Dylan (Bowen Boys) (4 page)

After she left, he went back up to the
bedroom and sat next to the bed. He wasn’t sure what the hell he was supposed
to do, but sitting around wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Glancing at his
watch, he saw it was almost one, so he went to his desk and wrote a note. Then
he got in his truck and went to the school where he taught to get his things
before it was too late.

His cell went off several times, but he
didn’t bother looking at it. He didn’t want to talk to anyone, especially
Caitlynne. She knew, of course, that the woman…Jack he supposed he could call
her now… was at his house, and she was more than likely telling him to turn her
in. He had no intentions of doing that, and he didn’t want to argue with her
about it.

Four hours later he was pulling into his
drive. There were no cruisers in the drive, and he didn’t get tackled when he
walked up to the house. The stuff from the room could wait until tomorrow or
later. He needed to check on the girl.

She hadn’t been found, nor had she
moved. Dylan sat next to her bed again and took her hand. She was cold. He
rubbed her hand to give it some warmth.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do
with you. You barge into my life, bleeding on my deck, telling me that you
don’t remember anything. Now I hear that you’ve murdered a child. The adults…I
started to say that I could tolerate them, but I can’t stand the thought that
you’ve killed. And a child, no less.” When her hand was warmer, he put it under
the blanket. “And maybe my family is right. Maybe there is an explanation for
all this. I just hope to Christ you can remember it when you wake up.”

Chapter Three

Caitlynne hung up the phone and stared
at it. The man was lying. She had no idea why, but there was no doubt that he
was. And even though she knew that he’d lied about several things, telling her
that he’d found Jack’s finger prints all over the house was the kicker. She
looked up when Marshall walked in.

“You’ve heard, no doubt. What kind of plans
do you have to get your family here? I’m sure you don’t want them there with a
killer on the loose.” He sat down across from her as he continued. “I can have
a car pick them up and bring them here, or we can—”

“She didn’t do it,” she said. Marshall
raised an eyebrow. “For whatever reason, and I can think of plenty right now, I
know she didn’t kill the Clements.”

Marshall leaned back in the chair. “Okay.
So you know something. Something about this case that no one else…. How many of
your family members know?”

“All of them. Not that she didn’t do it,
but that…. Maybe you should just take it that she didn’t do it.” His bark of
laughter made her think he wasn’t going to let it go.

“No, I don’t think so. You tell me what
you know, and I’ll give you what I have. And maybe between the two of us we can
keep your family out of prison. And you know me well enough to know that I’m
true to my word.” She nodded. “Okay, let’s start over, and no bullshit this
time. You know something. Spill it.”

She reached behind her, pulled out two
bottles of water, and handed him one. “She’s Dylan’s mate. He found her five
days ago when she ended up on his deck bleeding to death. He contacted Khan and
Walker. I didn’t come along until they had already operated on her. By then
Dylan had figured out who she was to him, and the rest have come together to
protect her. I doubt very much the girl is going to be happy with all this
macho shit they tend to toss around like it’s their job. But there’s more.”

“So you know, and I’m sure you do, it is
their job. It’s just too bad that the females in their lives are just as
macho.” He moved to her couch, and she followed him. “What else is there? I
take it you’ve spoken to the police?”

“Yes, and they referred me back to their
source, the one that took over the crime scene almost as soon as the police got
there. I just spoke to him.” She shifted on the couch and took a deep breath. “Kirby
Mann told me that he had to take the case, as Clements was his best friend.”

“I didn’t know they were that close, but
I knew that they were working together on a few things. I think he is helping
him with the trial for a good friend, Jerry Small. Did you ask the girl what
she was doing there? Could that be why she killed him?” She shook her head.
“Are you telling me that she didn’t kill him for that reason, or that she
didn’t kill him at all?”

“She might have, for all I know. But Mann
told me that her fingerprints were all over the house. And that they found a
gun at the scene.” Marshall cocked his head questionably. “He didn’t mention
any blood, and this girl had to have been shot while there. Walker dug out
several bullets that match that of a service revolver. If Mann had only just
showed up on scene, how did two of his men get killed? Then there’s the fact
that Crosby doesn’t have any fingerprints. They’d been burned off some time
ago.”

Marshall opened his mouth and closed it
several times before he simply stared at her. She knew he was thinking about
the pain she’d had to endure to have that done. She had thought about it too. Acid
burns were horrific, and to have done it to all your fingers would have been
horrendous.

“You say this like you know. Why did you
try to do a search with her prints? What did she say when someone asked her
what had happened? And you said two of his men? I thought there was only one
shot.”

She nodded. “He slipped up. I don’t
think he even noticed, but I did. He’s been telling everyone that’ll listen
that she killed one of his men, but when I asked him, he gave me one name, then
called him another later in our conversation. I just checked around, and the
man turned up in the morgue without paperwork. And I haven’t done any checks
yet because I need to figure out Mann’s angle, but I don’t think he worked for
me.”

“And the girl, what did she say? And
don’t think I didn’t notice that you keep avoiding that question.” Marshall was
as tenacious as a dog with a bone. “Caitlynne, I want answers.”

“She’d been shot five times. One of them
creased her temporal lobe pretty well. The others, two in her left arm, one in
her right upper side that broke three ribs, and then there was one in her back.
Walker said that she’d been shot from a downward angle. And when he showed me
that, I knew that she’d been well below the shooter, maybe as much as ten feet.
I think she was jumping from a window when whoever it was shot her.” She handed
him a picture from her briefcase. “This is what she looked like after surgery. The
one at her head, Walker thinks that’s why she has no memory. She asked Dylan
when she got there if he knew her, because she didn’t.”

