Chasing Shadows (15 page)

“Burdens? Who's Henry? She did this for money?” Kris had never faced evil before and had certainly never expected it to come from someone like Vivian, who appeared like such a nice motherly type.

“Henry's my son.”

The words barely registered. Kris's gaze was riveted to the hypodermic needle Vivian pulled out of her sweater pocket. Alarm swamped Kris in a violent wave. “What are you planning to do?”

“Rid myself of you. You've made me very angry. I don't like to be angry. It's not pleasant.”

The words were delivered with a congenial smile as if she were talking about something mundane rather than about something as insane as murder. Kris's muscles tensed. Every fiber of her being screamed attack before Vivian could do anything. Mentally, Kris picked out the other woman's vulnerable spots—eyes, throat, knees, instep.

“Krissy?”

Kris jumped in surprise at the sound of her grandmother's reedy voice. Sadie stared up at Kris, her cloudy blue eyes full of confusion and fear.

Kris squeezed Sadie's arm. “Shh. It's going to be okay.”
Oh, please, let it all be okay. God help us. Send Gabe.

“Hmm, I didn't take you as a liar,” Vivian said as she moved closer, trapping Kris against the bed railing.

Kris planted both hands on Vivian's chest and shoved. Vivian stumbled back a step. Keeping herself between the madwoman and her grandmother, Kris ground out, “I'm not a liar. God will protect us. You and your evil are not wanted here.”

Vivian gave a short laugh. “Ha. Let's see how well He protects you from this.” She raised the needle high and lunged toward Kris's neck.

Using both hands, Kris grabbed Vivian's wrist, and with every ounce of strength she possessed held her attacker at bay. But Vivian was strong, stronger than Kris would have imagined.

Enough of this! Kris rammed her knee into Vivian's stomach, but they were so close because of the bed, Kris's angle was off, making the blow less powerful. A swoosh of air left Vivian but she didn't relent. Instead, she seemed to gain strength, pushing forward. Kris kicked repeatedly, connecting with Vivian's shin. Unfazed, Vivian bared her teeth with a guttural growl.

Disbelief and fear clawed at Kris's mind.
Please, God.
Hanging on to Vivian's wrist, Kris bent backward, nearly lying atop Sadie.

“Oh, my. Oh, no. Help!” Sadie screamed, her weak voice barely carrying from the bed.

Taking her grandmother's cue, Kris began to scream while keeping her whole focus on the sharp tip of the needle held inches above her skin and moving ever closer.

She
so
did not want to die. There was still so much she had to do in her life, so much unsaid. She wanted to tell Gabe she loved him.

 

A woman's scream filled the hallway.

Gabe's heart slammed against his chest with terror as he raced toward Sadie's apartment. Not even taking the time to see if the lock had been engaged, he used
his good shoulder as a ramming device, throwing all his weight against the door.

The lock did indeed pop and the door swung open. Gabe stumbled forward, quickly regained his balance and sucked in a terrified breath at the sight of Kris locked in a deadly battle for control of a syringe held in the tight grip of the shorter, elderly woman whose picture he'd just seen on a rap sheet.

Rage colored the world as he shot forward, his arms encircling Vivian Kirk in a bear hug. In a swift movement, he easily lifted the older woman off the floor and dumped her in the corner. Angie had stormed in right behind him and already had her cuffs out. Vivian greeted her with curses as Angie and an officer worked to subdue her.

“Krissy!” Sadie's weak cry instilled fear in Gabe's soul and brought his attention flying back around to see Kris sink to the floor. Were they too late? Had Kris been injected with a drug?

His heart cried out to God.
Please, no. Show me You love me. Don't let her die.

Gabe dropped to his knees and gathered Kris in his arms. Her breathing was shallow and her pupils dilated with shock.

He searched her neck for a puncture wound with trembling fingers. Her delicate skin was unmarred. The needle hadn't made contact. Adrenaline drained from his veins and left him feeling light-headed. He hadn't been too late.

Around them the room became a buzz of activity as more law enforcement personnel arrived, taking Vivian away, and the retirement center's medical staff rushed in
to care for Sadie. Nurse Annie checked Kris's vitals and confirmed that Kris was in shock but would be all right.

Relieved, Gabe smoothed back Kris's hair. “Kris, honey, you're okay. I'm here.”

“Gabe?” Kris blinked, her gaze focusing on him. “Grams?”

“She's fine.”

Kris stiffened. “Vivian!”

“Dealt with,” he replied. “You don't have to worry about her anymore.”

Kris's lip trembled. “The missing residents are dead. She killed them.”

Though he'd suspected as much, the knowledge left a bitter taste. “She'll be going away for the rest of her life.”

Kris clutched at his shirt. “She had help. Her son Henry and Ms. Faust.”

Gabe blinked, stunned to learn that Henry was Vivian's son. And Frank, for that matter. Okay, that added another twist. One he'd sort out later. “Don't worry. Henry and Ms. Faust are in custody. You and Sadie are both safe now.”

“What about Gina and Don? Are they okay? That woman poisoned them!”

Gabe had guessed that was the cause of both bodyguards' and several nurses' sudden illnesses and had dispatched paramedics to the center while Angie drove him at a breakneck speed to Miller's Rest. “They're being cared for. Though Don was found crawling his way here from the men's room. He was trying to do his job, but…he's pretty sick.”

Kris melted against him with a sigh of pure relief. “You're here. I prayed you'd come.”

Tears burned the back of Gabe's eyes. He lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the chaotic room to a quiet alcove down the hall. “He answered both of our prayers.”

She sat next to him on the couch. She stared at him, her clear blue eyes wide. “You prayed? For me?”

