by Thorn, Lacey
“Remember that?” she asked with panic filtering into her eyes and soul as she recalled Jack’s warning that Roman would leave if she didn’t stop him. “Why? Are you going somewhere, Roman?”
“I have to go out of town for about a week.” He noticed the panic in her eyes and, easing her up into a sitting position, wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly to his chest. “I’m not leaving you, Rin. It’s a business trip for work. But I do want you to think about us while I’m gone.” He tilted her face up so that she was forced to look into his eyes. “We can’t go on this way anymore. You have to make a decision, Rin. I’m either a part of your life or I’m not.”
“You know that I want to be with you Roman,” Rin tried to explain again, “but the kids. Especially my boys. I just don’t—”
Roman cut her off placing his fingers on her lips and giving a gentle shake of his head. Sadness filled his grey eyes when he replied, “No more excuses. I’m too old to be sneaking around, hiding how I feel about you. I love you, Rin. You either love me or you don’t.”
Temper flared and she gave him a little shove away from her, though it did nothing to move him. “It’s not that simple, Roman, and you know it.”
“It could be,” he answered, moving his hand down to dispose of the used condom and put his cock away, zipping and buttoning his jeans. “If you want it enough then it could be.”
“Damn it, Roman,” she began again but he silenced her once more with a kiss.
“I don’t want to argue with you anymore, Rin.” He looked down at the watch on his wrist. “I’m running late. I should have left over an hour ago but I wanted to see you first. Just promise me that you will think about it while I’m gone.” He leaned close and stopped when his lips hovered mere inches above hers. “Promise me ?”
Catherine was lost in him pulled under by the love that reflected in his eyes. “I’ll think about it, Roman, but…”
He kissed her softly, not wanting to hear again how much a relationship with him would hurt her kids. “That’s enough for me, Rin. That’s all I intend to ask of you right now.”
He deepened the kiss, wanting to leave her with a reminder of how great they were together, how devoted he was to her. Gradually, he eased away from her stepping back and taking in the sprawl of her body on the table. She was gorgeous with her robe open and revealing the beauty of her naked body, her opened legs giving him a glimpse of so much more. Her hair was still tousled from his loving and her lips were red and swollen from his kisses. Her cheeks glowed with the bloom of youth, or at least youthful passion, and it was all he could do not to step forward and have her again.
Instead he ran his fingers gently over her cheek and smiled. “I’ll call you,” he promised, then turned and left the kitchen and the woman he loved more than anything else behind. It was the hardest thing he had ever done, and as a Marine turned mercenary, he had made some rough choices. He opened the front door and let himself out of the apartment using his key to lock it behind him. He stood there for a moment wondering how he would live if she didn’t fight for him, for them. It would kill him to be without her.
Catherine sat on the table and gave free reign to the tears that seeped from her eyes and fell like rain down her cheeks. How could she let him go? Yet how could she put him before her kids? How could she ever decide what to do in just a week?
Chapter Two
Halloween was only a week away and Katie was looking forward to the costume party that Cass was throwing at the home she shared with Katie’s brother Doug and soon-to-be brother Damon. It didn’t seem that long ago that Cass had met Doug and Damon and the three of them had fallen in love. Doug and Damon were known to share women and it was no surprise to Katie that when they had fallen in love it had been with the same woman. And since Cass’ best friend Moira was already married to the oldest Daniels son, Gil, Cass was already like part of the family.
And now Damon would be officially family soon as well Damon Roberts would be known as Damon Daniels as soon as the paper work went through and then there would be a wedding to plan. Although, legally Cass was marrying Doug and taking the last name of Daniels, the three of them had decided that Damon would officially take the name of Daniels as well. After all, the Daniels family had always been there for Damon and he had always wanted to belong with them. He already did belong, but if taking the name meant that much to him, then the family was all for it. And after the official wedding another smaller more private ceremony would take place with the there of them uniting. Katie couldn’t be happier for them. Maybe this was exactly what her mother Catherine needed to snap her out of the funk she was in.
Catherine had always been the rock of the family, the one constant in their lives. Now she was changing before their eyes. Doug and Gil didn’t really see it, each wrapped in the intricacies of their own lives and loves. And Griff refused to see it, refused to see their mother as anything other than just that, their mother. But Katie saw more, the hunger that flashed in her mom’s eyes when Catherine thought no one was looking. Katie saw it and, as a woman understood, what it meant.
Katie had even caught her mom with a man not too long ago. She didn’t get a good look at the guy her mother was with, just the back of his head, but she still had an idea of who it was. For some reason her mother wasn’t ready to share that part of her life with Katie. So Katie was giving her plenty of time. Her mother deserved to be happy and Katie was bound and determined to make her brothers aware of that.
“Hey there, sugar,” Ben came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her to cradle her stomach, rubbing the spot where their baby rested. She wasn’t due until the middle of May and her stomach was still flat, but Ben still couldn’t stop touching her abdomen or placing kisses there every night before bed.
