by Unknown
“What…what are you doing here?” Kate stood unmoving just inside the door.
He rushed to her, taking her into his arms. “Don’t tell me you’re disappointed.” His lips met her cheek and a tear rolled down Shea’s. “I told you I’d be home this weekend.”
Kate’s hand stroked his jaw from hairline to chin as she smiled. “Yeah, but it’s only Friday. I didn’t expect you until this weekend, like tomorrow or Sunday.” Her arms moved around his back and she melted herself into his chest.
A deep chuckle rumbled, muffled by her body pressed against his. “I wanted to surprise you. There’s something I’ve been dying to ask you.” He pulled her into the apartment, and there was a loud thud as his shoe forced the door closed. “Come here, I want to do this right. You know I have loved you since almost the first moment I saw you.”
Kate nodded, her eyes filled with tears to match the ones flowing freely down Shea’s cheeks. As Rich made the motion to kneel, a sob sounded in stereo—Kate’s and Shea’s. The noise caused them both to turn around.
Shit! So much for the element of surprise. Shea threw the door open lunging at them. She was quick enough to sink the blade firmly into his chest. “You son of a bitch!” she screamed, withdrawing the steel as she pulled back.
His eyes widened in surprise, and it almost sickened Shea to realize what she’d become capable of. Almost. He deserved what was coming to him. The white shirt he wore began to turn red as the blood gushed from the wound.
Kate screamed and caught Rich in her arms as he stumbled. “What have you done?” She dug through her bag and retrieved her cell phone. Three numbers later, she spoke to an operator. “We need an ambulance, now!” With the phone held in the crick of her neck, she rattled off the address and started to remove her jacket, stuffing it against the deep gash of his chest.
“I can’t allow that,” Shea whispered, taking the phone out of Kate’s hand and throwing it across the room. “You both deserve what’s happening now.”
“What are…you…talking about?” came the gurgled question. “I never…did anything…to you.”
“Shut up, Rich!” Shea slapped him across the face with the back of her hand, sending him further into Kate’s embrace. “I know you slept with this whore.”
“You don’t…know what—” He coughed, grabbing his chest. “—you’re…talking about.”
“Shh.” Kate’s voice was a soft whisper in his ear as tears dripped from her chin onto his cheek. “It will be okay.” Her hand softly stroked his hair as she continued to comfort him.
It was quite a tender scene, if one enjoyed watching two adulterers lie to each other.
Kate leaned over him to press a tender kiss to his lips. “Don’t you die on me, Jesse.”
He looked at Shea with hatred festering in every line of his face. He held her hand as tight as his dying body could. “Kate would…never…betray me. I…trust…her.” He gave her a weak smile and his eyes drifted closed as his shallow breaths became strained.
“Jesse!” Kate shrieked, her voice emanating the exact pain Shea had been hoping to cause. “Jesse Vasquez! Don’t you leave me!” She shook his motionless body. Her face was dampened with the tears that flowed steadily down her cheeks.
“Stop calling him Jesse. Do you think I’m stupid?” Shea hissed, still gripping the knife in her hand.
“This is Jesse, you psychotic bitch!” Kate slowly stroked her fingers over his pale, masculine features. “It’ll be okay, Jesse.”
The words combined with the sirens that were getting closer by the second caused Shea to shake herself back to reality. Her head moved back and forth as the realization of what she had done struck her. She dropped the knife, grabbed the vase, and hurried toward the distraught whore, smashing the glass into her head as her legs were pinned under the weight of her dying lover. Kate collapsed in a heap on top of him.
Shea took one last look at the wounded man Kate didn’t deserve. “I’m sorry, Jesse, truly I am. I never meant to bring you into this.” The toe of Kate’s shoe—the ones that looked better on Shea’s feet—met her side in one more act of vengeance. “Blame yourself for this Kate, dear. There is no one else to blame.” Then Shea ran into the bathroom, wrapped her fingers around her bag, and escaped out the bathroom window.
