Crucified (9 page)

“
She’s alive! Get an ambulance here stat!” She stepped back.
“For God’s sake, somebody get her down, and get me a blanket.” Her
eyes flashed with anger. “Move!”

Two officers
untied the ropes that bound her hands and feet to the cross. A
trickle of fresh blood oozed from her wrists and ankles. Dianne
rushed over and wrapped her bruised and battered body in a blanket.
Casey crumpled against her.

“
Find something to stop the bleeding.”

The officer,
who brought the blanket, took off his shirt and tore it into
strips. He gingerly wrapped Casey’s raw wounds while Dianne cooed
into her tangled mass of hair.

She thanked the
officer with her eyes and looked down into Casey’s motionless face.
A single tear rolled down her cheek to reveal the paleness of her
face.

“
Hush now, Casey.” She spoke barely above a whisper. “It’s all
over now…”

Taylor stood
with a team of officers as Casey was lifted onto the stretcher and
into the ambulance.

A palpable
sadness filled the air as the ambulance drove out of sight, lights
flashing and siren blaring, being led by two cruisers.

Dianne leaned
against her partner, the side of her face covered in Casey’s blood.
Her gaze fell on Taylor and her eyes widened, while color flooded
her face.

“
Get those cuffs off of him!”

An officer
unlocked the cuffs and moved away as quickly as possible. His nose
wrinkled in distaste. Taylor watched the anger dissipate from her
face, replaced by a deep sadness that tugged at his heartstrings.
He desperately wanted to be the one to comfort her.

“
I’m sorry.” She crumpled against her partner and buried her
face in his jacket.

Concern etched
Seth’s brow. He squeezed her arm and guided her over to the
sedan.

His brows knit
in confusion, Taylor turned to the nearest officer as Seth started
the car and drove off. “She’s sure taking this hard. Do you think
she’ll be okay?”

“
She’s pretty tough. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” The officer
gagged and pulled his shirt over his nose. “No offense, but you
don’t smell too great.”

Taylor shrugged
and trudged the short distance to his bike without another word
spoken. His eyes teared up as the wind carried the putrid stench of
himself. No wonder Dianne went to Seth and not him.

“
I’m sorry, MJ.” He’d never been on his bike even remotely
close to being as filthy as he was now.

He kicked her
to life and flipped up the stand. “Take me home, Mary Jane.” He
rode home pretty much on autopilot. He opened his back door to see
the light flashing on his phone. He trudged over and jabbed the
button.

“
Taylor, this is Dianne. Could you please come down to the
station sometime today to issue a statement?” He heard the raw
emotion in her voice. “Thank you.”

He sighed
wearily as he opened the cupboard with just his fingertips. He
grabbed a garbage bag and walked mindfully back out to the deck. He
wished with ever fiber of his being he didn’t have to recount the
events of today.

Taylor stripped off his clothes. All the while, he held his
breath as he tossed each item of clothing into the garbage
bag.
So much for these clothes.
His stomach turned as he tied the bag
closed.

Naked, he walked over to the garbage can and tossed in the
evidence of his
shit
luck. He stood still, his gaze roamed over the spot he’d seen
the smoke coming from early that morning.
What would that sick fuck have done to her if I didn’t go
investigate the smoke?
He shuddered with
the thought and partly because of the breeze against his bare
skin.

Once inside, he
walked straight to the bathroom. He held the walls of the shower
and let the warm water pummel over his head until the brown water
turned clear.

****

Dianne stepped
out of the shower with a better grip on her emotions. She barely
remembered coming back to her room. Seeing Casey tied to a cross
affected her deeply. She’d seen plenty in all her years on the
force, but for some reason, this time was different, like something
inside of her broke and she doubted she’d ever be the same.

She dressed in
jeans and a long sleeve black blouse. Instead of wearing the usual
running shoe, she opted for her black leather boots. She hardly
recognized the woman who looked back at her in the mirror.

What happened
to you?

The dark circles under her green eyes told how the past ten
years had taken its toll on her. She shook her head at her
image.
You need to get a
life
.

A quick swipe
of mascara and Chap Stick and she was good to go. Her badge and gun
sat prominently on the end table, taunting her. With a decisive
nod, she picked them up and rolled back her shoulders before
stepping over to the door.

She took a deep
breath before crossing the street to the station, and didn’t let it
out until she opened the door. Seth sat across from Chief Walker
replaying the morning’s events.

“
I just can’t believe it. Jerry Cox?” The chief stared in
disbelief.

