The Damaged Heroes Collection [Box Set #1: The Damaged Heroes Collection] (BookStrand Publishing Mainstream)

by James, Sandy

  Work. It barely crossed him mind anymore. When he was at the office, Ross was mechanical, proficient. But he wasn’t consumed by his need to win at all costs. Nor was he concerned about beating out his colleagues for the best pick of cases. Hard to feel predatory when his mind and body were content and relaxed.

  All because of his beautiful, passionate, and very loving wife.

  Ross looked down to where Laurie lay curled against his side and marveled at how she’d changed his life—how she’d changed him—so quickly. He was still mystified that she had done it all so very easily. Almost effortlessly. And he’d loved every minute of it.

  Ross hugged her a little closer and decided to enjoy the moment. Unfortunately, the phone opted to interrupt.

  With a groan, he rolled away from his sleeping wife, grabbed the cordless handset, and didn’t even bother to check the caller ID. “Yeah?” he growled.

  “Ross, it’s Andrew. There’s a major problem at the clinic.”

  “Did somebody break in again?”

  “No. It’s much, much worse.”

  * * * *

  “You know, you should’ve stayed at home. I don’t want you to see this,” Ross said as they eased his car into the parking lot. “Seriously, Laurie. You don’t need to look at him.”

  “I have to. Miguel was my patient,” she replied. “Who would hurt him?”

  Ross could hear the pain in her voice, and he wanted to spare her this macabre ordeal. He’d seen many a crime scene, so the prospect of looking at another wasn’t frightening. Uncomfortable, but not daunting. But most people couldn’t handle viewing human remains, and knowing how much affection Laurie felt for her patients, seeing one of them as a murder victim would haunt her. He parked the car, turned off the engine, and leaned over to take her trembling hand into his. Her fingers were cold. “Let me see what the cops have found out. You just stay here for a minute. I’ll come back and get you. Okay?”

  Laurie sniffled and nodded. When Andrew came jogging over to meet them, Ross got out of the car and pulled the man aside. “I don’t want my wife out of that car. She doesn’t need to see this.” Andrew nodded. Ross left him to stay and talk with Laurie while he went to get some information.

  By the time he walked to the entrance of the clinic, the police photographer had obviously finished his work because the uniformed man was returning his equipment to its case. Ross saw the familiar medical examiner and was grateful to know a competent person was handling the crime scene. Dr. Brenda Dorian, an old friend and a damn fine forensic investigator, was busy examining the body and dictating into a small voice recorder.

  Ross approached three police officers who stood to the side of the door, rapidly flipping through their notebooks and comparing their entries. “What did you find out?” he asked when he reached the trio.

  Two of the cops gave him nasty glares that let him know he wasn’t welcome in their huddle, but the third must have remembered him from the earlier break-in. The officer inclined his head toward Ross and said, “He’s all right. He’s with one of the doctors.” When they still didn’t look convinced, the cop added, “The guy’s an attorney.” They both nodded, but they still didn’t seem too pleased to have to share their information with Ross.

  “We don’t know much yet,” the officer who recognized him explained. “The vic’s name is Miguel Hernandez. He was identified by the other doc. He’s going to get his records from the office to find out which family members to contact.”

  “Any leads?” Ross asked, already knowing the most likely answer.

  “None. But we’ve just started the investigation. The vic might’ve had some enemies. We need to check the drug angle, too.”

  “My wife’s his therapist. She said he didn’t use if that helps you any.” Pulling his wallet out of his back pocket, Ross retrieved a business card and handed it to the cop. “I’d appreciate a call if you find out anything solid.” The officer nodded. “Thanks, guys,” Ross said before heading over to have a chat with Brenda Dorian.

  “Counselor,” she greeted him with a brisk nod. “Long time no see.”

  “Doctor,” he said as he nodded back. “I know it’s been a while. I’ve been handling more civil than criminal cases lately.” Ross took a look at the grisly display of the poor dead man’s body. “Tell me about this guy.”

  “What’s your connection, Ross?”

  “This is my wife’s clinic.” He nodded toward the corpse. “He’s one of her patients.”

