ChasingShadows (29 page)

Juliana gazed into Alex’s eyes. Even from the distance, his
love emanated from the vivid blue pools, lending her strength.

Where’s Lisette?
Alex asked in his mind.

Juliana’s eyes darted toward the car, and she gave a minute
tip of her head in the car’s direction.

Is she alive?

Juliana nodded twice.

“Drop it, Hastings. You’re surrounded,” Alex called out.

“Do the right thing,” Juliana pleaded with Nicholas, feeling
the iron strength of his arm muscles braced around her midriff. “You’ll never
get out alive.” A jumble of emotions, from fear to anguish, roiled inside her.

“If I die, you die with me.” His hot breath tickled her ear.
“Two orphans entered this world, and two will leave it.”

“Don’t.” Juliana locked gazes with Alex. His eyes bored into
her soul, fortifying her resolve. “I can help you.”

“Let her go!” Alex yelled, his voice flinty. He broke eye
contact, but she could feel him in her mind.

Nicholas tightened his arm around Juliana’s waist and backed
against the open car door. Excruciating pain continued to spear her arm.
Nicholas held the gun against her temple, and she forced herself to disregard
the threat to her life.

Juliana, try to move away from him. We need a clear shot
from either the front or back.
Alex’s voice filtered into her mind.

Don’t try anything or I’ll kill you.

Nicholas’ thoughts competed with Alex’s. With enormous
effort and regret, she closed her mind off from Nicholas—and from Alex. She
couldn’t chance leaving any type of opening to her mind in case Nicholas could
penetrate it.

“Nicholas, if you let us go now, I can help you.” She
cradled her left wrist against her stomach. “I’ll talk to your parents,
convince them they’re wrong. Please don’t do this.”

“You’d help me? While I’m in jail?” He laughed derisively
and bent his head to her ear again. “I’d rather die than spend the rest of my
life being pitied by those people you call my parents.”

“You’re not a killer, so don’t become one.” His body pressed
hard against hers, his muscles rigid. Anger and excitement radiated from the
sweat soaking him.

“What would you know about that?” The smirk in his voice was
obvious.

“I know you.” She gulped, fighting the fist of vertigo
bullying her self-possession. “Like you said, you and I are alike.”

“Then you know how they hate me.” His voice lowered.

Confusion veiled Alex’s face. Juliana knew he was trying to
send thoughts to her blocked mind. She felt horrible that she’d shut him out
when he needed her most. But she couldn’t take the chance, not knowing the
extent of Nicholas’ psychic abilities.

“They don’t hate you, Nicholas.” Juliana dropped her wrist
and gave his arm a quick squeeze. “They love you.” From an earlier fleeting
thought she had captured in his mind, she chanced her next question. “Didn’t
your mother help you out with money?”

A strangled chuckle erupted in her ear. “Because I
threatened her. My father would kill her if he knew.”

A tendril of shock wound through her. Her perceptions were
correct. “I’m sure they only want what’s best for you.” Deep down, she hoped
her words held some truth.

Nicholas’ unyielding arm loosened. He turned her around to
face him, pinning her against his rock-solid chest again. She dropped her arms
to her side, mindful of the broken wrist. The faint smell of gunpowder
lingered. The nine-millimeter still pointed at her temple.

Dimly, Juliana wondered why her intuition told her she’d
live to see another day. Nothing separated her from death, ruining the life she
hoped to have with Alex. Holding onto those thoughts gave her strength.

Juliana gasped in renewed pain as Nicholas bumped her bad
wrist. Uncertainty exaggerated his bleak expression. She smiled, tentatively
catching him off-guard.

“Juliana,” he whispered, reverence lacing his tone. “Who are
you?” His thumb caressed her left breast, his hand shaking.

Exhilaration poured into her. She had succeeded in stabbing
his shallow control.

She raised her right hand to his shoulder, her fingers
brushing his neck sensuously. “I know you, Nicholas, it’s not in you.” Her
stomach heaved. “You have too much to live for.”

A brooding look came over his face.

Juliana knew exactly what he wanted, needed. It had nothing
to do with money. His need centered on love and acceptance—the same things
absent from her life. It was mirrored in his eyes.

