Somewhere Only We Know (30 page)

Burke ran forward. He grabbed Shelby and pulled her away from Maddie.

Maddie coughed and sat up as Burke and Shelby now struggled together.

She wanted to help him. As she tried to get up, her movement distracted him.

Shelby shoved him aside, then sprinted out of the apartment.

Burke hesitated. "Maddie—"

"Go," she said.

He didn't listen. Instead, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the hall. A neighbor gave them a shocked look.

"Where did she go?" Burke demanded. "The woman with brown hair."

"Stairwell."

"Get out of the building," Burke told the neighbor. He put Maddie over his shoulder and sprinted down the hall.

She wanted to tell him to wait, that Shelby might be lying in wait for them, but she couldn't get any words out. Fortunately, they made it downstairs and outside without running into her.

The fire trucks were just arriving when Burke set Maddie down on the ground. "Are you all right?"

She nodded, still not really able to speak. "The paramedics are going to take care of you," he said as two EMTs came towards them. "I need to find Shelby."

Burke stepped away as Maddie was examined by the paramedics. He looked around for Shelby. Where the hell had she gone?

Her car was parked down the block, but it was empty. He looked one way, then the other, and then something drew his attention upward.

Shit!

He ran back into the building, flying up ten flights of stairs until he broke through the door leading out to the roof. Shelby had climbed over the rail that surrounded the rooftop deck and was facing the street.

"Shelby," he yelled.

She turned her head, letting go of the railing with one hand to ward him off. "Don't come any closer, Burke. It's over. It's all over."

"It's going to be okay," he said, his training kicking into gear. "You didn't kill anyone."

"Yes, I did," she said flatly. "I killed Mitch."

"He's not dead. I got to his house in time. I saved his life."

"Why would you do that? Wait. I know the answer—because you're a knight in shining armor. You're just not my knight."

"Shelby—"

"Even if I didn't kill Mitch, I did kill Leanne. You know that now, don't you?"

"Why did you do it?" he asked, trying not to have an emotional response to her words. He would think about it all later. Right now he just had to keep her talking and get her off the ledge.

"Because we were supposed to be together," she said. "I've loved you for years." Her words were filled with pain, anger and bewilderment. "I've always been there for you, but you kept looking past me."

"We were friends. We still are friends."

"No, we're not. You're just saying that so I won't jump." She paused. "I want you to know that I was trying to help you. Leanne cheated on you with Mitch. She was going to have another man's baby. She didn't deserve you."

"You knew about the baby?"

The door behind him opened and a firefighter and a cop stepped out with Maddie coming out behind them. She was the last person he wanted to see right now. "Maddie go downstairs and both of you stay back."

The three of them didn't move. Well, he couldn't worry about them right now.

"I saw the way you looked at her," Shelby said, pointing at Maddie, tears now streaming down her face. "It was the same way you looked at Leanne. It wasn't fair. I waited three years for you to get over Leanne. I was there every day for you. Then
she
shows up in your life and I'm out. I couldn't lose you again, Burke. I just couldn't. She had to go. I told you to back off. But you couldn't do it, could you?"

He ignored that question, wanting to get her attention off of Maddie. "What about Mitch? Why did you go after him?"

"Because he knew I was the one who ran Leanne off the road. His investigator figured it out. He found a camera that caught a license plate a few blocks away. I thought I was safe after all this time."

He couldn't believe how calmly she talked about running Leanne off the road, about killing a woman she had once considered a friend. "Why did you run Leanne off the road? Why didn’t you just tell me about the affair if you wanted to break us up? That would have done it."

Shelby shook her head. "I was trying to break you up when I sent her into Mitch's arms. But I didn't anticipate a pregnancy. I thought Mitch would surely use a condom."

"How did you send her into Mitch's arms?"

"I put a little something in her cocktail. Then he asked her to dance, and it all just happened. It was remarkably easy. It wasn't like she didn't like him. And he was in love with her."

Shelby really was twisted. He'd always admired her calm, but now he could see that calm came from a lack of compassion. She was completely detached and unapologetic.

