Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I don’t need to go to the hospital,” Violet insisted. She was currently sitting on a gurney, in the back of an ambulance, and a white bandage covered her neck. “I want to stay with you.”
“Sweetheart, for my sanity, go to the hospital.”
“It’s a scratch. ”
No, it had been a knife to the throat. That was what it had been. A new image for his nightmare highlight reel. Royal put his forehead against hers. “You want me to beg? In front of all these gawking people?” He’d shoved his way into the ambulance after she’d been bandaged up.
“No. I never want you to beg.” Her breath whispered out. “Don’t you dare get locked into a cell while I’m gone, you hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He thought everyone within a thirty-foot radius might have heard her.
“Don’t be a smartass, either.” Then she was kissing him. Quick. Desperate. “And don’t forget that I love you. ”
He’d remember her love until his dying day. There were some things that could never be erased. “And you remember that you’re the center of my world.”
Then he made himself back away. Hop out of the ambulance. His gaze met hers. “Kai,” he said to his friend who was close by. Just that. His name.
Kai climbed in the ambulance. He knew what to do. “She’ll have a guard every minute. Damn, but I sure hope we encounter some hot nurses. The last time I was in the hospital, there was one woman that was absolutely out of this world.”
The doors slammed shut. The ambulance pulled away.
Then Royal turned to the detective who was waiting. Not that Curran was alone. Curran’s new federal agent buddy was right beside him. Both looked pissed. Fair enough, Royal felt pretty pissed, too.
I killed him. And if I had it to do all over again, I’d still pull that trigger.
“Forensics are working in your office. We’d really like for you to walk us through the shooting once more.” Teresa’s hands were on her hips. The pose pulled back her suit coat and showed both her badge and her weapon. “How about we go down to the station so that we can talk?”
Ah, and here Violet had just asked him not to get locked away. But in this case, he could oblige his lady. He would not be spending time in a cell. “Absolutely. Happy to cooperate. If there is one thing I love to do, it’s cooperate with law enforcement. I’ll make sure I call my lawyer to sit in on the cooperation bout with me, but first…” He marched right up to Curran. “You were calling me about something?” A perfectly timed call.
Curran nodded. “Micah kept singing that he’d been set up. I believed him and wanted to warn you.”
“Aw, detective, be careful, or I’ll think you care about me.”
“You bastard.” Curran threw his arms around Royal and hauled him close. “Thought you were dead. Shit. I heard the guns going off in the background. I heard Violet scream.”
“You do care.”
Curran eased back and glared at him. “You and Beau saved my ass when I was seventeen. You dragged me out of that fucking gang and gave me a life. Hell, yes, I care. Now you stop doing dumb shit.”
“I didn’t do anything dumb. An upstanding officer of the law heard every word I said—and every word the killer said. I’m hoping you put the call on speaker.” He glanced toward the watchful Teresa. “So that the whole team could hear? Did you hear, Agent Duncan?”
“I heard,” she affirmed.
“Great. Then our visit to the police station should be blessedly short. The dead man upstairs is the serial killer you’re after. He also murdered his wife—and whoever the unfortunate victims are at the winery. I’m guessing they were probably homeless women. Maybe prostitutes who resembled his dead wife. Women who’d been taken when he was still learning. Someone he hoped no one would miss.” So Leo had preyed on the weakest members of society first. Burn in hell, you piece of shit. Burn. “He used the winery probably because his good friend Micah told him about the place once—and Leo really hated Micah.” He played the long game, always intending to frame Micah for the crimes. But then I came along and screwed things to hell for him.
“What did he mean,” Teresa advanced with her head cocked and her expression suspicious, “when he said you were hunting him ?”
“Hunting?” He let his brows rise. “Oh, didn’t I mention it? I’ve started working with the Ice Breakers. I’m helping them solve some cold cases.” He would be helping them so it was just a twist on the truth, not a full lie. “I’m gonna be working up close and personal with the doctor of the dead.” He’d finally take the leap and do something that Beau had been pushing him to do. Change up his hobby…work with a team…but still bring down the bad guys.
Since he was planning for a future—with Violet and kids and the whole wild family dream that he’d almost been too afraid to have—Royal was willing to change.
