Breaking Shadows (Darkness Falls Book 2)

by Melissa Sinclair

  “Come on, let’s get you out of here,” Ethan said. In the back of her mind, she thought he sounded concerned. But she really wasn’t sure she could bring herself to care.

  Ethan was standing to the side while Quinn was being examined. Even though she said she was fine, he needed to know it for himself. There was the possibility that her arm had suffered a setback due to how hard he threw her to the ground, but when looking at the big picture, it was small penance to pay to have her otherwise safe and sound. She would need stitches on the wound on her head, but for now, they were going to butterfly it and allow him to take her to the hospital to get it stitched up. There wasn’t a chance he was letting her out of his sight for the foreseeable future, or at least until he had to return to work.

  Injuries aside, he was more concerned with the distant look that had been on her face since he had helped her out of the room. Caleb was over talking to the captain because Ethan wouldn’t stray farther than a four-foot circumference from Quinn. They were securing the crime scene and the recording of what had gone down in the room between Quinn and Vance. Quinn told them that Harrison had been the one to put a recording device in the room. After they had infiltrated the compound, they were able to monitor the scene inside the room. Ethan had thought his heart would stop when he saw Quinn standing with a gun pointed at the chest of the man in the room with her, but even though he had wanted to charge the room, he knew that the information she was getting from Vance Duprey was pertinent to closing the case. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be able to be used after all because Vance Duprey was as dead as could be, but it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that Vance was dead. As a matter of fact, he was happy that the man was no longer breathing. There was no way he was going to give up his network, and there was always the chance that after a long trial he would still get away with it all. This way saved the taxpayers a lot of money.

  His eyes went back to the woman that he loved with every fiber of his being. Logically, he knew he couldn’t lock Quinn up and throw away the key, nor would he want to, and realistically, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he would have to be back to work to figure out this cluster. But for now, he was fooling himself into believing that she would never be out of his sight again.

  While he paced back and forth, lost in thought, he heard gravel crunch under the feet of someone approaching. He knew who it would be without turning around. Harrison Black was a good man and would want to come speak to him himself. When he turned to face him, he saw a man devastated by guilt and full of anguish over how badly this could have gone and the fact that the one man that could have shed some light on important inner workings of the sex trade industry was now a pile of blood and gore. Ethan wanted answers as much as the next man, but he didn’t blame Black for killing the man. In a way, it seemed like poetic justice that Black got to be the one to take him out. If it couldn’t be Ethan or Quinn that killed the SOB, Black would be the one he wanted to do it, and in his mind, Vance was exactly where he needed to be: lying in his own pool of blood.

  “Listen, Ethan, I’m sorry that it went down like this. I didn’t know what was all going on behind the scenes and I should have.”

  “How could you? No one could have seen this coming. You made the best of the hand you were dealt,” he said around the lump in his throat as he thought, really thought, about what could have happened.

  “Yeah, yeah, they would have. If I had gotten closer to that ass, he would have trusted me enough to tell me why he was really watching Quinn, and he would have told me why the woman he was looking for was so important to him. I knew Paulie had found the woman, but he never told me her name. It was very hush, hush. If I would have known it was Quinn…”

  “No one in this operation knew why he was so hell bent on finding her. That was a secret that he kept close to the vest, and Quinn only divulged it to me recently. Also, I’m only going to tell you this once, you aren’t responsible for this. You did what you could to make it right.”

  “I didn’t know how important she was to you. Hell, I didn’t even know you were seeing someone. All I knew was that he had called in The Fixer to nab this woman. You have to believe me that I didn’t know who the woman was until I saw you both standing there. I don’t know why he sent me with him to go get her.”

  “I think that was fate.”

  “Maybe, but then he killed that guard, and I tried to keep him from the house, but you two walked out, and then all the shit hit the fan…” He trailed off. “I was about to take him out, and then Quinn walked around you and toward me. She knew what I was thinking. I think that’s why she risked herself. She didn’t want to see me go that route, and I knew there was a way to finally end this.”

  “Listen, man, I’m telling you, you did your best, and in the end, should it have mattered that she’s my girlfriend? No. Because of you and Quinn, this is all finally done. You can come out of hiding and get back to your real life.” Ethan placed his hand on Black’s slumped shoulders, but he quickly shook off the touch.

  “Yeah, my real life. Whatever you say. Anyway, I’m done.”

  Ethan didn’t like the sound of those last two words.

  “Sure, I don’t think Cap will have a problem if you go home and get reacquainted with your bed for a few hours. He’s going to want to debrief you at 0800, though.”

  Black just shook his head and dug into his pocket, retrieving a tiny flash drive. He handed it to him, his expression somber.

  “Everything he needs to know is on this flash drive. All the buyers he’s ever sold to. I think this might help take down the network. I don’t really know what else is on it. I just know that I managed to get this copy after he scrubbed everything from his system when Paulie died. Paulie’s death made him really paranoid. I wasn’t able to get ahold of this until tonight.”

  “This has to be the information Paulie referenced in his letter. Though he didn’t know that Duprey had scrubbed the system, he did give us all the passwords to get into his computer files. Thanks, man; I hope this ties it all up for us.”