“
My guess is he saw Casey with a boy, and snapped. She’s the
preacher’s daughter, hence the Jezebel angle.” Seth tipped back his
chair to lean on the wall.

“
Any word on Casey?” Dianne sat against the opposite
wall.

“
She’s in pretty bad shape, but the doctors are hopeful. She’s
heavily sedated right now. Poor kid.”

She flipped her
badge over and over again.

“
Are you okay?” asked Seth.

“
I don’t know.” Dianne kept her gaze downcast. “I just don’t
know.”

The station
door opened. A warm breeze brought with it Taylor Danson. He’d
changed into form fitting jeans. A braided ponytail lay down the
middle of his back, his honeyed complexion a sexy contrast against
his stark white denim shirt. Despite what had just taken place,
there was no denying the attraction between them. Her pulse
quickened as his gaze met hers. Every fiber of her being wanted to
feel his arms around her.

“
Thank you for coming.” Seth stood and offered his hand,
breaking the connection between them. “I guess I owe you an
apology.”

He shook Seth’s
hand. “Never mind that. I’m just glad we got to her in time. She is
going to be okay, isn’t she?”

“
She’s got a long road ahead of her, but she’s going to be
okay.” Seth motioned for Taylor to take a seat next to Dianne. He
sat at his makeshift desk and rifled through a few papers. “Just a
couple questions and you can be on your way.”

“
Let’s get this over with then.”

“
I guess the question on everyone’s mind is how did you find
out where Casey was?”

“
I was out on my back deck having my morning coffee just like I
do almost every day before work. I saw smoke and had to check it
out.”

“
That cabin isn’t exactly visible from the main road.” Seth
narrowed his gaze and chewed on the end of his pen.

“
True. When I first moved here, I took a ride to explore what I
saw from my back door. I found the cabins then, and knew they were
abandoned. Which is why when I saw the smoke I got
curious.”

“
Well, I guess we have you to thank. If we hadn’t spotted your
bike, God only knows what would have happened.”

“
I’m just glad it all worked out.” Taylor forced a smile, and
rubbed the top of his legs. “Is there anything else?”

“
I’ll call you if anything comes up.” Chief Walker stood and
rounded his desk, offering his hand. “Let me be the first to
apologize for all the bullshit we put you through.”

Taylor patted
his back. “You were just doing your job. I won’t be around much
longer.”

Dianne sat up
straight in her seat. “What do you mean?”

“
It’s time to move on. Johnstown is going to have to find
another fall guy. It won’t be me.”

“
Can’t say as I blame you, Taylor,” replied Seth. “It’s too bad
though, it looks like you have a nice set up going here. Where will
you go?”

He shrugged.
“Where ever MJ takes me.”

“
Well, good luck with whatever you decide to do, and thank
you.”

His gaze
settled on Dianne. “I’ll be around for a few more days tying up
loose ends, if you need me.” He tapped two fingers to his brow and
walked out of the station.

She took a deep
breath and let it out slowly. Her mind made up, she stood and
unhooked her holster. She put it on the desk in front of her
partner and laid her badge on top.

“
You can’t be serious?” Seth narrowed his gaze at
her.

She smiled,
feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“
Why don’t you take a couple days off and get some
rest.”

“
No, Seth, I won’t be changing my mind.” She inched toward the
door. “Thanks for everything.” The rumble of Taylor’s motorcycle
prompted her to open the door without looking back.

Taylor pulled
out into the street.

“
Taylor!” Dianne waved her arms above her head and ran after
his bike.

He stopped at
the corner and looked back over his shoulder. She reached his side
and gasped for breath. The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile
that set her heart a flutter.

“
How about that rain check?” She tucked her hair behind her
ear.

Taylor’s brow
arched. “I thought you couldn’t ride on duty?”

“
As of now, I’m officially off duty.”

“
Well, now. Why don’t you hop on then?”

Dianne slipped
in behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“
Any place in particular you want to go?”

She nuzzled the
back of his neck and whispered in his ear, “Any way the wind blows,
baby.”

The End

Books

by
Adelle Laudan

*Iron
Horse Rider Trilogy

*In Your
Eyes

*Triad
of Hope

*Christmas Magic

Adult
Fiction

by

Elle
Laudan

* She
Rides

*Mystified

*Show Me
Yours

Website:
http://adellelaudan.com

Blog:
http://adellelaudan.blogspot.com

Elle Laudan :
http://ElleLaudan.blogspot.com