Romantic Thriller: Only Time Will Tell – A Romantic Suspense and Romantic Mystery Book: (Thriller Romance, Suspense, Mystery Romance, Suspense Romance) (11 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. ~ Confucius

Waking with a start, Chelsea looked around her. She was in a small room all by herself. Then she remembered what had happened. Dean had put a cloth over her nose and she had passed out. It must have been chloroform. But why had he done that and why bring her here?

Her mind ran through all the possibilities, and only one of them made sense. He was the dirty cop Pierce kept insisting was among them and she had fallen right into his hands. But why kidnap her and bring her to this place? It seemed as if something else was going on.

She got up and felt dizzy for a moment. Clutching on to the small table beside the bed, she managed to steady herself. She had to get away from this place, wherever it was. Her eyes darted around the room and that was when she saw a gun lying on the dresser across the room. Curious, she walked over to examine it.

As she reached for the gun she saw a note under it. Picking it up, she read:

Chelsea,

I am sorry for my actions and I know nothing I do now can change what I did in the past. You were the reason why I came to Homicide - to keep tabs on you and what you were doing in case you became a threat. But after knowing you, I cannot go through with the other part of the bargain. Take the flash drive I put into your pocket and use it as you see fit.

I just want to tell you that you’re an amazing person and that you have changed me. Now I will die a better person. I love you, Chelsea, and be safe.

Dean.

PS. I suggest you stay low for a few days until things work themselves out. You are safe here and I have bought enough food to last you for at least a week. Look in the closet-there are a few things in there I think you should put on. Trust me on this one.

Re-reading the note, Chelsea felt as if she had stepped into a nightmare. She did not know what to believe. She had trusted him with all her heart, but had let her guard down to the wrong person. Anger filled her breast. She felt like such a fool. Of course, now she thought of it, there were several telltale signs. He constantly asked probing questions, he hardly ever let her out of his sight; and always wanting to know what she was thinking and how she was feeling.

How could she have been so stupid? The thought of how he conveniently offered his apartment for her to stay and what happened there made her burn with shame. He had it all planned and she, who should have known better, had walked right into the trap. His solicitous caring was nothing but a mask to cover his real intentions.

But then, why had he saved her when he could have killed her? This didn’t make sense. She thrust her hand into her pocket and felt the flash drive that he said would be there.

She looked around to see if a computer was present. She pulled out the desk drawer and saw a laptop which she took out and booted up. Then she inserted the flash drive and sat down. Several files appeared, and it seemed as if Dean had been gathering a mass of information over the years. She skimmed through the different folders until she saw one with her name on it. She clicked on it and it led her to a video.

She watched, fascinated and with bated breath, as things began to fall into place. When the video ended she knew exactly where she had to go and what she had to do. She was not only going after De Leon, a dead man, but also his partner Enrique Galvez. She knew who he was because she had seen him many times while she was growing up. Only, she never knew him for the monster he was.

She was all fired up to go, then remembered to look in the closet. There was a thick pair of denim jeans, a long sleeve blue shirt, a leather jacket, and a bullet proof vest which reminded her of what she was about to do.

She quickly got dressed, grabbing the gun and some extra ammunition she found in the drawer and headed for the door. She saw a key lying on the table and took that too. It might come in handy or it would not have been left there. As she stepped outside, she knew it was the right thing to do. Parked in the front yard was a sleek black Ninja motorcycle with a helmet hanging over the handle bar.

Dean had thought of everything. This made her even more confused about him, especially as she pondered the contents of the letter. It sounded as if he was trying to save her at the expense of himself. A wave of tenderness for him swept over her, almost as powerful as the anger she felt earlier.

As she mounted the bike, she had to admit that there were things she still did not understand, but that would have to wait. If what Dean said was true, then both of them were in danger. She had no time to waste for there was a deadline to meet.

She gunned the engine into life and set off down the road as if she was being chased by demons.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The man who is happy is fulfilling the purpose of existence. ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Walking through the cemetery, Dean remembered the ploy he was going to use to get Chelsea to come with him there. This was where he was due to hand her over as the idea was to kill her in front of her parents’ tombstones. These guys really had a macabre sense of humor, now he thought of it.

Now he was coming here alone, without her, to face whoever they might be sending. His chances of escaping with his life were almost nil, but he had prepared himself as best he knew how for the encounter, and one thing he knew – he was not going down without a fight. That was why he made sure to get there with some time to spare.

The Prestons were buried under a huge oak tree and their tombstones were large and adjoining each other. They were big enough for a fully grown man to hide behind. Dean chose his position carefully. He crouched down behind the tombstone and waited, gun at a ready. He had no idea from what direction the hit man would be coming.

