Anytime Darlin' (30 page)

As she pulled up to the curb in front of Mary’s house, she saw Jake’s Jeep parked in the driveway. Janice breathed a sigh of relief. Then she remembered, even if Jake was here, she had no idea whether or not he’d found Devlin. She could still be out there somewhere. As far as Janice knew, none of them was aware Franz was back. Taking a deep breath, she climbed out of her car. She’d be lucky if all Mary did was slap her, but she had to tell them.

* * * *

Mary, Katie and Beth were in the middle of baking sugar cookies. They needed something to distract them while they waited for Devlin’s call. Katie had just tipped over the canister of flour. Katie and Beth sat on the floor laughing, trying to scoop it up, while Mike headed to the hall closet for the vacuum. Mary stood with her hands on her hips, breathing through what she hoped was just a Braxton-Hicks contraction. She’d felt them since early morning. Mary toyed with the idea of calling Ken, but he was in surgery. The doorbell rang.

“Mike,” Mary called out, “can you get that?”

“Yeah,” she heard him answer.

The front door opened. Then Mary heard Mike say, “What the hell are you doing here?” before the door shut behind him.

She and Beth exchanged glances. The contraction subsided, and Mary followed him to the porch. Mike stood with Janice. She was crying. Good, Mary thought. She should be crying. Mike motioned toward Jake’s Jeep. She hoped he was reading Janice the riot act. Mary was about to step out onto the porch and do exactly that when she heard Janice plead with Mike to listen. She heard the words “William Franz.”

“What about William Franz?” asked Mary, opening the screen door.

Janice turned to her, her tear-streaked face deathly pale. “He’s back,” she said. “I came to tell Jake and Devlin.”

“Jesus Christ!” yelled Mike, darting past both women into the house.

Mary swayed on her feet. Janice grabbed for her and helped her onto the porch swing.

“Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” sobbed Janice. “The police are looking for him.”

“I don’t understand,” said Mary. “How did you find out?”

“He came to see my mom. She told me.”

“Are you sure?” asked Mary.

“Yes,” said Janice, her voice stronger, her sobs subsiding. “Yes, I’m sure. So is Shauna.”

Mary’s phone began to ring just as Mike bolted over the front steps with Jake’s keys in his hands. Beth chased after him, flagging him down as he backed out of the driveway.

“It’s Shauna,” Beth yelled. “She needs to talk to you.”

Mike threw the Jeep in park and jumped out, leaving the engine running. As he ran past them again, he instructed Beth to get Katie out of the house and take her to a neighbor’s. Beth followed him to the kitchen. Mary began to breathe heavily.

“Are you all right?”

“I think,” Mary panted, “I’m in labor.”

Janice was silent for a moment. Then she asked, “How early are you?”

“Three weeks,” panted Mary.

“Wasn’t Katie a little early?”

“Yeah, two weeks.”

“Okay, let’s get you to the neighbor’s too, and we’ll call 911.”

They could hear Mike yelling. Janice helped Mary to her feet as Beth joined them on the porch, Katie in her arms.

“Mary,” said Janice, “where are Jake and Devlin?”

“In Iowa,” Mary replied. “In Grinnell, Iowa.”

Beth appeared on the porch. “Mike wants you. Shauna needs Devlin’s address in Grinnell.”

* * * *

Janice helped Mary to stand as she searched for the address book. They found it near the sink, covered with flour. Both Mary and Mike were trembling. Janice opened the book and found Devlin’s address. She pointed it out for Mike. He couldn’t read it, so she said it aloud, and he repeated it to Shauna, who immediately hung up.

“I have to call Devlin. I have to warn them,” Mike said, his voice filled with horror. His best friend and his best friend’s girl were in terrible danger. “God, I can’t see the number. Read me the number.”

Janice, as pale as a ghost, removed the receiver from Mike’s hand and listened. There was no dial tone. She replaced it in its cradle, then picked it up again, listened, and handed it to him. With steady fingers, she dialed Devlin’s number.

Devlin was only half awake when Jake put his hands on her hips. He slid her boxers off and lifted her leg onto his thigh. Without hesitation, he entered her from behind. She gave a little gasp, as she always did, at the intrusion.

“I love it when you do that,” Jake said, lifting her curls and nuzzling the back of her neck, rocking himself in and out of her.

“Do what?” she murmured.

“Gasp like that. And quiver when I first get in.”

“It’s hard not to.”

