Fade to Black

by Molly Kate Gray

  But this wasn’t a game.

  The car had been under the water at least four minutes now — and it felt like an hour. Alone with the blackness pressing in from mall sides, his heart pounded in his chest as his lungs burned from lack of oxygen. Unless he was wrong, Rory had to be out of air by now. Fighting through his body’s warnings, he plunged deeper beneath the surface, out of the area weakly lit from overhead.

  He didn’t have time to waste. Stars blinked in and out of his field of vision. He couldn’t keep going. If he didn’t get more air, he wasn’t going to be able to help Rory. Surfacing with a cough, he was much farther from the bridge than he intended to be. No wonder he’d gone out beyond the light provided by the cars on the bridge.

  “You bastard!” Christian’s voice echoed off the water.

  “Back away, O’Donovan.” Lieutenant Evans interrupted Christian’s threat. Zach took one last gasp of breath as he heard a series of splashes off to his right. He wasn’t the only officer in the water.

  “That way!” A fireman swung a floodlight back and forth. “There’s something down there.”

  A stronger beam through the water from lit a path almost to where Zach swam. Just like when he and Jill tried to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when they were little, he knew something special had to be at the end of the path of light. Zach charged toward the something that flashed off the beam of less-dark water. For once in his life, he was happy his father dreamed of having a son follow in his footsteps of being an Olympic medal winning swimmer, and he called on his years of training as he sliced through the water as if that medal were within his reach.

  And then his hands struck metal. Sliding his fingers along the roof of the car, he realized the situation was worse than he thought. Gabriel had planned ahead. The sunroof was open – probably to make it easier for himself to get out, but Rory floated lifelessly in the water. She’d taken her seatbelt off, but it had tangled around her ankle. Reaching down, he unwound the fabric from her boot and with one last tug; she was free from the car.

  Her mouth hung slack and open while her unseeing eyes were cracked open. He didn’t waste time feeling for a pulse. He knew there wouldn’t be one.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Oh, that can’t be a good sign.” Rory’s voice was hoarse as she picked her arm up from atop the crisp, white sheet of the hospital bed and glared at the IV running into her arm. She turned to the side and counted the tubes hanging from the pole — something was stuck to her cheek.

  “Leave that alone.” Zach’s hand closed around hers and guided it back to the bed.

  She tried to take a deep breath and coughed at the stinging sensation in her throat. “What happened?”

  “What do you remember?” He kept hold of her hand and idly stroked her arm.

  Rory closed her eyes. “I was in Gabriel’s car.” She stared up at the ceiling. One of the tiles was stained tan. The roof must have a leak. “There was water. He drove the car into the lake.”

  “You seriously need to take some swimming lessons.” Christian stood in the corner of the room with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

  “Not a chance.” Rory winced as she swallowed. “I can’t take this off?” She tugged at the tape on her cheek.

  “You drowned, Rory.” Christian strode to the side of the bed. “Leave the oxygen alone.”

  Rory settled back on the pillow and closed her eyes. It wasn’t a dream. She’d really been trapped in the car at the bottom of the lake. Gabriel held the gun on her until the car was completely submerged. Only then did he slide through his open window. Unable to swim, she’d been trapped. “Gabriel.” She coughed and a monitor in the room sounded.

  “We caught him.” Zach smoothed her hair on her forehead as a nurse rushed into the room.

  “I think that’s enough for now.” The nurse gave Zach and Christian a sharp look in turn.

  Rory looked around. She wasn’t in just any room. This was ICU. “How bad am I?”

  “Let’s just say it was touch and go for a while.” The nurse adjusted a dial on the wall, and Rory’s struggle to breathe eased almost immediately. “Gentlemen?” The nurse pointed at the door.

  “Just a second.” Rory clutched at Zach’s wrist.

  “Five minutes.” She nodded in the direction of the clock on the wall. “I’ll be watching you.”

  “Understood.” Christian pushed off from wall and walked to his sister’s bedside.

  Rory cleared her throat. “Lieutenant Evans was in on it.”

  “We know. Dr. Maxwell is his cousin. That’s how Gabriel ended up working for him.” Zach nodded stiffly. “Your brother may have given Gabriel some encouragement to talk.”

  “Too bad he hit his head getting out of the car.” Christian winked at Rory. “Once he was in questioning, he started singing like a canary.”

  “That’s why you couldn’t find out who was dealing.” Zach explained. “Evans and Maxwell started dealing years ago. When Evans’ wife left him, she took most of his money too. As the head of the narcotics unit, he had connections and a creative way to make ends meet.”

  “Just a little ironic.”

  “Rich college kids had money to burn, and they were dying to spend it. Everything was going smoothly until their supplier decided to start testing some designer stuff on the campus without telling them. Once kids started dying, they had a problem.”

  “And the chief needed Evans to fix it?” Rory flinched as she tried to speak.

  “Exactly. Evans knew who you were. He knew why you were there. When the chief surprised him by calling in someone from the state task force, he wasn’t worried. He just had to make sure that Dr. Maxwell didn’t try to deal to you.”

