Colton's Fugitive Family

by Jennifer Morey

  * * *

  Demi put Wolf to bed and returned to the living room, where Lucas was reading a book, an action thriller. Queenie lay curled at his side on the couch, sleeping. A fire flickered in the fireplace. It had begun to snow again. Aware of her movements, he wondered if she picked up the remote and began changing channels because she needed something to do or if she was in the mood to watch something. He’d picked up this book for something to do but nothing he read registered. He kept wondering why he kept kissing her. He never thought about the consequences first, he just did the deed. Kissing her felt incredible.

  Closing the book, he stood. “I’ll go make the rounds before it gets too bad out there.”

  Demi looked up and said, “Okay. Be careful.”

  When he put on his winter jacket, Queenie jumped off the couch and came to sit before him, ready to go to work. He put on a hat, a headlamp and gloves and left the house. Snow fell without wind and a little more heavily than a flurry.

  Queenie had quickly caught on to the command “Devlin” and knew what to search for. He followed her down the driveway. Queenie had Devlin’s scent now and he used that to help him search the perimeter to make sure he hadn’t tried to breach the wall or had already breached the wall. The motion sensors would go off if someone made it closer to the house.

  Nose to the ground, Queenie trotted along, reaching the front gate and covering that thoroughly. When nothing signaled a find, she trotted along the fence line.

  This was the path they took every night now. She’d pick up on Devlin’s scent if he’d been in the area over the last twenty-four hours.

  Snowflakes twinkled in the beam of his headlamp. Only his boots sinking into the snow broke the utter silence, that, and Queenie’s occasional snort. She had stealthy footsteps. If anyone was on the other side of the fence, they wouldn’t know she was there.

  Near the edge of his property, Queenie suddenly stopped and faced in the direction of the cabin. She woofed softly and sat, looking at him.

  “Good girl.” Apprehension flared, though. She’d picked up on Devlin’s scent—inside Lucas’s property.

  “Go, girl. Show me.” He ran behind her through the trees. She kept her nose low, tracking the scent.

  At the clearing, he could hear the alarm going off inside the house. As he neared, a shape came running from the back.

  Queenie barked and raced for the man.

  Lucas drew his weapon and ran as fast as he could. The man had a weapon, as well. Lucas shot first, forcing the intruder to dive.

  “Don’t move!” Lucas shouted. “Move an inch and I’ll blow your head off!”

  Queenie had reached him and stayed a few feet back, teeth bared and growling. Lucas reached the man and saw it was Devlin.

  “Throw your gun.”

  When Devlin hesitated, Lucas fired at the ground next to his head. “The next one will hit you.”

  Devlin threw his weapon.

  Lucas moved to his side. “Hands stretched out to your side.”

  Devlin complied. “You got nothing on me.”

  “You’re trespassing and you aimed a gun at me. Were you going to break into my house?”

  “You shot at me first. I carry a gun for protection.”

  Lucas wouldn’t argue. He brought Devlin’s hands behind his back and cuffed him. “I finally caught you.”

  “You can’t prove anything.”

  Maybe not, but he had Devlin and he was going to jail. “We have other evidence against you. And don’t forget the inn.”

  That got Devlin’s head turning. “I’m not the one who killed all those people. Demi Colton is!”

  “Who said I was talking about the Groom Killer murders?”

  Devlin didn’t have anything to say to that. What could he say? He didn’t know what evidence they had and Lucas wasn’t going to tell him. Devlin had hacked Layla Colton’s text messages and emails. They also had proof that he’d photoshopped pictures of her and her junior analyst to make them look sexual.

  Demi must have called 911 because he heard sirens. Jerking Devlin upright, he forced him toward the driveway, reading him his rights on the way.

  Demi came out onto the porch in her winter wear, holding Wolf and disguised as Lucas’s girlfriend. She must have opened the gate. The sirens quieted but flashing lights blasted the snowy night.

  Officers Williams and Miller exited a police car. Demi might not be aware of their suspicion of her and he wasn’t sure anyone would figure out who she really was. He pushed Devlin toward the police car and the two men.

