Keeping Watch (9781460341285)

by Choate, Jane M.

  Dani was shaking uncontrollably. Fear and stress had undoubtedly triggered an asthma attack. Holding her as he would something infinitely precious, he lifted her into Sal’s arms, then climbed up to kneel beside her.

  “I knew you’d come.” Her words came in sharp gasps.

  He couldn’t speak, could only hold her.

  “Inhaler,” she said, her voice thready. “Cabin.”

  Gently, he laid her down, brushed the dirt from her, then hurried to retrieve the inhaler and put it to her lips. “Easy does it,” he cautioned.

  With a few drags on the inhaler, she started to breathe evenly. Jake continued to hold her. He wasn’t planning on letting her go anytime soon.

  * * *

  “I’m all right,” Dani insisted. With the aid of the inhaler and in the safety of Jake’s arms, she was back to her old self. Almost.

  “You’re still getting checked out at the hospital.” Jake’s tone brooked no argument.

  “Victor.” She couldn’t repress a shudder that ran through her. Victor had almost succeeded. Had he hated her that much? How had she not seen it? She’d been blind to what he was. Only her mother had seen through the smooth exterior he’d presented to the world.

  “Victor’s in a pair of cuffs. Monroe’s just about to take him in.”

  “I want to see him.”

  “Dani.” The single word held protest and admiration.

  “I have to face him. One more time.”

  Jake didn’t argue with her but motioned to Monroe, who shoved Wingate in their direction.

  His face bloodied, arms secured behind his back, Victor was no longer the handsome, charming young lawyer. He lifted his gaze to Dani. “I underestimated you.”

  Dani stared him down, read the mixture of rage and torment in his gaze. “You overestimated yourself. You know what, Victor? You’re going to have to live with yourself for the things you’ve done.” Her voice turned suddenly fierce. “For what you did to my mother. To me. To Clariss. You will live a long, long time in a tiny cell where you get to see daylight for only an hour a day. I’m going to mourn my mother. And then I’m going to live my life. The Lord willing, it will be full and rich and happy.” The fire left her voice to be replaced by strength. “And if I ever think of you, I’ll try to pray for you. Someday, I may be able to forgive you. But it won’t be today.”

  Victor withered in front of her.

  Monroe handed Victor over to a patrolman. “He won’t be getting out for a long time. If ever.”

  “Him and Clariss both,” Sal added.

  Dani shook her head. “Clariss was a victim as much as I was. She didn’t know what he was like. Not really.”

  “She set you up,” Jake reminded her.

  “I know. But she can still be saved. I’m going to speak to Freeman about her. Maybe there’s something I can do for her.”

  “You never quit, do you?”

  “Not when it matters.” Clariss deserved a second chance, and Dani was determined to give it to her. Victor had taken too much already. Dani was not about to allow him to drag someone else into the dark ugliness of his soul.

  She submitted to going to the hospital, where she was poked and prodded and pronounced all right.

  Under protest, Dani had been convinced to remain at the hospital under observation for the night. Around ten o’clock, she finally gave in to exhaustion.

  “She’ll probably sleep twelve hours straight,” the doctor told Jake and her father. “The best thing you can do for her now is to get some rest yourselves.”

  The senator turned to Jake. “Thank you, son. You gave me back my daughter. If not for you...” His voice broke.

  Jake clasped the older man’s arm. “In the end, Dani saved herself. She kept Wingate talking until we could get to her.”

  “I’ll never be able to thank you and Shelley enough. Be assured that a sizable bonus will be included in your fee.”

  Right then, Jake wasn’t interested in bonuses, sizable or not. Dani was all right. That was all that mattered.

  He sensed that the senator wanted time alone with Dani, even though she was asleep. He respected that and left father and daughter alone.

  There was something else he wanted to do. He wanted in on the interrogation of Victor Wingate, and when Monroe had invited him, Jake had jumped at the chance.

  “Unbelievable,” Monroe muttered two hours later, when he, Jake and the D.A. himself had finished the first round of questioning. “The man is certifiably crazy. He’s so far gone that he now believes his own lies.”

  “He’s one of the few true sociopaths I’ve ever encountered,” Leonard Freeman said. “Despite what you see on television, real sociopaths are rare.”

  “As long as he never gets out.” Jake didn’t care how or what they termed Wingate. He wanted only to make sure the man spent the rest of his days behind bars.

  “Misty Springs is in the sheriff’s jurisdiction,” Monroe said. “They’ll let us know when they have identification on the body. But I don’t believe there’s any question that it’s Madeline Barclay.”

  The grave was next to the open one Wingate had dug for Dani. The memory of that freshly dug grave caused Jake to clench his fists until his knuckles whitened.

  They had all agreed that there was no need to notify the senator about finding his wife’s body until the identification was certain.

  “You want a job on the force?” Monroe asked Jake, only half joking. “You did a bang-up job putting things together.”

  “I already have a job,” Jake reminded him. “And I’d better make a report to my own boss.” It didn’t matter that his boss was also his sister. Shelley ran a tight ship and demanded verbal and written reports.

