"How"d you manage to see him?" Marc asked. "Was that a laser I saw, that bright flash before you fired?" He reached for Theo, took his hand and tugged.
Theo stood and brushed the dirt off his b.u.t.t. "You mean that wasn"t you? I thought you turned your flashlight on him again. The first time we weren"t in position to get off a shot, and then it was too d.a.m.ned dark."
The sirens stilled as the sheriff"s department cars pulled up along the road in front of the gate.
Ted was still staring at Reed"s body. "At first I thought it was my imagination. I was trying to aim at what I thought was Steve Reed, but I couldn"t see him. We could hear you guys fighting. Theo and I were both afraid to fire."
"Until that light flared," Theo added. "Lit him up like a strobe light, and Ted got off the shot."
"Center of his forehead. We were a good twenty yards away, Theo. I don"t think I"ve ever made a shot that perfectly. It sort of defies logic, ya know?"
Marc stared at his father"s body. He searched inside himself for any sense of grief, for sadness at the man"s death. This was, after all, his father. He should feel something, shouldn"t he? Something other than relief that Ted had been the one to pull the trigger? Because Marc couldn"t deny that he"d thought about it, long and hard. He knew he had enough money to make his father go away-permanently-but he wasn"t a killer. Tonight though, when Steven Reed pointed his gun at Mandy, Marc"s only thought had been that the man had to die.
And Ted Robinson, one of the best men Marc knew, had been the instrument of his father"s death. It was going to take a while to come to terms with this, with the fact that he didn"t have to be on the lookout for Steven Reed ever again. With the fact he felt absolutely no remorse, no guilt at all that the man was dead. He had a feeling that lack of guilt wasn"t going to change. His father had to die. It was the only way he could ensure Mandy"s safety, that he could find justice for his mother. The only way to give her peace. She"d wanted her husband dead because she wanted her child safe.
He understood that. Better now, after the way things had happened tonight.
Abruptly, he turned away and focused on Ted and Theo. "I think I can explain the light, but neither of you are going to believe it. And it can"t possibly go in any report, but the deputies are here now, so I"ll wait and explain later. But, to put it bluntly, I believe we had a little otherworldly help."
He tightened his grasp around Mandy and held her tight. Right now, all he really wanted to do was go back to the cottage and bury himself deep inside her-and effectively consign Steven Reed and whatever demons drove him to the past.
It was almost daybreak before they got back to the cottage. Mandy grabbed her purse from under the front seat and Marc took his phone off the charger. Mandy was reaching for the front door when Nate stepped out of his house next door. Farmer"s hours. He was ready to begin his day as theirs was finally drawing to a close.
Marc waved at Nate and kissed Mandy. "Babe, go ahead and get your shower. I need to fill Nate in on what happened."
She returned his kiss and sent him on his way. Marc was still so wired, she doubted he"d go back to sleep at all this morning. She, on the other hand, was ready to fold. Her chin was a b.l.o.o.d.y mess, her knee hurt like the blazes, and all she wanted to do was sleep.
She hoped Ted or Theo remembered to drop the blankets and pillows off. She and Marc had totally forgotten to get them out of Theo"s car.
No matter. There were extras in the hall closet. With that thought in mind, she went into the bathroom, stripped off her clothes, and made the mistake of looking in the mirror before she got into the shower.
She was a mess. Her chin was sc.r.a.ped raw and the raw part was filled with grit. There was blood on her neck and her hair was filthy and still had twigs in it. She glanced at her knee, which had swollen up like a grapefruit. At least that explained why she"d been limping. Even her throat was bruised. Enough of the visuals. Maybe if she washed the blood off, she wouldn"t hurt as bad.
Looking at the sparkling diamond on her left hand helped.
She stayed in the shower much longer than normal, but there was a powerful need to wash Steven Reed"s touch off of her, even more than the dirt and grime. The man was foul. Or had been. She refused to think of him as Marc"s father. Marc was his mother"s son, and Elizabeth Marchand Reed was a woman to be proud of.
Steven Reed wasn"t anything anymore, beyond a bad memory.