  “Me, too. Not that I’m going to be around to see it. Like I said, I’m done.” He unclipped his gun, handed it to Ethan, then pulled his badge out from under his shirt. “I’ve been wearing this all day, I don’t know why. With no end in sight, I don’t know, maybe I was hoping they would figure out who I was.”

  Black’s monotone voice and expression gave Ethan reason to pause. If the man hadn’t handed over his gun, he would have asked for him to do so at that moment.

  “Look, Harris—”

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to go do something stupid like kill myself. I’m just out.” He turned and began to walk away.

  “Think about it for a few days. I’m sure Cap would agree.”

  “I already have.”

  Ethan watched Harrison Black’s retreating back until he couldn’t see him anymore.

  “There’s nothing you can do, Ethan, to change his mind,” Quinn said from behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist until he turned in her embrace and held on tight.

  “I know, but it doesn’t mean I can’t worry about him.”

  “And I know that. It’s part of why I love you—your selflessness and the fact that you are such an empath.” Reaching up, she placed a kiss on his chin. “Right now, I want you to worry about less, enjoy more. We’re here, we’re alive.” Another kiss at the corner of his mouth. Caleb hollered, jokingly, to get a room. Ethan absently sent a vulgar gesture in the general vicinity of his partner.

  If there was anything this group needed it was a good laugh and cops were known to have a sick sense of humor, but right now, even in jest, Ethan wasn’t feeling it. Though he was certain Caleb would just brush it off.

  “Let’s get you stitched up so we can go home, get cleaned up and snuggle in our bed.”

  “Our bed?”

  “Yeah, our bed. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “None at all. I, for one, happen to love your gazillion count sh
eets and mattress made from a cloud.”

  “And here I thought you loved me.”

  “That, too; that, too. Let’s go home.” She liked the sound of that.

  Epilogue

  Today was the day, more important than any day in recent memory. A beautiful April day. Perhaps it was the most important day of her life, meeting Ethan was definitely right up there. Right now, there was so much love coming from the church that she could feel it pulsating through her. The Montgomery family had embraced her as their own, much like they’d embraced Caleb and then Kara. Indeed, she’d been adopted like a stray puppy, and today the whole Montgomery clan, and some extras, including the now very frail Mr. Stanford who had saved Kara and essentially made this day possible, were gathered to christen Caleb and Kara’s new son. Throwing tradition to the wind, they had named five godparents: Grayson, Elle, Taylor, Ethan, and Quinn.

  Quinn had been honored, and surprised, to be asked. She wasn’t part of the family, yet, but she would be in the near future. The ring on her finger still felt heavy, but real and whole and right. The little baby growing in her belly was still a secret that only Ethan and she knew about, and with the wedding only a few weeks away, she might get away with not having to have the dress let out. Even if she had to, it was worth it, and that would be their wedding gift to their hodgepodge family, the announcement of their own bundle of joy warming in her tummy. They had both agreed to not steal the thunder of Caleb and Kara as well as baby Oliver. Not that they really would have. The family was so cohesive they’d have been thrilled—not angered—by sharing the limelight.

  The pastor was announcing for the godparents to approach the baptismal fountain, and they all stepped forward, Ethan holding her hand, to watch the baptismal ceremony take place. Oliver only grunted when the water touched his forehead. It didn’t disrupt his sleep for one moment. He had dark hair just like his parents. However, the verdict was still out if he was going to get Kara’s green eyes or Caleb’s blue eyes—or perhaps he would be unique in that respect. For now, he favored Kara’s beauty, with his plump little lips and upturned nose. The perfect addition to fill their family with unending love. Kara had told Quinn that she had been scared through the pregnancy that she would be a terrible mother, incapable of loving her child the right way, but she was no longer frightened, because one look into that little face as he suckled at her breast, and she was a goner. She told her she would do anything for her little boy, and Quinn believed her from the conviction in her voice and the look of love in her eyes when she spoke of her son.

  The ceremony flew by, and before they knew it, the church was letting out. There would be a small gathering at the Montgomery house to celebrate the christening. They drove out to the homestead, Quinn staring out her window, worrying the engagement ring on her finger while she thought about Becky Plummer and how it had been so good to see her at the church.

  “Nervous?”

  “A little.” He just looked at her sideways. “Okay, that was kind of an embellishment. I’m terrified.”

  “What’s there to be nervous about? After all, you have this hunk sitting here holding your hand and giving you strength. Stop being a tough girl and lean on me for a change.”

  “Well, when you put it that way…” She reached out and grabbed his hand, linking her fingers through his. “The ceremony was perfect. Oliver is adorable.”

  “He looks just like Kara when she was a baby. Perfect in every way. I’m hoping he gets Caleb’s blue eyes, though. Poor guy. That baby looks nothing like him.” He chuckled.

  “Well, I don’t think that Caleb seems to care one bit.”

  “Nope. He loves Kara, and he once told me he could stare at her for hours. Now he has a miniature Kara to look at.”

  “Those two really are adorable together. Wonder if people think the same about us?”

