Second Chances

by Phelps, K. L.

  "S...she would seem nervous about the idea?"

  Nathan turned away from the window and looked at her. She was still clinging to the pillow.

  "You were nervous about coming here too, weren't you?"

  She nodded but said nothing.

  "Yeah I guess nervousness sounds about right. It would turn to anger if I pushed the idea."

  "So she never agreed to go?"

  "No, she did. We discussed it for over a week. A little each day. I didn't push, we just talked it out. My thought was that she couldn't get passed the idea of the fire. Her last memory here had been that damn fire and it had shaken her more than she let on."

  Paige listened intently, her eyes unfocused and Nathan was certain she was thinking about the fire as well.

  "But like I said, we discussed it over an extended period and finally decided to just run down for a day trip. We were going to come on a Friday and if we got here and she wasn't having fun then we'd head back, but if she was enjoying herself then we'd find a place to spend the weekend."

  Nathan turned and looked back out the window, his shoulders slumping a little.

  "I actually thought she was getting excited about the trip. Still nervous, but excited as well. She had talked to Tanya a few times that week. She said that Tanya thought it was a wonderful idea and wished she could get away to join us. We never got the chance to make the trip."

  He leaned is head against the window, the cool glass on his forehead. He opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. The memories still seemed so fresh. He took a step back and sat on the edge of the bed, keeping his back to Paige.

  "It was Thursday night. She said she was going to run out for a few last minute items. It was a day trip, what last minute items? I never asked her. Honestly never gave it any thought until much later. I had asked her if she wanted me to go with her, but she had said no. In fact, she was quite adamant that she didn't want me to go with her. It was just before eight that she left. I started to get a bit worried around nine. By ten I was crawling the walls. I must have dialed her cell phone every three minutes."

  He stood back up at the window again.

  "It was after eleven when the police arrived at the house. They in...informed me that my car had been in a serious accident. The driver had died, but because of the physical trauma and th..the fire damage, visual identification would be impossible."

  Paige had stood up and walked behind him. She began to reach out but pulled back, unsure what she should do. Unsure what she could do to comfort him.

  "Dental records confirmed it was Paige. The examination of the accident scene was extensive. Investigators reported that eye witnesses said that she had swerved into oncoming traffic and slammed head on into an eighteen-wheeler. The car had crumpled and exploded almost at the instant of impact. She hadn't worn her seatbelt and they said the airbags had been disabled. I was in such a daze at the time, I couldn't believe such a thing. They searched her computer and found several searches on how to disable airbags. I couldn't believe that Paige had done that and neither had one of the investigators. He'd thought that I might have done it, that I...I had planned the thing somehow."

  Paige placed her hands on his shoulders, tears ran down her face.

  "I remember flying into a rage at the suggestion. If it hadn't been for Toby, I might have tried to beat the hell out of that guy. Toby knew what she had meant to me and was able to convince them there was no way I would even dream of such a thing. Of course, they had to investigate every possibility. Their tech guy was able to recover some deleted items, one of which was a suicide note. It seemed to convince them, but not me. No, there was no way she would ever have done such a thing. She was so happy. We were so happy. After everything she'd dealt with...she just respected life too much to do that. They said there was no signs that she had even attempted to apply the brakes."

  Paige hugged him tightly from behind, burying her head between his shoulders. She wasn't sure which of them was sobbing more.

  "I didn't then, nor do I now believe for even a single instant that Paige killed herself."

  She held him tightly, afraid to let go. The room seemed to be spinning around her. How had this woman relayed the story of her life to Nathan? That fire happened to me, not her, right? And yet his Paige had told him about it before she herself had experienced it. How was it possible? Had she killed herself? Why would she? Could the same thing happen to her? What could ever make her kill herself? Or was Nathan right and it was murder. If they had killed his Paige, would they, whoever they were, try to do the same thing to her?

  The room continued to spin around her. The edge of her vision dimmed and then the floor was rushing up to meet her.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  Under the covers and the cover of darkness, Jason massaged his aching muscles. He had spent the first hour after he'd been put to bed just flexing his fingers and rubbing his palms. It had been excruciating, but compared to the pain he was in now, that first hour had been near bliss. His right leg hurt more than any other part of his body. He struggled to remember why. Something had happened to it. How long ago? A week? A month? Years? He fought the fog in his head, but it was a losing battle. It might come to him eventually but it wasn't something he could fight through by shear force of will alone.

  "A warning," he said aloud and startled himself. He looked around the room and almost laughed when he realized he was the source of the words.

  He nodded. A warning indeed. That was it. His leg had been a warning. But from whom and about what?

  He flexed his legs some more and his knees throbbed. He welcomed the pain, he knew it was a good sign, though he wasn't sure why.

  He pulled back the sheets and slowly worked himself into a sitting position. He sat there for a minute and listened. He knew they checked on him during the night. On him and the others. But he wasn't sure how often. He thought that they had been by only about thirty minutes before, but he did not trust his sense of time. He heard no footfalls outside, but sometimes he didn't. Some of them wore soft-soled shoes, some even slippers.