She traced his lips with her index finger. When he didn’t
stop her, she raised her mouth to his, lips touching lightly, then harder. A
shudder tore through her as she met his hunger, forcing down a gag reflex.

He lowered the gun and grasped her waist. The kiss deepened
and became possessive. The gun barrel, solid and cold against her buttocks,
pointed at the ground.

“No!” A scream of horror tore from Jasmine, startling them
both, handing Juliana the chance she’d hoped for.

Juliana ripped her mouth from Nicholas. With her waning
strength, she pushed back from him as far as his arms allowed and slammed her
knee into his groin. The contact vibrated through her body.

His arms dropped away. Without a wasted second, she
scrambled out of his reach, ducking behind the car. He stumbled, gripping his
crotch with one hand and attempting to raise the gun with the other.

An incensed wail tore from him. “You bitch!” he screamed as
he fell to his knees.

The crack of a gunshot followed the cry of the madman. She
flung herself to the ground and rolled under the car away from Nicholas, away
from the chaos. The force of her body hitting the ground sent a gush of torture
up her arm.

An agonizing maelstrom flooded her mind, paralyzing her. Her
eyes clouded, but through the mist, she saw Nicholas on his knees. A slow red
sea spread across the left side of his chest. He toppled face-forward on the
dry, hard-packed earth.

Juliana’s head felt as if it would explode as Nicholas’
thoughts and emotions crammed in.

Every thought, every emotion.

A cold, dark desolation filled him. Filled her. He’d grown
up in his father’s shadow, never knowing how to love or be loved in return.
Never accepted, never doing right.

His mind consumed hers completely. For a brief instant, she
felt warm, strong arms around her, then black ink drenched the sun.

Juliana struggled through the darkness and the death trying
to carry her along for a ride. An energy-force wrapped around her, dragging her
away from the blackness. Far off, she heard someone calling her name.

Alex.

Pure love surrounded her. His need filled her and chased off
the malevolence, the hellish void.

All the doubts she harbored about Alex and their love
vanished. The loneliness disappeared. Everything she’d ever wanted waited for
her outside the abyss. She wouldn’t allow herself to end up like the psycho who
had terrorized her world during the last week.

Nicholas was dying, yanking her to hell with him. Juliana
fought against death’s pull, sensing it inches away. She tried to call out to
Alex, but no sounds came forth. Her arms and legs felt leaden, and she couldn’t
move her head or her eyelids. A sluggish heart thumped in her chest.

Was she dead? In the land between life and death?

Alex kept asking her to come back, telling her he loved her.
That he’d never stopped loving her. That he couldn’t live without her.

Final shudders jerked her body as the last vestiges of
Nicholas Hastings evaporated from her mind.

“Jewel, wake up. Don’t leave me.”

Tepid raindrops fell on her face. Juliana brushed them away,
startled when her hand obeyed. She tried again to open her eyes. They twitched,
fluttered, then opened wide to feast on the beloved face of the man she adored.

The droplets on her face were Alex’s tears.

He cradled her against his chest with one arm, the other arm
holding Lisette. The three of them huddled on the ground under the gnarled oak.
Juliana settled her swollen and numb wrist on her stomach. She was right where
she wanted to be. No more gloom clouded her heart or her mind.

Her head ached worse than ever. Her stomach clenched, but at
least she was alive to experience it. The pain didn’t compare to the heartache
of never seeing Alex again.

His heart glittered in his eyes as his gaze devoured her.
She didn’t know what to say.

“Juliana!” Excitement transformed Lisette’s face. “You were
right. Uncle Alex saved us!”

Juliana gloried in the moment, the three of them together,
safe. “Yes, he did, honey,” she said in a weak voice.

Alex hugged them, blocking their view of the paramedics
wrapping Nicholas in a body bag.

“Alex?” Juliana whispered.

“Shh. All I want is to hold you both.”

“Did you mean what you said yesterday? Now?”

His expression grew quizzical before a slow smile lit his
gaunt face. “Yes. I love you. I never stopped loving you.”

Juliana smiled back at him and fingered the dried blood on
his forehead. She lifted up and brushed her lips over the gash. “What
happened?”

He pulled her tighter against him. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll
tell you about it later.”

Juliana gasped as her wrist wedged between them. Renewed
pain blasted her arm.

Alex searched her face anxiously. “What? What’s wrong?”

