Buried Secrets (New Adult Dark Suspense Romance) (25 page)

“You're getting my jacket wet,” he said faintly. Dusty smiled through her tears. He managed to smile back.

“That's my girl,” he whispered. The ambulance pulled up behind Matt's squad car. She looked back down at Shane. He coughed and coughed, something thickly congealed in his chest, his throat. The paramedics were getting out.

“Ambulance is here. They'll fix you up. You'll be fine.”

Shane coughed again, his mouth filling with blood. Dusty wiped it away, whispering, “Oh, my God, oh, my God,” over and over, unaware of the hot tears pooling at her throat and running between her breasts.

“Dusty,” he whispered. She looked across him, helplessly, to Nate and Cody.

“You're gonna be a hero, man,” Nate said hoarsely, tears making streaks down his face. “A real hero.”

“Yeah?” Shane’s voice grew weaker but he sounded pleased.

“I love you,” Dusty whispered through her tears, past whatever had lodged in her throat. Hot tears fell on him, wetting his shirt collar.

“I know.” He attempted a smile, looking at her through half-closed eyes that were already beginning to glaze over from shock. “I—”

“Shh, Shane, please,” she whispered. “Please, God, don't talk anymore. You'll be okay. You will, you will.”

She was trying to convince herself as much as reassure him.

She didn’t want to hear him say anything close to ‘goodbye.’

“Dusty,” he said again, weaker, blood from his mouth pooling at this throat, his voice hoarse with it. She wiped at it helplessly.

She had to lean in close, so close, to hear him, his voice choked with blood.

“I always loved you.”

“Me too.” She kissed his mouth, coppery, willing him to live, to give them a chance to make up for all the time they’d lost.

She’d lost too much. Her mother. Nick. Even her father and the rest of her family in a way. But she couldn’t lose Shane. It would kill her.

And that was the truth in all of it, she realized, as the world went on, as Buck Thompson started demanding answers, as Nate and Cody surrounded her while the EMTs started to work on Shane, getting him on a gurney to rush him to the hospital.

Shane had always been the one she could never live without.

✝
Epilogu
e
✝

—taken from the Millsberg Journal

By Mike Murphy

Larkspur Staff Writer

LARKSPUR--The Larkspur murder mystery has been solved—the killer has been identified as Roy Phillip Lewis, former Larkspur resident, who had gone missing over the summer. It was previously reported the killer was a cougar caught in the woods next to the Clinton Grove Cemetery but that has been proven false.

Roy's son, Sam Lewis, suffered a fatal gunshot wound in an incident that occurred Sunday night in the Clinton Grove Cemetery. Questions remain whether or not Sam Lewis was an accomplice in the killings…

Hand written letter from Sam Lewis, written to Dusty Chandler, found in Lewis’ home tucked inside a photo album in his nightstand.

Dusty,

I’m writing this in hopes you can understand what’s happened. You’re my friend, and I want you to know, to understand, as I hope only you can.

I don’t know what happened to my father, why he disappeared, why he is the way he is now. He was gone and then he came back changed—my father but not my father. I don’t know what he did, how he did what he did, but he came back terrible, horrible...

What else could I do?

He’s still my father, Dusty. He’s still the only person in the world who ever showed me any caring or kindness—until you came along. I don’t understand how he came back—but he has come back, and he’s hungry, Dusty. He won’t stop, and I don’t know how to stop him. If I don’t feed him, he finds ways to feed himself. Like your brother. I’m so sorry about that, Dusty. I had to feed him, or more people would end up like Nick.

What choice did I have?

I am going to try to end this tonight. I am going to the cemetery to kill him—and to kill myself. I am hoping it will end his suffering…and ours. And I am so very sorry for yours, Dusty. So very sorry. Maybe this will be my redemption. It’s all I can hope for now.

I just wanted you to know that you were the only one who ever made me feel whole and wanted. I will be grateful for that, forever, no matter what.

I love you.

Sam

“Are they gonna arrest me?”

