Beyond the Shadows (25 page)

Wispy tendrils of a smoky fog emanated from the shadow. His eyes widened as the ghosts of the man’s victims rose above the crumpled figures. They turned as one and pulled.

At first, he didn’t know what he was seeing and then his head filled with a man’s unearthly scream. They hauled their killer’s spirit into the air and immediately surrounded it. Nate’s skin prickled as their laughter filled the room, drowning out his cries. But when the shadow lifted and followed them, the man’s terror found another octave, prolonged and blood curdling.

The apparitions disappeared and the bands of pressure holding him still snapped. He stumbled forward and fell to his knees beside Kelly.

“Kelly!” Nate shoved the dead man’s weight off her. The joy at discovering the blood hadn’t been hers lasted for just a second. She showed no signs of life. He placed trembling fingers to her neck but couldn’t detect a pulse. “No! Damn it, Kelly. Don’t you dare die on me.”

Frantically, he started CPR, pumping her chest, his eyes glued to her face. Sweat beaded his forehead as he kept up a steady pace. Tears gathered as he realized she slipped further away.

“I know you can hear me, Kelly, so fight. Come back to me. I need you. Who else is game enough to give me a butt-kicking when I need it?” He continued with the manual pumping of her heart. Tears slipped unashamedly down his cheeks. “I love you and idiot that I am, I realized too late to tell you. I love you.” His voice broke, and he swallowed, blinking hard to clear his gaze. “Damn you! You never gave up on me. Don’t think for one second I’m giving up on you. You get your sweet little ass back here, Appleton! You don’t get away that easily.”

Her first unaided breath was so shallow he almost missed it. He thought he’d imagined it until he felt the slight rise and fall of her chest under his palms. “Oh, thank God.” Lifting shaking hands, he gently stroked loose strands of hair off her forehead. “That’s it, Kelly.” His voice gathered strength, willing her along. “Come on, my love, you can do it. I know it hurts, but I’m right here for you. Come back to me.”

Her breathing regulated into a rasping wheeze and her eyes moved restlessly behind the fragile lids. He watched her fight back to consciousness and his throat seized with joy. After a brief struggle, her lids slit open and pale blue eyes stared around in confusion before clearing and settling on him. “Nate?”

It was a croak, hardly distinguishable as her voice, but it was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. “Yeah, sweetheart. It’s all right. I’ve got you. You’re going to be okay.” He broke out in a wide grin as his own words registered. He repeated them again in a stronger voice just because they sounded so damned good. “You’re okay. Just relax and concentrate on breathing. I’m going to call for an ambulance.”

“Nate,” she croaked desperately and gripped his sleeve in a death grip.

His heart leapt as she gazed into his eyes. Intensity burned, and he smiled in anticipation, needing to hear her tell him to his face that she loved him.

She paused, as if she’d read his mind then flashed him a shadow of the cheeky grin he loved so much. “Could you get me some clothes,” she rasped and closed her eyes at the effort, the smile still curving her lips.

Chapter Fourteen

After seeing Kelly settled in her hospital room, Nate turned to leave but stopped when her hand touched his arm.

“Find the necklaces for me, Nate. I promised the families.”

He’d stared down into her pain-filled eyes and nodded solemnly, ready to promise her the world. “I will, sweetheart. You rest now. I’ll see you soon.”

He bent over, kissed her forehead lightly, and straightened. His chest caught at the sight of her sweet smile as sleep claimed her. His jaw clenched as he thought of how close he’d come to losing her. Reluctant to leave her side, he lingered at the door.

“Bugger off, Nate.”

He started at the husky-voiced command and found her eyes open a crack, watching him with amusement. He grinned widely. “Yes, ma’am. Buggering off now.” With a smart salute, he turned on his heel and set about fulfilling her promise.

For two days, he helped sift through Carl Hodgkins’ home with half a dozen other officers. He made daily visits to Kelly in the hospital and weathered her displeasure at being cooped up, which she often directed at him. He couldn’t help grinning at the similarities to when he was the patient. They were more similar than either had known.

