He pushed open the heavy door and faced an empty bed. He frowned, glanced around the room and then tapped on the bathroom door. Silence, and no light shining from underneath. Maybe she fell. Frantic, and silently apologizing for invading her privacy, he nudged the door open. His stomach dropped to his feet. Where the hell was she?
After checking a few rooms, he located the nurse on duty. “Where is Ms. Jordan?” No time for niceties, panic mode had reared its ugly head.
“In her room, where else would she be?” she whispered as she nudged him out of the sleeping patient’s room.
Blood pounded in his head. “You tell me, lady, because she’s not in her room.”
The nurse’s face paled. “Maybe she went for a walk.”
They both left to search each room on the floor, even checking the utility closet and nurse’s break area.
“This is most distressing. I can’t imagine where she’s gone to.”
Lucas flipped open his cell phone and hit the speed dial. “She’s gone.”
“What do you mean, gone?” Mason shouted.
“As in not here in the hospital. I’d bet my life Phillips has her.” He turned to the nurse. “You have surveillance cameras?”
She wiped sweat from her upper lip. “Yes, at every entrance and exit.”
“Have security block them all in case she’s still here. Next get someone to show me the surveillance tapes.” His stomach knotted as the adrenaline hit and he barked into the phone, “I’ll be looking at security tapes, Mason. You better get down here.”
“I’m on my way.” The line went dead.
Lucas took in gulps of air. He had to get himself under control or he would do Tessa no good. The thought of that maniac’s hands on her boiled his blood. She’d be terrified, and God knows she’d already been through enough.
The nurse, still pale and now shaking, disconnected the phone. “Security is checking all the exits. Someone will meet you shortly at the security office on Level A, where you can view the tapes.” He didn’t have time to reassure her, so he merely nodded and raced to the elevator.
****
He’d been going through tapes for about fifteen minutes when Mason entered the cramped security room with monitors lining the walls. Lucas was hunched over one screen, the security guard busy with another.
Mason took the chair alongside Lucas. “Anything?”
“No. This friggin’ hospital has too many ways to get out.” He choked down another wave of rage, his eyes still on the screen. The knots in his stomach coiled like a spring. “Wait. Here, check this out.” Lucas gestured to Mason, who looked over his shoulder.
The video showed a man carrying something wrapped in a sheet. The time on the tape registered forty-five minutes earlier.
“That’s him,” Mason croaked. “My God, he does have her. I didn’t want to believe it.”
“Can you zoom in? I want to get the tag number.” Lucas’s voice brooked no nonsense as he tapped the security guard on his shoulder. With a few clicks the tag became visible. Lucas repeated the plate number as Mason called it into the police station.
“Damn, I wished I smoked.” Lucas paced in front of the monitors while they waited for a return call. “What the hell’s taking them so long?” He ran shaky fingers through his hair. At this rate he’d be bald by morning. Every minute wasted here was another one Tessa spent in the clutches of Dean Phillips. He swallowed the bile that rose in his throat.
“Relax, Lucas.” Mason’s voice and gray pallor belied his advice. His cell rang. He flipped it open. “Jordan.” He listened for a minute and closed the phone. “It’s a rental, no surprise there. The rental company has GPSs in all their cars. They’re tracking down his location. We should have information in a minute.
The silence in the room had a voice of its own. Lucas wiped sweat from his forehead while taking deep breaths. Mason didn’t appear to be in any better shape.
Within minutes, the cell buzzed again. Mason answered, and with a terse reply, flipped the phone closed, and stood. “The bastard’s on his way to Fort Sill Airport in Lawton. Let’s go.”
****
Dean let out a stream of curses. A forty-minute ride had turned into an hour, and he still had a ways to go. Something had traffic tied up, and only one lane of cars moved in each direction on Route Seven.
Every once in a while, he glanced in the rear view mirror, but Tessa slept, dead to the world. He snorted. Close up, the bitch looked awful. Skinny, pale, it’s a wonder the black-haired dude wanted anything to do with her. Fucking her must be a real thrill with all those bones poking him. Well, he’d fatten her up, and then use her for his pleasure. Might even make a few bucks passing her around to his business partners.
This time, there’d be no whining to big brother. He’d let her know who was boss. He punched the button on the radio and tried to calm himself with the music, but all he could get was wailing country shit. Once on the plane, he would snort a line of coke, but no point in getting in trouble while stuck in traffic.
He flipped off the driver tying to edge his way in front of him, and then rolled down the passenger’s side window. “Fuck you, asshole.”
****
“Fuck you, asshole.”
