by Becca Van
Normally, since it was just her and Shaun to cook for, she used the small oven in the kitchen, but now that her brother had invited his friends over for dinner, she was going to use the barbecue. There wasn’t enough room in the oven for her to cook enough food for five or six people.
She heard the voices as soon as she opened the front door. It wasn’t even half past five and the guys were already here. Luckily, she’d prepared a lot of the food last night. Steaks and ribs were in the fridge marinating, and the potato salad was all done. All she needed to do was chop up some veggies for a tossed salad and put the garlic bread in the oven, but first she needed to start the grill and cook the meat.
“Hey, munchkin.” Shaun smiled from the sofa. “How was your day?”
“Good.” Carly waved to the guys as she hurried to the kitchen. She sighed with relief as she put her purse on top of the freezer and tied an apron around her waist. She was relieved to see that Scott wasn’t there. Hopefully he had other plans and wouldn’t show up. She went out to the courtyard, turned the gas on, and then fired up the grill before heading back to the kitchen.
“Do you want some help, sis?” Shaun asked as he sauntered into the kitchen.
“Not really. There’s not much to do. Oh, actually you could pour me a glass of wine.”
Carly started chopping veggies for the salad, sipping from the wine her brother had poured in between.
Just as she carried the meat out to put on the grill, the doorbell rang. Carly had a feeling that Scott had just arrived. She wished she’d told her brother how uncomfortable the man made her, but she hadn’t wanted to upset the apple cart, so to speak, when her brother was finally coming alive again. When she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, she regretted her decision. Once the men had gone, she would tell her brother about her concerns, but for now, she got down to cooking the meat.
“Hey, gorgeous, do you need any help?”
Carly cringed but schooled her face to an expressionless mask as she turned to look at Scott. He was standing in the doorway with his arms and ankles crossed, looking relaxed, but when she looked into his eyes, a shiver of revulsion traversed her spine. Those eyes were the coldest green color she’d ever seen, but they were also devious.
“No, thanks,” Carly replied. “I have everything under control. Why don’t you go and talk to the guys?”
“Now what would be the fun in that? I like looking at and being with you.”
Carly gasped at his forwardness. She didn’t even know or like the man, and she wasn’t going to put up with his shit. Not even for her brother.
She spun on her feet, hands on her hips, and glared at him. “Look, I’m not interested. Okay? I don’t want to date or go out or anything else with you. Is that clear?”
When those cunning, green eyes narrowed with anger and Scott pushed off the door frame, Carly took a step back. Heat seared her side as her hip hit the grill, but she was lucky to react before she could burn herself. She hadn’t touched the cast-iron hot plates, just felt the heat off of them, but she had no doubt that she was going to have a bruise on her hip.
“Everything all right out here?” Matt walked out, eying her and Scott.
Carly wasn’t about to lie and say yes, so she remained silent. Scott nodded as he glared at her, but when Matt moved to stand next to her, Scott seemed to get a hold of himself. He smiled, shrugged, and headed back inside.
“What’s his deal?” Carly asked Matt.
“I don’t know, but try not to be alone with him. I don’t like the way he was looking at you.”
“Oh, thank god. I thought I was the only one who noticed.”
Matt shook his head.
“Do you trust him?” Carly asked.
“No, but I don’t know him that well.”
“Do the others, or Shaun?”
“No. He was in another unit than us. He was the only survivor of a mission gone bad. All his teammates were killed. Scott was injured, too, but from what I’ve heard, it was touch and go for a while. He was lucky to survive.”
“That’s terrible,” Carly said as she turned back to turn the meat on the grill.
“Yeah, I agree,” Matt stated as he moved to stand closer to her. “But that doesn’t give him the right to speak to or look at you that way.”
“I know.” Carly sighed. “I got bad vibes from him the other night at the pub, and I was tempted to say something to Shaun.”
“So why didn’t you?” Matt asked.
