“Yeah. I don’t know. Why was her dealer here if she was clean?”
“I don’t know, Trent. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“Thanks.” He turned to Kate, one of the paramedics. “Think she’ll be okay?”
“She’s pretty banged up and showing signs of an overdose. I think she’ll pull through, but what happens next time?”
Trent shook his head. “No telling. Maybe, this time, after another stint in rehab, she’ll finally stay off the drugs.”
“Maybe. No telling. You know where we’re taking her.”
Bill Ramirez joined them beside the truck. Trent’s fire chief patted him on the shoulder. “After we get back to the firehouse, you should go… be with your family.”
Trent nodded. “Thanks. I want to make sure she’s all right. Need to get my parents here. And Blaze…”
“He can ride with us. Then you can do what you have to do. This is your family.”
* * * *
Trent held Blaze’s hand on the way back to the firehouse. Seven years old, and his nephew had witnessed his mother do so many fucked up things on her quest to get high. This latest selfish act could have killed both Tina and Blaze.
Sniffling, Blaze looked up at him. “What’s going to happen to Mommy?”
“Don’t know, kiddo. We’ll find out when we get to the hospital. Nana and Pop should be there by then.” He ruffled Blaze’s red hair. Trent had a guess but wasn’t sure another stint in rehab would change a damned thing.
“You’ll stay with me at the hospital?”
Trent nodded. Blaze hated the place almost as much as he did. Even before Blaze was born, Trent either found his sister at the hospital or took her there after some drug or alcohol-induced incident too many times to think about. She wanted to get clean, but it wasn’t enough. She kept sliding back into old habits, making the same old mistakes time and time again.
“Of course, buddy.”
“Sometimes I wish you were my daddy instead of my uncle.”
Trent wiped at his eyes and hugged Blaze to his side. “Love you, kid.”
“Love you too.”
After Metcalf had parked the truck in its bay, they climbed out. Kyle kept Blaze busy while Trent showered and changed clothes. When he returned, he swept Blaze up in his arms and headed across the lot for his own truck.
“You’re the bravest kid I’ve ever met,” Trent admitted.
“I was scared.”
“Yeah, but being brave means you do scary things. You tried to help your mom, even though the fire was roaring.”
“Mom was getting better. I don’t know why that man came.”
“Neither do I, but we’ll find out.” Trent set Blaze in the truck and buckled him in before going around to hop in his seat. He turned the key and looked over at his nephew. “What do you want to listen to?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Ah, come on. Sure it does.”
“I like your music.”
Trent hit power and Sam Hunt’s voice came on the stereo for the short trip to the hospital. When they arrived, his parents were in the emergency waiting room. One of the doctor Blake was already talking with them, so Trent set Blaze down in a chair and nudged his shoulder. “We’re going to be here a while.”
“Hate hospitals,” Blaze muttered.
“Yup, me too. That’s another thing about being brave. You may hate this place, but you’re here, waiting to hear the scary news.”
“Guess I am brave.” Blaze gave him a sad smile. “You’re even braver.”
He snorted. “Most people would call me crazy. Running into burning buildings for a living.”
“You saved us.”
Yeah, he probably did. One look and he knew Blaze wouldn’t have left his mother there. Man, he wanted to say a few things to his sister for putting her boy in danger. Yet, he would hold off until he got her side of the story. She’d been doing so much better, or so he thought.
Once the doctor returned down the hall, his parents approached Trent and Blaze. His mom and dad both seemed older at that moment. “Hey, Blaze. You’re going to stay with us for a while.”
Blaze sucked in a breath. “Will we visit Mommy?”
Trent’s mom nodded. “Of course. As much as we can.”
“Rehab?” Blaze asked. Unfortunately, the child was familiar with the routine. Probably wouldn’t be the last experience either.
“Yes, honey. We want your mother to get better. She needs help.”
Blaze’s shoulders slumped.
Trent leaned over. “You can come stay with me when I don’t have the long shifts.”
Blaze lit up. “Really?”
“Anytime, little man.”
Chapter 3
End of August…
“Raven, this is your dream. I know you need a break, but you can’t walk away from your life,” Sam, Ella’s brother, pleaded for the millionth time.
“Ella! My damned name is Ella. I’m not Raven anymore.” She slung her backpack over her shoulder. “I know you don’t get it, but I can’t do this anymore. You don’t have to like it, but I’m not scheduled for another movie, and I have no contracts to fulfill. I’m done.”
Sam shook his head. “You said before, you just needed a break.”
“Look, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You’ve been a great brother, a better agent, but right now I need to get back to me. The person I lost somewhere along the way. I’m trapped in this house to avoid the media.”
“You’ve lived with the media for years. Why is this any different?”
Her jaw clenched. “I was tired of all the shit they made up before. But now—they’re calling me a drunk or an addict who let some asshole take me away, blaming me for being abducted against my will. He held me captive for two days, Sam. Two fucking days. I can’t handle another press conference or interview when they’ve already made up their minds about what happened, and it’s all bullshit. I can’t take it anymore. I’m going back to being Ella, where no one will bother me.”
