INK: Vanishing Point (Book 2) Page 23

  “Really.” He turns to face me. “Shay, what you went through…no one should ever have to go through that. I’m here as a concerned friend, just making sure you don’t need anything.”

  “I’ve got everything I need.” The waver in my voice betrays the lie.

  “For now you do. I’m convinced of that.” He maintains eye contact with me. “But I want you to know that Eli and Harry are both beside themselves with worry…and regret.”

  I run my fingers through my hair and expel a breath before I speak. “Good.” That’s not really what I wanted to say, so I correct it fast. “Eli is so hell-bent on worrying about what’s best for me, he forgot about me.” I put my hand on my chest for emphasis.

  “I know. It pisses me off too. But he loves you. So does your dad.” A laugh pulls through McNab’s chest. “You should consider that they are so much more lost than you could ever be.”

  “Well no shit,” I huff. “My dad thinks I did it.”

  “No he doesn’t. He has an obligation to investigate every angle, and honestly, I think we can all agree that you are involved in this.” He takes his first drink from the bottle.

  “Yeah, I’m smack in the middle of a pile of bodies.” My eyes close involuntarily, probably to keep the waterworks from starting up. “I could never do those things.”

  “I know that.” He gives me a sideways head tilt. “And so do Eli and your dad. But that doesn’t change the fact that they are trying to protect you from that ‘pile of bodies’ and the investigation that goes along with them.” His tone changes to indicate his disapproval. “They really are looking out for you, and the odds are not in your favor.”

  “None of this can be connected to me anyway, other than my art. That’s not enough to charge me, never mind convict me. But what I really want is to figure out how to make the killing stop. I mean what are we up to, four bodies now?”

  McNab inhales deeply like he’s about to tell me I’m dying of cancer. “Actually, the count is up to eight.”

  “What? Eight? How is that possible?” My head is spinning, and I drop my cigarette on the balcony.

  “There have been six more murders, some of them while you were in the void, and sadly the Specter isn’t interested in giving you an alibi.” He looks like he wants to come close to me, but he’s holding back, wringing his hands. “Something tells me Glass and Preston won’t be impressed with infrared imagery of you inside another dimension.” He studies my expression with concern. “Why don’t you sit down?”

  I comply because I don’t think I can keep standing on my own. I hold my head in my hands and wish I could get smaller and smaller until I disappear. “McNab, you have to help me,” I plead without looking up at him.

  He leans forward in his chair and reaches toward me, but stops. “I will, kid. We’re going to make sure that you don’t end up taking the blame for this.”

  The chair I was sitting in slams into the sliding glass door with a loud bang when I stand pushing it back. “No, McNab, this isn’t about me or saving my ass. This is about making the killing stop.” Doesn’t anyone recognize that? “This attitude that it’s about saving me is infuriating. It’s not about me.” I can’t control the stream of tears from spilling over. “People are dying, people I love. They are dying in ways that are horrendous, and no one, and I mean no one, should ever have to go through that.”

  McNab stands and takes a step toward me. “I know.” He raises his hand to comfort me and pulls it back as though I were made of hot coals. “We’re going to stop this.”

  He walks back into the hotel room, frustration ruling his expression. He stands in front of the bed covered with my drawings. “No one should have to go through this.” It comes out barely a whisper.

  I lean in the doorway, watching him examine the pictures. He picks one up and turns to face me. His eyes are watery and filled with sorrow. “Shay, I’m so sorry.” The sincerity and intensity of emotion in his voice is overpowering.

  I slide down the doorframe under the weight of my despair and completely break down. McNab comes over and kneels down next to me. “No, I really am sorry.”

  Through my tears I see the pain in his gaze. There’s a yearning to comfort me, but he can’t or won’t, and for some unknown reason I’m craving it. But I won’t reach out to him, I can’t. The picture he’s brought over is me clutching Aiden’s heart in my hand. I’m forced to relive the horror on Eli’s face in that moment when I did it. Then I feel…hear…the last thump of Aiden’s heart echo in my soul. I’m reminded again that he’s gone forever.

