Someone Like You (24 page)

“Jill?” Emily tugged on her dress. “Can you see my dad?”

“What? Sure. He's right over there.” She pointed to ward the pier.

“He's gonna come have dinner with us later.”

“Good.” Not good. How could she face Mac knowing that she loved him and that he might not love her back? What was she supposed to say to him? How and when would she tell him the truth and what if he rejected her? She'd gotten over Lyle pretty easily because she'd never really cared. But Mac was a whole different kind of man.

Think about that later, she told herself, not sure if she was happy or panicked when Emily started jumping up and down and waving her towel to get her dad's attention. It only took a couple of seconds for Mac to spot them and wave. When he started down the stairs, Jill had a bad feeling he was heading this way.

Act natural, she told herself. Pretend nothing has changed. This wasn't the time or place to deal with how anyone was feeling.

“I'm heading to the car,” Tina said.

“Do you need help?” Jill asked, eager to disappear for a while.

“No. You stay here and guard our stuff. I'm telling you, people are ruthless.”

With that, she walked off.

Jill busied herself spreading out towels while Bev marked the corners of their plot with the coolers.

“It's like a fort,” Emily said with a laugh. “We have to take turns standing guard.”

Jill sat down and started to tug off her sandals. Just then Rudy walked up. Aware that Mac was quickly approaching and not wanting the two men to get into any thing, she stood quickly, prepared to
tell him to get lost, but something in his expression stopped her.

“We have a problem,” he said by way of greeting.

Mr. Smith hovered closer than ever and Jill noticed he had one hand tucked under his coat as if he were going to grab his gun at any second.

Bev walked over and took Rudy's hand. “What is it?”

“An associate of mine is in town and he's angry about the recent death of his brother.”

Fear gripped Jill. Another Mafia guy here looking for payback? In this crowd?

Her first thought was for Emily and she moved close to the girl. Where to go? Where could Emily hide and be safe?

“Rudy, I don't understand,” Bev said, sounding frightened. “What are you talking about?”

Jill wanted to scream out the truth, but she was aware of Emily listening. She scanned the crowd, looking for an angry stranger, for Mac, for Tina's husband.

Rudy pulled Bev to him. “You know those conversations you've been having with Jill?”

Bev nodded.

“She's not wrong.”

Bev sagged against him. “No.”

“I'm sorry. I should have told you myself. I was afraid if I did you wouldn't love me anymore.”

“I'm getting Emily out of here,” Jill said, taking the girl by the hand.

“What's wrong?” she asked. “Why is Bev crying?”

Jill turned and ran smack into Mac.

“What's going on?” he asked, but before anyone could answer, a woman screamed.

M
AC TURNED
toward the scream and saw Andy Murphy holding a knife to his wife's throat.

“Get back,” Andy yelled. “Everyone get back.”

Mac swore and motioned for everyone to move away. Kim, pregnant and pale, her eyes wide with fear, didn't say anything. Her husband locked his left arm around her just above her belly, pinning her arms at her side. The tip of a hunting blade brushed against her skin and a bead of red appeared. She whimpered and someone in the crowd screamed.

Mac could feel the weight of his own gun against his side. If he pulled it out, Andy would cut his wife's throat. If he didn't…

“This is your fault,” Andy said, his voice thick with rage. “You set that dumb-ass social worker on me.”

“What?” Mac demanded. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Just then he saw Hollis inching forward. Dammit all to hell, what had the idiot done?

“Get back,” Mac yelled at Hollis.

Hollis, still prissy in Bermuda shorts and a button-down short-sleeved shirt, walked purposely forward. “I'm a professional and I know what I'm doing.”

“You take another step toward me and I'll slice her head off,” Andy growled.

Hollis came to a dead stop.

Mac ignored the social worker and focused on Andy. Information poured into his brain—who was nearby, the sharpness of the knife, Andy's rapidly deteriorating mental state. He wondered if the guy was drunk or just pushed to the edge. Had that bully nature of his finally snapped, forcing him to believe he was trapped and this was the only way out? Mac had to convince him otherwise. If he couldn't do that, he needed time to get off a clean shot.

“You shouldn't kill her,” Mac said quietly. “If you let her push you that far, you know she wins.”

Andy stared at him. “What?”

“Don't
you
have to win? Don't you have to be the one to walk away while she begs you to forgive her?”

Andy frowned. He glanced down at Kim and started to nod. Just then Hollis moved in.

“What are you talking about?” he asked. “Andy, put that knife down right now so no one gets hurt.”

Mac physically shoved the social worker out of the way, but it was too late. Andy's anger returned.

“I'm going to slit her throat,” he yelled. “I'm going to ruin everybody's party. How's that for fun, huh?”

Where was the rest of his team, Mac wondered, and what would they do when they arrived? He had to defuse Andy, but with Hollis around, not to mention the damn crowd, that wasn't going to happen.

