Killer Love (32 page)

“You two take the van,” he told Wayne. “Put Chang here in the back and take him to the authorities after you get her to the hospital.” Luke looked at Lawson’s inert form, then at Wayne. Wayne shook his head. The man was dead. Luke shrugged. He’d already told them all he knew. Let the buzzards have him.

“What about Jenna?” Ashley tugged on Luke’s arm. “That maniac has her. He’s taking her away.”

“I’ll find her, don’t worry.”

Ashley nodded but her brows creased in worry. She didn’t believe he’d find her in time.

Let her be wrong,
Luke silently prayed as he jumped in the car and sped toward the cabin.

****

Jade’s gaze went back and forth between Bryce and the ice pelting the windshield like bullets. He gripped the wheel with one hand and his bleeding side with the other. Would he bleed to death before they got to Ashley?

Bryce shook his head. “Why?” The word came out as a strangled moan.

“Shut up and drive,” Jade barked, not caring what he was referring to. She was tired of his shit. Tired of the whole sorry mess.

His eyes left the road and locked on her face. In the insane blue orbs, she saw no fear. The look he gave her was one of relief...and a smug contentment. He turned back to the windshield. She felt the car lurch forward as he increased his speed.

“Slow down,” she commanded, afraid they’d kill themselves on the treacherous roads before they even reached Ashley.

When Bryce turned his demented smile on her, a flood of goose bumps shivered over her skin, and she knew that was exactly what he intended.

“Bryce! Godammit, stop! I’ll let you go, I promise. I just want to find Ashley. Please stop the car!”

He didn’t acknowledge her. He floored the gas, eyes glued to the windshield. She was going to die. She’d never find Ashley. Never see Luke again.

She aimed the gun at Bryce’s right leg and fired. He yelled and jerked the wheel. His foot came off the accelerator but they were now in a skid.

The car tilted crazily to its side then miraculously, righted itself. Then it went into a full spin, the tires refusing to gain traction on the slippery road.

The gun flew from her hand. Jade gripped the door pad, belatedly wishing she’d buckled her seatbelt, and prayed. With the force of a rocket launcher, the car slammed into a tree and came to an ear-piercing stop as metal scraped against wood and both air bags deployed.

Bryce’s head slammed against the driver’s window, then he was still. Even from the opposite side, Jade could see blood run from a gash on his temple.

She groped for the gun, trying to free herself from the deflated canvas prison. She couldn’t find it, didn’t know where it had ended up, but she couldn’t worry about that now. She put a hand to Bryce’s neck. Still alive. She shook him.

“Bryce! Wake up. We have to get out of here.” Even as she said the words, she could smell gasoline.

A startled scream left her throat as her door was wrenched open. For a moment, her mind didn’t understand what she was seeing. Her heart stuttered and her breath caught in her throat. She thought she’d died and was having one last wonderful dream. But it was real. Luke stood next to the car, his face twisted with concern.

“Come on, baby. Let’s get out of here.” He reached out a hand. She heard a hiss and saw flames at the rear of the car.

She ignored Luke and grabbed Bryce’s arm. “Wake up,” she screamed. “Tell me where she is...tell me where Ashley is!”

“Jade, let’s go. The car’s gonna blow. Leave him.”

“He’s got Ashley.” She coughed as gas fumes filled her throat and watered her eyes. “I need him to take me to her.”

“She’s safe. We found her.” Luke grasped her arm. “Please, baby, come on.”

Jade looked at Luke, then back at Bryce. Bryce moaned and his eyes opened.

“Where is she?” Jade shook him, dizzy with the need for fresh air.

Bryce turned to her. With glassy eyes, he looked past her to Luke.

“Jade. Trust me,” Luke begged. “You have to come with me.”

Jade looked at Luke’s hand on her arm...at the amber eyes filled with anxiety. Could she trust him? If she left Bryce, would she ever see Ashley again? A popping sound came and simultaneously, a burgeoning glow as the flames reached closer.

Bryce was gaining his senses now, he was trapped beneath the wheel, but his hand shuffled around on the seat...stretched down toward the floorboard. He was looking for the gun.

He wasn’t going to tell her where Ashley was. He’d been ready to kill them both on the icy roads. She had to believe that Luke had the girl. Had to believe he wouldn’t lie to her again, not about something like this.

