She could see tears in his eyes, the absolute joy he felt at the news. Suddenly, all of her doubts fell away, meaningless distractions. She wanted a child with this man, wanted nothing more in her life than to raise their baby together.
He asked, “Can we pick him up tonight? Right now?”
“Tomorrow,” she said, laughing at his eagerness. “We have to meet at the agency and start the foster care procedures.”
“Paperwork,” he groaned, but he was still smiling. “Oh, God, Sara. I love you so much.”
She put her hand to his cheek. “I know.”
He laughed again, almost a whoop. “What do we do now?”
“They said they already sent the forms,” she told him. “Check the mailbox. I’ll get the phone.”
She was halfway up the front walk when he yelled at her. “Hey, foxy mama!”
Sara turned around, her face blushing red. “Hush,” she warned him. “The neighbors.”
“Call them all!” he yelled. “We’re gonna be parents!”
He opened the mailbox. There was a flash of light. Jeffrey flew up and back, his body twisting as the air cracked from the explosion.
Sara was running toward him before her mind processed what she had seen.
A bomb. Somebody had put a bomb in the mailbox.
“Jeffrey!” she gasped, falling down on her knees beside him. Chunks of metal were everywhere, mail flying all around them. She saw his open chest—bone, muscle, beating heart.
“Help!” she screamed. “Somebody help me!”
He opened his mouth and blood pooled out. His right arm lay on the asphalt a few feet away, torn from his shoulder. She pressed her hands to the open wound, desperate to stop the bleeding. Blood poured between her fingers, soaked her hands.
“No,” she whispered. “No.”
“You…” he said, his teeth chattering.
She pressed her lips to his, kissed him on his mouth, his face. “Oh, my love…my love….”
“You…” he whispered, blindly reaching for her. She could see the pain in his eyes, knew that his life was slipping away.
“Don’t leave me,” she pleaded, squeezing his hand. “Oh, God, Jeffrey—please don’t leave me.”
“You…”
“No,” she begged, willing him to hold on. “Please! I love you. I love you.” Why had she always teased him, never telling him the words? “Jeffrey, I love you.”
“Only…”
She kissed him again, tasting his blood in her mouth. This couldn’t be happening. He could not leave her.
“Only…” he tried, blood gurgling in his throat. “Only…ever…”
“Only ever what, baby? Only what?”
“You…” He gasped, choking. “…Only…ever…you…”
His body relaxed. The blood stopped spurting from his shoulder. Sara realized that their neighbors had come. They stood in a circle around her, not knowing what to do. She screamed, ordering them to go away. She didn’t want them to see him like this, didn’t want anyone to touch him. The ambulance came, then the police; his men, his friends. She railed against them all, begging them to leave. She lifted Jeffrey up, holding him in her arms, refusing to let them near. She held on to him like this, keening like a child, until her mother came and made Sara let them take him away.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Ten years ago, when I was first searching for an agent to represent me, I would look in the back of books to see whom authors thanked. I just assumed that an author wouldn’t thank their agent unless they liked them. So, with that in mind, I hesitate to thank my agent, Victoria Sanders, because I want her all to myself. Y’all stay back, ya hear?
There are many more people to thank for helping me along the way: Kate Miciak, Susan Sandon, and Kate Elton—as always—were invaluable. I would also like to thank my Bantam publicists: Sharon Propson, Susan Corcoran, and Barb Burg. I’ve dedicated this book to them because they are truly the best team in the business, and what’s more, they have selflessly eaten myriad Tim Tams on my behalf. Thank you Betsy Hulsebosch, Cynthia Lasky, and Carolyn Schwartz. The Bantam marketing team deserves all the praise in the world; mine is but a grain of rice in the melting pot of thankful authors. Paolo Pepe…you did it again. Kelly Chian, thank you for not flying down to Atlanta and strangling me. You are a star. There are so many people in sales, some of whom I’ve had the privilege to meet, others who have done tremendous things for me behind the scenes, and I want to thank them all for their continued support. I think I need to single out Lisa George here for drinking the Kool-Aid. Last, but not least, my endless appreciation goes to Nita Taublib and Irwyn Applebaum.
RMB, thank you for being a faithful correspondent. Bill Burgess, you are a goober to infinity. Erin O’Reilly, I appreciate your 10. DT, you are one of the last, great Renaissance men. I am privileged to have your friendship. Thanks to DM, AE, DL, and PB for your brilliant support. Beth and Jeff at Cincinnati Media handle my website with aplomb. On the medical side of things, David Harper, M.D., was again a huge help. It’s not many people who will keep listening when you begin a conversation with, “So, I want to burn someone alive…” Family-wise, I want to thank my daddy for teaching me the important things early on, and to DA—as always, you are my heart.
Sue Kurylowicz was the winner of the “Get Slaughtered!” contest, granting her the dubious honor of having her name appear in this book. Sue, honey, you did ask to be bad…
I’ve written a little note for my readers that can be found at KarinSlaughter.com/letter. Please note that this letter contains major spoilers for this novel, so don’t read it before you finish the book and ruin it for yourself, all right?
I’ve also written a bonus chapter that can be found at: www.KarinSlaughter.com/bonuschapter.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KARIN SLAUGHTER is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of Triptych; Faithless; A Faint Cold Fear, which was named an International Book-of-the-Month Club selection; Indelible; Kisscut; and Blindsighted; she contributed to and edited Like a Charm. She is a native of Georgia, where she currently lives and is working on her next novel, which will be published by Delacorte in 2008. Visit her at www.karinslaughter.com.
ALSO BY KARIN SLAUGHTER
Triptych
Faithless
Blindsighted
Kisscut
A Faint Cold Fear
Indelible
Like a Charm
(Editor)
BEYOND REACH
A Delacorte Press Book / August 2007
Published by
Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2007 by Karin Slaughter
Delacorte Press is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Slaughter, Karin, 1971–
Beyond reach / Karin Slaughter.
p. cm.
1. Linton, Sara (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Tolliver, Jeffrey (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 3. Women physicians—Fiction. 4. Police chiefs—Fiction. 5. Atlanta (Ga.)—Fiction. 6. White supremacy movements—Fiction. 7. Wrongful death—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3569.L275B49 2007
813'.54—dc22
2007009359
www.bantamdell.com
eISBN: 978-0-440-33707-2
v3.0
Karin Slaughter, Beyond Reach
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