  “Go on,” the detective said. “I’ve got a bunch of paperwork to slog through. There’s nothing more you can do here tonight.” He stuck out a big hand. “It’s been a pleasure, Rabb.”

  “Same goes, Detective.” Jake shook hands with the district attorney as well, then headed to his Jeep, where Sal was waiting for him.

  “Any chance I can bunk with you tonight?” his friend asked. “I’ve got to find myself some new digs.”

  Jake longed for privacy, to sort through his thoughts, but he couldn’t refuse his friend. Sal had gone the second mile in protecting Dani. Jake owed him more than he could ever repay.

  He started to say just that when Sal stopped him. “We’re brothers. Brothers don’t need words.”

  Jake gave him a one-arm hug and headed the Jeep to the house. After the last harrowing hours, bed sounded good. He showed Sal the spare room, then fell into his own bed.

  Three hours later, Jake awoke, the scream caught in his throat. His men. Had to reach his men.

  He rolled from his bed and groped his way in the darkness, looking for the source of the screams. He put his hands to his ears to block the sound of the cries of his men. Got to keep moving, he told himself. Got to keep moving. His men needed him.

  Meaty hands grabbed him from behind, held him fast.

  Jake broke free of the hold, flipped his assailant over and tossed him to the floor.

  “Jake! Jake, it’s Sal. Wake up, man. You’re having a nightmare.”

  Only then did Jake realize he had his hands around his friend’s throat. “Oh, man. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” His choked words dissolved as shudders overtook his body.

  “It’s all right,” Sal said quietly. “You were having a flashback. No big deal.”

  “I could have killed you.”

  “Nah. You’d have figured it out. Besides, I’m too mean to die.”

  Sal’s reassurance should have settled him. Should have, but didn’t.

  “Hey. Do you think you’re the only one who’s ever had a flashback? I’ve had my share. Still do sometimes.�
�� Sal’s matter-of-fact acceptance of what had happened helped, but Jake couldn’t forgive himself for what he’d done to his friend.

  It didn’t take a degree in psychiatry to figure out what had triggered the flashback: the nightmare scene at Wingate’s old home. Seeing Dani at the mercy of a madman had somehow gotten mixed up with his own personal misery.

  It could have been Dani he’d thrown to the floor. It could have been Dani whom he’d held by the throat, Dani’s delicate skin he’d bruised. Or worse.

  He’d almost lost her to Wingate tonight. Now he had to admit that he could be the one to hurt her—or worse. As that picture took shape in his mind, anguish twisted his heart.

  He leaned against the bed frame, head in his hands, and for the first time in over a year, he cried. He cried for the men he hadn’t been able to save. He cried for Dani, who now had to accept her mother’s death. He cried for himself. He couldn’t bring his nightmares into Dani’s life, not after what she’d been through. The best thing he could do for her was to get out of her life and stay out.

  Sal did him the favor of letting him be. No soldier wanted his friend, his comrade-in-arms, to see him fall apart. It was stupid, but he had to hold on to what little self-respect he had remaining.

  Jake stayed where he was, slumped against the side of the bed. He might have dozed for a few minutes. He didn’t know.

  The following morning, he knew what he had to do. He packed his duffel bag, left a note for Shelley, then climbed into his Jeep and started driving.

  He didn’t know where he was heading. He didn’t much care.

  Loneliness.

  Ignore it. He couldn’t have it all ways. His time with Dani had been comforting, her belief in God a balm to his tortured soul. He had taken from her faith, her strength, but, in the end, he was alone.

  Always alone.

  TWELVE

  Through her office window, Dani watched the sun rise in a glorious, eye-blinding burst of pink and orange over the horizon. She’d arrived at work early, eager to get a head start on the day.

  Freedom.

  Ever since Victor’s arrest, she had held at bay the smothering fear from the threats and ugliness he’d brought into her life, but it had always been there, hovering in the background, waiting to pounce and ambush her. She’d feared lowering her guard for even a moment.

  But if she didn’t embrace today, with its precious freedom, then Victor would win. She wouldn’t allow that.

  Several hours later, having made satisfying progress on her caseload, she looked up expectantly when the door to her office swung open.

  But it was only the temporary secretary who had been hired until a permanent one could be found. Clariss remained in custody. Dani herself was working on a plea bargain for Clariss in return for turning evidence against Victor.

  Dani still believed that, with help, Clariss could be saved. Victor had taken too much already. She wouldn’t let him claim Clariss as yet another victim, not if she could help it.

  “Ms. Barclay?” The secretary, nearer fifty than forty, looked at Dani. “You have a visitor.”

  When Shelley Rabb came through the door, Dani immediately rose and embraced her. “Shelley. It’s good to see you.”

  “You may not think so when you hear what I have to say.”

  Dani’s heart constricted. “Jake. Is something wrong?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t seen or heard from him since the day after Wingate was arrested. He made his report, left me a note saying he was taking some time off, then dropped out of sight.”

  Dani swallowed. “Have you tried to find him?”

  Shelley made an impatient sound. “Of course I tried, but Jake’s good. When he doesn’t want to be found, he can’t be found.”

