Make It Right (25 page)

“I want to be the one to kill her, Amelia. I need to be the one.” James tore the earpiece from his ear and threw it in the same direction as the binoculars. “I need to be the one.”

“I get it. I really do.” Amelia left her phone on her lap, but she didn't dial Danny’s number. As long as Missy died, did it really matter who killed her? And maybe killing her would help James to find some sort of peace. She owed him that much.

James drove directly past where Harris was still throwing her fit. The blonde woman never even noticed them. Amelia had the window down enough to hear the stream of profanity she was unleashing on the two officers. The train station wasn't far, but the drive seemed to take an eternity. By the time that they were finally there she was sure that she was going to throw up from the sheer nerves.

“There are two different tracks,” James said as he parked the truck. “We're going to have to split up. There's no way to tell where she'll be going.”

There was no way to know which side Missy was going to be on. “Alright. So what, whoever finds her kills her?”

“If you find her, don't let her see you. Give me your phone.” He took the phone, programmed a contact on it. “That's my number. You call me and I'll get there. Trust me, I'll get there.”

“Alright. I'm going to call Danny now.”

“I'll see you up there.”

They headed up two different staircases. Amelia dialed Danny's phone and got no answer. She left a tense message and shoved her phone back into her pocket. The train platform wasn't very crowded, but there were enough people that she'd be able to blend in.

Amelia flipped up the hood on her sweatshirt and walked along. Each time that she spotted a blonde woman, her heart began to race a little faster, but disappointment followed when the women weren't who she was looking for. Missy must have been on the other side. She looked over, saw James. He was also wearing his hood. He'd hunched himself over to make himself seem shorter.

Maybe they were at the wrong place. Maybe she'd made the wrong decision to bring them to the train station. Missy could have called a friend. She could have paid someone to drive her out of town. There were a million options. She shouldn't have focused on this one, the wrong one.

Amelia stopped dead in her tracks as she realized that she might just have signed the death warrant of everyone in Nightshade.

“You've got to be fucking kidding me.” Missy hissed the words in Amelia's ear. “All I wanted was to get out of this town but no, you've got to show up here. That was a big mistake.”

Amelia remained still as she felt something sharp press against her side, there was a stinging pain and she felt warm blood pool beneath her sweatshirt. “What do you want, Missy?”

“I want you to say hi to your sister for me. That's what I want. Walk forward. Now.”

Warning bells went off in Amelia's mind as she heard the distorted mechanical voice announcing the next train that was going to pull into the station. When she didn't move, Missy pressed the knife against her side again.

The pain of the blade piercing her flesh made Amelia cry out. Several people looked over, but they all looked away just as fast. One of the perils of a big city was how people could ignore what was happening right beneath their noses.

Amelia realized that the way James laughed earlier hadn't been about humor, it had been about hysteria. It was what she felt as she began to move forward. “You're not going to get away with this.” With all the shit that Missy had done, there was no way she could. There had to be some sort of payback for her actions. There just had to be.

“Are you talking about Monroe? He can try to get here in time, but he won't. You've got a train to catch.” Missy sounded so smug, so pleased with herself, that it actually made Amelia want to throw up. She knew without a doubt that there was no way Missy thought she could get caught or be stopped and she intended to prove her wrong.

Amelia looked down the track. She could see it approaching and realized that Missy intended to push her in front of it. “I'm not talking about Monroe.” She took a deep breath, steeled herself for whatever pain might follow. “I'm talking about me.” Missy stuck the knife deeper. Amelia screamed but struck out anyway. She turned and swung wildly, felt her fist connect with Missy's jaw. The shock made Missy stumble and she dropped the knife.

It was covered in blood, Amelia's blood. Some part of her brain recalled that adrenaline could mask pain. She pressed her hand to her side, nearly passed out from the pain, and it came away covered with blood. “MISSY!” The voice was familiar, but it took Amelia a moment to realize that it was Royal. Missy turned to face him. The train horn blared; she could feel the vibration as it approached the
station. Royal lunged forward, tackling Missy, and together they both seemed to fly off of the raised platform.

The train hit them both. Someone screamed. Amelia felt something thick and warm splash on her. She looked down and realized that it was blood, or more accurately bloody chunks of flesh. Someone screamed again and Amelia realized that she was the one screaming.

She was aware of the people around her, the pure chaos that had erupted. Other people were screaming, sobbing. Someone was talking loudly on the phone to a 911 dispatcher. Someone else was narrating the scene, and when she looked over she saw it was a teenage girl with her cell phone recording the carnage. “This is totally going to go viral,” the pleased girl told her friend standing net to her.