  Brenda became all business. “COD is most likely strangulation. Liver temp says he’s been dead between two to four hours. He wasn’t killed here. No signs of a struggle. Looks like he was taken from behind. I’d guess by someone he either knew or at least someone who he recognized.” She held up one of Miguel’s hands. “No defensive wounds. But I’ll scrape under his fingernails back at the morgue.” She gently placed Miguel’s hand back at his side. “And just look at the display. His body was posed. This was definitely meant to send a message.” She pointed to Miguel’s body. “See the way he’s sitting up?” Ross nodded. “Propped up like a doll on some kid’s bed. The perp wanted someone to know he’s in control. Made sure the eyes were still open, too.”

  Ross had been so busy surveying the crime scene, he didn’t notice Laurie until it was too late to stop her from seeing Miguel’s body.

  “Oh, my God! Miguel!” She stood rooted to the spot on the sidewalk leading to the clinic entrance. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

  Ross ran to her, turned her away from the ghastly spectacle, and wrapped his arms around her. “It’s okay, Laurie.” She shook so violently, he was afraid for her.

  Clutching wildly at his shirt, she cried, “It’s not okay! Miguel’s dead! He’s dead!” She started to sob. Ross pulled her closer into his embrace and let her cry. Brenda shot him a sympathetic look and turned back to her work.

  “Laurie, let me take you back to the car,” Ross suggested when she appeared to be regaining a little control.

  “I should...should stay with Miguel,” she said as she sniffled and hiccoughed. “At least...at least until his...his sister gets here.”

  Ross had worked enough cases involving violent death to know what she needed to hear. “There’s no need to stay, Love. The police will call his sister. Andrew is getting his file from your office. The medical examiner... Brenda will take good care of him.”

  “She...she will?” Laurie asked, looking so trusting it pinched his heart. Ross nodded. “Miguel’s such a...a kind soul. She’ll really take care of him?”

  Ross nodded again, brushed away the remainder of her tears, and kissed her forehead. “Andrew can stay to help the cops. There’s nothing you can do here. Let Brenda take care of Miguel, and let me take you to the house. Then I can come back here and get some more information. Do you want to go to the house?”

  She nodded and allowed Ross to lead her back to the Lexus. Once they were heading toward Bolingbrook, Ross let Laurie know what he expected. “I don’t want you going back to the clinic until this gets figured out.” On this point, he would not bend.

  “I have to go to work,” she stubbornly replied. “My patients need me.”

  He didn’t even bother with the mental count of ten; this was non-negotiable. “Laurie, for once you’re damn well going to listen to me and not argue. I don’t want you at that clinic. It’s too dangerous.”

  She shook her head.

  He clenched his jaw. “Laurie...”

  She didn’t even let him finish his thought. “Quit scolding me, Ross. I’ve only got a couple of weeks left with these people. I can’t abandon them yet. Stop shaking your head at me. I need to help them find a new therapist. We’ve got no reason to believe that Miguel’s death has anything to do with me.”

  Ross kept his explosion at her words to a minimum—at least for him. “No reason? They found his body at your clinic, Laurie. He was your patient. Of course, it’s got something to do with you.”

  She started to cry agai
n. “It was my fault.” She scrubbed at her tears with the back of her hands.

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “But it was my fault. Why, Ross? Why did this happen?”

  He didn’t have an answer for her, but he had some strong suspicions he wasn’t quite ready to share. “I don’t know, but I’m damn well going to find out. Will you be okay if I go back to the clinic and try to get some more information? I need to give Bruiser a call, too.”

  Laurie sniffled some more and then nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be okay. Deepika will be there, and I’ve got all those files to finish dictation for anyway.” Suddenly a look of concern crossed her face. “Ross, I’m so sorry about your birthday.”

  He reached over and squeezed her knee. “It doesn’t matter, Kitten.” Despite the horror that had followed their lovemaking, this was going to be a birthday he’d never forget. “Besides, you already gave me my gift. And I loved it.” He liked that she still blushed at the mention of anything that intimate.