The choices Shea had made tonight would be irreparable. Rich still deserved to die—even more so now. And, with a little help from her family, Shea would have time to accomplish that. Eventually.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kate was pretty sure her head was being assaulted by a meat cleaver. The constant throbbing and massive headache affected her stomach, making it churn and threaten to heave at any moment.
Without opening her eyes, she cautiously lifted her hand toward her head only to be stopped by a painful tugging sensation. The other hand wasn’t an option because something warm was holding it in a gentle, unrelenting vise.
She peaked through her lashes to see Rich’s hand wrapped around hers. His arms were crossed and his head rested on his forearms. His chest expanded and contracted with deep breaths as he slept.
Through the pain in her head, she tried to piece together where she was and what had happened. The white sterile environment and the IV, that had been the source of the tugging, were a good indication of a hospital, but why…?
Frantic sobs ripped from her throat as the memories rushed at her, pummeling her like a swimmer lost in the middle of the ocean during a hurricane. Just as she thought she resurfaced, another round or horrifying images slammed her beneath the surface. Her lungs burned with the need for oxygen, and her body began to thrash around in fear.
Rich jumped to his feet. “Kate.” His voice registered all the panic she felt, as did his eyes. “You’re okay, Kate.”
Her frantic breaths rushed in and out of her lungs, and all kinds of beeping started around her. Warm hands rested on each side of her face, Rich’s eyes stared into hers. His voice was calm as he spoke, “Kate, you need to calm down. You’re okay, that’s all that matters, right now.”
Kate took a deep breath and concentrated on Rich’s face and nothing else. A strained smile crossed his lips as gentle fingers moved the strands of her hair away from her forehead. He leaned down and kissed her. His eyes were kind, yet worried, as he smiled again.
“Tell me what you remember, love.”
Her mind began to spin as the throbbing continued. As though it were a movie rewinding, memories flashed through the background. “I remember,” she began, pausing to clear her scratchy throat. “I remember that you only stayed one night with your parents—” She squeezed his hand trying to ease her nervous energy. “—because you couldn’t bear to be away from me.”
He smiled, but it was only an echo of what he was capable of. “True enough, being apart tears at my heart, love. This is important though. I need you to remember exactly what happened after that.”
She put her hands on each side of her head, trying to stop the pounding. Whatever medication they had her on wasn’t working on the pain, but was certainly effective in keeping her loopy and unable to focus.
“Okay, give me a second.” Kate closed her eyes and slowly shook her head from side to side. Whether the movement was to clear her thoughts or to avoid the pain of the memories her subconscious knew were coming, she couldn’t be sure. “You kissed me goodbye at the station.” A smile spread across her face at the memory of his intoxicating caress. “You were going to go change at Nate’s so that we could go to dinner.”
He nodded, his expression serious which caused an onslaught of butterflies in her stomach. “Then what?”
“Then…” She paused, forcing her mind to focus. “I went home.” Horrible fear and apprehension flowed through her bloodstream as sweat covered her cold skin.
Soft lips met hers, but his eyes were full of cobalt intensity as he urged her to continue. “What happened, love?”
Breath rushed from her lungs in short, frantic bursts as the various pieces of mac
hinery began beeping to match the erratic beats of her heart. Her eyes burned with tears that suddenly battled for release. A sob erupted and she buried her head in her hands, fiercely trying to avoid the horrific memories that assaulted her thoughts. Through tear-filled eyes she searched for Rich’s face. His eyes reflected the pain she felt as his thumb stroked over her shaking hand. “Shh. What else do you remember?”
“Shea,” Kate breathed the name as if it were the vilest word in the English language. “She was in my apartment, Rich. She rushed from the closet wearing my negligee and stabbed Jesse.” Another sob took over, causing her to shake under the intensity. “Oh no. No. No. No. No. Jesse!” A voice she didn’t recognize burst out of her throat. It was full of an agony that caused her numb body to shake.
