The Whisperers: A Three Book Box Set Page 21

  Mik and Jed were standing just inside the entrance, waiting, as promised. The moment Teddy saw her sister she tore free from Jake and ran to Mik. Jed met Jake as the sisters hugged and cried.

  “How is she?” Jake asked.

  “She survived the surgery but is still listed in critical condition.”

  “What happened, Jed? And where’s Jesse?”

  Jed took Jake’s arm and led him outside. “It’s a real mess, little brother. I don’t know what happened and I haven’t been able to talk to Jesse except for a few minutes but here’s what I know. When Jesse and Mik got home he said he was going to ride up to Alex’s.

  “Later on we got the call that Alex was taken into the hospital for a gunshot. Jesse was admitted as well. I don’t know how it happened but he had a gash in his head and several cuts and a concussion.

  “Robert Manning was also admitted, with a gunshot.”

  “What the holy hell?”

  “According to what little Jesse had time to tell me, he and Manning got into a fight. Alex got in the middle of it and got knocked out. He said he and Manning were going at it when something cold-cocked him in the back of the head. He woke up to police officers cuffing him.

  “He said they found a gun in his hand. And with Alex and Manning both shot…”

  “Christ on a crutch, they think Jesse did it?”

  “That’s what I get from it. His room is being guarded by armed officers round the clock and we aren’t allowed in to see him.”

  “Jed, you know Jesse wouldn’t…”

  “Yeah, I do know that but the police don’t. And right now, until he’s taken in and booked there’s nothing we can do but wait.”

  Jake nodded, thinking about what he’d just heard. “Does Mik know? That the police think it was Jesse, I mean?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And?” Jake almost didn’t want to hear the answer. He didn’t think he could stand to hear that Mik thought Jesse was guilty.

  “She doesn’t believe it.”

  “Thank god. Have you seen Alex?”

  “Not yet. Mik is hoping they’ll let her in this morning. How’s Teddy?”

  “A wreck. She cried all night and was so upset it made her sick. I was hoping there would be better news when we got here.”

  “There still might be.” Jed clamped his hand on Jake’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Come on, let’s head in.”

  Mik had her arm around Teddy’s shoulder, holding her tight when they walked back into the hospital. “You want to see if they’ll let you in?” Jed asked Mik.

  “Yeah. Let’s head up.”

  She released Teddy and turned toward the bank of elevators to their right. Jake hurried to Teddy’s side and reached for her hand. “No!” She jerked away from him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  The look Teddy gave him nearly stopped his heart. The anger and hate in her eyes made her seem like a stranger. “What’s wrong?” she screamed. “What’s wrong? Are you stupid? Your brother tried to kill her!”

  “Teddy, you know Jesse—” Jake tried again, this time to take her arm and at least lead her into a less public location. People were watching, obviously curious about her screaming.

  “Don’t touch me!” She reared back and slapped him across the face. “Stay the hell away from me. You hear me?”

  When she whirled and ran to throw her arms around Mik, Jake just stood there in shock. Mik mouthed, “I’m sorry” and turned Teddy toward the elevators. Jed didn’t move. He just watched as Mik led Teddy into one of the elevators and then he went back to Jake.

  “Let’s give them a little time. Come on, I’ll buy you breakfast.”

  “What—what the hell, Jed?”

  “She’s upset. Give her some time and reason will return.”

  “You think?”

  “I sure as hell hope so,” Jed replied. “Just be patient.”

  Jake nodded and fell in step with Jed. At the moment he felt like he’d been blindsided, judged and sentenced and he didn’t have a clue what the heck he’d done.

  *****

  Mik led Teddy across the waiting room to an empty sofa and sat down beside her. Teddy dug around in her purse for tissue, wiped her eyes and blew her nose. For a few minutes neither of them spoke.

  “Teddy, honey, you were pretty rough on Jake.”

  “Don’t!” Teddy barked and when Mik raised one eyebrow added, “I mean it, Mikayla. I can’t believe you’d even let Jed Nash within fifty feet of you after what Jesse did.”