  “We received a report of an intruder.” Both men stopped and stared in shock at Devlin. “Devlin Harrington?” Miller queried.

  “He tried to break in,” Demi said. “The alarm went off when he cleared the trees.”

  “So he didn’t actually break in.” Miller scrutinized Demi.

  Lucas explained his version of what had happened.

  “Looks like we can arrest you for trespassing then,” Williams said, taking Devlin from him.

  “What’s your name, for the record,” Miller asked Demi.

  Demi froze and didn’t answer. This wasn’t Finn. These were two officers who didn’t believe her innocence.

  “This is Chelsey, my girlfriend,” Lucas said.

  “How are you?” She flaunted her fake boobs and smiled.

  “You look like...” Miller started toward her. “Are you Demi Colton? You sound just like her.”

  In front of and to the side of Williams, who held him, Devlin smiled wickedly. He must have thought things were about to go his way again.

  “It is her,” Devlin said. “She changed her appearance.”

  Demi glanced nervously at Lucas.

  “We’re taking her in with this one.” Miller stepped forward again.

  Lucas stepped in Miller’s way and planted his hand on the man’s chest. “Now hold on right there. You aren’t taking her anywhere.”

  “I knew you were harboring a criminal!” Williams said.

  “All the evidence points to her,” Devlin reminded everyone—as if anyone needed reminding.

  “Nobody is taking her in. You have the prime suspect in cuffs.” Lucas nodded toward Devlin. “Right there.”

  “You can’t stop us from arresting her, Lucas.” Miller tried to go around him but Lucas now grabbed a handful of his jacket.

  “Yes, I can stop you and I will. I’m ordering you to stand down. We’ll meet with Chief Colton tomorrow morning. He has the final say as to whether the warrant for her arrest is still in force.” Lucas paused. “Unless you’d like to explain to him why you went against my order? I’m the one who found her. I’m the one who decides what to do with her, and right now, I’ve just captured the prime suspect in the Groom Killer murders and until he’s questioned, nothing changes here.”

  “It doesn’t matter that you found her. You hid her. We have as much right as you to take her in,” Williams said.

  “You’ll have to go through me.” Lucas opened his arms. “Do you think you can take me down?”

  Queenie came to stand next to him, hackles rising, teeth bared on a low growl.

  Miller backed off, stepping back. Williams seemed more undecided, although he eyed the dog warily.

  “If you don’t show up in the morning, we’ll be back.” Williams tugged Devlin around, and he smirked at Demi before Williams took him to the police car.

  After he was stuffed into the back of the cop car, Williams and Miller took him away.

  Lucas went to Demi. She held Wolf protectively, still watching the taillights disappear through the storm and into the trees. Queenie sniffed the ground where everyone had stood.

  “I can’t believe he’s caught,” she said.

  “It’s about time. We still have a long way to go, though. We don’t have enough to charge him w
ith murder.” Lucas feared he’d be charged with misdemeanor trespassing and let off with a fine. Since he hadn’t reported the attempted murders Devlin had committed—at Demi’s cabin and at the inn—to protect Demi from discovery, he couldn’t arrest him for those crimes. He could, however, make sure Gladys and Edward were brought in to identify him as the one who attacked them. That would give the inn owners justice and keep Devlin in jail while they continued their search for a murder weapon.

  More than anything, Lucas wanted Devlin charged with the Groom Killer murders. All of them. The confessions made by Slater and Baines definitely made Devlin a suspect, but they wouldn’t want to take him to trial with only their words against Devlin’s.

  “Come on.” He put his hand on Demi’s back. “It’s cold out here.” The snow was picking up, reminding him of the blizzard he’d weathered with her and looking forward to being snowed in again. This storm wouldn’t be as bad and likely wouldn’t strand them, but they’d be cozy, just the two of them—plus Wolf and Queenie, of course.

  Opening the door, he let Queenie in first and then Demi. Queenie shook the snow off her fur and went to her food and water.

  “Everyone is going to know I’m here,” Demi said as she removed her jacket. “Are you sure Finn won’t have me arrested?”

