Lethal Legacy
Page 21
She started to laugh, then moaned as pain seared her chest.
He gripped her hand. “It’s a mountain, Amy. Climb over it. You can do it.” He put his cheek next to hers. “Remember the spirits, and this time don’t forget to leave a rock at the top.”
With a wan smile, she clenched her teeth until the spasm passed, leaving her body wet with perspiration. “Thanks, I’ll remember,” she rasped.
He dampened a washcloth and ran it over her face. “You should have told me you were pregnant.”
“I … I thought you,”
“I understand.” The skin drew tight over his cheeks and whitened around his mouth. “I’m glad you found someone else you could be close to. Are … are you happy, Amy?”
Amy’s breath caught in her throat. He doesn’t know. For an instant, she didn’t know whether to be sad or glad. “Happy…? I suppose.”
Nathan looked at her with a puzzled expression. “There is no love between you?”
She fought to clear the fogginess from her brain. Were they really having this conversation or was it some bad dream? She let her feelings for him shine in her eyes. “How could there be love between us?”
He ran his knuckle along her jaw. “Try to rest.” He straightened. “I’ll send in your father.”
A cold lump gathered in her stomach. “Will you be back?”
“Yes. I’ll return after awhile.”
Minutes after Nathan strode out, B.J. hurried to her bedside. “How do you feel, kitten?”
“Kind of shaky.” She clutched his hand and let out her breath. “My chest hurts like fury.”
B.J. nodded. “I’m not surprised. You have a bad chest wound.”
“Did the police arrest Cam?”
B.J. smiled. “Jed and I have had several meetings with Captain Moretti, Prosecuting Attorney Ingalls, and Sheriff Boyce.
“Tai Pham’s bite impression is the same as the one the forensic dentist took off the piece of candy you found by the stakeout site. His fingerprints correspond with those in Nguyen house and on the back of Chea Le’s car. And I’ll bet both of the brothers’ DNA matches the semen I found in Mai’s vagina.” He regarded her closely. “Am I tiring you?”
“Go on. I’ll rest better once I know.”
B.J. nodded. “Kim’s fingerprints match those in the Nguyen house, also those on the interior and exterior of Chea’s car.” He smiled at her. “He’s flatfooted and has a triangular scar on his right heel like the impressions you took at Cam’s house. And I’m as sure as I’m standing here that his DNA will be identical with the tissue under Mai’s nails and will prove he was the father of Chea’s unborn baby.”
“What about the knife?” Amy asked.
“The one Kim stabbed you with is the same one he used to kill Mai.”
She lay back against her pillow. “And the jewels? Were they in the package we found in Mai’s garden?”
“I’ll say.” B.J.‘s eyes snapped with excitement. “Honey, I’ve never seen gems the size of those. The rubies were damned near as big as cherries.”
He stopped and smoothed back her damp hair. “Now you’ve got to rest awhile. Jed wants to say a quick hello, then we’ll leave you alone.”
After B.J. retreated, Jed entered with a belligerent set to his jaw. “Who the hell does that big black-haired dude think he is? He acts as if he owns you.”
“He’s an old and very dear friend,” Amy said.
“Well, he can get his ass back to where he belongs. I can look after you and the twins. And,” He stopped in mid-sentence as Amy groaned and clamped her mouth close to keep from crying out.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Amy, I’m sorry.” He sank down onto a chair. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” He ran his hand over his face. “I got so damned steamed. I forgot how much pain you’re in.” He patted her arm. “I’ll get out of here so you can go back to sleep.”
When Amy woke up several hours later, she found a pink bed jacket lying at the foot of her bed. An attached note said. Thought you might want this. Love you. Dad.
Amy asked the nurse to brush her hair, help her into the bed jacket, and raise the head of the bed. After she left, Amy rearranged the jacket in an effort to conceal her protruding abdomen. Out of sight, out of mind, she hoped. It would be best for both of them if Nathan continued to believe she was pregnant with someone else’s children.
When Nathan arrived, he stood at the foot of her bed and gazed at her with a look that took her breath away.
“Do you have any idea how pretty you are?”
“Pretty?” Amy pushed at a lock of limp hair. “You’ve got to be joking.”
He came around to the side of the bed. “Your father and I have had a long talk.”
She widened her eyes in alarm. “What about?”
“You. What you were like growing up.”
“Why?”
“I wanted to know. He brought albums of pictures. Told me about your mother leaving when you were only eleven. Told me about you graduating from college with honors and about the trials of your marriage.”
She let out a relieved sigh. “Pretty boring, huh?”
“Never.” He reached out a tentative hand and fingered the edge of her bed jacket. “I learned something from your father.”
Amy pulsed speeded up. Now what had he done? “You’ll have to excuse Dad. He gets pretty wound up when it comes to me.”
“He loves you, Amy. He’d make any sacrifice for you, if it came to that.”
A cold feeling came over her. She shuddered and forced words through her aching throat, “Wouldn’t most parents?”
“Only the good ones.” He drew a deep breath, then another. “After listening to him talk, I realized how lucky it was that we didn’t marry. You’re so strong, Amy, so independent. I would have been too possessive of you.”
She remembered his feverish plea the night they’d made love. Only me, Amy. Only me. Didn’t he know, she’d wanted to echo his words?
She closed her eyes, felt a sob growing in her chest, but fought it down. “Maybe you’re right.” What else was there to say? She patted her abdomen. “I’m going to have lots others competing for my attention.”
He smiled sadly. “Yes. And you have so much to give.” He unbuttoned his shirt, took her hand, and pressed her open palm to his chest, skin to skin. “You will always be inmi tumnami.” His dark eyes bored into hers. “In my heart.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. “I will never forget you, Mihewi. Perhaps, if God wills it we will meet again.”
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © 1995 by Louise Hendricksen
ISBN 978-1-4976-2956-1
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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