Deadly Beginnings (17 page)

Epilogue

Present day

All the kids and grandkids were there. The house was as busy and bursting as it had ever been.

Aiden, Jesslyn and crew had arrived late, but then she was moving slow these days, pregnant again. With the twins, Ian and Alec, almost eight, Holden almost six. Aiden watched her too carefully in Kaitlyn’s—and Jesslyn’s—opinion.

Ian and Rori lived in D.C. part of the year and wherever else they wanted the rest. Daria had started fourth grade and was bumped to fifth because she was too bored. The twins, George and Nick, adopted from Kenya, were in third grade and always fighting. They and Aiden’s twins kept everyone busy. They’d also adopted another little girl from an ICE raid in LA. No one claimed her and they weren’t about to let her be lost in the system. When no one came forward, Jasmine had become a Kinncaid. Six and shy, she hid most of the time, but things were getting better. Everyone heard her laugh earlier.

Gavin and Taylor were pregnant again as well. This time with another girl. Ryan mother-henned his younger sister. Now in high school, he watched over everyone. Tried to keep his cousin out of trouble, and got sent home from school when he took a football player to the ground when the guy wouldn’t leave Tori alone. Taylor had grounded him. Kaitlyn knew Gavin and Brayden, especially, had taken him the three days of his expulsion, and did whatever guys did when they didn’t want their women to know what they were teaching their sons. Ian had even joined them. God only knew what went on those three days.

Brayden and Christian spent their time between carting kids. Tori had music recitals and dance recitals and practices, and her younger sister was joining her in her interests. They ran the shop, had opened others in London and New York, and one each in Seattle and New Orleans, where they spent a lot of their time with Christian’s family. They had claimed they were done having kids. Apparently fate laughed at that idea. They were expecting their son any day now.

Such was life. When you made plans, she’d learned, life rearranged things so you went the way you were meant to.

Quinlan and Ella and little Grace were in for an extended stay. There was a hurricane moving into the Gulf so Quinlan had moved them up to D.C. for a while. Gracie was four and into everything. Ella and Quinlan were expecting twins but they didn’t want to know what they were having. They both wanted to be surprised. Everyone in the family had a running pool going as to when the newest Kinncaid twins would be born, whether they’d be boys or girls, and how freaked out Quin was going to be. They ran shelters both here and in New Orleans for runaway teens. Ian’s firm provided security.

They’d lost Becky two years ago when she’d been diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer. They’d tried chemo and radiation, but in the end it hadn’t worked. She’d wanted to go home. The entire family had taken her back to Grammy’s cottage in Ireland. Kaitlyn missed her, missed the sound of a voice that always reminded her of Ireland.

Kaitlyn looked around at everyone in the large living room. A motley crew they had. The kids were out somewhere. Probably in the game room. She laughed at Jesslyn, who rubbed a hand over her stomach. “I swear if Aiden doesn’t cool it, I’m going to smother him in his sleep. You’d think this was the first time I had a baby.”

A hand in front of her grabbed her attention.

Jock held his hand out to the woman who’d stolen his heart so long ago. “Come away with me, Kaitie?”

She looked up, smiled that smile that was only his and placed her hand in his.

“Where are we going, Jock? We’ve got a houseful of people.”

He led her to the new French doors they’d installed after the others had been blown out when someone had been hunting Ian. It was actually the third set because he hadn’t liked the others.

“I know we’ve a houseful of people, that’s why I want you to come away with me.”

She sighed but kept her hand in his, and they walked out into the cooling early fall air.

They meandered the brick path along the front of the house around to the side. “I have a present I wanted to give you.”

“What?”

“I thought I’d make it a surprise,” he added.

Kaitie both loved and hated surprises. “Jock.”

He stopped them beneath the huge old tree in the backyard, sitting on the padded bench. It sucked getting older, but that was life.

“Well, it took me a lifetime, but I finally got it.”

“Got it? That I’m right and you’re usually wrong?” she asked him.

He swatted her bottom as she sat down. “No, Kaitie lass.”

She grinned at him. “What are you up to?”

He reached into the pocket of his coat and withdrew the frame and the envelope with the deed and handed it to her.

She frowned at the photo staring up at them.

So long ago.

“Do you remember?” he asked her.

In the photo he sat looking at her, a grin on his face, as she leaned in, pretending to kiss him but looking up at the camera he’d held at arm’s length. The lake was behind them.

