Someone Worth Saving

by Jerry Cole

  “You fell in love.”

  Andrew was feeling sick. He had gotten to know Kirsty over the three years she had been partnered with Lee. He had thought she was a straight shooter. And yet she had spent all this time doing whatever she could to discredit Lee.

  Maybe this wasn’t about him at all. It was all about Lee.

  “I had come to terms with the fact that Joseph was guilty. And I wanted Lee for myself. See me as a partner in life than just in work. He was a tough nut to crack, but I had handled tougher.” Kirsty’s lip curled in a snarl. “But then I saw how he was with you. I could tell you fancied him. You two spent a lot of time together, and I was getting scared that one day you would make a move on Lee. Even though I was certain at the time that Lee would push you away, I wasn’t about to fight you for him. Now when I was easily the winner.”

  The woman was mad. She had to be. Andrew’s head was spinning and it wasn’t from the pain.

  “You tried to get me out of Lee’s life by threatening me?”

  “I knew about what happened before. It wasn’t difficult to get into the profile and reactivate the account. I was hoping that you would get frightened about history repeating itself and disappear. In Lee’s notes, you had mentioned about going off-grid so nobody could hurt you, and that what was going on made it very tempting. I wanted you to disappear. But no,” She sneered, “you had to go to Lee. You had to turn him gay.”

  “Lee made the moves.”

  “Liar!”

  Kirsty charged at him, almost hitting him in the face with the gun. Andrew dodged to the side and raised his hands, keeping just out of reach. He debated running, but he was sure that Kirsty would be able to shoot him. Andrew didn’t fancy getting shot. He wanted to get out of this, away from this madwoman.

  “You turned Lee into something he’s not.” Kirsty hissed, still waving the gun at his face. “I have to stop you from doing that.”

  Andrew was right. She did object to him and Lee together. And she honestly thought getting rid of Andrew would make Lee turn towards her? Andrew tried not to burst out laughing at this.

  “Have you heard yourself, Kirsty? How pathetic that sounds? If Lee were interested in you, he would have done something about it by now.”

  “He’s very dense when it comes to emotions of the heart.” Kirsty tapped her head. “I was getting through to him. Lee doesn’t trust easily, and I was working on that. I couldn’t have you in the way.”

  “He had good reason not to trust you.”

  “But he trusted you? You were a case for him, one that just wouldn’t leave him alone. I put up with it, even though I knew you fancied him, because I was making progress. I thought Lee was finally softening to me. Then I could have what I wanted. And then you had to do what I didn’t want you to do and went to him for help.”

  “You’ve been stalling, because if Lee found out, he would have figured out that it was you.” Andrew felt sick. “And those text messages?”

  “I cloned Lee’s number and sent them from a burner phone so you wouldn’t be any the wiser.” Kirsty looked very smug with herself. “Pretty good, if I say so myself.”

  Andrew’s heart was pounding so hard the blood was practically ringing in his ears. The gun had barely wavered from his face, and Kirsty was happily parading her success in his face. She was mad. He had to get out of there. But they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Even if Andrew managed to overpower Kirsty and run, he wouldn’t have a clue where he was. There were plenty of places where there were densely populated trees around Houston. They could be anywhere.

  “Lee’s going to figure out you’re involved.” He said. “He’ll come looking once I don’t call him back.”

  “Well, he’s not going to figure out that I’m involved. As for your disappearance…” Kirsty giggled. “That’s what I’ve been doing for the past few days. When Lee goes looking himself, he’ll find out why I was so reluctant to tell him what I found. Because you were the one who brought the fake profile back. You wanted more attention for yourself, and that was perfect. When you realized that it wasn’t bringing what you wanted and Lee was going to turn on you, you committed suicide. No one will ever know where you went.” She nodded off to the side. “That’s Dutton Lake. I know you can’t swim. Won’t be too difficult to put you out there. I’ve left a note that tells Lee everything. That you can’t keep living a lie and you won’t put him through it any longer.” Kirsty snorted. “Too bad you had to sleep with him, but…”

  Andrew listened to this with growing horror. She had put a lot of thought into this. Andrew had figured that Kirsty was stubborn and behaved like a terrier digging away until she got results, but this was something else.

