“It was you.” Quinn must have discovered the truth. Carter’s thoughts splintered as he tried to understand. His voice shook. “Why?”
“You were going to leave me! After all I’ve done for you!” Elliott’s voice cracked, his face and neck reddening. “Don’t try to deny it! You were at CTA’s offices that morning. You were going to sign with Harvey Gold!”
He neared with slow, weighted steps. Carter remained poised to fight, clenching the steel shaft.
“I told Bianca I’d take a meeting with her agent to appease her, that’s all. I wasn’t going to leave you. And even if I had…Christ, Elliott…we’re talking about murder!”
Elliott released a shuddering breath and stared down at the knife in his hand. Then he looked at Carter again with wounded eyes. “You were supposed to be at the afterparty that night. Both of you. I came here to look for the contract in your study, to see if it was really true. Bianca found me there. That piece of Eurotrash always looked down on me. She thought I wasn’t a big enough name to rep you. It’d be a feather in her cap if she could bring you to CTA. She was so smug about it, taunting me, telling me I was through—”
Disbelief turned Carter’s stomach. “You killed her for that?”
“I should’ve just let her go. I wish to God I had.” Elliott’s words were strangled. “But I was high and I was angry! The shears were on your desk. I took them and I went after her. She’d gone into the bathroom.” He swallowed hard, his eyes filling. “Then you came upstairs.”
Carter had been collateral damage. His lungs burned with the betrayal. He glanced quickly behind him to Quinn. She remained motionless on the shower floor. His heart raced, his throat dry. He raised the shaft, ready to swing it to keep Elliott away.
“What’re you going to do?” he demanded, jaw squared, his throat tight with revulsion. “Stab me again? It won’t be so fucking easy this time!”
An electric moment passed. Then, to Carter’s shock, Elliott dropped the knife. It clattered to the floor.
“I’m tired. I…can’t do this anymore,” he whispered. His features collapsed. With a sob, he stumbled from the room.
Carter couldn’t follow. He had to stay with Quinn, get her help. He returned to the shower and, kneeling beside her, he picked up his cell from where he had shoved it out of the water’s way. As he dialed 911, he saw Quinn’s eyes were open again, her chest still rising and falling shallowly. Carter heard the roar of the Aston Martin’s powerful engine in the garage. Tires screeched as it pulled out.
A dispatcher spoke. “What’s your emergency, sir?”
He gave the home’s address. “I need help! I’ve got a woman in her early thirties. I think she’s suffering from heatstroke!”
“Is she breathing?”
“Yes, but she’s in and out of consciousness.” He touched Quinn’s skin, which had cooled under the water stream. “I’ve got her in a cold shower, but—”
He ducked, startled by the boom that came from somewhere outside, nearly shaking the house.
“Sir, I heard a noise. Are you still there? We have paramedics en route.”
“I’m still here.” As he spoke, he got to his feet. He moved quickly to the gym’s threshold and looked out through the open garage. The car was at the bottom of the rear driveway. He could see only its taillights and smoke rising through the boughs of an ancient black oak.
His muscles went weak. Elliott had driven into the tree at high speed.
“I have a second person who’s injured.” He passed a hand over his eyes as he returned to Quinn. “There’s been a car accident on my property. No, I’m sorry, I don’t know the driver’s condition. I’m staying with the woman.” He sank again to his knees beside Quinn, touching her face, his heart constricting. She moaned softly. “Please just tell me what to do to help her.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Carter nodded somberly to the police officer stationed outside the hospital room before entering. Elliott lay in bed, covered with a blue blanket, his left wrist handcuffed to the bed’s railing and his right leg in a cast. He had been staring out the window, but upon seeing Carter, he swallowed heavily.
While he had failed to kill himself, he had broken his leg and ruptured his spleen. The deployed airbag had left contusions on his face. He had been hospitalized for the past three days. Upon release, he would be in the custody of the LAPD.