Katie turned in her husband’s embrace and went up on tiptoe to kiss him. The kiss took on a life of its own and they both were lost in the passion of their embrace for long moments before reality intruded with the sharp ring of the phone.
“You better get that,” Katie murmured as he eased away. That was the way it was when you were married to a detective. He could be pulled away at a moment’s notice on cases that she didn’t even want to know about.
“Marcum,” Ben snapped when he picked up the receiver. “Yeah. When? I’ll head out now and meet you there,” Ben glanced down at his watch before replying again. “Give me about ten minutes. Yeah. See you in a few.”
“Gil?” Katie queried, already knowing the answer as she watched Ben put his shoulder holster back on and check his weapon before sheathing it.
“Yeah,” Ben stated. “Call came in before he left the station.” He looked over at his wife and smiled wearily. “We gotta take this one, sugar. I don’t know when I’ll be back. Don’t wait up for me.”
“I love you,” Katie said and accepted the chaste kiss he placed on her mouth.
“Love you too, sugar,” Ben said and, grabbing his jacket, headed out the door.
Katie wanted to yell at him to be careful, to stay safe. But Ben already knew that and she knew in her head that he would never do anything to endanger himself or his partner, Gil, Katie’s brother. But the case he was on now worried her, in more ways than one. Legacy had another madman on the streets and this time he was stalking right into the very homes of its residents. No one knew how, when, or why. But death had come again to terrorize them and this time it brought with it fire.
* * * * *
Detectives Ben Marcum and Gil Daniels took in the blackened structure before them. It had once been a beautiful home owned by a young couple just starting out their lives together. Now it was their tomb. The one the department was desperate to catch had struck again and although Ben and Gil hadn’t been cleared by the fire marshal to enter the house yet, they were certain of what they would find. And it wouldn’t be pretty.
This would be yet another fire attributed to the phantom who was attacking the residents of Legacy. He somehow managed to gain entrance to
a home. Whether invited in or not they didn’t know, as thus far no one had been left alive to question. But the final scenes were always the same when Ben and Gil finally were allowed in, which was only after the fire marshal did his job determining the cause of the fire. Then the structure had to be considered safe enough for them to view the scene of death before the coroner removed the bodies.
The bodies were always found lying on the bed entwined in a lovers’ embrace. The autopsies would show that the victims were drugged prior to the house being set on fire, but the cause of death was always directly related to the fires, asphyxiation from smoke inhalation. The coroner was always quick to tell them that it was better that the victims were drugged before he burned them. It would be far worse to know what was coming and be powerless to stop it.
“Hey Gil, Ben,” Blake Summers called as he exited the house and headed toward them. Blake was the fire marshal in Legacy and had been for the last three years. He was in his early forties, with sandy brown hair and piercing brown eyes. He had moved to Legacy after a bitter divorce and taken over as the town fire marshal when the job came open. “It’s all clear,” he said taking in the protective gear they were both already wearing. “You can come in now. Just be careful not to touch anything. I’ll lead you to the bedroom.”
“Unfortunately, we know the ropes by now Blake,” Ben grumbled. “Start the same way?”
“Yeah,” Blake’s sigh was full of disgust. “The door and outer walls of the bedroom were soaked in accelerant—gasoline seems to be his choice—and then with a flick of a match he lit it up.”
“You get the match?” Gil questioned, eyes taking in every little detail as they worked their way back to the main bedroom.
Blake held up a clear baggie with the match in it. Just that. A match that could have come from any box of long matches that most people used to light their fire places with. Hell, the only reason they ever found the match was because he always left it on the doorstep or porch, depending on what the house offered. Like a macabre calling card.
The stench in the bedroom was overwhelming and it took all Ben had not to gag at the ripe smell of burned human flesh and hair. He glanced at Gil and knew that his partner felt the same way. But even worse than the smell was the sight of the devastation that a fire could wreak on a person.
The bodies were burned beyond recognition and dental records would have to be used to identify both victims. Gil prayed that the coroner was right and that they didn’t wake up during the fire. It turned his stomach to see what this guy did to these people. And for what? The sick thrill of playing God? Of holding the power of life and death in his hands? Or for some other, more personal, reason? He prayed they found their answers soon and put an end to this guy’s reign of terror.
“Anything new with this one?” Gil asked gruffly turning his head from the bed and heading out the door. The only evidence in this room was long gone, consumed by the flames. And what little might remain Blake and his crew would uncover once the bodies were removed. It was way past time to stop this fire-crazed madman.
* * * * *
Ally could feel it in her blood. She was getting closer to him. This time, she prayed that she would be in time to find him, to stop him. She squeezed her hands tightly around the steering wheel as she drove. This time she would find him and stop him for good. At the very least she would make sure that he paid for the lives he took so carelessly, for the lives that had meant everything to her.
She glanced at the sign and laughed softly as she read, “Legacy thirteen miles”. Legacy, she thought, what an appropriate place for things to end. For as he felt it was his Legacy to kill, she felt that it was hers to stop him.
