Trust Me II (58 page)

“I’d be safe until a hurricane came by to say hello, or a tsunami decided to make my acquaintance.” Creighton laughed, kissing her neck.

“So I suppose no matter how much I try to keep you safe, I’d be wasting my time?”

“No, you’d just be trading one situation for another.” Sandra reached up and cupped his cheeks in her hands, caressing the soft dusting of the beard with her thumbs.

“You’ve always asked me to trust you, now I’m telling you to trust me,” she said softly. “I will not leave and I will not hide. You are as much my heart and soul as I am yours and you’re stuck with me forever.”

Creighton locked his gaze with hers, feeling the love radiate between them. He was a very lucky man and he knew it and as he
stretched out across her, he was determined to prove to her how much he did trust her and how much their love would shelter them both.

“Clark will be working with the IT guys to finish up the security system,” Creighton said shortly after breakfast on Friday. “But I have to go to London; would you like to come along?”

“Why do you have to go there?” she asked with a frown. She didn’t like to be away from him, but she had promised Sabrina that she would
go into Northallerton and do some shopping with her.

“The warehouse was broken into last night, the police think it was just some local kids trying to
find something to fence for a quick pound, but I have to go over the inventory with my managers to determine what was stolen, if anything. At face value, it doesn’t look like anything was taken; security was there within minutes of the silent alarm going off.”

“If it’s all the same with you, I’ll stay behind. Sabrina wanted to go shopping and I told her I’d go along.
Plus, your birthday is next week, I need to find you something special.”

“
The only thing special I want is wrapped in a leather bustier.”

“Funny,” she smiled. “I don’t think a bustier is going to fit any more. I’m really starting to get big.”

“Good thing we’re telling my family this weekend then, isn’t it? That way when you start waddling around the yard they will think it’s the baby and not our nocturnal activities making it difficult for you to walk.”

“Do you find perversion in everything you touch?”

“Only when you’re involved,” he chuckled.

“Well, I am going to buy you a present and it is not going to be anything dark and demented; maybe a new tie or a belt.”

“Both can be used effectively for wearing or restraining.”

“Stop!” she shouted with a wide smile. “I’m trying to be serious. What can I buy for the man who has everything?”

“Nothing,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Now that I have you, my life is complete.”

“Isn’t there anything you would like?” Creighton thought for a moment as he stuffed his mouth full of eggs.

“Honestly?” he asked watching her nod as she drank her juice. “I would really like an iPod like yours. It’s the one thing I don’t have and I’ve grown fond of your music. It would be nice to have it when I’m in the office or outside. I can’t use my phone because it interrupts the song when it rings.”

“Then I’ll get you an iPod. I’m sure there’s a newer generation than the one I have. Mine is a couple years old.”

“Then take the credit cards with you and have fun, but be careful; Sabrina loves plastic.”

“I have my own money,” she argued, walking their empty plates to the sink.

“We’ve been over this; my money is your money. I don’t know why that bothers you so much. You know how much there is, so use it, have fun with it, do all the crazy extravagant things you never allowed yourself to do before.”

“I like
the idea of having more than I’ll ever use, I’m just not used to it. Don’t get me wrong; being able to buy anything and everything I want is wonderful, but I don’t want to lose myself in the process. I promise to get something though, perhaps a new pair of shoes, or maybe a pair of overalls.”

“Whatever you chose to buy, I want you to promise not to look at the price tag. Just
enjoy yourself and don’t worry about the cost.”

“I’ll try,” she promised, wrapping her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer to him. “I still have my own credit card, and before you yell at me, I have to use what’s on it so I can close out the account.”

“Just transfer it to the new cards, it’s not that difficult.”

“No, I want one last trip to the store as Sandra Dennis before I have to change my ID to Sandra Ashford. But I promise to spend an obscene amount of money,” she assured him as he opened his mouth to object.

“Wait until you see how much is still on it,” he winked. “When I transferred money onto your card for our trip to find Aryana, I made certain it was enough to last you for quite a long time.”

“How long?” she frowned, accepting the brief kiss he offered her before he turned and walked out the kitchen door with a wide smile.

“Enough to last you a few years at your former salary; just in case you decided to leave me once we reached Paris.”

Sandra shook her head behind him and smiled. Having money was really great, she’d be a liar if she denied that, but this man was filled with amazing and irritating habits when it came to spending.
It was one of the most irritating traits he had.

Creighton left shortly before lunch with the promise of returning in time for supper, which left Sandra enough time to plan a nice supper for his family. They had done so much for them since they returned to Yorkshire, that she insisted on doing the cooking. She found her grandmother’s recipe for Yankee Pot roast and set out to begin the preparations.

Creighton had only been gone a few minutes and
she already felt alone and frightened. His technical personnel arrived about an hour ago and the sound of drills against the bricks echoed through the still house as they ran wires and installed the equipment.

The smells of summer drifted in the open window and she couldn’t resist smiling. There was something very tranquil about the sounds and aroma of a farm; manure mixed with flowers, always made her feel like she had come home.

Taking the watch off and slipping it into her pocket, she began washing the potatoes, carrots and onions William and Creighton had dug up for her a few days ago. A flash of light caught her attention and she glanced out the window above the sink in time to see the small delivery truck pull into the driveway of her in-laws house.

There had been so many things delivered lately with Sabrina taking on the new project for the school uniforms, that seeing trucks come and go
was nothing unusual. She had decided to stay in Yorkshire while she made her sample designs, which allowed her the use of her mother’s expensive sewing machine and serger.

