“Well.” Rachelle pulled back, crossing her arms in front of her. “I’m not.” Her shoulders stiffened.
“Believe me, it’s understandable. You’re on the rebound, lost and alone. It was much the same for me.”
“I don’t care how it was for you. This is totally different.”
“Darling.” Richard stepped forward. “I know you’re convincing yourself that you love him, and he will step up and take care of you. Do the right thing and all, but believe me, he’s using you. A man like him can have any woman he wants. He doesn’t need a defective one.”
“That’s enough,” Britt’s voice sliced through. “I was letting you blab on because it was amusing but-”
“Britt, no.” This time it was Rachelle that cut the conversation. “Thank you, but I can handle this.” She shifted back toward Richard. “I am not defective, nor am I now or was I ever heartbroken over you. I never loved you.”
“Now, darling, you don’t mean that.”
“I do. I was hurt when you abandoned me when I needed you most, but I was not heartbroken. I was marrying you because everyone convinced me how perfect we were together, how wonderful you were and how fortunate I was. I wanted to be loved, and I thought you loved me.”
“I do love you and you don’t mean that.”
“She does,” Britt countered.
“Stay out of this. You don’t know what you’re talking about, and it doesn’t concern you.”
“Wrong on both accounts, I am part of this more than you are.”
“You’re just taking advantage of her,” Richard blurted.
“He is not.” Rachelle came to Britt’s defense.
“Thank you,” Britt whispered and Rachelle beamed back.
“Really. How long have you known him?”
“Almost three weeks.”
“Rachelle,” her brother sounded aghast.
“And you’re already in his bed. I had no clue you were so easy.”
“That’s it,” Britt stepped forward his fist clinched.
“Britt,” Rachelle stopped him reaching out her hand. Whether she heard him move to figure out where he was or she sensed him, he didn’t know but he changed directions, catching her outstretched fingers, bringing them to his lips in a deliberate show before he moved behind her encircling her with his arm.
“Let her go,” David burst out.
“David, it’s all right.”
“It’s not all right. This man is taking advantage of you, and you’re helpless to do anything about it.”
“She’s not helpless,” Britt said firmly.
“I’m not helpless.” They said in unison, and Britt squeezed her shoulders.
David snorted. “Get your hands off her. I want to know your intentions. She was innocent until you got your hands on her.”
“I am very aware of that.” Britt was starting to enjoy this but was trying to keep it in.
David had no such compulsion. “Then I expect you to step up and do the right thing.”
“Heavens,” Rachelle groaned.
“That’s not necessary,” Britt started to explain but was cut off.
“I think it is. You might be a rich and powerful man, but if it got around that you’re seducing an innocent, helpless, blind woman, I’m sure it would do some damage.”
“I’m not helpless,” Rachelle exploded. “Britt did not seduce me.” Then she blushed wiping all the anger from her face. Her voice lowered to a soothing tone. “David, if you’ll just listen there’s nothing to be concerned about with me or my reputation. Britt and I are married.”
“What!” Her brother’s reaction exploded from him.
Britt raised her hand to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles before extending it out for them to see the rings that were proof of their vows. “Rachelle and I are married.”
“Are you certain?” her brother gaped.
“Yes.” She smiled.
“I mean are you sure it was legal?”
“Yes.” Instead of getting mad she looked about to laugh. “Yes, we were married by Judge Kinade in his chambers at the courthouse.”
“You married her. Why?” Richard floundered.
“Because she’s beautiful, intelligent, kind and mainly because I love her.”
“But, but.” The man, who at one time was to be her husband, was at a loss for words, and he was forgotten.
“You love him.” Her brother was stunned. “You really married him.”
“Yes, to both.”
“But why?” He didn’t finish, there was no need. “You did it in secret because of the trouble that’s happening.”
“Yes, we decided it would be better to keep it quiet,” Rachelle said.
Britt picked up her explanation looking at Richard. “It can’t get out. Rachelle’s safety is paramount. He can destroy everything else I have. As long as Rachelle’s my wife, it doesn’t matter.”
“Then why marry her? Why not send her away?”
“I tried, but he went after her.”
“What?”
“I’m okay. Britt got there to rescue me in time.”
“So we decided the best way is to keep her with me. So we moved up our wedding plans. And I mean it when I say it better not get out. I don’t want this hitting the newspaper.” He looked to Richard.
“It won’t, will it, Richard?” This time the anger in her brother’s tone was directed some place other than Britt.
“I won’t tell a soul, I promise.”
“Good,” Britt said forcefully. “I’ll see you to the door.” He released Rachelle and moved to the entry, not giving the man a choice but to follow.
After a second of silence, David finally spoke. “Married, it’s hard to believe.”
“I know but don’t be angry. It was my choice. If I wanted a big wedding, Britt would have waited. I hope Mom and Dad and everyone won’t be too upset. We may have another ceremony later depending on how things turn out.”
“It’s just such a surprise. I think everyone will be okay after they get over the initial shock. Joann mentioned you said you went out to dinner with him, but she said it wasn’t serious. Then we left, and the last couple days no one caught you at your apartment when they called. All we had were the messages you’d leave for us.”