She wondered how Marc felt about his father"s death. He hated the man, but had he loved him when he was little? Needed his approval the way most kids needed their parents" approval? She and Lola had dealt with that need where their mother was concerned years ago when they"d made a conscious decision to be there for each other, and while her mother was a flake and, as of the last time they saw her, an occasional drug user, she wasn"t a killer.
Mandy really needed to call Lola. But not yet.
She stepped out of the shower and toweled herself dry, pulled on her green bathrobe, and stepped into the bedroom. Marc was tucking the blankets in after making up the bed.
He stood and stared at her, almost ... almost as if he thought she might be angry?
"Are you okay?" She walked around the bed and looped her arms over his shoulders. Then she kissed him.
Marc glanced away. So not like him. But then he closed his eyes, sighed, and turned to Mandy. Cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly, careful of the abrasions on her chin.
"He hurt you," he said, voice broken, emotions so raw, so close to the surface in every word he spoke. "I"m so sorry, Mandy. I never, ever wanted him to hurt you. I didn"t protect you, and I will never forgive myself."
He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She felt the steady thud of his heart against her cheek, wanted to stay like this forever. Of course, she was ready to fall asleep on her feet, but still ... "S"okay." She smiled, even though it made her chin hurt. "You were there for me, you risked your life for me, and I wasn"t about to let him kill me, either. He"s dead, Marc. He"s not going to hurt anyone again."
"Thank goodness."
"Actually." She kissed him. Just a quick kiss as a reminder of what they had. Still had, but came too close to losing. "A lot of the thanks goes to your mother."
His eyes went wide. Then he frowned. "Oh?"
"She woke you up. That wasn"t just a dream. And when your father grabbed me, I heard a voice in my head and I know it was her. She said, "You can do this, Mandy. Don"t let him win." I heard her, clear as if she stood in front of me and encouraged me, and maybe I"ve never really heard her voice, but I knew it was your mom. And then the light that flashed, the one that lit up your dad so Ted could get the shot? You admitted yourself that you thought it was your mother"s doing. In fact, we still need to explain that to Ted and Theo, but..." She sighed and rested against him, loving the soft thumping of his heart against her ear, the solid strength of his arms holding her. "What you"ve done, Marc..."
"What we"ve done," he said. "We"ve done this together, but you"re right. What we"ve done will let her rest. Finally. Hopefully she"ll find peace."
She leaned away and took hold of his hand. "Get a shower. You"ll feel better. Then come to bed. If I"m asleep, wake me up. I want to make love with you. I love you so much, and after last night..." She shuddered. "I realized just how close I came to losing you. I have never been so p.i.s.sed off in my life, to think that man could take away the best thing that"s ever happened to me. I wasn"t going to let him."
"You put up one h.e.l.l of a fight. I was terrified, and so proud of you. When I saw him dragging you across the dirt, for a split second I was afraid you were unconscious, but then I realized that no, you were just letting him think that. d.a.m.n, Mandy. You make me so proud."
Mandy was still awake when Marc crawled into bed beside her. He was relieved, because he honestly didn"t know if he"d be able to wake her, knowing how exhausted she had to be. And sore, too. His father had hurt her; he was certain she was hurting a lot worse than she admitted.
The sky outside was growing light, and they both needed sleep, but he needed Mandy more than sleep. More than air. When she rolled toward him and pulled him close, he sighed against her throat, running kisses across her collarbone, over the curve of her breast. He trailed his hand over her thigh, slipped his fingers between her legs and stroked through her slick folds.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders; her body arched against his, her voice a harsh whisper in his ear. "Just you, Marc. Only you. I need to feel you inside me." She was wet and hot, and she wanted him. As receptive as she was, her body always so ready for his, she made him feel as if he could do anything, be anyone. Be the right man for Mandy.
She claimed she"d been ready for him for years. He liked hearing that. Loved knowing Mandy felt the same about him as he did about her. There was always the perception when he slid inside her that he was coming home-home to Mandy, to their future.
This time it was that and so much more. He"d come so close to losing her that every touch was intensified, every cry, every whimper, every exclamation filled with even more meaning. She clung to him as he drove deep, his body oversensitized this very first time inside her without protection. The way she felt inside was intense-her heat, hotter, the clench of her muscles stronger, the rippling strength of her inner muscles making their lovemaking that much more immediate. He wasn"t sure if it was the lack of the condom, or the fact they"d come much too close to losing this, to losing everything. Whatever it was, it was d.a.m.ned good.
