by Unknown
Shea wasn’t sure if she was more irritated or saddened that she’d been found before she was ready. She went with irritation, not wanting to sound weak. “I’ll never come out, not until I have come up with a way to regain what is mine,” she screamed back, unsure if they’d heard her.
“And what is that, Shea?” came the simple question.
“She took it all from me,” she explained in a desperate yell. Her hand gripped the cool metal in her hand. “Don’t you understand? I can’t let her keep what is mine.”
“Who is she?” The voice trying to talk her outside was far too calm for her liking.
The she in question made Shea’s blood boil. Her eyes looked at the wall where she’d put up a picture surrounded by a red lipstick bulls-eye, a constant reminder of who her target was. “That bitch, Kate Callahan. She ruined my life.”
“And how is that?” the idiot asked.
Shea’s finger was getting fidgety on the trigger, and she contemplated offering another warning. “Cut the shit! You and I both know she took Rich.”
“She didn’t take…”
That voice. That beautiful deep voice brought tears to her eyes. She ran to the window and looked out. “Rich?” she called, tears in her voice. “Rich, is that really you?”
Rich was there, standing next to the guy with the megaphone, a bulletproof vest strapped around his chest. “Yeah, I’m here, Shea.”
Her heart soared. This was the moment she’d been waiting for for months. “Oh, Rich, I knew it was only a matter of time before you’d come looking for me.” A movement drew her attention to the side where a slew of armed men surrounded the building. They drew their weapons closer. Her survival instinct flared, driving her back inside. “Why did you bring the National Guard, Rich, you know I’d never hurt you. I love you.”
There was a long pause, then Rich called, “That’s not why I’m here.”
Bile rose up the back of her throat and her heart stopped beating for just a moment. This was not how she’d planned their reunion. She’d gone into hiding, been completely alone, miserable, waiting for this moment. Her sisters would’ve helped, even had the means to offer her the assistance she needed, but she hadn’t seen them. Only that slimey brother-in-law of hers, Ray, had been around right after the stabbing. He’d proven to be an ally, one she would have never turned to. He gave her a KAHR 9mm, a shotgun, and an envelope with all the cash he’d had on hand. As a final farewell, he’d offered to foot the bill on a one-way ticket to Mexico.
She’d declined, walked out of the house, and out of her sisters’ lives. Some days the loneliness was overwhelming. She didn’t have anyone. Not her sisters—or Rich. Hot tears slid over the cold skin of her cheeks.
“Come on, Shea. Come out and we’ll talk.” Rich’s voice brought her out of her misery.
“We’ll talk? Does that mean you’re done with that bitch and ready to come home?”
“Don’t call her that,” he snapped.
Blood bubbled behind her ears. “Why not? She wrecked our home, our marriage.”
“Shea—” His voice was low, controlled. “—let’s not do this by screaming through the forest. Come out and we’ll talk.”
“I hate her!” she yelled, not wanting to give in to the tears that threatened.
“It’s time to come out now, Shea,” the man said through his megaphone.
“Do you love me?” she asked through vocal cords that wouldn’t work. Her throat was closing off with choked emotion. The question hung in the silence, and Shea wondered if Rich had even heard her.
“Please come out, and we’ll talk.”
“Do you love me?” she asked again, hating the desperation in her voice.
Rich’s silence spoke louder than any words could have. She’d suspected, obsessed, known that he’d stopped loving her. But right here, right now, his lack of words was the final dagger in her heart.
Shea couldn’t live in a world where Rich Spencer didn’t love her.
A gunshot rang out through the forest.
“Shea! Shea, are you okay?” For the first time since this all started there was a tone of panic in Reggie’s voice. There was no need for the megaphone as he continued to yell, “Shea? Come on, girl, answer me. Talk to me.”
But there was no answer.
“Shea,” Rich called again. “Talk to me.” The animosity he’d felt only moments before melted into pity. His brows pinched together. Did he actually feel sorrow to think Shea was dead? Yes, he did.