“My wrist—”

Gently, Alex released the pressure of his embrace and eased
her arm free. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She leaned her head back on his shoulder and searched his
intense eyes. “Because I didn’t want you to let me go.”

He pressed a loving kiss on her temple. “I’ll never, ever
let you go, you hear me?”

Chapter Seventeen

Thursday, August 17

Jewel, I love you.

Juliana awoke next to Alex, his soothing voice in her head.
She opened her eyes and found him watching her, a sensuous smile on his lips.
Closed blinds dimmed the room. She had no sense of the time. But she knew she
lay in Alex’s bedroom. Off-white walls were unadorned, save for a wrought iron
framed mirror across from the bed. Beige vinyl blinds closed out the daylight.
The light oak furniture was plain but serviceable, cluttered with various
articles of clothing. A bachelor pad, plain and simple. Things would have to
change.

“Hey.” She caressed his face, his hair damp from a recent
shower. He smelled clean, fresh and heavenly. His smooth face was devoid of the
tiredness, anxiety and anger she’d become accustomed to the last few days.

“Hey yourself.” Alex kissed her forehead and brushed his
lips against hers. “Do you always crash for so long after your cases end?”

Juliana glanced at the clock. Four p.m., a day later. “I’ve
never come so close to losing my mind in a dying man.”

Alex’s face darkened, his eyes slivered. “That won’t happen
again.”

A deep sense of relief burst inside her, and she gave way to
it completely. She could have slipped into a coma, and might have died after
Nicholas’ mind subjugated hers. Alex had brought her back and saved her life.

“Are you going to chase away all the bogeymen?” she teased,
despite the seriousness of what had happened to her.

“Yes.” Gathering her closer, he molded her against his body.
“Even if I have to put you under lock and key.”

“Only if you’re there with me.”

“Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Juliana snuggled into his bare chest, her fiberglass-encased
wrist resting on his hip.

He brushed the tangled hair off her face, his fingers
gentle, warm.

“How are Grantham and Samantha handling things? Or have you
been sleeping with me the whole time?” She eyed the clean denim shorts he wore.

“With you, mostly.” Alex’s fingers twined in her hair.
“Grantham’s one broken man. That chip on his shoulder’s pretty much demolished.
Since Ethan and Nicholas are gone, he holds a ton of guilt for treating both
his sons like crap.” He wedged his knee between Juliana’s legs and she twined
her legs around his.

“Samantha’s trashed, but she’s the one holding it together.
She confirmed that Nicholas had limited, sporadic telepathic ability.” A wry
smile edged up his mouth. He stroked her face, her neck, his heated touch
leaving a feverish trail. “No charges will be filed against her. She was
fooled, like Jasmine.”

Juliana ran her fingers, featherlike, along Alex’s arm while
he caressed her back, leaving more trails of fire through the oversized T-shirt
she wore—Alex’s T-shirt. “Did you find out how Nicholas and Jasmine met?”

“During Nicholas’ casing of the estate, he scoped her out
for a while.” Alex sighed. “He followed her to school and seduced her into his
scheme.”

Alex’s hand ventured underneath her shirt and continued
caressing the inflamed skin of her stomach. Heat flared through her entire
body, and she quivered under his touch.

“Nicholas married her because he knew if things didn’t go
right, she couldn’t testify against him.”

“What a waste of two lives.” Juliana exhaled a small breath.
Jasmine would get jail time for her part in the crime. “Nicholas truly believed
his parents owed him for the years of what he considered to be abandonment.”

Nicholas told her he’d blown up his existence when he
destroyed his house. Now that he
was
dead, his existence destroyed, his
words had come true.

“He reached out to his father a couple of years ago, but
Grantham castigated him for not fulfilling his potential as an oldest son
should,” Alex explained. “That’s when Samantha started feeding him her trust
fund.

“The well dried up, and he concocted his stupid plan.”
Alex’s jaw clenched and loosened. “He found a look-alike and sent him on an
all-expenses-paid vacation to Barcelona to make it look like he was there the
whole time. The friend’s in custody pending charges.”

“How could he be stupid enough to register the Jag at his
parents’ house?”

Alex laughed grimly. “Samantha bought the damn car for him.
His biggest screw-up.”