Tightening his hold on her, Gabe nodded. “I told Him if He really loved me, to show me by keeping you safe.”

Her expression fell slightly. “You can't bargain with God. That's not true faith.”

“Ah, but I'm a Doubting Thomas, remember? I needed a little visual aid to help in my faith.”

She seemed to consider his words for a moment, then relaxed back against his chest. “You know Thomas went on to preach the gospel throughout the world.”

Gabe kissed the top of her head. “Let's just take things one step at a time, okay? God and I have to get to know each other a bit first.”

She snuggled closer and lifted her face. “I can live with that. And I have to tell you—” She tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth.

He smoothed back her hair. “What?”

“I love you.”

Unexpected joy exploded in his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, to say…what? He didn't know. He clamped his lips tight. All the emotions he'd been holding back since he'd first met her eight years ago expanded, making his heart ache.

Something in his expression must have made her believe the worst, because she put her fingers to his lips.

“I know you don't believe in love and I'm not telling
you this to make you feel bad or guilty. I just…For a moment, I thought Vivian might win and I hadn't told you.” A tear rolled down her cheek and dropped to soak into his shirt.

Gabe pulled her to his chest and held on tight. “You were scared. Everything's going to be all right now.”

He wanted to tell this strong, spirited, brave and beautiful woman she was wrong, he
did
believe in love. She'd taught him that love was there all along, he just hadn't recognized it. But common sense told him that he should wait for a more appropriate time. Like next Saturday night when they went on their date.

He eased away from her. He had no other choice. If he didn't get moving, he'd give in to her inviting lips and kiss her. Not a good idea when there was so much that was still unresolved in their lives. “Is it okay if we talk about all of this later?”

She wrapped her arms around her middle and nodded.

He could only pray that love would be enough.

 

Kris paced the living room of her apartment waiting for Gabe to arrive for their date. It had been nearly a week since she'd seen him, though he had called several times to check on Sadie. And when he'd called earlier today, he wouldn't tell her where they were going, so she'd had to guess on the appropriate attire and went with soft tan cords and a lightweight rainbow-striped sweater. She'd pulled her hair back into a ponytail and applied a touch of mascara.

Maybe he hadn't told her what the plan was because there wasn't one.

She was sure her declaration of love had shocked him and probably built a higher wall between them. His promise to “talk about this” was probably nothing more than his segue to a royal rejection. A repeat of the past.

Taking deep cleansing breaths, she tried to keep her mind and heart from throbbing with conjecture. She'd taken a risk in telling him of her love. She had to be prepared for him to walk away again. Just as he had eight years ago. Only this time, she wouldn't regret loving him. He'd taught her so much about life and helped her to see her family in a new light. She'd do whatever it took, no matter how long or how hard it would be to make him see they belonged together.

Her heart would always belong to Gabe Burke.

Anticipation held back the exhaustion she should have been feeling. Sleep hadn't come easily since that fateful day when Vivian attacked her. And every day Kris had spent time with Sadie as the doctors worked to rid her body of the toxins Vivian had given her. Even Kris's parents had visited the center. Kris was relieved to confirm she'd misjudged her parents. There were so many layers to their relationship with Sadie that Kris had been unaware of. She supposed neither her parents nor Sadie had explained the many facets in an effort to protect her, from what she wasn't sure.

The knowledge was freeing in some ways, yet left Kris emotionally on new and unfamiliar ground. She felt like she was finally seeing her parents through adult eyes. Took her long enough.

She glanced at the clock. Just a few more minutes and Gabe would arrive. She couldn't wait to see him. He'd
become such an important part of her life again. He'd saved her life.

And now her future hung in the balance. Nervous energy had her quickening her steps.

She jumped when the buzzer sounded. She depressed the intercom. “Yes?”

“It's Gabe.”

Her heart rammed against her ribs as she pushed the button to let him into the building.

After taking a second to quickly check her appearance in the mirror on the wall, she opened the door.

Gabe strode down the hall toward her, looking handsome in jeans and a leather bomber. His jaw was cleanly shaven and his hair neatly combed back. But it was the sparkling light in his green eyes as he stopped in front of her that caused her pulse to leap. Could it be love? Or was that just wishful thinking?

“May I come in?” he asked.

Heat suffused her cheeks. She couldn't believe she was just standing there staring like a dummy without even greeting him. Her nerves were really getting to her. She stepped aside. “Hi. Of course, please, come in.”

He crowded past her, sending her senses reeling with the clean, spicy scent of his aftershave. She noticed a garment bag hung from his fingers. She inclined her head toward the bag. “What do you have there?”

“We'll get to that,” he said and laid the bag across the back of a chair before sitting on the couch. He held out his hand. “Come here.”

She swallowed back rising trepidation. He wasn't going to waste any time rebuffing her love. She sat
beside him, their knees touching, an achy kind of dread creeping over her.

He gathered her hands in his. “Let me bring you up to speed on everything. Vivian Kirk confessed to killing Carl Remming, Lena Street, Denise Jamesen and Debra Palmer.”

Kris shuddered with the remembered fear of her struggle with Vivian. If not for Gabe, Kris could be dead right now. “She'd said she was relieving them of their burdens. Did she explain that?”

Gabe lifted a shoulder. “She's insane. She really believed she was helping them in some twisted way.”

“What about her son?”

“Sons,” he said. “Henry Hayes, the mortuary owner, is her son and so is Frank, the janitor.”

Kris dropped her jaw. “Really?”

“Seems the boys' father took off with them when they were little. Vivian found her sons some years later after their father died and took custody of them. They were completely under her control. And it seems Ms. Faust and Henry were romantically involved.”