by Jo Leigh
“Maybe we should call an ambulance,” Bree said, trying to help him to the couch, but not succeeding very well.
“No. I don’t need an ambulance. I need to take my pain medication. It’s muscle and nerve damage from doing too much. It’ll settle down.”
Charlie left. Rebecca and Bree hovered. It was sweet, but what he needed was a few minutes alone. He was about to do some major cussing and there might even be some crying involved, and he’d prefer not to have any witnesses for that. Especially not Rebecca.
He got his pill bottle out of his pocket and winced at how his hand shook as he opened it. He wanted to take two, but that would make him groggy, and he couldn’t afford that now. One wasn’t going to kick this. Not without some serious muscle work, but it would help. Charlie came back with a glass. Jake didn’t spill much, only on his jeans. Someone took the glass and he breathed as deeply as he could, trying to remember what Taye said about letting the pain in, not fighting it.
There were too many people, too many thoughts. He couldn’t stop and he wasn’t going to hold it together much longer.
Rebecca took a couple of steps back. “I need a drink,” she said. “You two, come with me, and I’ll catch you up.”
“I’ll be right there,” Charlie said.
There might have been a struggle, but it was silent and Jake gave up trying to figure it out. When he opened his eyes again, Charlie was still there. “Do I need to call an attorney? My man on retainer is excellent.”
Jake shook his head. “You need to get Rebecca somewhere safe. William West is an ex-drug trafficker I ran into a dozen years ago. It’s too long a story to go into. But I recognized him. He sent a couple of guys to kill me. Rebecca was collateral damage.” He looked up at Charlie. “I put her life in danger. I almost got her killed. You have to get her away, understand? Out of town. Out of the state.”
Jake forced himself to his feet even though the pain threatened to shut him down for good. But he took hold of Charlie’s shirt and looked him square in the eyes. “Goddammit, I almost got her killed.” Charlie nodded. His face narrowed to a pinprick of light, then nothing.
17
REBECCA WAS SITTING NEXT to him on the couch. She looked pale and shaken as she held his hand. Shit. He must have blacked out for a minute. “What are you still doing here? You have to go.”
She gently pushed him back down when he tried to get up. “It’s okay. Calm down. Your pill hasn’t kicked in yet.”
“You don’t get it. Keegan didn’t just steal the money from Packard, he made a deal with T-Mac. The guy in Sing Sing. He paid T-Mac to take the fall. They’ve been working together all this time. I went in and spilled everything to T-Mac. He called West, and that’s why those men were trying to kill us. Kill me. I’m sorry. I never should have said anything to you. I know, it’s all my fault, but it doesn’t matter now because Keegan knows you’re with me so you’re in danger. You have to leave. Now.”
“Sweetie, it wasn’t your fault,” she said. “It wasn’t you. It was me. The way I was staring at West over dinner. He knew I was looking for scars.”
Jake sat up straighter and turned his hand so he was holding hers. He didn’t think he’d been out long. Charlie was where he’d left him, but Bree was in his arms now. Fine. Good, but no one seemed to be getting the big picture. The danger wasn’t over.
He turned back to Rebecca, mulling over what she’d said. “No way he would have made that connection,” he murmured, knowing she wasn’t necessarily wrong. Of course it wasn’t her fault, but Keegan had to be paranoid returning to New York and anything could’ve set him off.
She shook her head. “But he did. I thought it was something else, I thought he was trying to figure out how to get in my pants. The way he stared at me. He knew something was wrong. I thought I was being subtle, but I wasn’t. I was practically painting him a picture.”
“It sounds like it was a combination of both those things,” Charlie said, echoing Jake’s thoughts. “The guy’s been on the run for, what, twelve years? Anything could have tipped him off. Blame isn’t the point. What do we do next?”
“We can’t do anything until Jake can think without pain,” Rebecca said. “Isn’t there anything we can do for you?”
Jake shook his head, tried again to get up. How Keegan had put two and two together wasn’t important now. Rebecca’s safety was. “The only thing that will help me is for you to get the hell out of here. I mean it, Rebecca.” He looked at Charlie. “What the fuck is wrong with you? I told you to get her out of the city.”
Rebecca grabbed his chin and turned his head so he was facing her. “They’re after you, too, goddammit, and I’m not leaving without you.”
He’d never heard her swear like that and it stopped him. He glanced at Charlie, who had a faint smile tugging at his mouth. What the hell was wrong with these rich people? Did they think they were immune from danger? “Those were real guns, with real ammo. They meant you to die. They aren’t finished. Your home isn’t safe. You’re not safe. Do me a favor and go. Hire a car. Don’t go back to your place. Just get to the airport. Not LaGuardia, go to Newark. Go anywhere. Pay cash. And do it now please. I’m begging you. I have things to do, and I can’t even think straight while you’re still here.”
