Untainted: (Crime Romance: The Photographer Trilogy #3)

by Robinson, Sarah

“My father. All those women before you. That’s a lot of blood shed because of you. Can you really handle more?”

  “Those women’s lives are on you! God, you’re such a sick bastard! You really think you can fucking murder someone and blame it on someone else? Is that how you sleep at night?” She screamed, inching closer to him.

  “Kate, slow down.”

  “And your father? He was a freak, a disgusting, perverted child molester. His death is because of his own guilt, or maybe cowardice, but either way, his death is on him. It’s not on me, and it’s not even on you. All of this, every single woman, every life... you did it for him? A man who didn’t love you enough to stay? Who didn’t love you enough to think about being a good father instead of touching little girls?” She was shouting as her words flew out in one fast stream.

  “Fuck you, bitch.” He snarled, his demeanor turning darker as his temper flared.

  “You already did, remember? You ruined my fucking life! I should kill you right here and now!” She put a slight bit of pressure on the trigger.

  “Do it.” He took a step toward her, but she didn’t budge.

  “Do it, Kate!” He shouted almost directly in her face as the muzzle of the gun pressed up against his forehead.

  She bit her lip as she looked at him, everything in her body was itching to pull the trigger, but something was stopping her. Her entire body shook with rage, maybe even a little fear, as she felt the trigger under her finger just waiting for her.

  “Kate, put the gun down!” A low, thunderous voice behind her told her that Detective McCraig was on scene.

  She recognized the voice instantly, but she didn’t move. The end of the gun still squarely placed against Frank’s forehead as he burst into a smile.

  “You going to listen to the detective, Kate?” Frank’s words were almost musical, as if he was reveling in every part of their interactions.

  Enjoying the torment on her face.

  She just pressed the gun harder into his skin.

  “He killed them, Mike.” Her voice was steady, calm.

  “He did. Frank did, Kate. Not you. You’re not like him.”

  “How would you know? He killed my fucking sister, Mike!” A strangled sob slipped out of her.

  “Shit.” She heard McCraig sigh, she knew that he was probably taking in the scene around them for the first time.

  “Kate, I’m going to be really honest with you for a minute here. I’m putting aside all my training and cop talk, all of it. Okay?” He moved in a circle to come around to her side so that she could see him.

  His hands were up defensively and his gun had been re-holstered. She just glanced at him briefly, then turned her attention back to the vile man in front of her.

  “I see Liz over there. It doesn’t look promising. I want to tear his fucking head off for that. Liz is my best friend in this world, fuck maybe my only friend. And I see your family, so I know you are feeling the same way.” He told her.

  “Doesn’t matter how hard I search my brain, I can’t come up with a reason why this fucker should live. Why you shouldn’t shoot him right here and right now.” Mike continued.

  “Hell, I’m having a hard time convincing myself why I shouldn’t shoot the cocksucker! So then all I can think about, Kate, is what do I deserve. What do you deserve? He deserves to fucking die. We agree on that. But do you deserve to fall asleep every night with the memory of pulling that trigger? The memory that you are giving him exactly what he wants?” He asked, while Kate glanced quickly at him, then back at Frank.

  “What do you deserve, Kate?” McCraig finished his speech slowly, looking between her and Frank.

  She stood stoically, not moving as she thought about what McCraig had said. Frank began to look nervous.

  “Are you going to listen to that psycho-babble, Kate?” Frank chided her.

  She blinked as she looked into his eyes, then she pulled back, still pointing the gun at him. She took two steps backward, Frank began to look around frantically, seeing that police were beginning to filter into the building with weapons drawn.

  “Shoot me, Kate! I killed your sister. Annie is fucking dead. And I loved every second of watching her bleed. Fucking shoot me, Kate!” Frank began screaming as she dropped the gun onto the dirt floor and walked toward McCraig, falling against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

  Frank continued screaming, but she wasn’t listening anymore. Police swept in and detained him, taking him out to a squad car in hand cuffs. The fallen gun was retrieved immediately and paramedics swept in quickly.

