Chapter Twenty-One
Zach used the stock end of the shotgun to bust out the back glass sliding door of Fred Haskins’s house. Chelsea’s mind riveted on weird little things, like how the moon made the ripples on the surface of the swimming pool sparkle. At that moment, she longed to sink to the bottom. Without thinking, she used the tail of her shirt to wipe a trickle of blood that had been dripping from her split lip. Glancing at her shirt, she studied the interesting patterns the smears of bright red had made on her light colored shirt.
Jordan inched back while Zach’s attention was on the door, but Zach must have noticed the movement.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Jordan lifted his hands. “Nowhere. You’re the man with the gun.”
Zach shifted his position so that Jordan and Chelsea were between the gun and the door.
Haskins appeared in the room just beyond the broken glass. “Halsey, what the hell are you doing?”
Zach stuck the barrel end of the gun in Chelsea’s back. “I brought you a gift, Haskins.”
Haskins flinched and moved back, his eyes darting toward a panel on the wall.
“I’ll blow your hand off before you can reach the alarm.”
Haskins hands shot up. “No alarm.” His eyes seemed to drill into Zach. “What do you want? I don’t have any cash here.”
Zach cackled. “I know better than that, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m bringing you a little bit of left over business that you need to take care of.” He waved the gun at Jordan and then nudged Chelsea in the back with the barrel end. “Go stand over there with Haskins.”
Chelsea took his time obeying the gun-wielding maniac.
“Move.”
She increased her speed by a fraction.
Haskins glanced at Chelsea and then landed his gaze on Zach again. “What’s she to me?”
“When you blackmailed my grandfather, you forgot to mention that Cherish Duncan wasn’t really dead.”
Haskins smirked. “Now how was I supposed to know that? No one has seen her around here for years. She could have been anywhere. No body. No crime.”
Zach’s smile widened until his face was a hideous mask. “You know, I thought if everyone thought I’d killed her, then I might as well make that happen. But then when she tried to make me think I was seeing a ghost tonight, I realized what I really want is for you to use your influence to get my grandfather out of the jam he’s in with the feds.” He shoved Chelsea closer. “I give you a witness that can testify against you to play with however you want, and you get my grandfather a get out of jail free card. I think that’s a fair deal.”
Chelsea gritted her teeth and then pushed into the conversation. “You’re the one that shot at me?” She tried to seem surprised.
Zach waved the end of the gun at her. “Take your bribe, old man.”
Haskins flopped into the nearest chair. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know this girl.”
“Yes, you do.” Zach’s roar could probably be heard in the next county.
Jordan inserted his voice into the tense situation. “This is a bad idea, Halsey. Why don’t you put the gun down?”
Haskins jeered at Zach. “I don’t make deals with morons.”
“I’ll shoot her.”
“Go ahead. You’ll solve my problem and take the heat for it.”
Zach was so busy dealing with Haskins’s taunts and Jordan’s obviously lame attempts to get Halsey to drop the weapon that he apparently didn’t see Brett slip through the door and ease into a side room. To Chelsea’s dismay, Brett didn’t appear to have a weapon.
She bit her lower lip to keep from shouting at Brett to get back. The expression on Jordan’s face changed for just a moment. He had obviously seen Brett as well.
Zach was fuming his demands again. “I don’t want much from you, Haskins. I just want my name cleared and my grandpa’s name cleared. And you can do that. All you have to do is tell the feds that you knew she was alive all along.”
“And admit that I was blackmailing a public official. I don’t think so.”
Chelsea closed her eyes and then opened them. She gulped down her fear and mastered her level of stress. “When did you realize I was alive?”
Could she lure him into talking about his intentions, his grievances, or his bitterness? If she could stall him from acting in haste that might give Brett time to call Shaw Bennett or Josh McCord. Or maybe even Grayson.
“Does it matter?” Zach spat his question.