Without another glance at Bryce, she placed her hand in Luke’s and he pulled her from the car. He kept his grip on her while she ran beside him, barely keeping up with his faster pace. They’d only gone a few feet when she looked back and saw the gun in Bryce’s hand. How had he found it when she hadn’t?

Suddenly, Luke jerked her down with bone-jarring force, covering her body with his. As her chest slammed against the ice covered ground, a shot rang out and an explosion ripped through the night air.

In spite of the deafening sound, Jade heard Bryce scream her name in an ear splitting mingle of rage and suffering. “J—a—a—a—d—e...”

The tortured wail abruptly ended and in its place came an agonizing scream, primal in its intensity.

Then there was nothing except the crackle of the flames as they devoured the Audi and the evil within.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Luke drove and Jade sat in the passenger seat, her brain trying to assimilate that it was over. It was really over and she was free of Bryce. She understood something now that she never had before. It wasn’t the dark that held danger; it was the evil of the world. And evil could come in many disguises...and could come in the light of day.

She’d also discovered a courage she didn’t know she possessed. It came from learning that you can’t run from your fears, because when you turn around, they’d still be there. You can only face them...fight them...and hope to eventually conquer them.

“I know. I promise I’ll be there in a few days and I’ll explain everything.” Luke was speaking on his cell to someone named Madsen. He rested the phone on his shoulder and winked at Jade as he reached out and squeezed her hand. “Yes. I understand. I’m sorry, sir.”

He ended the call. “Sorry about that. My supervisor’s kind of ticked. The only thing that might save my ass is that we got DiMarco and both you and Ashley are okay.”

Jade nodded. “I hope you’re not in trouble.”

“They’re sorting out the charges now. I’ve got some people on my side and it turned out okay so, they probably won’t spank me too hard.”

She smiled, grateful for Luke’s attempt to keep things light. He’d helped her to her feet after the explosion, pulling her close against his warmth, stroking her hair as he murmured softly in her ear. She’d clung to him for a moment, then pulled away, mumbling something about checking on Ashley. She’d seen bewilderment in his eyes and maybe pain before he nodded and helped her to the car.

Jade called Deb at the hospital and the woman had gushed her thanks for saving her little girl. She swore she’d learned her lesson and would be a good mother from now on.

Her gratitude was hard to accept. Jade was the one who had endangered Ashley in the first place. Would Ashley hate Jade for lying to her? For pretending to be someone she wasn’t? The very thing Jade despised in others was exactly what she’d done to Ashley.

She and Luke had been questioned by the police and released after promising to return the next day for a full statement. The US Marshals’ service had told the authorities to let Jade know they’d need to see her tomorrow also.

Yeah. Tomorrow would be a big day.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do with all that money?”

“Money?” she asked.

“The five million in the Cayman Islands. Its yours, you know.”

She shook her head. She hadn’t thought about the money being hers, and as far as she was concerned, it wasn’t. The thought of keeping cash that was earned by Bryce’s evil deeds was abhorrent. “I can’t take that money. Don’t want it.”

Luke nodded as if he’d expected her answer. “I understand, but nonetheless, it’s yours. You could donate it to charity.”

With his words an idea formed in her mind. An idea that might bring something good, some type of poetic justice out of this tragedy. “I could open a shelter for runaways,” she said softly, thinking out loud.

Luke nodded again. “Yes, you could. That could work.”

She fell into silence...her mind busy contemplating what it would take to put her plan into motion.

“Madsen said they intercepted a private plane at the airport with a pilot and one of Bryce’s men inside.” Luke’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Apparently, that was to be your getaway vehicle. It belonged to a Susannah Brennan. Do you know her?”

“Yeah.” Jade gave a humorless laugh. “Bryce’s ex-girlfriend. She and her parents ran in the same social circles we did. I bumped into her from time to time. She never seemed very fond of me.” She laid her head on the headrest and closed her eyes.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Luke asked.

“I’m fine but I feel like I could sleep for two weeks straight.”

“I’ll take you back to my hotel. Your apartment is a crime scene now. You won’t be able to go back for a few days.”

Jade opened her eyes and cut a look at him. “Stay with you?”

