Twenty-One
Bishop
I lied to Vivienne at the hospital. Smith has seen Ace at the house and hasn’t asked me to bring her back to his farm. I need to get Smith’s input on what’s happening in Bellemere. Before we left the hospital, Taylor handed over the file containing all the information about the murders. With the addition of the pictures and notes on Denise, it’s much thicker than the last time I looked through it.
Someone has got to be missing something. I don’t think these are just random killings. I don’t think it’s random that the bodies are being dumped in the woods by our houses, either.
I haven’t asked Smith to help me with this, but I know he’ll be more than happy to. We all went through some pretty specialized training with the SEALs. We may be rusty, but that doesn’t mean we’ve lost our touch.
When we get to Smith’s, Viv is dead asleep. Unlike last time we were here, I don’t bother waking her. The attending physician gave her some pain meds at the hospital - against her wishes- and she’s been out since we pulled onto the interstate. She may not be in much pain, but she needs to rest. She needs sleep that’s not haunted with the sights and smells of what she stumbled on in those woods.
Smith breeds his dogs for some pretty notable people around the country, so in addition to top of the line dog facilities, he also has some guest cabins lining the edges of his property. One call to him and he was all too happy to loan me one for as long as I need it. As soon as I get my girl tucked into bed, I’m calling Smith over. I need a fresh pair of eyes to look through these pictures and reports, tell me what I’m missing.
I can’t catch the bastard if I can’t connect these killings.
I’m tempted to get into bed with Viv, curl around her and protect her in case she has a nightmare, but I pull myself away from her and set up shop at the kitchen table. Every piece of paper is taken out of the file, even if I don’t think it’s important. I set them up in a timeline, from the very first killing and the autopsy report to Vivi’s statement she gave about finding Denise. Pictures are taped on the cabinets when I run out of room on the table, each one just as gory and violent as the next. I hope that medicine was potent enough to knock Vivienne out until I can get this cleared away. She doesn’t need to see this.
Smith walks in and lets out a low whistle. “You weren’t shittin’ me when you said things were bad.”
“Gettin’ worse. I need you to take a look at all this. There’s got to be somethin’ I’m not seein’.”
We go back and forth between the reports and the pictures, wracking our brains to find connections between the four victims. After what seems like an eternity, Smith speaks up.
“How much do you remember about when you came home?”
I rub the back of my neck. Any mention of that time makes me uneasy. “Not much, man.”
“You have a past with Denise. Any way you hooked up with any of these other girls when you came home from the desert?”
I stand in front of the cabinets, staring at the pictures the victims’ parents provided to the police after they were identified. As much as it pains me, I think back to my time when I came back. I was a broken man. Angry, hurt, and broken. I drowned myself in booze and women to try and erase the stench of death. There was so much death. I was surrounded by it and did anything I could to get rid of the nightmares from my experiences that plagued me.
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter, bile rising in my throat. “I remember these girls.”
“How?”
“These first two, I slept with them when I came back and Vivienne was gone.” I was fucked up when I came back for her, only to find that she’d left town. Right after basic, women were all too eager to sleep with someone recently home from the Naval Academy and about to start BUDS training. I hated myself for doing it, but I hated Viv for abandoning me.
“And what about this one?” he asks, pointing to the second to last victim. The one that was found after Viv came back to town.
I sink down in my chair, standing is too much at this point. “It’s fuzzy, but I think I spent some time with her when I came home.”
“When?”
“The last time. When I came home for good.” When I let everyone down and couldn’t handle going back to face the SEALs. The fact that my father had died and Sammy was hurt gave me the perfect excuse not to return. There was no way I could return to Coronado. Not after what happened.
“You sure, man?” It starts to come back to me, now that I have my vague memories of that time, the pictures, and the names. I never even thought about the connection being about me, but it is. I nod and continue to stare at the photos. I can’t take my eyes off them now that I know who these girls are. “Fuck, man, whoever this is, they’re trying to get your attention.”
“But why these women? And how does he know?”
“Don’t know, brother. But seems to me that he’s startin’ small and workin’ his way up. You might have forgotten about the first three women, but there’s no way you could have forgotten Denise.” I kept to myself for the most part when I was with the SEALs, but Smith and I had some pretty deep discussions about our lives before enlisting. We felt drawn to each other because of our Louisiana roots.
A startled cry from the doorway catches my attention. “Fuck.” Viv is standing there, a horrified look on her face, and there’s nothing I can do to downplay this. How did I not hear her coming down the hallway on her crutches?
I knew I shouldn’t have done this here, but I didn’t want to go to Smith’s house and leave Viv alone. And now she’s in the doorway, listening to a conversation I never intended her to hear.
“He’s going to come after me.”
“Stop right there,” I command, walking toward her to keep her eyes from seeing anything else in this room. Smith starts ripping pictures off the cabinets and I try to reassure her that nothing is going to happen to her. Not on my watch.
“He’s going to come after me,” she repeats. Her voice is shaking and I can hear the fear. None of my words are sinking in.
“Listen to me,” I demand. I take her face in my hands and make sure she’s looking at me before I say anything else. “I will not let anything happen to you. I just got you back. There’s no fucking way I’m losing you again. Got it?”
She nods, but that’s not good enough for me. “I need words, Vivienne. Do you get what I’m saying? Do you understand that I will not let anything happen to you?”
“I understand.” I barely hear her, but if that’s all she can manage right now, I’ll take it.
“Let me help you back to bed so I can finish up in here.” She shakes her head quickly back and forth. “Bad dreams?”
“I don’t want to go back to sleep.” Her voice drops to a pained whisper. “I can’t stop seeing her.”
