Sworn to Be His (The Archer Family Book 3) (10 page)

Something wasn't right here. She didn't know what it was, but something about him, his touch, his desperation; it was all ever so slightly off.

Why would a guy like Zac be so desperate to see her tonight? And why was he so clearly lying about his conversation with Derrick?

After all, it had taken her nearly four months to get Derrick to admit anything about himself when they'd first started working together. There was simply no way that Zac had managed to crack the other man's silence in a matter of hours.

No, something wasn't right here. And maybe it was high time she started trusting her gut and figuring out what that problem was.

Zac lifted his grip from her wrist. "Sorry, I must have gotten carried away. I just didn't know what other chance I had and—"

"It's fine. I'm, um, going to get back to work, though." And with that, she shook him off and started pouring over every inch of unfiled paperwork on her desk.

Or, at least, that had been her plan. When she got there, she discovered that, along with the room of records, her desk had been ransacked, too. The stacks of paper Derrick had left for her were gone, and in their place was a big pile of nothing.

She blinked, and then sank into her desk chair, trying her best to make sense of everything that had happened in the last 72 hours. With Derrick. With the case. With Zac.

And when she got to the root of it, she knew there could be only one solution—everything was connected. She just had to figure out how.

So she waited, biding her time as the clock ticked by the minutes and hours to the end of their day. Carefully, she watched Zac as he moved about the office, talking to one detective or the next and making it look like he was hot on the case.

After all, maybe he was.

But there was only one way to know for sure.

When it was time to go home, she slipped out the door early and waited in her car until she saw Zac pull out of the parking lot. Waiting a decent amount of time, she pulled out after him, tailing him to the best of her ability.

It was a risk, she knew. Since she'd gone to the academy, and he'd transferred his training from the military, there was no telling what his skills might be in stealth operations. But one thing she did know? She couldn't afford to care right now.

So, when his car turned into the parking lot of the Slippery Beaver, she followed him with a heavy, suspicious heart.

D
errick was right
.

Jade blinked, unable to tear her gaze from the stripper gyrating in front of a very interested Zac. Beside him, one of the guys she recognized from the case board nudged his arm and laughed about something.

I have to get out of here.

The thought struck her sudden and sharp like a knife between the ribs. She'd already pressed her luck this far. If Zac hadn't noticed her by now, it was only a matter of time until one of the guys turned around and remembered her from the other night.

Or worse, until Zac himself happened to glance over to the bar and saw her for himself.

She hitched her purse higher on her shoulder, sliding from the stool just as quickly as she could, but one of the girls was already striding toward her with long, quick steps. "Don't go so soon, sweetheart. Don't you want a dance?"

"Um, no thank you." Jade mumbled, and the woman, a breasty, barely-clad woman with long, dark hair, offered her another coy smile.

"No need to be shy, sweetie," she said in her most velvety voice, and then it happened.

As the dancer grazed Jade's arm with one slender palm, Zac shifted in his seat and caught sight of them. No doubt hoping for some girl-on-girl action, he turned toward them and Jade watched as the recognition triggered behind his eyes.

She'd been made.

"Shit," she muttered, and then sprinted for the door with the other woman still saying something after her. Jade couldn't make out the words, but she knew they didn't matter. All she cared about was getting back to the station. Getting to Derrick.

Getting the hell out of Dodge.

Revving her engine, she bolted from the parking lot at top speed, zig zagging into a side street she hoped the guys wouldn't think to check. She had five minutes at the most before they found her.

Just five minutes.

She reached for her radio, knowing she should call the station, but in her panic she dialed the only number she could think of.

"Detective Archer," his gruff voice sounded over the line.

"Derrick, it's Jade."

"Jade where the hell did you go? I got to the office and—"

"There's no time." She breathed, checking her rear-view mirror just as a black Lincoln pulled out behind her.

Double shit.

"Look, you were right. Zac was the guy. He's the mole."

"How do you know?"

"Because he's currently trying to kill me." The sound of a car backfiring and then a loud metallic plunk let her know that guns had been drawn and the gasket just above her tire had caught gunfire.

"Jesus," she muttered. In all her time as a detective, she'd never once been in a firefight. With a shaking hand she fumbled for her sidearm and cocked it, hoping to God she wouldn't need to use it.

She already had more than enough blood on her hands.

"Oh my God, Jade, tell me where you are."

"I'm on the corner of Onaowahu and Crescent. They're in pursuit and guns have been drawn."