For Violet, he’d do anything.
His head tilted back, and he looked up at the second floor of Punishment. The body hadn’t been brought out yet. But it would be. Sooner or later. Bagged and tagged and then buried in a pit in the ground.
No one would mourn Leo Barnes.
But some would be celebrating his death. I’m gonna celebrate.
Reporters were sneaking closer. He knew they would have picked up the story on the police scanner. More headlines. More people crawling out of the woodwork, pretending to know him and be his long-lost family.
Except…
His head turned to the right. He’d felt the stare on him the whole time. Ever since he’d followed Violet to the ambulance.
The stranger stood with his back against the nearby brick wall. Sure enough, his eyes were locked on Royal.
“Who the hell is he?” Curran asked softly.
Excellent question. “That is something I intend to discover.”
The stranger tipped his head to Royal.
Curran pointed out, “He’s got your face.”
“Not exactly.” But damn close enough. Close enough that if Royal hadn’t just sent a man to hell, he might be freaking the shit out. However, he preferred to focus on one crisis at a time.
The stranger turned and walked away. He headed in the opposite direction of the approaching reporters.
“Want me to stop him?” Curran took a step after the guy.
“Yeah.” He actually did.
“Material witness. He’s not going anywhere.” Curran took off after the stranger. “Hey, buddy! Buddy, stop!”
It paid to have cops who were your friends. Sometimes, those do-gooders would stop you from making a fatal mistake.
And sometimes, they’d be the perfect alibi you needed when you sent a man to hell. Heard every word, didn’t you, Curran? You and everyone near you at the station.
The minute Leo had put the knife to Violet’s throat, he’d been a dead man. But having a whole team of cops hear his confession and the chaos that had played over the phone… Don’t worry, Violet. There’s no way I’ll be seeing the inside of a cell.
Instead, he’d be spending his days and nights with her. For the rest of his life.
Provided, of course, that she wanted forever with him.
Another day, another interrogation room.
Only this time, Royal was the one going in with the questions.
“Are you sure about this?” Violet asked. She stood at Royal’s side. Night had fallen. The hours had swirled by in a blur. As soon as the cops and Feds had cleared him, he’d rushed to the hospital to be with her.
A white bandage still covered her throat. Her eyes were huge. Her skin too pale. And she looked like absolute perfection to him. She always would, no matter what.
“You don’t have to walk into that room,” Violet added. “You don’t have to look back.”
“Sweetheart, you’re worried?”
“Yes.”
“We took out the killer. We’re still standing.” He motioned toward the closed interrogation room door. “What could be worse than that?”
She reached for his hand. Her fingers squeezed his. “You might not like your past.”
Oh, he pretty much hated it, no doubt.
“That man in there isn’t your family. I don’t care if he has your face. Beau is your family.”
Beau was waiting for him in Curran’s office.
“ I’m your family,” Violet told him fiercely. “If there is pain waiting for you in there, then I say just forget it. Look forward, not back.”
His lips brushed over hers. “I like the way you protect me.”
“And I like the way you’re ready to kill for me,” she murmured in return. “I like the way you fight for me, and know that I will always fight for you, too.”
He knew it. Something else he knew with all of his being? “I fucking love you.”
She kissed him again. Soft. Promising.
And part of him did want to just grab Violet. To turn away. To run with her and just keep going toward the beautiful new life that waited. But some chapters needed to be closed before you could look forward. This one chapter had haunted Royal his entire life. Time to shut the door on it.
“Doesn’t matter what you hear in there.” Violet’s lilac scent teased him and reassured him. “You’re strong. You’re sexy. You’re brilliant. You’re mine.”
He was also dangerous and manipulative and predatory, but he liked that she focused on the positives.
“I’ll be with you. Every second.” Her gaze searched his. “I’m not going to leave.”
She kept saying those words. Did she realize that, to him, they were just as special as when she told him, I love you?
It was time to face the past. Time to put another monster to rest. He opened the interrogation room door. Two men waited inside at the narrow table.
Curran.
And the stranger with Royal’s face.
