Amy’s heart gave a lurch. She would rather die than go through that with Jeff again. “I’m not going.” She dug her fingernails into the soft skin of his wrist, and when he hissed and readjusted his grip, she slammed the heel of her hand into his nose.
He was so surprised he released her and immediately reached for his nose, which was bleeding. “You whore! I’m going to make you pay for that!”
Amy was already scrambling back toward the woods. She was hopeful she would be able to slip away, hide from him underneath the full bough of leaves and branches. Instead of escape, though, she found Jack and Max closing the distance.
She’d never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life.
“Max.” She burst into tears as she raced toward him.
Max caught her in mid-air and brought her to him, her feet a good six inches off the ground. He kissed her forehead and cheeks as he held her tight, offering the solace she desperately needed as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.
“Hold it right there,” Jack ordered, leveling his weapon on Jeff. The other man looked to be unarmed – that was his guess at least – but he wasn’t taking any chances. “Put your hands up.”
Jeff was incredulous when he realized he was no longer in charge of the situation. “Oh, you have to be kidding me. I should’ve hit that dumb broad with a brick to shut her up forever. I didn’t think she would be waking up so soon; otherwise I would’ve killed her.”
Fury he didn’t know was possible for him to feel flooded Jack like an angry river of lava. “Ivy is fine.” Jack believed that with his whole heart. “She’s going to be fine. When I get back to her, we’re going to have a long laugh about how dumb you were thinking you could get away with this in our territory.”
“Your territory, huh?” Jeff arched a challenging eyebrow and shook his head. “I didn’t realize you were the territorial sort, Jack. That day at the campsite, I assumed you were just some mook in love with a woman, vulnerable to her. Are you telling me you’re stronger than that? Are you saying Ivy doesn’t have full control over you?”
“Ivy and I are a team,” Jack replied calmly as Max lowered Amy to the ground and carefully shoved her behind him so he could act as her protector. “She doesn’t control me any more than I control her. Relationships are about compromise, give and take. That’s what we do for each other because our relationship is the most important thing in either of our lives.”
Jeff let loose a derisive snort. “Oh, what a load of crap. Relationships are about who is in power. Ask Amy. Our relationship ran much better when she acknowledged that I was the one in charge and acquiesced to my discipline.”
Amy let loose a shaky sob as Max squeezed her hand. “Just go away, Jeff. I don’t understand why you won’t let me go. We don’t belong together. We never did.”
“Let you go?” Jeff rolled his eyes in a playful manner. “Why would I do that? You’re my wife. We married each other forever. Besides that, you’ve got my son.” His voice turned frigid, icy resentment practically dripping from his tongue. “I want my boy. Where is he?”
“I’m not telling you that. You can kill me and I won’t tell you that.”
“Care to place a wager on that?” Jeff challenged. “You will tell me before it’s all said and done. I will have my boy back. He belongs with his father.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Jack said calmly. “You’re done here. You’re never going to see that child again. He probably doesn’t even remember you, which is a good thing. We’ll make sure it stays that way.”
Fury, hot and fierce, tore across Jeff’s ragged features. “You will give me back my son! She took him from me. I want her arrested for custodial interference … and stealing my property. She took money from the bank before she left, money she hid from me, that I didn’t find out about until after she was already gone. She’s a criminal … and a liar.”
Jack snorted, genuinely amused. Now that they had Amy back with them he wasn’t in a hurry to take Jeff down. He wanted to do it in the smartest way, not the fastest way. “Sure. I would be happy to take Amy in and charge her with custodial interference. That will last exactly thirty seconds, until the prosecutor hears her story, and then she’ll be free.
“You, on the other hand, are facing two murder charges,” he continued. “I’m betting there might be a few other cases to pin to you before it’s all said and done. We have a profile we’re going to send out to police agencies in Minnesota and Michigan. Back in Idaho, we’re also going to ask that they re-open the deaths of Amy’s parents.”