"Hang tight. I'll be there as soon as I can. Stay on the phone if you can okay?" There was a sound of rustling behind him and she could hear the other detectives yelling for him in the background, probably wondering where he was off to in such a hurry.

"I don't want you to come. If I'd only listened this would have been different. We could have gotten him. If you come here your life is on the line."

"I know that, Jade." His answer was quiet compared to the rumble of his car starting.

"But I—" Another bullet ricocheted off her side-view mirror, splintering the glass into little crystals that flew toward the street. She caught her breath then glanced behind her again. One man was hanging out of the sunroof, his aim poised on her.

She turned suddenly, hoping to catch them off their guard, but the confusion lasted all of one minute.

"I can't lose you." She choked the words out, but they still didn't feel like enough. She needed him to understand. It was one thing to be responsible for Crystal, but to lose him too after everything that had happened...

She couldn't even begin to think about how destroyed she would be. How impossibly devastated.

"You won't lose me."

"You can't promise me that!" Another shot rang on the other side of the car, just above her tire. She pulled the wheel as hard as she could and turned into oncoming traffic. Horns blared from every direction, but she turned on her siren and raced down the street all the same, careering from one lane to the next to avoid civilians.

"Don't be so selfish," Derrick shot back and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

"What?" was all she could manage.

"You feel like you can't lose me. Imagine how I'd feel if I lost you. I'm not going to leave that to chance." As if out of nowhere, another car pulled into the street and began shooting at the man in the Lincoln, catching him in his right shoulder.

Jade glanced in the direction of the shot and saw Derrick there, perched behind his car door like it was a shield.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Keep going. I've got their tires." And just like that he got the first one, puncturing it with a single shot. The other followed in quick succession and sparks shot out from under the car as they tried to propel themselves forward and the rims met the asphalt.

"I'm not leaving you here," Jade answered, then swerved to the other side of the street, taking a second to aim before knocking out the third and fourth tires with two quick shots.

"They're still armed. They're coming for us." Derrick said, and then the muffle of his voice over the radio was replaced by the blaring of his voice on the street.

"Lay down your weapons and come out with your hands up."

Jade watched, her breath held, as Zac climbed from the driver’s seat with his hands in the air. The man in the passenger seat followed suit, and then at last the third man came out clutching his gushing wound.

"Get down on the ground." Jade called over her own speaker this time and all three men laid down slowly, carefully.

She couldn't believe it. It hadn't been easy, of course, but she didn't think it would be this simple to end things. She let out one long breath then stepped out of her car cautiously.

Another sound like car backfiring filled the too-quiet street. She glanced at Derrick, needing to know that he was all right. And he was. He was staring at her, his mouth open, shouting something she couldn't hear.

And just as quickly he was fading and blurring as the quiet turned into a buzzing. It filled her whole head, consumed her. Then it was warm. So very warm. First in one spot and then lower, spreading out through her whole body until it was one giant bonfire.

Looking down, she saw the blood. Just inside her arm. A few inches closer and it would have been her heart.

But maybe it
was
her heart. It was all too blurry to tell. To dark. So dark.

Then, all at once, it was completely black.

D
errick hadn't left
the waiting room all night.

Whether that was because the hospital staff pitied him or because they were simply too scared to cross his path, he didn't know, but he was grateful for the time regardless of the reason, and even now it still wasn't enough.

Until Jade woke, they'd leave him here, trapped like an animal and dying to see her, the regret threatening to eat him alive.

It had been so close. A few more inches and she might have...

He couldn't think about that. It was bad enough that he had to live with the image of her crumpling to the ground as he shot her gunman and called in backup. Bad enough that he hadn't gotten there in time to save her.

His phone rang and for a moment he considered ignoring it, but reluctantly he pulled it from his pocket and pressed it to his ear.

"Hello," he said.

His sister's voice answered him, confused and not a little concerned. "What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You sound like someone just punched you in the stomach."

"It's Jade." He struggled to say the rest, and before he got the chance Andy piped in.

"She didn't like this plan? That's no problem. I got a new one. I've got some PR contacts out there and—"

"No, no. I didn't even get the chance to try and win her back. Not yet, anyway."  He scrubbed a hand over his face. He'd totally forgotten about the flowers, the whole thing he'd planned to do. The second he'd heard the strain in her voice, it was like everything else had failed to exist.

"So what's the problem, then?" Andy's voice brought him back to reality.

"Jade was shot on duty."

"Oh my god," Andy breathed.

