The three of them sat in heavy silence for a long time. Until the ringing of Adam’s cell phone had them all jumping. It was the generic ringtone for people he didn’t know. But when Adam saw the caller ID, he blinked. It was Ray, the owner of the condo. The man whose daughter was kidnapped. The case Adam and Wyatt had solved together. Raymond never called him. With growing dread, Adam answered. ‘Ray?’
‘Adam. Hi. I can’t talk long. It’s one fifteen here and I have to get to bed, but I needed to call you first.’
‘Where are you?’ Because their connection crackled.
‘Japan. Look, I saw the news out of the States. That Wyatt Hanson was a murderer.’
‘That made the news over there?’ Adam asked, surprised.
‘I have an online subscription to the Ledger, just to get news from home. What I needed to tell you is that Skye saw the report and she had a panic attack. It’s been years since she had one. She saw Wyatt’s picture while I was reading the article. She’d never seen him, you know, after the ordeal. Only you kept up with us. He didn’t, except to ask me for stock tips. She said she remembered him. He was one of the men who took her.’
Adam’s mouth fell open. ‘What? Is she sure?’
‘She said she was certain, over and over before we finally got her calmed down enough to go to sleep. It makes a lot of sense. There were no leads, but Hanson spied the car carrying her. Both the men who were trying to get her help were killed.’
‘So they couldn’t turn on him,’ Adam murmured. ‘I was shot with one of the men’s guns, but Wyatt killed the man right afterward. Said the guy was aiming for my head, so he shot the man first. I wonder now who fired the shot that actually hit my leg.’
‘That I don’t know. I just wanted you to know about Skye.’
‘Thanks, Raymond. Give my best to Skye, okay?’
‘You got it. Gotta go. My morning alarm goes off in a few hours.’
The call ended and Adam was left staring at his phone. Numbly he told Trip and Quincy about Skye’s kidnapping, finishing with what Raymond had told him.
‘Wyatt kidnapped her?’ Quincy asked.
‘That’s what Skye says now.’ Adam shook his head, still stunned. ‘That means Wyatt was running scams from the very beginning. I was a rookie when that happened. And Skye almost died.’
‘But she didn’t,’ Trip said. ‘Because you saved her.’
Adam nodded. ‘Yeah. I did, didn’t I?’
Trip gripped Adam’s arm. ‘You gonna be okay, man? You’ve just been hit with a mountain of shit.’
‘Yeah.’ Adam nodded again. ‘But I did my job and Skye’s alive. I did my job and Paula’s not. But I did my best. Sometimes that’s not going to be good enough.’
And that was the simple truth.
‘What happens next?’ Trip asked, giving him a cautious look.
‘I think I’m going back upstairs to finish coloring my gingerbread man. Then I’ll see Meredith, then I’ll go to her house and get it ready for when she comes home. I have to fix the lock on her back door.’
‘And then?’ Trip pressed and Adam understood.
‘I’m not hitting the bar. If I feel the urge, I’ll call one of you. How’s that?’
‘Good,’ Quincy said. ‘That’s what we wanted to hear.’
‘I could use an assist, though,’ Adam said thoughtfully. ‘I’d like to go see my mom, but I always have to listen to my father’s shit. If one of you wanted to go with me . . . maybe intimidate him a little?’
Trip looked fiendishly delighted. ‘I would be happy to, man. Just name the time.’
‘This afternoon? Mom’s overdue a visit.’
‘We can hit my favorite barbecue place on the way,’ Trip promised.
Adam looked at Trip’s empty plate and laughed. ‘Sounds like a plan.’
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Tuesday 22 December, 6.30 P.M.
It was after sundown before Adam finally returned. Meredith had been moved out of ICU into a private room where she’d been watching for him for hours, through all the visitors she’d had. She sighed with relief when he finally tiptoed in, hands behind his back.
‘I’m not asleep,’ she said and he relaxed.
