Nightfall (5 page)

“Hey, there.” He reached for her again, his fingers gentle as they stroked and cupped her jaw. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I was thinking about my friends Lily and Kara and how great it would be to have girl talk. I grew up with them. They were both in California on vacation when the volcano blew. No one has heard from them since. Sometimes I wonder…my imagination goes wild thinking of what they might have gone through. If they’re still alive.”

“Ah jeez. I’m sorry, Patty. That’s very rough.” He backed away again, and this time he retreated all the way to the kitchen table with his cooling bowl of soup. He sat down. “Take the time you need to decide if you want to stay at Sentry. After I eat, I should head back anyway.”

Her mind still whirling with hesitation, she nodded and decided one more bowl of soup might do it. “I need to think about this, okay? I’m not saying no, but I’m not saying yes.”

He nodded. “I understand. But will you do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“If at any time you’re afraid of anything or anyone, you’ll call me.”

She could do that. “It’s a deal.”

After they polished off the soup, he got up to leave.

When she followed him to the door, he looked at the doorknob and said, “You need a security system.”

She smiled. “Oh? Well, I’ve been thinking about it, but I’ve been saving up to afford it. The money just isn’t there yet.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Take care of it?”

He smiled. “Yeah. It’s on me.”

“Oh, no.” She shook her head. “You’re not paying for my security system.”

He held up one hand. “Okay, if you won’t let me pay, I can at least get you a discount on a system you might be able to afford. Will you consider that?”

“All right. I’ll consider that. See what you can find out and let me know the prices.”

“Will do.”

“Alexander?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m a big girl, you know. I’ve always been independent. It’s one of the things Dominic always hated about me.”

He reached up to cup her face with one hand. “Dominic is an idiot. I’ve always admired an independent woman. Doesn’t mean I don’t worry about the women I care about. There’s a difference.”

She nodded, loving the fact he cared. “Of course. Thanks. I got used to Dominic trying to control me. It had nothing to do with worrying about my welfare.”

“Like I said, he is an idiot.”

With that he leaned in, and she met his sweet, gentle kiss. He didn’t take the kiss to the next level this time, and when he drew away his tentative smile held uncertainty.

“You stay safe, okay? Can I call you later?” he asked.

“Please do. And drive carefully. The blizzard might be over, but the roads are bad.”

He smiled, warm and filled with teasing. “Worried about me?”

“Of course, you big lug.”

He laughed. “Big lug. Well, now I know you care. I don’t think any woman’s called me that before.”

She punched his shoulder lightly. “Get outta here.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later.”

When he left she closed the door and locked it, immediately hyperaware of what he’d said about a security system. She’d take him up on the discount, because she’d wanted a system for some time. She watched him drive away. More than once since the volcano disaster she’d felt the sting of fear and apprehension. With Alexander in her corner she felt incredibly safe. At the same time she was more aware that she’d skated on the edge for a long time, living out here alone in an uncertain time. She peeked through the curtains and felt like the Bogeyman might watch her, and he had a name.

Dominic.

* * * *

When Patty’s cell phone rang later that afternoon, she was curled up on the couch with a book. Her heart leapt in anticipation of talking to Alexander. She snatched the phone off the table next to her.

She didn’t recognize the number showing on the screen, and her heart sank a little.
Good job, Patty. You’re acting like a teenage girl.
It definitely wasn’t one of her two employees calling or Alexander.

She answered the cell. “Hello?”

“Hey, babe.” Dominic’s voice had an intimate quality, as if they’d never divorced and were still lovers.

A chill ran up her back. “Dominic.”

“I’m coming over.”

“No.” The word came out rapid-fire.

“Why not? I’m stuck in Buckleport. The weather’s even worse toward Bangor. They still have snow coming down there.”

She refused to feel sorry for him. “How did you get this number?”

He grunted. “That’s a stupid question, Patty. I’ve still got contacts in law enforcement.”

Of course. And of course he’d call her stupid. What else was new? “Goodbye, Dominic.”

“Don’t—”

She disconnected the call.

