by Unknown
“Step up, Jace. You have to step up. I can’t lift you inside.”
Jace nodded, but he didn’t move. He continued leaning against her, his breathing labored.
Tears flowed down her cheeks unchecked. “Jace, please! You have to step up!”
It was physically impossible for her to lift him up inside the Jeep. She heard the soft whisper of his breath escape through his lips, a bubbly sound, and he suddenly went totally limp. He sagged in her arms like a bag of grain.
Kaycee staggered beneath the onslaught of his weight. Her knees folded like an accordion, and they both dropped to the ground. For one incredible moment, she believed he’d died in her arms. She crawled to her knees and leaned over him. Wild sobs wrenched from her gut.
“No!” Hot tears scalded her eyes and nose. “Damn it, Jace! Don’t you dare die on me! We’ve came too far, battled too many obstacles to lose now. I love you! You hear me? Damn it! I said, I love you. Please, don’t die!”
“I hear you, darlin’,” he whispered in a thready voice, “but I just can’t step up in the Jeep.” He traced a trembling finger down her cheek. “Bout time…you…told…me…you…love me.”
His eyes closed. A long, slow breath escaped him that ended on a ragged sigh. “No!” The roaring that filled Kaycee’s ears stunned her. He’d died. “No!” He couldn’t die! God in heaven! He couldn’t die!
Kaycee looked around wildly. She suddenly realized the roaring she heard was the ranch helicopter Duel flew in from Reno. He landed it in the open field, jumped out, and raced toward them.
“What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“Sho–shot he–he got shot. I–I shot—” Kaycee choked out the words. She couldn’t think, couldn’t string a complete sentence together without stuttering.
Duel hunkered down beside her. She looked like a wild woman and sounded worse with her incoherent babbling. “Sweetheart, you’re not making sense.” He glanced at Jace, took in the blood on both of them, realized Jace’s struggles to breathe immediately. His brows snapped together. His voice sounded hard, but rock steady. “You can tell me what happened in the chopper.”
She stared at him, her eyes wide and blank.
“Kaycee! Come on,” he shouted.
She nodded, returned her gaze to Jace. “He shot Jace. He shot Jace!”
“Let go, baby. Come on, sweetheart. Let go of him now. We need to get him to a hospital.” Duel pried Jace from her locked arms and lifted him in his arms. Kaycee trailed behind them. He swore softly when he heard Jace’s soft moan.
“Hang in there, Jace. I’m flying you to Havre.”
A faint smile twisted Jace’s blood spattered lips, but he didn’t open his eyes. “Not J.D.?”
Duel’s face tightened. Tears burned behind his eyelids. “Not this trip. No. Not J.D.”
He boosted Kaycee inside the chopper and dashed around to the pilot’s seat. By the time he lifted them into the air, he’d already notified Havre they were in route with a critical gunshot wound. He flashed Kaycee a concerned look. She was so pale. Poor thing, she looked numb, as if her mind had shut down. It was hard to say which one of them looked the worse.
“Hey kiddo, you hurt? Shot anywhere? Kaycee!”
Her gaze left Jace and slowly traveled to Duel. Her eyes looked glazed. Her lips trembled. When she shoved her hair behind her ears, he saw her hands shake.
“Shit, you aren’t going to pass out on me, are you?”
Kaycee shook her head. “I shot Smitt Davis,” she said in a tiny voice.
“Good for you, baby. I hope to fuck you nailed the bastard good.”
“Me too,” she said quietly. “I think he killed Danger Blackstone’s wife and baby today.”
“What? No. Aw, no.” Duel rubbed his heart, but the sharp ache refused to go away.
“He–he said he shot Danger’s sister and left her dying on the floor, then he…uh, I think he raped and killed Lacey.” Tiny whimpers escaped the back of her throat. “He said he killed her baby. I think he meant he killed the little boy, but he said he killed the baby she was carrying, too. I don’t know. He said so many things. I don’t know what was true and what wasn’t.”
“Jesus.” Duel swallowed hard. “Oh, Jesus. We’ll find out, baby. When we get to the hospital, I’ll call Danger and find out what’s going on.”
