AintNoAngel (11 page)

But it was going to come to an end. One way or the other.

They ate at the table, both of them quiet and lost in
thought. Jessie didn’t do much more than push her food around her plate.

They finally went to bed and when Travis insisted that he
sleep on the couch she couldn’t help but complain.

“What is the difference if you are down here or upstairs? I
would feel so much better if you were at least in the room with me.”

He heaved a sigh and crossed his arms over his chest, a sure
sign that he wasn’t happy. But she knew he was wavering so she pressed her
advantage.

“Please, Travis. I won’t get a wink of sleep otherwise.”

“Fine, but no sex. We need to stay on guard.”

“All right.” She agreed but she figured she could change his
mind about that too.

“Don’t look at me like that, Jessie girl. No. Sex.”

“All right, all right. No sex.”

Travis lay awake as Jessie slept peacefully sprawled on his
chest. He was leisurely trailing his fingers up and down her smooth back,
sometimes stopping to play with her silky hair.

Damn fool woman had crawled into bed in nothing but a pair
of panties. He had given her a stern look and she had just smiled. So he had
made his point by leaving his clothes on. Which he was now regretting because
it was damn uncomfortable wearing his jeans in bed.

He realized that it was just Jessie’s way of keeping herself
from worrying. Her faith in him made him determined not to disappoint her.

He still couldn’t believe that he had told her about the day
he had gone to see his real parents. He had never told anyone. But she hadn’t
looked at him any differently.

She didn’t care who his parents were, or how much money he
had. For the first time he wondered if maybe he was the only one who had seen
something else when he looked in the mirror.

Maybe when this was over it would be time to go home and see
his family. He missed his sisters. The thought of facing it alone was daunting
but maybe he could talk Jessie into going with him.

That thought had everything else coming to a screeching
halt.

He was in love with her. His hand stopped cold and he looked
down at her face and the dusting of freckles across her nose, knowing that it
was the truth. The question was, what was he going to do about it? Letting out
a sigh, he resumed trailing his fingers down her back.

He figured that he would have some explaining to do and then
he would go from there. But he wasn’t sure if he was willing to walk away, even
if that’s what she wanted.

She fit against him perfectly. No matter how they lay she
always found just the right spot. She was currently using his shoulder for a
pillow and she had a leg thrown over his. He didn’t know that it could be like
this, that just being near someone could make him happy.

A small noise from downstairs had him alert and listening.
It had sounded like a door handle jiggling. He left Jessie sleeping as he slid
out from under her and scooted off the bed. Grabbing his gun from the
nightstand, he quietly made his way down the hallway.

The house was dark as he crept down the stairs stealthily.
He skipped over the one that creaked and stopped when he reached the bottom. He
listened intently for a full minute and didn’t hear anything.

Creeping to the end of the wall, he glanced around it and
into the living room and ducked back into place. He didn’t see anyone there.

Travis sneaked quietly into the kitchen, making his way to
the light switch.

He saw the shadow move up behind him a split second before
something hard and heavy came down on his head. He fell to his knees and the
second before everything went dark around the edges he told himself not to pass
out.

He couldn’t leave Jessie alone.

He braced his weight on his arms and felt the warm flow of
blood trickle down the side of his head. His stomach rolled and he fought it
back down with everything he had.

The kitchen light flipped on and he saw spots before his
eyes focused.

Jessie was standing at the bottom of the stairs, panic on
her face. She hurried to his side and pressed something to his head but his
mind was fuzzy. He shook his head to try to clear it but all it did was make
the pounding worse. Travis grabbed the counter and used it to pull his body off
the floor as he heard the familiar voice of Cyrus Parker say, “Well, hello,
wife.”

Jessie woke alone, but the bed was still warm from Travis’
big body. Stretching like a content cat, she stood and pulled on one of his
t-shirts before heading toward the bathroom. It was still night and she
wondered where Travis had gone.

A loud crash and the noise of glass breaking downstairs had
her changing directions. Going back to the bedroom, she opened the drawer that
had her gun. Checking quickly to make sure that it was loaded, she took it with
her as she hurried downstairs.

When she got to the kitchen, she flipped on the light and
she felt the blood drain from her face, leaving her lightheaded at the sight
before her.

The remains of her heavy cookie jar littered the floor and Travis
was struggling to his feet, holding his head.

