Chapter Eighteen
Addie lifted her face to the shower in the guest room and kept it there for as long as she could hold her breath. She had to wash away the blood.
Again.
This time, not from Yvette but from Elijah. When Judson had delivered the kill shots that had ended the man’s reign of terror, and his life, Addie had gotten hit with some spatter.
It’d been a small price to pay for getting out of the nightmare alive, but she hadn’t wanted the blood to stay on her body any longer than necessary.
Nor had she wanted to hold the babies until she was clean.
That’s why she had headed to the shower as soon as Rory had bagged her clothes and taken a brief statement.
And after she’d spoken with Judson, of course.
That had been just quick reassurances that they were alive and unharmed. He hadn’t kissed her and hadn’t extended the hug he’d managed to give her right after shooting Elijah. That’s because they had both wanted to rush into the bathroom and check on the babies.
Lily and Rose had been fine, not a scratch on them, and both girls had already gone back to sleep now that the gunfire had stopped. Etta Jean had looked just as shell-shocked as Addie no doubt had, but the woman was holding up. Addie prayed that continued in the aftermath of this attack.
The flurry of activity had started to swarm around the room and the ranch within minutes after Elijah’s death.
Priority one had been getting an ambulance for Bennie, but Addie knew that was just the start.
The CSIs and ME would be coming in, and Grace and the deputies would be going through Elijah’s place and any and all of his things.
Looking for proof to support what the man had confessed to when he’d been holding Addie at gunpoint.
Even if there was no proof, the confession and Elijah’s actions in the past hour were more than enough to give him the label of serial killer, along with committing other assorted crimes, including the multiple attempts at the murder of police officers.
Since Elijah was also the person responsible for abducting Lily and Rose and putting them in grave danger, Addie wouldn’t shed a single tear over the man’s demise.
Just the opposite.
Elijah’s death brought her the flood of relief that the babies were now finally safe.
They would be inconvenienced by having to leave the ranch for a day or two since it was now a crime scene.
One that would need to be processed and cleaned up.
That move would happen in an hour or two, after the deputies had cleared the grounds to make sure no other threat was lingering around.
Everyone was convinced that Elijah had acted solo, but they wanted to be sure.
So did Addie.
She didn’t want to take any chances with the twins’ safety.
Then, the three of them and Etta Jean would be going to Judson’s house for a couple of days.
Not ideal, since it meant hauling loads and loads of baby stuff, but it was better than the alternative of being in the house where Elijah’s blood was still on the floor.
Soon, that would all be cleaned up, and while there would always be those horrible memories of him, there were thousands more good memories to overshadow what he’d tried to do.
Addie lathered up for a third time to make sure there were no traces of Elijah left on her body and wished it would be this easy to rid her mind of the terrifying images that would likely plague her for years to come.
Etta Jean and Judson as well. Heck, the entire Renegade Canyon sheriff’s office.
Elijah had spread this nightmare to so many people.
And for what?
Money, plain and simple. His greed had spurred all of this, and she wondered if that greed would have soon extended to murdering Jennifer as well once he was certain he could have Yvette’s entire estate.
Trying to shove aside as many thoughts of Elijah as she could, Addie stepped from the shower and was greeted by an amazing sight.
Judson.
He was in the doorway of the bathroom that she’d left open so she’d hear if anyone called out for her. Especially Etta Jean, since Livvy and she were in the nursery with the babies.
Judson’s eyes locked with hers before his gaze slid down the naked length of her. The corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. Something she was glad to see. Right now, she wanted anything that would erase even a small portion of what she’d just been through.
He handed her a towel and watched as she coiled it around herself. “I would pull you into my arms right now, but that could be a little risky,” Judson admitted. “I doubt we want to start something when we could be interrupted at any second.”
That was true. But Addie risked it anyway.
She went to him and let him engulf her in exactly what she needed.
She let the feel of his body against hers ease some of her still-knotted muscles.
Addie took in his scent, too, and let that fill her with something wonderful rather than the stench of gunfire and blood.
Yes, she needed this.
Addie held on for several minutes, letting herself level out.
