Action erupted.
The SWAT team had arrived.
Charles watched as officers swarmed toward the house in silent fashion planting themselves around the perimeter. Alan would not be getting out of that house through any of the doors or windows.
Charles stepped out of the van and watched, praying Demi was all right.
One of the officers with a megaphone yelled, “Alan Gregor, we have you surrounded. Let your hostage go and come out of the house.”
Charles waited for a response.
Nothing.
Would he harm Demi when he realized he had nowhere to go?
Gut in a knot, heart beating fast enough to make him light-headed, Charles continued to watch. And wait.
* * *
“How did they find me!” Alan screamed as the door to her prison slammed open. Demi held herself rigid. If he hit her again, she wouldn’t be able to function. She was barely managing it now.
Passing out would not help the situation. Alan paced, the gun held at his side. He turned on her. “How did they know?” His eyes narrowed and he lifted the gun to point it at her. “You told them.”
Demi’s heart fluttered. Fear strangled her. “How would I do that, Alan? You threw my cell phone away and I’ve been with you since we left. I didn’t tell them anything, I promise. And remember? The night of the reception? You told me we were neighbors. Charles was sitting there listening.” She kept her words calm, praying they were the right words and wouldn’t send him off on another tangent.
He stopped. “I did?” Then he gripped his head with both hands, the gun mashed against his skull. “No, I didn’t! I wouldn’t say that!” He calmed so fast she blinked. He said, “But you’re right. You couldn’t tell them. And you wouldn’t, would you? Because you want to be with me, right?”
“Right.” She swallowed hard at the lie and then took a chance. “Do you want me to tell them to go away? That I’m here because I want to be?”
He jerked. “You would do that?”
“If it would help, I would.” Help her get out of here.
He walked over and grabbed her upper arm and yanked her toward the door. “Stay in front of me.”
She obeyed, climbing the stairs, her heart beating fast as she could almost taste her freedom.
One thing for sure, she wasn’t going back down those steps alive.
At the top, they turned left and he steered her with a rough hand toward the front door. “They’ve got me surrounded,” he hissed. “I know how this works. The only way I’m going to get out of this is if you make them believe you want to be here.”
She stayed calm, heart racing, knowing that Charles was probably somewhere outside the door. She knew that with all her heart.
The phone rang and Alan jerked. The movement jarred her head and she winced. He either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “Answer it.”
She reached out a shaking hand. “Hello?”
“Is this Demi?”
“Yes, Ryan, hi. It’s good to hear your voice.”
“Are you all right?”
With a look at Alan’s wild eyes, Demi forced a lightness into her voice. “Of course I’m all right.”
“Is he listening in?”
Demi flicked a glance at Alan whose eyes roamed the room, never resting, never still. She needed to send a message to Ryan. What could she say? “No, no, I assure you, I’m fine. How are you?”
“He’s not listening.”
“That’s right, we just got here a few minutes ago.”
A pause. “My sniper needs a visual. The den blinds are partially open. Can you maneuver Alan in front of them?”
“I don’t know. Possibly.”
“Tell me where he’s standing, can you do that?”
Alan gestured for her to give him the phone.
She hurried to say, “Sure, but um…he wants to talk to you.”
Demi held out the phone to her kidnapper and he snatched it from her. “Hello?” He paused and frowned. Then said, “She’s here because she wants to be. No, you can’t speak to her again. You’ve already heard that she’s fine.” Alan listened a few more minutes then rolled his eyes with a huff. “Here, she’ll tell you one more time, then you leave. Right?”
Demi took the phone back and pressed it against her ear. “Yes, I want to be here.”
Alan motioned with the gun and hissed. “Tell them something useful. Convince them you want to be here.”
She nodded and swallowed hard. Holding the handset, she moved toward the den area, the open blinds Ryan had mentioned. Alan stayed right on her, following her, lapping up her words. “I…I mean, why wouldn’t I? He’s got a beautiful kitchen with granite countertops.” Alan’s chest puffed a bit and he smiled, nodding his approval. She moved again and so did Alan. “And he’s obviously spent time caring for the place.” She hitched a breath as Alan moved closer, his smile growing. Demi touched the mantel, praising the craftsmanship. Alan backed up and let her regale them with what a good job he’d done with the house.
“And the…uh…window in the living area is just gorgeous. I know you can’t see in because of the drapes, but about two feet to your left is Alan’s…um, his favorite painting.” Would they get it? Couldn’t they see him by now? She continued. “And I’m just loving it because from where I’m standing over near the fireplace, I can see…”
The window she’d just described exploded.
Alan screamed and went down.
The front door imploded and Demi launched herself toward it.
