Say Goodbye to Melody

by Velvet Vaughn

  She shook her head again. “Thank you,” she croaked. It was all she could manage.

  “Don’t thank me.” He waved a hand to encompass all the people who were gathered. “They put this together.”

  “It was your idea.” She was sure of it.

  He shrugged a shoulder, not denying it. “I just wanted to make you happy.”

  “You do,” she whispered. “Just by being you.”

  #

  Grant leaned against a tree and watched Melody chatting animatedly with Jade and Layla. She was so happy, she glowed. The women of TKO Productions had done an amazing job arranging the impromptu BBQ—not that his coworkers needed much of an excuse to throw a party.

  Melody had fluttered from one cluster of people to another, perfectly in her element among his friends and family. She fit in and they loved her.

  “She looks happy.” Luke came up beside him and handed him a cold bottle of beer.

  He nodded thanks as he took a swig. “She does.”

  “Hell of a last few days.”

  “Yeah.”

  They stood watching the people enjoying the evening around them until Luke asked, “What are you going to do now?”

  Grant deciphered the unspoken question. What was he going to do about Melody? The case was officially over. They never did get around to signing a contract, which was good because he would’ve torn it up anyway. She wasn’t going to pay him for something that he would’ve done for free.

  She didn’t have a house to return to, but this afternoon she’d mentioned moving to her brother’s house. He’d changed the subject because the thought of her packing her bags and moving out made his stomach sour. It’d only been a couple of days, but he’d gotten used to sleeping with her in his arms. Was it love? He had no idea.

  “How did you know?”

  Luke understood perfectly. “Do you think about her often?”

  Only when he was awake. No, scratch that. He dreamed of her, too. “Constantly.”

  “Do you want to see her happy?”

  Kai ran over to Melody and she leaned down to listen to him talk. Then she threw her head back in laughter and a wave of pure joy washed over him. “More than anything.”

  “Do you think her quirks are cute?”

  Grant smiled. “She’s a bit of a slob and she can be a klutz, but they only make her more adorable.”

  Luke nodded. “Can you imagine your life without her in it?”

  He could, but it wasn’t a pleasant visual. Long, lonely years, wondering what she was doing and who she was doing it with. He’d been her first, he wanted to be her last. “No.”

  Luke clapped him on the shoulder. “Then, little brother, you know.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Are you excited for today?”

  Melody glanced at Grant and wondered how she’d ever lived without this man in her life. He was her rock, her staunch supporter, her soul mate. She’d loved him from the moment she first saw him, and the feelings grew stronger and deeper every single day. The more she learned about him, the deeper she fell in love. He was truly a hero. Her hero.

  “Ecstatic.”

  They were headed to her inherited plot of land that would soon be the site of Harmony’s headquarters. With the help of Raine and her friends, they’d spent the last week mixing batches of product, replacing the lost supplies, filling jars and getting ready for the infomercial launch. Kendall and Olivia had pushed back the release date a month. The new facility wouldn’t be built in that time, but she should have enough inventory on hand.

  She decided not to find another space for a shopfront. They didn’t have the time to get one up and running. The shop owner’s insurance covered the damage and rebuild of her former space. Her landlord was kind enough to return the money she paid for the remaining year. She hadn’t expected it but was touched by his kindness.

  For the time being, she worked from a temporary lab inside the COBRA Securities complex. Grant had hired people to remove her expensive and loved equipment from her ruined home lab and thoroughly clean and restore it. If it was damaged beyond repair, he replaced it, all without her knowledge. He’d procured an unused office and transformed it into her dream space. It was set up to her specifications and she absolutely loved it. Her creativity flowed, and she was at peace when she was working there. It made it convenient for people to stop by and help. Most of the time, she had more workers than she had work. They packaged so much product, she didn’t have room to store it all. Once again, Grant stepped in and took care of the problem. He set up storage on the underground level of the office complex. She didn’t even know there were offices down there. She’d been freaked when he first took her down there. It was like walking into an alien spaceship with monitors and screens and lights and all the tech equipment. It was cooler down there to keep all the electronics working efficiently. They even had their own server farm, housed in a massive room close to where Grant stored her product. Who knew?

