The Heart of Texas (20 page)

Chapter 41

As soon as the words left his mouth, he wanted to pull them back, seeing how Jack stiffened in shock. He didn't think Jack had done it, but everything that had bombarded him in the last few days, everything with his brother… He thought he'd known his brother and look how that turned out. This shooting was just one more thing being thrown at him, and it was all he could do to keep functioning on the autopilot he seemed to be on. His father wasn't his father, his brother was a rapist, and to top it all, he'd fallen in love with a man. And now, to add to this whole steaming pile of crap, his brother had been shot. He simply had nothing left to react with. He just felt numb, as if his head had decided for him— no more.

Riley tried desperately to concentrate on one thing. He wanted to understand, to figure this out, but it was as if all he had in his head was white noise. His heart felt heavy and all he wanted was someone to deal with this, to take it away, and then Jack was standing there in front of him.

Please don't let him be involved. He isn't involved; it wasn't him, but I can't lose him.

The cracks were starting to show, and he couldn't stop them. He was shaking; he knew he was, and he could feel the sickness rising in him. The complete shock at what they'd told him started to trickle down his spine as he looked helplessly at Jack, waiting for him to speak. His head couldn't make sense of any of it as he relived Jack's hand wrapped around Jeff's neck, choking him, temper and violence whipping around him like a storm.

Just tell me it wasn't you. Please…

Riley realized at that single moment that he really didn't give a shit about how Jeff was. On being told he was alive but unconscious, Riley didn't even want to go to the hospital. Why should he be responsible for a man that was nothing more to him than a relative by blood. His thoughts immediately turned to Jack, how Jack could be accused of murder, how his blood would be on Jeff, how Riley had seen the fight and was a witness. Confusion crashed over him. Shouldn't he be more worried about his brother? What was Eden going to think?

* * * *

Jack said nothing at first, processing what Riley had said, hearing the worry and fear in his question, the complete shock, the pain, the questions and the anger. Knowing it would destroy his new husband totally to lose Jack to prison on top of everything that had happened, he knew Riley didn't speak out of belief, but out of a desperate hope to not lose Jack.

"I didn't do it, Riley," he said, his voice completely devoid of pretense or guile. He said it calmly, his hands out flat in front of him and in peace.

Riley just nodded. "I know, I know, but Jeff… he's at Mercy. They're going to see, going to know what you did. They'll have your blood, your DNA… it's all over him and—"

Jack stepped forward, cutting off Riley's scared words with a finger to his lips. "I'll be honest, and I'll tell them what I did, and I'll tell them I didn't shoot Jeff. It's the truth."

"But Beth… you can't tell them why you…" Riley's voice tailed off. Beth didn't want to press charges, didn't want it made public. Hysteria started to bubble inside him, out of control, and he couldn't concentrate on one thing out of everything in his head. He was losing it; losing hold of his sanity, inch by painful inch.

"Okay," Jack started firmly, his hands on Riley's upper arms, giving him a small shake as he spoke. "We get Eden, we go to Mercy, we see what has happened, get the facts, see who's been assigned to this case. I'll come clean about what I did and get my wrist slapped. Simple." Jack lowered his hands, grasped Riley's tight, the cell hard between them. "Riley, listen to me. Stay here, okay? I'll get Eden."

* * * *

Riley felt himself nodding allowing Jack to help him, needing Jack to help him.

When Eden stumbled down the stairs, Jack trying to support her, Riley held himself straight, watching as Donna and Josh hovered by the door, not knowing what to do. She ran the small distance to the fence, and Riley just opened his arms, pulling her in and holding her close.

"He isn't dead, Eden," he kept repeating, not sure why he was saying that. He thought he caught her saying "When will this end?" He hugged her tighter, knowing exactly how she was feeling. When would it all end? This nightmare that he seemed to be caught in, the nightmare Eden was in along with Beth, Jack, and so many others, was hurting people again and again in the name of Hayes.

"Do we have to go and see him?" She sounded so very young as she clung to him, and as if she was a feather, he picked her up and sat her atop the fence, lifting her chin to look into eyes so like his own, his mother's legacy he guessed. They were swimming with tears, and he sensed Jack handing over tissues, standing at his side, a calming presence.

"Do you want to go and see him?" Riley asked softly.

"Is he unconscious?"

"They said he was being taken into surgery; that the bullet was near his heart—"

"He doesn't have a heart," Eden interrupted quickly, a sudden mask of determination on her face. "I don't want to see him."

