He glanced up at her, smiling brightly. “Of course I’m happy, it’s just surprising.”

She wasn’t fooled. His smile did not reach his eyes, nor did it lighten the worry that still marred his brow. “I told you that I heal fast.”

“I know.” He kissed her forehead gently. “Let me help you.”

Taking hold of the peroxide, he gently cleaned the gashes. His touch was so light that she hardly felt it. Smoothing the bandages into place, he stood slowly. “How are the ribs?”

Cassie shrugged slightly, gently touching the bruises that were already fading from her rib cage. The cracks were already healed, but the bone was still bruised, though not badly. “Much better,” she assured him.

He nodded; his eyes still dark as his hands wrapped around her waist. “I have to go, but I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Cassie swallowed heavily, hating to see him leave. “Be safe,” she whispered.

“Always,” he vowed, kissing her gently.

She watched as he slipped out the window, disappearing fluidly over the sill. Shaking her head, she hummed softly to herself as she made her way swiftly downstairs, practically skipping down the last set of steps. Despite the hideous events of the dance, waking in Devon’s arms had lifted her spirits considerably. Chris was still lying on the couch, his arm tossed over his eyes in an attempt to block out the sunlight filtering through the windows.

“Good morning,” she greeted brightly.

Lowering his arm, he stared skeptically at her. “Ugh,” he grunted, apparently not at all pleased with it.

Cassie laughed happily, turning toward the kitchen. “Get up lazy butt!” she called over her shoulder.

The ring of the doorbell stopped her before she reached the kitchen. She hurried to the door, surprised that Melissa and Luther would ring the bell, they usually just walked in. Shrugging, Cassie grasped hold of the handle as Chris bolted upright, leaping to his feet in a smooth, fluid motion as he cleared the back of the couch in one fluid motion.

“Cassie no!” he barked, his voice hoarse and strangled.

But it was too late. She already had the door open, and what was standing on the other side was something far worse than she ever could have imagined. Something far worse than Isla and Julian.

CHAPTER 20

Why didn’t she smell pancakes cooking? And the sausage, well that should be frying by now. And of course she should be able to smell the mushrooms, green peppers, and onions that would be sautéing for Melissa’s omelet. But why didn’t she smell them? It was pancake Sunday, and next Sunday was Belgium waffles, but for some reason the pancakes were not cooking right now.

Had her grandmother slept in? No, wait, she never slept in, she was always up early, humming and dancing around the kitchen as she cooked. Cassie’s gaze darted to the driveway. Where was the little red Mustang? Her grandmother’s baby, her one luxury. It was always parked right there, gleaming and shiny because it was waxed and washed at least twice a week. Her grandmother loved to ride around town with the top down, the wind blowing her strawberry hair back as she blasted the radio.

Where was the car?

Cassie’s ears were humming, there was a thrumming vibe in her eardrums that blocked out all sound, all reason. She turned back to the people before her, the buzz instantly increased in her head. It sounded like a swarm of bees had encircled her, and she thought that would be preferable to the people on her doorstep. The people before her were speaking, or at least the woman was, but she couldn’t hear them. Cassie knew the woman was speaking though because she could see the woman’s lips moving, even if there was no sound.

Cassie’s gaze darted frantically to the empty driveway again, then back into the house. She inhaled deeply once more, but still no smell reached her. She did not want to look at the people before again, but she knew that she had to. She did not want to hear what they had to say, because with heart wrenching certainty she already knew what those words would be, and they would destroy her.

Chris moved into the doorway of the living room, his broad shoulders were slumped, his sandy blond hair disheveled from sleeping on the couch. His eyes were filled with sadness so profound that it pierced Cassie’s heart, it ripped her violently from the shell of denial and shock she had wrapped herself in. Chris’s eyes met hers; tears already shimmered in their sapphire depths. Of course he would know what they were saying. He had known before she’d even opened the door, and he did not have bee’s buzzing through his head.

He had warned her not to open it, why hadn’t she listened?

Slowly turning back around, her gaze focused on the well built woman before her. Though she looked hard and professional, her brown eyes were warm, and regret radiated from them. The man beside her was young, the freckles on the bridge of his nose stood out starkly against his pallor. He appeared to be new on the job, and it was obvious that he did not want to be here.

“Are you Cassandra Fairmont?” the woman inquired, probably for the third or fourth time.

A pounding on the stairs momentarily drew all of their attention. Dani froze three feet from the bottom, her mouth parted as her gold streaked hazel eyes widened in horror. Her eyes darted wildly to Cassie, then around the house. Tears spilled down her cheeks instantly, swiftly rolling down to drop unheeded from her chin.

Cassie shuddered, cold swept through her veins, turning her entire body to ice. She was certain she would never be warm again, never feel anything again. Swallowing heavily, she turned back to the two police officers on her doorstep. Devon appeared behind them, his shoulders stiff, and his emerald eyes shining brightly in the morning light.

The presence of the officers must have stopped him from leaving. He would not leave her if he thought she might be in danger, or hurt. Though his black hair was still a tumbled mess, he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. For a brief moment, feeling returned to her numbed limbs, but it was swiftly doused by the tidal wave of pain surging through her. She couldn’t look at him anymore, she couldn’t bear to.

“Yes, I am,” she said stiffly, her voice choked and harsh.

The woman nodded slightly, her hands clenched tighter upon the hat she held before her. “May we come in?”

