More tents had been erected and a forensic anthropologist had arrived from Indiana University. After cursory inspection, she’d labeled all the bodies female past puberty. At least Rich hadn’t been murdering children. She was taking any good news she could get.
Word had spread to the media and several news crews had rolled up on site, filming the excavation and documenting the death of one of their own. Joanie Burke had fallen victim to the sniper. Her cameraman was in the hospital with a collapsed lung and internal damage. The last time she checked, he was in serious but stable condition.
What a great way to get her name out there, she thought bitterly. It wouldn’t matter now that she had nothing to do with this. Her company would forever be linked to the B-town Butcher, as the media had dubbed the monster who’d slaughtered all these women.
Richard. It had to be her cousin. That’s why he fought so vehemently against her keeping the land. He’d been using it as his personal killing field for years. Of course, he’d disappeared, so they couldn’t arrest him. They did have an all-points bulletin out for him but so far, he was in the wind.
Crews continued digging up the bones and placing them on tarps. It was all so surreal to her. It was like there were overwhelming forces ganging up to destroy her business before it even got off the ground. When one failed, the next one stepped up. She was beaten. Defeated.
How many times did something have to happen to set her back before she threw in the towel? Her friends had been so supportive but there was only so much she could take.
There was no way she could build a structure on this land now. Even after they cleared out the bones, it would forever be tainted. She wouldn’t be able to sell it. Who would want it? Maybe some macabre individual who got their rocks off collecting serial killer memorabilia, but she highly doubted that would happen.
Despite the thick blanket Grant wrapped around her, she couldn’t seem to get warm. He’d brought her food and made her eat to keep up her energy, but she could only manage a few bites. Her stomach revolted at the thought of eating.
People had been stopping by regularly, but she couldn’t even recall what was said. She was in a hazy fog. Her cell phone buzzed, and she considered not answering it. She tugged at the blankets to free her arms but by the time she scrambled loose, it had stopped. Good. She started to wrap back up, but it instantly rang again. She looked at the display. Raine.
One of Grant’s coworkers had dropped Raine at her apartment yesterday. She’d wanted to stay but Melody had insisted she go home. There was no need for both to have to witness this atrocity.
“Hi, Raine.”
“Melody?” Her voice was watery and hoarse. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Melody shot forward, the blanket falling from her shoulders. “What’s wrong, Raine? Have you been crying?”
“I am so sorry. Can you come to my apartment? I-I need to uh, talk to you. To confess. It’s eating at me and I can’t take it anymore.”
And the hits just kept coming.
Melody hardened her voice, so over all of this. “What do you need to confess about?”
“Uh, Deanna. What I know. My involvement. Everything. Please, Melody, come as soon as you can before I’m gone.” Her last word ended with a sob.
“What do you mean gone? Are you suicidal or running away?”
“Please, Melody.”
“Okay, I’m on my way over now.” If Raine was indeed guilty of betraying her, too, might as well get the news when she was already numb with grief.
She disconnected and went in search of Grant. He was talking to the anthropologist. She tried not to let jealousy rear its ugly head, especially at the way the woman was smiling at him and hanging on his every word.
“Grant?”
He spun around and took two steps to her, clasping her arms with his big, strong hands. The other woman narrowed her eyes at Melody before turning her attention back to the bones.
“What’s wrong, babe? Do you need to go home and lie down?”
Probably. She just realized she was exhausted, both physically and mentally. “Raine needs to talk to me right away. She was nervous and crying. She said she needed to confess and she sounded suicidal.”
Grant closed his eyes. “Not her, too.”
“I’m afraid so. She asked me to come to her apartment.”
“Let me tell the others and I’ll drive you there.”
He jogged over to where Mason and Ethan were talking with one of the detectives overseeing the excavation and then he was striding back to her.
Despite being heartsick and exhausted, she couldn’t help but appreciate how magnificent he was. The anthropologist certainly thought so as her eyes followed his every movement hungrily. He didn’t even spare the other woman a glance. He walked right up to her and he somehow knew she needed a hug because he wrapped his massive arms around her. She sighed against him. Being in his arms was her favorite place on earth.
He guided her to his SUV and helped her inside before closing the door and rounding the hood. He stopped at the police barricade, informing the officer who was manning the gate that they would be back soon. Once they were on the road, he reached over and clasped her hand. She clung to it like a lifeline.
“My gut tells me she’s not guilty,” Melody murmured. “She’s been too good of a friend. I can’t believe she would willingly deceive me. She worked so hard by my side this week.”
“I agree with you. I don’t think she’s guilty either. I don’t get that vibe from her. She seems genuine.”
“Wasn’t that what they said about Ted Bundy?” she joked. That she could even find anything humorous was a sign of just how tired she was right now. She felt like she could sleep for a week.
Grant turned into the parking lot of Raine’s complex, virtually empty at this time of day. As soon as he cut the engine, he turned to her. “I don’t think she’s dangerous, but stay close to me at all times. I don’t care if she wants to talk to you alone, I’m not leaving your side.”
“Fine by me.” More than fine. She never wanted him to leave her side, ever.
