by K. C. Crowne
I dropped to my hands and knees, crawling the rest of the way to avoid breathing in too much of the smoke. Sweat dripped down my forehead, stinging my eyes, and I thought my heart and lungs might explode in my chest. My heart from the adrenaline coursing through my veins, my lungs from the lack of oxygen.
But I refused to give up.
I couldn’t leave Kellen and Matilda behind. I had to get to them, had to help them get out. No one knew this hotel better than I did, and the firefighters didn’t know they were in the bathroom. They could be stuck in there, and no one would know.
If I had trouble breathing, poor Matilda would have even more trouble. I thought of her tiny little lungs straining to breathe and pushed forward.
I could tell I’d reached the lobby when the hall carpet changed to hardwood floor. There was no way to stand up, not if I wanted to breathe. This was the biggest fire yet. This one could do some real damage, even take some lives.
I tried to take in a deep breath, but only got smoke. I coughed, my head falling forward as I tried to suck in any air I could find. There was very little to be had, and the more I tried to breathe, the more my lungs hurt - and the more I panicked.
My head was spinning. I collapsed on my stomach, coughing until there wasn’t even enough air to do that. My vision was beginning to go black, and I knew this was it.
I was going to die.
I heard voices but couldn’t find the strength to call out. My voice didn’t even come out; it wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the commotion.
I pushed myself up to standing, deciding that if I was going to die, I’d at least go out fighting. But as soon as I did, my head spun around and I fell forward, crashing into the counter in the lobby.
My world went black.
Ooo000ooo
I awoke from coughing so hard, I thought I might be sick. The first thing I saw was streaming white light and thought maybe this was it - this was death. But as I blinked, the world around me came into focus, and I realized that no, I wasn’t dead.
I was in someone’s car. The light was the sunlight streaming in through the windows. It was blinding and took me a few seconds to get used to the brightness. At first, I was relieved to be alive, but then I realized I had no idea where I was.
I was in the backseat of a car, not a truck, with black leather seats. I tried to sit up, to see where I was and who was driving. The road was bumpy, and we were moving at a very fast pace.
As I sat up, a familiar voice said, “No, not yet. Go back to sleep.”
It was too bright to see who it was, and my head was still foggy. I couldn’t make anything out. An arm reached back, and I felt a stick in my thigh. I looked down to see him pull away the needle before my world went black again.
Chapter 21
Kellen
“Where’s Leah?” I asked everyone I saw, but there was no sign of her. No one had seen her come out of the hotel.
No one was letting me inside the hotel to go look for her. The fire was out, the firefighters were searching the building. No one had been found inside, dead or alive.
But she had to be in there if she wasn’t outside.
“Kellen!” a female voice called out to me.
I turned and saw Josie, the woman from the night at the bar, running toward me. Her eyes were wide and she was out of breath when she reached me. “I’ve been trying to find you. Wade was here, before the fire, and now I can’t find Leah.”
Shit.
I was shaking so hard, I worried I might hurt Matilda. I had to calm down. Leah was missing and Josie was saying Wade had been here.
I should have gone after her, I thought. But I didn’t know things would get this bad. I’d slipped away to change Matilda but caught sight of the developer from the meeting in the lobby. He was acting shifty as hell, so I kept an eye on him. When he caught me watching him, he took off - and I followed him outside.
I had no idea he’d put a homemade bomb in place. No clue that within minutes of leaving the lobby, the place would go up flames. I was so caught up in catching that asshole, I left Leah alone - and now she was gone.
Josie wrung her hands, and together we searched the crowd for Teddy. It was impossible to find him in the chaos, and he was probably off somewhere dealing with the fire. We didn’t have time for this.
“I think I know where they might have gone,” Josie said, her voice low.
“Where?” My voice was harsh with worry.
