A loud thud, a rattle, and a startled scream reached his ears. He continued his hurried descent, his small Smith & Wesson in his right hand.
Summer refused to give in without a fight. As the man behind her pushed her faster and faster down the stairs, she knew she had to act. She could hear David behind her. Give me a plan, Lord.
As her feet touched the bottom step of the second floor, she let herself go limp. Her move took her captor by surprise. She let herself fall, bracing for the pain she knew was coming.
With a yell, he grabbed for her, lost his balance, and crashed to the landing beside her with a hard thud. Summer’s hip hit hard and pain sliced up her side. She couldn’t help the cry that flew from her lips. Parker’s gun skittered from his fingers, and ignoring the pain, Summer dove for it.
His left hand wrapped around her right ankle and jerked her to a stop. She rolled to her right and her left foot shot out. Her solid kick caught him under the chin. He gave a strangled cry and his grip loosened.
She scrambled toward the weapon that lay on the first step of the next landing.
A hard grip wrapped itself in her hair and yanked. She screamed and fell back.
Away from the weapon.
With her peripheral vision, she saw his hand reach for the weapon, grasp it, and swing it around to point it in her face.
The look in his eye said she was dead. He would shoot her and run. She closed her eyes.
Three shots that sounded almost like one rang out. A cry, a grunt, a slight gurgle, and then all she could hear was the ringing in her ears.
58
David pulled Summer away from Parker Holland’s still form. Blood pooled beneath the man and all he could do was thank God over and over that she was all right. Summer clung to him, then pushed him away and sat hard on the steps as though her legs would no longer hold her.
“I’m going to be sick,” she whispered. “And I can’t get up.”
“Lean against me and take deep breaths.”
She turned her face into his chest and inhaled. Once. Twice.
David looked up to see Adam staring down at his uncle. Sorrow etched deep lines on his face, and he looked like he’d aged a few years in the last few minutes. He shook his head and looked at David. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. I am too.”
Adam held his weapon in a loose grip between his knees. He stared at it. “I pulled it from my nightstand when he was introducing himself to Summer. I don’t know why, I just …” He shrugged.
“You saved her.”
“I had to.” Adam’s gaze met David’s as footsteps and yells reached their ears. “I had to make it right.”
David nodded. “You did.”
The door opened and law enforcement swarmed them.
As Parker Holland’s body was removed from the stairwell, Adam simply sat and watched. David held Summer and decided he didn’t like being betrayed. Betrayal. There was no way to pretty it up.
No matter what label you wanted to put on it—family loyalty to the point of selling out your soul or using others to bring down the head of a Mafia family. Either way, it was still betrayal. David stared at the man he’d only known for a short time. A man who’d taken an oath to protect those he was entrusted with. A man who’d betrayed him. Betrayed Summer.
Adam dropped his head. Rubbing his eyes, he sighed. “He called me up and told me he needed a favor. He got me on your protection detail when you turned up in the hospital.” He gave a smirk. “Bennie was the one who really pushed it. I had to get the laptop and I had to do it fast. They had to have that evidence for the trial. When my uncle couldn’t stay out of it, I wondered what the deal was. Then he had someone shoot me. With Kevlar-penetrating bullets.” Grief flashed and he blew out a harsh breath.
“You could have gotten us killed.”
“I never told them where we were. I never used my phone so that they could trace it. I was as confused as everyone else when Raimondi’s men kept tracking us down.” He gave a short laugh. “All I wanted to do was get the location of the laptop from you and give it to my uncle or Bennie. That’s it.” He swallowed hard. “I never imagined he was involved with Raimondi. Not until you described the pictures that night in the safe house.”
“You didn’t know why he wanted the laptop?”
“No, I was trying to work it all out in my mind.” He shrugged. “I just knew he needed my help, and he was family so I was going to help.”
“And when you found out he was linked with Raimondi?”
Adam’s jaw worked. “I called my uncle and told him to forget it, that we were going to get Raimondi and that I couldn’t get to the laptop, that I wasn’t trashing my career for him.”
“And your uncle called Raimondi and told him we were there to get him.”
Adam nodded. “He must have.” He glanced at Summer. “I figured if I stayed behind with Summer, I could protect her. Keep them away from her.”
David stared. “He put a hit out on you. That’s why they didn’t hesitate to shoot you to get to Summer.”
Adam’s jaw tightened. “Yeah. He figured if I would back out of helping him, I might even go so far as to turn him in, laptop or not. I was a loose end he needed to tie up.”
“And yet he came to the hospital himself.”
Adam shook his head. “He wasn’t here to hurt me today. I believe he simply wanted to see where I stood, what my intentions were. But when Summer recognized him, he had to do something, act fast.” Adam gave a sad smirk. “That’s never been his strong point. He’s never been impulsive. Everything he’s ever done has been fully analyzed before being acted upon. Today, he just didn’t know what to do when he had to improvise.”
“And he made a costly mistake.”
David tightened his grip around Summer’s shoulders and shook his head, amazed he and Summer were still alive. Marlee, Bennie, and now Adam. Unbelievable.