  “Now hold on, Theodora.”

  Teddy knew that tone and part of her cringed, but she was scared and needed to be mad to keep the fear at bay. So the target of that anger was the Nash family. They were the only ones she had to blame and someone had to be blamed. “Don’t use that tone on me. He shot our sister.”

  “We don’t know that he did.”

  “Then why is he in a room that’s under guard. That’s what you told me, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “But nothing. He shot her, Mik and I don’t want a Nash within a hundred yards of me. Ever. And if you love me. If you love Alex, you’ll feel the same.”

  “Teddy, you’re being completely unreasonable. I don’t believe for a second that Jesse did this and even if he had, Jed nor Jake are responsible. You can’t take your anger out on them.”

  “Watch me.”

  Teddy turned her back on Mik, fixing her gaze on the door to the waiting room. All she cared about was seeing Alex. Nothing else mattered. She didn’t care if Mik thought she was being unreasonable and she didn’t care if she had hurt Jake. If Mik hadn’t taken the job at Jed’s ranch, none of this would have happened. The Nash men were nothing but bad news and if her sister died, she’d see them all in prison.

  The door to the waiting room opened. But it was not a doctor who entered. It was Jed and Jake. They crossed the room and Jed took a seat in a chair next to the couch beside Mik. Jake walked over and knelt down in front of Teddy.

  “Teddy, I know you’re upset and you have every right to be, but you know Jesse. He wouldn’t hurt Alex. This is a mistake and I know the truth will come out.”

  “Oh right, defend the murderer.”

  “Seriously? You can’t honestly sit there and tell me that you believe Jesse would shoot her.”

  “I most certainly can.” She shoved aside reason, refusing to listen to the idea that Jesse might be innocent. Her sister was near death and someone had to pay. If the police thought Jesse was guilty then she did as well.

  “Teddy, honey, I know you don’t mean that. Once you’ve had a chance…”

  Teddy couldn’t listen to any more. She didn’t want his comfort and she sure as hell didn’t want him trying to convince her to forgive Jesse. She didn’t have any forgiveness in her and if this was the way things were going to be, she didn’t have any room in her life for Jake.

  “Leave me alone.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll just sit here and wait with you.”

  “No. I want you out of here. Leave me alone, Jake. Forever. I don’t want to see you ever again.”

  “You don’t mean that, Teddy. I love you and I know you love…”

  “I hate you!” She jumped up and screamed at him. “I hate every one of you and never want to have to lay eyes on you again. Get out! Get out!”

  Mik jumped up and got between them. “Teddy! Settle down. Now.” She looked over her shoulder at Jake. “I think it might be better if you left, Jake. Teddy and I will stay and wait until they let us see Alex.”

  She directed her next words to Jed. “Would you mind taking Jake back home? I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”

  “You sure that’s what you want?”

  “I think it might be best. For now.”

  Teddy knew Mik thought she could talk her into changing her mind, but Mik was wrong. She meant what she said. She didn’t want to have to look at Jake ever again because she’d never be able to look at him without knowing
what his brother had done. She couldn’t be with him knowing he wanted her to excuse Jesse. They were done.

  What was mystifying to her was why Mik didn’t feel the same way about Jed. She watched Mik walk with Jed and Jake to the door, saw her kiss Jed and caress his face lovingly. It made her sick.

  She took a seat on the couch and watched Mik return to her. Mik sat down and reached for Teddy’s hand but Teddy pulled it away. “Listen to me, Teddy,” Mik said calmly but firmly. “You need to get a grip. Alex needs us now. All of us. And your behavior isn’t helping anyone. You hear me?”

  Teddy turned her head to look at Mik. “Oh yes, I hear you and now you listen to me, Mikayla. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a traitor. You’re choosing Jed over Alex. And mark my words, if Alex dies, I’ll never forgive any of you.”