An owl hooted somewhere overhead, the rustling of birds roosting in the tree broke the silence, and a dog howled in the distance. Dean waited patiently and his mind was filled with thoughts about Chelsea and what would be her fate if she failed in her endeavor. The two of them seemed doomed as he waited, perhaps to meet his own demise. If he got out of this alive and De Leon and his partner were still free he would be forever on the run, with no place to hide. But it was worth a try.

He heard a twig snap and looked out from his hiding place to see the silhouette of a man standing before the tombstones. He made a bird call which was the signal, and Dean returned the same.

“Bring her out.”

Dean froze as he recognized the familiar voice of Detective Parker from the Homicide department.

Startled, Dean asked, “Is that really you, Parker?”

“I thought you were told never to use names,” he replied.

So Robert Parker was the dirty cop in the department. He was the one feeding their every move to the drug lords. He always kept a low profile and outwardly showed little interest in the goings-on at the office. As a senior member he had access to a lot of important information.

“Where is she?”

Dean paused for a moment. If he told him that he had changed his mind, it meant instant death. He had to come up with something else.

“I took care of her myself.”

“Do you expect me to believe that?”

“It’s not a matter of believing me, it’s the truth. I could not get her to come with me and so I had to do it myself.”

“You’re lying, and you know that. I have orders to get her and to get rid of you if you fail. Furthermore, I cannot let you live because you now know who I am.”

“But before you kill me, wouldn’t you want some evidence of her death to take back to your boss?”

“Evidence?”
“Yes, I have it right here wrapped in this piece of cloth.”

Parker hesitated for a moment and Dean threw something that landed at his feet with a thud. He bent down to see what it was and at that very moment Dean came out firing. Parker returned the fire, and Dean felt a burning sensation in his arms as he fell backwards upon the grass.

Chapter Twenty-Four

All men kill the thing they hate, too, unless, of course, it kills them first. ~ James Thurber

Dodging in between cars on the highway, Chelsea could not help but feel powerful as the bike engine roared loudly under her. The fire for revenge was re-kindled and burned more brightly now she was at last on her way to settle the score. The words that Isaac had said to her when she had visited him in the prison sprang to mind. The pure and innocent little girl that her mother loved so much was now truly gone and would never come back.

Surprisingly, some tears sprang to her eyes, but she dismissed them. As she sped down the open road, she knew there was the option of calling in the police to deal with the matter. But she dismissed the idea very quickly. What had they done in the ten years they had the file? Nothing. And who had ever been able to bring a serious charge against De Leon and make it stick? Nobody. So what was the use of handing it over to the police? Furthermore, De Leon was officially listed in the records as dead. It was very strange how a ghost could have such power over the living in the society.

Her mind was made up. There was no turning back. The sign indicated the desert turn was coming up. She slowed a bit to make sure she did not miss it. She thought it was very smart to hide away in the desert where thousands of caves and other such hiding places existed. One could easily disappear there and not be found for weeks, months or years. This was exactly what De Leon did.

According to the video, her two enemies were holed up in a large cave that they had literally turned into an underground home with all the comforts they needed. There were several smaller caves forming a network and in these hundreds of pounds of drugs were stored and distributed via tunnels running from Mexico to the United States. Setting up such an extensive network had taken years, but they had somehow managed to do it.

Chelsea travelled a few miles off the main highway until she came to an unmarked trail. Here she hid her bike under some shrubs. She would need it on her way out. She was being optimistic, she knew that.

She checked her gun, the spare ammunition and made sure her bullet-proof vest was fastened properly. It might make the difference between life and death. For a moment the thought flashed through her head: Suppose it was a trap and Dean had set her up?

She shook off the thought. She had come too far to turn back now. She would find out one way or the other.

She visualized the rough map that Dean had drawn and began walking. Her eyes scanned the surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. She kept telling herself that everything was going to be all right; that she could do this even though she was alone.

She heard the rumble of thunder overhead suggesting rain. But she ignored it. Rain or shine she was going in. Her right hand hovered over her gun, ready for anything that might turn up. Then she saw the boulder looking somewhat like a grizzly bear raised up on its hind feet as Dean had mentioned in the video. It blended in with the mountain perfectly and served as a marker to the entrance to the network of caves. Her heart quickened.

As she got closer, she heard voices but she did not understand what they were saying. She never learned Spanish at school and now wished she had. Dropping low to the ground, she saw two men walking towards the boulder. They looked like guards with sub-machine guns slung over their shoulders. She looked down at her gun and knew it was not equal to theirs.

Not to be daunted, she came up with an idea. It was still thundering overhead preceded by bright flashes of lightning. She waited until it thundered a few more times, which allowed her to figure out the pattern of the thunder. The next time the lightning flashed she waited a few minutes and then fired twice, killing the two men. The loud crash of thunder masked the sound of the shots and so no one within earshot heard the explosions.

