He swore, rolled over, then finally saw her.
“Kayla! What the hell?”
Even at night, there was enough light for her to see that his mouth and nose were bloodied. The instinctive, automatic lurch of concern died almost instantly; her brother didn’t care about her, never had, so she wasn’t going to waste any more time worrying about him. Someone had given him his split lip and bloody nose, and it was the very least he deserved.
“You’re through running, Chad,” she said coldly.
“C’mon, sis, I’ve got to get out of here. I can’t go to jail.”
“You can, and you will. You’re almost as responsible as Troy is.”
“I’m not. I didn’t know. It wasn’t my fault.”
“Shut the hell up, you coward. You’re a useless piece of humanity, and I regret every second I spent worrying about you and searching for you.”
“Hear, hear,” came Hayley’s quiet cheer of approval from just behind her.
She saw realization dawn on his face, realization that he’d finally lost his grip on his little sister. He rolled to his hands and knees, starting to get up.
“Oh, no you don’t.”
She let loose a short, quick kick Dane had taught her years ago, catching Chad hard just below the rib cage. His breath whistled out of him and he collapsed face down. Following part two of the lesson, Kayla came down hard, planting a knee just over his kidneys. He grunted. She ignored him.
“Nice job.”
She jumped at the male voice coming out of the dim light just feet away. But she calmed as she recognized the slight limp of Rafe Crawford as he approached.
“You were here?” she asked, startled. “Not inside?”
He nodded as he came to a stop and looked down at Chad. “Quinn’ll handle it.”
She wasn’t surprised, now that she had a chance to think, that Quinn would want Hayley’s, and her own, safety insured before anything. It fit with who the man was.
But that didn’t ease her main worry. “Dane,” she said.
“That boy’ll do, don’t worry,” Rafe said. She had the feeling that from this man, that was the highest of praise. “And they’ve got Cutter,” Rafe added. “It’s taken us all a while but we’ve learned to trust that darned dog.” He glanced down at Chad. “Besides, it didn’t seem like you needed much help. And some things you need to do yourself.”
She stared at the man. Saw a world of understanding in his eyes. And felt a small burst of pride that he had held back, trusting her to handle it. “Thank you.”
“It had to be a tough call, him being your brother and all.”
“I’m not sure who he is anymore. I’m not sure the brother I loved ever really existed.”
Rafe only grimaced but managed to do it in a way that conveyed such empathy that she felt an easing of the pressure that had built inside her since she’d realized what her brother had become and only increased as she was forced to admit he probably had always been.
They were an amazing group, these Foxworth people, she thought. She bet each one of them had a story that would fascinate.
But much as she might want to know them all, in particular this laconic, obviously dangerous yet clearly understanding man’s, right now she was only worried about one thing.
What was going on inside that building.
* * *
Dane heard faint steps above, on the landing. He wondered what Cutter was doing; it sounded like the man—Troy, he amended—was just walking around.
“Troy!”
The scrape from above made Dane think Troy had jumped, startled, just as he himself almost had at Quinn’s sudden shout.
“Give it up, Troy. It’s all over.”
“Go to hell!”
Quinn glanced at Dane. Realizing what he was silently asking, Dane nodded. “It’s him.”
“What was that?” Quinn called out. “I couldn’t hear you.”
Dane frowned. Troy’s words were perfectly clear. Then he realized Quinn was trying to lure him forward, out of the shelter of the hallway between the offices.
“I said go to hell.”
“Still can’t hear you. Acoustics are weird in here.”
And where was Cutter? Dane wondered. He didn’t expect to hear the dog’s steps, but—
“Cops already know it was you, Troy,” Quinn yelled. “There’s nowhere to run.”
“Who’s running?”
There was another sound, a creak of the floor, toward the front of the loft. Quinn held out an arm to urge Dane back against the stairway wall. Dane didn’t argue but pressed back, expecting to hear another shot any second. Instead, he heard a yell of surprise and a series of heavy thumps.