  Mik shook her head and leaned back to close her eyes. Teddy could feel the hurt her words had caused Mik, just like she’d felt the hurt she’d inflicted on Jake, but at the moment she didn’t care. All she cared about was Alex surviving and getting well. And once that happened, she’d convince Alex that they needed to get as far away from the Nash family as humanly possible.

  *****

  Jake tossed back the last swallow of beer in his bottle and threw the bottle in the general direction of the trashcan. He’d been sitting there sucking down beer for the last two hours and he was pretty sure if he tried to get up he’d either fall or throw up. Neither option was appealing so he stayed put. He kicked off his boots and propped his feet on the coffee table.

  The way Teddy had acted at the hospital had thrown him for a loop. He couldn’t believe that she thought Jesse could be guilty. She’d known Jesse a good while and she had to know that he’d never deliberately hurt someone.

  Jake pressed the heels of his hands against his closed eyes. What a freaking mess. All they knew at the moment was that Jesse was found unconscious on the floor with a gun in his left hand.

  That thought had Jake springing to his feet and searching the coffee table for his phone. When he didn’t find it, he weaved his way to the kitchen. His phone was on the table. Jake snatched it up and dialed Jed’s number.

  “The gun was in his left hand,” Jake spit the words as fast as he could when Jed answered.

  “Say what?”

  “The police said Jesse was unconscious, face down on the floor with a gun in his left hand.”

  “And?”

  “Well damn, Jed. He’s right handed. If Jesse was going to fire a weapon he wouldn’t use his left hand.”

  There was a long moment of silence. “Jed?”

  “I’m hanging up now, Jake. First thing in the morning, we’ll go to the police department and find out who to talk to. But for now, you need to turn in and get some sleep. We’ll get this squared away.”

  “I don’t think that’s gonna happen. You heard her, Jed. She hates me. Hates all of us and for no reason.”

  “She needs to hate someone right now and we’re convenient. Let it go, Jake. This will all get squared away when Alex regains consciousness. She’ll tell them Jesse is innocent.”

  “What about that Manning guy?”

  “Who can say? But we can’t control what he says or does so let’s not waste time on things we can’t do anything about, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “All right, get some sleep.”

  “Okay. Night, Jed.”

  “Good night, Jake.”

  Chapter Nine

  Dalton winced as he rose from the couch. While it had not been life threatening, the gunshot he’d suffered had given him quite a bit of pain. He was a bit surprised that he was released from the hospital after only forty-eight hours. It had been two weeks since that time and still he felt the lingering ache from the wound.

  From what he’d gleaned, Alex Manning had not fared so well. She was still listed in critical condition. Jesse Nash had been held under guard in the hospital for a day and then taken into custody and was now sitting in the Mecklenburg County jail awaiting arraignment.

  Dalton answered the door. His Aunt Henrietta smiled up at him. “Good morning. I brought fresh baked muffins.”

  “Come in. Please.” He stepped aside for her to enter.

  She made her way into the kitchen, put the plate of muffins on the table and then busied herself preparing coffee. “You seem to be on the mend nicely,” she commented as he followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

  “Still hurts like the devil but I’m glad to be alive.”

  “Unlike that poor Morgan girl,” Henrietta commented and shook her head.

  “I hope Jesse Nash gets the needle for what he did,” Dalton said, feeling a little surge of anger inspired strength.

  Henrietta turned from her task and took a seat at the table. “Since you brought it up, there is something you need to know about that night.”

  “I know all I need to know. He showed up, picked a fight, knocked me out then shot me and Alex.”

  “Hardly.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Henrietta got up and fetched her purse from the kitchen counter. From it she withdrew a computer thumb-drive. “I discovered several weeks ago that Deidre had Alexandra Morgan’s house bugged. “

  Dalton felt a jolt of alarm strong enough to straighten his spine. He’d been in Alex’s apartment several times and had discussed things he definitely didn’t want Deidre to know. “She’s been listening to Alex?”

  “And watching. She had very sophisticated equipment installed in every room.”

  “Jesus.” Dalton sagged in his chair.

