Secret Delivery (16 page)

“Move and you die,” Jack said. It wasn’t just a threat. His tone, tight jaw and fierce expression made it a promise.

Parker stared at Jack, and for one horrifying moment, Alana thought he might force Jack to kill him. But he only cursed, and his hands fell against the ground.

“Well?” Jack called out.

Not to her, Alana realized. He was speaking to Margaret. Even though he’d been embroiled in that fight with Parker, he had still realized what was going on.

“Put down the rifle,” Jack insisted.

The woman stood there, her rifle still pointed at Alana. Alana had Parker’s gun, but by the time she aimed it, Margaret would have plenty of time to fire.

Plenty of time to kill.

Or to allow Parker to get away.

Alana glanced at Jack. He hadn’t been shot, but there was blood streaming from a gash on his head. After crashing into that tree and the fight he’d just had with Parker, he might have injuries that needed immediate attention. That wasn’t going to happen until Margaret was out of the way.

“You want to die, too?” Jack asked Margaret. “Because that’s what’ll happen if you don’t put down that rifle.”

Alana held her breath and prayed. But she also got ready, just in case. She slid her finger over the trigger and tried to prepare herself for whatever might happen next.

Margaret lowered the rifle.

Jack hauled Parker to his feet, but kept his gun on him. “Get behind us,” he instructed Alana.

She did. But she also kept her finger on the trigger.

“You might as well kill me,” Parker grumbled. “I can’t go to jail. You know what they do to former agents inside a prison? I wouldn’t last a week.”

Jack got him moving toward the embankment.
“You should have thought of that before you shut Alana away in that institution you created so you could steal her money.”

“I had to have her money. I had people to pay off. The wrong people.”

“If all you wanted was my money, then why try to kill me?” Alana wanted to know.

Parker stopped at the embankment and looked over his shoulder at her. The corner of his mouth lifted in a warped half smile. There was blood on his lips and teeth, and that only added to his sinister expression. “You honestly don’t know?”

“Know what?”

He laughed. “Now, this is true irony. I set up that diamond deal, and you started asking too many questions. You figured out what I’d done, that I was the seller. That I’d stolen the diamonds from evidence storage. I hired Thatcher, sent him after you and paid him well. He failed. Three times.”

She shook her head. “But I didn’t know you had set up the deal. I didn’t remember it.”

“That’s the irony. But that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have remembered, eventually. I couldn’t take that risk.”

Jack shoved Parker up the first few steps of the embankment. It was steep, and both men staggered to keep their footing.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Parker turned, slamming his arm into Jack’s chest. Jack fell backward, while Parker reached into the back waist of his pants and pulled out a small handgun. His backup weapon.

An oily smile twisted Parker’s bloody mouth as he
took aim at her. Alana didn’t have time to react. She could only brace herself for a fatal shot.

The sound of the shot blasted through the air.

Her heart jumped from the jolt of adrenaline, and she got a split-second glimpse of what it was like to die. Her biggest regret was that she hadn’t had time to be a real mother to Joey. Her son wouldn’t remember her. He wouldn’t know how precious he was to her. But she also regretted that Jack hadn’t heard her when she’d said “I love you.”

But the impact never came.

Parker hadn’t fired.

Jack had.

Parker’s body jerked violently, and she saw the blank expression in his eyes as he tumbled face-first to the ground.

Jack quickly took aim at Margaret. The woman’s mouth was open in a silent scream. The rifle dropped from her hand.

Without taking his gaze off Margaret, Jack reached down and put his fingers to Parker’s neck. “He’s dead,” he told Alana.

“Dead,” she repeated.

Relief rushed through her and robbed her of any energy she had left. Jack made it to her in one step and pulled her into his arms before she collapsed.

Eighteen.

That was the number of cuts and scratches Jack counted on Alana’s body. The majority were on her hands and arms, the result of Parker shoving her into the thorny underbrush. There was also one on her forehead. Another on her chin.

All her injuries had been examined and were being cleaned by a med tech. The E.R. doctor had insisted that none were serious. Maybe the physical injuries weren’t. But Jack wasn’t so sure about the mental ones.

Alana had been shot at, drugged and taken hostage. And to top it all off, she’d had to witness him kill two men. Jack wondered how many sleepless nights that would cost her.

Wearing a badge didn’t make him immune to the sickening feeling that he was responsible for two men no longer being alive. But he hadn’t had an alternative. He knew that, and he would have to learn to live with any feelings of guilt.

Alana winced a little as the tech dabbed at the scrape on her knee with antiseptic, but he stayed back and let the
tech do his job. Jack was afraid that if he went to Alana now and pulled her into his arms she’d fall apart. Her raw emotions were simmering right below the surface.

He heard footsteps behind him, turned and spotted Reyes walking up the E.R. corridor toward him. His deputy had gotten stuck tying up all the loose ends because Alana had insisted that Jack receive medical attention for his own cuts and scrapes. Jack had agreed because that was the only way Alana would go to the hospital. If she’d had her way, she would still be waiting at his office for Sheriff Tanner to return with Joey and Tessie.

“Margaret’s in custody, and Parker’s body is on the way to the morgue.” Reyes let him know. “Joey’s not back yet?”

“Not yet. Soon.” He hoped. Jack needed to hold his son.

Reyes glanced at Alana. “Is she okay?”

Jack nodded, though he didn’t know if she truly was.