Chase motioned for David. “We need Summer to give a statement, then you.”
David nodded and Summer said, “They have to come to me. I’m not moving for the next few minutes.”
Chase gave a small smile and sat on the step beside her.
Summer stayed on the step for a long time. So long, she lost track of time. She did notice that David kept coming to check on her before fading away again to talk to various people in law enforcement. The ME hadn’t had far to travel, and in no time, Parker Holland was transported down to the morgue. His blood stained the floor and she couldn’t seem to look away from it.
It was just hard to fathom that someone was willing to kill so his dirty deeds wouldn’t come to light. But it happened every day and she knew it. She’d just never been this close to it before.
She didn’t turn as the footsteps sounded behind her. She’d stayed in the stairwell for privacy. And to get her ears to stop ringing, her mind to stop spinning.
David sat beside her. “Hey.”
“You used me,” she blurted. Then snapped her mouth shut. Was she really going to rehash this? “You used Georgina.” She sighed. “I’m not liking the pattern.”
Yep, she was going there again. She needed to in order to let it go. At least that’s what she thought.
David dropped his head and nodded. “I’ll admit, I didn’t think twice about doing it, either. Not then.”
She clasped her hands between her knees. “So what happens now that my usefulness is over?” Summer wondered at her detachment. She figured she should be feeling something. But a numbness had settled over her heart.
“I know you think I used you at first, Summer, but that’s not entirely true.”
“What do you mean?”
“You were different. From the moment we met, I knew there was something about you that was different.”
“So you’ve said.”
“I don’t want to lose you. That’s the difference.” She saw his throat work. “I didn’t care if I lost Georgina because it wasn’t really losing her. I never considered her mine, just a mean
s to an end. I wanted to bring down Raimondi and she was my way to do it.”
“But you consider me yours.”
“Yes. And I’m yours. It would break my heart if you walked away from me. Which was one of the reasons I married you.” She lifted a brow. He shrugged. “I guess I figured if we were married, it would make it harder for you to leave.”
“You should have told me.”
“I wanted to. Almost more than I wanted to live to go to trial, I desperately wanted to tell you everything. And I was going to do it too. Friday. Our day off.”
She took a deep breath and shook her head. “I want to forgive you. I need to. When I thought you might die, I didn’t want you to die with me mad at you.”
“And now that I’m going to live?”
“I don’t want you to live with me mad at you.” She gave him a small smile.
Hope flared in his eyes. “Summer, I promise, I’ll never lie to you about anything ever again.”
“Anything?”
He thought about it. “If you ask me if a certain dress makes you look fat and it does, then yes, I’ll probably lie about that, but—”
A surprised laugh burst from her and she smacked his arm. “Now I won’t know!”
He laughed and caught her fingers. “You’ll just have to ask one of your girlfriends.” He sobered. “Why was it so easy for you to forgive Marlee? She betrayed us both. Wanted me dead for all intents and purposes and yet you forgave her on the spot. No anger, no bitterness.”
“Oh, I was angry, but I don’t think she thought about what would actually happen to you if you fell into Raimondi’s hands. She just wanted you out of my life.” She frowned. “I didn’t know she was so dependent upon me. I really didn’t.” She looked him in the eye. “You saw it, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “My brother was a lot like that. I finally had to sever all ties with him to force him to grow up. It didn’t end pretty.”
“Where is he now?”
“He’s still on his farm, eking out a living and refusing to speak to me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
She sighed. “I don’t know why I could forgive her like that. Part of it’s because I know that’s what Jesus did for me. Not just on the cross, but every day of my life. Part of it’s probably because that’s so Marlee. She’s always looked out for number one. I don’t really have high expectations of her.”
“But you do for me.”
“Of course.” Sadness invaded her. “You’re the man I love. The man I expected to spend the rest of my life with, grow old with. Share my deepest secrets with.” She looked at him. “I suppose I’ve forgiven you. After all we’ve been through the last few days, I understand why you did what you did.” She licked her lips. “It’s just the trust factor I’m having trouble with.”
“I know it’s hard to believe anything I say right now, but I’m a changed man, Summer. I don’t want to give up on our marriage. I don’t want you to give up on me. On us. I want us to get through this and be stronger than we ever were before.” He gave her a gentle smile. “Think about what we’ll tell our kids when they ask us how we met?” The smile slid. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I’m praying you’ll give me a second chance.”
Summer drew in a deep breath. She nodded. As crazy as it was, she believed him. Mostly because of the way he’d risked his life to save her while they were on the run. And the small ways he’d proven his love over the last few days. The last year really. “Well, I’ve figured out why I’ve been so sick the last few weeks.”
“Stress?”
“Yes, that probably had something to do with some of it, but no.” She looked him in the eye. “You know those kids you mentioned a few seconds ago?”
A frown creased his brow for one split, confused second before it cleared and his eyes went wide. “Are you saying—”
“I’m pregnant.”