After an entire night of wild abandon, their lovemaking was gentle, tender, and quiet. Jake brought Dev to her climax and then, groaning in appreciation, came himself one thrust later. Still buried inside her, he pulled her close and nestled her soft, slender body against his hard one. He had almost fallen asleep again when he felt Devlin move away.

“Where are you going?” he mumbled, opening one eye.

He saw her pull on her boxers.

“I thought I’d go make some coffee, see if I have anything to eat,” she replied. “You wait here. I’ll bring something back.”

Jake sat up and grabbed the back of her cutoff tee shirt. He pulled her down onto the bed and kissed her. “Don’t be too long.”

Devlin smiled and tossed her curls out of her eyes. She headed barefoot down the hall toward the kitchen. Jake flopped back on the bed, his hands behind his head and stared at the shadows on the ceiling. For a moment, he thought about how close he had come to losing her, but he shook the feeling off and decided to think about how lucky he was to have her. He was just drifting back to sleep when he realized he needed to take a piss. Jake stretched, reluctantly climbed out of bed, and pulled on his jeans. He headed to the bathroom.

* * * *

Devlin walked into the kitchen and pulled the coffee maker toward her. She removed a coffee filter from a nearby box, filled it with several scoops of coffee, and popped it into the slot. She grabbed the carafe and went to the sink to fill it up. As she stood gazing out the window, she noticed that the door to her workshop was wide open. Devlin stared for a moment. She thought back to last night. Had she looked? Was it open then? She realized she hadn’t gone back there, not after what happened on the hood of the car. Besides, it was too dark last night to see much anyway. Reuben had the key, but she wondered why he would have opened it. Then she remembered. She’d asked him to replace some wiring while she was gone. Mice had stripped the protective covering from some of the wiring he’d installed, and she was afraid she’d get a shock when she plugged in the Crock-Pots she used to melt wax.

Devlin finished up with the coffee maker and unlocked the back door. The early afternoon was beautiful. She stopped for a moment to enjoy the warm sunshine on her face, then closing the screen door behind her, she tripped lightly down the few steps and walked barefoot across the grass to the barn.

“Hey, Reuben,” Devlin called as she approached the barn.

He didn’t answer.

“Reuben,” she called again, stepping inside.

It was dark in the barn with the sun behind her, and she couldn’t see very well. Reuben was nowhere in sight. Devlin shivered, suddenly chilled. She took a step forward, right onto something sharp. Dev reached down and picked it up. It was a piece of the padlock. It had been cut in two. Devlin’s blood instantly froze in her veins. She turned, bolting for the door, but found herself tackled from behind. The wind knocked out of her, she lay on the hard dirt floor. She knew who it was. She could smell him.

“Miss me, girl?” he hissed in her ear, grinding his erection against her back.

Devlin gasped, panic-stricken, unable to catch her breath, unable to scream for help or get away from him. He kept her pressed to the dirt.

“My, how you’ve grown.” His hands were on her bottom, pinching, reaching between her legs. “I thought we could have a little fun before I kill you. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? I know I would.”

Devlin clasped her thighs together, bucking, attempting to throw him off.

“Oh yeah, I forgot, you like it rough.” His laugh was coarse. He grabbed her tee shirt and jerked her to her feet. He spun her around to face him. “Aw,” he said, “why’d you have to go and cut your hair? It made it so much easier to drag you around.” Franz threw his head back, laughing at his own joke.

Devlin wasted no time. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward her as she jerked her knee up, hard, into his groin.

“Christ!” he yelped, and he loosened his hold. She dived for the open door.

Franz threw himself after her. He managed to catch her ankle, and she fell against one of her worktables, banging the side of her head, sending the contents of the table flying across the room. He dragged her toward him and spun her around. Devlin clawed at his face.

“Fucking bitch!” Franz backhanded her, his ring catching her in the mouth, splitting her lip. The force of the blow flipped her onto her side away from him. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of her stainless steel fabric shears lying on the ground. She knew exactly how sharp they were. She’d cut herself many times. She clutched them in her right hand, hiding them beneath her. Franz grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet. He showed her the gun, waving it back and forth in her face.

“Let’s go.” He pointed the gun toward the door. “You want to go back in the house? Let’s go back in the house. A bed sounds pretty good to me. Does it sound good to you, you little tramp?”

Devlin jerked her arm from his grasp and ran for all she was worth, Franz right behind her.