“Yes, it does.” She took one step toward him, moving the gun and Zach further away from Jordan and Haskins. The tight room afforded her little space to maneuver.
Zach’s bitter laughter sent chills up and down her arms. “Did you really think I’d fall for your ghost act, Cher?”
There it was. The tone. The sneer. She hated it when anyone called her that, especially Zach Halsey.
Could she pull off a bluff? “You don’t have to do it this way. This can all be over. Just take me to the cops. I’m alive. They can see that. No one will suspect you of killing me anymore.” Her begging sounded as weak as it was. That was her intention.
She ran her hand along the barrel of the gun until it rested on his hand. “Zach, listen…I forgave you for what you did to me a long time ago. What happened to me since then is a whole lot worse and not really your fault. I’m not angry with you.” Her tone implied just the opposite.
He grinned. “I. Don’t. Care.”
Her last meal almost rushed up from her gut. “I think you do. What you did to me has been eating you alive for years. Am I right?”
He blinked at her.
“Handing me over to Haskins isn’t going to solve your problem. He’s got enough men that he’ll hunt you down and get rid of you. Just like he gets rid of everyone who gets in his way. And making this trade? It’s not going to solve your grandpa’s problem.”
His demeanor changed. She had gotten to him.
She continued her attempt to insert doubt and rattle his resolve. “He’s in trouble with the feds for so many things… Zach, there’s nothing you can do to help him now. It’s time to let it go.”
He pushed back from her. “Do you really think I need or want your forgiveness?”
Jordan spoke. “Chelsea, he’s not going to listen. He’s beyond help.”
The gun swung toward Jordan. “Shut up, cop.”
Brett jumped Zach from one side and Grayson barreled into the room from the other.
Once they had wrestled Zach to the ground, Haskins came back to life, standing over Zach while Grayson slapped a pair of cuffs on him. Arrogance oozed with the man. “You see, Halsey, you can’t push me around. Did you really think you’d get by with this?” He nodded toward Grayson. “You’ve been busy tonight. Did you take care of that other problem?”
“It’s not a problem any longer.” Grayson’s stern expression never wavered.
“I’m sure you can handle this one as well.”
Grayson jerked Halsey to his feet and shoved him toward Brett. He wrapped his thick arm around Halsey’s neck and yanked on the cuffs. Halsey groaned and burped.
Then Grayson turned around. Satisfaction glowed on his handsome features. “Fred Haskins, you’re under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, blackmailing a public official, and the manufacture of methamphetamines. While we’re on the way to the Sheriff’s office, I might be able to think of a few more charges against you.”
The smug smile dropped from Haskins’s face. He shook his head as if he’d seen Grayson’s betrayal coming. “I had a feeling you weren’t going to play fair.”
“What would you know about fair?”
Haskins rose from the chair and stood to his full height, only a few inches shorter than Grayson. “Well, let’s go. Let’s see how long it takes me to get out of jail. How long do you think they’re going to take you seriously when I tell them all the things you’ve been doing for me?”
“I’m no
t much worried about you or your testimony. My word against yours? Who do you think they’re going to listen to?”
Haskins’s face transformed into a mask of pure unadulterated spite. “I thought we had a deal, son.”
“Like I told you weeks ago, don’t call me son.” Grayson edged closer to Haskins. “Your network is gone. I made sure of that. Your buyers know you’re standing them up tonight. I let that slip to them. Dalton Prichard is in custody and squealing like stuck pig. Your time is up, old man.”
Haskins’s arm curled around Chelsea’s neck. She clawed his arm until the snub nose of a handgun pressed against her temple.
“What are you doing, Fred?” Grayson asked.
Chelsea sniffed as if she was about to bawl. “Oh, please. I’m getting tired. I don’t want to be the victim anymore.”
What did she have to lose? If she went limp, would the man react quickly enough to put a bullet through her head? She doubted it. When he’d risen from the chair, she’d noticed how weak he was.
She didn’t have to execute her seemingly foolish plan.
