Midnight Run (19 page)

“No.” She looked at Ian. “Not you.”

Jack scowled at Ian, his expression incredulous. “You sold your soul for the likes of this scum?”

Ian’s face darkened. “I should put a bullet in you right now for dragging her into this! I didn’t want her hurt, damn it! Why couldn’t you just leave her out of it?”

Shock vibrated through her as the meaning of the words hit home. It hadn’t been Evan who’d been working for Cyrus Duke, but her younger brother. The younger brother she’d been so proud of. The idealistic young police officer who’d dishonored himself, his family.

Just like their father…

Disbelief and fury and a damnable amount of hurt stabbed through her, a knife going deep and hitting bone. It was a cruel twist that she and Evan and Jack were the ones whose reputations had been sullied.

The urge to launch herself at him was powerful. She wanted to hurt him. The same way he’d hurt Evan. The way he’d hurt Jack. The way he’d hurt her. But Landis hung on to her control, if only by a thread.

“How could you?” she heard herself say. “How could you betray your own brother?”

He lifted his lip in a poor imitation of a smile, but his eyes were incredibly sad. “I didn’t kill him, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That’s exactly what I’m asking.” She didn’t even realize she was moving toward him. She wasn’t sure what she would do when she reached him. Strike him. Throw her arms around him and beg him to stop the insanity and make things right. But she knew the law well enough to know things would never again be right with her brother.

Jack stopped her. “Easy, honey.”

Landis tried to shake off his hands, but he held on to her, pulled her back. She felt numb on the outside, as if she’d been given a too-strong dose of pain medication. But she was coming apart inside. Jack tried to pull her against him, but she shook off his hands. As badly as she wanted to be held, the need to know the truth was stronger. “You let Jack go to prison. You knew he was innocent all along.”

Emotions she couldn’t readily identify clouded Ian’s eyes. Remorse. Shame. A measure of fear. “I did what I had to do to protect myself. I’m a cop. I couldn’t go to prison.”

Jack shot Ian a killing look. “You let his killer go free. You let me take the fall for you, didn’t you, you cowardly little bastard?”

Ian’s gaze swept from Landis to Jack. That he didn’t dispute Jack’s words confirmed them. Landis felt them like a knife sinking slowly into her back.

“Evan covered for you, didn’t he?” Jack said. “He found out you’d hooked up with Duke and covered your sorry ass.”

Landis jolted as the words registered in her brain. Backing away from Jack, she looked from man to man, her mouth dry. A few feet away, Duke leaned against the desk, taking in the entire scene with an expression of supreme amusement.

“I loved him, Landy,” Ian said. “I swear it. I didn’t kill him. I wouldn’t. It just…happened. That night, in the warehouse. Evan shouldn’t have been there, damn it. One of Duke’s thugs shot him.” He ran his hand over his mouth. “There was nothing I could do. He was dying. I didn’t want to go to prison. I panicked.”

Pain lashed her like a whip. Fury followed, pumping through her with the same force as her life blood. She couldn’t believe her younger brother would betray his own brother and then lie about it to save himself. She couldn’t believe he would betray the man she loved, that he would let her believe the lies. The unjustness of it sent a wave of raw outrage slicing through her.

Blinded by grief and rage and she launched herself at him. “You
bastard!
”

“Landy…for God’s sake.” Ian raised his hands to protect himself.

Landis barely heard the words as she lashed out at him with her fists. In a small corner of her mind, she was aware that she was sobbing. That they were deep, wrenching sobs that came from somewhere deep inside her. She felt Jack’s hands on her shoulders, digging into her flesh, pulling her back.

“Get her off me!” Ian stepped back, his hair falling into his face, the gun on Jack. “Keep her the hell away from me.”

Aware that Jack was holding her tightly, that she was suddenly too tired to fight him, Landis glared at Ian, sick to her soul by what he’d done. “I’ll never forgive you,” she said.