“Miss? Are you okay? Oh my, you're bleeding.” A concerned stranger, a man in a nice suit, laid a hand on her arm and Amelia nearly jumped out of her skin.

“I'm fine. It's not mine. It's from...” she just motioned towards the tracks and the carnage there.

“You should sit down. The police are on the way, I'm sure that there will be ambulances here.” The man tried to urge her towards the benches for commuters but all Amelia wanted was to leave. She shook her head and backed away from him. After a few steps Amelia realized that she should have sat down. Her sweatshirt was soaked in blood, and it wasn't from Missy or Royal. It was from where Missy had stabbed her. “Miss! I really think that you should sit down.”

Amelia ignored the man and continued to walk. People stopped and stared. Of course they would, she was covered in blood and goo. They probably didn't realize that some of it was hers, but she did. It was hard to think or focus. The adrenaline was wearing off and she was wearing down. “Amelia!” James shouted her name. “Christ, look at you.”

“She's dead.”

“I know. I heard Royal scream, looked over and saw it all. You were right there. Right there. I'm sorry, Amelia. I should have taken this side. I should have...”

“She's dead,” Amelia repeated. “It's over. It's over. It's finally over.” Saying the words made it real. Relief washed over her. The woman who had taken her family from her was dead. And with her death, they all had the chance to live again. Nightshade would continue to work with Joseph Miller, and life would return to normal, or at least what passed for normal with them.

“Amelia?” James frowned. “You're not looking so good. Are you bleeding?”

“She stabbed me a little in the side. Maybe I should be sitting down.” She took a step, stumbled a bit from the pain. “Yeah, I think sitting down is a good idea.”

“We've got to get you to the hospital.”

“No.” That was the last thing they needed to do. The hospital would have to report the stabbing. It would be too many questions. “It's not that bad. Just get me out of here. Get me home.” Amelia gripped his arm hard. “Get me out of here and find Danny.”

Chapter Nineteen

It was downright depressing inside Foxy Bend during the middle of the day. Only one woman was working, and she was having trouble staying on the stage. She'd gone nowhere near the pole in the time that Danny and Ace had been inside. Not that Danny was watching, she wasn't his type, but he couldn't help but noticing.

The half dozen patrons didn't seem to care. Most of them weren't even watching her, they were more interested in the draft beers and cheap luncheon meat sandwiches the place offered on the buffet. Most had been there since it opened, one had been there since the night before and no one had seen Missy.

“Where next?” Ace questioned.

“No fucking clue.” Danny walked over to the bar where a dark-haired woman was reading something on a tablet. “Excuse me, could we get a couple of bottles of water?”

“Sure. Smart move with the bottles. You do not want to drink out of these glasses. I'm Karen, by the way.”

“I'm Danny. He's Ace. Do you know who we are, Sweetheart?”

“I sure do, which is why there's no charge for the water.” She set two bottles on the counter. “Something else I can do for you?”

“You seen this woman around?” Ace had printed out a picture of Missy. "If not today, maybe in the last few days?”

“No. We don't get many women who aren't working in here. Why?”

“We need to find her. I'm going to leave you a number so that you can call if you do happen to see her. Got a pen?” Karen handed him one, and he wrote his number down on a napkin. “It's really important.”

“I figured it was, or you wouldn't be here in the middle of the day.” Karen took the number. “I'll call, but honestly, the crowd you see is the crowd that tends to be here during the day. And like I said, if women aren't working they're not hanging out here.”

“Why are you here?”

“Because I need the money. I can do my schoolwork back here. I've got a big project due, so if you don't have any more questions I'd like to get back to it.” She looked down as her tablet chimed.

“We don't have any more questions.” Danny grabbed one of the water bottles and opened it. He reached for his phone, intending to call Amelia, but before he could dial, he saw that he had a missed call. He dialed back, waited as the phone rang and rang. “I hate when Amelia calls me and doesn't answer when I call her back.”

“She leave a message?” Ace leaned against the bar.

“Yeah.” Danny listened to it. “Fuck me. They found her. They think she's at the train station.”

“Wait, the train station?” Karen interrupted. “Sorry to eavesdrop but I just got a news alert, there's two people dead at the train station. They're saying a man shoved a woman onto the tracks and then jumped himself.”

Danny didn't wait to hear anything else. He started for the door with Ace right behind him. They said nothing as they got into the truck. He tried Amelia again and again. And again. “Don't smash the phone,” Ace warned him. “Just keep on trying her.”