Whatever he was expecting, that wasn’t it. Jeff’s mouth dropped open as he worked his jaw. No sound came out, though.
“Did you think we wouldn’t be able to tie those murders to you?” Jack challenged. “You weren’t very smart when carrying them out. In fact, you were a blooming idiot. I still can’t figure why you did it. Did you think Stacy Shepherd was Amy? Is that why you attacked her at the campground?”
“As a matter of fact, I did.” Jeff smiled in such a way it made Jack’s blood run cold. “I was looking for her. I saw her leave the campground. I thought she might try to disappear into the woods so I planned on following her there. I got confused, though. I saw the other woman and she was coming from the right direction … although she was wearing a different coat. When I caught up with her, she told me to get lost, was extremely rude. I can’t abide rude people. I decided to shut her up when she wouldn’t stop yammering at me. I needed the quiet.”
Jack merely shook his head as Amy tried to swallow her sob. “What a great specimen of the male gender you are,” he muttered. “We should all try to be just like you.”
“I happen to agree.” Jeff made a clucking sound with his tongue. “Honestly, I felt better after doing it. I would’ve been angry if I killed Amy before she told me where my son was – after I would be fine with, mind you, but before is a different story – but it felt good to end Stacy.”
“Is that why you went after Becky?”
“That was just dumb luck. I was driving to Shadow Lake – you two were so helpful when you told me where you lived so I didn’t have to worry about following you and being caught – and I stopped at a rest area. There she was. I didn’t even know she had been staying at the same campground until the news reported it. That was a coincidence.”
“How lucky for Becky,” Jack drawled, shaking his head.
“No one cares about Becky. No one is going to miss her. That husband of hers is better off. I know I’m much happier without a wife to drag me down. A son, on the other hand, is something to celebrate. Just give me my son and I’ll go away, Amy.” His tone changed as he made the offer. He almost sounded reasonable. “You’ll never see me again.”
“You’re not going to touch him,” Amy spat. “I won’t ever let you near him.”
“He’s mine. I won’t let your new boyfriend raise him. Although … I’m pretty sure Max didn’t even know he existed.” Jeff’s laughter was hollow and bone-chilling. “I’m sure you’ll lose him in a few hours. No one likes a lying woman, Amy. I’ve told you that multiple times.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Max challenged, finding his voice for the first time. “I can’t wait to meet Amy’s son … and he is Amy’s son. You had nothing to do with raising him. I’m sure he’s a bright and friendly boy because she was a wonderful mother. You’re not going to have any part in his future.”
“Do you want to bet?” Jeff’s voice came out in a screech. “I have plans for him. He’s going to be mine regardless. Just give him to me and I’ll be on my way.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Jack assured him, his weapon still clutched in his hand. “This ends here. All of it. You have two choices. You can put your hands in the air, drop to the ground and lace your fingers behind your head while I arrest you, or I’ll shoot you. No other options are up for debate.”
“And what if I don’t want to do what you say?” Jeff shot back. “What if
I want a third option?”
“You’re not going to get one.”
“Well, I don’t happen to believe that.” His eyes shone with keen interest as his fingers edged toward the back of his jeans. “I think I have one other option.”
“He has a gun,” Amy warned, her voice high and squeaky. “He’ll shoot you. Don’t let him.”
Jack had no intention of letting the man draw on him. He had a fiancée waiting for him, a woman who was probably right now on her way to the hospital. He wanted to sit vigil by her bedside, be the first thing she saw when she woke up. Those were the things fueling him.
“Don’t do it, Jeff,” he warned. “I will put you down. I won’t be sorry about it either, not even a little.”
“I won’t be taken alive,” Jeff warned. “I have a plan. I have to stick to the plan. That’s the way I operate.”
“Well, then I guess we’re at a stalemate. I’ll be the one to end that stalemate, just so you know.”