  “You are going to get through this,” McNab reassures me through my sobs. He puts the picture down on the floor. “We both know this wasn’t real. You were smart enough to know what had to be done. Not just smart enough, but brave enough.” He pauses and inhales a deep breath. “I don’t think I could have done the same thing if it were you standing in front of me.”

  My sobbing subsides a little just listening to McNab’s voice. “I know that you are going to beat this, and my team and I are here for you every step of the way.”

  I wipe my nose on my sleeve and stand. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your exclusive.”

  “You think this is about the story?” He follows me, sounding insulted.

  “I’m sure you want the murders to stop too.” I pick up the drawing and gather the rest off the bed.

  “Look at me,” he demands. “You are my friend. This is about stopping the murders, but what I really want is to stop your pain.”

  “I know one surefire way to stop it.” A dark laugh rattles through me.

  “You’re only alone when you want to be.” He leans in the doorway.

  “I think I’d like to be alone now.” I don’t mean it, but there’s nothing else to say.

  “You’re the boss.” He makes for the door, grabbing his jacket. I can’t look at him, because if I do I’ll beg him to stay.

  “Yeah.” Deflated, I sit on the bed holding the chronicles of Hell in my hands.

  McNab stands holding the door open. “Let’s talk tomorrow.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Please?”

  “Yeah, fine. Since you said ‘please.’” I hide the dim smile playing on my lips.

  “Ten A.M.?” he asks.

  After checking the clock, I agree.

  “Please turn your phone on at ten.” He starts to close the door behind him. Your whereabouts are safe with me. I won’t tell them where you are.”

  He really won’t tell them. I know that. McNab is a good friend.

  As soon as the door clicks closed, the emptiness of the room creeps inside me. Quickly I walk to the door and look out the peephole. McNab is standing on the other side. What is he doing? He looks left and right, and then straight up. For some reason I want more than anything to open the door and pull him back inside the room so I won’t feel the emptiness anymore. Rationally, I know that’s a bad idea, and McNab certainly wouldn’t appreciate it; he’s not that sort of friend. Which is exactly what makes him safe.

  The rain is bouncing off his leather jacket as I continue watching him for a solid minute. When he starts to turn around toward the door, I duck away from the peephole. With my back pressed against the door, half of me prays that he’ll knock again. But the other half just wants him to go. Only silence remains, and when I think it’s safe, I look out the peephole again and see his rental car leaving the parking space.

  I change back into Aiden’s t-shirt and sweats to get ready for bed. When I go to pull the covers back I notice one of McNab’s protective trinkets on the night stand. “Sneaky.”

  Chapter 36

  Breaking Curfew

  Eli

  Everyone else in the house is asleep, but I’ve been up trying to clean up this God-awful mess. I can’t take the disarray. With my head in my hands, I sit thinking about Shay and how frightened and alone she must be right now. The urge to just go to her and hold her to make the pain go away is overpowering. She shouldn’t be alone; she
needs to be surrounded by the people who love her. She needs to be with me. The memory of her in that hellhole weighs heavy on my mind. Her eyes were wild and full of hatred. She wasn’t my Shay, not my girl. She would never hurt anyone, least of all Aiden. There had to be something else at play there.

  McNab walks in the front door quietly, likely under the impression that everyone’s asleep. The room is dark, so he can’t see me sitting on the couch. The urge to pummel him is hard to resist, but I remain quiet as he tiptoes from the foyer. “Where the hell did you sneak off to?”

  He freezes in his tracks. “I had some business to attend.”

  “What kind of business?” I know he was with her, I can smell her on him.

  “Personal business.” He goes to the kitchen and gets a glass of water.

  “How is she?”

  He flips the lamp on as he sits on the love seat. “She’s…okay.”