“I’m surprised to see you,” he said, subdued. “If the situation were reversed, I wouldn’t be here.”
Carter’s jaw clenched in anger. It had taken a lot for him to come here, but he needed answers. He had spoken with the police, trying to piece together what had really happened last November. But there were things only Elliot could tell him.
“How’s Quinn?” Elliott inquired carefully. “Not that I have a right to be—”
“You don’t.” Tension tightened his body. Every time he thought of what Elliott had done to try to keep his secret, what he had nearly gotten away with, he felt sick. He thanked God he had found Quinn in time. “She was released yesterday,” he said finally.
Elliott let go of a contrite breath. “What about you? Shouldn’t you be in New York right now?”
“I’m doing the remainder of the junket via Skype. Considering what happened, the studio grew a heart.” It was absurd that after everything, they were having a business discussion. “I’m escorting Quinn back to Rarity Cove this afternoon. I’ll fly to New York next week for the premiere.”
Elliott nodded, not making eye contact, instead staring at the IV line attached to the back of his tethered hand. A hollowness in his chest, Carter studied him, trying to see beyond the outward shell of the man he had thought he knew to the killer underneath. His heart hurt. It was still unbelievable Elliott had been capable of such violence and deception.
“There must be a reason you’re here. I can’t imagine you’re concerned for my welfare. You probably hope I rot in prison.” His voice thickened. “For what it’s worth, I hope that, too.”
Carter didn’t respond. Instead, he dragged over a chair and sat beside the bed. “I’ve been talking to the detectives. Kelsey Dobbins told them she saw someone fleeing my house that night. But with her schizophrenia and history of stalking, they dismissed it.”
Elliott had grown still. Carter knew he had told the detectives he had used the hidden drive in the rear of the property that night. He had parked there, which was why his car hadn’t been visible when he and Bianca had arrived home. When asked how he had left no shoe prints at the scene, Elliott had confessed he had removed his shoes and used a towel to wipe his prints from the floor before fleeing, leaving only Carter’s behind. He had carried the shoes and bloody towel out with him. During the time it had taken emergency responders to make it up the canyon road, Elliott had been able to leave the property. And while his fingerprints had been in multiple places in the house, including on the shears along with Kelsey’s, the police had cleared him since he had been a frequent visitor. Carter gave a slow, disbelieving headshake. He felt disgust. “You were at the hospital with my family. You comforted them. You sat vigil with them in the ICU.”
When Elliott finally spoke, his voice was halting. “You weren’t supposed to live, Carter. Not after what I did to you. I was sure you were dead.” Eyes watering, he appeared reflective. “I was freaking out. I went back to my condo and somehow managed to get inside it without being seen. I washed the blood off me and hid my clothes in the trash. While I was doing it, a doctor from the ER called. You had me listed as your emergency contact in your wallet. He told me you’d been brought in but your condition wasn’t good and he doubted you’d make it. He advised me to get in touch with your family.”
Carter tried to tamp down his hurt.
“I…decided to play it out,” Elliott said quietly. “I had to make things appear normal. I called your brother, and then I went to the hospital.”
“And when I didn’t die?” He felt a pain in his throat. “I could’ve identified you at any ti
me.”
Elliott sighed softly. “When it started looking like you might make it, after all, I packed a bag and went to Mexico. I was down there for nearly two weeks, living on tequila and blow, trying to come to terms with what I’d done. I was keeping up with things online. I knew you were out of the coma. But when the reports kept talking about Dobbins being the attacker, I knew something was up.” He moved his hand, the cuff clinking against the metal bedrail. “I called your brother, told him I’d had to go out of town and was checking to see how you were. He told me about the memory loss and that the doctors believed, with the extent of your injuries, you’d never remember anything. They labeled it permanent retrograde amnesia.”
“So you came back.” Carter’s eyebrows drew downward. “You accepted the risk that one day I’d remember.”
