Deception (14 page)

He'd come around the building in time to see movement in the woods and had followed his gut. Even though
The Alabaster Sky
was already cruising away from the glacier, and Jewel should have been heading that direction trying to catch the boat before it was out of sight, he had listened to his instincts.

That had paid off.

He hadn't gotten a chance to attack Buck, to free Jewel from his grasp, because the man had had a weapon pointing at her head the whole time. With the trees and brush hindering his view, getting a shot off at Buck would have been too risky.

No. Colin had to wait for the right time, and now that time had come. Buck would be leaving Jewel here. Colin could wait until he left to free her, but if she didn't tell Buck the truth about the diamond, he might kill Meral before he came back for Jewel. There could be another murder on Buck's hands. On Colin's conscience.

Better to arrest the man now after both Colin and Jewel had heard the man's confession. Buck had been the attacker that day at the falls. But he hadn't said a thing about Jed. Colin needed that confession, too. He needed something concrete.

“Winters,” the man called from inside the cave. “Come on in.”

Heart jumping up his throat, Colin sank away behind the tree. No, no, this wasn't how it was supposed to go down. He'd put in a call for help, but it would take too long for backup to arrive.

“Jewel is waiting for you, Chief Winters. Join the party.”

Jewel cried out in pain.

He couldn't leave her in there alone with this murderer. He had no choice and felt as if once again he was becoming entangled in a fight he wasn't smart enough or strong enough to win. If he'd been the first to attack, the one to surprise Buck, then this would all be over.

He hadn't brought his department-issued Glock on this venture, but his personal SIG P224. A compact 9-millimeter pistol he could hide out of sight—which he did, tucking it away carefully under his jacket along with an extra magazine loaded with ammo before he strode into the cave.

Buck pointed his weapon point-blank at Jewel, who sat on the ground. When she glanced up at Colin, sorrow spilled from her gaze, followed by fear and something more.

Determination.

Good girl.

She was doing better than Colin right now. Seeing her helpless, a man aiming a gun on her, nearly drove Colin to his knees. But he kept standing and allowed adrenaline to course through him. Fire up his nerves. Reinforce his muscles.

“Good,” Buck said. “I wouldn't expect any less of you. Now, hand over your weapon. The nine millimeter you like to stash out of sight when you're off duty.”

A few choice words ran through Colin's head. A few scenarios tortured him. Like pulling out the weapon and firing at Buck. Dropping him then and there. But Jewel. What about Jewel? She could get caught in the cross fire.

He pulled the SIG from his back and set it on the ground. His gaze fell on Jewel, who stared at the ground now. Did she think Colin had failed her? He hadn't given up yet, and if he knew anything about Jewel, she hadn't either. They would get their chance.

“Now kick it over to me and back away.” Odd that the man would smile now. “You know, I think I was subconsciously hoping you'd find me here with Jewel. Sure, it would be simpler if this game ends with me getting the diamond and disappearing with no muss and no fuss. But seeing you here makes me happy. You are part of what made it more fun.”

“You're demented.”

“Oh, you have no idea.” He inched away from Jewel, still aiming his weapon at her. Knowing that she was his leverage now.

This was exactly what Colin had hoped to avoid. In the meantime, he needed to keep him talking. Get him talking about himself, buy some time and maybe Colin would get his chance to end this for good.

“You're wondering what I'm still doing alive, aren't you?”

“No. I figured it out. You're Brock's twin brother.”

“Took you long enough. You know what you haven't figured out? Brock wasn't the one to steal those jewels or kill anyone—not the woman getting robbed or your witness, the woman you loved.”

Anger boiled, frothing red-hot magma ready to erupt as he thought back to that time.

Colin had been a detective in Texas investigating a jewel thief and murderer. The victim arrived home and surprised the thief. Colin had a witness—the woman's neighbor, Katelyn Morrison. Over time as Colin investigated, even though it was against the rules, Katelyn had become the love of his life. He'd hoped she would say yes when he proposed, but he'd always feared he wasn't good enough—her being independently wealthy while he was just a lowly police officer.

Colin had been near wrapping up the case so he and Katelyn could get on with their lives when she had been murdered. The only witness, the only real evidence, gone. No one had known about his relationship with Katelyn, and he went on to investigate her murder, too. Brock Ammerman had been charged and put on trial. The DNA evidence found at the scene pointed to Brock. But he'd had a solid alibi. He'd been emceeing at a conference two hundred miles away during the time the murder had been committed. Hundreds of witnesses proved that. The DNA evidence at the scene of the crime had been shot down as being tampered with in some way.

