“She’s at the grocery store. Remember? This is Wednesday morning, her midweek trip to pick up supplies.”
“Oh, yes, of course.”
Deborah leaned against Ashe, watching while the firefighters extinguished the blaze, leaving a charred three-car garage, a blackened Mercedes, a soot-covered BMW and swirling clouds of gray smoke spiraling heavenward.
Fire Chief Greg Wilbanks nodded, removed his hat and wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Damn curious blaze. Whoever set this baby didn’t try to hide the fact that it was out-and-out arson.”
“What do you mean?” Deborah asked.
“The place was doused with gasoline and torched. We found two empty gas cans at the back of the house.” Greg looked at Ashe. “I’ve called Chief Burton. I’d say your job isn’t finished, Mr. McLaughlin. Looks like somebody’s out to get himself a little revenge.”
“Ashe?” Deborah grabbed his arm. “Do you think that—”
“I don’t think anything,” he said.
“But Greg said—”
“I know what he said. There’s no point jumping to conclusions. We’ll take every precaution, but we’re not going to panic.” He grasped her by the shoulders. “Go tell Miss Carol that everything’s all right. The fire’s out. Tell her the truth, but play it down. There’s no need to worry her any more than can be helped.”
“You’re right.” She slipped her arms around Ashe’s waist and sighed when he hugged her close. Pulling away, she tried to smile. “I’ll take Mother in the front door. There’s no need for her to see this until later.”
“Don’t read anything into this,” Ashe said. “Not yet. Let me handle things. I’m not going anywhere, not until you’re completely out of danger. Trust me, honey.”
“I do trust you. With all my heart.”
Ashe watched her walk away, a tight knot forming in the pit of his stomach. She expected a great deal from him. Was it more than he could deliver? Would he let her down again, or could he be the man Deborah wanted and needed?
Ashe approached Greg Wilbanks. “When Chief Burton arrives, tell him I’d prefer he not bother Miss Carol or Deborah. I’ll talk to him. And once you’ve filed your report on this fire, I’d like a copy.”
“As Miss Carol’s representative?” Greg asked.
“Yeah, as Miss Carol’s representative.”
“No problem.”
Going in the back door, Ashe met Carol and Deborah in the hallway.
“I’m taking Mother upstairs to rest,” Deborah told him, then turned to assist her mother. “I’ll fix you some tea and bring it up in just a little while.”
“Tea would be nice.” Halting on the landing, Carol grabbed Deborah’s arm. “Let him do whatever he has to do to put an end to this.”
“Mother, what are saying?”
“I’m saying that Ashe knows how to deal with those people. However he chooses to handle the situation, I don’t want you trying to persuade him otherwise.”
“Ashe is not a hired assassin, Mother. He’s not going to kill Buck Stansell.”
“You two go on,” Ashe called out from the downstairs hallway. “I’ll fix you both some tea and bring it up.”
“Thank you,” Miss Carol smiled.
“Mother!” Deborah glared at Carol. “Do you honestly think Ashe would murder someone?”
“Not murder, my dear, kill. There is a difference. And Ashe McLaughlin has been trained to kill. There is no doubt in my mind that he would kill anyone who’d harm you.”
“I don’t want him to have to kill to protect me, but… Perhaps Buck Stansell wasn’t responsible for the fire. Besides, no one was harmed.”
Downstairs, Ashe put on the water to boil, set two cups on a tray and laid two Earl Grey tea bags in each cup. Lifting the phone out of the wall cradle, he dialed Roarke’s cellular phone number.
“Roarke, here.”
“Keep a very close eye on Allen.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We’ve had a fire here,” Ashe said. “Someone doused the garage with gasoline. They left the cans for the firemen to find.”
“Looks like we’ll be hanging around Sheffield for a while longer than we thought.”
“Yeah. I’d say Buck Stansell is back to playing games with us. The question is just how deadly will his games become.”