“Ah,” she said, nodding. “I get it now.”
“Thank God,” he said, putting his hand on his leg, feeling instantly that it was way too soon to even try to work on the muscle.
“But,” Rebecca said, “I’m not leaving without you.”
Jake stilled. What was it going to take? He ignored her and looked to Charlie and Bree. “A little help would be good here, people. I know you care about her. I can’t imagine any of you want to go to her funeral.”
“Rebecca,” Charlie said, releasing Bree from his hold. “You’re with me. Bree? Find out what this madman needs, and let’s get this show on the road. I don’t want to go to anyone’s funeral.”
Rebecca glared at him, then Charlie gave her a look that spoke of years of collusion. She wasn’t happy about it, but she got up from the couch, squeezing Jake’s hand before she walked away with Charlie.
Jake leaned back on the couch. Now that he had an ally, he could think clearly. At least that was his goal.
“What can I do?” Bree asked.
“I need to find out if the police got to those shooters. And how we can connect the shooters to either T-Mac or West, preferably both. I need to call Crystal Farrington. She’s an assistant D.A. who knows all about this.” He dug into his pocket for his wallet, the small movement making him wince. But there was her phone number. He’d call as soon as the spasm that was clawing through his quad let him go.
REBECCA TURNED ON HER cousin the minute the kitchen door swung shut. “I’m not leaving without him, Charlie. I don’t know what you expect to accomplish, but changing my mind is not going to happen.”
“Yeah, I got that,” he said, smiling so smugly she wanted to slap him.
“Then what’s with the ‘Rebecca, you’re with me’ bullcrap?”
“Your cop needs to get his act together, and you being in his face wasn’t helpful. The danger here is real, so we’d better figure out a way to get his goals accomplished while you’re still in the house. Frankly, I don’t like the idea that killers could be after you. You’re the only relative I like. You’re not checking out until we’re old and decrepit.”
“Oh. I thought you were going to argue with me.”
“Nope. Before your little declaration there, I was going to tell you to fight for Jake. That he’s the keeper you’re always harping about. But you obviously have that covered, so now we can move on to practical matters. Like staying out of his way. At least for a while.”
She hugged Charlie, real quick because they weren’t the hugging type, and then she settled. “The way I see it, he only has a limited amount of focus at the moment. I’ll keep back. Not away, because if something happens I need to be close, but I won’t be obvious. I’ll listen.
So you’ll have to be his sounding board. He’ll know what to do, Charlie. He may not have his badge, but he’s a damn good cop.”
“Fine. You hang, I’ll distract, and we’ll get you both safe.”
“THANKS, CRYSTAL. KEEP ME in the loop, and I’ll do the same.” Jake hung up the phone and looked at Charlie, who’d suddenly appeared in front of the couch.
“Who was in charge of the original operation?” Charlie asked.
“Wait your turn,” Bree said before she addressed Jake. “I have a wet/dry heating pad. I’m thinking moist heat. Would that help?”
Jake looked at her, and he couldn’t help smiling. She was wearing an obnoxiously bright orange sweater over a green skirt. “Yeah. Thanks. That would help.” She hustled off, and he faced Charlie again. “She’s not gone. I would know if she was gone.”
“She’s making the arrangements. Right now. So, tell me what you need to get West behind bars.”
Jake had brought Crystal up to speed, and she was going to work on getting T-Mac’s phone records, this time through legit channels because this time, they would need it in court. Dammit, how long did it take to get a car here to Central Park West? It wasn’t like Brook— “Shit, I have to call my old man.”
Blessedly, Charlie and Bree left him alone while he dialed his father. Jake had already asked the department to send a couple of uniforms to watch the house, but he wouldn’t tell his father. That would just piss him off. He switched on the speaker since he thought he could work on his leg now. Besides, his dad knew about the Keegan/West connection, so there wasn’t much to say, except that Jake might have put him in danger. Him and Pete and Liam.
“Don’t you worry about us, Jakey,” his father said, and it was like they were on the walkie-talkies. “We have about a hundred years of experience between us. And a goddamn arsenal. I hope those bastards do come here. We’ll teach ’em what NYPD cops are made of.”
“Don’t take any chances, Dad.” Jake used both thumbs on the peripheral muscles, working his way inward. “Please. Just, see if you can go stay with Liam, huh? Get out of there, at least until we know what to do.”
“I’ll tell you exactly what I’m going to do, son. I’m going to call Dan Reaves is what. He’ll get a judge to sign the warrants to get into West’s business, and the prison phone records, and damn near anything else he can once I tell him what’s what. He’s tried to live that bust down all his career. He wants Keegan. More than you do.”
“He tried to kill Rebecca, old man. No one wants Keegan more than I do.”