“Bravo!” Duke brought his hands together in applause. “Bravo! Such drama! Touching performances by all. I couldn’t have written a better script myself.”

Lowering the gun to his side, Ian looked over at Jack. “I didn’t want her involved! Damn it, now what the hell do you expect me to do?”

“Be a man for once in your life and stop this here and now,” Jack said. “Do the right thing and turn yourself over to the police.” He looked over at Landis. “That’s the only way your sister is going to get out of this alive.”

Lips drawn back in a snarl, Ian raised the gun, pointed it at Jack. Tears streamed down his face. His barrel shook uncontrollably, but he didn’t take his finger from the trigger. “I’m not going to prison!”

“I don’t want bloodshed here!” Duke said. “Evidence is getting extremely difficult to hide in this age of forensic science.” Never taking his eyes from Jack, he tugged a cell phone from his pocket, pressed a button. “Ryan, is the SUV ready? I need someone up here to take out the trash.”

“What are you going to do with them?” Ian asked.

“I’m going to dispose of them the way I’ve disposed of every other piece of trash that got in the way.”

Ian paled, raked a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to be part of it. Damn it, this wasn’t part of the deal. My own sister…”

“If you don’t have the stomach for it, Officer McAllister, I suggest you leave.”

Jack watched the two men closely, interested in the dynamics of their relationship. He knew Ian was the weak link. Just as he knew Landis was the key to breaking that link. The only questions that remained was whether or not he was willing to take the risk.

She stood a few feet away, staring out the window, her eyes unseeing, her face as pale as death. He hated seeing her like that. Hurt and betrayed and facing a violent death at the hands of a ruthless scumbag like Duke. Jack couldn’t bear the thought of her life ending this way. With so many things left unfinished. He hadn’t even told her he loved her. But he did. He loved her more than life itself, would gladly give up his own life to save hers.

They only had a few minutes before Duke’s thug returned to drug them and haul them away. While Jack had watched Duke and Ian, a plan had formed. It was dangerous as hell with an outcome that was unpredictable at best. Worse, in order for it to work, he would have to use Landis.

Cyrus Duke sat at his desk, the gun in his hand. Ian stood at the door, looking shaken and angry. Never taking his eyes from Duke, Jack eased closer to Landis and whispered, “cry.”

“Shut up.” Duke pointed the gun at Jack, motioned him back. “Get away from her.”

Lowering her face into her hands, Landis made a keening sound. Her shoulders began to shake. “Jack…” Never raising her head, she walked over to him.

Duke stood, his gun shifting to Landis. “Tell her to shut up.”

She went into Jack’s arms. He could feel her heart pounding in time with his own, the fear pumping through him with every beat. He put his arms around her, turned so that his back was to Duke in case the drug kingpin decided to pull the trigger…

“I’m going to get us out of this,” he whispered to her. “I want you to talk to Ian. Talk him down. He’s our only hope.”

She jerked her head in agreement.

Praying he wasn’t making a mistake, Jack let go of her, pushed her toward the window. “Stay away from him,” he said loud enough for Duke to hear.

She glared at him. “He’s my brother.”

Jack glared back, praying Duke bought it. “I don’t care.”

Eyes ravaged, she turned to Ian. “It’s not too late for me to fix this for you. There’s still time. I could help you with a plea bargain.”

Cursing, Duke snatched the cuffs from the desk and approached Jack. A few feet away, he stopped, trained the pistol at his chest. “Turn around and give me your wrists.”

Heart racing with pure adrenaline, Jack turned and offered his wrists. A few feet away, he could hear Landis speaking to her brother. Behind him he heard Duke open the cuffs.

“Don’t try anything stupid,” he said.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“You’ve got a smart mouth. I’m going to enjoy making you hurt. Or maybe I’ll kill her while you watch. How would you like that?”

Jack shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Duke grasped his right wrist, snapped the cold steel in place tightly enough to cut off his circulation. “What are you going to do with us?” he asked.

