because of him, that’s why. I made the mistake of introducing you to Jason and after that, I didn’t exist anymore.”

  “But we were just friends, Leo. That’s all. There weren’t any romantic feelings between us…” She had the good sense to stop talking when she saw the pain and hurt on his face. She wrapped her arms around her waist. “Is that what this is all about? You thought I jilted you?”

  He looked panicked before he schooled his features. “Hell, woman, you ain’t worth it. I’m in this for me. Period. Well, and the money and power, of course. I’ve got more brains than my stupid cousin could ever hope for. I know things. Things you don’t learn in school, so don’t you go feeling all sorry for me. Besides, I’m alive and he’s not.” He threw his head back and laughed, the sound scaring Sara as much as seeing him shoot Melissa

  “Just as well. You would’ve bored me to death within a month if we’d actually connected.”

  “What do you mean?” If she stalled him long enough, maybe she’d find a way out.

  He sneered at her, then pointed toward Melissa’s body with his thumb. “She’s more my style. She liked it nasty and rough. You’re probably so uptight you’d pass out just thinking about what I demand.”

  She swallowed. “Was Jason the same way? Is that why he had the affair with her?”

  “He jumped her as soon as he met her, so, yeah, I’d say trashy was his preference, too.”

  Sara was sick to her stomach. How could they have been married all those years and she not have known? Jason had seemed so happy and hadn’t said anything to her to indicate their lovemaking didn’t satisfy him. Except the last two to three years he’d changed, grown more distant and reserved. Now she knew why. However, he hadn’t exhibited any other signs. If he’d preferred trash like Melissa, wouldn’t it have shown somehow? Then she thought back to the receipts she’d found where he’d gone to resorts, spas and high class hotels. No, Jason hadn’t changed, but Melissa had obviously made extreme attempts to fit into his world. She’d wanted to be a lady.

  She’d failed. Miserably.

  Sara hated him for his deceptions, for not loving her like she’d thought he had. Too bad he wasn’t here now. She’d show him a move or two. Only it would be Cat’s moves and Sara would fix it where he wouldn’t be getting any nasty or rough sex—from anyone—for a very long time. For all she cared, Jason Adams could rot in hell.

  Leo got up and headed toward the playpen. Sara immediately pla
ced herself between him and her child. He threw her a look as if to say he wouldn’t hurt the baby and moved around her. Kaycee chose that moment to spit out the pacifier and start crying again. Apparently she didn’t like Leo any more than Sara did. Smart baby.

  Leo took a step back, obviously irritated with the noise. “Why the hell do all brats have to—”

  Sara swung her flattened hand sideways against his throat, taking all her anger, frustrations and hurt from Jason out on Leo, putting as much force as she could muster into the blow. Pain shot up her arm from the impact, but she ignored it. This was her last—and only—chance at survival. Of getting herself and her daughter out of there alive.

  Staggering, Leo grabbed his throat with his left hand while swinging around with the gun in his right. He wouldn’t go down without a fight. Neither would she. She fisted both hands together and hit him in the kidney. He grunted. She backed away from the playpen. He stumbled after her.

  She let him get close, then grabbed a vase from the bookcase and hit him over the head, hoping it would be enough to knock him out. Pieces of the shattered glass scattered across the floor. Blood dripped down his face from his cut forehead. Still, he stayed on his feet.

  Oh, God. She backed up, then her foot slipped. She looked down. In horror she stared into Melissa’s lifeless eyes and realized she stood in a pool of her blood. One more step backward and Sara would’ve tripped over the body. All her energy drained out of her. That could’ve been her…probably would be before long despite her efforts. Why did she ever think she’d beat Leo in a fight?

  She didn’t stand a chance.

  She smelled her own fear, her own defeat. She couldn’t beat him—he was too strong. But Kaycee needed her…and she needed Kaycee.

  “Damn it, Sara.”

  Oblivious to the body on the floor, Leo lunged for her. Frantic, she twisted out of his reach, making a desperate attempt to grab the gun. She missed. No! Panting, she sent a chop to the back of his neck, but there wasn’t much force in it. She staggered, bringing her closer to Leo. He turned and backhanded her, sending her sprawling over the back of the couch, onto the floor.