  “And you really think that’s going to work?”

  “I know it’s going to work.” Kirsty sounded smug about it. “Mom taught me how to manipulate people. She said everyone was always out to get us so we needed to make sure they never caught up, that we were the ones on top.”

  “Not going to work with me, Kirsty.”

  “It will. Because you’re no match for me. Especially when I’m armed and you’re not.” Kirsty’s smirk disappeared and she jerked the gun towards the trees. “Get moving. Don’t think about fighting back, unless you want a bullet in your head.”

  Chapter Nine

  How had he not seen this? Lee couldn’t believe he had missed all the clues about his partner. Kirsty had talked about her mother and that she was unwell. She had been present a little too conveniently after Lee and Charles parted ways. It was like things were set up for her to be in his life.

  What had her endgame been? To get close to Andrew, the one who set everything in motion? Joseph had made him a victim, and Andrew had turned it around, so was Kirsty trying to get payback for her friend? Or was it something else?

  Only Kirsty had the answers, and Lee needed to find her.

  He drove back to his home as fast as he could, trying to call Kirsty and Andrew. But neither were picking up. Lee was panicking. What was Kirsty doing? What had she done? Was Andrew still alive?

  God, Lee hoped he was still alive.

  On the ninth time of trying Kirsty’s cell phone, Kirsty picked up on the third ring. Her voice sounded shaky.

  “Hello?”

  “Kirsty, you okay? I’ve been calling you for the past half hour!”

  “I…” Kirsty gulped loudly. “I don’t know. Oh, Lee, it was awful.”

  “What was?”

  “I was attacked. Someone jumped me and hit me with something. I’ve only just come around.” Kirsty flinched. She sounded in pain. “God, my head’s feeling like it’s about to explode.”

  Had Andrew fought back? Lee could only hope so. But how would have Kirsty gotten near him? Andrew was so nervous that he was jumping at his own shadow. He wouldn’t have left the safety of Lee’s home to meet with Kirsty. Andrew and Kirsty may have gotten along, but Andrew didn’t trust her that much. How had Kirsty managed to get near him?

  “Where are you now?”

  “I’m outside your place.”

  “What are you doing there?”

  “Andrew called me.” Kirsty’s voice was sounding a little stronger. There was the sound of crunching. She was walking through something. “He said that he didn’t want to be alone, that he was feeling nervous. He asked if I could come over.”

  “Andrew doesn’t have your number.”

  “Well, he called me, so I’d say he has it.” Then Kirsty started to breathe quicker, sounding panicky. “Oh, shit! Andrew’s gone! He’s gone, Lee! The place has been trashed!”

  That was when Lee heard something just out of hearing. Another voice. A familiar voice. One that was shouting, and then hushed tones from Kirsty. Lee went cold. Kirsty had Andrew.

  “Where are you and Andrew now, Kirsty?”

  “I told you, I’m at your home and Andrew…”

  “I know, Kirsty.” Lee’s hands tightened on the wheel. “I know you’re the catfish.”

  Si
lence. For a moment, he thought that Kirsty had hung up. Then Kirsty swore.

  “Dammit, Lee. Why couldn’t you just follow the breadcrumbs I laid down for you?”

  “Because I check my sources. Where’s Andrew?”

  Kirsty snorted.

  “Don’t bother looking for us. By the time you find us, he’ll have been dealt with.”

  She was going to kill him. Lee went cold. God, no.

  “Why did Andrew ever do to you?”

  “He took you away from me.”

  “What?”

  This was about him? Lee had not even considered that. Then he heard Andrew shouting again. Then a gunshot, followed by a shout and a thud.

  “Andrew!”

  “I’ve said too much.” Kirsty sighed heavily. “Now I’ve got to clean up this mess. Bye, Lee.”

  “Kirsty…”

  But Kirsty had hung up. Snarling, Lee pulled over. He was shaking. The bitch had been behind it all along, and Lee hadn’t noticed. He had been too focused on Joseph Gulliver and keeping Andrew safe to pay much attention to his partner. She had played him.

