Somewhere in His Arms (78 page)

             
“Tell him yourself!” Rudy grunted and pulled hard. Just when he thought he was going to lose her, someone reached and helped pull them up. Phil had chickened out and had been unable to go through with Corinne’s murderous plans. But just as they were hauling Lucy up, Corinne sank her teeth into her leg and tore out a chunk.

             
Lucy screamed in agony and determined to grow old with Alec, kicked down sharply and broke Corinne’s nose with the heel of her boot. The woman shrieked and let go, her body crashing into the jagged cliffs below, and the shattered remnants swallowed by those ancient depths. 

             
The two men managed to pull Lucy up and she collapsed into Rudy’s arms, sobbing helplessly in relief.

             
Rudy comforted her as best he could. Phil went to check on Gavin, who was just beginning to stir. “There, now kiddo,” he soothed. “You’re okay.”

             
She wept and just clung to him relieved the nightmare was finally over.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

She stared at the ceiling
, her eyes tracing idly over the tiles while she waited for the painkillers to kick in. Rudy had finally left her alone and gone down to the cafeteria to load up on coffee. It had been a long, exhausting story with enough twists and turns to qualify for one of her father’s TV melodramas. After the dust of Corinne Wilson’s revenge had settled, Rudy had ridden in the ambulance with them, and tried to explain what happened.

     I
t turns out grief is a peculiar thing; it can either make you stronger, or it can drive you completely insane. That’s what happened in Corinne’s case. She’d never gotten over Timmy’s horrific death, nor had she fully grieved for her son. She’d allowed her sorrow to fester like a gangrenous wound and when Reese wasn’t convicted in the first trial, the wound continued to eat away at her, rotting what was left of her sanity. Her husband had her committed to a mental hospital in the hopes a little time and intensive shock therapy might unscramble his wife. But Corinne used that time to hatch a plot of malicious intent.

    
When she was released from the hospital because her insurance had run out, Corinne discovered her husband had set up housekeeping with her best friend. For a woman who was still grieving for her murdered child, that was the final straw and set her treacherous plot in motion. At first she’d only meant to make
Rudy
pay, but somehow that wasn’t good enough. She wanted him to feel the pain of losing a child. Since Rudy had no children of his own, Corinne thought Lucy would be a proper substitute.

      She’d kept tabs on Rudy over the years, usually through his contact at the police department. Corinne’s cousin by marriage happened to be none other than Detective Brandon
’s partner, Gary, who usually fed her tidbits from the crime of the day. He simply had no idea that his casual conversations were feeding the fire of her vengeance. Through these seemingly harmless attempts at small talk, Corinne amassed an arsenal of intelligence on Rudy’s life that rivaled what the Allies gathered for D-Day. When she found out about Lucy, she decided that it was time for Rudy to pay the piper. She hired a private detective to track Lucy’s movements, and the rest of it fell into place.

    
When Reese was released on bond, Corinne took it upon herself to hold out the proverbial olive branch. He happily accepted and when she proposed her devious plot, Reese jumped on board, eager to punish the man who’d destroyed his life. When she mentioned Lucy and told him he could have her, Reese was delighted. Corinne had given him implicit instructions to hurt Lucy but not kill her as a warning to Rudy, but Reese hadn’t been able to control himself. When Eddie walked in soon after the attack and found her on the floor, bleeding to death, Corinne decided that Reese was too much of a liability. She staked out the hospital, netting herself a housekeeping job, and waited. When Lucy was released, Corinne had finagled the information out of Gary, and immediately bundled Reese off to Point Reyes Station with orders to dispatch the happy couple. Of course, she didn’t tell Reese about Alec being Lucy’s husband. But if Millie should meet his untimely end during a struggle with the strapping Englishman, she wouldn’t be too broken up. No skin off her back and one more thing she wouldn’t have to worry about.

