“Not when all the evidence points to Andy. This axe is from the firebox in his apartment building. This is his jacket, his shoes.” He pulled something from his pocket and let it drop to the ground. “His hair. They’ll find all kinds of evidence in the poor, frustrated artist’s workshop when they find his body. You see, he will be so overwhelmed with guilt after your murders that he’ll kill himself with the gun he took from your bedroom, Weldon. Andy is all tied up and waiting for me. As for me, I’ve a solid alibi. As we speak Benny Whitaker is on a flight from New York to Rio. But that flight isn’t going to make its destination intact. Benny will die.”
“Oh my, God. You’re really insane.” Alexi reeled as if she was about to pass out. Jesse caught her arm.
Shit. Jesse could kick his own ass to hell and back, he’d been so hung up in Alexi that even though he’d seen this train coming, he hadn’t realized how big a wreck it would be. The son of a bitch was going to blow up a plane full of people just so he could disappear.
They were out of time. They had to stop that plane if they could. He shoved Alexi toward the front door. “Car, gun in it, get help to stop plane,” he yelled at her as he picked up the huge coffee table and ran directly at Benny, who was coming their way axe raised. Even if Jesse had to die, there was no way Benny would get out alive.
Benny swung the axe over the top of the table as Jesse plowed into him. The axe cleaved downward, but Jesse was already on his way to the ground as he grabbed Benny’s ankles and threw the man off balance. He heard the axe hit wood and he heard Alexi scream.
“Get the hell out of here,” he yelled at Alexi. Benny and the table crashed to the side into the bookcase. Glass shattered and Benny screamed with rage, drawing back on the axe and slashing sideways. Jesse let go of Benny’s legs and rolled from the slashing blade.
He expected Benny to be on his feet and swinging by the time he rolled into a crouched and ready position. Benny was up, but he wasn’t aiming for Jesse. The bastard was heading toward the door Alexi had just run through.
Son of a bitch, NO! Jesse’s mind shouted as his heart thundered with terror. He grabbed the closest weapon he could find, an iron lamp and jerked the plug from the wall as he ran after Benny. Just as Jesse crossed the threshold, Benny suddenly turned and swung the axe at Jesse’s head.
Jesse blocked the blow with the lamp and front kicked Benny in the crotch. Benny managed to twist to the side as he swung around and it wasn’t until the axe left Benny’s grip that Jesse realized the bastard was aiming right for Alexi’s back as she raced for the car.
“Duck, Lexi!” Jesse screamed as he prayed to God she’d follow his command first instead of looking back. His blood turned to ice in the seconds that axe flew end over end right at Alexi.
Alexi dropped to the ground and Paul appeared out of the dark, covering Alexi with his body as the axe smashed into the car window. Glass exploded and the axe bounced away from the car, where Paul deflected it away from Alexi. Jesse slammed the iron lamp into the back of Benny’s skull. Benny dropped like a dead man and Jesse used the lamp cord to tie the bastard up, disappointed that Benny still had a pulse and was breathing.
The sound of police siren’s filled the air.
Paul was standing but Alexi still lay on the ground. Jesse ran to her. “Is she hurt?”
“I don’t think so,” Paul said.
Jesse dropped to his knees in the glass. “Lexi, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
She grabbed his hand. “I am so mad, that I swear if I move a muscle I am going to get your gun and unload it into Benny’s black heart. All those people. Dear God. I can’t live with the fact that all of those people are going to die because I didn’t listen to you. You kept telling me that what was going on was more serious and I didn’t believe you. If I had, maybe we could have stopped him sooner.”
“You don’t know that,” Jesse said, pulling her into his arms. “And let’s hope we’re not too late to stop the plane.” Jesse dug out his phone. He glanced at Paul as he dialed Washington. “How did you get here so fast?”
“Call it a hunch. You told me to chill tonight, but I just had this feeling that it was all going down too easy. A man doesn’t spend that many years obsessed just to hop a plane. I decided to come watch your back.”
“Damn good hunch.”
“Who are you calling?” Paul asked.
