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  Killing Jared

  By Jana Leigh

  Editing: Kerri Good

  Published by JLK

  Smashwords Edition

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form, or by any means.

  Electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  © Copyright 2011 Jana Leigh. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author From the Author: Thank you to all those who have sent encouraging email and messages.

  You can check out my web site: janaleigh.webs.com. Alternatively, contact me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jana-Leigh/252352951490534.

  Email: [email protected]

  Prologue

  Jared Cassidy looked out the window of his hospital room and thought about how happy he was to be there. He’d just hung up the phone with his best friend, Zach Trent. And he was relieved that his sister, Jade, would now be safe. It was now Zach’s headache to deal with his mercurial sister. The dumbass stalker, Tommy Halstead, actually had tried to kidnap Jade in the middle of her marriage proposal. And in the middle of something else, from the ranting he’d heard in the background of the phone call he’d gotten from Zach. She ended up saving the day with their Granddaddy’s shotgun. He and his brothers had stashed it at Zach’s after a difference of opinion they’d had with her last week. They’d learned the hard way that to prevent damages to the house and their personal belongings, to keep shotguns and Jade in separate places.

  Dumbass Tommy, on the other hand, was trying for a lighter sentence by claiming he hadn’t shot him. That just went to prove how much of an idiot the guy was, they had his gun and plenty of bullets to compare the ballistics to, and then they’d nail the bastard.

  Two days ago, he and one of his brothers went up the mountain to the cabin Zach owned as a fishing getaway. They needed to warn their sister that Tommy had been released from prison and had missed his last meeting with his parole officer. Thank God for Traci, if she hadn’t been worried and come to him with three letters that the guy had written, the last in the mail slot at the diner, they might not have gotten there in time.

  So they had headed out with their warning and been ambushed while at the cabin. He really didn’t mind getting shot if it meant his sister wasn’t.

  Jade had been born a couple of weeks premature, the youngest and the only girl, which pretty much guaranteed her becoming a spoiled brat. The miracle was, she wasn’t spoiled at all. Jared smiled to himself; they always accused her of being spoiled when they argued. At just five-two, he and his brothers towered over her slender frame. With her red hair and porcelain skin, they’d thought this little girl was like a delicate fairy.

  Ha! Delicate fairy his ass, she was full of piss and vinegar, always trying to do more than she could, trying to keep up with her three older brothers. Once again, he thanked his lucky stars that Zach now had to watch over the Cassidy wildcat.

  He’d known for years that Zach and Jade were meant for each other. He’d seen the way they looked at each other when the other was looking away. He just didn’t tell them, needling them was so much more fun. And laughed outright at the stunts she’d pulled on Zach. Damn, it hurt to laugh; he tried to work his way into a more comfortable position. Looks like he’d succeeded with Jade, by pulling them apart, he’d wound up pushing them together. As he drifted off to sleep, he mused that now that Jade was settled, he could work on getting his own woman. Pleasant thoughts of that sent him into dreamland.

  Chapter 1

  A couple of hours later he woke up when the nurse came to take his blood pressure. It seemed like if he was awake, they left him alone, and the minute he’d finally fallen to sleep, they came in to take his blood pressure, his temperature, or draw some blood.

  Once they had actually gotten him up at 10 pm at night to give him a sponge bath of all things! He was still suspicious of that one; the nurse had been a little too friendly. After they’d poked and prodded him into complete wakefulness, the nurse left with a smile and a cheery “get some rest now.” Thank God they were releasing him tomorrow.

  Well, now he was wide awake and no longer happy to be in the hospital. He found the remote and was surfing the channels looking for a game to watch. He’d found one and had been watching for about 20 minutes when the phone rang. He picked up the receiver without losing track of the action. “Hello,” he said distractedly, eyes on the game.

  “Hey, Jared, it’s me Miles. We’ve got a major problem.”

  “What’s up, did Jade decide she wants us to wear pink cummerbunds?” He laughed at his joke.

  “Shut the hell up and listen, I’m serious here. When we were booking Tommy Halstead a warrant came through for a robbery suspect matching his description. Turns out he robbed a convenience store for the cash he needed to get here and kidnap Jade. The guy is a total loony tunes. Anyway, the time stamp on the surveillance shows that he was committing the robbery about the same time you were shot. No way he could be your shooter.”

  “Fuck! Then who shot me?”

  “We’ve already started pulling all your case files. You know the routine. Looking for threats or perps you put away for hard time that might be looking for a little revenge.

  We’re checking the case files against recent parolees to see if we can find a match.”

  “Well, you’re doing the right thing. Keep me informed.”

  “Will do, bro, I have to say Zach is none too happy about this. He’s in your office right now trying to free up manpower. You know how short-handed we are with Joe and Karen both down with the flu. Zach doesn’t want to take chances; he wants someone on your door in case this guy has a real hard-on for you and tries again at the hospital. He may end up using hands from your ranch though, since the hospital isn’t technically in our jurisdiction.”