Cassie didn’t move. She looked up at the clear blue sky, a sky that was completely out of place right now. It should be gray, stormy, with no hope radiating from its rolling dark clouds. The birds should not be singing. Nothing should be happy today, everything should stop. The world simply just needed to stop spinning so she could curl up in a ball somewhere and shut out everything around her. How could she be in this much pain and nothing around her was stopping to acknowledge it?

“How?” she managed to croak out through her numbed, raw throat.

“Excuse me?” the woman inquired in surprise.

Cassie’s focus sharpened on her, her eyes narrowed as a wash of molten lava began to fill her, swiftly burying the pain that entrenched her body. “How did she die?” she grated, the hand clenching on the door handle nearly ripped it free.

The officers exchanged a brief, startled glance. They were probably used to people breaking down into tears, not glaring at them as if they were Satan himself. And they sure as hell weren’t used to people asking them how their loved ones had died. “Miss, if we could please come inside,” the woman said gently.

“I want to know how my grandmother died!” Cassie snapped.

“Cassie,” Chris said softly, walking over to rest his hand lightly on her shoulder. She shrugged him swiftly off, glaring fiercely at him. His eyes widened, but he made no move to touch her again as she turned back to the police officers.

The woman nodded briskly. “I’m afraid that your grandmother was in an accident. We found her car early this morning. It appears she swerved to avoid something.”

Cassie remained stiff, her mind tripped over the words. A car accident? No, impossible. No accident had taken her grandmother from her; it had been something far worse. She knew that. “I want to see her.”

“Excuse me?” the younger officer asked in surprise.

“I want to see my grandmother’s body,” she enunciated clearly and slowly.

“Miss, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he rushed out clearly horrified that Cassie would make such a request.

His partner shot him a warning look, but she looked extremely discomfited by Cassie’s request also. “Miss, your grandmother has already been identified by dental records; there is no need for you to…”

“I have a right to see her,” she said sharply.

“Yes, but…”

Cassie turned swiftly away, grabbing her shoes from the hall closet. She didn’t care what they had to say anymore, she was going. Come hell or high water, she was going to see her grandmother. She didn’t care that she wasn’t wearing socks as she slipped her sneakers on. Seizing hold of her coat, she turned back to the officer’s.

“Where is she?”

“Miss…” The woman broke off as Cassie gazed fiercely at her. There would be no dissuading her, and although the woman officer didn’t like it, she was not going to argue any further. “We’ll take you over,” she said softly, ignoring the shocked look her partner sent her.

Cassie nodded briskly. “Follow me over,” she said to Chris, not bothering to look at him as she pounded down the stairs after the officers.

Devon moved to stop her, his long fingered hand reached for her. She sidestepped him easily, her eyes narrowing fiercely upon him. She did not wish to be touched or comforted right now. Keeping her head high, she slid into the backseat of the police car, not looking back as the cruiser pulled slowly out of the drive. Chris and Devon hurried to their cars, pulling out behind the cruiser they followed slowly behind.

Cassie didn’t see anything on the ride, nothing registered past the haze that surrounded her. Anger hummed through her veins, pain constricted her chest in a tight vice grip. She could hardly breathe, and she found herself not caring. She didn’t want to breathe. She would be ok if all movement, all functions of survival simply shut down. For she felt shut down, she felt cold, and hollow, and numb. If her grandmother could no longer breathe, no longer see this world, then why should she still be able to? Cassie shuddered, her fingers dug tighter into her arms as she clung to them, unable to move, unable to think past the anguish tearing through her.

The world went by in a swift blur as they drove to the hospital. Upon arrival, Cassie found herself moving through a thick fog as she followed the officers into the lower level of the building.

She barely acknowledged Chris and Devon following behind her as she made her way through the sterile, dimly lit halls. “Wait here,” the woman said briskly, leaving Cassie standing outside a set of double doors.

She stood stiffly, her hands fisted at her sides as she stared at the thick steel doors. Devon and Chris did not try to approach her again. They seemed to realize that she did not want their touch. She couldn’t handle it right now. She didn’t know how much time passed, for she had no concept of time in this world of pain and suffering, but she didn’t think it was much.

A young, dark haired man in a lab coat stepped out of the double doors. His dark gaze darted swiftly over the three of them before settling on Cassie. “Miss, I…”

“I want to see my grandmother,” she cut in harshly, not wanting to listen to any more people trying to dissuade her from her course.

His eyes widened slightly, he licked his lips nervously before nodding slowly. “Ok miss, but I must warn you that there is some damage to the body.”

Cassie shuddered, her eyes closed as a small moan of anguish escaped her. The body? The body! Her mind screamed against the word. The woman in there was not a body, she was her grandmother! But even as the words shrieked through her mind, she knew that they were not true. What was inside that room was no longer her grandmother. What was in there was only the shell of the person that had taken care of her, and raised her with so much love and tenderness.

Inside that room was the only blood family Cassie had ever known, the only family that had ever loved her unconditionally. For a moment she wavered, uncertain if she could do this. Then, anger snapped back through her, suffusing her in its secure cocoon as it helped to shove aside her doubt. The pain dwindled in the face of the thick haze of rage encompassing her. If she stayed angry, then she didn’t have to face anything. If she stayed angry, she could make it through this. If she did not stay mad, she would turn into a blubbering mess on the floor. She would turn into a person incapable of doing anything other than crying.

She owed it to her grandmother not to become that person. She owed it to her grandmother to learn the truth, and to get justice for the cruelty that had been committed last night. She owed it to her grandmother to see that her killer was destroyed.