Set Me Free

by Melissa Pearl

  Can't wait to hear about your rescue operation.

  Waiting for you in the bath.

  No clothes required.

  xx

  L

  I felt a naughty thrill as I placed the pen back in the holder by the phone, dumped my shuffle next to it and walked towards the stairs, pulling off my sweaty T-shirt as I went.

  Chapter 30

  ZACH

  Zach slowed to a stop by the side of the road, spotting AJ's dented car up on the curb. Liesl was sitting on the pavement beside it looking pale. Her fingers were shaking as she held the phone to her ear, her large, brown eyes fixed on the road as she spoke. AJ was looming behind her, looking pissed as hell as he examined the crumpled hood of his car.

  "Oh my gosh." Jaeda pushed the passenger door open with her shoulder and raced across the street.

  Zach followed behind her, checking the road for traffic as he went. AJ & Liesl were both alive and he couldn't see any blood. The relief was intense. His thoughts flashed to Uncle Alex and Elliot on their way to Frisco. With the precious cargo they were carrying, he sent up a quick prayer for their safe arrival.

  "Are you guys okay?" He ran to AJ's side while Jaeda sat down beside Liesl. She wrapped her arm around her friend as Liesl tucked the phone into her pocket. She laid her head against Jaeda's shoulder and sniffed.

  "What happened?" Zach stepped up beside AJ, crouching down to look at the damage.

  "This stupid ass SUV just drove straight through that stop sign." He pointed across the intersection. "I had to swerve to miss him and ended up plowing into this stupid street lamp."

  Zach looked through the cracked windscreen at the ballooning air bags.

  "Are you hurt?" He patted AJ on the shoulder.

  "My ribs are a little sore from the seatbelt, but I'm okay. I want to get Lisel checked out at the hospital though."

  "I'm fine, Angus." She rubbed her side. "Just a little shaken up. I've never been in a car accident before." She looked ready to cry as Jaeda squeezed her shoulder. "I thought that guy was going to take us out. I'm so glad Angus saw him coming."

  "Have you called your parents?" Zach asked his large friend.

  "I just called mine." Liesl patted her pocket. "They're on their way."

  "What about the police?"

  "I just got off the phone with them a minute ago. I told them no one was injured and gave them a description of the vehicle. They should be here soon." AJ slumped back against his broken car.

  "I'm really sorry, man. I know you only got this at Christmas."

  AJ shrugged. "I've got insurance. I'm just pissed that..." He shook his head, looking pained as he finally met Zach's gaze. "What if something had happened to Liesl?" he whispered, crossing his arms and looking shaky. "Shit man, I just couldn't handle that."

  Zach leaned forward, squeezing AJ's shoulder and understanding for the first time how he really felt. Worrying over Lucy had been a killer. To know it was all nearly over was such a relief it made him want to cry.

  He wondered if she was back at the house yet. He hoped his breezy note was enough. She'd probably freak out when she returned to an empty house. He'd left the door unlocked for her. A risky move, but he figured she wouldn't be too far from returning and didn't want her shut out of the house.

  Crossing his arms, he tapped his finger on his bicep. He wanted to get back to her, but knew AJ needed him more at the moment. He'd stick around until the cops arrived and be a support while AJ gave his statement.

  Glancing at his watch, he hoped they wouldn't take too long.

  "So, did you recognize the car?" Zach propped his butt against the hood, next to AJ. "It wasn't Mr. Patrick, was it? You know what a crap driver he is."

  AJ chuckled drily and shook his head. "Nah, I didn't recognize the car at all. Just a blue SUV. I didn't catch the plates, which pisses me off. I think the way they can do that in the movies is such a crock."

  "Yeah." Zach snickered.

  "But I did get a glimpse of the driver. He looked like a mean son of a bitch."

  "Are you sure?" Liesl looked up at the boys. "I thought he looked more focused and determined."

  "He looked pissed."

  "Yeah, that's true." Liesl shivered. "I know we only glimpsed him, but he was kind of creepy looking."

  "What do you mean?" Jaeda asked softly.