     Corinne had driven him up there herself and made sure he had what he needed. But there was one thing
she
wanted from him. He was to retrieve the silver-plated compact Rudy had given to Lucy. Corinne had been very insistent on that account. Reese had been confused, but went along with it and took the compact when Alec had taken Lucy out shopping one day. Corinne had wanted the compact for one very specific reason: a trophy to wave beneath Rudy’s self-righteous nose. But leave it to the asshat to go and botch what should have been a simple cut and slice. She’d had to go and do everything herself. By then she’d bugged Rudy’s beach house and decided it was now or never. Phil had been nothing more than a servant to do Corinne’s bidding. The poor man had fallen on hard times after coming back from Iraq and accepted Corinne’s offer to help him get back on his feet. She’d used his gratitude to rope him into becoming nothing more than an emasculated sidekick, often reminding him cruelly of what he owed her. Phil hadn’t wanted to go through with her murderous scheme but he tracked Rudy to the old hospital, clubbed him over the head and left him for dead. He’d made it out to his car before being so wracked with guilt that he went back to help Rudy, who lay in a puddle of blood. Phil took him back to his hotel where he tended his wounds and made a full confession. Rudy decided Corinne had to be stopped before more people were hurt, so he sent Phil back to Corinne, with Phil now reporting back to Rudy.

   
They’d decided to allow Corinne to make her way to San Francisco, with Phil making sure Lucy and Gavin would make it out alive. He hadn’t been able to prevent Corinne from using the flashlight on their skulls, but he’d made damn sure Rudy would be waiting in the wings should she get homicidal. It seems both Rudy and Phil had underestimated the extent of Corinne’s hatred and just how far she was willing to go to exact her vengeance.

     Lucy hadn’t wanted to hear about how she and Gavin ended up as pawns in some tragic game of chess. Rudy had been unrepentant, telling her that it had been the only way. At least Rudy could go through life with a clear conscience. After hearing all of that drivel, Lucy had practically thrown him out of her room. She di
dn’t need to hear about how she nearly ended up sleeping with the fishies. That Rudy was somehow at fault and could have stopped it; that was unforgiveable.

    
She wanted Alec to get here and take her away from all of this crap.
Where
was
he, anyway?
Of course, it
was
a seventeen-hour drive. But still…

    
Lucy closed her eyes as the morphine began its blissful sweep of her body. She’d sleep for now, but just as soon as she was able, she was going to take a vacation. 

* * *

             
When she opened her eyes, unwelcome rays of sunlight pierced her room. Some damn fool had gone and left the blinds open, thinking how nice it would be if she woke up to a sunny day. Lucy wondered what school of torture and insufferable agony the idiot had attended. Bright light was the last thing someone with a nasty concussion needed.

    
Swearing, Lucy threw off the blanket and hobbled over to the window. She winced as a malicious shard of light pierced her skull. “Ouch!” she muttered and closed the blinds. She teetered on her good leg like a drunken heron and had to grab onto a chair to balance herself. Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to get out of bed. Lucy was pondering whether or not she should call for help, when she heard a laugh.

     “Need some help, love?”

              She turned and there he was; Alec looked the worse for wear with disheveled hair and rumpled clothing like he hadn’t slept in weeks. “Alec!” she sobbed in relief and tried to go to him, but her injured ankle wouldn’t comply. Lucy crumpled slowly to the floor and Alec was there to catch her. He caught her in his strong arms and crushed her to him. She laughed and cried as he spread feverish kisses over her face and throat. Lucy kissed him back, grateful that she was in his arms again.

     “You’re late, English,” she said through his kisses.

     Alec pulled away slightly. He smoothed her hair back from her face and frowned at the damage that bitch had wrought. His beloved had two black eyes and a split lip. He touched his lips to hers and caressed them softly. “Forgive me, love,” he said hoarsely. “I turned back as soon as I could.”  Then he lifted her in his arms and carried her back to bed. Once he’d tucked her back in, he pulled a chair up and sat as close as humanly possible. “Pat thought I was crazy for wanting to get back to you,” he told her, taking her hand and pressing it against his lips.

     “What made you turn back?” she sighed and gently caressed his unshaven cheek. He closed his eyes and covered her small hand with his. He looked so tired. Her poor English.

      He sighed. “We were driving out of Las Cruces when I felt something strange.”

      “Like what?”

