Right in Front of You: (A Friends to Lovers Contemporary Romance)

by Lacey Silks

  “Whoa there, baby. Sounds like you’ve been hanging around the Clark boy too much. Well, we’re going to fix that, aren’t we?” he mocked, as he took Molly’s chin between his fingers and squeezed it. “The next fire I set, I’ll make sure he’s in the building.” She thrashed in the chair she was tied to. I could only see half of her and wanted to see more, but if I opened the door any further, he’d notice.

  “You bastard!” she screamed.

  “I think that’s enough talking. We don’t have any time to waste.”

  Molly’s screams hurt my ears. I tried to tune her out, to concentrate, but that was impossible. He was moving her. It took everything in my body not to run in there and rip his head off. I watched as he untied her hands and, holding a knife underneath her ribcage, crossed in front of Doctor Burke.

  “Are you really going to do this, Ron? You know you won’t get away with it. Do whatever you want to me, just leave Molly and Clare alone,” Doctor Burke begged. The sound of footsteps faded as Molly’s father took her out of the room.

  “You’ll get your fucking turn, Burke, when we come back. I’ll slice off your small dick slowly. Maybe you’ll be fucking spared and bleed to death before I make the final cut. Come on, baby, let’s get those scrubs off like a good little girl. I know you can do it.”

  I peeked through the thin slit in the door again. I was wrong. Fowler hadn’t left with Molly, but he was holding a knife against Mrs. Fowler’s throat. Molly’s eyes were puffed up. Her nose was swollen and the front of her shirt bloodied.

  That fucker’s going to die. I just needed a chance. One small chance to get in there and grab him. But how?

  You can’t kill him, I heard from somewhere within me, but ignored it. If Fowler was anywhere within my reach, I’d kill him.

  I backed away from the door, then ran to the front of the house. I picked up a flower pot and smashed it on the porch, then sprinted to the rear and peeked through the back door. Fowler disappeared with Molly to the front and I tiptoed in.

  “Shh,” I put my finger to my lips, before crawling on all fours to untie Burke’s hands from behind the chair. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead. It took all my concentration not to lose my cool and run to the front of the house to get Molly. If I had any chance of saving them all, I’d need to tuck that rage away.

  Keep your head on straight, Carter.

  “Go get the police,” Doctor Burke whispered, but I couldn’t leave them or make the call right now because Fowler’s returning steps pounded louder and louder in my ears. I didn’t have enough time to untie Mrs. Fowler. Ron was coming back with Molly.

  “Don’t move. Pretend you’re still tied,” I said to Doctor Burke, showing him the gun tucked in the back of my jeans. He nodded and I crawled to behind the couch, disappearing there just before they walked back into the living room.

  “Not a smart idea to leave your flower pots on the railing, Clare. Wind knocked one over.” Fowler grunted. “Now, where were we? Take that shirt off, like a good girl.” From behind the couch I saw that he still had the knife close to Molly, but his body was blocked by a supporting column.

  You have to take a chance, Carter. I heard Daisy’s voice. She was right. I couldn’t live if I lost Molly. Without thinking I jumped out from behind the couch to the side for a clear view of Fowler, and pointed my gun his way.

  “Don’t move, Fowler.”

  He almost dropped his knife, but as soon as he composed himself, he dashed for Molly. I fired a warning shot up in the air.

  “You fucking move and the next one is going straight through you. Put your hands up,” I ordered.

  He froze.

  “Molly, come this way. Doctor Burke…” but I didn’t get to finish my orders because Molly’s father rushed with the knife at his wife. By the time I realized what was happening, Doctor Burke jumped in front of Molly’s mom, right in the path of Fowler’s blade. It slid into him like a hot knife through butter.

  Time stood still. I didn’t know whether to jump in to help stop the bleeding, hug Molly, because I wanted her to feel safe, call the police, or go after Fowler.