The stranger glanced down at the watch—a Rolex—on his wrist. “About time. I thought you were going to let me die of boredom in here.”
Well, well. Someone thought he was funny. “Had the little matter of a dead body to handle.”
The stranger grunted. He rose from the table and turned to fully face Royal. Royal hadn’t entered the room yet. He stood on the threshold with Violet just behind him.
He weighed the stranger.
The stranger weighed him.
Royal had about an inch on the guy in height. Similar builds. Similar features. Eyes the same swirling hazel.
The scar was different, of course.
And while Royal was wearing his battered jeans and a black t-shirt—items that Beau had brought him because Royal’s other clothes had been stained with blood and perhaps some brain matter—the man before Royal wore an expensive suit.
Like money could hide a monster.
“Can Violet and I have a chat with him?” Royal asked as his attention shifted to Curran. “One that the rest of the police station doesn’t hear?”
Curran nodded and headed for Royal. He waved a hand toward the one-way mirror. “I’ll be on the other side. Just me.” He paused in front of Royal. “His name’s Declan Flynn. No criminal background.”
That could just mean he’d gotten away with his crimes.
“He’s from Chicago,” Curran added. “Runs some sort of tech company up there.”
Vague curiosity stirred within Royal.
“He’s also a bit of an asshole,” Curran disclosed. “Just so you’re aware.”
“More than a bit,” Declan admitted. “It’s been a lifelong problem.”
Good to know.
Royal moved to the side. Then he advanced into the interrogation room, but his gaze cut back to the detective.
Curran skimmed his stare over Violet. “You sure you want to be here?”
“I’m with Royal.”
“Yeah, thought you’d say something like that. Protective.” Shaking his head, he eased past her. “Number one necessary trait in a mate.” He exited.
Violet shut the door behind the detective. Then she moved to Royal’s side.
“Guess you two are a package deal, huh?” Declan crossed his arms over his chest. “So, which of you killed the guy in the club? Who pulled the trigger that ended his life?”
“Does it matter?” Violet asked. Her voice was carefully flat.
“It was me,” Royal said. Like he’d ever let Violet carry any unnecessary weight on her shoulders.
Her head whipped toward him.
“My bullet went in his head, baby.” Exactly where he’d aimed. “Yours went in the wall about a foot to the side.” The crime scene techs had already dug out the bullet from the wall. “But you did slice one beautiful hole in the guy’s thigh with your knife.” A knife that had been taken into evidence. No worries, he would just get her another.
“Do you often eliminate serial killers?” Declan asked in the tone one would use to inquire about the weather.
“Everyone needs a hobby.” Royal faced the man he’d never expected to see. “Guessing that prick at the back of the theater—the one in the expensive gray suit—was acting on your behalf?”
An incline of Declan’s head. His hair was little shorter than Royal’s. “Thought we could set up a meeting. All civilized-like.”
“I don’t really do civilized,” Royal informed him.
“I did notice that.” A faint smile teased Declan’s lips but was gone in a blink. “I followed you to the club. I was talking to the guard at your door, convincing him that I needed to be let inside.” An exhale. “I owe you both an apology. If I hadn’t been distracting him, then your serial killer wouldn’t have gotten around the building and slipped inside. The day could have ended differently.”
Royal doubted much would have been different. Leo Barnes had needed to die. But Violet getting hurt? Violet being at risk for even a single second? Yeah, that shit should have been different.
“Saw your story on the news.” Declan rolled back his shoulders. Seemed as comfortable and casual as could be. As if he lingered in interrogation rooms all the time. “Actually, my guy James saw it. James was the suit at the theater, by the way. One look, and he knew who you were.”
“I’m Royal Boudreaux.” He knew exactly who he was.
Declan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Maybe he wasn’t as comfortable as he appeared. “Once upon a time, you were Garrison Flynn.”
Royal took a step back.
Instantly, Violet’s hand was around his. Squeezing.
His stare flew to her. “I’m Royal Boudreaux,” he said again.
“You’re Royal Boudreaux,” she repeated. “You’re the man I love.”