DEBORAH TOOK CARE of her morning phone calls, dictated several letters and closed a deal on the old Hartman farm before her ten-thirty coffee break. She had wanted to stay home with her mother, whom she worried would fret the day away there at the house with only Mazie, the eternal pessimist, as company. But her mother had insisted she didn’t need a baby-sitter, so Deborah had found an alternative plan.
She glanced in the outer office where Ashe sat with his long legs stretched out, his big feet propped up on a desk in the corner, situated where he could see directly into Deborah’s office. He had begun work on his second crossword puzzle book since his arrival in Sheffield.
Deborah dialed the telephone, hoping her plan for keeping her mother occupied would work out.
“Hello.”
“Mama Mattie,” Deborah said. “I have a favor to ask of you.”
“What is it, child?”
“Mother’s at the house all alone with Mazie, and I’m afraid, after the doctor’s news and the fire in the garage yesterday, she’ll spend the day fretting.”
“You need say no more. I’ve just baked an apple cinnamon coffee cake. I’ll take it over and spend the rest of the day with Miss Carol.”
“Thanks so much, Mama Mattie.”
“It’ll be my pleasure.” Deborah hung up the phone and glanced back at Ashe, who looked up from his puzzle and grinned at her. She lifted her hand to her mouth in a drinking gesture. Ashe nodded agreement. They met at the coffeepot, one of three set up on a table in a small, open room directly across from the office rest room.
“Good morning.” Holding a mug of hot coffee in one hand, he cupped her hip with the other and brought her close enough for him to kiss.
She returned the kiss, then pulled away, turning to pour her coffee. “Get your hand off my hip, Mr. McLaughlin. This is an office, not a bedroom,” she teased.
“I’m glad you told me,” he said. “I was planning on backing you up against the wall over there and ravishing you. But since this is an office, I don’t suppose ravishing the boss lady is allowed.”
“Most definitely not.”
“You’ve had a busy morning.”
“I’ve accomplished a great deal.”
They carried their coffee back into the outer office, pausing just outside Deborah’s private domain.
“Ashe, have there been any threatening phone calls or a letter today?” she asked.
“No, honey, not a one.”
“I’d thought that since…well since the fire yesterday, the harassment might start all over again.”
He nudged her through her office door. “There may not be a connection. But…” He didn’t want to alarm her.
“But what?”
“If Buck Stansell was behind yesterday’s fire, I’d say phone calls and letters are a thing of the past. Simple harassment will no longer be the order of the day.”
“I see. You’re saying things will get nasty.”
“They could.”
“Do you think Allen and Mother are in danger?”
“Possibly.”
“Oh, Ashe.” The coffee sloshed over the edge of her mug. Quickly holding the mug outward so the liquid could run down the sides, she averted being burned.
Just as Ashe started to close the door to Deborah’s office, a string of loud, piercing blasts sounded. The front office windows shattered. Glass blew across the room. The office staff screamed and dived for cover under their desks. Ashe knocked Deborah to the floor, covering her body with his as he drew his gun.
“Crawl to the left,” he told her.
She obeyed silently, not questioning Ashe’s order for one minute. Standing, he
lifted her to her knees and sat her in the corner behind a row of metal file cabinets.
“Stay put.”
She nodded. He made his way to the outer office where he found the staff in hiding. The front of the office wall consisted of a line of long windows, all of which had been destroyed by a barrage of bullets.
Annie Laurie looked up from beneath her desk, her eyes wide with fright. “Ashe? Oh, my God, what happened?”
“Everyone stay put,” Ashe said.
Cracking his office door a fraction, Neil Posey peered outside. “Is everyone all right?” he asked. “Is Annie Laurie okay? Was Deborah hurt?”
“As far as I know the only damage is to the windows,” Ashe said as he made his way to the bullet-riddled front door. He walked out onto the sidewalk. People were staring at him and at the Vaughn & Posey building. In the distance he heard a police siren and knew, the police station being only a few blocks away, the authorities would arrive at any moment. Returning inside, he made his way toward Deborah’s office.
“It’s all right,” Ashe said. “Whoever did all this damage is long gone.”
One by one the staff of Vaughn & Posey emerged from under their desks.