  "He was just a middle aged guy with this really soulless look in his eyes."

  "You got all that from a glimpse?" Jaeda wrinkled her nose making Liesl shake her head.

  "I know it seems weird, but I can see it like a photograph in my head. Square face. White blond hair. Pale green eyes."

  "What did you just say?" Zach jerked away from the car.

  Liesl glanced up at him. "Um, I was just describing the guy."

  "Middle aged. Pale green eyes?"

  "Yeah." She nodded. "What's the matter? You look like you're about to pass out."

  Zach ignored the question, pulling his keys out of his back pocket. His fingers trembled as he tried to hold the car key straight. "Which way did you say he was going?"

  AJ frowned, glancing at the girls before looking back at Zach. "That way." He pointed down the road, stealing the air from Zach's lungs.

  "I gotta go." Zach didn't have time for an explanation. As he sprinted across the road, all he could visualize was the picture of William Tenner that he'd held in his hands only two days ago. White blond hair. Pale green, soulless eyes.

  "Shit, no, please." Zach breathed as he started his car and checked the road before doing a quick U-turn and accelerating down the street in the direction of his house...and Lucy.

  Chapter 31

  LUCY

  I ran my fingers under the water and flicked off the droplets. The temperature was good. The bath was nice and deep so it'd take a while to fill. I was tempted to strip off and jump straight in, let it fill around me, but I also liked the idea of Zach coming home and undressing me again. That sensual look in his eyes as he studied my body, made fire rush through my center. My sweaty running clothes were in the hamper, but my panties and bra were still in place...unless I went and changed into clean ones. It'd probably be kind of gross for him to take off my smelly underwear.

  I wrinkled my nose, deciding instead to strip as soon as I heard him coming up the stairs. I could maybe strike a pose against the vanity.

  I rolled my eyes and sniggered. What was Zach turning me into?

  With a little hum, I tied a knot in the shower curtain to keep it out of the way, before rolling up a towel for a headrest. I was just searching the cabinet for some bubbles when I heard the front door click. I'd purposely left it unlocked to make Zach's journey to me as fast as possible.

  I grinned.

  "I'm upstairs if you'd like to join me!"

  I silently giggled at my boldness, not in a million years would I do this with anyone else, but in the love department, Zach was turning me into a brave, secure woman.

  Woman.

  I rolled my eyes again, feeling more like a naughty kid as I stretched up from my crouch and went to unclasp my bra.

  "Hello Lucy."

  A chill swept through me. My hands dropped to my sides, my eyes bulging wide as terror tried to turn my muscles to ice.

  I didn't need to look around to see whose voice it was. The waves of nausea coursing through me were my best indicator.

  William Tenner.

  I thought my eyes might roll out of my head as I turned to face him. Petrified wasn't even close to what I was feeling. My ice muscles were melting, feeling as powerful as water droplets as I pressed my butt against the vanity.

  His pale green eyes studied me while his mouth toyed with a smirk. I swallowed as his gaze slowly travelled over my near naked body. I wanted to cover myself, but couldn't loosen my grip on the vanity. I checked the gap between him and the door. He was a big man and I had no show. Running wasn't an option this time.

  He must have read my mind, because his teeth flashed as he raised a pistol at
me.

  "You've got nowhere to go, sweetheart. This is the end of the line...and it's about damn time too."

  "How'd you find me?"

  How I managed to speak, I don't know, but the words came out calm and even.

  He scoffed. "What kind of moron steals an FBI ID and then uses it to get evidence from the warehouse? You think I'm stupid?" He tipped his head. "That was a bright red flag Lucy-Lu. As soon as I heard the story I headed down to L.A. You think a little hair dye's going to fool me? I flashed your photo around the taxi stands, which easily led me to the motel and then straight here. Your idiot boyfriend paid with his credit card. Tell him to use cash next time."

  "So the Feds know you're here then?" I looked straight into those eyes of his...the ones that usually turned me to putty.

  "Nice try. I told them I'd handle the case. They trust me."

  "They shouldn't." My fear gave way to a spark of anger.