  “When were you planning to tell us where she is?”

  “When she says I can.”

  “I appreciate all of your help, McNab, but you don’t know her like I do.” I lean forward to drive the point home. “You don’t understand what she needs right now.”

  McNab crosses his legs. He’s so fucking cocky. “Eli, you don’t know her like I do.”

  My fists clench and I pop my jaw. “And how’s that?”

  “You are going about this all wrong. She needs to be in control, she’s not as fragile as you think she is.” He stops to ponder a moment. “No, she’s not as fragile as you need her to be.”

  “I don’t want or need her to be fragile.”

  “Eli, come on. You’ve got the classic knight-in-shining-armor syndrome. She’s not a damsel in distress, and the sooner you get that into your thick skull and stop fighting this war for her pussy the sooner you’ll know her for who she is.”

  “Fuck you! This isn’t about that. It’s about loving her and protecting her.” It’s all I can do to keep from launching off the couch and fucking up his pretty smile.

  He sits coolly on the couch without moving. “She doesn’t need protection. She needs strength. When you smother her the way you and Aiden do, she can’t breathe, thrive or take care of herself.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Eli, why are you so afraid to admit that she’s actually a confident capable woman? Are you afraid that all you have to offer her is help and protection?”

  I don’t answer him.

  “Are you afraid that a strong and confident Shay won’t love you if she doesn’t need you?” He huffs out a laugh, mocking me. “Man, you’ve got it all wrong. She can’t love you if all you are to her is a safe harbor. She wants to be the full package, and she can’t while you are crippling her. Give her some room.”

  “Give her some room? That’s what I did, and she left!” My own words play in my head, making me even angrier.

  McNab only raises his eyebrows in response.

  “None of this would have happened if it weren’t for you.” I throw it out there. I’ve hated him since the first time I heard his fucking name back when Shay and I were engaged.

  “Me? Are you serious?” He’s mocking me again.

  “Yeah, I am serious. You’re the one who was putting all this crazy shit in her head back then. I know it! She was always flying here and there to go and see you.” My anger gets the better of me and I jump from the couch and grab him by the shirt.

  “Eli, you should take a breath. My patience has a limit and you’re fast approaching it,” he says in a low even tone.

  “Fuck you. You’ve been trying to get into her pants since the day you met her and now you’ve burrowed yourself so deep in her life we’ll never get rid of you.” I’m in his face, and I’m sure he can feel the spray of anger.

  He laughs again and raises his hand to stop Carl from moving any further in the doorway. “Eli, let go of me.”

  I release him and walk away, running my hands through my hair. “Get out of my house.”

  “No problem, I was planning on leaving first thing in the morning anyway.” He straightens his shirt. “You know, if I wanted to be with Shay I could have. She practically threw herself at me in the hotel room. I don’t have those kinds of feelings for her.”

  Carl gives a puzzled look and McNab continues. “You should consider working with me instead of against me. When she’s ready to come out of hiding, do you think she’ll come to you or me?”

  Fuck, he’s right. I don’t like this one bit. But I’m not equipped to handle any of this paranormal bullshit. “Whatever we have to do for her.”

  He approaches me and looks me square in the eye. “Get this through your head, Eli. Shay is my friend. I care about her, but I have no interest in her. We’ll have a much easier time working together if you can get that.”

  Now I feel like a complete asshole.

  “You are acting like a complete asshole.” Carl chimes in. “Now stop.”

  “Sorry.” I’m feeling a little bewildered as to how all of that just played out and I’m the one apologizing. “But no more secrets and no more sneaking around; if you are going to see her I want to know about it.”

  “That’s fine.”

  First morning light starts to filter through the windows. “Shit, I’ve got to get ready. I have a meeting.”

  ***

  Eli

  The elevator feels like it’s creeping up the building. I just want to get the bad news about Shay’s case and get to work on it. The doors slide open and I head into the office. Genie’s sitting behind the reception desk with her standard grin. I love that woman.