  All this for him? Lee didn’t understand.

  Hands still shaking, Lee reached for his cell phone cradled in its holder and went to the tracking app. Not that Kirsty knew about it, but Lee had put a tracker on her cell phone when they first started working together. He had wanted to make sure she could be trusted and was where she was supposed to be. Kirsty had apparently been truthful at that point because he barely used it after six months.

  Now, he needed it.

  From what the tracker said, Kirsty was quite a way off. Dutton Lake. It was a big place, and Lee knew he wouldn’t be able to search through all of it on his own. Then he remembered that Kirsty had joked about sneaking down there during her college years, that there was a specific place she and her friends would park so they wouldn’t get caught by the local park staff. She giggled about it like it was the worst-kept secret.

  Lee could only hope he remembered what to look for.

  ***

  Andrew’s shoulder was on fire. Kirsty had shot him. The bullet had glanced off his arm and now it was bleeding. Andrew was feeling lightheaded from it, and he was starting to staggered from side to side. Kirsty kept out of reach, forcing him to go on. Andrew didn’t think that he could; he was going to keel over before they got to wherever they were going. Then Kirsty would have to drag him.

  Or leave him in the dirt. Andrew wouldn’t be surprised if Kirsty did that and left him for the wild animals. Anything to make him disappear.

  Somehow, he stayed on his feet, and they broke through the trees onto a small section of sand at the edge of the water. Dutton Lake looked very ominous in the dark, the water glistening in the moonlight. Andrew shuddered as he saw it. He hated swimming. Anything beyond a shower he hated. Kirsty knew that. And Dutton Lake was very unforgiving for those that couldn’t swim.

  Especially considering a lot of it was marshland now. And alligators were known to swim in the waters.

  Shit. He needed to get out of there.

  “On your knees, Andrew.” Kirsty snapped.

  Andrew turned. She was out of reach, the gun still pointed at his head. It wasn’t wavering. Andrew’s mouth had gone dry. This wasn’t how he wanted to die.

  “No. I’m not bowing down to you, Kirsty.”

  “You’re going to.”

  “Not if I can help it.” Even if his legs were threatening to give way. Andrew glared at her. “You want to kill me? Make it look like a suicide? You’re going to have to come here, press that gun against my head and look me in the eye while you pull the trigger. And I don’t think you can do it.”

  “Want to try it?”

  “Let’s find out.”

  They stared at each other. Kirsty didn’t move. She really was a coward. She wouldn’t be able to do that. Andrew gritted his teeth. The pain in his arm was getting worse. He almost wanted to cry.

  “All of this for a guy? That’s just messed up, Kirsty.”

  Kirsty snorted.

  “You wouldn’t know anything about how I feel, Andrew. You just use people and chuck them aside.”

  “When have I ever done that?”

  “You can’t keep a relationship.”

  “You know that by spying on me?” Andrew shot back. “And hasn’t it occurred to you that I have problems with relationships because my trust has been broken? That’s hard to come by.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It means you’ve got commitment issues.” Kirsty bared her teeth. “You fuck the guys and then take off because you don’t have the guts to stay around and explain yourself. If you can turn Lee, you can do the same to him as well.”

  Andrew shook his head. That would never happen.

  “I love Lee, Kirsty. I would never do that to him.”

  Had he really just said that? Did he love Lee? Yes, he did. Andrew inwardly groaned at the worst timing possible to realize this. Kirsty looked positively furious at this admission.

  “You don’t love him!” She shrieked. “He’s mine to love! Not yours!”

  “And Lee isn’t a fucking puppet or a piece of property for you to own.” Andrew pressed his hand hard to his wound. “And after the phone call I overheard, he’s not going to be yours at all. He won’t get with you after that.”

  If Lee had wanted to be with Kirsty, Andrew was sure it would have happened by now. Lee was dense, and it often needed a bit of poking to get him to realize more was going on outside of work. But he would have known if he wanted Kirsty. And Kirsty would have experienced what sex with Lee would have been like a long time ago.