  Tenner grinned before pushing his tongue into the side of his cheek. "So where is your little love muffin?"

  I didn't even flinch, just pressed my lips together and kept my gaze steady. I wasn't giving him a thing. All I could hope was that Zach wouldn't show up anytime soon. My death now seemed inevitable, but his didn't have to be. I had to act. I had to do something to get Tenner out of this house.

  My eyes skittered down the edge of the doorway.

  "He helped you break into my office, didn't it?"

  My gaze shot back to Tenner. His pale eyes were now cold, the usually malicious amusement now replaced with a look of barely controlled rage.

  "Oh yeah, I knew someone had been in there." His voice was tight. "My stupid kid couldn't even hold out for one round of questioning. He told me all about the sexy girl he lost it to...in my office. MY office!" He punched the doorframe. I couldn't help flinching and hated myself for it. He took a step into the room, pointing the gun at me as if it were his index finger and he was telling me off. "You've gotten pretty ballsy, haven't you Lucy? I kind of like this new you...apart from the fact you used my son! How dare you." He growled. "How dare you come into my home and steal from me."

  "How dare you steal from me!" My anger sparked again.

  His eyebrows rose in surprise. "I've never stolen anything from you."

  "You stole my family! My life." The spark within me landed on a powder keg that seemed to explode. It smoked over my fear as I let go of the vanity and stood tall. "You asshole! You slimy, lying son of a bitch! I'm gonna finish what my dad started and you are going to burn."

  His gloved fingers danced over the gun as his eyes narrowed. "Give me the evidence and I'll kill you quickly." His jaw clenched.

  "I'm not giving you anything."

  He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Lucy, don't make me torture you. As much pleasure as I would get from that experience, I just really don't have the time today. Now all I need are the bank statements. The rest is useless."

  I wanted to laugh at him. No it wasn't. My dad's work was going to destroy him. It was an effort not to grin with triumph. "I don't have them."

  "Damn it, Lucy, you're pissing me off."

  He aimed the gun at my leg, just the way he'd done with my mother. My fear returned and I inched away from the weapon. The bath water was still running into the tub. I needed to turn it off before it started to overflow, but I didn't want to take my eyes off Tenner or that gun.

  "It's in the hands of a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle."

  He froze, his eyebrows puckering . "You lie." His malevolent gaze flashed with worry.

  "You know I'm not lying."

  Tenner licked his lower lip, striving for control. "Tell me his name."

  I gripped the vanity again, determined to hold out no matter what he did to me.

  "Tell me his name!"

  He stepped towards me, ready to press the gun into my leg and fire.

  I lunged.

  With a feral cry I grabbed his wrist and pushed the gun away from me. A shot flew past my shoulder, the vanity mirror shattering. Chunks of glass fell into the sink, one large piece bouncing onto the floor at my feet. Still yelling like a banshee, I pushed my shoulder into him and ran. He stumbled back against the wall before finding his wits. I was trying to smash his armed hand against the wall. Maybe I could knock the gun from his grip, but before I could give it a second try, he grabbed me by the back of the neck and pushed me towards the bath.

  His strength made my knees buckle. I tried to brace my arms against the edge of the tub, but he was too strong for me. I barely caught my breath before my head was plunged into the water. I struggled and kicked, the hot liquid scalding my senses. I bucked against his grip, but his arm was straight and strong, holding me steady until I thought my lungs would burst.

  They would. In a moment, I'd have to let the water in. It would fill my lungs, suffocating me. Zach would come home and find me dead. The thought was a puncture wound to my soul.

  Zach. My sweet Zach with his tender smile, his soft hands, his sweet words, his cute little stories about Discovery Channel and crocodiles.

  I stopped struggling.

  Crocodiles.

  Letting my arms go limp, I clung to the last of the air in my lungs and relaxed into the water. Closing my eyes, I focused on counting, really slowly, waiting until Tenner thought my limp body was dead. I thought I heard a mumbled curse as his grip went slack.

  Crocodiles.

