13 #2
“We met at the prison after Josh was murdered,” Ronan said, even though he didn’t ever remember meeting this man, he did remember seeing him in a cell. He’d been focused on finding out what happened to Josh so that he, Ten, and the rest of the team could get the hell out of the prison.
“After you got him killed, you mean.” Anger burned bright in Rhodes’s dark eyes.
Ronan stared at Rhodes. The man looked as if he hadn’t slept in several days. He had that hauntingly crazed look in his eyes Ronan had when Josh walked out on him and their marriage. “You know who my husband is. You know what he can do.”
“He couldn’t read me.” Rhodes aimed the taser at Ronan.
Ronan wasn’t going to answer to that claim for now.
“I met Tennyson during my investigation of the Michael Frye case. He’d just helped police find a kidnapped boy and I called him to help me find Michael, who, at the time, had been missing for seven years.
He was kidnapped right out of his own front yard when he was only five years old. ”
“You know Josh was innocent. He didn’t kidnap that brat and he sure as hell didn’t murder him.”
“That’s not what Michael Frye said. He told Tennyson that Josh was his killer.
This child’s ghost had no skin in the game.
He had no reason to lie. Not only was he dead, but his disappearance tore his family apart.
We found Josh’s DNA with Michael’s body.
Josh knew he was about to be arrested so he kidnapped Tennyson to get to me.
Josh confessed to the crime.” Ronan paused, trying to assess Rhodes’s mental state.
Was he listening to what Ronan was saying or was he about to go nuclear?
“I loved Josh and he loved me. We had plans to build a life together.” It was obvious Damien had been close to Josh. What Ronan wanted to know was at what cost?
Ronan sighed. “Build a life? Like the life he built with me? I was so stupidly in love with Josh that I didn’t want to see he was dicking every man he could get his hands on.
He dumped me for a woman and when she divorced him after he went to prison, started a relationship with you.
He was sentenced to life with no parole.
How the hell were you going to build a life together? ”
“Josh had a new attorney who was preparing a new appeal. His verdict was about to be overturned. He was going to be set free.”
“No, that’s not true.” Ronan watched as Rhodes’s face crumpled.
“Josh was out of appeals. I was in contact with his lawyers through every step of the appeal process. I wanted to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks and set Josh loose on society. His final appeal was denied a month before he was murdered. He had no shot of ever being released. You were no longer his cellmate and had been moved out of his block. Josh had nothing else to live for.”
“He lied?” Rhodes sounded as if he were asking himself the question, rather than Ronan. “That’s not possible. Josh would never lie to me.”
Once upon a time Ronan had felt the same way. “I understand you wanting to come for me, but why the others? What did you get out of killing Crews and Jones?”
“Revenge!” Rhodes shouted. “Revenge was all I had left. Miller was a shitty attorney. He made the deal that sent me to prison for nearly ten years. There was more he could have done to mitigate my sentence, but he was too lazy. Those last years in prison after Josh died were hell. I was beaten, left in the hole, wasn’t given access to commissary, all on Jones’s orders.
Then when parole was in sight, Crews voted against me.
Said I was a danger to society. He was right and now he’s dead.
I knew killing them all would set me free. ”
Ronan’s eyes narrowed on Rhodes. He’d just admitted to killing two men and planning to kill a third. He wasn’t going to be set free ever again, unless… “Rhodes, wait!” Ronan shouted.
Rhodes pulled an auto-injector pen from his back pocket and held it mere inches from his neck.
“You don’t want to do this, Damien. Please don’t do this.” Ronan couldn’t allow this man to kill himself, no matter how reprehensible he was.
“I’ll be reunited with Josh. He was right. We can build a life together now.” Josh jabbed himself with the pen. He grinned at Ronan before sinking to the floor. The pen fell from his hand and rolled several inches away.
“No!” Ronan shouted. He ran for the door and yanked it open. “Send in the medics! He just dosed himself with something.”
Rhodes lay on the floor staring up at the ceiling. Ronan scrambled back to him and grabbed the pen. It was an auto-injector for insulin.
Hitting his knees, Ronan felt for a pulse. It was barely there. “Why, Damien? Why did you do this?”
Rhodes smiled. “Josh is here, Ronan. He’s here. He came for me. Let me go. Let me go to him. Don’t try to save me. I’m too far gone.”
Behind him, Ronan heard the pounding footsteps of the EMTs. “He injected himself with insulin.” Ronan held out the auto-injector.
“Jesus, Ronan,” Jude grabbed him and pulled him away from the EMTs who were desperately trying to save Damien Rhodes. “Are you okay?”
Ronan nodded. “He was in love with Josh. He did this so they could be together again. Rhodes could see Josh here in this room. He believed every lie Josh told him, that he had a new attorney who was filing a sure-fire appeal and he’d be out soon and they could start their lives together. He begged me to let him die.”
“Ronan!” Fitz shouted, running into the house. Cisco was right behind him.
“I’m fine,” Ronan said, as tears cascaded down his cheeks.
“Time of death, 10:42 P.M.,” one of the EMTs said.
Ronan watched dumbfounded as the medics gathered their things and left the house. “One more life lost to Josh Gatlin. Rhodes was free. He could have done anything, gone anywhere, but instead he decided to kill everyone who had hurt him. Why? Why did he sacrifice everything for Josh?”
“Wouldn’t you do the same for Ten?” Fitz asked. “It might sound crazy, knowing Josh the way you did, but people do strange things for love. Who are we to say Josh wasn’t in the room waiting to take Damien home?”
Ronan had no answer for Fitz’s supposition. Maybe Josh had come for Damien. Maybe theirs was true love. Ronan didn’t think Josh was capable of that kind of love, but like Fitz said, people do strange things for love.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Jude wrapped an arm around Ronan and led him out of the house.
He buried his face in Jude’s neck and cried his heart out. There wasn’t a mark on him. Rhodes hadn’t come within ten feet of Ronan. He was safe. Ten and the kids were safe. Why the hell was he crying like he’d lost his best friend? None of this made any sense.
Josh had nearly ruined Ronan’s life when he left. He’d spent years at the bottom of a bottle of whiskey trying to cope with what he’d thought he’d lost. Now here was Damien Rhodes, dead on the floor. Dead because he loved Josh. Dead because Josh lied.
If not for Tennyson, was this the path Ronan’s life would have taken? Would he have sacrificed everything for his ex the way Damien had? Ronan didn’t think so. He’d found Ten and Ten had saved him.
Tennyson and the kids were everything good life had to offer. The same was true with Jude and Fitz and their families. All Ronan wanted to do now was go home to the family he’d built. The family who loved him.