“No problem.” Jace held out a hand.
Koenig shook it, then walked away.
“He’s a good man.” Connor watched him go. “He was wired, so I could hear everything that went on inside that house, and let me tell you, allowing that to go on was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
“It doesn’t matter. As long as you got him.” Jace would have done whatever it took to bring down Brandon and keep Addison safe.
Connor took Jace’s good arm and gestured toward a less active side of the crime scene. “I have a few good friends in Internal Affairs, men who served with me. They reached out and asked for help coordinating an operation to take Brandon down. The corruption in the department was too extensive for them to trust anyone, and they needed to get Brandon out of the way before they could weed through his associates.”
“You didn’t tell me.” And it hurt that Connor hadn’t trusted him enough to be honest.
“We thought it best not to. I’m sorry, Jace, and it had nothing to do with trust. I trust you with my life, and even more so with Addison’s life, but we expected him to go after you after the incident at the police station. He was apparently pretty messed up over the fact he thought you and Addison were together. Because Internal Affairs had suspected your involvement after Brandon framed you the last time, they insisted you not be told what was going on. It was a condition they wouldn’t concede.”
Jace nodded. What Connor had actually given him was the chance to clear his name, to prove himself. “Do they think he’s the killer?”
Connor ran a hand over his head and looked out across the crime scene. “We don’t know for sure. As usual, there’s no proof he’s involved, but we suspect he is.”
Jace only nodded. What more could he say? “I need to get to Addison.”
Connor unlocked his car and guided Jace into the passenger seat, then went around and got in. When he went to start the car, he hesitated. “When this all clears, they’re going to offer you your job back.”
The one thing he’d wanted so badly. The one thing that would end any chance of a future with Addison. A surge of emotions threatened to drown him.
FOURTEEN
Phoenix whimpered, his soulful eyes searching Addison’s for answers she didn’t have.
“I know, boy.” She closed her eyes and listened, reaching out with all of her senses for any hint of a sound or movement. Still nothing. “It’s been too long.”
Phoenix paced, his nails clicking against the tile floor.
“You stay here, boy.” She couldn’t wait in there any longer. With no clue when—or if—Jace was coming back, she had to at least try to get help. What if he was lying injured downstairs, unable to call out? Addison slid from the bathroom, careful not to let Phoenix out. She’d thought briefly of taking him for protection, but she’d never forgive herself if something happened to him.
With one hand on the bedroom door handle, Addison listened again. Silence roared back at her. She took a few tentative steps toward the window. Keeping to the side as she’d seen Jace do, she peeked out.
A dark sedan sat empty across the street. Streetlights stood sentinel down the otherwise deserted road.
Phoenix barked and jumped against the door.
She whirled toward him and barreled into a large man she’d never seen before.
A sick grin split his thick beard. “Hello, Addison. Remember me?”
“No,” she whispered, backpedaling until her back hit the wall. Memories slammed the protective wall she’d built to shield her mind from the past. “No, it can’t be.”
He pulled a long cord from his pocket and wrapped one end around each of his hands. “I was willing to leave you alone, you know. If you had just kept your mouth shut.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She held her hands up in front of her, pleading, searching frantically for some way out. She had to escape. Please, God, help me.
“The game is over, Addison, and news flash, you lose.” He pulled the cord taut and took a step toward her.
“Who are you? Why are you doing this?”
“Don’t play stupid with me, little sis.”
A tidal wave of memories washed over her, practically knocking her to her knees. She straightened her legs, willing them to hold her up. Falling now would probably condemn her to the same fate her mother had suffered all those years ago.
“Eddie,” she blurted out the name before she could stop it.
“There you go.”
“Why?”
“Oh, please. Did you really expect you could write a book detailing the murder you must have witnessed, put it out there for the world to see, and I wouldn’t find out about it?”
“No, please, Eddie. It’s not like that.” She had to keep him talking, had to find a way out. Where was Jace? Had Eddie done something to him? She opened her mouth to ask, then clamped it tightly shut again. If Jace was creeping toward them from somewhere, she didn’t want to give him away. But she couldn’t count on that, because he might be... No, she wouldn’t even think that, couldn’t bear the thought.
Eddie lunged.
She dropped, rolled away from him and scrambled to her feet.
He slammed into her back, knocking her against the nightstand.
She tried to turn, used the nightstand for leverage. It tipped, spilling its contents across the floor, and she fell over it, then tried to crawl away from him.
He fell onto her, one knee digging deep into her back.
She tried to scream but couldn’t suck in enough air. Tried to turn but couldn’t shake him off.
He hooked the cord over her head.
She tucked her chin, shoving one hand between the cord and her face, then swung her elbow back, landing a solid blow. The pressure eased off her back for just an instant. That was all she needed.
She dove forward, using her toes to propel herself the few feet to the wall, where Jace’s gun had landed, and grabbed the weapon.
Eddie caught hold of her leg and yanked her back.
