Fearless: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 2)

by April Wilson

  Chapter 34

  At first, everything’s quiet. I don’t hear a single sound coming from the bedroom. My own breathing sounds overly loud to me in the tiny closet. I’m trying not to dwell on the fact that it’s almost pitch black in here – it’s as if I’m locked in a tomb, far removed from light and sound and air. The air thins and time slows to a crawl. Then I hear quiet sounds coming from my bedroom, a few whispered words that I can’t make out.

  What’s happening out there? The last I saw, Jake and Caroline were in the bedroom, too. That makes me feel marginally better. At least Shane’s not alone. If something goes wrong, Jake and Caroline will be there to give Shane some back-up.

  Time seems to crawl as the seconds pass, long agonizing seconds. I hate being locked in here, because I have no idea what’s going on out there. I wish I’d thought to ask for one of those communication devices – at least then I’d be able to hear what’s being said. I wrap my arms around my knees and try to still my shaking. I’m hot underneath the heavy armored vest, and I can feel sweat soaking through my blouse and trickling down my back.

  I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear the sound of the toilet flushing in the upstairs hall bathroom. I hear soft footfalls entering my bedroom. And then the light in the bedroom switches off, and I’m left in utter darkness. Caroline must be going through the motions of preparing for bed. I hear the antique bed frame creak as someone climbs into the bed, and then it’s silent again.

  After an interminable period of waiting, I think I hear someone on the stairs. The old wooden boards creak like crazy, and I hear the tell-tale sound of someone walking up the stairs. My heart is practically in my throat now. Then I hear the familiar sound of my old mahogany bedroom door swinging slowly open on squeaky hinges.

  Even though I can’t see what’s happening in my bedroom, I can imagine Caroline lying in my bed beneath the covers, pretending to be me, putting herself in harm’s way on my account. I don’t even know this woman, and she’s risking her life for me.

  Suddenly, the silence is broken by the sound of a man chuckling. It’s a horrible, gravelly sound – the same one that’s haunted my dreams for years. Oh, my God, he’s really here. He’s really coming after me. I feel sick as a shudder wracks my body, and then I hear that awful voice, low and grating. It sounds like it’s coming from just outside the closet door.

  “You stupid little cunt,” he rasps, his voice dripping with hatred. “I spent eighteen years in hell because of you! You owe me!”

  I hear a single popping sound, faint and muffled, followed by a heavy thud and the sound of something metal hitting the bare wood floors. Did Shane have a silencer on his gun? I don’t know. My heart rockets up into my throat, choking me to the point I can barely breathe. I gasp for air, feeling hot and stifled in the small, dark room. I need to use my inhaler, but I’m afraid it will make too much noise. I don’t want to do anything to distract Shane.

  Then all hell breaks loose as I hear Jake yell, “He’s down!”

  Who’s down? Where’s Shane?

  I hear shouting – men’s deep voices, loud and urgent – and shuffling feet. The bedroom light comes on, and I hear heavy boots pounding on the wooden stairs.

  Then I hear Shane’s voice right outside the closet door, steady and calm. “He’s dead, Jake. Make the call.”

  I’m blinded by a flood of light when the closet door opens. I throw up my hands to block out the light. Shane’s standing in the open doorway, holstering his gun. His protective vest is gone.

  “Beth, honey, it’s me. I’m coming in.” He steps into the closet, closing the door halfway behind him, whether to block some of the light or give us privacy, I’m not sure. “It’s done, sweetheart. It’s over.”

  I scramble awkwardly to my feet and rush to him, and he catches me in his arms. I’m shaking from head to toe, and my face is wet with tears. He takes my inhaler from my trembling hand and shoves it into his suit pocket.

  He kisses my forehead. “It’s all right now. Everything’s all right.”

  “Was that Kline? Is he dead?”

  Shane nods as he unstraps my body armor and pulls it off me. “He’s dead. He’ll never threaten you again.”

  I look at Shane, studying his expression, and I’m surprised he’s so calm. Almost too calm. “Is everything okay?”