  “But he didn’t count on you making the connection with the theater department. That’s when he and Maxwell got scared.”

  “And they told Gabriel to kill me.”

  “Yeah.” Zach’s voice was thick with emotion. “And they almost did.”

  The monitor tracking Rory’s oxygen status sounded its alarm for the second time. Christian glanced up at the numbers flashing in red. “I think we’re going to get kicked out.” He frowned as the nurse appeared at the door again.

  “I believe you’re correct.” She shooed the two men out the door.

  • • •

  Rory placed the last stack of folded pajamas in her suitcase. She looked around the room. She’d planned to be gone an hour ago, but saying she was still moving a little slowly was like saying ants like to come to picnics. Packing clothes with one arm in a sling was a challenge she didn’t want to repeat.

  “You weren’t leaving without saying goodbye, were you?” Allie arrived back at the dorm and left the door standing open. Girls Rory had barely said hello to during her time in the dorm were lining the halls, staring into the room. Since the news of exactly who Rory was had spread throughout campus, she’d developed quite a following.

  “Rory!” Hallie swept into the room. “I was so worried about you.”

  “Um. Thanks.” Rory turned away, coughing into her fist.

  “Oh, do you need any help?” Hallie’s words couldn’t be more syrupy sweet if she’d covered them with honey.

  Rory stood and surveyed the room. “I think I have everything. Thanks.” She gave Hallie a wan smile as she leaned over and zipped her suitcase closed.

  Allie stepped behind Hallie and shoved. “My roommate is too polite to kick you out.” She gave her best beauty contestant grin. “But I’m not.” She pushed Hallie out the door.

  “So you’re really a cop?” Allie stepped around Rory and dropped to a seat onto her bed.

  “Basically.” Rory agreed.

  “I never guessed.” Allie leaned down and began digging through her bookshelf. She sat up with a satisfied smile. “Found it.” Pagi
ng through the album, she turned to one of the first pages.

  Very young versions of Rory and Quinn sat on either side of Allie. Complete with pigtails and missing front teeth, the trio was the picture of innocence. Rory shook her head. “So much has changed.”

  “I’m sorry about Quinn.” Allie spoke softly. “When she died, I didn’t even realize she was the girl I used to know.” A single tear trickled down her cheek.

  “She’d changed a lot.” Rory took a seat on the bed next to Allie.

  They looked through the pages, and Rory was surprised to see how many of the pictures she was in. Allie tapped a photograph of the girls waving down from an oversized tree house. “When we were little, we said we’d be roommates when we grew up. Do you remember that?”

  “We were in Mrs. Carson’s class. We’d had to write stories for Open House.”

  Allie laughed. “And we said we’d be best friends forever.” She sniffed and reached for a tissue. “I got my wish, and I never even knew it. You really have to leave?”

  “The case is closed. That’s how it works.” Rory stood stiffly. For the first time, she’d allowed herself to open up to people while she was working undercover. That’s why she’d built the walls to protect herself — so it wouldn’t be so hard to say goodbye.

  The door swung open. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Zach crossed his arms and leaned in the doorway. He waved at Allie. “I heard you were moving out today. Thought you might be able to use a little help.” Without waiting for permission, he picked up the two suitcases and stepped into the hallway.

  “You have my number?” Allie forced a smile.

  “I’ll call you. I promise.” Rory wrapped her arms around her friend and squeezed tightly.

  Allie gave a pointed look at Rory’s stomach. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  Rory nodded, looking into the hallway where Zach was making a valiant attempt to pretend he wasn’t listening to her conversation with Allie. She smiled and brushed her hand over her very flat belly. “I know it will.”

  • • •

  Rory passed the stairwell on the way to the elevator. “Not quite up to seven flights of stairs yet.”

  Zach glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Understandable.” The door opened with a ding and the pair stepped into the empty elevator. Silence hung between them, but it wasn’t the comfortable silence they’d developed as they worked together over the past several weeks. The quiet felt forced and uncomfortable. They were each keeping a secret — and both of them knew it.

  “Bye Mom.” Rory handed Ms. Hoffsteadler her key ring.

  The room mom clucked her tongue and shook her head. “I always knew there was something a little different about you.” She gave her a motherly hug goodbye. “You take care of yourself. I don’t want to see your face on the news someday.” She patted her cheek. “Working undercover. That’s dangerous, sweetheart.”

  “I’ll be careful.”

  The older woman backed away. “You do that.” Conversations in the lobby stopped as Rory and Zach wove their way through the crowd. All eyes in the foyer were on them as more than one dorm mate waved goodbye.

  “Maybe I should have just snuck out a back door.”

  “Nah. They deserve the chance to say goodbye.”

  Rory wiped the corner of her eye. “I hate goodbyes.” She stepped out the door and walked down the stairs.

  “I never could have guessed that.”

  Rory looked at Zach with suspicion. “So, where’s Christian?” She followed Zach’s lead as they walked toward a porch swing hanging from one of the massive oak trees lining the sidewalk.

  “I told him I’d come help you.” He held the swing still as Rory took a seat. He placed the suitcases on the ground to the side of the swing and joined her.