  Kate didn’t cry, she didn’t think, she just stood against McCraig’s warm body and tried to calm her breathing. He held her tight, soothing her with soft words like “it’s going to be okay”.

  Her face stayed buried in his chest as she heard professionals working on her fallen family, the sounds of stretchers being opened and bodies being lifted. She couldn’t watch any of it.

  So she just stood there, hiding in his chest. And he let her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “You can come in now, Mrs. Kane.” The doctor smiled sympathetically at her when he found her sitting on the plastic chair in the waiting room.

  She glanced down at the ring on her finger, contemplating correcting the doctor and telling him that she and Derrick were not yet married. Deciding to let it go, and secretly enjoying hearing the term, she just nodded and followed him down the stark halls of the hospital until they came to a stop in front of one of the rooms.

  “I’ll give you guys some privacy. Just so you know, he is on a heavy dose of morphine which might make him seem a bit loopy. The dosage will go down over time, but he is still in a lot of pain from his injuries right now.” He told her, before walking away.

  Kate pushed open the extra wide wooden door and entered the room, her eyes immediately falling on the giant man stretched across the hospital bed, barely fitting in it. Her face lit up immediately and she rushed to his side and threw her arms over him, burying her face in his neck.

  “Shit, Kate! That hurts.” Derrick chuckled, after his original groan.

  “Oh, sorry!” She pulled back off of him and just sat on the edge of the bed, her arm gently resting over his stomach.

  “That hurts, too.” He grinned at her.

  “What?” She looked around her, trying to see if she was sitting on a tube or something important.

  “Not hugging you, it hurts.” He winked and she rolled her eyes, smiling.

  “Such a flirt. How are you feeling?” She giggled, but looked worried.

  “Doctors said the knife went straight through my back and missed my heart and lungs by less than an inch. I guess they gave me some transfusions because of the blood loss, so after all that I regained consciousness. So aside from some bruises and soreness, I’ll be fine.” He shrugged, then regretted the action immediately when a spasm of pain shot through him.

  “Is that all? That’s nothing.” She smiled, speaking sarcastically.

  “More importantly though, are you okay?” His face turned to a look of concern.

  “Some scrapes and bruises here and there. A few cracked ribs, they have me all bandaged up under here.” She motioned to her torso.

  “What about your head?” He asked, reaching up to touch the gauze bandage down one side of her cheek up by her hairline.

  “Two stitches, it’s nothing. A flesh wound at most. Nothing like what you went through.” She reached up to touch the wound, self consciously.

  He chuckled and she leaned in to kiss him softly on the lips.

  “You’re always so strong. It’s okay to be hurt, Kate. You went through hell.” He told her softly, kissing the tip of her nose.

  “You know what hurts?” Her expression was serious. He raised his brows in response, waiting for her explanation.

  “My heart. I don’t even feel the pain in my ribs or my head. Just right here.” She put her hand over her heart, a tear slipping onto her lower lashes.

  “Kat
e,” His voice was sad.

  “Can we change the subject for a minute? Something lighter?” She interrupted, shaking her head as if she was trying to shake the memories out of her mind.

  “Alright, so what’s with the getup?” He nodded to her clothes which were covered in Metro Police Department logos, giving her a smile.

  “Oh this? I call it ‘kidnapped-chic’.”

  Derrick burst out laughing, then grimaced since it caused him pain.

  “Detective McCraig gave me some clothes from the precinct to wear since mine were pretty messed up. So, I kind of look like a cop now.” She started laughing with him.

  “Do you get to keep those? I can think of something we can do with them later.” He grinned mischievously at her.

  “Yeah, right. Because clothes from Mike are a turn on.” She laughed, sarcastically.

  “I like that guy. Where is he?” Derrick asked.

  “Making sure Frank ends up in jail. Said he wasn’t going to leave Frank until he saw him securely behind bars.” Her entire body relaxed slightly at the thought.

