Chapter Six
“What are you doing here?” Kat smiled as if she’d been paying attention when laughter rippled through the crowd. Her question had come out as a hiss, although she hadn’t meant it to sound that way. She glanced toward her left, glad to see the triplets were watching Ethan, unaware of Stephen Chandler standing behind her. Above their heads, a huge banner proclaimed Ethan O’Rourke for District Attorney! She couldn’t help but wonder how Stephen felt about that. After all, it was a position he’d wanted as well. And if that dream hadn’t already died, it would as soon as Emma’s story ran.
“Last ditch effort.”
Kat looked around, still not seeing Emma in the crowd. “You think she’d really blow Alex’s cover? Couldn’t she get in trouble for that?”
Stephen’s answer was cut off from the sound of thundering applause. As Ethan stepped off the hearth, Stephen gripped her arm, pulling her out to the deck while Ethan was surrounded. She glanced back, didn’t miss the subtle tightening of Ethan’s jaw, which told her he noticed.
Great.
Outside, darkness was just beginning to settle. Three massive grills had been set up on the deck, grilling everything from steak and chicken to hamburgers and hotdogs. The serving table held every conceivable type of salad, all sitting in ice. Children ran around outside, playing on the slopes, their laughter contagious. More banners were tied around the deck’s railing, all exclaiming Ethan O’Rourke for DA! under the senator’s name.
Stephen led her away from the crowd, leaning against the deck’s rail. Lights from Main Street and the mountains beyond twinkled in the growing darkness. The heat and humidity hadn’t disappeared with the sun. She took a sip of her wine, gently pulling her arm from Stephen’s grasp without making a scene, the silence between them awkward. “I take it you haven’t heard from Alex?”
“No.”
And in that one little word she heard the barely uncontrolled rage. The fear and frustration. Her heart broke again, guilt twisting her stomach. Setting her glass down on the railing, she glanced back inside. Ethan was still being swarmed.
“I’m sorry.” On so many levels, she thought, wishing she could offer him some comfort, not that he’d accept it from her.
Stephen was silent for so long, she half expected him to just walk away. Instead he bent to whisper in her ear, his voice was a low, sexy growl. “Come home with me tonight.”
“What?” The sudden change in topic had her head spinning as she looked up at him in shock. She remembered that tone, remembered that look on his face that told her exactly what he wanted from her. She tried to ignore the heat as it flared through, refused to let it conjure up all the memories of being underneath him...
Jesus, he was beautiful. His dark blue eyes glittered with intent, his thick black hair fell over his forehead and her fingers itched against the urge to reach up and smooth it back into place. Despite everything, her entire body responded just as it had last night, craving him with a fierceness that left her breathless.
But when he lifted his hand toward her, she couldn’t contain her flinch, memories of him throwing her into Ethan’s arms and walking away, banishing that instant flare of arousal as fast as it had hit.
If Stephen noticed, he didn’t acknowledge it. He settled his hand on her waist and she stepped back instantly. Even though it wasn’t a date, she had come with Ethan. Stephen had no right to touch her.
“We need to talk.”
“No. We don’t.” She wasn’t going down this path with him again only to get her heart broken all over again.
“Trust me—”
“I can’t!” she hissed. The words were out of her mouth before she could pull them back. Stephen recoiled, stung. Every muscle in his entire body tensed as he took a step back, the air rushing out of his lungs as if she’d punched him in the gut. Or stabbed him in the heart. Kat felt her face pale, all color washing from her skin, felt the stunned regret as the expression in his eyes changed from pain to cold detachment.
“So that’s it then,” he bit out before she could apologize, his tone colder than she’d ever heard it before. He’d taken the words the wrong way, but before she could explain, Abigail was there, throwing herself into Stephen’s arms.
“Stephen! I’m so glad you’re here!”
Ethan’s hatred of Stephen obviously wasn’t shared by the rest of his family. Arianna and Annalise greeted Stephen just as warmly as Abigail had. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Ethan, slowly making his way toward them, stopped every few steps, more handshakes, congratulatory slaps on the back. She gave him big ups for the smile that was still plastered on his face. She knew him well enough to know he was anything but annoyed.
“I need another glass of wine,” Abigail said, wrapping her arm through Stephen’s. “Come with me?”
Without another glance at Kat, Stephen agreed.
“Everything alright?” Arianna asked, handing Kat the glass of wine she’d put on the railing. But her hands shook when she took the glass. Without taking another sip, she put it back on the railing, watching Stephen’s retreating back until Ethan blocked her view.