“Go!” Reggie ordered into the radio headset.
Men in black tactical uniforms flooded the house in a surreal motion that was exactly as Rich had seen it done on the cop shows on TV and in the movies. But this time he knew the dead body they’d find inside, and he had to bite back the bile that rose into the back of his throat. He wanted Shea behind bars where she couldn’t hurt Kate—or anyone else—not six feet under. But Shea had decided otherwise.
It was over. The horrific ordeal Rich had been living had come to an abrupt end—a dead end. It was really over.
“She’s…dead,” Reggie whispered from next to him. “I’m sorry.”
Rich appreciated the sympathy, but straightened his shoulders, blinked back the tears that burned his eyes. Now that this chapter in his life was over, he needed to move on. He needed to get back to Kate. “It was her choice, not ours.” He cleared his throat. “I just really need to get out of here.”
Reggie nodded, the tender emotion was still in his eyes. “Go ahead and go back to the car. I have to get the investigation started. I’ll get one of the deputies to take you back.”
“That’d be great. I’d really like to get this video back to the station.” He turned to look at Reggie. His entire body was numb, especially his brain. “That’s okay, right? I mean, we can put this on the news, right?” Always the news hound, he thought, disgusted with himself.
“Yeah, if you can wait ‘til the 6:00.”
“Deal.” Rich turned to jog back to the car.
“Rich.” Rich stopped but didn’t face the older man whom he considered a friend. “Give Kate a hug for me. I’m glad she’s finally safe.”
**
It was the middle of the afternoon, and Rich was grateful for the lack of people in the newsroom. He walked right into Dale’s office, regurgitated the events of his morning and watched as Dale’s eyes bulged out of his head and he started to salivate.
“And you were the only camera there?”
“Yeah,” he answered flatly. “I’ll give you copy and the footage, and then I’m gonna need a couple days to…recover.”
“Fine. Yeah. Done.” His head moved up and down with each new acceptance.
A computer would have been the fastest way to pound out the copy, but right now, Rich needed to feel close to Kate. Her desk was empty, her laptop at home with her. There were a dozen computers sitting unused but Rich parked his butt in her chair and began scribbling on a notepad.
Twenty minutes was all it took to have the story of what happened on the yellow, lined paper. He handed it to Dale. “You’ll need to send someone for soundbites, but here’s the copy for the voice-over. I’m outta here.”
Grateful that he’d managed to miss Nate, Jordan, and Olivia, Rich slid behind the wheel and hurried out of the parking lot. Luck had been on his side thus far and he wasn’t willing to press it.
He’d foolishly left Kate’s with only the clothes on his back and, although he wouldn’t have to work tomorrow, it would be nice to at least have a change of clothes and a toothbrush. He’d just stop by and grab a few things…. He knew he was lying to himself. All of those things could be purchased with one quick stop at Wal-Mart. What he wanted was to see Kate, to see if things had changed, to tell her she was safe now.
He used his key to open the front door and wondered if she’d request that he give it back when she kicked him to the curb. Kate was sitting on the couch, her arms wrapped around her legs, her forehead resting on her knees. She looked so be
autiful, so fragile. He wanted to rush to her and hold her, to relay the events of the afternoon. Instead, he cleared his throat and waited for her reaction.
She looked up, her eyes puffy and red—and full of complete surprise. “Rich,” she squealed. He’d never seen her move so fast in the months since she’d returned. She nearly flew across the room and threw her arms around his neck. Kisses covered his cheeks before lingering on his lips. “You’re okay.”
This was not the reception he expected, not that he was going to argue with it. “Yes, I’m okay.”
“I’ve been calling all day.”
Rich pulled his phone from his pocket and held the button to turn the power back on. “I was ah…out of the service area and…”
She cut him off with another kiss. “Listen Rich, I’ve done a lot of thinking today. A lot,” she added with a laugh. “I got a taste of what it would be like without you in my life. My mind can get pretty creative and I worried…” She shook her head. “All I know is that without you in my life, it’s not really worth much.”