  “I have another gift,” Laurie said.

  Ross laughed and gave her a sly smile. “Just make sure everyone’s out of the house before I get back. Then you can give it to me.” He wiggled his eyebrows for effect; she blushed some more.

  “Not that. I got you... Oh, never mind. I’ll give it to you later.”

  They pulled into the driveway, and Ross kissed Laurie before she got out of the car. “You want me to walk you inside?”

  Laurie shook her head. “No, thanks. I know you want to get back. Besides,” she said, nodding at the door, “the little light shows the place is secure. I’ll be fine.”

  Ross sped back toward Joliet after he gave her another kiss and watched her turn off the alarm, unlock the door, and walk inside the house.

  Alex was behind this. There wasn’t a single doubt in Ross’s mind. The time had come to put an end to it.

  Chapter 22

  The gangsters have offered a huge reward for anyone who brings them T.J. Dead or alive. We know this because T.J. called the only friend he still trusts in Chicago. T.J. wanted to see if the heat was still on. Not only is it on, it’s boiling hot.

  Maybe Montana will be a place we can hide. T.J.’s biggest fear is that bootleggers coming from Canada might travel through River Bend, the town near the Circle M.

  Will we ever be safe again? It doesn’t feel like it.

  Run and hide, run away.

  Live to die another day.

  Walking into the empty house, Laurie silently thanked her husband for the alarm system. No matter what she told him, going back to work wasn’t going to be easy. After the ghastly scene at her clinic, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to set foot in the place again. Thanks to Ross, at least she felt safe here.

  Shrugging off her jacket, she hung it in the closet. Despite the warmth of her home, she crossed her arms over her breasts and rubbed her upper arms to ward of the chills that still raced through her body.

  She walked into the kitchen and an eerie silence surrounded her. “Deepika? You home?” No response.

  Laurie noticed a yellow sticky note hanging on the refrigerator door. She yanked it off and read the message that Deepika had taken an extra shift at the hospital. Probably left it for Andrew. She stuck it back on the door. I could’ve used someone to talk to.

  Kicking her shoes into the eternal pile, Laurie almost laughed aloud when she saw a pair of Ross’s shoes mixed in. Such a simple thing really, but the loafers soothed her. Feeling his love flow through her, she took a deep, steadying breath and went to the stove to brew some tea. She’d have a cup or two. Then she planned to attack the pile of files sitting on the table. Picking through the selection of different blends and flavors of tea, Laurie tried to find something that would calm her frayed nerves.

  She closed her eyes for a moment and the shocking picture of Miguel plagued her. Fresh tears sprang up. She wasn’t sure she would ever be able to get the horrifying image of his body leaning against the double glass doors out of her mind. I’m so sorry, Miguel.

  Grabbing a cup and dropping a chamomile tea bag inside, Laurie leaned against the cabinet and waited for the water to boil.

  A premonition rocked her entire body, so powerful it knocked her to her knees.

  Get out!

  Laurie knelt on the floor, panting as she waited for the crippling shout to leave her brain. She held both hands over her ears, trying to block the sound.

  Get out of the house!

  As the voice in her head gradually quieted, the kettle on the stove began to whistle, building to a shrill whine.

  Laurie dragged herself back to her feet. Grabbing the kettle, she shoved it toward a cold burner. The droning noise lowered its pitch and began to dwindle.

  Frantically searching around for her cell phone, Laurie found it on the table and pushed the panic button Ross had programmed for Bruiser as she headed toward the front door. Surely Bruiser would be close at hand and could come to pick her up.

  The phone was suddenly snatched from her hand.

  Alex hurled the cell phone across the room. It shattered against the bricks of the fireplace and fell to the ground in pieces of plastic and twists of wire. “Hello, Laurie.”

  The mental firewall had vanished. When she read his overwhelming rage, she couldn’t even find a voice to scream.

  He grabbed her upper arm and gave it a cruel squeeze. “It’s time to stop wasting time. Go upstairs, pack a bag, and grab the journal. We’re going on a trip.”