“Christ. Can I have the picture?”

She nodded.

“What is her condition now, and why
didn’t he call the police then?”

“Last report I had, she was still
unconscious and not moving. He didn’t call the police because she had
threatened him if he did. She also asked him to bury her in his backyard when
she died. She told him that, while she didn’t know what happened, she didn’t
want the police involved.” Her personal phone rang. “I hope that’s Dylan. I’ve
been trying to reach him all day.”

She picked it up and told Marshall who
it was before answering. “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to
reach you all fucking day. I have some news on the girl you should—”

“She’s awake. About an hour ago.” Dylan
sounded pissed. “She doesn’t remember who she is still, and she’s demanding to
leave.”

“I’ll be there in five hours. Don’t let
her go.” Caitlynne hung up and told Marshall. “I have to go and find out if she
knows anything and isn’t telling Dylan, or she really doesn’t remember. I have
no way of knowing these things, but I want to see her face when I talk to her.”

“I’m going with you. I’ll call Warren
and let him know. I’ll go to the airport now and meet you there.” She didn’t
even bother telling him that she didn’t think he should go, but simply nodded.

Twenty-two minutes later they were
leaving the airport, and Warren was with her. Walker hadn’t come with her this
time, and after making a quick stop by the house to pick up their son, they
were on their way.

When they landed just under four hours
later, the entire family was there, with the exception of Dylan. She handed the
baby to his daddy and then hugged everyone. Monica was getting so big that she
looked like she might pop at any minute. But she had six weeks to go, and everyone
was worried about her.

“I don’t know why. I’m perfectly fine
for a woman carrying around an elephant on a trampoline.” They both laughed as they
sat in the back of the car. “I’m really fine. It’s just hot, and the twins are
making me hotter.”

Twins. And no one but a very few knew
the sexes yet. Caitlynne looked at George as he cooed over the baby. She was so
glad that he’d forgiven her for not telling him the name, but they’d wanted to
surprise him. Little George Walker Bowen was the pride and joy of all of them.

They pulled up in front of the house a
few minutes later to find Dylan on the deck, waiting for them. Shit, the man
was pissed, and even from as far away as she was, she knew that he was nearing
his breaking point. She suggested that maybe he needed to run, and Khan nodded.
She went into the house and up the stairs with Marshall. It was time to meet
the new sister-in-law.

~~~

She heard the door open quietly and then
shut. She wished the man would just do as she asked, and do it now. She spoke
to him without opening her eyes. The light hurt too much.

“I don’t want to hear another word about
you protecting me. I don’t care that you think there might be something special
between us. I want you to call me a cab and help me to get into it, and you’ll
be okay.”

“Do you know why he’ll be okay?” She
opened her eyes to see who had spoken. This man was different than the other
one. From…Dylan, he’d said his name was. She looked to the man’s right and saw
a very beautiful woman standing next to him.

“Are you the police?” The woman shrugged,
and the man shook his head. “Well, that’s helpful. Do you think maybe I could
get one of you to shut that curtain? The pounding in my head is no match for
it.”

The woman moved to do it, and then both
she and the man sat down. “I think it’s best if I leave here. I don’t know what
is going on or how I got here, but I have a feeling that I’m not in the best of
positions right now.”

“You’re not. There’s a warrant out for
your immediate capture. And you’re considered armed and dangerous,” the woman
said. “Do you know who you are?” She shook her head. “Could you look at me when
I speak to you?”

“I have a pounding headache, as I’ve
said, and I don’t know if I’ve worn glasses or what before coming here, but things
aren’t too clear, and looking out makes me ill. But if you want me to puke,
then I can look at you.” The woman laughed. “I’m glad you find this to your
liking. I would really like to get up and punch you in the nose, but I think
that all I’d do is piss you off, and I’d be here longer. Where is
here
,
by the way?”

“You’re in my brother-in-law’s house. That’s
all you need to know for now. Do you remember your name?”

“Dylan told me it was Jack Crosby. I
have no idea why he’d lie to me, so I believe him. What I don’t believe is how
he knows. He said that I had some identification on me. I have no idea why, but
that doesn’t sound right.” She shifted her legs in the bed and tried to straighten
up. “I hurt in more places than I think there are names for, so if I offend you
in any way, you’ll have to forgive me.”

She felt tears on her cheeks as she let
go a string of the most vile curse words she could imagine. Pain made her sick,
and she was moving to throw up when she felt a hand on her head. She looked up
briefly to see Dylan there. He said something, and she felt herself fade away
with the pain.

The next time she woke, the room was
dark. There was a small light nearby, but not enough for her to see much. She
could barely make out the form of a figure in the darkness. “Who-who’s there?”

“It’s me, Dylan.” He moved closer and
sat on the edge of the bed with her. “You hurt still? Walker, my brother, is a
doctor, and he said he could give you something more for pain if you wanted
it.”

She wanted everything he had for pain
but knew that getting doped up was not going to get her out of there. She shook
her head once then said no.

“I need for you to listen to me. You
know as well as I do that there is no way I fell down a flight of stairs, or
whatever, to get in this condition. I have to leave here as soon as….” She felt
the tears again and hated herself for them. “I don’t even know where the fuck I
am.”

“You’re in my house in Ohio. I don’t
know much about you to let you know how far you are from your own home, but you
showed up here two weeks ago, bleeding on my deck. Walker operated on you here.
No one other than my family knows you’re here. And you’re safe.” He reached
down and handed her a newspaper. “This came out a few days ago. That’s how I
knew your name. It says here that you killed an entire family, including a
little girl. The man that you supposedly killed is—”