“What did he do with all the money?” Juliana moved her hand
to Alex’s bare, muscled chest. He trembled from her touch.

“He ran up huge gambling debts in Monte Carlo.” Leisurely,
Alex stroked her abdomen, inching his way upward. “The three million from the
ransom would have given him a new start. No one seems to know his plans. He
told Jasmine they’d live at the ranch house forever. She believed him.”

Afraid to give in to her emotions and her arousal too
hastily without knowing where they stood with one another, Juliana reluctantly
removed Alex’s hand from under her shirt. Things had to be right between them
before she let her lust take over. She winked at his mock grimace as he moved
his hand back to her arm.

“She wasn’t too bright, and Nicholas probably would have
lost all the money if he was a chronic gambler.” She reflected on the last few
minutes of Nicholas’ life. “I almost felt sorry for him.”

Alex drew back, startled. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Seriously.” She gave him a stern look. “He experienced real
abandonment, self-esteem issues. He called himself an orphan, like me.”

His eyes widened. “You’re no more an orphan than I am.”

She sighed. “I know.”

He tightened his arms around her, her breasts pressing
against his chest provocatively. “You’re part of my family now. Forever.”

“Oh Alex.” She kissed his chest, laying her cheek above his
heart. The heat from his hard body warmed her from the inside out. His musky
spice scent softened the edges of her ravaged mind.

“Alex. Were you talking to me while I slept?”

“Sort of.” He laughed. “About everything under the sun.”

“Most of which you didn’t verbalize?” Her eyes slivered.
Ecstatic, she no longer needed to shut him out of her mind. His block was
effective enough that he could let her in and out at will, without her having
to keep guard.

It was a breath of fresh air.

He gave her a wry smile. “I guess I should have told you
about the telepathy thing with Andrea.”

Juliana gnawed at her lower lip. “Can you really block me
from reading your mind?”

“Most of the time.” He stroked her arm, stopping at her
cast. “I’m still learning.”

“Would have saved a few brain cells from worrying if I’d
known.” She nipped at his chest playfully.

Distinct redness stained his tan-darkened face. “Sorry. I
thought you’d figured it out, since you’re so experienced in psychic
phenomena.”

“I didn’t have a clue. The case totally confused me. All my
psychic abilities were in an uproar.” Her fingers danced on his chest. “So the
decoy plan didn’t involve me—”

“No, sweetheart.” He lifted her chin gently. “We would have
used a female cop in disguise. You would have stayed behind the scenes.”

“Alex, I’m so sorry I mistrusted you.” Love reflected in the
liquid depths of Alex’s eyes.

His lips brushed against hers, and he smiled. “Just don’t do
it again, huh?”

“I won’t,” she whispered, and caressed his scar.

Staring into each other’s eyes, they were unable to shift
their gazes away.

Careful not to disturb her bad arm, he grabbed a thick,
unopened envelope off his headboard shelf. “I found this in your nightstand
when I snagged your bank key.”

“I must have stuck it in there and forgotten it. My father’s
probate lawyer gave me a bunch of papers.” Gingerly, she edged the contents out
of the envelope. Trepidation niggled at her.

The envelope contained newspaper articles of her
accomplishments throughout the years in the psychic and financial communities.
She set them aside on the bed. At the bottom of the pile of clippings, she
found a letter addressed to her in her father’s handwriting.

Extricating herself from Alex, Juliana propped her back
against the headboard and read the letter. When she finished, she clutched it
to her chest. Tears welled in the corner of her eyes.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Alex thumbed her tears away.

“I can’t believe it. I never thought I’d see or hear these
words from him.” She shook her head, regret stabbing her. “He said he always
loved me and tried to do what was best for me. He always wanted me to break
away from the Westwood curse and mold my own course. He was confident and proud
that I had accomplished it.” Her eyes misted over, and she dropped the letter
on her lap. “He was glad I learned to control my psychic gifts when no one else
in the family ever had. He believed I broke the curse.” She paused, seized
Alex’s hand and held on tight.

“Do you agree with him?” Alex squeezed her hand.
Anticipation mingled with wariness in his expression.

“I think so.” Juliana looked at him timidly. “But I might
slip. Can you live with that?”

“You won’t slip. I won’t let you.” He leaned over and kissed
her long and hard, leaving her breathless.

