by Rebecca King
A heavy silence settled between them – until Lightfoot suddenly slammed to a stop and turned to face her. He suddenly released her and planted himself firmly in her path. He studied her with a cold contempt that told Annalisa that her journey was over. She stepped away, her worry growing when he didn’t stop her. She eyed the gun in his hand. Her heart began to thunder in her ears. She knew this was it.
“Joshua!” she whispered.
Annalisa wanted to scream it again but couldn’t get her throat to work. Nothing would work, not her thoughts, her emotions, her throat. Even her knees didn’t seem to want to hold her up anymore and threatened to buckle beneath her.
On the floor is the wrong place for me to be.
It was the only thought that kept Annalisa on her feet. She was braced, though, to fight for survival, or jump for it.
He didn’t lift his gun as she expected. Annalisa watched as he lifted a heavy log and seemed to check it for size and weight. Slowly he turned to smirk spitefully at her.
“Run,” he whispered.
Annalisa blinked at him and watched a malicious glee overtake his dour features. Without hesitation, she spun around and ran. Panic slammed into her when she felt his heavy footfall behind her. All she could see before her were trees, but she crashed through them running this way and that, desperately trying to put distance between her and her attacker, desperately trying to avoid being murdered.
“Joshua!” she screamed.
“Annalisa!”
Annalisa raced toward his voice but took no more than seven more steps before a heavy weight slammed into the back of her head and the world went black once more.
Joshua could smell smoke. Every now and then, as the wind teased the branches of the trees all about him, he saw faint wafts of the thick grey clouds of smoke billow through the woods. He struggled to understand why the man would see fit to light a fire now, especially when he knew the Star Elite were behind him.
I don’t think he knows just how close we are, Joshua thought with no small measure of satisfaction.
What he couldn’t see, though, was Annalisa. He couldn’t hear her either.
“It’s him,” Daniel breathed.
Joshua barely nodded. He didn’t take his eyes off Lightfoot, who had his back to them as he studied something in the clearing he stood on the edge of.
Within seconds, the men from the Star Elite converged on the unwary criminal, who was brutally assaulted from all sides without warning. Lightfoot cursed as he was tackled to the ground from behind. Joshua tried to prise the gun out of the criminal’s hand, but once it was pointed away from his body, Lightfoot pulled the trigger. The shot hit the tree directly beside Roger’s leg, so closely that Roger looked down to see if he was hit. Joshua stomped on the man’s gun before Hamish wrenched the heavy metal out of his grip.
In just a few brief moments, Lightfoot was rendered incapable of threatening anybody else and his life of freedom was over.
“Hold him.” Joshua waited until Ronan and Daniel had Lightfoot on his knees before him. “What have you done with her?”
Lightfoot sneered. “It’s too late. She is a little too hot to handle.”
Joshua stared down at him before he turned to the thin trail of smoke coming through the woods. A curse escaped him. He thundered across the narrow clearing and crashed into the trees opposite. It was only when he was inside the dense woodland that he saw a large wall of flickering flames.
“Annalisa!” Joshua bellowed, desperately hoping that she would answer him.
Smoke and heat temporarily held him back. Joshua peered at the flames and tried to think of a way to get through them to the clearing he knew was on the other side. While he couldn’t see her, Joshua knew Annalisa was there, waiting for him on the other side.
It was a wrench to force himself to walk several feet away, but eventually Joshua was satisfied he could make it. Turning around, he ran as fast as he could toward the wall of flames. The warmth that hit him stole his breath, but he jumped clear of the dense heat with only a few singe marks. What he saw when he landed in the small clearing, though, was horrifying enough to steal his breath.
Lightfoot had tied Annalisa to a tree. It wasn’t just any tree. This tree protruded from a large pile of branches, twigs, and leaves which had been shoved against the base of the tree before being set alight. All about her, flames licked at the dry wood, creating a thick wall of heat and smoke that was almost impenetrable.
Yanking off his jacket, Hamish began to beat at the flames while Peregrine began to drag some of the burning branches away from the tree, and Annalisa. One by one, the Star Elite men appeared in the clearing. Everyone was even joined by Daniel, who dragged a resentful Lightfoot through the flames, and forced him to kneel and watch.
“I think the smoke has got to her,” Hamish shouted because Annalisa appeared to have lost consciousness and didn’t answer to Joshua persistently calling out to her.
Joshua hurried behind her. Copying Hamish, Joshua grabbed a thick branch and began to drag the burning wood away from the woman he loved. He tugged and hauled over and over but could do nothing about the finer carpet of dried leaves and twigs beneath her feet which were already smouldering and threatening to consume her dress.
Annalisa felt her chest ache. It was so heavy she struggled to draw in a breath. When she did, she coughed when thick smoke choked her lungs. Her arms were bent at a painful angle and tied tightly at the wrist until every part of her upper body ached. Her head pounded and she felt incredibly sick. All she could hear was the steady hiss and crackle of something and heat. Eventually, her mind cleared enough to register that she was in danger of being burnt alive.
