My hands choke the wheel as I fight to obey orders. If this were any other suspect, I’d back off no problem. With the bird in the air, there’s no way she can hide and get away. Still, this is personal and I don’t want to leave any wiggle room for her to slip through our fingers.
We accelerate well over ninety miles per hour as soon as our tires hit the interstate. It becomes clear that she’s not going down without a fight and thinks she’ll be able to lose us. She weaves in and out of traffic like she’s Jeff fucking Gordon. She barely sideswipes one car, knocking off its mirror.
“Suspect is driving erratically. Can we get units ahead to clear a path?” someone says over the radio.
“Copy, sending units.”
Lydia.
She’s the only thing on my mind as I stare at the back end of the silver car. I wasn’t able to protect her the first time, and I will not fail her again. Stacy will pay for what she has done if it’s the last thing I do. Lydia will get justice and know that she’s safe from future harm.
My jaw hurts from grinding it as we approach the twenty minute mark of this chase. We’ve had to call into other jurisdictions and let them know what’s going on at this point, and there are more cop cars behind and around me than I can count. I’m not sure how much longer she’ll go, but I know I’ll be right behind her.
“Do we wait until she runs out of gas or try to take her out?” I hear over the radio.
“Who knows how long this will last. We need to take her out,” I say. I need to take her out.
“Too dangerous to do it like this. She’s going over a hundred miles per hour now.”
I pause for a second before I come up with an idea. “Let’s force her off. Set up a road block right after a good exit. She’ll have to get off or stop. Have spikes laid down so if she gets off, she runs those over and we take her in.”
“Sounds like a plan. Let’s set it up.”
Ten minutes later and the road block comes into view. She hits her brakes and I think she might give up, but guns it and cuts toward the exit at the last minute. A little excitement hits me knowing this is about to be over soon.
We’re on a two-lane road with no turnoffs or places for her to go. Just straight. It’s perfect. A mile down the way, I see cops parked off to the side of the road and know that’s where the spikes are set up. She hits them going seventy miles per hour. Her car swerves to the right before overcorrecting and veering to the left and into the ditch. The car bounces around violently as it traverses the grassy terrain. We all skid to a halt, surrounding her when she comes to an abrupt stop.
I spring out of my car, resting my arms on the top of my opened door with my gun drawn. “Come out with your hands up!” I yell. There’s no response and no movement.
We all hold our positions not knowing what Stacy will do. Several other officers yell at her to get out of the car, but she seems to be ignoring them too. Fuck this. As I’m about to make the stupid decision to go in after her, her driver door swings open. I tighten my grip on my gun, ready for whatever she might do.
“Get your hands where we can see them!” someone yells at her.
Her hands are the first thing we see, followed by her feet as she places them on the ground and gets out of the car.
“Turn around!” I yell, wanting her back toward us. She complies and I go in for the kill. Rushing toward her with others on my tail, I grab her by the shoulder and push her to the ground to arrest her.
Other officers run to my side, their guns drawn but pointed down. “It’s okay. I’ve got her,” I tell them. I stand her up, hold on to one of her arms, and look into her dead, cold eyes. The woman in front of me is nothing like the girl I once knew. The transformation is unsettling and shocking. Demonic is the only word to describe her expression. She looks up at me through her eyelashes with her eyebrows dropped and a sick grin spread across her face. It’s like she’s enjoying this.
“It’s a shame your little girlfriend pulled through. I should have aimed better.” She throws her head back and lets out an evil laugh causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up.
My free hand balls into a fist, shaking as my nails dig into my palm. I’ve never wanted to hit a woman so much in my life. Instead, I read her her Miranda Rights and hand her off to another officer before I do something that will land me in jail.
Once I’ve filled out all the necessary paperwork, I get in my car with a huff. The adrenaline that was pumping through my system for several hours has died, and now I’m exhausted. Glancing down at my phone, I see I have a missed call and a couple text messages from Lydia. I was supposed to be home a while ago, so she’s probably worried.
I dial her number and she answers on the first ring. “Marcus, are you okay?” she asks, concern in her words.
“Yeah, I’ll tell you about it when I get home. I’m on my way now.”
“Okay,” she says warily. “See you in a few then.”
“I love you, Lydia.”
“Love you too.”
Walking up the porch steps to my house, new emotions hit me. I can’t explain it, but something about being able to tell Lydia that it’s over has me a wreck on the inside. When I come through the front door, I’m met with the most gorgeous smile I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t matter how many times I see it, it always manages to take my breath away.
“I got her,” I say, my emotions weakening my voice. She freezes and stares at me like she’s afraid she heard me wrong. “That’s what held me up. I finally caught her.”
Her lip trembles and eyes water. Rushing to her, I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight to me as she shudders with each tear that falls. I bury my face in her hair and inhale her scent, feeling instantly at ease.
“It’s finally over, babe. You don’t have to worry about her anymore.”
