“I talked to Rich Laughlin.”
Kate didn’t say anything.
“You should have told me.”
“He was right.”
“No, he wasn’t.” Lucy looked into Hans’s room. All the pain and guilt and vengeance that had brought that scaffolding down on him. The hatred that had ended with four people dead and a man stalked for half his life.
“Kate, you’re my sister in every way except blood. What hurts is that you believed him when he told you I was volatile. That you didn’t trust me.”
Kate leaned forward and stared at Lucy. “Is that what you think?”
“Yes. You didn’t talk to me; you treated me like I really was here on some kind of vendetta. You of all people should know my heart.”
Kate shook her head. “I never thought that. I meant, I thought he was right about me.” She closed her eyes. “I’m teaching at Quantico because I’m too scared to go back in the field. Scared of what I might do. Scared that I’ll make the wrong decisions. Quantico is safe.”
Lucy took her hand. “I didn’t know you doubted yourself. I’ve always thought you were the most confident person in the world.” She paused, then smiled. “Almost as arrogant as Sean.”
Kate laughed, but tears came to her eyes. “I don’t think that’s possible.” She sighed deeply. “I leaned heavily on Dillon after you killed Adam Scott, and I began to rely on him to keep me propped up. Quantico is safe. Dillon is safe. I’m doing okay.”
“Then Rich Laughlin came in and shook you up.”
“That he did.”
“Trust me, Kate. We’re friends; we’re family. Trust me not only to do what’s right, but trust me with your feelings. We’re all scared. But we do it anyway because it’s the right thing to do.”
“I love you, Sis.”
Lucy hugged her. “I love you, too.”
“Stop; I don’t want to cry,” Kate said. “I’ve been here all day, but I heard the second autopsy on Tony was complete.”
“Yes, and the tox screening came back. Tony was poisoned with a sodium chloride mixture. It didn’t show up in the Scotch initially because it wasn’t a standard compound. I don’t quite know the details, but they found it in his stomach. Once they knew what specifically to test for, they confirmed that he was poisoned through his Scotch. It happened very quick.”
“So it was Alexis Sanchez.”
“Yes. They’re going to exhume Bob Stokes’s body and run the same test on his remains. Speaking of Stokes, Patrick found the e-mail Agent Theissen sent to him. It related to the Cinderella Strangler case, and that Theissen was helping Weber with some of the background. Later, he said that he thought he was being followed and it might relate to one of his old cases, but he couldn’t be sure. Then when Theissen had his accident, Stokes went to New York.”
“You think Kip Todd panicked and killed him?”
“He didn’t know what Theissen had told Stokes. Maybe Stokes recognized Todd, or maybe Todd feared he would if he investigated Theissen’s accident.”
“Or maybe,” Kate said, “he was on the target list all along and Todd took advantage of his proximity.”
“We may never knew for certain. Alexis isn’t talking at all. She says she’ll only talk to Peter, but I advised him not to.”
“Why? He might be able to get answers we need.”
Lucy had thought about that. “Maybe, but Peter is vulnerable right now. She’s a master manipulator. She might not have wanted Peter dead, but she still was party to all this. I told him to give it some time. He seemed to be okay with that.”
Noah approached and cleared his throat. “Hans is awake. You can have one minute with him.”
Lucy and Kate walked into ICU after putting on gloves and gowns. Hans was pale and gaunt, physically weak. But his eyes were open.
“You’re back,” Kate said, and took his hand.
“Um,” he responded. He tried to focus on Lucy.
“It’s Lucy, Hans. Everything is fine. We’ll fill you in later, but we’re all safe.”
“Good,” he whispered.
The nurse cleared her throat. “Time,” she said.
Kate and Lucy walked out, both with tears in their eyes. Kate hugged her sister-in-law. “I didn’t think he would make it,” Kate admitted. “Hans is the closest thing I have to a father.”
“He’s strong and stubborn and healthy,” Lucy said. “Are you going home?”
“I’m going to stay a while longer.”
Noah asked Lucy, “Do you need a ride?”
“Sean’s here,” Lucy said. “I’m reporting back to Quantico tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll see you then.” He sat next to Kate and Kate began telling the story about how she’d first met Hans.
Good, Lucy thought. They’d all been through an emotional wringer after losing Tony. With Hans on the mend, they could focus on the positive.
She left the hospital and spotted Sean’s Mustang parked near the main entrance. She slid into the passenger seat and kissed him. “I love you,” she said.
“Where did that come from?” He smiled and kissed her back. “Keep it coming.”
“Hans is in recovery. He’s going to be okay.”
“You’re crying.”
“No, I’m not.”
He wiped away her tears. “Okay. You’re not.”
“I have to be back at Quantico tomorrow morning.”
“But you’re mine for tonight.”
“I’m yours forever.”
He glanced at her as he sped out of the parking lot. “I knew that the day I found you standing at my door in the pouring rain.”
“You did?”
“Yes, I did.” He took her hand and kissed it. Lucy closed her eyes and smiled, happy and content.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” he said, glancing at her with a devilish grin. “But I promise, you’ll be pampered all day and all night.”
“You spoil me.”
“I have an ulterior motive. I’m the one doing the pampering.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Epilogue
I drove to the cemetery outside Newark to visit my sister one last time.
For fifteen years I had been in a state of perpetual grief, an emotional zombie. I hadn’t realized it until the FBI agent Lucy Kincaid said that Kip had turned his grief into rage and I had turned my grief into a lifestyle.
