by Renee Miller
“Very funny,” the officer on the right motioned with his gun. “Stand up slowly, hands where we can see them.”
“All right. But, I don’t usually get company in the middle of the night, so I’m afraid I’m not exactly dressed for the occasion.” Wade kept his hands high and threw his legs over the edge of the bed. He kept his gaze on the officers, grinning as he stood. “Guess there’s no need to search me.”
Wade caught the look that passed between them. He vaguely recognized one, but the room was too dark to be sure. Thomas said they’d try to make sure their guy was in on the bust when it happened, to ensure they found what they should.
“Get dressed,” the officer on the left ordered. “Where’s the light switch?”
“Next to the door. On the right.”
Wade blinked. He knelt down, keeping one hand high and picked up the jeans he’d discarded next to the bed only hours earlier.
“Can I lower my hands to put these on, or would someone like to help me? I must ask you to be careful with the zipper.”
The officer on the right walked over, his gun pointed at Wade’s chest, and took the pants from him. He shook them and, satisfied they contained nothing dangerous, he handed them back. “Put them on so we can get this over with.”
Wade pulled his jeans on and they escorted him downstairs. He wondered why they didn’t cuff him. The last time they’d raided the house he’d been cuffed and hauled out the door before he even knew what was happening. The hallway remained dark but the lights in the kitchen spilled over the stairs. Where was Amy?
As he rounded the bottom of the stairs, a flush of anger heated his skin. They had torn the house apart. At least a dozen officers roamed the lower level, searching every nook and cranny. The freezer stood wide open, its contents on the floor.
He shook his head and glanced at the officer who appeared to be in charge, the only one who stood still, talking on a cell phone. “I hardly think it’s necessary to destroy my home. I would have been quite willing to help you find whatever it is you’re searching for.”
The officer flipped the phone shut and smiled back. His dark hair curled at his collar, the vest made his chest look enormous. He stood about Wade’s height and his dark eyes leveled him with a gaze that dared him to get cocky. Wade never could resist a dare. In fact, he planned to make sure they put him in jail; it was the only way his plan would work.
“I’d like you to sit right there.” He pointed to the table. “Keep your hands where we can see them and your mouth shut.”
“Sure, but can I ask what it is I’ve done?”
“We have reason to believe—in fact we’re certain—you and your associates have been in the business of selling illegal drugs and weapons, among other things.”
Wade snorted and allowed the officer behind him to nudge him toward the table. He walked around to sit on a chair positioned against the wall. “My associates? Boy, I’m an important man.”
“You were.” The officer turned and clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze on the activity around them. But he remained tense, as though expecting Wade to do something shady any moment.
Wade sat back, careful to keep his hands on the table, while the police searched his home. He knew they’d find something. He’d planted it, hoping Amy would seize the chance to set him up. Tempted to tell them where they could find it, he bit his tongue as they dumped cabinets and removed cushions from the L-shaped sofa in the family room. Several officers moved upstairs, boxes and bags ready for any evidence that might pop up. They had turned on every light in the house. Wade wondered where Amy had gotten to. He hoped they’d found her a safe house. It would make things easier. They wouldn’t have to search for her. One carefully set fire and bye-bye Amy.
They wouldn’t actually slap the cuffs on him until they found what they needed. The last time they searched his house they went ahead and shackled him. Boy, were there a lot of red faces and disciplinary actions for the officers involved, when they found nothing to pin on him. It was taking them an obscenely long time to do their search. Their guy on the inside knew where to look, but he’d been instructed only to go for it if his peers drew a blank.
Voices from upstairs, loud and excited. The man in charge glanced at Wade and raised a brow. “Let’s see what we’ve found,” he murmured and walked to the stairs.
Another officer walked to stand over him, his gun drawn. He waited until his superior had disappeared upstairs before turning his gaze. The slight nod told Wade all he needed to know. This was his man. Wade looked away and to the front door. Two cruisers and a wagon waited outside. Shoot, they’d called out the Calvary just for him. He felt honored. Amy had really outdone herself. Strange she hadn’t stuck around to gloat.