  He nods. “Fine. I’m going to take you downstairs now. You can wait with me until the police arrive.”

  “I want to see Kline. I want to see his body.”

  I start for the doorway, but Shane stops me. “Beth, there’s no need – ”

  “I need to see his body. I need to see with my own eyes that he’s dead.”

  “Beth – ”

  I push past him, and this time he lets me go, although I don’t get very far. Not three feet from the closet there’s a body lying on the floor, a thick pool of dark blood spreading out from beneath the man’s head. Jake is standing over the body, his gun in his hand, as if on guard.

  I look at the dead man’s face and feel a wave a nausea sweep through me. He has a fleshy face, wrinkled with heavy jowls. He’s mostly bald now, and his face looks a sickly shade of gray. There’s a hole in his forehead, dead center, just above his eyes.

  I walk closer to the body and stare at the spreading puddle of blood on my bedroom floor. I can’t help wondering if it will leave a stain. Kline’s wearing black clothing, filthy, stained trousers and a black t-shirt with holes in it that doesn’t quite cover his massive belly. On his feet are old black sneakers, ripped and torn.

  What’s most frightening is what he’s holding in his clenched fists. He’s holding a gun in one hand, and a roll of black electrical tape in the other. He didn’t just want to kill me. He wanted to hurt me, just like in my dreams. He wanted to tie me up again and finish what he started eighteen years ago. I feel sick.

  “He could have been a free man,” I say, staring down at him. My voice sounds distant, even to my own ears. “He could have just walked away.”

  Shane comes up behind me and puts his hands on my arms, pulling me back against him. “He made his choice. Now let’s go downstairs and wait for the police. You don’t need to see this.”

  I shudder at his reminder that the police will be here soon. That’s my biggest fear – that Shane will be charged with murder, that he’ll be arrested and taken away from me. I start shaking violently.

  “Don’t worry,” he says, rubbing my arms. “Everything’s going to be fine. Please don’t cry.”

  I’m shocked to realize I am crying, my shoulders shaking with messy sobs. Shane says everything will be okay, so why don’t I believe him? Why is there a gaping hole in the pit of my stomach that tells me my nightmare is just beginning?

  Chapter 35

  Shane sits beside me on the sofa in the front parlor, and neither of us says a word. I’m in shock. As for Shane, I’m not sure how he’s feeling at the moment. He seems rather subdued. I can sense he’s physically and emotionally exhausted, but he’s putting up a strong front for my sake. He just killed a man, for God’s sake! That has to take a toll on him. He puts his arm around my shoulders, but I can’t stop shaking.

  He leans close, his lips in my hair. “It’ll be all right, sweetheart. Don’t worry.”

  But I can’t help worrying. What if the police arrest Shane for the shooting? What if he’s charged with a crime? What if he’s charged with murder? The thought sends me into a panic, and my heart thunders in my chest.

  Cooper walks through the front door and glances up the stairs, listening to the muted voices coming from the second floor. Then he glances at Shane through the open doorway into the parlor. “Do you want me to call Troy?”

  Shane shakes his head. “Not yet. Let’s see how this plays out. If there’s a complication, call him.”

  A complication. As in Shane getting arrested.

  At the mention of Troy Spencer’s name, my stomach cramps painfully. The thought of Shane needing his attorney terrifies me. What if the police
charge him? I know he has a license to carry a gun, but what if something goes wrong? I can’t shake the fear that this could all explode in our faces. If something happened to Shane, I’d never forgive myself.

  It’s only been about five minutes since Jake made the nine-one-one call, but it seems like a lifetime.

  Shane takes hold of my trembling hands. “Relax, honey.”

  “Don’t worry, Beth,” Cooper says, peering out the narrow sidelite beside the front door as he watches for the police to arrive. “What Shane did is perfectly lawful. Kline committed a felony by breaking into your home, armed. Shane faced the threat of imminent death or great bodily injury. He’s in the clear. They’ll question him, but they won’t arrest him.”

  The front of the townhouse is suddenly awash in flashing blue lights.

  Cooper confirms what we already know. “Shane, they’re here.”