They got out and Grant guided her up the steps to Raine’s second floor apartment with a hand on her lower back. He gripped his Sig Sauer in the other, keeping it out of sight so he didn’t freak out any of the other tenants. All they needed was for someone to call the police on an armed man.
The door flew open to Raine’s apartment before she could knock. “Thank God you’re here.” She grabbed Melody in a crushing hug and whispered, “Run!”
Before she could process what Raine had said, something whizzed by her ear and hit Grant in the arm. His gun clattered to the ground. She spun to see a dart embedded in his bicep. “Run, Melody. Get inside the SUV,” he gritted out as he yanked the shaft from his arm and dropped to his knees. “Lock the doors and call for backup.”
If he thought she was leaving his side, he was crazy. She fell to her knees and grabbed his arm to keep him upright. He was struggling against whatever was in the dart. Poison? She had to get him to the hospital.
A sizzle sounded, and Rich stepped out from behind the door holding a taser that had tagged Grant in the arm he’d just shot with the dart. She waited for the shock, but it didn’t come, even though she was holding on to his arm. She couldn’t hold him upright and he fell to his back, twitching. Still, Rich held the taser.
“No,” she shrieked, lunging for her cousin so he dropped the device, but he slammed a fist into the side of her head. Stunned, she went down to her knees and fell to her hands, stars swimming in her eyes. She’d never been hit by anything harder than an airbag and her ears rang with the impact. She blinked away tears and watched with horror as Rich picked up Grant’s dropped gun and aimed at Raine. Raine’s scream cut off abruptly as a gunshot blasted. Oh God, he shot her. A hand gripped her arm and jerked her to her feet, but she struggled against the hold, swinging out and landing a blow to his face. He roared in rage and she felt a prick against her neck. He must have inj
ected her with the same drug he used on Grant. Her muscles instantly released and her knees gave out. Rich jerked her forward. She could only stare in horror at Raine’s crumpled, lifeless body sprawled in a pool of blood. Then he pointed the gun at Grant and fired point-blank.
It was with that image burned into her mind that she fell face-first in the carpet and into oblivion.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Luke and Logan were headed out to check on the progress of the body removal on Melody Franklin’s plot of land when an alert sounded.
“That’s Grant,” Luke said, activating the computer on the dash. It showed the address where Grant had activated his AID device…agent in distress. Logan executed a perfect U-turn and they were on their way to the location. He dialed the office to let them know he and Logan were responding and was informed that Mason and the Addison brothers were on their way, too. They’d been at the dig site, so Luke and Logan would get there faster.
Logan screeched into the parking lot and the two were out of the SUV in seconds, racing up the stairs. Another SUV squealed to a stop and Mason, Noah and Ethan were out of the vehicle, having made incredible time.
“Check the back,” Luke ordered as he and Logan made their way to the second floor. Using hand signals, he indicated the pool of blood on the concrete outside the door and the trail that indicated whoever had bled out here had been dragged inside. The door was open a crack. Logan darted past him to take up the other side. On the count of three, they burst inside.
Luke almost forgot his training when he saw his younger brother lying on the ground with blood pooling around his head.
“I’ll clear the apartment, you tend to him,” Logan said, reading his thoughts. Luke dropped down beside Grant and checked for a pulse. Shallow but steady. He breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Clear,” Logan said as he called for ambulances and then knelt beside a woman that Luke hadn’t even noticed. His focus had been on Grant. He checked the wound. It looked like a bullet nicked his neck and took a chunk of skin, but missed both his carotid artery and jugular vein. That would hurt like hell, but something else was wrong. It would’ve taken more than a bullet and taser to stop Grant.
Mason, Noah and Ethan entered the apartment. “The back’s clear.”
Mason and Noah crouched down beside Grant, while Ethan went to help Logan.
“What the hell?” Mason picked up a dart from the floor and sniffed it.
“I missed it,” Luke admitted. He was totally off his game. “That has to be what knocked him out.” He ripped the taser prongs from Grant’s arm and then peered closer. “There’s a puncture on his bicep.”
“He was hit with a tranq dart and then tased,” Noah guessed.
Luke prayed he was right and it was just a tranquilizer, not poison.
“About the only way someone could get the jump on him,” Mason said, echoing Luke’s earlier thoughts.
“The dart took him by surprise,” Noah deduced. “It must’ve been quick acting.”
“No sign of Melody?” Mason asked.
Luke jerked around to the other injured person. It was a woman, so he assumed it was Melody. Logan was blocking his view, so he couldn’t see a face. “That’s not her?”
“It’s Raine, Melody’s employee,” Noah told him. “Grant said they were coming here but he didn’t need backup.”
“The perp lured them here using her,” Luke surmised.
“Probably threatened her,” Mason agreed. “They wouldn’t have thought anything about coming to her apartment.”
“Exactly what the perp was counting on.”
Luke checked Grant’s pulse again, breathing another sigh of relief that it was still beating, albeit, slowly. Sirens wailed in the distance. “Make sure to take the dart so the doctors can determine what’s inside.”
“Got it.”
“Logan, how is she?”
“Not good,” his partner answered. “She’s lost a ton of blood and her pulse is weak.”
