Vanished (Beautiful Mess #4)
T.K. Leigh
To Stan & Harper Leigh. It’s the little things in life…
Part One
Retribution
If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done,
so it shall be done to him.
Leviticus 24:19
Prologue
December 18
8:30 PM
RAYNE KILPATRICK SAT IN the back seat of the black SUV, the windows tinted so no one could see inside. Night had fallen, the cloud-covered sky providing protection as she stared down a long driveway leading up to an enormous house in one of the wealthiest towns in the state. She could only imagine what a place like that cost.
“We’ll wait for a few hours to make sure everyone’s asleep, then you’ll go in.”
“Me?” She turned to the raven-haired man with olive-toned skin and an ethnic sort of ruggedness sitting beside her. His eyes were as dark as the moonless night, and just as unforgiving. “I thought…” Her knee bounced as she looked at the house, then the man, then the house again, sweat forming on her neck, despite the frigid winter temperatures.
Through a pair of binoculars, she saw a well-appointed fifteen-foot Christmas tree sitting as the focal point of the expansive living area, white lights twinkling against the windowpane. A young girl of no more than eight sat by the tree, smiling and laughing as she rolled around with a black-and-white spotted dog, a bit of gray fur peppering his face. Presents were piled high around the tree. Rayne could only assume most of them were for the little brunette happily playing without a care in the world.
“How did you…?” she continued, her eyes still glued to the little girl. She seemed so content, so peaceful, so full of life. It reminded Rayne of her own childhood. She had been an only child, too, spoiled by parents who doted on her and gave her everything she could ever want…until she disagreed with the career they chose for her. She wanted nothing more than to have her own child whom she could love with every fiber of her being, but that dream had been cruelly ripped from her as quickly as the slashing of a blade.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” he replied snidely, his tone harsh, direct, abrasive. “You said you needed closure, to make him feel your pain.”
She lowered the binoculars, opening her mouth slightly. Rubbing her clammy hands on the dark pants he had instructed her to wear, nausea settled in her stomach. Earlier today, this seemed like the only way for her to finally get what she had been yearning for since she lost her fiancé, but now, a fleeting moment of clarity had returned. This man had been one of Landon’s best friends in the last several years of his too-short life. Would she betray him if she followed through with this? Would he love her any less?
“Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts. If you make one wrong move, this plan will fall apart. I need you to keep it together.” Reaching into a satchel, the man pulled out a small bag containing what appeared to be a disposable rubber glove. “I’ll go in first and disable the alarm. His system is top-of-the-line. Unless you know what you’re dealing with, you run the risk of setting it off.”
“How do you know how to disable it? And what kind of system it is? And what is that glove for?” Rayne asked, leery, watching him handle it with extreme care. It seemed odd that, just this morning, he had encouraged her to finally take action so she could have the closure she so desperately needed. How did he plan this in the span of less than a day? Something didn’t add up.
“Don’t worry about any of that. All you need to know is if you do this, you’ll finally find peace. The bastard responsible for Landon’s death will finally know what it feels like to lose the one person who is his world.”
“Peace,” Rayne breathed. Closing her eyes briefly, she silenced the voices in her head screaming that it wouldn’t work, that this was a horrible idea, that there was another way to ward off the demons that had been tormenting her since she stood over Landon’s casket as it was lowered into the ground.
“Yes, Rayne.” The man leaned toward her, cupping her cheek in his large hand. “Peace. Don’t deprive yourself of this. Why should he have everything he’s ever wanted when you’ve had all your dreams crushed because of him?”
As a lone tear cascaded down her cheek, he swiped it away with his thumb. He placed a gentle kiss where the tear had been. “Do this for you. And Landon. End your suffering. I can’t bear to see you in pain any longer.”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she nodded, all sense of what was right and good leaving her when Landon’s brilliant blue eyes flashed before her. She could almost feel the warmth of his embrace, the heat of his kisses, the electricity of his lingering touch. She didn’t understand why life had to be so cruel as to take away the one person she had ever truly loved. He was her soul mate, her reason for breathing. She had nothing left to lose.
“For Landon.”
“Good.” He squeezed her arm, a cagey look crossing his face. The sincerity present moments ago had disappeared. Rayne wondered if she had imagined it. “Looks like it’s bedtime.”
Rayne turned from him and faced the house, raising the binoculars to her eyes. A tall, slender brunette ushered the little girl out of the living room, turning off a few lamps as she went. Rayne’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach when the woman peered out the window, her gaze stopping on the SUV parked over a football field away. The woman hesitated for what seemed like hours, but was only a second or two. Fight or flight kicked in. Rayne considered jumping into the front seat and speeding out of there. What if the woman came out and saw the two of them casing out the house? Would they be arrested? Would she be able to live with herself?
“Let it rain,” she heard, the voice distant, dream-like.
“What did you say?” she said softly, swinging her eyes to the man beside her, wishing with everything in her that she could trade those stone-cold eyes for Landon’s spirited gaze. It had been too long since anyone had said those three words to her. It was their thing. Whenever things got bad, Landon stood by her side. When her parents cut her off for dropping out of Brown so she could pursue her true passion in life, Landon simply whispered in her ear, “Let it rain.” Rain brought new life, washing away everything else. It signified a new start, something she desperately needed.
“Nothing,” the man answered, giving her a skeptical look. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Her racing heart slowed, her unease and anxiety regarding what she was about to do vanishing into thin air. She could feel Landon in that car, and he would want vindication for what happened to him, too. She needed to do this.
It was time.
He had to pay.
Chapter One
Twenty-Four Hours Earlier
December 17
7:00 PM