Dark Hearts (21 page)

Less than six minutes.

Help me, God.

He opened his pocketknife, slowly eased a finger beneath a wire and, as he began eyeing its path, lost sight of the red carpet beneath his feet and the walls around him.

All of a sudden he was in Afghanistan, listening to the chatter of automatic weapons, hearing someone shouting in Farsi and someone else screaming in Dari, and feeling the heat on the back of his neck from the ever-present blast of the sun.

* * *

Lainey was crying and begging all the way out the door.

“Please, don't let Sam die! Somebody make him come out! Don't let him die.”

Trey put her in his cruiser, and then waved at one of his officers, who quickly came running. For a moment Trey was face-to-face with Lainey.

“Everyone in the hospital is going to die if Sam can't defuse that bomb. Everyone. He's doing what he has to do, not what he wants to do, because that's what Sam does. Stay in the cruiser. Please. I need to help. One of my officers is going to take you a safe distance away.”

Her heart was hammering. She was so scared she couldn't breathe, and yet she knew every word Trey said was the truth. “Yes. I'll stay. I promise. You go. I'll pray.”

“Good girl,” Trey said, and then he was gone.

Lainey was so afraid for Sam that she was shaking.

“Please, God, You saved Sam Jakes once for his mama. This time won't You please save him for me?”

And then she sat with her hands folded, reciting the Lord's Prayer beneath her breath as the officer drove the cruiser to the far end of the parking lot.

“Stay here. You should be safe this far away, but if it blows, just hit the floor.”

She nodded, then watched as he ran back to the building. It was almost two city blocks away, and she could barely make out what was happening beyond the chaos and hysteria. Because it had gotten her through many months of chemo, she had faith it would get her through this, as well.

* * *

Lee emerged from the cafeteria into chaos. Realizing they were beginning to evacuate the hospital, he took the stairs and raced to Trina's room.

A nurse came running in seconds later, unhooked the heart and blood-pressure monitors, hung the IV bag on a hook at the head of the bed and then they headed out the door with Lee pushing and Cain Embry running beside the bed on high alert.

Other patients were already in the halls, some in beds like Trina, others in wheelchairs. Lee was third in line for the freight elevator, and the moment they hit the ground floor, Cain grabbed the bed rail and guided her toward the exit while Lee pushed.

But being outside wasn't safe enough. Not if the building blew. Staff and visitors began pushing patients toward the far end of the huge parking lot, getting them as far away from the hospital as they could.

* * *

Avery was on day dispatch, following the unfolding chaos on the radios of both local and county police. It didn't take him long to figure out they had the killer cornered, and when he caught the name he nearly fell out of his chair. He couldn't get over the fact that a father and son had committed murder an entire generation apart.

He walked back to Marcus's cell and just stood and stared.

Marcus glared. “What? Why are you staring at me like that?” he demanded.

“I just never knew a whole family who was willing to kill to get what they wanted.”

Marcus stood up so fast it looked as if he'd been ejected from his seat. He ran to the front of the cell, his voice shaking when he asked, “What are you talking about?”

“You had T.J. kill your witnesses, didn't you?” he said.

Marcus grabbed hold of the bars. “Are you crazy? What do you mean?”

“Whatever you were planning didn't work. They cornered your son in the hospital right after he planted a bomb there. He already killed three people you went to school with, and was willing to kill God knows how many others just to silence Trina Jakes. You people are freaks. I can't wrap my head around that much evil.”

“You're wrong! I don't know anything about that!” Marcus shouted, but Avery was already gone, his footsteps fading, and Marcus was left with a god-awful truth. He didn't know how T.J. had found out about Donny Collins, but now he knew why the three survivors from that night's wreck had been murdered. It was all about running for office on a clean slate. Somewhere along the way his son had turned into a monster. Maybe the blood of the Silvers who'd grown their vast fortune had become too thin. Maybe part of it had to do with being abandoned by his mother when he was young. And maybe, just maybe, T. J. Silver had always been a narcissistic psychopath and he'd been too blind to see it.