“There’s this cabin he used to take me, even when I didn’t want to go—” Tears welled in her eyes. She wiped them away and kept going. “He would take me there because there’s literally no one for miles. He’d tell me if I ever tried to leave him, he’d take me to the cabin, keep me there for good and no one would ever find me.”
My heart broke for her. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Josie, but I need an address.”
“We need to tell Teddy, let him handle it,” she insisted.
“We don’t have time to find him in this mess,” I retorted quickly. “We need to get to Leah, now.”
She sighed, and after a moment, she nodded. “Old Murphy Road, at the very end. There’s a cabin right on the creek. Can’t miss it if you go all the way down the road.”
I thanked Josie, but there was one other problem. I couldn’t take Matilda with me. I scanned the crowd until I saw Grant, who was hard to miss towering above everyone else. I hurried in his direction when I saw Piper too. Even better.
I didn’t have a chance to explain what was going on, I just handed over Matilda and said, “I need to help with something. Can you watch her for a bit?”
She looked a bit stunned but nodded and took Matilda from me gently. I kissed my baby girl’s forehead before hurrying to my truck.
If Wade thought he was going to get away with kidnapping the woman I love, he had another think coming. Climbing into my truck, I typed in the name of the road into my GPS and peeled out of the driveway.
My truck flew down the road, and I turned onto several back roads to get there. It felt like I’d never get to this cabin, at least not before the sun went down. I hoped that Wade wouldn’t hurt Leah. She was a smart woman, and I had no doubt she could work him over, make him think she’d cooperate with him to stay alive until help arrived.
As long as she knew help would arrive.
My heart raced faster than my truck as I finally turned down the narrow dirt road. I was unfamiliar with this road, but Josie said to drive to the end of the road. It was long and twisty, but eventually, I found the end. And there was a cabin, as she described.
The lights were on. Curtains were drawn across the windows, but I saw movement behind them. Shadows. Two of them. There were at least two people inside that cabin, and I was betting one of them was Leah.
I parked on the side of the road at least fifty yards away and killed the engine. When I left my house earlier that day, I hadn’t planned on anything like this. Luckily, I kept a hunting knife in my glove compartment. I reached for it, wishing I had something more powerful. I had hunting rifles at home, but I’d locked all of them away as soon as Matilda had come home with me. One of those guns would have come in handy.
I would have to count on Wade being weak and clueless about fighting. He was a businessman, not from these parts. He was smaller than me and likely didn’t have a clue I was coming. I had several advantages already. But I couldn’t discount the fact that he was mentally unstable. He wasn’t thinking clearly, and he’d do anything to keep Leah close to him.
I walked as fast as I could to the front of the house, trying not to make too much noise. The gravel crunched under my feet, so I slowed. Each step brought me closer to the front door, closer to saving the woman I loved.
Yes, I loved her. I hadn’t told her yet and feared if things went south, I may never get the chance. You’d think I’d have learned with Henry and Alice - keep your loved ones close and let them know how you feel, because you never know when they might be gone. But I fucked up, agai
n.
As I got closer to the cabin, I heard a male’s voice shouting.
“Wake the fuck up already!”
Wake up? Why wasn’t she waking up? Fearing the worst, I had no other choice but to get inside as quickly as possible. She needed me.
I kicked open the front door, the wood splintering as it shot open. Wade was standing in the living room, his back to me, but he turned around quickly. His eyes were wide and filled with rage.
Leah was laying on the couch, not fully awake. Her eyes were open, but just barely. She was out of it, appearing drugged. “Kellen,” she said, her voice cracking. She tried to sit up but couldn’t manage, as if her body was too heavy for her.
I wanted to run straight to her, to help her. I wanted to carry her out of there and run like hell, but Wade rushed me. I managed to dodge him. He turned back around and came for me again. A flash of silver caught my eye. He had a knife.
He was smaller, weaker than me, but he was also fast. He connected with me before I could dodge again, the blade slicing into my side. Blood splattered from the open wound, but there was too much adrenaline running through me for me to feel anything.