“Jake!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, “help me!” before she was tackled and knocked to the grass.

Franz hauled her to her feet again, but this time he wrapped an arm tightly around her throat. “Who you calling for? Farmer Brown? He never comes by ’til five. Yell all you want. Nobody can hear you.” Franz began to drag her toward the house.

Jake was just finishing up in the bathroom when he heard the phone ring. He borrowed a toothbrush and began to brush his teeth, expecting Devlin to answer it. Even after he had rinsed his mouth, it was still ringing. He wondered where she was. She obviously wasn’t in the bathroom. There was only one.

Jake wandered down to the kitchen, following the persistent ring. Devlin wasn’t there, but the kitchen door was open. She must have stepped outside for a minute. Jake decided he’d better answer the phone.

“Jake! Thank God!” yelled Mike. Before Jake could utter a word, Mike continued yelling, “Get out of there! Get Devlin out of there! Franz is in Grinnell!”

“Jesus Christ!” yelled Jake. Just then, he heard Devlin scream out his name and the words, “Help me!”

Jake dropped the phone and started toward the door. Then he remembered the shotgun in the bedroom, and he sprinted down the hall. Devlin said she kept it loaded. He reached behind the headboard. Wrapping a hand around the barrel, he raced back toward the kitchen. Through the window, Jake could see Devlin struggling with Franz in the yard. He had an arm wrapped around her throat. He held a gun in his hand.

Jake heard him say, “Yell all you want. Nobody can hear you,” just before Jake burst through the door with the shotgun braced securely against his shoulder. He pointed the barrel unerringly at William Franz’s face. “I hear her,” Jake growled.

* * * *

Franz grabbed Devlin’s chin and pulled her face in front of his, pressing the gun against her right temple.

“Drop the rifle, cowboy,” Franz ordered, “or I’ll blow her fucking brains out.”

Jake stepped closer and stood firm. He kept the shotgun pointed at Franz. If Mike had called here, then the cops were already on their way. His ears strained for the sound of sirens.

“Okay. Fine,” said Franz. He pressed close behind Devlin. “Shoot. Go ahead. Be my guest. Kill your little girlfriend. Save me the trouble.”

Jake’s eyes were fixed on Devlin. She looked calm. The paramedic part of his brain made a quick assessment of her injuries. She had a split lip. That was nothing. The gash on her temple concerned him a little. Blood dripped steadily down the side of her face, staining her shirt red. Scalp lacerations bled like a son of a bitch. If he could get her away from Franz, that could be stitched up quickly enough. Her arms and legs were already bruising, but she didn’t look like she had any broken bones. If he could get her away from Franz, she’d live. That’s what mattered. It was a big if. In order to stop him with a shotgun, Jake needed to be closer, and he needed Devlin out of the way. With his peripheral vision, Jake saw Devlin move her right hand ever so slightly. She held something that glinted in the sun. Jake took a better look without appearing to do so. She moved her hand again. He saw a pair of long, wicked-looking stainless steel scissors.

“Drop the rifle, cowboy,” Franz repeated, “or I’ll kill her.” Jake turned sideways to make himself a smaller target as he set the shotgun on the ground at his own feet.

“Funny,” said Franz. “Real funny guy. Kick it over here. Now.” He moved the gun from the side of Devlin’s head and waved it in Jake’s direction.

Jake knelt down and pushed the gun toward Franz.

“Now stand up,” ordered Franz. “Say good-bye to your cowboy.” Franz laughed in Devlin’s ear as he pointed the gun at Jake.

At that exact moment, Devlin lifted her right hand and buried the fabric shears deeply into William Franz’s groin. She twisted them viciously. For an instant, there was utter silence in the yard. Then Franz gave a high-pitched shriek and fell to his knees, the gun loose in his hand. His khakis were quickly stained red with blood. He reached for the shears imbedded deep in his groin. Devlin threw herself to the side, dropping to the ground. She glanced back at her uncle. He slowly raised his head and looked toward her, panting, his face a mask of pain and outrage.

With a shaking hand, he raised the pistol toward Devlin. “You fucking bitch!”

Jake was already diving for the shotgun. He grabbed it and rolled to his knees. Before Franz could pull the trigger, Jake fired at close range. Franz’s chest exploded. He fell backward into the green grass, mortally wounded. Jake discharged the spent shell casing as he approached the man. He thought briefly about unloading another round into the twitching body but decided against it. Devlin was all that mattered now.