Whatever the reason, this was their end.

* * *

Sam was intent on the task at hand. He could hear Carlos talking to him, asking him what kind of bomb he was working on and if it was one he could defuse.

Every time T. J. Silver made a sound, Sam would growl beneath his breath and T.J. would freeze. He was so scared of Sam Jakes that if he could have quit breathing to make him happy, he would have.

Sweat was running down Sam's forehead and into his eyes, making them burn. Every time he cut another wire he would pause to wipe it away with the back of one arm.

He heard people running out in the hall and thought the enemy was coming. He knew he needed to defuse the bomb before they got there, or he and Carlos would die.

He paused one last time to wipe the sweat from his hands onto his pants, and then slid a finger beneath the two remaining wires. Was it the red wire or the yellow wire? He glanced at the clock.

Fifteen seconds left.

Suddenly Lainey's face flashed before his eyes, and reality surfaced.

Ten seconds left.

He slid the knife between the wires.

Five seconds left.

He folded the red wire down the sharp side of the knife and made the last cut.

The clock clicked over.

The silence in the chapel was deafening.

Sam shuddered as T.J. began to sob.

His cell phone rang. When he heard the notes of “Amazing Grace,” he started to shake. It was all he could do to answer it, and then he heard his brother's voice.

“Sam?”

“It's done. You need to call someone to come get it.”

Trey sighed. “Thank you, Sam. Oh, my God, thank you. The county bomb squad just passed the city limits. They'll be here shortly.”

“Good. Now come get this little pissant before I kill him,” Sam said softly.

“Where are you?”

“In the chapel. Come on in. You can't miss us.”

“We're on the way.”

Sam wiped a shaky hand over his face. “Is Lainey okay?”

“Yes, but she's scared out of her mind for you.”

Without saying another word, Sam dropped the phone into his pocket, then stood up, grabbed T.J. by the handcuffs and hauled him to his feet.

The pain that shot through T.J.'s shoulders was excruciating, but he'd learned the hard way that physical pain was far less frightening than Sam Jakes.

Sam wouldn't look at him. Couldn't look at him without wanting to put his hands around the bastard's neck and choke the life out of him where he stood.

It was only moments before Trey entered the room with two officers and the bomb squad behind him.

Trey read T.J. his rights and took him into custody while the bomb squad secured the disabled bomb in a special container and carried it out of the room.

Sam felt his brother's hand on his shoulder, but he couldn't look at him for fear he would lose it.

“Sam?”

“I'm okay,” he said softly and walked out of the room, then down the hall and out of the hospital.

The slap of cold air on his face brought him fully back to reality, and he looked up and saw the morass of vehicles and patients all over the parking lot.

He didn't know where to go. He didn't know what he was supposed to do next. He needed Lainey, but he didn't know where to start looking for her, so he stood where he was and scanned the area.

* * *

Lainey was a long distance away, but she recognized Sam when he walked out of the hospital. All she could think was
Thank You, God.
She could tell he was looking for her. She climbed out of the police car and started walking, dodging people in beds, circling others in wheelchairs, moving past nurses and doctors, as well as an array of officers from the West Virginia Highway Patrol directing traffic in the lot.

She saw Sam searching the crowd and didn't even try to get his attention in all the noise. He was her homing signal, and she was locked on and moving.

She knew when he finally saw her because his expression shifted from frozen to broken so fast it scared her. Even though her foot was killing her, she lengthened her stride.

He was coming toward her now, moving faster, oblivious to all the people around him. And then all of a sudden she was in his arms.

He swung her off her feet and buried his face in the curve of her neck.

“Oh, Sam, Sam, I was so scared,” she whispered.

He heard the tremble in her voice. “I know, baby, I know. So was I.”

“Is it over?” she asked.

“All over but the shouting,” he said, and started walking with her through the crowd.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

He paused long enough to give her one brief kiss.