  He decided to risk it and pushed off the mattress. He wobbled for a minute, his legs feeling like jello. He cursed as he dropped back onto the mattress. He walked almost every day. Sarah worked with him on range of motion exercises, helping maintain muscle tone. Walking almost always involved some pain, especially getting up from a sitting position, but he was always able to do it. He just never did it without assistance and it never hurt this much.

  It must have something to do with that stuff she'd given him. Julie, he reminded himself. The stuff Julie had given him. Whatever it had been, it had definitely caused the pain. He was certain of that, but he was also certain she had done it for a good reason. He just wished he knew what those reasons were. What infuriated him more was that he was certain that somewhere inside he did know. It was so hard to think through the pain.

  "Okay, once more. For Paige," he said as he rubbed his legs and again tried to stand. His legs wobbled again, but held. He clenched his fists and shook them in victory. The tears in his eyes a mixture of pain and triumph.

  He moved his left leg forward a little, then pulled his right one. It wasn't a pretty step, but it was a step. He ignored the pain and took another. He made it to the door, held onto the doorknob for a minute while he caught his breath and then turned around and slowly, painfully made his way back. He turned and dropped down onto the bed. He was bathed in sweat and his muscles screamed, but still he managed to smile.

  In the hall he heard the soft clicking of shoes. He lay back on the bed and tried to lift his legs. They wouldn't move. He knew it was important that he not get caught. There would be too many questions. Questions he certainly couldn't answer. He wasn't sure who would be asking those questions, but he knew that whoever it was wouldn't be someone who had his best interests at heart. He reached out and took hold of the right leg of his pajamas and pulled. He swung the leg into bed. He was breathing hard now, the pain so intens
e, his heart thundering in his chest. He reached and grabbed the left leg and pulled, but couldn't lift it.

  The steps were getting closer. From the next room over, he heard the door open and then close.

  "Come on, please," he hissed to himself. He pulled with all his might, his leg lifted and he swung it into bed just as the door opened and light from the hallway poured in. Jason lay as still as possible. He tried to control his breathing, but between the pain and exertion he was huffing and puffing. He coughed. It was a thick hard cough that went on for almost a minute, when he stopped he had managed to slow his breathing a bit.

  "We'll have to have respiratory take a look at you tomorrow. Maybe get a chest x-ray." The voice was soft, kind. Jason heard the sound of a pencil on paper and then the door shut and he was plunged back into the comfort of the darkness.

  Jason closed his eyes and sighed. He was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep, but he forced himself to flex his legs again. There was still much to be done and he needed to be ready. For Julie. For Paige. For himself. He needed to be ready.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  A short while later, they left their stakeout spot and went a few streets over. Cameron arranged for a set of rooms at the Grand Imperial Hotel. Linda felt like a princess as soon as she'd entered the building. She knew Newport was famous for the decadent mansions and while she hadn't visited any, she was certain the hotel's decor was a match for any of them.

  Her room sent chills racing through her. From the hand carved bed to the luxurious silk sheets, the sheer opulence was overwhelming. She imagined pulling Cameron into her bed and had almost suggested that they share a room. He left her at her door with instructions to be ready at four the next morning. She hid her disappointment as best she could, yawning in fact. She hadn't realize how much the time change had effected her until she got ready for bed. She slid under the covers, imagined Cameron lying next to her and moments later was gently snoring with a smile on her lips.

  Night went too quickly. Though she was thrilled to hear Cameron's voice in the morning, it was not how she imagined it would be. He called into her room at three forty-five and told her he would be there to get her in fifteen minutes. Several thoughts ran through her head, but she slapped herself, dismissed her fantasies, then got up and dressed. She realized she really did need that Hawaii trip or at least the parts of the trip she had been imagining the most.

  Exactly fifteen minutes later, he was at her door. They quickly exited the hotel. She shuddered in the cool air of the autumn morning and was glad when they got in the car and Cameron turned on the heat.

  They wove through the streets, Linda without a clue where they were and thankful she hadn't been asked to drive. Cameron found a spot to park which he hoped would allow them to see the cars coming and going from the hotel.

  They'd been sitting for about thirty minutes when Linda began to dose off. She tried to fight it, but with only five hours of sleep and the massive time change, her body was fighting against her.

  "We are likely very early. I don't actually think they will be heading out just yet. Go ahead and sleep if you can. I'll wake you when I need you." She was his only backup and he needed her as well rested as possible. He silently cursed himself for leaving so early. He was tired as well, but he hadn't been able to sleep. The entire situation bothered him. Dillinger's involvement and the restrictions he'd imposed had left his mind racing and he'd tossed and turned. This could have been ended quickly if he hadn't been strong-armed by Dillinger. That bastard was just looking for an excuse to shut him down. They needed to end this soon. He needed this to be done so he could regroup, reorganize and begin a new plan. But he needed to know what had gone wrong and needed to know if Paige and Nathan were in contact with anyone else, anyone who might be working against him.

