PassionsPoison

by Lexi Post

  Tears gathered in her eyes again and her entire body trembled as Gerry entered the kitchen. For a moment, she thought she would fall, her knees were shaking so badly. “Thank you, Phillip. I knew you would help.”

  After hanging up, she kissed the paper with his phone number for good luck.

  Gerry pulled her onto his lap at the kitchen table. “What did he say?”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and stroked his smooth head, a habit that always calmed her. “He’s coming.”

  * * * * *

  Susan bit her lip as Phillip came out of the guestroom. “Were you able to…?”

  He shook his head. “She won’t have me. She’s says she’s in love with this Zach guy. I thought she’d be over him by now. She should be with me. We’re supposed to have a family.”

  Susan’s heart felt like the tree in her backyard, split in half by lightning. She couldn’t let her daughter die this way. Yes, she had wanted her to marry, but never expected her to be so heartbroken she didn’t care about her own existence. She would do anything to save her. She grabbed Phillip’s arm. “There has to be something you can do for her. You said you’ve been working on an antidote. Please, Phillip. If you love her, for goodness sakes do something.”

  Phillip patted her hand on his arm. “What I’ve developed hasn’t been tested yet. Bea wasn’t interested.”

  “It can’t hurt to try.” Susan’s voice rose, but she couldn’t control it. “She’s dying in there! You two can’t ever be together if she dies. I know you love her. Please, you have to try.”

  Gerry stepped up behind her. “Is this true? Do you have an antidote that will release her from the poison?”

  Phillip raised his finger. “I do, but I wouldn’t be able to guarantee anything. It might even make her worse.”

  Gerry pulled Susan out of the way. “Do it. Do it now.”

  “Very well, but remember, I’m not sure of the results.”

  While Phillip went to his car with Gerry as a personal escort, Susan walked into her guestroom and sat on the bed. Bea had used the toy she’d given her and her temperature had gone down a few degrees, but it was only a matter of time. “Bea?”

  Bea opened her eyes.

  Susan stroked her daughter’s cheek. “Phillip is going to give you the antidote he discovered. You’ll be cured and then you can have a normal life.”

  Bea’s eyes brightened in her otherwise pale face. “Really? He would do that for me? Are you sure I won’t have to marry him in exchange? He’s still in love with me, Mom. If I loved someone that much, I don’t think I could watch them have a life with someone else.”

  Susan lied easily. “No, honey, he just wants you to live. When you love someone that much, you want what’s best for them.”

  Bea turned away. “How would you know?”

  Ouch, that hurt. Taking her daughter’s face in her hands, she gazed into her eyes. “Because I love you and would gladly give up what I have for you if it would help. I would give Phillip anything to save you.”

  Bea’s eyes started to water and Susan hugged her. “I need you to live, honey.” When her daughter hugged her tightly, she couldn’t hold back the tears.

  “Okay, let’s get this show on the road.” Gerry carried in a cooler and set it down on the dresser.

  Susan wiped her face before she moved to allow Phillip access. “She’s all yours, Phillip.”

  He lifted his brow. “Thank you. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to hear those words.”

  Bea had the covers grasped tightly to her chin. “Are you sure this will work?”

  Phillip laid a hand on her head. “Trust me. You’re in good hands.”

  As Phillip injected Bea in the arm, Susan watched. Her daughter’s eyes widened. “Oh wow. I feel a change already.”

  Her color came back quickly and her breathing returned to a normal pace. Susan couldn’t believe it. If this worked, maybe she could be cured too.

  Cured? It had never occurred to her. If her poisons were gone, she could have a normal life, but she didn’t want a normal life. She liked her men. She liked having four men who adored her and six men who loved her daughter. She shook her head. Her daughter and she were complete opposites in every way.

  Phillip spoke. “How do you feel, Bea?”

  Susan looked down again and noticed Bea’s flushed face.

  “Wonderful, except I feel a little hot. Is this what a hot flash feels like?”

  Phillip fidgeted. “That’s good, that’s good. That means the medicine is working. You know I always wanted to be with you, Bea. I just needed time to find the antidote. But I always watched out for you. I even sent you letters to help you make the right decisions, but you disappointed me. I wanted us to be together forever. But I guess that can’t be.”

  Bea stared at him. “You sent the letters? Why?”

  He shook his head. “I was trying to make you see that your life was headed in the wrong direction. We were meant to be together, but you wouldn’t listen.” He stood. “I’m sorry, Bea. But if I can’t have you, then no one should. You were supposed to be mine.”

  As Phillip left the bedroom, Susan grabbed his arm. “Where are you going? Is it going to work?”

  Phillip halted and looked at her in triumph. “Exactly as it’s supposed to. Goodbye, Susan.”

  At his words, instinctual fear skittered around her heart and she ran back into the room. “Bea, how do you feel?”

