by Radclyffe
“I thought you’d want to know we found Agent Cehan.”
“Thank God, we were worried sick,” Cain said and Emma laughed. “Who was he trying to strong-arm? Whoever it was probably got a big load of his charming personality before he ran and hid behind the giant blue wall that is the FBI.” She forced a smile. “Brent Cehan is a gorilla with a badge, and I’m never going to change my mind about him, but I’m sure his mother’s glad you found him.”
“He trashed a room here last night and tried to beat a team of security guards when they attempted to remove him. All that while he was high on crack. We just posted bond for him at central lockup.” Shelby folded her hands and rested them on the table. “Amazingly, the security team was able to land their punches in the exact spots Brent hit you.”
“And the coincidence makes me responsible?”
“Seems odd, doesn’t it?”
“Aren’t you glad someone brought him down before he did any more damage?”
“I should thank you, is that what you mean?” Shelby asked.
“Not me, but the security staff here would probably appreciate a fruit basket.”
“Maybe it’s karma for scrambling Cain’s head.” Emma nibbled on her muffin. “Now he might see how important a clear head and his health really are. It took a while before Cain’s seizures went away, so I’m sorry if we can’t work up any sympathy for him.”
“Once his high wore off a bit, he swore the blows to the head came from you,” Shelby pointed to Cain, “and the staff here simply Tasered him.”
“When did I supposedly do this?”
“Last night, which we can disprove since Joe Simmons and I as well as the other surveillance tools at our disposal back up your alibi. Brent knows that, but he still swears you beat the crap out of him and forced drugs on him.”
“Isn’t that what addicts do?” The waiter came, refilled her coffee, and seemed bright enough to know Shelby wasn’t staying. “Blame anyone and everyone but themselves, I mean.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“That sums it up,” Cain said.
Shelby left, mumbling what sounded like curses.
“You might drive them all to drugs and alcohol before it’s all over.” Emma waved to Claire and Joe, who followed Shelby out.
With time Cain figured Brent would get over the cravings from the hits they’d given him the night before, but he’d probably lose his job. That should’ve happened way before now and would save someone down the line from Brent’s temper. Last night was about paybacks, and it was satisfying to know he’d never forget their brief encounter where she’d reversed their roles. Brent had looked like a scared little boy when it was him tied down and at her mercy.
“That would’ve been a good trick, you have to admit.”
Emma laughed. “What, teleporting yourself magically out of your body, beating Brent, making him attack the staff, and popping back in without even me noticing? You’re right, but like you said, you’re the devil they know. If you did have an out-of-body experience, they’ll never figure out how you pulled it off. You could headline in Vegas with talent like that.”
“I could tell them my secrets, but what’d be the fun in that?”
“True, baby, but for today, they can sit in the dark and wonder how you got another one past them.”
Gun Brooke (gbrooke-fiction.com) resides in the countryside in Sweden with her very patient family. A retired neonatal intensive care nurse, she now writes full-time, only rarely taking a break to create websites for herself or others and to do computer graphics. Gun writes both romance and sci-fi. Connect with her on Facebook (gunbach), on Twitter (redheadgrrl1960), and on Tumblr (gunbrooke).
This story features characters from Fierce Overture.
Fiercely Yours
Gun Brooke
The SUV skidded across the road, swerving over to the opposite lane and back. Helena gripped the steering wheel tightly and stomped on the brake. The snow whipped at the windshield like bullets as she fought to keep the vehicle on the road. Next to her, Noelle gasped as they nudged another snowbank.
“Damn it!” Helena tried to slow the car down, but it behaved like Noelle’s little Lotus Elise. At least nobody else seemed to be out at this late hour.
“Carolyn and Annelie must be getting worried. I’ll give them a call.” Noelle pulled out her cell phone. “Oh, great. No signal. Guess that’s what you can expect this far into the Adirondacks.”