“Okay, baby.” I know how she feels. That’s my life… not wanting to sleep, not wanting to face the images that haunt me. The fact that it’s now happening to her is killing me. I have to do whatever I can to get this sick fucker off the streets.
Why? Why is he trying to send me a message? The police have tried to find a connection between these women and none exist.
None but me.
My life with the SEALs forced me to do things most men could not handle. I did things that I’m not proud of. But they were things that I had to do. Is this someone from my past? Someone from that life who is ready to make me pay for my sins?
“Want coffee?” Smith asks from the kitchen, interrupting my thoughts. It’s for the best. Now’s not the time to try and figure this out, not when I have Vivienne in my arms, shaken and scared over what she’s been through.
“Yeah. That sounds great.” While Smith moves around and prepares a pot of coffee, I get Vivi situated at the table. Ace hasn’t left her side since I carried her out of the woods. That dog’s instincts are on the money. She knows her momma is upset and she doesn’t want to be away from her.
Smith puts two piping hot mugs down in front of us and calls Ace to follow him outside. I see the reluctance, but he’s her first master and she knows she needs to obey. Now that the two of us are alone, Vivienne finally speaks.
“What are we going to do?”
“Stay here for a few days and—” I start to tell her, but she cuts me off.
“That’s not what I mean.” Her eyes are glued to the coffee cup in her hand.
“Tell me.”
“He’s goin’ after women in your life. How are you gonna keep them safe?”
I rub the back of my neck, not really sure how to answer her question. Thing is, I don’t even know who he’s going after. Whoever this is, he seems to know more about my time after I came back to Bellemere than I do.
“My main focus right now is keeping you safe.”
“What about everyone else?” She sounds pissed, the sadness and worry replaced with anger.
“There’s no everyone else. I need to focus on you.”
“How many others is he going to go after before he comes after me?” Now she’s screaming, tears rolling down her face, and I can’t give her an honest answer because I don’t know. “How long do I have to wait until he does to me what he did to Denise? How long, Bishop?” she asks, hitting her fists against my chest, sobbing. The last twenty-four hours have caught up with her and I’m at a loss as to how to make this better.
“Shh,” I whisper as I pull her against my chest, wrapping her in my arms, keeping her fists from pummeling against me. “Let me worry about this. I’ll keep you safe.”
“But you couldn’t keep the others safe.”
I push her away slightly, but only enough so I make sure she’s looking at me. I need her to understand my words. “I didn’t know, Vivienne. Now I know, and I will protect you. Do you trust me?”
She nods immediately, and I know down in my bones that she does. We’ve moved past all our issues, sorted through the bullshit, and we know that this is the real deal. Me and her, we’re it. She’s got no reason not to trust me.
“Then let me handle this. Please don’t let this eat away at you. Like I told you before, I just got you back. No fuckin’ way I’m lettin’ you go.”
“Should I go back to New York?” she asks after several quiet minutes. I can tell by the sound of her voice that it’s not what she wants. I sure as hell know it’s not what I want, either.
“That’s part of the whole ‘not lettin’ you go’ thing, Princess. Need you here in Bellemere with me.”
Smith and Ace come back inside. Ace looks worn out and Smith has a huge ass grin on his face. “You’ve done good with her, Bishop.”
“Damn right I have.”
“Everything good in here?” Clearly, it’s not, but this is his way of asking what he can do to help.
“Mind stayin’ with Viv a minute while I make some phone calls?”
“Not at all,” he answers, at the same time she lets out a panicked, “No. Stay with me. I can handle whatever I hear.”
“Just need to call Taylor and update him. Callin’ Davis, too. He know how to shoot?”
She lets out a choked laugh. “A selfie. A gun, not so much. He’s probably never even touched one.”
“You need him back home, or can he meet us up here?”
“He can come out here.”
“He’s about to get real personal with a Glock.” Her eyes double in size. “Can’t be around you twenty-four seven, so he’s the next best thing. I need to make sure you’re protected.”
“I’m not sure he’s going to be okay with that.”
“He will be when I clue him in with what’s going on.”
“Is there anything else we can do?”
“Workin’ on it, baby, but this is what I can do right now.”
“I can come out to Bellemere for a bit, you just need to give me about a week to get things sorted here,” Smith tells us. “I have some buyers coming in, but after that, I should be good.”
“Thanks, man. Appreciate it.” I look back to Viv. “Until then, I need Davis.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.” She sounds worried. Can’t say I blame her.
“Jesus, me too.”
_____
“I can’t decide if I want a side holster, or if I want to tuck it in my waistband.”
I roll my eyes and bite my tongue. Maybe asking Davis to help me out with Viv was a mistake. He’s a damn good shot, but he’s more interested in how he looks with the gun than how he shoots it.
“I should have some of my black suits shipped down. I brought mostly casual attire, but if I’m going to look the part, I need my dark suits.”
“I need you to stop talking.” I have a massive headache building behind my eyes and Davis’ nonstop talking is not helping the situation.
We barely get out of the arena and he opens his mouth again. “Bishop?”
“What?”
“It’s bad, isn’t it. I mean, if we didn’t have anything to worry about, I wouldn’t be here.”
“Yeah. It’s bad.” We stop walking, I look around to make sure we’re alone. I don’t want Viv to be in earshot. She’s scared enough about what’s going on; I don’t need her to know that I’m terrified, too. “Someone is targeting me. They either want to pin this shit on me or want to get my attention, and I have no fucking idea why. It only stands to reason that Viv is on their list. He started small and is working his way up. If this person knows anything about me, they know that Vivienne Westbrook would be the nail in my coffin.”
I’ve never seen such a serious look come over Davis. All traces of playfulness are gone, a stone mask in its place. “She’s my best friend. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her alive.”
“I’m counting on it.”