Troy rolled past them, somersaulting down the stairs.
At the top of those stairs, Cutter let out a woof of pure satisfaction.
At the bottom, Troy was now sprawled, groaning.
Dane looked up at the dog, who had clearly managed to nudge Troy over the edge. Then at Quinn. The man grinned and shrugged. “Told ya’ he had a plan,” he said.
Then he headed down the stairs to where Troy had now rolled onto his side, still groaning pitifully.
Cutter headed down the stairs, stopping to give Dane a nudge with his nose.
“You are something else,” Dane said. “I’ll never call you just a dog again.”
Cutter tilted his head quizzically. And Dane could have sworn he winked. But in the faint light it was impossible to be sure. And ridiculous to believe. Then the dog was gone, headed down to check personally on his handiwork.
And realizing the threat was over, Dane launched himself over the stair railing to the floor and began to run. Toward the door.
Toward Kayla.
Chapter 34
When she saw Dane burst from the building, she nearly cried in aching, heartfelt relief.
No, she was crying, Kayla realized. She started to wipe at her eyes, then stopped. She didn’t care if he saw it. She was just glad Chad was facedown and couldn’t see her; he was so self-centered he’d probably think she was crying for him.
Dane skidded to a halt. For a moment he just stared. She supposed she made quite a sight, kneeling on Chad’s back, forcing him down as he flailed, trying to get up. For an instant she thought she saw something in his face, a flash of promise, or at least hope. She tried to quash it, afraid to believe.
He glanced toward Rafe, standing off to one side.
“Don’t look at me,” the man said. “She did it. Nicely, too. Didn’t need my help at all.”
Kayla saw disbelief warring with the realization that Rafe had no reason to lie to Dane. Did he really think, after what she’d learned tonight, that she’d just let her brother waltz away and go on the run again?
Why wouldn’t he? she told herself. Haven’t you made it clear you’d forgive Chad almost anything?
She noticed Dane flexing his right hand, then rubbing at the knuckles as he looked at her brother.
“It was you,” she said. “You punched him.”
Dane’s gaze snapped to her face. There was a touch of recalcitrance in his voice when he said, “After what he’s put you through for so long, it was the least I could do and still sleep at night.” He glared at Chad. “And I’ll do it again if he tries to get up,” he added by way of warning.
Chad fell still, and his body went slack, as if he’d finally given up. Kayla barely noticed. She was too distracted by the leap of her heart in her chest. Dane had punched Chad for what he’d put her through. Was there some hope, some possibility that she hadn’t completely killed his love for her?
“Quinn cleaning up?” Rafe asked.
Dane nodded, never taking his eyes off Kayla. She saw Rafe look from her to Dane, then back. He gave the slightest of nods before he spoke. Somehow it encouraged her.
“I’ll just take care of this clown then,” he said, indicating Chad.
Kayla stood up, releasing her brother. Rafe yanked him up to his feet and started walking him back t
o Quinn’s SUV. When he got there, he reached in and turned on the powerful headlights, throwing a shaft of light all the way to the door of the building.
“Don’t you want to go help him?” Dane asked. “I bloodied him up a bit.”
“No.”
He studied her for a long moment. “You finally have what you wanted.”
“No.” He drew back slightly. “What I wanted never really existed, did it?” she said.
“Little late realizing that,” Dane said.
“Yes,” she admitted. But she didn’t dare voice the crucial question; was it too late?
A sound from the building turned them both around; the door opened again. First out into the swath of light was Cutter, who quickly turned to supervise the exit of the two men who followed; Quinn and a limping man cradling his right arm. Cutter then took up a position on the other side of Troy, keeping the man securely between himself and Quinn.
Until this moment, Kayla hadn’t quite believed it. But as Troy gave her a sideways glance as the trio reached them, she saw it in his eyes. Not guilt, but a sort of deadness that she realized must have always been behind the charming smile.
