FADE TO BLACK - Thrilling Romantic Suspense - Book 1 of the BLACK CATS Series

by Leslie A. Kelly

  Mitch stepped inside the office, his hat, literally, in his hands. “Just wanted to say, uh, if you want my resignation, I’ll understand.”

  Stacey merely stared, taken completely by surprise.

  “I should have told you about me and Lisa when she first disappeared.”

  So much had happened, she hadn’t given that another thought “Yes, you should have. But Mitch, honestly, I couldn’t do this job without you.”

  He laughed softly. “Yeah, you could. In fact, you could do this job anywhere. You are the best cop I’ve ever known, and I think your phone’s gonna be ringing off the hook with offers.” With a shy smile, he nodded, slipped his hat back on his head, and ducked out, leaving her to sit alone in silence.

  She had fielded a few calls. But she hadn’t given much thought to them. They’d lurked in the back of her mind, just as this whole thing with Dean lurked in the back of her mind. Something to think about. Something to ponder.

  Something she had to decide. And soon.

  DEAN MIGHT HAVE BEEN the last person in the known universe to have discovered Chuck E. Cheese, but in the past couple of weeks, he had more than made up for it. He’d just come from his third Wednesday in a row there, and frankly, if he never saw that big singing rat again, he’d be very happy.

  After dropping Jared off at his ex’s, he made his way home, glad, at least, that it was late enough to avoid the unrelenting city traffic. It was dark by the time he pulled into the small parking lot beside the old school-turned-apartment building a few blocks from the Capitol. His place was small, but the location was convenient and the neighborhood had a lot of charm. It had an old-fashioned feel that wasn’t often found in D.C. Not exactly Hope Valley standards, but quaint. He wondered, not for the first time, what Stacey would think of it.

  Then he saw the squad car parked in his reserved spot and realized he was about to find out.

  His palms started to sweat as if he were some teenager about to get laid for the first time. His heart did that crazy flippy thing it had done since he’d first met her.

  He’d missed her. Had thought a thousand times about getting in the car and going to her, demanding that she admit what he’d known for quite a while: that she had done the crazy and unthinkable and fallen as much in love with him as he had with her.

  It had taken every bit of his strength not to do it. She needed to be the one to figure things out. Hopefully, her presence here meant that she had.

  Parking beside her, he got out of the car and lifted a brow. “You’re in my spot.”

  “Sheriff on official business,” she said as she stepped out to join him. “I can’t be ticketed.”

  “You sure?”

  A smile broadened her pretty mouth and, beneath the light cast by the lamppost, her eyes glittered with humor. And something more.

  “I’ll take my chances.”

  Four words. They could refer to her car, but he knew they didn’t. The double meaning hit him dead center, and he smiled back.

  She was ready to take her chances with him.

  Without another word, he stepped over and grasped her shoulders, bending slightly to catch her mouth in a hot, openmouthed kiss. When they’d been together, Stacey had filled all the empty places, made him feel satisfied and whole for the first time in ages. He’d missed that feeling. Missed this. Missed her.

  She arched against him, pressing her soft body against his in pure feminine welcome. Lifting her arms, she tangled her fingers in his hair, kissing him back with just as much hunger and, he hoped, just as much happiness as he was feeling.

  When they finally broke apart and looked at each other, he saw she still had that smile on her beautiful face. “Official business, huh?”

  She nodded. “I came to talk about my future. My career as sheriff.”

  He lifted a hand to her silky hair, loose and hanging in a curtain over her shoulders. She wasn’t wearing her uniform tonight. Dressed in a soft yellow blouse and white jeans, she looked sunny and feminine. But he’d bet anything she had a backup piece strapped to her ankle.

  He couldn’t wait to get her inside and find out.

  “You’re a great sheriff,” he said.

  “I know.” There was no conceit, just that irresistible confidence. “But I’m thinking maybe I’d be a better detective. Maybe somewhere around here.”

  He cupped her cheek. “Stacey, you don’t have to change a thing for me. Hope Valley’s not that far away.”