“I can’t do this.” Haskins lowered the gun, and his arm fell away from her.
Jordan reached for Chelsea and pulled her away from Haskins.
He fell back into the chair and wiped his free hand over his sweaty brow. “I had a feeling things were going bad tonight. You coming to work with your old man… I knew that was too good to be true. Now, I have to finish this. Apparently, the pills aren’t working fast enough.” In the next moment, Haskins had pressed the end of the gun to his temple.
“Give me the gun.” Grayson took a step toward Haskins. When Haskins didn’t react, he advanced even further. He tossed his phone at Jordan. “Call 9-1-1.”
Jordan caught it with one hand and pressed the emergency button with his thumb.
Sad eyes swept over Grayson. “I have nothing left to lose.”
“This isn’t the way to do this, Haskins.”
The old man laughed. “You got a better idea? I’m not going to jail.”
The lights flickered. A pop of electricity sizzled through the room. The hair on Chelsea’s arms stood on end. Jordan’s arm tightened around her, pulling her further away from the drama unfolding around Haskins.
“Mitchell, I was trying to make things right. You and your mother…you deserved better.”
Grayson shook head. “I don’t want your blood money.”
“What are you talking about?” Zach asked and tried to wiggle out of Brett’s grasp.
Brett smacked Zach on the back of his head. “You aren’t going anywhere without an escort.”
Dark clouds rolled in and surrounded the house. The night outside was darker than dark. Inside, the lights had dimmed. Shadows loomed in the corners. The group twitched and shifted on their feet, everyone except Haskins.
A siren sounded in the distance.
Haskins drew in a deep breath. “I guess its time.”
Grayson jerked forward and then stopped. Jordan shoved Chelsea behind him and made a similar move toward Haskins.
A dark mass formed, gathering substance as it descended upon Haskins from where it had manifested on the ceiling.
Zach gasped. “Get me out of here.”
Chelsea’s heart raced to twice its normal pace. She trained her gaze on Zach. Did he sense the same thing she did? The last time she’d felt that particular energy was the night Zach had tried to rape her and she had run straight into the waiting arms of James Standridge. The night her life had changed forever.
Zach should be afraid. Very afraid.
Because of all the things she’d heard about Jeremy Haskins, if his was the ghost she’d felt and heard that night, it seemed strange that he would save her from Zach Halsey. But something had distracted Zach long enough for her to run. Something cold and dark and sinister. Something that taunted her even as it rescued her from Zach.
The black enveloped Haskins. The gun dropped to the floor. No one moved, as if frozen, as if exposed to liquid nitrogen.
Zach’s body shook. Fear reflected in his eyes, on his face, in his stance. “It’s him.”
Haskins’s eyes went wide. The mass seemed to seep through his skin so that the darkness consumed him, until only the shape of a man remained, a black void where Haskins used to live and breathe.
Grayson reacted first. “Let him go, Jeremy.”
Chelsea forced the oxygen in and out of her lungs. Jordan whispered in her ear. “I thought he was gone. Wasn’t he cremated? Why is his spirit here now?”
Come with me.
Fred Haskins’s body heaved and contorted.
The sound of rushing wind rose in the room and seemed to swirl around them.
Grayson shouted his instruction. “Everybody move back.”
The dark mass that was the spirit of Jeremy Haskins seemed to suck the soul out of the body of his father. A jolt of electricity ripped through the room, prickling the upright hairs on Chelsea’s arms. The stench of burnt sulphur burned her nostrils.
“Jordan, what’s happening?”
His breathless response roared in her ears. “Cover your eyes, Chelsea. Don’t ask questions. Just do it.”
She did as he suggested.
Dizziness swept over her. His arms resembled two strong cords of steel wrapped around her. His strength was the only reason she didn’t collapse to the floor.
The energy in the room vibrated with anger, hatred, and malice. Zach Halsey groaned through the swirling chaos. Grayson shouted something she couldn’t understand, almost as if he was talking in a dead language. Jordan pushed her to the floor, covering her with his body. His sobs pummeled her heart.