  Lucas took the baby so she could remove the rest of her winter gear. “I’m ninety-five percent sure. Stop worrying. And I thought you were going to trust me.” Wolf began to fuss, so Lucas rocked him.

  She smiled slightly, amorously, and he realized she finally believed him.

  Wolf cried more earnestly. The only time he fussed was when he was tired or hungry.

  “He’s actually crying in your arms? At least I know he still needs me.”

  Lucas handed the baby back to her. She bounced him gently and walked toward the stairs, saying, “Let’s get you back to bed.”

  * * *

  Demi cuddled Wolf until he quieted and his eyes drooped closed. Then she got up from the chair and tucked him in. Checking the window for the third time to ensure it was locked, she made sure no one could see through any cracks in the blinds and then left the room with a superhero night-light chasing enough of the shadows away.

  Lucas stood from the couch when she entered the living room and met her halfway. He put his hands on her arms. “Are you all right?”

  Warmed all over again by his protectiveness, she nodded. He made her feel safe.

  “Don’t worry about tomorrow.”

  That would be impossible. She yawned. It was late.

  “Why don’t I make some tea?”

  She wouldn’t get to sleep easily tonight, imagining what Finn would say. “Sure. I’m going to go get comfortable.” She went back to the guest room and silently changed into her demure nightgown. Also putting on a robe and slippers, she returned to see Lucas already had two steaming cups ready.

  She sat on a stool at the snack bar, listening to the low volume of a television program about a Maine cabin restoration.

  “I never dreamed you’d be the kind of person who’d settle down.”

  She eyed him as she sipped from her cup. “I didn’t plan on having a baby this soon.”

  “But it suits you. Sort of. Stay-at-home mom versus the fiery vixen bounty hunter I knew? It’s weird.”

  Before she’d become a fugitive, she’d have been offended by a comment like that, especially from Lucas. “Yeah? Well, I never expected you’d become daddy material.”

  “Daddy material?” He all but balked at that. “Yeah, Daddy versus antifamily, alpha male bounty hunter. Now that’s weird.”

  “Hold on a second. I’m not a daddy.”

  “You are with Wolf. Don’t even try to convince me otherwise. You’re great with him.”

  “He’s a great kid.”

  Don’t go there. She did not want to think of him as Jerry Maguire. He didn’t even look like him. He more resembled a rugged doctor in some romantic movie.

  Lucas chuckled. “You didn’t even get mad.”

  “Mad? About what?” Then she realized. “I’m a forced stay-at-home mom.” She chuckled now. “You can’t fool me anymore, Alpha.”

  “You used to get mad at me when I teased you like that.”

  “Ever since you told me you were teasing, I have no reason to get mad.”

  “I think having Wolf settled you down.”

  “And I think you meeting Wolf may have settled you down.”

  And there it went. The magic vanished just like that. There would be no taming a man like him.

  His phone rang and he looked from it to her. Who would be calling in the evening?

  He answered and turned on the speaker, which she appreciated. It showed he wouldn’t hide anything from her.

  “Lucas. It’s Finn.”

  Something must have happened.

  “Devlin got away.”

  “What? How?”

  “He took Miller’s gun and forced Williams to stop driving. He shot Williams and Miller and ran.”

  Damn it! Lucas should have taken Devlin in himself rather than allowing two officers he knew weren’t convinced Devlin was the murderer do it.

  “How are the cops?” Lucas asked.

  “They didn’t make it. Devlin shot them both in the head. They died almost instantly. Officers who responded to a 911 call reported that to me.”

  Lucas raked his hand through his hair as Demi gasped, unable to process the horror. Devlin had murdered Williams and Miller. They could have arrested Devlin and hopefully coerced him to confess to the Groom Killer murders, but Devlin had gotten away and it had cost yet more lives.

  “Devlin killed two of our own.” Lucas banged his fist onto the snack bar surface. “I want him behind bars. Now.”

