Never Die Alone

“It . . . it’ll be all right,” Bria

His heart swelled for the briefest of instants and he saw her smile. Bravely, he thought and he couldn’t do the same.

Bria

It would never be all right.

Never.

But at least it would be over.

EPILOGUE

October

Jase found a beer in the refrigerator and cracked it open, then took a deep swallow. As he stepped onto the back porch of the farmhouse, he stared across the rolling acres to the tree where for years he’d believed a body had been buried. He’d been wrong. As his father had pronounced all those months ago, and as Prescott had confirmed. The old man had taken off, cashed the check, and Jase hadn’t heard from him since, but Prescott had explained that the assailant who had raped Aria

The guy hadn’t been dead, but had agreed to disappear; Ed’s debt was then forgiven, any rape charge unable to be pi

Nonetheless, Jase had gone to the police and told his tale. Though the clock on the statute of limitations had run out on any charges that might have occurred during the fight, Jase had lost any chance he’d had of getting the job with the police department.

As well as any chance he’d had with Bria

So he’d bought out Prescott and moved here, his only companion a red hound dog that had been found on the Tillman property, probably belonging to his brother. The dog warned him when visitors arrived and was content to curl up at his feet in the evening. Good company. As much as he wanted now.

At least Chloe De

His twin had been a bona-fide psychopath. Crazy and sadistic. Ritualistic. A killer who had taken the life of his lover, Myra, and maybe, just maybe their mother. Before he turned his attention to twins. The theory was that because he’d killed Myra when she was turning 21, he tried to replay the scenario with twins, all because he knew he, too, was a twin. Yeah, the De

Jase had finally come to terms with that sorry fact as well as resolved, in his mind, Aria

Now as he sat on the porch rail and drank his beer, Jase watched the dog chasing squirrels near the tree where he’d been certain his own victim had been buried.

He was still pissed at Prescott for that one. The old man? Well, he was who he was and Jase would never forgive him, but Prescott? Really? He wasn’t certain the fences between his only surviving brother and himself would ever be mended and it hurt a little when he considered his niece and nephews. Maybe someday . . . damn he hoped he could watch those two and the new baby, another boy, grow up. Somehow he’d have to find a way to forgive Prescott for his lies and secrets.

We all have our own secrets. You kept yours, didn’t you?

And he’d spent the past few months trying to purge those very demons, the secrets, from his life by burying himself into work. He’d thrown his back into repairing fences and cleaning out buildings during the day and worked on a book at night. He figured he had an intimate take on the 21 Killer and already had some publishers interested in the story. That is, if he had the guts to go through reporting all the ritualistic murders knowing full well that his own twin brother was the monster behind the bizarre homicides. If he needed help, Kristi Bentz, the detective’s daughter was already a true crime writer and she’d suggested a collaboration. He was considering it. Who knew?

As for his job at the Observer? He’d let it go. Let Meri-Jo have the crime beat. He didn’t need it any longer. Didn’t want it. Time for a fresh start.

He figured he needed some time to himself, to adjust to this new life, to figure out where he’d go from here. It would be a lie to say that he didn’t think of Bria

The dog was barking again and this time the hound’s attention was focused on the lane.

Jase pushed himself upright and walked around the wraparound porch to the side of the building where the late-afternoon sun was bouncing off the windshield of a small car driving toward the house. He squinted and told himself that he was hallucinating, because the compact sure looked like a Honda, and the woman behind the wheel was a dead ringer for Bria

No way.

He drained his beer and left the empty on the porch.

Barking and yipping, the hound bounded over the dry grass of the field before slithering under the bottom fence rail while Jase cut along the path leading to the parking area near the garage.

The Honda ground to a stop, and sure enough, Bria

His heart did a stupid little thump. God, he was an idiot.

“So,” she said, shielding her eyes with the flat of a hand as she approached. Wearing a T-shirt, skirt, and sandals, she was as gorgeous as he remembered. “You’re a cowboy now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He couldn’t help but grin. “Seems to me someone suggested I wasn’t cut out to be a buttoned-down type.”

“You aren’t.” She hesitated. Bit her lip. Seemed about to turn away from him and flee back the way she came before she squared her shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. “Listen, Bridges, I don’t know how to say this, but . . . I’ve thought about everything that happened.” Her mouth turned down and she squinted a bit, still held his gaze. “It was bad. Really bad.”

“No argument there.”

“And I desperately wanted to blame you for not being straight with me, for everything that happened, for my sister’s death, for all of it. You know, just call you the bad guy and file it away forever. But . . .” She let out her breath. “I was wrong.” She hesitated, one thumb nervously rubbing her forefinger. “And I’ve done some major soul-searching and yeah, some counseling. Even shrinks have shrinks, you know, and I think . . . Dear Lord, I hope I’m getting past it.”

“Just like that?”

“No, not just like that.” She shook her head, her hair highlighted by the late-afternoon sun. “It took a while.” She sighed and nodded, agreeing with herself. “And I was pretty awful to you.”

“You were. But maybe I deserved it.”

“No one does. I was just lashing out. Stupidly and I’m sorry. Life’s too short, you know, for carrying around all that negative energy.” She shoved her hair from her face. Her eyes clouded for a second, and she closed them, as if she suddenly doubted her reasons for coming out here and needed to gather her strength.