“Deputy Director of the FBI. He owes me. If anybody can save that plane, he can.”
EPILOGUE
“Miss Lexi! Mr. Jesse! Did you see me dance?” Lucy came running up still wearing her blue angel ballerina costume. Karin and Lucy’s father—now going by Kevin instead of Jonah because facing his family had freed him from the whale of his self-imposed prison—-smiled proudly as they waved from where they stood.
Karin was more relaxed around her ex, less guarded, and over the past eleven months, Kevin had proven himself a changed man. Karin also carried Amanda Lee in her arms. Lucy had insisted the doll be at her first dance recital.
“We saw you. You danced beautifully.” Alexi bent down and hugged Lucy tight, still amazed at how quickly the little girl had recovered from her kidney transplant—thanks to her father’s donation of a kidney. Lucy had grabbed a normal life with both of her hands and wasn’t going to ever let it go.
Lucy looked at Jesse and giggled. “Mr. Jesse, what are you hiding behind your back?”
Jesse grinned. “Something special for a dancing girl.”
“A balloon!” Lucy’s eyes sparkled!
“This little girl is getting way too smart.” Jesse handed Lucy the helium-filled, red balloon and settled his gaze on Alexi’s for a loving hot moment then looked back at Lucy and lowered his voice. “We have an announcement to make and you’re the first person we are telling. We’re going to get married and we want you to be our flower girl.”
“For real?” Impossibly, Lucy’s eyes became even brighter as Jesse nodded. “Yes, yes, yes!” she cried, pirouetting with her balloon dancing above her head. “When?”
Jesse tapped the balloon with his finger, making it bob up and down.
Alexi smiled. “How does next month sound to you?”
“Wonderful.” Lucy danced in another circle then stopped, her expression solemn. “Miss Lexi, can I carry Amanda Lee with me down the aisle?”
Alexi’s breath caught and a sudden sting of tears burned the backs of her eyes. She hugged Lucy again. “Yes, Lucy. That would be wonderful.” It would be like having her mother at her wedding, Alexi thought as she stood. She would never forget last night as long as she lived. On his knee, last night beneath the stars, Jesse had asked her to marry him, to make their love a forever thing. Alexi already knew where she wanted to marry him. She wanted to marry at night, under the stars, those twinkling light of angels who caught all of her dreams and made them come true.
“I’m going to go show my friends my dancing balloon, okay?”
“Okay,” Jesse said as he slid his arm around Alexi.
She leaned into Jesse’s warmth, breathing in his scent, feeling his nearness.
“It’s good to see the world right side up,” he said.
She angled back to frown at him. “What do you mean?”
“Everything is as it should be. Lucy well and dancing. The delayed plane saved and bomb diffused. Benny in jail for life. Roger’s reputation ruined when the Sugar Girl prostitution ring was exposed. It all makes a man believe in justice after all.”
Alexi lifted her brow. “And?” she prompted.
“And miracles,” he said, the gleam in his eye let her know he was deliberately holding back the answer she was fishing for.
“And?” she urged.
“And love,” Jesse said with a smile. “Especially when a woman is willing to rough it for a week-long fishing trip for her man. It’s going to be great. Nothing but you, me, the woods, a tent, and fish over a campfire.”
Alexi groaned, wondering how she had let him talk her into it, several weeks ago. There’d been
melted Godivas involved.
Jesse examined Alexi’s expression with amusement. She was in for a big surprise. Enjoying her discomfort, he laughed and dangled a set of keys in front of her nose. “You are packed and ready to leave tonight, right?”
He had to bite the insides of his mouth to keep from telling her where they were really going. Her pained expression was so pitiful.
“Can we wait until morning?” she said. “I mean. It won’t hurt to start at daylight will it?”
“Nope. We’re leaving tonight. By morning we’re going to be digging up worms and rolling in fish.
Alexi lifted a brow. “You might be. I’ll be licking my Godivas and reading a hot book.”
Jesse’s body reacted immediately as he remembered the last time Alexi took Godivas fishing. From the satisfied look on her face, she knew it too.
He smiled back. Two could play at that game.