Helena didn’t dare take her eyes off the road to look at the gorgeous woman next to her. Noelle, worshipped by millions of fans for her music, was, unfathomably, Helena’s miracle. Their start had been rocky, but the attraction was undeniable, and love had grown very quickly. Now they were on their way to visit their closest friends, another famous couple, Carolyn, an award-winning actor, and her wife Annelie, producer and publisher. Why the two of them insisted on living this far away from civilization was anyone’s guess.
“Still nothing,” Noelle sighed. “At least the GPS is working so we don’t end up in—oh God!”
Helena tried the brakes, hoping the ABS system would help keep them on the road. The car seemed to do a slow-motion dance routine, and suddenly another snowbank was looming over them. Everything came to an abrupt halt. The seat belt dug into her upper body, and the airbag deployed with a startling sound, muffling her cry.
“Helena!” Noelle’s voice was pitched high with fear. “Are you all right?”
Helena shifted, blinking against the strange dust whirling around them. It was freezing cold and the engine had stopped. The pounding of her heart filled her ears. “Noelle?”
“You blacked out for a few moments.” Noelle ran her hands up and down Helena’s body. “We slammed into a snowbank and something else, something harder. The windshield is in a million pieces.”
That explained the cold. “L-let’s see if it’ll start,” Helena murmured. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Your side of the car took most of the impact.”
Helena turned the ignition key with trembling fingers. The engine coughed once and then died. Despite her attempts, the car would not start. “Terrific. Your cell?”
“Still no signal.” Noelle leaned to the side and felt for something on the floor. “Hey, the GPS is still working. At least we know where we are.”
“How far to Carolyn’s cabin?”
“I can’t judge distance exactly, but it looks doable. We’re both dressed properly for this weather. Well, almost. We have to change footwear.”
Helena probed the tender spot on the side of her head. She must have hit it against the door—she had a growing bump to prove it. “I guess you’re going to force me into those horrible things you insisted on bringing for both of us.”
“If you’re talking about the Uggs, then yes, I am. If you think I’m going to let you make your way through this blizzard in your Blahnik ankle boots, you’re dead wrong.”
“I like when you take command.” Helena winced as she smiled at her own words. Her head really was hurting now.
“And I’ll remind you of that.” Noelle sounded teasing, but her hands were gentle as she cupped Helena’s chin and turned her head. “Oh, honey. That’s got to hurt.” She placed whisper-light fingertips against the bump. “Ouch.” She kissed Helena’s cheek quickly and then crawled into the backseat. She sorted through their luggage and returned with two pairs of black Uggs. Noelle helped Helena out of her beloved Blahniks and into the soft, warm boots. “There. You need this too.” She wrapped a wool scarf around Helena’s neck. “Got your gloves?”
“Hey, you’re not my mother.” Helena frowned.
“No,” Noelle said calmly, “but you’re decidedly dazed and perhaps concussed. I’m not taking any chances with the woman I love.”
Helena had to smile, even if it hurt. “Sweet-talker.”
Noelle checked her ever-present tote bag. “I think I have everything. Phone, GPS, water—no doubt it’ll freeze—and the first aid kit wi
th the survival blanket and stuff.”
“I’ll never tease you about that bag again. I’ll have to get out on your side—mine is blocked by the snowbank.” Helena moaned as she slid over to the passenger side of the car. Outside, she pulled her faux fur closer, grateful that it reached her calves. “God almighty, it’s cold.”
As they walked, Noelle checked the GPS every few minutes.
“I bet they’ll be surprised when we arrive on foot.” Helena chuckled mirthlessly. “I know Annelie is quite outdoorsy when they’re up here, but Carolyn is more like me. A fire, some brandy or red wine, and a good book.”
“Or, as I recall,” Noelle said in a sultry voice, “a fire, some warm, spicy body oil, and…me.”
“Darling, you know how to keep a woman warm on an icy-cold winter evening.” Helena glanced over at her lover. “This year we’ve had together—I’ve never been happier. I never knew there was such…such contentment. I know it might sound boring, but I can’t remember ever feeling such bliss. Coming home after a day’s work to you is wonderful. I don’t dread it any longer.”