Annoyed, she turned her attention back to reading. She never seemed to have enough time to enjoy a book, and Dominic getting in the way of her free time made her want to scream. She took a deep breath and put him to the back of her mind. She succeeded for a half hour.

Her phone rang again, and she recognized it as the number Dominic called from earlier. She ignored it. For the next hour he called four times. While his persistence was crazy-making, she refused to answer him. Better not to engage with him.

Two hours later the doorbell rang. She almost jumped out of her skin. Light was fading and she’d pulled the curtains against the approaching evening. She went to the front door, turned on the porch light, and peered out of the peep hole.

Dominic.

“Shit,” she whispered.

Okay,
now
she was afraid.

She backed away from the door and snatched her phone from the table. She found Alexander’s number immediately and dialed. It went to voicemail after the second ring.

“Damn, damn,” she said under her breath.

She waited, standing in the middle of the room. The doorbell rang again. She stayed quiet, wishing she’d never turned on the outside light. If he thought she wasn’t here maybe he’d go away.

The bell rang again. Again.

She backed up as she tried to formulate a plan. Where would she go in this house if he broke in? She’d changed the locks after she’d won the house in the divorce. She wished like hell she had that security system.

Her phone rang and Alexander’s number flashed. “Thank God.” She answered it. “Alexander?”

“Hi. Sorry I didn’t answer. I was—”

“I need you now.”

“What?” His voice turned to steel. “What’s wrong?”

“Dominic is at my front door. He’s been calling me over and over and now he’s showed up at the house.”

“Shit.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you have a gun?”

“No, I hate guns.”

“Okay.” She heard rustling in the background. “I’ll be there immediately. Stay on the line with me.”

Dominic pounded on the door. “It’s cold out here, Patty! Let me the fuck in!”

“I can hear him, Patty,” Alexander said. “If he breaks in go into the bathroom in the hallway and lock the door. Put on boots and a coat and be prepared to slip out the back door or the bathroom window if you have to.”

All good advice. “Doing that now.”

She put her phone down on the kitchen nook table and ran down the hallway to the hall closet. She threw on her parka, boots, and shoved her gloves into a coat pocket. She raced back to the phone and snatched it up.

“Still there?” Alexander asked.

“I’ve got my coat and boots on. I’m ready to leave.”

She heard the sounds of a car starting and talking in the background. “We’ve called the police, but I don’t think they’ll get there before we do.”

As a part of a state of emergency situation, which had been pulled back from martial law a few months back, Sentry Security had been “deputized” in a sense, to help law enforcement and military in enforcing the law.

She heard sounds on the other end of the line that assured her Alexander was roaring her direction.

Banging landed on the back door. She jumped. “Damn it.”

“What’s wrong?” He snapped the question.

“He’s at the back door now. He must have jumped the fence.”

“I’d say get in your car and leave, but you don’t know if he has a gun.”

“Patty!” Dominic’s enraged voice came through the back door. “You open this fucking door, you bitch! Open it or I’m shooting my way in.”

“Fuck,” Alexander said.

“Did you hear what he said?” she asked.

“Yep. Stay away from the doors.”

“I’m going in the bathroom.” She ran down the hall, entered the bathroom, and slammed the door. She locked it. “I’m in there now.”

“Are your neighbors reliable? Could you run to one of their houses if you had to?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Keep that as an option.”

She kept the phone to ear, her only lifeline to safety. The hallway bathroom wasn’t large, but she crammed herself against one corner away from the window.

She heard talking on the other end of the line. One or more of Alexander’s team members were with him.

“I should have taken up your offer to live with you,” she said impulsively, but meaning every word.

“It’s okay. We’ll talk about it when I get there. Just hang on.”

Her heartbeat banged in her chest, and she couldn’t wait for Alexander to arrive. Her mouth was so dry she thought she’d choke, and for a moment she felt like she might hyperventilate.
It’s okay, Patty. Don’t be a wuss. Alexander’s coming. You’ll be fine.
On the other hand, if Dominic had gone loopy she worried for Alexander’s safety.