  “The hell with that, I was shot out in the open and from cover. They wouldn’t be stupid enough to walk through a crowded hospital and risk being seen. I’ll be fine, make sure the town is covered and inform the hospital not to give out any information on me. No status reports, room number to florists or any of that shit. It’s already a damn flower shop in here. Just to keep Zach happy, I’ll speak to the nurse and see if she can put me in a different room until I’m released tomorrow. And keep an eye on Danny, he was there too, the shooter could be after him.”

  “No worries bro, we’ve got Danny covered, he’s in the file room right now, no street duty for him. As for the guard, I don’t agree big brother. And more importantly, neither does Zach. You’re on medical leave for the next two weeks minimum and he’s interim chief, so it’s not your call. I’m heading over there now and should be there in an hour, hour and a half tops, depending on traffic. I’m using lights, no sirens, so tough it out.

  Besides, Zach isn’t just doing this for you; we don’t want Jade to find out.”

  “Oh hell no, she’d show up with Granddad’s shotgun and wave it at anybody that came near my door. Situation FUBAR then.” He chuckled and then groaned at the visual on that one.

  “I heard that groan, you okay?”

  “It just hurts to laugh; I never realized how much you use your abs when you laugh.”

  “I guess that’s why they call it a belly laugh. Seriously though, I’ll make those calls to the hospital and then I’m on my way, should be there
by end of shift. Until then, watch your six.”

  “10-4 on that, see you then.” Jared hung up the phone and stared at the TV mounted in the corner without seeing it as he contemplated the conversation he’d just had.

  Being the Chief of Police meant the list of those wanting a piece of his hide was a little longer than most would think. You don’t get the job of Chief without making a few enemies. Even though his brothers were going through his case files, he had a feeling in his now painfully sore gut that the person they were looking for, wasn’t going to be found there.

  Jared was the oldest of four siblings and believed it was his job to make sure they were all happy and safe. It’s what his parents would have wanted. They’d died a few years ago in a plane crash and Jared still remembered his father’s last words before they took off on their vacation, “Make sure those kids stay out of trouble.” He’d tried to fulfill that promise, but damn it, they were a handful.

  Miles and Danny were his brothers. He had his work cut out with them. They were determined to go through the ladies of their small hometown just to prove none of them could tame them.

  Jared was the Chief of police in Johnstown, Colorado, Zach was his assistant, and his younger brothers were both deputies. None of them wanted to stay and work the family ranch. It turned out all those times playing cops and robbers had stuck in a big way. It sort of explained why they were always the cops and Jade was always the robber; there was the side benefit of tormenting their little sister too. After high school, as per family tradition, they’d each done their military service. That’s where they’d all gotten their law enforcement training. Jared had joined the force in Denver before moving back home. He knew he wanted to be chief from his teenage years and felt that the experience would help him get the job. Two years as a patrol officer and then a six month duty in SWAT and he’d made detective. After five years, the then Chief, Archie O’Connor, had told him to come home, he’d be retiring at the end of the year and he figured that was all the time Jared would need to build enough support to win the election. He’d been wrong, Jared was so popular in Johnstown he could have walked into the job the first day. Out of respect and to learn the quirks of a small town force, he’d waited until the election anyway.

  Lately, Jared himself had a craving to settle down and have a family of his own.

  Unfortunately, the damn woman he wanted had recently become involved with one of his deputies. To top it off it was his fault. He’d brought the guy to introduce him to Jade. He’d figured a little competition was just what Zach needed to wake up and go after what he wanted. Turns out Zach didn’t need his competition, Jade had supplied her own. It just went to prove that no good deed goes unpunished.

  Apparently, when that failed, the younger man had turned his sights on Traci. Jared didn’t want to admit that seeing the pair of them together made his blood boil. It would have been much easier if he’d staked his claim sooner, but he’d been too busy making sure Jade was taken care of first, and he lost out.

  He had no qualms though about horning in on Brad. He foresaw that young man posted to 3rd shift for the foreseeable future. And it’s not like he hadn’t dropped a million hints to Traci, letting her know he saw her as his to protect and care for. She just refused to see it. He wasn’t the type to wine and dine a woman, to him it was all about taking out the trash, and making sure the woman was taken care of. He made sure her oil was changed in her car and the lawn was mowed at her little house. He felt that he’d made his intentions very clear, why was it taking her so long to accept that they belonged together?

  Hearing the crowd roar jolted him out of his musings. He turned back to the TV and waited for the instant replay so he could see what had happened. A few minutes later, he saw his door begin to slowly swing open.

  Chapter 2

  Helmut Grupp stepped out of the junker he’d stolen and slammed the door. As he peeled off his leather gloves, he started walking towards the emergency room of the Hospital in front of him. And though he gave some thought to the man he was going kill, right now, his mind was on more important matters. Like making sure he didn’t get caught.

