by Denise McGee
"Hey yourself," I answered with a lazy smile. I lifted our linked fingers and kissed the back of her hand. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good. Except my mouth feels nasty and I could really use a shower. You?"
"Pretty much the same with a side order of pain. Hey Andy?" I called, startling him. He hadn't heard our quiet conversation. Must have been a really great article. "Any tips on how to shower with this thing on?"
"You either put a bag over it or you take a bath."
"I can't take it off?"
"You didn't listen to a thing I told you when you left the hospital, did you?"
"I heard the important bits."
"Which bits were those?" Andy sounded amused and he arose from the chair and came around to my side of the bed. He looked over at Laurel and winked. I tried not to glare.
"The bits where you said 'sign here' and 'you can leave'," I laughed, pulling Laurel over into the crook of my shoulder.
She was laughing. "How'd you shower last night?"
"I rested it on the top of the shower door with a towel over it. It was awkward, though. I lost my balance a couple times."
"Get used to baths," was Andy's advice. "You'd tear any bag you tried to use. And if you fall trying to be clever, I won't fix you again."
"Funny." I grew serious. "So, what did they do to my recovery, Andy?"
He started to put on his doctor face - full of false cheer and optimism - stopped and looked at me soberly. "They certainly didn't do you any favors, Aaron. Luckily for you, the pins weren't set yet so all they did was pop out and mangle things up a little bit. I replaced your popped stitches and you'll find some new ones. I'd estimate your recovery was set back roughly 2 weeks, which is better than you deserve."
"You did all that here?"
He looked amused. "You've been to the hospital and back. The only reason you're not still there is Laurel convinced me you'd recover better here." He looked around. "I think she just wanted to be comfortable while she waited for you to wake up this time." He laughed when Laurel made a face at him.
"I would have taken you to my home - but it's still a mess - and Kyle said your place wasn't fit to recuperate in, so here we are."
"My place isn't that bad," I protested but I was pleased she'd wanted to take me to her home.
"I've been to your place," Andy said. "It's better here." He gave a mocking salute, grabbed his bag and left.
Laurel was still giggling as the door closed behind him. I didn't mind. It was good to see her spirits had recovered. I smiled, watching her laugh.
There was a cursory tap at the door and Nicki and Kyle entered.
"Andy said you were awake." Nicki's smile was wide. Kyle merely gave me a nod and then glared out the window.
"What's the matter, man?" I asked him.
"We can't figure out how those assholes got in. It pisses me off."
"All systems have flaws. They found yours."
"Yeah, but no one knew you were coming here. They had to have found out your location and figured out how to fool my system in a matter of hours. No one's that good."
"Who designed it?" Laurel asked.
"I didn't want wires and electronics ruining the landscaping so I had Nate and Acme Security work together. They came up with the plan. It was parsed out to different work crews so no one had the complete map except Nate and Acme."
"So," Laurel said slowly. "It might have been in the papers I gave Graham Hamilton?"
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Endings
LAUREL
"It keeps coming back to him, doesn't it?" Nicki said.
"But what reason could he possibly have for doing all this? What's worth killing Nathan and Gina over? What's worth blowing people up and stabbing them? What's worth torturing someone?" My voice broke on the last question.
I wasn't nearly as together as I was pretending. My nerves were frayed and a tension knot had taken up permanent residence between my shoulder blades. The hysterics I'd had last night had frightened me almost as much as Chad working over Aaron's arm. I'd never been so out of control before. So, I smiled and laughed and hoped pretending to be calm would fool my psyche into believing it was true. That eventually the pretense would become reality.
Being near Aaron helped, which is why I'd been able to fall asleep at his side. I reached for his hand and twined our fingers again.
"I think I know a way we could find out," Kyle said, looking at Aaron.
That got everyone's attention. Kyle was the sudden focus of three sets of eyes.
"How?" Nicki asked.
"Feel up to a road trip, Aaron?" Kyle said, ignoring Nicki's question.
"What do you have in mind?" Aaron asked.
