Southern Romantic-Suspense Boxed Set (Southern Romantic-Suspense Novel Book 0) Page 29

  He started to stand up, but sat back down. “I’ve changed, baby. Honest. I haven’t had a drink or any type of drug in almost six years, and I’m not going to start again. We were good in the beginning, remember?”

  She turned and glared at him. “Brian, I’m married — happily married. Jordan is the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I love him more than life itself.”

  “But you’re mine, Caycee. You’ll always be mine. I was your first, and you were mine. That has to count for something,” he pressed.

  Jaynee closed her computer, packing it into her satchel. This was ridiculous; she shouldn’t be having this conversation. She stood up with everything in her arms.

  He grabbed her arm. “Please don’t go.”

  She jerked away from him. “Don’t you ever touch me again; you have no right.” She took a deep breath. “We had six months together, that’s all. The remaining time we were together, you were drunk or high or sleeping with other women. I haven’t loved you since I discovered your infidelity, and truthfully, I don’t think I ever loved you. I was immature and needed to escape my life. As it turned out, I stepped out of the frying pan and into a bonfire. I wanted to help you, but you were beyond help. Please leave and don’t ever come back. I love my husband.” She turned to walk away but looked back. “And not that it matters ... but you weren’t my first. My virginity was stolen from me.”

  After her outburst, she darted out of the restaurant. She would have to tell Jordan; she couldn’t keep this from him. She’d promised never to keep anything from him. It was terrible enough what she’d been doing to him for the past two months.

  She’d tell Jordan about Brian showing up at the coffee house tomorrow, she decided.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Jaynee stood in the kitchen, feeling wonderful after making love with Jordan for the first time in two months.

  She hated the thought of telling him about Brian, but she knew with the other news she had, he wouldn’t dwell on him.

  She packaged up all the food; she could reheat it tomorrow. She picked up her cell phone out of habit to see if she’d missed any calls. She always kept it on silent; she hated being disturbed when she was writing. Her novel had been just as long of a struggle as school had been. As she neared the end, she found her days eaten up with her need to finish. Jordan didn’t know about the book or the sample chapters she’d sent in for review. She could imagine his surprise when he found out she hadn’t even graduated, and someone was interested in publishing her book.

  There was a text message from Lorraine requesting she call no matter how late. That was weird. Lorraine and she’d always gotten along, but they weren’t what she would consider friends. There’d always seemed to be a strain in their relationship. She couldn’t be certain, but she sensed Lorraine was interested in Jordan. Jaynee never felt threatened by their working relationship, though, because Jordan never appeared to have the same feelings. He looked at Lorraine as indifferently as he did his sisters.

  Not wanting to wake Jordan, Jaynee picked up her mobile and walked out onto the porch to return Lorraine’s call. Jordan had looked so tired this evening and still had to get up so early; she hoped he would quit soon.

  As a last-second precaution, she picked up her gun she always left near the door. She hated walking outside at night without Boomer for protection, but he was upstairs with Jordan. They lived deep in the country. Not that there were very large animals, but there was no light in the country, and you never knew what type of two-legged predator could be prowling the neighborhood.

  Standing on the back porch, directly outside the French doors, she called Lorraine. She didn’t bother closing the door; the cool air felt nice.

  Lorraine answered on the first ring; no pleasantries, she simply started speaking. “Jaynee, I need to talk to you. I’m down the street.”

  “Oh ... okay, Lorraine, come around back. I’m on the porch.”

  Jaynee looked out at the starlit sky; it was beautiful. What a strange request for Lorraine to ask to speak with her, especially at this hour.

  Minutes later, Lorraine stepped onto the porch. She just stared at her for a second.

  Oops ... Jaynee tucked the gun under her arm and gestured for Lorraine to sit on the bench. “Well, this is unusual,” she started.

  Lorraine sat down and sighed. “Yeah, but I have to ask you a question. I planned to ask Jordan but then realized you might know, and I had a second question anyway.”

  Thoroughly confused, Jaynee waited.

