Dani shakes her head. “Get upstairs, Jaymee. Your phone’s in the truck, remember? Call 911. We’ll be up.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“We will be fine.” Dani looks terrified, but she’s tougher than I’ve given her credit for. Her eyes are solid determination. “Nick is already injured. Get him out of this filth. I’ll be right behind you.”
Jaymee’s face puckers, and I know she’s trying not to cry. Pulling me past Dani and Jeb, she tugs at the other woman’s hair. When she speaks, her voice is raw. “I’ll get him outside, and then I’m coming right back.”
“We’ll be up by then.”
I slip my arm around Jaymee’s waist as the water reaches dangerously close to her mouth. She can’t swallow this shit. My ribs screaming in protest, I hook my arm around her waist and lift her up. The water is about to overwhelm us, and I won’t be able to handle myself much longer. “We’ve got to go.”
On the other side of the dark room, near the supply closet where I’d just spent my last few days, another sickening crack. The hanging cabinets and the wall they’re attached to suddenly quiver and begin to sink.
“Move, honey.”
Pushing against the weight of the water, Jaymee using her arm to keep us steady, we’ve nearly reached the stairs. I give her a hard shove, surely making another hole in my lung, and she lunges for the unseen banister. For a moment, she floats, white hands stretching out for nothing, and I swear my heart nearly crawls out of my throat. And then she’s got the railing and is pulling me toward her.
My toes slam against something solid, and I realize it’s the stairs. We start moving up, holding onto the wooden railings like lifelines. Jaymee’s in the lead, and she glances back.
Her face is wet and already pale, hair plastered to her head so the auburn looks black. It’s only the terror in her eyes that clues me in to something terrible behind me.
“Dani!” Jaymee’s scream pierces my ears, and I whip my head around expecting to see another wall collapsing. Instead I see nothing but water.
Jeb and Dani are gone.
Jaymee’s scream is worse than anything I’ve ever heard. I’m trying to hold her back, but she’s stronger than I am right now.
“Let me go.” My fingers slip on her wet skin. “I’ll get them.”
“You’re not strong enough. Get upstairs!” She shoves me until my knees knock against the steps, and I start to crawl. She’s already in the water, swimming against the ever-rising surge.
I don’t even recognize the heavy footsteps, don’t understand that Cage and Gina Barnes and another officer are there until I see Cage’s face. He pulls me up into blessed dryness, and the other officer—I think Hendricks is stitched onto his uniform—begins to lead me away. I push against him, craning around to see both Cage and Gina going after Jaymee.
“It’s a sinkhole, and Dani and Jeb went under,” I choke out.
“We’ll get them,” Gina calls. “Hendricks, get him out before this house collapses.”
I really don’t
want to leave, but Hendricks is a strong guy, and I’m at the end of my endurance. Next thing I know, I’m lying in the grass a good distance from the house, which is leaning at a horrific right angle, as if gravity were pulling it beneath the earth. A paramedic sticks an oxygen mask on my face. I don’t refuse.
Above, I can see blue sky. Birds fly by, ones I can’t name. That’s Jaymee’s thing.
Jesus Christ, she’s still inside, and the entire house is being sucked away. I try to sit up only to be pushed back down again.
I’ve been in this position before—helplessly waiting to see if she’s dead or alive. But Cage and I were together then, rushing down a dirt road, fighting against a human enemy. There’s no way to fight Mother Nature. She is a cruel bitch if she chooses to be.
Shouts strike the air, and a second paramedic rushes by.
Cage is running out of the house, carrying an unconscious Dani. Her head and arms hang limply, like the rag dolls Jaymee collects and likes to hide from me. The paramedic meets Cage, and they deposit Dani on the ground. CPR starts.
Where is Jaymee
?
The house visibly shakes and moves down another foot, maybe more. Someone screams.
I can’t breathe.
Where is Jaymee
?
Air rushes back into my lungs. I see her. She and Gina are bringing a very weak-looking Jeb out of the house, walking precariously on the porch that’s now slanted upward, like some kind of pathway to the sky.
Hendricks takes over for Jaymee, and she rushes toward me. A long second later, her lips are on mine, her hands wet and cold and beautiful.
“I love you,” she’s saying over and over. I think I say it back.
To our right is a strangled cry. It’s Cage. He’s holding Dani, lifting her off the ground. She’s still limp. Jaymee stills. I can’t breathe again.