  Rory tilted her head and looked at him with suspicion. “And why do you think I need help?”

  “Other than the fact that you drowned three nights ago and your arm is in a sling?”

  “Other than that.” She agreed.

  Zach wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “On the night you went missing, I talked with Allie. When I said you were missing, she was worried. Allie was afraid you’d told your boyfriend your secret, and he might have gotten angry. Don’t be mad at her. I told her she had to tell me since you’d saved her life. She didn’t know. Well, she didn’t know that I was the dad.”

  Rory sucked in a breath. She’d suspected he knew but having it confirmed made her hands begin to shake. “Does Christian know?”

  He cocked his head to the side and smirked. “I don’t have a black eye, do I?”

  Rory held her face in her hands and the tears came in earnest. Damn hormones.

  “Hey, why are you crying?”

  “I have to leave, but … ” She dissolved into tears as she ran her hand over her stomach.

  Zach rested his hand atop hers. “Who says you have to go?”

  “It’s my job. It’s what I do.” Rory fought for control. This is what she’d warned him about, and he’d reassured her it would be fine. They’d be fine when she had to leave. And now the time had come, and she couldn’t say goodbye.

  “What if you didn’t have to?” He turned to face her. “I happen to know that there’s an opening for a drama professor, Dr. O’Donovan.”

  “Who told you about that?”

  “I may have spoken with your boss. I didn’t know you were a doctor.”

  Rory laughed. Accumulating multitudes of college credits was a side effect both of working undercover on university campuses as well as being a child genius. “It’s in performance studies.”

  “What better degree to take Maxwell’s place?”

  Rory sighed and relaxed into his shoulder. “Do you really think I could?”

  “I happen to know you could. Captain Davies has already talked to the dean. He was very grateful for your work, and he really wants to avoid too much bad press for the university.”

  “Not sure if he can avoid that.”

  “Probably not.” He kissed the top of her head. “But there’s an even bigger reason for you to take the job.” He pulled away and shifted on the seat to face her. He took her hands in his and looked her earnestly in the eyes. “I don’t want you to go.” He kissed the knuckles on the back of her left hand. He slid off the bench and knelt on the ground. “Kennedy O’Donovan, would you do me the honor of being my wife?” He pulled a velvet box out of his jacket pocket. “I don’t want to live without you.”

  Rory stared at the sparkling solitaire. “You won’t have to.” With trembling fingers, she reached for the ring, and he stilled her hand.

  “Let me.” He slid the ring on her finger and then he helped her to her feet. He tipped her chin up until he was looking into her eyes. “I love you.”

  Rory felt light headed as his lips melted against hers. So much had changed in such a short time, but she couldn’t imagine leaving here without Zach. This may have been a place of unimaginable heartbreak for her, but as her lips pressed against Zach’s, she also knew it was where her future began. Her cheeks flushed as a round of applause sounded in the courtyard. She pulled away, surprised to see a small gathering of friends. Allie, Captain Davies, and Christian stood amid a group of officers from the police department.

  “I might have told a few friends.” Zach didn’t appear the slightest big embarrassed.

  “And what if I’d said no?”

  Zach lowered his face back to hers and whispered, “I was pretty sure you’d say yes.” He covered her lips with his as he pulled her tight against him.

  Applause turned into catcalls and laughter before Rory finally ended the kiss. “So, where do we go from here?” She rocked onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “Home.” He picked up t
he suitcases and began to make his way to the car.

  Acknowledgments

  This story traveled a rocky road on its journey to coming to life. I was writing it when my family faced a trio of devastating losses. For a while, it seemed as if Rory and Zach’s story simply wasn’t meant to be.

  And that’s where my friends stepped in. I have to say thanks to Bridget and Susan for their help. Without them, I’m not certain if I ever would have finished.

  I have to also thank Jennifer Lawler for graciously giving me the few extra weeks the story needed for it to be polished and not just in by my original deadline.

  My family deserves the most thanks. My husband believes in me far more than I believe in myself. My kids are also unwavering in their support – and ability to eat frozen pizza while I’m on deadline.

  And finally, this book wouldn’t exist without my readers. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share this story with you.

  Read on for an excerpt from the final book in the “Welcome Home” series.

  Prologue (Excerpt)

  November 12

  1:52 pm

  The glistening white Audi crawled to a stop alongside the walking trail. The lightly tinted passenger window rolled down as the young woman drew closer to the car. “Hello!” The driver gave a friendly wave and pulled his sunglasses down and tucked them into his collar. “Hate to bother you in the middle of your run, but how do you get out of here?” He pointed to the freeway in the distance. “My GPS keeps on taking me in circles.”

  The jogger relaxed her guarded stance as she laughed. “Common mistake. Happens all the time. You can’t get there from this road.” She took a step closer to the car as she leaned in with her one hand on her kneecap. Pointing toward the park entrance, she began to explain. “You have to go back to the main road and turn left on Canyon Rim Drive. Then take a left when you get to Dove Trail. Keep going till you come to the light, and you’ll see the sign for the access road.”