Blinking the smog away, Annalisa looked up and stared blankly at the flames all about her. At first, disbelief refused to allow her to understand what was happening. Slowly, she had to face the stark reality that she was going to die. She looked down at her feet and could see embers already smouldering on her dress. Dully, she watched a large, hungry flame build that ember into a small flame which began to build even as she stared at it.
Wildly kicking out her legs, Annalisa wriggled and squirmed to try to put it out before it swept up the material. Thankfully, the thick folds of the outer clothing prevented the flames from touching her skin, but it was only a matter of seconds before she was burnt to death.
“Joshua!”
As if by magic, Joshua appeared like a vision before her. He looked so wonderfully strong through the thick wall of flames that all Annalisa could do was stare at him.
Their eyes met. A wealth of understanding flew between them.
“Just stay calm,” he growled, his voice made hoarser by the dense smoke. “We will get you out of this.”
“I love you,” she whispered, immediately calming now she knew that help was there to save her.
Annalisa didn’t doubt him. Joshua would never lie to her, she knew that now. He was brave and honest. All the men from the Star Elite were, but none of the others held that special place in her heart like Joshua. He was, without doubt, the love of her life. He seemed to understand her even before she spoke. Even though their acquaintance was relatively new, he knew her well enough to know what she was thinking or feeling at any given moment, and she fancied she was able to do the same with him. In this they were together, as one, battling the enemy for the ability to have a future together. This battle was personal. It involved them both, their future happiness, their lives together.
“I love you too,” he mouthed.
Watching his lips move, Annalisa didn’t doubt then that Joshua cared for her just as much as she cared about him. There was something in his face, in the steady look he was giving her that was dark and sinister yet not directed at her. He would move Heaven and earth to keep her alive because he meant every word. He loved her, with just as much strength of feeling as she had for him.
Joshua understood her need to see him and stayed in her line of vision as he stepped steadily toward her. On ei
ther side of him, Hamish, Peregrine, Roger, Luke, Dean, and Ronan, beat the flames and tugged and kicked all the danger away. The smoke didn’t abate but Joshua care. Nothing stopped him from reaching her.
Joshua stooped low to smack away the singed material of her dress but when it wouldn’t tear, he withdrew his flick-knife and sliced the burning material off which he then scrunched into a ball and tossed to one side. He then pressed himself against her before leaning around the tree and cutting the ropes. Because she was pressed tightly between the tree and Joshua, he was able to take her weight when Annalisa would have slumped to the ground.
“Time to go home,” he murmured gently.
Annalisa clung to him with a strength that was driven purely by her love for him. Nothing could get her to release him. Instead, she pressed a kiss into his neck and savoured his strength as he carried her away from the makeshift stake.
Joshua shook with the force of emotion that coursed through him. For a moment he couldn’t bring himself to speak. He couldn’t think of anything to say. There was nothing he wanted to say, but at the same time he needed to say everything he hadn’t had the time or opportunity to share with her. The danger had passed, especially now that the smoke was starting to clear, but Joshua needed to clear the air on a more personal level. Because he didn’t want to waste a moment, he stopped several feet away and slowly lowered Annalisa to the floor. Rather than release her, he simply held her as tightly as he could without hurting her.
“What happened?” he whispered when he could find the strength to speak.
Annalisa didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t want to remember the fear or the overwhelming pain, but she had to and so began to recount everything, right up to the point that she was knocked unconscious. As she talked, the men from the Star Elite all gathered around to listen. They all knew that if they had taken one wrong turn, if Joshua had lost the trail, they would be looking at another murder victim only this time the method of death was considerably more gruesome than any they had ever dealt with before.
“It’s sick,” Peregrine whispered. “Who in the hell would do that to someone?”
“He is a killer. Anybody who tries to take another person’s life is inhumane and has little respect for life. They don’t care what method they need to use to kill their victims so long as they get the satisfaction of killing. It is the kill that’s important. Lightfoot is not to plead insanity. He is to face justice as someone who knew exactly what he was doing,” Joshua growled.
He looked at Roger, who nodded. “I am sure that Lightfoot would like to claim that he is insane, but his plan has been far too calculating for that to be feasible. Only someone who is incredibly scheming and used to calculated fraud would spend the time and energy to do as he has and be so bold as to pretend to be a vicar and go about plotting his scheme so carefully. This is no insanity. This is cold, hard greed.”
“It’s a bold move to move into a vicar’s house and take over the man’s identity while he defrauded an entire village,” Peregrine added.
“We should have known,” Annalisa whispered, eyeing the killer with more curiosity than caution.
Now that he was trussed up and face down on the floor, Annalisa felt considerably safer. She knew he was listening but was unable to offer any defence because his head was facing away from everyone. Each time he tried to move, Peregrine slammed a boot onto the man’s shoulders and used his weight to force him to remain still. Lightfoot mumbled something but nobody paid any attention to him or bothered to find out what it was. Nobody was interested.
“Let’s get you to a doctor,” Joshua offered.