She twisted, aimed and pulled the trigger.
He jerked back, his eyes wide with shock. Blood flowed from his arm, but it barely slowed him down. He grabbed Addison’s wrist and twisted.
The gun dropped from her hand, and Eddie lunged for it.
Phoenix scratched wildly against the bathroom door, barking, growling, desperate to get out.
She couldn’t chance opening the door, couldn’t risk him getting out while Eddie had the gun. Addison lurched to her feet and bolted for the bedroom door. She ran down the hallway, stumbled down the stairs, barely pausing at the bottom. Which way?
Eddie pounded down the stairs behind her.
The console table blocked the foyer. Out the back then. She changed direction, slid on the area rug and caught herself against the wall as Eddie reached the bottom of the stairs and fired off a shot.
Addison screamed and ducked into the kitchen, slamming her hip against the table. She ignored the pain, ripped the back door open and ran. Déjà vu assailed her as she crossed the patch of lawn. Her lungs begged for air. Her heart hammered painfully. Almost to the woods.
But what good would it do? Unlike last time, when the intruder had been content to spend some time in her bedroom, Eddie was right on her heels. She dove behind the first tree she came to, the same tree she’d hidden behind the first time she’d fled her house in the middle of the night. Only that time, Jace had shown up to save her.
Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision. She had to get a grip.
Eddie stood framed in the back doorway, scanning the yard. He took a couple of steps, then bent at the waist and rested his hands on his knees.
The years since she’d last seen him hadn’t been kind to him. Punishment for his sins? Maybe, but at the moment, it might be the only thing that saved
her.
Addison squatted down, keeping as low as possible, and started to back away from the tree.
Eddie fired the weapon again. “You may as well come out, Addison. There aren’t many trees out here big enough to conceal you.”
He fired again, and the bullet struck the tree she was hiding behind.
He stalked toward her.
She scrambled back and fell over a large dead branch.
Eddie reached the edge of the woods.
She wasn’t going to make it. Running was no longer an option. She gripped the branch she’d fallen over, pulled it close and waited, crouched deep in the shadows.
Eddie crashed into the woods, headed straight for her.
She waited.
Closer.
She held her breath. Didn’t dare move, not even to breathe. Her lungs strained.
“There you are.”
She pounced, swinging the branch with all her might, landing a solid blow to his side.
He managed to hold on to the gun, and swung it around toward her.
She struck him again, this time catching him across the face.
“Don’t move!” Jace held a weapon pointed right at Eddie. “Hands in the air. Now!”
Connor came up behind Jace, weapon drawn and aimed at Eddie.
Eddie whirled toward them, swinging the gun around.
Addison dove for the ground and squeezed her eyes shut tight, covering her head as the sound of gunfire tore through the night.
Memories assailed her, memories she’d buried for so long, memories she couldn’t deal with, couldn’t accept. Memories her mind had shielded her from since childhood. Memories her three-year-old mind didn’t know how to come to terms with when she’d cowered in that dark cabinet and witnessed the fifteen-year-old brother she’d loved kill their mother.
“Addison!” Jace crouched beside her and lifted her hair away from her face. “Addison, look at me. Are you hurt?”
She couldn’t open her eyes, couldn’t bear to look. She lacked the courage to ask what she desperately needed to know. A sob tore free before she could stop it. And another.
“Addison, honey, please, talk to me. Answer me.” Jace sat at her side and pulled her into his arms. “Are you hurt?”
Connor barked orders into his phone, demanding an ambulance and backup.
She didn’t want an ambulance, didn’t need to go to the hospital. “Phoenix?”
Jace’s breath shot out, and he pulled her closer, resting his chin on her head. “I think he’s okay. I heard him barking like mad when we came in the front door, but I have to get to him. Are you okay?”
She took stock. Sore, and she’d probably hurt even worse tomorrow, but she would be okay. And he was right, they did have to get to Phoenix. She had to make sure he was okay, had to see for herself. She stared at Eddie’s prone form. “Is he...?”
Jace looked at Connor, who shook his head. “No, just injured. Can you tell me what happened? Do you know who he is?”
She nodded against Jace’s chest, not quite able to leave the comfort of his strong embrace, and cried softly. “My brother.”
* * *
Jace held her until her sobs lessened, then set her back enough to look into her eyes. “Are you all right?”
She glanced at her brother, who was lying where he’d fallen, as cops hovered around and the EMTs worked on him.
Connor leaned over them. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “I’m okay.”
Jace helped her to her feet.
Phoenix barked and barreled through the back door and across the lawn toward them.
Maris leaned against the doorjamb, hands in her jacket pockets, smiling.
Seemed he had one more thing to add to the list he’d have to thank Maris for.
He crouched down and held his good arm open for Phoenix. The big dog launched himself at Jace, almost knocking him over. Pain tore through Jace’s left shoulder, but he ignored it, needing the comfort as much as Phoenix did.
Phoenix licked his face, and Jace laughed, genuine joy rushing through him.
