Red Velvet Revenge (28 page)

“Jake, what are you planning?” she asked.

“It’s over,” he said. “I have to go, and I have to take the only people who know who I really am with me.”

“No, you don’t…” Mel protested.

“Take a right,” Jake told her. The conversation was clearly over as far as he was concerned.

Mel turned onto the road that Jake indicated. The truck was quiet. Mel was frantically trying to come up with an argument that might sway Jake, but she was at a loss. They were only miles away from the curve. Did Joe know what was ahead? Was there a way she could tell him?

“You know, I had an interesting case recently,” Joe said. “You’ll enjoy hearing about this, Mel.”

She looked at him, trying to make him see her eyes, which were flashing “Really? Work talk now?”

He smiled and took one hand off the dashboard to pat her hand. “Seriously, it’s a great case. You up for it, Jake?”

“Sure,” he said.

“Well, we thought it was a slam dunk,” Joe said. “We had a victim, we had the murder weapon, and we had who we thought was the killer.”

Mel saw Jake inch closer to listen. He looked like a man being thrown a lifeline, and he was trying to decide whether or not to grab it.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Well, we didn’t have the whole story,” Joe said. “Turns out the guy had been trying to protect his sister from her abusive husband. The sister had been hiding out with him, but the husband found her. He broke into the house in the middle of the night and tried to kidnap his wife. The brother heard him and tried to stop him, but the husband grabbed him by the throat. He tried to choke him to death, but the brother had a knife tucked into his waistband, and he stabbed him.”

“And that’s considered self-defense?” Jake asked.

“Yes. But see, he was so freaked-out about killing someone that he didn’t tell the police the whole story. He and his sister cooked up some crazy story about the guy tripping and falling on the knife.”

“Seriously?” Mel asked.

Joe nodded. “By the time he told us the truth, so much time had passed, it really could have messed up his defense.”

“I know what you’re trying to do,” Jake said. “And although I appreciate your good intentions, I’m not talking.”

“But, Jake, don’t you see?” Mel asked. “This is just going to make it worse.”

“No, it won’t,” he argued. “Everyone will be free to continue their lives, and they won’t ever have to know about what I did.”

“Everyone but us?” Mel asked. “Because you’re taking us with you, aren’t you?”

Jake wouldn’t meet her gaze. “I’m sorry, Mel. I really am. I wish I didn’t have to do this.”

“You don’t have to,” Joe said. “Jake, I’m an assistant DA. I know how the system works, and I can help you.”

“Pull over here on the shoulder,” Jake said.

Mel fell back in her seat, relief pounding through her. They weren’t going to meet their end on Dead Man’s Curve.

Mel hit the brakes, and they slid on the loose gravel toward the shoulder. Mel put the truck in park and went to switch the engine off.

“No, don’t switch it off,” Jake said. “Just climb out—both of you.”

Mel and Joe exchanged an alarmed glance but hurried to do as he asked. Jake moved into the driver’s seat, perched halfway out the open door and still holding the gun in his hand.

“I never planned to take you over the curve with me,” he said. “I’m sorry if I scared you. I brought you out here because I want to confess to you, so you can tell everyone that I killed Ty.”

Jake paused and looked out over the land, as if absorbing it one last time while he figured out exactly what he wanted to say.

“I killed him because he was going to kill Slim, and I couldn’t let that happen, because Slim is my uncle and he’s
a good man. What happened with Ty’s father was a freak accident, but if Ty had killed Slim, it would have been cold-blooded murder.”

“Jake, please don’t do this.” Mel took a step forward, but Jake waved the gun at her.

“No, don’t come any closer. I appreciate that you want to help, but there is no help for me now. There never has been.”

He went to pull the door shut when a squeal of wheels made them all jump. Around the corner came the cupcake van with a crazy-eyed Oz at the wheel and Lily Hazard hanging out the passenger window, holding a rifle.

Joe grabbed Mel and jumped clear, covering her with his body. The rifle let out one blast, and Mel looked up to see Jake go down.

“She shot him!” she grunted from underneath Joe. “I can’t believe she shot him!”