Colin hadn't seen that coming. He should have bided his time and gathered more evidence. Buck had gotten away with murdering the woman he loved because Colin had acted too quickly, before all the facts were in and he'd had the wrong man all along—Buck's twin brother, Brock.

Keep talking, Buck, and I just might rush you and kill you with my bare hands.

“That was all me. That's why you couldn't get the conviction. Couldn't make your charges stick, Chief. And it was that kind of planning, because we share the same DNA, that made Brock and I a successful duo. Partners in crime.”

“How did you keep it a secret? How did others not know you had a twin?”

“Simple. We had no idea either until we were in our late twenties. We had been adopted out, separated at birth. I don't think that's even legal these days. Have you ever read those stories about twins that are separated? How they dress the same, marry women with the same name, maybe even pick the same names for their children?”

Colin nodded, grasping the truth. “You ran into each other in the same career.”

“Trying to steal the same gem. Imagine our surprise, but we were smart enough to realize we could use that to our advantage. Together we were able to exponentially increase our potential as jewel thieves. After that we wondered how we had ever worked alone before. And we excelled until you came along and killed my brother. But you killed the wrong brother.”

“It was in self-defense.” Colin wouldn't beg for his life, though.

“You ruined everything. When I learned of the missing diamond from Meral, I did my research and found Jewel easily enough. Giving the gift of a reunion with her sister seemed the fitting thing to do for a wedding present. But I always research the law entities where I'll be working, too, and that's when I discovered you were chief of police in Mountain Cove.”

His smile twisted into the familiar smirk. “What a thrill to go another round with you, especially when you had no idea I even existed. I could get my revenge. A life for a life. I could kill the woman you loved. Again. After all, you killed my twin brother.”

That was it.

Colin exploded in fury and rammed into Buck.

Gunfire blasted in his ear.

FIFTEEN

C
overing her head, Jewel turned and scrambled behind one of the boulders near where she'd been sitting. From there she peered out and prayed for Colin. Bullets ricocheted off the ice walls from two weapons. Colin had grabbed his own gun, and the two fought each other in a deadly battle.

A massive block of ice crashed down, shattering in an explosive display. Fragments hit dangerously close to where Colin wrestled with Buck for the upper hand.

A truck-sized chunk of ice slid across the ground like a bull charging toward her. Jewel pressed against the frozen wall—deeper, harder—turned her face away. Cold seeped through her bones. Sharp edges pinched into her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut. There was nowhere else to go.

She waited for the impact, though it all happened in a millisecond. The deadly ice slammed against the boulder and broke into smaller pieces that slid to a stop near her feet.

Releasing her pent-up breath, she prayed harder. Cried out to God.

If the gun continued firing and more bullets ricocheted, the whole cave might come crashing down on them.

I'm helpless here.

She was no use to Colin.

God, what can I do? Help us, please!

Jewel searched for a rock. But wait. She could use the chunk of ice next to her foot with its sharp, cutting edges.

Maybe.

Carefully gripping the frozen weapon, she crawled from behind the protective boulder. Both men continued their struggle over just one gun now, and it flailed in all directions. Another shot rang out as a bullet whizzed past her ear. Jewel ducked behind the boulder again.

She would be deaf before this was over, if she even survived. If the ice above them didn't react to the concussive blasts, crack and cave in.

What do I do? What do I do?

What if Colin lost this battle? Then what?

Jewel couldn't let that happen. She picked up the broken ice again, as solid as a rock and just as deadly, and charged out into the open. Colin had Buck against the wall, beating his arm and wrist against jagged ice so he would release his weapon.

Buck cried out, fired the weapon, then released it.

Jewel dropped the rock to pick up the gun instead.

But Buck elbowed Colin in the nose and broke loose before grabbing Jewel from behind. Swinging her around to face Colin, Buck had pulled a knife from his pocket and pressed it to her throat. She gripped the gun and tossed it to Colin. It fell to the ground and slid toward him.

In her ear, Buck laughed. “Both guns are out of ammo now, so the gun is no use to the chief.”

Had they fired that many rounds? They were fortunate the ceiling hadn't fallen down on them. With her thoughts, a resounding crack split the air. They stood frozen, waiting to see if the ice cave would collapse on them. Even Buck tensed. But nothing happened.

Then she saw it. Colin had been shot. Blood oozed from his shoulder and his nose. He staggered, almost imperceptibly, but she caught it.