* * * * *
Catherine paced her apartment like a caged tiger searching for a way out. Roman had only been gone for one day and yet it felt like an eternity. She was desperate to hear from him. Some part of her was still afraid that he wasn’t planning to come back to Legacy, back to her and what they shared. And technically he wasn’t. At least not like things had been in the past. Now he was forcing her to make a decision, forcing her to admit to the world that she had taken a lover, replaced her deceased husband with someone younger.
If she were honest, then she could admit that it wasn’t the world that she was worried about, just the small part of it where her children lived. She had no idea of how Gil, Doug, Griff and Katie would react to her and Roman being together. Catherine hadn’t even dated that they were aware of in the two years their father had been gone. But Mick was gone and all of them had moved on with their lives.
Gil was now married to Moira. Katie was married to Ben and expecting their first child. That made Catherine smile as she thought of how much Mick would have loved to be around for his grandchildren. He would have made a great grandpa, the best any little boy or girl could hope for. But she would do everything to make up for Katie’s child not having Mick. And how would Roman be around children? He didn’t have a child that she knew of. And it dawned on her how little she really knew about him.
They had shared some amazing conversations but most of them had been about her family, losing Mick and how her kids were doing. Roman often spoke of Jack and Jack’s daughter Moira and she supposed maybe that was the closest to family he had. It stunned Catherine to realize how much she hadn’t discussed with him. She didn’t know much about his life before now or what events in his life had shaped him into the man he was.
She had known everything there was to know about Mick, as he did about her. This was all so frustrating to be thinking of starting over at the age of fifty-seven. And that was exactly what Roman was asking of her, to start over, with him. God help her, she wanted to, wanted it with every breath. This brought her full circle back to the reason why she wasn’t. Her children.
Doug was busy now with Damon and Cass. Damon’s papers should come through any time and then his name would officially be Damon Daniels. Catherine was planning a surprise birthday party for him to celebrate his official “birth” into the Daniels family. And then there was the wedding of Cass to Doug in the official ceremony, and to both men in a family one. Catherine shook her head and laughed. She should be shocked by that but she wasn’t. She had known Doug’s and Damon’s sexual practices since they first starting sharing women back in college. That wasn’t something you could keep secret and people were all too willing to tell tales, especially to the mother and family members.
Catherine just wanted her children to be happy and if Doug, Damon and Cass could be happy together, then let them. Gil and Moira were obviously happy and Catherine was looking forward to the day when they decided to have children of their own. Gil would be a great father and Moira would be the perfect role model as a mother—strong, fierce and independent. And Catherine’s baby girl, her Katie, was having a baby. Ben and Katie would be great parents. Ben was protective and loving and Katie was just the same. All of her children were happy and healthy in relationships of their own. Surely they wouldn’t deny her the same thing.
Griff. He was the one who would be the most vocal about her and Roman. Griff would not be happy about it. Catherine had been dropping little hints and clues for months now and Griff, the only one of her children not in a relationship, always made comments about her being a mom and not thinking like that. Mick had spoiled him. With Gil gone in the service and Doug off at college, Griff had been the son left at home and Mick had often had long talks with him. Catherine wasn’t sure what all the conversations had been about and didn’t really feel a need to know, since they were between father and son and should be private. But she knew that Mick had told Griff that it was important to watch out for and protect his mother and sister, a task Griff took all too literally.
Catherine had some major decisions to make, but right now she just wanted a long soak in a hot tub and a glass of wine.
Chapter Three
Ally stood as close to the home where the latest fire had taken place as she could. No one seemed to be around, but she
had learned that often it was the things that you couldn’t see that you should fear the most. All she needed was a chance to take a look at the scene to see what he had done this time, to find out if he was still using the same method of destruction. If it was then he would have left some part of himself behind and she would pick up on it. Then she would know for sure if this was the same person she had been hunting and not a copycat. She prayed it was him.
She was a profiler of sorts who often worked with local police departments when she was able to connect with a case, but she was currently on personal leave due to this particular madman. The Messenger. She had known two of his victims personally, her mother Roni and her mother’s life partner Tory, who Ally had always referred to as Aunt Tory. Her mother had been her whole world and Aunt Tory had been a very important part of that world. Ally never knew her father, though her mom and Tory spoke of him with love. He had died just before Ally was born, killed by a drunk driver. She didn’t know the full dynamics of the relationship they had all shared but she had gathered the gist of it as she grew older. Basically they had both been his wives and when he was gone they had turned to one another. And that is what had got them killed.
It also explained why she was here following him and hoping to finally stop him. This was the first time he had set fires again since killing her family. It had taken her a while to pinpoint exactly where he was but as soon as she did she’d headed out. One way or another, The Messenger must be stopped. She would see him die as violently as he had killed others. She would see him burn. Now if she could just get inside the home without getting caught.
He watched the shadow ease closer to the side of the house, edging around to the back door, he assumed. Blake didn’t know what had made him come back by the house tonight but was glad that he had. He may have just caught the man they were looking for. He eased his cell phone out and called the cell number he had for Detective Gil Daniels.