“Don’t know. Too dark.” He carried her away from the car.
“You saved me. Thank you.” Tears filled her eyes, rolling down her cheeks. She was an emotional wreck. She couldn’t even stand, let alone walk and she couldn’t seem to stop crying.
“Almost too late.”
“What about the car? We can’t just leave it there.”
“Others coming.”
Headlights appeared in the distance. Jacey started to sob as car doors slammed and she heard Derrick yell her name. The next moment he was there, pulling her from Tiny’s arms and hugging her tightly against his chest.
“Thank God. Thank God. You are never leaving my sight again, understand me? Even if I have to chain you to me.”
At the moment she couldn’t agree with that sentiment more.
Chapter Nineteen
Jacey stood in the open doorway of their bungalow, looking out at the glistening sea of Muri Beach. Two arms surrounded her from behind, cupping her round belly.
“What are you thinking about, love?” Derrick asked.
“Just how much I’m going to miss this place. It’s been idyllic, staying here.” It was a slower pace of life on Rarotonga, far removed from the busy city. Here, people moved at their own speed. Island time, they called it.
“We’ll be back. I promise.”
“I know.” She leaned her head back against his chest. “I guess I just managed to push everything out of my mind while we were here and now…”
“Now you’re worrying about Stephan’s trial.”
She nodded. Even with Evan gone, she was still in danger. Stephan had enough money to hire someone else to come after her. There had been nothing to connect Stephan with Evan’s actions, no paperwork, no emails.
So, either she spent the rest of her life hiding from him or she went public with what she knew. So with Derrick’s support, Jacey had gone to the police with what she knew about Gerry’s death.
Stephan been granted bail and she was terrified he’d find some way to hurt her. Or Derrick. Knowing how stressed out she was, Derrick had brought her to Rarotonga for a month long trip. It also gave him a chance to check up on the resort his company was building. It had taken her at least two weeks before she could begin to relax and stop looking over her shoulder. It was hard to believe that anything bad could happen to her here. Although she couldn’t completely let go of the worry that someone might find her.
“Don’t worry. I have security watching you and the house. You’ll be safe.”
“I just don’t want to live like this for the rest of my life.”
“You won’t. The bastard is going down. Come on, we have one more night left. Let me take your mind off everything.”
Jacey let Derrick draw her back into the hut.
***
Jacey was sitting beside Derrick in a private lounge in LAX while Derrick’s private plane was refilled. She glanced up from her magazine to look at the television screen, just as a news bulletin came on. She froze, shocked by the picture that appeared on the screen. She grabbed Derrick’s arm.
Derrick turned to her. “Jacey, what is it?”
“Look,” she said, raising a shaking hand to point at the TV screen that was showing some news footage of Stephan from a few years ago. Derrick stood and grabbed an attendant who turned the volume up.
“For those of you who have just joined us. It has just been confirmed that Stephan Worthington, disgraced state district attorney for Chicago committed suicide last night. He was found this morning by his lawyer. Mr Worthington was on bail after being arrested for the murder of his assistant, Gerald Francis. During the investigation into this alleged murder, it has been found that Mr Worthington, who comes from one of Chicago’s most prestigious families, has been embezzling funds and taking bribes during his period as district state attorney.”
“Come away, baby. You’ve heard enough. The plane should be ready by now.”
Jacey let Derrick steer her away in a daze. She followed him through the airport, not really taking notice of her surroundings as Derrick helped her onto the plane and settled her in her seat.
“I can’t believe that Stephan would commit suicide. He was always so confident; I never thought he would take his own life.”