“We're going home.”

Twenty

S
even days later Trina came home from the hospital weak and shaky, but glad to be alive. Her heart was broken at the loss of her mother, and going back to the farmhouse without her in it seemed next to impossible.

She had learned from her brothers of Lee's constant devotion to her and her care, and how he'd been the first to stand guard at her door when she'd come out of surgery. After all the tragedy and all they'd lost, holding on to their old grudge seemed ridiculous. She'd cried in his arms and he'd cried with her, and she wanted him back as much as he wanted her.

They were driving to the farmhouse, and she was trying so hard not to weep. She didn't want to live anywhere else, but she didn't want to live there alone. She glanced over at Lee, studying his profile as he drove, and knew it was a sight she wanted to wake up to for the rest of her life.

She fidgeted a little, not knowing how to even broach the subject of sharing a home, when he happened to glance over and saw her staring.

“What's wrong, honey? Are you in pain? Are you cold?”

She shook her head. “No, I'm fine. I think I'm just dreading going home without her,” she said softly.

Lee reached for her hand. She clasped his gratefully, feeling his warmth and strength.

“I can't pretend to understand what you're feeling, but I can tell you what's going through my mind. I am so grateful you're alive and that I have the privilege of taking you home. If it makes you too sad to think of going home without her, could you think of it as going home with me? I love you, Trina. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Breath caught in the back of her throat.

“Oh, Lee, there's nothing I want more,” she said.

He tapped the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road.

“I was going to save this for a more romantic moment, but right now I'm going to take being grateful to God over romance.”

He pulled a small box from the inside pocket of his coat and laid it in her lap.

“Open it, honey. I've had it for months. That's how much I love you. That's how sorry I was for what I said that hurt you. And it's how happy I am that you're here to open it.”

Trina opened the small box with trembling fingers, and then leaned back with a gasp at the sight of the solitaire diamond glittering in the beam of sunlight coming through the windshield.

“Oh, Lee, it's beautiful!”

He took it out of the box.

“Will you marry me, Trina? I promise to love and protect you for the rest of my life.”

“Yes, Lee, yes,” she said, and was laughing and crying as he slipped it on her finger. “It fits.”

“Like I said, I had it for months. Betsy helped me with the size, and then told me to hold you forever in my heart.”

He leaned across the seat, cupped the back of her head and kissed her. One long, slow kiss that eased Trina's fears and settled the uncertainty of her life. By the time they reached the farmhouse, she was ready to face the future.

But when they drove up and she saw cars already there, she frowned.

“That's Trey's police cruiser. And that's Dallas's car. I don't recognize the other one. What's going on?” she asked.

Lee smiled. “Why don't we get out and see?”

By the time she had her seat belt unlocked, Lee was opening her door. He helped her out of the car and steadied her steps as they walked up onto the porch and then into the house.

The scent of chicken frying met her at the door. The undertone of voices came from the kitchen, and when she heard someone speak, followed by a shout of laughter, the rest of her anxiety settled. She was home.

“Hey! You better not be eating without us!” Lee shouted.

There was the sound of hurried steps and giggles, and then her family surrounded her, hugging and kissing and welcoming her home. When she saw Sam standing in this house again after so many years, she started crying.

“I thought I'd been dreaming that you came to see me, but you finally came home, didn't you?” she said as he wrapped her up in a hug.

“Don't you think it was about time?” he said and kissed the top of her head.

Then she saw Lainey and started to cry.

“Welcome home, Tink,” Lainey said as she took Trina's hands and kissed her cheek.

Trina laughed, and then glanced at Sam again.

“Please tell me Lainey's presence in this house means you've regained what was left of your senses.”

Sam grinned.

Lainey slid an arm around Sam's waist as she leaned against his chest. “He has.”

Dallas gave Trina a quick hug and a kiss, and then whispered in her ear, “Welcome home, sweetheart.”