Riley nodded. He hefted his cell phone and flipped the cover, redialing the last number received and waiting. Eden looked confused and Jack made to speak, but Riley hushed them with a raised hand until finally the call connected.

"Riley Campbell-Hayes. No, we decided not to. Nope, we don't plan on it. I'll contact Jeff's dad. No, if you need that then we're at the Double D—the Campbell ranch off of— Okay."He closed the cell, leaning in and burying his face in his sister's hair, looking for something normal, a familiar smell, a familiar touch, just looking for peace. "The detective in charge, Tom Stafford, wants to speak to us all. He's bringing his partner, and we should expect him in about an hour." He spoke calmly, glancing over at Jack, who just nodded, closing his eyes and sighing.

"I'm gonna go keep Beth company," Eden said softly. "You gonna be okay, Riley?" To an outsider, it might have looked odd, this tiny slip of a girl looking up at her brother, broad in the shoulder and a good foot taller than her, asking him if
he
was going to be okay, but to Riley, it meant everything. He smiled softly, using his thumb to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. She was his sister, and she was his to look after, but she had an incredible strength in her that was sometimes his only anchor to the real world.

"I'll be fine." He linked hands with Jack. "We'll be in soon." Eden reached up on tiptoes, placing a small kiss on her brother's stubble-rough skin.

"Love you, big brother."

"Love you, little sister."

Chapter 42

It was a tense two hours interviewing Riley and Eden, and then finally moving on to Jack Campbell-Hayes, who sat quietly at the table and explained exactly what he'd done.

Stafford made notes. Riley Campbell-Hayes, brother of the victim, no alibi, the last person known to have been with his brother; Jack Campbell-Hayes, the husband, who for some reason, Tom knew, wasn't being entirely honest about why he'd beaten up Jeff Hayes. Again, Jack, no alibi, was driving, no witnesses, both men had access to guns, both licensed to carry. And then there was Eden, clearly distraught, but constantly looking to her brother for strength.

Interesting.

He made notes on the family dynamics, knew enough about the Hayeses from news items as to who was missing from here. Gerald Hayes, father, missing. Sandra Hayes, mother, missing. Lisa Hayes, wife, missing.

He also recalled Riley's phrasing during the phone call— Jeff's father, a slip that maybe a less observant man wouldn't have caught, but he had caught it. He turned to his partner, closing the notebook, his eyes carefully scanning the individuals standing in the kitchen.

"I'll need you to come downtown tomorrow and make a formal statement," he said to Jack, who nodded and pressed his lips together in a tight, frowning face. Tom knew he needed this on record. If Jeff woke up after the operation then he would probably want to press charges. His badge was telling him now to take Jack, who had no alibi and blood already on his hands. But his gut feeling was telling him that there was more to this story. "It's simple enough to check through traffic cams. If you can detail your drive as closely as you can."

Jack's heart sank. He had been mostly driving on instinct, not really with any destination in mind. "I'll try to remember," he said finally.

Tom stood, turning to Riley. "I need to speak to your mother, your father, and your sister-in-law. Do you have any ideas where they would be at this moment?"

"Try the eighteenth hole at the Oaks for Gerald. I have my mother's cell number. I've left a message, and you have the number now. Lisa…" He shrugged. "She left Jeff. Mom may know where she went."

"If you should hear from any of them, I need to know," Tom finally said, before thanking Donna for the coffee, and indicating John should follow him out. It was only when he was outside that he breathed a sigh of relief, his head pounding from an intense headache right across his eyes.

"You okay?" His partner looked concerned.

"So many secrets," he said. "The Dallas aristocracy and their freaking secrets."

Chapter 43

The knock on Jim's door was unexpected and very loud in the stillness of his apartment, and it was with not a small amount of irritation that he opened the door, ready to sound off at the drop of a hat. If it wasn't one thing, it was another, if it wasn't his son's brother being in the hospital unconscious, it was Gerald freaking Hayes demanding his presence at everything from meetings to golf games.

Gerald knew Jim was Riley's dad. Jim didn't need to say a word. There was too much water under that particular bridge to even go there. They would, in the same way as they'd done for over twenty-five years, ignore the elephant in the room every time they spoke. Jim had made promises, and he intended to keep them, but he wanted to know his son. More than the closeness he already shared with Riley, he wanted a family connection.

"What?" he bit out as he opened the door, wincing as Eden Hayes launched herself at him, gripping at his shirt, her head buried against his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Pushing the door closed, he eased her back from him, seeing grief so deeply etched in her face it scared him.