Marc called everyone before he set up the video chat and told them to log in ASAP, that he and Mandy had a lot to tell them. Ted and Theo were already up and having coffee at Nate and Ca.s.sie"s. They brought their cups and the four of them walked across the yard to the cottage. Ted had his laptop, and set it on the table across from Marc"s while Theo walked around the table to where Marc and Mandy were sipping their coffee.
"Good morning." Theo kissed Mandy"s cheek. Then he turned, grabbed Marc, and gave him a noogie.
"Hey, what was that for?" Laughing, Marc broke loose from Theo"s light hold. "I"m your boss. Respect, man! Respect! Be nice to me."
Theo planted his hands on his hips and glared at Marc. If it hadn"t been for the sparkle in his eyes, Marc might have thought he was actually mad at him. "I had nightmares last night. Don"t you ever scare me like that again. Do you know how close we were to not being there on time?"
Marc"s laughter died. "I know. We can never repay you and Ted, but you know what? My nightmares are gone, and I think yours will go away pretty fast. We"re all here, and we"re all safe. And Theo, I have no intention of ever scaring anyone like that again-especially Mandy. Me, either. Being scared s.h.i.tless is highly overrated. Not fun."
"That"s good to know." Ted refilled his coffee cup at the carafe on the counter. "Ya know, Marc, when you hired me, you said I"d never be bored. May I admit, in front of witnesses, that you are most definitely a man of your word? Now cut it out, okay? Enough is enough."
"Gotcha. Hey, they should be checking in. We need to tell the others what happened before it hits the papers."
Mandy sighed and leaned against him. "Haven"t we played this game before?"
"Yes, but that was a different story, a different shooting, and we"re not doing anything like this ever again."
"Gotcha."
Nate and Ca.s.sie pulled up chairs behind Marc and Mandy. Theo and Ted sat in front of Ted"s computer on the opposite side of the table just as Ben and Lola came online, joining in from Ben"s office at Reed Industries. Jake and Kaz came online a few seconds later, both of them sitting in the rumpled sheets of their bed, still looking half asleep. Jake was bare-chested, and Kaz had on a form-fitting knit maxi dress. Even with her hair pointing in all directions, she was absolutely gorgeous.
Almost but not quite as beautiful as Mandy.
"Good morning. Sorry if we woke you guys, Jake and Kaz." Marc glanced at the group sitting around and behind him. "Looks like we"re all in the frame. Can everyone see Ben, Lola, Jake, Kaz, Theo, Ted, Nate, Ca.s.sie, and Mandy and me? Good. I"m actually not quite sure where to start, but I"ll begin with the most important part of the story-Ted was a d.a.m.ned smart hire on my part. He and Theo saved Mandy and me last night when my father attacked us out at my mother"s burial site. And yes, the dog got solid hits on her remains, and there"s a recovery team headed out there today. My father is dead, the rest of us are alive and basically uninjured, though Mandy got..." His voice broke, and he was blinking back tears he hadn"t expected. He took a deep breath, held tightly to her hand, and got himself under control. "Mandy got banged up but she"ll be okay."
Mandy stuck her face in front of the camera on the computer and pointed to her bruised face and scabbed-over chin. "I promise to heal before the wedding, Kaz. Honest! I really don"t want to screw up the pictures."
Marc kissed her cheek. "Thank you for that visual display, Ms. Monroe. Anyway, I know you"ve heard this before, but we wanted to tell you the story before it hit the newspapers."
He was really proud of himself for getting through it so far without falling apart, but halfway through the tale he realized that the enormity of what had almost happened to them as well as what actually did happen was finally sinking in. His voice broke, he paused and took a deep, settling breath. That"s when Mandy squeezed his hand and went on from her point of view.
Then Ted and Theo jumped in. "Neither of us could get a shot," Theo said. "It was so dark up there that we were going more on the sound of their fighting than an actual visual."
"And then," Ted added, "there was a bright flash of light. It illuminated Steven Reed"s face perfectly."
"At which point Ted got off a perfect shot and dropped Mr. Reed before he could shoot Mandy." Theo turned to Marc. "You were going to explain that light, Marc. What was it?"
