by Maggie Thom
He wandered around the gardens for a while but got bored. Besides, the gardener was following him around, making sure he didn’t touch any of his prized flowers. Then he found a narrow dirt path that took him into the forest. He followed it, weaving back and forth until he’d finally come upon a clearing. Encouraged by the sunshine in the open space, he stopped to pick flowers for his Grandmother that were unlike any he’d seen in her gardens. When he was about half way, he spotted the top of a house peeking above the trees, urging him to explore.
“That way.” He pointed straight across the open stretch in front of them. As he let go of the last vestiges of his memory, he found it ironic that he’d wandered for hours but after Geoffrey had beaten him, he’d found his way home in record time.
“The police are coming, right?”
“Bean said they’re on their way.” They bounced over the rough terrain but Graham didn’t slow down.
Guy stared eagerly ahead but there was no sign of a building. As they approached a large cluster of massive trees, he grabbed Graham’s arm. He hit the brakes immediately. They climbed out and moved silently through the grove, pausing periodically to listen and observe. All he saw was a forest. Frowning, his eyes returned to the densest area.
“It’s here. I know it. Where the hell do you hide a shack?”
“Let’s split up. I’ll go about a hundred and fifty feet that way,” Graham pointed off to his left. “You walk toward me and then we’ll zigzag back and forth as we go forward.”
They moved off.
I’ll kill you Geoff. I will kill you.
Guy and Graham methodically searched the area. They had been walking for only a couple of minutes, when Graham crowed; had the situation not been so dire, he might have smiled at Graham’s bird call—a cross between a choking chicken and a dying crow—but it helped him to realize he needed to stay focused on saving Bailey and not killing Geoff. Guy needed his wits about him. He moved toward Graham and it wasn’t until he’d almost reached him that he realized the dense area they’d passed could actually hide a house, overgrown and camouflaged by plants. Though it gave the appearance of a place swallowed by undergrowth, Guy’s gut told him it was Geoffrey’s concerted landscaping. He was in there.
Not sure what they’d find, they remained together, stealthily making their way around the perimeter. Even after circling the area, they couldn’t find any opening and because they hadn’t been paying attention to where they stepped, they might have trampled any evidence that might have shown where Geoff had entered the building.
“Shit! I know they’re in there. The question is how did they get in? We may have to start pulling boards.” Frustrated after the second lap around, Guy kicked the ground. The fern that looked like it had grown over fluttered and moved. He bent down and pulled on one of the fronds. It came away in his hand. Crab walking forward he kept grabbing and moving the fake plants that had covered what looked to be a path. When he reached a wall, he yanked and pulled aside the vines to reveal a trap door. Two boards had been removed and were leaning off to the side, hidden by dense undergrowth.
“You bastard...”
Bailey’s voice was muffled but distinct. He ripped at the wall until Graham reached past him and stuck his hand in a hidden hole, grabbed the handle and pulled. Spotting long brown hair and trickles of blood running along a bra strap and over bare skin, Guy reached in. He grabbed the back of the waistband with both hands and hauled her out. Fighting for all she was worth, just as she cleared the door her left arm connected with his jaw. Losing his footing, they fell sideways. Her fists pummeled him as she scrambled to get away.
“Bailey. Bailey! It’s me. I’m here to help you.”
The sound of a gunshot gave Guy the leverage he needed. He grabbed her wrists and pulled her into the bushes behind him, stopping when he realized she was hobbling. Her eyes were wild and unfocused, peering at him through her mane of tangled hair. He pulled her close, hugging her until he felt some of the tension leave her body. He wanted to say so much to her but now wasn’t the time. He did what he hoped would convey what he couldn’t say. He kissed her hard. At first there was no response but then she returned his passion in full, holding him tight. She was clinging to him as though she never wanted to let him go. It was the sound of more shots that pulled him back to the present. He gently pushed her away, giving her one more quick kiss before thrusting her at Graham.