A stab of panic pierced his heart. “Kate, never…never say anything like that again. Your life is worth so much.”
She shrugged. “I know, I’m just trying to say that I…”
Rich knew where this was going, and as much as he wanted to hear that she loved him and wanted them to have a future together, he wanted her to know that she didn’t have to fear Shea. She didn’t need to keep him around because she needed a live-in bodyguard. He placed his fingers on her lips and kissed the corners of her mouth. “Shea’s dead.”
“What?” she asked in a combination of shock and relief. “When?”
“Today. I got a tip and I…I was there when she stopped the police from taking her alive.”
Kate was full of surprises and this moment was no exception. “Are you okay?” The question came with no hint of gloating.
Rich nodded. “I’m just glad the whole thing’s over. So anyway, I’ll just grab my things.” He removed her arms from his neck and went down the hall to his room. Rich slid the drawer open and began to pull out a pair of jeans and boxers.
“Rich?” Kate asked from the doorway. “Did you listen to a word I said?” He chanced a glance at her face which was drawn into insecure lines. She walked to the bed and sat on the edge, then patted the spot next to her.
The bed dipped under his weight and Kate slid closer to him, only to move away. He worried that this was a bad idea until she lifted her leg and tucked it under the other while turning to face him. Her small hands grasped at his with gentle eagerness. “Rich, please look at me.”
He’d never been able to deny her, and this moment was no different. She was so beautiful.
“I spent most of the day today thinking Shea had gotten to you, that she’d finally gotten her revenge on me by taking you out of my life.” She explained about a letter she’d gotten in the mail, and Rich had to keep reminding himself that the threat was gone to keep from going ballistic. “In the hours that seemed to drag on forever, all I could think about was how things were left this morning and how I’d made the biggest mistake of my life by dragging this out for so long.” She sighed and squeezed his hands when he looked away. “I love you, Rich.”
“We both knew that already.”
“Shh.” She leaned forward and pressed her soft lips to his. “Please, let me finish.” He offered her a small nod then shifted to face her a little more. “I do know that you love this baby.” Her eyes made a subtle glance toward her stomach. “I also know that you’re capable of still loving this baby even if he is Jesse’s. I also know that it’s not fair to make you raise another man’s child.” Tears glistened on the edge of her already puffy eyes. “I won’t hate you if you decide it’s too much when we know the paternity of the baby, but until we know for sure…” she paused. “Rich, I need you. I love you.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He kissed her, his lips hard on hers. She sighed into his mouth, and the taste sent fire through his bloodstream. Needing to taste more of her, he traced the outside of her lip with his tongue. She opened to him and he plunged into her mouth, devouring her.
With the gentle pressure of his lips, she eased back onto the bed. He followed her, never breaking contact, careful to keep his weight off of her. Warm hands moved under his t-shirt, the cool air from the room blew across his back. He broke the kiss only long enough to tug the shirt from his body and toss it over his shoulder.
“Where were we?” he asked.
“Right here,” she purred, her hands gripped his face before a kiss he felt in his toes touched his lips. “And here,” she whispered as her tongue tickled down his neck causing a serious case of goose bumps to be raised. Among other things.
He growled and took both of her hands in one of his to pin her to the bed. “Is torture on the itinerary?”
Her big green eyes flashed then darkened with desire. “I’ve been a very bad girl, quite naughty to you. I think you should… Oh!” Her hands pulled from his grip and flew to her belly, although Rich had felt the kick that had left her breathless.
He kissed her lightly on the lips then lifted her shirt to press another one to her exposed belly. “Thank you for reminding us, little one. Damn pelvic rest.”
She groaned as her hands pounded the mattress. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Life was good.
Rich couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so happy, so content with everything. Had he ever?
