Page 19

Jacy

I hurt. Never in my life have I hurt this bad. I craved to thumb the morphine drip and drift along the tide of the narcotic until I no longer cared about the pain. I needed a clear head, however. At long last, I needed to share what had transpired all those long months ago when I fled Carter’s wrath.

Avery put Declan into the willing care of a nurse, then held my hand as I started to talk.

“Carter is my older brother,” I said, taking small sips from the ginger ale, the nurse brought me. “He and my father hated one another. Always. Carter was involved in my father’s gang – running drugs and guns from Mexico – but he wanted the whole enchilada for himself.”

“Is that why he killed your dad?” Jenkins asked.

I nodded. “You knew this?”

“I guessed by the course of your story,” he replied. “I read the reports, naturally, but there wasn’t enough evidence left at the scene to point any fingers.”

“I saw it happen.”

Avery gripped my hand. “This can wait, baby. Until you’re stronger.”

“No. It’s gone too far. I have to get it out.” I met Jenkins’s eyes. “I lived with my dad. I knew what he did, it wasn’t a secret. But I didn’t want any part of it. I’d planned to move out, find a job, leave both of them behind.”

“What was your relationship with your father like?”

“Cordial. Not loving. He’d always been distant with me. Made sure I had food, clothes, went to school, didn’t cause him problems the way Carter did.”

“And when Carter killed him?” Jenkins prodded.

“They were arguing.” I sipped my ginger ale to soothe my throat. “As usual. I was more irritated than upset about it. They always fought. Anyway, I went downstairs to get something, I don’t remember what now. They were in Dad’s den when I stopped at the doorway to ask them to shut up. That’s when Carter pulled his gun and shot Dad.”

I swallowed hard. “It stunned me. Seeing my father with his face blown to hell. I couldn’t believe it.”

Jenkins gave me a few minutes to gather my thoughts, not pressuring me. “Take your time.”

Squeezing Avery’s hand, I continued. “I don’t think Carter knew I was home. He suddenly saw me. He went white. He said my name.” I drank more ale from my cup. “I knew in an instant he’d shoot me, too. Cover his tracks. He couldn’t risk me talking to the cops.”

“So what did you do?”

“I ran like a rabbit,” I replied softly. “Didn’t look back.”

“What did your brother do?”

“Called for me to wait, to stop. But he didn’t chase after me. I don’t know why he didn’t. He probably could have caught me if he had.”

“Have you seen him since that day?” Jenkins asked, his voice bland.

“I guess you know I did.”

“What?” Avery barked. “When?”

“At the grocery store,” I said. “He said he wanted to talk. I stood up to him, told him I’d kill him if he bothered me. He walked away, and I thought he’d leave me alone. That I’d won.”

“I’d say he wanted you to lower your guard,” Jenkins commented dryly. “Does he drive a pickup?”

“No. A Mercedes.”

“We still can’t rule him out.” Jenkins finally stood. “I’ll work with the PD and the feds from your home city on this. I’ll also get an arrest warrant issued. I’m sure he knows he didn’t kill you and may stick around for another go.”

“Let him.” Avery’s eyes burned with rage. “I’ll rip his heart from his chest and make him eat it.”

“Whoa there, cowboy,” Jenkins said. “No vigilante shit, okay? I don’t want to arrest you for foolishness.”

Avery smiled. “You won’t have to.”

Obviously, Jenkins didn’t much like Avery’s smile nor his attitude. Still, there wasn’t anything he could do about either one. He stared at Avery, their gazes locked for a long time, then he breathed deeply. Jenkins turned to me and patted my arm.

“You get better, eh? If you suspect your brother is around, or if you see him, you call me. Day or night. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

He fished his card from his wallet and left it on my bedside table. After a nod toward Avery, he left my room. I shut my eyes, exhausted from the ordeal, and craving the sweet oblivion of sleep. I thumbed my morphine drip – finally.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Avery asked, his tone soft.

“I was going to. Eventually. But I thought Carter would leave me alone.”

“He’s been looking for you all this time.”

I remembered the lady outside the library, the goon I’d killed. “He’s known exactly where I was the entire time I’ve been here.”

“So why did he wait so long to act?”

“To torture me. Psychologically. He told me he wanted to talk, his goon was supposed to only scare me. He found out I’m not scared at all.”

“So why did he wait this long to kill you?”

“Reluctance to kill his own sister? I don’t know.”

The morphine hit. I started to drift, swirling down into the depths of slumber. I started awake when Avery kissed me.

“Get some rest,” he murmured, his breath warm on my cheek. “We’ll be back to see you tomorrow.”

“Kay.”

I both heard and felt him leave the bed, and my room, the soft squeak of his shoes on the tiles. My pain slid away as if oiled as I drifted once again on the tide of sleep. If a nurse came in to check on me or draw blood I didn’t know it.

***

“Mom!” Declan held up a kitten. “Wendy wants to give you a kiss.”