“I do.” She ran her finger over the glass. “Where did you get this? I’ve never seen it.”

He smiled. “I’ve carried it with me for years. Had to let go of it long enough for Ian to scan it and do something with it to take the creases out. Had it printed for me when I told him I wanted one. I think he made several copies, truth be told.”

She grinned and shook her head. “I didn’t know you had this and kept it all this time.”

“Open the other, love.”

She bit her lip but opened the document.

“I don’t understand.”

“The cabin. The old owner never wanted to sell, not that I could blame him. Kids held on to it for years but they decided to sell. As I’ve offered them exorbitant amounts over the years, I guess they thought I’d want it.”

She just read the letter. He knew it didn’t take that long.

Finally she looked up at him with watery green eyes. “Our cabin?”

“Yes, sweetheart, our cabin.”

“But . . . Our cabin. The one you call a cabin but is, in fact, a mini mansion in the woods? The one you took me to. Where we first . . .”

He only smiled when she trailed off.

“But I thought you said years ago it had fallen down.”

He shrugged. “It had, it is. It’ll take some work. I’ve already hired contractors and I was going to wait and surprise you for Christmas or something. It won’t be completely redone until the spring more than likely, but—”

“Oh, Jock!” She leaned into him and kissed him. “You are the greatest man!”

“I’ve said that for years.”

She slapped his shoulder. “You shouldn’t have done this.”

“Why the hell not? We’re not decrepit. The kids are all safe and settled now. I don’t do anything with the business anymore really. You’ve retired from the hospital and the board. We can’t spend all our time chasing after grandkids. We could travel and stay in our hotels, but”—he shrugged—“I figured we could enjoy our own space that no one’s known about. Ever. Keeps the kids away. We can spend some time fishing.”

She grinned. “Fishing? You? That requires patience.”

“I can fish.”

She snuggled into him. “I’d rather just skip rocks.”

He grunted on a smile. “You’d scare the fish away.”

They looked on as the rest of the family spilled out around the side of the house, the grandkids in the lead and the adults trailing behind. They were eating out on the back terrace later.

Ian threw a football and Ryan caught it, dancing away as Tori tried to tackle him.

“We did good, didn’t we, Jock?” she asked softly.

“None better, Kaitie lass.”

She smiled at him; he’d always and forever love her smile.

“Whoever would have thought it would start with me looking across some damned ballroom and thinking, ‘She’s the girl I’m going to marry.’”

“Not me. I didn’t think you were serious at all until . . .” She trailed off.

He jostled her a bit. “Not serious? When did the light finally dawn?”

She looked at him a minute, then glanced away as her eyes filled again. She swallowed once. Twice.

“Kaitie?”

“Oh, I knew you were serious, but I didn’t realize . . . I was so confused then, Jock, and didn’t have anyone but you really. I was afraid you felt sorry for me and just . . .” She sighed. “You thought I was asleep. I pretended to be asleep because I was so confused and scared and didn’t know what I was going to do or where I was going to go and—” She shook her head. “We were lying in bed after you’d moved me out of that stupid apartment, after everything that happened with that man . . .”

“And?”

Still she didn’t look at him, but at their family. “I already knew I was half in love with you, this charismatic man who laughed and teased, and yet hinted at danger. You could be so fierce.”

“I was not fierce.”

“Not in words, not in actions, really. Not when we first met, not then, no.” She glanced at him and grinned. “It was your Kinncaid eyes. That first time we met when you came outside and saw me with him. Your eyes were fierce.” She reached up and touched the edge of his eyes. “So fierce and blue.” She looked back at their brood, pulling her hand away.

“And then when you pretended to sleep?”

“I was worried you just felt sorry for me.”

“I did.”

“Jock!”

“Well, I did. You were like this lost waif.”

“I wasn’t a waif.”

“Okay, a lost spitfire.”

“Never mind, forget it.” She made to stand. He settled his arm on her shoulders and kept her where she was. “I’ll just take it to my grave. Leave you wondering and—”

“No, I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

She looked down at the deed, traced the notary pattern with her finger. “You’d brought me here to see your home, after Ireland, do you remember? You’d showed me around that day, and said you wanted the wedding here and told me where on the lawns you saw things . . .”

“Hard to forget.” He remembered. He grinned. They’d made love in half the rooms of the house.

