Trust Me (43 page)

she'd said, "This is for Kate." And she'd cut him before he could get everything under control again.

He hated the mess. But he deserved this. He hadn't planned it out well enough, the way he should have. He hadn't expected her to walk in on him when she did.

He'd botched it, and now he was upset and couldn't seem to settle down. He'd have to write about this, figure out how he could do better.

That was what he'd do. It'd be okay. He'd have time to fix everything.

But the cut on his chest kept him agitated. It oozed so much blood he no longer knew which was Jane's and which was his. And it hurt. He felt dizzy, nauseous-- probably because he wasn't as strong as he normally was.

He hadn't fully recovered from what T.J. had done to him.

I'm going to kill you! You've ruined my life! Jane's words echoed in his ears. She'd hated him, would've followed through with that threat if she could. The depth of her intent had surprised him because she was the one woman he'd thought would always love him, always stand by him.

Had she been pretending the whole time? Like the others who smiled politely when he approached but snickered with their friends once he turned away?

He wasn't sure. Everything seemed distorted. He couldn't separate fantasy from reality anymore, wasn't even convinced he'd killed her. He wouldn't do that, would he? He wouldn't kill Janey. Then he'd have no one to take care of Kate. Then he wouldn't be able to regain what he'd lost.

He'd made a mistake. Or maybe it was only a bad dream. He'd dreamed that he'd killed Noah, too. He'd asked his brother to go for a drive, brought him home and coaxed him into the bedroom by claiming he'd found the diamond earrings Noah had given Wendy for Christmas in Jane's jewelry box. Then he'd stabbed him in the back. Noah had never seen it coming.

He'd groaned and twisted to see Oliver's face before he collapsed. And that was it.

It had angered Oliver that it'd been so easy. That his big brother, who'd always been strong and confident, sure of himself and everyone else, could die in a matter of seconds. So he'd stabbed him again and again, trying to achieve some satisfaction.

Jane had been much more formidable. That was how he knew it was all a dream. Jane was supposed to be the weak one.

He squinted at some droplets on the floor. Where was all this blood coming from?

He had to change his clothes again. He'd changed twice already, but he couldn't get clean. He'd look and there'd be nothing. Then he'd look again, 272

and there'd be blood!

Maybe he should take another shower....

"Mommy?"

Oliver froze. Kate was home.

"Mommy?" she called from the front door. "Lara's mom has to get her hair done. Can Lara stay with us so we can play some more?"

Oliver waited for Jane to answer. Answer, damn it! Tellher Lara can stay. We don't mind. We 're friendly neighbors, the type of people anyone can trust.

But Jane said nothing. She just lay there on the bed next to Noah, letting Lara and Lara's mom think the worst.

"Mommy?"

Kate was coming down the hall. He had to do something, or Jane would get him in trouble.

"Daddy?"

Finally, Oliver moved to intercept his daughter before she could come any closer. But when he stepped out of the room, he saw that she wasn't moving anymore. She was standing very still, staring up at a red swipe along the wall.

Jane had made such a mess. She'd never been as neat as he was. His mother had always said he was neat as a pin.

"Are you hurt?" she asked when she saw him, bewildered.

"My wound's bleeding again." He shrugged off the blood smear that had made her eyes go round. "Nothing to worry about."

"Oh." She sighed in relief but still looked concerned. "Do you need a Band-Aid?"

"I just got one."

She smiled brightly. "Good. Where's Mommy?"

"Taking a nap."

"Oh." She shoved her glasses higher on the bridge of her little nose.

"Can Lara stay here with us for a while?"

He wanted to say yes. He believed in being a good neighbor. But there was all the blood. And that was a problem. "Not today, honey."

"Why not?"

Because he had to clean up the mess, get rid of Noah and Jane. "We're leaving, too."

"Where're we going?"

"You're going to Grandma's. I have some things to do."

"But I'm hungry. Mommy would only buy me one doughnut this morning."

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"We'll get you a burger on the way."

When she didn't answer, he was afraid she'd beg him to let her stay.

