Bayview Heights Trilogy (53 page)

He looked at her, then nodded to Seth and
stepped aside. She felt Seth’s arm go around her as he drew her
into the house and closed the door. Together, they faced Mitch.

“I’m sorry, Lacey,” Mitch said. “Kevin’s
dead.”

“DEAD?” Staring blindly at Mitch, Lacey
sagged against Seth.

“I’m sorry, Lacey.”

“Kevin?
My
Kevin?”

Mitch nodded. Seth’s arms drew her closer to
him. A deep, gnawing pain started in her gut and slowly spread
through her. To contain it, she circled her arms around her
waist.

Hearing noise in the living room, her gaze
flew to the source. “Grandpa.” She took a quick glance at the door.
“The ambulance. What—”

“It’s precautionary,” Mitch told them. “Doc
Meyers and Philip are old friends. I called the doctor before I
came with the news.”

Lacey told herself to be calm. She had to
take care of her grandfather. She couldn’t think about her baby
brother...dead...in prison. It seemed impossible, felt horribly
unreal.

“I want to see her,” Lacey heard just before
Philip appeared in the doorway.

She had a minute to register his alarmingly
white skin and shocked eyes. Then she was in his arms. “Oh,
Grandpa.”

He held her close. “My boy, Lacey, my
boy.”

Lacey made soothing circles on his back. “I
can’t believe it.”

“I…” Philip’s voice cracked and she could
feel him shake. Willing back her own tears, she held on to him as
he cried for the child he’d raised.

After a minute, Philip stiffened. She felt
his hands grip her arms and set her away. He was staring at the
doorway, fists at his sides. “You bastard,” he snapped. “You killed
my boy.” Lacey whirled just in time to see him lunge for Seth.

The force of Philip’s momentum drove Seth
back into the wall. He knocked his head against a picture. It
crashed to the floor. Philip drew back his arm and landed a solid
punch on Seth’s face before anyone could react. Then Mitch was on
Philip, dragging him off Seth, who’d never even raised his hands to
protect himself.

Immobilized, Lacey’s world spun as she
watched her grandfather attack the man she loved. “No, no.” Lacey
covered her mouth with her hands. She felt an arm go around her.
Cassie was next to her.

“Let go of me,” Philip shouted, wrenching his
body, trying to escape Mitch’s hold. Two uniformed policemen ran
into the hall and posted themselves on either side of Mitch, ready
to assist him. Doc Meyers came into the foyer, too. He crossed to
Seth, examined his jaw and the back of his head and asked a few
questions. After Seth’s response, the doctor faced her grandfather.
“Philip, calm down.”

“Get him out of my house. The words were loud
and full of hate. Philip’s face had gone beet red, and a vein
bulged in his neck. He turned to Lacey. His eyes pierced her with
an unrelenting wrath. “You were with him...that bastard...when your
brother was killed.”

Lacey swallowed her pain. “Grandpa, I--”

Suddenly, Philip swayed back into Mitch, who
still held his arms.

The doctor leaped forward. “Is there pain?”
Philip shook his head. “Dizziness?”

“Some. But I’m all right. It doesn’t feel
like the last time.”

Doc Meyers felt the pulse in Philip’s neck
and checked his eyes. “Nonetheless, we’re not taking chances. The
ambulance is here, we’re going to the hospital,”

“No.”

Finally able to move, Lacey stepped forward
and touched Philip’s shoulder. “Please go, Grandpa. I’ll ride with
you. Please,” she said, battling back the terror. “I don’t want
anything to happen to you.”
To you, too
, she’d been about
to say.

Philip stared at her for a moment, then
hooked his arm around her neck and drew her close. Always,
always
in a crisis, this man had pulled through for her.
“I’m all right, girl. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“Do as the doctor says. Please.”

Reluctantly, he nodded.

Doc Meyers led the way, with Philip close
behind him. Lacey only had time for a quick look at Seth, who had
straightened up from the wall. His face was ravaged and a bruise
was already forming on the side of his mouth. He watched her with
an unreadable expression, then nodded for her to go. She’d never
felt more torn in her life.

From behind her, Cassie said, “I’m going with
them, Mitch.” Together, Lacey and her friend followed the doctor to
the ambulance.

o0o

“HERE, Captain.” One of the cops handed Mitch
an ice pack.

Mitch took it and crossed to Seth, who looked
at him blankly.

“Your mouth’s bruised,” Mitch told him.
“It’ll swell.”