“I was looking out the window, praying for God to give me some sign, some sign that you were the man I thought you were and that I wasn’t making another mistake.”

“And, as we’re looking on our ragtag bunch, I’m assuming you got your sign.”

She looked at him, a little sad.

He brushed a strand of hair, now gray behind her ear.

She caught his hand, laced her fingers through it. “Our hands were just like this, your arm across my stomach. I thought maybe you were asleep and then you said something.”

He had? What the hell had he said? He frowned.

She grinned, then her laugh danced out. “You don’t remember, but that’s okay. I do. You pulled me tighter to you and whispered, ‘As those before me, and my sons after will follow, the woman I’m blessed with and the family we’ll share, to life and to death, this I’ll defend.’”

He grunted, pulled her to him and kissed her forehead and then kissed her stupid. She was the only woman who ever stole his heart. He’d given it to her beside a lake half a century before. She pulled back. “Guess you might remember after all?”

“That line has gotten more Kinncaids laid through the ages—”

“Jock Kinncaid!” She laughed as she slapped his shoulder again.

“Ah, Kaitie lass, I never gave another woman that vow.” Never even thought about it. Once he’d whispered it to her that was it. She didn’t know, though, that hadn’t been the first time he’d whispered it to her. The other times she apparently had been asleep. He’d whispered it the first night they’d made love and he’d held her in his arms, the moonlight after the storm slashing through the windows to bathe her in silver. He’d just keep that to himself though. “Told you on our wedding day, in front of a lawn full of people.”

“I know.”

“Before you, I’d never spoken those words to another. Never to another.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

“You’re still living, aren’t you?”

He stood, laughing, and pulled her to her feet. “So, the cabin? We could sneak away.”

“With the boys? No, I think Ian’s got tracking devices on our vehicles.”

Jock laughed. “I know, that’s why I rented a car for tomorrow after they’ve all gone home. I paid cash, no credit card trail for Ian to find. We’ll sneak away then.”

“Just us. To our place.”

“We’ll skip rocks.”

“Fish.”

“Stay in bed?” He grinned and put his arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer. “That can be arranged, Kaitie.”

“They’ll figure it out.”

“Nah, they might eventually. At our age, we need some entertainment. We’ll see how long we can keep it hidden from them.”

Her laughter filled the air; the boys’ heads darted up and glanced over at them. All of them smiling.

They had done good.

None better.

Excerpt from Deadly Shadows

Keep reading for an excerpt from

Deadly Shadows
,

the first book in the

Kinncaid Brothers Series!

Prologue

He wiped his bloody hands on the soaked crimson cloth. A soft sigh escaped as his rage ebbed into a calming storm. The monster no longer roared within him. It was content—for now.

Death filled his senses, bringing with it the promise of peace. He looked out over the night-blackened mountains, towards the glittering heavens.

Why? Why must they be so evil? So selfish! Jezebels, the lot of them.

Hadn’t he been taught that?

Yes. Yes, of course he had. It was his turn now to teach others. They needed to learn the valuable lesson that vows were important, a covenant. The holy sacrament must be kept, not taunted. Not tempted. Never defiled.

Punishment. That is what was needed—punishment and discipline. But, no one must ever know, he shook his head, quite certain of that. No, others would not understand.

The howl of a wolf pulled him from his musings. Thoughts echoed the rage, stirred the monster. No, the monster must sleep, must rest. Had to.

Again he looked down. The moonlight played over her lax features, her red hair dull in the pale light.

She looked so innocent, so perfect.

But it was a lie! A lie! Their purity and fake sweetness hid the whore lurking inside.

Then they smiled. Smiled!

He never looked the other way after that. Someone had to stand for the faithful and true, the honest,
Law
-abiding men. He would, for it was his destiny. He would be the Avenger, the Punisher, the Righteous.

The sluts must pay for their sins and he was seeing to it they were. He gave them back their salvation.

Slowly, he drew in a deep cleansing breath, heavy with the smell of spring. The snows were melting, muddying the air with earthy fragrances.

He should hurry. No one was likely to come along the road at night, but it could happen, campers or hikers. Unlikely, but possible. He looked over into the ravine. The darkness swallowed up the space just beyond him, hiding the bottom, the lush undergrowth, the jagged rocks. Dark clouds skittered over the sliver of moon.

