by Mary Stone
“Do you remember the trial?”
“No. But I was away at school.” Nick’s eyes were searching hers. He didn’t know.
“That’s not why you don’t remember. There was no trial.”
“So he pled out and spared you a trial? That was merciful of him.”
“No, Nick. There was no plea and no trial.” She shook her head frantically. “Mom and Dad told me that the kidnapper had been killed, then they somehow covered everything up. But they never caught the guy. Whoever it was, he’s still out there somewhere.”
A soft gasp escaped Nick’s lips, and his arms pulled her closer instinctively as he digested what she’d just said. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. My case was never solved.” Ellie attempted to mop up her face with her sleeve. “There’s not even a suspect.”
“How is that possible?” Nick leaned back, his gaze going to her father. “And why didn’t anyone investigate?”
“The paramedics and the hospital destroyed most of the evidence saving my life. They didn’t know what I’d been through, so they treated me like any other pedestrian versus car. By the time anyone knew, it was too late.” The moment she looked into the shockingly empty evidence box flashed through her mind. “There was almost nothing to go on. No witnesses, no physical evidence, and I have no memory of what happened except for bits and pieces that don’t make sense. My case was shelved.”
“Why didn’t your parents hire an investigator themselves?”
“Because it was about money.” Helen’s voice was soft and flat as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. “They failed to get a ransom, and there was no need to drag our family through an investigation when there was no evidence.” Her mother’s dark eyes ran over Ellie’s face. “I suppose that means you found your case?”
“I didn’t. Fortis told me where it was.” Ellie blinked up at her mother. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth? This whole time I’ve been going about my life while that monster is out there somewhere.”
Helen’s bottom lip quivered, and a single delicate tear slipped over her cheek and ran down her throat. “He’s long gone, whoever it was. We paid for round-the-clock security for years afterward, just to make sure.” She turned her gaze to Nick. “We did hire a private investigator, but he found less than nothing, and he was also convinced the kidnapper had left town. We wouldn’t have stopped looking if we didn’t think she was safe.” Helen sighed. “I hope you’re not going to reopen the case. Your father can’t take any more stress.”
“Investigating my own kidnapping is a conflict of interest.” Ellie was so cold, the same as this room, the same as her father lying still in the bed, the same as the evidence box that had told her nothing. The same as the rain on her skin that night. “I’m not allowed to, and after looking at what little the department has, there’s really nothing I can do at this point.”
“Good.” Ellie tensed at her mother’s response, but before she could think of what to say, her mother’s eyes darted to the bed, and her lips parted. “Daniel?” she said, rushing to the bed.
“Water,” her father croaked through cracked lips.
A nurse opened the door just then, a wide grin on his face. “I see you’ve finally woken up.” He moved to the other side of the bed to fuss with the monitors. “Looking much better than you were a few hours ago. I’ll get the doctor.”
Daniel nodded, and he took a sip of the water Helen offered through a bent straw that reminded Ellie of the ones that came with a kid’s juice box. He took several short sips, and when his thirst was quenched, he looked at Ellie, his voice just above a whisper. “Come here.”
She did as he asked, standing beside her mother and holding back tears. “Daddy.” The word came out as a sigh. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too, princess.”
There was a soft knock at the door, and a woman in a white lab coat walked into the room. Her smile was a brilliant white, her long brown hair braided over one shoulder and hanging down to her waist. “Your color is much better now.” Clipboard in hand, she looked over the numbers. “As we discussed last month, you will need a transplant soon.”
Last month!
Ellie stiffened. More lies? Where did it end?
Her eyes shot to her mother, but Helen was watching the doctor. When she caught Nick’s eye, Nick shook his head, his message clear. Let it go. It didn’t matter that her parents had led her and her siblings to believe that the transplant talk was more recent. At the end of the day, her father needed a new heart, and that was all that mattered.
“Will I be able to go home?” Daniel asked.