"I was thinking you need to head over to Laurel's. Maybe see if you can pick up any visions."
"Sounds like a plan. I take it we're not in hiding anymore since we didn't move to a new safe house."
"Captain thinks the guys that worked you over will have fled since you both got good looks at them," Nicki said. "Kyle and I are heading out to check the airport now, but Hausner will be patrolling Laurel's neighborhood if you need him."
"Alright." His eyes met mine. "You up for a visit to your home?"
The roar of my heart pounding flooded my ears and I couldn't get my voice to work, but I nodded my head. I wasn't going to let the fear rule me.
"That's my girl," Aaron said, kissing my forehead.
***
"Laurel? What was in the envelope that blew up? I know you said it wasn't anything they'd be interested in, but how do you know?" Aaron asked an hour later as he and I passed the blast marks on my driveway. I threw him a grateful look. He knew without my saying how difficult this was for me. Small talk helped keep the fear at bay.
"It was just the info packet for my invitation to lecture at Halcyon. It's a writer's convention." I added when Aaron looked confused. "I'd just picked it up from my agent."
"Huh, wonder why they fixated on it," Aaron said.
"I have no idea. Desperation, maybe?" We crossed the wrecked porch and stepped into the trashed living room. "Where do you want to start?"
"How about Nathan's office? He spent the most time there, correct?"
I nodded, staring down at the spot Nicki had been stabbed.
"Laurel?"
"I'm fine," I lied, tearing my gaze away and moving down the corridor to Nathan's office. I let curiosity drive out my anxiety. I'd never seen anyone besides Nathan use their talent, so I didn't know what to expect.
"Is there anything special I should be doing while you do your thing?" I asked Aaron, walking through the office door.
He lifted an eyebrow at me in inquiry, his eyes registering his confusion.
"I dunno. Watch for you to turn blue or stop breathing or something?"
His face relaxed and he smiled. "No, nothing like that is needed. It'll only take a moment to see what's there if anything. Papers," he said, looking around, "are useless. They're rarely handled enough to receive an impression. Was there anything Nathan played with while on the phone or working? A stress ball, or a pen or an object like that?"
"He had a Chinese zodiac symbol on a chain that he kept around his neck. He toyed with it when stressed. I don't have it, though."
"Hmm. Let me try the desk first, then." He walked over to the mammoth desk. "It's huge, isn't it? Was he compensating?"
I laughed. "I don't know why he bought it. He rarely worked there." But Aaron was already gone. His eyes were blank and wide. And then he was back. The whole thing was remarkably like an absence seizure.
"Well?" I asked.
"He, uh, didn't use the desk for work," Aaron said, clearing his throat, not meeting my eyes. Were his cheeks a little pink? I tasted his words - they were the cherry of embarrassment. I blinked and looked at the large desk again.
"Oh." I glared at it a moment. "The bastard. He wasn't supposed to be bringing his women into our home."
"So where did he work?"
I
nodded in the direction of the drafting table in the corner, still glaring at the offending piece of furniture. "I'm going to have to have that thing burnt."
Aaron laughed, crossing the floor to the table. He touched the table, his laugh cutting off mid-chuckle. Creepy, I thought. He was back quicker this time, resuming his interrupted laugh as if time had stopped for him. Really creepy, I thought.
He shook his head. "Nothing. Maybe we're going at this wrong." He walked around to the small painting of the outhouse he had asked about on the day of the explosion. "Didn't you tell me Nathan had purchased this recently?"
I nodded. "He bought it just before he died."
"Maybe it holds something." He plucked it from the debris on the floor, turned it over and examined the back. "There's nothing attached to it, but maybe...." His eyes unfocused as he did his mental disappearing trick again.
When he came back to me, he was smiling. "Up for a trip to your cabin?"
"My cabin?" Then it hit me. What a fool I'd been. Nathan hadn't brought a woman to the cabin, he'd been hiding something. He'd left his coat behind so I'd know he'd been there. Left the outhouse door open. Bought the painting. His last days had been spent leaving me clues. He'd known his life was in danger but had still tried to protect me by keeping me out of it.