But she took one more look at the blood on the wall and went back out to give her friend his answer.

"I need money if I'm going to buy lunch," he said aloud, reminding himself, keeping himself on track.

He went back to the bedroom to retrieve his wallet. And that was when it hit him. This morning had been no dream. Jane and Noah were really dead. And he'd killed them. He'd dragged their bodies to the bed. The knife was still lying on the floor.

Picking it up, Oliver cleaned it off very carefully. His brother and his wife were gone. But it wasn't his fault. He never would've done this if they hadn't betrayed him. And they never would've betrayed him if it wasn' t for Skye. Skye was to blame for everything. She appeared in his journal more than anyone else, didn't she? It was her, always her....

Taking the piece of paper with her address from the pants he'd already put in the hamper, he folded it meticulously and slipped it into his wallet.

She'd forced him to kill the only people who'd stuck by him. How evil and destructive was that? She deserved to die. He'd known it all along.

So why was she still alive?

Too bad the knife he'd originally used was at the bottom of the American River. Having it now would've provided such satisfaction, such poetic justice.

It was time to pay her back--for everything.

Skye was at the office when David finally called. She'd been attempting to work--she'd spoken to Jonathan about the discovery of Sean's body and he'd assured her there'd be no problem proving it was Tasha and her boyfriend-- but she'd been nervously awaiting word from David ever since she'd left his apartment.

"So what's going on?" she asked.

"I'm taking Jeremy to San Jose. I think he should be with his grandparents for a few days while we.. .sort everything out."

With Jeremy in the car, David couldn't really talk. Skye felt his reluctance to say anything too revealing. But what he'd told her was enough.

If he was taking Jeremy someplace safe, away from Lynnette, what Skye had suspected was true.

Considering the implications, it wasn't going to be an easy few days.

"Did she confess?"

"More or less."

Regardless of what David felt about his ex-wife, he had to be 274

heartbroken for Jeremy. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"I know." His voice lowered meaningfully. "That's part of the reason I love you."

Skye caught her breath. Those words had fallen so suddenly, so surprisingly. But he'd meant them. She could tell. "Even during all this?"

"Before, during and after. She must've known it even before I did."

"She wanted me gone."

"She can't do anything now. Tiny--Detective Wy-man--" he corrected,

"has her in custody."

"You mean he already arrested her?"

"Yes. And he's staying with her, helping her through the process."

Leaning back, Skye rested her head on her chair. "What can I do?"

"Just keep yourself safe until I get back."

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about anything." She thought of the baby and, for the first time, felt a wild, reckless urge to tell him. Somehow it felt right, maybe because it offered hope amid the confusion and sadness.

"David?"

"What?"

Her fingernails curved into her palms. "Remember when you asked me if I was sure I wasn't pregnant?"

"Y-e-s?" he said, drawling the word.

She was in too far to back out, but the fear that he wouldn't be happy about the baby suddenly reasserted itself. "I wasn't really sure. I--I hadn't actually taken a test."

"So what are you saying?" he asked, his voice cautiously neutral.

'That there's still a possibility?"

Pressing a hand to her chest to slow the hammering of her heart, she took a deep breath. "Urn.. .more than a possibility."

Silence.

"David?"

"I'm here."

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to feel obligated. I just...

I'm excited," she admitted. "I want this baby even if you don't. I' m willing to raise it on my own."

"Where does that leave me?"

"Wherever you want to be. It doesn't change anything."

No response. She bit her lip until it hurt, regretting the fact that she'd told him. "Are you upset?"

"No.. .1... It's a surprise, that's all. But I'm not unhappy. As far as I'm concerned, it was just a matter of time, anyway."

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"Is it too soon?"

He laughed. "It's too soon. But it'll be okay. There's one problem, though."

She swallowed hard. "What's that?"

"I'd want any--" he lowered his voice "--you-know-what of mine to bear my name."

She knew what he was getting at and couldn't help smiling. "That means I'd have to bear your name, too."