* * *
Fishing trip! Ha. For a week now, Jesse had been the shark and Alexi was bait. She owed him one and today she was going to collect her dues. She quietly picked up her camera and tiptoed outside. Jesse slept; the sun glistened off his tanned, oiled skin in a rich bronze sheen. Dark stubble shaded his rough jaw, and lent a dangerous air to his sleeping body. They were back in France at the villa by the pool and gloriously back into the nude precedent they’d set the last time. She couldn’t remember if she’d worn any clothes at all this week which, considering all she had brought with her was stuff fit only for worms and mud fishing, was a good thing.
She had another charity auction planned and she knew just the thing to make it a resounding success as well as an excellent way to commemorate their “fishing trip.” A way that neither he nor she would ever forget.
Situating herself at the right angle from the sun, she lifted her camera and focused on Jesse’s nude body. He was hard and smooth all over, she thought as she closed in on the broadness of his chest and the nuances of light and shadow playing upon muscle and flesh. Her gaze drifted lower, following the dark line of silky hair as her fingers tingled with the need to touch. Her body thrummed to the vibrant, sensual display of maleness before her.
“Jesse,” she called softly.
“Hmm,” he slit his eyes open to a sexy, dangerous level and she took his picture.
“Lexi!” he shouted rolling to his feet and coming at her. “What are you doing?”
“Just captured the perfect male on film for the upcoming charity auction.” She turned and ran through the villa. Tossing the camera into a bag hidden behind the curtain, she ducked out a side door and made it to their secluded beach. She had just enough time to position herself so Jesse wouldn’t be able to resist her before he gave up looking for the camera and came running after her. He jumped on top of her.
“Where’s the camera, Lexi?”
She smiled. “I’ll never tell.”
“Yes, you will.” He leaned down and lashed her nipple with his tongue mercilessly.
“No I won’t.” And she didn’t, no matter how many times her wild Irish devil made her come.
Excerpt from SMOOTH IRISH by Jennifer Saints
Weldon Series Book Two
“I’ll finish up here. Head Nurse Litton wants you to go home before you end up on a stretcher.” Candy lowered her voice so that only Nan could hear. “You work too hard. How you can do double shifts without a complaint is beyond me.” The working conditions at Memorial Hospital were not ideal and many of the nurses felt the pressure of having to juggle too many patients with minimal help.
Nan bit her lip as a tinge of guilt heated her cheeks. She wasn’t as noble as Candy made her sound, at least, not since Jackson invaded Nan’s dreams. Now she not only worked diligently to reach her goals, but she also worked with exhaustion in mind. Too tired plus too tired equaled zero dreams, which meant no Jackson invasions...
Nan blinked, realizing Candy had spoken to her. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Taking the baby’s chart, Candy shooed Nan toward the door. “You better go home before you fall down. I said that major hunk Dr. Swanson came by the nurses’ station earlier asking for you and you didn’t even react.”
“Me?” Nan blinked with surprise.
“Yes, you. Don’t look so innocent. I saw him eating lunch with you yesterday.”
“That’s only because the lunch room was full and he was kind enough to invite me to his table when I walked by.”
“Uh, huh,” Candy said with a bright gleam in her eyes that said she wasn’t about to be fooled. “Out of all the people passing his table, he just happened to invite you to sit.”
“Yes,” Nan said. She was far too pragmatic to see Dr. Swanson’s invitation as anything but a simple kindness on his part. Brad Swanson was the most renowned neurosurgeon in the Southeast, a medical giant. If Nan had had an “A-list” for Mr. Right, Dr. Swanson’s dedication and determination would put him at the top of it.
Sure Candy was making too much of Dr. Swanson’s visit, Nan said goodbye to the new mother and baby and left the delivery room. Dr. Schwartz followed her out.
“Nan, congratulations on receiving the Lois Emerson Merit Award again. You deserved to be honored twice in a row.”
“Thank you, Dr. Schwartz. I was completely surprised. Once was wonderful. Twice left me speechless.” The award was given to honor excellence in nursing care. To Nan it meant she was one step closer to being chosen for the scholarship. That Dr. Schwartz recommended Nan, doubled the honor. Nan greatly admired the woman who balanced a career and a family.
