Blood and Roses (Shadow Stalkers 3)

“Ana! My god.” Frankie gasped with relief. “We’re in trouble, Ana. Eric and me... And Mom. Ah, god, Mom...”

“Frankie.” Relief flowed through her, making her aware of just how worried she’d been. “Where are you?”

“Newark. Jesus... it all went wrong. Rick went in hot. Fuck— You know how Mom had it planned. Like Cannes.”

“I remember.” She remembered the famous Carlton heist, just as she remembered that Terence Parker had a brother named Richard. “Is Rick’s name Richard Parker?”

“Yes. How did you know?” He barked out a laugh. “What am I saying? Of course you know. He shot his own fucking brother, Ana. Lit him up like... Fuck. Oh fuck... Rick shot his own brother in cold blood.”

“Are you safe?”

“Yes, but—”

“Is Eric with you?” She snatched up her duffel bag and dug out a pair of jeans and a top.

“Yes, yes—”

“Do you have the take?”

“Yes. Fuck. Will you listen to me, goddammit! He’s got Mom!”

Ana froze, her heart thudding violently in her chest. “What?”

“Rick knew Mom was the fence. Eric and I ditched him and took the stones, because he’s fucking crazy. Shot his own goddamn brother. Who does that, Ana? We ditched him and made off with the take and he got to Mom.”

She activated the phone’s speaker and set it on the coffee table. “How do you know he’s got Mom?”

“He just called and said he had her. Said he’d trade her for the stones. I tried calling the house but I keep getting the voicemail.”

“Okay, okay.” Think, Ana. Damn it. She yanked on a pair of panties. “Where are you supposed to make the trade?”

“He didn’t say. He’s supposed to call back.”

“Listen, I’m here in Whisper Creek. I’ll head over to Mom’s now and make sure the bastard’s not bluffing.” She hopped from one foot to the other as she tugged on her jeans, becoming aware of the deep soreness between her legs. “Maybe she’s got the ringer off or her sound machine turned up loud. You know how she needs white noise to sleep.”

“Ana... He’ll kill her. Rick must’ve planned all along to get rid of everyone who knew anything. He had to have looked her up before we ditched him. There’s no reason for him to keep her alive for a trade. We won’t know the difference until he’s got us face-to-face, then he’ll take us out, too.”

“Shut up, Frankie.” She pulled a sports bra over her head, then grabbed her top. “You’re not going to think about anything but keeping your head down and your mind sharp. I’m gonna run by Mom’s.”

“Okay but—”

“You keep that burner phone on you at all times, you hear me? I want you and Eric to check in every thirty minutes. And find a safe place to hole up and stay there until I tell you otherwise. Don’t make a move without me, got it?”

“Yes. I got it. Ana...” Frankie’s voice broke. “It’s all fucked up. It all fell apart.”

“That’s usually what happens when you break the law, Frankie. You’ve just been really damned lucky so far.” She shoved her nightgown into her bag. “Be careful. Love you.”

Ana was straightening from grabbing her heels off the floor when Jake stepped into the room fully dressed with his gun on his hip and his badge clipped to the waistband of his jeans.

“You can’t come with me,” she snapped.

“The hell I can’t.” His gaze bored into hers. “That’s my brother out there with yours. Christ, Ana. You’re here because you knew they’d pulled off that heist and you didn’t say a damn thing to me.”

“Because they’re not going to jail, Jake!” She shoved her heels in her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “I can take care of this and you can keep your hands clean.”

“Is that all you think I worry about?” He stared at her face, then cursed under his breath. “I’d break any law for you. Every law. There’s nothing I won’t do for you.”

“I know.” She went to him and put her palm over his heart. “I know you would. I’m just not sure you could live with yourself afterward and I don’t want to put you in that position. I love you, Jake. Just the way you are.”

Jake lifted her fingers to his mouth. “I have something for you.”

“Not now!”

He released her hand and shoved his own into his pocket. A moment later, he was sliding a diamond onto the ring finger of her left hand, a square cushion-cut that caught the light of the moon shining through the gap in the shutters on the windows.

She swallowed hard, afraid to blink. “Jake—”

“I’ve been holding on to that for years. Now it’s your turn.” He tugged her bag off her shoulder and dropped it on the couch. “Give me your keys. I want to drive the Jag.”

Ana felt damn near giddy. Too much adrenaline, she told herself. Neither of them was thinking straight. It’d never work... unless it did.

But they had to make it through the next few hours first.

“You got a jacket?” he asked.

“In the car. Let’s go.”

Jake watched as Ana opened the trunk of her car and revealed body armor and a handgun safe. She selected one of three guns she had locked away and slid it into her shoulder holster, then shrugged on a windbreaker and relocked the box. Her movements were calm, practiced, and efficient. Jake marveled at the strong, sexy woman she’d become.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

“No.” Shutting the trunk quietly, she studied the two-story house tucked into the woods. “But I’m really glad you’re here. Come on.”

In the silver glow of moonlight, the old Victorian with its round, pointed rooftops and wraparound porch looked like something out of a fairytale—the kind where things went wrong.

Ana

kept her cool even after they’d searched the house and confirmed that Tilly had been taken. There were signs of a struggle in the master bedroom, but mercifully no blood.

“Rick Parker could’ve killed her here, if that was his plan,” she said flatly, picking up Tilly’s cell phone from the nightstand and searching through it. “Could’ve made it look like a burglary gone bad. She talked him out of it, maybe gave him information that made her valuable. She conned him. It’ll keep her alive for a while. Let’s go.”

“Hey.” He caught her by the shoulders before she moved past him and looked down at her face. Recognizing her fierce determination to keep her emotions at bay, he settled for a soft kiss to her brow.

“Jake—”

“We both needed that. Now we can go.”

They went downstairs and were almost out the front door, when Ana stepped on something that crunched beneath her black running shoes. Crouching, she examined the broken glass; then she found its source lying on the floor just inside the door.

“This shouldn’t be here,” she said, straightening. “Mom has kept this photo on her side of the bed forever.”

Jake took it from her, looking at the yellowed image through the cracked glass.

Her mouth curved in a smile. “That photo was taken the day my dad proposed, after they left the bank and took a stroll on the boardwalk. It’s a message she knew I would understand. Mom’s leading Rick to Atlantic City.”

His brows arched. “Isn’t that a big leap?”

“Trust me,” Ana insisted. “The minute he went along with whatever story she sold him, it became her show. She’s running it. We just need to catch up with them, before he figures that out.”

As they drove east on 422, Ana pulled out her laptop and began typing furiously. Jake watched her out of the corner of his eye. Reaching over, he slid his hand beneath her hair and stroked her nape with his fingers.