Mandy squeezed his hand, and a sense of calm came over him. "It was my mother, Theo. It started when she came to me in a dream and told me my father was coming. She woke me up from a sound sleep, and I"m sure that"s the only reason we were awake in time to keep my father from being able to sneak up on the car and murder us while we slept. Honestly, at first I just thought it was a nightmare, but I decided to look around while Mandy headed over to use the portable restroom. An old truck went by on the road and the lights flashed off of a silver Lexus that looked just like my father"s car parked by the locked gate to the property. Probably the same car I thought I saw on Sunday, since I didn"t know until later that he"d been released from that jail in Tijuana before the deputy arrived to collect him."
"When he caught me by the restroom," Mandy said, "Marc was working his way back to our campsite, but it was really dark and he couldn"t use his flashlight. I was trying to get away from Steven and we were struggling, but I heard a voice as clear as day saying, "You can do this, Mandy. Don"t let him win.""
"The same words I heard in my dream," Marc added. ""Don"t let him win." I knew it was my mother"s voice, but I didn"t realize at the time it was more than a dream. It was her warning me. Warning us."
Mandy nodded in agreement. "Then things just got totally out of control and we were both struggling with Steven at different times. We had no idea that Ted and Theo were anywhere close."
Mandy glanced at Marc, and he picked up the thread. "I had a really bright halogen flashlight and I aimed it at Reed"s..." He glanced at Mandy, and suddenly it made sense, why she"d called him Steven. "... at Steven"s eyes, and blinded him, but he started shooting his gun in all directions. I heard a bullet whiz by my ear and I didn"t even think; I tackled him and took him down. We struggled, but he was heavier, and so freaked out it made him stronger than me. I had a good grip on his gun hand, but he was on top of me with his hand wrapped around my throat. I was afraid I was going to lose consciousness. That"s when Mandy kicked him in the head and he lost the gun."
"We both scrambled for the gun," she said, "but Steven got to it first and he aimed it at me and asked which one of us wanted to die first." She looked at Marc and her eyes sparkled with tears. "And then Marc dove at his father and took him down."
Marc clutched her hand and held on. She would always be his lifeline. Always. "Just as I hit him, out of nowhere there was a bright flash that lit up his face like a strobe light. We heard the sound of a gunshot, and he went down. And Mandy and I were both okay."
"You"re saying that flash was...?" Ted was no longer looking at his laptop screen. He stared over the top of it, looking directly at Marc.
Marc nodded. "If you recall, the flashlight I dropped was pointing toward you and Theo, essentially blinding both of you, right?"
Theo nodded and turned to Ted. "He"s right."
"I think that flash of light was somehow generated by my mother. The sense of her had been really strong all day long, almost a feeling of approval whenever Bones got a new hit on her remains. Then the dream and Mandy"s encouragement-it had to be her. I don"t think there"s anything that will convince us differently."
Mandy smiled at Marc and kissed him. "And, for what it"s worth, I refuse to refer to that man as Mr. Reed, which is why I called him Steven, and that"s because I"m going to be Mrs. Reed before too long, and I don"t want any a.s.sociation with him at all. Only with this Mr. Reed." She held up her left hand and flashed her ring.
The congratulations had hardly died down when there was a knock on the door. Ted got up to answer it. JD and Bones stood on the front porch. "I sure hope you have some coffee in here," she said. "Because it turns out there isn"t any at my place." She glanced around Ted as he waved her in and smiled at Mandy and Marc. "I was hoping you two were back from the site. How"d it go last night?"
No one said a word, though Marc noticed they were all staring at him, as if waiting for him to go through the entire story again. Not yet. He glanced at Mandy.
She smiled at him, kissed him quickly, and then pushed herself away from the computer. "Hey, JD! Good to see you. Tell you what ... how about I just make another pot?" She smiled at JD and leaned over to pet Bones. "A big one."
CHAPTER 17.
Marc, Mandy, JD, and Bones sat under a temporary shade not far from the edge of the slide. A crew was slowly working through all the areas Bones had found and JD had marked. So far, quite a few human remains had been recovered at each of the dog"s. .h.i.ts, and it appeared that they would most likely find the entire skeleton.