Elliott shrugged. “I loved being an agent. When I landed you, things started getting even better. I couldn’t believe you’d signed with me instead of one of the big agencies. I loved the money, being a part of the glamour.” His voice hoarsened. “They were my other addictions.”
Carter figured the cocaine and alcohol had become Elliott’s coping mechanisms against the possibility he would be exposed should his memory ever return. But it still seemed crazy he had come back and waited in plain sight, never knowing if or when his world might implode.
“You were more than an agent to me.” Carter couldn’t help it. His voice quavered. “I…thought of you as a friend.”
Elliott took a deep, pained breath and closed his eyes.
A thickness in his throat, Carter rose from the chair. “I hope you get the help you need in prison. Good-bye, Elliott.”
He walked to the door, but Elliott spoke his name. He turned back to him.
“How do I live with this? With what I did?”
His heart heavy, Carter left the room.
* * *
“I’m taking it easy, I promise,” Quinn assured her mother over the phone. Nora had flown to California as soon as Carter had gotten hold of her to let her know what had happened, but she had returned home once Quinn was out of the woods.
“We’re flying back to Charleston this afternoon, but with the time change, it’ll be pretty late when we get there. I’m not supposed to drive for a while, but you can come see me tomorrow, if you want.”
As she walked from the bedroom into the cottage’s living area, her eyes met Carter’s as he entered. He had been out all morning, attending to business before they left town. Quinn had been packing while she talked to her mother and hadn’t heard his car pull up outside. “Mom, Carter’s here now. I’m going to go…I will. I love you, too.”
Once she disconnected, Carter leaned against the doorway and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Did Nora ask about me?”
She smiled at his humor. “She made a point of not mentioning you, actually.”
The grooves of his dimples deepened. “I’ll win her over eventually.” He grew more serious. “How’re you feeling?”
“My headache’s better, but the light’s still bothering me a little.” Quinn absently touched the bandage that covered the ugly bruise at her temple. In addition to mild heatstroke, she had suffered a concussion. Except for when he had stepped out of the room to speak to police, Carter had been at her side in the hospital the entire time. She recalled him at her bedside, teary-eyed and emotional. Once back on the East Coast, she would still have to go through some follow-up neurological testing.
“We really don’t have to travel today if you’re not up to it,” he said.
“I’m ready. I’ll wear my sunglasses.”
There wasn’t much left to do. They were both packed. The flooring repairs in the main house were underway, and the property would go on the market once they were completed. Carter’s furnishings and other belongings would remain in place until the estate sold.
“How’s your shoulder?” she asked as he came closer. Quinn had learned he had carried her out of the sauna, a feat she wouldn’t have thought his shoulder was ready for. But she supposed adrenaline had kicked in, and he’d done what he had to in order to save her.
“The ibuprofen and ice helped last night.” Gently cupping her jaw, he lowered his mouth to hers for a slow kiss. When their lips parted, Quinn looked into his eyes and saw a somberness there. “What is it?”
He sighed softly. “I went to see him.”
The admission made her chest tighten.
“I had to,” he said. “I had questions, and I needed closure.”
Quinn knew it couldn’t have been easy for him. Seeming to want to change the subject, he took her hands in his. “I have some other news. I made an offer on the house in Rarity Cove.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “When?”
“Yesterday.”
She thought of the beautiful beach home. “You just up and made an offer on the house? Like it was as simple as buying eggs or toothpaste?”
He shrugged, nonchalant.
“I didn’t know it was even for sale,” Quinn mused.
“It wasn’t, but I made an offer, anyway—one the owner couldn’t refuse. It’s ours.”
For a moment, her voice failed. “Ours?”
“I know we talked about taking this one day at a time.” His sapphire-blue gaze held hers. “But I want a life with you, Quinn, out of the spotlight as much as possible. I’m going to take steps to slow down this hamster wheel I’ve been on. I’ll have to be away some. I’ll still have to travel for filming and promotions, but Rarity Cove is going to be my home base from now on.”
Her stomach fluttered.