“You used to dread coming home?” Noelle pulled Helena closer as they made their way through the drifting snow. “You never told me this.”
“It’s nothing you just say, since it sounds utterly pathetic. It wasn’t as bad when I went to my house in the Hamptons. There I had my dog and my housekeeper, and sometimes friends like Manon would visit. If I ever entertained, it was acquaintances or business associates more than friends.” Helena shook her head. “Speaking of Manon, I think you see more of her and her group than I do these days.”
“Only because we’ve been cutting a few tracks for my new album, sweetie.” Noelle rubbed Helena’s arm. “You’re shivering.”
Helena smiled at the thought of the four women in the famous improvisation group, who were now close friends. “I’m a little cold. Tell me about the new songs again.” The Chicory Ariose group didn’t normally record Noelle’s type of music. They were instead famous for their special style of creativeness, never sounding quite the same twice. “How’s it working for you?”
“Actually, it’s working out great. I stick to the melodies and the lyrics as I wrote them. Manon, Eryn, and Mike play them beautifully, but it’s Vivian’s voice that makes them soar. She’s added some brilliant tracks. She keeps joking that she loves being a backup singer, which is crazy, of course. Vivian Harding, world-renowned mezzo-soprano, is nobody’s backup singer.”
“Neither is Noelle Laurent. Our friends in Chicory Ariose love working with you. They consider you the most amazi—oh!” Helena’s feet lost their grip, Uggs or no Uggs. Flailing with her free arm, she tried to keep her balance but knew she was going down. She tried to not drag Noelle down with her, but her lover was clearly not about to let go.
“Helena!” Noelle tugged at her, but they still tumbled into a snowdrift.
The ground seemed to give way and Helena rolled down a slope into the trees, moaning as her already bruised body took yet another beating.
*
Noelle felt around in the snow for her bag and the flashlight. Perhaps it was broken, as it certainly didn’t light up anything around her. “Helena, are you all right? I can’t see you.” Helena didn’t answer and Noelle tried to swallow the panic that rose in her throat. “Helena, please, where are you?”
The snow reflected enough light to see a little way into the woods, but not enough to make out specific details. Noelle had no idea from which direction they’d fallen. The area around them was a series of slopes, and the drifting snow was covering their tracks quickly. And Helena. If she was unconscious, it wouldn’t take very long for the snow to cover her. Noelle’s heart pounded in fast, painful contractions.
“Helena. Talk to me. Whistle. Anything!” Sobbing now, Noelle dug through the snow with her hands, not caring one bit that she was getting colder with each passing moment. She crawled on hands and knees, shoving her gloved hands through the snow, frantically searching for Helena. Suddenly she felt something and gripped it tightly. “Helena? Oh, God.” But it was only her purse. “Where are you? Why aren’t you answering?”
Noelle kept calling out, but she needed to see! Remembering her phone, she pulled it out, opened her start screen, and found the flashlight app. Holding the phone aloft, trembling in the cold, Noelle scanned the area. Tall pine trees obscured her vision, but they also gave her an idea where Helena might have ended up as they tumbled off the road.
She was just about to move farther to the right when something glimmered in the snow. Sliding down through the powdery snow, she clung to her purse and the all-important phone, not taking her eyes off the sparkling object. As she came to halt, she recognized Helena’s diamond-studded watch. A black leather glove showed it was still attached to Helena, who was almost buried in a pile of snow. Shoving the phone back into the purse, Noelle bent down and laid her cheek just above Helena’s mouth. Small puffs of air against her skin told her all she needed to know. Helena was alive.
“Sweetie. Please. Can you look up at me? Helena?” Noelle couldn’t tell how badly Helena was injured and was afraid to move her. “Please, sweetie. Can you hear me?”
Miracle of miracles, Helena slowly opened her eyes. She was shaking badly now, but at least she was conscious.
“Noelle?”
“Oh, thank God.” Noelle pressed her lips to Helena’s. “Are you in pain? Can you move?”
“I…No, I’m not hurt any more than before. I don’t think so, at least. Help me up?”
