Still Waters (16 page)

“You’ll love the cakes,” Martha said loud enough for Amber to hear. “They’re my grandmother’s recipe.”

Evicting thoughts of Sean, Amber considered that she really wouldn’t have time to eat before heading to the fund-raiser. A quick snack would be nice. “I would love a tea cake.”

She stepped out of the dressing room, and Martha was waiting for her. Amber jumped.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, dear.” She took the dress from Amber’s hand. “Come along before your tea gets cold.”

“You don’t want me to pay you first?” Amber followed her to the kitchen.

“That won’t be necessary.” Martha draped the dress across the back of a chair. “Sit down and I’ll serve.”

Amber exhaled, feeling a burst of uncertainty. What was wrong with her? This was Martha. She’d known her for years. There was time before she had to get dressed. She needed to relax. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that it was Sean. Making love with him had touched her in a place no one had reached before. It was ridiculous. She barely knew the man and somehow it felt as if they’d always known each other. He felt like the perfect fit...her other half.

Ridiculous.
Tomorrow Sean would wake up and realize the circumstances had triggered an out-of-control moment, and he’d never think of her again.

“Amber?”

She snapped to attention. “I’m sorry—what did you say?”

“I was asking about your friend Mr. Douglas.”

“Oh.” Amber accepted the cup of tea. “His assignment concluded.”

“So you were working together.” Martha gestured to a chair. She then placed a tea cake on a delicate china plate and set it in front of Amber.

“We were.”
Close enough
, she supposed as she sipped the warm refreshment.

“He seemed like a nice young man.” Martha settled into a chair across the table from Amber. “Quite handsome. I thought he was smitten with you—the way he looked at you, I mean.”

“I...don’t think so.” Amber sipped her tea to avoid saying more.

“You certainly appeared quite taken with him.”

Before Amber could protest, a howl reverberated through the house.

Martha jumped up from her seat. “Delbert?” She rushed from the room.

Amber sat there for a moment, wondering if she should check to see if everything was all right. The silence that followed felt entirely wrong. She should see if Martha and her son were okay.

Amber stood and the room tilted.

Good grief.
What was wrong with her?

She stared at the porcelain cup.
The tea.

Where was her phone? Her purse?

Turning around, Amber grabbed at that table to maintain her balance.

“Now, now, take care there.”

Amber tried to steady herself. Martha was suddenly at her side, guiding her forward. At least it felt as if they were moving.

“Martha...” Amber’s tongue wouldn’t work right. She felt horribly ill. Vomiting felt imminent.

“Don’t you worry, dear. I’m going to take extra good care of you.”

Amber leaned heavily on Martha. She couldn’t hold herself up anymore. She tried to plead with her...but the words wouldn’t come out.

“Here she is, Delbert.”

Amber felt her body plop into a chair. The room was shifting again. In front of her a man in a wheelchair stared at her. Delbert. Martha’s son. Behind him the computer screen that usually sported a video game was focused on a small room. Was that the dressing room she’d just been using to try on the dress? Amber groaned. She couldn’t be sure. Her vision kept fading in and out. She just didn’t know. She felt horribly sick.

“We thought we’d lost you,” Martha was saying.

What was she talking about?

“You’re the one he wanted,” Martha cooed. “Of all the ones we offered, it was you he wanted.”

Amber didn’t understand. She tried to move. Couldn’t.

“Rhiana turned out to be nothing but a whore.” Martha heaved a big sign as she knelt in front of Amber and tied her feet together.

Amber told herself to pull away from her. To get up and run, but her legs wouldn’t work.

“And Kimberly was a closet alcoholic. He just didn’t like either of the two the boys and I picked out for him. It was you. It had always been you. He’d been watching you for years. He said you were perfect. You were the one. I even tried to discourage him. How could someone as famous as you be bothered, but then I understood what I had to do. I had to make you available.”

Amber tried again to cry out. She tried to get up. Her body wouldn’t work.

“And those stupid so-called friends of his almost ruined everything. You just can’t depend on anyone anymore. They were only supposed to install the cameras on the candidates. But I knew when Kimberly went missing that they were up to something. The bastards were messing with those girls, and they killed them. But don’t worry—I took care of those idiots. As soon as I found out what they were up to, I made them pay. All I had to do after that was find a way to get you here. I’m sorry about the tea the other night. That wasn’t supposed to happen until I was ready. You’ll be fine, though. I was careful about the dosage.”