Dusty sat up suddenly from where her head rested on the mattress at the hoarse sound of his voice, her hungry eyes searching his face.

“Shane?” she whispered, squeezing the familiar hand she’d been holding for what felt like days.

His eyes were still closed, but he spoke again, his voice cracking. He swallowed, his eyes fluttering. “Dusty...?”

“I’m here.” She moved so he could see her and a flicker of a smile crossed his face. “Oh God, Shane, I thought…”

“I wouldn’t leave you.” His eyes opened, just slits, looking at her. “Not now. Not ever.”

“I love you,” she whispered, standing to look down at him. His chest was still bandaged—the bullet had collapsed a lung—and he was on a whole lot of drugs. She didn’t’ even know if he’d remember her words, but she had to say them. “Shane, I love you. I want you. Just you. For the rest of my life. If you’ll have me.”

“Is that a proposal?”

“That’s a promise.”

“Cross my heart?” He closed his eyes, smiling.

“Yes,” she whispered, tracing her finger over the bandage. His heart, thank God, had been spared and was still beating strong. She took his hand, pressing it between her breasts. “Mine too.”

“So I’m not going to jail?” He opened his eyes again, looking confused.

She laughed. “No, they’re not arresting you. You’re a hero. There’s an article in the paper about you working with the DNR and the Ottawa tribe to uncover those artifacts. They’re shutting the whole thing down for good. No more fracking, state land or not. It’s protected, Native land now. And so is your cabin.”

“Our
cabin,” he croaked, eyes closing again. “I’m glad.”

“You didn’t tell me you were working with the DNR too.” she nudged him. “No wonder you knew about the virus…”

“Couldn’t tell.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry. No more secrets now. Promise. Cross my heart to infinity.”

“Shhh,” she murmured, pressing her mouth against his ear, sobbing. “It doesn’t matter. I love you. I love you so much.”

She looked at him, incredulous. Shane was here, alive, conscious and actually talking to her after days of silence and not knowing. That was all she really cared about. Everything else—except for the funerals she attended for Jake and Ryan—had been pushed to the side. She paid only peripheral attention to the news, even when her father and Guy Walker were arrested for attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

She had refused to answer Julia’s calls—and eventually blocked her number on her cell phone. Dusty had spent every moment in the hospital, living and breathing hope. And here he was, smiling his crooked smile at her, bringing her the brightest light of her life.

“I’m not dead, then?” he murmured.

She laughed through her tears. “Not unless this is heaven.”

“Must be.” He smiled, whispering the words just before she kissed him and proved them both right.

The End

About
Emme Rollins

Emme Rollins is an up and coming author of New Adult/Mature Young Adult fiction. She’s been writing since she could hold a crayon and still chews her pen caps to a mangled plastic mess. She did not, however, eat paste as a kid.

She has two degrees, a bachelor’s and a master’s, one of which she’s still paying for, but neither of which she uses out in the
“real world,” because when she isn’t writing, she spends her time growing an organic garden to feed her husband and children (and far too many rabbits and deer!) where they live on twenty gorgeous forested acres in rural Michigan.

She loves tending her beehives (bees are wonderful pollinators and Hello!? Honey!) and keeping up with her daily yoga practice and going for long walks in the woods with her boxer, Rodeo, who loves chasing squirrels almost as much as Emme loves writing!

Emme loves hearing from fans, so feel free to use the contact page to connect with her.

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

DEAR ROCKSTAR

TOP 100 AMAZON BESTSELLER

Look for the sequel – LUCKY GIRL – coming October 2013!

Sara is obsessed with rock star Tyler Vincent, and as she works to complete her senior year, she’s determined to find a way to meet him—although her best friend, Aimee, keeps telling her to find a different escape from her desperately violent home life.

Complications arise when Dale, the mysterious new transfer student, sets his si
ghts on Sara, and she falls for this rock-star-in-the-making in spite of her better judgment. When Sara wins a contest, she is faced with a choice—travel to Tyler Vincent’s home town to meet him, or stay and support Dale in a Battle-of-the-Bands hosted by MTV.

