Cold Spite (Cold Justice: Most Wanted #5)

Chapter 48

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

N icole felt frazzled and irritated as she pulled into traffic after dropping Melody at the gate with her mother, who would accompany her all the way to the aircraft. Someone on the other side would make sure she got to her father. She was no more unsupervised than when she went to school. Less so, considering the number of kids in each class.

Thanks to those FBI agents, Melody had kicked up a fuss and acted like she was on her way to her own execution.

At a red light, Nicole opened the center console and searched for some headache pills. Preston didn’t like her taking medication while she was pregnant, but he wasn’t the one in pain and what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

She hadn’t figured out how to tell him she wouldn’t be having a natural birth. She knew what childbirth felt like and had no intention of going through that without drugs. Coming up empty she dragged her purse onto her lap and dug around, closed her fingers around a bottle of Tylenol and thumbed the cap open.

She dry swallowed two tablets as the light changed.

She cursed the fact she’d left her travel mug at home because she’d been put off her game by the fact the Federal Bureau of Investigation had arrived on her doorstep .

That reminded her…

She called Joseph. It went to voicemail, which irritated her. He better get used to taking her calls if they were going to coparent.

“Calling to say Melody is at the airport, and you have her flight number. Call me as soon as she lands and you have her in your care. She has to text me every day, assuming you want this to become a regular occurrence.” She sounded bitchy but whatever. This guy had cheated on her and then run drugs across the border. He’d destroyed their life together, not her.

She hesitated. “The FBI came to see me today. I hope for your sake they’re mistaken about everything they think you’ve done.” Distance made her brave enough to add, “Don’t do anything stupid, Joseph.”

Her fingers clamped around the steering wheel as she maneuvered through busy traffic onto I-5 N toward Harborview Medical Center where Preston worked as an administrator. It began to rain, and she turned on the wipers. Nicole felt sweaty and sticky and gross. Not how she wanted to greet her husband or start her vacation.

Why had the FBI ambushed her like that? Did they enjoy scaring the hell out of a pregnant woman? Or making her feel guilty for being a bad parent? Like either of those agents appreciated how difficult it was to raise a child? They’d made her feel like the criminal.

Even before Joseph had been arrested, he’d often been deployed. Military spouses deserved medals for being single parents, not to mention their own pension—although Joseph had lost all that after his conviction.

She bit her lip. Could he be behind these deaths? Had she made a terrible error in judgment letting Melody stay with him?

She’d lied to the FBI about Joseph scaring her, but prison had changed him. Humbled him. She could tell he was sincere in his desire to reconnect with his daughter.

It was Virgil who really frightened her .

She shuddered. The way he used to watch her, even with Joseph right there…

He gave her the creeps but Joseph had said his brother wasn’t around that much, and he would surely protect his daughter from his brother.

Of course, he would.

Not that Virgil had ever tried to hurt her or behaved inappropriately. Staring wasn’t a crime.

She got off on James Street and turned right on 9th. Another car followed her, probably heading to the emergency room.

Preston had an assigned space, so she pulled into it. He’d taken an Uber to work that morning, so they didn’t have to leave both vehicles at the airport. It was dark now. She hoped she wasn’t underdressed. He’d told her casual, but perhaps this was too casual?

She’d grab her long cardigan out of the case and dress the outfit up if needed.

She was excited to have a week in Hawaii where they could relax on the beach and enjoy some them time. Once this baby came along, things would be chaotic for a while. She doubted Preston would be any more hands-on than Joseph had been. What was it about men who prided themselves on being all the things that they couldn’t even change a diaper?

She texted him that she was here and sat with the engine idling, even though Preston didn’t like to pollute the atmosphere more than they had to. But she was cold. She huddled her shoulders on a shiver. Made her wonder why he didn’t drive the Prius all the time, rather than her.

She shouldn’t complain. He was a good husband who didn’t go off for months at a time nor trick out the vehicles with bricks of cocaine—at least, she hoped not.

This was a busy spot. People going in and out of the hospital as the shifts changed over.

Preston texted that he was on his way down. She fixed her makeup, then got out, opening the cargo space and carefully easing her long gray cashmere coatigan out of her bag before zipping it closed again. She shrugged into the sleeves and then dashed around to the passenger side.

Preston liked to drive, and she honestly didn’t mind avoiding Seattle traffic. She got in and, after a moment, turned off the engine.

She reapplied her lipstick in the vanity mirror and twisted to smile when he opened the driver’s door.

Except it wasn’t Preston. Someone she’d never seen before stood there wearing a black slicker with the hood pulled low over their face, aiming a long black pistol at her.

She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. They fired twice, each shot punching into her body, the noise making her flinch, although it didn’t hurt. Not at first. Then the shock died away, and pain set in, slicing through her and lancing her with streaks of red-hot fire.

The person was gone before she could react. They closed the door, and she slumped back as the interior lights slowly faded.

The baby. Oh, my God. The baby.

Her hands searched for the wounds and pressed against the warm flow of blood. The lights of the hospital mocked her. Blood pumped out of her wounds, and she could feel herself fading too.