Jessie could see the blood dripping down the side of his face.
Grabbing some paper towels, she leaned up to hold them to the gash.

The dark shape of a man stepped from the shadows and Jessie
felt her heart start pounding like a jackhammer when Cyrus said, “Well, hello,
wife.”

“Cyrus! What did you do?” she yelled as she pressed the
paper towels harder against Travis’ head and then lifted them to take a look.
The gash was deep.

“What the hell is he doing here, Jessica?” Cyrus sneered as
if he hadn’t heard her.

His tone sent shivers skating across her back but she
refused to back down. She turned to face Cyrus but before she could say
anything Travis pushed her to stand halfway behind them. He was trying to
shield her from Cyrus.

“Parker, I’m taking you in. Go quietly and this won’t get
ugly.”

To their surprise, he started laughing. “I’m not going
anywhere with you, Turner. What I want to know is, what the hell are you doing
here with my wife?”

“I’m not your wife!” Jessie shouted.

Cyrus took a step closer and his expression went dark and
menacing.

“Are you cheating on me, Jessica?”

Jessie realized then that Cyrus had a few major screws
loose. He believed, after all this time, that they were still married.

Travis spoke up then. “She isn’t your wife anymore and what
she does with her time is no concern of yours. You are going to jail, Parker.”

Cyrus turned on him then. “That’s exactly what got you
fired, Turner. You don’t understand that cops stick together.”

“What you don’t understand, Parker, is that police are to
uphold the law. Investigate murders and put the guilty party behind bars.”

Jessie looked back and forth between the men as they glared
at each other. There was something else going on here.

“What do you mean, Travis?” she asked.

“You didn’t tell her? Not that I blame you, I’d be ashamed
of myself too,” Cyrus cut in.

Travis’ gaze never wavered for a second from Cyrus but he
said, “Do you remember when you asked me what had happened when I left the
force, Jessie?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“I was fired because I was investigating our new chief of
police for the murder of a young woman named Candy Marsh.”

Jessie remembered the woman, a few years younger than her.
The murder had shocked the whole town. Everyone had assumed it had been a
drifter who had just passed through.

“You have no proof! You never did and you never will!” Cyrus
screamed.

Jessie jumped and took a step back. This was getting them
nowhere and Cyrus was becoming more unstable by the second. She saw that
familiar look of violence on his face.

“You made sure of that, didn’t you? But thankfully you
aren’t as smart as you think you are. The forensic samples have been found. All
we need to do is match you up to them and you are going away for a long time.”

Cyrus bellowed in rage and pulled a gun from the back of his
pants as he lunged for Travis. But he was expecting it and pushed Jessie away
before Cyrus was on him.

They rolled and Cyrus’ gun clattered to the floor and slid
out of his reach. Jessie kicked it farther away as the sickening sounds of
flesh meeting flesh filled her ears.

She stood motionless as Cyrus got the upper hand and
pummeled Travis’ face with his fist. There was so much blood and the metallic
scent filled the kitchen.

Before she knew what she was doing she jumped on Cyrus’ back
and wrapped an arm around his neck, squeezing for all she was worth. Her other
hand still held her gun and she brought it down on the back of his head.

Cyrus jerked to throw her off and it screwed up her aim,
making the gun just glance off the side of his head. But it distracted him from
punching Travis again.

He stood and, grabbing her arm, pulled her off his back and
she dropped heavily to the floor.

“You stupid bitch!” he screamed as he stood over her.

His foot went back and she knew he was going to kick her. In
that split second she made her decision. Protect herself without hesitation.

She raised the gun in her hand. Took aim and pulled the
trigger. The discharge of the bullet was loud in the confines of the house and
the smell of the gunpowder reached her nose.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. The shocked look on
Cyrus’ face as he crumpled to the floor. Travis yelling, “No!” and then his
arms around her.

“Jessie! Are you okay?” He was running his hands over her
body. Her ears were ringing but she wasn’t hurt. She had faced him and won.

“I’m all right. Did I kill him?”

“Call the police and I’ll look.”

Travis helped her to her feet and she moved away to do as he
had asked. Suddenly he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her hard.

“It’s going to be okay, Jessie girl.”

“I know.”

Jessie made the call to the police department as Travis
pressed his t-shirt to Cyrus’ wound. She had just enough time to pull on some
jeans before she heard the wail of sirens in the distance.