  The last option was the only one that made sense. I couldn’t risk someone else getting hurt. I fired into his chest, only the barrel seemed to have shifted in the last moment, as if some force wanted to guide it elsewhere, and the bullet hit his left shoulder. Bouncing off a back wall, he fell to the ground and didn’t move again. I ran to check if he was still alive, and he was, but unconscious. Doctor Burke yelped in pain and I dropped my gun and helped Molly lay him down flat on the floor. She turned on her doctor mode while I untied Clare’s hands.

  “You’re going to be fine, Doc. Molly here is a doctor. She’ll make sure you’re okay.”

  Molly’s mom was sobbing. Distress shook her whole body. Realizing that we’d need a second ambulance for her, I quickly dialed 911.

  “I don’t know, Molly. He twisted that blade in there pretty well.” Blood dripped out of the corner of Doctor Burke’s mouth. He wiped it with his free hand and something passed between him and Molly. From the look on their faces, it couldn’t have been a good sign.

  “Just don’t move, please.” She examined the wound like a professional, concentrating as if it were just another day at the hospital.

  Doctor Burke looked up at her. A warm smile spread on his face as he asked, “I couldn’t have been more proud of you, Molly.”

  Doctor Burke’s eyes watered, and Clare reached to wipe them for him. He in turn grasped her hand saying, “You’ve done good, Clare. Really good.”

  “We’ve done good,” she replied.

  “What’s going on?” Molly asked as her mother and Doctor Burke stared at each other like a pair of old lovers, and that’s when it hit me. That’s when I realized Doctor Burke’s role in Molly’s life, but I had no time to get the words out. Something crashed into me from the side with the heaviness of a large boulder. While we were busy, Fowler had crawled toward me and shoved his full body against mine to get to Molly and Doctor Burke, pushing me right into a wall. I hit the corner with my right foot and heard a crack.

  Fowler lunged toward the gun beside Doctor Burke. I grabbed his feet before he reached it, pulling him back. He twisted and threw a punch into my left ribcage. Flaming pain seared through me, as if that fire from months ago was touching my body again, and that’s when I realized that he’d actually lit a lighter, setting my clothes on fire. It spread over my clothes like liquid. Paralyzed from the shock I just lay there. It felt like a long time passed before I felt a slap on my face and saw Daisy’s face.

  This isn’t your time!

  When I came about, screams pierced my ears. Desperate to put out the flame, I rolled over again and again. Someone fired a shot from my gun. It echoed through the house, and all I could do was roll around on the floor, because this fire was not letting go.

  “Molly!” I screamed. I didn’t want her dead. If that son of a bitch shot her, I may as well have died. The flames had burned through my jeans on the right side and I feared that it caught my skin as well. I shot out the door only to be welcomed by a downpour.

  “Carter!” I heard from inside the house. I lay down on the wet grass, tumbling through it, until the light was out. The rain had saved me. As soon as the last spark died, I rushed back inside the house to take in the scene.

  Mrs. Fowler stood in the kitchen doorway, holding a bucket of water, somewhat surprised that I wasn’t aflame. Doctor Burke was holding a blood-drenched cloth at his abdomen, and Molly’s knees wobbled as she held my gun in her hand, looking down at her father, or who up until now she’d thought was her father. The gun slipped out of her hand and clattered to the floor. She fell down to her knees. I hurried to her side and took her into my arms.

  “No, he can’t be dead,” I heard Doctor Burke mumble.

  “You’re okay now, Molly. He’ll never hurt you again.”

  “I know.” She nodded. “Is he dead?”
>
  I reached down and checked his pulse. His eyes were open, blood poured out of his mouth, and luckily, there was not a twitch in his neck that could pass for a pulse.

  “He still has a pulse.”

  “Molly, you need to keep him alive.” Doctor Burke could barely speak. His eyes rolled back in their sockets.

  “Doctor Burke…” She scooted toward the doctor. His skin was pale and almost translucent. His torso was soaked in blood, and it really appeared as if all his veins had been drained.

  “Carter, keep him alive.” He pointed with his finger to Fowler. “He’s a match for Sarah. I checked.”

  “What?” At the mention of the little girl’s name something snapped inside me. The need to kill Ron Fowler vanished. I crouched on my knees and began working on his chest compressions. “I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

  Don’t stop. I heard from behind me, but it didn’t seem like anyone had said it.