“He’s got a lot of nerve showing up.”
The anger in Ethan’s voice was unmistakable, but Kat couldn’t deal with it right now. She needed to apologize, couldn’t have Stephen thinking she’d meant those words because of his grandfather.
“He has as much right to be here as you, Ethan,” Arianna said, scowling in Ethan’s direction before glancing over Kat’s head again. “What’s your issue?” she began a second before her gaze landed on Kat. “Oh. I…are you alright?”
So they did know, she thought with a sigh. Nothing like being in the spotlight, Kat thought as all eyes landed on her, the sympathy too much to take. Instead of answering, because it was so obvious she wasn’t, she said, “You seem to forget Stephen risked his life to save mine.”
Reminding him for the second time that day, she thought. Yet, like Ethan, nobody was going to focus on that when the shit hit the fan, were they? No matter what his family had done, Stephen shouldn’t have to hang his head in shame. He was just as much a hero as Ethan.
“You’re right, of course,” Ethan replied. “Shall we toast him now?”
“Knock it off,” Kat hissed, watching Stephen with Abigail still at his side.
A scream caught her attention and she glanced toward the slopes. Just kids, playing with their glow sticks in the now darkened sky, sparklers lighting up their faces before more excited screams echoed through the night as the first of the fireworks exploded in the sky. The music changed abruptly, America the Beautiful pouring through the speakers.
Abigail returned a few moments later. Kat glanced beyond her but didn’t see Stephen. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Ethan. “Bathroom,” she lied when he gave her a questioning glance.
Fighting her way through the crowd on the deck, she searched everywhere for Stephen, nearly frantic when she couldn’t find him. Inside, the house was nearly empty, just a few people standing near the fireplace. Spotting the door to the driveway, she raced down the short hallway, hoping she’d catch him.
Kat spotted his truck almost immediately and ran toward it. But he wasn’t there, wasn’t outside. How the hell had she missed him? More fireworks exploded, echoing through the mountains. Grabbing her phone from her bag, she texted him, hoping he’d feel the vibration even if he couldn’t hear the ding. But minutes later, he still hadn’t responded. Damn it. Where the hell was he? She was prepared to stay by his truck for the rest of the night if she needed to, but Ethan would soon come looking and—
A scream pierced the darkness, so much louder than the fireworks thundering through the mountains outside. Not a kid. Not this time, Kat thought as her heart raced. Whirling toward the sound, her gaze automatically zeroing in on the trees between the senator’s ski house and another, just a few feet in front of Stephen’s truck. Heart pounding, Kat raced toward the sound, the masculine yell barely decipherable between the pounding in her head and fireworks.
“Steph—” His name died on her lips, the air rushing from her lungs, a smell she’d hoped to never breathe in again assaulting her. Spots danced in front of her eyes, her stomach twisting as she fought to hold back the churning bile.
Blood.
It permeated the entire area, unbelievably strong, as if every tree and shrub were dripping with it. Kat didn’t even realize she was moving, not until reaching the unbelievable scene in front of her, the one she so desperately tried to deny even as she witnessed it.
“Call an ambulance. Hurry!”
But she stood frozen, heart pumping ice through her veins, the screaming in her head deafening, drowning out Stephen’s command. Stephen…
Straddling Emma Anderson.
Hand gripping the knife buried in her stomach.
Blood covering every inch of his bare chest.
No, no, no! Kat scrambled back, the agonizing scream ripping from her throat, excruciating in its intensity, tripping over her feet, landing on her ass, her screams finally dying when her jaw snapped shut. She fumbled in her bag, grabbed her phone as she struggled to her feet.
“Towels!” Stephen yelled. “In my truck! The gym bag.”
Stephen’s shouts sounded a million miles away, fading in and out as she fought the swirling fog threatening to pull her under. Frantically, she tried to open the door with fingers that had gone numb. Her entire body trembled, breaking out in a cold sweat as she choked on sobs and stomach acid while the operator on the phone asked her to state her emergency and she realized she didn’t know the address.
“Towels, Kat! She’s alive!”
Alive? Oh God. Pushing back the darkness, she found the towels in the backseat. Fighting for calm, Kat rushed back toward Stephen, but the horror was too much, impossible to overcome when Stephen reached for the towels, his hand dripping with blood.
***
“You son of a bitch!”
Kat heard Ethan’s shout a second before he flew toward them, Ethan’s fist connecting with Stephen’s face. Stephen retaliated, his fist catching Ethan in the stomach, another punch to his jaw, a free for all until two uniformed officers rushed forward, breaking them apart.