  Lorraine turned to her. “Jaynee, you know I do the bookkeeping, so I’m privy to everything you spend, right?’

  “Yeah, so ...?” Jaynee asked, already peeved. She did know that, and it had bothered her. She’d always asked Jordan to get a personal card, but he put everything through the business.

  The woman fidgeted in her seat some more as if she wasn’t sure. “Well, you’ve always spent the exact amount on your credit card, you visit the salon every other month, you go to the coffee shop almost every day, and you drive about the same distance every month. So I was surprised when your credit-card bill escalated.”

  Jaynee was miffed. One, that this woman knew everything she did or lack thereof, and two ... she was clearly accusing her of something. “What’s your point, Lorraine?” She didn’t have time to play games. She shouldn’t even be here; she belonged upstairs with her husband.

  “I’m going to skip to my second question first, because the first doesn’t matter depending on what you answer to the second.”

  “You’re not making any sense, Lorraine,” Jaynee said brusquely.

  “Oh, it will, Jaynee. Do you love Jordan?” she asked, no hesitation and with deep inference.

  Jaynee’s intuition flickered again. It was as she’d suspected all along. “I love Jordan more than life itself.”

  “Well, that’s what I’m afraid of, and quite frankly, if I didn’t believe you, I wouldn’t even be relaying this. I would like nothing better than to see you out of the picture, but I know it would kill Jordan.”

  Jaynee stared at Lorraine, shocked by the candidness of her statement.

  “Jaynee, I don’t need to ask you. I know the charges aren’t from you. They are automatic drafts against your credit card by one of our life insurance companies. It’s a different policy but from the same company we use for our other policies, so it was sure to go unnoticed because Jordan would never question your statement. He authorized you to spend thousands a month, and your account barely reaches a few hundred. So, imagine my surprise when your bill suddenly increased.” Lorraine paused a second then stared at her. “I thought I had you. I thought I could prove you were cheating on Jordan. Instead, I found something much more shocking.”

  Jaynee shook her head. “What does life insurance have to do with me?”

  “I checked into it. Someone took out a huge policy for the business on both you and Jordan. Let me explain. We already have a partners insurance policy on Jordan; it’s a common practice. If something were to happen to Jordan, we’d all suffer ... the company would suffer. But every one of the partners has a policy that will go back to the business if something happens to them. This is a separate policy, though, and since no one knows about it, he — I say he, because it has to be one of his partners — could find a way to sift the money through the company if something happened to you or Jordan.”

  “Sorry, Lorraine, I’m afraid I’m still lost.”

  Lorraine exhaled, exasperated. “Jaynee, there’s no other way to say this, except spit it out. I think someone might try —” She took in a deep breath, and her eyes actually looked concerned. “I think you might be in danger. The only reason someone would take out that large of a policy ... is if they planned to kill one of you. I know Jordan didn’t do it; he doesn’t do any paperwork without me looking over it. And if Jordan died before you, the company would automatically go to you, but if you died first ...”

  “Then they would kill Jordan next you think
?” Jaynee finally understood what Lorraine was implying. “And why didn’t you tell Jordan?” she asked incredulously, amazed at how calmly she could discuss the possibility of her own death. But the thought of someone trying to murder Jordan enraged her.

  Lorraine released an awkward huff. “That’s very interesting.”

  “What is?” Jaynee asked, feeling perturbed by Lorraine’s insinuations, but then acting so lax.

  “You. You said nothing about your own impending death, but the concept of something happening to Jordan infuriates you. I can see you do love him.” Lorraine took a moment to collect her thoughts and then answered Jaynee’s question. “The reason I didn’t say anything is because I wanted you to leave. But I never wanted you to die. That’s why I realized I was wrong in not telling Jordan the moment I discovered the policy. He loves you, Jaynee. I see the pain he’s been in these last few weeks and truly wonder if I couldn’t kill you myself.” Lorraine chuckled nervously.

