Private Vows

by Sally C. Berneathy

  Fear, a dreaded but familiar acquaintance, wrapped dark arms around her as she stared at the closed door. She could understand why she’d wanted to forget Geoffrey, erase the awful events from her mind, but if she’d remembered sooner, she wouldn’t be here, trapped in the same situation as before.

  Her sanity and Cole’s life wouldn’t be in danger.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jessica sat for several moments, numb with shock and paralyzed with helplessness.

  Slowly the realization dawned that this wasn’t quite the same situation after all. In recovering her lost memories, she’d returned to the place where she’d left off, but she no longer belonged there. With Cole’s presence in her life, she’d changed over the last few days.

  The first thing she had to do was calm down and assess the situation.

  Geoffrey could hold her prisoner, but he couldn’t force her to marry him. When the judge got there, she’d tell him her story. Even if he didn’t believe her, even if he thought she was mentally ill, surely he wouldn’t perform a wedding ceremony when the bride was unwilling.

  Was Geoffrey so insane he actually thought she’d agree?

  However, she realized with increasing horror, he might have tried to make sure of her cooperation by drugging her coffee. She recalled feeling tired at breakfast, and then Geoffrey had suggested she take a nap.

  He’d drugged her to kidnap her, and the taste of the coffee he’d brought her then had been bitter as it had been this morning. He had access to street drugs. He’d bragged about meeting dealers during ride-alongs with his cop buddies.

  She shivered at the thought of what substance she’d just taken into her body.

  That’s why he hadn’t bothered to handcuff her and why he kept telling her to rest; he’d assumed the drug would put her to sleep or at least keep her docile. Thank goodness she had poured most of that awful coffee down the sink.

  She sat up straighter. Not only was she not drugged this time, but she wasn’t totally helpless either. Cole had taught her self-defense techniques and, more importantly, he’d taught her courage. She’d accepted him into her body and her heart, and she’d absorbed him into her soul.

  She checked the one window. Though she was on the fifth floor, if she could tie bedsheets together, she could slide down to safety, but the window refused to open.

  She could break it out, but the noise would surely bring Geoffrey running to see what was going on.

  In frustration, she slapped the windowsill with the palm of her hand, then hesitated.

  Bringing Geoffrey into the room would not necessarily be a bad thing. He’d have to unlock the door and then she’d stand a fighting chance of getting away from him. She’d done it once before, though this time she had no weapon of any sort except her own resources…the techniques Cole had taught her.

  But she couldn’t really imagine overpowering Geoffrey with what little she knew about self-defense.

  She walked over and slumped in the chair, defeated before she even began.

  Gradually anger stole over her, replacing the despair…anger at Geoffrey for what he’d done to her, for what he planned to do to Cole, and anger at herself for not being strong enough to prevent any of it.

  She would break the window and lure Geoffrey into the room. Then she’d make every possible effort to get away from him. If she failed, she’d be no worse off than now, and at least she’d know she’d tried.

  She selected a bottle of perfume and a jar of face cream, the heaviest objects she could find, and tossed the perfume at the window as hard as she could.

  The resulting noise was all she could have hoped for.

  Almost immediately the bedroom door flew open and Geoffrey ran in.

  Utilizing the element of surprise, she attacked him with the jar of cream, aiming for his head.

  But he stepped aside, resulting in only a glancing blow to his shoulder. Instead of incapacitating him, the pain merely enraged him.

  He grabbed her, pinning her arm behind her. “After all I’ve done for you, this is the thanks I get!”

  Though the fear racing through her veins was almost paralyzing in its intensity, she fought it back and focused on remembering what Cole had taught her. Lifting one foot, she slammed the heel against the front of Geoffrey’s knee, pushing it backward. Between Geoffrey’s curses and her heart pounding so loudly in her ears, she felt rather than heard something snap as he released her and went down.

  She’d done it!

  She ran for the door, yanked it open and bolted through, down the hall and into the living room.