“What if it was her and Monroe? What if he fucking snapped?”

“It's not them.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Ace replied. “Hold on, isn't that Monroe's truck?” He took a sharp turn and stopped behind the truck. “And this is where Jillian works.” Danny jumped out, ran over to the truck and saw
Amelia in the front seat.

“What the fuck? Amelia?” The window was up, her eyes were closed and she was covered in blood. He tried the door and it opened. “Amelia!” He shook her shoulder and her eyes opened.

“Hey.” She smiled. It was a weak smile, but still it was a smile.

“What happened? Why are you here? Where's James?”

“He went inside to get Jillian.”

“Are you hurt? Where's all this blood from? What the fuck happened?”

“Missy's dead. Royal's dead too. He... he jumped off the platform as he pushed her... the train... this is... from when the train hit. Well, some of it is at least. They're dead.”

“And you're hurt. Is that why James is getting Jillian? Where the fuck is she?” Danny demanded. “Fuck. You should be at a hospital.”

“Too many questions at a hospital and you know that.”

Danny looked over. “What the hell are you waiting for?” He demanded when he saw James and Jillian coming out the front door.

“Sorry, but I had to clean out my cubby in the back before I left, since someone came busting in to my place of employment, made a scene and got me fired.” Jillian replied.

“Get in the truck,” Danny told her.

“I'm getting a little sick of being told what to do,” Jillian replied. “And I'll help Amelia because I like her. After that I'm done with all of you. Got it?” The woman was practically shaking. He wasn't sure if it was with rage or if it was because she was scared.

“Fix my girl and I don't give a fuck what you do after,” Danny replied. “She's covered in blood. I think in shock.”

“She's bleeding. I did what I could to stop it,” James informed him. “She tangled with Missy, got stabbed a few times.”

“Stabbed?” Danny looked over at Amelia. “You didn't think to mention that?” He demanded.

Ace whistled sharply, drew all of their attention. “Why don't we continue this somewhere else? Say your place, Danny? Jillian can take a look at Amelia and they can fill us in on what happened. Right now, we're pretty much just making a spectacle while your Old Lady bleeds all over Monroe's truck.”

“It's okay. The finance company is about to repossess it anyway.” James shrugged his shoulders. “Shit happens, right?”

Danny looked over at Amelia when she laughed at the words, but the laughter faded. Pain flashed over her face. “My place it is. I'm driving. Give me the keys. In fact, you ride with them.” He snarled the words at Monroe, barely resisting the urge to strike the other man repeatedly in the face. “And when all this is done, we're going to have a talk about how you let this fucking happen.”

“Danny, it's not his fault.” He heard Amelia's protest and ignored it. All he could think about was how close she had to have been to them when they died in order to have that much blood and gunk on her. Close enough to the tracks that he was lucky she hadn't gone over the edge. “Danny.” It was harder to ignore her as she tugged on his arm when he got behind the wheel.

“Where was he?”

“We had to split up. There were two tracks.”

“You didn't have to split up. He should have stayed with you.” Danny started the truck.

“Don't be a douche.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don't be a douche. Ding Dong, the witch is dead. We should be celebrating and not arguing. You leave James alone. Maybe you should ask Edge and Rock how Royal sneaked out from right under their noses.”

“That's a good question.” Danny took out his phone. “I called you back like fifteen times. Why didn't you answer?”

“My phone got all covered in blood. It's not working. Doubt it ever will again. Go on and make your phone calls, I'm just going to rest my eyes a little until we get home.” Amelia shifted in the seat, winced and shut her eyes. “Can you turn the heater up? I'm cold.”

Danny turned up the heater and pushed the truck as hard as he dared in traffic. The last thing that they needed was to get pulled over. Buster answered on the first ring. “It's me. Call Miller. It's done. You hear about that shit at the train station?”

“Of course I did. Jesus, Monroe pushed her in front of a fucking train?”

“Not Monroe. Royal,” Danny corrected. “Which leads to the question, how did Royal get out from underneath Rock and Edge's fucking noses?”

“No clue, Brother, but you can bet your ass we're going to find out. Get back here. We've still got a lot to do.”

“Amelia's hurt. I've got to get her back to the house. Jillian is going to check her out. I can be there after.”

“No.” Buster told him. “We'll come to you. I'd like to hear what happened from Amelia. I'll give you some time to get her looked at and settled in.”

“Sounds good. See you soon.” Danny hung up the phone. The conversation that he just had with Buster made him realize that Nightshade was heading into a new chapter. Royal would have insisted that he go directly there, even if Amelia was bleeding out in his lap, just like he'd had Danny on a run at Fiona and Taylor's memorial service.