“And you?” Reyes questioned. “Are you hurt?”

“No.”

Reyes looked concerned. “You were just doing your job, Jack.”

No, he had been doing a lot more than his job. He’d been protecting Alana and ultimately Joey. That’s how he’d get through this.

The medic bandaged Alana’s knee and started to work on the large scrape on her elbow.

“I found a cell phone jammer in Parker’s car,” Reyes continued. “You said you hadn’t been able to make a call, and that explains why.” He paused. “I also found some papers.”

Jack looked at the man when he didn’t continue. “What kind of papers?”

“I’m not a lawyer, but these were pretty easy to figure out. Parker was going to have Alana sign away her part of the family business. The money would have gone into an offshore account. My guess is that he would have moved the money around for a while to make sure it wasn’t traceable to him. But in the end, he would have had a big payoff.”

“That’s why Parker kept me alive,” Alana said.

Jack hadn’t even realized she was listening, but she’d heard every word.

Yes, the money would have been motive to keep her alive. First, he’d drained her trust fund and investments. Parker had been smart to do it slowly so it hadn’t raised any red flags. However, cashing in her business accounts would have alerted Sean, and that probably meant Parker intended to cash in the account as quickly as possible, hide the money and try to cover his tracks.

He nearly succeeded, too.

“Did my brother have anything to do with those papers?” she asked.

Reyes shook his head. “Doesn’t look like it. Parker would have been the only one benefiting from this. But I think Parker did a darn good job convincing your brother you were crazy. That’s why Sean pushed the judge so hard to have you recommitted. In his own warped way, Sean thought he was helping you and thereby helping himself and your company.”

Jack saw the relief slide through her otherwise weary expression. This didn’t mean her relationship with her brother was fine and dandy, but at least Sean hadn’t endangered her.

“They put out the fire at your house,” Reyes contin
ued. “There’s some serious damage. Everybody’s already chipping in to get the repairs started. All of you can stay at my place until they’re done. I can bunk with a friend to give you more room.”

“Thank you.” Jack meant it. He wasn’t surprised by the man’s generosity. Willow Ridge was home, and Reyes wasn’t just his deputy but also his friend.

Alana stood the moment the medic finished, and even though she winced as she got off the examining table, she quickly made her way to them. “What about Dr. Bartolo?”

“He called me on the way over. Said it was on the news about Parker being killed. He says now that he’s not in danger, he’s coming back.” Reyes paused. “He might have to face charges for his role in the diamond deal.”

Maybe. But Jack was betting that if the doctor had any info about Parker being dirty, Bartolo could trade that for immunity or probation. Not a bad outcome considering the alternative. Parker would almost certainly have tried to kill Bartolo so he could eliminate anyone who could connect him to the diamonds.

“So we’re really safe,” Alana said.

“We’re safe.” Since she didn’t look too steady on her feet, Jack eased his arm around her waist.

“I knew we were. I mean, you wouldn’t have sent for Joey if all weren’t well. But it’s nice to hear it aloud. To know that all the pieces are in place.” She came up on her toes and kissed him.

Jack was pleased with the response, but he was sure that little display of affection surprised his deputy. Reyes fought back a smile. “I guess I should be going—”

“I’m in love with you, Jack,” Alana said.

Now it was Jack’s turn to be surprised. He stared at her.

She wasn’t shaking. Her eyes were clear and focused. “When I was in that car with Parker and thought I was going to die, I regretted not telling you that I loved you. So I’m telling you now.” She glanced at Reyes. “Sorry. I should have waited until Jack and I were alone, but I didn’t want to waste another second.”

Reyes continued to fight that smile. Jack didn’t have a clue what to say or do. And Alana just stood there, waiting for a response.

From the other end of the hall, Jack heard familiar voices. He glanced over his shoulder and confirmed that Sheriff Tanner, Tessie and Joey had arrived. Alana stepped away to hurry to them, but Jack caught her arm.

He didn’t want to waste any more time.

“I’m in love with you, too,” he told her.

That stopped Alana. And it had Reyes moving quickly away.

Alana smiled. “You mean that?”

“With all my heart.”

Her smile widened. “That’s a lot.” She hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him to her for a long, lingering kiss.

“Da-Da,” Joey called out.

Jack wanted to hold his son, but he had to do something else first. Even if meant doing it in front of an audience.

“Will you marry me?” he asked Alana.

Despite Joey’s chatter and the fact that Reyes, Sheriff Tanner and Tessie were only inches away, Alana didn’t take her eyes off Jack. In her eyes, he could see her love for him.

He could also see their future.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Jack hadn’t realized he was holding his breath, waiting for that answer. This time, he was the one to initiate the kiss. He pulled her back into his arms and reminded her of just how much he loved her.

“Da-Da,” Joey insisted. The little boy reached out, and both Alana and Jack took him, each of them cuddling an arm around Joey.

“I’ll have to teach him how to say
Mama,
” Tessie volunteered.

“Ma-Ma,” Joey blurted out, and then clapped as if very proud of himself.

Jack was certainly proud of him. His son had more than enough room in his heart for both a mom and a dad. He didn’t feel threatened that he was losing Joey. He felt…complete.

Tears started to shimmer in Alana’s eyes, but Jack knew they were tears of pure happiness.

Joey had been the one to bring them together, but it was the love that Alana and he felt for each other that made them more than just Joey’s parents. That love had made them something Jack had always longed for.

A family.