Seth shook his head, his gaze straying to the
door where Lacey had exited. “I’ve got to go with her.”

“I’ll take you to the hospital. You need to
put this on your face first.”

Swallowing hard, Seth placed the ice pack on
his mouth. The sting surprised him. “How did Kevin die?”

“I’ll fill you in on the way. Do you want
something before we leave? Something to drink?”

“No, I want to get to Lacey.”

Mitch scowled. “Philip can’t see you
there.”

Seth shook his head to clear it. “Of course
not. I’ll stay in the waiting area. Hell, I’ll stand outside in the
snow all night if I have to. I’ve got to see her.”

“She’s going to need a lot of help with this
one, buddy.” After giving Seth an assessing once-over, Mitch
grasped his shoulder. “All right, let’s go.”

The roads to Bayview Heights Hospital had
turned slick, and a light snow fell all around them. As they drove
through the streets, Seth adjusted the ice pack and said, “Tell me
about Kevin. Don’t spare any details. I have to know the whole
story.”

“The official report is that Kevin died from
contusions received in a fall down a steep stairwell. He’d been
released from the infirmary on Sunday, but his transfer hadn’t come
through yet. So they kept him in another wing.”

“Transfer?”

“In medium-security prisons, after an
altercation like the one Kevin had with the razor blade, the inmate
is most often transferred to another facility for his own
safety.”

“Did Lacey know about this?”

“I don’t think so.” Mitch scanned the
intersection he’d come to and glided through it. “In any case, the
warden said they were worried about Kevin’s involvement with two
inmates—guys called Black Eyes and Brazil.”

Seth raked a hand through his hair. “The
names sound like they came from a grade-B movie.”

“The whole thing does. Anyway, they isolated
Kevin.”

“Then how did this happen?”

Mitch cleared his throat. “Kevin left the
protective wing. He was in an off-limits section of the prison, a
dangerous one.”

“I don’t understand.”

Mitch blew out a heavy breath. “Kevin was in
on some kind of trafficking of illegal substances. The authorities
think he was looking for his cohorts.”

“Oh, Lord, why would he do that?”

Carefully Mitch turned into the hospital
parking lot. He shut off the engine and faced Seth. “Kevin’s had a
history of making bad decisions. Unfortunately, this time it got
him killed.”

“Lacey will be devastated when she finds out
how it happened.”

“She has to know.”

Seth nodded. “Yes, she does.” He looked at
the three-story hospital, looming before them. “But that doesn’t
change how much it’ll hurt her.”

o0o

LACEY CLASPED Philip’s hand as the monitor
blipped its repetitive rhythm. He was calm now, resting, but he
wasn’t asleep.

“Do you remember his first two-wheeler?”
Philip’s voice was sandpapery.

Oh, God, she couldn’t do this. “Yes. It was
red. When he refused to let you put on the training wheels, you
spent hours behind that thing, holding the fender upright so he
wouldn’t fall.”

“I was afraid he’d get hurt.”

Lacey said nothing, the reality of what had
happened sinking in by degrees. Kevin was dead. The little boy on
the big red bicycle was dead.

“And he hated haircuts. I had to sit in the
barber’s chair with him on my lap. Remember that, Lacey?”

She smiled at the vision of Kevin, a
beautiful child with thick blond curls. Like Josh. The bittersweet
memory tightened the cramps in her stomach. “I remember.”

Philip raised his hand and scrubbed it over
his face. She could see the sheen of tears from his eyes, the
moisture wetting his cheeks. “I loved him.”

“I did, too.” Lacey prayed the sedative the
doctor had given Philip would take effect soon. With supreme
effort, she quelled the emotions pushing to get out, but she wasn’t
sure how much more of this she could take.

Her grandfather turned to her with bruised
eyes. “All I have left is you, honey.” He looked old and weary.
Lacey could remember how, after her father’s funeral, Philip had
let both her and Kevin sleep in his bed that night while he watched
over them from a chair. Tonight, she had to be the strong one. She
had to get him through
this
death.

“I’m here, Grandpa. I’m here for you.”

His lids drooped. When he took her hand, his
was limp. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

“I wouldn’t want to live now, without
you.”

Lacey bit her lip so hard she was surprised
she didn’t taste blood. “You’ll never have to do that.”

He closed his eyes on a satisfied sigh. She
sat there clutching his hand, lost in memories of Kevin, of her
mother, of her father. Everyone she loved was gone, except
Philip.