Their triangulated relationship is pushed to its breaking point, but there is another, deeper secret that Dale’s been keeping that just may break things wide open...

Turn up your collar, feather your hair, and splash on some Polo, because we’re going back to the ‘80’s when MTV played music videos, there was no such thing as American Idol, and becoming a star meant doing nothing short of crazy for that one, big break.

EXCERPT:

“I dropped out in my senior year. Three years ago.” Dale sipped his Coke too, looking at me over the rim. He had a way of seeing into me that was disconcerting. I felt naked in front of him.

“Let me guess? You wanted to make it in the music business?”

“My parents were having problems.” He sat back in his chair, picking at his food. “My dad left my mom. We moved to Seattle. That’s when I really started getting more serious about music.”

“And your dad was okay with you quitting school?”

He snorted. “No. But he I didn’t give him a say. I moved out.”

“So, how did you end up here?”

“I told you. He got a job at Rutgers.” He seemed far away now, distant. I didn’t like it.

“But you weren’t living with him?”

Dale shrugged. “He asked me to come with him. He said he’d pay for everything, let me live with him, and I could pursue my music as long as I was working on getting my diploma.”

I nodded. “So the Academy is your compromise.”

“Well, I knew about the battle of the bands before we moved.” He flashed me a brief smile. God, that dimple. “MTV did them last year in New York, and I had it on good authority they were going to do them again this year. I figured I’d have time to put a band together and give it a shot.”

“Well now that I’ve seen you, I think you’ve got a pretty good one,” I said honestly. That was an understatement. I couldn’t imagine anyone beating them.

“You think so?”

I nudged him with my knee under the table. “I think you know it.”

“I still like to hear it.” He turned to look at me, his eyes searching. “Especially from you.”

I smiled, reaching over and taking his hand, giving him exactly what he’d asked for. He deserved it. “You’re very good. You’re an amazing singer. You’re an incredible performer. I’ve never seen a crowd go crazy like that for someone they’d never seen before. I mean, celebrity takes time. Exposure. I think you’re one of those people who draws other people in. Like a magnet. You’re going to have people following you around, no matter what you do. For the rest of your life.”

He was actually blushing. “Why do you say that?”

“Because that’s how you make me feel,” I confessed, biting my lip, almost wishing I hadn’t said it.

“Hm.” He made a little noise in his throat, turning my hand over in his, tracing the lines in my palm with his fingertip like he was following a road map. “How do I make you feel?”

“Like I would follow you anywhere,” I whispered.

He lifted my hand and pressed his lips to my palm, closing his eyes briefly, and I noticed how long and dark his lashes were before he looked at me with that intense, blue gaze, telling me more with one look than either of could ever say in words.

“When I saw you in the audience today, I don’t even know how to tell you what it did to me.” He shook his head, twining his fingers with mine. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were performing?” I asked softly.

“Because I didn’t want that to happen.” He gave a short laugh. “I didn’t want to be distracted. I wasn’t supposed to let myself get distracted…”

He met my eyes, the emotion in them so strong I felt it before he even said the words. “Sara, I don’t think you understand what you do to me.”

“What do you mean?” Now it was my turn to ask him.

“I couldn’t think,” he confessed. “Thank God the song was over, because the minute I saw you… I was done for.”

“Oh please.” I smiled, teasing him. “All those screaming girls. I’m surprised they weren’t throwing panties at you.”

“Sometimes they do.” He grinned. “But that never mattered to me.”

I blinked in surprise. “What does matter to you?”

“Now? You.” He squeezed my hand in his, that was all, but the sensation shot up my arm with a jolt that nearly knocked me off my chair.

“Dale, do you realize how crazy that sounds?” I whispered, glancing around like someone might overhear us. “We’ve only known each other for a week.”

“Sometimes the best things in life are crazy.”

I laughed. “I can’t argue with that.”

It was crazy.

It was all crazy.

Me and Tyler Vincent.

Me and Dale Diamond.

But somehow the latter had fully eclipsed the former in my mind—and my heart—at least in the moment.