  “Not good. I’m cold now. Really cold and my feet feel numb.”

  Gerry’s face mirrored her own worried thought. Was her daughter having an allergic reaction? She turned to him. “What should we do now?”

  He ran his hand over his bald head. “I’m not sure. Maybe we need a real doctor now. If she is cured, she could be having a reaction to the medicine.”

  Susan twisted her hands. “Gerry, Phillip said if he can’t have Bea, then no one can. Do you think he meant…?”

  Gerry’s eyes rounded. “That bastard! He said that?”

  She nodded. Gerry couldn’t hear from his left ear so of course he’d missed Phillip’s remark. If he had heard it, Phillip would be lying on the floor in agony right now.

  “Mom? Mom?”

  Susan ran to Bea’s side and took her hand. It was like ice. “I’m right here, honey.”

  “Mom, I’m really, really cold.”

  “We’ll get you another blanket.” Susan looked at Gerry. “Grab a blanket from my bed.”

  Bea squeezed Susan’s hand. “Mom, I just wanted Zach. I love him. Phillip ruined it with his damn letters and photos of me.” She stared at the dresser before returning her gaze to Susan. “I don’t think he cured me. I think he’s killed me. Please, Mom, I need Zach. I want to say goodbye.”

  As the tears rolled down her daughter’s cheeks, Susan broke, giving in to the despair that had been beating on the door to her brain. Dropping her head onto the bed, she allowed the pain in, taking her breath away.

  When Gerry came back with three blankets, he piled them on Bea. The shaking stopped and Susan lifted her head to see her daughter had fallen asleep.

  Gerry pulled Susan into his arms and escorted her to the living room. He sat her on the sofa.

  She pulled away. If she let him hold her again, she’d turn into a blubbering mess. She didn’t want to be a mess. She needed to save her daughter. “I don’t think this is good. I’m afraid she’s dying. She asked for Zach because…because…she wants to say goodbye.”

  Gerry stood. “Then that’s what she’ll get. I’ll call my boys.”

  “Gerry, I think I should call all her fathers.”

  He rubbed his hand over his smooth head. “Yeah, I guess.”

  She stood next to him. “I mean all of them.”

  He pulled her into his arms and she squeezed him hard. As he tipped her face for his kiss, she caught sight of a tear on his cheek. He might be her big biker dude, but he loved Bea as much as she did, as much as all her fathers.

  Gerry hugged
her for a moment then pulled away. “I’ll get Charlie on the way to this guy’s place in case he tries to make a run for it. Do you know where this Zach lives?”

  She gave him directions from her conversation with Bea the night she’d been snowed in with Zach. The same night she had convinced her daughter to put her heart on the line. Ignoring the cloud of guilt threatening to break through her defenses, Susan plopped down on the couch. She heard the door slam at Gerry’s exit and she picked up the phone. She had to believe between the six of them, one of them could save Bea. She’d start with the farthest away and the one with the most resources. “Hi, Jim, you need to get here right away.”

  * * * * *

  Zach left the downstairs shower in a pair of clean jeans and dragged his butt upstairs to the living room. Josh was sacked out on the couch, which looked like a good idea. It was late afternoon and he’d finished the carving for the inn. A few touch-ups with the detail lines and it’d be ready to go. The sooner he delivered it, the sooner he could cut all ties to anything reminding him of Bea. He didn’t give a damn when Ice-Out happened anymore.

  After grabbing a beer from the fridge, he collapsed on the other couch. The television was on, but Josh had it on mute, so Zach clicked it off. Taking a swallow of Bud Light, he gazed outside.

  The sun lit the open area in front of the deck, but the house shaded the driveway, one reason the ice hadn’t melted there yet. The bright scenery did nothing to ease the ache inside his chest, but at least the physical exertion of making the chainsaw obey his commands had tired him out. Maybe he could have a sober, forgetful sleep.

  Josh snored and rolled over.

  He toasted his friend with his beer then took another swig. Maybe he needed to get out and meet a new woman. He’d never had a woman betray him before, not even his many short-term relationships. Maybe that was the key. He’d stayed with Bea longer than usual. If she hadn’t screwed around on him, she could have ended up dead like Danielle and Lisa.

  Bea’s sexy eyes and brilliant smile hedged into his thoughts. She was too beautiful. He would have been more than willing to satisfy her sexual needs even if they had to spend days in bed. Why did she have to stray? Why did she stay away for days at a time?

  He took another gulp. It didn’t matter. She’d probably picked up a couple more suckers to sleep with. No wonder she went for him. She obviously wasn’t interested in long-term either.

  He set the beer on the table and stretched out on the couch. Closing his eyes, he tried not to think of Bea, but found himself sketching her in his mind.

  A hand around his throat brought his eyes wide open. “What?”

