SEE HER DIE (24 page)

“Take a good look, Elizabeth. It’ll be your last.” He laughed cruelly. “Just so you know, the hair is all mine. It took me four years to get it like this. Of course the color is different, just like my eye color. Aren’t colored contacts marvelous?” he taunted. “The breasts cost me a small fortune. Ned loved them.” Nigel gave Elizabeth a knowing wink. “Since I’m still all man below the waist, he said I had the best of both worlds. A little facial surgery here and there and no one could tell I wasn’t a woman or that we were brothers. It was our secret.” He laughed, the vile sound sickened Elizabeth. “

“Why go to so much trouble to be someone else?” Elizabeth asked. She had to do something. But what? He could kill Gloria with nothing more than a flick of his wrist.

“It was either take over Annabelle’s identity or admit that I’d killed her.” He lifted one shoulder in a shrug of indifference. “Stupid bitch. She should have known I wouldn’t marry her. But no, she refused to listen to reason. She wanted children. She was tired of all the games we played together all those years, just me, her and Ned. She’d heard her biological clock ticking. Tick tock,” he sneered. “Too bad for her. I handled the dilemma masterfully, as I do all things. A little extra money to the mortician, one dirty cop, and
voila
. But then I had to kill them both. I couldn’t risk that one of them might grow a conscience one of these days and spill his guts.”

Annabelle... Nigel... whoever the hell he was threw back his head and laughed at Elizabeth’s horrified expression. She readied to take a dive at him. Gloria stood stock-still, frozen in fear, or perhaps defeat.

“Now,” Nigel announced, snapping Elizabeth’s full attention back to him and derailing her plan.

Dammit! She had to do something! “Why did you come here?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you just stay dead?” Her fear gave way to anger. This monster had killed far too many already. He had to be stopped.

“To New York?” he mocked as if she was stupid. “Or
here?”
He looked down at Gloria briefly, then leveled that satanic gaze back on Elizabeth. “I returned to New York to be with my brother, of course. We’ve never been apart for long. And everything was perfect until you bitches had to go and ruin it! You made him what he was. All of you. And that filthy Gentlemen’s Association,” he accused. “But they’ll get theirs. Setting that little plan of revenge into action was so easy.”

Elizabeth knew what he meant. He’d set her up to lead Mac to the hidden room and, ultimately, to the Gentlemen’s Association. “So he knew,” she said, desperate to keep him distracted. “Ned knew you’d killed Annabelle.”

Another round of hateful mirth. “Of course. He was glad to be rid of her, too. We always liked it better when it was just the two of us. As soon as I’m finished here it’ll be just the two of us again.”

Elizabeth fought to keep the fear from gaining control. Nigel was obviously insane.
Just keep him talking
. Her heart accelerated into overdrive. “How did you get into all those women’s apartments? Did you use a gun?”

He smirked. “A gun wasn’t necessary. All I had to do was tell them Ned had mentioned them in his will and that we needed to talk. It was ridiculously simple. They were all so stupid. Just like the two of you.”

“Why...” Elizabeth fought to keep her voice steady, “why have you been pretending to help us?” Dear God, she was grasping at straws now. Her body was shaking… defeat dragged at her. How could this possibly end well?

“I needed you to help me lead the police to the Association since they’re part of the reason my brother’s dead. They made him weak. You all have to pay. But just for the fun of it,” he confessed with heinous delight, “I went in alphabetical order so I could save you for last. You were special to my brother, Elizabeth.” His expression turned hard and cold. “But now the fun ‘s over. Ned wants me to finish this. It’s time for him to see you die.”

Out of time and options, Elizabeth lunged for him. Grabbed his right arm. Pulled with all her might. Gloria screamed, snapping from her paralysis and fighting to free herself.

With a demented roar Nigel shoved Gloria aside, the knife sliding through her flesh. Elizabeth saw the blood, tried to reach for her friend but Nigel blocked her path. She grabbed him by the hair, tried to knee him in the groin. She felt the cold bite of steel against her forearm. They struggled, hit the floor. The force of his weight coming down on top of her knocked the breath from her lungs.