And Seth.

She wouldn’t think about Seth now. About
losing Seth, too.

She couldn’t.

So she held on tight to her grandfather’s
hand and closed her eyes until she sensed someone standing before
her. She looked up into Doc Meyers’s kind face.

“Come on, young lady,” he grumbled, pulling
her to her feet. “You’ve had a shock and you need some rest.” He
nodded at her grandfather. “Philip’s comfortable. He’ll sleep
through the night and we’ll watch him.

Slowly, she stood. She bent over Philip and
kissed him on the forehead. “I love you, Grandpa,” she whispered,
then followed the doctor out of the room.

o0o

SETH’S HEART hammered in his chest as Lacey
entered the lounge area, walking behind the doctor. The older man
spoke softly to her, squeezed her hand then went back down the
hall. Seth stood where he was, waiting to see what she needed from
him.

After only a moment’s hesitation, she flew
across the room into his arms. He caught her, drew her close and
locked his hand on her neck. He hadn’t realized how afraid he’d
been that she’d blame him for Kevin’s death.

Her tears finally came. Sobs. Aching,
wrenching sobs. They wracked her whole body. It had been almost two
hours since she’d learned of Kevin’s death. Seth couldn’t believe
she’d been able to keep her emotions bottled up this long.

His own eyes misted. He said nothing. He
caught a glimpse of Cassie weeping quietly in Mitch’s arms on the
couch across the waiting room. Mitch was granite-faced and held on
to his wife.

Several minutes later, Lacey quieted. When
she pulled back from him, he took out his handkerchief and wiped
her face. Then he framed it with his hands. “I’m so sorry,” he said
simply.

Her eyes darkened. She reached up and ran her
fingertips over his swollen jaw. He winced involuntarily. She shook
her head, then turned to the Lansings. “You shouldn’t have
stayed.”

“Don’t be silly,” Cassie told her as she got
up, crossed to Lacey and pulled her into a sisterly embrace. “I’m
sorry, Lace.”

Mitch stood behind Cassie. “Me, too.” Then he
said, “Is there anything we can do?”

Lacey smiled weakly. “No, thanks. Now, take
your wife home, will you? She needs rest.”

Mitch nodded, then to Seth he said, “Here are
your keys.” While they’d waited, Mitch had had his guys fetch
Seth’s car.

Cassie hugged Lacey again, then Cassie
crossed to Seth, hugged him too and whispered, “This is not your
fault.”

“Thanks,” he said gruffly. During the hours
they’d waited, Mitch and Cassie had staunchly asserted that Seth
was not to blame for Kevin’s death. He’d tried to banish the
nagging doubt that Lacey might not feel the same.

After the Lansings left, he led her to the
couch and sat down with her. She went willingly into his embrace
and burrowed into him. Slowly he stroked her arm. “You need rest,
sweetheart.”

“After you tell me about Kevin. I want to
know everything.”

With a heavy sigh, Seth recounted the grim
story. Telling her what had actually transpired was one of the
hardest things he’d ever had to do in his life. He had to stop
several times when she started to cry. All through it, he cradled
her against him.

When he finished the account, he said, “We
need to go.”

She nodded into his chest.

He started to rise, but she drew him back
down. “Wait.” When he sat again, the look she gave him made him
want to weep. “Grandpa was terribly wrong. Seth. You aren’t to
blame for Kevin’s death.”

He sucked in a breath. “We don’t need to
discuss this.”

“Yes, we do.
You
need to know that
now.”

He nodded, unable to speak for the emotions
roiling inside him. Gratefully he closed his eyes.

“Okay,” she said, composing herself. “Take me
home. And stay with me. Please.”

“I’ll do anything you ask, love.”

o0o

THE SLIPPERY ROADS made the driving slow, but
didn’t deter Seth from his errand. Today was Wednesday, and this
was the most positive, pleasant thing he’d done since Friday night
when they’d discovered Kevin had been killed. As the traffic inched
along, Seth’s mind wandered to the events of the last few days.

When he’d driven Lacey home from the
hospital, she’d clung to him like a lifeline. At her house, she
resisted sleep, so he made her change into a comfortable sweat
suit, settled down on her bed with her in his arms, and, as he’d
hoped, she’d fallen asleep. He remembered thinking she’d need the
rest to deal with the horror of the upcoming days. Seth had dozed,
too, soothing her through the nightmares that awakened her
twice.