Chapter Sixteen

Leia's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment she couldn't remember where she was. The smell of antiseptic and the IV in her arm told her she was in the hospital. Then it all came rushing back in a flood, including the car that had been aiming for Brim, and brought everything back into focus and she shifted a little. Pain lanced through her body. Breathing through it, she looked around and saw Brim asleep in the chair next to her.

A shadow still surrounded him.

Slowly, she reached out and touched it. Images whirled through her head, and it took more concentration to slow it all down. One by one the pictures coalesced until she was able to rewind, and she saw a knife plunge into his chest. He fell, eyes wide open as death claimed him.

A tear rolled down her cheek. The car had missed, but the knife would not. Even if she could prevent that, just like the car, the scenario probably would keep changing until she failed. Until his killer was victorious, and she could see everything except the person wielding the sickle. Leia withdrew her hand and let it fall limply to her side.

"You shouldn't move."

Startled, Leia turned her head and saw Brim staring at her. How long had he been awake?

"You have a mild concussion," he continued, his eyes were flat, matching the tone of his voice. "A lot of bruises. The doctor said you were lucky—no broken bones, but he didn't see you fly through the air."

"How long have I been out?"

"Not long. The doc said you'd probably be released in the morning."

An uneasy tension settled in the room.

"I'm glad it didn't get you," she whispered, needing to say something.

"Why did you do that, Leia?"

She didn't pretend not to know what he was talking about. "It's my job to protect you."

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them, she gasped at the naked pain she saw.

"I have faced down the barrel of a gun more times than I care to admit, and none of those times have ever scared me shitless quite like seeing that car hit you."

"You said I'm going to be okay. No harm was done."

He shook his head. "That is neither here nor there. I can't let you continue—"

"There's still a shadow left on you."

"It doesn't matter. I'll figure it out."

Desperation clawed at her. "No, you won't. I won't let you die."

He stood up. "And I won't risk your life anymore. It's no longer your decision."

She reached for him in a pleading gesture. "I love you."

His eyes widened, and for a moment, she thought he was about to take her hand. But something hardened in his gaze, and he turned away. Panic filled her. He may not return her feelings, but it didn't matter. He was going to die, and she couldn't allow that to happen.

"Please, Brim. Don't do this."

He hesitated at the door and glanced over his shoulder at her. She saw his resolution before he spoke.

"I'll have one of the men drive you back home when you're discharged in the morning," he said. "You'll be paid like we agreed. Good-bye, Leia."

Then he was gone. As quickly as he had first appeared.

She lay there for a long time, trying to push the pain down. Trying to think straight. She would happily let him go if only he would live, and to do that she had to figure out who was trying to assassinate him. She tried to remember anything about the car intent on hitting him. As she concentrated, a memory flashed by of blonde hair, and it suddenly dawned on her that the woman from Wal-Mart was the same woman in Martha's picture. Cindy, Brim's ex-wife. She was the only person who desperately wished to kill him, and the hatred Leia had seen emanating from the woman was undeniable. Besides, something told Leia that was who she was fighting.

She didn't have much time. Brim was going to send her home in the morning. If she was going to save him, she had to do it soon. But how? To save Brim she had to eliminate the threat. A plan began to form. Time to check herself out of the hospital as well as call in her favor from Kix.

****

The Uber dropped her off in the neighboring town and once it had disappeared, she started walking. Thanks to Mac, Kix had provided her with Cindy's address and had even sent her pictures of the woman behind the wheel of the car that had hit her. Now she was positive. Now she knew what she had to do. If Cindy disappeared, so did the threat on Brim's life.

Although the concussion made her feel a little dizzy, she continued on. A little over half an hour later, she turned on the country road where Cindy's house was located. Taking a deep breath, she fixed her shirt over her jeans, gathering her courage with each step. It didn't matter if Brim didn't love her. It didn't matter if he sent her away. She would take comfort in the fact that he was alive somewhere in the world, and she would live on her dreams of their time together.

