Fatal Dreams (COBRA Securities Book 17)

by Velvet Vaughn

  “I am…or was. You killed her.” He wasn’t looking at her, but at the chart in his hand. “We were separated after our parents died. I was adopted, she wasn’t. My adoptive parents only wanted a boy, so they left her in foster care.” He closed the file and finally looked at her. It was an effort to keep her eyes open. “I didn’t want any part of her revenge. My new family was good to me. They put me through medical school, and I worked hard to get where I am today.”

  “You’re a real doctor?”

  “I am at that.” He removed a syringe from his pocket and tapped the liquid inside the barrel. “I didn’t want any part of her revenge, but I can’t just let you get away with killing her.”

  Her lids drooped. Whatever Joelle injected her with wasn’t clear of her system. “I didn’t kill her.”

  “Yet she’s dead and here you are.”

  “Did you provide her with the drugs that killed Femi and Solange and Merle?” She forced her eyes open.

  “Just because I didn’t want to get my hands dirty didn’t mean that I wasn’t willing to help my sister. We were close for the first seven years of our lives. I did what I could for her and now I can’t let her death go unanswered. I will avenge her.”

  “How do you know she’s dead?” she slurred.

  “I was informed she was still inside when my house exploded.”

  “She did it. She blew up the house.” She wasn’t sure she was able to voice the words. He stalked closer with the needle in his hand. Damn, she was so weak, she couldn’t even fight him off.

  “I’ve disabled your call button, so no help will be coming.” Flipping off the cap, he reached for the IV line that fed liquid into her veins.

  #

  “There’s something that’s been bothering me,” Noah admitted. “How did Joelle get the poison she used to incapacitate and kill? It’s not like you can walk into a drug store and ask for them.”

  “I wondered the same thing,” Ethan said. “That’s why Sophie was at the top of my list. She’s a nurse and has access. And her friend Trevor worked for a pharmaceutical company.”

  “I guess she could’ve ordered them online,” Noah said as his phone buzzed. “Hey Pete, what’s up? Yeah, he’s here with me. What?” Ethan’s heartbeat kicked up when Noah jerked his gaze to him. “Got it, thanks.” He disconnected. “Peter was digging up background on Joelle. She has a twin brother.”

  “No way.”

  “They were separated after their parents’ deaths and he was adopted. She wasn’t. He’s a doctor in this hospital.”

  Ethan took off at a dead run, Noah on his heels. They didn’t stop to explain to the others in the waiting room, but alerted to their panic, Maggie and Carter dashed after them. Ethan grabbed the first nurse he encountered. She opened her mouth, probably to order them back to the waiting room.

  “I need to know which room Esme Jovanovich is in right now. It’s a matter of life or death.”

  “I can’t—”

  “Tell me,” he roared.

  Her eyes rounded in fear. “Two sixteen.”

  They took off down the hall and rounded a corner. The door was closed. Ethan burst through, his weapon aimed. “Stop right there.”

  A man in a white lab coat froze with his back to them but then quickly jabbed a needle into the port in Esme’s IV. The doctor let out a yelp as Noah dove for him and flattened him to the ground in a hard tackle. Ethan rushed to Esme’s side and ripped the IV out of her arm before the liquid could enter her bloodstream. No doubt whatever he’d been trying to inject was a killing dose. Blood spurted from her hand where he’d jerked out the port. Maggie nudged around him and pressed a cloth to stop the bleeding while Carter called the police.

  “You gave me a concussion,” Joelle’s brother screamed. “Ow, my arm! My arm!” Noah had yanked them behind his back and zip tied them together. “I’m suing you. You can’t do this. I’m a doctor.” Carter handed Noah a cloth and he jammed it into the man’s mouth to shut him up.

  “What the hell’s going on here?” Two men in white lab coats followed by an armed security guard with his weapon drawn rushed inside.

  Carter lifted his hands to diffuse the tension. “It’s under control. The police are on their way.”

  One of the men walked over to the man wriggling on the floor and pointed to him. “Why is Dr. Grimes tied up?”

  “Because Dr. Grimes just tried to kill her.”

  “What? No, he’s a doctor.”

  Ethan let the others explain what happened. He had more important things to attend to right now. Esme’s eyes fluttered open and a smile broke across her sweet face. With a gentle touch, he cupped her cheek. It was suddenly very important that she knew how he felt about her. He could’ve lost her, and she’d never know how tightly she held his heart in her hands. “I love you, Esme. With all my heart.”

  Her eyes fluttered and tears slid beneath her closed lids. “I love you, too, Ethan. So very much.”

  # # #

  Epilogue

  Three days after Esme had been released from the hospital, they were standing by the lake attending a wedding. Tyler had wasted no time asking Lyra to marry him after they rescued her from Joelle’s clutches. Lyra didn’t want a big service since her family was gone and they didn’t want to wait. Kendall Demarchis and Olivia Mylonas had somehow managed to throw together a grand ceremony on extremely short notice. The dock jutting into the lake was decked out in twinkling white lights and colorful flowers. Though the bride might not have wanted a big wedding, she got one when the entire COBRA Securities family showed up in force to celebrate the nuptials of one of their own.