No one would ever know. With one last swipe of the bloody knife on the cloth, he stuffed the dirty rag into her jeans and pushed her over the edge with the toe of his boot. No one would ever find her, and if they did, it would be much too late.

When silence settled around him once more, he turned to leave and felt the euphoria begin to wane. The tension and excitement of the beast unfurled as he drove away from the evil behind him. Berlioz played on the stereo, chimes and strings almost discordant as they swirled together, creating his favorite symphony. A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. He was happy and restful now that the monster had been sated.

Chapter One

Aiden Kinncaid pulled his Jeep up in front of the dark house. Apparently, no one was home. Great. Just great. His entire day had been from hell, why should it suddenly change now at nine p.m.? Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck and wished he’d taken something earlier for his headache. With an inward groan, he put the Jeep in gear and pulled into the far slot of the three-car garage set off several yards from the house. An older red Jeep was parked in the space beside him. Maybe someone was home after all.

He opened the door, grabbed his overnight bag and briefcase, and climbed out of the vehicle. Cold June air, carrying the smell of pine, whipped down off the Colorado Rockies. Aiden stood and stared at the giant log and stone house. Every window was dark, even though the other Jeep sat in the garage.

He should have stayed at the hotel.

Shuffling his bags to one hand, he dug in his pocket for the key his friend had given him, in case the owner wasn’t home, and walked up the front steps.

Even though he was overseeing the opening of one of his family’s hotels in this resort town, he didn’t want to stay there. He liked to keep his staff on their toes, never knowing when he’d show up. And by staying someplace else, he could leave the office at the office so to speak.

Because of his quirk, he often rented houses in places such as this. If it were a large metropolitan area, he’d probably stay at another hotel, check out the competition. But, as it was, there had been little time to look around. Quinlan, his brother, was supposed to have handled this problem, but somehow Aiden had ended up seeing to it. He’d contacted Tim to find out where he could stay, or a place he could rent. And Tim said he’d set him up. His friend had come through in a matter of hours. Aiden had the rental as long as he needed it.

One small catch.

The owner of the house lived here also. Though as he understood it, the woman would stay above the garage in the mother-in-law suite while she rented the house out. He looked back over his shoulder to the darkened cottage above the garage. Apparently, the owner wasn’t there either.

The deep porch was dark, no outer light shone down in welcome. Owners needed to brush up on their hospitality, he thought. Guests should always feel welcome.

As he unlocked the door, he wondered why the alarm didn’t sound. Tim had given him the code, but it looked like he wouldn’t need it. The thing wasn’t even on. The light pad was off and not a sound registered. No shrill sirens sounded. Nothing. As the door shut softly behind him he wondered who the hell would build a home like this, go to the trouble to install an alarm system and then not even bother to turn it on.

Maybe she was a retired lady, one who forgot things easily, and decided to stay here in this lovely climate instead of transplanting to Florida or Arizona or some such place. And why did he even care? Aiden shook his head.

Sighing, he set his bags down on the hardwood floor. “Hello? Ms. Black?” No reason to give the little lady a heart attack in case she went to bed early or something.

Silence blanketed the house.

“Guess it’s just me.” Aiden flipped the nearest switch and the room flooded with soft light. The entryway was large and airy, giant logs speared up from the floor level straight through to the ceiling. No second story here. The décor went with the terrain, ranch, mountain motifs, Southwest blends of colors and textures.

He roamed the downstairs, noting the refrigerator in the top-of-the-line kitchen needed stocking as it only contained some yogurt and juice. The bare shelves screamed for objects. With a glass of water in hand, he took some aspirin and finished checking out the rooms downstairs. The kitchen, dining room and living room all basically ran into the other, one great room. A cluttered office near the back of the house gave testament that someone at least lived here amongst the shelves and stacks of books, and papers scattered all over the place. If the rest of the house didn’t look so neat and tidy he’d think someone had broken in and tossed the place. It was so disorganized he wondered how anyone could find a single thing in the mess. Though the computer sitting on the corner was dust free.

Upstairs the hallway split off into more bedrooms and bathrooms. Nice and roomy. The master suite was enough to make him smile. A large, four-poster, king-size bed sat in the middle of the room. Made of heavy, blond logs, it demanded center attention. A red and blue quilt covered it. He saw clothes, black lingerie—he raised one brow—trailed out of one dresser drawer and the closet stood open, jeans and shirts hanging haphazardly and piling on the floor amidst jumbled shoes. Did little old ladies wear black lingerie? Why hadn’t he asked Tim more about his landlord?