Although the team came up with some interesting discoveries in Hodgkins’ home, the collection of jewelry was never found. And there was no way he could make an issue of it without raising questions. The most interesting discovery was on his computer. It seemed he’d discovered Scott Williams’ website long before the police had.

The theory was Hodgkins had idolized Williams and his strange ways. When he was put away for the murders and then committed suicide, it disturbed Hodgkins greatly, enough to carry on in his name. Only Nate knew otherwise. He’d glanced over Williams’ website and noticed one photo in particular. In it, the corpse was dressed in eveningwear and staged as if in celebration with Williams. Around her neck was a gold cross. Simple, but it would have been like a red rag to a bull for Hodgkins.

Nate glanced around at the impeccably kept apartment that had housed such a monster and shook his head. Apart from the religious objects on the wall and surfaces, the house was sparse, devoid of personality.

Most killers spilled their guts to someone about their deeds, needing someone to brag with, but Carl Hodgkins appeared to have no one and was happiest to be that way. According to his boss and workmates, he’d been pleasant to deal with, but was somewhat remote. Most assumed he had a hobby that kept him from taking up the occasional invites to after work drinks and the like. When his hobby was revealed, they were shocked and horrified. Nate’s lip curled as he remembered the ill-concealed fascination a couple of them displayed who wanted the details of his hobby. Human beings never failed to sicken him. If they had to deal with what he dealt with every day, they’d soon change their tune.

“So, Kelly gets out of hospital today does she?”

Nate shook himself out of his thoughts and met Reece McCabe’s dark gaze. There was something in the depths that made him uncomfortable, like he was being assessed and he’d come up short. “Yeah. I’ll be collecting her in a couple of hours.”

“Thank God she’s okay. It’s not the same at work without having her fine ass to gaze at, brightening my day.” He tipped his head to the side, his eyes twinkling. “How do you think she’d react if I asked her out?”

Nate turned to face the man, his hands clenched into fists. “Don’t even think about it, McCabe,” His eyes narrowed dangerously on the station’s Romeo. His first instinct was to destroy his rival. It took all his willpower not to leap across the room and smash his fist into the other’s face. How
dare
he even think of Kelly like that? Then the red mist cleared as he noted the wide smile on the other’s face.

“Like that, huh?”

Nate’s lips tightened and he gave a short nod. She was beautiful, brave, and intelligent. And everything he’d ever wanted. The thought someone might steal her out from under his nose made his gut clench and his heart cry out in denial and pain.

“Then what are you doing here, lover-boy? There’s nothing here we can’t do without you. Go get your girl—although God knows she’s too good for you.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” he acknowledged and turned to go.

“Hang on, O’Leary.”

He stopped and turned, impatient to leave. “Yeah?”

“You might want to take this with you.” McCabe pulled a small box from the pocket of his fluorescent vest. “I think it’s more important you guys deal with its contents. It doesn’t belong here.”

Nate lifted his brows and opened the box. His blood chilled.

A cluster of necklaces blinked in the light. From sheer simplicity to jeweled glam—the sign of the cross was the only common denominator. Each was tagged with the name of the owner—proof Hodgkins was no copycat. Lifting his head, he found the dark eyes of McCabe watching him. “Where did you find it?”

“In a wall-safe, hidden behind a large crucifix. Ingenious, I thought.”

Nate glanced nervously around the room. They were alone. He shoved the box into his pocket. “Why are you giving it to me?”

“Because Kelly deserves a little bit of happiness, and if I can’t be the one to give it to her, I can at least pave the way a little for the one who can. And,” he lowered his voice. “Those families have been through enough. They don’t deserve to be dragged through another media circus.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

McCabe shrugged. “Don’t say anything. But know that if you stuff this up and break her heart, I will beat the shit out of you.”

Nate grinned. “Fair enough. Thanks man, I owe you.”

“You better believe it.” Reece slapped him on the back. “Now get going. Didn’t your mother tell you that you should never keep a lady waiting?”

With a final grin, Nate turned and flew out the door, his mind racing. He had a couple of stops to make before bringing her home.