His clothes were still in the guest room, but each night he slid into bed next to Kate and held onto her with all his strength. She had become special to him the second their eyes met and had captured his heart in only a few sentences. The time it had taken to come to this point had been more misery than ecstasy, but here they were.
The baby was a few short weeks away, and then life would be perfect. Kate would see that the paternity didn’t matter because Rich would be the baby’s daddy. He pulled the ring out of his underwear drawer and examined it for the thousandth time. He ran his finger over the shiny diamond and smiled.
He wanted to rush into the other room and slide the tiny piece of gold on her finger while she showered. Not the most romantic of proposals, so he would wait. He had a plan for how it would happen and couldn’t wait for the events that would lead to popping the big question.
“Rich?” Kate called from the bedroom.
He slid the ring back under the confines of the cotton underwear and called back, “In here, love.”
She appeared in the doorway, fully dressed, trying desperately to get the strap of her sandal to stay on her heel. “Have you seen my other shoe?”
Life had taken on a very married feel, completely comfortable. Hell, he’d resorted to helping her look for her shoes.
Yes, he thought, life was good.
Walking back into their room, he bent to the edge of the bed where she’d undressed the night before and lifted the bedspread from the floor. He dropped to his knees and leaned over to look under. There it was. The lost shoe was about eighteen inches under the bed. No wonder Kate couldn’t find it.
“Show off,” she grumbled as he handed it to her. “There’s no way I could have found that under there.”
His hand gripped her by the shoulders as he kissed her quickly on the lips. He then leaned to whisper in her ear, “Admit it, Kate, you need me.”
She reached around and filled her palm with one of his ass cheeks. “In more ways than one.” Her brow arched while a smirk lifted the side of her mouth.
He kissed that smirk. “If you don’t leave right now, two things are going to happen.”
“Oh, yeah?” she baited him.
“One, you’re going to be late.” A trail of wet kisses moved up her neck toward the place he knew made her crazy just under her ear.
“Um hum.” It sounded like a purr. Her dark lashes fell to cover her green eyes.
“And we’re going to break the pelv
ic rest rule.” His tongue traced her magic zone, and she melted against him.
“Damn pelvic rest,” she muttered on a sigh and he laughed. “I really…have to go.” It was obvious he’d had an effect on her by the way she hurried away from him. Her hands tugged on the hem of her skirt, smoothing at it. “Do I need to fix my lipstick?”
He raised a brow. “Come here, I’ll fix it for you.”
“No,” she said, holding up her hand, “I’ll do it myself. Just go fix something else.” Her feet moved as fast as they could in an attempt to get her away from him. When he followed her, she glanced over her shoulder. “Please Rich, I can’t…um…you’re too…”
Kate paused to gather her things, and Rich stepped up behind her, took her hips in his hands. “Too what?”
Her head fell loose on her neck as though she’d lost the battle. “Yummy,” she whispered.
The deep male arrogance in him flew through the roof. Never before had he ever been described as yummy. “Really?” he growled in her ear.
“Rich,” came the soft warning.
“Soon…”
A defeated groan blew through her lips. “You do know there’s six weeks of…no sex after the baby comes.”
Two-by-four to the head. “No, I, uh, well…” The playful tone of the room was sucked out as if by a super-powered vacuum cleaner. “I’ll wait. I love you,” he told her with a chaste kiss to the lips, “and I can wait another six weeks.”
He could wait. He’d wait an eternity for her to be his completely. Hell, it felt like he nearly had. Their road to happiness had been filled with potholes of every shape and size, some of them had taken up the whole damned road, but they would make it.
She stretched up on her toes, her belly rubbed lightly against his abdomen, and kissed him. “I love you, Rich.”
Those words were ones he would never tire of hearing from her. Over the last few weeks since the scare, and death of Shea, Kate had been quite verbal with her feelings. Rich loved this new side of her. She’d stopped hiding from him—and herself.