“You’ve earned it. And I’ll be putting my recommendation in for you next year as well. This delivery might not have had as happy an ending, if you hadn’t have had the instinct to call me when you did.”
“I’m only thankful that both mother and baby are all right.”
“Thanks to you. Go home and get some rest.”
“You, too.”
“No such luck. I left my husband with six five-year-old girls coming over for my daughter’s birthday party that should have started an hour ago. Even though he’s a flexible kind of guy and completely supportive of my career, I’m sure he’s snatched himself bald by now. So I’d better hurry.”
Nan laughed as Dr. Schwartz hustled away. Careers didn’t necessarily make for a smooth family life. Nan made a mental note to add flexible to her Mr. Right list.
In the nurses’ station, Nan keyed a few quick notes into the computer and then logged off for the day. She settled back in her chair and breathed a sigh of relief that was short lived. When her gaze focused on the clock, she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be at her friend Alexi’s house for a potluck BBQ. In ten minutes. She was too tired to rush and too tired to go, which was just as well. Since Alexi was Jackson’s sister-in-law, odds were he’d be at the BBQ and she didn’t need any more fuel to fodder her nightly fantasies of him.
She hadn’t seen him in months, but she could clearly picture every nuance of his bad boy persona. He was the devil who promised heaven in his every move, but offered nothing for the future. She’d grown up under a futureless cloud and she wasn’t ever going back there.
Digging her cell phone out of her purse, Nan dialed Alexi’s number, braced to face the riot act Alexi was sure to deliver.
“I’ve got your number, Sugar.”
There was no mistaking the deep sensual voice. Nan’s heart jumped and an oh-so-hot, sweat broke all over her body. Her voice, caught sideways in her windpipe, squeaked. “Jackson?”
“My name on your lips is a good start. Please Jackson is even better. Ever had phone sex, Nan?”
Air flew from her lungs. An army of hormones attacked her sensibilities and everything else she had too. Liquid fire, pooled, flowed, and stroked.
Oh, my! A quick glance around the nurses’ station told her no one had even noticed her. She should disconnect; pretend she hadn’t even called. That would be the smart thing…
Instead she griped her cell phone tighter, swiveled her ch
air to face the wall, and shut her eyes. His voice did things for which she was starved. A moment she told herself. Just a moment to relay her message to Alexi. Then she’d hang up.
“Afraid sugar?” Like smooth Irish cream, his voice glided and curled into a warm knot right where his deep tones stroked the most.
“No.” Since she’d forgotten to breathe, she sounded wispy instead of practical.
“Is that a no to sex via a live wire, or no to the fear.”
“Both,” she gasped, planning to ask to speak to Alexi just as soon as she caught her breath.
“Virgin ears. Mmm, that means I’ll be your first. Can’t you feel me? I’m right up against you. Feel the heat? My hands on you… my mouth. I can still taste your honeysuckle lips. I keep wondering if the rest of you is as sweet. Do you wonder too, Nan? Wonder how all that explosive attraction would play out between us if we let it loose? Remember the kiss outside the bar against the wall that day? We almost made love right then and there.”
Nan gulped for air, she was drowning. Drowning in him again. She popped her eyes open, hoping that the images he evoked would evaporate. They didn’t.
“No,” she said desperately. “No, I don’t remember. I don’t wonder. Tell Alexi I can’t make it tonight. We’re all wrong for each other Jackson, sorry.” Nan cut off the call before she heard anything else to tempt her otherwise. She stared at the wall, stunned by how much her need for him had grown since she’d stopped seeing him.
“Nan?” A firm finger tapped her on the shoulder. “Anything wrong?”
She swung her chair around. “Dr. Swanson?” she said, trying to blink his golden blonde image into focus, but a blue-eyed raven-haired devil kept imposing himself onto her retina.
He waved his hand in front of her face. “The one and only, but please, call me Brad. You look tired.”
Wild Irish (Book 1 of the Weldon Brothers Series) Page 26