  “It’s the other end of the earth,” she replied. “And after my dad’s term is up in a few months, I want to come back to this side of it. I’m thinking Sheriff Mitch Flanagan sounds really good.” She leaned up and rubbed her soft cheek against his grizzled one. “I’m done. It’s over. I’m finished hiding.”

  “I knew that the minute I saw your car,” he said, covering her mouth with his again. This kiss was softer, gentler, infinitely more tender. And when their lips parted to exchange a warm breath of night air, he murmured, “I love you, Stacey.”

  Her soft sigh of happiness told him before she gave the words back. “I love you, too.”

  They stood there kissing for a while longer, then, in silence, moved toward the building. Her arm hooked in his, she stayed tucked by his side, fitting against him so perfectly it was like she’d been made to be there.

  “Dean?”

  He paused at the door.

  Her lip caught on her bottom teeth for a moment, and she looked up at him, her eyes swimming in indecision for the first time since she’d arrived. “I’m looking forward to meeting your son.”

  He knew what had put that indecision there, and knew he could offer no promises that everything would always be safe and she’d never experience pain or anguish. So he could only tell her what he told himself every single night when he hung up the phone after sharing the monsters-go-away poem with Jared.

  “It’s worth it. For as long as you have it, no matter what might happen down the road, loving like that is worth it.”

  She nodded once, not making any promises, not claiming to be ready to dive headfirst into all the things she’d been telling herself she didn’t want. Kids, marriage.

  They had love. That was the start. And for now, that was enough.

  * * * * *

  Did you enjoy the first book in Leslie A. Kelly’s exciting Black CATs series?

  Don’t miss the other titles…available NOW!

  Pitch Black

  Black At Heart

  And coming in 2014:

  Black Out!

  If you liked Fade To Black, will you please consider leaving a review? Reviews are critical to book sales and are very much appreciated.

  If you’d like to share your thoughts with Leslie, drop her an email at: lkellyauthormail@gmail.com

  Here are sneak-peeks at the next two books in the Black CATs series…both available NOW!

  New team member Alec Lambert is trying hard to reclaim his FBI career after being shot and nearly fired from the BAU. His first case: to get inside the head of the Professor, a diabolical killer luring his victims via the latest Internet scams.

  Teaming up with Samantha Dalton, a Web scam expert, he begins to track down the wily killer. Neither of them realizes the Professor has a new victim in his sights: Samantha herself!

  Prologue

  HELLO. I am the former finance minister for a once great nation. I am writing to you about an issue of utmost urgency.

  Recent upheavals in my country make it impossible for me to retrieve monies hidden by my government. I write to you begging for assistance. I am needing a partner to help me retrieve the monies. I can trace the funds but must work through a third party for my own safety and the safety of my family.

  In exchange for your help you will be paid half of what is recovered, or ten million dollars. Please respond to me to arrange the transfer of money. Your Friend, Dr. Malik Waffi

  “I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE you fell for this bullshit.”

  Ignoring his passenger, Jason T
odd clenched the steering wheel of his father’s Buick, which he fought to keep on the dark, slippery road. His heart pounded furiously as he strained to see through the snow-streaked windshield. His short, jerky breaths punctuated his excitement.

  “We coulda been at a party,” Ryan added from the other side of the car, where he’d been hunched since they’d left home an hour ago. “Instead we’re in a blizzard, about to get scammed.”

  “Nobody forced you to come along.”

  “Shut up, loser; you know I wouldn’t have let you go alone.”

  No, he wouldn’t have. They’d been best friends since first grade, and Jason didn’t know if he’d have had the stones to go through with this if Ryan didn’t have his back.

  “This snow sucks. I can’t see shit.” Ryan used a grimy Taco Bell napkin to try to clear away some steam from the windshield.

  The light snow that had begun falling at sunset had spit down relentlessly for the past hour. The tires fought for every bit of traction they could get. The highway from Wilmington had been fine, but these back roads were untouched. Winter might have started late, with temperatures near fifty at Christmas a couple of weeks ago, but now that it had arrived, it was kicking ass and taking names.