A sob breaks through the silence as she releases every emotion she’s hidden deep within her to function through each day. Pulling back, her red-rimmed eyes stare up at me. “You really got her? You’re not just telling me that to make me feel better?” She sniffs.
I shake my head. “I’d never lie to you about that. Ever. The detective will probably call you soon to see if you can ID her, but it’s over. You don’t have to look over your shoulder anymore or jump when the doorbell rings. She can’t touch you ever again.”
Leaning down, I kiss her soft lips and taste the evidence of her tears. She takes a deep breath when our lips part. All the tension leaves not only her body, but the whole room. This chapter isn’t closed yet and we’ll have to go through the whole court thing still, but I know she can do it. She’s brave and strong and so fucking amazing. Soon, we’ll be able to put this behind us once and for all, but for now we can go through each day without worry and Lydia will know when I tell her she’s safe, that it’s true.
“I love you so much, babe,” I tell her.
“Show me,” she says.
“My pleasure.”
Lydia
PAIGE HAD TEXT messaged me earlier to see if I could meet them up at a local pub for happy hour. After the week I’ve had, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Work has been crazy busy, but busy is good. I’m building my portfolio and have more and more clients requesting me.
Life has calmed dramatically since Marcus arrested Stacy last month. I sleep easier at night and don’t worry about being home alone anymore. I always found it strange that she came back in town in the first place. I mean, if you’re on the run for attempted murder along with a plethora of other charges, why would you return to the scene of the crime so to speak? We found out later she was here to visit her mom who has been keeping her baby for her all of this time.
The prosecutor seems to think Stacy will accept a plea bargain and plead guilty, but I never make assumptions about that one. Nothing she does would surprise me at this point.
I park the car and walk into the pub, spotting my friends instantly in the corner. This place is dim with wood-paneled walls and highto
p tables. The décor makes me cringe, but they have the best drink specials in town.
“Hey, guys,” I greet as I have a seat.
Everyone responds at the same time, and it’s not long until we’re falling into an easy conversation about everything and nothing at the same time. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed my friends until this moment. With the craziness that life has thrown at me, I haven’t been out much, but now that it’s behind me, I can change that.
“We need to do this more,” I tell them.
“Agree,” Scarlett says.
“I was thinking we should start planning our next girls’ trip,” Charlotte says with a wide grin on her face.
“I think I’m still recovering from the last time,” I say with a laugh.
“Girl, we need to build your tolerance then,” Scarlett chimes in. Easy for her to say. She can drink any woman and most men under the table.
“Who knows? Maybe one of us will meet our very own Marcus on the next trip,” Paige says.
“You’re the only one of us that’s single now,” I respond. Three of us are already taken.
“Actually . . .” Scarlett draws out.
My face falls. “Seriously? You dated the guy for what? A week?”
“Two,” she says defensively, causing me to roll my eyes.
“I need to build my tolerance and you need to lower your expectations. If you’re waiting on the perfect guy who does no wrong and won’t annoy you, you’ll be single forever. He doesn’t exist.” Marcus is as close to perfect, in my opinion, as they come. However, he still does things that bug the hell out of me, and I’m sure he feels the same about me.
“Think about it; the beginning of any relationship is the best part. You’re happy, you don’t fight, you’re excited. If I’m not feeling him in the first two weeks, I’m bailing. It’s only going to get worse from there,” she tries to explain.
Shaking my head, I pick up my beer the waitress had brought over and take a drink.
“All joking aside, how are you these days?” Paige asks me.
I nod my head from side to side. “I’m doing good. My nightmares are gone, so I’m fine.” Three sets of eyes study me like they’re waiting for me to crack or something. “Seriously, guys, I’m doing a lot better now that she’s in jail.”
“I still can’t believe all of that went down,” Charlotte says with a shake of her head.
“You and me both,” I say on a sigh.
“How’s Marcus doing? How’s his back?” Scarlett asks before taking a drink of her beer.
“He’s good. He wasn’t sore anymore after about a week or so.”
Stacy had fired off two rounds before she ran away that day. What I didn’t know at the time is Marcus took one to the back when he lay on top of me. If he hadn’t protected me, it would’ve hit me in the center of my chest. His vest stopped the bullet, but left a nasty bruise, which made him stiff for a little while. He tries to downplay the fact that he saved my life, but he’s nothing short of my hero.
“Well, now that everyone is okay, we need to move on to some other important matters,” Charlotte declares. “The Outer Banks or Savannah for our next trip.” She cracks me up. Her eyes are practically twinkling with excitement.
We spend the next hour discussing vacation destinations and possible dates. I’m not going to lie; I’m pretty damn excited about it now too.
Marcus
I HAD COORDINATED with Lydia’s friends to keep her busy after work this afternoon, so they went out for happy hour at a restaurant close by. I wanted to do something fun, something that would bring us back to the moment we met, and I think I’ve accomplished that. She’s probably going to kill me for moving so much shit around, but hopefully it’s worth it.
At eight o’clock, she walks through the door, but instantly stops when she takes in her surroundings.