His thoughts drifted to Kristina, and an icy hand clutched his gut. Had they searched her house too? He looked to the officer next to him, but the man stared straight ahead. Wade couldn’t ask him anything anyway. If Kristina were in trouble there was little he could do, except hope she didn’t panic.
The bustle of activity in the rooms above him increased.
Wade fidgeted.
The officer glanced at him.
He smiled. “So, nice night, eh?”
The man’s gaze darted around the room before he spoke. “It is, a shame we couldn’t be near the water where there’s at least a breeze instead of out here in the middle of nowhere. I know a great spot, a bridge in town where you can sit and feel the wind on your face. Haven’t been there in a while.”
“Yeah, I like the water but Amy hates the bugs. I had to stop going so often.”
The officer nodded. He looked too young to wear the uniform but Wade knew from what Thomas told him he was wise beyond his years. If he wasn’t, the Brotherhood wouldn’t have paid his way into Law Enforcement. Wade’s eyes drifted to the nameplate below his badge. Jacobs.
“Not fond of bugs either. Where you’re going there won’t be nothing like that, maybe a rat or two. No lovely ladies either. I bet you’re going miss those.”
Wade nodded. “I bet I will too. But then, you guys have to pin something on me first.”
“Oh we will,” he smiled and looked to the door. “You know what’s strange about this place? I never hear the birds. I see lots of them, but they never sing. I’m not from around here, transferred in from Toronto.”
“Hmm.”
“I hear birds singing all day long down there, even with all the traffic and sirens, but here, they don’t seem so chatty. I thought you’d hear more wildlife in the sticks.”
“I guess they’re shy.”
“I saw one today that seemed pretty rare. It had the prettiest green eyes. Red feathers too. Gorgeous bird. Thought for sure it’d start squawking any minute, but it didn’t chirp at all.”
“Maybe it had nothing to say.”
“Maybe I asked it to sing the wrong tune.” The officer shrugged.
Relief flowed through Wade. They’d tried Kristina and she didn’t give them a thing. He smiled at the comparison of her to a bird and thought she might not like it. He wondered what this guy would consider Amy to be, and snorted as he imagined a crow. Yes, that would be Amy.
Wade turned to footsteps on the stairs. Four officers rounded the bottom with boxes in their arms, avoiding his gaze. The last to descend was the man in charge, the cocky prick. Wade nodded as he stepped off the last stair and into the kitchen, cuffs in hand. “I see you’ve found what you were looking for.”
He nodded and motioned to the officer who’d stood next to Wade. The man took Wade’s arm and pulled him up. “Hands.”
They cuffed him. He listened silently as they read his rights. The officer rattled off the charges and Wade did his best too look disappointed. Darn, he’d be spending some time in jail. In fact, he expected to serve a couple of years before they were done, but any amount of time would be worth the reward. Freedom and Kristina.
They nudged him forward and Wade followed without resisting. An officer waited at the doo
r, opening it as they approached. Amy stood in front of the porch, two officers at her side. Their eyes locked.
“Sorry, I had to do it. I just can’t live like this anymore,” she said, wringing her hands.
The sun had begun to rise, and over the empty field bordering the left side of the property a pink fog drifted. Wade smiled and looked back to his wife as they urged him to the waiting cruiser.
“Bye Amy, say hello to Karma for me, will you?” he murmured.
Her eyes widened and she paled.
Wade turned. Chuckling he let them lead him to the cruiser. He didn’t look back. He wanted to remember his wife as she was at that moment, as reality hit her like a brick.