  Blinking slowly, Doctor Burke reached for Molly’s hand. “Molly, I’m not sure if I’ll make it either.”

  “You will. You have to, Doctor Burke.”

  “And if I don’t, there’s only one regret that I’ll have. I’m so sorry we couldn’t keep you safe, sweetheart. I wish I had known earlier about you. I always wanted you to be my daughter. I prayed that you would be mine, but he…” Doctor Burke coughed. “He switched the tests. I’m so sorry.”

  He sobbed with what looked like the last of his tears.

  “What can I do? Tell me how to save you.”

  “I believe you’re more updated on lifesaving than I am.” He looked down at the knife sticking out of his abdomen. “You’ve done everything you could. All we can do now is wait. But I’d love for you to call me Dad. Just once. Please let me hear you say those words. I can’t die without hearing them.”

  “Dad.” Molly was sobbing as well. “Is it really true? Why, for all these years?”

  Molly’s mom knelt beside the two of them. She held Molly’s hand as well as Doctor Burke’s. It was one of the most loving exchanges I’d ever seen.

  “We were young and didn’t have the strength to fight our parents. Donald went away to school and Ron was a nice young man. He used to be different. Yes, when Donald came back for the wedding, we…”

  “It’s all right mom, you don’t have to explain.”

  “I do. We made love the night before my wedding to Ron.” She looked lovingly at Donald. “He wanted me to cancel everything but I felt guilty. The family was here, everything was set… it was the biggest mistake of my life. A month after I married Ron, I found out that I was pregnant. We did a paternity test, which tested positive as Ron being the father. Except I didn’t know that he’d switched the results. Not until today.”

  “Oh, Mom. I’m so sorry. You’ve lived with a man you didn’t love for all these years.”

  “I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have done more, sweetheart.” Her gaze drifted form Molly to Doctor Burke. “The ambulance… Donald, it will be a while.” Mrs. Fowler then looked toward the door where we knew no one would barge through. Hope Bay was so remote, it would take at least a half hour for them to reach us.

  Fuck that! I dialed my father’s number in between the chest compressions on Fowler. I never thought I’d be trying to save the bastard’s life.

  “We need a police escort to the hospital. I’m driving Doctor Burke, and I can’t wait for the ambulance. Can you get the chief?”

  “We’ll meet you out on the road.”

  That’s how we intercepted the ambulance halfway to the city. The paramedics took Doctor Burke. Molly’s mom stayed in the ambulance with him while I drove Molly and her unconscious father to the hospital. The bastard definitely had a knack for cheating death. I still wanted him dead; and yet here we were, trying to save his life in the back of my car. Molly didn’t stop the compressions, and every so often repeated under her breath, “For Sarah.” My left ankle was twisted awkwardly, broken, but I wouldn’t let anyone know that until we got to the hospital. There was no way I’d let anyone else drive Molly. I’d never leave her again. I reached to the back and smoothed my hand over her bare arm.

  “I’m fine. Really.”

  “You almost killed a man, Molly.”

  One single shot from Molly’s hand could have stopped the chaos, but it hadn’t. It seemed like we couldn’t get rid of Fowler that easily.

  “I know… I know… This is for Sarah.”

  “It’s okay to be upset, Molly. He should be dead.”

  “I’m not upset. I promise.”

  “Then why are you shaking?”

  “Burke. He’s my father.” When I looked in the rearview mirror, I saw her smile.

  “Yeah, he is.”

  “And he may die.”

  “Hope, Molly. If anyone has it, I know it’s you. Hold onto that hope. He has to make it. Sarah will make it as well, and your father – well, not your father, you know what I mean – will go to prison for a long time.”

  “Does it make me a bad person?”

  “What?”

  “That I don’t feel bad about shooting him?”

  “If you hadn’t done it, I would have.”

  “I’m glad it was me, then.”

  “I know, Molly. And I promise I won’t ever let him near you again. He’ll be in prison for the rest of his life.”