Time seemed to slow down. I had my own weapon, and with Wade so close, I slashed him - getting him in the arm as I slammed my body into him. We both fell to the floor, with me on top of him. He was slicing and dicing with the knife, careless and untrained, just trying to hit me wherever he could. But I grabbed his arms and pinned them to the floor.
“What did you give her?” I demanded.
He smirked, a deranged look in his eyes. He didn’t care if he lived or died. I could see it in his face. He didn’t say a word. I tightened my grip on his wrists, digging the blade into his arm.
“What did you fucking give her?”
He spat in my face. Taking both his wrists in one of mine, freeing one of my hands, I clocked him in the face. I didn’t stop with just one punch either; the rage came out. If anything happened to Leah because of him, I’d lose my fucking mind.
With his face bloody and broken, Wade went limp underneath me. I checked for a pulse. He wasn’t dead, just knocked out. Likely a concussion, but he’d live.
He wasn’t my concern anyway.
I rushed over to Leah, who was hanging partially off the couch, as if she was trying to crawl to me. Her eyes blinked a few times; her pupils were heavily dilated. She acted like she couldn’t see me clearly. I reached out to her, stroking her sweet face.
“It’s me, baby. I’ve gotcha.”
I lifted her into my arms; her body was as limp as a ragdoll. Please, God, I begged. Let her be okay. Without knowing what he’d given her, I couldn’t be sure. I needed to get her to a hospital immediately.
I heard sirens in the distance. Josie finally found Teddy; I knew she would. Help was on the way, but I was worried they wouldn’t have come in time. Who knows what Wade might have done to her, given more time?
I hurried outside with Leah to meet the sheriff and his deputies. They swarmed the cabin, guns drawn. When Teddy saw me, he shook his head and told the men to put down their weapons.
“Should have let me handle this one, Kellen,” he said.
“You had enough problems to deal with,” I replied. “But now that you’re here, we need an ambulance, stat.”
Teddy nodded and radioed for an ambulance while his deputies sorted things out with Wade. He’d need one too, but Leah was the priority. Together, Teddy and I tried to keep her talking.
“Do you know what he gave you?” Teddy asked.
Leah shook her head. “No. No idea.” Her voice was slurred. She trembled in my arms, and I held her closer to me. She nestled her face into my neck as I rubbed her back.
“Stay with us, Leah,” I whispered softly.
It felt like an eternity for an ambulance to arrive, considering how far out we were. But when I heard those sirens, I knew everything would be okay. The more I talked to Leah, the more awake she became. She was slowly becoming alert.
She stared into my eyes and even smiled. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me.” I chuckled. “There’s no way I wouldn’t save the woman I love.”
She stared at me wide-eyed, as if she wasn’t sure she’d heard me right. I’d have to tell her again when she regained consciousness fully, but I wanted her to know.
After everything we've been through, she needed to know.
Ooo000ooo
“Knock, knock,” Piper’s voice sang softly. Peeking in through the door, she asked, “Is she awake?”
“Yes, I’m awake,” Leah answered for herself. “I feel like shit, though.”
Piper stepped into the room with an armful of flowers. Grant wasn’t far behind. The two of them took turns hugging Leah, while I stayed off to the side.
Piper looked at me. “Don’t worry, Matilda is with Tabby and Frannie, and as soon as I’m done here, I’m going right back.”
“It’s fine. I trust the two of them,” I said with a soft smile. It was nice that she knew me well enough to know how protective I was of Matilda. “Visit with your friend for a bit.”
Grant placed a hand on my shoulder and stared at me with serious eyes. “Thanks, man.”
“No need to thank me. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, not if I could help it.”
Grant offered a crooked grin. He could read me like a book and knew how I felt about Leah - and his grin was his way of showing his approval.