“I’m not afraid of you. In fact … .” Jeff didn’t get a chance to finish what he was saying because a loud noise from the parking lot behind him drew his attention. There, a big gray truck barreled forward, seemingly coming from nowhere, and there was a furious woman behind the wheel.
Things happened in quick order. Jack barely had a chance to register that Ivy was driving her father’s truck directly at Jeff before he found himself shoving Max and Amy out of the clearing and toward the trees.
“Get out of the way,” he ordered at the same time Ivy plowed directly into Jeff.
She honestly wasn’t going all that fast when she hit him, probably about twenty-five miles an hour. It only seemed faster because she appeared out of the blue, didn’t hit her brakes, and they had no time to react.
Jeff flew about three feet in the air and then hit the ground hard. Ivy slammed the truck into park and hopped out so she could stand over him, offering Jack a wave as he breathlessly scurried to get to her.
“Is he dead?” she asked hopefully.
Jack was dumbfounded. “I don’t … what were you thinking?”
“He had a gun,” Ivy replied calmly as Michael hopped out of the truck to join her. “He was going to shoot you. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“I had everything under control,” Jack barked. “I mean … you didn’t have to run him over.”
“I didn’t run him over. He didn’t end up under the tires at all. I ran into him. There’s a difference.”
“I just … ,” Jack broke off and dragged a hand through his hair before moving to Jeff to check his pulse. Oddly enough, the man was still alive. His heartbeat was steady, if a little rapid. “He’s alive.”
“Bummer.” Ivy, her face swollen from being struck, looked sad at the prospect. “Do you think I can maybe try a second time?”
Jack couldn’t stop himself from laughing even though he was determined to be stern. “Don’t even think about it.”
“Just one more time. I promise I’ll do better.”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“Fine.” Ivy rolled her neck. “So, is anyone else hungry, or is that just me?”
Nineteen
Since Jeff was being transported to the hospital – Brian arrived just in time to ride with him – Jack insisted Ivy be checked out, too. She claimed she was fine, but he was adamant. He sat with her while Brian secured their prisoner and listened intently as the doctor laid out a list of demands regarding Ivy’s care if she didn’t want to spend the night in the hospital.
“She has a concussion,” he warned. “We’ve given her a CT scan and I don’t believe she has a brain bleed. You need to watch her closely, though. She needs rest and I would recommend she spend tomorrow in bed.”
“Oh, I’m fine,” Ivy protested, waving off the comments.
“She’ll stay in bed,” Jack promised. “I might even stay with her.”
Once the doctor left to see about her discharge papers, Brian edged into the room and leveled his partner with a serious stare. “He’s going to recover. He’s not even hurt all that badly. He has two cracked ribs and, funnily enough, a concussion. He will be staying here overnight. I’ve already called two uniforms to watch over him. Then he’ll be transported to the jail tomorrow so we can start ironing out charges.”
“I guess it’s good that he’s alive,” Jack offered. “It might be easier for Amy if he was dead, though.”
“He’s never going to get out of prison,” Brian supplied. “He’ll be locked up for life and never get access to his child. I think that’s the best we can hope for in this case.”
“I guess.”
Brian’s gaze was equally as stern when it landed on Ivy. “As for you, what were you thinking running over our suspect? Jack had everything under control and was about to take him into custody.”
“He had a gun.” Ivy wasn’t the type to back down under normal circumstances and that was doubly true today. “Besides, he hit me in the face. Will you look at this?” She gestured toward her black eye and swollen cheekbone. “He had it coming.”
“He definitely had it coming,” Jack agreed. “I still don’t think you should’ve barreled into him like that.”
“It all worked out, didn’t it?” Ivy stretched out on the bed. “He’s alive. He’ll be going to prison. Amy is okay. What more do you want from me?”
“I would like a quiet twenty-four hours,” Jack replied without hesitation. “In fact, I might spend the day with you in bed tomorrow to make sure we get it.”
Ivy’s smile was serene. “I think that sounds like a great way to spend the day.”
