Deathscape (30 page)

He kicked the rope toward her. “Tie it around your waist.”

She put Maddie down, pushed her daughter away when she wanted to cling to her leg. She bent as if to pick up the rope. She was scared of that hole in the ice. She was more scared of that dark, frigid water than she’d ever been of anything. But she lunged forward, her head ramming into Graham’s midsection as she grabbed him and twisted with him, plunging both of them in.

“
Run!” she yelled to Maddie with her last breath before she went under.

Since Graham had gone in first, he was under her for a second before he shoved her aside and clawed up for air. She broke the surface next to him.

Maddie still stood where she left her, crying. “Mommy!”

“
Run!” Desperation gave strength to her voice even as the cold seeped into her bones.

“
Stay!” Graham thundered, and Maddie froze in place.

Ashley held on to the edge of the ice that was crumbling under her fingers. She was already frozen through, to her soul. Graham was better dressed. He was bulkier. Stronger. If he made it out and she didn’t…

She couldn’t let anything happen to Maddie.

The rope lay on the ice next to her. She wrapped it around her arm, then grabbed the brick. She took one last look at her crying daughter then yanked in the brick and went under, grabbed Graham’s coat with her other hand, and pulled him away from the ledge, down into the deep darkness.

He might have had other advantages, but she’d died here once before. She had practice. And she wasn’t afraid of dying again. Not if it saved Maddie.

He fought hard, but he couldn’t counteract both her body weight and the weight of the brick. And he couldn’t pry her off him either. He shot at her several times but missed in the churning, dark water.

Please, God, just keep Maddie safe.

Her body was going numb fast. Her ears were ringing. Graham let go of the gun, or maybe it slipped from his cold fingers. It floated by her, but she couldn’t grab it. She would let go of neither the brick nor Graham.

He tried to shove her away, panicking now, frantic, bubbles going up from his mouth, losing air as he struggled. She stayed calm and just hung on. There was peace down here, in the dark water, knowing she saved her daughter.

Then his grip grew weaker at last. His fingers slid off her arm.

She was cold, so cold. She couldn’t move. The brick anchored her to the bottom, the rope tangled around her arm and holding her in place even when her frozen fingers slipped off it. She had no strength left to free herself. Hypothermia. Her body was slowing.

Over the past year, she‘d thought more than once that maybe she should have died under the ice. She’d cheated death. So maybe this was right. Maybe this was her destiny.

For a second, she saw a mirage of Dylan’s little face float in front of her. No anger in his eyes, no fear, no blame. He smiled at her with all the love only a child could give. He seemed so real.

He reached for her and touched the rope, which slid off her arm and disappeared in the deep.

Up
, he mouthed, his blue little-boy eyes serene.

Yet, for a moment, staying seemed so tempting. Right here, she could lay down the guilt, the visions, the fear. Death was peaceful and all accepting.

But as Dylan’s face faded away, she chose life anyway, gathering up the last of her strength and kicking her legs, shoving Graham out of her way.

She swallowed water, tried to go back up, but her head bumped into solid ice she couldn’t break through. She’d floated away from the hole while she’d struggled with Graham. His body floated next to her, buoyed by the air trapped in his down jacket. Her lungs burned as she banged on the bottom of the ice with her fists.

“
Ashley!” the shout came from above, as if from a great distance, through the sound of rushing blood in her ears.

Jack.

But he was too late. Her vision dimmed; she choked down water as her lungs gasped for air. Then that strange, floating, fading feeling came, one she was familiar with.

When the axe burst through the ice next to her, she barely registered it. When Jack reached in for her, grabbing on to her shoulder, she could do nothing to help. Then her head finally broke out of the water, and she went up choking, coughing up water, trying painfully to gulp some air.

Jack lay on his stomach to distribute his weight evenly, dragging her to air and life, to safety.

“
On your stomach,” he ordered as he dragged her completely out. “Are you okay?”

All she could do was nod, sputtering.

And then she watched helplessly as he slipped into the water.

“
Mommy? I’m scared.” Her daughter was sobbing somewhere behind her.

“
Stay where you are, honey.” She crawled that way, away from the hole. She kept one eye on her daughter, another out for Jack, but he didn’t pull back up above the water.

Her heart pounded hard in her ears, her entire body shaking. Then she reached Maddie, and at the same time, Jack came up, sputtering, dragging Graham up onto the ice with him. He began CPR the second they were clear, banging on the man’s chest.

“
Mommy.” Maddie burrowed against her, the wet mess she was. “Jack said I had to stand right here. He said I couldn’t move, and he would get you back.” Her little lips were blue. “He saved you like a prince.”

Ashley wanted to tell her how much she loved her, but she couldn’t speak. She was crying, clutching her daughter, never wanting to let her go again.

Sirens sounded in the distance, then closer. Then the police were there and two ambulances. She was too frozen to talk to anyone. Bing came around. He helped her into the back of the ambulance and told the EMTs to take good care of her. Then he ran off toward Jack.

“
Don’t do anything stupid. FBI is on their way,” he yelled.

Graham, a heap of soggy clothes, began coughing water out of his lungs. Jack knelt over the man, breathing hard, his face illuminated by the lights of the emergency vehicles. He didn’t look at her. He didn’t look at anyone. His world consisted of one man, the one before him. He was back in the world of darkness and vengeance he’d created and lived.