And then Dani’s arms slowly lift and circle Cage’s shoulders.
Jaymee starts to cry. I suck in a breath of spring air. Still safe in Cage’s arms, Dani twists her head until her gaze finds us. She smiles and then sticks her tongue out at Jaymee.
Now Jaymee is laughing through her tears, and I lay back against the grass. The sky is a brilliant blue—the brightest I’ve seen. A few wispy clouds stretch here and there, but they only add to the day’s beauty. A second pair of birds fly ahead, squawking at each other. They disappear into the trees, still arguing.
All around me is chaos, people shouting as the house continues to sink. The sound of Jeb’s bawling. Cage shouting at him, and Dani trying to get him to stop.
I lay still, gazing up at the blue sky.
“Y
ou’re going to
screw up the steaks.” Nick couldn’t help but hover over his former brother-in-law. “The secret is to flip them only once, you know. Otherwise that messes up the flavor.”
“I think I know how to cook a steak.” Cage shot him a glare. “You’re still supposed to be resting. So sit down and shut it.”
Nick sank into one of the comfy chairs that decorated Ironwood’s freshly poured patio. The reconstruction of the screened-in porch wasn’t complete, but Cage insisted on getting the patio in for the rest of the spring. Nick had to admit it was a good decision. It was a beautiful night to sit outside and appreciate the open air and being alive. “I’m fine.”
And he was. His lungs had healed in the hospital, his ribs were working on it. After numerous rounds of testing and shots, he, Jaymee, and Dani had all been given clean bills of health. So this warm March evening was about celebration.
Thank God Cage had gotten Dani’s message. The one item he hadn’t told her or Jaymee about—the note Nick had left in the cartridge box—had saved them all.
“I can’t believe you let him eat off the table.” Dani emerged from the house carrying a bottle of wine and four glasses. Mutt rushed by her and quickly stashed himself behind Nick’s legs.
“I didn’t exactly let him.” Jaymee followed, looking like she was trying not to laugh. “He just started chewing before I could stop him.”
Dani rolled her eyes. “We’re down half a loaf of bread.” She stood on tiptoes to kiss Cage. “Did you hear from Gina?”
“Yep. Margaret is being tried for first-degree murder of Ben. Guess the grand jury didn’t believe Booth had convinced her to try to kill for him.”
“But he helped,” Dani said. “She stuck the needle into him, but Booth had to do the rest.”
“Her idea, though. And serves her right. She was a hell of a lot more involved in this than her husband. Still says she didn’t know anything about Beau Asher killing Emery Lewis, though. She would have spoken up about that.”
“Sure she would have,” Dani said. “You don’t spend that many years with someone without knowing their dark secrets. She probably didn’t care. Plus, her husband was dumb enough to believe Booth when he threatened Margaret, so I don’t think he was very good at keeping secrets from her. She was in on getting the Semple land for the natural gas from the beginning.”
Jaymee snuggled next to Nick. The strawberry scent of her shampoo made him feel ridiculously happy. “So, just so I’ve got this straight, Margaret and Booth had an on and off thing for years. She stuck with Asher because of his money and because Booth didn’t really want to commit. He tells her about Ben causing trouble, that he’s going to talk to him. Wasn’t enough Stanley basically handed Ben to the police by telling them where he’d bought the fakes.”
“And then,” Cage flipped the steaks, “while Booth was threatening Ben, Margaret stuck the needle loaded with fentanyl into his neck. Booth says he didn’t know she was going to do it, but no one believes him. Doesn’t matter, anyway. Feds have got him on plenty, thanks to the Ashers.”
Beau and Dylan Asher received immunity for testifying about the fraud, but Dylan would be charged locally with arson. He was still sitting in the Adams County Jail, terrified he’d end up in Delta Correctional with his ex, Gilbert. Beau Asher was charged with the first-degree murder of Emery Lewis. Matt Hastings and Jeb both told the same story: Beau was the ringleader. He’d been drinking that night. His idea to follow Lewis. He’d hit him first with the butt of his pistol and then wrested the axe handle away from him. Beau even knew about the cave—he just didn’t know it was a natural gas gold mine.
Yesterday, the Mississippi State Medical Examiner had confirmed the bones in the cave were Emery Lewis’s.
“I feel sorry for Grace. She’s lost two people in all of this,” Dani said.
