Fractured Memories (Badge of Honor #1)

Chapter 24

TWENTY-FOUR

Kurtis smirked. “I see your memories have finally returned. They say later is better than never, but in your case, I don’t think that’s true.” He leveled the gun to her chest. “Drop the bat.”

“Or what? You’ll kill me? I’m sure that’s the plan anyway.” Felicity’s mind whirled as she struggled to put the pieces together. There were holes she could only make educated guesses about. “You and Melanie are the leaders of Triple 6. You’ve been working together for a long time. Since before Brooke’s murder. What happened, Kurtis? Did she uncover what you were doing and confront you?” It fit with her memories. Felicity’s gaze flickered to Daniel, who struggled to his feet. “She knew you’d involved her brother and was angry.”

“Yes. Initially, she thought it was just me, but then my industrious ex-girlfriend discovered that Melanie had created fake bank accounts using Brooke’s credentials. She confronted me while I was there picking up my stuff. Told me to stop using her name and involving her brother or she’d go to the police.”

“Jeremy overheard your conversation while fixing the gutters.” Felicity’s heart broke for the man. He’d probably been keeping watch over Brooke’s house from his parents’. Jeremy had known she was in trouble. “You came back later that night. What did you tell Brooke to get her to open the door?”

“That I’d forgotten something.”

Just as Felicity had suspected. “The argument between the two of you kicked off again. I overheard part of it. Brooke kept saying you can’t do this.” She stared at the horrible man holding her at gunpoint. “She loved you. And Melanie. She understood the magnitude of what you two were doing and wanted to give you an opportunity to get out of the drug business before the police got involved. You used her kindness against her.”

Kurtis shrugged. “She was stupid. Melanie and I were making a fortune. Neither of us were interested in giving it up.”

He’d shot her instead. Felicity heard it, came downstairs, and found Brooke’s body. Jeremy must’ve also seen or heard something because he came in the back door. There was a noise in the rear bedroom. Jeremy gripped Felicity’s shoulders and told her to hide. She’d run upstairs to the closet. “You were looking for something in Brooke’s bedroom. She had proof, didn’t she?”

“Records I found and destroyed.” Kurtis glowered. “My only mistake was leaving you and Jeremy alive. I didn’t realize either of you were in the house until the next day. Jeremy wasn’t too much of a concern. The police knew he was crazy. But you… I nearly killed you too, but your dad cleared out of town and I figured the whole thing was done.”

“Until I came back and reopened the case.”

Kurtis glanced at Daniel. “Tie her up and then get the truck ready. I want the police searching for her body for a while.”

They were going to kill her and dump her some place in the woods. Felicity shifted in preparation to resist, but then Kurtis shifted his gun to Harper, who was still lying on the carpet. “I don’t want to shoot this child, but I will do what is necessary to get your cooperation.”

His tone was deadly serious. Felicity dropped the bat.

Daniel punched her in the face and stars exploded across her vision. Blood filled her mouth. Rough hands grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her. Felicity put all her focus on bending her elbows to create a wide gap. Daniel zip-tied her hands together.

She spat a mix of saliva and blood onto the carpet. DNA. Noah and Grady would eventually find this place. They’d know she’d been there.

Daniel collected the bat from the floor and raised it, preparing to hit her. His pupils were pinpricks. Felicity realized he was high. He hadn’t been arrested for possession in a long time but clearly was still using. Fear shot straight through her. She wouldn’t be able to defend herself against an attack from a bat with her hands tied.

“Don’t.” Kurtis’s tone was sharp .

Daniel whirled to face him. “You said I could have some fun.”

His boss shot him a disgusted look. “That was before she beat you up. Again.” He glanced at his watch. “We don’t have time for any more delays. Get the van. Now.”

Daniel hesitated and then left the room. Felicity let go of the breath she was holding but kept her senses sharp. She was a long way from being out of danger. Harper too. “It’s not smart to have a drug user on the payroll.”

To her surprise, Kurtis laughed. “You’re right. It’s not. Daniel doesn’t normally handle this side of the business.” He leveled the gun on her again. “But it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation now.”

Felicity glared up at Kurtis. “What are you going to do with Harper?”