"Leanne was going to tell you she was pregnant," Shelby continued. "Once you knew there was a baby, you'd never let her go. So, I had to get rid of that baby. I didn't know Leanne was going to die, but maybe it was just as well. She cheated on you. She didn't deserve you. I was just trying to protect you, Burke."

"Don't put this on me."

"It's true. I made sure that no one got close to you, so no one could hurt you. I was the right person for you. I would have been the perfect wife."

He stared at her in shock, wondering if she'd hurt other women that he'd dated. How had he completely missed her obsession? He'd occasionally thought she was flirting with him, but she'd dated other men over the years. Apparently, none of those relationships had lessened her fixation on him.

He searched for something to say—the right words to get her off the ledge. But even as he did so, he wondered how he could want to save the life of the woman who had murdered his fiancée, an unborn child, and who had just tried to kill Maddie—the woman he'd loved for half of his life? How could he do that?

Shelby stared back at him. Her lips parted. "You don't care," she said, as if stunned by the idea. "You don't care if I jump—if I die."

He couldn't find the words to deny her accusation.

"Of course he cares," Maddie said, coming forward.

"I don't want to talk to you," Shelby said.

"Too bad. You tried to kill me, so now you can listen to me or you can jump, because I sure as hell don't care what happens to you." Maddie's voice rang across the roof. "But Burke does care. You're his friend. And he stands by his friends. If you truly love him, you're not going to make him live with the guilt of watching you die."

"I do love you, Burke," Shelby said brokenly. "I wish you could believe that."

"Prove it," he said. "Come here." He extended his hand.

"I'll go to jail."

"You'll get help, and you'll be alive."

"What kind of life could I have now?" She looked from him to the street below.

He knew in that second that he'd lost the battle. She wasn't going to give herself up.

He did what he had to do, what his instincts as a firefighter—as a protector—demanded he do. He rushed to the ledge and grabbed her hand just as she let go.

Her weight almost pulled him over, but Maddie grabbed his arm, and the firefighter and cop were suddenly right next to him, helping him pull Shelby back over the ledge.

She fell to the ground, sobbing like a broken doll.

He stared at her as the cop cuffed her and got her to her feet.

Shelby gave him one last pleading look. "Don't hate me."

He didn't answer. He had no words.

As the cop took her away and the firefighter left the roof, Maddie put her hand on his arm. "Burke, are you all right?"

He gazed into her worried green eyes. "I can't believe it was Shelby."

"I know."

"I was completely fooled."

"She was very good at hiding her sickness, but it's over now."

He blew out an exhausted breath as Maddie rested her head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight. "I almost lost you today."

She lifted her gaze to his. "You didn't. I'm okay."

"Are you? What did Shelby do to you?"

"She knocked me over the head. She was going to inject me with something, which would either kill me or send me into unconsciousness. Then she set a fire to either cover it up or finish me off." Maddie suddenly started."Your apartment. Do you think everything burned up?"

"I don't give a damn about my apartment. I'm just glad you're all right."

"You saved my life, Burke." Her eyes watered as she bit down on her bottom lip. "If you hadn't come in when you did, I wouldn't have made it. I was fighting, but I was losing."

"Don't think about it, Maddie. You're safe now, and if anyone saved anyone's life, it was you saving mine. I always thought I was on track, doing what I was supposed to do, but it wasn't until you came back that I realized I'd gone off the rails a long time ago. I'd been so focused on career and climbing every rung of the ladder I was supposed to climb that I couldn't see anything but the job. After Leanne died, I was stuck in a bad place. I didn't know how to get out of it. You showed me the way. You reminded me of the man I used to be. You opened my eyes to living in the moment, putting fun back into the day, laughing again, opening up my heart, taking a risk…"

"I did all that?" she asked in amazement.

"You did."

"I brought trouble into your life, too—the way I always do," she reminded him.

"The best kind of trouble." He paused, wanting to say the words that had been in his heart for a very long time. "I love you, Maddie Heller. I've loved you since the day you got me into detention."

"You hated me then."