“We’ll take care of her.” Cage pulled her close. “I’m not going to let her sit in Oak Lynn and die from her misery.”
Because the purchase of the Semple land had been accomplished with fraudulent intent and the cause of illegal zoning, the state was working on getting the land back from Norton’s empire. The state planned on mining the gas while still maintaining the integrity of the land but likely had a long legal battle ahead of them.
Matt Hastings and Jeb Riley were both charged with manslaughter for Lewis’s murder. Hastings was in Hospice and not expected to live more than another week. He claimed he hadn’t told Dani and Jaymee the full truth because he didn’t want to spend his last days in prison. Nick couldn’t blame him for that. Being trapped in a closed space is no way for a man to live his last days.
Jeb was charged with kidnapping Nick and incarcerated in the Delta Correctional Facility. Dani had promised to go see him.
“I don’t understand how anyone could hate somebody that much.” Dani poured everyone a glass of wine and started handing them out. Nick probably shouldn’t be drinking since he was still on painkillers, but he figured he’d enjoy himself tonight.
“You mean those men beating Lewis?” Jaymee asked.
“Yeah. All over skin color.”
“It’s more than that,” Cage said. “They were brought up to believe there was a fundamental difference behind that skin color. And even if intellectually they knew it wasn’t true, people don’t like to change. It’s easier to stay the course, keep your head in the sand. Accepting you’re wrong is hard work. Plus, Lewis may have had good intentions, but he went about things the wrong way. With race issues back then, finesse mattered.”
“I’d like to know what Jeb Riley was thinking.” Jaymee still harbored a healthy hate for the man. “Was he going to let you die and rot there in his funeral home?”
No one had the answer. Nick didn’t think Jeb knew himself. He’d been backed into a corner and acted out of desperation.
That’s a powerful motivator for stupidity.
“The house is totally gone by the way,” Cage said. “DNR thinks they’ve got the sinkhole managed, but it’s still touch and go.”
Apparently, the septic system beneath the defunct Riley Funeral Home had been leaking, slowly eating away at the foundation of the house. Eventually the pipes cracked and began to pull the house down. Instead of the settling Jeb believed was going on, the house was literally sinking beneath him. When the sink hole finally took the house, two of the main water pipes also burst, adding to the flood.
“Don’t burn my steak.” Nick rose to check on Cage’s progress, but Jaymee caught his arm. “Would you just relax? Enjoy the spring night before the mugginess sets in?”
He grinned and leaned back into the lounger. Carefully, she laid her head on his chest.
“You’re really moving down here?” Jaymee still sounded unsure of his decision. But he’d made it weeks ago, when the derecho was closing in on him and the car was spinning. If he came out of this alive, he was moving to Roselea, finding a job at the paper or somewhere else, and settling down with her. He wouldn’t waste another minute.
“Yes. I’ve just got to get my apartment taken care of.”
“And find a job,” Cage said. “I heard there’s an opening as county coroner. You’re as qualified as anyone as this point.”
“No, thanks. I’ve dealt with enough death.”
“What are you going to do?” Dani sat across from Nick and Jaymee. Mutt slipped out from beneath Nick’s chair and sheepishly stuck his head beneath her hand. She glared at him and then rubbed his coarse fur. “Spoiled brat.”
“I really don’t have a clue,” Nick said. “Good thing I’ve got some money saved up. And a sugar mama with a nice house.”
Jaymee grinned. “That’s my father’s house.” It was the first time she’d referred to Penn Gereau as her father, but if she realized it, she didn’t show it. “He might not like you hanging around.”
“He can deal with it.”
“I could use the help around here,” Dani said. “Cage is busy with work, and I’ve got a lot of stuff I want to get done to this place this summer. If you don’t mind manual labor. I might even pay you a real salary.”
“Aren’t you thoughtful?”
“That’s what friends are for.”
Down the hill, toward the trees, a bird started a racket. A hawk emerged from the oaks, followed closely by two angry, smaller birds. “Mockingjays?” Nick guessed.
Jaymee gave him a squeeze. “You’ll be a country boy yet.”
Cage snorted. “Keep dreaming.”
“That’s okay,” Dani said. “Nick and I will be city kids together.”
Nick stretched out his legs. “Good God. In league with a Yankee.”
Dani laughed. “Damned right.” She jumped up and joined Cage at the grill.