Knocking on the door, she waited. It was the dead of night, so she knocked again, a little heavier. Suddenly, the porch light came on and the door opened. Leia came face to face with Cindy. The woman was dressed in a robe. Make-up bled under her eyes and her hair was flattened on one side. Deep grooves lined around her mouth, giving her smoker's lips.

"Let me in," Leia said. "We have to talk."

Cindy assessed her by looking her up and down. A sneer wrinkled her nose as she stood back, and Leia entered the serpent's den. The house was dirty. Clutter was everywhere. Something rotten lingered in the air. Leia wanted to be anywhere but there, yet she didn't have a choice. The path she was on wouldn't let her stop.

"What do you want?" Cindy asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"It's you, isn't it?" Leia asked instead, not bothering to answer her question. "You sent Knuckles to kill Brim. You tried to run him over."

Cindy stared at her for a moment. "You're a clever girl, aren't you? Figuring it out all by yourself."

"Why?"

"Because he killed our son."

Leia shook her head. "Nate died in the military-"

"He wouldn't have been there if Brim hadn't pushed him!" Cindy stared pacing. "Nate would've stayed home. He would've been safe. He would be alive today if Brim hadn't told him to join the army! It's all his fault!"

"I can't imagine your loss," Leia said softly. "I know it must be unbearable."

Cindy rounded on her. "You know nothing! Have you ever lost a child? I didn't think so. Brim gets to walk away. He gets to sleep at night. He gets to stay in his club and continue living. But I can't. I have nothing! No child. No club. And soon, neither will he."

"You're wrong if you think he isn't suffering. The man went nomad. He was hurting so much he walked away from the only life he knew."

"But he still walked. Maybe I'll kill you so he won't have anyone."

"Killing me won't solve anything. He doesn't love me. I'm here only to help him find you."

"Then where is he?" Cindy held open her arms. "Here I am. You found me. Run on back and tell him that I was the one to seduce Knuckles. Tell him I made Knuckles fall in love with me so I could convince him killing Brim was the only way we could be together. Tell him I broke the lock on the back gate to sneak into the club, to give Knuckles the map to his cabin."

"Your deception got Knuckles killed."

Cindy shrugged. "I don't care. He was a means to an end. Once I saw Brim back in Cardinal, I knew Knuckles had failed, the stupid asshole."

"You don't have to do this," Leia said. She wanted Cindy to agree. She wanted Cindy to walk away, promise she would give up her thirst for vengeance. "You can walk away right now, and I'll let you leave. I won't tell Brim anything."

Cindy took a step closer. "I won't ever stop. I will hunt Brim until one of us is dead. And then I'll go and kill his cunt of a mother. You shouldn't have come here, bitch. You know I can't let you run back and warn him."

Leia knew she was trying to intimidate her. Cindy's eyes were ice cold. There wasn't any soul left in the bitter, older woman. Part of her felt sorry for Cindy. She clearly needed help. Yet Leia knew she'd never get it because Cindy didn't want help. She wanted Brim to suffer like she was suffering.

"I don't fear you, Cindy."

"No? Then you're stupid because I'm going to kill you."

Leia shook her head. "I'm not the one going to die tonight."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Because I'm not the one with a shadow on me." Leia pulled the butterfly knife out of her back pocket and plunged the blade into Cindy's chest. So hard it penetrated into the heart. The woman's mouth dropped open in shock and horror as her knees gave out. Leia fell with her, pushing the knife in deeper. "I don't know why you didn't think I was the nightmare come to consume you. You see, I love him. And I'll do anything to protect him."

The light in Cindy's eyes faded, and the woman stared into the abyss as death claimed her. The shadow faded into the body and disappeared from sight. Leia stared at the woman she'd just killed, trying to feel guilty, but she had come to realize that good and bad weren't always black and white. She didn't feel one ounce of horror at having just claimed a life.

She yanked the blade out of Cindy's chest. There wasn't much blood, to her surprise. As she had walked the trek to the house, Leia had opened the switchblade and carefully put it in the back pocket of her jeans, using her shirt to conceal it. She knew the sharp tip had probably ripped a hole in her pocket, but she didn't care. Once she had folded up the knife, she pulled out her cell phone and called Thorn. The V.P. would know what to do with the body.