  But when she reached the front door, her heart sank. Her first impression about the lock being different was accurate. Since the last time, Geoffrey had changed the lock from the standard dead bolt that could be opened from the inside to a double-keyed dead bolt.

  And Geoffrey had the key.

  She almost wept in her frustration at being so close to freedom and safety only to have it denied her.

  She’d have to get the key from Geoffrey.

  She turned to head into the kitchen and retrieve the knife again.

  But something grabbed her leg and she felt herself toppling.

  “You damn bitch!” Using his greater body weight and size, Geoffrey pinned her to the floor.

  She struggled, ordering herself not to panic but to think, to focus on reaching his weak spots…the injured knee, his side where she’d stabbed him before. He’d taken advantage of her emotional vulnerability from the time he met her; her only chance was to take advantage of his physical vulnerability now.

  She tried to free a hand or leg, but Geoffrey tightened his grip and cursed her. The wildness in his eyes and on his face worsened as his polished veneer completely disappeared, exposing the insanity that had always lurked just beneath the surface.

  Suddenly he released one of her arms. Immediately she twisted around, groping for his wounded side, but it was just out of reach of her fingers.

  He produced a syringe from his jacket pocket.

  The sight of that needle sent more adrenaline pumping through her veins, and she struggled harder, hitting his chest with her free hand. He seemed impervious to pain, cursing her but not backing down in the slightest, even when she got one leg in a position that she could kick his wounded knee.

  He struggled to pull back the plunger with his thumb. “Why do you make me do things like this?” he demanded. “If you’d be a good girl, this wouldn’t be necessary!”

  “I’ll be good!” she lied, her heart pounding in terror. “You don’t need to do that. Let me up and I’ll get dressed for our wedding. We can’t get married if you give me that shot.” She had no idea what was in the needle and didn’t want to find out.

  “You’re lying! You’ve always lied to me! I hate liars!”

  A pounding on the door stopped them both. “Jessica!”

  “Cole! Help me!”

  Jessica took advantage of Geoffrey’s surprise to push him off her though he immediately lunged after her.

  The pounding on the door grew in intensity, becoming loud thuds. “Open up, Sloan! I’ll break this damn thing down if you don’t!”

  “Go away! My wife and I don’t want to be bothered!” Geoffrey screamed, grabbing Jessica’s arm with one hand while aiming the injection, the plunger now poised and ready, with the other.

  Instead of trying to pull away, she swung around and jammed her fingers into his eyes.

  He cursed and jerked his head back.

  With a final resounding thud, the door flew open.

  Cole burst into the room and took in the situation at a glance.

  Sloan waved a hypodermic needle in one hand while holding Jessica’s arm with the other. Jessica was in a half-crouched position, her eyes wide with fear but her cheeks flushed with adrenaline as she slammed the heel of her hand into Sloan’s nose and he released her arm.

  In the split second it took for Cole to reach Sloan, he experienced a flash of pride that Jessica was using wh
at he’d taught her.

  He delivered a solid punch to Sloan’s jaw, causing him to drop the needle, then yanked Sloan upright, twisting one of the man’s arms behind his back.

  From the corner of his eye, he saw Jessica stagger to her feet.

  Sloan turned his head to look at Cole. Even with only that profile view, Cole watched with amazement as Sloan’s eyes retreated from their bulging, glowing state and his facial muscles visibly relaxed. His appearance switched from Mr. Hyde to Dr. Jekyll, from a madman to the urbane, polished man he’d met at the police station.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said, squinting through bloodshot eyes, a result of Jessica’s self-defense actions. “I was trying to give my wife her medication but she won’t take it. You can see how overwrought she is.” He smiled sheepishly. “She attacked me. I think my knee may be broken.”

  Cole ignored him. “Are you all right, Jessica?”

  She pushed her hair off her forehead with a shaky hand, but her voice was firm when she answered. “I’m okay.”