  I lunged out of the water, pushing him off balance before scrambling for the piece of glass I knew was somewhere near my knee. Before he had a chance to grab me again, I plunged the sharp shard into his belly. He grunted, slipping on the wet floor. The glass shard sliced my palm as I held it steady, his free hand pushing at my face.

  A dull sound went off to my left. I didn't realize what it was until a searing pain tore through my torso. I buckled, but wouldn't let go of the glass. I had to end this and a shard of glass in his stomach wasn't going to stop that gun from going off again. Yanking my makeshift weapon free, I forced my body to react in spite of the pain. I held on tightly to the glass and jabbed it down with the final remnants of my waning strength.

  It sliced into his neck, his eyes bulging wide as he scrambled to pull it loose. The gun slipped into the overflowing bath, clunking into the bottom of the tub. As Tenner struggled, his elbow slid along the wet surface. His head cracked against the edge of the tub. He went still.

  I slumped backwards, crying out with the movement. Blood was flowing from my side, a bright red spot that told me my time was coming. My hand was stinging, sliced deeply by a shard of glass that saved my life.

  At least I hoped it had.

  I kept my gaze on Tenner, unwilling to look away in case he suddenly came to and finished me off once and for all.

  The water was still running, spilling over the tub in gushing waves that were now cold. I didn't have the strength to turn it off. Instead I struggled back to the wall, pulling a towel off the rail.

  I whimpered as I pressed it into my side, the pain making me want to dissolve. Leaning back against the wall, I stared at the man who had taken so much from me. His pale, limp body suddenly looked pathetic. All the power he'd wielded over me for so many years was gone. The longer he lay still, the more I could convince myself of that fact.

  This was over now.

  There was a sense of freedom to the moment that was poignant and sweet.

  It was over.

  Tenner wasn't going to win this round...or any round after.

  I was free.

  Closing my eyes with a soft sigh, I let my mind drift on that thought.

  I was free.

  Chapter 32

  ZACH

  Zach swerved onto his street, spotting a blue SUV on the corner. His racing heart did a double beat and then began pounding in his neck. He was too late.

  Screeching into the driveway, he yanked up the handbrake and shot out of the car. The front door was unlocked.

  "Dani!" He chose to use that name, just
in case someone was in the house.

  It was eerily quiet as he closed the door behind him. Glancing into the living room, he saw no signs of life. He turned left towards the kitchen.

  "Dani, you home?"

  Spotting the note on the counter, he raced to it and snatched it up. A smile pressed across his lips as he read her request. He darted for the stairs, still on high alert, but he could hear the bath water running.

  Maybe he was over-reacting. There had to be more than one pale-eyed SUV driver in this state...surely.

  "Lucy! I'm back." The spring in Zach's step suddenly faltered as he felt the squelch beneath his shoes.

  The carpet was saturated. Running his fingers through the weave, realization hit him like a H-bomb. He lurched up the rest of the stairs, splashing his way into the bathroom. Freezing by the door he took in the scene, horror coursing through him. A big blond guy was slumped against the tub, a thick shard of the mirror protruding from his neck. Water gushed over his clothes and fell onto the floor. But that's not what Zach's eyes were fixated on. As soon as he spotted her, he felt his soul shatter.

  "Lucy." His breath hitched. Blood was lacing the shallow water around her, a red python of warning slithering away from her body. Crouching down, he scrambled for her pulse, pushing his fingers into her neck. Closing his eyes, he dropped his head and thought he might cry.

  She had one. Barely.

  "Lucy? Wake up, baby."

  She shifted slightly, a fresh gush of red splurging from her back, filling the water with more blood. The snaking trail was turning into a sea of red.

  Her skin had a grey pallor to it that was disturbing. Wrenching the phone from his back pocket, he splashed through the water towards the tub while dialing 9-1-1. The phone rang as he spun the taps, shutting off the flow.

  He couldn't even contemplate the clean up and damage right now. None of that mattered. Pulling the plug he let the water drain.

  "9-1-1, what is your emergency?"

  "Yes." Zach's voice broke. "My girlfriend's dying. She needs help right away."