For a moment he didn’t move, then in reverent awe, his gaze dropped to her stomach. “You’re sure?”
“Pretty sure.” She pulled the test stick from her back pocket. The pink plus sign stared back at them.
David took it. Stared at it. Then at her. “Where’d you get this? When did you have time—?”
“When we got to the hospital. I’ve suspected for a while now and was going to take the test Friday morning. The day we were supposed to spend together,” she murmured. “I’ve had it with me all this time.” She shrugged. “Right before I went to see Adam, I ducked into the restroom.”
Moisture pooled in his eyes. He cleared his throat. “I’m going to be a dad?”
“Yes.”
In one smooth move, he grabbed her and pulled her to his chest, squeezing and kissing her face.
“David,” she gasped. “You’re squooshing us.”
He let her go, then kissed her. Once. Twice. Three times. Each kiss longer and deeper than the last.
She laughed when he finally let her catch her breath. “I take it you’re okay with this?”
“I’m beyond okay. I’m thrilled. I don’t even have the words to express what I’m feeling right now.”
“I think,” Summer said, “I think maybe you’re looking for the word ‘blessed.’”
“Blessed.” He seemed to try the word out. Then nodded. “Yeah. Blessed.” He leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers. “So are you going to forgive me?”
She sighed. “Yeah. I have to. I believe you’re sincere. You did everything you could to protect me during the last few days of craziness. I saw your love in action.” She paused. “You know, if you had told me and all this running for our lives stuff had never happened, I might not have been able to forgive you as fast.”
“Why is that?”
She shrugged. “Because I probably would have let my anger simmer. I would have pouted and wanted to make you suffer.”
“Ouch.”
She smiled. “No, I don’t know. I hope I would have been able to work through it pretty fast, but being together like this 24/7 has enabled me to get to know the real you in a very short amount of time. I never would have willingly spent this much time with you if I hadn’t been forced to.”
“So you’re saying now that’s it over, you’re glad it happened?”
Summer gave a short laugh. “I don’t know that I’d go that far, but …” She raised his hand to her lips and kissed his knuckles. “But I’m glad that God can take something so awful like murder and betrayal and bring something beautiful from it.”
“Like us?”
“Yeah. Like us.”
He went quiet for a moment. “After the trial, I won’t have a job anymore.”
“Actually you won’t even have to go to trial now,” Chase said.
Summer and David turned as one. Chase stood at the top of the stairs. He walked toward them.
“What do you mean?” Summer asked.
“Sam was killed last night by another inmate. Broke his neck on the basketball court.”
Summer took a moment to let that settle in. A flash of grief sparked in David’s eyes and he ran a hand down his face. “So there’s no trial.”
“Can’t try a dead man.” Chase squeezed his shoulder. “I know he was your friend. He made some rotten choices, but you guys were tight at one time. I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me too.” David blew out a breath and looked at her. “Guess that means I’m unemployed as of now then.”
Chase said, “You could always apply to the marshals.”
David grinned. “Right.”
Summer said, “I think you’ve found your niche, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Helping people. Working incognito to ferret out information to be used to put the bad guys away.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I liked that part. I didn’t like the info I uncovered, but yes, it felt good to see justice done.”
“Then I think you need to look for a career along those lines.”
“
All right.” He paused. “But I don’t want to work for someone else. I think I want to be my own boss.”
She lifted a brow. “I can see that.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“And if you need an employee, I’d like to apply,” Adam said as he rounded the corner and joined them on the stairs.
“You’re really going to quit the marshals?” Summer asked.
“Yeah. I messed up. I should have told what I knew immediately.” He shook his head. “If I don’t wind up with jail time, I’ll need a job.”
Summer felt her throat tighten at the thought of Adam going to jail. So he’d made a mistake by calling his uncle. One that could have cost them all their lives, but he’d also done his best to rectify it.
David gave a slow nod. “We’ll talk.”
Adam nodded and winced as he moved to go back upstairs. Summer hoped he healed fast.
Chase clapped David on the back. “You two ready to go home? Need a ride?”
Summer glanced at David. “Not yet. We’re still talking and I need to check on Marlee.”
“All right.” He gave them a salute. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Thanks for everything.”
Chase gave a small smile. “Oh, here. One of the guys who investigated Bennie and the wreck thought you might want this back.” He held up her purse and she took it with a smile.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Chase turned and disappeared up the stairs.
Summer captured David’s lips with hers. “I love you, David Kyle Abernathy Hatchett.”
He laughed and kissed her again. “And I love you, Mrs. David Kyle Abernathy Hatchett.”
“So … after I check on Marlee, what do you want to do?”
He gave her a wicked grin. “Go home and take a nap.”
Summer gave him a shove and his laughter was the best thing she’d heard in a long time.
“I have a better idea,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“I hear Jupiter Wind is going to be playing in concert tomorrow night. I know where I can score a couple of tickets. You interested?”
She pretended to think about it. “Sounds kind of boring after our recent excitement.” His face fell and she hugged him. “I’m just kidding, silly. That sounds lovely.”
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