Tears stung the back of her eyes, but she blinked them away. “Last Friday night was the first time I’ve seen him look so happy and carefree. I didn’t want to spoil that by maligning his friend.”
“The truth isn’t maligning, Carly. You need to talk to him as soon as possible. If you don’t, I will.”
“You’re right. There is no way Shaun would put up with a man looking at or talking to any woman in that way, let alone me, his only sister.” She paused as she piled the cooked meat onto a platter before turning the gas off and picking up the large plate. “I’ll talk to him after everyone’s gone.”
Matt took the plate from her, staring into her eyes. “See that you do.”
“I will.”
Matt smiled and licked his lips as he looked down at the steak and ribs. “This smells delicious. Do you want me to carry it into the kitchen?”
“Please.”
Carly led the way, and after setting the salads out on the counter where empty plates were stacked on top of each other with silverware in a pile next to the plates, she hurried to the oven and removed the garlic bread. Matt put the meat on the counter and eyed the food as if he was a hungry lion.
“Come and get it,” Carly called out and stood back as she heard heavy footsteps hurrying into the kitchen.
Matt, of course, was the first to serve food onto a plate and then carry it out to the dining section near the living area. Carly watched with satisfaction as the rest of the men piled their plates high. Once they were done and had left the room, she served her own plate, but instead of going to sit at the table with the others, she sat on the sofa.
“This is amazing, Carly. Thanks,” Scott called.
She nodded her acknowledgment without looking at him.
“Carly, what the hell are you doing over there?” Shaun asked. “There’s room for you to eat at the table.”
Carly glanced over her shoulder at her brother and winced when she saw the only spare seat was next to Scott. There was no fucking way she was sitting next to that asshole. “I’ve been on my feet all day. I just needed a comfy seat.”
“What do you do, Carly?” Scott asked.
Carly shrugged with indifference as she took a bite of steak and chewed. She huffed a breath when Shaun explained what she did. She didn’t want him to know anything about her. She didn’t even want him in her apartment. The food she was chewing turned to cardboard in her mouth, but she forced herself to swallow it down. She’d been hungry, but the thought of eating anymore set her stomach to roiling. After covering her uneaten food with cling wrap, she put it into the fridge, cleaned up the kitchen, and walked toward her bedroom.
“I’m tired. I’m going to bed early,” she said from near the small hallway that led to her and Shaun’s bedrooms. “It was nice seeing y’all again. Goodnight.” She waved at the men before spinning on her heels. She didn’t relax until she closed and locked her bedroom door behind her.
Another tiring week followed the previous one, but this time she wasn’t tired because of work. Everywhere she went she felt as if she was being watched. She startled at the slightest sound and was having trouble sleeping. She was even sure she’d caught a glimpse of Scott as she left the shelter a couple of nights in a row, but she couldn’t be certain. Every time she tried to look to see if it was him, she couldn’t find him, and while it was easy to convince herself she was being paranoid, she wasn’t so sure that she was.
She’d told Shaun about her concerns and even recounted what his frien
d Matt had said in regards to the other man. Thankfully, her brother had agreed to never invite Scott over to the apartment again.
Shaun had been applying for jobs and was getting out more and more, which was a great thing to see, but sometimes she wished he was home. More and more often when he was out at night, she was so scared she wanted to call him and ask him to come home. She was so frightened all the time, and no matter how hard she tried to convince herself she was imagining things, it didn’t work.
As she got into her car, she glanced about the parking lot. There were no lights shining brightly, and she wished that the council would send someone out to change the blown lightbulbs, but that wasn’t the reason for her fear. The hairs on her arms stood on end, as did the hair on her nape. Yet when she looked to see if anyone was watching her, she never saw anyone taking any notice of her, nor did she see anyone familiar.
Carly unlocked her car, got in, and drove away, hoping that her brother had decided to stay in for a change, or that he’d invited Matt, Troy, and Glen over to their apartment for a game of poker.