People started to rush around the room checking her vitals and injecting various syringes into the IV. The hysterics that were on the verge of consuming her were quickly numbed, leaving her barely coherent—for the moment.
“I don’t think now is a good time, Reggie.” Kate heard Rich say through the fog.
Chief Brown was here. “I heard her scream. Is she okay?” He paused then said softly, “You know I need to get a statement from her, Rich. She’s the only one who knows what happened. Maybe she saw who did it.”
Rich’s voice was full of guilt and grief when he spoke, “Reggie, she said it was Shea.”
“Shea?”
“My…wife.”
“Oh.” Reggie’s tone lacked the judgment Kate deserved. “Well, that gives us a place to start. I’ll leave an officer in the hall. Let them know when she’s ready to give a statement.”
When the door closed Kate forced her heavy lids open and searched for Rich in the room. She knew he wouldn’t leave her when she needed him so much, but she needed the verification.
The crotchety nurse turned to glare at Rich. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, Mr. ….”
“Spencer,” Rich supplied his name. “But I am not leaving her. Ever.”
“Are you her…”
“We’ve been through this.” Rich’s voice was acidly calm as he addressed the nurse. “I am not leaving this room unless Kate tells me to.” He looked down at Kate and smiled reassuringly. “Do you want me to leave, Kate?”
Her head moved, creating a scratching sound against the pillow. “No,” she said in a weak whisper, “I need you.”
“Fine,” the annoyed nurse snorted, “but if you upset her again, I’ll have security remove you.”
“It’s not my presence that’s upsetting her,” Rich retorted. “She has been through a lot the last few weeks.”
Whatever cocktail the medical professionals had sent into her bloodstream was taking control and, despite all the willpower she had, her eyes drifted closed and the voices around her sounded like they were miles away—and drifting.
“Mr. Spencer.” The nurse’s tone was irritated, and Kate’s mind’s eye pictured the stout woman with her hands on her hips glaring at Rich. “I will not have you upsetting this poor girl. It’s bad enough that the boy she came in with ended up in the morgue.”
Morgue! her thoughts screamed. Tears flowed out from under lids that refused to open. Jesse was dead. Her Jesse was gone…and it was her fault. She’d allowed herself to fall in love with a married man who was married to a mentally unstable, murdering bitch. She moaned through the drug-induced haze then, unable to help herself, gave into the nothingness that awaited her.
Anger boiled through his veins as Rich glared at the plump woman who stood in front of him. “How dare you,” he snarled.
Her squinty, dull gray eyes blinked innocently. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“There are more tactful ways to tell someone that the person they cared about didn’t make it.” Rich checked to make sure Kate was finally peaceful before continuing. “What if she heard you?”
She snorted and took a step backward. “She’ll know soon enough, Mr. Spencer.”
“How about you work on your bedside manner, and I’ll work on helping Kate get through this.” His teeth bit down on his tongue, making it behave, and he turned toward the beautiful, broken girl in the bed.
His only concern was Kate. She was the most important thing in his life and, come hell or high water—or a man with handcuffs in cahoots with a feisty nurse—Rich was not going to leave her side.
The tranquilizers had finally taken their desired effect and the agonized expression on Kate’s face had faded into peaceful, relaxed lines. Her breathing was steady, although despite it all, tears continued to flow from under her lashes.
He could feel the scrutinizing gaze on him as he moved the chair back to the side of Kate’s bed. The door closed with a quiet pop, signaling that they were finally alone.
Gratitude nearly overwhelmed him as Rich watched Kate sleep. Tears came to his eyes as he studied the contrast of deep auburn against the stark white of her pillow. Her pale skin was beautiful, in spite of the fact that she was trying to recover from an injury that never would have happened if he would have just followed her home like he’d wanted.
His fingers moved along the delicate features of her face. She sighed and turned toward his touch. “I love you, Kate.” He pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. “I will do everything in my power to help you get through this.”Rich fought the urge to climb in next to her. Instead he simply took hold of her hand and laid his head on their clasped hands and drifted to sleep.