  He stuffed his gloves in his back pocket and pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, a habit of such long standing, he barely noticed he was doing it. He was scanning the area, looking for cameras out of the corner of his eyes and keeping his head turned away.

  There, by the doors, have to remember to tilt my head down and to the left as I walk in.

  Verdammt! This reflective kacke they put on the doors to keep out the sun; I can’t see inside, can’t see if there are more cameras pointed at the door from the inside. I’ll walk a little slower and let these others I hear behind me catch up and pass, hope they’re tall.

  There’s enough cars around the ER should be crowded. I can slip in easily and make my way to a stairway. Luck came down on my side; the hospital website had maps by floor so I know where all the stairways and exits are already.

  With all this going through his mind, he didn’t pay any attention to the women getting on the elevator as he came in behind an excitable family trying to find out about a relative. He walked down the hall as if heading to the bathroom. He knew if he was too furtive, people would take notice.

  The emergency is too crowded to steal the supplies I need here. It’s too late in the day for surgeries; I can get what I need there. There doesn’t seem to be much security around and I was able to find out his room number easily. Is this a trap? Nein, those schweine were protecting the girl, they don’t know I’m here to kill the Soldat.

  It took him 10 minutes to get into a surgical storage room and steal what he needed.

  First, he put on some thin latex gloves. He planned to take those with him. He didn’t want the schweine getting prints off the inside. He then quickly wiped off the door handle where he’d touched it. Then he quickly found a sterilized surgical kit. He took one, opened it up, chose a scalpel of the right size to fit his hand and put the rest in the trash so the opened container wouldn’t be noticed.

  It was another 30 minutes until visiting hours started, he knew it would only take him another 7-8 to get to the room and kill the soldat called Jared Cassidy. Then it would take another 5-7 to leave by a different exit, avoiding the emergency area. If he needed to leave fast, he wanted to avoid groups of people who’d slow him down.

  His family will arrive to find him ermordet. Then I will go after the next, until they are all leichen.

  He’d reached the floor Jared was on and opened the door a sliver. The one thing that didn’t show on the map was the layout of the room once the door was opened. He was happy to see that the rooms had markers showing occupation and others did not.

  He quickly made his way to a room that looked empty and slid inside. It was empty. He quickly looked around and memorized the layout. The room he wanted was on the opposite side of the hall. Based on the doors, it would be a mirror image. Here the door pushed in to the left and you could not see the bed until you stepped around the door; that could be a problem. There was a bathroom to the right, and straight ahead a small closet, hanging above it on a bracket was a television.

  The two beds were on the left, track curtains that could be pulled around for privacy. He quickly planned his attack, not wasting time. He put the scalpel down on the nearest bed. He quickly pulled up the collar of his turtleneck sweater so it covered his nose and mouth. Seeing his arms and his identifying tattoo, he pulled down his sleeves. Then picking up the scalpel he went back to the door. Listened a moment for steps and then walked quickly and quietly down the hall and over to the door he needed. Slowly he pushed it open.

  Chapter 3

  Traci Shaw stood in the waiting area of the emergency room and wondered what she was doing. She was here because it wasn’t official visiting hours and she wanted to see Jared alone. Now that she’d snuck in and let herself get lost amongst those waiting to be seen, she was losing her nerve. She walked to the doors to leave and then froze on the spo
t. Damn, what a chicken shit I’ve become, she thought. As she continued to bitch-slap herself into doing what she came here to do, she noticed a man walking through the parking lot heading this way. She avoided thinking about her own problem by inventing reasons and illnesses for the guy. So while practicing her avoidance skills, she catalogued the guy. Tall, even from here she could tell the guy was tall. Let’s see, if I were Jared, how would I describe him? Six foot to six-two, brown and brown, was that a, why yes, a scar at the corner of his left eye and tattoos on his right forearm.

  Wearing a black turtleneck and jeans, brown steel- toed boots, he’s much closer now and even though he only sees the reflective surface of the doors, I’d better duck away before he notices me staring. He doesn’t look like a very pleasant person. I hope that look on his face is because of constipation or something.

  Damn, avoidance is over, time to head upstairs. So turning away from the guy nearly to the emergency room doors, she headed to the elevators. Taking the elevator from emergency would let her out at the opposite end of the floor from the ones in front of the nurse’s station. That way she could sneak into Jared’s room, just so long as the nurse didn’t catch her in the hall.

  The thing about coming outside visiting hours, the elevator was right there when you needed it and it didn’t stop on every other floor. This meant she didn’t have more time to chicken out. So, mission accomplished, she made it to the fourth floor undetected.

  She slipped off her heels and holding them in one hand ran quickly down the hallway to Jared’s room. As she slowly opened the door, she could hear the TV. Figures, even here he’s watching a game. If they gave him a recliner instead of a bed, he’d be fine.