“This is the best welcome home ever,” Trina said. “I was dreading this moment...coming into a solitary house, and then Lee puts a ring on my finger to remind me I'm not alone, and then my family is here, reminding me that life goes on. Mama would be so proud of all of us, I think.”

The words
ring on my finger
elicited another round of congratulations and giggling excitement that made the moment that much more special.

Lee was watching, making sure she wasn't overtaxing herself too soon, and finally he slid an arm around her waist. “Come sit,” he said.

“I want to sit in the kitchen,” Trina said. “That's where we always sat when Mama was cooking. And when I get well, I will cook dinner for all of you to prove there'll be no dust settling on the appliances. Just because tragedy struck all of us in one way or another, we're better than that. We're stronger than that. We are not going to let love die in this house. Do you hear me?”

There was a brief moment of silence, and then Sam reached out and ruffled her hair, just like he used to do when she was little.

“Mom might be gone, but her spirit lives on,” Sam said. “I do believe Trina has inherited her bossy streak. God help you, Lee. You're gonna need Him.”

The laughter that ensued was loud and long as they traipsed back into the kitchen to finish cooking the first meal in a new phase of all their lives.

Long after the food was gone and the kitchen cleaned, long after everyone finally went home, the peace that settled over the old home place was complete.

Dallas and Trey had a date set for a Christmas wedding.

Lee and Trina were aiming for next Easter.

But it was Lainey and Sam who made the first move.

* * *

Three days later Sam was still at Lainey's, helping her set up the sale of her farm, patching up the little things that she'd had to let go over the past year.

Betsy's body had finally been released to the family two days earlier. Tomorrow was the funeral service, and while it felt as if there was a lot left to do, it was the final letting go that was really weighing on them.

Sam was inside the barn cleaning out the granary when he found the sack of treats Lainey bought for Dandy. With no horse to enjoy them, he was trying to decide what to do with them when Lainey entered the barn.

“Hey! Where are you?” she yelled.

Sam leaned out through the door. “In here.”

She stepped up into the granary and saw him holding the package.

“Poor Dandy. He never did get any of those treats,” she said.

“What do you want me to do with them?” he asked.

“Just leave them here,” she said. “Maybe the people who buy the farm will have a horse, and if they don't, maybe these treats will serve as a seed of suggestion.”

Sam set them in the corner, and then took her in his arms. “I have a question,” he said.

“Then, ask,” she said as she brushed dust from his cheek.

“Marry me?”

Tears welled. “Yes.”

“Today?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

He kissed her there in the granary, with dust motes floating in the air like flecks of gold, and felt the last knot of regret from his past slip away.

“You need a bath first,” Lainey said.

He laughed.

She looked a little startled, and then she grinned. “Well, I didn't mean it quite like that,” she said, but he was still laughing, and then he picked her up in his arms and carried her back to the house.

Sam took the much-required shower after she'd gone first, then he helped her rewrap her ankle and wrist.

As she stood in front of her closet, searching through the new clothes she'd purchased, he couldn't help but notice the dark circles beneath her eyes, and he thought about how valiantly she must have fought to stay alive all through the chemo treatments. He wanted to take her home to Atlanta and start a new life with her there. He already knew that she would never be able to bear a child. Instead of sadness, he felt a sense of relief. He wasn't fit father material anymore, but there was enough of him left to be the best damn husband ever. She'd taught him that.

He watched her sorting through the new outfits, trying to choose something to get married in, and wondered if his spontaneous proposal was cheating her out of a storybook wedding.

“Are you going to be sorry you're missing all of the pageantry of a wedding?” he asked.

She immediately stopped and shook her head.

“Not at all! Mom and Dad are gone. Your parents are gone. And after everything that's happened, I don't feel like celebrating. I just want to be yours and you to be mine. It's all I've ever wanted, Sam.”

He sighed.