  Shane kisses my temple, then stands. “Cooper, come sit with Beth.”

  Cooper opens the front door to let in three uniformed officers. Shane meets them in the foyer and says a few words. One of the officers goes directly upstairs, and the other two remain downstairs talking to Shane.

  Cooper joins me on the sofa and puts his arm around my shoulders to give me a reassuring squeeze.

  My ears are ringing and I can barely hear as Shane recites the events of this evening to the officers. Kline, an armed and known felon, broke into our house. He came upstairs to our bedroom and pulled a gun on Shane. Shane shot and killed Kline before Kline could pull the trigger. End of story. Self-defense.

  While the officers are taking down Shane’s story and asking him questions, a black pick-up truck pulls to an erratic stop in front of my house. Tyler races up to the front door and pushes inside, flashing his detective badge to the officers. The officers must at least recognize Tyler, because they wave him in.

  It’s late, and Tyler’s dressed down in gray sweats and a t-shirt. I’m so glad he’s here, but I wonder who called him.

  I must have said that aloud, because Cooper says, “I did.”

  Tyler’s up in Shane’s face, demanding answers. “Is she here? Where is she?”

  Shane tips his head in my direction as he answers an officer’s question.

  Tyler looks my way, assessing me with a quick glance, and then he lunges at Shane, grabbing him by the shirt front and slamming him hard against the foyer wall. “What the fuck were you thinking!”

  Tyler wraps his hands around Shane’s throat and squeezes, cutting off Shane’s air as he holds him pinned to the wall. “You God damned son of a bitch! She could have been killed!”

  I jump up from the sofa, swaying on my feet as the blood rushes from my head. “Tyler, stop!”

  Cooper grabs me and hauls me back down beside him, wrapping his arms around me and holding me fast.

  Shane grabs Tyler’s wrists and forcibly pries them off his throat. Tyler pulls free and slams his fist hard into Shane’s face, knocking Shane’s head against the wall with a sickening thunk. I scream as Shane staggers from the blow, shaking his head to clear it. Bright red blood is streaming from his nose and down his chin. Growling, he barrels into Tyler, pushing him across the hall and slamming him into the opposite wall.

  Both officers jump in, the two of them hauling Shane off of Tyler. One of the officers – a big, muscular guy – slams Shane face first into the wall, pinning him in place while the other officer grabs Shane’s right arm and twists it up high behind his back, locking a handcuff around his wrist. Shane stops fighting and leans into the wall, his chest heaving, as they bring his other wrist behind his back and cuff him.

  I strain against Cooper’s hold.

  Jake comes thundering down the staircase and stops abruptly when he sees Shane held face first against the wall by both officers, handcuffed, his face bloody.

  “Fuck,” Jake says, looking peeved as he takes in my brother, who’s bent at the waist, breathing hard from the exertion.

  “Stay with the body!” Shane barks at his brother.

  Tyler’s face is flushed, and he looks livid. “What the fuck were you thinking, Shane?”

  Shane’s eyes are hard as they lock on Tyler. His nose is bleeding profusely now, and there’s blood at the corner of his mouth. “I did what had to be done.”

  I finally manage to pull free from Cooper and run to Shane’s side, grabbing hold of his arm. I can barely see through the tears in my eyes.

  One of the officers grabs hold of me and pulls me away from Shane. “Miss – ”

  “Get her back, Cooper!” Shane shouts, his voice hoarse.

  “Arrest him,” Tyler says to the officers.

  The officer holding Shane against the wall starts reading him his rights. “You have the right to remain silent,” the man says. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

  “No!” Oh, my God, no! It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Shane said it would be okay!

  As the officer continues reading Shane his rights, I can hardly hear over the loud ringing in my ears, and I’m gasping for breath now, suddenly feeling light headed. My vision starts to grow dark around the edges as my knees go weak. Strong arms catch me.

  “Get her inhaler!” Shane says. “It’s in my jacket pocket.”