He sighed. Though he’d love to stay in here, it seemed the owner had yet to clean up. Fine, he’d take a guest room for tonight. As of now, he didn’t really care. And to be fair, he was here a day early. Tim Kerrin, his friend, assured Aiden his early arrival would not be a problem.

Aiden hoped to hell the guy was right. That was all he needed, to have no place to stay. Not that he couldn’t find another. Money opened locked doors, but he would rather not have to go through the trouble.

He chose the last room down the long hallway. Yawning, he tossed his overnight bag on the bed and sat down wishing the aspirin would kick in.

Today was bad enough as it was. There hadn’t been room for his jet at the local Crested Butte airstrip, so he’d had to land at the nearest town, Gunnison, thirty minutes away and drive up here. The contractors at the hotel were behind schedule, but he’d be damned if The
Highland Hotel wouldn’t open on time. The painters pulled their contract. Aiden smiled. He’d see about that. By the time the Kinncaid lawyers got through with them, the company would be history. He wasn’t Kinncaid Enterprises’ CEO for just PR. Now he had to find a contractor to come in and fix all the screw-ups. If they had to work twenty-four-seven, the damn hotel was opening on the scheduled date.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and wished his headache and the whole damn day to hell.

• • •

Jesslyn Black looked at the clock on the dashboard. After midnight. On the off chance Maddy would still be at The Copper Dime, she turned off Gothic Road onto Elk Avenue—picturesque with its neo-Victorian buildings—and drove up to the alley entrance of the bar and grill.

The Copper Dime was a steak and beer place, dubbed simply The Dime by locals. Ski and summer tourist seasons were their busiest times. Jesslyn was the minor owner of the establishment. Madelyn Brooks’s SUV was parked outside the back door, along with Timothy Kerrin’s—the major owner.

Jesslyn cut the engine of her pickup and climbed out of the four-wheel-drive rig. Climbed being the operative word for her. At five-foot-three, she used the running boards on the side for more than just show. Tim told her they were, in her case, stepladders.

Shaking off the wayward thoughts, she rolled her neck and stretched, wishing the drive from Denver wasn’t so damn long. Warm air, full of liquor, grilled burgers and the faint whiff of coffee, hit her face as she pulled the back door open.

“Lucy! I’m home!” she called.

A bottle crashed to the floor. “Son of a bitch.” Tim stood up from behind the bar. “You’re paying for that.”

“I didn’t drop it,” she told him. “What was it?”

“Half a bottle of our best Scotch. And, I wouldn’t have dropped it if not for you.” He glared at her as he grabbed the mop from the corner and started to clean up the mess.

Jesslyn leaned against the old scarred bar and crossed her booted feet. His gray eyes narrowed on her.

“You have fun at your meeting?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I guess so. I needed it. Authors must meet with their editors. Though the drive I could have lived without.”

“You could have flown to New York.”

“Oh yeah. You know how much I just love New York.” She shuddered at the thought of all those people crammed in one place, shuffling through the streets. One on top of the other. Like little ants. “Denver seemed convenient for the both of us.”

He huffed out a breath. “Well, now that your little vacation is over, you can get back to pulling your weight around here.”

“Ah, and here I thought you really missed me.” She stood on her toes and ruffled his salt-and-pepper hair. “When are you going to dye that? You want to look old or what?”

He cocked a brow at her. Tim Kerrin was in his late thirties, about five-eleven, with a wiry frame, narrow face and sharp gray eyes. He’d owned The Dime for almost ten years and took her on as a partner three years ago.

“I haven’t heard the ladies complaining.”

Jesslyn snorted. “What ladies?”

“And you last dated when?” he tossed back.

“The ass you set me up with.”

“Who? I bet you don’t even remember his name.”

Shit. Leo? Lloyd? “It started with an ‘L.’”

He shook his head. “Lyle. His name was Lyle.”

She snapped her fingers. “There you go. Lyle. And he was an ass and a bore and your matchmaking skills suck. Please spare me your next attempt.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“No, it was worse.” She snagged a pretzel out of the wooden bowl on the bar. “I’m going to talk to Maddy.”