  “When’s the last time your dad changed the wiper blades?”

  “It’s not like I could ask him, since he’s in Florida.” And by the time Jason’s parents got back from vacation, he planned to be driving his own car. A nice one, not this crapmobile.

  “You know this is all bogus, right? Internet Scam 101.”

  Man, the guy just wouldn’t give up. “You saw the check.”

  Ryan nodded. He’d been as shocked as Jason when a check for a cool grand had arrived in Jason’s mail, a down payment, according to this Waffi guy. “Yeah, yeah, the money,” Ryan conceded. “But I still say that check could bounce.”

  “It’s certified. They don’t bounce.”

  “They do if they’re fake,” Ryan muttered, holding on to his skepticism harder than he’d held on to his belief in Santa Claus.

  “It’s not fake. Come on, dude, admit you were wrong. Nobody would part with that much money as part of an e-mail scam. Not even your cyber fantasy woman could deny that.”

  Ryan’s lopsided grin made him look even younger than his sixteen years. “Bite me. You know she’s a babe. You’re just jealous because she never sent you a personalized e-mail.”

  Jason was happy to have been e-mailed by someone who wanted to make him a millionaire. But he had to admit, judging by the picture on her Web site, Sam the Spaminator was way hot.

  “We shoulda waited for her to write me back,” Ryan added. “I know she’ll say this is all bogus.”

  “The mo-ney,” Jason replied in a singsong voice.

  The check in his pocket was all the proof Jason needed that this was legit. Waffi had sent it, saying he wanted to prove he was on the up-and-up. Jason could have cashed it and walked away. But by bringing it to meet the doctor in person tonight, he’d get to exchange it for another one containing a whole lot more zeroes. By tomorrow, he’d be so rich he could do whatever he wanted. Maybe he’d even buy Ryan a Hummer for being his backup.

  Picturing it, he almost missed the turn Dr. Waffi had told him to look for. Nearly obscured by tangled brush, the gravel road would have been hard to spot even in good weather. He swerved onto it, maintaining control as the car fishtailed.

  He hadn’t gone fifty feet when Ryan yelled, “Watch out!”

  Suddenly spying the huge truck parked across the entire lane, Jason jerked the wheel hard. They went into a skid, the car spinning wildly as it careened toward the trees. Gravel and snow spewed into the air, the clack of sharp limbs hitting the roof sounding like knives on bone. Ryan flew out of his seat, smashing against Jason, who was punched against the driver’s-side window so hard he heard his cheekbone crunch.

  As the Buick finally came to a halt a few yards above a slope dropping into a frozen pond, Jason felt sticky moisture dripping down his forehead. His face throbbed; salty fluid saturated his lips. His eyelids were heavy, his vision blurring. But just before he blacked out, he saw a dark shape approaching the car. Someone was out there. “S’okay, man,” he mumbled. “Help’s here.”

  They were the last words he managed before darkness washed over him.

  And they were the first he thought of when he came to. Help’s here.

  He’d been unconscious for a few minutes. Or a few hours. As he moved from oblivion to awareness, Jason couldn’t be sure. He knew only one thing: He was cold. Whatever warmth the car’s heater had provided was gone. Sharp pricks of frigid air thrust needle-sharp into his face and body. Trying to force the murky clouds from his brain, he struggled to remember what had happened and where he was.

  It didn’t take long. They’d crashed. Violently.

  But help is here. Right?

  “Don’t try to move, Jason.”

  The voice was strong and even, yet not comforting. It held a note of iron firmness that would stand for no disobedience.

  It also wasn’t the only sound. From nearby, he heard a loud creak, like a giant rocking chair set in motion. “Who—”

  “Quiet.”

  He wondered if he was in a hospital, being tended to by a stern doctor. If so, maybe his parents were there. They’d be mad at him for crashing, but so relieved he was all right they’d let it go. And Jason would tell them he was sorry. So sorry.