“Demi!” Alan’s yell of fury propelled her faster.
And then she slipped.
She felt her neck jerk in a whiplash as Alan’s hand snagged itself in her hair. Pain like she’d only felt the night Alan had beat her and left her for dead ricocheted through her. The men in the SWAT gear with rifles pointed faded from her vision.
Alan jammed the gun against the side of her head and everyone froze. Without a word to the men yelling at him to put the gun down, he started backing up. A warm wetness soaked into the back of her right shoulder.
Alan had been shot, but not bad enough to slow him down.
His ragged breathing echoed in her ear. He called her a few choice names then told her, “Keep going. Into the kitchen. Should have just done this to begin with, but I was hoping you could convince them…make them go away…leave us alone. Now we’re going to be running forever. Stupid. Stupid.”
“Alan, please…” She tried to interrupt his senseless mutterings.
The pressure of the barrel increased. “Move. Now.” She backed up like he’d ordered.
Into the large walk-in pantry.
* * *
Charles held back and watched, weapon ready as the SWAT team flooded the house. He’s heard the scream as the shot entered the window, but now he could make no sense of the jumble of yells coming from inside the house.
He itched to be in the middle of it and for the first time since returning from Iraq, he wished he’d joined the police force.
“Come on, come on.”
Then he heard, “He’s gone!”
Charles froze. No. He was in there. They’d talked to Demi, taken her cue and shot through the window where she had told them to shoot.
Charles looked at the house next door. Demi’s house.
And saw movement from the shed.
The door opened and Charles saw Alan push Demi in front of him out into the sunlight.
He raced toward them, weapon pointed, just as two SWAT team members saw them, too. Charles hollered, “Freeze, Alan!”
Alan whirled and yanked Demi in front of him.
* * *
Demi saw Charles sprinting for them. F
elt the barrel of the gun back against her head.
And had had enough. “No!” she cried as she went limp.
The move pulled Alan off balance. Her hair felt like it was being pulled out by the roots.
More gunshots echoed around her and then silence.
“Demi!”
“Charles,” she whispered. Why did he sound so far away?
She felt his arms go around her and pull her away from Alan’s dead body.
TWENTY-TWO
Charles held her against him, his heart racing. “Demi,” he whispered against her battered cheek.
She wilted and if he hadn’t had his arms around her, she would have hit the ground. Paramedics on standby now rushed to Demi.
“Ma’am? Can we check you out?”
Charles wanted to tell them he’d do it himself, that he never wanted to let her go, but she pulled away and sank onto the gurney one of the paramedics had rolled toward him.
“He just hit me. It’ll heal,” she said, her voice dull, defeated.
“I’m a doctor. She needs X-rays,” Charles insisted.
The man nodded. “I agree. We’ll transport her.”
“I’m going with you.” Charles climbed in the back and let the one paramedic do his job while the other drove. Charles watched Demi, concerned with her silence, the empty look in her eyes.
But the fact that she held his hand with no apparent inclination to let go gave him hope.
Once Demi was settled in at the emergency department, Charles waited outside the curtain. A rather new and unsettling experience for him. In the future he vowed to have a little more compassion for those waiting on this side.
“How is she?”
Owen’s voice intruded and Charles turned to find Ryan with him. “Hey, she’s all right, I think. Thanks for everything you guys did.”
Ryan slapped Charles on the back. “You’re the hero. You’re the one who spotted them coming out of the shed.”
Owen shook his head. “Who would have figured? He had a set of stairs leading from the pantry in the kitchen, down then over and back up into the shed. Very weird dude.”
“I thought that shed looked out of place where it was located, but…” Charles glanced toward the curtain that sheltered Demi. “It doesn’t matter now. I’m just glad she’s all right.”
Owen looked at Ryan. “You want to tell him or you want me to?”
Charles lifted a brow. “Tell me what?”
Ryan said, “You’ve been cleared in Olivia’s murder.”
At first, Charles couldn’t move. Then relief exploded through him as he said, “What? How? When?”
“Today. Dad called while we were headed over here. We filled him in on all the excitement then he said the DNA report came back. There were two different DNA samples on the rock that was found at the murder scene. The one that’s been labeled the murder weapon. One of them was a match for Olivia’s DNA, the other one is definitely not yours.”
Charles wasn’t sure what to say, what to think. For so long, the word murderer had been an albatross around his neck.
“Thanks, guys.”
“Expect to be flooded with apologies by Fitzgerald Bay residents,” Ryan said. “By Meghan Henry, too.”
Charles felt months of tension leave his shoulders. Before anyone could speak, the doctor stepped from behind the curtain. “You can see her now, Charles.”