“Welcome to Club Riley,” I tell her.
The whole house is dark, with not a single light on. I’ve got strobe lights of every color set up all over the place with a black light in the corner. The stereo system that’s wired through the house gets cranked up, playing her favorite sweaty ball song. The décor is pretty minimal, but I don’t do all that fancy shit like she does.
I hold my hand out to her. “Dance with me,” I say over the music.
She grins before taking my hand. Pulling her close to me, I slide my leg between hers and move us in a steady rhythm to the beat. “Bring back memories?” I ask in her ear.
She nods. “Yeah, it does.”
My hands travel up her back before going back down her sides, resting on her ass. I give each cheek a squeeze as I pull her closer to me. “Mmm, I don’t remember that part,” she says.
“We just hadn’t gotten to the good stuff that night.”
Once the song is over, I grab her hand and lead her over to the wet bar I set up, but I pretend to be shocked when I feel the ring on her left finger. My ring on her left finger.
“How long have you been engaged?” I ask, deviating from our first interaction slightly.
She bites her lip and says, “Almost a year.”
I nod several times. “You might have mentioned that before you dry humped my leg a minute ago.”
Her head goes back as she laughs. “You’re ridiculous, but thank you for this. I’ve been in such a funk lately, and this is exactly what I needed.”
Picking up the remote, I turn down the stereo so we don’t have to yell at each other. “I know it’s hard to forget some things, but I think it’s important for us to remember where it all started and how we felt. How did you feel that night?” I ask her.
She thinks for a moment. “Alive.”
“If you hold on to that, you can get through anything.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before leaning down to kiss her.
“I love you,” she says.
“I love you more.”
Lydia
Seven and a half months later . . .
MARCUS COMES INTO the living room where I’m looking over the final files on a design I’ve been working on. He stands in front of me and looks at his watch.
“My magic watch says you’re not wearing any panties.” He looks at me with an arched eyebrow.
My eyes narrow in confusion. Surely this is one of his lines again. “But I am.”
“Oh, my watch must be fifteen minutes fast.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling, but it’s no use. “Very funny.”
Bracing his hands on the back and armrest of the couch, he leans down and gives me a kiss. “Whatcha working on?”
“Just going over some files again before I submit them tomorrow.”
“Okay, we’ll make this quick then.” He scoops me up off the couch and I think he’s going to carry me to the bedroom but heads for the front door instead.
“What are you doing?” I ask with a giggle as he struggles to grab his keys from the bowl on the entryway table.
“I want to show you something.” He rushes us out the door and into the car without further explanation.
He’s quiet on the way to wherever we’re going but glances over at me every so often with a smile firmly in place. There’s an excitement radiating off of him, and even though I don’t know what’s going on, it makes me excited too. It’s contagious.
The sun is low in the sky and the road we’re on is pretty empty this time of day. I pull the visor down to keep the sun out of my eyes as I look around for any clue as to where we’re going. A few minutes later, Marcus pulls over on the side of the road into the grass. I look around wondering what’s going on.
“What happened? Is there something wrong with the car?” I ask.
“I’m not sure. Why don’t you step out with me?”
With brow furrowed, I get out of the car as he walks around to my side. The sun is behind me as I look up at him.
“Do you recognize this spot?” he asks me.
I take another look around, but nothing about it sticks
out. With a shake of my head, I say, “No.”
“This is where we met for the second time two years ago today. I pulled you over in this same exact spot.”
A smile pulls at my lips. That’s right. I was so pissed, but my anger quickly turned into shock when I saw him waiting outside my window.
Marcus drops to one knee and grabs my hand while my mouth falls open.
“My mom once told me that we’re all exactly where we should be in life. That sometimes things happen we can’t explain, but it’s always for a reason. I wasn’t sure I believed her then, but I do now. It wasn’t by chance that I met you at that bar, or coincidence that I saw you again right here. No matter what life throws at us, we always find our way back to each other. We’re meant to be together, Lydia.”
Tears fill my eyes as I look down at the man who stole my heart and never gave it back.
“I want to marry you. I want to laugh with you. I want to fight with you. I want you to have my babies and spoil our grandbabies together. When I think about my future, you’re all I see. I want to ask you again with a clean slate, will you marry me?”
There’s no hesitation like the last time and I immediately say, “Yes!”
Standing up, he hugs me tight while kissing me. I don’t believe in chance either; this is fate and exactly where I belong.
By the time we get home, we can’t take our hands off of each other and are halfway undressed when we walk through the front door. Having already unbuttoned his shirt, I push it off of his shoulders and he lets it drop to the floor. He unfastened my pants on the way inside, so I remove them the rest of the way before he lifts me up and pins me to the front door with a thud. My legs wrap around him like a vice grip as my fingers tangle in the back of his hair.
We’re lips and hands and can’t get enough of each other. My chest rises and falls quicker while my center throbs with need. Lifting my shirt up above my breasts, he cups me over my bra. My nipples stand at attention from the dulled contact.
Calculated Risk Page 18
