Games We Play (24 page)

Sasha stood and swung her gun to where she heard him waiting. “You’re right; I do want you dead so come out and let’s finish this long fight. I’ve wanted you dead since I’m eleven years old. You’ve always thought you were so smart.” She edged closer to the door as her salvation came closer. The sirens were as close as they could get
in the driveway
and soon running
foot
steps joined the sound.

“We’ll finish this, I promise. But not yet.” He took off running to the back of the house.

“No!”

The front door was kicked open. “Sasha?”

“He’s getting away! He’s headed toward the back yard.”

Nick holstered his weapon and reached for her. “We have guys going after him right now. Are you ok?”

“No.” her cries came faster. “He killed Wes after he used him for what he wanted. We tried to get away but it didn’t work and he paid the price.”

Nick ushered her outside and with the aid of the car headlights he saw just how bad her wounds went. Dry blood was caked on the side of her face, a black eye was forming on the left side of her face, and she was cradling her arm tight to her chest.

A female EMT came running to her side as they stepped off the porch steps. “I think it’s broken.” Sasha told the other woman as her partner went past them into the house to find Wes’ body.

“We’ll get you all taken care
of.
” The EMT took Nick’s spot beside Sasha and led her over to the ambulance.

Nick refused to go anywhere and sat beside her in the ambulance.

Sasha leaned into his chest and felt safe knowing he was this close. “You’re missing the chance to cuff the big bad.” Before this life changing case they would’ve both been fighting to catch the perp first and take the win.

“I’d rather be here with you.”
Nick found the one spot on her forehead with no blood and kissed her.

Gage slapped his hand on the side of the ambulance. “We got him.”

Chapter 31

It was early into the evening of the following day when Sasha was able to keep her eyes open for longer than a few minutes at a time. When she got to the hospital last night they pumped her with a new round of drugs to operate on her arm which was indeed broken in two different places.

J
im was locked away behind bars and
that made it a good day. Seeing Nick asleep in the chair across from her bed made it an even better one. He was far too tall but that didn’t stop him twisting into a position where he could rest his legs over the arm rest and his head back on the wall. If she had a camera it was definitely a picture she’d take.

Laying back against the pillows Sasha reflected on the past twenty four hours. Jim was locked up like he belonged and Wes had survived the blast to his chest. Sasha remembered crying with relief to hear he didn’t die there on that half constructed kitchen floor. Jim had no more victims to call his.

Sasha was pleasantly surprised to see Marla Gregory coming into the room holding a large vase of pink flowers. “I paid a nurse in OB to hijack these.” The US Marshal grinned and set the flowers down on the food table.

“That explains why they’re so pink. What are you doing here?”

“I want to personally escort J
im Carson to stand a capital tria
l and to personally thank you. We all had high hopes for this mission but to see it over and our guy locked away where he can’t hurt another is a blessing only dreamt of.”

“I never thought when I agreed to this because I wanted the big win attached to my name the unsub would turn out to be my brother in law.”

“I’m sorry about your sister.”

“Me too.” It wasn’t happening yet but Sasha hoped for a day she could open her eyes and feel some sort of acceptance that Carolyn was gone and never coming back, that no amount of guilt was going to change anything. 

A moment of silence passed between both women for all the lives that were lost at Jim’s hand.

Marla nodded toward Nick still asleep in the chair. “I heard he hasn’t left your side. Life and death situations have a way of changing a person’s perspective.”

“I guess so.”

“If you’re worried about the job becoming a problem let me tell you from experience it’s much better to come home to someone who understands what its like out there and that knows sometimes a little silence doesn’t hurt.”

“Any advice?”

“Yeah, don’t let business and personal mix. When you’re home leave the job outside the door waiting in the driveway and when you’re at the office or in the field remember you’re both trained for this and can handle it. I have to get going to lockup. You take it easy Sasha, we’ll speak again soon.”  Marla waved goodbye and closed the hospital room door on her way out.

Nick groaned as he swung his legs off the chair. “She had some pretty good ideas.”

“You were awake?”

“If I don’t notice when someone enters a room or starts talking three feet from me I should seriously hand back in my creds. Shit, these chairs were designed for torture.” Nick stood and rubbed his lower back and shook out each of his legs.

“No, they were made for sitting not laying.” Sasha moved over and patted the now empty space next to her on the bed.

“Oh, does the patient fee
l
frisky?”

With a laugh she shook her head no. “Not even close to it but I do like when you’re close to me.  I was never in any danger, why didn’t you go back to the hotel to sleep and freshen up? How did you even convince the staff to let you stay?”

Nick lay on his side so they were facing each other. “I told them I was your husband and that ring on your finger cemented it. I didn’t go back to the hotel because….ok I’ll be honest I was actually comfortable in the chair.”

“Liar.”

Nick moved his fingers gently across her bruised cheek. “Ok, I stayed because I love you.”

Sasha wasn’t used to hearing those words and while her heart raced her brain still needed to know the truth. “Are you sure you’re not just saying that because of all the action in the last f
ew days? Fear can be mistaken for
a lot of things.”

“I realized it before you were kidnapped and before we slept together if you think that altered my emotions next. I’m not saying it so that you say it back,
its
ok.”

“You don’t think it’s too soon?”

“Who says?”