Jewel searched Colin's gaze. She wanted to fight back like Colin had taught her. She positioned her feet in a wide stance. But to her surprise, he sent her a subtle shake of his head.

No.

What? He didn't even want her to try?

“Come on.” Buck tugged her back and away from Colin.

She held her ground, refusing to move. “You're not going to kill me. Without me, you'll never find the diamond.”

“Don't test your theory.” He pressed the cold blade harder against her neck. A sharp sting pricked her skin; warmth slid down. Her legs went weak. “And I wouldn't worry about the chief saving you. He's in no shape to follow.”

“No!” she screamed as Buck dragged her away, pressing the knife into her throat. “You can't leave him to die.”

“Believe me. This is not how I wanted this to end. I wanted him to suffer more.”

He dragged her deeper into the ice cave, where the greens and cerulean blues turned dark and ominous. And the deeper they went, the farther she was from Colin. Would he survive? Would she ever see him again? Why hadn't he run after Buck again? He must be badly wounded, possibly dying; otherwise he would come for her.

She twisted, but any movement she made other than forward with Buck meant potential death as she felt the sting of the knife, the small trickle of blood already running down her neck.

“Colin!” she called back to him. Jewel sucked in too much air and won herself another cut. “Listen,” she said to Buck. “I'll tell you where the diamond is and you can just let me go. Colin needs help. I can't let him die.”

“Why not? He failed you, just like he failed the woman he loved in Texas. Why would you want to help him now? He deserves what he gets.”

“You're a monster.”

“So I've heard.”

“It makes me shudder to think you're married to my sister.” She tried to jerk away. “Where are you taking me?”

“Plans have changed. I can't be sure others won't show up looking for the chief or for you, so you'll need to come with me. You can show me the diamond yourself. I might like that better. You can put the diamond in my hand and beg for your life. Let's face it, if I kill you, Meral might inherit everything, but that doesn't mean we'll ever find it. You've hidden it well so far. And my business is overextended at the moment. Taking the diamond from you is like a moonlighting weekend, nothing more.”

“Then you should pull the knife away because you're going to accidentally kill me before you have the diamond.”

Buck responded. Jewel was free from the knife.

Now that it no longer threatened her within an inch of her life, she pressed her face into her hands, stumbling as she went, thinking of all her regrets.

She'd never really trusted Silas, the man she'd loved, with her life. If she had, she wouldn't have stolen the diamond in the first place, and all of this trouble could have been avoided.

If I had known what the future held, God, I never would have done it! But, God, I want to move past my mistakes. I want to live to see another day. I want a chance at love again.

She wanted a chance to love Colin. What an idiot she'd been not to see that. Not to take a chance at having a complete life again. At loving again.

Maybe...maybe she had loved him all along, but from a distance.

Had she ruined their chance to be together? For all she knew, he could be dying right now. But, no, that wasn't true. Jewel had a feeling, a very strong feeling, that Colin was alive. Or maybe she just refused to believe he would die when he had so much to live for. Together they had so much to live for. And Colin wasn't the sort of man to give up as long as he had breath.

Maybe she hadn't completely trusted Silas, but she would trust Colin to be the hero.

Still, maybe she could give him some help along the way. New determination filled her. Buck squeezed her arm and jerked her forward then back. She glanced at him. He didn't know his way, after all. She didn't point out that he was lost. How could she use this?

She hadn't lived in Alaska without gaining a few skills, and on that point she had an advantage over Buck. Left lost and alone in the cave or even in the wilderness, he would be hard-pressed to survive.

But how did she get away from him, since he had a knife? If she could get her freedom and incapacitate him in some way, she could run back to Colin. Together they could escape.

Buck finally made his decision about which direction to traverse and dragged her down a tunnel to the right. Thankfully blue light filled the tunnel, lighting their path. But he'd made a bad choice. The walls closed in so that they had to slide through pressed against one side. Buck could only hold on to her arm with one hand. The knife was in his other hand.

Now.

Now was her chance. Likely the only good chance she would get. But it meant her plan to run back to Colin wouldn't work. Up ahead, the walls opened up more. Then her chance would be over.

Should she take this? Or wait for another one that she might not get?

Her temples throbbed. Time was running out. She had to make a decision. She had never been more indecisive in her life. But none of her options was good enough. There was no clear path to reach a good outcome.

“Keep moving.” Buck's iron grip tightened. “What are you doing?”

Her hesitation had only made him grip harder. Why had she thought she could escape?