“Andy,” he said, hoping Hollis wouldn't interrupt him. “You know she's not worth it.”

Andy dug the knife in a little more and Kim gave a strangled cry. Blood trickled down her throat. Mac judged the distance. If he went for his gun, would the other man have time to seriously injure Kim? A knife wasn't a gun, but it could still be lethal.

Mac could hear the worried conversations around him. He could feel Andy's control slipping. He had to move or—

A dark-haired man in a light-colored suit came up be hind Andy. Before Mac could figure out who he was or what he was doing here, the man put a gun to Andy's temple.

“Let the woman go,” he said in a low voice.

 

J
ILL TOLD HERSELF
not to scream. Freaking out wouldn't help anyone, but she couldn't believe this was happening.

Andy jerked slightly, then clutched the knife tighter. “If you shoot me, she's dead for sure.”

“I don't think so,” the stranger said calmly. “Now put the knife down.”

Andy lowered his arm, but kept hold of Kim. Jill wanted to grab the pregnant woman and pull her to safety, but the guy in the suit looked too dangerous to mess with.

Mac glanced at him as he pulled out his own gun. “Let me guess. You're here for Rudy.”

“Yeah.”

The man looked past Mac. Jill instinctively turned and nearly fainted when she saw another stranger hold
ing a gun on Rudy. Mr. Smith lay unconscious on the ground.

“Looks like we're going to have a gunfight,” the first man said conversationally.

“I don't want any innocent people hurt,” Mac said.

“Sometimes they get in the way.”

This wasn't real, she thought frantically. It couldn't be. They were at the beach. All around them people were laughing and surfing and eating hot dogs. This sort of thing didn't happen where there were hot dogs.

“I don't care what happens to Rudy,” Mac said evenly. “But I'm not going to let you take care of business in my town.”

“Mr. Casaccio hasn't given me and my associates much choice.”

Mac glanced around and Jill had a feeling he was wondering where his deputies were. The man with the gun obviously had the same thought.

“Two of your men are tied up in their cars. Uninjured,” he added. “The others are too far away to get here in time. I'm sorry to interrupt your party, Sheriff. I don't usually like public displays like this, but I don't have an other option.”

Jill turned toward Emily. She had to get the girl out of here. Relief poured through her when she saw Bev already had the girl and was inching back from the unbelievable tableau. Suddenly she heard the faint sound of sirens.

“Looks like my guys are on the way,” Mac said, sounding relieved. He pointed his gun at the man close
to Andy. “Put your weapon down now and we'll get this straightened out.”

“I don't think so, Sheriff. Your men will get here too late.”

“Goddammit, this is about me and my bitch of a wife,” Andy yelled. “I'm going to kill her right now.”

“You're annoying,” the slick guy in the suit said, and kicked the back of Andy's knee.

Andy started to go down. Kim might be slight, but she was pregnant and awkward. She stumbled as her husband slipped. Andy pushed her away, regained his footing and ran toward the guy who had kicked him.

“Hollis, protect my daughter,” Mac yelled as he charged Andy and the other guy.

Jill heard a grunt. When she turned, she saw Rudy punching the man who'd held a gun on him. Hollis ran toward Emily, who broke free of Bev and started to run toward Jill. Jill grabbed her, pulled her against her body, then bent over, trying to cover as much of her as possible.

Mac plowed into Andy and his assaulter and the three of them went down. His only intent was to keep anyone from getting shot. He guessed the knife had gone flying. It would be a problem in a minute or two but right now he had to get the other gun.

A kick to the gut pushed all the air out of him. He fought the instinct to stop and breathe and continued to punch any flesh that wasn't his own. A glint of metal had him grabbing, then the muzzle turned toward him. He ducked. There was a flash and he waited for the hot impact.

His heart beat once, twice. Nothing. Not sure what had happened, he cracked his gun against the wrist holding the other weapon. There was a grunt of pain and the gun in question fell to the sand. Mac grabbed it and scrambled to his feet.

“Don't even think about moving,” he told the stranger.

The man rolled over onto his back and Mac saw the gushing bullet wound in Andy's chest. Instinctively he glanced up toward Kim. The young woman saw her husband, screamed, clutched her belly and dropped to the sand. A couple of people in the crowd caught her.

Just then D.J. ran toward him. “I heard gunshots,” he yelled, looking more excited than scared. “What happened?”

Instead of answering, Mac turned to check on Emily and Jill. He saw them huddled together and drew his first steady breath since the trouble had started.

“You okay?” he asked.

Jill nodded.

He looked past her to where Rudy and a slightly wobbly Mr. Smith held the second stranger at gunpoint.

“Start with them,” he told D.J. “Arrest them all.”