“I’m afraid not.” The doctor gave him a sad smile. “Your health will need to be closely monitored. You can’t afford to have another episode before a heart is available.”
“How long do you think it will be?” Helen squeezed her husband’s hand, as if to give him strength.
Ellie cringed. The weight of someone else’s loss being her father’s only hope wasn’t lost on her. No matter how Helen phrased it, they were waiting for someone to die so Daniel Kline could live.
“It could be tomorrow, or it could be in a month. But Mr. Kline, you’re near the top of the list, so as soon as a match becomes available, you will go to surgery.” She closed the privacy cover on the clipboard. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Everyone shook their head, and the doctor was gone, the room plunged into an uncomfortable silence.
“How are you really feeling?” Ellie asked her father when the silence became too much.
“Never better.” He winked at her. “I’m going to be fine. Don’t you worry.”
“We’re all worried, Daniel.” Helen patted his hand, then looked at Ellie. “Honey, I hope you can call your boss and let him know you’ll need some time off. You should be with your family right now.”
Ellie bit her lip and looked from her father to her mother and back again. “I’ll spend every spare minute here, Daddy, but I need to work. I can’t just sit here and stare at these walls.”
“Eleanor, I’m not asking you to sit here all day, but you need some rest, and you need to be here for your family. Isn’t that right, Daniel?” She looked pointedly at her husband with a gentle, practiced smile on her face.
“Helen, let the girl work. She needs something to keep her mind off all this.” He coughed and pointed to the water on the table beside the bed. Helen held the cup for him, and after a few sips, he licked his lips and continued. “I know you want to keep her close, but it looks like I’ll be here for a while.”
“You don’t know that, Daniel. We can probably go home with a nurse—”
“You heard the doctor. I’ll be here until there’s a heart available.” His words were slow and measured, and obviously tiring him. “It could be tomorrow, or it could be two months from now. Ellie can’t put her life on hold until I’m better. That’s ridiculous.”
“Families stick together when times get tough, Daniel,” Helen insisted. “She needs to be here with us.”
Nick shifted on his feet and clasped his hands together in front of him. His shoulders were stiff, and Ellie could see the vein throbbing on his temple.
She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Mom, but I’m not going to step away from work. Who knows how long it’s going to be. Like Daddy said, I can’t just walk away until then.”
“Eleanor Elizabeth Francis Kline, please think of your father.” Helen’s eyes turned hard, suddenly the disciplinarian mom she’d been in Ellie’s youth.
“I am, Mom. I promise. You heard what they said. He needs rest and for things to be calm so he can focus on staying well.” She took her mother’s hands in hers. “I will be here the instant you need me. Now that I made detective, my schedule is a lot more flexible. I’ll tell Fortis what’s going on and let him know that I’ll be in and out. It’ll be all right.”
“How are you going to keep going like that?” Helen frowned, worry surfacing in
her eyes.
“I’m fine. I really am.” She gave Helen what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “If things get to be too much, I’ll take vacation time. But right now, I’m no use here.”
Nick stepped forward. “I’ll be happy to relieve you when you need a break, Mrs. Kline. Between Ellie and me, we’ll make sure Mr. Kline is never alone.”
“Danny, Blake, and Wesley can help too,” Ellie added.
“Your brothers are so busy.” When Ellie pulled away, Helen hurried to amend her statement, but the damage was already done. “They don’t have the flexibility you have.”
“Meaning their jobs are important.” Ellie forced her voice to remain low and calm, but inside she felt rage growing.
“Leave her be, Helen,” Daniel said. “I’m tired already, and I need to rest. What I don’t need is someone sitting in this room and staring at me while I do it.” He gestured at the large sofa against the wall across from the hospital bed. “There’s a pullout bed in there. Nick, if you would pull that out for Helen, I would appreciate it.” He reached out with shaking hands, and Helen met him halfway. He squeezed her hand, then pulled it to his cheek and sighed. “I need you here with me, Helen. Everyone else should go about their lives until we get this sorted. It’ll be like it was before we had children.”