Neil opened his office door. “Annie Laurie, are you sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Posey. Just scared to death.”
Ashe found Deborah still sitting in the corner behind the filing cabinets. She stared up at him, her eyes dry, her face pale.
“It’s okay, honey.” Reaching down, he lifted her to her feet. She shook uncontrollably. “Deborah?”
She clung to him, her trembling growing worse. “Was anyone hurt?”
“Everybody’s fine. Nothing’s hurt but the building.”
“I can’t let the people who work for me be at risk because of me.”
Ashe stroked her back, trying to soothe her. “You can’t blame yourself for this.”
“Yes, I can. And I do. I’m Buck Stansell’s target. If I hadn’t been here at the office, then he wouldn’t have sent someone here to shoot up the place.”
“Don’t start blaming yourself for something that isn’t your fault.” Dammit, she was shaking like a leaf. He wasn’t getting through to her.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her soundly. She glared at him, then nodded her head. Ashe pulled her back into his arms, and that’s how the police chief found them.
“Deborah, Chief Burton is here,” Annie Laurie called out from the doorway.
Deborah turned in Ashe’s arms, but made no move away from him. He kept his arms tightly around her.
“They sure as hell made a mess of things,” Chief Burton said. “A couple of witnesses across the street said they saw one man drive by real slow, coming to a stop right out front before he pulled out what they thought looked like some sort of automatic weapon. Of course, they can’t identify the weapon. Said it happened too fast. He was driving a new Chevy.”
“The car was probably stolen,” Ashe said.
“Could’ve been. Anyway, I just wanted to ask if either of you saw anything that could help us.”
“No,” Ashe said. “We didn’t see anything.”
“Nobody in the office seemed to have seen a thing. Just heard the shooting.” The police chief looked directly at Deborah. “Ms. Vaughn, you might want to think about staying at home for a few days, that is, unless you plan on closing down the business.”
“No, I do not plan on closing Vaughn & Posey.” She stiffened her spine. Sliding his hand up and around, Ashe caressed her back, then placed his arm around her shoulders. “However, I will consider staying at home. I don’t want to put my employees’ lives at risk.”
“I’m taking Ms. Vaughn home, now,” Ashe said. “If you need to question us further, you’ll know where to find us.”
“Fine,” Chief Burton said. “I don’t think we’ll need either of you any more today.”
“I need to make arrangements to have the building cleaned and repair work started immediately.” Deborah allowed Ashe to lead her across the shattered glass and splintered wood covering the outer office floor.
She stopped at Annie Laurie’s desk; the two women hugged each other. Deborah turned to face her employees. “I’m sorry this had to happen. I’m so relieved no one was injured.” She glanced over at Neil, whose normally pink face was a pale gray. “Let everyone go home for the rest of the day. I’ll have someone come in and clean up. Rearrange things so work can continue tomorrow. Make use of my office. I’ll be working at home. Temporarily.”
“Certainly, Deborah. We’ll carry on,” Neil said.
Ashe hurried her outside and into her car. “Just hang on, honey. I’ll take you home.”
“I dread telling Mother, but I have no choice. You know someone may have already called her.”
“Miss Carol will handle this okay. She’s a strong woman, just like her daughter.”
When they arrived at the Vaughn home, they found Mattie Trotter waiting on the front porch. The minute Deborah approached her, she opened her arms.
Going into Mattie’s arms, Deborah sighed. “Oh, Mama Mattie, this has become a nightmare. I thought it was over, that the worst had been Huckleberry’s poisoning.”
“It’ll be all right,” Mattie said, glancing over Deborah’s shoulder at Ashe. “Ashe isn’t going to let anything happen to you.”
“Someone called already, didn’t they?” Deborah asked. “Mother knows.”
“Miss Carol is fine. She’s lying down in the library, taking a little nap.” Mattie winked at Deborah as she slipped her arm around her waist and led her inside. “I put a few drops of brandy in her tea.”
“Where’s Mazie?” Deborah looked around in the hallway. “I can’t believe she’s not out here foretelling the end of the world for us all.”