Several minutes went by, and she tried to rein back her internal impatience. With lousy roads and ice, making it to her house would take longer than usual. Minutes passed with no sound from the front door or in the house that she could hear.

“I don’t hear him anymore,” she said.

“We’re coming down your road now.” She heard the vehicle accelerate and also heard Alexander and whoever was with him cursing.

Half afraid that Dominic had entered the house without her knowing it, she stayed in the bathroom.

“We’re outside your house, Patty,” Alexander said. “Stay inside the bathroom until I tell you it’s clear to come out, all right?”

Minutes passed in what seemed a lifetime. She heard Alexander order Mark around the back.

Not long after she heard the crackle of a radio and Alexander said, “He’s not here. You can come out.”

Relief made her knees almost buckle. “Thank God.”

She disconnected the call and stuffed the cell phone in her pocket as she left the bathroom. Cautious, she looked out of the peephole on the front door and saw Alexander before she yanked open the door. Alexander wore a parka, but he also had a big gun in his right hand and the fiercest expression she’d ever witnessed on him.

Mark stood nearby and said to Alexander, “I’ll take watch out here.”

She opened the screen door, and Alexander stepped inside. She didn’t know who moved first, but his left arm slung around her waist, and he hauled her against him. Patty slipped her arms around his neck and held on. She buried her face against his shoulder as waves of relief rolled through her.

“You all right?” He kissed her temple and squeezed her gently.

“Now I am. You got here fast.”

“Really not that far away. I drove like an asshole.”

She smiled at his choice of words as she looked up at him. “I’m not sure whether I like that or not. It’s icy out there. You could have gotten in an accident.”

“Yeah, all that cursing you heard was me trying to keep the SUV on the road.”

They closed the door and he suggested they sit on the couch. She sat on the edge, her heart still ticking at what felt like eight hundred miles an hour. She drew in a deep breath as he sat beside her. He placed his gun on the table. Impressions flew at her. He wore a black utility vest of some kind; perhaps it was a bulletproof vest, too. She remembered Dominic wearing something similar back in the day. Otherwise he was in a sock hat, sweater, jeans, and boots. He looked dangerous as hell. A strange, reactionary feeling rocketed through Patty. At first she couldn’t name her feelings. Fear certainly. But there was a lot more mixed into the soup. Like a hunger for him that was raw and potent and made her feel twenty-five and in love.

Love?
Not possible.

Sexual attraction because she was hyped up on adrenaline? Probably. She didn’t trust the feelings. What if she hadn’t learned her lesson with Dominic? She’d felt a bit like this with him when she was young. How could she know if her feelings around Alexander now meant anything genuine?

He took her left hand in his and squeezed gently. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Just angry that Dominic is pulling this crap.”

“You and me both.” He caressed her fingers. His mouth tightened into that no-nonsense line she’d seen before; this time he looked like he could eat nails for breakfast. “After the cops get a report, I’d like to take you back to Sentry Security.”

“Staying here wouldn’t be wise,” she said. “Dominic changed the rules.”

He half smiled, relief softening his features. “Good, I’m glad you’re staying with me. You’ll be safe with me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She looked him in the eye. “I’m even more pissed I had to call someone at all. That I can’t handle this on my own.”

His touch gentled even more. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s not your fault. Don’t blame any of this on yourself. He’s the asshole, Patty.”

“Right.”

Police came down the street with lights and sirens, and the next hour was filled with the report taking and investigation. Neighbors came to see what had happened and a couple approached to ask about her welfare. Their kindness was gratifying. When the police learned it was a retired police officer who’d perpetrated the disturbance at her house, she wasn’t sure if they were more skeptical of her statements or not. While they remembered Dominic on the force, they seemed to have little desire to pursue finding him. Police around here were overwhelmed much of the time. Crime had risen significantly since the super volcano had wreaked havoc on the economy. She didn’t have much faith they’d catch Dominic, and she didn’t know how hard they’d work to locate him in the first place. The police agreed that Patty would be better off somewhere else for the evening.