She tied Amber’s wrists together. “Now. We’re ready. I’m going to be taking you and Delbert to a special place where no one will ever bother us. You are to love him and take care of him from now on. He’s ready for a life of his own, and he has chosen you to share it with him. I’ll make sure you have whatever you need.”

Another of those eerie howls echoed in the room.

“Hush now, Delbert. She’s all yours.” Martha got to her feet. “You can play with her all you want, every day from now on, and she’ll take good care of you.”

Amber closed her eyes in an effort to stop the spinning. She had to do something.

Martha screamed, and Amber’s eyes snapped open.

Sean.

Her heart leaped. He was here.

He and Martha struggled. Amber tried to keep her eyes open, but she couldn’t.

The darkness consumed her...and then the silence.

UAB Hospital

A
MBER
OPENED
HER
EYES
. She felt weak. Her brain seemed swaddled with cotton. She remembered throwing up in the ambulance. She remembered...
Sean
. He’d been right beside her through it all.

“There you are.” His blue eyes twinkled as he smiled at her.

Her heart squeezed. She really liked his smile. She liked his eyes and everything else about him. “Martha...oh, my God.” Her mouth felt cotton dry. “She’s done my alterations for years. How did you know?”

“Thrasher kept a framed photo of him and his best buds from high school—Kyle Adler and Delbert Guynes. I couldn’t get the idea out of my head that there was a third player in all this. When I saw that photo, I knew I was right.”

Amber reached for the water on the bedside table. “Let me do that.” Sean poured water in the cup and added a bendable straw; then he held it to her lips. “This should help.”

The water cooled her raw throat. She drew back and he set the cup aside. “I don’t see how Martha thought she could get away with this.” Amber shook her head. “They were helping her find a caregiver for Delbert. Why in the world would she do something so insane? She always seemed so normal.” The whole idea was ludicrous.

“Jess called a little while ago and gave me an update.” Sean’s expression turned somber. “Martha is dying. It’s cancer. The doctors have given her maybe six months to live. She doesn’t want her son in some institution. When she found out Thrasher and Adler were using her shop to video women changing and then sharing that video with her son, she threatened to call the police.”

“Wait.” Amber’s brain was still a little fuzzy from the poisoned tea. “Why did she threaten to call the police?”

“To make them cooperate with her. At some point after that she found out they were using the women for sex slaves. She killed Adler when she found out he was obsessed with you. She was after Thrasher next, so he killed himself. He knew his life was over anyway, so he ended it himself. Martha found him and left the note.”

“The whole thing is just horrible.” Amber fiddled with the edge of the stiff sheet. “What happens to Delbert now?”

Sean took her hands in his. “He’ll be placed in a facility and receive the care he needs. It isn’t what his mother wanted, but there’s no other family. The important thing is that you’re safe now and the Pettie and McCorkle families don’t have to wonder if their daughters’ killers will get away with murder.”

“You were right.” Amber squeezed his hand, tears burning in her eyes. “Still waters do run deep.”

“Sometimes being right is not so much fun.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

“I was thinking,” she ventured. “I feel like maybe it’s time we learned how to have a real personal life. Together, I mean. Unless, of course, you really believe what happened was a mistake.”

“You’re behind the curve, Roberts.” He grinned and shot her a wink. “I’ve already started. For the record, I never thought what happened between us was a mistake. I worried that the circumstances were the wrong time and place.” He kissed her hands. “I don’t care what brought me to you, all that matters is that I found you. I want to explore what we have more than I want to see the sun come up tomorrow.”

That was the best news she’d heard all week. “I’m sure we can arrange for both to happen.”

“Good.” He kissed her lips this time.

Amber closed her eyes and savored the sound of his deep voice as he promised her the world. As soon as she was out of this hospital she intended to hold him to every single one of those promises.

Chapter Sixteen

3309 Dell Road, Mountain Brook, 9:00 p.m.

“She’s growing too fast.” Jess smoothed the hair back from her sweet baby girl’s face.

Dan tucked the pink blanket around Bea. He turned to Jess, took her by the hands and drew her away from their daughter’s crib. “She’ll always be our little girl no matter how big she gets.”