  Tyler reaches inside Shane’s jacket and pulls out my inhaler, shakes it, and puts it to my mouth. “Breathe in, Beth,” he says, as I suck in the medication. “It’s okay, kiddo. Just breathe.”

  “Beth – ” Shane’s voice sounds agonized. “Jesus, sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

  I meet my brother’s gaze, feeling heartbroken. “Tyler, please. Don’t let them take him.” Surely he can do something. They’re arresting Shane. They’re going to take him away.

  Tyler looks away. “Take him to the local precinct,” he tells the officers. “I’ll be along shortly, after I see to my sister.”

  Tyler walks me to the parlor sofa and sits me down. I lunge back to my feet, wanting to go to Shane, but Tyler pulls me back down. “Sit down, Beth, before you fall down.”

  Shane cranes his head back so he can see me. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Everything will be fine.” He sounds utterly confident. Then he looks at Cooper. “I guess you’d better call Troy.”

  Two officers lead Shane out the front door, and I watch through the front window as they put him in the backseat of one of the patrol cars and shut the door. The flashing police car lights bathe everything and everyone in a surreal shade of bright blue, making the whole situation feel unreal.

  One of the officers drives away with Shane, and the other one comes back inside and heads upstairs.

  I think I’m going to be sick. I’m not even sure what just happened – it all happened so fast. Cooper’s on his phone, talking to someone in a low voice, presumably to Shane’s attorney.

  It’s all too much. Not just what happened tonight, and my fear Shane would be arrested over this, but the past eighteen years of my life. It’s countless nightmares and panic attacks and a constant underlying sense of fear. And now this. My biggest fear – Shane’s been arrested. It’s all my fault! I’ve reached a breaking point, and the damn is blown wide open and all the fear and heartache come pouring out.

  I glare at my brother, choking on my own tears. “Why did they arrest him? What are the charges?”

  Tyler ignores me and looks up at Cooper, who has just ended his call. “Shane shot Kline? He’s dead?”

  Cooper nods. “Kline broke into this house, armed. Shane was waiting for him.”

  Tyler nods, his expression pensive. “Where’s the body?”

  “Upstairs. On the floor in Beth’s bedroom.”

  “Her bedroom? Jesus! Where was Beth when all this went down?”

  “In the closet,” I say. “I had on a protective vest and I was never in any danger. Shane made sure of it.”

  Tyler ignores me, his eyes still on Cooper. “What were they doing here in the first place?”

  Tyler’s not stupid. He knows I’ve been
living at Shane’s place for the past two months, far from the townhouse. He has to wonder what we were doing here tonight.

  “You’ll have to ask Shane that,” Cooper says.

  Tyler eyes narrow as he tries to work out the events of this evening. “He planned this, damn it,” he says. I don’t know if he’s referring to Shane or to Howard Kline.

  Tyler turns to me and hugs me tightly. “Take her home, Cooper. I have to go to the precinct to deal with Shane.”

  Cooper’s arms are crossed over his chest, his expression tight. “What exactly is he being charged with, detective?”

  Tyler scowls. “That remains to be seen.”

  I try one more time. “Tyler, please. Get him out of there. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Tyler looks at me, but says nothing. He’s furious at Shane, that much is clear.

  “Tyler, please!”

  Just as Cooper and I are leaving, the coroner and the crime scene investigators arrive and head upstairs to the survey the body and the crime scene.

  Cooper takes me back to the penthouse in his Jeep. Lia’s waiting for us in the foyer, and when the elevator doors open and I see her wan expression, I burst into fresh tears.

  “Shit, Princess,” she murmurs as she hugs me tightly. “What the hell has my big brother done this time?”

  My voice is thick with tears. “He shot Kline, and Tyler came, and he fought with Shane, and the police arrested Shane.”

  But of course Lia already knows all of this. She’d changed course and come straight to the penthouse as soon as she was alerted to the change in plans.

  Numb, I follow them both inside the apartment. Lia leads me to the great room, and we both crash on the sofa. I grab the blanket over the back of the sofa and a throw pillow and wrap myself up in a protective cocoon, shutting everyone and everything out. I just need to be alone with my pain.