However, the closer she got to home the more the gnawing fear gripped her belly. She chewed on her lower lip as she glanced in her rearview mirror and saw a large vehicle close to her bumper bar. She put her foot down on the accelerator, picking up speed, but the truck behind her bridged the gap quickly. Sweat broke out on her brow, and her limbs began to shake. Gripping the steering wheel tighter only made her arms shake more, so she loosened her hold again. After drawing in a deep breath and releasing it slowly, she tried to keep her wits about her and think what to do next. She cursed under her breath when the lights up ahead turned red and applied the brake.
She screamed when the truck behind her bumped into her car, and she pushed harder on the brake pedal. The truck engine revved loudly, and her tires squealed, blue smoke rising from the ground as they spun. Carly was being pushed into the intersection, into the path of oncoming traffic.
What the hell were they trying to do? Kill her? Or was this a ploy to get a hold of her? Who was trying to hurt her? Was this because of where she worked?
She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the silhouette of a man behind the wheel of the truck, but she couldn’t see who was pushing her into harm’s way. She had no idea who she’d pissed off, but to her knowledge, she’d never hurt or been unkind to anyone, but that was the only conclusion she could come up with as to why someone would want to injure her.
All thought fled when she glimpsed oncoming headlights in her periphery. Tires screeched and horns honked, but Carly sat frozen and closed her eyes. She was stationary in the middle of a busy intersection and was about to be killed.
Metal crunched, and her car spun around as the passenger side was hit. She gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles hurt, and her body slammed against the driver’s door. Finally, when all was quiet, she dared to open her eyes. Her whole body was shaking with shock, and she fumbled for the seatbelt clasp with trembling fingers. Her door was wrenched open, and she turned her head slowly to stare up at an angry man.
“Are you fucking crazy, lady? What the hell? Didn’t you see the fucking red light?”
Carly was so cold she was shivering, but she ignored the angry man as she gazed into her mirror again. The dark-colored truck that had pushed her into the intersection was gone.
“Did you see the truck?” Carly asked in a shaky voice.
“Lady, I didn’t see anything but you. If I hadn’t braked as hard as I did, you would be dead.”
The police arrived and took their statements, but she knew the cops didn’t believe her story, not until she told them to look for the rubber marks on the road her tires had to have left behind. They took down her details and said they would ask around the local businesses to see if they had security cameras, but Carly didn’t hold out much hope. She called a tow truck to have her car towed and then hailed a cab. It was only as the cabby was driving her home that she remembered she was going to stop at the store to pick up a few things, but she didn’t care. She was tired after her adrenaline crash, and her body was starting to stiffen and get sore.
Shaun’s friends had been coming around nearly every weekend, and Carly hoped that tonight wasn’t the norm. She just wanted to have the place to herself for a change. It wasn’t that she begrudged her brother having his friends over. In fact, she loved the way he was interacting and being more social. His whole demeanor had changed, and she liked it, a lot. However, she was so damn tired since she’d been having trouble sleeping, and cooking for Shaun and his friends was becoming a chore, and that had never happened to her before. She loved to cook. Cooking was her passion, but she just needed some down time.
Just as the taxi pulled onto her street, she heard the loud sirens, and when she turned to look behind her, she saw several fire trucks, as well as paramedics and the police, hurtling up toward them. The cab driver pulled over to the side of the road to let the emergency vehicles pass and was about to pull back out when the emergency services stopped in the middle of the street, blocking off the road.
“This is fine,” Carly said in a shaky voice as she dug into her purse with trembling fingers for her wallet. After handing the taxi driver his fare and a small tip, she got out and started walking on legs that felt as if they had the consistency of cooked noodles.
She saw the smoke billowing into the air, and her gut clenched. The smoke looked like it was close to where she and Shaun lived. Terror made her clumsy, and she stumbled, nearly falling to her knees on the pavement.