“Shut up and give me your other—”

Jack spun, slammed the dangling handcuff against Duke’s forehead. The other man grunted, raised the gun, fired once. Jack went in low and rammed his shoulder into his solar plexus. Duke reeled backward. Using his body weight, Jack shoved him against the desk. He heard Landis scream, prayed he was right, that Ian wouldn’t shoot his own sister in cold blood.

Grasping Duke’s wrist, he squeezed hard, but the other man didn’t relinquish the weapon. Jack muscled him across the room to the window, slammed him against it. Glass shattered. Duke cursed, tried to twist away. Jack smashed his wrist against the wall. Once. Twice. Bone cracked and the gun flew from his hand, clattered to the floor. Duke raised his knee, tried to ram it into his groin, but Jack was prepared and danced sideways.

“Shoot him!” Duke bellowed to Ian. “Kill the woman!”

Terrified Ian would do it, Jack glanced over his shoulder to make sure Landis was safe. In the instant he was distracted, Duke grabbed Jack by his collar and forced him toward the window. Displaying incredible strength, Duke shoved him hard. “I’ll see you in hell!” he snarled.

“Jack!”

Landis’s voice penetrated the haze of rage and fear, gave Jack the focus he needed to save himself. Using every bit of strength he possessed, he lunged back, freeing himself from Duke’s grip.

Screaming profanities, face contorted in fury, Duke charged. Jack stepped aside. The momentum took Duke out the window. He twisted, made a wild grab for the sill, made contact with one hand.

“No!” Jack lunged toward him, reached for his hand, but wasn’t fast enough. The other man’s eyes met Jack’s an instant before he fell backward and plummeted to the paving stones twenty-five feet below.

Jack turned to see Ian run out the door. A few feet away, Landis had picked up Duke’s pistol, had it aimed at her brother. She stood in the center of the room, vacillating, blinking back tears. She looked at Jack when he approached. “I couldn’t shoot him.”

He crossed to her. “Nobody expected you to.”

He tried to take the gun from her, but she held it so tightly he had to peel her fingers from the grip. “Easy, honey. It’s over.”

“I can’t believe Ian was involved.”

Setting the gun on the desk, he ran his hands over her, checked her for blood. “Are you all right?”

“I’m okay. Just shaken and…shocked.” Her gaze met his. In her eyes, he saw the depth of her pain, the betrayal, felt the familiar slash of it in his own soul. “You knew he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Jack nodded. “I knew.”

“I begged him to turn himself in, but…he wouldn’t listen.”

“The police will get him.” The need to hold her was alive and eating at him, as urgent as the need to take his next breath. “I’m going to call the police.”

She jerked her head.

Only when he’d reached the desk did Jack realize his entire body was shaking. He picked up the phone and punched in 9-1-1. “This is Jack LaCroix,” he said. “I want to speak with Lieutenant Fulton.”

Holding the phone in the crook of his neck, he walked over to the broken window. Duke’s body lay sprawled on the paving stones below, motionless.

Only then did it hit him that the nightmare was over. Duke was dead. Ian’s illicit dealings would soon be uncovered. Jack would be exonerated. If all went well, he would be a free man in a matter of days.

He kept his emotions in check as he explained to his former lieutenant everything that had happened. He knew he would still be arrested, that he would spend the next few days in lockdown while the case was being investigated. But at least now he knew he had a future. The only question that remained was whether or not he would be spending that future with Landis.

He was still pondering the question when he hung up the phone and turned to Landis. Her eyes were already on him, shimmering with unshed tears and all the same emotions boiling inside him.

“Come here,” he said.

She crossed to him. He didn’t remember reaching for her, pulling her to him. He wrapped his arms around her, and the emotions he’d been holding at bay fractured. Closing his eyes, he buried his face in her hair and simply held her.

“It’s over,” he said. “I can’t believe it.”

She trembled against him. “Everything’s going to be all right.”