Sadness hit me like a wave. My heart ached and I found myself choking back tears. Aaron gently laid the painting on the big desk and enfolded me in his arms. "Why didn't he go to the police instead of doing all this cloak and dagger stuff?" I asked against his chest.
"I don't know. Maybe he needed more proof. Or proof he wasn't involved. Maybe he wasn't really positive about what he'd found but put it in a safe place just to be sure. Maybe he thought the police were involved. It could be any of a hundred reasons." He said, stroking my hair.
"I miss him," I said.
"I know," Aaron responded. "A part of you always will." He held me while I cried myself out, murmuring words of reassurance as I released all the grief, stress and fear I'd pent up inside.
When I was done I lifted my head from his now-soaked shirt and gave him a watery smile. "Sorry."
"Don't be," he said, pressing a tender kiss to my forehead. "Feel better?"
I nodded, although my head was starting to throb. I hated crying for that very reason.
"Good," he smiled. "Let's go explore an old outhouse."
I gave him a little chuckle and he held my hand as we made our way out of my savaged home and into one of Kyle's many cars.
***
The flight to North Carolina was uneventful and soon we found ourselves on the shore of my favorite place in the world.
"It's beautiful," Aaron said, looking out over the lake. We were holding hands, watching the setting sun. "And so quiet and peaceful. I see why you love it here so much."
"My grandfather built the cabin. This is where I spent the happiest days of my childhood." A childhood I want for my own children someday, I thought, looking at Aaron. I wasn't sure where our relationship was headed but I already knew I was more comfortable with him than I'd ever been with Nathan. Aaron filled all those places in my soul that had been empty so long I never realized how much I ached to have them filled. Now I couldn't imagine being without him.
I smiled at him and something of what I was thinking must have shown on my face, for he bent over and captured my lips with his. Fire raced through my body. My heart beat faster and I turned to press myself against him, my arms winding themselves around his neck.
"You know," I panted when his mouth left mine to trail kisses down my neck. "if we want to find that packet before it gets dark we should do it now. Before we get, uh....otherwise distracted."
His mouth found mine for another long moment, and then he broke it off with a groan. "You had to be the sensible one."
I grinned at him - his breathing was as ragged as my own. I pressed little kisses to his chin and throat. "C'mon. We'll need to get a hammer from the cabin. I nailed the door shut last time I was here."
He groaned again but allowed me to lead him into the cabin. "Woman, you are not healthy for my sanity."
I laughed and handed him the hammer while I grabbed a flashlight. I expected it to be dark within the confines of the outhouse.
He made a face but led the way up the hill. I trailed along behind, admiring the way his stride pulled his jeans taut. His shirt was tucked in so I had an unobstructed view. Gotta love a man who knows how to show off his...assets.
"You ok?" he asked over his shoulder. "You're awful quiet.
"Keep walking, sexy, " I said. "I'm enjoying myself."
"Are you staring at my ass?" he asked in mock astonishment.
"You betcha." I laughed.
I was a little giddy. This was straight out of Nancy Drew. Searching an abandoned outhouse for clues. Traipsing through fields by the light of a flashlight. Finding priceless jewels or hoards of ill-gotten gains.
Truth was, I didn't care what we found anymore. I was just glad Aaron was there with me, sharing in the adventure.
We reached the summit and he pulled me to him and enfolded me in his arms. I sighed, melting into him as our lips met. My hands slipped around him to caress his butt cheeks.
He smiled. "You miss, are a vixen."
I laughed and pulled away from him. "C'mon Superman. Show me your muscles. Get that door open."
He surveyed the size of the nails I had driven into the door. "Were you expecting Sasquatch to leap out and attack you?"
I shrugged. "I told you how weird it was." Oddly, it was less creepy on the hill in the near dark than it had been the last time I'd been up there. And that had been in full daylight.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you. It's what we superhero-types do." The screeching of nails being pried from their home filled the air. I'd half-expected the need to take over but he was managing beautifully with only one hand. Soon the door was open and we were peering into the shadowed building. I flipped on my flashlight, shining it into the interior. The smell hit us like a jackhammer.