She quickly moved forward and managed to haul the bodies to one side and throw some bushes over them. She hid their weapons and approached the entrance to the caves. The boulder was huge but on searching she found a lever that when pressed shifted the boulder and she was able to squeeze through the narrow passage.

There was enough light for her to see and she found herself in a kind of entrance hall with several passages forking off into different directions. In the video, Dean had told her to take the fifth one on the left and so she began walking and counting them off. She pressed herself to the wall so as not to be readily seen by anyone who might turn up unexpectedly.

The fifth tunnel was narrower than the one she had come from and she crept along it cautiously. She listened carefully for any sound, but all was silent. No one seemed to be there, but she knew she had come to the right place. Moving into the corner closest to the entrance she stayed there and waited – but what she was waiting for she did not know.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Patience is also a form of action. ~ Auguste Rodin

The hours stretched endlessly as Emma sat in the waiting room doing just that- waiting. Pierce had been whisked off to surgery over two hours ago and she did not have all the details, only that he had an accident while on duty and he was badly hurt. On hearing the news, she hurried back to town. The children were still with her brother where she knew they would be safe.

Her tears were interspersed with questions. Why did this have to happen to him? He was a wonderful husband and father – loyal, caring, everything you could ever want. Now his life was hanging in the balance. She knew when you married a cop, this was part of the territory, but she always hoped it would not happen to her.

Her head ached, her mind was in chaos and she felt powerless to do anything. She felt as if she was going crazy. She heard footsteps coming toward her.

“Mrs. Carson… “

It was one of the surgeons she had met earlier. His face was serious and her heart skipped several beats as she got up and faced him.

“First, I must tell you that your husband is going to live.”

She let out a long sigh of relief. But there was more to come, she could tell. It was following first the good news, then the bad news pattern.

“However, he had extensive trauma to his spinal cord and there is a chance he may never be able to walk again.”

There was a sharp intake of breath as the news hit her like a punch to the stomach and her knees nearly buckled.

Weakly she asked, “Does he know this, doctor?”

“No, because we were not sure until we went in.”

“When can I see him?’

“Soon. He is being taken to the ICU and should be waking up soon.”

“Thank you,” she said as he walked away.

Trembling, she sat down to absorb the news. She could not imagine Pierce not being able to walk again. She was relieved that he was alive, yet saddened by the thought of him not being able to move around. More importantly, how would he take the news? Pierce was a proud and fiercely independent man. To be disabled and dependent would hurt him terribly.

An hour later, Emma entered the ICU to find her husband hooked up to several machines. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep. She pulled up a seat and gently intertwined her fingers with his. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes.

He looked at her tenderly and somewhat scared. He attempted to cover up his feelings, but was not successful.

“Em”, he whispered.

“I’m here.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I have been run over by a steam roller.”

“Well, if it is any comfort to you, the doctor says you’ll make it.”

For a moment there was silence between them. Emma struggled as to how he was going to react when he learned about the possibility of not being able to walk again.

He squeezed her hand, “Em,” he said in a voice thick with emotion. “I can’t feel my legs.”

She got up and kissed him on the forehead while still holding his hand. “I know, the doctors told me. There was some sort of injury to your spine and it … they say you might never walk again.”

She saw the light die in his eyes and she could not keep back the tears any longer. After a while, she tried to console him.

“I will love you no matter what happens to you. You are my wonderful husband and the father to our beautiful children. Together we will get through this.”

“I am not a whole man anymore.” He lamented.

“Yes, you are, Pierce! Even if you can never walk again, it will make no difference. I love you for what is inside. You have a good heart. You are everything to me and our daughters.”

Pierce only nodded but did not speak. He was thinking about everything that had happened concerning this case that started out as what seemed like a regular homicide, but had expanded into something much larger and deadlier than any of them could have imagined. One death had turned into many, and Chelsea’s past was somehow mixed up with it. Whilst she seemed to be a target for the killers, the poison had spread to affect his own private life.

Then he thought about his colleagues who were on the search of the building with him. He looked at his wife who seemed to be able to read his mind.

“Everyone got out of the building all right,” she informed him.

She noticed that he still had that worried look on his face. Something was still bothering him.

“Want to share it?” She asked.

He shook his head and fell silent. How could he begin to explain Chelsea’s obsession with revenge and his tacit agreement that she personally go after De Leon? He wondered what she and Dean were up to and hoped they were safe. He also wondered about the potential replacement officers to take over the case while he was on sick leave.

Emma sensed he did not want to tell her because it would be worse than her not knowing. It must be something very awful if telling her would be worse than not telling. She wished she could help.

“Pierce, you can tell me anything. I hope you know that.”

“I do know that, but I will not burden you with unnecessary details. Besides it is probably better for you not to know everything related to my work.”

She had to accept that for the time being. He would talk whenever he was ready. For the moment she had to focus on how they were going to proceed as a family from this point onward, especially if Pierce was not able to walk again.