I focused my attention on Leah, who was finally coming back to herself fully. Wade had given her a pretty strong sedative, nothing too dangerous, but he’d given her too much. He’d messed up, but thankfully, it hadn’t been enough to do serious damage. Much more of the sedative, and we might not be having a happy reunion at the hospital, but I tried not think about that too much.
She was fine, she’d be going home within the next few hours. We’d go home together.
“They caught Donovan too, thanks to you,” Grant said. “You’re kind of a big deal in town right now. Caught the arsonist and saved Leah, all in the same day.”
I shrugged. “I did what I had to do.”
“Yeah, but you’re a hero,” Leah spoke up, her voice still a bit shaky.
“I’m no hero. Besides, Teddy and his crew deserve some credit too.”
“Well, I couldn’t have done it without you.” Teddy’s voice came from behind me. He patted me on the back as he passed, stopping beside Leah’s bed. “You doin’ alright?”
“Doctor said I’m very lucky. Had Wade not found me in the fire, I might not be here right now, and had Kellen not found me at the cabin, well, same story.”
“It all worked out in the end, I suppose,” he mused.
“It did,” Leah agreed, her gaze moving past Teddy to look directly at me.
Teddy picked up on the look, and with a nod of his head, excused himself. Piper and Grant stayed for a few moments longer, but also excused themselves. Piper placed a hand on my arm and whispered, “Take care of her, alright?”
“Of course.”
She looked back at Leah and said, “I’m going to leave you two lovebirds alone, but call me if you need anything. And don’t worry about Matilda, I’ll take care of her for as long as you need me to.”
I thanked her and they left. It was a relief to be alone with Leah again, especially since she was more awake. As soon as we were alone, she gave me a flirty smile.
“So was I out of it earlier, or did you really say you loved me?”
I chuckled, running a hand over my beard. I knew it would come up eventually. “You heard me right.” I walked over to the side of the bed and lifted her hand to my lips. “I love you, Leah.”
She gasped and stared at me with the most innocent, sweet look. Tears welled in her eyes. “I love you too, Kellen.”
I leaned down and kissed her sweet lips.
When I’d made the move to Liberty, I had meant to live a life far away from others. I’d been so afraid of letting someone I loved down again that
I almost closed myself off to any possibilities of love entirely. Matilda, however, showed me that it was not only okay to care for someone, but that it brought joy to your life.
No matter what happened, I had my girls. And I’d do everything in my power to keep them safe and happy. I’d screwed up in the past, but the past no longer defined me. I was a new man now, one who was raising a child with the help of one of the most amazing women I’d ever met.
Leah had been right when she first met me - I had been an asshole.
But now, I was her asshole.
Epilogue
Leah - Two Years Later
My insides were tied in knots. Kellen would be home soon from working with Grant, and I’d made a delicious dinner for our little family. I had some news to break to him and wasn’t sure how he’d take it.
“Daddy home?” Matilda asked, giving me the most adorable toothy grin. Her dark hair was so long now, long enough to put into two pigtails, which bobbed around her head as she laughed and played.
She was the light of my life.
Scratch that, she was the light of our life.
We’d decided, after some serious discussion, to allow her to call us Mommy and Daddy. As she grew up, she’d hear about her birth parents and how much they loved her; we’d never deny her the truth. But at two years old, we were her parents. And I loved her just like she was my own.
“Soon, Tilly bean,” I said, stirring the chili. My stomach roiled, and I had to sit down before I got sick. I’d been feeling ill throughout the day.
Matilda could tell something was wrong; she was such an intuitive little girl. She crawled out of her seat, where she’d been drawing at the kitchen table, and walked over to me. She reached out her tiny little hands for me, and I picked her, sitting her in my lap. No amount of nausea would prevent me from holding her when she asked.
The front door opened, and Matilda hopped back down and rushed into the living room. I wasn’t far behind her. I stood in the doorway and watched as Kellen lifted the little girl in his arms, swinging her overhead as she giggled loudly.