Helen laughed and kissed Daniel on the forehead. “Fine,” she sighed. “But don’t expect me to sleep on those scratchy sheets.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Daniel relaxed back into the pillow with a grin.
“Write a list of what you need, and I’ll pick it up,” Ellie offered quickly.
“Thank you.” Helen opened her arms, and Ellie stepped into her embrace.
She inhaled the soft scent of her mother’s perfume and closed her eyes. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you more. Please be careful,” she whispered, so low that Daniel couldn’t hear. “Your father’s heart can’t take any more stress, and to be honest, neither can I.”
“I will, Mom,” Ellie promised. She’d made so many promises today, and she already knew she’d break the first. Could she keep this one?
Helen wrote a list out on the hospital notepad in perfect, flowing cursive and handed it to Ellie. Ellie hugged them both one more time and left with Nick close behind.
They were on the elevator when Nick held out his hand. “Give me the list, and I’ll take care of it.”
“She’s not going to like that.”
He shrugged. “It’s a long list, and you’re going to have to buy everything to fit that bed, so it’s not like you can just go home and find it in your closet. I know how you love shopping.”
She wrinkled her nose, convinced, and handed the list over before fishing in her purse for her wallet.
He held up his hand. “You can owe me one.” He pulled her close and tilted her chin up for a soft, quick kiss. “That’s a good start.”
She rolled her eyes. “Make sure you keep the receipts.”
“I’ll think about it.” He put an arm around her as the door opened on the first floor. “Do you need me to drive you back to work to get your car?”
“Sure.” After the stress of the day, she didn’t mind being tucked to his side for a while longer.
In the deserted parking garage, he hit the button on the key fob, and headlights flashed ahead of them. They were shiny and brand-new, yet another luxury vehicle in the long list of new cars Nick had purchased.
Ellie arched an eyebrow at him. “This has to be a new record.”
He shrugged, eyeing the sexy lines of the vehicle. “I like this one.”
“It looks just like all the others you’ve had.”
He opened the passenger door and held it for her. “Yeah, but it’s what’s inside that makes all the difference.”
He was still holding the door when she stepped forward, and one arm snaked around her waist, pulling her against him. A surprised chuckle slipped from her lips, quieted by his kiss. This time, the kiss was deeper, more passionate than before.
Her heart quickened, and she wound her arms around his neck, kissing him back with quiet urgency. When she finally pulled back but remained wrapped in his embrace, she was breathless and smiling. “You must really like this one.”
“I do, but you know me; once I find the right one, I’m smart enough not to let her get away.”
Ellie had a feeling he wasn’t talking about cars anymore.
20
“I hear you got a new partner.”
Jacob looked up from the gym’s bench where he sat tying his shoes and glared at the officer standing in front of him. Like him, the man was dressed in black track pants with white stripes and a black athletic shirt with his name stitched over his heart. On the opposite side was the name of the Krav Maga studio in neat block letters. Jacob didn’t recognize the man, but that didn’t mean anything. Ever since he’d been paired up with Ellie, everyone seemed to know who Jacob was.
“I did,” Jacob said coolly.
The officer was buff, his light blond hair cut short, and he bounced on the balls of his feet. He wore a shit-eating grin on his face that matched the expressions of the three meatheads standing behind him with their arms crossed.
“Bet you like cleaning up after a dog better than that last hot mess, right?” the man pressed. “You deserved the upgrade.”
“Funny, I told your girlfriend the same thing.”
The man blinked, and pink color crawled up his throat. Pressing his lips together, he narrowed his eyes and took a threatening step forward. “You better watch yourself,” he said through clenched teeth.