Where was Brett?
She dared to open her eyes just a slit, just in time to witness the ground open up. Heat rose from the hole. The soul of Jeremy Haskins and the spirit of Fred Haskins sank and disappeared. The atmosphere in the room changed as soon as the hole in the floor closed with a boom and a clang.
****
Chelsea’s lack of an emotional response to what had just happened concerned Jordan more than if she had fallen apart. From where they sat perched on the tailgate of Zach Halsey’s truck, Jordan had a view of the activity surrounding Fred Haskins’s house. The flashing lights from a dozen patrol vehicles cast red and blue and white splotches against the building and plunged fingers of color into the surrounding woods.
Shaw Bennett had finally arrived with a passel of Hill County deputies. It wouldn’t be long before the federal agents showed up. Then they would all be in for a long ordeal. He glanced at Chelsea. Did she have any idea the night had only just begun?
“Are you okay?” He whispered into her hair.
She shivered once. “I’m just cold.”
Maybe she was in shock. He wrapped the blanket around her a bit tighter. Emergency personnel swarmed the area. After Chelsea had insisted she was all right, the EMT had insisted she cover up with a warm blanket.
“When can we get out of here?”
“We’re going to have to go back to town and answer a lot of questions. Are you up to that?”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I have no choice, do I?”
“Not really.”
“I meant when can we get out of Arkansas?”
He smiled into the dark night around them, squinted at one deputy talking to another, probably gossiping about Fred Haskins’s death already, and the man wasn’t even good and dead yet. His spirit was gone, but his shattered body remained.
“We’ll have to get the all clear to leave from the FBI. They will no doubt take over.”
She sighed. “I can’t wait to get started with the rest of my life.”
He tensed a bit. “Do you still want to stay with me? After this, the threat is over. You’re free to be who you want and to live where you want.”
She turned her sweet face to search his eyes. “Are we done then? Have you decided I’m not worth the trouble?”
Her serious tone scared him. “No. That’s n
ot what I meant at all. You’re always misunderstanding me. I want you to do what you want to do. I…I don’t want you to think you owe me anything. Or Kristie. I think you can move on with a good conscience now.”
“But what about…I thought…I was hoping…” The light in her eyes dimmed. Had she given up trying to express how she felt?
His heart thumped at a furious pace. “I’ve never met anyone like you. I know we haven’t known each other very long, but in a way, I think I’ve known from the first time I met you that you were going to be in my life for a very long time.”
She laughed. “How could you know that?”
“The moment we met I knew there was something about you that felt very familiar. That felt right.” He was about to make no sense, and he cringed at what he was about to say. “Since we met we haven’t been apart very often, you know. But I have this feeling that if we were apart, I’d miss you very much. Like there was this huge piece of me that was missing.”
She blinked. “I feel the same way.”
He stuck his neck out…far out. “I don’t believe in love at first sight.”
Her lips trembled. “I wouldn’t know what that looks like.”
“Okay, here’s the deal…we’ll never have love at first sight between us. Right?” He waited for her to nod in agreement, which she finally did. “Then, why can’t we stay together and find out how love feels together. I think it could happen for us. I think if we’d met in other circumstances, we’d be falling in love right now. We haven’t had time to figure out what we might mean to each other. I just know that I feel like we will…given enough time to get over what we’ve been through.”
She leaned toward him. “It feels right being with you, like I’m with the person I’m supposed to be with. You’re right. We need time to figure this out. But for right now…if I lost you now, I don’t think I would ever get over it. After all the things I’ve been through, nothing else would hurt as bad as watching you walk away from me before we even had a chance to get started.”
He held her closer, their lips only centimeters apart. “Let’s take the chance together. I want to see where this goes. I have a feeling it’s going somewhere good.”
Chelsea Lane (Haunted Hearts Series Book 5) Page 26