He shrugged. “You can stay in my room or get your own but you need some rest.”

“Yes. I’m so tired.”

“Jade, there’s something you have to believe. I
was
undercover when I worked with Bryce. We were sent in to bust his operation. I’d been assigned to the case for months.”

“I believe you.”

A rush of breath left his body. “How long do you think it will take you to wrap things up here and go back home?”

“Home?”

“To St. Louis. No need to stay now that Bryce is dead.”

She shook her head. “My home is here now.”

“You’re staying?”

“Yes. I won’t stay in the apartment.” She looked out the window at the snow-covered pines. Glimpses of the lake flashed between the trees. In spite of the terror and near tragedy she’d experienced out here, she’d never seen anything more beautiful. “I’d like to find a place on the lake somewhere. But, yeah, I’m staying.”

“What about us?”

She turned back to him. “What do you mean?”

“I meant what I said in the hotel room. I love you, Jade. I want to be with you.”

Oh God. Not this. Not right now. “Please don’t. I can’t...I just can’t. I don’t feel that way about you.” The lie settled on her tongue, tasting bitter and cold. She did love him. She’d known it for a while now, but with that knowledge came the dread and fear of the pain that would surely follow.

He pulled over to the side of the road and cut off the engine. Turning toward her in the seat, he searched her eyes. “You don’t mean that.”

She tensed. “I’m sorry but I do mean it. I care about you, but it will never work between us.”

“Why not?”

“I’m just no good at love. I can’t do it. I’m sorry. I just can’t trust you. Can’t trust anyone.”

“Liar.”

Her eyes flew to his face. “What?”

“You do trust me. You knew I rescued Ashley. You came with me because you believed me. That means you trust me.”

She shook her head. “It’s not the same kind of trust. I know you didn’t lie to me and that you helped us. But I can’t trust you with my love.”

His eyes were burning coals and she realized his intent too late. But when he touched her, it was too late anyway. He gripped her arms and pulled her close. His lips met hers, firmly at first, then softening in a passionate caress. Instant heat pounded through her, raging through her body in a tingling explosion of desire. She opened her lips and slid her tongue against his, pressing closer, her flesh craving more of his touch.

Suddenly, he released her. Her breath came in rapid gasps, forming pockets of fog in the chill air of the car. She stared at him and put a trembling hand to her lips.

“Tell me you didn’t feel anything.” His voice was harsh. Slivers of lavender moonlight filtered through the windshield, illuminating the amber of his eyes as they bore into hers.

She wrapped her arms around her midsection and shivered, looking away from the intensity of his stare. “Of course I felt something. I won’t deny the attraction...”

“Bullshit.” He grabbed her shoulders and forced her gaze back to his. “That’s bullshit and you know it. It’s a lot more than attraction. What happened between us was more than just a fuck.”

“Please, Luke.” The windows had frosted over and chilly air pervaded the inside of the car. “Let’s just go. I’m cold.” She tried to pull away but he didn’t release his hold.

“You’re more afraid of loving me than you were of Bryce. What are you afraid of?”

She shook her head and didn’t answer. Deep pain twisted through her, clogging her throat with unshed tears.

“You can’t lie to me,” Luke insisted. “I know how you feel about me. I’ve seen the way that little pulse in your throat jumps when I touch you.” He brushed a finger across the base of her neck and she shivered again, only this time it wasn’t from the cold. “It’s not fear that causes it.”

“Please don’t do this. You’re leaving, I’m staying. Whatever there was between us is over. We won’t see each other again. That’s the way it has to be.”

“That’s not the way it has to be. Dammit, Jade. After I go back to St. Louis and get this mess straightened out, fight whatever charges they have against me, I’ll come back. If I haven’t lost my job, I’ll transfer to Denver. I can’t lose you.”

She shook her head. “I can’t do this right now. I’m so tired. I’m freezing to death. I understand now why you did what you did. I believe you were working undercover and just doing your job. But my father spent my entire childhood ‘just doing his job’ while I was at home getting the shit beat out of me. We believe in different things. You’re a good man and I care about you, but you’re not the man for me.”

He stared at her for a moment, a muscle working in his jaw. The only sounds in the car were the ticking of the engine and the wind as it howled around them.