  Though she loved the lab, it wouldn’t work long-term for her business because she’d need to be able to hire workers to help fill and package the jars. There was no way she would even attempt something like that inside the compound. It was as secure as Fort Knox and she would never impose on Luke and Logan’s generosity by tasking their security staff with vetting the people who would need to come in and out all day. An exception was made for Raine, and she spent most of the days helping in the lab.

  Melody would love to keep the small lab as her personal workspace. She’d even come up with a formula for an under-eye serum that she was testing now. All the women volunteered to screen it, so she had built-in Guinea pigs.

  She glanced over at Grant again. They hadn’t talked about anything long-term. She knew she wanted it, but she wasn’t sure how he felt. It happened quickly, but there was no doubt she loved him with her entire heart. She’d tested his feelings a week ago, mentioning moving to her brother’s house. He made no comment either in support or against the idea, and quickly changed the subject. She hadn’t brought it up again, mostly because she’d grown accustomed to sleeping in his arms. She wasn’t sure she could let that go.

  Before heading to the site, they swung by Raine’s apartment. She was waiting for them outside, practically bouncing on her feet. She waved when she spotted them. “This is so exciting,” she gushed as she hopped inside. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”

  “Me, either.”

  Taking his gaze from the road, Grant flashed her a wicked grin. She hadn’t been able to sleep, and not because she was excited for today—she was—but that wasn’t what kept her up until the wee hours. Thankfully, Raine was busy buckling her seatbelt and didn’t notice the exchange.

  As soon as they turned down the road that led to the plot of land, large construction equipment was visible. A large trailer had been parked on the edge of the lot to serve as the project office, with metal steps leading to the door. This was really happening.

  When she stepped down from the SUV, Chuck Grove, the foreman of the project, came over and shook her hand. She’d met with him and Reed Steele several times the past week to go over the plans. The four-story building, plus basement, would be composed of eco-friendly and energy saving products and would blend in nicely with the scenery. The landscaping would include a pond with walkways and places for employees to take a break. The design was incredible. Reed was a genius.

  Her heart fluttered thinking about undertaking the massive payments on the building, but she would continue to think positively. She’d secured a loan to cover the construction costs with an attractive interest rate. If she was moderately successful, she wouldn’t have a problem paying the minimum each month.

  If they didn’t run into any unforeseen obstacles, they were shooting for a three-month time frame to have the building completed. That was pushing it, but the men were committed to the project.

  Reed and Hillary pulled up in their SUV. Kota leaped to the ground, alert and watchful. He stayed close to Hillar
y’s side, not letting up his guard until she gave him a command. Then his tail wagged as he greeted first Grant, then Melody and finally Raine.

  “You excited?” Reed asked her.

  “Very.”

  “Me, too.”

  They shared a smile. As gorgeous as he was, he did nothing for her, a point which she was sure Hillary would approve. Only one man made her pulse race and happiness bloom in her chest. He was standing beside her, strong and confident.

  “I’d like to go over the plans one more time,” Reed told Chuck, who motioned for them to follow him to the trailer. Several men and women were inside enjoying the air conditioning and drinking coffee. Chuck introduced them to the crew and she thanked them for working on her project.

  There was even a scale model of her building and she couldn’t believe how amazing it looked. She wondered if she could keep it when the project was completed. She’d put it on display under glass somewhere in the lobby.

  Anticipation coursed through her and she wondered what her cousin would think about what was happening here today. She had no doubt her parents would be proud of her launching her own business. And it was a good use of the land. There was no sense in it sitting empty and abandoned for years. She only wished Max could’ve been here, but they’d fast-tracked the project and he wasn’t scheduled to return for another two weeks. She’d send pictures of the ground breaking to him.

