Chapter 20
My arm throbbed, the pulse of pain nothing new, nor was the blood that soaked my shirt and jacket. Although, I’d hoped once I’d retired from the military I’d never have to deal with that type of thing again.
I didn’t mind Nicky’s fussing, though. Despite grumbling about dragons not being messengers, Percy had fetched Nicky who returned with Zaza—the baby’s face tucked to her shoulder.
Nicky’s mouth and eyes rounded in shock at the sight of the frozen statue of her husband—who could now officially be called her ex.
Percy seemed unbothered by what she’d done.
Me, I was impressed, but also a little freaked out.
My tiny dragon had done this. Killed someone by only breathing.
Guess I better not piss her off or I could be the next human ice sculpture.
Then again, I didn’t think I had to worry about that, seeing how my arrogant dragoness came to my rescue. Guess she liked me.
“How can I help?” Nicky asked.
“You can start by putting Zaza down,” Percy ordered.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I don’t think she should see…” She paused, “Any of this.”
“She won’t if you drop her in the kitchen. She and I will have a snack while you care for Bruce. Once his wound has been tended, we shall depart.”
An imperious command, yet Nicky listened. She put the baby down behind the island and I heard rustling as she scrounged in a cupboard for something to eat.
When Nicky returned to my side, she knelt and frowned at my bloody arm. “We need to put some pressure on your wound.”
“I know. Let me get see if I can slide my arm out of the coat sleeve.” I grabbed the cuff and tugged, my jaw rigid as I fought through the waves of pain.
Of more concern than my injury, which would heal—a new scar to join my collection—was the fact Nicky and I found ourselves in a house with a few too many dead bodies, a tricky dilemma that would require some kind of solution so we avoided jail, and yet I’d never been happier.
The reason for my mood knelt by my side, applying pressure to my arm.
“I need fabric to wrap this with. Hold it tight while I find something.” She stood and scanned the room for something to use as a bandage.
I noticed she avoided looking at Joseph and it prompted me to ask, “Are you okay?”
She froze in the process of snatching a tablecloth. “Yeah. I’ve only got a few bruises.”
“What about mentally?”
She returned to my side, biting her lower lip as she tore the fabric into a long strip before answering. “Still shaken. Joseph was very detailed when it came to describing my punishment and eventual death.”
I could have apologized again for not handling Joseph before he got his hands on her, but I think we’d both done that enough. None of this was our fault. But in excellent news, the man responsible would never threaten anyone again.
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore,” I stated in case it hadn’t yet sunk in.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
“You fear his mobster friends will retaliate?”
“No.” Nicky shook her head. “Most likely they’ll fight each other trying to claim Joseph’s stake in various illegal businesses.”
“Then what are you worried about?”
“What the police will say when they find the bodies.”
“You didn’t kill anyone.”
“As his wife, I’ll be the first suspect.”
“You have an alibi.”
“An ex-soldier I’m romantically involved with? Not to mention Joseph kidnapping Zaza gave me motive.”
She had a point and it led to my brain working overtime before saying, “I have an idea.”
“What are you planning?”
Since we couldn’t hide the fact two people had been shot, Joseph had frozen to death, and, according to Nicky, a woman outside had her throat torn open, we had to make all those points work together.
This was where being an author proved to be an advantage because I totally could see what needed to be done to convey a version of events that would keep us in the clear.
The bodies on the rear balcony could stay where they’d been shot.
The gun that killed them already had Joseph’s prints.
Police would likely assume they’d pissed off Joseph in some fashion.
The bullets I’d fired at them might cause some questions but I didn’t worry much as I’d ensured the rifle was wiped clean and would leave it at the scene.
The woman Percy had killed posed a dilemma.
The way she’d been savaged indicated an animal attack, and that wouldn’t work with any scenario we staged.
I had to get creative—and turn off my emotions.
I didn’t let Nicky watch as I used my knife to repeatedly slash the woman’s throat to hide Percy’s bite marks and make the police think the blade was the actual murder weapon.
Luckily, Percy had leaped from the car before attacking, meaning the spattered blood ended up staining the snow in the driveway.
To have the location of her death make sense, I slid my car further down the driveway and once I located the keys, moved the orange car in its spot.