“I sent that silly woman to town on an errand,” Mattie said. “I had to get her out of the house. She was driving me crazy and upsetting Miss Carol. She should be gone a couple of hours. And Allen won’t be home from school until after three.”
“Thanks.” Deborah swayed, her head spinning. Mama Mattie motioned to Ashe, who lifted Deborah in his arms.
“Put me down!”
“Take her on upstairs and tend to her.” Mattie pointed to the closed library door. “I’ll go sit with Miss Carol and finish reading that new Grisham book. If we need y’all, I’ll let you know.”
Ashe carried Deborah up the stairs and into her sitting room, but didn’t put her down. With her arms around his neck, she stared into his eyes and knew he was going to kiss her. She didn’t resist, indeed she welcomed the kiss, needing it desperately. Quick. Hard. And possessive. Deborah sighed.
He carried her over to the window bench and sat down, placing her in his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder.
“Do you want a drink?” he asked. She shook her head from side to side. “A bath?” Another negative shake. “A nap?”
“All I want is for you to hold me,” she said, clinging to him.
He hugged her fiercely. “Nobody was hurt.”
“This time. But what about the next time or the time after that? You can’t guarantee me that some innocent person won’t be harmed because of me.”
“Not because of you, honey! Dammit, why do you insist on blaming yourself?”
“Maybe I should go away. Far away. That way the people I love would be safe.”
“Not necessarily,” Ashe said. “Running away isn’t the answer if Buck Stansell is out for revenge. If you leave town, he might target Miss Carol or Allen.”
“Oh, God, Ashe, Mother has enough to deal with already.” Deborah grasped the lapels of Ashe’s jacket. “Promise me that you won’t let anything happen to Allen.”
“I won’t let anything happen to Allen.” He kissed her forehead, then smoothed the loose strands of her hair away from her face. “You love Allen a great deal, don’t you?”
“He’s the most important person in the world to me. I—I…He’s just a little boy.�
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Ashe caressed Deborah’s face, cupping her cheek in his palm. “I’ll take care of you and Allen. And Miss Carol.”
Gulping in air, Deborah looked at Ashe pleadingly. She needed him, needed his tender loving care, needed his strength, his power.
He stood with her in his arms and carried her into the bedroom, laying her on her bed. He came down over her, turning her to one side as he eased his body onto the bed. Facing her, he removed her jacket, then unbuttoned her blouse. Slowly, carefully, stroking and caressing her as he uncovered more and more of her body, Ashe undressed her completely.
She was a bundle of nerves, her emotions raw. She needed soothing, needed to forget, at least for a few hours, the nightmare her life had become. He hated the feeling of helplessness, knowing he hadn’t been able to prevent the drive-by shooting at her office. But he could give her the reassurance and care she needed now. And soon, very soon, he would have to confront her enemy.
Ashe made love to her with his hands and mouth, whispering endearing words of comfort and admiration. Never before had he felt so totally possessive about a woman, wanting her and her alone in a way that bordered on obsession. How had this happened? When had Deborah become the focal point of his existence?
Every touch, every word was meant for her pleasure, but with each touch, each kiss, each heated word, he became lost in the fury of a passion over which he was fast losing control.
He caressed her breasts, loving the way her tight nipples felt beneath his fingertips, loving her hot little cries. He kissed her inner thighs. She sighed, squirming when his tongue turned inward for further exploration.
She moaned and writhed, her body straining for release as Ashe pleasured her, his lips and fingers masterful in their ministrations, bringing her to the very brink, then pausing, only to return her to that moment just before satisfaction.
She cried out, begging him not to prolong the agony, clinging to him, pleading for fulfillment. His words grew more erotic, more suggestive, as he carried her to the edge. With one final stroke of his tongue, he flung her into ecstasy.
Covering her mouth in a heated kiss, he devoured her cries of pleasure. Pulling her close, he reached down and lifted the hand-crocheted afghan and covered her. He lay there holding her while she dozed off to sleep and the noonday sun began its western descent.
Witness Page 19