  But Lee was far too professional, even for that. He would draw the line at sleeping with his partner. From the way Kirsty was behaving, she was sure she would have snagged him long ago.

  All of this for Lee’s love and affection? This was just too crazy.

  “Dense men are tough, but not impossible to crack.” Kirsty advanced on him. “I’ve got this.”

  “No, you haven’t.”

  Kirsty bared her teeth, the gun barrel pressed against Andrew’s chest.

  “You talk too much. I wish you would just shut up.”

  “Then shut me up.” Andrew locked eyes with her. “You think shooting me will make you feel better, you go ahead. But Lee won’t come running to be your man.”

  Kirsty was still baring her teeth in some sort of smile. She leaned forward.

  “He will. I know he will.”

  Then she brought up the gun and slammed the butt in Andrew’s face. Pain exploded, and everything went red.

  Then it went black.

  Chapter Ten

  Lee managed to get to Dutton Lake in record time, finding the trail that Kirsty had taken. His hands were sweating so much that they were slipping on the wheel, and he felt like he was about to have a heart attack. It had been far too long since talking to Kirsty. God only knew what she had done.

  Kirsty’s phone said she had gone down Texana Drive and gone off the end of the road. Lee followed it, heading into the trees. Just a few feet in on a makeshift trail, and you could be in a completely different world. Kirsty knew the place well after her years living close by, just a couple of streets over. She would know the best place to hide a body.

  There was a reason a chunk of Dutton Lake was called Alligator Bay.

  Lee ran through the trees, his flashlight barely breaking through the darkness. He wasn’t armed; he disapproved of guns. Hopefully, he would be able to talk Kirsty down if she were armed. From the sound of it earlier, she was. Lee could only hope that Andrew was still alive.

  God, he hoped he was.

  Lee found the small stretch of beach pretty quickly. There was a boat moored on the shore, and Kirsty was beside it, trying to wrestle an unconscious Andrew inside. She was struggling, dropping Andrew several times before getting a firmer grip on him. Andrew’s head kept bouncing off the lip of the boat.

  Lee approached her slowly.

  “Kirsty? Let Andre
w go.”

  Kirsty looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw him. Then she started crying.

  “Please, Lee! Help me! I couldn’t stop Andrew. He just...he went crazy, and I…”

  “You really think I’m going to believe you hurt Andrew in self-defense?” Lee stepped closer. “After the phone call we had earlier. I know the truth, Kirsty.”

  Kirsty stared at him. She had stopped crying. She straightened up with a sigh and dropped Andrew to the ground.

  “Well, it was worth a try. But you should have stayed away. You should have followed what I was leaving for you. Then this would never have happened.”

  “You planned this for months. Years, even.” Lee glanced at Andrew. He was covered in blood, but he looked to still be breathing. “For what? Me?”

  “Initially, it was to discredit you so they could reopen Joseph’s case. I thought you were dirty.”

  “Joseph was caught red-handed, Kirsty.”

  “No, he wasn’t.” Kirsty snarled. “But the more time I spent with you, the more my feelings changed.”

  She had fallen in love with him. This had been about him all the time. Lee was still coming to terms with that.

  “I knew Andrew had a crush on you.” Kirsty kicked at Andrew’s body. “And you had been spending a lot more time with him lately. More than you should. I didn’t think he would be able to turn you, but he was a threat. I had to get rid of him.”

  “By bringing back Joseph’s alter-ego online?”

  Kirsty shrugged.

  “You know I’m good with computers. It didn’t take much to figure out Joseph’s passwords and reactivate the account.”

  Lee felt like he was in a weird dream. Of all the people he had thought about being the new online stalker, Kirsty had not been on the radar. If he hadn’t checked on the witness list, Lee wouldn’t have known about her at all.

  “What were you going to achieve with that?”

  “I wanted to get everyone riled up again. Quite a few people Andrew went to school with now have criminal records. They wouldn’t like being attacked by a dweeb like Andrew again. So, I ramped it up a bit more. As you saw with the burglary, they weren’t about to let it stay online.”