Glancing at the fallen letter, she said, “He was sorry for
everything he did. He believed I might forgive him someday, if not thank him.”
She smiled ironically. “And he even said he was proud of you for the man you
became.”

Alex grinned wryly. “I guess the guy wasn’t all bad.”

Silence ensured, comfortable and safe, as Juliana reached a
decision. “Will you drive me to the cemetery later?”

“I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

She picked up the envelope and a small gold object fell on
the bed between them. Alex scooped up the tiny gold ring.

A thrilled flared in her. “My ring.” Wide-eyed, Juliana
studied the small emerald ring. Paranoid, she’d hidden the ring from her father
and had always worn it on a chain around her neck.

“Looks like your father saved it.” His eyes twinkled as he
held the ring out to her. “Put your hand out.”

Juliana extended her left hand.

“No, your right hand.”

“But—”

“I have something better for that hand.” Alex reached
underneath his pillow and brought out a small white jewelry box along with a
second envelope.

He opened the box and a stunning, brilliant ring met her
gaze. “Alex!” Twin emeralds flanked a huge diamond. Celtic knots were engraved
in the yellow and white gold band. “It’s breathtaking.”

She tore her eyes from the exquisite piece and gazed into
Alex’s vibrant face. “When did you have time to buy this?”

“It belonged to my grandmother.” He lifted the ring out of
the box and tossed the box aside. It sparkled in his large hands. “She passed
it on to me. I always knew it was meant for you. The stones match your eyes.”
His voice grew husky, and he paused as if struggling with his thoughts.

The love in his eyes made them mesmerizing.

“Juliana, you’re my heart, my soul and I can’t live without
you.” He raked his hands through his hair, trademark-Alex style. “Marry me.” He
held his breath.

Her heart sang with delight as tears coursed down her
cheeks. She was home and never wanted to leave again.

Alex kissed the tears off her face, one by one.

She had no doubts. But did he know what he was getting into?
“What about the cops and wives, psychics and husbands not mixing thing? Can you
live with knowing who and what I am?”

He chuckled. “Who’ll catch you when you pass out? Or hold
your head while you puke your guts out? Bring you ginger ale?” He trailed his
fingers along her bare arm, up her neck, sending tingles to her toes. “What
about you? Can you live with a homicide cop, knowing who I am?”

Juliana gave him a wide smile. “I guess we were meant for
each other.” A bottomless peace filled her.

“No one said homicide cops and psychics don’t mix,” he
teased. “Dr. Miller seems to think we’ll be fine.”

Rolling her eyes, she swatted his arm. “You and my doc have
become quite the conspirators, I see.”

His fingers danced across her skin, then stilled. “He said
to ask you about you and your family curse—“

As though his words had released her pent-up secrets, she
felt lightness. The last of the shadows had drifted away. Tilting her head, her
smile widened. “I was the first one in my family to get training for my ESP.
Most of my family believed all the Westwood psychics had gone crazy. But they
only allowed their ESP to conquer their lives, out of ignorance.”

Alex frowned and peered intently into her eyes. “You don’t
have any doubts, do you?”

“About going crazy?”

His eyes twinkled. “That’ll never happen.” The look on his
face mingled eagerness and tenderness. “I meant about us.”

Desire raced through her bloodstream. “No. I’ve found my
true love.” She caressed his cheek. “I love you with every cell of my being.
Always have. Always will.”

“Does that mean yes?” Eyebrows rose, and an anxious look
crossed his face.

“Of course.”

He slipped both rings on her fingers and laid her back down
on the bed, folding her into his embrace. Juliana was reaching her arms up to
link around his neck when his mouth slanted over hers. A tremor swept through
her as her heart lodged in her throat. The kiss was gentle, slow and
languorous. Tongues explored, demanded, engaging fiercely. Alex’s arms shook as
he pulled her tighter against his warm, hard body. He made a harsh sound in his
throat, and his kiss turned hot and ravenous, as if he could never get enough.
Her lips demanded and possessed in response. Juliana thought she would melt at
the sheer heat of the kiss.

The kiss she had waited twelve years for—a kiss for her
tired soul to melt into.

She whimpered into his mouth, and he broke off the kiss. His
pupils were dilated as he drew in a sharp breath.