  Jaynee nodded. “I feel the same way, Lorraine. But I made it right tonight, and I will explain everything to Jordan tomorrow. But he’s fine, I assure you.” She thought about his eyes when he kissed her earlier. She’d caused him so much pain. She didn’t realize how much until last night. She should’ve just gone to him then, but she wanted to make certain.

  Lorraine stood. “That’s all I want. I know Jordan could never love me.” Lorraine took another deep breath and then her voice was a whisper. “I attempted to approach Jordan before dropping him off earlier. I’m sorry, but you should know ... even drunk he had no interest, and Jordan has never been a good drunk. He loves you, Jaynee, and I do want him to be happy.”

  Jaynee stood too. “I understand.”

  “Are we okay then, or are you going to have him fire me in the morning?” she asked straightforwardly.

  “We’re okay, Lorraine.” She reached out to Lorraine, careful of the revolver still tucked under her arm. She couldn’t bring herself to be angry with her when she knew Lorraine only wanted the best for Jordan. She wasn’t sure how she’d feel tomorrow, however, when the shock registered.

  Lorraine leaned back and smiled. “You know, Jaynee, I always liked you, despite the fact you took the man-of-my-dreams.”

  Jaynee crinkled her nose. “Thanks, I think.”

  Lorraine turned and walked toward the front porch, but turned back before she rounded the corner. “Call me in the morning and let me know if you change your mind. I’d rather Jordan not be involved with my leaving. I’ll go if it is what you want, but only after we figure out this situation.”

  Jaynee nodded solemnly in reply. Could someone really be trying to kill her husband — or her? She would wait until morning, but then, Jordan and she needed to have a long conversation about numerous things. He would just have to call off work; they could handle a Saturday without him.

  ***

  Brian saw the woman approach Caycee on the deck. Strange time of night to be making house calls, but who was he to judge?

  He was camping out in her backyard, hoping to get an opportunity to talk again. He’d seen her cleaning up the kitchen and had hoped she’d come outside. She always stayed up later than her husband did, and sometimes she’d walked their dog. But then, the woman had walked around the side of the house so he would have to wait to talk with Caycee. He’d actually dozed off waiting for the woman to leave.

  ***

  Lorraine was such a busybody. He would deal with her later. Right now, Jaynee was the important one. He’d come too far to stop now. Everything was in place.

  Lorraine had stepped around the side of the house and down the front stairs when he crawled from under the deck and strolled up behind Jaynee before she entered the house.

  His intention was to strangle her, a victim of her old boyfriend who’d been sniffing around. He saw them talking at the coffee shop earlier today ... everything had worked out perfectly. He knew she’d been up to something.

  He startled her when he came up behind her, quickly pulling her in a headlock and proceeding to choke her out. Her arms flailed as she struggled to escape, but he had a perfect grip, and the jacket he wore was plenty thick that her clawing hand gained no purchase. She was such a tiny thing. For a second, he felt a twinge of remorse, but he squashed those feelings. It had to be done; it was the only way to make everything right again. He hadn’t seen the gun she was holding until it discharged. He dropped his grip as she collapsed. He bent over her to assess the damage. She’d ended up shooting herself. He couldn’t have planned it any better.

  Slinking back down the steps, he was careful not to tread in any of North Carolina’s famous red clay. It would be like leaving behind a plastered footprint.

  ***

  Brian jumped when he heard a gunshot but couldn’t see anything unusual.

  Caycee was gone and so was the woman. He waited, assuming the shot had come from somewhere else, but he was sure it’d been nearby. He wondered if he should check on her, confront her as he’d originally planned. But if it was a gunshot, her husband would hear and come out to investigate — he was a cop after all. How ironic that she would marry a cop. Brian decided he would wait until morning when her husband left. He would talk to her then, insist she listen to him, prove to her that he’d changed.

  ***

  Lorraine jumped at the sound. Was it a gunshot?

  Jaynee had been holding a pistol ... would she have done something stupid? She hadn’t seemed too upset about the news.

  It was probably some redneck neighbor shooting at squirrels. Gunfire wasn’t uncommon in the country. She jumped into her car and drove off, hoping Jaynee wouldn’t have Jordan dismiss her in the morning.