  Chapter 13

  Lucas sat on the couch with his laptop, reviewing for the umpteenth time all the reports on the Groom Killer case. Queenie lay beside him, snoozing. Demi held Wolf and fed him with a bottle. He’d offered to feed him but she’d refused. She’d held the baby all evening and he began to suspect her possessiveness, as though she was threatened by Wolf’s connection to Lucas. The little guy finished eating and the next call of nature came.

  Lucas put his laptop aside. “I can change him.”

  “No, no.” Demi stood, putting the bottle on the side table. She took Wolf to the bedroom.

  Lucas followed, now convinced she felt threatened. In the guest room, he watched her go about the task. Queenie trailed behind him.

  “You’d rather change him than let me near him, huh?” he asked.

  She glanced back. “No. I can take care of him just fine.”

  “I’m not saying you can’t. I can help out, that’s all. I like him.”

  “I know you like him.” She sounded annoyed.

  “I won’t take him away from you.” Lucas walked to the changing table. Queenie stayed sitting in the doorway.

  Demi ignored him and finished the job. Lifting Wolf, she held him again and rocked him in preparation for bedtime.

  “Any luck going through the reports?” she asked. Devlin killing two cops proved him a murderer and had taken more suspicion off her, but they still needed evidence linking him to the Groom Killer murders.

  He wasn’t fooled. She wanted to avoid any discussion about her insecurity.

  “No. The buried gun got me thinking, though.”

  She looked up as Wolf’s eyes began to droop, looking up at his mother with each drowsy blink. Lucas could not fathom how she could think the boy would ever stop worshiping her.

  “How so?”

  “Devlin buried one of the murder weapons in his back yard.”

  “Allegedly. There were no prints, remember. I could have just as easily buried it there.” Her voice was mocking when she spoke the latter sentence.

  “He might have b
uried the other weapon. Somewhere.” Lucas reached out for Wolf. “Come on. Hand him over.”

  Demi eyed him, but gently placed Wolf in Lucas’s arms.

  “I can’t go a day without holding him.” He looked down at the boy, eyes closed and sleeping peacefully. His tiny chest rose and fell with each breath and he felt soft and warm.

  “Someday you’ll have to,” Demi said.

  He looked up, caught off guard by what she meant. Of course there’d come a day when they’d part ways. He wouldn’t be able to hold Wolf every day. But Wolf had become more than a piece of his dead brother. He’d become a part of his life.

  “He makes me think about what it would be like to live with him every day, to be a family.”

  “Well, we both know you can’t do that, right Lucas?”

  There went her sharp tongue, temper triggered.

  He couldn’t say anything. He’d made his own decisions. He had to live by them. Why, then, did he now feel as though he would miss out on something important? The idea of living with Demi and Wolf every day appealed to him on a certain level, on the level of witnessing Wolf grow, of loving the boy. Demi would be part of that and he wondered if she’d be the biggest part. They could have another baby. Be a family.

  While his mind rejected these thoughts, his heart forged ahead. This was how being part of a family felt. He liked it. He remembered when his mother had still lived with the rest of the Gages. He’d been so young. And then all of that had been taken away. He and his siblings had to fend for themselves from then on. Their father had gone through terrible grief he never fully recovered from.

  He still couldn’t get the memories of how his father had suffered out of his mind, but somehow Demi had breached the wall he’d erected. He refused to put himself in a position where he risked going through the same. Happiness meant avoiding life’s biggest tragedies. He loved his work. He loved his friends and family. He loved the outdoors. But none of that would touch him the way love for a woman and her baby would. That kind of love brought men to their knees, made them weak.

  “I knew it.”

  Demi’s disappointed tone stirred something in him. Denial. A rebuttal for her assertion. But wasn’t she right? He couldn’t—no, wouldn’t open himself up to loss like his father had suffered. Right then he realized there was a difference. He could open himself up to love. Wolf had shown him that. And now Demi. She had always challenged his thinking, but now she challenged it in a much more personal way. He had begun to feel strongly about her, despite trying not to. Probably early on, when he’d first met her, he’d recognized he could have these kind of feelings for her. Maybe that’s why he’d never acted on them.