The stark rage on his face sent a shiver down Ashley’s spine, the last thing she saw before one of the EMTs shut the door of the ambulance.

* * *

“
Stay back,” Jack warned his captain. “Everybody stay back.” He held on to the edge of the precipice as he looked at the sputtering mess before him.

Good. The bastard hadn’t drowned. Jack coughed up some water himself. He wanted to be looking into those soulless eyes when he pulled the trigger. He wanted the bastard to see death coming and know that it was coming from Jack Sullivan. He had his gun in his hand.

One bullet between the eyes.

He wanted it. He wanted his vengeance. He wanted blood on the ice. He wanted justice.

But would it be?

Or would it just be murder?

If he went over to the other side, could he come back again?

Ashley and Maddie were in the back of the ambulance. They would hear the shot. They would know.

He held his gun, swore at the half-conscious man, and punched the ice next to his head so hard with his free hand he cracked it. He was just pulling back his bloodied fist when Bing reached him.

“
Jack, dammit. Step back. That’s an order.”

But he gripped the gun. He couldn’t release it.

* * *

Ashley sat in the back of the ambulance with Maddie, so cold that her teeth were chattering. She didn’t think she’d ever feel warm again. They huddled in their blankets, Maddie holding her hand while the EMT took her vitals. They’d given Maddie a very mild sedative to calm her, to head off her going into shock from the stress and the cold.

“
Is Jack okay?” she asked as she leaned against Ashley sleepily.

“
Yes, sweety.”

“
Is the bad man going to hurt him?”

“
No.” Things would happen the other way around, she figured, and wondered if she would ever see Jack again.

If he put a bullet through Graham’s brain, he’d be going off to jail. If he didn’t, the FBI would carry off Graham, and Jack would probably leave too. He would have no more reason to stay in Broslin.

The pain that accompanied that thought was worse than almost drowning again. She didn’t realize how much she’d come to care for him until she’d seen him disappear in that dark water.

Maddie fell asleep, her little body going limp.

The back door of the ambulance opened, but even that didn’t wake her. Jack climbed in, got wrapped up, then put his arms around them without saying a word.

The ambulance was moving, going down the road by the time he asked, “Are you okay? Maddie?”

She blinked back her tears as she nodded.

He took her hand, held it between his.

She let him. “What happened?”

“
I thought Blackwell was important.” He drew a long breath, held her tighter. “Then I saw you go under with him as I was tearing down the road. It put things into perspective.”

“
You let Bing take him?”

“
The FBI is here. They’ll do what has to be done.” He reached up and brushed the wet hair out of her face.

“
Probably look like a drowned rat,” she said, suddenly flustered.

“
You look alive.” He gave a lopsided smile. “I like that look on you. It’s pretty damn fantastic.”

They sat in silence. He held her gaze as Maddie slept on her lap.

“
I’m a no-good, messed-up, obsessed cop,” he said after a while. “You deserve better.”

“
Says who? I’m a freaked-out, loopy artist.”

He gave a bark of a laugh and took her lips in a soft kiss.

~~~***~~~

Chapter Fifteen

He went with them to the hospital. They were all checked over for cuts and bruises as well as hypothermia. The doctor kept Maddie overnight for observation. Even though she hadn’t been in the water, she was a slight little thing and chilled through pretty fast. Since she was sleeping peacefully, the nurse sent Ashley home for a hot shower and rest. Jack got them a cab and went with her.

And stayed with her.

“
Why don’t you grab a couple of hours of sleep?” he asked once she came out of the bathroom, wearing her thickest sweater and pants.

She wrapped her arms around herself. She didn’t think she would ever get warm again. “I should go in and wait for Maddie.”

“
The nurse said she won’t be released until after the doctors make their rounds at eight in the morning.” He’d been up in the loft, looking out into the night.

She looked past him, out through the windows. The emergency vehicles had left, darkness blanketing the reservoir again. He didn’t ask if he could stay, but she would have said yes if he did. She didn’t want to be alone tonight.

“
Go to sleep,” he said. “I’ll wake you up at seven and take you in.”

“
You don’t have to.”

“
She matters to me too.”

She felt a smile tug at her lips. “She was pretty impressed with the rescue.”

“
Let’s hope I’ll never have to do that again.”

“
I’m sorry I didn’t believe you about Blackwell,” she said quietly. “You were right.”

“
Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you, and all that.” Humor glinted in his cerulean eyes, his tone and expression lighter than she’d ever seen it.

Her heart gave a hard thud. She wanted him to take her into his arms but didn’t know how to ask. He’d just saved her life, hers and Maddie’s. Didn’t seem like she should be asking for more.

“
Bathroom is yours. You can take the guest room after that,” she told him as she walked into her bedroom. Then she pulled all the covers on top of her and let exhaustion claim her at last.

She woke a little before seven, shivering. She found him in her room in the armchair by the window, sleeping with his long legs stretched out in front of him. He wore his own clothes again, instead of what he’d been given at the hospital, and they were dry. Must have put them in the dryer at some point.

Moonlight poured in the window unobstructed, lighting his face,
the hard edge of his jaw barely softened by sleep, the rough stubble testament to relentless days of hunting a killer
. Her heart turned over. He was a mixture of warrior and protector and sheer exhaustion. And sexy.

Her gaze settled on those lips that had kissed her into near incoherence not that long ago.