"She's okay. I'm just waiting here in the hospital. It was..." He tried to think of the words to explain the way it had felt. Like a flashback to another life he'd lived a long time ago. Like he was seeing Will's lifeless eyes staring back at him all over again.

"You don't have to tell me," Andy said. "Just promise me you'll take care of yourself. Drink some coffee. Get some sleep. Whatever you need to do."

"Right. Will do, sis." Derrick set his jaw, then said goodbye and hung up.

He didn't have time to talk right now. He only had time to sit here and stare at the nurses' station, waiting for the moment when they'd beckon him over and tell him what he needed to hear.

Until then, he'd simply have to live with the awfulness of what he'd done.

T
wo hours later
, a nurse brought him a cup of coffee.

"Wasn't sure how you took it, but I figured you'd want some." She smiled down at him. On another day, he might have been struck by how pretty her brown hair was. How kind her eyes were when she smiled. Today, she was nothing. Just a talking blob.

"Thanks," he murmured, and then sipped. He couldn't deny that the burst of energy was wanted, and he attempted a smile that he knew didn't reach his eyes.

"Your...friend is awake," she said gently, and Derrick snapped to attention, sitting up so quickly that he nearly sloshed the steaming liquid all down the front of himself.

"When can I—"

"The doctor is with her now. She got pretty bad burns from the gunpowder, but the bullet only grazed her. She should be just fine soon." The woman smiled again and this time he did get to notice the way her chubby cheeks made her look that much sweeter.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome. Once the doctor—" She turned and he followed her gaze to where an elderly man was striding from a room at the end of the fluorescent-lit hall.

"Oh, looks like they're all done. You can see her now if you'd like."

He didn't need to be told twice.

In an instant he sprang from his seat and rushed for the door he saw the doctor exiting, not bothering to acknowledge the nurses as he bustled past their station. When he rounded the door and saw her there, laying on that bed, it was nearly enough to collapse his heart.

She looked so small, so fragile.

And he needed to say the one thing he'd been thinking since he'd first heard her voice that day.

"I love you." The words rushed out of him like a gust of wind and she blinked up at him, her eyes hazy.

"What?" She sounded almost dreamy as she spoke, probably doped up on painkillers, but he didn't care. Hell, he didn't even care if she remembered this tomorrow or an hour from now. He could say it as many times as she would let him.

"I love you," he said again, and this time her eyes widened and gleamed.

"Interesting timing." She offered him a small smile, and he crossed the room until he'd reached her bedside. Taking her hand on her uninjured left side, he squeezed and said, "You scared the shit out of me."

"We're even," she said, and her head lobbed to the side as her gaze met his again.

"No way in hell are we even. Don't ever do that to me again."

"You mean I've gotta quit my weekly 'getting shot' appointment? I think I can manage."

"Jade, I'm serious. You can't—I can't—"

"
Shhhh
." She hushed him. "Don't you want to know if I love you too?"

"No," he said.

She raised her eyebrows.

"I already know you love me. I knew it even before you did."

Her soft blue eyes appraised him for a moment, then she nodded. "I do. And you did. But I still want to tell you."

"Don't," he urged her.

"And why not?"

"Because it sounds like you're saying goodbye. I don't need the big declarations. This isn't the end. The doctor says—"

"I know what the doctor says. And I'm not making any big declarations. I'm making a small one. I love you." She squeezed his hand gently, "very, very much."

"Jade, I need you to be with me."

"I'm yours." She grinned and he leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead.

"But Derrick?" Her voice caught his attention, and he reeled back.

"What's that?"

"You have to know that this wasn't your fault."

He frowned at her, not sure what to say. In all the time he'd sat in the waiting room, half of it had been spent blaming himself for the way things had gone, for not keeping a closer eye on her. Of course this was his fault. Of course—

"Not any more than Crystal's death was my fault. Or Will's death was yours," she said, and he knitted his brow, focusing on the way she licked her lips before she continued on.

"I've been thinking about it a lot. We have tough jobs, you and me. If we do this, we have to know that this is part of the deal. We're going to be in danger. But that's what makes it exciting. We can't save the world, though. You can't save the world. Or me."

"I'll always want to," he said.

"And that's why I love you." She squeezed his hand again. "But promise to be easy on yourself."

He waited a moment, turning her words over in his mind, then nodded. "Yeah. Okay. I'll try. For you."

"And for yourself."

He nodded again.

"You promise?"

"Promise."

"Then you know what?"

He shook his head.

"I'm ready for a real kiss."

So he bent down and gave her one.