She kept moving forward. The wall of ice narrowed even more before it would open wider. Up ahead she spotted a jagged strip of ice protruding like a shard of broken glass. It would be tough to make it by without injury.

And
that
, she could use.

As she neared that sharp edge, Jewel took a few breaths, but failed to calm herself. What did it matter? She needed adrenaline flowing to make this happen.

Here it comes.

She inched forward, Buck gripping her arm.

Wait for it.

She pressed back and away as her body crossed over the ice knife.

Now.

She swallowed and pressed forward and against the wall just as Buck's hand gripping her arm followed. The jagged edge of the ice cut him quick and hard.

Behind her, he cried out.

His grip loosened only a little. It was enough.

Jewel broke free and pushed through the narrow passage until it widened. Then she ran. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to get away. In her mind she pictured Buck breaking free right behind her, but she knew his hand was badly mangled and the pain would slow him down.

From behind he shouted at her, using colorful language that singed her ears. But Jewel didn't look back. The problem was she could only move so fast through the ice cave without risking falling or slipping on icy patches.

With her breath rasping in her ears, she turned a corner. Paused and leaned against a wall. Listening for Buck.

Buck's ragged breaths echoed through the cave along with his angry rant. She couldn't let him catch her. He would kill her this time, diamond or no.

The cave angled down and deep.

No, no, no. She wanted an escape. But then she saw light ahead and heard a rushing, roaring sound. A familiar sound. A glacier stream forming a waterfall?

Jewel followed the sound and the light, running as fast as she could, knowing that Buck would be on her soon. The cave opened up over a partially frozen waterfall. The bottom churned with icy cold water as it rushed out into the open to connect with the river and then the channel.

The beauty took her breath away. But she had no time to appreciate it.

Buck was going to kill her if he caught up.

Lord, what do I do?

If she jumped she would be free of Buck. Memories quickly seized her of her time fighting the other waterfall and then the rushing river. Surviving. Her body still ached. If she jumped her limbs would likely give up from the too-cold glacier water and she would drown.

Her choices came down to two.

Death by drowning.

Death by Buck.

Jewel wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Besides, she held on to hope that she could survive the icy water. It was more hope than she gave herself with Buck.

She lunged toward the falls.

Strong hands gripped her from behind.

* * *

Gun at the ready, Colin crept forward, following the voices.

The hardest thing he'd ever done in his life was to watch without interfering as Buck had forced Jewel away at knifepoint. Colin had decided it was better to bide his time again. Let the man believe Colin was too incapacitated to follow.

As soon as the two were out of sight and earshot, Colin had grabbed the extra magazine holding twelve bullets that he'd successfully hidden away and stuck it in the Sig, then chambered a round.

He had this one chance to get it right. To get Jewel away from Buck. He'd tried to make another call for help and explain the urgency, but had gotten no cell signal. He hadn't expected one, but had thought it was worth a shot.

And now as he followed the blood drops on the ground, his pulse ramped up. His heart pressed against his rib cage.

God, please don't let Jewel be hurt. Please help her, save her. Please help me to get there before it's too late this time. I can't go through losing someone again. I couldn't live with that. Jewel has to survive.

He heard the roaring of the falls before he turned the corner. Just up ahead, Buck's words were filled with hate and anger. This was the end of the line. One way or another, Buck was going down. Either Colin deserved to be an officer of the law, the chief of police, or he didn't. Regardless, Jewel deserved to live. She deserved his best effort.

Even his life.

Holding his weapon in position, Colin rounded the corner.

At the edge of the falls, Buck pulled Jewel's hair and yelled in her face. He flashed the knife in her face, letting her know what he wanted to do with her. Colin suspected he would follow through if it weren't for the diamond. All this couldn't be for nothing.

Still, Buck could kill Jewel even if Colin called out, threatening to shoot him.

Jewel cried out in pain as Buck twisted her hair around. She opened her eyes and saw Colin. Hope infused her face.

No, Jewel, don't telegraph that I'm here.

Colin's cell suddenly rang. He gripped the gun harder as Buck jerked around to face him. Stupid cell signals came through at the worst times. He ignored the call.

Jewel grabbed Buck's bloodied hand and jabbed her thumb into what Colin could see was a badly bleeding injury.

Buck threw her down, clearly not worried about her escape. She was between the waterfall and Buck. He could snatch her back before she jumped, if that had been her intention.

Colin closed the distance. Buck jerked up and around. Started for Jewel.

“Freeze!”

Buck moved to Jewel, grabbed her hair. Flashed the knife.