“I’ll make sure she’s found.” He shrugged. “Law enforcement comes out in full force when a kid gets hurt. I’ve poked that bear enough. Besides, I don’t enjoy killing unless I have to.”

“Nice to know there are some lines you don’t cross.” Felicity didn’t believe one word Kurtis uttered. He’d kill Harper in a heartbeat. She spat more blood into the carpet and then rolled over to push herself into a sitting position to face Kurtis. Had she left enough gap in the zip tie? She attempted to tug her hand free, but her knuckle snagged against the plastic.

“Why all the games? You want me dead.” A thought formed in her mind, and she inhaled sharply. “You’re buying time. Creating situations so the police are spread thin and don’t have time to uncover your crimes. Where’s Melanie? She’s erasing the bank records, isn’t she?”

It was the only thing that made sense. Laundering money left a paper trail, and as the bank manager, Melanie had access to these records remotely. Noah had been right. The leader—no, leaders—of Triple 6 were cleaning house. Kurtis and Melanie were working off a plan. Once they erased any sign of their involvement, Melanie would be “found” or “escape” the clutches of the “killers.” She’d be viewed as a victim. No one would question her involvement.

Except… she’d been caught on video kidnapping Harper. Felicity’s gaze narrowed. “Does Melanie know you plan to kill her once she’s erased the records that connect you to Triple 6?”

He smirked again. “You talk too much.”

“What about Daniel? Does he know you’re going to frame him for all of this?” She wriggled her hand as much as possible without drawing Kurtis’s attention. “This property is connected to him, isn’t it? I bet he doesn’t know you left Jeremy’s body in his garage or that the police have been searching for him since yesterday.”

Her hand popped free. Relief flooded through her, but she was careful to keep it off her expression. “My guess is Gene is already dead. You got rid of him after the bank bombing. You’ll use Daniel to help kill me, then set him up for Melanie’s murder, too, so it’ll look like Melanie and Daniel were working together to run Triple 6.”

“Shut up.” Kurtis bent down to take her arm, shoving the gun under her chin. The barrel pressed against her skin. Cold and deadly. “No more talking or I’ll blow your head off right here.” He glanced at the doorway, presumably to make sure Daniel hadn’t overheard their conversation, and then focused back on her. The malevolence in his eyes was bone-chilling. “You’ve caused me enough trouble. One more peep out of you about this and I’ll make sure Harper pays for it. You got me?”

She let the fear cramping her insides show on her expression. The more Kurtis believed he was in control, the less he would expect her next move. “Yes.”

He removed the gun from under her chin. Felicity balled her hand into a fist and leaned back so Kurtis would have to pitch forward more to yank her from the carpet. He glanced at the doorway again and then gripped her arm tighter. “Let’s go.”

He shifted his body weight forward in preparation to lean back and pull.

She socked him in the face and then flipped his body over hers. Kurtis landed on his back, stunned. Felicity didn’t waste a second. She knocked the gun from his hand. He rose, attempting to grab her, and she scrambled away. A well-placed kick landed right in his face. Bone and cartilage gave way.

Kurtis screamed as blood erupted from his nose. He instinctively grabbed at his face with both hands. Felicity scooped Harper from the floor, pressing the baby against her chest, and bolted from the room.

Escape. She had seconds to escape.

The hallway emptied into a living room, the kitchen beyond it. The back door gaped open like a beacon. She raced for it. The front door creaked open, followed by Daniel’s shout. Felicity gripped Harper tighter. She added more fuel to her legs.

Rain pelted her skin as she flew across the yard. The shelter of the forest was a dozen steps away. Felicity heard Kurtis yelling. He and Daniel were coming for her. For her and Harper. Thunder rumbled like a bad omen. Her focus locked on an opening in the overgrowth. She had to make it there. Had to hide.

She stumbled over a root. Her knees hit the ground with bone-jarring pain, and she nearly dropped the precious bundle in her arms. Something whizzed past her and embedded in the tree branch above her head. They were shooting at her.

Felicity got back on her feet, moving in a zigzag pattern to make her figure harder to hit. Bark exploded as she passed a pine tree. The echo of a gunshot filled her ears. She flinched, stifling a scream.

And kept running.