  Though the fantasy enticed him, he didn’t open his eyes. Partly because he was in so much pain. And partly because he already knew his parents were not there. That was a kid’s dream. The nearly adult Jason knew he wasn’t in a hospital. Not only was it dark, it was still snowing. The tiny drops of moisture landing on his skin and turning instantly to ice confirmed it. Plus, his lips were bloody. And every inch of him hurt.

  “Jason, you were told to come alone.”

  “Who’s there?” he whispered.

  Bright light suddenly flashed on, thrusting like a spike through the fine skin of his eyelids and into his pupils. Jason turned away, instinctively trying to escape. His head, however, was the only part of his body he could move. Forcing himself to go slowly, he shifted his eyes down, then began to lift his lids, letting the light in bit by bit.

  Definitely outside. His chest was bare. The skin he could see through the crystallized snow had turned gray with cold, possibly even frostbite. His legs, too, shone gray in the snow-whitened moonlight. And oddly, he was sitting upright in a chair.

  “Jason?” More stern now.

  He didn’t look up, stalling as he tried to get his brain working. Icy snow, tinged pink with blood, covered his bare thighs. Seeing a solid strip of silver running across them, he realized why he couldn’t move. Duct tape. What the fuck?

  “What’s happening?” he whispered. “Where’s Ryan?”

  “He’s right behind you.”

  He jerked his head back. It banged against something with a thunk, garnering a moan in response. Ryan was alive. For now.

  His eyes shifted frantically and he squinted against the brutal light. Headlights. “What’s going on?” Another crack sounded nearby. His panic rose. Something in his brain told him he knew the sound and understood its meaning.

  “You were told to come alone.” The tone remained harsh, yet patient, as if he were some kid whose lesson had to be repeated.

  He suddenly had a suspicion. “Dr. Waffi?”

  “Ahh, it learns. Now, what have I been saying?”

  “I was told to come alone,” he admitted.

  “You disobeyed. I would think you were being willful, but knowing what I do about you, I’ll assume it was pure stupidity.”

  Tears oozed out of Jason’s eyes, sliding an inch or so down each cheek before freezing hard. “Please let me go.”

  “Go where? To do what?”

  “To go home to my parents.” Oh, did he wish they hadn’t gone away and that he hadn’t answered that e-mail.

  “Your parents should
never have given you life.”

  Jason started crying like a baby. How could this be happening? He was only seventeen. He’d barely lived. He’d never even banged a girl, despite what he said in the locker room.

  “Who is the other one? Is he as stupid as you?”

  “Ryan.” Hearing a groan, Jason regretted all the shit he’d ever gotten his best friend into. “He knew this was a scam.”

  “So, he’s no fool. But he has poor taste in friends.” The man’s coldness was underscored by one of those maddening cracking noises. It was longer. Louder. “He’ll pay for that now.”

  “Are you crazy?” Jason screamed. “Let us go!”

  Another crack. Jason could now feel something crackling beneath his frozen feet. The hard ground felt uneven, rock-hard yet still unstable. So very cold.

  Terrified, Jason suddenly realized what the sounds were. And what was about to happen. He jerked, fighting the tape, knowing he should remain still. “No, don’t do this!”

  He finally stared directly at the light—high beams from his dad’s banged-up Buick. Facing him, it sat at the top of a small slope a few yards away. As he watched, a dark, shadowy figure, faintly visible in the snowy night, walked up the slope toward it.

  For one brief moment, the figure passed in front of the headlights, casting a shadow so long it seemed to stretch for miles, enveloping Jason in its blackness. Then it moved on until reaching the open car door.

  Jason knew what the man was going to do even before he bent into the car and flipped off the lights. The sudden darkness was almost as blinding, the terror infinitely more extreme. Because he didn’t have to see the car being shifted into neutral or hear the emergency brake being released to know exactly what was happening. “God, no, please.”

  The vehicle began to roll down the slope, drawing irrevocably closer to the icy pond on which Jason and Ryan were trapped. “Why are you doing this?” he yelled, straining against the tape even as the front tires reached the frozen shoreline.

  Behind him, he felt movement. Ryan was coming to.

  “Good-bye, Jason,” the voice called. “The world will be better off without you. Shame about your friend. You really should have come alone.”