At Close Range

by Tara Taylor Quinn

  “What happens when the baby doesn’t die? Obviously you aren’t really going to inject the child with anything that will kill her.”

  Brian shrugged. “Of course not. And it doesn’t matter. Brown will be there for the injection of pure saline. I get him to confess to the other murders, the wire I’ll be wearing will pick it up and he’ll be arrested on the spot.”

  “Or he somehow figures out that you’re wired, pulls a gun and shoots you.”

  “I’ll be wearing a bulletproof vest. Boyd and Donahue will be in the examination rooms on either side of us. Angelo is going to be in the cupboard under the examination table. I’ll be fully protected.”

  If Brian’s assurances were meant to ease her fears, they’d failed miserably. Hannah didn’t trust Boyd—he’d been Miller’s partner for years. She most certainly didn’t trust Donahue. And now she had no faith in Angelo, either.

  Or Susan. Or William. Her two other confidants, other than Brian. Who was clearly out of his mind.

  She had no idea what to do. How to make him see sense. She didn’t know where to turn. Who the hell did she talk to?

  “As soon as we get Brown’s confession, other arrests will be made within the hour,” Brian said. “Once the key people from this project are in jail, Donahue is going to turn over years’ worth of Ivory Nation paperwork documenting murders, tortures, robberies, vandalisms, drug deals, money laundering. Rape. And I’m sure a list of other things I don’t want to know about.”

  “I don’t believe that for a second.”

  “And he’ll contact each of the remaining members of the core brotherhood privately, telling each one that God is calling that brother to confess everything he knows about Ivory Nation activities. He’s going to make each of them think that he’s the only one to be called. He’s their prophet. They revere him, or at least have a total fear of his connection to God.”

  “They’ll never do it.”

  “I believe they will.”

  “And if they don’t?”

  “It’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

  He wasn’t going to listen to her.

  He believed them.

  They had him.

  “Donahue sends his apologies, by the way,” Brian said. He’d changed over the past week. Become harder. Less innocent.

  “What does Donahue have to apologize to me for?” If he hadn’t known about any of this…

  “For Callie. Your living room. The ring’s disappearance. The photo on your desk. The scorpion.”

  “Callie?” She hadn’t let the cat out? Her pet had been murdered? Same as her son had been? “The son of a bitch killed my family.”

  Cold to the bone, Hannah stared at her friend, who’d just been used to threaten her again. The Ivory Nation leader was in control even now, in the privacy of Brian’s home. He was sending messages. Letting her know that nothing she loved was safe from him.

  Including Brian.

  She got the message loud and clear.

  Donahue had Brian. And he’d have anything else Hannah ever cared about.

  He was going to cut her heart out piece by piece. Because she’d dared to defy him. She’d dared to stand for justice.

  “I don’t want you to do this.” Donahue had arranged to have a young boy break into her home—and had had someone on the police force lie about it, saying it wasn’t gang related.

  Deputy Charles? Was he in, too?

  “It’s too late.” Dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve maroon T-shirt, Brian looked more casual, more relaxed, than she’d seen him in ages. “I’ve already agreed. Things are in motion,” he continued. “I couldn’t stop them if I wanted to. If I don’t do this, the Ivory Nation will continue to exist. And they’ll just keep stalking us, Hannah—to take away anything we care about.”

  “So he wins. He’s got us doing his bidding out of fear of retribution.”

  “Partly. Maybe. But in this case, his bidding is bringing about exactly what we want most. The end to all of this. Including the Ivory Nation.”

  “I don’t believe that.”

  “I have to do this for Carlos, honey. And for the others, too.”

  “Nothing you do is going to bring Carlos back. I can’t lose you too.” She couldn’t let this go. She knew something was amiss. That he was being played. Was going to get hurt. “You could leave town. We could take a cruise under assumed names.” Donahue was behind the photo. The scorpion in her desk. Had he gotten to both Susan and William? Or just one of them?