Given I knew forensics would be combing over the vehicle, I wore gloves to prevent fingerprints and a tuque to keep from shedding any strands of hair.
While the blood had begun to congeal in the cold, it didn’t prove too difficult to smear Allegra’s hand in the fluid and have her fingers trail over the door handle and down the driver’s side panel, leaving a red streak.
This should be enough to convince cops she’d been trying to leave and Joseph killed her.
Three bodies down, with only the most complicated one left.
I entered the house to find Nicky standing with arms crossed, staring at her dead husband in his frozen crouch.
“There’s no way the police will believe Joseph froze to death inside the house.
And what about your blood?” She indicated the pool of it on the floor.
“Even if we scrub, the stain’s never going to completely come out of the wood grain. ”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got an idea. I started the car so it should be warm. Strap Zaza in so she’s ready to go. When you come back, I’ll tell you how we’re going to set the scene.”
“Will it take long?” she asked as she headed to the kitchen to grab the baby who played hand-to-claw slap with Percy—who showed remarkable patience with the simple game.
“It shouldn’t.” But that depended on Nicky and if she balked at what I’d ask her to do.
Nicky left with Zaza and Percy waddled out of the kitchen with a round belly, mouth open wide in a yawn. “Are we done here yet? I need a nap.”
“Almost. You can go sit with Zaza if you want. I just have a few more things to do to ensure we don’t get into any trouble.”
“Why would there be trouble? We dispatched the enemy. We should be thanked.”
“I’m sure lots of people, including cops, will be happy Joseph’s gone, but they’ll still be investigating and I’d like to avoid being arrested.”
“You being in jail would be inconvenient,” Percy agreed. “Very well, then. Handle it. Promptly, though. I’m tired.”
Percy left and a few minutes later Nicky entered, huffing, “Now what?”
“We move Joseph outside.”
Her lips pinched. “You want me to touch him?”
“Not for long. We have to get him into the cold so the freezing of his flesh doesn’t set off any alarm bells with the pathologist.”
“They’re going to think it’s strange he froze outside in a crouched position,” she pointed out.
“I’m aware, but it’s the only thing I can think of that explains his current condition.”
Nicky’s lips pinched. “Let’s do it then, before I lose my nerve.”
As we grabbed hold of his hunched body, I remarked, “You’ve been remarkably brave throughout this whole ordeal.”
“Didn’t really have a choice. I couldn’t lose it in front of Zaza.” She grimaced as we had to maneuver through the open door and smacked the frozen hand holding the gun.
I flinched as it loosened the fingers enough for the weapon to fall and hit the floor—but not go off.
We continued to maneuver outside. When I said, “Drop him here,” we set the body down a few feet from the door and stepped away from it.
“You are doing amazing, considering all that happened,” I said.
“Thanks. Although, I’ll probably join you in having nightmares.”
“At least we’ll be together.” It slipped out, the assumption she’d want to stick around. I quickly backpedaled. “That was presumptuous of me. Now that you’re safe, you don’t need someone to protect you. You and Zaza can go anywhere and—”
She put a finger to my lips. “Shut up. What happened today hasn’t changed how I feel about you.”
“There are better men out there.”
“Men who would risk their lives to save a child that isn’t theirs?
Who keep worrying about my feelings and neglecting their own?
” She shook her head. “I think not, and I will add, I am capable of making that decision myself. I love you. Will that always be true? Guess that will depend on how things go. But right here, right now, I want to explore what’s happening between us.
I want to bask in the pleasure your presence and touch give me. ”
“Will you promise to tell me if your feelings ever change?”
“Yes, but I want you to make me a promise, as well. No more of this ‘you’re not good enough for me’ crap. As Olivia Newton-John once famously sang in Grease, ‘You’re the One That I Want.’”
“Fine but I am going to be blunt and tell you right now that while I love you, too, I am not ever watching a musical.”
Her lips quirked. “And I don’t do war movies.”
“Deal.”
Rather than shake, we kissed, kind of morbid seeing as how we stood beside her popsicle ex-husband, but the moment called for it.
The kiss ended on a lingering note and she sighed. “Do we have to go back to the hotel? Having only the one room means no privacy.” In other words, no sexy times for either of us.
“I know it sucks. It’s just for the night so we can cement our story and alibi.”
“And does that story explain how I got Zaza back from Joseph?”