Jess leaned into his chest and closed her eyes as his arms went around her. “Is she going to be jealous of her little brother?” Jess peered up at him. “I don’t think I could bear it if they hate each other when they become teenagers. Lil and I went through that stage, you know.”

“You need some hot cocoa.” Dan kissed her forehead and ushered her from Bea’s room.

He looked back one last time before turning out the light. The princess night-light kept the room from being completely dark. Jess had always been afraid of the dark. She hoped her children weren’t, but just in case she intended to make sure they felt safe.

“We have to finish decorating your son’s room soon. He’ll be here before we know it.” She was feeling a little overwhelmed lately. The agency was off to a great start and even Sean had turned out to be a top-notch member of the team. Still, there was just so much to do, and she felt tired all the time.

Dan guided her to her favorite chair in their family room. Toys were scattered all over the floor. Jess groaned. She had sworn she would never be one of those people—the ones who spoil their children with far too many toys. And look at their home. Toys were lying about in every room.

“You sit tight, and I’ll make the hot chocolate.” He backed toward the door and stumbled when the stuffed animal he stepped on made a high-pitched sound. He swore under his breath and snatched up the pink bear to ensure it still worked. It did not.

“You killed it,” Jess warned. “You better get rid of it before she notices.”

Dan nodded. “Good idea.”

He hurried away, damaged pink bear in hand.

Jess huffed out a big breath. This was her mother-in-law’s fault. Katherine spoiled Bea endlessly. “Like you don’t,” she muttered.

With much effort and no shortage of groaning, Jess hefted herself out of the big plush chair and followed the path Dan had taken to the kitchen. He’d just put the milk in the microwave. She slid onto a stool at the island and watched as he readied the instant cocoa mix. It might be instant, but it tasted like the real thing. With a toddler in the house, they had both learned to appreciate plenty of
instant
fixes.

“What’s on your mind?” Her handsome husband leaned on the island and studied her. “I can always tell when you’re unsettled.”

It was true. They had been in love since they were teenagers and could read each other like a book.

“This case reminded me of the one that brought me back home.” The similarities were disturbing.

Dan nodded. “Me, too. I was terrified Andrea would end up dead, like the two women in this case.”

Jess placed her hand on his arm and smiled. “But she didn’t. She’s in her senior year of college and doing great.” Andrea was Dan’s stepdaughter from a previous marriage. Though the marriage had been over for years, Dan still loved Andrea. Jess did, as well. She was a wonderful young woman.

“She didn’t because you found her when no one else could.” He touched Jess’s cheek. “I am so thankful you came back to me.”

“This is where I was always supposed to be.”

The microwave dinged and he straightened away from the island. “First you had to go catch all those serial killers for the FBI.”

She rubbed her belly as Dan prepared her cocoa. One of those bad guys had followed her back to Birmingham and no matter that two years had passed since she ended his reign of terror, he still haunted her sometimes.

The steaming cocoa appeared in front of her, marshmallows floating on top. “Drink up before it gets cold.”

She arranged her lips into a smile. “Thank you. Where’s yours?”

“I—” he reached into the fridge “—am having a beer.”

She made a face. “Don’t brag.”

He twisted the top off the glass bottle. “The case brought up memories of Spears and Holmes.” He traced his fingers over her forehead. “Whenever you’re worried about a case you frown. And since the big case B&C was investigating is closed, it has to be about those two bastards.”

He knew her too well. “Spears is dead. I don’t worry about him. It’s all his sick followers that keep me awake sometimes.” Ted Holmes had tried his best to reenact Spears’s obsession with her. He’d gotten far too close to her child. “I’ve had my moments since leaving the department,” she confessed, “when I thought I’d made a mistake. That maybe I couldn’t do as much to stop the evil out there.”

Dan held his tongue and allowed her to continue in her own time.

“This case showed me I made the right decision.” She held up her mug. “To the future.”

Dan tapped her mug with his bottle of beer. “Hear, hear.”

One more face of evil down. Jess sipped her hot cocoa and relished the victory.

* * * * *

Every cowboy has a wild side—
all it takes is the right woman to unleash it...

Keep reading for a sneak peek of

BLAME IT ON THE COWBOY
,

part of
USA TODAY
bestselling author
Delores Fossen’s miniseries

THE McCORD BROTHERS.

Available in October 2016
only from HQN Books!

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