Touched by Death
Page 29
"Mine was shit and once again, you were going to come out with the gold. No point in you having all that money – or her – when it could be mine. Poor timing though to kill you so soon after the other deaths." He brightened, "Unless I can make it look like you killed them."
Click. Jade stilled in shock. Dane shifted to stand in front of her, giving her more cover. She slipped her hand into Dane's and stood beside him, finally with the manacle unlocked, but still in place.
Dane's hand latched onto her. He tucked her further behind him.
"Aww. Isn't that so cute?"
Jade cringed at the mockery in John's voice. She leaned her head against Dane's broad back. Her breath caught. They needed a distraction… Something to give Dane and Bruce an advantage. Dane couldn't outrun a bullet. But John would have a hard time fighting them both off.
"Shut up. Why did you have to pick on Jade anyway? Surely, you knew I wouldn't rest until I found her?" He tensed. Jade recognized his change in stance, just not the reason for it. She peeked around his shoulder. He squeezed her hand tightly, then released it. She accepted the warning and took a second, more cautious look.
Bruce stood in the shadows, a large chunk of broken wood in his hand.
"And you'd have suffered for it every day." John grinned.
"You hate me so much? Why? I don't understand. I gave so much to you. Helped you out so many times. I was always there for you. Always." Jade stroked Dane's back, offering him that support at least. He sounded so disbelieving, so heartbroken. So hurt.
"And that's because, in your mind, I always needed your assistance. My big brother bailing me out again. Pathetic. I don't need you to come 'fix' me. Or make my problems disappear."
Bruce approached, the block of wood ready.
"You're the one that asked me to stay here. To help you rebuild."
"Yeah, I needed more money. And time to figure a way out. Money buys anything here." He lifted the gun higher as an example. "Your life has been too damn easy. Besides, having you here made it so much easier for me to do what I needed to do, and act the way I needed to act. After all, that's the way I always am around you anyway. You're the big man. The good man. I'm the weak younger brother. And because of that you made the perfect alibi too. Bet you told everyone, 'My brother, John, would never hurt anyone. Life has been hard on him, but he's a good man.'"
Jade buried her face against his shoulder. Oh God, Dane had said almost that exact same thing to her. She didn't want to see what was coming next.
Dane, his voice weary and sad, said, "You could have asked. I'd have given you what you needed."
"Yes, and I'd have accepted and hated you even—"
A heavy thump cut his words off without a sound. John bent over and gasped. "God damned son of a bitch."
Jade stuffed her fist to her mouth to stop the scream from escaping as Dane headed for his brother. But John came up in a lunge and decked Bruce. Bruce's head snapped to one side and he went down – hard. John spun around as if realizing the window he'd opened.
Too late.
Dane sprang across the last few feet, hitting his brother in the chest. They both went down in a flurry of arms and legs as they fought for control. The gun went skittering across the floor. Jade kicked free of the manacle and raced after the gun, trying to keep a wary eye on the two men.
She picked up the gun and pointed it at the men. Only Dane was sitting on his brother, one hand at his throat, the other, with its fist, wailing into John's face.
Bruce groaned. Jade raced over and bent down to him. "Easy Bruce. John hit you hard."
He opened his eyes, took a moment to register what had happened, then came off the ground with fire in his eyes.
Jade turned to see Dane land one last blow to John's jaw. John slumped to the ground.
It was over.
"Damn it," Bruce bellowed. "I wanted to get a good one in."
Dane sat back on his heels, still straddling his brother, and gasping for air. "Sorry, I gave it to him for you. And Jade. And Tasha. Elise. And Celia." He glared down at John as he stood up. Taking a step away, he added, "So many lives lost. So many more ruined."
Dane turned to look at Jade. He opened his arms. She raced to bury her face against his chest and squeezed him tight. Dane held her close against his heart. Fearing it wasn't over, she peered around Dane's shoulder at John's crumpled body. John wasn't moving.
Sirens whistled from far away. Bruce bent down to check on John's pulse. "He's alive."
"Too bad. What an asshole." Jade reared back to look up into Dane's eyes. "I'm sorry, Dane. I'm not feeling very generous toward your brother at the moment."
He tucked her close again him. "Neither am I. Neither am I."