He hadn’t shed a tear for more than thirty years. After spending the past year in hell, he hadn’t believed he was capable of showing such a basic human emotion. But holding the woman he loved, seeing that love returned to him in her eyes, undid him as nothing else could have.

Pulling away slightly, he brushed the hair from her face. “When the police arrive, they’re going to take me into custody.”

“I’m sorry you have to go through that.”

“Knowing it’s temporary makes a hell of a difference.”

“I’ll make some calls. I’ll be with you when I can.”

“I know.” He set his hand against her face, marveling at the softness of her skin. She covered his hand with hers. A tear slipped down her cheek, but he stopped it with his thumb.

“I got my life back,” he whispered.

“And your future.”

More than anything he wanted to know if that future included her, but he was so shaken by the emotions churning inside him, he didn’t trust his voice.

She started to speak, but he quieted her with a kiss. “There will be time for talk later,” he said.

“Plenty of time,” she echoed.

“All the time in the world,” he said as he covered her mouth with his.

Chapter 16

L
andis parked her Jeep in the driveway and hefted the grocery bag in one arm, her briefcase in the other and started for the cabin. Around her, snow whispered down from a starless sky to catch in the pine boughs and twinkle against the frozen ground. As she stepped on to the porch, she wondered fleetingly if the sight of snowfall would always remind her of Jack….

Shoving the thoughts of him aside, she unlocked the cabin door and stepped inside. The familiar smells of home embraced her like an old friend. Vanilla from the candles she’d burned the night before. Old pine from the rustic paneling that would one day need replacing. Hazelnut from the coffee she’d brewed just that morning. BJ, her cat, sat regally on the sofa back, licking his paws and eyeing her with the cool indifference of royalty. Landis took it all in with a sort of heightened appreciation, knowing she would never take anything for granted ever again.

It had been two weeks since the terrible ordeal at Cyrus Duke’s mansion. After the police had arrived, Jack had been arrested and processed in to the Salt Lake City jail pending a full investigation by myriad law enforcement agencies ranging from the Department of Corrections to the Provo County Sheriff’s Department. Duke was pronounced dead at the scene by the county coroner. An autopsy later revealed the drug kingpin had broken his neck in the fall from the second-story window.

Ian had gone on the run. After taking Landis’s statement, the police had launched a massive manhunt. Two days later, he’d called Landis from Denver. Convincing him to turn himself in to the police had been difficult, but in the end he’d acquiesced. She’d helped him make arrangements with the Salt Lake City police. He was arrested upon his arrival at the department and charged with racketeering, accepting bribes, perjury and interfering with an official investigation. The trial wasn’t scheduled until spring, but she knew he would do prison time for his crimes. Landis only hoped the time behind bars would rehabilitate him. Call her a hopeless idealist, but she knew that deep down inside her brother was a decent man.

All in all, life was good, she thought. Just because she cried a lot didn’t mean she was unhappy. It didn’t mean her heart was broken. Or that she was so lonely she’d taken to sleeping with her cat. Just because she hadn’t seen Jack in over a week didn’t mean she was coming apart at the seams.

Setting her briefcase next to the coffee table, she scooped BJ into her arms and hugged him against her. “How about a fire and a tall glass of merlot, big guy?” she asked.

She set the cat on the sofa and started toward the French door to gather some wood from the woodpile in the backyard. She would build a fire. Pour herself a glass of wine. Heat the casserole she’d made over the weekend. And spend the rest of the evening working on her opening argument for a trial that was scheduled to begin next week. It was the way she’d spent every evening for the past two weeks. She worked until she was too tired to think. A good theory in concept, but no matter how exhausted she was, her mind invariably found its way to Jack.