  And with his diabolical ability to inflict torture in whatever way he chose, to affect any aspect of life he chose to invade, could she blame either one of them for doing what they were told?

  “Hannah.” Brian sat forward, grabbed one of her hands again, held it between both of his. “It’ll be okay. I’ll be wearing a wire and a bulletproof vest, not that I’ll need it, but they’re being that careful. My part isn’t dangerous at all. To the rest of the world, most particularly to the Ivory Nation brotherhood, I haven’t been cleared yet. They’ll know tomorrow after all of this goes down. For now, I’m out on bond.”

  “You don’t believe that, do you? That no one but you and this…this Tucson detective, Daniel Boyd, and Bobby Donahue and Angelo and now me are the only ones who know? Get a grip, Brian.” Hannah could hear her voice rising, but couldn’t contain it.

  The warmth of Brian’s touch, his sure, steady hands, washed over her, promising her she wouldn’t lose. Promising her the world wouldn’t lose. Making promises she couldn’t believe.

  “Donahue wasn’t involved in the baby killings. He stumbled on the IN connection by accident and was completely sickened. He’s a twisted man, but he’s got a code of ethics that doesn’t budge,” Brian said. “He came to the cops voluntarily. He was a free man. No one was onto him or the Ivory Nation. And even if they’d suspected the Ivory Nation eventually, there was absolutely nothing to implicate Bobby Donahue. Because he truly was unaware of what the brotherhood was doing.”

  “There’s no way this ridiculous plan is a secret,” Hannah continued despite knowing she’d lost. “The Ivory Nation is everywhere. They have contacts everywhere. In every level of the justice system from the courthouse to the jail cell. From cops to politicians. Lawyers, Even doctors. They aren’t just thugs anymore.”

  “Yes, even doctors,” Brian said, his hold on her hand tightening as he leaned closer. “And judges. They aren’t going to leave you alone, Hannah, as long as the organization exists. Unless we cooperate here, unless we end this madness, they’re going to be after you. The IN member you sentenced last year is the kid brother to one of the guys who tainted the formula. If we don’t get him, you aren’t safe.”

  “That kid was released on appeal. He barely served any time at all.”

  “Apparently it was long enough to get raped. And he hasn’t been the same since,” Brian said without emotion.

  “They had it in for you, too,” she reminded him quietly, though she knew now they’d already lost.

  Carlos had been killed because of her. Because of choices she’d made at work. Many, many lives had been lost or irrevocably damaged over the years. The Ivory Nation was more powerful than God. She and Brian hadn’t had a chance.

  “You really think they’re going to start thinking that this guy they were willing to hang by his balls is suddenly one of them?” she asked Brian. “Just like that? I’m telling you, Brian, this is just another Donahue scheme. There’ll be HGH in the syringe. Or the vest will be faulty. Or Angelo will get caught in the cupboard and be unable to help you when Brown attacks you. One way or another you’re going to end up dead.”

  “I don’t blame you for thinking so, Hannah, considering all you’ve been through. But you have to trust me on this. I’ve thought this through. In the first place, I was never as much of a target as I was a convenience. I had something Brown needed, but couldn’t create—a motive. They had to be able to convince a jury that I had a good reason for killing babies. Avenging lost love i
s about the best reason there is. It’s passionate, not logical. You just have to remind the jury of the power of passion and you’ve got them.”

  As a former prosecutor, Hannah knew that better than anyone.

  “They had nothing to do with Cara’s death. That was just their good luck. And yes, for a time, I was the worst kind of traitor. I was a supporter of the cause, because of the size of my donations to certain campaigns, yet I offered free health care to children of illegals. But that wrong is being avenged. I’m sacrificing myself for the cause—in the most dangerous way. That earns their respect. The large amounts I’ve contributed to support the campaign over the years will help to convince them that I’ve seen the error of my ways.”