  “Indeed.”

  “We’re screwed.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “You would if you knew what Alex and I had talked about while I was at her place.”

  “Oh, but I do.” Henrietta smiled and then rose to move across the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder at him after taking two cups from the cupboard and placing them on the counter in front of the coffee maker.

  “Thanks to my network, I have been intercepting the data before Deidre. I employed two very skilled technicians to edit the recordings.”

  Dalton perked up a little at her words. “Are you serious?”

  “Oh yes, quite.” Henrietta carried both cups to the table and placed one in front of Dalton. “Deidre receives very nice edited copies. I, on the other hand, have the originals.”

  “So you know.”

  “Well, my dear, I already knew, didn’t I? We’d discussed your plan with Alex at length. However, that is not what is important about this particular drive and its contents.”

  “What’s on it?”

  “Proof that Jesse Nash did not shoot you or Alex.”

  “What?” Dalton nearly came out of his chair.

  “See for yourself. Where is your laptop?”

  “In the bedroom on the nightstand.”

  “Shall I get it for you?”

  “Yes, please.”

  As Henrietta hurried off to get the laptop, Dalton considered the news. If she was correct and Deidre had not learned of his plan with Alex, then he was safe for the moment. But he didn’t quite believe that Jesse Nash was not responsible for the shooting.

  “Here.” Henrietta set the laptop on the table and plugged the thumb drive into one of the USB ports.

  Dalton called up the file and started the video. “You’ll need to fast forward a bit,” Henrietta said.

  Dalton did just that, and watched his own arrival and what transpired before Jesse Nash arrived. He continued fast-forwarding to the point where he and Jesse were fighting and Alex was hanging onto Jesse, screaming for them to stop.

  He saw Jesse threw a left jab at him and connect with his eye. As he stumbled back from the blow, Jesse pried Alex’s hand off his arm. He had his back turned, trying to keep Alex from latching onto him again when Dalton came at him. Jesse shoved Alex and then threw a roundhouse at Dalton just as Alex rushed behind Dalton and was reaching for his arm. The blow felled Dalto
n and he took Alex down with him.

  Jesse rushed to Alex trying to pull her up at the same time Dalton was trying to scramble to his feet. Jesse’s feet tangled with Dalton’s and Alex’s and he went down. All three of them were rolling around in a heap.

  While Alex screamed and tried to claw her way free. Jesse threw a punch at Dalton at the same moment Alex pushed herself up. His fist caught her in the temple and she went down like a sack of cement. Dalton shouted in rage and threw himself at Jesse.

  For nearly a minute, they rolled around, knocking over furniture, getting in their blows as they could. Dalton broke free, scrambled to his feet and immediately launched himself at Jesse just as Jesse came at him. Jesse’s fist slammed into Dalton’s face and he went down, unconscious.

  What happened next was a surprise. Jesse turned in Alex’s direction and a man dressed entirely in black appeared in the frame. He held a gun in his hand, and swung at the back of Jesse’s head. Jesse went down like a sack of rocks.

  “What the hell?” Dalton was in shock.

  “Just watch.”

  Another man appeared beside the first one, this one also dressed in black, but unlike the first man whose face was covered by a black ski mask, this man had the mask rolled up to his forehead, revealing his identity.

  “Son of a bitch.” Dalton recognized the man. He’d worked for Deidre for nearly a decade, doing her dirty work. His name was David Herbert.

  “Exactly,” Henrietta agreed and smiled at him.

  Herbert pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants, pointed at Dalton and fired then shot Alex. He and his partner then placed the gun in Jesse’s left hand, pointed it at the wall and fired it.

  With that, they left.

  “She tried to have me killed?” Dalton looked at his aunt. “That bitch tried to have me killed.”

  “Indeed she did. And we have the proof.”

  “Proof that also clears Jesse Nash.”

  “Exactly. We’re going to take this to the police and get them to search Alex’s apartment so they can find the surveillance equipment. You can identify Herbert.”