His father was quiet for a long moment, long enough for Jake to remember how she’d trembled in his arms, how brave she’d been. How he’d move heaven and earth for her if he could, but he was useless like this.
“You’re right, Jake. Your job now is to keep her safe. I’ll call Dan—we go way back. I’ll keep you informed. He’ll probably want to talk to you so make sure you have that phone on. And take a goddamn pill, I can hear the pain in your voice.”
“Tell Reaves to get in touch with Crystal Farrington at the D.A.’s office. She’s working on the phone records from Sing Sing, but she could use some backup.”
“Farrington. Got it.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Jake said.
“No sweat.”
“Hey, Pop, how many cops does it take to screw in a lightbulb?”
“How many?”
Jake smiled. “None. It turned itself in.”
His father laughed as Jake hung up. Then he felt Rebecca’s hand on his shoulder as she leaned over the couch and kissed him like she’d never let him go.
IT TOOK TWO HOURS, BUT Rebecca and Jake finally made it into the Town Car that Charlie had hired. Jake had walked without assistance, but his limp was awful and he still looked too pale. She’d packed some food for the ride. Nothing much, just some protein bars and juice; they’d grab something better at the airport.
She pressed herself against him, hardly believing everything that had happened in such a short period of time. The shooting, the trip down the ladder, the terrifying sound of echoing footsteps all felt more like something she’d read than something that she’d lived through.
But he’d brought her out safely. This amazing man. Listening as he’d talked to the two policeman who’d come to Charlie’s had been an education in itself. Of course she’d known Jake was a cop; he’d demonstrated that in his every action tonight, in his instincts that had ferreted out a killer. But she’d been utterly captivated and impressed with his logic, his approach to finding the critical proof that would connect T-Mac to West.
“You’re an incredible policeman,” she said. “Not only were you right about everything—”
He opened his mouth in what she knew would be a protest, but she stopped him with two fingers on his lips.
“—but you saved my life.”
“Your life shouldn’t have been in danger in the first place,” he said.
“Hmm. The correct response should have been ‘You’re welcome, Rebecca.’”
Jake ran his knuckles down her jaw. “The thought of losing you…”
“We’re both here, and we’re relatively fine. We’ll be better once we’re wherever we’re going. Any thoughts on that?”
“I have no idea,” he said. “Vegas is out.”
She grinned. “No passports, so we can’t leave the country. But those can be sent to us so our first destination doesn’t have to be our last. We had talked about Paris.”
“We probably won’t be gone that long. Phone calls were made tonight, or an email, or whatever, which gives us a window of time to focus the search on how West and T-Mac connected. How West contacted the shooter. T-Mac is in Sing Sing. Somewhere, there’s a record. As soon as they can latch on to anything concrete, then they’ll go after Keegan with both barrels. That’ll be our cue to come back. We could have that connection by morning.”
“We wouldn’t have to come back right away, would we?”
He smiled. “What did you have in mind?”
“Time. Alone with you. You know, to begin.”
“Begin?”
She shifted in her seat until she was facing him. “You do realize that when I said I wasn’t leaving without you, I meant forever.”
Jake’s smile vanished and his jaw slackened as he leaned toward her. “Rebecca.”
“Oh, God. You don’t want— I’m sorry, I thought—”
“No, no.” He took both her hands and squeezed them. “I do. I…I didn’t know you wanted—”
“I did. I do.”
“How?” he asked, and it was so earnest and hopeful she teared up again.
“I couldn’t see it before either,” she said. “Even though I’d fallen totally in love with you, I couldn’t see how we could make it work. And then tonight, I got it. All the things I was worried about were just logistics. Everything important is you. That we’re together.”
“But I don’t have a job, I’ve got my Dad—”
“You’ve got disability, so that’s fine. Look, if you’d cared about the money, this never would have happened. So we make it work. Oh.”
“What?”
“We can’t be gone for too long. Imagine what the boys are going to do to your place? It’ll look like an armored frat house.”
Jake smiled. “Yeah, pizza boxes to the ceiling.” He touched her hair. “What about the foundation?”
“It’s not going to fall apart. And we’ll get your father’s new bathroom in shape when we get back. Then we’ll figure it out. Day by day. If you want to.”
“We’ll get Dad’s bathroom in shape?”
“Yes, we.”
“You trying to get into my tool belt?”
She traced his endearing crooked smile with the tip of her unsteady finger. To not have this face…this man in her life…was unthinkable. The thought terrified her more than the threat of West on their heels. “Always, and I’m quite good at getting my way.”
He kissed her then, deeply. She kissed him
back with every promise she could make. When she pulled back, it was only to tell him, “I’ll never feel safer than in your arms.”
“I’ll never let anyone harm you,” he whispered back. “You’re all that matters. You’re all that will ever matter to me.”
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781459222991
Copyright © 2012 by Jolie Kramer
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