  Molly kept counting out loud, one, two, three, with each pump to Fowler’s chest. Hopefully she wouldn’t be traumatized after the ordeal. Something told me that having Ron Fowler out of her life for good meant a new beginning for us both. But would it be enough to spare Doctor Burke? And save Sarah?

  MOLLY

  It had been two weeks since Ron Fowler’s bone marrow had been transplanted into Sarah, who was showing signs of recovery. For the bastard that Ron Fowler was, at least he’d had an organ donor card, and given that Sarah was his niece, she was the first recipient of his bone marrow. He was still at the hospital, in a coma. Unfortunately, he survived the gun shot and the transplant. They weren’t sure when he’d wake up. If it were up to me, the timeframe would be never, and if he did wake up, he’d be sent straight to prison. But for now, a coma was good enough for me.

  I set my maid of honor’s bouquet on the clinic counter. Mrs. Gladstone had called in this morning that she wasn’t feeling well and asked me to stop by so she could see me before the wedding.

  “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Gladstone. I don’t mean to seem like I’m in a hurry, but it’s Jo and Nick’s wedding today, and—”

  Given that I had a couple of hours before the ceremony, I shouldn’t have been nervous, but today felt off. Way different than I should have felt.

  “It’s all right, dear. I’m not the one in need of help today, but this little gentleman is. Come on out.”

  My little brother, Nathan, stepped out from within one of the patient rooms all dressed in his nice suit, ready for today’s wedding. I’d just noticed that he must have gone through a growth spurt last summer because he looked way taller and his shoulders were broader. What was he doing here? It was too early for him to be all made up already. He’d dirty his pants and shirt in the first hour.

  He stepped forward and held out his hand in which he was holding an envelope. I looked at him questioningly, but took the white card and ripped it open. As soon as I unfolded the paper, pink sparkles spilled to the floor, and I wondered how much say Mackenzie had had on this.

  I read the inscription: Meet me at my house. Love, Carter.

  Did he mean our apartment back in the city? But today was Jo and Nick’s wedding day. I looked back down at the card, reading, P.S. Follow Nathan.

  “I’m supposed to follow you?” I asked.

  Nathan nodded, grinning.

  “Mrs. Gladstone?” I turned toward the older lady.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of the office and any phone calls.”

  It wasn’t the first time she’d helped Doctor Burke out. And she could call me if there was an emergency. Giv
en the stabbing, I had to step in for the Doctor at the clinic. This new time I’d get to spend with my father, my real father, was a welcome one.

  “All right. Let’s go, then.”

  Curious about what Carter had planned, I followed Nathan out the door, and as we turned left, began my inquisition.

  “Are we going far?”

  Nathan shrugged.

  “Will it take long?’

  He shrugged again.

  “Are we at least going to make the wedding?”

  He stopped, turned to face me, pulled his fingers across his already sealed lips as if he were zipping them, then threw the imaginary key away.

  “I see I won’t get much out of you.”

  Three minutes later, the empty lot where Carter’s house used to be came into view. The lot had been cleared of ash and rubble for the most part, yet in the back, the remains of a brick fireplace stood intact. Carter sat in the wheelchair in front of it. He broke his ankle that day he saved me and still had a few weeks to heal.

  When he saw me, he grabbed the pair of crutches that were leaning against the fireplace and came over to where the front door used to be to greet me.

  “Glad you could make it,” he grinned.

  “Nathan here tells me—” I turned to point to my brother, but he was already gone.

  “Come on in, Molly.”

  He pretended to open the door for me. I followed him as he weaved through the burnt hallways.

  “Watch out for the sofa,” he said, pointing to the front of the fireplace.

  “I thought the sofa used to be by the window.”

  “It was, but I’m talking about the one that will be here in the future.”

  “Okay, what did you drink with Nick last night?”

  “Nothing. I promise. Can’t you see it? A mantle over here” – he gestured with his hand over the fireplace – “a Christmas tree we cut this morning with the kids, here.” My heart stopped as my gaze followed his movements around the room. “A comfortable reading chair for you with an overhead lamp here, and I was thinking maybe bookshelves with your medical journals. Oh, and in the hallway before the kitchen, we’re definitely getting a fire pole. The kids will love it.” He turned to face me.