Annalisa shook her head. “I am fine. I am just a little bruised, that’s all. Once I am away from the smoke, I will be all right. We need to find my aunt. I don’t know what happened to her.”
“She should be at the safe house but wasn’t in her bed chamber like she should be. Do you think she may have gone to see a friend but not told us?” Joshua asked. “Did she say anything to you before you went home?”
He made no apology to any of his colleagues for how inappropriately he was holding Annalisa. They could think what they liked. Annalisa was pressed as close to him as it was humanly possible to get but Joshua had absolutely no intention of letting her go. He didn’t think he could force himself to even if he tried. Joshua suspected he was never going to be able to let her go, even for a little while.
Thankfully, I don’t have to. Not now and never again.
“Let’s go and find her. Luke, Dean, get Lightfoot to gaol. Make sure you are armed. Shoot him if he tries to escape but keep him hobbled. He is to walk and expend a bit of energy,” Roger bit out.
Everybody remained mute and watched Luke and Dean haul Lightfoot to his feet. Once standing, the men held him while Dean tied bindings around the killer’s legs giving him enough length to be able to walk so long as he took short steps. Once Lightfoot’s wrists had been tied with yet more rope, Lightfoot was then unceremoniously dragged through the trees and off to gaol.
“Let’s go,” Roger growled at the remaining men.
Joshua picked Annalisa up and carried her leaving his colleagues to fall into step behind him.
“I can walk, you know,” she whispered, but without any force. Nor did she make any attempt to wriggle free.
“Maybe you can, but you need to rest for a while. I am fine.”
“We are miles away from the house.”
Joshua smiled but didn’t slow his stride or make any attempt to set her on her feet. Instead, he held her tighter and followed Roger through the trees until they reached a field within which sat several horses.
“We are both going to ride,” he announced with a gentle smile.
It took some manoeuvring but eventually they got Annalisa onto Joshua’s horse without causing her too much discomfort. Joshua then vaulted into the saddle behind her and gently steered the horse through the field.
For the first time all day, Annalisa settled her head against his shoulder and started to relax. While the horse picked its way over the uneven surface, Annalisa contemplated what had just happened. She wanted to try to put it all behind her but knew that she needed to think about it before she could cast it into the past where it belonged.
“I just want to say one thing,” she whispered.
“Let’s find your aunt, first,” Joshua replied calmly.
Annalisa frowned and looked up at him. She sensed a reticence about him that, for the first time since she had first met him, put a distance between them she couldn’t quite understand. It was difficult to know where it came from and what caused it because a few moments ago he had said that he loved her. Now, his face was closed, as if it was all in the past. She struggled to know what to say, because it didn’t seem appropriate given the somewhat awkward atmosphere that had started to build between them.
Joshua sighed when he felt her staring at him. He mentally cursed when he saw the frown on her brow and hurt he knew he had caused.
Lowering his head until his lips touched her ear, he whispered: “We have to talk about us, and where this is going to go, but I don’t want to have that conversation with my colleagues present. Let’s find your aunt, get everyone settled, and then you and I are going to talk. For now, just rest.”
Annalisa’s breath exploded in a rush. She slumped heavily against him and suddenly felt overwhelmed with the need to cry her eyes out mostly from the relief that flooded her. Without saying a word, she cupped his cheek with a dirt-smudged hand and pressed a loving kiss against it before settling against him for the long journey to the safe house.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
By the time they reached the safe house the men had grown tense once again. In silence they checked their weapons.
“Let’s hope he worked alone,” Roger muttered but loud enough for everyone to hear.
Annalisa couldn’t even begin to contemplate what she would do if anything had happened to her aunt. She couldn’t think of it and instead, focused
on just how wonderfully protected she felt in Joshua’s arms.
“Are you all right?” he asked gently. His lips pressed against her forehead and lingered for a moment.
During the journey, Annalisa had slid her arms around his waist and spent a wonderful few minutes listening to the steady beat of his heart.
“I am fine,” she assured him. “I will be better once we have found Aunt Yvette.”
Inwardly, Annalisa was savouring a few precious moments of serenity before she faced the prospect of a world without her Aunt Yvette in it.
“We are going to send a couple of men in to search the house. We are going to wait out here,” Joshua assured her.
At Roger’s nod, Joshua tugged his horse to a standstill but positioned it so they could both watch Peregrine, Hamish, and Roger, enter the property.
“They won’t be long,” Joshua murmured.
“Where do you think she might be if she isn’t in there?”
“Home, maybe?” Joshua offered. He didn’t try to offer her false assurances, not after what she had just been through. They were both aware of just how brutal Lightfoot had been with his victims. Yvette could indeed have become another victim of this awful crime.
“They are taking an age,” Annalisa whispered several moments later.
“They are checking everywhere. All the cupboards, the wardrobes, under the bed, the attic. Each room will be systematically checked before they call ‘clear’ and move on to the next room.”
“It’s faint, but was that Roger?”
Joshua nodded and offered her another gentle smile. “It’s what they do. They won’t come back out until the place has been searched.”
Annalisa had to content herself with waiting.