  She hated every single part of this whole charade. She was going to lose him. “Don’t do this, Brian. All charges are dropped. You don’t owe anyone anything. We’ll run away. Leave the country. We have savings….”

  “I owe myself, Hannah.” The pain in his eyes hit her deeply. “Just like you couldn’t recuse yourself from the tough cases, I can’t stop now.”

  He was adamant. And foolish. And…

  Hannah loved him.

  Brian spent the afternoon attempting to reassure Hannah. She continued to argue with him. Eventually he got up to make them something to eat. A steak on the grill sounded good to him.

  And a baked potato loaded with cheese and real bacon bits and sour cream. He hadn’t had one in months. And in the interest of any future he might have, he’d forego the butter.

  After a brief trip to the farmer’s market with him, Hannah made the tossed salad.

  “It’s a setup,” she said after dinner as she sat on one of the four patio chairs in the backyard with him, dirty plates in front of them. He’d done better than she had at clearing his, but they were both leaving food behind. “They’ll get you in that office, then kill you. Nice and clean. When you’re dead you have no rights. They can say whatever they want about you. You can’t fight them. There’s no testimony. That’s how these people work.”

  “Hannah—”

  “They’ve had a glitch in their hierarchy, Brian. A guy who thought he, not Donahue, was God. Brown set a series of events in motion, and now they’ve got the blood of six infant boys on their hands. They’re in cleanup mode. And you’re their mop. It’s all in a day’s work to them.”

  “I can see why you were the state’s number-one prosecutor,” he said, with a sip of the iced tea she’d made for them. He was seeing her best work. “And why you made it to next in command to the attorney general.”

  “Don’t humor me.”

  “I’m not. You argue a good point.”

  Her face was no less lovely for her scowl. Her blond hair was like a halo, framing soft cheeks, those blue eyes so vivid. So sincere.

  So Hannah.

  He was used to seeing her in business attire. But she was no less intimidating in slacks and a sweater.

  “And you still won’t change your mind, will you?”

  “No.”

  “There’s nothing I can do or say to get you to see sense.”

  “I’m seeing sense, Hannah,” he said, still calm, still confident as he thought of his decisions. “Just not the same sense as you. But it’s equally clear. In fact, for the first time, I’m finally seeing what matters with complete clarity.”

  “Oh?” she challenged, as though she might get through to him if she could only find the secret passageway. “And what’s so clear to you?”

  Brian took a deep breath. The plan was in motion. He had no time to lose. Or room to misstep.

  “The only things that really matter are love and the people you care about. Love, relationships, people, are the only things you can take with you when you die. They’re all that’s waiting on the other side.”

  Since Cara’s death, he’d been aware that life didn’t last forever. It was only recently, when he’d seen the possibility of his own life ending, that he’d faced the consequences—been driven by them.

  Brian had no idea what Hannah’s silence meant. Night was falling and dusk’s fading light painted her expression with enough shadows to make her thoughts a mystery to him.

  “I meant what I said Friday night,” he murmured into the growing darkness. “I’m fairly confident that I’ll live a long life, but, in case I only have tonight, I want you to know that I love you. That I’m in love with you. I want you to know that you have more of my heart than anyone has ever had.”

  He’d said the words aloud. And hadn’t been struck down. Instead, he felt lighter. As though, if Cara was watching, she was pleased. Relieved.

  Not hurt.

  Toying with her fork, Hannah stared at the table. “Brian…I…It’s complicated. I…There’s William and…”

  He let her hang there. He had to.

  “I…” She glanced around the yard. At the sky. And then, finally, at him. When her eyes met his, and he saw the moisture glistening there, he took his first free breath in days.

  She had to get out. Except that she didn’t know where to go. While the citizens of Phoenix went about their daily lives, unsuspecting, unaware, another life was unfolding in their city.

  Hannah knew. She was aware. She couldn’t escape into the safety of anonymity.