He sucked in a breath. His hand twisted so that he was holding hers. He looked back at Declan, only to find Declan’s gaze on Royal and Violet’s joined hands. What could have been a flash of envy came and went on Declan’s face.
But then there was no emotion. Like Declan had just locked down all his feelings. “Royal Boudreaux.” A nod. “I think I like that name better.” He pulled in a deep breath. Released it out slowly. “We can do the whole DNA routine, but I believe the result is gonna show that I’m your brother. Older by four years.”
Brother. Brother. “I have a brother already.” Beau.
Declan’s Adam’s apple bobbed once more. “Good for you.” His gaze cut to the one-way mirror. Then back to Royal. “I had a brother, too. You. A lifetime ago. A little guy that I fought to remember. A kid that would sing off-key and always ask for more stories at night.”
“I don’t sing,” Royal groused.
“Our mom would read the stories to us. We shared a room. Me and my brother. She’d read to us over and over again.”
A tremble shook Royal’s body. “How the fuck did I wind up tossed away like garbage?” The question that had haunted him forever.
Declan didn’t answer.
“Hey.” Violet’s voice. Soft. Husky. Tender. Her left hand rose to slide against Royal’s cheek.
Immediately, he looked at her. He saw her.
“Never garbage.” Not so husky. Fierce. “Don’t talk that way again about the man I love, got it? Doesn’t happen. Not from you. Not from anyone.”
And a weight seemed to lift. The family he’d always sought was right there. Not the man named Declan but Violet. His Violet.
She’d saved his whole soul. Did she know that?
“Our mother was…trying to get away.” Declan’s voice came out haltingly. “She took you first. She was going to hide you. Then come back for me. Or at least, that’s what I’ve been able to piece together.”
Royal’s gaze pulled away from Violet. But he kept holding her hand, tightly.
“Our father was a bastard.” Declan’s hand scraped over the scar on his cheek. “Believe me when I say, you were better off not knowing him.”
Royal’s body tensed even more.
“She ran with you. And I believe she was coming back for me. But something happened. She didn’t make it back. I was actually told you were both dead. Fiery car crash. No survivors. I don’t know how you wound up on that street, but I am damn glad you weren’t in the car with her. Maybe she left you there because she knew danger was closing in. Maybe she was trying to save you. But she wasn’t able to save herself.”
Dead. Royal’s heart slammed into his chest. “And your father?”
“Our father?” A cold smile twisted Declan’s lips. “Dead and buried, too. So I’m sorry to say it’s just me.”
Royal didn’t speak.
“I have money to burn. An inheritance. Half will go to you, so I’m not here trying to?—”
“I don’t need your money.”
“No. Right.” Declan exhaled. “You don’t need anything from me, do you? You have a life. A different brother. A woman who looks at you like you freaking hang the moon. And you look at her like she’s your world.”
“She is,” he affirmed. There would never be any doubt on that note.
“Must be fucking nice.” Declan nodded. “We’ll do the DNA tests. Lawyers will need that stuff. Whether you want the family money or not, it’s yours. Put it in a trust for your kids. After the paperwork is settled, I won’t bother you again. Just came because I…” His lashes flickered. “I always hoped you were alive. Don’t know how the hell you got to New Orleans when you were two. But I’m glad you did. I’m glad you are still breathing.” He motioned toward Violet. “And I’m glad you have a chance to be really happy.” Declan squared his shoulders. “Hope you have a good life…Royal.” He headed for the door.
Violet squeezed Royal’s hand.
Royal stepped into Declan’s path.
He stared at the face so like his own. “I don’t remember you.”
“Yeah, well, you were two the last time you saw me.”
“I can’t sing for shit.”
A half-smile. “You couldn’t when you were two, either.”
“You walked in, saw me over a dead man, and offered to help me bury the body.”
Declan’s brows rose. “What else would a good brother do?”
Royal’s chest burned. “Who killed our father?” Our.
“I did.” Flat. “He was an abusive bastard who deserved exactly what he got. No charges were ever filed against me. I was sixteen at the time, so most of the records are sealed. If you want the whole bloody story, I’ll give it to you. But it’s not pretty.”
Royal didn’t look at the scar on Declan’s cheek, not again. “And our mother?”