He kept his hand on Phoenix’s head when he stood and faced Addison. So much to be grateful for, so much he didn’t deserve.
A detective approached and gestured for Connor to step aside with him.
“What do you think that’s about?” Addison’s gaze held steady on the two.
“I don’t know.” And it didn’t matter, he realized. Everything that mattered to him was right there. Addison, whom he tucked beneath his arm and held close, Phoenix, who’d always stood at his side, Connor, who was still his brother despite the way Jace had pulled away, and even Maris, whom he owed not only his thanks but a huge apology.
Jace took the moment to give Addison a condensed account of how he’d been kidnapped by Brandon, assuring her he was fine and that Brandon would be going away for a long time. Finally. “Connor is pretty sure they’re going to offer me my job back.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them, tears shimmered in their depths. “With the SCPD?”
He nodded, searching her gaze for a clue to how she felt about that, about him, about their chances for a future together.
She lowered her gaze. “Congratulations, Jace. I couldn’t be happier for you. I know how badly you want to resume your career.”
He could feel her pulling away. “I’m going to say no.”
“When will you know... Wait...what?”
“It seems Connor is just as persuasive as I remember.” He grinned, filled with joy that he and Connor were back on track. He’d missed their friendship. “He’s offered me a position with his PI firm.”
“Are you serious? Are you going to say yes?”
“I am.”
Addison threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.
He savored the warmth of her embrace. The feeling that all was right with his world poured through him for the first time in years.
The detective clapped Connor on the back, spared Jace a quick glance and a wave, then walked away.
Lifting his arm from around Addison, Jace waved back.
Connor returned to them, rubbed a hand over his head, then met Addison’s gaze. “Eddie’s talking, even though we advised him of his right to remain silent. Seems he’s been keeping tabs on you all along, Addison. When your book came out, he couldn’t let things go any longer and decided to use it as a model and come after you to silence you.”
“So Brandon didn’t have any involvement in the killings, after all?”
Connor shrugged. “He took advantage of the situation, used it to try to hurt you. It doesn’t matter, though. Unfortunately, he’s not confessing as freely as Eddie. We might not be able to get him for any of the murders, not even Jennifer’s, but Brandon Carlisle is still going away.”
“He’s too smart for that,” Addison mumbled.
Connor shook his head. “We’ve got him on kidnapping, attempted murder and assaulting both you and Jace at the police station. He’s going away for a long time.”
Jace pulled Addison even closer and kissed her temple. “Either way, you no longer have to live in fear of him or the killer.”
She lowered her gaze. “I’m so sorry. If only I had remembered sooner, allowed myself to remember sooner...”
“Hey.” Connor ran a hand up and down her arm. “None of this is your fault. Understand? Now, why don’t you two go up to the house while I finish up here?”
Jace released Addison long enough to give him a one-armed hug. When he’d come through the house and heard Phoenix barking and found the back door standing open, his heart had almost stopped. Running across the lawn and finding Addison trying to fight off an armed killer played through his mind in a constant loop. “Thanks, Connor.”
He nodded and walked away.
&nbs
p; Jace started toward the house, sheltering her beneath his arm, lending her whatever strength she might need to begin to recover. “It’s okay, now, Addison. It’s over. The killer and Brandon.”
“I wish I could...” Addison looked over at his arm, cradled against himself to keep from jarring it and sending a stab of pain spiraling through his body. She jerked back, her eyes going wide. “You’re hurt. What happened?”
“I’m fine. Honest. But it’s a long story, and I’ll tell you everything later.” He clasped her hand desperately, needing to be close to her, to feel her touch, to know she was alive and unhurt. He stood face-to-face with her on the back lawn, while crime scene techs and detectives swarmed around them.
He ignored them as he studied the concern in her eyes, concern for him, even after what she’d just been through. “You left Phoenix in the bathroom? Why?”
“I didn’t want him to get hurt.”
And there it was. Everything he loved about her. He’d left the big dog to protect her, and she’d been willing to fight off a killer herself rather than put him in danger. He tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear, then cradled her cheek in his hand. “When I was in the back of that police car, and it pulled away from the house, and I had to leave you alone here, unprotected, I thought...”
How could he explain it to her? How could he convey the extent of the emotions that had washed over him, threatened to drown him? “I love you, Addison. I know I don’t deserve it, don’t deserve you, but in those moments, I knew with every last bit of my heart that I love you. I understand we have obstacles to work through, but I believe we can overcome them. Together. Please say you’re willing to give us a chance.”
Addison closed the gap between them, slid her arms around his waist and laid her head against his heart. “I love you, Jace. I fought it as long as I could, tried so hard not to let my mind accept what my heart already knew.”
He hugged her close, weaved his fingers through the soft strands of hair and kissed the top of her head. Whether he deserved it or not, and he’d have to work hard to forgive himself for the past, he’d accept this gift, accept that God had forgiven him, blessed him with a second chance.
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