  She’d finally confessed everything to him on the phone two nights ago. He’d been livid she hadn’t told him what was happening. She had to talk him out of getting on a plane and coming home. He’d been moderately appeased when he found out that COBRA Securities had protected her and promised to call his good friend Luke to thank him. She only hoped he’d thanked Luke, but she feared he’d reamed him, too. She decided to wait until he returned home to tell him about Grant.

  Once Reed was satisfied everything was in order, they filed outside. Chuck handed her a shovel with a fat red bow tied around the handle, and a white hard hat. “You get the honor of digging the first hole to break ground.”

  She spun around when a parade of vehicles arrived: Taylor and Dante, along with Luke and Layla, Logan and Jade, Harlow Duquesne and Sawyer Oldham, Mason, and Noah and Ethan Addison all piled out, along with Kendall and her husband Dorian and Olivia and her fiancé Alex. Grant’s sister Kaitlyn and her husband Dan stepped out of the last vehicle, along with his brother Ben and his very pregnant wife Rachel. She was touched beyond words at their support, and she called out a huge thank you to everyone, who cheered. They all gathered around to watch. A large tent had been set up next to the trailer and they all crammed beneath the awning for shade.

  A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned to see two news vans pull up and park. She narrowed her gaze at Kendall and Olivia. “Your doing?” They both shrugged innocently, but their knowing smiles said it all.

  Once the camera crews were in place, Melody stood in front of the large wooden sign that proclaimed, “Future home of Harmony Beauty.”

  “Ms. Franklin, Joanie Burke of NBC Channel 13.” Joanie was a petite beauty, polished and elegant, with perfect makeup and hair. Her four-inch spike heels sank into the dirt, but she didn’t let it distract her from her job. “Can you say a few words about what’s happening here today?”

  Blood leached from Melody’s face. She hated speaking in public. But…these were her friends and they came here today specifically to support her. She turned to them and talking was easy. Words flowed and after giving a brief rundown on the history of Harmony, she thanked them all for their support. She lifted the shovel and jammed it into the ground to a roar of applause and camera clicks. Once the news crews got all their shots, they wandered around to shoot B roll, or supplemental footage to intersperse with the main film. She stepped aside and let the professionals take over.

  “Great job, babe,” Grant said, walking forward to brush a kiss across her lips.

  One of the workers donned a hardhat and headed for a bulldozer. In a practiced move, he climbed aboard and settled in the seat. The sound of the engine turning over fired up her adrenalin.

  The bulldozer lurched forward in jerky movements until it reached a line that had been marked off with fluorescent orange spray paint. The bucket lifted high into the air before slamming into the ground, breaking sod into chunks as it scooped up a mound of dirt before swiveling and depositing it into the back of a dump truck to be toted off to a landfill. The heavy machine swiveled back around with the bucket lifted and then it slammed down again for another load. A sharp pop sounded, almost like a whip cracking. Before she realized what was happening, Grant pushed her down and covered her body. “Shooter,” he yelled. “Everyone get down.” Grant half-rolled, half-carried her until they were protected by his bullet-proof SUV.

  Another shot rang out, and then another.

  “Sniper,” Luke shouted, herding the civilians behind the trailer with Dante and Hillary’s help. Logan raced for his SUV, opening the door to crawl inside and whip out a sniper rifle. He leaned on the hood and spotted through his scope. Dorian did the same thing from his SUV.

  “Stay here,” Grant ordered. She made a helpless sound and reached for him, but he was too quick. She didn’t want him putting himself at risk. But he reached into his SUV and then he was also poised with a rifle. Shots rang out, she couldn’t tell who was doing the shooting.

  Mason, Sawyer and the Addison Brothers hopped in one of the vehicles and took off, she assumed in the direction of where the shots were coming from. Horror struck when she realized Chuck the foreman had been shot. Dan raced to carry him to safety while Alex provided cover.