“FYI, they just removed the body,” he murmured, gently rubbing her back with his fingertips. “So, you won’t have to see that when you go back downstairs.”
Addie was beyond thankful for that. She never wanted to see Elijah again. She just wanted this moment with Judson and then the babies.
But she didn’t get another moment with him, because his phone rang. Groaning, she stepped back, knowing he needed to take the call since it could be important.
“It’s Serenity Springs Care Facility,” he let her know.
He didn’t put the call on speaker, and Addie didn’t push him to do that. If this was Rowena, she didn’t want to hear the woman’s voice.
“Yes,” Judson replied in response to what the caller had just said. “I’ll tell her,” he added a heartbeat later. “Thanks for letting us know.”
Before he even ended the call, Addie knew what this was about. “Rowena’s dead?”
He nodded, and she saw him studying her face, no doubt looking for any signs of grief. But there weren’t any. Just the opposite. Addie exhaled a long, slow breath of relief and nodded.
“It’s over,” she muttered.
On a sigh, he reached for her again, but reaching was as far as he got before he got a text. Clearly, fate was not going to allow Judson and her a little alone time. Of course, that was expected with all the various wheels turning in the wrap-up of the investigation.
“From Grace,” Judson relayed after looking at his screen. “It’s a couple of updates. One about Bennie.”
That grabbed her attention, and she steeled herself up in case the deputy had died, but she didn’t see dread in Judson’s eyes. Only relief.
“Bennie made it through surgery,” Judson explained. “He’s in stable condition. The doctor is optimistic that he’ll make a full recovery.”
That eased even more of her too-tight muscles.
They had already gotten word that the ranch hand, Delbert Reeves, was doing well, too.
He’d been in the kitchen when the lights had gone out, and Elijah had clubbed him with the butt of his gun.
Delbert had needed stitches and would require a night’s stay in the hospital for observation, but like Bennie, he would recover.
“Good,” she managed to say. Elijah hadn’t claimed another life. But Bennie, and the rest of them, were also going to have to live with the SOB’s actions for a while.
“Grace also found out that Elijah had already managed to add his name on to Jennifer’s bank accounts,” Judson went on.
“How’d he do that?” she asked.
“Apparently, Elijah had her sign some online forms that Jennifer thought were for payments for her hospital bills from the miscarriage. But they weren’t. They gave him full access to her funds.”
So, that’s how Elijah had intended to get his hands on her inheritance.
Judson looked at her again. Then he picked up the clean clothes she’d put on the vanity. “Want to go see the babies?” he asked. “They’re awake. At least they were about ten minutes ago.”
“Yes,” she couldn’t say fast enough.
Addie practically yanked on the jeans, T-shirt and slip-on shoes and started out of the bathroom the moment she was dressed. Her hair was dripping wet, but she didn’t care. She wanted to hold the babies now and let them soothe her as only they could.
Since the guest room was on the second floor, they made their way to the stairs, past the attic ladder that was still pulled down. Before they even made it to the landing, Addie heard the chatter of the cops and the CSIs.
Once again, her house was crammed with first responders, and she hoped this was the last time such things would be needed. The only cop she wanted filling her home on a permanent basis was Judson.
That thought gave her a mental pause, and she tested out the idea of it again. Yes, she wanted that. She didn’t want to lose this moment-to-moment contact, this intimacy, with him again. She stopped on the stairs, looking up at him since he was on the step above her.
“What?” he asked, at first frowning, but that faded fast. Maybe because he saw that need for him in her eyes. Yep, he saw it all right, because he smiled.
She smiled back, but Addie still didn’t tell him what she was thinking. What she wanted.
What she needed.
Now wasn’t the time for her to spill any of that to Judson. But soon. After she held the twins.
When they made it to the foyer, Addie heard yet another familiar voice, but this time it wasn’t one she’d expected to hear. She spotted Grace in the front doorway, talking to Jennifer.
Addie could see the woman had been crying. In fact, she still was. She was swiping at tears as she muttered something to Grace. However, Jennifer’s head whipped up, her gaze zooming right to the two of them.