Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade #1)(97)

Well, Erin, cruel and crazy Erin, had found her. She had done everything to break Kellen. She had used the name Cecilia against her as if it was an insult. And today Kellen had discovered Cecilia was smarter, braver, funnier than she had ever imagined. It hadn’t really been Kellen who escaped from the horror of Gregory’s murder/suicide, survived the Philadelphia streets, saved a child, learned to love… It hadn’t really been Kellen who joined the Army, learned hand-to-hand combat, to carry a weapon, to fight in battles against an unseen enemy, to save her comrades from death, to be wounded and live.

Cecilia had stood alone and defeated Gregory’s ghost and the terror that tainted her days and nights.

Cecilia had become the person her cousin, Kellen, had wanted her to be. At long last, she was worthy of the sacrifice Kellen had made.

She looked around. The world was flat here, a great plain of prairie dotted with farmhouses surrounded by mountains and covered by a grand, wide sky. A breeze whipped up and brought a crackling sound and the scent of something burning. That brought her to her feet. Behind her, the plane’s wheel was buried in a roadside ditch, the plane’s wing pointed toward the vanishing northern stars…and smoke curled from the engine.

A quarter mile away, a man stood on the porch of a farmhouse, filming the scene with his phone. She walked toward him, staggering from pain and shock. When she got close, she looked up at him—he was still filming—and she asked, “Where are we?”

“Montana.”

“Can you call 911? Because there’s a pilot on that plane and the plane’s about to explode.”

*

She spent one day in a small Montana hospital while they stabilized her, gave her oxygen and ascertained the hairline fractures in her sternum would heal with much pain, but no lasting effects. She was transferred to a moderately sized Montana hospital with a skilled orthopedic surgeon, who operated on her shattered finger. Her cast reached to her elbow, her fingertips were the only things showing and they were bruised and swollen, and learning to do anything with her left hand made every waking moment a challenge and sometimes a humiliation.

While she was recovering, she heard from everyone—Annie and Leo, who reported the resort had survived, Mr. Gilfilen, who reported he had survived, Birdie, who reported she had survived and that Mr. Lennex was a very nice man. Sheri Jean, who was aggravated that not only was Mara a villain, but her absence left a gap in the guest services lineup and how was Sheri Jean supposed to deal with that? Temo, whose sister was settling in nicely, and Adrian, who assured Kellen that the son of a bitch who had wanted to sell Regina had been shown a cliff that plunged into the ocean but had been allowed to limp away.

Nils Brooks did not call, but he did message to let her know Mara Philippi, aka the Librarian, was in federal custody without incident.

Max sent flowers but no word. After that kiss…well, she didn’t know what she wanted from him. She only knew they would have to talk and decisions would have to be made. Yes, she’d loved him once, but she’d made a new life apart from Max. Things had happened to her. No doubt things had happened to him. Could they find a neutral meeting ground? Did they even want to?

*

Now, two weeks later, the plane landed on the Yearning Sands airstrip and skidded toward the ocean. Just like the first time, it stopped short. The pilot lowered the stairs and Kellen limped her way out into a rare sunny day. The cold wind took her breath away, and clouds ripped across the sky, tearing like tissue paper.

A town car waited; Kellen slid inside the front passenger seat and smiled at the chauffeur. Wrapping her arms around Birdie’s neck, she hugged cautiously and was cautiously hugged in return. “They sent you.”

“I volunteered.”

Kellen teared up. Mitch had betrayed them. Mara had proved to be a killer. Birdie… Birdie was tried-and-true. “How do you feel?” Kellen asked.

“Pretty good.” She turned to show Kellen a face still disfigured with bruises and stitches and a droop that was possibly nerve damage. “I’m disillusioned about Mitch, but life can do that.”

“Tell me about it.” The week in the Montana hospital had returned Kellen to the most fragile of health, but Kellen didn’t care—she was alive. They were alive.

Birdie put the car in gear and started toward the resort.

Kellen turned on the seat heater, struggled out of her winter coat and settled back to watch the road as it wound through groves and over hills toward the resort. “I heard from Nils.”

“Which is more than we have,” Birdie said in exasperation. “When the government took Mara away, he disappeared in a hurry.”

“He’s got a job. An important job.” All Kellen’s doubts had been set at rest. Nils Brooks really was MFAA. “He said she’s in custody.”

Birdie hesitated. “I hope so. I hope she doesn’t escape. I don’t know why I think she can, but I do, and I’m more afraid of her than I ever was of anyone in Afghanistan.”

Kellen put her hand on Birdie’s shoulder. “I know. I used to think that gleam in her eyes was competitiveness. Now I think it’s ego and rabid lunacy.”

“Did you hear when the Feds went into her cottage to search for evidence, her bedroom closet was locked, and when they got it open, it was full of books?” Birdie glanced at Kellen. “I mean—books. First editions, autographed editions and part of a genuine Gutenberg Bible. The stash is worth millions.”