"Eden, what is it? Is it Riley?" She couldn't speak, couldn't get words past her need to gulp air, and she shook her head
.
He knew he wasn't going to get sense out of her, so he guided her to sit on the sofa, disentangled her hands and fetched her water before sitting on the coffee table in front of the sofa and waiting.

Finally she seemed to calm and looked at Jim, her eyes steady. "I need you to help me. Can you help me?"

Jim frowned. Of course he would help her. She may not be his daughter by blood, but she was every bit as much his as Riley was in every way that mattered. "Help you with what, babe?"

"When Jeff…" She stopped, her teeth worrying her lower lip, her expressive eyes filling with tears again, but this time without the shaking he'd seen in her.

"When Jeff what?"

"I was there… in the house."

"You were there? Did you see something? Eden?"

* * * *

The day of the shooting

How was it Jeff had the capacity to hurt her so much? She was Eden Alyssa Hayes, heiress, socialite. She was confident and her own woman, but with a few well-chosen words, her oldest brother could make her feel like a spoiled brat. She tolerated him, just this side of hate. He'd always been the perfect pseudo-Gerald with his sly, intolerant, elitist mannerisms and his icy uncompromising grip on everyone's life, including hers.

"What's up, Eden? Someone piss in your Jimmy Choos?" It wasn't much, but it was enough to push her to snap back with a simple and effective "Fuck you." She had been staring listlessly out of the window at the manicured lawns beyond, her mind turning over Beth being pregnant, her new friend positively glowing with the evidence of what had happened to her, and Steve was so completely in love with her, so attentive.

It sent knives of envy through her, and she had found herself simply standing, wishing Jeff would just leave. He knew which buttons to press, which words to use that made her quick to temper, and it was best to leave. She pushed past him and out of the front door. Maybe a walk in the garden would stop her melancholy.

She had spent a little while with the roses, breathing deeply of the scent of freshly cut grass, and then returned to her room. She would shower and return to the Double D and visit with Beth. She enjoyed it there. She heard the shouting coming from downstairs, and it grew louder. She couldn't make out much, but she heard thuds, grunts, and the sounds of fists on flesh. She crept to the landing, her hand over her mouth as she saw Jack beating Jeff, almost killing him, and Riley running in, trying to pull his husband away.

"Jack stop! What the fuck," Riley shouted, holding him back, looking down at Jeff, gripping Jack tightly.

"He raped Beth. Your brother raped my sister." Jack's voice was broken, and Eden nearly ran down the stairs. "Now he's threatening to take the baby from her. Tell me I can't kill him, Riley."

"No," Riley said, and she heard Jack reply "Fuck you" before stalking from the hallway. Riley ran after him, leaving Jeff a bloody mess on the floor.

She wondered what she should do. Should she call 911? She was a witness to what Jack had done… but Jeff had raped Beth? And he was threatening to claim the baby? Eden heard a whimper, and saw Lisa stumbling back to the rooms closest to her, her momma's rooms. Eden thought to follow but then Jeff moved, pushing himself to his feet, and she ran back to her own rooms, hiding in the bathroom, her cell in her hand.

She crept to the door, hearing Jeff dismissing staff, coming to her room, calling her name and then the noise of him going down the corridor to his own rooms, cursing every step of the way.

Then she heard the shot. She knew as certainly as she knew her own name that Lisa had shot Jeff. She entered the bedroom and found Lisa standing over the body of her husband, the gun loose in her hands.

"Give it to me, Lisa." They needed to get out of there.

"Eden?" Lisa looked to be in shock. She was pale, her eyes empty.

"We need to go."

* * * *

The Present

Jim leaned forward. "The gun, Eden. Where is the gun?"

She seemed to shakily snap back to the here and now. She reached into her purse, pulling out the weapon and dropping it to the floor as though horrified by the feel of it.

"Hell. You were carrying it with you?" Jim couldn't believe what he could see in front of him, couldn't even begin to comprehend what Lisa had done, what she'd been through, but Eden looked at him, hazel eyes pleading.

"Help me, Uncle J. Please tell me what to do."

Helplessly he bundled her into his arms and moved to sit behind her on the sofa, pulling her back. The midnight hour cloaked them in darkness, and he simply held her as she wept and finally fell asleep in his arms.

There had to be a way.

He pulled out his cell, thumbing contacts.

"Bailey?"

"Gerald, we need to talk."