  Esme served as Lyra’s maid of honor. Tyler vehemently refused to choose from his coworkers, saying he loved them all the same. His best man was his friend from high school, Finnegan Bates, a professional hockey player and the current National Hockey League Most Valuable Player. It was the off-season, so Finn had been able to attend with little notice.

  Though the day was supposed to be all about the bride, Ethan couldn’t take his eyes off Esme. She looked amazing in a jade colored dress that made her eyes sparkle like rare jewels. Her hair was piled on her head with wispy strands hanging loose, exposing her elegant neck. When she caught him staring and smiled, he felt as if he’d won the lottery.

  He’d suffered through intense nightmares the last two nights of her abduction and subsequent stay in the hospital. If they hadn’t gotten to her room in time or been a second slower, she would be dead.

  Dr. Joey Grimes had been arrested and charged with attempted murder, as well as a slew of other crimes related to the deaths of Femi Gilland, Merle McDougal and Solange Pierce since he provided his sister—his twin sister—with the drugs she used to murder the trio.

  Joey had been adopted after their parents’ murder-suicide, but Joelle had been left to languish in the system. Joey took his adoptive parents last name and was provided a comfortable life with every advantage. Joelle had to fend for herself. It’d been Joey’s house where Joelle held Esme and Lyra captive. She’d parked her damaged car at the hospital, and he let her borrow his BMW. She then proceeded to wire up his house and blow it to bits to thank him. Ethan figured she’d spent years resenting her brother for his good fortune.

  Bernice and Bernie Gorman had both fully recovered and were in the process of finding a new location for their business. Bernice had been quick to point the finger at Esme and Lumi from her hospital bed, blaming them for sabotaging her business. She demanded the police arrest them right away. She shut right up when informed that one of the dozens of candles she placed around her house for ambience, as she called it, had been neglected. The flame ignited one of the many curtains—also Bernice’s idea of ambience—causing the house to burn to the ground. It wasn’t the work of an arsonist or even Joelle, but a casualty of tacky décor.

  Bernice was over the moon to learn Lumi had decided to retire and she was aggressively pursuing Lumi’s clients. She hired Marge Earnshaw to help with the expec
ted bump in business. After what Esme told him about Marge, he thought Bernice deserved her.

  After twenty-four hours where it’d been touch and go, Trevor Bowers pulled through, though he had a long, painful road to recovery. He’d already undergone several surgeries and had several more in the days to come. The bones in his legs had enough pins and rods to set off metal detectors a mile away. It would be a while before he’d be able to relearn how to walk.

  As soon as Tyler and Lyra were pronounced man and wife, Tyler swept Lyra up for a dramatic kiss that had the entire audience whooping. Ethan made a beeline for Esme. It’d been over an hour since he’d touched her. He was way overdue.

  #

  Esme wiped tears from her eyes as Lyra and Tyler professed their everlasting love for each other. They made such a cute couple and their love was obvious for anyone to see.

  After all that had transpired a few days ago, Esme felt lucky to have Lyra’s friendship. Joelle’s duplicity had cut her to the bone. She’d trusted the woman and she’d betrayed her.

  Lumi felt horrible that she’d been the reason Joelle had focused her attention on Esme. Though Esme didn’t blame her aunt at all, Lumi was having a hard time after she learned the truth. She remembered Joelle and Joey’s mother. She’d been a long-time customer who always requested Lumi reveal the bad with the good. Lumi didn’t regret informing her about her husband’s infidelity because it’d been true. Several women came forward after his death. Lumi swore she didn’t realize Joelle’s mother was capable of murder or she’d have refrained from exposing him.

  The entire ordeal had worn Lumi down and she was glad she’d decided to close her shop. She and Ethel planned to take a cruise as soon as Trevor was better.

  Esme stopped in to see him and thank him for trying to stop Joelle. He’d been drugged but he recognized her. She didn’t know why he’d decided to stop by that day, and he couldn’t remember anything that happened before the accident. He wasn’t even sure why he stopped by her aunt’s house.

  Sophie moved in with a coworker and Esme felt guilty for ever suspecting her friend might’ve been capable of the crimes, though she’d never truly believed she was responsible. She never would’ve thought Joelle was capable, either, until she saw her with her own eyes.

  Esme had put a down payment on the vacant shop she’d been eyeing in town as soon as she was released from the hospital. She’d gotten a sweetheart of a deal on the entire building, so she’d have plenty of money to refurbish it to her exact specifications. There was enough room for her to have a large workshop where she could produce dozens of candles and soaps at a time and one for Lyra to create her jewelry, along with tons of storage space. She couldn’t wait to get started on the renovations.

