Operation: Endeavor (When The Mission Ends) (29 page)

“Sure, I’ll keep an eye out for both of them.”

“Thanks, Brian.”

After Brian left, Penelope turned bleak eyes to Colton. “What do we do now?”

“Let’s head over to Cassie’s. We can wait for word there.”

* * *

When they arrived at Cassie’s house, she met them at the door with worry-filled eyes. Colton immediately pulled her into his arms, although he continued to hold onto Penelope’s hand the whole time, too. His voice sounded gruff when he said, “Thank God you’re okay. Have you heard anything yet?”

She pulled them into the house shaking her head. “Nothing yet. They’re reporting the shooting on the television stations, but they haven’t revealed anything about the victim yet, except for the fact it’s someone from the hospital. They haven’t said anything about whether or not they caught the shooter.” She looked back out the door. “Wait a minute, where’s Chris? I thought he was with you.”

“When he heard about the shooting at the hospital, he went up to see if he could be there to support Julie, just in case it’s Aaron. Brian said he would do his best to get him inside the hospital to her.”

Cassie’s voice was quiet when she asked, “What happened today to make you think the victim is Aaron?”

The never-ending chills took hold of Penelope’s body again. Colton must have felt her shiver because he pulled her within his arms once again and cradled her against his chest.

She was the one who answered though. “We don’t know that it’s Aaron, but we’re pretty sure that it’s someone from Julie’s party. The guy who left the note on the Bus called me. I heard the gun go off over the phone. Whoever’s been shot, they were shot because of me. This is my fault.” The tears started falling down her cheeks and Colton stiffened underneath her.

His voice was low and angry. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t do anything to provoke this attack. You’ve done everything possible to keep anything bad from happening. There’s no way you’re to blame for this. The guilty party is the guy who was holding that gun.”

She placed her palm against his chest. “I know there’s truth to that, but I still can’t help but feel responsible. Somehow this all ties back to me. We have to figure out how if we’re going to stop it.”

Colton agreed. “We absolutely have to figure out what this guy’s after and I had a couple of thoughts about that while cleaning the apartment. First, I didn’t see the golden flower from Damon. Don’t you usually keep that on your nightstand?”

She nodded.

“That’s what I thought. I didn’t see it when I was in there today, but the room isn’t completely cleaned yet, so it may still be under a pile somewhere. But for now, it’s missing and that might be a clue.”

Penelope winced at the thought of the loft mess, but then thought better of it. What did it really matter when someone had been shot? Which brought up a point. “If they’d found what they’d wanted at the apartment, why would they have gone through with the shooting?”

“To prove a point maybe? I don’t know, but you’re right, that doesn’t really fit. We need to find that flower and figure out if there’s something more going on with Damon’s project.”

“I agree. I’m pretty sure he’s coming back into town this weekend. I’ll call my mom and find out his flight information.”

Colton nodded then looked at Penelope speculatively. “There’s one other possibility that occurred to me today.”

“What’s that?” He had a strange look in his eye that made Penelope nervous.

He watched her closely as he said, “Is it possible this could have something to do with Celeste DeMarco?”

The blood drained from her face and her eyes widened in shock. She searched his face, but couldn’t get a read on him. She’d kept this secret hidden from everyone in her life for years, but within a few short weeks, Colton figured it out. “How did you find out?”

“I found some of your notes and pieced it all together. So it’s true.”

It wasn’t a question, but she haltingly nodded anyway.

“Wait a minute,” Cassie blurted out.  “What are you both talking about? What does any of this have to do with an erotica author?”

Colton gave a strangled moan as his gaze swung to Cassie and he choked out, “You know who that author is?” He grimaced.

“What?” Cassie looked at them both in confusion.

Penelope was on the verge of a nervous breakdown but couldn’t help the little giggle that escaped her, despite the terror and adrenaline flying through her system after all the events from the day. “I think you just broke Colton’s Life Rule #1.”

“Life Rule #1?”

“Yes, in his eyes, you’re virginal and chaste.” Penelope giggled again as Cassie rolled her eyes. “Life Rule #1 states we’re not allowed to talk about anything that might burst his delusional bubble. I’m not sure, but I think you reading erotica falls into that category.”

“Seriously? I don’t know how I’m supposed to react to that.” She turned her confounded gaze toward her big brother. “I think mainly, I’m a little disturbed that you two have discussed my sex life to the point where there’s actually a rule about the discussion of it. I think we’re headed into psychotherapy area.” She gave Colton a look of chastisement. He had the good grace to flush in embarrassment at that.

But he quickly turned his scowl back to Penelope. “We’re losing sight of the discussion. We were talking about Celeste DeMarco.”

Cassie said, “I still don’t understand what the author has to do with any of this. She writes incredible sexy books, but why are you bringing her up?”

His eyes never left Penelope’s as he raised an eyebrow in question. “Aren’t you going to answer her?”

In his eyes, she could see his dare. The secret she’d kept since college was going to come out. He was going to make sure of it.

She watched him, looking for a trace of anger, but she couldn’t get a read on what he felt. “He thinks it might be important because I’m Celeste DeMarco.”

Cassie’s audible gasp finally drew Penelope from Colton’s navy blue gaze to Cassie’s shocked one.

Cassie looked at her in complete disbelief. “No way. If that were true, why wouldn’t I know it? Why wouldn’t you tell me?” She looked and sounded hurt as the reality set in.

“Until today,” she glanced back at Colton who still watched her closely, “no one knew the truth except Alix, my editor, and my lawyer.”

“Is it possible that someone else found out and this can all be traced back to some sort of stalker?” He’d slowly started rubbing up and down her back, his warm hands reassuring her he wasn’t mad.