I obliged him by giving the squirming cat a swift kiss between her ears. “Can I have a kiss from you, too?”

He immediately dropped the cat and puckered his lips. Smiling, I kissed him, then fended off a happy, tail-wagging Max, who wanted a kiss as well. Though I didn’t want any lip action from him, I caressed his head and ears instead. Leaning heavily on Avery’s arm, I made my slow way into the TV room where Declan’s teenaged babysitter had been doing her homework.

“Hi, Ms. Maxwell,” she said, gathering her books. “I hope you’re better after your accident.”

I gave her a quick smile. “I am, thanks.”

Still weak and in some pain, I sank to the sofa while Avery walked her out. Max tried shoving his nose under my arm but petting him proved to be a bit much. I laid on my back and shivered as he pressed his cold nose against my neck.

“Max,” Avery thundered. “Quit that.”

“He’s just happy to see me,” I murmured. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay if his antics split your sutures.”

“I’m almost healed.”

Avery bent over and kissed me. “You’re a tough thing, I’ll give you that.”

As he commandeered Declan, took charge of making dinner, and ordered Max into the backyard, I rested with my eyes closed. Off the morphine, the pain killers my doctor prescribed hardly did its job. I ached, and heaped curses upon Carter’s head and soul for making me suffer. Paybacks are a bitch, brother mine.

Detective Jenkins assured Avery and me that all county, state, and federal cops were looking for him. With my eyewitness testimony that Carter had committed murder, he’d likely face the death penalty once caught and tried. Yeah, I planned to testify at his trial. If I don’t kill you first, that is.

I might be death on wings, but was my sibling also a dragon? He had to be, right? Unless we were only half siblings – my father wasn’t my father, or my mother not my mother – Carter was also a dragon. Did he know of his heritage? Until his goon forced me into shifting, I didn’t know I was a dragon.

“I made mac and cheese,” Avery said, standing by the sofa. “Hungry?”

“Not for that.”

I witnessed his dejection cross his face and carefully sat up with a small grin. “But I bet it’s delicious.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“You’re right. But it’s also the truth.”

Nor did I lie. His cooking tasted wonderful, despite my lack of enthusiasm for mac and cheese yet again. I downed two plates and three wieners accompanied by bread with butter and tea. Avery watched me eat with a faintly smug expression, then helped me back to the sofa.

“One thing about mac and cheese,” he said with a grin. “Cleanup is easy.”

I listened to Avery’s and Declan’s horseplay as they tidied the kitchen while I pondered a means to my vengeance. His ego will bring him to me. He can’t risk keeping me alive. By now he knows I’ve spilled my guts to the cops. If he’s arrested, he’ll never make bail.

If he’s a dragon? No jail can keep a dragon contained. I doubted the council’s decree against permitting humans to see us will stop Carter from shifting and bringing the jail’s roof down on everyone inside it. I frowned, wondering how to save Carter from being arrested.

Simple. Burn him and set his ashes loose on the wind.

Except I needed to complete my healing. I dared not face my brother while weakened, in pain. How long before I’d be strong enough to confront him? A week? More? Dragons obviously healed fast, as I’d spent a night in the ICU, then two days in the hospital before the doctor signed me out. Two more days should see my healing nearly complete.

And Carter?

He knew where I lived. I felt sure of it. If he attacked the house, Avery could certainly fight him off. Declan was no mere five-year-old kid. He couldn’t fly, but he could flame. His dragon hide would also protect him from almost anything. Against the three of us, Carter stood no chance.

“What are you thinking about?”

Avery sat on the coffee table and took my hands. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just thinking about Carter. If he came through that door right now.”

“He’s your brother,” Avery said slowly. “Is he a dragon?”

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly. “When I promised I’d kill him, he backed off. If he’s a dragon, he may not know it.”

Avery kissed my knuckles. “If he came through that door, he’ll be drifting on the wind before he can shift.”

***

Carter didn’t bust through the door.

I healed faster than a normal human. Within days of leaving the hospital, I regained all my strength and set the pain killers aside. Avery returned to work, and Declan returned to his schooling. Max slept, and the cats wrangled with one another.

Life went on.

Until I clicked Carter’s number on my cell phone.

“Sis,” he said cheerfully by way of greeting. “I hoped you’d call.”

“Are you still looking to talk to me?” I asked, my voice neutral.

“Hell, yeah. We can work this out, I promise.”

“By shooting me?”

I heard the hesitation in his voice. “If I wanted to kill you, I’d do it face to face. You think I was the one who shot you?”

“Damn right I do.”

“I don’t work that way, Jacy,” he snapped. “I’d look you straight in the eyes before I shot you.”

“So that wasn’t you in the truck with the rifle?”

“No, it sure as shit wasn’t.”

“I don’t believe you. You want to work this out, bro?”

“I do.”

“Then meet me the night after next. Midnight. At the junction of the state highway and County Road Five. You know where that is?”

“I’ll find it.”

“Good. I hope you’re ready to die.”