  “Well, good morning, Elijah.” She motions for me to come closer.

  I lean down and she kisses my cheek. “Good morning, Genie. How are you?”

  “I’m doing fine and dandy, and how are you?” Her voice is sweet as pie.

  “I’m tired,” I answer simply. “Is Jason ready for me?”

  “Not quite yet. There’s a board meeting in progress. Do you want some coffee?”

  I look at my watch; ten A.M. “A board meeting? Jason asked me to meet him here at ten.”

  “He’ll only be a few more minutes, sweetie. How about that coffee?” She says it in a way that I feel like I can’t refuse.

  “Thanks Genie.” I take a seat in the lobby and put my briefcase on the floor.

  Genie’s phone rings, but she answers it via the headset while she enters the lobby with my coffee. “Yes sir.”

  “Here you go, sweetie.” She hands me the coffee. “They are ready for you, in the Peregrine room.”

  “Thanks.” That’s strange; I was under the impression that it was only Jason and me.

  The door is already ajar, so I push in. The conference room is full of all the partners, and some other folks I don’t recognize. They are all standing and shaking hands; obviously the meeting has just adjourned.

  “Eli!” Jason shakes my hand and pats my back.

  “Good morning, Jason.” He’s certainly chipper this morning.

  “We’ve got a lot to do.” He guides me to a chair at the conference table where the partners remain seated.

  The room clears out of everyone but the law office partners and me. There’s something amiss here.

  Jason sits at the head of the table, steepling his fingers. “Eli, you know everyone here, right?”

  Looking around the room, I see the faces of men who have served as mentors to me and then have been adversaries in the courtroom. “Yes, of course.”

  “We’ve all gone head to head with you at one time or another, Walker.” Frank laughs. Last year, I sent his client to death row. It was a tough sell, but I knew the bastard was guilty.

  “What is this about, Jason? I thought we were going to be discussing Shay’s case,” I ask, perplexed.

  “We’ll get to that, but first we want to make things more official. We want to bring you into the law firm,” he says, full of pride.

  “Jason, we’ve talked about this. I�
��m sure you are making a very generous offer, but unless you’re putting my name on the building I’m not interested,” I boldly state, knowing there’s no way that will happen.

  “That’s just it, Eli, the board has voted to ratify Oliver’s instructions to make you a full partner in the firm. How do you like the sound of Roth, Carmichael, Eddins, Brunner and Walker?” He raises his eyebrows in anticipation of my answer.

  “Aiden is never going to agree to this.” I try using that as an out.

  “He already has. I hold his proxy, and he’s been out of reach for more than thirty days.” Jason looks like the cat that ate the canary, and he’s enjoying this way too much. The other men sitting at the table have similar looks. It’s clear that one-upping Aiden has been a pleasure.

  The shock of all this has silenced me. Jason slides a stack of papers in my direction. “Just sign these; Genie will notarize them, and it’s a done deal.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You say ‘yes.’” Jason puts a pen on the stack of papers.

  “Okay, yes.” What have I got to lose? This certainly solves a lot of problems.

  After I finish signing the paperwork, we go into Jason’s office. “We’re going to get you set up in an office on Monday.”

  “This is all really overwhelming. I’ll need to talk to Preston and let him know that I’m taking a position elsewhere.” I blow out a breath.

  “This is all going to be for the better. Of course you can’t represent Shay, but having you here as part of the think tank is going to be a huge asset.” He sits and motions for me to do the same.

  “Have you heard from her?” I’m sure I sound pathetic, but I miss her.

  “We talked this morning. We seem to only really have one snag.” He seems optimistic.

  “Did she come in?”

  Jason opens a file on his desk where he’s made notes. “Yes, we met earlier. She was able to account for her whereabouts for every murder with the exception of one. But they don’t have a body.”

  “Really?” I’m honestly astounded.