****

Nate stood in front of the full-length mirror in his bedroom and smoothed down the front of his dress shirt. Turning this way and that, he checked to make sure he hadn’t missed a patch during his hasty shave. The bathroom had been scrubbed by professional cleaners employed by the police, but the memory of finding the woman he loved so close to death on the cold floor couldn’t be erased so easily. His decision to put the apartment up for auction had been a no-brainer. There was already considerable interest in the property, and it was with relief he realized he’d be homeless sooner than he’d anticipated. He grabbed his keys, shut the door on his old life, and strode quickly to the elevator. He was impatient to reach what he hoped would be the start of his new one.

As he pulled into the hospital parking garage, nerves suddenly got the better of him. He swallowed down the tide of fear that threatened to choke him and smoothed down the unruly strands of hair back the way the hairdresser had styled it.

When he reached her floor, déjà-vu greeted him, but with roles reversed. Sharon, the receptionist argued with Kelly, her florid cheeks burning bright flags of color, and her voice rose in a strident tone. He hid the bunch of flowers behind his back.

“Kelly,” he admonished with a grin, pulling her snugly against his side. “Let the poor woman do her job, and we’ll have you out of here in no time.”

“You!” Sharon exclaimed her tone less than thrilled. “What have I done to deserve such ungrateful wretches? I tell you—I don’t come to work to be treated like this.”

Nate pushed Kelly behind him with a gentle prod and leaned on the counter, gifting the frazzled woman with a smile. “Please let me apologize for my inexcusable behavior the last time you saw me. I wasn’t myself. I bought these for you.” He produced the bunch of roses from behind his back. “I hope they’ll go some way to express my regret and thanks. You do a wonderful job.”

The woman opened her mouth then blushed like a young girl under his attention. She reached out for the flowers and smiled at him. “You’re forgiven, but I’m really hoping neither of you come back in for care anytime soon.”

He laughed aloud. “Me too, Sharon. Let’s sign those papers and we’ll be out of your hair in no time.”

Order restored and ignoring the huff behind him, Nate signed with a flourish, placed his hand on the small of Kelly’s back, and led her outside. Her back was rigid under his touch. He’d noted her cursory glance, taking in his appearance before she averted her head, keeping her silence the whole trip home. He raised a brow but figured he’d find the source of her unhappiness soon enough.

Twenty minutes later, Nate pulled into Kelly’s driveway and whipped around to the passenger’s door to open it for her.

“You don’t have to do that for me—I’m not an invalid.” She ignored his outstretched hand and climbed out of the car unaided.

He chuckled at her scowl and watched her stalk up to her front door. They had more in common than he’d thought. She was just as bad a patient as he’d been.

“Believe me, an invalid is the last thing I think of when I think of you Kelly.”

She answered with that same little huff she’d used at the hospital. “Well. I’m home now. You can go, although I would have thought it was a bit early for a hot date.”

Confused, he creased his forehead. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play the innocent with me.” She gestured at him. “Look at you. You’re all fancied up and you’ve been edgy all morning.”

His smile slipped as he realized the moment had come upon him. Never mind butterflies—elephants had taken up tap-dancing in his guts, and his mouth went dry. He refrained from wiping damp hands on his carefully selected dress pants and cleared his throat. “I’ll go if you want, but before I do, there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

She stared at him briefly, her gaze clouded with pain. “Fine,” she finally answered with a sigh and led the way into her compact lounge, her movements stiff and awkward. Sinking into an overstuffed chair, she closed her eyes and rested her head against its support.

His gaze ran over her as he sat on the edge of a chair across from her. She looked tired. Maybe he’d be better to do this another day. Even as he thought it, an inner voice taunted him.
Coward.
Man up and get on with it!

As if sensing his stare, her eyes snapped open, all emotion carefully blanked from her gaze. “Say what you need to say and then go. I’m strong enough to take whatever it is.”

He shook his head and grasped her hand, forcing her attention. “I’m not, Kelly. I’m far from it actually.”

Her brow furrowed but before she could pose the question he saw forming, he thrust the small jewelry box he’d taken out of his pocket towards her. Cringing at his lack of finesse, he explained in a gruff voice, “I had a new chain made to replace the one I broke. I hope you accept it.”

Kelly’s face softened as she gazed up at him and a smile teased the corners of her mouth. “Oh, Nate. You didn’t need to do that.”