“Sorry. The man causing problems found out about us and went after me. I’m okay.” She hurried and added knowing he was about to jump on that. “Britt’s watching over me. That’s one of the reasons we got married in secret.”
“I understand.” Her brother moved to her, placing his arms around her. “You are happy.”
Rachelle relaxed finally feeling his acceptance. “Yes, I love Britt. I know it was fast, but I love him and feel he loves me.”
“All right then, I can accept that.”
“There is one more thing I have to tell you. Thursday, I’m going into surgery. There’s a specialist who has looked over my records, and he feels I’m a good candidate. It’s not a sure thing but a lot better odds than before.”
“Rachelle.” David hugged her. She didn’t see him look over her to Britt or the look of gratitude that gave Britt his first tingling of acceptance.
“She has a fifty percent chance of success.” Britt stepped forward.
“Rachelle, that’s amazing.”
“It’s not a sure thing,” she added cautiously and Britt understood that was her way of keeping it in perspective so if it wasn’t successful, she wouldn’t be crushed.
“But still, it’s better odds. This time you really have a chance. Have you told Mom and Dad yet?”
“No, I just found out, and I didn’t want to drop either bombshell on them as just a message.”
Her brother nodded, then for her benefit added. “I can understand that. They’re going to be so excited. They’ve tried to figure out ways to come up with the money for you. The bank just won’t help.”
“They don’t need to worry about that. I talked to the insurance company,” Britt put in.
>
David nodded in understanding again. “So what’s with this psycho guy attacking your company? I saw a little about it on the TV before we left. You know Joann did say you sounded a little different when you talked about Clair … Britt.”
“Why don’t we move into the kitchen, and you can join us for breakfast, and we’ll tell you everything? It started with Rachelle answering the phone and taking the first message when he called.”
“Yeah, Joann knew about that.”
“To make it short, it didn’t take me long to realize how incredible she is. It was a nice surprise to find out Rachelle was falling in love with me, too. My plan wasn’t to hurry her, but the psycho developed an obsession on her, and she became a target. I tried to send her away, but he already figured out she was important to me and still went after her. So the best way to keep her safe seemed to be to keep her with me.”
Now that her brother decided he wasn’t taking advantage of his sister, Britt felt that they got along well. They talked for almost an hour until he had to get ready to go into the office.
Chapter Fifteen
Rachelle came awake with the phone ringing. She felt Britt shift, then the arm that rested over her waist moved as he slid away. A feeling of unease seeped in as the warmth of his body faded. There was a click of the light switch before he answered the phone. The unease was swamped by a wave of dread, and she reached for him. Tension radiated from him. His arm was like touching tempered steel. She wanted to stroke away the rigidness but didn’t get the chance.
“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.” He swung his legs off the bed, and Rachelle heard the phone drop to the nightstand.
“Britt?”
The mattress sank as he knelt back down. He caught her hand bringing it to his lips. “I’m sorry it woke you. Go back to sleep.”
“What’s happened?” Her trepidation climbed.
“They had signs of a break-in at one of the warehouses. I need to go check on it for a few minutes. It shouldn’t be long.”
“I’ll come.” She tried to slide from under the covers, but he held her down.
“There’s no need. Just go back to sleep. You’ll be safe here. I’ll alert security in the hall." He kissed her, getting off the bed again.
Rachelle followed him up. “I’m coming with you.”
“Rachelle.”
“No, please don’t try to leave me behind.”
“It won’t be like last time, I promise, you’ll be safe.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about you. Please, Britt, I have a bad feeling about this.” As she said the words, she knew it was true. She was afraid, afraid that if he walked out the door he would never come back.
Maybe it was just tension from three days of not hearing from the psycho, maybe it was the frustration of not being able to locate the voice though she had talked to almost every man in the company, or maybe it was just the nagging feeling that they were missing something, but she knew something was going to happen. She didn’t want to be away from him. She knew Britt was experiencing similar sensations. It had been in the way he kept her close, the way he touched her, the way he had made love to her. It was as if he was afraid she would be snatched away from him at any minute.
“Please Britt.” The silence was deafening then she heard him move to her. His hands framed her face. “I love you.” He kissed her. “Stay right by me and you follow exactly what I say.”
Twenty minutes later they pulled to a stop. When Britt didn’t move to turn off the car, Rachelle broke the silence that they had driven there in. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m not sure. There’s a security car here but that’s it. I expected more. I think I’m going to drive back to the main building then call security and the police from there.” He shifted the car in reverse and started to back up then stopped.
“Wait a minute, there’s Carlton. He’s at the side door. The others must be parked on the other side of the building.” He pulled the car forward before he turned it off and came around to get her.
“Stay close,” he said as he wrapped an arm around her.
He tensed when he caught Carlton’s sneer as he looked at Rachelle. He knew the man was thinking they had just come from bed, but he didn’t like the derogatory gleam in his brother-in-law’s eye. He was going to have to tell his family soon that they were married. Right now it was a private pleasure he held tight in his heart.
“Britt.” His brother-in-law acknowledged him while ignoring Rachelle.