  “Good. I’m sorry, Kate.”

  “For what?” Her expression was puzzled.

  “Not being able to help. Leaving you and Annie with him. I should have made sure he was tied up or something.” He shook his head in regret.

  “Derrick, stop. There was nothing that was going to stop him. You did save me, I never would have gotten untied without you.”

  “You stopped him.” Derrick pointed out, pride beaming through his smile.

  “The doctor tell you that?” She chuckled, blushing.

  “Yeah, he said the police told him you were the one holding Frank at gunpoint when the cops showed up. Didn’t know I was marrying such a badass.” His hand reached up and gently caressed the side of her cheek.

  “Where’s Annie? How’s her head after that knock she took?” Derrick asked after a moment, referring to when Annie was first hit inside the office of the stable before he had been stabbed.

  All the air instantly collapsed out of Kate’s lungs and she stared at him in stunned silence. Realizing that no one had told him what happened, she found her voice had abandoned her.

  She had been trying hard over the last few hours to keep any thoughts of losing Annie as far away as possible. As the hours had gone by and night quickly approached, she had found herself doing everything possible to not think about it.

  Instead she had been waiting for Derrick to wake up and be okay. It was as if she could put all her energy into helping Derrick, then Annie wouldn’t really be gone.

  It wouldn’t really be true.

  “Kate? You’re scaring me,” he eyed her in concern, noting her pale and terrified expression.

  “Sorry, uh, Annie, she-” Kate looked down at her hands fidgeting, trying to will the words to come out.

  Tears brimmed her eyelids, threatening to spill over as the room hung in silence. Derrick put one hand on the side of her neck, pulling her close to him gently.

  “She isn’t here, is she?” It was a question, but his tone wasn’t.

  He could tell from her face that something wasn’t right. Kate just shook her head no in response, a quiet sob seeping out of her. Derrick pulled her tightly against him, grimacing at the pain but not caring.

  “Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry.” He simply told her, stroking her hair as the tears she had been holding back fell onto his chest where her head was tightly pressed.

  She climbed into the hospital bed next to him, curling up to his side with his arms wrapped around her. She stayed there all night, intermittently crying as he continued to comfort her between short bouts of sleep.