  When no more shots sounded, several of the SUV’s started up and screeched out to search for the shooter. Grant dropped down beside her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I wasn’t hit.” The being okay part she couldn’t answer.

  Grant picked her up and she gasped before recovering to clutch his neck. He placed her on the ground behind the trailer. “I’ll be back.”

  She reached for him again, but he was gone. Tires squealing as he peeled out to chase the shooter.

  She needed to make sure her friends were okay. The women hovered over Rachel and Taylor, along with their concerned husbands and panic struck.

  “Are they okay?”

  “We’re fine,” Rachel insisted grumpily, brushing her husband’s hands away.

  “They’re over protective,” Taylor added. “We’re pregnant, not fragile.”

  “Yes, you are,” Dante gritted out, pulling her in for a hug.

  Afraid of what she would see, she scanned the area. Dan and Logan were working on Chuck. Hillary and Alex were checking the others who’d been hit. Her mouth dropped open in horror when she saw the man she’d just met slumped over in the bulldozer, the back of his head missing.

  She covered her eyes. “No, no, no,” she chanted. This couldn’t be real. They found out who sabotaged her business: Elliot Kingman, Deanna Franklin and Burton Kline. They were all gone. She thought the turmoil was over, but she’d been wrong. Dead wrong.

  #

  Grant parked behind the construction trailer and shut off the SUV. Mason, Sawyer and Ethan had hiked into the woods and found the nest where the sniper set up shop, but he was long gone, his escape planned and executed perfectly. He’d parked himself on a steep hillside with an unfettered view of Melody’s land. Access had been limited and the perp planned for that, using a motorized trail bike to make a quick get-away. Dozens of shell casings littered the area, left by a gunman in too much of a hurry to police his brass. Hopefully the forensics team would be able to lift a print from one of them. Still healing from his injury, Noah hadn’t hiked in with the others. He waited for the cops so he could direct them to the spot. Grant, Dorian and Luke left them to handle that crime scene while they returned to the construction site.

  Grant surveyed the area. Ambulances had taken five people to the hospital with non-life-threatening i
njuries, including the foreman. He’d been shot in the arm. Hearses would transport four more.

  Four people shot and killed. Though he was thankful none of his coworkers or family had been hit, there were three men who came to work today to start a new project and now they would be going home in a pine box. One woman was simply doing her job covering a news story and she paid for it with her life.

  Grant didn’t need an investigation to determine the shooter. Richard Franklin. Melody’s cousin.

  Burton Kline was dead. Andrew Polk was dead. Elliot Kingman and Deanna Prescott were dead. Raine Vickers had nothing to do with any of the crimes. That left Rich.

  “What the hell? G, get over here.”

  Grant turned to see what Reed Steele was talking about. He was staring into the bucket of the bulldozer, his mouth agape. Grant walked over to him and peered at it before jerking his head back. It wasn’t just sod and dirt mounded inside the metal container. It was a human skull.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  With armed guards stationed around the perimeter and at the site where the sniper set up shop, police crews searched the ground and found eleven skeletons so far beneath the dirt of her family land. It wasn’t a disturbed burial site, or a long-forgotten Civil War cemetery. It was the burial grounds of a serial killer.

  Crime scene technicians had brought in four GPR machines to search for bones. The ground penetrating radar was a high resolution electromagnetic technique that investigated the underground surface. The machines looked a bit like a lawn mower, with four wheels attached to a wide, flat base and a handlebar with a monitor. The crews worked side by side, covering the acres of land. Every so often, one would stop and hold up a hand. Another technician would hustle over and mark off the location with a small red flag. Then the digging began. Each time bones were recovered, Melody felt a little sicker.

  Lights had been brought and set up since they’d worked through the night. Grant tried to get her to leave but she couldn’t tear herself away. He’d given up trying and found a lawn chair for her to sit in before wrapping a blanket around her shoulders.