  Laurie couldn’t believe how composed Alex sounded when he had so much fury sweeping through him. His emotion was strong enough she could feel it flow toward her and then through her like a knife in the gut. The intensity of it was crippling. Paralyzing. She tried to push him out of her mind. “How...how did you get in?”

  “Your stupid roommate never looks back once she starts to put the garage door down. You’d be amazed how easy it is to slip into a house, alarm or not.” His fingers dug viciously into her arm.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.” She jerked her arm out of his grasp, took a stuttering step backward, and found herself trapped against the table.

  He reached out to seize her wrists and pulled her roughly against his chest. “Look into my eyes, Dr. Miller. What do you see?” Alex asked in a voice so calm it frightened her even more.

  She didn’t want to see the horrifying rage again.

  He gave her wrists a rough jerk. “Look, damn it!”

  The wrath seemed to have grown. “You’re insane.”

  “I’m not insane.” His anger was so tangible, Laurie could see it dancing around him like wisps of smoke. Then he stopped and took a slow, deep breath. It didn’t have much of an effect on his demeanor. “I’m just frustrated. And you’re the reason.”

  Alex shoved her away, and Laurie had to grope for the table to keep from falling down. She tried to control the terrified tremors running through her body because she wasn’t about to fuel his rampant emotions by showing him her fear.

  “You won’t help me.” He slowly, deliberately made a fist and slammed it down on the back of the chair. “I had to do something to get your attention. You needed to know I was serious.” His voice took on the deceptively eerie calm again as he turned to face her. “Did you get my...message?”

  Miguel. Laurie’s eyes suddenly flew wide as her heart slammed inside her chest. Her legs didn’t seem inclined to hold her weight as they trembled and threatened to give at any moment. “Why? Why would you hurt Miguel? He didn’t mean anything to you.”

  “Because he meant something to you.”

  Trying desperately to stem the threatening tears, Laurie demanded, “What do you want from me?”

  “I told you. I need your help.”

  Her knuckles turned white as she continued to grip the table to steady herself. She had to keep vigilant about avoiding his eyes; his emotions drowned her thoughts. “I won’t help you. I won’t.”

  “You will.” The evil smile spreading across Alex’s
face made the bile rise in the back of her throat. She choked it back down. “Look into my eyes, Laurie.” He took a step toward her. “If you love that ox of a husband, you’ll do every single thing I ask you to do.”

  She didn’t want to look, but he grabbed her chin and forced her to face him. Shuddering at the conviction she could so easily discern, she knew he meant he would kill Ross. She damn well wouldn’t let Alex anywhere near her husband. Ever. Don’t feed Alex your fear. She tried to fix a hard glare on her face.

  Laurie knew she wasn’t successful in masking her fright when he nodded. “Good. I can see you understand now.” He pulled a small handgun from his jacket pocket and waved it around in a way he must have thought would frighten her more. He was evidently too stupid to realize she was already terrified—almost beyond rational thought. “If you don’t do exactly what I say,” he said, “if you don’t come with me, then I’ll shoot your...husband.” Alex spat the last word. “And I’ll damn well enjoy doing it.”

  Laurie couldn’t stop shuddering at his cold-blooded promises. “Why? Why do you want me? I don’t understand. You left me months ago.”

  “I need something from you. A couple of somethings.”

  Laurie bordered on hysteria, but she tried to harness it, to push it back down so she could think. She’d need whatever remained of her wits about her if she planned on saving Ross from Miguel’s grisly fate. A quick image of Ross’s limp body leaning against the double doors made Laurie nauseous. I can’t let that happen. “What do you need? What in the hell could you possibly need from me?”

  “The journal and your mind. I need your intuition. We’re going hunting for diamonds.”

  “Diamonds?” Her thoughts flew in a thousand different directions, trying desperately to make sense of the whole situation. She was too frightened to use much reason. Diamonds?

  Then Laurie suddenly understood, and for a moment she grew more angry than afraid. “You mean the diamonds from the journal? Are you friggin’ nuts? How do you even know they’re real? That journal could be nothing but...but...a big fake.”