The EMTs went to work on Cyrus immediately.

Jessie asked quietly if he would be okay.

The EMT looked up at her and said that the bullet went clean
through his shoulder and he would be fine.

Travis stood strong and still by her side and she reached
for his hand, holding tight when he laced their fingers.

Once they had loaded Cyrus into the back of the ambulance
and it drove off with flashing lights and wailing sirens, the police, finally
doing their duty in light of the evidence against Cyrus, separated them to ask
questions.

Jessie took a seat at the kitchen table and an officer sat
across from her.

“I just have a few questions, Mrs. Parker.”

“It’s Aimes. Jessie Aimes. Cyrus and I are divorced.” She
was weary and just wanted it over with now that the adrenaline had faded.

“Okay. Can you explain to me what happened?”

“Cyrus broke into my house. He had been making threatening
phone calls and he sent a letter demanding that I send him money. I was afraid
for my life and then I…”

The day was catching up to her and her voice broke on a sob.

“Go on, Ms. Aimes,” the officer prompted.

“I shot him.”

“You were in fear for your life?” he asked.

“Yes,” she nodded, “and for Travis. They were fighting and I
tried to stop Cyrus but he knocked me to the floor.” The tears were coming down
her face unchecked now and she was helpless to stop them.

“All right, Ms. Aimes. I have the records for the assault
and battery charges that Mr. Parker was convicted of. That should be enough to
hold him for now. You aren’t planning on leaving town, are you?” the officer
asked.

“No. I’ll be right here.”

“Good. Then we can leave the rest of this for tomorrow. I’ll
need you and Mr. Turner to come to the station for your official statements in the
morning.”

Jessie nodded her assent as the officer rose and left out
the front door.

Travis answered the officer’s questions and then called Ian
to let him know Cyrus was in custody.

Ian would deal with the bail bondsmen and speak with the
chief about the new evidence. Other than his statement in the morning and
collecting his pay it was out of his hands.

But he didn’t feel the way he expected. Yes, he had done
what he had set out to do. He had caught a wife-beating murderer who shouldn’t
be roaming the streets but he had let Jessie down.

Cyrus had caught him off guard with the cookie jar to the
head. By the time he had gotten downstairs, Cyrus had already been in the
house. Since Cyrus hadn’t known he was there it terrified him that he had
intended it for Jessie. She could have been killed.

Needing reassurance that she was okay, he waved to the
officers as they pulled away. Travis turned and went inside.

“Jessie?” he called.

“I’m here.”

She was sitting at the kitchen table with her head resting
on her crossed arms. He could see the tremors in her shoulders and it pissed
him off that Cyrus could affect her so.

He went to her and laid his hands on her back. She turned
and lifted her tear-streaked face.

“It’s all right, baby. It’s over now. You’re safe.”

She nodded and held tight to his waist.

He held her for a moment and then untangled her arms. He
propped a kitchen chair in front of the door that Cyrus had broken in and then
scooped her into his arms.

He carried her upstairs, undressed her and tucked her into
her bed. He sat beside her until he thought that she was sleeping and then
stood to leave her so she could rest.

Her voice stopped him in the doorway. “Don’t leave, Travis.”

She flipped the covers down next to her and gestured for him
to join her.

He hesitated for all of three seconds before he lay down
next to her.

She cried silent tears for a while as he held her and then
she slept.

But sleep didn’t come easily to Travis. He could still see
Cyrus standing over her as he lay dazed on the floor only a few feet away.

He saw her raise the gun and even though it felt wrong he
had prayed that she would pull the trigger. When she had and he saw Cyrus fall,
it had been like tunnel vision for him. All he could see was her as she fell
back weakly to the floor.

There had been a brief moment of sheer terror, unlike
anything he had ever felt, when she had gone limp.

But then she had been so strong when the police had come.
She had held her own and he had been proud of her. But it also made him realize
that she didn’t need him anymore.

His mind wandered and the package that had been delivered to
him popped up. It seemed as if it had been ages ago.

Nothing had changed for him. He still wanted her to be the
one to wear the things he had bought.

He looked down at her sleeping face and wondered how she had
come to be so important in so small an amount of time.

Exhaustion finally took over and his eyes closed. He dreamed
of his red-haired goddess again, only this time all she did was hold out her
hand to him.