  “What the hell have you got in that hypo, Sloan?”

  “Just something to relax Jessica.”

  “A little Good Time Charley maybe?”

  “It’s an effective mood enhancer.”

  “Yeah, in small doses! That’s the same thing you gave Sam Maynard!”

  “Who?”

  “The man you killed. The one who had Jessica’s pictures all over his bedroom.”

  “Oh, him.”

  “Yeah, him. There’s no point in denying it. Somebody saw you coming out of his house.” No one had, but Cole figured the bluff was worth a shot.

  Geoffrey’s placid expression didn’t change. “I don’t suppose I realized the man had a name,” he said negligently. “It’s not like he was a real person. Yes, this is the same substance but a much smaller dose. I would never do anything to hurt Jessica. I love her. We’re going to be married.”

  “You’re going to spend the rest of your life in prison. Jessica, call 911. Tell them to get somebody over here ASAP and to let Pete know we’ve got Sam Maynard’s murderer.”

  Jessica moved toward the phone, and Sloan laughed softly. “No, you don’t understand. Sam Maynard was a nobody who dared to intrude into my life. I’m somebody, and he’s nobody. Eliminating him isn’t murder. Jessica, you’re going to be very sorry if you make that call. Even if your lover here doesn’t know who my father is, you do.”

  Jessica lifted the receiver. “I know who your father is and I know how much weight he carries. But this isn’t Houston and we’re not talking about a traffic ticket or a harassment charge. You murdered a man and you kidnapped me. You’ve terrorized me for the last time.” She punched in the three numbers.

  “IT’S AMAZING how different all this seems,” Jessica said, pausing to look around at the woods surrounding Cole’s house as they walked from the garage to the front door. “It’s quite beautiful and peaceful now that Geoffrey’s locked up and I know there’s nobody lurking behind a tree.”

  “You do realize there’s a possibility, considering his father’s money and connections, that he could make bail and be out in a few days.” Cole hated to frighten her, but she had to understand the reality of the situation. “Even if he doesn’t, you’ll have to testify against him at the trial.”

  “If he gets out and comes after me again, I’ll deal with that when it happens. But somehow I don’t think he will. When he met me, I was grieving for my parents and trying to figure out how to get along in the world without them. I was a victim waiting to happen. He picked up on my weaknesses and knew he could bully me. That’s the reason he chose me. Now that I’m stronger, I don’t think he’ll bother me.”

  “How long did you know him before you figured out he was nuts?”

  “Not long. Even though I needed guidance at the time, I didn’t need somebody trying to run my life. But when I tried to break it off, he refused. He’d be waiting in my apartment with dinner and roses when I got home from work even though I never gave him a key. He interrupted my classes. He’d hang around the parking lot in my apartment complex and follow me if I left. If I protested, he’d go into a red rage.” She shivered then straightened her shoulders and turned her gaze from the woods around them to him. “I was terrified of him. But I’m not that same person anymore. I’m looking forward to testifying against him, letting people know the truth.”

  Together they continued toward the house.

  “I guess he had a lot of people fooled. He puts on a good act.”

  She gave a short, bitter laugh. “Yes, he does. When I told my friends I wanted to get away from him, that I was scared of him, they told me I was crazy, that any woman in her right mind would be thrilled to have a man like him…rich, handsome, attentive. And then there were his friends on the police force. I’m sure that’s why I didn’t trust Pete. The police were allied with Geoffrey.”

  “His father’s influence.”

  She nodded. “After I changed my lock and got an unlisted phone number then woke up one morning to find that diamond ring and twelve dozen roses in my apartment, I called the police. But Geoffrey had told them we were engaged and that I was having emotional problems after my parents’ death. The officers who came out in response to my call told me how lucky I was to have a great guy like Geoffrey. It was a nightmare. Nobody believed me.”

  Cole unlocked the front door and opened it for her to enter. “They’ll believe you now. And after today, I think Sloan knows he can’t bully you anymore.”