Smiling, Sandra returned to her work at hand and placed the vegetables in a pan of cool water to soak, before turning around from the window and cleaning up
the mess she had made of the counters. A loud bang sounded through the air and for a moment she thought it sounded like a gun shot, but then the drills began again and she rolled her eyes. She would never understand how men could make so much noise.

She took
one of the carrots left over that she didn’t use for the supper and washed it before taking a bite out of the tip. Sandra placed the towel she had used to dry her hands off across the oven’s handle when the phone began to ring. She glanced at the clock; ten after two, it must be Sabrina. The girl insisted she wanted to go to town early enough to leave time for her to get some sewing in before supper. Sandra lifted the house phone from its receiver on the wall and smiled as she said hello.

“Sandra, I need you to come over here,” Sabrina said in
slightly shaky tones.

“Is everything alright?”
A frown replaced the smile as Sandra listened to the woman’s soft voice on the other end of the receiver.

“Fine, but I need your help. Please come over now.”

“Sure, just give me a minute to
warsh
up. Do you still want to go shopping?”

“Yes, of course, but please hurry.” Sandra felt a sudden rush of anxiety as she agreed and hung up the phone. There was something unusual and almost desperate in the girl’s voice that made
the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She picked up the phone to call Creighton then quickly shook her head; she was just being overly paranoid without her husband there by her side. She had to develop a backbone sooner or later, might as well be now.

Sandra hurried up the stairs to the bedroom and gathered her wallet, making certain her old credit card was in place,
combed her hair and slipped on a new pair of knee high boots she had purchased in Kansas and fitted her pant legs around the outside of them. She then tossed the watch on the dresser before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

Half way down the stairs she paused and turned around. She hated wearing watches, but Creighton was so
insistent that she keep this one on that she felt guilty leaving it behind. She hurried back up to her bedroom, picking up the expensive item and fastened it on her wrist before leaving the room again, snatching her sweater from the hook behind the back door.

Clark and Harvey were busy helping set up the
surveillance equipment when she stepped down off the porch, petting Max who lay on his chain near the oversized dog house. She waved to the men who waved back and continued walking toward the house across the road. There was an ache inside her that she could not name; an odd feeling of impending doom that nearly made her stop and return home. She looked at the clear blue skies and shook her head softly; it was the same feeling she would get when the air changed in Kansas, but this was England. They didn’t have tornadoes here…did they?

She tried to shake off
the strange tingling as she continued to walk; she was being ridiculous, she scolded herself. Just because her husband wasn’t by her side didn’t mean she couldn’t go about her day in some sense she had before she met him.

Sandra opened the
front door and walked in, the knot in her stomach made her feel nauseated and she was certain it had nothing to do with the baby. It had been days since she threw up, but it was so strong that she placed her hand over her abdomen as she turned the corner into the kitchen.

Her step faltered and she came to a sudden halt, her eyes wide and her throat instantly dry. Standing behind the counter with his hand around Sabrina’s throat, a gun to her head was Konrad Bachmeier, back from the dead. He smiled a rotting-tooth grin at her and
sniggered.

“Now that the main attraction is here,” he said in a heavy accent. “We can get the party started.”

“Let her go,” Sandra said gently, but strong enough that she actually felt very proud of herself. All the lessons her grandfather had taught her over the years
came into play; stay calm, remain in control of your emotions, don’t show your fear. They all came rushing back to her in a flood of consciousness.

“But I like having her this close to me,” Bachmeier said, his tongue slither
ing out of his mouth like a snake as he ran it slowly up the side of Sabrina’s face. The girl closed her eyes and whimpered softly, unable to move away as he tightened his grip on her throat.

“What do you want?” Sandra asked with a sharp tone. “Where are Emma and William?”

“Don’t worry about them, they won’t be interrupting us. I’ve taken care of them and soon I’ll take care of you. But first, we’re going to take a little ride. See that bag on the chair?” Sandra turned to where his eyes darted and looked at the dark blue, very dirty, back pack sitting on the chair William always sat in.

“Inside you’ll find three sets of handcuffs,” he continued. “Get them and bring them here.” Sandra hesitated only for a moment as he pulled the hammer back on the pistol. She stepped to the bag and rummaged inside feeling a damp piece of cloth, something soft and soggy like an old sandwich and finally the items he indicated.
She pulled her hand out and saw the smear of blood on her fingers and had to fight the urge to drop the handcuffs; her stomach jerked with fear and disgust at the thought of what or whose it may be as she wiped her hand on the side of her pant leg.

“Cuff
one of your hands to this one,” he continued. Sandra did as she was told, feeling slightly relieved when he eased the hammer back down with his thumb. She slipped one side of a pair of handcuffs onto her left hand while securing it to Sabrina’s right wrist.

“Good, now we’re going to walk out to that truck outside and if you think of making any noise, I’ll blow this one’s brains all over that pretty yellow shirt of yours.” Sandra clenched her jaw but said nothing as he released his grip on Sabrina’s throat and took the other two pairs of cuffs. She looked very pale as though she was about to faint and Sandra reached instantly to a glass of water on the counter.

“Go!” he snarled at her, but she only looked at him through angry eyes.

“She needs a drink or she’s going to pass out.” Sabrina too
k the glass with her free hand and sipped the water for a few seconds.