Helena sounded so unlike her normal assertive self, Noelle hardly recognized her voice. She supported Helena as she stood on wobbly legs.
“Where’s the road? Are you all right? You…you’re bleeding!” Helena gently touched Noelle’s left temple. “Did you hit your head?”
Noelle looked at the dampness on Helena’s gloves. “I don’t know.”
“We have to get back up to the road.”
“I guess we can just follow our tracks back up. We better be quick. It’s coming down hard again.”
Small, whip-fast snowflakes hit Noelle’s face as she looked up to locate the furrows in the snow. She lost track of time as she held on to Helena and waded through the knee-deep drifts. She could hardly feel her feet anymore despite the warm Uggs, and she was worried sick about Helena’s less-than-proper winter attire. “How are your legs and feet?”
“Don’t ask. I’m afraid to look. I don’t feel much of them.”
Noelle forced back sobs of panic. She knew they were in deep trouble. If they didn’t come across a house soon, or even a shed, they were at risk for developing hypothermia. She’d read horrible accounts of how people had started to undress in the bitter cold, the confusion of the later stages of hypothermia making them think they were burning up. She would not allow this to happen to Helena. They had so much to live for. And what would her mother and sisters do without her? She was the breadwinner in the family. They relied on her, and they loved Helena. They would all be heartbroken if something happened to either of them, let alone both.
Finally they reached level ground.
“This must be the road,” Noelle said, although the snowfall was so dense now it was hard to know for certain. “Let’s keep going the way we started out. Hold on to me. I’ll carry you if I have to.” Noelle doubted it was possible, but she would die trying.
“I think I’m hallucinating,” Helena murmured, staggering toward Noelle. “Is…is that a helicopter? Or perhaps…a wolf? That’d be all we need. P-predators.”
Noelle whimpered, pulling Helena closer to make sure she didn’t go down. She didn’t think she would be able to get her up again if she did. It scared her that it was even the slightest bit tempting to lie down in the snow to rest a little while. And yes, she did hear a distant roar, growing in strength by the second. Perhaps it was a wolf. A large Adirondack beast that would dig its fangs into them and tear them to shreds…
A bright light shone from behind and the roar came closer
. Nearly falling, Noelle tried to push Helena out of the way. No monsters with bright, shiny eyes would get their paws on her lover.
“Hey there! What’re you two gals doing out in this kinda weather?” A rumbling male voice broke through Noelle’s fearful imaginings. “That’s got to be your car I found mangled back there.”
“Oh, my…” Helena clung to Noelle. “A plow. A tractor and a plow.”
A plow? Really? Noelle squinted at the figure jumping out of the growling vehicle and hurrying toward them. A short, stocky man dressed in bright orange coveralls wrapped his arms around their shoulders and pushed them toward the tractor. “Come on, gals. We gotta getcha into the warmth before you croak.”
After some effort on the driver’s part, they were soon huddled on a ledge behind the driver’s seat in the blessedly heated cabin of the tractor.
“I’m Hugh,” the man said as he took his seat, flipped some levers, and continued plowing. “I’m cranking the heat up to max. You’ll be toasty in no time.”
“Thank you, sir.” Noelle trembled so badly now, she could barely remain upright.
“No need to call me sir. Just Hugh is fine.”
“Thank you, Hugh.” Helena slumped against Noelle. “Do you know where Carolyn Black and Annelie Peterson live? We were driving to them when our car hit a snowbank.”
“Annie? Sure thing. Those lovely ladies are my next-door neighbors. Their cabin is only about a mile from mine. I’ll take you right there, unless either of you need medical attention. My missus is a registered nurse.”
“We just need to get warm. Thank you again, Hugh.” Helena closed her eyes and pushed her face against Noelle’s neck. “Thank God.”
“Good thing I came along when I did.” Hugh shook his head. “You looked like you were about to fall over.”
Noelle nodded, too tired to reply. She couldn’t wait to get to the cabin and get warm. A bath and a cup of hot chocolate would be heaven. With Helena. Thank every single deity. With Helena.