CHAPTER 28
Cadence’s soft snore against her chest forced a smile from Kristina, although she had little to smile about. Her father told her Wade had been arrested. They’d heard it on their way home from the cottage. That had been two days ago and she’d heard nothing more about him or the box. She wondered if they had arrested him anyway, despite what she’d told them, and considered the possibility they let him believe she ratted him out. Would he believe it? She hoped she was wrong but her instinct told her not to hope for too much.
Standing, she picked Cadence up, tiptoed from the couch to the stairs and then up to Cadence’s room. Since returning from the cottage her daughter refused to let Kristina out of her sight, and the only way to get her to sleep was to let her lay with her. Although glad she was missed, Kristina hoped she got over it soon. She couldn’t get much done when she had to sit for an hour waiting for her to drift off.
After laying Cadence in her crib and waiting a moment to make sure she’d stay asleep, Kristina crept downstairs to tidy up. She’d have to go back to work soon, but not to the bar. She couldn’t bear working there without Wade. She would go see John and ask for her old job back at Mac’s. She hoped he hadn’t filled it.
The phone startled her. She paused, one hand over her heart. The damn thing hadn’t rang all day. Rushing to pick it up she murmured a quick hello, listening with her other ear for Cadence’s cry.
“Kris?”
Wade. Her heart skipped and she almost sank to the floor when her knees weakened in relief. “Where are you?”
“Jail.”
“Oh.”
“I’m okay. It’s not the first time I’ve been a guest of this fine establishment. It’s not exactly five star—not even one star—but I’ll make do. I just wanted to check on you. My lawyer told me the police questioned you.”
“Yes but I—”
“I don’t have time much time. I just wanted to tell you I’m okay. I heard you had some trouble and wanted to make sure you didn’t pack everything up and move away.”
“I—no I’m still here,” she realized what he was doing and tried to think of an answer that would tell him everything and absolutely nothing to the people listening. “The police were just doing their job. Amy told them I had something that belonged to you, but I told them she was mistaken. It was Daniel’s. I had to tell them about her and Daniel and what he’d done.”
“Oh honey, I’m so sorry. I know you didn’t want to anger him, but you’re better off with him locked away.”
She heard the smile in his voice.
“I think so. He won’t bother me anymore now that the police know everything. It’s nice not being scared all the time. And I’ve met someone special.”
“You have?”
“Yes, he’s quite a catch. Seems everyone wants to keep him away from me, though.”
“People should leave you two alone.”
“I miss him.”
“I’m sure he misses you too.”
Tears burned her eyes, and despite her happiness, despair clutched her heart. “I don’t care how long it takes; I’ll be here waiting for him.”
“He’s a lucky man.”
A murmured voice in the background.
“Hey kid, I gotta go. Chin up, okay. If the guy’s smart, he’ll do whatever it takes to see you again.”
“I know. Thank you, Wade.”
The line went silent and Kristina set the phone on its base.
She didn’t have time to mull over her mixed emotions as Cadence’s cries erupted from upstairs. Sighing she rushed up to get her. Cadence stood in her crib, screaming into the darkness. She paused when Kristina stepped inside the room but only for a moment.
“Okay, I get it.” Kristina picked her up and turned to go downstairs.
A knock at the door and she froze. Part of her dreaded answering it; the thought of Daniel confronting her was more than she could bear. But he’d just break the door down if she didn’t answer.
Bracing herself for the worst, Kristina rushed down the stairs and to the door. She slid the deadbolt opened it and came face to face with the stranger.
“Mind if I come in?” he asked, pushing past her.
Kristina didn’t know who this man was, but he terrified and fascinated her at once. His presence brought tension into the room. He emanated a quiet power, one that anyone with a brain in their head wouldn’t cross.
Cadence had stopped crying, her eyes widened at the interesting stranger.
He turned and held his arms out; a frisson of fear ran down Kristina’s back as her daughter happily leaned toward him. She pulled back but he took Cadence from her arms as though it were the most natural thing in the world for him to do.
“Please put her down. I want you to leave,” she said stepping toward him.