She was nearly to the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Puzzled that someone would be visiting so late, she changed directions and started toward the foyer. At the door, she stood on her tiptoes and peeked through the peephole. Her heart spun into a wild freefall when she saw Jack LaCroix standing on her porch, looking calm and in control and so handsome that for several seconds she couldn’t catch her breath. He wore a blue parka over snug jeans, a faded flannel shirt, and lace-up hiking boots. He’d gotten a haircut at some point, though she could see the shadow of a goatee. The sight of him standing on her front porch with snow in his hair and a small wrapped gift in his hand unnerved her as much as it thrilled.

Stepping away from the door, Landis put her hand to her wildly pounding heart and tried hard to calm down. He could be here for any number of reasons, she reminded herself. But she could feel herself shaking inside as her nerves began to sizzle and snap.

Refusing to let herself read too much into the visit—or the present in his hands—she tugged open the door. She barely felt the cold air that wrapped around her legs. Barely noticed that the snow was coming down hard. All she was aware of was the man standing on her porch, holding a gift wrapped in red foil, contemplating her with dark, enigmatic eyes she couldn’t begin to read.

“Hi,” he said quietly.

A hundred things needed to be said, but she couldn’t think of a single one. The words tumbled around in her brain, but she was so taken aback by the sight of him, the fact that he’d come to see her, that she couldn’t come up with a coherent sentence. She settled for, “Hi back.”

He looked good, she thought. His color was back. The cut on his temple had healed to nothing more than a small pink line. He even looked as if he’d gained a couple of pounds since she’d last seen him. His cheeks no longer had that hollowed quality that had made him look so harsh and dangerous. She didn’t let her eyes drop to his mouth. She didn’t want to know if it was exactly as she pictured it in her dreams.

“You look really good,” he said after an awkward silence. “A little thin.”

“So do you. Good, I mean.” She couldn’t stop looking at him, couldn’t slow the pace of her heart or catch her breath. “I like the goatee.”

Smiling, he scrubbed his hand over his chin. “I thought maybe while I’m between jobs…”

“When were you released?”

“Last week.”

Why didn’t you come to see me?
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak them. He didn’t owe her an explanation. If he’d wanted to see her upon his release, he would have. “How are you feeling?”

He shrugged. “I feel good. I went to see my foster mom. Played a little hockey. Did some skiing. Got back in touch with some of my cop friends at the department.” His gaze turned heady. “Most of all, I did a lot of thinking, Landis.”

A twinge of alarm rippled through her. Suddenly, she felt incredibly vulnerable and utterly certain that he’d come here to say goodbye. To tell her that too many things had happened. Things that could never be fixed and it would be better for both of them if they moved on…

“Yeah, me too,” she said. “Thinking, I mean.”

He grimaced. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Oh. Well, no.” Because she was flustered and didn’t know what to do next, she stepped back. “Would you like to come in?”

Jack stepped into the foyer. He passed so close to her she smelled the mix of soap and a piney aftershave that titillated her senses.

Trying to get a handle on nerves that were close to skittering out of control, Landis started for the living room. “I can make some coff—”

Every nerve in her body jumped when he gently grasped her arm. “I don’t want coffee.”

Landis stared at him, but his gaze was so intense, she had to look away. She could feel her pulse pounding off the scale. Reaching out, he put his fingers beneath her chin and forced her gaze to his. “I’ve missed you, Red.”

The words rang in her ears like the final chords of a sad, sweet love song. Her heart tumbled end over end in her chest. It was as if all her hopes and fears and the tumultuous feelings inside her had been tossed into a furiously spinning vortex, and she couldn’t get a handle on any of them.

“God knows I tried, but I couldn’t stay away from you,” he growled. “I didn’t know if you wanted me to stay away.”

She hated it that he was so damn calm while she was about to go to pieces. “You’ve been a free man for a week, Jack. You didn’t come to see me.”

“I had some things to take care of. I had some thinking to do. Some decisions to make.”

“I don’t know why you’re here,” she blurted.

“I’m not sure, either.” A smile touched the corners of his mouth. “I thought maybe we could figure it out together.”