The voice reverberated in her ears. Tessa awoke with a start. The shout from the front seat brought her to full consciousness. Still fuzzy from the medication, it took her a while to focus on where she was, and why. She’d been in the hospital with an orderly who wanted to take her for tests. Before she could make sense of that, the man had turned into Dean, and placed a white cloth over her face.
Dean. Oh my God, what is he doing here?
The bigger question scared her even more. Why did he take her from the hospital, and where were they going?
Tears slid down her cheeks. Lucas. Oh God, Lucas, please help me. How would he even know where she was, what had become of her? The thought of never seeing him again brought on a fresh stream of tears.
Lucas wanted to marry her and she’d said no. Oh, to be able to have that conversation again. Fear or no fear, she loved Lucas more than life. Why she ever thought he could be anything like Dean didn’t bear reflection. She loved him. Incredibly simple, why hadn’t she seen it before?
As her senses cleared, a burst of fury swept over her. Adrenaline pumped through her body. Dean killed her love for him, her sense of security. The horror of their ten-year marriage had plagued her for eight long years after their divorce, to where she’d lived every day in fear and deprived herself of healthy relationships. He’d taken eighteen years of her life.
No more.
She might die at his hands, but she would die fighting. Scared little Tessa no longer existed. Lucas’s love strengthened her. I love you, Lucas. Can you sense that?
Her gaze roamed the vehicle. It had the scent of a rented car. They always sprayed fabric freshener after the car was returned. They crawled along, like they were in some sort of traffic jam. Where is he taking me?
Her mind seemed clear for the first time in weeks. Slowly, so not to alert him, she felt around the floor of the car, searching for anything she could use as a weapon. Her hand stilled and she closed her eyes against the wave of nausea when the car sped up. Apparently, whatever was keeping them at a crawl had ended. The car rocked as Dean moved from lane to lane in his hurry to get to his destination.
Her hand hit something hard. From under the seat, she eased out a car jack packed in a vinyl case. She weighed it in her hands. Not a boulder, but it would have to do.
After another ten minutes or so, the car slowed and came to a stop. Every nerve in her body screamed, her mouth as dry as sandpaper. She kept her eyes closed, heard Dean leave the driver’s seat, and shout something to a man who answered. All her muscles tensed, and from underneath shuttered eyelids, she saw Dean open the back door and lean in.
****
“What the hell?” Lucas’s knee hit the dashboard as the car came to an abrupt stop on the highway.
“Shit!” Mason threw the gear shift into park and jumped out of the car. Lucas joined him. As far as he could see, the tail lights of bumper to bumper cars slowly crawled forward.
“Son of a bitch! We have to get out of here.” Lucas slammed his palms on the hood of the police issued car. If any more time passed before he could get to Tessa, he’d flat out explode. As it was, he barely kept his emotions under control.
“Get in.” Mason jumped back into the car, reached under his seat and pulled out the emergency police light. He slapped it on the roof, hit a siren, and pulled around the car in front. They rode the shoulder, red dirt and stones flying up from behind the wheels as they barreled down the highway.
****
Dean reached in to grab Tessa by the shoulders. An overwhelming urge rushed through her to hurt this man who’d done her so much damage. She allowed him to pull her from the car, keeping her body limp, the car jack close to her side. With all the hate and anger from eighteen years of abuse and fear, she swung her arm back and smacked him in the face with it.
Dean growled in pain and grabbed his nose, dropping her. Air left her lungs when she hit the ground, but she rolled and jumped up. He sat on the ground, both hands over his face and sobbed, cursing her. Tessa launched herself at him, knocking them both flat on the ground. She grabbed his hair and banged his head on the ground, over and over.
“Bastard, you filthy bastard.” Totally focused on Dean, she ignored her name being called. The voice got louder and closer. Strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her off. Dazed, she turned and threw herself into Lucas’s arms.
He crushed her to his chest, mumbling her name. Large hands ran over her body. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Lucas, I’m so fine, and I love you so much!” She wrapped her legs around his waist, grabbed his cheeks with both hands, and kissed him on his eyelids, nose, mouth, and chin.
Two more police cars joined the group. Mason had Dean in handcuffs and in the back of one of the patrol cars. A man dressed in a pilot’s uniform answered questions as Mason wrote furiously.
“I’m taking Tessa home in your car.” Lucas shouted over his shoulder to Mason. “Can you hitch a ride?” His strong arms supported her under her nightgown-clad rear as he strode to the car. She laid her head on his shoulder.
“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll catch up with you later. And don’t crash the car, it’s police issued.” He waved at them and turned his attention to one of the police officers.