Tests were already being done to determine the DNA and ident.i.ty, but Marc knew exactly what they would find. He knew who was out there. She"d told him, quite clearly.
It was an odd feeling, thinking of his mother as a skeleton, but after last night he knew that what they found here today was nothing more than bones. His mother was so much more-she had always been more than the mere physical sh.e.l.l. He and Mandy had no doubt they"d connected with ... something. Someone. Whatever his mother had been, her essence, her energy? No way to be sure, but she"d saved them. He felt very lucky to have experienced her touch.
Very lucky to be alive.
"Marc, I want to thank you for letting me be here today." JD had seemed surprised that they"d wanted her along, though after hearing the story of what had happened last night, she"d really seemed pleased when they"d invited her to come with them.
"If not for you and Bones, we wouldn"t have found her this quickly. I was hoping you"d want to come and see the wonderful thing your crazy beast here has done for my family." He hung on to Mandy"s hand while he rubbed between Bones" ears, loving the fact that, finally, he really did have a family. The sense of his mother was strong today, either in his imagination or in her spirit"s need to be here for this recovery, along with Mandy, Marc, JD, and Bones.
"Usually, we just go and do our job and then leave." JD shrugged. "We sometimes hear the results when we"re called in to testify or read about it in the paper. This is the first time I"ve actually gotten to know the people we"ve helped the way I have here." She laughed. "It can be a depressing job, even when you"re solving a horrible mystery or finding someone in order to give a family closure, but I always know that closure comes with a price. They can"t pretend anymore that their loved one might be coming home."
"I think most people have come to that conclusion by the time you and Bones are called in, even though they don"t consciously admit it." Marc"s own feelings had been leaning that way when they started this search. "Closure is pretty important. At least it has been for me, because along with closure has come some much-needed answers." Marc stared at nothing, remembering the way he"d felt about his mother for most of his life. "I told you that I was raised to believe she"d deserted me. That she didn"t love me. Now I know she loved me more than anything. No way in h.e.l.l would she ever have deserted me."
JD sat quietly for a moment before covering Marc"s hand with hers. "After what you and Mandy told me, she still hasn"t. She was here for you last night. You"re very lucky, you know. You have unquestionable proof that she really did love you, that she"s done everything she could to let you know that." She glanced around Marc and smiled at Mandy. "Think about it, Mandy. She"s going to be your mother-in-law, and she must approve of you or she never would have helped you get away from that jerk."
Mandy chuckled. "I hadn"t thought about it that way, but you"re right. Thanks for the insight."
It wasn"t much later that Deputy Russo joined them under the shade to let them know the team was through, that it appeared they had everything. "Very little was scattered, but your dog is really good, Ms. Stirling. From the position of the bones not with the first find, it appears we"ve got everything. Marc, once DNA tests are done, we"ll release the remains to the funeral home of your choice so you can make arrangements. I"m really sorry for your loss, but thankful that you finally know what really happened."
"Thanks, Jerry. Credit goes to JD and Bones. And thank you as well. You"ve been really helpful. Do the folks in Marin know what happened? I forgot to call the chief."
"Not a problem. I called this morning first thing and emailed the preliminary report, so they have a copy. I think you folks can go back home, at least for now. We"ll be in touch."
They got JD and Bones on the plane back to b.u.t.te and then headed home to San Francisco. Ted and Theo had gone earlier in the morning. Marc was anxious to get back, to find comfort in the work and the daily routines that had been his saving grace for years.
They made a quick stop in Marin to speak to the chief of police and then Marc turned the driving over to Mandy and called Alden Chung. The therapist was free that afternoon and invited Marc and Mandy to stop at his office.
His words stayed with Marc long after their visit ended. "It is difficult to disprove what we don"t understand," Dr. Chung had said. "And there"s no reason to disagree with the validity of something without proof. I would suggest you take your mother"s visit as a blessing, hold her close, and treasure that very special connection."
It was almost five by the time they got to the house on Twenty-third. Jake and Kaz were at the unit next door, checking out the new wood flooring throughout the house.
"We get our furniture tomorrow!" Kaz gave Mandy a hug and grinned at Marc. "This is just so cool! Thank you!" She kissed Marc, grabbed Mandy"s arm, and dragged her down the hallway to check out the master bedroom. Marc watched them go before turning to Jake.