“Why, Troy?” she asked, not even really expecting him to answer. “My parents always liked you. Everybody liked you.”
“Except you.”
Dane saw Kayla’s eyes widen. There wasn’t a trace of anger in Troy’s voice or his expression, just coldness.
“That’s why you did it?” she asked, astonished. “Because I turned you down?”
Troy laughed, and it was even colder. So cold Dane had to suppress a shiver. “You’d like to believe that, wouldn’t you, sweetheart?”
“But why my parents? They were the ones trying to push you and me together, they liked you so much.”
“All the parents liked me.” The smirk on his face, even now, echoed in his voice. “It made life so easy.”
The smirk widened, but Troy said no more. Cutter wasn’t happy with the pause. He had moved, put himself between Troy and Kayla, a move she noted with affection for the clever dog. She resisted the urge to pet him, with the idea of not disturbing a working dog while he was working, which Cutter obviously was just now. He was watching Troy with an intensity that was almost unnerving even to her; she couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to Troy.
Then again, after what she’d learned tonight, she wondered if he would even be affected.
“All this time I thought he was defending his best friend,” Kayla said, feeling a bit numb, “and he was really telling the truth. He knew Chad hadn’t done it.”
“I’m guessing Detective Dunbar will get it all out of him,” Quinn said. “He’s got enough sore spots to work on. And the broken arm, of course.”
Kayla saw Troy’s expression change at the mention of the cop’s name. “You’ve called him?” she asked.
“Hayley did,” Quinn said. “He should be here momentarily. He’ll have to look around, of course. Do a thorough investigation. Maybe call in forensics or something. Finding those bullets this idiot shot in a building that size could take some time. Probably take quite a while to get that broken arm set. Be a shame if it never was right again.”
Dane and Kayla could see Quinn’s wink. Troy could not, and he suddenly wasn’t quite so smug. He took a step, as if to test the strength of Quinn’s grip. Cutter whirled, growling. It was a dangerous, spine-tingling sound Kayla would never have imagined coming from the whimsical dog. But Troy heard it, and with one look at the dog’s lethal-looking exposed teeth, he gave up whatever idea had entered his head. And went docilely as Quinn led him back to join Chad.
“Definitely an alien,” Dane said.
She saw one corner of his mouth quirk upward. Something about that half-grin gave her hope. More, it gave her courage. If there was a chance, the slightest chance, now might be the only time she had to take it. She would have preferred a better place, inside somewhere, where it was warm and comfortable. But she knew things would likely get complicated once the police arrived. Statements, interviews, she knew too well how it all worked. It could be hours before she’d see Dane again.
She wasn’t about to pass up this chance. She just didn’t know where to start.
“I never would have thought Cutter could be so scary,” she said instead.
“You should have seen him inside. He literally pushed Troy down the stairs. Felt like we were just there to clean up after he handled it.”
She drew in a deep breath. “That must have felt familiar. You’ve been cleaning up for me for ten years.”
He didn’t answer and went very still. Then she heard him let out a long breath.
“We’re going there right now?” he asked.
“I owe you too much to put it off.”
“You don’t owe me anything. Anything I did was my own choice.”
“Why? Why didn’t you just stay away once you left?”
He shifted his feet, looked to one side, then back at her. “It’s hard to turn off a decade of feelings.”
“Then don’t.” She stopped, aware her voice was shaking.
“Kayla—”
“I understand. I wouldn’t blame you, not a bit, if you really left now and never wanted to see me again. It’s no more than I deserve. I took you for granted, assumed because you’d always been there for me, you always would be.”
Again he said nothing. Dane had never been one to dodge serious discussions, so it worried her that he wasn’t really participating in this one. But whether he spoke or not, whether he accepted it or not, he deserved this and more.