“Take her. I have to get Geoff.” He moved past them and snuck back to the opening. Geoffrey was standing in the middle of the floor, his head thrown back, his body shaking with laughter. It was deep and guttural and sent a cold arrow right to Guy’s core.
What did you do to her, you bastard?
All his life he’d wanted the opportunity to beat the man to a pulp. It had been an obsession. He’d trained. He’d sweated. He’d waited. And now the moment was on him. He had enough reasons, if not for what he’d done to him throughout his life, but also for what he’d done to Bailey.
Geoff raised his arms toward the ceiling and shouted, “Come and get me, you bastard. Come and get me. I’ve served you well.”
The sirens howled in the distance.
Graham stepped out of the thick foliage, supporting Bailey. “Guy, we have to get out of here. He’s planted explosives. They’re set to go off any minute.”
Guy glanced at them before returning to the scene playing out inside the house. Geoff seemed to be in another world, unaware of what was going on around him. “Go. I’ll be right there.” He climbed through the hole. His uncle had to have heard him but didn’t acknowledge him.
“Geoff, we have to leave.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” He swung around, aiming the gun at Guy. His finger stroked the trigger. A smile of revenge lit his face. “Brave Guy, saving the damsel in distress. How sweet. Always the little suck-up. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.”
“We need to get out of here. This place is going to explode.”
“You think I’m stupid, boy. I set the damn dynamite. This isn’t the way I planned on going out but getting to take you along will be a bonus. Dorothea will be devastated at losing her little pet.”
“Why do you hate her so much? She did everything for you.”
“She was the golden one, the one with true blue blood.” Spittle flew from his mouth as he yelled, “Mine’s just as good dammit. Mine’s just as good.” The black, dead pupil was all Guy could see over the muzzle of the gun.
There was no doubt Geoff would shoot him and there was no way Guy could save both of them, so he took the only choice he had. He dove through the hole behind him. He jumped to his feet and ran, like he had the time Geoff had beaten him as a kid and threatened his life. Shots pinged around him as he weaved. His arm felt like it was on fire but he didn’t stop to see why. He burst out into the open field, thrilled to see the Hummer, jumping in through the open back door. Graham hit the gas pedal and spun the wheel at the same time, whipping them around to bounce and jerk their way over the grassy field. They were about halfway to the tree line when the explosion rocked the ground beneath them. The deafening force shoved the Hummer like a bulldozer on full throttle. They fishtailed sideways but Graham struggled to correct their course while fighting to keep the vehicle moving forward. Once the power of the explosion abated, they slowed, looking back, jaws slack. Flames shot skyward in every direction. Chunks of wood, tree branches and debris flew through the air, some landing within spitting distance of them.
“Get out of here, Graham.” The words were barely out of Guy’s mouth before they were on the move again, maneuvering around the debris field. They didn’t slow down until they’d reached the cobbled sidewalk. They drove past Emilio, who wore a horrified expression, not because a building had blown up and was landing all over the place but because of the damage done to his beautiful gardens.
“Did you call the fire department?”
“Yup, they’re on their way as well. I called Bean to let him know what was going down. I thin
k we’ll let him sweat a bit about whether or not we got out. I think this lady needs to get to the hospital.” Graham indicated Bailey who was strapped into the passenger seat, slumped against the door, a hastily applied tourniquet tied around her calf.
“What happened?”
“He shot her in the leg. Cut her up a bit. Physically, she’ll be fine.”
As they approached the gate, Guy called ahead. “Open the gate, Jim. We’re on the way to the hospital. The fire department and the police are on the way.” When they reached it a few seconds later, it was open and Jim gave them a thumbs-up.
“Looks like you could use the hospital too?”
“Huh?” Until that moment Guy hadn’t felt the pain. Now there was a burning fire radiating from his shoulder. Moving his arm from where he cradled it against his chest, he pulled his shirt up and over his head, groaning only slightly as everything threatened to go black. He wrapped the shirt tightly around the wound where the blood was running freely. He had no idea if he’d been shot or if it was the result of his dive to ground. He just knew it hurt like a bugger.