“I don't know that I deserve you, but I have no words for how grateful I am that you still want me.” He pointed. “If it matters, I like that one,” he said, pointing to the jade-colored wool dress hanging on the back of the door.

Lainey looked. “You don't think it's too dark?” she asked.

“I think you will shine like the redhead you are in that dress. You're beautiful, Lainey, just as you are.”

“Then, the green it is,” she said. “Give me about fifteen minutes and I'll be ready.”

“Then, I guess I better finish dressing, too.”

He headed down the hall to get his leather jacket from the closet, and then went into the living room to call Trey. His brother answered quickly and seemed in a hurry, so Sam was hoping he wasn't on his way to an emergency of some kind.

“Hey, Trey, what's up? You sound rushed.”

“I was, but it's all good. I just got rid of Public Enemies One and Two.”

“Ah...Marcus and T.J. are no longer in your jail.”

“They both had their day in court. Judge denied bail on both of them and bound them over for trial. They are, as we speak, on their way to county lock-up.”

“Can't get them far enough away to suit me,” Sam said.

“Oh, guess what came out during their depositions? Marcus kept saying he didn't know what T.J. was doing, and it appears he was telling the truth. T.J. stated, under oath, that he found out about the 1980 incident when his father got drunk a couple of years back. He said he didn't think anything of it until his dad decided to run for office, and then he felt like it would be in their best interests if he got rid of the witnesses, just in case.”

“I can't wrap my head around how evil that little bastard really is,” Sam said.

“He's a piece of work, for sure,” Trey said. “So how's it going out there? Are you getting everything ready to put the farm up for sale?”

“We were, but at the moment we're getting ready to go get married.”

Trey gasped. “Married? As in today?”

“Yes.”

“Well, hell, Sam. What if we might like to be there?”

Sam grinned. “That's why I called. If you're not throwing someone in jail and Dallas isn't busy this afternoon, it would be good to have you guys, and Trina and Lee, too, as our witnesses.”

“Absolutely. How long before you head to Mystic?”

“Probably fifteen or twenty minutes, and then we still have to get the license.”

“Who's going to marry you?”

“Haven't thought that far,” Sam said.

“Oh, my Lord! Well, don't worry about it. I have a few connections. Meet me in Judge Franklin's chambers. It's on the second floor.”

“Okay, and thanks, Trey.”

Trey laughed and hung up. He called Dallas first, gave her a timeline, and then called Judge Franklin. Within a few minutes he had the judge lined up, and Dallas was on the way to pick up Lee and Trina.

He was on his way to his office to change into a clean uniform when he thought of Lainey. Obviously she was on board with this hurry-up ceremony, but he didn't know a woman who would turn down flowers. Maybe he could talk the florist into making a quick wedding bouquet.

* * *

Sam and Lainey left the clerk's office in the courthouse hand in hand with a marriage license and met Trey, Dallas, Trina and Lee waiting for them in the hall.

Lainey looked at Sam. “You called them, didn't you?”

He nodded. “I felt a little guilty about asking you to marry me so fast.”

Lainey hugged Dallas and Trina, Lee was grinning and Trey kissed her cheek and handed her a bouquet of white roses with white satin streamers.

“Follow me,” he said, and led them to Judge Franklin's chambers.

Lainey kept trying to wrap her head around the fact that she would go to sleep tonight as a married woman. After so many years, she'd almost given up on the love of her life.

She heard the judge talking to Sam, and she glanced at Dallas, who gave her a quick thumbs-up. After that everything seemed to move in slow motion.

She repeated the vows word for word while hanging on to Sam with both hands. He hadn't taken his eyes from her for one second since the ceremony began, but as touched as she was, she had no idea what was going through his head.

Then Judge Franklin turned to Sam.

“Do you, Samuel Jakes, take Lainey Pickett for your lawful wedded wife? Do you—”

Sam knew what came next, but he had his own vow to make.

“I will never dishonor or abuse her. I will love her forever, and keep her safe in my arms and close to my heart, so help me God.”