Joe rolled off Mel, checking her over for injuries while he helped her up.

The cupcake van skidded to a halt beside Jake’s truck, kicking up a cloud of dust. The doors flew open, and the back hatch was yanked up, and out poured all of the Hazards as well as Angie and Tate.

Slim and Tammy hurried to Jake’s side. He’d dropped his gun, and he was holding his leg and cursing.

Lily slid out of the passenger’s door and lowered her shotgun. She looked pale and shaky, and Tate reached out and took the gun while Angie folded Lily into her arms.

Mel scanned the chaos around her and saw Oz still in the driver’s seat. She squeezed Joe’s arm and said, “Help Jake.”

He nodded, and she hurried over to Oz.

“You okay?” she asked.

“I don’t think I can let go of the steering wheel,” he said.

He swiveled his head to look at her, and Mel noticed his bangs were blown back from his face, as if he’d run here and the wind had pushed his hair aside. His eyes were wide, but she wasn’t sure if it was terror or just the surprise of not looking through his usual hank of hair.

“Let me help you,” she said.

She reached into the vehicle and gently pried his fingers off the wheel. Oz let her. And once he was free, she reached over him and put the van in park and shut off the engine.

“Come on,” she said. “You’re okay now.”

She stepped back and opened the door. She helped Oz out, and he doubled over, trying to catch his breath.

“I didn’t think we were going to make it in time,” he said. “Marty and Ms. Delia saw Jake holding a gun on you and Joe. They came and told us at the van. We knew something wasn’t right, but then we couldn’t find you. Luckily, Lily spotted Jake’s truck at the old barn, so we all jumped in the van and followed him, thinking he’d lead us to you. And he did.”

Mel ran her hand down his back, trying to offer comfort. His T-shirt was hot and wet and stuck to his skin. She knew he’d sweat through the cotton in an adrenaline rush that appeared to have left him dizzy.

“No worries,” she said. “By the way, that was some sweet driving.”

Oz eased his way upright and grinned. “‘My driving is rivaled only by the lightning bolts from the heavens!’”

Mel grinned. “
Cannonball Run
. Nice.”

They tapped knuckles.

“Come on, let’s check on the others,” she said.

As they rounded the truck, she saw Lily propped between Tate and Angie. A few days ago, Mel never would have believed that possible, but it seemed as if the three of them had reached some sort of understanding. She was going to have to demand answers later.

Joe was kneeling with Tammy and Slim beside Jake. Tammy had taken off her Western shirt and was now in just a tank top. She was putting pressure on Jake’s leg as Slim braced him. She looked very professional, and Mel wondered what other skills the Texas beauty queen had.

“I need to call this in, Slim,” Joe said.

Slim looked up at Mel as she joined their group. He looked older than Mel had ever seen him, even after he’d been shot and Ty had been stabbed. He gave Joe a nod, and Joe stepped away from the group with his phone.

“I don’t understand, Jake. What were you thinking?” he asked.

“You need to tell him, Jake,” Mel said.

Jake’s face was screwed up in agony. He was huffing and puffing, as if trying to lasso the pain like it was a runaway bull. Finally, he drew in a shaky breath.

“I knew my cousin was a good shot,” he said. “But I’d rather not be on the receiving end of her marksmanship.”

Slim went very still. Tammy gasped. Lily, who had come forward and knelt beside Jake, looked bewildered.

“You’re Hannah’s…” Slim’s voice cracked, and he didn’t finish the sentence.

“Son,” Jake said. “I’m Hannah Hazard’s son.”

Slim sat back in the dirt with a thump. Tears welled up
in his eyes as he studied the face in front of him that was so like his and his sister’s.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve looked for you?”

Jake looked surprised. “You did?”

Slim pressed his lips together and gave a sad nod. He cupped the back of Jake’s head and pulled him close until they were forehead to forehead. Mel felt her own throat get tight, and Tammy began to silently weep.

“Daddy, what’s going on?” Lily asked. She was looking from Jake to her father and back again, and Mel wondered if she was seeing the resemblance for the first time.