“I think he might have hired someone to go after her. Still trying to piece that all together. Trying to find out who is responsible for taking her from us.”
Royal nodded. “You want some help with that?”
Hope lit Declan’s eyes. “You offering?”
“Maybe. And maybe I know some people who are pretty good when it comes to stirring up cold cases.” Could the Ice Breakers help? He sure as hell hoped so. To finally close a mystery that had haunted him forever—damn, that would be something. My mother. And his father…no, no, he wasn’t ready to go there, not yet.
If he was a monster…
“You’re not him,” Violet said, as if reading his mind.
Royal flinched.
“You’re not your father. You will never be,” Violet told him, her voice fierce. “You’re my Royal.”
He inhaled. Exhaled. He stared into Declan’s eyes.
“I’m not like the bastard, either,” Declan told him. “I work every single day not to be like him.” A pause. “We can be more than he ever was.” Declan ducked his head. “I’ll just, uh, make my exit. Your detective buddy knows where to find me.” His stare slid to Violet. “You’ll take care of him?”
“I think we’ll take care of each other,” she replied softly.
“Sounds like a plan.” Declan cleared his throat. “Lucky bastard.”
Royal stepped to the side. Declan headed out. Royal watched him go.
“Really?” From Violet. “You want something your whole life. It’s right there, and you just let it walk away?”
His breath sawed in and out.
“You have me. You have Beau. You have a family. What does he have?”
Lucky bastard. Declan’s words rang in his ears.
Declan was heading down the narrow station corridor. Beau suddenly appeared in his path. He barely glanced at Declan, though. His focus was on Royal. A wide smile split Beau’s lips. “About time!” he called out. “Bro, are you ready to get the hell out of here?”
Declan stumbled, then straightened quickly.
“Almost.” Keeping his hold on Violet’s hand and tugging her with him, he advanced. “Declan.”
Declan whirled toward him.
Beau blinked in confusion.
“Beau, there’s someone I think you should meet.”
Declan and Beau were pretty much standing side by side. They filled that hallway. Royal and Violet advanced toward them. As he closed in on the other two men, they both faced him and Royal said, “Beau always told me that we can choose our families.”
Declan’s chin lifted. The garish light in the hallway hit the scar on his face.
“Declan, this is my brother, Beau.”
Declan’s eyes glittered as he cast a sideways glance at Beau.
And Beau was finally looking at the guy. “What in the hell…?” Beau began.
“And Beau, this is Declan. He’s my?—”
“Yeah, I can figure that shit out.” Suspicion darkened Beau’s face. “Are you here to hurt or to help?”
Well, as to that… “He’s already offered to bury a body for me.”
Beau’s eyes widened. “Dammit, man!” Beau exploded on Royal. “How many times do I have to tell you…don’t say stuff like that in a police station? ”
Declan appeared frozen in place.
“There are no bodies to bury!” Beau announced loudly. “None. The doctor of the dead is raising bodies. It’s a misunderstanding. She’s digging them up. Nothing to see here. Jeez.” He glowered. “You know what, how about we take this out of the station? Who wants a drink? I say we all hit LeBlanc’s.”
LeBlanc’s. Beau’s prized bar. “They have the best whiskey in town.” Royal wasn’t sure if Declan was aware of that pertinent fact. “We can talk there.”
Declan released a long breath. “I’d like that.”
Talking…step one.
Tearing the past apart…step two.
Moving the hell on to the future with Violet at his side… end game.
His head turned toward her. A faint smile tilted her lips. She’d stopped him from letting Declan walk away. Oh, hell, it was more than that. She’d stopped Royal the very first night. She’d kept him from going over the edge and straight into the darkness that waited.
He’d meant what he told her before. She might think that he’d saved her when he found Violet in the trunk of that car, but the truth was that she’d saved him.
She glanced his way. Her lashes fluttered as a little furrow appeared between her delicate brows. “Royal?”
“Thank you,” he told her.
“For what?”
His mouth pressed to hers. She kissed him back with no hesitation. Just with joy and need and love.
Thank you.
As to her question…
Thank you for loving the devil, sweetheart. Because I would be lost without you.