“I don’t know.” She shook her head and looked back over at Cassie. “My best friends never even figured it out. Why would anybody else? And even if they did what could that possibly have to do with a gift?”

“I figured it out.”

“I know, but you’re different. You know me. You live with me.”

“You’ve had other roommates. Maybe one of them figured it out. What about your last roommate? You said he left suddenly. Do you think maybe there was more to that situation than you were aware of?”

“I don’t think so, besides Frankie’s not the type. He’s a complete pacifist.”

“And listen, this is another possibility… the books you write are very sexual. A lot of times, a woman giving sexual favors is considered a gift. Could he be looking for something sexual from you since you write these books?”

A chill rolled down her spine and Colton pulled her back into his embrace.

His voice was soothing as he persisted, “We have no idea what the motivation is behind all this. We need to look at all the possibilities at this point.”

“You’re right. This has just been a secret for so long. I’m not sure I’m ready to put it out there for everyone to know. This is why my mom and Aunt Alix don’t talk any longer. Alix covered for me and claimed she was Celeste DeMarco when my mom found one of my writing contracts. She was snooping around the bookstore and it resulted in a huge blow-out between mom and Alix. My parents are too rigid about these types of things. They might be able to forgive me becoming a theater major, instead of an academic, but they’d never understand my writing erotica. So I just kept it a secret,” she looked over worriedly at Cassie, “from everyone. I’m sorry.”

“Sweetheart, we need to tell Brian.”

Penelope nodded in agreement. “Do you really think this has something to do with the books I write? This all seems awfully serious for some erotica fiction. I mean honestly, we’re talking about someone getting shot.”

“I just don’t know, but I think we need to look at all the angles.”

Cassie had been quietly listening and absorbing their discussion. But now she looked at Penelope with curiosity and a touch of mischief. “Girl, I think we need to dish a bit about your research.”

Colton launched up out of the chair and stalked to the back door. “I’m not listening to this. Have you already forgotten Life Rule #1? I’m gonna go out back to leave a message for Brian.” He slammed out of the house and left both girls dissolving into laughter.

Just minutes before she had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This was what good friends did. They provided you with stress relief and a break to the mental stresses in life.

* * *

An hour and a half later, the laughter turned into tears as the call from Chris finally came. The victim was identified as Aaron. He’d been shot with a sniper rifle as he was leaving the hospital from the parking garage across the street. The shot had been to his head and he died instantly.

Of course, Julie was devastated, but she insisted she didn’t want any of them coming over tonight. Chris was with her and had gotten her home. He planned to stay with her until her older sister arrived.

“It doesn’t feel right for us to be here when Julie’s whole world has just fallen apart.” Cassie paced around the room in agitation.

Penelope agreed on one level, but she understood Julie’s reasoning. “You know how Julie is. She hates to be the center of attention. Tonight she just wants to grieve by herself. Chris is with her and he knows to call us if she needs us.”

“I know. You’re right.” Cassie looked at them as she brushed the tears from her eyes. “Will you both stay here tonight? I don’t want to be alone and I don’t want you out on the street tonight while this madman is still free.”

Penelope looked over at Colton and nodded her assent.

He reached over to hug his little sister. He may be overbearing sometimes, but there was no doubt he loved his siblings deeply. “Sure Cass. The apartment is still a mess anyway so you’d be doing us a favor. Besides, I think we all need to stick close tonight. Why don’t you head to bed and try to get some sleep. Jake will be here in the morning and things will feel better.”

“For me, maybe, but for Julie, her nightmare is just beginning.” Her voice was drenched in the sadness they all felt. For Julie. For Aaron. For his family. It was just such an incredible waste. He’d been a wonderful and talented man. It wasn’t fair that his life had been cut so short.

Colton and Penelope watched Cassie walk down the hall. Penelope didn’t even realize she was crying again until he reached up to brush tears off her cheeks. He tilted her chin up and lightly brushed his lips across hers. It wasn’t a sexual kiss. It was soft and tender and filled with love. He led her down the hall into the bedroom and as they settled into bed, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her from behind. Gently, he leaned down to her ear and placed a tender kiss there.

Her tears flowed hot and heavy from within her soul. If she’d learned nothing else from today it was this: Times like these were meant to be treasured because in this life there were no guarantees that they would be there tomorrow.

Colton watched Penelope and Julie work in tandem in the kitchen. The weekend had passed in a blur of tears, hugs, and cooking. Aaron’s family was local, so they took over all the arrangements for the funeral and handling any family coming into town. That left Julie at loose ends. She was just the girlfriend and Aaron’s mother didn’t want her to be part of the process. So she did the only thing she could…she cooked. She’d taken over Cassie’s kitchen and made everything from breakfast muffins, to casseroles, to desserts. Jake and Colton took turns running the items over to Aaron’s mother’s home.

A sniper shooting in Lubbock, TX was a rare thing. It hadn’t taken the media long to sniff out that Julie was Aaron’s girlfriend. His family lived in a gated community so the media hounds went after Julie. They’d taken to camping out in front of her townhouse hoping to sniff out any detail about the investigation. As a result, she’d moved in temporarily with Cassie, Jake, and Chris.

Chris being at the hospital the day of the shooting bonded the two of them. He didn’t stray far from her side and hovered protectively when the others were around.

Overall the group dynamic was strained, sad, and extremely reserved. What should have been a joyous weekend, with Jake coming home, had turned into just the opposite.

For the moment, Jake and Cassie had run to the grocery store for more food ingredients, while Penelope and Julie cooked.

As Colton watched the girls work in the kitchen, he frowned. Penelope looked close to tears and this time, he didn’t think it was directly related to Aaron’s death. From the pained looks Pen kept throwing Julie when she wasn’t looking, he guessed something happened between the two of them, but he’d missed it.