 

J
ILL WATCHED
the hospital elevators, tensing every time they opened. Wilma had promised Mac would arrive as soon as he took Emily home and finished up his preliminary paperwork. Three hours after leaving the beach in the ambulance with Kim, she was starting to go crazy.

Just as she was about to call the sheriff's office again, the elevator doors opened and Mac stepped out. Even as she took in the bruise on his jaw and careful way he held his arm, she rushed toward him and threw herself at him.

“Are you all right?” she breathed, holding on as tightly as she could. “Is Emily?”

“We're both fine.” He kissed the top of her head. “How are you?”

“Shaky, but otherwise okay. What happened? Is Andy still down in emergency or did they take him to surgery? Did you really arrest Rudy?”

He led her to a bench along the hallway wall and pulled her down next to him.

She touched the bruise on his face. “Does it hurt?”

“I'll survive,” he said. “I find it ironic that I've been in more fights in the past couple of weeks than in the past ten years. It's a pattern I'd like to break.”

He tucked her hair behind her ears, then brushed his thumb across her mouth. “How's Kim?” he asked.

“In labor. She's about three weeks early, but the doctor said the baby looks fine. I talked to Kim's mother. She's driving up from Los Angeles and should be here within the hour. The poor woman had no idea what was going on with her daughter. She feels horrible and wants to take Kim home with her.” She took one of Mac's hands in hers and squeezed. “Kim keeps asking about Andy and I can't get any information from the staff. How is he?”

The bleakness in Mac's blue eyes told her the truth
before he spoke the words. “He didn't make it. They pronounced him dead on arrival at the hospital.”

She shuddered. “He was a horrible man, but to die like that.”

She didn't want to think about it.

“I know.” Mac pulled her close. “Rudy's friends have been arrested for murder and attempted murder. We'll be tacking on a few other charges.”

“What about Rudy?”

“As much as I'd love to put him away, in this case, he didn't do anything wrong.”

“You don't sound happy about that.”

“I'm not.”

There was too much to think about. Too much to consider.

“What about Emily?” she asked. “She has to be in shock.”

“She's with Tina and her family right now. I spent about an hour with her first. Fortunately she didn't see that much, but the whole situation still scared the hell out of her. Hollis keeps paging me.” He grimaced. “I'm sure he thinks this is all my fault.”

“No, it's not. He can't blame you.”

“Want to bet?” He shrugged. “That's the least of it. I've got a call in to Carly. This whole thing is bound to piss her off big time.”

Jill had a feeling he was right. “Does she know about the preliminary hearing?”

“She will after we talk.”

If Carly reacted badly—a circumstance Jill could see happening—then she could go directly to the judge
in charge of the custody case and insist Mac give up Emily.

“We'll fight,” she said, staring at him. “No matter what, you're not going to be in this alone.”

He smiled sadly. “Your father stopped by the police station to tell me he wanted to represent me. Is that your doing?”

“He was interested already. I just told him there was an opportunity.”

“Thanks.”

He drew her close and kissed her. Jill let herself sink into his embrace and the feeling of his mouth on hers. This is what she wanted, she told herself. To be with Mac always. But when to tell him? Certainly not now. If the hearing went badly, would he even care about her feelings?

“I need to get back to the station,” he said. “Wilma volunteered to tell Kim about her husband, but we want to wait until after the baby's born.”

“Good idea. Her mom will be here then. That will help. Although she's going to be destroyed. In her own way, she really loved him.”

“I'm not sure what she felt was love.” He stood and pulled her to her feet. “You take care of yourself.”

“I will.

 

A
LITTLE AFTER TEN
the next morning, Mac lay stretched out on his sofa with his feet up on the coffee table. Emily was curled up next to him, still sleeping. She'd begged him not to put her to bed the previous night and he hadn't had the heart to refuse her. So they'd
watched Disney movies until after midnight, then she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

He wanted to believe everything would work out and that his life would return to normal, but he had his doubts. Andy might be dead, but that didn't take away what Mac had done. Andy being so close to going over the edge offered something of a defense, but was it enough?

He didn't want to think about what might happen and he couldn't seem to think about anything else. Carly had already called twice to yell at him. She couldn't get away until the following morning, but she would be in town in time for the hearing. Hollis had left nearly fifteen messages—thank God for caller ID—and Mac had been fielding calls from the local press. He'd taken the morning off to stay with Em, but at this rate, they weren't getting much time together.

He glanced down at her and stroked her beautiful blond hair. Funny how when she'd been little he'd assumed that the worst he would have to deal with was her rolling her eyes at him when she turned thirteen and beating the boys off with a stick. He'd never thought he'd screw up so badly that he might actually lose her.

He told himself not to anticipate the worst, but the instruction didn't stop the pain from ripping through his heart. He'd already let her down too many times and it was about to happen again. If he lost custody of her, she wouldn't understand anything more than the fact that her father had once more disappeared. He doubted he would get a second chance to set things right.