He moved closer, taking her hands. “Take your break, and when this mess blows over, you can come back to acting.”
She threw her arms up, backing away. “Sam, you’re not getting it. I’m through. No more acting. I can’t deal with all the shit that comes with it. Remember, if you want to get a hold of me, use my old email from high school. I won’t be checking the one I have now. I’m getting rid of my phone. Raven is going away for good.”
“Ella, don’t do this. Not like this.”
“The police haven’t even found the asshole who did this to me. I’m not safe here. If I disappear, he can’t find me either.”
“Who’s going to watch over you if you’re hiding?”
“Me. None of the bodyguards you hired stopped him from breaking into my home or anywhere else I might have been. The cops have run out of leads.” She brushed past him, scooping up the keys to the new Humvee she hated, and Ella left. After a few stops for some supplies, she checked into a hotel as Ella Cross, the new last name even her brother didn’t know. Raven no longer existed.
* * * *
Trent sat beside his sister, trying to calm the temper threatening to flare. She’d begged him to come see her at the rehab center and listen to her story. She kept pleading with him to believe every word she said and he just couldn’t do it.
“Are you even listening to me?” Tina demanded.
Trent snorted. “Yeah, and somehow, I don’t understand why a drug dealer is going to force you to take drugs. Isn’t that a waste of his product?”
Tina slumped back in her chair. “I was clean, Trent. I stayed away from all of that for months.”
He gripped the edge of the table and shook his head. “If you were clean, then why are you still here, three weeks past when you were supposed to leave?"
“Wade said he’d hook me again. That I would never stop coming to him. He held me down and forced the needle into my arm, Trent. Why can’t you believe me?”
/>
His heart wrenched, but he didn’t believe a word she’d said. He’d seen her lie, cheat, and steal to get drugs when she’d hit bottom in the past. His trust had long since run out. Seeing her passed out in a raging fire with her son trying to pull her out—there were no words.
And now the boy moped around anytime anyone mentioned his mother. She was supposed to come home weeks ago, but she hadn’t. And for what, if she had truly been clean?
“Does it help if I tell you Wade is in custody and has been for a month. He’s waiting for a trial. Though they’d like you to come forward as a witness.”
Her head dipped slowly. “Immensely. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I have.”
“What about being a witness.”
“Yes, definitely. I’m done letting him ruin my life.”
Trent held his tongue. She’d been the one ruining her life, not this prick. She was the one who constantly chose to get high, to get drunk, instead of taking care of her little boy.
He managed a smile though it probably wasn’t very encouraging. “Think you’ll come home soon?”
She nodded.
Maybe he did have a little hope left. “Blaze misses you. He thinks you don’t love him anymore because you’ve been here forever. His words, not mine. Though I can’t fathom why you’re still here if you were really done with drugs before that asshole forced them on you.”
“Wade was still out there. Everyone but Marissa thinks I’m lying.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you don’t believe me.”
He threw his hands up with a groan. “This is why I haven’t come out much. I keep telling you how much Blaze misses you, and how much this place scares him. You tell me you’re coming home soon. But you’ve said that a few times now. The program was supposed to be sixty days. You’ve been here a month longer already. I don’t understand.”
She wiped at her face. “I’m making progress. Getting over Randy. I needed to let him go so I can be there for Blaze.”
“Can’t you do that at home? Think about your son. How this is affecting Blaze.”
“Of course, I do.” She wiped a tear from her face. “I also know that if I go home right now, I’m going to fall back into the same pattern I’m trying so hard to break.”
“But if you were clean, and Wade did this, don’t you have the strength to stay away?”
“He broke into my house, Trent.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he stood. “And they have the asshole in custody now. Your boy misses you. Isn’t that enough to want to come home and stay clean?”
“Soon. I need to fix me before I can go back. I need to be all the way better.”
His hope died. He didn’t understand, probably never would. “I’m sorry, Tina. I hope you come home soon. We miss you. Your boy breaks my heart when he stays over and cries himself to sleep because his mother isn’t there for him.”
“Don’t you think I’m doing the same thing without him?” She covered her face with both shaking hands. “Just go. You don’t understand, and I don’t really expect you to at this point.”
“I love you, sis. I don’t want to see you self-destruct. I don’t want to see Blaze hurt. I want you well.”
“Soon.”
Lost. Defeated. He dipped his head and walked away, trying to shove at least some of the doubt under the rug.
Chapter 4
Beginning of September…
Flashing lights and screeching sirens made Ella’s heart jump. She pulled over onto a shoulder of the narrow road and shut down the new Jeep Renegade. The day she left Hollywood she’d traded in the Humvee for something far less conspicuous, hoping to blend in with everyone else.
First, the fire truck sped down the road. Her head dropped to the steering wheel, and she closed her eyes while trying to steady her breath. An ambulance followed and tears flowed.
Another panic attack threatened to encroach every time she heard sirens. The anxiety only got worse with the lights. Flashes of memory tried to surface as the shaking started. Two days lost. That’s how long the man with steel gray eyes had held her. The only memories she got were slivers that churned her fear. The rape kit had come back clean, but her captor had changed her clothes, had held her. She relived the sensation of his strange, smooth hands with scar tissue that felt wrong.