“You were right all along. I should have known. I had a blind spot for Chad, and I always have had. I’m so sorry it took me this long to wake up. That I had to see it for myself to realize he wasn’t the guy I’d built him up to be in my mind.”
“Well that’s something,” Dane muttered.
A car pulled up behind Quinn’s SUV on the drive. Detective Dunbar got out, and she heard the crunch of his steady stride on the gravel as he walked toward Quinn, who had gone to greet him. Dane looked toward them, as if in his mind he was already over there, as if he was only staying here with her out of that innate courtesy she’d always admired.
She understood that, too. She wanted to be there herself, wanted to hear what they found out, wanted to know what had been behind the night that had destroyed life as she knew it.
“I want to know, too,” she said, flicking a glance down the drive. Then she said, very pointedly, “But this is more important.”
Dane’s head snapped around and he focused on her once more.
“It always was more important. I just lost track of that in my blindness.”
She looked at him for a long moment. In the silence she felt a churning inside, as if her fear she’d lost him, her disappointment at Chad, her anger at herself were all battling each other, leaving her shakier than she could remember since that night ten years ago.
“This would be easier,” she said, barely aware she was saying it out loud, “if we were in a tree.”
Something flashed in his eyes then, something startled yet warm, and the feeble hope she’d nurtured glowed brighter for a moment.
“Want to go climb one?” he suggested.
“I would if it meant you’d listen.”
“I’m listening.”
She took in another deep breath, as if she were preparing to jump into the cold, deep sound.
“I love you. I have loved you since the day you climbed into that silly tree with me. I knew I was too young for you, but I waited. Then that night came, and you were there for me like no one else could be. I would not have survived it without you.”
Here was where he usually would have protested, told her she was stronger than she knew, even back then. That she would have managed; she would have gotten through it. But this time he said nothing. And she didn’t know if that was a good sign or an awful one.
She made herself go on. “I knew you could find someone else when you w
ent off to college, but I still waited. When you came back to visit, I wanted to ask if you had, but I was so afraid of the answer I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The two years between us meant nothing to me, but I knew it did to you. That I was probably still just a kid in your eyes.”
“You were never a kid again after that night.”
His quiet words sent a chill through her, stirring up memories that were always there but that she managed to control most of the time. That he’d spoken at all stirred that hope again.
“I never felt like one,” she agreed.
“I did meet some girls at college,” he said. He’d admitted this to her before but never added any details. He did now. “Some pretty, some smart, a few both. But all of them seemed...shallow next to you. They were carefree and careless. They had no idea how tough life could really be.”
Kayla swallowed tightly. “Carefree must have seemed...appealing after all my drama.”
He didn’t answer, which, she supposed, was answer in itself. Now that she was finally seeing the whole picture, it seemed nothing less than miraculous that Dane had stuck with her so long.
“Kayla? Dane?” Hayley’s voice held a world of apology at the interruption. “Sorry, but Detective Dunbar wants us at the station, ASAP. Time to start unraveling all this mess.”
Kayla didn’t think she was imagining Dane’s relief.
Chapter 35
It was almost over.
Dane rubbed at his stubbled jaw. He knew he was pacing, wandering the anteroom of the small holding cell, but he was afraid if he stopped moving he’d fall asleep; it had been a couple of rough nights in succession. And by the time they’d arrived here at the small police station, it had been close to dawn. Besides, it kept him from looking at Kayla, where she sat huddled on one of the hard, plastic chairs along the back wall.
He supposed the sun was up now. He couldn’t tell, down here in the back of the lower level of the building with no windows. They didn’t have a jail of their own, and prisoners were transported to the county facility after being booked and processed here.
It was only luck—and Detective Dunbar—who had kept him out of this place himself, Dane thought. He could easily have been sitting in there, ink on his fingertips, awaiting transport to county jail. Silently he again thanked the man’s instincts or whatever it had been that had made him decide Dane wasn’t, after all, the fire bomber he was looking for.
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