“I don’t know. Yeah, we’ve known each other for a year and some change but it’s only been about the last two weeks we’ve been able to go without picking a fight.” Sasha was scared and she knew she wasn’t doing a good job at hiding it. She didn’t want to have her heart broken.

“It doesn’t feel too soon for me because I’ve had a thing for you for awhile now and I’ve always cared about your well being.” Nick always spoke with confidence, no doubts whatsoever in his voice.

“Awhile?”

“Like I said in the car after that dreadful party I never saw you as one of the guys, I’ve always noticed you from the very minute Pete introduced us. Attraction doesn’t mean love but wanting to spend every day right here staring at you and wanting to give you the world does.” Nick rested his forehead against her shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere, Sasha.”

Her eyes fell closed as he figured out exactly what she was scared of. “Sometimes we don’t have a say. My parents and Carolyn didn’t have a say.” She silently wept for them, their faces all so clear in her memories.

“You can’t shut yourself off in hopes of protecting your heart from death. Instead of fearing the worse think about all the good we can have together.” His hand tightened around her waist, urging her to hear his words.

“I’m not going to push you away because I don’t even know how to. I do want to be happy, Nick.”

“That’s all we need and we can figure out whatever comes our way as it happens.”

Dr. Tyler checked in on her after dinner and explained she could go home tomorrow morning now that they were sure all the drugs were gone from her system. She and Nick spent the rest of the night curled up in that hospital bed together eating take-out Gage dropped off and watching every movie they found on the 13 inch screen the hospital provided. It was the first time Sasha believed tomorrow was possible even with all the horror of the last two days.

The morning came quick and with it Sasha was anxious to get out of the hospital. She washed up and dressed while her sign out papers were being gathered. She stood in the bathroom and reached into the bag of things Nick picked up for her. Zebra undies, black bra, and a blue dress. “You ass.” With only the hospital gown as her only option she shrugged her shoulders and made up her mind to wear the dress.

After changing into the zebra print undies she encountered a problem. There was no hooking a bra with only one working arm. She called Nick for help and he was more than happy to oblige.  The dress was easier because her cast covered her hand and forearm where she could fit it through the sleeve.

After signing all the necessary paperwork Sasha had one more stop to make in the hospital before leaving to make the arrangements for Carolyn’s funeral. She couldn’t continue to forget about them in hopes that would make the reality disappear.

Wes wouldn’t be able to leave the hospital any time soon but he looked pretty good in his hospital bed with his eyes open.

Sasha explained. “I couldn’t go without seeing you first. A US Marshal gave me these flowers and they brightened up my room. I want them to do the same for you.”

“Pink has always been my color. Are you doing ok?”

“My arm needs a few weeks to heal but that’s the worst of it. The cuts and bruises look worse than they are. When I heard that gunshot I thought you were gone.”

“So did I but it turns out he was better with knives than guns.”

“I’m so sorry for not believing you sooner and wasting time getting out of that basement.”

“Nothing that happened was your fault. Jeff, Jim, whatever the hell his name is now, he did all of this. He killed Candy and Carolyn, we didn’t.” Wes was struggling with his own guilt and trying to find those perfect words that erased the self hating emotion. Sasha was still looking for those magic words herself.  “What’s next?” he asked.

“If he doesn’t plead guilty he’ll go on trial for all the murders he’s committed. It’ll be a long process but he’ll be in prison for every step of it.”

“What’s next with you? You probably can’t wait to leave town.”

“You’re right but my sister always loved it here and she’d want to be buried beside our parents. After the funeral is taken care of I’ll be going.”

“I’ll miss you.”

Sasha took his hand. “I’ll miss you too. You were the only person in this town that didn’t make me cringe with memories.” She kissed his cheek goodbye and left the room.

Nick was wait
ing for her in the lobby. “Ready
?”

“Yes. I don’t want to see a hospital for a very long time.”

Chapter 32

Sasha stood alone at her sister’s fresh grave. They had a small ceremony with some of Carolyn’s friends and all of Sasha’s teammates still in town. Even Pete was there by her side and he helped her face the finality of her sister’s life without the fury she had been carrying all week long. The service was meant to celebrate Caro not harp on how wrong the whole situation was. Carolyn should’ve lived another fifty years easily but Jim thought he was God and ripped it all away.

Sasha sighed as she felt herself getting angry like she wasn’t supposed to be doing. “I’m trying here, Caro. I just don’t know what the hell I’m doing. A mountain of dirt and a headstone? That’s not what we planned and now I have the car packed ready to go home like….it’s not right. I see death all the time and I always feel sorry for the families but I always think there isn’t a choice, killer’s kill and the best we can do is stop them from taking another life.

“I did too, I stopped him, but why couldn’t I stop him from taking you?” her eyes drifted two gravestones over. “Why couldn’t I stop the truck driver that took them?” she wiped her fingers across her wet cheeks and dried the on her pants.

“Not very ladylike, huh? You always wanted me to always be more girly. Do you remember that time when I was thirteen you wanted me to stop moping around the house and you forced me into that trip at the mall? I hated you for making me go but by the end of it we were both smiling and having fun just the two of us. I wore that hideous sunflower dress for you. I love you and I know mom and dad will take care of you.”

Sasha tried to dry her face again as she made her way to the end of the cemetery where Nicholas was waiting beside the rental car.

He noticed how she kept trying to dry her tears but they only kept falling. “It’s ok.” He pulled her into a hug and held on tight until her sobs started to ease.