Fear gripped her once again. At first, she thought she could keep traveling, sticking to small towns… in a sincere attempt to find herself again. Within a few days, she’d realized she needed a place to call her own, a purpose. Ella had spent an hour on the phone with a friend from school. The only person she’d kept in contact with after moving to Hollywood. The one, other than her brother, who knew her as anything but Raven Star.
Two hours later, she had a plan. Buy Mila’s old house. Open a boutique in rural Lakeridge, California. And find her place.
Sam still believed she was coming back to LA. He hadn’t sent a single email yet, which meant he was probably mad about the way she left. She needed a fresh start without people’s misconceived perceptions based on what the tabloid media portrayed.
Her phone rang and she nearly jumped through the roof. She sucked in a breath and forced her heart rate to slow before hitting talk. “Hi, Mila.”
“Are you all right?” Mila asked.
“Hey. Sorry, the sirens gave me a mini panic attack. I needed to stop for a few minutes and just breathe. Ever since the accident, sirens and lights freak me out. Pathetic, huh?”
“Of course not. Take all the time you need. But I should warn you now. We’re down the road from the fire station.”
“It’s okay. I’ll get used to it. Might even help me move past some of that shit.” She forced half a smile. “I want to take my life back. Not mope around and worry about what might have happened.” Ella started her Jeep and pulled onto the road again. “Hey, don’t be surprised. I’m wearing glasses, and I had a stylist bring my hair back to its natural color, maybe a little lighter. I don’t want anyone to know who I was.”
“Who you are. You’re still her, just a little battered. You’ll gain that confidence back.”
She snorted. “Yeah, if they ever catch the asshole who did this to me.”
“They will. Give it time.”
“That’s what the cops said every time I gave them another of his gifts or letters. They never found his body in that warehouse, so he must still be out there.”
“Hey, you have an alarm system. You’re in a good neighborhood. Everything will be fine.”
“Hope so,” Ella answered.
Mila’s voice brightened, “You get to meet my munchkins for the first time.”
Ella finally smiled. “I’m almost there. See you in a second.” She shut off the phone and turned onto her new street. The houses were nice, not too fancy. No pretentious cars parked anywhere in sight. That was a good sign. Normal life.
Her nerves finally settled. No cameras, no reporters, no one shoving her into a box their imagination conjured. Mila stood on the porch with a tiny bundle and a little girl who could have been her clone.
Almost two years ago, Mila bought this house and relocated to Lakeridge with her then five-year-old daughter, Cherish. A few months later, she moved in with the firefighter next door. Didn’t take long for them to fall in love. Actually, the couple had met six years earlier at a masquerade party and created their little girl, but hadn’t seen each other since. They’d kept their masks on and didn’t figure out their history until a mutual friend visited Mila. Barb hadn’t been wearing a mask. Imagine the shock. And now, the couple was happily married with a new baby, their son, Valor.
Ella climbed out of the car and made her way to Mila.
“Is this Ella?” the girl asked.
Smiling, Ella nodded. “Yes, and you must be Cherish.”
Her face lit up, her blue eyes sparkling. “I am. I’m so happy to meet you.”
Ella held out her hand with a grin. “Pleasure is mine. I sure have hea
rd a lot of good things about you.”
“Mommy told me so much about you too.”
Mila laughed. “Yes, well, she is one of my oldest friends. Barb, Ella, and I did everything together.”
“Like Jenny and me?” Cherish asked.
“Yeah, like the two of you,” Mila answered
Ella smiled and nodded at the baby boy. “Valor, I presume? Can I hold him?”
“Sure.” Mila handed him over.
“He’s so little, and you look amazing for delivering him only a few weeks ago.”
“Thanks. Not sure how I managed that.”
“Oh, I bet I know. Barb says Kyle keeps you busy,” Ella teased.
Mila smiled as a blush raced up her face. “That’s true.” Mila held out the keys. “The place is all yours though I would have let you stay with us as long as you wanted.”
Ella drew a deep breath and shrugged. “I’m staying for good. After what happened, what they said, I’m done living under a microscope.”
“At least, I won’t worry about you now. And I won’t have to miss you so much with you living right next door.”
Smiling, Ella dropped her attention to Valor. Small, cuddly and sleeping. “Adorable. And Cherish looks just like you—beautiful.”
Mila smiled. “She’s my mini-me. And Valor looks like his daddy. I can’t wait for you to meet Kyle. In fact, I’m sure he was on that fire truck that went by.”
“I do want to meet the man who gave you faith in men again.”
“How about tomorrow? We’re barbecuing. Small get together. Kyle’s best friend and his family.”
Biting her lip, Ella looked over at the house and shrugged. “I’m not sure I’m ready yet.”
“Think about it.”
“Let me see how I settle in first. Okay? Some things make me skittish. I want to say I’m all right, but I have moments when I’m definitely not.”
“Then why don’t we start small. Tonight, after you acclimate to the new home, you could come over. I’m going to be here with the munchkins. Kyle’s at work. We can catch up.”
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