It seemed like hours had passed before the ambulance, along with every law enforcement official in the county arrived. In reality, it was probably only a matter of minutes, many of them already on sight due to the fireworks. Still more sirens wailed, distant at first then growing in both number and intensity. Kat watched the scene unfold as if in a fog, the nightmare she’d just witnessed playing again and again.
First responders had to forcibly contain any remaining guests inside. Now they stood guard at each entrance, essentially keeping them on lockdown before they were interviewed. Apparently, they weren’t doing that great of a job if Ethan had escaped.
“Ethan!” The tortured shout came from somewhere over Kat’s shoulder, one of triplets, her mind too chaotic to make out which one. Arianna, maybe. Hadn’t she been wearing red? No…that was Abigail. Ethan turned, grabbing his sister in a clutching embrace, turning her away from the ambulance as Emma was rolled out of the copse of trees. He grabbed Kat as well, burying her face into his chest, but it was too late.
She’d already seen too much.
Ethan spoke in her ear, words she couldn’t hear over the questions buzzing in her head, trying to make sense of what she’d witnessed. But she was so grateful to have his arm around her, she nearly sobbed in relief.
Had it been an accident? An argument that had gotten out of control? Had Emma threatened him with the knife? Maybe he tried to take it away?
Ethan loosened his hold after kissing her head. She watched as went to speak to one of the officers, nodding as he looked back at his sister. Before he could make his way back toward them, another officer stopped him. Kat recognized her, the same Windham officer who’d been at Ethan’s shooting, the one who’d been so kind. Kat struggled to remember her name, but couldn’t.
The air was still, not even a breeze, as if the world had stopped breathing. She searched for Stephen, saw a few officers surrounding him. And with a sinking realization she understood that Stephen would be arrested for attempted murder, witnessed with his hands on the knife that was buried in Emma’s stomach. And in that brief second of time, Kat knew the nightmare he’d been about to face had just increased ten-fold, horror sinking in as if there weren’t already enough. She felt the trembling begin in her fingers, working its way through her entire body until she was shaking as if it was the middle of winter.
All too soon the questions would come, her answers sealing Stephen’s fate.
Kat closed her eyes only to see images she couldn’t yet face, couldn’t possibly comprehend. Because what she’d seen, and the truth couldn’t possibly align.
Right?
Oh God. How could she even question it?
She didn’t. She wasn’t. This was Stephen. He’d saved her. He was a hero. A hero who was now covered in blood.
In the distance, she heard a helicopter, explaining why the ambulance hadn’t left. Faint at first, quickly grew louder. The deputy next to her pulled Kat back as the helicopter made its descent, the wide-open slopes providing plenty of space to land, the conditions cooperating as there wasn’t any wind.
Her hair whipped around her, the ends stinging her face and neck like sharp little knives. Kat turned and squeezed her eyes shut, keeping out the dirt and debris. But the images wouldn’t leave her, growing more gruesome the longer she kept her eyes shut.
Opening them again, her gaze landed again on Stephen, his blood-soaked body now covered in a different shirt than the one he’d worn earlier. The ambulance’s lights glinted off his black hair, turning it red, highlighting the blood still covering his hands. Xavier appeared by his side as the helicopter’s rotor blade sped up. It seemed everybody turned at once, watching its ascent and departure until the lights were little more than a speck on the horizon. The sudden silence was deafening before another distant siren broke it, growing closer with each passing second until it was on top of them.
The BCI. Kat watched as Investigator Mary Robinson and Lieutenant Allen got out of the unmarked Crown Victoria. And just behind them, forensics. Immediately they surrounded the area.
She couldn’t hear their conversation with the uniformed officer, but she didn’t need to. The uniform was gesturing toward the trees, then Stephen. Finally, Robinson turned in Kat’s direction. She and Mary had been friendly when Kat had worked with the BCI, but she couldn’t help but wonder what Mary was thinking, finding her at yet another crime scene.
Allen turned toward Stephen as Mary Robinson made her way toward Kat. Ethan appeared by her side again and Kat breathed a sigh of relief, needing his strength, wishing he could tell her it would be okay, deep down knowing it wouldn’t. Ethan reached for her. Kat looked down, seeing the blood on his hands, her indrawn breath obviously loud enough for Ethan to hear.
“From when I grabbed Stephen,” he explained. Kat nodded. But something connected. And suddenly she realized Emma hadn’t been seen since disappearing with Ethan after he’d spilled the wine.