Vulnerable (Morgans of Nashville 4)

“Yep.” She laughed. “Hell, what is it with smart girls? They are so dumb in the real world. Take Bethany. Coaxing her into the woods took little effort. The trick is to know which buttons to push.”

“Bethany? You were never her friend.”

“Not exactly true. I liked hanging around her mother. Liked feeling pampered. It was a first for me. Bethany, as smart as she was never appreciated what she had.”

A cold realization shot through her mind. “Where is Mrs. Reed?”

“She’s where she wants to be.”

“What does that mean?”

“She’s with Bethany,” she whispered.

“What did you do to her?”

“Nothing she didn’t really want.”

Georgia had seen the aftermath of evil at crime scenes. She’d testified against monsters in courts of law. But those monsters were always cleaned up and coiffed by attorneys and rarely spoke. This was the very first time evil stood so close. “What do you want from me?”

“I need you to call that hospital so I can see Tim. I need to know if the fool is ever going to wake up.” Amber winked as if Georgia was now willing to play along. “You know they’ll talk to you.”

Georgia pulled her phone from her back pocket. But instead of dialing, asked, “When you fell in the woods, Tim was there with you, wasn’t he?”

“He freaked out. Started crying. I could barely see for the pain, but I told him not to worry. I said I could fake amnesia. I would never tell on him. He swore he would never tell. We’d have been fine if not for you reopening the case. He did fine five years ago because I took all the heat. He even came to Texas occasionally to play with me a little. But as loyal as he thinks he is, he couldn’t stand up to real pressure from the cops. I couldn’t trust he could remain strong.”

“When did you decide to kill him?”

“When he told me he killed Dalton.” She laughed. “He killed my daddy and I just couldn’t let that stand. Again, he was easy to manipulate. To lure. To kill.”

“So if Tim dies, then what?”

“Then you die and then I find myself a real good attorney and stake a claim to Daddy’s money.” She waved the gun. “Come to think of it, you actually did me a favor. Dalton couldn’t have declared Mike legally dead in a couple more years and knowing how much he loved that dumb kid he might not ever have done it. Everyone knows the money went to Dalton. I was going to blackmail him, but now I can simply inherit it all as his sole heir.”

“You won’t get away with this.”

She rolled her eyes. “I did it once, and I’ll do it again.”

“What are you going to do if Tim lives and he talks?”

“He won’t live. He can’t. Won’t.” She motioned to the phone. “Now start dialing, bitch.”

Georgia left a message with Jake. “He’s going to come here.”

“I’m counting on stud paying us a visit. If you’re good, I’ll let you watch.”

* * *

Jake had expected Amber to go to the hospital after he released her. He put a tail on her and they reported that she went to the Reed house, lingered there for a while, and then left.

And then he got the call from Deke that Scott Murphy had been arrested. He was a perfect match to the sketch Jenna had drawn and had been found in a crack house.

“The guy swears he didn’t kill Elisa,” Deke said. “He said he was paid three hundred bucks to hang out with Elisa and follow her around.”

“Did he say who paid him?”

“A woman.”

“Who looks just like Amber?”

“That’s correct,” Deke said.

“I want to talk to him, but first I have to track down Amber. She never went to the hospital.” His phone beeped. “I’ve got a call coming in from Georgia.”

“Call me back.”

Jake played back her message. “Shit. Amber is with Georgia. She must have slipped the surveillance team.”

“What the hell does she want with Georgia?” Rick asked.

“I don’t know.” Anger burned in his gut. “But we’re going to her place now. Based on this message, Amber’s been there ten minutes at least.”

“Drive.”

Jake wove in and out of traffic, covering the five miles to Georgia’s apartment in record time.

Guns drawn, Jake and Rick raced up the stairs, quickly and quietly. Rick remained on the top stair while Jake crept closer to the door where he heard Georgia arguing with Amber. Her words were short, clipped, and angry.

He couldn’t tell where they were positioned in the room. Breaking in the door now might be the wrong call, but if he hesitated, Amber would certainly kill her.

Jake held his gun tightly and softly knocked on the door, hiding his concern. “Georgia, it’s Jake. I’ve news on Tim.”

Seconds passed and then he heard the turn of the deadbolt. The door opened to only Georgia. One look at her pale, strained features and he knew Amber was close. “So how’s Tim?” she asked, her voice even as if they were having a normal conversation.

“He’s awake,” he said, forcing a grin. “We hope to take his statement early this afternoon.”

The door swung open a little wider and he saw Amber standing to the side, a gun in her hand. It was pointed at Georgia’s back.

“Come inside, sugar,” Amber ordered. “Close the door. This is a private party.”

His hands at his sides, he moved inside, but didn’t lock the door, aware that Rick would follow. “Tim is talking, Amber.”

Amber recovered from her shock, backing up. “Really? And what’s Tim saying?”

The pictures from the high school told the story. “That you two have been an item since high school. He’s always had a thing for you. He visited you in Texas. And when you came back to town, you two hooked up again.”

Amber’s smile wavered. “That’s not true. He would never talk to you about me.”

“You said it yourself,” Georgia said. “You didn’t think he was strong enough to resist the heat if questioned. Jake, did he tell you how he and Amber killed Bethany and Mike?”

“He told the whole story.” Frowning, he jabbed his thumb behind him. “I don’t think he knew about the other guy.”

“What other guy?”

“Scott Murphy. The guy you had flirted with in the coffee shop. I bet when I tell him you two were sleeping together, he’ll really tell all.”

“You’re lying. I never slept with that guy.”

“Yeah, but that’s not what I’m going to tell Tim. Matter of time before he rolls over on you.”

“Tim won’t talk.”

Footsteps sounded on the stairs, catching Amber’s attention for a split second. As Jake reached for his gun, Georgia shoved Amber backward, recovered, and raised the gun in an instant.

Jake fired a double tap into her chest while Georgia stayed crouched. She staggered just a split second, greenlighting Jake to put one last round into her head.

Rick shoved through the door and Jake kicked the gun out of reach should Amber still be alive.

“Backup is on the way,” Rick said.

Jake calmly holstered his weapon and knelt beside her body. He searched for a pulse to confirm death, not that it would have mattered. The twisted bitch was dead.

Relief shot through his body, as he rose, turned to Georgia and helped her up. He wrapped his arms around her and she relaxed against him with a shudder. “Are you all right?”

“Just great.”

He held her close. Listening, but not quite sure what to say next.

“She’s insane,” she breathed. “She said Mrs. Reed is with Bethany.”

“We’ll have to do a search of her house.” He pressed his lips close to her ear, and his gruff voice was only loud enough for her to hear. “Why’d she come after you?”

“She was trying to figure out if Tim were alive or not.”

“Shit.”

A tremor shuddered through her body. “She thought she actually had a shot at Da

lton’s money now that she was his only surviving child.”

“Damn.” Jake tightened his hold around Georgia’s small frame. “I love you.”