“I'm going to be fine, so if you need to go you can.” It only took one look at her for him to know that she was telling the truth, she'd be okay with it if he left. Once again Amelia was proving that she understood what Nightshade meant to him and was willing to accept it coming before her. Danny was lucky, really lucky, and in that moment he realized just how much.

“I don't need to go anywhere. The guys are coming to us. Buster wants you to tell him what happened if you're feeling up to it. If you're not feeling up to it, he'll wait. It's up to you, Amelia. Buster's not going to make you talk.” He heard the emotion in his voice, and so did she. Her hand moved to his thigh. “Don't start something that you're not capable of finishing.”

It was a desperate attempt to lighten the mood. She chuckled in response. “I'll try to control myself.” But she kept her hand on his leg, her fingers moving in random patterns over his jeans.

“We're almost home. Jillian can get you sorted out and then you're getting into bed and staying there if I have to handcuff you there to keep you there. You could have been killed today.”

“I could have been, but I wasn't. You might not want to hear this, but the only reason that I'm alive right now is because of Royal. Missy was intent on getting me in front of that train. I'm pretty sure she'd have been successful, but then he was there and they were both gone.”

“Tell me everything.”

“I'd rather just tell it once. It'll be easier. Right now, we should talk about how you're not going to sell James any shit for what happened. It wasn't on him. I knew that there were risks to splitting up. It was less of a risk than letting her get away and effectively killing all of us. So, leave him alone. Please.”

“Fine. He gets a pass this time, but he should have been more careful,” Danny grumbled. If going at James upset her, it wasn't worth it. “Anything else?”

“Remember to thank Jillian. She seemed pretty upset. James sort of went in there like a bull. I've been looking for work, it's not easy to find.”

“Yeah. I think that she's pretty serious about not dealing with us anymore. She's done it before. Until she helped James, she kept clear of us. Never really got a feel for her.”

“I think she and Edge had it rough. Her mother died when they were young. I got the impression her father was a piece of work. He's dead now, too. It's just them. Or it was just them until Edge found Nightshade.” Amelia sighed. “I guess we've all got our story, right?”

“Right. Ours is going to have a happy ending, Amelia. I promise you that. And tomorrow, I don't care if you've got a dress or not, we're going and getting married. I'm not waiting any more for you to be my wife.”

“I am your wife, Danny. I always have been.” She held out her wrist, which was no longer covered by the leather bracelets it had been when she came back. “Even though I signed those papers, I was still your wife. It's why I couldn't stay. A piece of paper doesn't change anything, at least not for me.”

Danny reached out to grab her hand, brought her wrist over so he could press his lips to it. “Not for me either, Amelia.”

“We can still go and have the ceremony, though. I did find a dress.” She smiled widely at him. “I won't be as sexy as I'd hoped in the little something I bought for after the ceremony, not with being bandaged up.”

“You'll be sexy,” Danny assured her. “You're even hot right now and you're covered in...”

“People?”

“Yeah, you're even hot covered in people.” He had to laugh. “And look at that, we're home.” He parked in the driveway. “Stay there. I'll come around and get you. I could use the practice carrying you over the threshold.”

<#<#<#

Danny sat down on the front steps, lit a cigarette and let out a sigh. He had a headache, he was tired and he just wanted to go inside and sleep. But he wouldn't. Instead, he'd ride with his Brothers to go and meet Joseph Miller. After all, they'd met his terms.

The door opened and the porch creaked. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jillian. “Hey.” He rose to his feet. “Heading home?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me get one of the guys to give you a ride,” Danny offered. “I really appreciate you helping us out tonight, and I'm sorry about the job. Phil's a good guy. I'll go and talk to him tomorrow, try and make it right.” He'd grease the man's palm if he had to.

“You don't need to do that. The job sucked anyway, and I talked to my part-time job, I can pick up more hours there. And I don't need a ride. I like walking.”

“It's dark. Late and cold as all hell. Let someone give you a ride. I'll take you myself, just let me grab my keys. Or let me get your brother. No way he's going to be cool with you walking home.”

“I said that I'm good,” she snapped. “And Amelia's going to be good, too. Just make sure that she takes it easy for a few days and keep the bandages clean.”

“I will.” Danny decided not to push the issue with her walking home. He'd just wait until she'd left and go inside and get Edge. Or Ace. They were the only two she seemed to trust at all. She'd only made it down the walkway when a dark sedan pulled up at the curb. “Get back in the house, Jillian.” He tossed his cigarette.