She turned to face Bruce. "Bruce, who or what is back there?"
He looked at her confusion. She pointed in the back corner. He dropped the wood to the floor before running his fingers through his short hair. "I think it's Peppe."
The color drained from her face. "Oh, God!"
Bruce smiled sadly. "Looks like John was on a house-cleaning mission."
Jade shuddered and burrowed deeper into Dane's arms. "Thank God, it's over – before he got around to you."
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Three weeks later
At the sound of the truck arriving, Jade walked out of the lab trailer, a big smile on her face. Dane. She checked the time on her new cell phone, a gift from the team. On time. She laughed and waved.
"You two are almost too much, you know that?" Meg stood at Jade's shoulder shaking her head.
Jade laughed enjoying the great friendships she'd developed with the team. They'd become like a real family, with bonds that wouldn't break. "Great, isn't it?"
"I'm jealous." Meg admitted. "We've only got about two weeks left. And I miss my Eddie Maybe I should have him fly over for a hot weekend, too."
Dane exited the truck, a grin on his face as he walked toward them. "I heard that. Take him on a cruise. That's where we're headed as soon as you guys are done here. I can't wait."
"You need the break," Jade murmured, walking into his arms. "How was the meeting?"
"Good and bad. I barely recognized John. This last three weeks hasn't been easy on him." He sighed, the rumble rolling up from deep down. "The extradition process is going ahead." He dropped his head to rest against the top of Jade's. "I spoke to one lawyer who said the U.S. wants to try him for the murders of Celia and Elise. Plus they are going back through John's history to see if there could be other victims."
She closed her eyes at the pain in his voice. What a mess the last few weeks had been. Dane had had it the hardest. She still had nightmares, only they were less disturbing. Dane had them too. Although she hadn't let him know she'd watched him twist in torment while he slept.
"I'm sorry," she said.
He tightened his arms then released her, keeping one around her shoulder as he smiled at Meg. "How's it going here?"
Meg smiled. "It's great. We've found the mother and daughter we've been looking for. The DNA results came in today for them. Just waiting for the father's DNA to match up then those three can go home where they belong."
"Wow." Dane smiled down at Jade. "That's excellent. I guess that means you'll be able to relax a little when Duncan gets here next week?"
She laughed. "Maybe."
When Duncan had heard the story he'd freaked on the phone and wanted to come over right away. It had taken a lot to convince him to hold off. Now his visit would be a joy. She couldn't wait to see him.
Jade leaned away a little. "Also, the police have a tentative ID on two of the prisoner women from the grave. But, as in John's case, it's important to find all of Peppe's victims. To find them, identify them and bring them home."
Tony had pitched a fit over identifying Peppe's victims, but he underestimated the wealthy busines
s owner who had been horrified and had quickly offered financial support to see the job done right.
Thank heavens.
"Home and family is important. So is friendship. And love." Dane's smile turned intimate, turning Jade's insides to mush.
This trip had done so much for her. For all its horrors and violence, there'd been many good things happen. She was being held by one of them. She'd survived. Not only survived but thrived.
In fact, by now, she was pretty sure she could get through anything.
That's what she called progress.
About the author:
Dale Mayer is a researcher, technical writer, ghostwriter, and author living in the beautiful Okanagan valley in British Columbia, Canada. She has several business books published on Mortgages, Resume Writing, and Companion Gardening – as a complement to those books, she has created The Essential Series encompassing topics in Careers, with future books in this series planned in the areas of Gardening, Finance, and Lifestyle.
In fiction, she writes taut psychological suspense with romance and paranormal elements. In YA she writes both mystery and urban fantasy books with the occasional vampire book thrown in just for fun.
Published Young Adult books include:
Vampire in Denial
Vampire in Distress
Dangerous Designs
Deadly Design October 2012)
In Cassie's Corner
Gem Stone Mystery (October 2012)
Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday's Child
Hide'n Go Seek
Maddy's Floor
Garden of Sorrow (October 2012)
Connect with Dale Mayer Online:
Dale's Website
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Touched By Death wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my friends and family. Many hands helped with proofreading, editing, and beta reading to make this book come together. Special thanks to Pat Thomas, my editor. I had a vision, but it took many people to make that vision real. I thank you all.