When she was as steady as she could be on wobbly legs, she ran, dodging police cars and firetruck hoses. An anguished moan erupted from her parted lips and her knees buckled when she saw that it was her apartment on fire. The firemen were doing a great job of containing it and keeping the flames from spreading to the adjoining apartments.
Carly pushed to her feet and stumbled forward and didn’t stop running until she was standing beside one of the fire trucks. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard it hurt. Tears rolled down her face, and she was shaking so much her knees were knocking together.
“Miss? Miss, are you all right?”
She turned her head as if in slow motion and stared at the uniformed cop without comprehension.
“Miss, are you hurt?”
“No.” She reached out and grabbed hold of the cop’s shirt. “Was there anyone home? Have the firemen been inside?”
“I don’t know. Do you know someone who lives here?”
“I do,” Carly replied hoarsely. “My brother and I do.” She covered her mouth as a sob escaped. She had to hold back the dam of terror and grief. If she let it free, she knew that she would never be able to plug the hole again.
“Don’t go thinking the worst,” the officer said as he took a step away once she let go of his shirt. “For all you know, your brother mightn’t have been home.”
“Carly?”
Carly’s breath stuttered when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She turned slowly, feeling as if she was in a waking nightmare, and saw Matt running toward her. “Where’s Shaun?”
She licked dry lips, her tongue so thick it felt foreign in her own mouth. Her lips parted as she tried to speak, but she felt numb and couldn’t form any words. She shook her head as a loud roaring sounded in her ears. Her knees buckled, but she never fell. Matt lunged for her and scooped her up into his arms.
“Breathe, sugar. You’re in shock.”
Carly drew in a deep breath and tried to push her fear aside, but once her brain kicked into gear, it was racing at about fifty thousand miles a minute.
“Why isn’t my brother with you?” Carly panted. “Did you have plans? Have you seen him? Has he contacted you? Oh, God.”
“Carly…”
Carly watched as all the color drained from Matt’s face. She shook her head and shoved him in the chest. Once she was back on her feet, she dug into her purse, looking for her cell phone, but she was shaking so much she lacked coo
rdination. Finally, with a screech of frustration, she knelt on the ground, dumped the contents of her purse out and snatched up her phone. She hit speed dial one and held the phone to her ear with a hand that trembled so much the phone was tapping against her flesh. She held her breath when the phone picked up, but it was just a recording. She was about to leave a message for her brother to call her immediately when a loud explosion assaulted her ears. The message died mid-sentence, and she lifted her head to stare in horrid incomprehension at the apartment she’d once shared with Shaun. The walls and glass had exploded out. Flames and thick, black, acrid smoke poured out and up into the sky.
The edge of Carly’s vision dimmed when she realized why Shaun’s phone cut off. He’d been home.
The days that followed were a blur. She moved, ate, and drank, but she didn’t remember when or what. She was in a catatonic stupor of pain and grief. Everything was blessedly numb. Matt had taken her back to his one-bedroom apartment, where she slept on his couch. Her brother’s other friends stopped by to give her their condolences, and while she had to have responded, she didn’t remember doing so.
She spoke to the authorities, and though she was asked to see if she could identify the body, Matt had stepped in and refused to let her see her brother. He’d gone to the morgue in her place, and she’d known by the anger, tears, and grief in his eyes that the identification had been verified.
The day of the funeral arrived and she stood by the gravesite as the minister droned on and on and on. Carly wanted to scream and yell at him, but she kept her emotions locked down tight. She didn’t want to let them loose because she knew if she did she wouldn’t be able to stop.
As the casket was lowered into the ground, she locked her knees to keep herself from collapsing and said goodbye to her brother, the last member of her family. Carly began to wonder if she was cursed. Maybe the fates had decided she was meant to be alone for the rest of her life. The pain in her chest, in her heart, was so acute that she’d been physically ill each and every time she ate or drank. She was listless and uncaring of anything or anyone. She wanted to curl up into a ball and die.