“I’m not rushing you. I know you’re waiting for the divorce to be finalized. I just want you to know how serious I am, and when you’re ready, I’m ready, too. Buying the house might be an impulse move, but I thought it was the right thing. It was starting to feel like our home.”
Hopefulness brimmed in his eyes. He stood there, tall and handsome, in front of her. Only a few months ago, she had thought of Carter as arrogant and spoiled, the grown-up, famous version of the teenager who had broken her heart. She couldn’t have been more wrong. She knew him now for the man he had become. He was generous and protective, kind-hearted and compassionate. Qualities that transcended what the world saw on-screen.
And just as he had needed her to help him recuperate, she had needed him, too. She still did. Quinn felt a pang inside her. She dared to believe she always would.
They could do this, couldn’t they? It would be crazy, but they at least deserved to try. Joy bubbled in her laugh. “I can’t believe you bought the house.”
His movie-star smile was dazzling.
Epilogue
Seven Months Later
“Uncle Carter!”
Entering the house, Carter dropped his suitcase and carry-on onto the foyer’s floor as Emily and Ethan swarmed to greet him, a barking Doug on their heels. Surprised by their presence, he laughed and caught Ethan in his arms and hoisted him up as Emily excitedly told him about the jigsaw puzzle she and Quinn were working on in the kitchen.
“It’s over three hundred pieces! Aunt Quinn says when we’re done we can glue them onto a board so I can hang it in my bedroom like a picture.”
As Emily talked, Carter’s eyes met Quinn’s as she appeared from the kitchen’s arched entryway. Like it always did, his heart warmed upon seeing her, his mouth curving into a smile. He had been away for the last six weeks filming The Rainy Season in Vancouver, Canada.
“Hi,” he said to Quinn.
She smiled as she came closer. “Hi, yourself.”
He set Ethan back down. “Em, how about taking your brother into the kitchen? I want to talk to Quinn. We’ll join you in there in a few minutes, okay?”
“Can I have a cookie?” Ethan asked as Emily led him away.
Quinn briefly laid her hand on the little boy’s dark head as the children passed by. “Just one, Em. Dinner’s in a few hours.”
“You have cookies?” Carter’s eyebrows raised onc
e they were alone. “When I’m here, all you have are wheat grass and chia seeds.”
“Funny. Samantha sent the treats. They came with the kids.”
He walked to where Quinn stood. She looked beautiful in the fall sunlight filtering in through the wall of French doors. It had done nothing but rain in Vancouver, and he had missed the mild fall weather here.
He had missed Quinn more.
She had flown up for two weekend visits while he had been filming, but it hadn’t been enough. He spoke as his lips brushed over hers. “Not that I don’t love my niece and nephew, but what’re they doing here? I was hoping to have you to myself.”
“Samantha had something she needed to do, and with Olivia and Anders still in Europe, I offered to take the kids since I only had morning appointments.” Quinn had opened a small, private physical therapy practice in town, just a few doors down from Café Bella. Being self-employed allowed her to set her own hours. “I didn’t realize you had gotten an earlier flight.”
“I wasn’t sure what your schedule was like, so I arranged for the St. Clair limo. Besides, I wanted to surprise you.”
“You did.” She touched his chest. “We’re having dinner at Mark and Samantha’s, by the way. Mercer and Jonathan will be there, too. They came in for the weekend.”
“I don’t suppose we could just skip?” he suggested good-naturedly.
“You’ve been gone for weeks. Everyone wants to see you.”
“What about what I want?” His words were husky. “I want to take you to bed and make love to you.”
Despite the sensual flare he saw in her eyes, Quinn hushed him, not wanting the children to overhear.
She turned to the kitchen, but Carter caught her hand, growing serious. “I talked to David this morning.” He saw her tense at the San Francisco attorney’s name. “He heard through the grapevine the trial’s been set for November fourteenth. It’ll probably make the news tomorrow.”
Low Tide: Rarity Cove Book Two Page 27