      “I don’t know exactly,” he said, with a rueful shrug. “I just knew something was wrong. It’s almost as if you had screamed my name somewhere and I heard it.”

      “I did.”

      “What…?”

      She nodded. “When we were in that cell, I called for you.”

      He hung his head and when he looked up again, his eyes were wet. “I guess there are certain advantages to being married to one’s soul mate.”

      Her eyes caressed him lovingly. “You think so?”

      Alec smiled and nodded. “I know so.”

    
“You look so tired,” she whispered, her hand caressing his cheek. “Did you get
any
sleep?”

    
“I slept in the waiting room.” He grinned boyishly. “The chairs are very soft.”

    
“Did you see Gavin?”

    
“Yeah,” he said, yawning and resting his head on her chest. “He looks like he went ten rounds with an angry pit bull.”

    
“How’s his eye?”

    
“He’s got a scratched cornea, but the doctor thinks he’ll see straight. Pat’s with him now.”

     “He was very brave.”

     “Was he?”

     “Just like you.
I missed you, husband,” she said softly.

   
“I missed
you,
wife,” he sighed happily and hugged her to him. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

    
“Never,” Lucy whispered and cradled his head, her hands stroking his hair soothingly. “Let’s not do that ever again!”

    
“We should put that in writing,” he said sleepily. “I’ll do it…tomorrow.”

    
“Okay,” she sighed and closed her eyes.

              Gavin was bored. The doctor had him on bed rest and he was starting to hallucinate. At one point he thought he saw a giant purple dinosaur in his room. But when he looked more closely, he saw it was only Pat dressed in his favorite purple sweatshirt and bringing him another grilled cheese on white. “You cut the crusts off right, dad?”

     “Yeah, yeah you skive,” Pat grumbled at his youngest. It was only a week since he got out of hospital and he was driving them all bonkers with his carrying on and ringing that damn bell. Lucy had thought since they were all busy packing, that whenever Gavin needed something, he could ring the little bell and they’d come running. Pat felt like wringing the little tosser’s neck. “W
ill there be anything else for His Majesty?”

    
“Um…” Gavin glanced up at the look on his stepfather’s face and decided against asking for a coke with ice and a straw. “No, no. That’s fine. Thanks dad.”

     Pat nodded and went to help Alec pack. You didn’t see Lucy carrying on, demanding to be waited on hand and foot. Alec had to practically hogtie her to the bed. But after much wrangling and a few threats that Pat was certain included being threatened with bodily violence, Alec had relented and brought her a box to pack…in bed. He chuckled at the memory of Alec trudging outside to get another box, his face as red as the crosses on the Union Jack. He had to give the girl credit; she certainly put Alec in his place. Goodness knows he and Maggie had never been able to.

     The weeks flew by and they all decided if they would stay until the end of the month, as Pat felt Maggie had been alone long enough. Even though she was staying with friends, Pat was missing his wife something awful and he was a regular ogre to be around. Alec had had enough and decided to take his wife out to dinner just to get away from his grumbling.

      Lucy put on a wine-colored lace dress for the occasion and matching flats as her ankle was still healing. She fussed with her hair and decided to pull it back into a chignon, but what she got instead was a messy knot at the base of her neck. Alec was in a hurry, so she ditched the makeup in favor of a swipe of lipgloss. He didn’t seem to mind when she came out of the bedroom. As for her husband, he was looking especially handsome this e
vening in a denim blazer and tan slacks. His blue shirt was open at the neck, revealing an enticing peek of his chest. He was such a hunk and he was
all
hers. Alec caught her staring and she blushed. “Do I look all right?” she asked anxiously.

    
“You’re stunning, wife,” he said huskily, taking her hand and pressing a warm kiss upon it. “I just may forgo dessert in favor of getting you out of that dress.”

    
“Alec!” she blushed profusely, hoping Pat and Gavin hadn’t heard. “Behave yourself!” Then she giggled. “Be nice and I’ll let you see what I’ve got on underneath.”

     “Is that an invitation, Mrs. Barrington?” He leered at her, his blue eyes gleaming with mischief.