AN HOUR LATER, IVY WAS eager to leave the hospital. Jack had a firm hold on her arm as they hit the lobby. There, to both their surprise, Max, Michael, and Luna sat waiting for them.
“Where’s Amy?” Ivy asked, instantly alert. “Did something happen to her?”
Max arched an eyebrow, his expression unreadable. “She’s okay. Physically, I mean. I think it might be a while before she’s okay mentally.”
Ivy’s heart dropped at the tone of his voice. “You didn’t send her away, did you?”
“What if I did?”
“Max!” Ivy smacked him in the arm as hard as she could. “I can’t believe you did that to her. I promised you were the sort of guy who stuck around. Why did you make a liar out of me?”
“Not everything is about you.”
“No, but … I really thought you would be okay with this.” Ivy’s heart sank. “She didn’t lie out of malice, or to confuse you. She was trying to protect her son. Max, you can’t hold that against her. We have no idea what she’s been through. You said it yourself: It’s going to take time.”
Max tried to hold out – he found the disappointed look on Ivy’s face to be amusing – but the bruises and swelling were enough to stop him in his tracks. “Amy and I are still together. She’s out in the parking lot with Caroline and JJ. She’s about to bring him in to meet us.”
“Oh.” Ivy was momentarily taken aback. “Well, you’re an even bigger jerk because you freaked me out.” She hit him again. “I knew you wouldn’t just walk away, though.”
Max’s lips curved. “I have no intention of walking away. If you want to know the truth, now that it’s all over, I actually feel better about things. Now I know why she was always holding back. Hopefully that won’t be a thing moving forward.”
Ivy’s eyes widened as she turned them to Jack. “Didn’t I tell you he would feel that way? I mean … that’s exactly what I said.”
“You’re beautiful and wise,” Jack agreed, lifting their joined fingers so he could kiss her hand. “Now you’re going to get your beautiful and wise behind home so I can take care of you. You heard the doctor. You’re on bed rest for the next thirty-six hours. No exceptions.”
“Oh, but … I have work.”
“I’ll handle work,” Michael offered. “I’m probably going to need to borrow your car, though, since my truck is goi
ng to need some body work.”
Ivy pressed her lips together and averted her eyes, causing Jack to laugh and Max to shake his head.
“She saved the day,” Max said finally. “I mean … I was pretty sure Jack could take him, but it was a lot easier to just let Ivy hit him with a truck than to risk a gunfight.”
“I happen to agree.” Jack beamed at his fiancée. “You’re still going to bed when we get home and not getting up until I say you’re ready.”
“You guys are absolutely no fun,” Ivy lamented, her eyes moving to the front door as it opened to allow Amy entrance. She had a small boy with her. He had dark hair and eyes and looked nervous as his mother led him toward the small group. When she caught sight of Ivy, Amy let loose a long sigh of relief.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said. “I didn’t know what to think when Jeff hit you the way he did. You went over so fast … and I was afraid he’d killed you, too.”
“It turns out I have a hard head. I’m fine.” Ivy hunkered down even though it caused her head to throb and leveled her gaze on the boy. “You must be JJ.”
He nodded, solemn. “Yeah. How did you know that?”
“I told you, she’s magical,” Amy teased. “She’s the reason everything is okay now, that we’re okay.”
“Really?” JJ didn’t look convinced. “I guess you’re okay. Your hair is neat.”
Ivy laughed. “Thank you. That’s high praise coming from you.”
Slowly, JJ tracked his gaze to Max. “Who are you?”
“I’m … your mom’s friend,” Max replied after a beat, dropping to his knees so he wouldn’t look intimidating to JJ. “I’m hoping to be your friend, too.”
JJ didn’t look convinced. “Oh, yeah? What can you do that’s fun?”
“Well, it’s summer, so I thought we could take some trips to the lake … and I own a lumberyard. You can visit me there. Oh, and we can go fishing. I’m an expert fisherman.”
Ivy Morgan Mystery Box Set 5 Page 38