‘Good. I was hoping it would be my turn again. Your dance card was full today.’
‘It was nice to see everyone. But I really just wanted to dance with you.’
He leaned over her bed rail and gave her a sweet kiss. ‘Good, because I’m back and you’re stuck with me for a few days. I took the rest of the week off. How do you feel?’
‘I hurt. So let’s talk about something else. What did you bring me?’ she asked cheekily. He produced the small Christmas tree from behind his back. It stood about eight inches tall and bore one sad ornament that bowed it over. ‘A Charlie Brown tree! I love it.’
He set it on the tray table. ‘I figured you would. You’re a sucker for the underdog.’
She smiled up at him. ‘It’s true. I heard you were busy after you left here.’
‘It’s true,’ he said. ‘I’ll give you the details tomorrow when you’re feeling better.’
‘I got some of the details from Kate and Wendi. I heard about Linnie’s placement. We’re all over the moon about that.’
‘Me too. Linnie seemed thrilled and Shane is too relieved for words.’ Adam sat next to her and held her two unhurt fingers. ‘I went to see my mom this afternoon.’
‘Yeah, Quincy mentioned that when he visited. He said you had a bodyguard.’
Adam smiled. ‘Trip went with me to keep my dad leashed. It was a nice visit.’
‘I’m glad.’ She was, even though Mrs Kimble didn’t deserve a son like Adam.
‘She wants to meet you, but I told her that I didn’t want my dad around you. She promised she’d come alone. Maybe on Christmas. You should be home by then.’
‘I’ll be nice,’ Meredith promised and hoped she could keep the promise.
‘I’d appreciate it.’ He kissed her fingers. ‘I fixed the lock on your basement door.’
‘Thank you.’
He lifted a brow, his expression growing abruptly wicked. ‘Oh, I didn’t do it for free. Not like all the volunteer work I do all over town. I expect to be paid.’
‘With what? Gel pens and colored pencils?’
He leaned in to kiss her again. ‘No. Although we could do that after.’
‘It’s going to be a while before I can do anything, before or after,’ she said, grumpy at the thought. The doctor had said six weeks till she was even halfway back to normal.
He waggled his brows. ‘I can wait for you. I’ll just keep fixing things and adding it to your bill. By the time you can again, the rest of your life will be promised to me.’
She closed her eyes, content now that he was here. ‘It already is.’
Epilogue
Mount Carmel, Ohio,
Saturday 6 February, 2.00 P.M.
‘Oh my gosh. Adam!’ Standing in Mariposa House’s living room, Meredith turned in a circle, staring in delight. The room was decorated for Christmas, complete with a live tree. All the decorations had been taken down right after New Year’s, but someone had put them all back up. Complete with a live, sixteen-foot tree. Adam had promised they’d have a Christmas after she was feeling better and after six weeks of healing and rehab on her repaired arm, she finally was. He’d kept his promise.
She hooked her good arm around his neck, and pulled his head down for a lusty kiss that made her wish they were back at her little house, despite the gorgeous decorations. Because she’d only been cleared for sex a few weeks before, after a long month without.
‘How did you do this?’
‘I had help,’ Adam said, smiling down at her. He often had a smile on his face these days, and that made her even happier. ‘I called the guy at the tree farm on Christmas Eve, told him your story, and asked if we could come back and cut another tree now. Diesel went out with me yesterday to pick it up. So you should thank Diesel too. Just not like this,’ he teased. He teased more often too. He seemed lighter all the way around.
Meredith found Diesel pretending to be busy in the next room, when he was really giving them privacy. Over the last six weeks he’d become the brother she’d never had and she couldn’t imagine a time when he hadn’t been there. Now she tugged on the sleeve of his T-shirt until he bent his knees, allowing her to peck his cheek in thanks. ‘It’s wonderful. Thank you.’
He shrugged it off like it was no big deal. ‘You missed Christmas. We wanted to give it to you.’