“Did you learn anything from that son of a bitch?”
“Yeah. He was and always will be a bastard.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
“I didn’t steal you.” Dorothea looked at him beseechingly.
“Let her sleep, Gram.” Guy gently touched Dorothea’s shoulder. She was slouched in the overstuffed chair beside Bailey’s bed.
“Come on. I’ll take you to your room.” Since she didn’t argue nor offer resistance, an indication of how tired she really was, it was easy for Guy to help her to her feet and escort her to her bedroom.
“It’s a day of no more secrets.” Looking at him with pain-filled eyes, she patted the stool in front of her. “Come. Sit. There are some things you need to hear.”
Frowning, he did as she asked.
“In this family there are too many stories; too many half truths and too many lies.” She bowed her head. He squeezed her hand in a gesture of reassurance. Tears streamed down her face and dripped off her chin, yet she made no sound.
He gently brushed away the moisture. “Stop. You can’t go back and change anything. Beating yourself up isn’t helping anyone.”
“I know but I can’t stop. He was my brother. I knew he was a bully, but I never thought he was evil enough to hurt others like he did. The stories that are coming out—they can’t all be true. Can they?”
Guy pursed his lips but didn’t answer. He was sure they hadn’t even touched on the horrors that Geoff had inflicted. Guy put his arms around her and let her rest against his shoulder. The newspapers were having a field day with stories about Geoffrey. The gates to Geoff’s life had been blown wide open. It was hard to sift through what was fact and what was fiction but Guy didn’t doubt that a lot of it was true. He just hadn’t wanted his grandma to learn of them that way.
Five prostitutes had been found in a marshy field a few miles further east of the house he’d blown up. Prostitutes that would never have gone to the police were telling the media about the depraved man that had visited them regularly. None of them had been confident they’d still be alive when he’d finished with them. He had beaten all of them, permanently scarring many and performing atrocities that even the newspapers hesitated to print.
Then there were the people he’d bilked out of money. After stealing their life savings, he had brutalized them so they’d been too frightened to go to the police. The only person that found anything nice to say about him had been his receptionist. He’d been distant but fair with her. She never commented on whether she believed what was said about him. The horror the man had inflicted on so many people made Guy sick to his stomach.
“I don’t know, Grams.”
“You’re a good person, Guy. I’m sure he left his scars on you, too.”
He shrugged, not wanting to discuss with her what the man had done to him.
“There are things I should have told you.”
“It’s okay—”
“This is my tale to tell. You just listen. No more half-truths.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “Anna was a maid here. She got pregnant. Rather than tell us about it, she left. I tried to find her but couldn’t. A few years later, I had a private investigator track her down—and found you. There were rumors she’d been raped and conjecture about the father but Anna never told us. She was a beautiful lady. Her mother, your grandmother, Maria, had worked for our family for forty years but when she retired, she was bitter, hated this family. She blamed this family for her daughter’s fall from grace. I think Anna was in love and her mother didn’t approve of the relationship. Maria became nasty and made up stories.”
His eyes widened and he could tell from her anxious expression that she was waiting for his reaction. He knew most of what she was telling him. Geoffrey had felt it important that he know his lack of heritage. He schooled his features and smiled warmly at her.
“She was urging Anna to sue us; to say Joseph, your grandfather, was the father. He wasn’t. Anna made that clear to us. And I know he would never have cheated on me. She fought her mother. But when your mother died in a car accident, your grandmother wanted to use you as a pawn to make money. I couldn’t stand what she’d done to Anna and then what she was trying to do to you.” She sighed heavily. “I have always loved you like you were my own. Unfortunately, you had become a piece of property to her. I didn’t steal you, but I agreed to pay but only if I got to raise you.”
“Very lucky for me.” Guy knew there was more to the story and that Dorothea had searched for almost a year to pull him out of the foster care system, his real grandmother had thrown him into.