Kaycee nodded and glanced down at Jace. “Hurry, Duel.”
“Almost there,” Duel said in a subdued voice. “ETA, fifteen minutes.”
* * * *
Blackstone Ranch
February 6, Friday 7:30 p. m.
When ex-Special Agent, Rafe McCord entered the ranch house, he hesitated in the kitchen doorway.
“Jesus.”
He didn’t think he’d ever seen a more macabre sight and he’d seen plenty of murder scenes. He glanced at the sheriff. It was plain to see Danger Blackstone was a broken man.
The man stood at the kitchen counter, a solitary figure in a room full of crime scene officials. His gaze was focused on the blood on the floor. Rafe worked his way around the edge of the room.
“Danger? I got here as fast as I could.”
Danger looked up. Bleak shadows filled the sheriff’s gray eyes. “Not soon enough.”
There was no life, no spark in the silver depths.
Rafe swallowed.
“He took her,” Danger whispered. “He took my wife. I don’t know how to find her, where to start looking.” He rubbed the space between his eyes. “God…he just took her.”
“We’ll find her.”
Rafe glanced at the floor and closed his eyes for a brief second. This wasn’t a good place for Danger to be right now. The man had to know what he was looking at, the evidence on the floor. Blood. Semen. And the writing and symbols on the walls, all written with blood.
“She’s pregnant, Rafe. Two months. She told me today.”
Rafe swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
Danger shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. I haven’t touched Lacey in months. It’s not my baby.”
The Texas lawman froze. “Christ.” He scratched the side of his forehead. “Oh, Jesus.”
“I told her at Christmas I wanted a divorce. I told her I wanted her out of my life, permanently. She gave me my freedom today, but I don’t feel free.”
Rafe drew a deep breath, slowly exhaled. Pain slashed his heart as if he’d been cut by a knife. “Maybe we should go outside, get some fresh air while the scene is being worked.”
“No. I’m afraid they’ll miss something. A clue. A sign of where he might have taken her. I know she’s probably dead. Smitt Davis is a careful man. He’d not leave her alive. There’s so much blood. Even if she’s alive, she might not be for long if she lost the baby.”
“Don’t say that! She’s alive. The baby’s alive. We’ll find her.”
Danger nodded. “I want my wife back. I know I can’t have her back, but if she’s dead, I want her body. I want to bury her where she belongs, on Blackstone land. I don’t want her left somewhere he chose. We might be divorced, but she was my wife for three years. In my heart, she’s still my wife.”
“I understand.” Rafe hesitated, wary of asking questions, but he had to know what all had happened if he was going to help. “How’s your sister? I heard she’s the one who placed the nine-one-one call.”
Danger stared at him. “Yes. She barely had the strength left to make the call.” He shook his head. “I…she…uh…she died in flight to Havre.” His voice cracked. Tears swam in his eyes. “Blake’s on his way there now. I have to go, too. My son, God, he’s barely hanging on. He’s so small, God, so helpless. I need to be there with him, and I need to be here.” He wiped the tears from his eyes with the outer pad of his hand. “I failed them, Rafe.”
Rafe swore beneath his breath. “I’m here. Go to the hospital. You know for sure your son is still alive. He’s the one who needs you the most right now. There’s nothing you can do for Lacey at the moment.”
Noddi
ng, Danger glanced around at the scene and swallowed hard. “I lost my wife six months ago. I pushed her away, pushed her into doing what she did, pushed her into the arms of another man.”
“No. You didn’t push her away. You gave her away. I watched you give her away.”
“I want my wife back in my arms.”
Rafe shook his head. “You know it’s too late for that.”
“No matter what Smitt did to her, if she’s alive, I want her back where she belongs. You know what I’m saying?”
The former agent nodded. “I understand, all of it, but what does Lacey want?”
Danger gave a choked laugh. “The father of her baby.”
Epilogue
A great marriage is not when the ‘perfect couple’ comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences.
~Dave Meurer
(Daze of Our Wives)
Havre, Montana
Regional Health Care Center
February 7, Saturday 3:00 a.m.