  Nurses came and went, but no one said anything or tried to make them separate. There was a heavy smell of grief in the room recognized by all.

  ~~~~~~

  “Man, you would think that these beds would be more comfortable. How on earth do they expect people to get better sleeping on this brick?” Kate groaned as she stretched her legs over the edge of the hospital bed the next morning.

  “I think it’s because they are only meant for one person to sleep in them.” Derrick chuckled, watching her raise an eyebrow at him.

  “Are you complaining?” She teased.

  “Never!” He spoke in dramatic mock sincerity.

  “Good, you guys are up. About time, sleepyheads. It’s almost noon and we’ve got a lot to do.”

  Kate turned her head to find the owner of the voice. Seeing the origin, her entire face burst into a wide smile and she jumped off the bed with a bounce.

  “Liz!” Kate’s arms flew around the detective’s neck, almost knocking them both off balance.

  “Whoa there, lady! Officer down here.” She teased, motioning to her arm wrapped in bandages and hanging in a sling.

  “Crap, sorry, I seem to be doing that to everyone lately. Are you okay? I thought, I mean, it looked like-” Kate sputtered, unsure.

  “Like I was dead?” Liz offered and Kate just nodded.

  “Well, I certainly felt like it for a while, but it’s all good. Banged up my shoulder fighting with him and hitting the wall. I was wearing Kevlar though, so the bullet just hit my stomach on the side. Clear shot through and through.” Liz grinned, lifting the side of her shirt to show thick bandages plastered against her skin.

  “You were shot?” Derrick balked from his bed.

  Both women turned to look at him, a mixture of amusement and annoyance on both of their faces.

  “You missed quite a bit yesterday, Derrick,” Liz shrugged one shoulder.

  “Speaking of, have you-? Uh, Kate, did anyone tell him about, you know, your sister?” Liz nervously asked, hating to bring up the subject that her partner had informed her of last night.

  She had been absolutely devastated to hear the news of Annie’s death, feeling as if it was her fault for not being able to maintain control of the situation. The guilt was heavy and she felt unworthy even looking at Kate, but was doing her best to push it out of her mind when possible.

  “Yeah, I know.” Derrick spoke up so Kate wouldn’t have to answer the question, already hating to see the pained look crossing her face.

  “Okay then. Well, Kate, McCraig and I need you to sign some paperwork about that, being her next of kin and all. I know it’s the worst time for it, but arrangements and decisions need to be made. Then there is also all the same that has to be decided for Lenny.” She informed Kate.

  “Uncle Lenny.” Her voice sounded scratchy as she spoke his name, remembering the events of the previous morning.

  “Hell, I’m so sorry, Kate. I can’t imagine how hard this must be.” She sympathized, squeezing her arm gently.

  “Can I have ten more minutes alone? Before doing that stuff?” She requested and Liz nodded, leaving the room.

  Kate crawled back in bed with Derrick instantly, breathing in the scent of his skin so close to her. He held her tightly, despite his physical discomfort.

  “I can’t do it, Derrick.” She whispered.

  “There isn’t a doubt in my mind that you can. You’re so strong, babe.”

  “I’m not, I couldn’t save either of them. They both died because of me, Derrick. Annie died for me. She stepped in front of the bullet that was meant for me. She was the strong one.”

  “And who taught her to be that way? Who raised her and loved her and made her the amazing woman that she was?” Derrick squeezed her tighter as he spoke.

  Kate was quiet for a moment, closing her eyes and sighing.

  “Can we pretend for a minute?” She whispered and he nodded in agreement, kissing her forehead softly to comfort her.

  “She would have fallen madly in love with someone glamorous. Not just love, but like overwhelming, crazy, do-something-wild love. Annie had so much passion.” Kate started, a small smile appearing on her face.

  “Probably a Kennedy. Or a famous rock star. Didn’t she date that actor for a while? From That 70’s Show?” Derrick added and Kate laughed.

&n
bsp; “Yeah, that was not a great match. I think it would be a trust fund hipster, definitely a musician. Someone just as kind and sweet as she was. Someone who found passion in everything he did, who makes everyone around him smile like she did.”

  “They would have had one kid, not more than that.” Derrick said.

  “Definitely not more than that, they would want to travel too much to drag a bunch of kids with them.”

  “Annie would take him on world tours, drink wine in every country at the fanciest places. Her kid would know more names of grapes then you or I ever would.”

  “She did always know how to pick a great wine.” Kate agreed, smiling.

  “But on the holidays, she and her famous Kennedy husband would come home. No traveling abroad. Holidays would be for you two sisters. Our kids would play with their cousin and the two of you would catch up, laughing for hours at jokes the rest of us don’t understand.” Derrick stroked her hair softly.

  “Family is the most important. She always showed that.”

  “She loved you, Kate.”

  “I love her. The kind of love no Kennedy would get between.” Kate smiled.

  “The kind of love not even death can get between.” He told her quietly as both of them felt tears approaching.

  “Do you think she was scared?” She whispered to him.

  “No, I think she made a choice, and that was one of the bravest choices anyone can make. She chose love and family, and there’s nothing scary about that.”

  “I miss her, Derrick.”

  “I miss her, too.”

  There was nothing left to be said, tears were the only goodbyes to give.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “It’s unreal, isn’t it?” Kate looked up at Detective McCraig across the table from her as she flipped through documents and signed forms.

  “What is?”

  “That they are dead, and he is sitting in a jail cell getting three square meals a day.” Her expression was empty, maybe slightly haunted even.

  “You can’t think of it like that, Kate. Think of it like now he has to suffer years and years as punishment for what he took from you. Lenny and Annie don’t, they are at peace.” He spoke with surprisingly gentle insight.