Dorothea curled into herself, her head dropping to her chest. Startled, he leaned forward just as she raised her eyes to him. “It was lucky for me, too. Joseph died two years later and if it hadn’t been for you, I’d have been alone. Gina was grown and gone and not wanting to have much to do with me. You were my son. My grandson. I hope you know that hasn’t changed.”
He hugged her. How long they sat there, he had no idea but at some point he became aware of her sagging against him in exhaustion. She was sleeping. He picked her up and laid her on the bed. He called Penelope to sit with her.
Guy left them alone, relieved that his grandmother was in good hands. Not only did she have a loyal staff but good friends as well. She’d need them. Stopping on the third floor, he walked onto the balcony rather than return to Bailey’s room. He took in several deep breaths of the cool morning air.
“Craziest week I’ve ever had.”
He spun around to face his friend and partner. “Yeah, not one I want to repeat any time soon. God, Graham.”
“I know. We all have our skeletons but whoa I don’t know anyone who can top your uncle’s. Geoffrey was one sick puppy... if everything they say is true.”
Guy shoved his hand through his unruly, thick hair that badly needed washing. He winced at the movement.
“How’s the arm?”
“It’s aching but the bullet just grazed me. I didn’t even need stitches.”
Graham hooted. “That’s only because the doctor and Godzilla, the nurse, couldn’t strap you down long enough to sew you back together. God, the look on that nurse’s face when you grabbed her and kissed her on the mouth and then told her it had been a long time since you’d had a real woman. I thought she was going to be a puddle at your feet. Yeck!”
“Uh, but it got me out of having stitches.” He smiled. “Man, I need a shower. You?”
“Yeah. I guess I should. I’m just going to finish my beer. Sure you don’t want one?”
Guy shook his head and headed back into the house. He went to Bailey’s room to check on her. She was sleeping soundly. The raw indents around her right wrist from the plastic cuffs looked like a neon sign against the white coverlet. His whole body tensed as he thought about what his uncle had put her through—had put all of them through. Not wanting to wake her, he stepped back,
gently closing the door and heading to his room beside hers. He stripped and stepped into the shower. He turned it on as hot as he could and soaped himself down four times before he just stood there and let the water cascade over him. He shut his mind to all that could have happened and focused on the fact that Bailey was safe. Everything had been resolved. And he wasn’t the outsider Geoff had wanted him to believe he was. Dorothea’s trust, the craziness of all that had happened, meeting Bailey, was like a kick in the pants; one he’d probably needed for a while. It didn’t matter where he came from. This was his family, his responsibility. He’d never really been sure where home was but he knew now.
He heard a distinct plop.
Guy opened his eyes and cocked his ear.
It was repeated.
He froze. With no idea what the noise was—especially coming from inside his bathroom—he started to reach out when the curtain was suddenly whipped aside. He jerked backward, his feet performing a fancy shuffle that barely kept him from landing on his butt. Bailey, in all her glorious skin and one white bandaged calf, climbed in beside him.
“I...” He tried to keep his eyes on her face; but beautiful though it was it wasn’t quite as strong as the lure of the rest of her.
She put her finger to his lips. “I’m not asking. I’m taking. I’ve had a bitch of a week.” She shook her head and smiled. “But you were always there for me. You saved me.”
“So this is a pity fu—”
Her hand pressed over his mouth, muffling his response. Her slick body slid against his and that was just about enough to undo him. Groaning he pulled her in tightly, letting his hands roam over her back and down over her tight butt. His lips devoured hers. Her hands slid down over his shoulders and although there was a short jolt of pain reminding him of his injury, he ignored it and continued to explore all that she was offering.
He wasn’t sure what brought him to his senses, maybe her brushing his wound, the whimper she let out when she stepped wrong on her injured leg or good old guilt. Breathing hard, he gently pushed her back. His hands slid up to cup her face as he softly kissed her ravaged mouth.