Landis closed her eyes, struggling for composure, hating it that she was on the verge of tears. “I know you’ve had a lot to deal with in the last twelve months. It’s not unreasonable for you to want to get on with your life. I mean, I walked out on you a year ago. I didn’t believe in you when I should have.” She knew she was blubbering, and it appalled her because she never blubbered. But the words kept tangling on her tongue and pouring out and she was getting every one of them wrong. “What I’m trying to say is that I’ll respect your decision, Jack. It doesn’t matter that I’m—”

He went still, his eyes narrowing. “You’re what, Landis?”

In love with you.
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t say them. She couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth because she was afraid that truth would hurt her more than any lie.

Never taking his eyes from hers, he reached out and put his fingers beneath her chin, forcing her gaze to his. “How can you possibly not know that I’m crazy about you?” he asked.

The words reverberated in her brain, the repercussions zinging like a ricochet. She stared at him, torn between pouring out what was in her heart and preserving what little dignity she had left.

She searched his face, searched the depths of her own soul, and found the words she needed to say. “You never told me you loved me,” she whispered.

Jack couldn’t take his eyes from hers, couldn’t stop looking at her lovely face because within her gaze he saw everything he’d ever loved about her. Everything he’d longed for in the terrible months he’d been locked away. Everything he’d ever wanted in a life partner. Strength. Courage. The kind of rare and precious love that came once in a lifetime—and only to a lucky, chosen few.

And suddenly, after all the agony and uncertainty of the past year, he knew coming here tonight was the only thing he could have done. He felt the rightness of it all the way to his soul.

He didn’t remember moving, didn’t see her move. But in the next instant her arms were around him, and his mouth was wrestling with hers. She tasted exactly the way he wanted her to taste—like heaven—and the sweetness of the kiss intoxicated him. He held her tighter, remembering all the nights he’d spent alone, all the nights he’d spent wanting her and fearing he would never hold her again.

“I love you, Landis. I’ve always loved you, and I always will. Nothing will ever change that.”

“You taught me to trust my heart,” she said. “And now I know that when it comes to you, my heart will never steer me wrong.”

“Hearts never lie.” Pulling back slightly, he reached into the pocket of his parka and pulled out the wrapped present. “I thought we might celebrate Christmas a couple of days early.”

She reached for the box, shook it. “I don’t have to wait until Christmas morning?”

“Not on your life.”

Smiling, she tugged at the delicate gold bow. The paper fell away to reveal a tiny velvet box. Her fingers trembled when she opened it. And her heart simply burst. She stared at the small, but exquisitely cut diamond ring. “Oh, Jack…it’s stunning.” She laughed. “I’m stunned.”

“I think there’s something to be said for keeping a woman on her toes.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes when she looked up at him. “You’re proposing?”

“That’s generally the idea when a man gives a diamond ring to the woman he loves.”

She punched him good-naturedly on the shoulder, but the breath she let out shuddered.

“Now might be a good time to say yes.” Tilting his head, he kissed her mouth, her temple, the tip of her nose. “That is, if you’re interested.”

“I’m interested. But only if it’s forever.”

“Love is forever, Landis.”

Lifting her hand, he slipped the ring on to her finger. Her hand trembled when she held it out. The diamond glinted like a star between them. “It’s beautiful and perfect.”

“I take it that’s a yes?”

“An unequivocal yes.” Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him on the mouth.

Jack returned the kiss, loving the feel of her in his arms, the taste of her on his tongue. He closed his eyes against the hot burst of emotion that moved through him when she put her arms around his neck.

He didn’t know if the tears he tasted on her lips were his or hers. But he drank them in, knowing they didn’t matter because they were tears of joy. He could feel that joy welling inside him, like a fountain overflowing, and he reveled in the sensation.

Lifting her off her feet, he held her tightly and spun her in a tight circle. When she laughed, he joined her. The sound of their laughter mingled to form a single note that spoke of simple human joy. And the sound of their happiness echoed through the cabin, the peaceful place they would soon call home.