He reared back, the knife poised high above her.

Elizabeth bucked, tried to throw him off. She clawed at him.

An explosion rent the air.

Halfway to its destination the knife suddenly dropped from Nigel’s limp hand.

He toppled backwards. Elizabeth shoved him off her legs and scrambled away. She rushed to her friend. Gloria clutched at her throat with both hands. Blood seeped between her fingers like crimson tears.

“I need an ambulance!”

Elizabeth swung her attention toward the sound.
Mac
. He’d shouted the order into his cell.

He’d saved them. Her hero had come.

As much as she wanted to dive into his strong arms, Gloria needed her more. As if reading her mind, Mac dropped to his knees beside Elizabeth and together they took care of her friend until help arrived.

~*~

Mac sat next to Elizabeth in the lobby of the surgical wing of New York General as she received the good news.

“Miss Weston will fully recover,” the doctor explained. “The damage was primarily superficial. She’ll need some cosmetic work in time but otherwise she’ll be fine.”

“Thank you.” Elizabeth blinked at the tears but they slipped past her lashes anyway.

When the doctor walked away, she turned to Mac. Her bandaged forearm and the blood staining the front of her tee-shirt vivid reminders of the horror she’d survived. “Thank God it’s over,” she murmured.

He slid an arm around her and pulled her close. “Amen.”

They sat in exhausted silence for a while. Then she asked, “Mac, what will happen to Gloria?”

“That fancy lawyer you put on retainer will get her a deal.”

Elizabeth looked up at him, hope glittering behind the tears. “Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Definitely. If he’s half as good as his reputation, he’ll sail through this on a temporary-insanity plea. Gloria admitted to you that she doesn’t even remember thrusting that dagger into Harrison. She was out of her mind with worry for her niece. She went over the edge.”

“Annabelle—Nigel,” she amended, remembering those final moments, “kept talking like Ned was still with him.”

Mac made a disgusted sound. “I think he went over the edge long ago—to the point of no return.”

Elizabeth nestled against Mac’s shoulder and prayed it would be that easy for Gloria to be cleared of what Ned, the bastard, had pushed her into. Her friend had made it past the first hurdle—she was going to recover. Now she just had to get through the legal clean up and closing of the case. Elizabeth would be there for her.

“What about the Gentlemen’s Association?” She hoped they got theirs. Nigel had been right about their part in this tragedy.

“They’re going down.

She sighed, completely and utterly exhausted. That was good news. She wanted them to pay for what they’d done. “What about us?” she asked without looking up. That question had haunted her all those long hours they’d waited to hear about Gloria. Worrying about her friend had kept her from focusing on the other.

But now, as relief sent the stress draining away, there it was.

Was this man going to break her heart?

Mac drew back and looked into her eyes. “I happen to know you have a problem with trust and, considering what you’ve been through, I can’t blame you. I’d like to spend some time proving to you that you can count on me.”

She smiled, her lips trembling with the effort of holding back a new wave of tears. “I already know I can count on you, Mac.”

He pulled her close once more. “Then all we have to do is get to know each other better.”

She smiled. “That sounds like a very good plan.”

“Definitely,” he said, those amazing lips spreading wide in a beautiful smile. “It wouldn’t be proper to marry a stranger.”

Her eyes widened. He couldn’t mean that. “We hardly know each other,” she protested though she actually had no reservations whatsoever. For the first time in her life she was completely certain about a man.

He kissed the tip of her nose. “That’s why we’re going to do this one step at a time. And when we’re ready, whether it’s next month or next year, we’ll take the plunge. Deal?”

Her smile broadened to match his. “Deal.”

Like all good deals, they sealed it with a kiss. A long, passionate kiss.

“We could leave for a little while now, you know,” he whispered as he nuzzled the shell of her ear.

“Hmm... That would be nice but I’d like to be here when Gloria wakes up.” Her breath caught when his tongue slid along her throat.

“Well,” he blew on the wet path he’d made and her body quivered, “we’ll just have to find ourselves a handy supply closet, because this isn’t going to wait.”