  And then there was Ethan. Her soul mate. Her one true love. They hadn’t talked about the future, but she had no doubt he was hers. The air around her shifted and she knew he was near. She turned her head to see him striding her way. She couldn’t stop the grin that broke free. Then she was in his arms, her favorite place to be.

  “Have I told you today that you’re the most beautiful woman on the planet?”

  “Not for at least an hour,” she teased.

  “My bad.” Then he kissed her. Oh, how she loved his kisses.

  “Are you two trying to outdo the bride and groom or something?”

  Ethan broke the kiss to scowl at his brother. “Go away, Nature.”

  “You go away, Earth.”

  Then they both smiled at each other. Obviously, it was some kind of ritual or something. Noah slapped Ethan on the shoulder. “Look.”

  They followed his gaze to see Kayla Hepburn sneaking out of the ceremony, followed closely by the best man. They were both trying to look casual, but it was obvious they were headed somewhere private.

  “I thought her jaw dropped when she met Finn,” Ethan mused.

  “Those pro hockey players are fast workers,” Noah added.

  Ethan guided Esme to a tent where an assortment of food was displayed on long tables courtesy of Kaitlyn Bradley, wife of Dan, sister of Luke, and a famous chef. Along with Kait’s dishes was a plethora of Greek food prepared by the mother of one of the agents. Esme had met the lovely woman who insisted that she call her Mama Demarchis.

  As they approached the tables, Esme asked, “What was that exchange with your brother about?”

  Ethan rolled his eyes. “Our birth names. Our parents thought it would be perfectly fine to name their oldest son Nature Rain. It’s my duty as the younger brother to remind him of that from time to time. Keep him in line and all.”

  She smiled, hoping she got to meet his parents soon. “What did they think it would be perfectly fine to name their second born?”

  Ethan sighed. “Earth Replenish.”

  She grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. “What did you just say?”

  He sighed louder this time. “My parents named me Earth Replenish. Now you know my deep dark secret.”

  The world spun violently, and Esme felt as if she were riding the Mad Tea Party ride at Disneyland. She couldn’t catch her breath and her vision blurred.

  “Esme? Are you okay?”

  No, she wasn’t okay. Time spun backwards until she was a scared six-year-old, moving in with her aunt after her parents’ car accident. Lumi took her hands. “Esme, I know you’re hurting now, but you have so much to look forward to in life. You love those princess movies with the handsome princes, right?”

  Esme bobbed her head. The princes were her favorite parts, especially tall, blond John Smith from Pocahontas.

  “One day, you’ll meet your very own Prince Charming and fall madly in love. Your soul mate will be as solid as the earth and he will replenish your soul after your terrible loss.”

  “Earth Replenish,” she whispered.

  “Ridiculous, right?”

  She slowly shook her head from side to side. “No. It’s absolutely perfect.”

  # # #

  Notes

  I hope you enjoyed Fatal Dreams, the seventeenth book in the COBRA Securities series. Several characters from previous books made appearances in Fatal Dreams. If you would like to read their stories, you can find them here:

  Logan and Jade Bradley from The Fan

  Peter Dennis from Committed

  Maggie and Carter McQueen from Saving Santa

  Kai Costa from Hide and Seek and Kidnapped

  Dan Bradley from Killer Cuisine

  Luke and Layla Colton from Face the Music

  Sawyer Oldham from Hunted

  Grant Colton from Say Goodbye to Melody

  Mason Rossi from Last Dance

  Noah Addison and Peyton Durant from Golden Girl

  About the Author

  Velvet Vaughn is the author of The List, The Fan, Committed, Violets are Blue, Trust No One, Hide and Seek, Killer Cuisine, Vigilante, Face the Music, Tough as Nails, Total Surrender, Hunted, Say Goodbye to Melody, Last Dance, The Viper, Golden Girl, and Fatal Dreams the first seventeen books in the COBRA Securities series, as well as Saving Santa, and Kidnapped, COBRA Securities Short Stories. In addition, two novellas: A Christmas Miracle and Flying High Christmas are available as stand-alone books or in the anthologies All I Want For Christmas and Yuletide Treasures, respectively. Without a Trace, the eighteenth book in the COBRA Securities series will be published soon.

  Connect With Velvet

  Website: www.velvetvaughn.com

  Facebook Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/authorvelvetvaughn

  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/velvetvaughn/

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/velvetvaughn/

  Email: velvet@velvetvaughn.com

  From Velvet

  Thank you so much for purchasing Fatal Dreams. I hope you enjoyed Ethan and Esme’s story. If you did, I would appreciate you leaving feedback at Amazon.com or Goodreads. Thank you!

  The eighteenth book in the COBRA Securities series will be out this fall. Without a Trace is COBRA Securities agent Wyatt Hollister and
Dr. Amelia Howell’s story.

  If you would like to read the story of one of the characters from my books, let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website or my Facebook Fanpage. I'd love to hear from you. And be sure to like my Fanpage so you can take part in giveaways, and sign up for my newsletter for a chance to win a gift certificate in each issue.

  Thank you again for your support!