“My sister, Hannah, didn’t die in a car accident,” Slim said as he leaned away from his nephew. He didn’t take his eyes off him, as if afraid he might disappear again. “My parents were ashamed, mortified really, that she’d gotten pregnant without being married. They sent her to California to have the baby. She was supposed to give it up for adoption, but she died giving birth.”

Everyone was quiet, taking in the sad ending to a young woman’s life.

“I never understood why my parents didn’t adopt the baby themselves,” Slim said. “I fought with them about it, but I couldn’t budge them. The baby was put up for adoption. I’m so sorry, son. It shouldn’t have gone that way.”

Jake nodded. He understood that it had been out of Slim’s hands.

“I tried to find you later, but the records were sealed. Did you have good parents? Did you have a good life?”

“I did,” Jake said. “It was good, real good.”

Mel wondered if she was the only one who could tell he was lying.

“Why didn’t you tell me when you first came?” Slim asked.

Jake shrugged one shoulder in embarrassment. “I wanted to check you out first. Then when I got to know you and Tammy and the girls, well, I knew that I liked you, but it was too late. Lily and Shelby both thought my mom had died in an accident, and you never contradicted them, so I thought maybe that’s what you believed, too. I wanted to tell you a million times. I just didn’t know how.”

“Aw, son.” Slim shook his head.

Lily knelt down beside Jake and looked at him. “So, you’re my cousin?”

He nodded. She sat back on her heels. “I just shot my cousin. Oh my God.”

Mel reached out and patted her arm. “It was a good call, wasn’t it, Jake?”

He lifted his head and met Mel’s gaze. “I have to tell them, don’t I?”

Joe was walking back to the group, and Mel nodded.

Jake closed his eyes as if gathering his courage. Now that the Hazards knew the truth about who he was, he seemed able to accept what had to be done.

“I stabbed Ty Stokes,” he said.

Thirty-two

“What?” Slim, Tammy, and Lily said together.

“He was the one who shot you,” Jake said. “It was supposed to kill you. He figured he’d be able to buy the rodeo from Tammy for a smoking good deal if you were dead, and then he’d rename it after his father.”

“How do you know all of this?” Slim asked.

“He told me, right before I got him with the pitchfork,” Jake said. His voice was so soft, Mel could barely hear him, and she saw a shudder run through him as he remembered the incident.

“Ty was drunk, and he had a gun. Since his first attempt at the parade failed, he was planning to shoot you again in the arena that night in front of everyone. He wanted you to die like his father did—with an audience.”

Slim looked pained. “I knew he blamed me, but I had no idea.”

The sound of approaching sirens could be heard in the distance. They were all silent for a moment, and then Slim rose to his feet and said, “We need to get you to the hospital.”

“An ambulance is on the way,” Joe said. “Hospital first, but he will need to speak to the police, too.”

“Lily, get Tewkes on the phone,” Slim said. Then he looked at Mel and the others and said, “Sam Tewkesbury, our lawyer.”

“Good call,” Joe said. “I’ve heard of him. He’s excellent.”

The ambulance arrived first. The paramedics took one look at Jake’s leg and hustled him onto the stretcher and up into the back. Slim, Lily, and Tammy all got into Sheriff Dolan’s car to follow it to the hospital.

Oz still looked shaky, so he climbed into Jake’s pickup truck, which Mel drove, and sat on the bench seat in between Mel and Joe. Tate took the wheel of the cupcake van and drove Angie back to the rodeo.

After their mad dash in pursuit of Jake’s truck, Mel was afraid to see what had happened to her cake pops and organic cupcakes. She imagined it would look like a train wreck but with cake.

She followed the van along the winding road and down the bumpy dirt road until they reached the rodeo, where Tate steered the big van back into its old spot, and Mel parked just beyond it.

When she got out of the truck, her jaw did a slow slide
open as she saw the Bubbas, Billy and Bob, wearing pink Fairy Tale Cupcake aprons and selling the remaining cake pops and Oz’s organic cupcakes out of a small, hastily assembled booth. Marty sat beside them with his feet up, barking orders at them while they glowered at him.