You have done so much in a short time, Lucy said. Emancipation, graduating from college early, teaching at an impoverished school. Think of what you could do for these kids you love if you were happy yourself.
Rachel’s ghost was with me every day. She never aged, and because she was always eleven I still felt like I was nine, trapped in a grown-up body. I still ate Trix for breakfast and grilled cheese for dinner. I still felt guilty staying up late watching movies and eating in front of the television. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie rated PG-13, let alone a movie rated R. Maybe I never will. But it won’t be because I think I’m nine.
I love teaching, and I know I can be a better teacher if I go to school without the weight of grief and guilt on my heart.
And the first step was letting Rachel go.
I turned and saw a man I’d never met walking toward me with a little girl I feel like I’ve known forever. Carl Sanchez and I had spoken on the phone several times over the last two weeks. He’d prepared Missy for this meeting.
He’d known all along that Missy wasn’t his daughter, but he loved her.
He loved her so much, he was willing to share her. With her biological father.
I turned my back on the headstone and walked across the green lawn. Missy looked like me. More, she looked like Rachel. With dark curls and big blue eyes.
Carl and I shook hands. “Thank you,” I said and he smiled at me.
I squatted in front of Missy. “Hello, Missy. Do you remember me? We talked on the computer.”
She nodded and smiled, her big eyes
so round and inquisitive. “I remember you, Daddy.”
Then she hugged me and all the pain I’d ever felt washed away in a river of pure, unconditional love.
Coming soon.…
From New York Times bestselling author
ALLISON BRENNAN
STOLEN
Available in June 2013 from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Also by Allison Brennan
Silenced
If I Should Die
Kiss Me, Kill Me
Love Me to Death
Carnal Sin
Original Sin
Cutting Edge
Fatal Secrets
Sudden Death
Playing Dead
Tempting Evil
Killing Fear
Fear No Evil
See No Evil
Speak No Evil
The Kill
The Hunt
The Prey
Critical Acclaim for Allison Brennan
Silenced
“Brennan throws a lot of story lines into the air and juggles them like a master. The mystery proves to be both compelling and complex.… [A] chilling and twisty romantic suspense gem.”
—Associated Press
“The evolution of Lucy Kincaid from former victim to instinctive and talented agent continues in Brennan’s new heart-stopping thriller.… From first to last, this story grabs hold and never lets go.”
—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick)
“An excellent addition to the Lucy Kincaid series. Lucy and Sean continue to develop as complex, imperfect characters with a passion for justice.… The suspense was can’t-put-it-down exciting.”
—Fresh Fiction
If I Should Die
“Brennan’s Lucy Kincaid/Sean Rogan books are not only excellent procedural thrillers, but also chart the evolution of an intriguing relationship. The peeks into the mind of this heinous killer are all too chilling, making the threat level palpable and the story riveting. Brennan is on a major roll!”
—RT Book Reviews
“In bestseller Brennan’s roiling third suspense novel … rooting out the cancer that infects Spruce Lake reveals a convoluted history of increasingly deadly crime.”
—Publishers Weekly
Kiss Me, Kill Me
“[A] riveting new series … Lucy continues to be a fascinating and enticing character, and her ongoing development adds depth to an already rich brew of murder and mystery. Brennan rocks!”
—RT Book Reviews
“Ms. Brennan ratchets up the suspense on page one and keeps it going until the last page.”
—Fresh Fiction
Love Me to Death
“A world-class nail-biter … Brennan is in the groove with this one.”
—Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author
“Grabbing the reader by the throat from almost the first page, this pulse-ratcheting romantic suspense from Brennan delivers intense action, multifaceted characters, and a truly creepy bad guy.… [A] fast-paced, engrossing read.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A fan of Allison’s for many years, you always know what you are getting … a great story with love ’em or hate ’em characters and perfectly placed plot twists in every book.”
—Shannon Raab, Suspense Magazine
Original Sin
“Brennan shows a deft command of all things both normal and otherworldly in crafting one of the best tales of its kind since Dean Koontz and Stephen King were still writing about monsters. There’s no shortage of those here and the result is a new genre classic.”
—Providence Sunday Journal
“Allison Brennan pens a chilling tale in Original Sin, the first in her Seven Deadly Sins series. [It] will keep you up all night—whether it be from the horror or because it’s such a page-turner.”
—Sacramento Book Reviews
Cutting Edge
“Both the nature and nurture sides of the ‘what makes a psychopath’ argument are on display in Brennan’s chiller.… Leave it to Brennan to deliver the creepy and deadly. This is definitely the stuff of nightmares.”
—RT Book Reviews
Fatal Secrets
“In this chilling thriller, Brennan explores the consequences of sliding from fierce commitment into obsession.… A master of suspense, Brennan does another outstanding job uniting horrifying action, procedural drama, and the birth of a romance—a prime example of why she’s tops in the genre.”
—RT Book Reviews (Top Pick!)
Sudden Death
“Fast, fierce fun. Brennan knows how to deliver.”
—Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author
Playing Dead
“The mystery is tightly plotted with the final reveal not happening until the very end of the book.… Playing Dead is an adrenaline rush of thrills and chills that is sure to win Brennan several new readers.”
—Fresh Fiction
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
STALKED
Copyright © 2012 by Allison Brennan.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN: 9781466808072
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / November 2012
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALLISON BRENNAN is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nineteen novels and many short stories. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, she lives in Northern California with her husband Dan and their five children.
Visit:
www.allisonbrennan.com
Stalked Page 30
