Daddy's Home (34 page)

“What? You don’t know? She’s not in there?”

“From what we can decipher from your daughter, no.”

“She wouldn’t have left them,” Brendan said emphatically. “I know her. She wouldn’t have left unless she had to.”

“We’re in. I’ve got it,” the bomb squad leader yelled. “Quite a contraption he built.”

Brendan bolted to the door and barged in, wrapping his arms around both girls. Their happiness didn’t last long as the girls explained what had happened and that they didn’t know where Holly was.

Brendan’s heart sank. Holly had just come into his life, and he wasn’t about to lose her now.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Gunter’s cell phone rang. Holly was shivering and couldn’t feel her fingers, but she could hear the phone. She saw it lying on what was left of the front seat. She tried hard to reach for it, but a night in the elements had made it impossible. The phone seemed outrageously far away. She knew it was hopeless.

But the phone rang again and again and again, and Holly knew they were looking for her. She willed herself to find the energy and strength that she needed. If she wanted to live, she had to get to that phone.
I want to live. I’m going to live, God damn it!
She yelled out in pain as she forced her body to move. But she got the phone.

“Holly! Holly!” It was Chad.

She barely breathed out the word, “Yes,” before she passed out. She knew that was all that she needed to say. They could find her now.

The signal to the phone held long enough, and the troopers searching for her by air and land located her three hours after she’d answered the call.

Eighteen hours after Gunter Drake had first entered the cabin, Holly was air lifted to the closest trauma center and hospitalized. Two days later, she was released with a broken hand, twisted ankle, and some frostbite. But she was alive, and so were Meg and Chloe.

Chad and Tyler Savoy came to visit her.

“You are one helluva lady,” Tyler Savoy said after Chad officially introduced them.

“I only wanted to save the kids. I took a chance, and it paid off.”

She was seated on the sofa inside the cabin, sipping a cup of hot tea and being catered to by Brendan. The girls were still shaken, but every cop around had brought Chloe all sorts of Barbies and candy and plenty of goodies for Meg as well. The girls were being thoroughly spoiled, and they deserved it. Maddie was kind of out of the loop, but Chloe did a good job sharing all of her treats with her friend.

“If you guys hadn’t traced down Gunter Drake’s phone number and found me . . . I might have died out there. You’re the real heroes.”

“I beg to differ, Holly,” Chad said.

“Me, too. Because of your courage and what you figured out about this case on your own, and also because I’ve got a feeling about you and your gut after knowing your father, I’d like to extend an invitation for you to come and join us,” Tyler said.

“The FBI?” she said.

“Yep. You can start training at Quantico this summer after you heal up all the way.”

He grabbed a pen off the table next to her and signed her cast. Chad looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Wow. That’s quite an offer.”

“I think you might have what it takes to be a good profiler.”

“Really? You’re not only saying that because you’re my dad’s friend?”

“Nope. Besides, your father can be a real you-know-what, and if you come to work for me, I’ve got a feeling he’ll be bugging me from here to the moon. That should tell you how much I believe in your capabilities.”

“He’s been calling you too, huh?”

“Three times a day trying to get an update on you and what happened. I don’t know how many times I’ve relayed the story.”

“That makes the two of us. At least I convinced him to stay put on the beach drinking his Mai Tais. For now anyway.”

They all laughed.

Chad cleared his throat.

“Think about that offer, Holly. I know that you’re tired, so rest up and then make a decision. I’ve got a wife waiting for me a few miles up the road, and I promised her a bit of my time, so I’ll get going.”

“Go, go. Thanks again.”

“You can thank me by joining my team. Call me when you get home, and we can go over the details.”

After Tyler left, Chad sat down on the couch next to her, scooting her leg over a bit to make room. He took her hand. “Will you ever forgive me, partner?” he asked.

“Don’t give it a second thought.”

“You gonna take his offer?”

“I’m definitely going to consider it. My dad was a federal agent, you know. I think it’s a good offer. And I’m not sure if I fit with this team anymore.”

“That’s silly.”

“No, it’s not, and you know it.”

Neither one of them said anything for a few moments. Holly was right. Things had changed quite a bit between all of them.

“So I think we figured out how the messed up DNA got inside Shannon McKay’s body,” Chad said, breaking the tense silence.

“Darla Monroe or Jennifer Drake put it inside her before she was dead. I figured it out, too. James and Monroe went to play with Shannon earlier in the evening. Monroe knew of Gunter’s plan, even egged him on a bit, always wanting to make her brother happy and do what he wanted and needed. Monroe had sex with James, and then she collected it, which is totally disgusting but it worked. Monroe then stuck James’ semen inside Shannon, probably with a baster. It had Monroe’s menses on it, not Shannon’s. No one was the wiser. Monroe knew her brother would kill the poor woman, and so she planned it in hopes of setting up James and then being able to convince Gunter to be with her.”

“Wow, you are good. I hadn’t figured out the psychology of it all.”

“Your girlfriend should have.”

“That fire has died down.”

Holly decided not to ask. She honestly didn’t want to know. Besides, if she knew her partner like she thought she did, he’d work it out with the tall blonde. Chad was a sucker when it came to women, and it didn’t take much for a pretty one to keep him under her spell.

“Um, Holly.”

“Yes.”

“There’s something I need to say to you.”

“What?” She could tell this was serious. He didn’t speak for a minute then took in a long breath.

“I wanted to say that I love you, you know, I mean that you mean a lot to me, to us—the team, and I hope you stay with the team. We really do need you.”