A heavy hand on his shoulder woke Rich out of a fitful sleep. His head jerked up to meet Nate’s supportive half smile. “You okay, my man?” He tightened his grip. “Everybody’s really worried—” He tilted his head toward the still sleeping beauty, then his gaze returned. “—about both of you.”
Roxy smiled as she set a bouquet of flowers on the little table next to Kate’s bed. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks.” Rich’s legs were asleep and nearly gave out as he stood. He leaned against the wall and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Who covered it?”
“Clayton.” Nate said the name Rich expected.
A groan of frustration and irritation came from Rich’s lungs. “Of course, he did.”
“It was actually really good.” Roxy smiled as Rich scoffed. “No really, it’s true. He said something about how you all spend every day covering the news, and that it’s with great sadness that he’s reporting on a member of your own family, who has become the story.”
“I’ll bet he loved that he could smear me publicly. I can hear it now.” His voice rose, taking on a mocking tone, “‘Our very own Rich Spencer brought the retaliatory wrath of his crazy wife on reporter Kate Callahan and her unsuspecting boyfriend.’” His tone returned to normal. “Am I close?”
Nate’s warm chuckle rumbled over the quiet beeping of the machines. “Is that the guilt talking, Rich?”
“Damn straight,” Rich muttered, turned his back to him and returned to his love’s side. “I’d be a heartless bastard to not feel guilty. My actions brought about the murder of a man who’d done nothing but love Kate. I am just as guilty of that crime as he was. Dammit, I wish I could go back and change things.”
Nate slipped into his periphery and held his hands up in surrender. “Easy, tiger.”
The door opened, then closed and Rich turned to see that Roxy had left. Rich shoved his hands roughly through his hair. “I did this to her, Nate.” He took hold of her small, lifeless hand and slumped back down in his chair.
“You can’t blame yourself for this, Rich. You didn’t bash Kate in the head with that vase and you didn’t stab Jesse.”
“I may not have been holding the knife, but I pushed Shea too far. I knew she was dangerous and…” He took a chance and let his eyes seek out the judgmental look of his best friend.
Nate was shaking his head. “Honestly, Rich, are you that stupid?”
His mouth moved, but Rich couldn’t seem to form any words and he stood, bracing himself to take the criticis
m straight on.
“Shea is crazy, has been for years. This is not your fault. Did you make mistakes? Hell, yeah. The biggest of which being the fact that you waited so damn long to divorce the psychotic bitch.” He paused. “I’m the last one you’ll find judging you for following your heart. If Kate’s what you need to feel complete, then don’t give up on her. She’s going to need space, time, love, and a lot of understanding. Be patient with her, my friend.” He took a step forward and offered his hand. When their hands were clasped, Nate pulled Rich into a hug with their hands between them. “Call me if either of you need anything.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Nate smiled and handed Rich a DVD. “I don’t know if Dale had a hand in this or if Clayton just chose not to be a dick for the first time in his pitiful life, but…” He laughed. “Well, check it out if you want. I burned you a copy of the air check.”
The rest of the night was complete with phone calls from Dale, Olivia, Jordan, and even Claudia, who called to say that she had pushed through a protective order for Rich and Kate. Some friends of Kate’s, Josh and Sophia, had stopped by and through gritted teeth Josh informed Rich that her parents would be here tomorrow morning.
Nurse Nasty tried to make Rich leave, giving him the excuse that visiting hours were over and there were rules that needed to be followed.
“Do what you have to, but I am not leaving,” Rich told her in a harsh whisper.
She rolled her eyes, then her shoes squeaked against the white tile floor as she left in a huff, her irritating, nasally voice muttering something about the ‘poor girl’s obsessive boyfriend’.
When the door opened a little while later, Rich’s whole body tensed in preparation for another round with the old bitty that didn’t want him in Kate’s room. He wasn’t even going to give her the satisfaction of even acknowledging her presence. He brushed a lock of hair from Kate’s cheek and kissed her softly.