“Going to call the cops?” he asked, stroking Cadence’s brown curls.
Her daughter gazed up at him, raising a tiny hand to trace the lines on his neck.
Kristina stood close enough to see the tattoo clearly. The scales of justice wrapped around his neck, black ink depicted a feather on one side of the scale, a smoking gun on the other. She frowned, unable to decipher its meaning. Although clearly it was related to justice, the feather made little sense to her.
“You like it?” he asked and chuckled when she didn’t reply. “The scales stand for justice, the legal kind anyway, and the gun is obviously the proper way to see justice served. Street Justice, if you will. Of course, that’s just my humble opinion. I do believe in an eye for an eye. Too cliché?”
“And the feather?” Kristina couldn’t help herself. Curiosity overwhelmed her desire for him to leave.
“Ah, the feather. Are you familiar with Egyptian mythology? No? I am well versed in it. As a young woman, my grandmother came to Canada from Egypt. She told me many tales. This one is my favorite though. The feather is the symbol of the Egyptian Goddess, Maat. The Feather of Truth and Justice. It’s a long history, changed over the centuries, adapted to fit the times, but I’ll give you the condensed version.
“Maat stands at the entrance to the Halls of Two Truths—that’s in the underworld—ready to place her feather on the scales. If it were you standing there, you would wait with bated breath to see what happened as she placed your heart on the other side. If your heart balanced with the feather, you would have eternal life. If not...” He smiled, pausing to touch her chest briefly.
Her heart pounded and she knew he felt it. The light in his dark gaze sent a tremor down Kristina’s spine.
“The waiting monster, Amemait, would eat your heart and your life; your soul would be gone.”
Speechless she stared up at him.
Cadence squealed in his arms.
Kristina’s gaze dropped to her daughter who played with the collar of his leather jacket. She longed to rip her from his arms, but something in his eyes told her it would be a stupid move. The way to deal with this man was to remain calm. He wouldn’t strike unless she gave him reason.
“Know who Amemait is?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“She is known by many names; ‘The Bone Eater,’ ‘she who destroys the wicked,’ or simply ‘The Devourer’. Part lioness, part hippopotamus, and part crocodile; she is not a pretty creature. Her function is to devour t
he hearts of the dead who did not pass judgment, thus destroying their soul or extinguishing their ‘light’. Tell me, would your heart balance? Have you led a life that has been true and just?”
“If you don’t leave, I’ll go straight to the police.”
His words troubled her, but not because she believed them. Myths were silly nonsense made up by old people to scare small children into behaving. It was the way he said them, as though he knew the turmoil raging in her heart over what she’d done to keep Wade.
He set Cadence on the floor, and then gave her a couple of blocks from the toy box next to the wall. Kristina stiffened as he straightened and then walked toward her. He stopped inches from her face.
“I know what you’ve done. You’re lucky Wade is so taken by you, or I’d have exacted the punishment any other rat would receive. I’m not fooled by a pretty face, and he’ll realize the truth before long.”
The hairs on her neck stood on end but Kristina raised her chin and met his gaze. His dark eyes gave her chills, so dead and cold, but she would not be intimidated, she’d done nothing wrong. “I asked you to leave.”
He smiled and leaned forward, his lips pressed against her ear. She resisted the urge to pull away, clenching her fists at her sides in order to stand her ground.
“I’ll be watching. No one crosses me. But Wade has made it clear you are not to be touched, for now. If his arrest opens a can of worms for the rest of us though, it won’t matter how much he begs; you will pay.”
“I didn’t do anything. You should be visiting his wife. I’ve talked to the cops and they aren’t looking at Wade for anything but what they found at his house. Maybe you should talk to him before you go around making threats.”
“Maybe I will,” he said brushed past her and out to the door. He opened it without looking back and walked down the steps.
She rushed to close it.
Outside, a black car pulled up and the man climb inside. He disappeared behind its tinted windows and the car sped away.