She thanked him, but deep inside her she knew there was something else he needed to tell her. What it was, she wasn’t sure, and because it seemed so heavy, she didn’t think she really wanted to know anyway. She’d had enough heaviness to last her a lifetime. Chad would have to carry whatever it was on his own.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

The news of the case was all over the media. CNN had called, and the local channels were ringing the phone off the hook. Greenfield had sent over roses and a letter of apology inviting her back on the team. A letter addressed from Tyler Savoy arrived via certified mail with a formal offer to join the FBI and to start her training at Quantico this coming summer. Everything was happening so fast that Holly was happy to be lying next to Brendan, tucked away in a cabin miles from the one in Mammoth. They were now in Lake Tahoe where the reporters couldn’t find them—all expenses comped by the police department. The FBI had provided the private plane to take them to the undisclosed location. As a precaution, and in order to maintain some privacy, there were security guards stationed in close proximity.

The girls were asleep, all of them in a pile in the front room before the fireplace while
Legally Blonde Two
flashed on the television. Meg and Chloe both seemed to find comfort in constant sound around them after what they’d been through. The girls were still coming to terms with the violence they’d encountered in their innocent lives. Brendan went into the front room, shut the TV off, and tucked in the girls.

Now a precious silence enveloped Brendan and Holly. Holly had wondered only a few days before, as she lay face down in the icy snow about to be raped by a monster, if she would ever know such soothing feelings again.

“Been through a lot, kid,” Brendan said.

“I’ll be fine. It’s the girls I’m worried about.”

“I think they’ll be fine, too. We all have each other. We’ll get through it together.”

She liked the word
together
and knew he meant it. “I suppose we will.”

“Looks like the police force has pulled out all stops to get you back,” he said.

She laughed. “Yeah, well. They should be kissing my butt. But you know what? I don’t know if I’m going back.”

“Thinking about taking Tyler Savoy up on his offer?”

“Just thinking.”

“Ah, jeez, Holly, I don’t know if I could take you being any more Charlie’s Angels on me.”

“It’s what I do, Brendan. Well, maybe not exactly with the finesse of Cameron Diaz and her crew, but I want to stay in law enforcement.”

“I can’t talk you out of it, huh?”

“Nope.”

“All right, we’ll table it for now, but I’m not through putting my two cents in, you know.”

“I figured.”

Brendan kissed her on the top of her head. “Suppose that is the only place not hurting you,” he said.

“Maybe a few other places,” she said, a discreet smile on her face.

“Yeah? Like maybe here?” He kissed her nose. She nodded. “And here?” Her cheek, her eyelids, and then her lips.

Their game went on for quite some time as a fire grew between them. Holly found herself wanting him more than she’d ever wanted any man. The guilt of that desire almost made her stop as Jack’s face appeared in her mind.
Go away, would you?

“What’s the matter?” Brendan asked.

“Nothing. Kiss me again.”

He did. Pulling away, he looked at her in a way that warmed Holly to the inner core. He was so tender and sweet. She was in love, and there was no denying it. She took the initiative, surprising the both of them, and climbed on top of Brendan, making love to him fiercely, ignoring all her aches and pains, reveling in the pleasure of the moment as she rocked them both to ecstasy.

When it was over, they both inhaled deeply, neither one of them saying a word, not ever wanting to lose this moment.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Holly poured herself a second glass of Syrah, tasting the full-bodied grape flavor. She was tasting, smelling, hearing, touching anything and everything as if it were the first time. If the past couple of days had taught her something, it was that life was too short, and it was to be enjoyed. She was elated to be back in the comfort of her own house. With Christmas just a few days away, the reporters had gone on to do holiday-related stories. Hers had been told, and now was time for cheer, which suited Holly just fine.

She turned up the stereo and hummed along to the music of Ella Fitzgerald. It felt so good to be alive. It felt passionate. That was what Holly was feeling—passionate about the wine, the music, and even the onion she was busy chopping, preparing a romantic dinner for just herself and Brendan. Tomorrow night would be the big shindig, a pre-Christmas celebration dinner with Chad, Brooke, Maureen, Landon, and even Robb Carpenter. Holly was ready to let bygones be bygones, but she wasn’t sure that she wanted to go back to work with the department. More and more, the idea of working for the FBI was becoming extremely attractive. It would mean a step up. And Holly had to face it; things had changed between her and Chad. Although she knew that what he’d done by going over her head and having her removed from the team was the right thing for her, there was an issue of trust now broken. Once that trust between partners and friends was gone, it could ever be the same. Not really.

She glanced up at the clock. Brendan should be arriving in a half hour. It didn’t give her much time. The girls were all over at his house, and the two of them would be having dinner together alone. She couldn’t help but look forward to where the night would likely end up. The thought of being in his arms was an exciting prospect.

Chopping, humming, swaying, and sipping Holly was lost in her dreams when Petie suddenly started barking wildly from the other room.

“Petie,” she rang out. “Hush! What is it?”

Brendan must be early. She peered through the peephole on her front door. Maureen? All Holly could see was the back of a bushy red head. Maybe she got her night confused. She opened the door and started to say her colleague’s name when the woman turned around, gun pointed straight at her.

It was not Maureen.

Holly took a step back. It was Darla Monroe.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” the one-time blonde said.

“I’d rather not,” Holly replied.

“Well, honey, looks like you don’t have much of a choice.” Darla shoved Holly out of the way. “Nice place you got here. Why don’t you be a good girl and close the drapes for me? We don’t need any pesky neighbors seeing that we’re having a party over here, do we?”