Rafe McCord hesitated outside the door of the Surgical ICU, his dark face troubled. He wished he was here to bring good news. Good news to Danger. Good news to Duel and Wild. He was here to do neither.
He glanced toward the ICU waiting room and saw Wild and Duel both crashed in recliners. It had been a tough night for all of them. Tough night for the searchers who’d backed off at midnight hunting for Lacey Blackstone’s body. But westerly air masses had blown in. Freezing air slid in from the Arctic dumping a foot of fresh snow. It had simply made it too dangerous for men and horses to keep up the search.
They’d begin again at daylight.
Rafe eyed Duel and Wild.
Things were about to get a lot tougher. Life was like that he thought, it never rained, but it poured, and damn if he wasn’t caught squarely in the middle of a nightmare.
Duel opened his eyes, glanced around, and spotted him. He nodded. The two of them had worked together a few times undercover. Duel was a good man. He wished he was still covering his back. He gave a faint smile and motioned Rafe closer.
“How’s Jace?” Rafe asked.
“He came out of surgery about midnight. Doctor Hadley was here a couple of hours ago. He thinks Jace will be able to be moved to a private room in a few days. Depends on how fast he recovers and if infection doesn’t set in.”
Rafe hunkered down beside him. “How’s Kaycee? I know this had to be tough for her.”
Duel rubbed a hand along his whisker-rough jaw line, frowning. “She’s okay. That little gal’s a whole lot tougher than she looks. I can’t believe she carried a damn gun crammed in her boot.”
“How’s Danger holding up?”
“Not so good. He’s carrying a lot of guilt. He lost his only sister. Joseph is hanging in there, but it’s not looking good, and Lacey…well, you know. Danger’s in pieces.”
“I know.”
“Christ, I hope the search and rescue team finds her soon. Any clues as to where she might be?”
Rafe shook his head. “I’ve been studying the pictures Smitt drew on the wall?”
“The wall?”
“Yeah. He painted the Blackstone’s kitchen wall with all kinds of symbolic drawings, but it’s crazy.”
“Maybe if I took a look at them, they’d make sense to me. Smitt was always a bit off in the head. His grandmother was loony and scary as hell, too.”
Rafe nodded. “Where’s Danger got off to?”
“He stepped outside for a few minutes. He needed some alone time.”
Wild jerked awake, glanced at Duel sleepily, and then his attention focused on Rafe. “Lawman,” he greeted. His eyes were distant and cool.
Rafe frowned. He knew from Duel, Wild had been in serious trouble with the law, and spent time in prison. The man was always respectful, but very, very distant. “Wild. I’m glad I caught both of you here. I have bad news, and then I have really bad news. Which do you want first?”
Duel snorted. “Let me guess. The bad news is you didn’t find Smitt Davis’ body, either.”
He nodded. “We didn’t find him. We searched up and down the creek for miles. There was blood, plenty of it. Kaycee got him good, but there wasn’t a body.”
“Damn it,” Duel snapped. “You think he survived the fall over the cliff?”
“Stranger things have happened,” Rafe replied. “If he slid down the rock wall, then yes. I think he could have survived the fall. But he’s injured Duel, and that’s wild country out there. It’s cold. He might crawl off, die, and the animals…you know what happens to the body.”
Duel stood up, stretched. “Animals like Smitt Davis don’t crawl off and die. They crawl away, burrow in a hole, lick their wounds, and live to terrorize another day. He’ll be back. Goddamn it! The sonofabitch will come back. I hate to have to tell Kaycee and Jace this, and it’s the last thing Danger needs to hear.”
“Jace is awake?” Rafe looked surprised. “I figured he’d be out a few days.”
“He woke about an hour ago,” Duel answered. “He doesn’t stay awake for long, kind of drifts.”
Rafe sighed. “Well, the really bad news.” He hesitated, sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. “Well, shit,” he said bluntly. “The airport in Broome, Australia contacted your cousin, Raider. They lost radio contact with Dianna and Taylor a few hours ago. They believe the plane went down between Broome and Derby, somewhere in the Kimberley.”
“What!” The explosive response came from Wild. He jumped to his feet. “What happened? When?”
