“Don’t leave me,” she begged. The helplessness of her voice pierced his heart.
“I’ll be back,” he promised. “I won’t leave you here.”
He felt the flames from the closet on his back as he ran out the bedroom door and down the carpeted stairs. Thick smoke hung in the hallway, moving slowly like a dark molasses that would smother them with its viscosity. The house fire detectors began to wail, sounding like the cry of emergency sirens.
For a moment he was transported back to night Maggie died. He tried not to remember the heat that blistered his skin. The smell of the charred flesh that burned his nose with its harsh odor. The swirling red lights of the fire trucks.
And then he reached the bottom floor of Bethany’s house, where the smoke had not yet pervaded. His mind cleared and he breathed deep, glad to be away. Glad to have escaped the burning room, even though he knew he had to return. He would have to walk back into the smoke to save Bethany. And his hands shook uncontrollably.
He ran to the kitchen and pulled open drawers, seeking a knife. The first contained nothing but potholders. The second held dishtowels. Finally, on his third try, he found a butcher knife.
He ran back up the stairs and into the smoke that felt weighted with heaviness. He could barely see through the black cloud, but he fumbled through the room until he reached her bed. Fear squeezed his heart as the smoke choked his lungs. Though his fingers trembled, he used the knife to cut through her bonds. He couldn’t see her expression, but he heard her gasping and coughing.
Herne gathered Bethany into his arms and pulled her from the bed. Together they stumbled out the bedroom door and down the stairs. She leaned against him as they walked out the front door, gasping in the fresh air. Herne heard the sirens of fire engines in the distance.
They stumbled a few yards from the house before they both tumbled into the grass. She lay on her side, coughing, her head buried in her hands. Herne stood and looked at the house, his heart thumping as he watched the flames lick the roof. He knew Pike was still inside.
For a moment Herne thought about facing his own fear. His own memories. His own guilt. He thought about returning and entering the fire. Trying to rescue The Healer.
Then he thought about his wife, whose own death was a mix of flames and ashes.
And as he saw the dark smoke curling into the night sky, Herne turned his back on the house. He would not battle the fire tonight.
Perhaps, Herne thought, perhaps tonight will be the night The Healer finally heals himself.
EPILOGUE
“I heard some news about Lochhead today,” Tucker said as he twirled Elizabeth’s spaghetti around his fork.
Herne raised an eyebrow in response.
“He opened a practice in Frederick, Maryland.”
“He’s still in therapy?”
Tucker nodded. “But he no longer practices as a clinical psychologist. Instead, he’s a sex therapist.”
“He’ll probably be successful,” Herne said, shaking his head.
A crisp autumn breeze from the open window cooled the room. Herne noticed Elizabeth wrap her arms around her body to ward off the chill.
She saw him watching her and held up the wine bottle, a silent offering. Herne shook his head in response. “One is my limit these days,” he said with a small smile.
“I’m glad,” she said.
Me, too, he thought. Too many drinks and he might lose control. Too many drinks and he might show Elizabeth the envelope he’d forced Morales to surrender. The envelope that contained surveillance photos of Tucker and Saxon.
What will I tell her when she asks what I’ve found? Morales had asked.
Herne had been tempted. Tempted to manipulate Elizabeth for selfish reasons. If she knew Tucker was guilty of infidelity, she would leave him. Elizabeth, alone in the world, could cause Herne great heartache.
Or great pleasure.
Tell her your investigation was inconclusive, Herne ordered the private investigator.
For now, he would bury the truth with the rest of his secrets.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
EPILOGUE
Phobia KDP Page 27