  With Bobby Donahue on the loose, the cops not trustworthy, with her son dead, at least in part, because of her and her associations, with her closest friend framed and her lover possibly doing her dirty, her job putting her life at risk and her heart…

  She didn’t have room for a heart. Not today. Not now.

  She had to think safety. But she wasn’t sure what she was keeping safe. Her body? That was safest at Brian’s. Which was why they were there. While the brotherhood believed that he was working for Bobby Donahue he would be protected. And if she was with him, so would she.

  Maybe.

  Of course William or Susan was one of them. Or maybe they both were. Anybody could be IN. That was Donahue’s way.

  She was only safe as long as he decided to let her be.

  So what was she protecting? Her heart?

  They’d never have that.

  Jason had. Carlos. Callie.

  And William?

  He’d had her affection. Her admiration. Her caring. He’d never had her heart.

  Not in a man/woman way.

  Jason had that.

  And…

  Looking at the man sitting next to her, watching her patiently as his last hours possibly ticked away, Hannah tried to run.

  To hide.

  “I love you, too.” The words were loud. Shocking. She wanted to take them back.

  And knew she couldn’t.

  “I’m in love with you,” she said, and felt the stark truth as it hit her.

  Life was about ultimates. Ultimate risk. Ultimate gain. There was no more waiting. No more staying safe. Tomorrow was a risk. Tomorrow he might die.

  And tonight he risked his heart. Tonight was all he had.

  Watching Hannah, Brian knew that he was fully alive for the first time since Cara’s death. This was it. This was what living was all about. One moment. The current moment.

  There were no guarantees. There was only listening. And having the courage to follow the dictates that came from within.

  Brian stood and Hannah watched him wide-eyed, almost as though she were a young girl instead of the highly successful forty-year-old widow he knew her to be.

  Holding out his hand, he waited, not certain what was to come, only knowing what he wanted. His heart skipped a beat when her fingers slowly slid into his, her gaze locked on his.

  “I’m scared.” Her voice was thick.

  “We’ll go slow.”

  “It means too much.” Which made them more vulnerable than either of them could acknowledge.

  “I won’t hurt you.” Just the thought of what he was saying, where they were heading, had the blood roaring through his veins.

  He’d known Hannah Montgomery for twenty years and he’d nev
er seen her naked.

  That was about to change. He could see her hunger—a hunger that matched his own.

  “We’re going to make love,” he said.

  She nodded.

  24

  H annah was no innocent. She’d been married when her peers were still in high school. And she’d had lovers since Jason. Circumspect, low-key partners, like William—men who she’d been dating exclusively and the length of the relationships was more of a factor in their going to bed together than any real passion.

  And yet, as Brian undressed her, his hands caressing her body, Hannah shivered with a longing, with a need she didn’t understand. Her entire being focused on his touch, responding with sensations she didn’t recognize.

  And couldn’t stop.

  She’d seen his bedroom only once, but paid no attention as he carried her inside and laid her on his bed.

  Thoughts of the woman he’d shared that bed with only a week before surfaced, and then vanished. Cynthia, William, anything outside this moment was in another lifetime. A lost lifetime.

  She and Brian were finally where they were meant to be.

  “You’re gorgeous.” The words were torn from her as she watched him undress, revealing muscled thighs, hips that an artist couldn’t have proportioned better, a flat stomach with a sprinkling of dark hair. Seeing his erect male nipples sent spirals of desire between her legs.

  “I need to touch you,” she whispered. With a boldness, a fervor driven by the knowledge that this might be her only night with Brian. That she might never have the chance to touch him again.

  The images came fast and furious, ideas she’d never harbored before, things she needed to do to him, with him, that she hadn’t even thought possible.

  Brian seemed to occupy the same otherworld as her, knowing what she needed, where and when. They moved, sliding together, arms, legs, bodies connecting again and again.

  There was no part of her unexplored. His hands touched everywhere. His lips tasted everything.