"Exactly. Am I going to get any complaints in that department?"

Were they really talking about marriage? After denying what they'd felt for so long? "I don't know. I wouldn't want you to make that kind of commitment just because of the baby."

"Obviously, you don't understand how I feel about you."

That's part of the reason I love you.... "What about Jeremy?"

"It'll mean a lot of changes."

"I know. I feel bad about that."

"Fortunately, I think this'll be a good distraction for him. Nothing wrong with having a couple of extra people to love."

He was saying all the right things. She could only hope he truly meant them. "When are you going to tell him?"

"We'll do it together, in a month or two. Once we've all had a chance to know each other better and everything else has been.. .resolved."

Skye couldn't believe it. She'd gone from trusting no one to being willing to take the biggest leap of her life. Which proved she did trust someone. She trusted him.

The only thing that gave her pause was her job. She glanced around her office, heard Sheridan talking on the phone in her own office and realized she loved The Last Stand, too. She felt she needed to continue her work, at least in some capacity, but she was pretty sure David wouldn't like the risks involved. In any case, they had enough to deal with at the moment.

They could discuss it later.

"I'll come to your place when I finish everything I've got to do," he said.

"Can you stay the night?"

"What do you think?"

She felt her grin widen. "I'll leave the light on."

"Skye..."

"Yes?"

"We'll get through this together."

"That's what I needed to hear. Tell Jeremy I hope he has a wonderful 276

time at his grandma's."

"I will."

Skye was still smiling when she hung up. Now that she'd told David, the baby felt more real. Putting her work aside for the day even though it was only 2:00 p.m., she switched over to the Internet and started shopping for nursery furniture.

She was marrying, having a baby--finally putting Burke behind her.

Her happiness at that thought made her feel like a new person.

Standing up, she circled her desk and took down all the pictures on her wall.

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Chapter
25

"Where's Jane?"

Oliver summoned a sad expression as he handed his mother the overnight bag he'd packed for Kate. He shook his head, silently asking his mother not to mention Jane again until they could talk without Kate being present.

"Why don't you run out and feed Horse?" she suggested, putting an encouraging hand on Kate's back. "He gets lonely without you."

Kate ran through the house. Oliver could hear her little feet tapping down the hallway, but he waited until the back door slammed before he spoke.

"Jane's gone," he said as if it was the hardest message he'd ever had to convey.

The eyebrows his mother painted on with a makeup pencil every day arched high on her forehead. "Gone where? I thought, well, when you called to say you were bringing Kate, I'd been hoping maybe you and Jane were able to patch things up."

"I tried. Lord knows I tried." He took perverse pleasure in the fact that he could lie so well. His father generally seemed less prepared to believe him than his mother, but his father wasn't there. He just had to sell this one to his mom, and she'd take care of his dad. "By the time Jane came home last night, I'd had a chance to think about everything and calm down. I realized I didn't want to lose her, so I begged her to give me a second chance. I promised to forgive her and Noah. The situation's been hard on all of us, you know? But she wasn't interested in hearing me out. And this morning I realized why."

"Why?" his mother breathed expectantly.

"She had plans to leave again. Only this time she ran off with Noah."

His mother staggered back. "What? No! What about Wendy? And the kids?"

Oliver managed a few tears. "He and Jane are too wrapped up in each other to care about anyone else. Like...like their families." He let go of a dramatic sigh and dashed his hand across his cheek, as if impatient with his 278

weakness.

His mother's lip quivered as tears filled her eyes, too. "How could Noah do this to us? To his wife? Poor Wendy. She was so understanding about the whole thing, so ready to stand by him."

Oliver stared at the ground. "I guess he couldn't appreciate how great she really is."

"How will we tell the children?" his mother asked, wringing her hands.

The door slammed again, signaling Kate's return, and Oliver fell silent as his daughter came skipping down the hall carrying the dog's dish. "I'm going to give him a lot," she announced.

His mother turned away so Kate couldn't see the distress on her face, but Oliver smiled and nodded. "You do that, honey."