Brazen Virtue

He felt it wink out as he raced up. He heard Grace’s name shouted, roared, but wasn’t aware it came from him. Leaping over Renockie, he planted himself. He was ready, and more than willing to kill.
    She’d slid to the floor so that her back rested against the bed. She still had the gun in her hand. Her face was colorless, her eyes dark and dazed. But she was breathing. Ed crushed carnations underfoot as he went to her.
    “Grace?” He touched her, her shoulders, face, hair. “Grace, I want you to tell me if he hurt you. Look at me, Gracie. Talk to me.” As he spoke, he eased the gun out of her hand.
    “He was so young. I couldn’t believe how young. He brought me flowers.” Her eyes focused on Ed when he shifted between her and the body sprawled a few feet away. “He said he loved me.” When she began to gasp, he tried to gather her to him, but she held him off. “No, I’m all right. I’m okay.”
    Lowenstein picked up the phone behind her. “According to Renockie, you saved his life. You handled yourself like a pro.”
    “Yeah.” Grace rested her head on her hand a moment. “Ed, I’m okay, really. But I don’t think I can stand up without some help.”
    “Lean on me,” he murmured. “Just a little.”
    With her head resting against his shoulder, she nodded. “Okay.”

    “You’re not going to make it, kid.” Ben leaned over Jerald. He’d already examined the wound, and though Lowenstein was calling an ambulance, it wouldn’t do any good. “If there’s anything you want to get off your chest, now’s the time.”
    “I’m not afraid to die.” He didn’t feel any pain. That made it all the sweeter. “It’s the ultimate experience. Desiree knows. She already knows.”
    “Did you off Desiree and Roxanne, Jerald?”
    “I gave them the best.” Looking up, he saw Desiree’s face floating above his. “Desiree.”
    Though Ed tried to draw her aside, Grace stood where she was and stared down at Jerald. She’d wanted a picture, and now she would carry it with her the rest of her life. She’d wanted justice, but at this moment she couldn’t be sure just what that meant.
    “I’ll be back,” he told her. “I’ll be waiting. Remember.” His lips curved before he died.
    “Come downstairs, Grace.” Ed pulled her from the room.
    “Do you think we’ll ever know why? Really why?”
    “You learn to be satisfied with whatever answers you find. Sit down, I’ll get you a brandy.”
    “I won’t argue with that.” She sat, elbows on knees and her face in her hands. “I told him I didn’t want to hurt him. And thank God, I meant it. Once I saw him, saw how it was, I didn’t hate him quite so much.”
    “Here, drink.”
    “Thanks.” She managed one shaky sip, then a second stronger one. “So …” After a sniffle, she rubbed the back of her hand under her nose. “How was your day?”
    He studied her a moment. Her color was coming back and her hands were steady. Tough lady, he thought. She was one tough lady. Crouching in front of her, he took the snifter from her hands. She opened her arms, and he gathered her to him.
    “Oh Ed, I never want to be that scared again, ever.”
    “Me either.”

    She turned her head so that she could press her lips to his throat. “You’re shaking.”
    “That’s you.”
    On a half laugh, she held tighter. “Whatever.”
    Ben hesitated in the doorway, then cleared his throat.
    “Kiss off, Paris.”
    “In a minute,” he promised his partner. “Look, we’ve got Renockie’s statement, so there’s no hurry for yours, Grace. We’ll have our people in and out of here as soon as we can and leave you the hell alone.”
    “Thanks.” Grace drew away from Ed far enough to hold out a hand. “You’re a pal, Ben.”
    “I wish we’d been quicker.” He took the offered hand and squeezed. “You’ve had a rough time, Gracie. Tess would want me to tell you that if you need to talk it through, she’ll be there.”
    “I know. Tell her I’m glad to give her back her husband in the evenings.”
    Ben laid a hand on Ed’s shoulder. “In the morning.”
    “Yeah.” When Ben slipped out, Ed handed Grace the snifter again. “Try a little more.”
    “I could use the bottle.” She heard the steps and voices on the stairs and knew what they meant. This time she didn’t rise to watch. “Ed, would you mind? I don’t want to stay here, I want to go home.”
    He touched her cheek before he rose. It wasn’t possible to stay close to her when he