****
Lucas held Tessa in his arms, content in the afterglow of lovemaking. He ran warm fingers across her arm, to her hand, twining their fingers together. “Honey, I never saw such a hellcat in my life like you. I’m afraid if I hadn’t pulled you off Phillips, you’d have really hurt him.” He chuckled and turned to face her on the pillow.
“I’ve been waiting for you to bring that up.” She grinned, no remorse whatsoever in her eyes. “I guess I understand better how, given the right provocation, a person really could resort to violence.”
“So when are we getting married?” He tucked a red curl behind her ear.
“Anytime we want, cowboy.”
Lucas groaned as his cell phone rang, and then glanced at her. “It’s Mason.”
“This better be good. Your sister and I are making wedding plans.” He draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. After a few minutes, he spoke. “Okay. Well, you’re right, we’ll never know for sure. See ya later.”
“What was that all about?”
He looked down at her. “Phillips didn’t confess to anything except kidnapping you. He claims no part in any of the ‘accidents’ you had.” He shrugged his shoulders. “So I guess it was just pure bad luck.”
“It was the doll.”
Lucas groaned. “Not the doll again.”
Tessa sat up and crossed her legs. “Don’t you understand? The reason you found me and I was able to get away from Dean was because I admitted I loved you and broke the curse.”
“I’d like to forget about the doll. But if you think you’ve broken some kind of curse, all right fine, the curse is broken and we’ll live happily ever after, okay?”
She giggled and licked his chest. “Yes. I agree. Lots of happily ever after.”
****
One year later
Lucas knocked softly on the hospital room door, and slowly pushed it open. Tessa sat propped on several pillows, her face aglow. “Sweetheart, I am so, so sorry.” He sat on the edge of the bed, and took her free hand. “You have no idea how foolish I feel.”
“It’s fine. I totally understand.” She swept back the hair that fell over his forehead. Black straight hair, very similar to the silky hair on the little head sticking up from the pink blanket she held in her arms. “Your daughter never knew the difference, and I promise I won’t tell her.”
“I love you so much. What did I ever do to deserve you?” He bent and kissed the soft fuzzy head of Lisa Anne Raven, nineteen inches, seven pounds-eight ounces, one hour old.
“Simple. You caught me in your arms when I fell off a ladder.” They grinned at each other, and then turned their parental attention to the baby.
Lucas snapped his fingers. “Oh, by the way, remember the weird doll from Mrs. Rogers’ Treasures?”
Tessa raised her chin. “Not weird, Lucas. She brought us together.”
“Okay, sweetheart, she brought us together. But, I sold her last week.”
“You did? I haven’t laid eyes on that thing since the fire.”
Tessa patted the baby’s bottom when she started to fuss. Then, removing the strap of her nightgown, she brought the tiny rosebud mouth to her breast. The baby latched onto the nipple with fervor.
He ran his index finger over his daughter’s soft cheek. “I was going through some things in the back room of the store and ran across it. Damned if some guy didn’t come in the same day and buy it.”
“Is it true the big bad OSBI detective fainted while watching his wife in childbirth?” Mason’s booming voice echoed off the walls as he strolled into the room and handed Lucas a cigar with a pink bow that said “It’s a Girl!”
“Why don’t you say it a little louder buddy? A few people in Arkansas didn’t hear you.”
Jane settled alongside Tessa on the bed, admiring her new niece. Mason smacked Lucas on the back. “You know, friend, you’ve spent a lot of time over the years telling me how I’m going to be an old man with teenagers. Well, guess what? You’ll be a very old man with a teenager.”
Lisa Anne continued to suck. Lucas gazed at his beautiful daughter, cuddled contentedly in his wife’s arms. “Yeah, I know. Isn’t it great?”
A word about the author...
Callie Hutton as been making up stories in her head since elementary school, and writing since she learned to type in high school.
She loves falling in love, did it herself, and now enjoys writing about it. And yes, she falls in love with all her heroes.
Although she’s lived in several states, Oklahoma is where she’s hung her hat for the last several years, but she originally hails from New Jersey. An Okie-Jersey girl. And proud of it.
Her hubby supports all her ventures, truly being the wind beneath her wings. They have three children, with two still at home. And they’re happy their two dogs and new kitten allow them to share their home.
Thank you for purchasing this Wild Rose Press publication.
For other wonderful stories of romance,
please visit our on-line bookstore at
www.thewildrosepress.com.
For questions or more information
contact us at
[email protected].
The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
www.TheWildRosePress.com
To visit with authors of The Wild Rose Press join our yahoo loop at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thewildrosepress/
/>
Tessa's Treasures Page 10