  “You’ve checked with Sal?”

  Shelley nodded. “No one’s heard a word from him.”

  Dani sat, gestured for the other woman to do the same. Dani wrapped her arms around her waist, the pain so intense that she feared she would break into pieces. Had she survived what Victor planned for her only to lose the one man she had ever loved, could ever love?

  “I’m sorry,” Shelley murmured. “You’re hurting, and I’ve only made it worse.”

  “You told me what you know. I appreciate it.” But despair settled on her shoulders, dragging her down, smothering all joy. Even the knowledge that the stalking was over didn’t compare to the loss of the man she loved.

  “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

  Unable to deny it, Dani nodded miserably. She recalled those moments when Jake had held her after rescuing her from the grave where Victor had intended to bury her. He’d cradled her face in his hands, and though his expression was tormented, his gaze had held nothing but tenderness.

  “I think Jake feels the same way.”

  “Then why didn’t he try to see me?” The next day, following her release from the hospital, she’d waited for him, all the while allowing herself to dream of a future with him, a future that included picket fences and porch swings, barbecues and family. When a day, then two days, then a week had passed, she’d been worried, then frightened, then angry.

  “Jake’s carrying around some pretty heavy baggage from his days in the military,” Shelley said softly. “I think he’s still trying to get a handle on it.”

  Dani recalled the terrifying nightmare that had made Jake cry out, screaming that he had to get to his men.

  “If it’s any comfort, he told you a lot more than he did me,” Shelley said. “I had to piece together bits of information he’d let slip over the last twelve months.”

  “Why won’t he let me help him?” The words came out on an anguished sob. “I saw him in the middle of a nightmare. I didn’t turn away. So why is he turning away from me?” Tears burned Dani’s throat, but she swallowed them back. No point in crying. Jake was done with her. He couldn’t have made it more plain.

  “My guess would be that it tore him apart to let you see him that way. He’s not one to show weakness in front of someone else, especially a woman he cares about.”

  Dani supposed that should have made her feel better. It didn’t. “What are we going to do?”

  “Wait,” Shelley said. “And pray.”

  “Wait and pray” had become Dani’s motto over the past month. Wait, pray and pray some more.

  The succeeding weeks took their toll. In the window of the office door, she saw herself reflected, the image gazing back at her confirming what she already knew. Her mouth was pinched, her eyes tired and miserable.

  She got through the days because she had no choice.

  Patricia Newton’s case had gone to trial. The woman had received twelve years for her attempt on Mr. McBride’s life. At her boss’s directive, Dani had turned the case of the attempted poisoning on herself over to another attorney.

  Jerry Brooks had pleaded out, receiving a mandatory sentence of eight years for spousal abuse. Once more, Dani had turned the vandalism case over to another attorney in the D.A.’s office.

  Her professional life was on track. She had the respect of her colleagues. Even her father was coming around to accepting that she belonged where she was.

  After the funeral for her mother, father and daughter spent time together at Belle Terre. Dani refused to allow herself to dwell on the sense of abandonment she’d felt when Jake had failed to show up for the service. He didn’t owe her anything. She’d do well to remember that. Still, betrayal stabbed deep.

  On the plus side, her father had returned to church.

  “I blamed God when your mother vanished,” he said, upon accompanying her to Sunday services for the first time. “No more.”

  A new closeness grew between them, and Dani rejoiced in it.

  “I’m proud of you, darling,” her father told
her one evening after dinner at Belle Terre. “You survived what would have broken many people.”

  “I can’t help feeling that it’s my fault what happened to Mama. I brought Victor into our lives. If I hadn’t been dating him, if I’d only listened to her when she tried to warn me against him, things could have been so different.” Guilt left a foul taste in her mouth.

  He father held up his hand. “None of that. The blame lies on Wingate. He manipulated you. He manipulated all of us. He wormed his way into your life. We’ll probably never understand what makes a man like that tick.”

  “Why didn’t I see what he was?” She’d agonized about that over the past weeks, trying to figure out what she could have done differently. She recognized that as part of the healing process, but that acknowledgment didn’t take away the pain.

  “I think you did. You broke it off with him.”

  “But I didn’t understand how truly twisted he was.”

  “None of us did.” Her father drew her to him. “You’re a strong, independent woman, Dani. Your mother would have been proud of you. I know I am.”

  “Thank you, Daddy.”

  The senator cleared his throat. “I can’t help noticing that I haven’t seen Rabb around.”

  “Jake’s gone.”

  The stark words lashed her heart with stinging stripes. She’d worked to put him from her mind, but that was proving an impossible task. His slow smile replayed itself in her memory.

  Jake was in her mind...and her heart...to stay. And she knew there was more healing to be done.

  That night, she slipped into bed and hardly noticed that she cried herself to sleep.

  * * *

  Unable to sleep, Jake padded from the bedroom to the porch of the small house he’d rented in the northern part of the state.

  The night stretched before him, the darkness threatening to swallow him whole, the long hours before morning tormenting him with memories. Unwillingly, he recalled Dani’s quiet understanding when he’d related the details of that last mission to Libya, a mission that still gave him nightmares.