“Carlton, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I decided that I might be able to help when they called the house. So I headed over and then tried to reach you.”
“Where is everyone?”
“In the upper office.” He held the door for them, letting them enter first.
Lights flooded the building, but it didn’t feel right. Rachelle clung to his side. There was a slight tremor in her touch. She was as nervous as he was.
“It’s so quiet,” she whispered, leaning into him.
As soon as she said the words, he knew that was what was nagging him. The building was totally silent. It didn’t fit. Even if the men waited in the back office, there should have been some kind of noise, not an echoing nothingness.
“You made good time to beat us here.”
“I had just come in, and there wasn’t any traffic,” his brother-in-law answered.
“I wonder why security called the house? They usually call my cell.” His mind was starting to think of things, and he didn’t like what it was coming up with.
“Maybe it was turned off or the battery’s dead.”
Britt knew neither was true.
“Why don’t you check it?” the man suggested.
Britt slid his hand in his pocket fingering the phone. “I left it in the car.” He stopped with Rachelle beside him. “Carlton, why don’t you go on, I want to go back and get it. Come on Rachelle.” He started to turn. Carlton moved in front of him. For some reason, Britt wasn’t surprised to see the gun in his hand.
“Hand me the phone.” He motioned with the gun. “Or I may have to shoot Miss Harris.”
Britt heard and felt Rachelle’s gasp. He was tempted to make a dive for him but knew before he reached Carlton, the gun would go off, and at the distance, there was no way it would miss him or Rachelle. Britt pulled his cell phone from his pocket and tossed it to the side hoping Carlton would follow the motion. He didn’t. “Yours too, Miss Harris.”
“I don’t have a phone.”
“Tsk, tsk, then what’s that in your pocket?”
“My sonar.” She lifted out the palm size device showing it before dropping it back in her pocket.
“What is this, Carlton?” Britt drew the attention back to him.
“I think we both know that’s a dumb question. Keep walking back toward the stairs.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I think you can figure it out too. I know how you feel about me. You’d like to get rid of me. There’s no way you would ever let me move up. And now with her …” He motioned to Rachelle. “I’m afraid things are in for a change, and Tiffany may not be set to inherit after you. I dare not wait. It’s just an added bonus that you brought Miss Harris with you. I wasn’t expecting that you would bring her here.”
“So you’ve been planning on getting rid of me for a while.”
“I had thought of it but didn’t think I’d have to worry about it for a while. That was until at the house last weekend. I realized I couldn’t wait.”
“You’ll never get away with this.”
“That sounds so cliché, but I think we both know I will. The police are looking for a psycho. They’ll never look at me.”
Britt scanned the area trying to see something that would give them a chance. He wished he’d insisted that Rachelle stay home. He wanted her away from there. Never had he figured Carlton was the one behind all that was happening. He never seemed like he had it in him to play t
he games. He always seemed more like the type to take advantage of things. Oh, he’d plot and scheme, but not to take direct action, especially if it was on the messy side, which murdering them would be.
He had to think. He couldn’t let Carlton kill them. He wasn’t going to give up on his life with Rachelle. He wasn’t going to give up on her now that he’d finally found her. Only there was nothing he could see that would help.
“Keep moving,” Carlton ordered, pulling his attention back to the man behind him.
“Carlton−”
“Now!” Carlton snapped and Rachelle jumped.
Britt eyed a stack of packing crates they just passed and wondered about trying the old trick that always worked in the movies of tipping something over on the bad guy, but again, there was just no way he could do it before Carlton shot him. He needed a distraction. As if Rachelle agreed with the thought, he felt her give a gentle squeeze on his hand letting him know she was with him. He glanced her way, amazed at her calmness. She didn’t question him at all. The look on her face was of total confidence. She was not going to give up her life with him either, and she would back him or help him in any way she could.
Britt glanced back at the crates. Maybe he could do something like the movie move if Rachelle could help him with a little distraction. He shifted his fingers in her hand. When she gave him a little squeeze to acknowledge the move, he was sure she was with him. He straightened two fingers and made a walking movement on them, then tried to demo one of his fingers stumbling and dropping to a knee. When no squeeze came, he made it again. This time Rachelle closed her hand up over his, letting him know she understood what he meant. Britt held her hand tight, judging the distance. He gave a slight jerk on her hand, and Rachelle reacted immediately. Stumbling, she dropped to one knee.
This time Carlton did react. His attention turned to her. He cursed. “Get her up.”
Britt was already moving but in the other direction, throwing his weight into the stack of crates. Pain spiked through his shoulder on contact, but it had the desired effect, the heavy containers tumbled. A shot echoed through the building as Carlton jerked back out of the way. Britt expected to feel a bullet rip into his flesh instead the sound thudded into the containers that fell on his brother-in-law. Britt’s first instinct was to rush him, but one look at the gun swinging back his direction had him grabbing Rachelle’s hands, pulling her up. She ran with him, following him like he was leading her in a dance. He tugged her around some equipment just as another shot sounded, and the bullet hit with a metallic twang.
Blind Witness Page 19