"You scared me. I knew you could change my life. But not having you in my life has been boring as hell. I need you, Maddie. I didn't think I needed anyone, but I do. You're the one."

Her gaze filled with emotional tears. "I love you, too, Burke. I think I always have."

"Thank God. We're finally on the same page," he murmured, giving her a tender kiss to seal their words.

"What happens next?" she asked.

"I have no idea, but that's what's exciting, right?" he asked, repeating her favorite line.

"Right," she said, giving him a watery smile.

"You need to go to the hospital and get checked out." He gently felt around the back of her head, wincing at the large, hard knot that his fingers encountered. "You probably have a concussion. Why didn't the paramedics take you to the hospital?"

"I wouldn't let them. I had to find you."

"I'm surprised they let you back in the building."

"I didn't ask. I slipped back in when no one was looking. I knew the fire was just in your apartment. I had to be sure you were okay."

"And now I need to be sure that you're all right, so we're going to the hospital."

"Fine, although following up
I love you
with a trip to the Emergency Room isn't really the most romantic of moments."

He laughed as he put his arm around her. "And yet it feels so appropriate for us, doesn't it?"

She smiled back at him. "Unfortunately, it does." As they walked down the stairs, she added, "What do you think is going to happen to Shelby?"

"She's going to go to jail for murder."

"I heard her say something about Mitch. What did she do to him?"

"Same thing she tried to do to you." The anger came back as he remembered the panic he'd felt when he'd seen Shelby trying to inject Maddie with whatever she had in that syringe.

"Is he going to be all right?"

"I'm not sure. She managed to get the needle into him. He was going into cardiac arrest when I found him. I started CPR. His heart was beating again, but I don't know."

"You saved Mitch's life, too. It's been quite a day."

"I hope I saved his life. I don't know why I do, but I do."

She slid her hand into his and gave him a smile. "You're a really good man, Burke Callaway."

"I don't feel good right now, but I do feel lucky to have you," he said squeezing her fingers. He wanted to add the word forever, but he knew how much it scared her. So he would stay in the moment and hope that it lasted forever.

Chapter Twenty-One

When they got to Burke's floor, the smoke had diminished considerably. "Why don't you keep going?" Burke suggested. "I'll meet you out front. I want to check on the damage."

"I'll go with you," she said, feeling like she needed to see it for herself. The events of the last hour were surreal, the combination of adrenaline and her head injury making everything fuzzy.

A firefighter stood just inside the door. The windows in Burke's apartment had been opened, so there was now a cool breeze blowing the rest of the smoke away.

Maddie didn't recognize the man, but he gave Burke a relieved smile, and said, "I couldn't believe it when we got the call for this address. You all right?"

"I'm fine. Maddie, this is my cousin Hunter, one of Kate's older brothers—Maddie Heller."

"Hi," she murmured, still hanging on to Burke's hand. Of course Hunter was a Callaway. His blue eyes and dark hair should have been a giveaway.

"What's the damage?" Burke asked.

"Kitchen and bedroom. Emma is on her way over."

"You called Emma?"

"Captain called a fire investigator since there were obvious signs of arson. She was on duty."

"Great."

Another firefighter came down the hallway. "Chief," he said with a nod. "Glad to see you're all right. I heard you had a standoff on the roof. Is it true that Shelby did this?"

"It's a long story, Doug," Burke replied. "You'll hear it all soon enough."

"You're going to want to stay somewhere else tonight," Hunter told Burke. "Let the smoke clear. You know the drill."

Burke nodded, glancing down at Maddie. "Do you want to put a few things in a bag?"

"All right," she said, reluctantly letting go of Burke's hand.

Without Burke anchoring her down, she felt a little lightheaded. As she bent down to pick up the suitcase, the dizziness got worse. She quickly straightened, glancing back toward Burke, but he was engrossed in conversation with Hunter and Doug. That was good. She didn't want him worrying about her. She managed to put some clothing into the suitcase and grabbed her toiletries out of the bathroom. When she got back to the living room, Burke had stepped into the hall. She sat down on the couch and let out a breath.