Rafe stood up. “I can only repeat to you what your cousin said. A few hours after take-off yesterday, the radio kept going dead on the Lear Jet. Apparently, when Dianna landed to refuel, it had worsened. She had it checked, but everything was fine.”
Duel rubbed his face tiredly. “So she might still be in the air, but flying without a radio? There hasn’t been any word?”
“One of the stations in the Outback reported hearing a static Mayday, something that sounded like a crash, then he lost the signal. Raider called my cell phone since he’d been given my number as a point of contact for you. He said to tell you they’re on standby alert, gathering a rescue crew, and waiting to hear from the airline officials.” Rafe shook his head. “But I tell you, there are no international airports out in that area. Word from search and rescue is going to filter in slow, if at all. And you have to consider the time differences. What’s daytime for us, is night time for them. It’ll be a waiting game. Raider said he’d notify you as soon as he received some kind of confirmation. I’m sorry. I know this couldn’t have happened at a worse time.”
Duel shook Rafe’s hand. “I’ll let Jace and Kaycee know.”
“I have to go. I’m returning to Danger’s house to try to figure out what those fucking symbols mean. Sometime tomorrow, I’ll join the search for Lacey’s body. I’m sorry about all this. Everything.”
Duel nodded. “I appreciate you coming all the way to Havre to tell us. I know Danger appreciates having you on the case.”
Rafe clenched his teeth so tight his jaw ached. “The men will search again tomorrow for a sign of Davis’ body, too, but after that, they’ll need to return to their regular jobs.”
“I understand. Thanks.”
“One more thing,” Rafe said.
“What?” Duel lifted a brow in inquiry.
“Lacey isn’t Danger’s wife. She signed divorce papers right after Christmas, presented the final copy to him yesterday.”
Duel’s mouth dropped open.
Wild stared at Rafe’s back as he walked away. “Did you know about that?”
“No. I had no idea. What the hell? They can’t be divorced. Danger is crazy about her, and she feels the same about him.”
“Obviously not. I’m going to Australia,” Wild said, turning to face Duel. “I’ll be at Raider’s or with the rescue crew.”
Duel nodded. “I’ll stay here with Jace and Kaycee. They’re both sleeping, and the staff said they’d sleep late
into the morning.”
Wild turned to leave.
“Give Dianna and Taylor my love,” Duel said huskily.
For a moment, Wild froze. Slowly, he turned to face Duel. Tears shimmered in his blue-green eyes. “What if they’re—?”
“Give them my love.”
“I’ll do that.” He turned away a second time, then whipped back around. “I’ll call as soon as I know something.”
Duel nodded. “Take care of yourself, Wildman. And watch out for snakes! Australia has more poisonous snakes than any country in the world.”
“I’ll be careful. I have to come back, just so I can kick your ass.” He turned on his heel and left without looking back.
“You do that,” Duel whispered to Wild’s retreating back. “You come back, safe. Hopefully, I will, too.”
* * * *
Kaycee sat in a chair beside Jace’s bed. She’d spent hours tense, afraid Jace wouldn’t make it through surgery, and then afraid he wouldn’t make it in recovery. Her body ached from lack of rest and the fact she’d shot a man, possibly killed him. Even though Smitt was a monster, she still had to accept what she’d done and deal with her conscience.
The sterile scent of the hospital made her slightly nauseous. A nurse had come in earlier and unhooked most of the tubes and monitors from Jace, except the IV and heart monitor.
Jace’s heart had done some funky stuff for awhile, irregular beats, long pauses. She’d never been so frightened in all her life, but now, the rhythm was normal, the monitor a precautionary measure, just in case. Her husband had received four units of blood during surgery and two more after the operation. For hours, his life hung by a thread. She’d come so close to losing him.
Looking at him now, he was still pale, but he was alive and he’d stay alive. His dark eyes still looked slightly glazed from the morphine that had been pumped into his bloodstream. He was weak but, thank God, he was awake and alert.
She pressed a kiss to his lips, that sexy mouth that had always held her enthralled. Kaycee leaned back, eyeing him. “How are you feeling?”