  “Nah. They just think how sexy we are together and how unfair it is.” He winked at her, and she pinched him, but she secretly thanked him for trying to take the edge off her nerves.

  “I’m so happy that Mr. Stanford was able to come.”

  “Kara considers him a grandfather. I consider him a grandfather, as well. He isn’t just a benevolent stranger that helped Kara one day and then disappeared into the night. He’s our family.”

  “I know, and I think that’s beautiful, you and the Montgomerys, you all welcomed him into your family. Like you did me.”

  “I guess we did, but only because we are family. It isn’t just for show, all of us are inexorably linked somehow.”

  “I know.” She blinked back tears. She had learned that pregnancy hormones made her a little more weepy than usual—or at least, that was her story, and she was sticking to it.

  “You know that you’re now part of that family, right? That you have been for quite some time, that even if you decided not to marry me, you would still be part of this family?”

  “I know that, too. But sorry, buddy, nothing could make me change my mind about marrying you.”

  “That’s a relief since I ordered the tux already and have the church all booked and such.” She playfully slapped at his arm.

  “I was really surprised, but happy, to see Becky at the church.”

  “Like you said, my mom likes to pull people into her family. As soon as she met Becky, she fell in love with her, and Becky’s parents are so great.”

  “They are. They’ve done everything in their power to help her transition back into the real world and to do so without smothering her. Even though I know that their urge to lock her down and never let her out of their sight again is strong.”

  When they pulled into the Montgomery spread, her mouth dropped as she looked around at the sheer number of cars parked on the road.

  “I thought that they were having a small get-together after the christening?”

  “Ha! You should know better; the Montgomery family doesn’t know how to do small. Like you said, they collect strays.”

  “Maybe I should have used a better word than stray. I mean, it could be deemed hurtful.”

  “I kind of like it. If you ask me, it fits the bill.”

  “Good thing I wasn’t asking you.” She smiled at him.

  It was still hard to believe that this man, the Mr. Panty-Melter himself, was going to be her husband in just a few weeks. Rumor was there were a few bets about if he would settle down and then when they had gone public, the bets had switched to when he would pop the question. Casanova no more, he was now going to be a married man. Caleb said there were women crying all over the city. Of course, he was only partially teasing.

  “I have a little surprise for you before we go inside.”

  “A surprise? I think I’ve had enough surprises to last me a while.”

  “You’re going to like this one. I promise.” They were standing in the driveway, and he covered her eyes with his hands.

  “Ethan Vanderbilt, I don’t know what you’re up to…” He led her forward a few steps and then removed his hands.

  Standing in front of Quinn was a young woman, one she recognized well, but hadn’t had a chance to meet in person. Megan Ingold. She was as beautiful as all the pictures Quinn had seen of her. The young woman squealed and came flying at Quinn. She only had a moment to brace herself for impact.

  “Even after we had talked on the phone, it still seemed almost like a fantasy.” Megan hugged her tightly and laughed.

  “I’m just sorry it took this long to finally meet you. Our schedules just weren’t matching up.”

  “I know. I got tired of waiting and made my parents promise me that they would let me fly out to see you this weekend. I knew you’d be around; a certain someone told me today is a special day for you, too.”

  “It is.”

  “I wanted to get to see you in person before then and tell you how amazing you are.”

  “You could have just waited until the wedding. You’re still coming, right?”

  “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

&nbs
p; The two women chatted for hours while a chaotic party carried on around them. The weather was gorgeous, which was helpful since the hosts had arranged for outside activities for the little ones, and after a rousing afternoon of yard games and more food than she could ever imagine in her wildest dreams, they said their goodbyes. The party was still going strong, but Megan had a flight to catch, and they had somewhere important to be. Once again, Quinn stared out the window of the car and rotated the ring on her finger. Silent and contemplative. Ethan reached out and grabbed her hand, raising it to his mouth. The hour car ride went by in a flash, and before she knew it, Ethan had pulled to a stop and cut the engine in his car.

  “All these years, and only an hour separation…” Tears caught in her throat, cutting the sentence short.

  Ethan pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead.

  “How were you supposed to know?”

  “I could have known. I could have tried to find them.”

  “It’s all water under the bridge now. Even if you had looked, where would you have started? You didn’t know your real identity. You didn’t even know that your name wasn’t your name or even your age, and those secrets died with him.” He gritted his teeth on the last word. He tried not to speak Vance Duprey’s name ever, but Quinn made sure that they talked about him, her past. It was cathartic for her in some ways, and she wanted him to know that she was healing and that the monster had no hold on her any longer.

  “Vance,” she whispered, making him acknowledge the monster’s name.

  “Yeah, that asshole. Unfortunately, he died before he could help us out. The coward that he is couldn’t even do it himself.” True, suicide by cop was definitely the coward’s way out of dealing with his crimes, but she was just relieved there was no way he could get away to cause more harm. At least the flash drive had all the information to take down dozens of people. “There are so many missing children, it was like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. With all my resources, I couldn’t manage to find them, and look how long it took for Cole to find them. Port Investigations is the best around, and it still took months.”