  Now that she'd been given permission, Linda found she couldn't sleep. He was being so nice to her. Had he forgiven her screw up? His words from the other day still echoed in her mind. She was feeling quite flushed and she didn't think it was from the car's heater. She almost laughed when a thought entered her mind and try as she might she could not dismiss it.

  She spent the next few minutes with her eyes closed, breathing softly in and out as evenly as she could, doing her best to mimic sleep. She slumped a little in her seat, coming to lean against Cameron. He smelled so good. She shifted a little, still faking sleep, and allowed her arm to slide over her body and into Cameron's lap. She felt him startle at her touch, but he did nothing to remove her hand. Encourage and emboldened, she slowly started to stroke his thigh. She could feel him through his pants and he shifted a bit in his seat.

  Doing her best to sound as if she were talking in her sleep she murmured, "Oh yes. Right there, Cameron."

  She continued for a moment, thrilled at the thought that Cameron might be enjoying her actions.

  "Keep going, Julie," he whispered in return.

  She struggled not to react, as jealous anger flared. She fake snored and turned away, pulling her hand from his lap.

  In the dark of the car, Cameron smirked and shook his head, while angry, embarrassed tears rolled down Linda's face.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  She woke in his arms and tried to recall what happened. Nathan had told her about his wife's death or suicide. Whichever. Her mind had gone into overdrive, overload. And then? She reached up and touched the small knot on her forehead. Then she had blacked out and slammed her head on the floor.

  It was all coming back to her now. She remembered the look of concern in his eyes as he'd knelt over her. His incredible caring eyes. She had insisted she was all right but hadn't been able to stand immediately. Her legs had still been wobbly. He had scooped her off the ground and placed her on the bed. He had suggested they go to a hospital, but she refused. He had had her follow his finger as he moved it in front of her face then asked her how many fingers she saw. When she had answered all his questions correctly he had relaxed, but only slightly. He had felt the bump on her forehead and she couldn't help but wince. He had run and gotten ice, wrapped it in a towel and held it against her head.

  After the ice had melted he put the towel aside and had begun to get up, but she had clung to him. Her mind was still racing and she felt safer with him next to her. She had asked him to hold her, just until she fell asleep. She had scooted over in bed, making room for him. She had curled up next to him and he'd put his arms around her. As it turned out, he had fallen asleep first.

  She squeezed him gently and was surprised she was smiling. With everything that had happened, how could she be smiling? How could she find comfort in cuddling with a stranger? Was he really a stranger anymore? Sure they had known each other only a few days, but he was the realist person she knew. She wasn't sure she trusted any of her memories from before she'd met him. Linda certainly hadn't been quite right. Somehow Nathan's wife had had most of her memories. So much of what she remembered about Newport was different. Could she really trust any of her memories?

  She didn't know how long she'd been lying there, but when she looked up Nathan was looking down at her, a smile on his face as well. She actually had to fight the urge to lean up and kiss him. She blushed when she wondered if he was fighting a similar urge and realized the part of her hoped he was.

  He reached out and gently ran a hand over her forehead, stopping on the small knot.

  "How does that feel this morning?"

  She placed her hand over his.

  "Fine. You did an excellent job."

  "You had me worried."

  "Sorry."

  He chuckled. "Don't be. It certainly wasn't your fault."

  They lapsed into a comfortable silence and both of them wondered if they couldn't just spend the day as they were, wrapped in each others arms. It was Nathan who finally stirred. He reluctantly slid out of her arms and sat on the edge of the bed and sighed.

  "Do we really have to?" The tone of Paige's voice was remorseful.

  Nathan nodded and stoo
d up. "I'm afraid so."

  She pulled the covers over her head and said in her best child's voice, "But I don't want to."

  Nathan laughed and pulled the covers back and she pretended to try and bite his fingers and was rewarded with another smile.

  "Is that your way of asking for breakfast first?"

  Paige frowned, all humor gone.

  "No. I don't know what we are going to find today, but I honestly think if I eat anything I might throw up."

  Nathan nodded. "Would you like the shower first?"

  She shrugged, frowned, then tossed back the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. "I guess."

  "I'm going to run down and get some coffee. Would you like some?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.

  She shook her head no. "Can you get me a Diet Coke? I prefer my caffeine with bubbles."

  Nathan smiled and headed for the door. "One Diet Coke coming right up."

  She frowned as the door closed behind him. Were they really going to do this? Did they have to? She was tempted to suggest they just run off together and wondered if he might actually say yes.

  "You're dreaming," she said to herself as she got up. The room seemed to spin a bit and she put her arms out to steady herself. When the room settled down and she was certain it would stay that way, she walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. The knot on her head wasn't that big, certainly not as big as it felt, and she doubted most people would even notice.

  "No matter how much you look like his wife, he knows you aren't," she said to her reflection. "And even if he is attracted to you. And," she smiled at the mirror, "even if you like him, he isn't going to just let this go. He wants to know what happened to her. Has to know what happened to her."

  She lowered her head and sighed. "And we have to know what is going on with us. Don't we?" She waited for her reflection to comment, but it apparently wasn't feeling too talkative this morning. She reached into the shower, turned it on, slipped out of her clothes and then into the warm water.