“Are you always this impatient, Agent MacBride?” she teased.

That blue gaze collided with hers. “I almost lost you today,” he murmured thickly. “Whatever’s happening between us, it’s special. Very special. I’m not about to waste any time, and I’m damn sure not going to risk losing you again.”

His words touched her deeply. No one had ever made her feel this way. Mac was right. This was special.

His lips found hers once more, and just like before, the world fell away, leaving only her and the man she trusted with all her heart.

-The End-

Keep reading for a

Preview of BONE DEEP

by Debra Webb!

Prologue

Sunday, July 10, 9 p.m.

Blood... so much blood.

She peered down at her hands, marveling at the thick, warm fluid that seeped between her fingers, slipped along her arms. Her heart slammed mercilessly against her ribcage, sending her own blood gushing through her veins.

She blinked, tried to focus.

He was dead.

She stared at the motionless body on the floor. A pool of crimson encircled the still torso.

Dead
.

She inclined her head and stared at the knife buried deep in his chest.

She’d killed him.

Chapter 1

Tuesday, July 12, 10:32 a.m.

Jillian Ellington watched an elderly couple stroll along the sidewalk on the east side of the historic town square. Why their slow, steady pace mesmerized her so defied logic. At Pritchard’s Pharmacy, the man held the door and smiled as the woman entered the store ahead of him.

It was the same wherever she looked. Life went on as if nothing had changed. It felt wrong to her that the rest of the world hadn’t paused for more than a second or two to observe the tragic, life-shattering event that had turned hers upside down. Mothers walked hand-in-hand with their children on the sidewalks. Traffic continued to flow. Shoppers shopped. Unreasonably, she resented and, at the same time, envied their innocence to the horror that had invaded her existence.

This was a mistake
.

Disgusted, she powered up the windows and started the engine once more. Hot air blasted from the vents. It wasn’t even noon and already the temperature was a sweltering ninety degrees. She’d been sitting in her car, parked across the street from city hall, for more than an hour. Her frustration level had maxed out.

He was late
. The big deal investigator who was supposed to be exactly the advantage she needed to prove her twin sister hadn’t murdered her husband, and maybe her three-year-old son, was thirty-two minutes late. Jill closed her eyes and rode out the wave of dread and apprehension that threatened. Her sister was in a coma and her three-year-old nephew was missing. And the so-called miracle worker who was supposed to help was a no show.

God, she was tired. Most of last night was spent on the internet doing research on the guy. After what she’d discovered she shouldn’t be surprised that he hadn’t shown but this was what desperation did to the most rational human. She waited, clinging to an unraveling thread of hope that a stranger, a profoundly damaged one by all reports, would actually turn out to be the miracle she needed.

Deep breath.
Didn’t help
. First thing this morning she should have called Richard Lawton, her old friend and law professor, and told him to cancel this meeting. What had he been thinking recommending this guy? Admittedly, Richard had gotten her on the calendar with an excellent attorney. Cullen Marks was the best criminal attorney in the state. His Nashville firm had a reputation for always winning. A quick call from Richard and Marks was ready to accept her sister’s case. But, Richard had insisted Jill needed more than a topnotch attorney. She needed an investigator who would look beyond the official investigation.

Problem was the one he recommended seemed so far off what she had expected that she’d almost called Richard back in the middle of the night to demand an explanation. All that prevented her from picking up the phone and doing just that right now was the irrefutable fact that Richard had never steered her wrong. Not once.

Jill sagged against the headrest and let the cool air wash over her. Their relationship had started as one of diligent law professor and eager student, but had quickly developed into more. Regret trickled through her. No one had been to blame, not really. It simply happened. Her father had died and she’d needed someone to fill that void—one that had started expanding well before his death.

Though she’d left home practically before the ink dried on her high school diploma, Jill could still remember the look of stark disappointment on her father’s face. He hadn’t agreed with her decision and they had scarcely spoken after that. His death had hit her hard.

She forced herself to breathe. Blinked back the emotions that crowded in on her even now when she thought of her father.