"My Superman, what an aroma you've uncovered."
"This smell, darling, is all yours." He bowed me forward.
I laughed and maneuvered myself into the shed. "When I boarded up the place I noticed the seat board was loose." Wishing I'd thought to bring gloves, I tugged on the board. It slid, and then tilted forward, nearly landing on my soft cast.
I peered into the opening, holding my breath. Brown sludge and bits of paper stuck to the walls, but there was nothing else to be seen. Had we been wrong? I shrugged at Aaron. "There's nothing there." I grasped the seat, preparing to shove it back into place. What I touched wasn't wood, though. I yanked my hand back, imagining the bite of a spider, then realized that whatever-it-was had made the soft rustle of plastic.
I tilted the board toward me. Taped to the bottom was a packet sealed in a plastic bag. I pulled it loose from the board and passed it to Aaron. I gave him a fierce grin. "Eureka."
"Excellent," said my erstwhile superhero, his grin answering mine. "Now to find out what this is all about."
"Oh, I can answer that for you," said a smooth voice from the darkness. I shined my flashlight that direction. The beam glinted off the barrel of a gun. "Mrs. Edwards. Please, divert your light."
I recognized the voice then. "Mr. Hamilton?"
"Let's go to the cabin, shall we? It'll be so much more pleasant than chatting out here in the dark."
"No," I said. "We can say what needs to be said right here." I wasn't going to allow this fraction of a man taint my cabin.
"Laurel," Aaron said.
"No, Aaron. He can shoot me if he wants but he's not destroying anything more of mine."
"You, Mrs. Edwards, have been a thorn in my side ever since you published that book. It'll be a pleasure to finally put a bullet in you."
"Huh?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"
He gave me a derisive look, aiming the gun at my head. "Don't act innocent. It was obvious Nathan told you everythi
ng. You're just lucky your agent called when she did or you'd already be dead. I was going to snap your neck in the same way I did Nathan and Gina. This way is better, though."
He focused on Aaron. "Recognize your own gun yet, hero? So nice of you to leave it in the car for me. You're both about to be part of a murder-suicide." He made a mocking sound. "So sad you were unhinged by the events of last night, Lieutenant. Say goodbye to your new girlfriend."
A whirl of wind appeared from the still night as Hamilton pulled the trigger. Aaron leaped, knocking me over, crushing me beneath his weight. He moaned and was still. I was pinned.
I could hear Hamilton yelling something incomprehensible as I tried to shift Aaron. Shots rang out. The sound of the wind rose to a shriek. There was a shrill whistle, a wet thwunk and the fall of a heavy object.
I prayed Aaron wasn't dead. I couldn't hear him breathing and I could feel something sticky pooling across my chest. I prayed that Hamilton wasn't about to appear and shoot us both as we lay in the dirt. I hoped I could move Aaron off me and hopefully save us both. The night stretched on as I struggled to get free.
In the distance, I heard an engine. A car was coming up the road to the cabin. I closed my eyes and prayed harder.
The sound of a vehicle braking on the gravel echoed across the lake. Then the slamming of car doors.
"Laurel? Aaron?" Nicki called into the night. I heard foot-steps running up the hill and I began to cry.
"Who the hell is this?" Kyle asked, pausing for a moment and then following Nicki.
"Over here," I called feebly. I was having a hard time catching my breath with Aaron's weight across my chest.
Aaron was rolled off me and I scrambled awkwardly until I could see his face. "Is he alive?"
"He's breathing. Are you bleeding or is that from him?" Nicki asked.
"It's from him. I think. Where's Hamilton?" I asked looking around. "Do you have him?"
"If Hamilton is the guy lying back there, then someone got him alright. He's got a nail through his forehead." Kyle said.
I looked at Kyle in disbelief. "Are you kidding?" I shook my head, dismissing Mr. Graham Hamilton. "Forget him. We need to get Aaron to a hospital."