“Thanks.” Charles looked at his brothers. “Excuse me.”
Then he was standing by Demi’s bed. She had her eyes closed, her head turned away from him.
“Demi?” She rolled her head to look at him and he gave an inward wince at her battered face. He took her hand. “Hi.”
She blinked up at him and licked her lips. “Who are you?”
Charles’s heart hit his toes—until he saw the twinkle in her green eyes. He groaned. “You got me.”
Her lips twitched. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
He leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips. A soft, lingering kiss filled with all the love bursting through his heart.
She gave a small sigh as he pulled away. Then she frowned. “How can you stand to look at me? I resemble some horror-movie monster.”
Through the lump in his throat, he said, “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world to me.”
* * *
Demi felt the tears leak from the corners of her eyes. “I love you, Charles,” she whispered.
“I love you, Demi.” He gave a low chuckle. “I can’t believe I’m saying those words, but I mean each one of them.”
Brilliant joy erupted within her. “I want to call my parents.”
He grinned. “I already did.”
“What do you mean?”
He flushed and looked so much like Aaron, she lifted a brow then winced at the move. Still, she asked, “Charles, what did you do?”
“I…um…asked your father for permission to marry you.”
Demi felt her breath catch and for a long moment she stared into those gorgeous blue eyes. “Really?”
“Really.”
“What did he say?” She couldn’t imagine. Her father was her protector, the man she’d looked up to all her life. What would he say about her marrying a man she’d only known for a short time. A man her parents hadn’t even met yet?
“He said he’d let me know after he met me. Then I happened to mention I had two-year-old twins and he offered to bring the minister to the house.”
Demi burst out laughing then groaned as her head reminded her that wasn’t a good move. But it didn’t diminish her joy one bit. “They’ve dreamed of grandchildren for a long time.” She blinked at the sudden surge of tears and whispered, “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Charles gently sat beside her on the bed and leaned over for another sweet kiss. Then he placed his forehead against hers, smiled into her eyes and whispered back, “Believe it.”
* * * * *
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for joining me on Demi and Charles’s journey to find God and love for one another. This book is part of a continuity series so there was one issue that was left unresolved at the end of the story. I hope you’ll find the last book and see how everything works out in the end. :)
As always, it’s an honor to write these stories, to create the characters and breathe life into them. To watch them grow and learn as they deal with what life hands them. Truthfully, even though these characters aren’t real, they still teach me! They remind me that God is an incredible God and that He loves me unconditionally. I need that reminder often! I pray that if you’re going through a tough time right now, that you will cling to God and let Him walk with you through it.
Until next time, God Bless,
Lynette Eason
Questions for Discussion
Demi works for Charles and is warned about him being a suspect in a murder investigation. Do you think she was foolish to take the job without knowing for sure whether he killed his former nanny or not?
Charles’s wife left him when things got too hard. Instead of sticking around and trying to work things out, she ran. What do you do when things get hard? Who do you turn to?
What was your favorite scene in this book? Why?
What did you think of Demi’s decision not to get involved with Charles while she still didn’t know her identity? Did you think it made sense? Why?
Demi wasn’t sure how she felt about God simply because she couldn’t remember whether she believed in Him or not. Yet her first inclination was to pray. Do you find that believable? Why or why not?
Demi is ove
rwhelmed by the large Fitzgerald family and yet she wants to belong. Have you ever felt like an outsider looking in? What was your reaction?
What do you think about someone who is so obsessed with his own world, his own goals that it doesn’t matter who he hurts in his quest to achieve those goals? Do you know anyone like this?
Was there a character in the book that you identified with more than the others? If so, who and why?
Charles desperately wanted to do the right thing by Demi and not start a relationship with her and yet he couldn’t stop himself from falling in love with her. In spite of his feelings, however, he acted honorably. What do you think of his actions? Do you agree he did the right thing?
Do you think Demi was a brave, courageous woman? Or just lost?
When Alan appeared in the picture, Demi was stunned. Charles wasn’t happy, either. He thought he was going to lose Demi and that scared him. Have you ever felt that you were going to lose someone you loved to another person? What did you do about it?
Demi was upset with Alan’s appearance, but she was excited, too, because Alan knew her, her identity. Do you blame her for wanting to talk with Alan? Spend time with him? What would you have done if you’d been in Demi’s shoes?
Alan played on Demi’s sympathies to get her into his car. Do you think she should have been more careful or would you have done the same thing if you’d been in her place?
When Charles realizes that Demi’s been kidnapped and that she’s in physical danger, he’s determined to save her. And yet, he’s not the police. He’s frustrated because he feels like his hands are tied. Can you think of anything Charles could have done differently?
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