Lost & Found (Possessed 3)

Her sharp intake of breath, the pain vibrating from her in waves for a family she had no idea existed, wasn’t shocking. She was one of the most empathetic people he’d ever met.

“A mot

her, father, newborn baby, a son, even their damn dog. Like they were nothing, he murdered them. For what? A few dollars in pocket change and jewelry that wasn’t worth anything. Two days later, he struck again. Only it was worse. Two families in one night. Twelve people lost their lives because I didn’t listen, because I couldn’t find the son of a bitch.” His voice was hoarse as he finished telling her his biggest failure.

“Nick.” One word, so many emotions. He could feel her tears on his bare chest. “That wasn’t your fault. People do bad things all the time. Look at me, I’m a walking poster child emphasizing that point.”

“I should have known something.” He couldn’t help believing that if only he’d acted sooner, those families would still be alive.

Leaning up to face him, her hand caressed his cheeks, sadness in her eyes. “I wish I could say something to make you believe me.”

He did, too.

“How did you finally catch him?” she asked as he moved her body to lay fully on top of him. He needed to feel her, to have something solid to hold onto as he finished telling her what happened.

“He laid low for about a week after his last attack—deep in the mountains somewhere. I got a call in the middle of the night from an old buddy of mine. He had just come home from his final tour overseas. A man had entered his house, was going to slaughter his entire family, when he attacked him with a kitchen knife.” His thoughts circled back to that baby. “The drifter ran before Matt could grab him, then broke into someone else’s home outside town. When the parents woke to the baby’s crying, he knocked them both out and took the child.”

“Oh God,” she moaned, fear lighting her eyes.

“I was able to follow his blood trail into the mountains. Only problem was that he was headed in the direction of a group of Cougars that had been spotted in the area. The baby’s noises must have alerted them to his presence because by the time I found them, two of the cats had them in their sights. I had a thirty-eight and a rifle; there was no way any of us should have walked off that mountain. We all should have been dead.” He could still hear the man’s screams of pain.

“How did you?” she murmured.

“Honestly? I have no idea. He tossed the baby behind him, so I think he’d hoped the two cats would attack the me and the child while he got away. However, as soon as his arms were free, they attacked him.”

Wonder entered her eyes. “Is that normal?”

“Not at all. They always go for smaller prey, less chance of a fight. It was like they knew what he’d done, or maybe his fear was greater than the baby’s, and they were drawn to that. I have no idea.”

“You obviously got away. The baby, she was okay?”

“Yeah, the parents were rightfully terrified. Moved away a few days later.”

“And the man?”

That was the hard part. “I had to take the baby back to her parents at first light, so two deputies and I went back to look for the body. We never found him. Or the cats. The amount of blood, though, was enough to indicate that he’d died.”

Nick still had so many unanswered questions about that night. Some days, not knowing why so many deaths had to happen and if he could have prevented them ate him alive.

Pepper could feel his pain and confusion. She couldn’t imagine having no answers for something so critical. Hearing his torment over losing three families, she knew he wished it had been him instead. There were things in life they could never control. Sadly, death and life were one of them. It was how a person reacted that counted.

“I’ve always believed that for every bad thing that occurs, there is always one good thing to come from it. I have to believe that because if I don’t, the sorrow will eat me alive. When my parents died, the drunk driver went to prison. He had just left his wife and child to die after such a severe beating that neither should have survived. Miraculously, they did. The police had noticed the driver covered in more blood than was befitting his injuries and that he may have hurt others beforehand. The man thought this was hysterical.”

So much pain and suffering came from that night, but two people were alive because of it. She had to believe that was why her parents had been killed. So the young wife and her son could live.

“Pepper,” the amazement in Nick’s voice had her looking to him, “that was a memory.” Her smile matched his. Excitement flowed through her.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Why?”

“I think my bad situation will bring about more good things. Without your pain, mine might not have been brought forth to remember the most painful experience in my life.”

Running both his hands through her hair, he brought his face towards her. Laying his cheek against hers, he whispered in her ear, “I think you’re my good thing, Pepper.”

As she lay down on his chest, the smile gracing her face at his words followed her into sleep. His beating heart lulled her into slumber.

Maybe forgetting wasn’t so bad if she got to keep two exceptional men.