Two uniformed cops entered first, clearing the scene before allowing the paramedics to enter.
“This is my brother,” Luke told the team who tended to Grant. “I’m riding in the ambulance with him.”
“Not a problem,” the woman said, not looking up from her task of starting an IV. Luke stood and moved back, giving the paramedics room to work.
Logan and Ethan came over to stand beside them. “We need to start a search for Melody,” Logan stated.
“Grant put a tracking device on her watch.” Mason pulled out his phone and called up the program to track her. “What the hell.” He skirted the emergency personnel and bent down beside the sofa. He lifted the blue band aloft.
Luke shared a grim look with Logan. “She’s in the hands of a killer and we have no way to know where she is.”
“Guys…look.”
They followed the direction Noah indicated, which led to the back of the door. Finger painted in blood on the white panel were the words: Say Goodbye to Melody.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Grant fought against the haze, trying to claw his way back to consciousness. It was crucial he woke up, he was sure of it. His lids finally cooperated and popped open, but he encountered lights so bright he slammed them shut again. Was he back in SEAL training, undergoing torture survival training? His body sure as hell felt like it. If he wasn’t mistaken, he’d been pushed in front of a M1 Abrams Battle Tank and it rolled right over him. Every part of him ached.
“Grant? Can you hear me?”
The voice was soft and definitely feminine, but it wasn’t Melody. Melody! He snapped his eyes open, only to encounter the bright light again. He squinted until he could figure out where he was. Beeping sounds, blue mask-covered faces. He was in an operating room. He tried to talk but something covered his mouth. His eyes darted around until he spotted Dr. Amelia Howell. He jerked and gestured, and she understood, moving the oxygen mask aside.
“Melody?” he croaked around a mouth as dry as the Sahara.
“I don’t know, Grant. I’m sorry.”
He needed to get out of here right now and look for her.
“You aren’t going anywhere.” Damn, had he said that out loud? “You were poisoned and shot and tased. A trifecta, as we call it. We were able to counteract the poison and the bullet didn’t do major damage. But you are staying here for a few days to recoup.”
Like hell.
“We’re moving you to a room right now, so we’ll give you a sedative so you can rest.”
“No! I need to stay awake.” He didn’t care what Amelia said, he wasn’t staying. He had to find out about Melody.
Apparently, she didn’t listen to him because the next time he woke, he was in a darkened room, attached to several monitors. He jerked upright and hissed when his battered body protested.
“Hey, Grant, take it easy.”
“Luke?” His older brother shot out of his chair to calm him down.
“How’s Melody? I need to see her.”
Luke looked down before meeting his eyes. “She’s gone.”
Fear slithered down his spine. “What do you mean gone?”
“Her cousin took her after he drugged and shot you. At least we think it was Richard Franklin. He shot Melody’s friend, Raine, too. She’s in critical condition.”
He remembered the tracking device and huffed out a relieved sigh. “We can track her—”
Luke held up a blue band. Melody’s watch.
He ripped the IV out of his arm, ignoring the spurting blood.
“Grant, what the hell? You need to relax—”
“No, what I need to do is find Melody.”
“You were shot, dammit.”
“I don’t care. I have to find her.” When Luke tried to hold him down, he met his brother’s gaze. He wasn’t even embarrassed at the moisture gathering in his eyes. “What if it was Layla? What would you do?”
Luke studied him for a moment and then nodded. “I’ll get your clothes.”
#
Grant ignored his throbbing head and the random twitches in his muscles. Luke had spirited him out of the hospital with none of the nurses any wiser. He’d catch hell from Amelia later, but he could deal with her. His first and only priority was finding Melody.
He refused to allow his mind to think of what she could be going through right now. Her cousin was a serial killer. He’d murdered at least a dozen women that they knew of. There might be more skeletons buried beneath the ground of Melody’s family land.
He hoped family ties counted for something, but Rich Franklin was twisted. Melody had disrupted his ritual, uncovered his nefarious deeds. He’d want to make her pay.
He glanced at the clock. He’d been out for several hours. It’d been just after noon when they arrived at Raine’s apartment and now it was close to five in the morning a day and a half later. Melody had been in the hands of a killer for forty-one hours. His stomach threatened to revolt.
“Logan and a team have been working on this, Grant,” Luke said in an attempt to appease him. “They’re tracking down every lead possible.” Luke’s cell rang and he winced at the readout on the computer inside the Escalade. Dr. Amelia Howell. “Be quiet,” he warned Grant. He hit a button on the steering wheel. “Hey, Doc.”
“Where is your brother?”
“Ben? He’s probably home with—”
“Your other brother,” she interrupted. “I didn’t release him.”
“I’m here, Doc, and I’m fine. Luke’s not to blame. It was all me.”
“Grant, you need to get back here now. I want to make sure the drugs are out of your system. It’s not safe for you to be running around.”
“I promise I’ll return if I start to feel bad. I have things I need to take care of that can’t wait.”
Amelia grumbled something that wasn’t very flattering or ladylike. “Fine. Call if you need me.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Luke said before ending the call. He pulled into the compound and headed for the offices. Grant was out of the SUV before Luke killed the engine.
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