  The man had still been complaining about the injuries she’d inflicted on him as the officers hauled him off to jail.

  “I had a good teacher.” Her gaze was warm, her voice a soft caress.

  Cole’s blood heated as he recalled the evening he’d shown her the self-defense techniques…the way her body had felt in his arms, the way her heart had pounded against his hand, and the way that tension had finally culminated hours later in the most incredible lovemaking he’d ever experienced. He had to resist the impulse to sweep her into his arms and carry her straight from the front door to his bedroom.

  “You were a fast learner,” he said, opening the door for her to precede him inside.

  As they entered the house, Cole noticed that everything seemed brighter even though the drapes were closed. In the same way the woods now appeared different to Jessica, just so she made his house seem different. The gloom that had been a part of the place since he and Angela moved in lifted with her presence. She even brightened the dark corners.

  Or maybe it was just his heart that she brightened.

  She went straight to the window and opened the drapes. “What a gorgeous view!”

  “Sure is.” But he wasn’t looking at the view through the window. He was looking at Jessica—at her slender form, her happy smile, the whole of her and the wonder of her. She’d been his for all too brief a time. Now she had her memories and her life back and seemed eager to return to Houston. He didn’t blame her. She’d been through quite an ordeal over the last few days.

  She’d wanted to go straight to Love Field where Southwest Airlines had frequent flights to Houston. He had talked her into coming home with him to make reservations and be assured of getting on a flight rather than risk waiting hours in the airport. He had talked her into spending one more night with him.

  “Have a seat and I’ll put on some coffee,” he offered.

  She grimaced. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to drink coffee again. I think I’d rather have a cola.”

  “That sounds good. I’ll get us both one.”

  As Cole left the room, Jessica moved over to sit on the sofa. Suddenly she felt a little uncomfortable. For a few days this house had been home. She’d slept here, showered in the bathroom, felt free to move through the place, to cook meals and clean up after those meals. It had been the only home she’d been able to recall at the time.

  For one evanescent moment when she’d walked through the door today, she’d felt as if
she were coming home.

  But she wasn’t, of course. She was a guest, someone who had her own apartment, her own life in Houston, someone who sat on the sofa while the host served drinks.

  That was really what she’d always been, a guest in Cole and Angela’s home. She’d never belonged here, and now that she could remember where she did belong, she felt out of place.

  Maybe she should have gone straight to the airport, not let Cole talk her into coming here. Getting flight reservations instead of taking a chance was the logical thing to do, but the truth was, she’d jumped at the chance to spend a little more time with Cole, possibly even another night in his arms.

  Finding the courage to stand up to Geoffrey had been easy compared to finding the courage to face a lifetime without the man she’d fallen in love with.

  As if on cue, Cole returned with two red cans of chilled soda and handed her one then sat down beside her. “I set out some steaks to thaw for dinner.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He leaned back and put his feet on the coffee table. “I owe you an apology for not believing you about seeing someone outside.”

  She shrugged and sipped her cola. “I don’t blame you. The phone call, the dead rabbit, the figure in the moonlight, and finally those voices in my room had me doubting my own sanity. That’s what Geoffrey wanted, of course. I’d become too independent. He wanted me scared and unsure of myself the way I was when he met me so he could control me.”

  Cole shook his head. “I ignored my gut reactions. I let myself be influenced by circumstances instead of what I knew deep inside was the truth.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  “I didn’t sleep much last night. I had a bad feeling that I’d made a big mistake letting you go with Sloan. I kept thinking about those voices you’d heard. I’ve lived with a woman who was mentally unstable, and you didn’t fit the pattern. Along about four o’clock, I decided, by damn, if Jessica heard voices, then somehow voices got into her room. I got up and scanned your room electronically. Found the two microphones Sloan had put there. I didn’t know why he’d done it. In fact, at that time, I couldn’t even be positive he was the one who’d done it. Except my gut told me he had and that you were in trouble.”