“I’m sorry, was that too much?” Jacob feigned concern. “I guess if you can’t take it, maybe you shouldn’t be dishing it out.” He shrugged one shoulder, keeping his expression innocent. “I suppose I should’ve known a man who needs to bring his friends to trade insults can’t handle being challenged.”
The man’s hands clenched, and he leaned in as if to take a step forward. But something through the front glass of the gym caught his eye, and he froze, then a slow smile spread across his face. “Speak of the devil, and she appears. Must be nice to have that kind of money to spend on a flashy car while the rest of us make an honest living.”
“Are we done here?” Jacob punctuated his bored tone with a well-timed yawn. “I don’t know about you, but I came to the gym to work out.”
“I’ll see you on the mat,” the blond retorted. “Unless you’re too scared to partner with a man.”
Jacob laughed. “Honestly, buddy, I’d love to see you take her on, but I’m sure she came here for a real workout. You wouldn’t want a woman handing you your ass in front of all your friends, would you?”
“Everybody partner up and take a spot on the mat,” the instructor called out.
When the man and his followers turned, Jacob used the distraction to slip away. He jogged to the door and opened it for Ellie with a welcoming smile. “The bullshit’s already nice and deep in here. You ready to spar?”
She nodded, but she wore a frown and barely met his gaze. “Hell, yes.”
Jacob pursed his lips. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing that kicking your ass won’t fix.”
“Good thing you’re already dressed for the mat then.”
Ellie glanced sharply up over his shoulder, but Jacob didn’t bother following her gaze. “Ignore them. He’s just mad because I made him look like an idiot in front of his entourage.”
She grimaced. “I know him. He asked me out last year.”
“No wonder he was putting on a big show for his friends.” Jacob snorted. “Oh man, that makes it even better. Come on, let’s get this done.”
“I hope you’re ready, because I’m not going easy on you today.”
“Let’s go, people,” the instructor urged, nodding pointedly in their direction.
Jacob jogged to the mat with Ellie right behind him, and they immediately transitioned into jumping jacks to warm up with the group. The bl
ond man looked over at them a few times, but every time Jacob caught his eye and flashed a wide grin, the man turned away angrily.
“We’re going to start with palm-heel strikes. Get your targets, and let’s go.”
Jacob grabbed one of the black foam-filled targets and put his hands in the loops. “Ready?”
Ellie nodded and hit the target with the heel of her hand. Left. Then right.
Jacob held the target in front of his center, the power behind her strikes more intense than usual. “Let it out,” he said in a low voice.
Ellie doubled up at his words. Left, right. Left, right in quick jabs, pivoting her body with the motion then getting back into fighting stance. When it was time to switch, Jacob handed her the target and got into position.
Even though she was just holding the target for him, Jacob could see the fire in her eyes. The urge to ask her what had happened was strong, but he’d known Ellie long enough to have learned that she would talk when she was ready and not a moment before.
They worked through the moves individually as a group, progressing to elbow and knee strikes until they were completely warmed up. Jacob watched Ellie turn into a beast before his eyes, and by the time they were ready to spar, Ellie was all but breathing fire. The frown that had marred her forehead when she’d walked in faded and was replaced with a genuine smile that reached her emerald green eyes.
“Targets down,” the teacher instructed. “Let’s practice grappling.”
“Oh, boy.” Jacob groaned, retrieving his mouthguard. “I have a feeling I already know how this is going to end.”
“At least you’re wearing protective gear.” Ellie shrugged her shoulders as the rest of the class cleared the mat. “Guess we’re first up.”
“Great,” Jacob teased.
They both got into fighting stance as the instructor shouted, “Go!”
Jacob blocked each of her strikes, catching her palms and trying to get his own strikes in between. Ellie was on fire. Focused, she moved on to kicks, catching him off guard more than once. When she used a leg sweep to take him off his feet, he hit the mat hard and rolled before she could deal the final blow, which would end the fight. She might be fueled by rage and ready to take him down, but he wasn’t going to let her win that easily.