  Chapter Thirty

  Today ...

  Jordan bounded downstairs again to the cafeteria. He needed to find out all Brian knew about the night someone shot his wife.

  He could see Williams and Powe through the glass; Brian’s back was to the window. They were all sitting there, leaning back as if they were old friends.

  Jordan entered the room, smacking the door open so hard it hit the wall, threatening to slam back against him. “So what’s the story?”

  “Well,” Williams began, “it seems your wife’s lover has turned into a regular stalker.” Jordan glared at the detective, and he quickly substituted his words. “Sorry, ex-lover.”

  Powe must have discerned his countenance. “Uh ... Jordan ... why don’t you sit down? Brian’s been cooperating so far; he wants to expose who’s responsible as much as you do.”

  Jordan seriously doubted that, but he pulled out a chair and sat down on it backward. “I’m listening.”

  Williams leaned back in the chair again and pulled his leg up on his knee. “Evidently Brian spoke to your wife on Friday morning, and according to him, she wouldn’t give him the time of day. But he noticed she stayed up later than you and decided he would attempt to talk with her, convince her he changed — that kind of nonsense.”

  Jordan gripped the table in an effort to remain seated. He wanted to pummel the man, but was also irritated with Jaynee. For one, not telling him about her interaction with him and two ... .how many times had he told her to close those damn blinds? It didn’t matter that they lived in the country; perverts were everywhere. All they needed was an invitation as simple as an open window to delude them into thinking a woman was interested.

  Williams eyed Jordan and continued, “According to Brian, Jaynee was on the phone and then a woman appeared on the porch and they talked awhile. He didn’t hear anything they said and actually dozed off, but said he awoke the same way you did, when he heard a gunshot. Of course, we already knew Jaynee had spoken with someone — your secretary, Lorraine. Jaynee had received a text from her and had returned her call. We investigated, but her account checked out. She’d driven you home earlier in the evening and had just wanted to confirm you were okay. Lorraine had no motive to hurt Jaynee, so we didn’t pursue her as a suspect.

  Jordan rolled his eyes. “So, he didn�
�t see a woman shoot Jaynee?” He shoved his chair back from the table.

  “No,” Brian interjected, “but who else could have ... she was the only person there. I didn’t hurt her, and you certainly weren’t there to protect her.”

  Jordan jumped up from his seat. It took everything he had not to punch Brian again. “Jaynee shot herself.” His entire body seethed at this man’s impudence. He’d sent someone to hurt her once, and he had the nerve to question him.

  Brian chewed his bottom lip and shook his head. “I don’t believe it. When I talked to her earlier, she told me how happily married she was.” Brian said the words bitterly as he stared at Jordan in total disbelief.

  Jordan was finished; this conversation was getting him nowhere. It was obvious from Brian’s reactions that he hadn’t caused Jaynee’s shooting, so he needed to find out who had. “I didn’t say she did it purposefully, just that it was by her own hand, and I need to get to the reasons why.” He looked at the detectives. The detectives didn’t need him; they’d already gotten his statement the night Jaynee had been shot. “If you guys don’t have anything for me, I’ll call you when my wife wakes up. I’m finished here.” Jordan opened the door. “I need to see my wife.”

  Jordan had to catch his breath before walking into Jaynee’s room; he felt lightheaded.

  He hadn’t eaten anything today, but had already been in a fight, interviewed a suspect, and had to cope with the knowledge his wife had kept something from him. Not to mention there still wasn’t a hundred percent chance she would recover. He gripped the outside of the doorjamb to stabilize himself.

  Jaynee was motionless. She’d only spoken twice and only to him. He didn’t want to leave, but he needed to do something.

  If Lorraine had been even remotely responsible, he would expose the truth. And if she were guilty, he’d arrest her himself. Nothing in him could perceive such an outcome. Lorraine couldn’t have hurt Jaynee. She wouldn’t, not if she really cared about him, and somehow he always knew she had, just not to the extent of murder. It wasn’t possible.