  A bald giant with a goatee bent over him. From the tattoos, earring and black tank with a faded Harley logo on the front, Zach hoped the man had seen his own bike parked in the driveway where Josh had left it.

  The giant spoke. “You Zach Woodman?”

  Zach glanced at the other couch to see Josh in a similar situation, a hand on his throat and scared shitless. What the hell were these guys doing in his house? Anger built. He stared the giant in the eyes. “What if I am? What’s it to you?”

  That was the wrong answer if the lack of air getting to his lungs was any indication.

  The giant’s eyes became slits. “Don’t play with me, man. I’m not in a pleasant mood and I have no time to make nice.”

  When the pressure on his windpipe let up again, Zach attempted a civil answer. “Yeah, I’m Zach. Who are you?”

  The hand around his neck left, only to find purchase on his arm to yank him up. He vaguely wished he had a shirt on.

  The giant thrust his chin toward Josh. “Who’s that?”

  Cooperating seemed like the right way to go for now. “That’s Doctor Josh Sutton, a well-known scientist in the state. You don’t want to harm him if you want to avoid the police.”

  The giant glanced at Josh then grinned. “Perfect. Bring him too.”

  Zach scanned his living room to find no less than six bikers surrounding them, plus one short, stocky guy who looked as if he didn’t belong but was completely at home in their company.

  Zach spoke to the giant. “Where are you taking us?”

  The giant’s brows lowered. “You’re both coming to Susan Rappaccini’s house.”

  Zach tugged at his arm, breaking the giant’s grip. “I’m not going anywhere near there. I don’t know what Bea’s mother told you, but forcing me to her house is not going to change anything. Bea’s a nympho. I prefer not to share my woman.”

  The jaw-splitting punch caught him completely unawares. For the second time that day he found himself staring at his living room floor. Gingerly, he moved his mouth and spit out a piece of one of his teeth. Holy hell, who was this guy? He didn’t have much time to ponder that statement before two of the bikers lifted him by his arms to face the giant.

  Oh fuck, he wished he was still on the floor. The fury in the man’s eyes made him seriously think his time on Earth was limited. He wished his brain would work faster because he had no idea what he could say to save his life.

  The giant approached.

  Zach tensed.

  The little man stepped in front of him, shielding him from the giant’s murderous intent. “Whoa, Gerry. I think Bea would like to see the guy breathing, don’t you?”

  He would have to buy the little man a drink if he got out of this alive.

  The giant wasn’t moved. “Come on, Charlie, you heard what he said about our daughter. I don’t think she’d mind too much if he was missing a limb.”

  Daughter? Holy shit! He was fucked. These were two of Bea’s fathers.

  Charlie shook his head. “I don’t think so, Gerry. We need to bring him whole. Then depending what happens, you can always beat the pulp out of him later.”

  Gerry wasn’t too happy. “All right, but no interference later if I decide he needs to be taught a lesson, agreed?”

  Charlie nodded.

  Gerry turned to his friends. “Okay, guys, let’s go. Bring the doc too.”

  Zach waited until they had all made it to the basement before speaking again. “Uh, mind if I throw on a shirt and boots? I’ll freeze my tits off out there.”

  Gerry stepped in front of him. “Aw, wussy girl has to get dressed to go outside?”

  Zach smirked. “I don’t know. Are you willing to strip and try it?”

  Gerry pulled back his arm when Charlie stepped between them again. “Gerry, why don’t you head outside? I’ll take care of this.”

  Gerry grumbled under his breath and stormed out the door, leaving Charlie, Zach, Josh and the six bikers.

  Charlie turned on him. “Listen, kid, you got a lot to learn here. Rule number one, don’t piss off Gerry.” The bikers snickered and nodded.

  “Number two, you got two dads here who are ready to break every bone in your body if you don’t make their daughter feel better, so you’d be smart to cooperate. I’m not stepping between you and him again. Got it?”

  Zach nodded. The man’s blue eyes communicated his anger and fear all at the same time. What the hell was going on?

  At Zach’s nod, Charlie scanned the basement. “Okay, anything you’ve got down here you can wear. Boys, release him, but watch the bugger.”

  He had a dirty shirt and socks in the bathroom, but they reeked. Instead he tied his Timberland boots on over bare feet and grabbed Josh’s jacket off the wall hook and threw it at him. One of Josh’s guys caught it. Zach pulled down his hoodie just as two guys grabbed his arms again and dragged him outside.

  As they walked by his bike, he thought of making a break for it. But Charlie must have read his mind. “Don’t even think about it. Your baby will never start again unless I make a few changes.”

  The guys holding him laughed. “Yeah, Charlie’s the best Harley mechanic in the state. Too bad you didn’t own a Honda.”

  Zach shook his head. If the whole situation wasn’t so serious, he would think someone had set him up to be punked.

  Charlie, as it
turned out, had a very nice Cadillac Escalade. He and Josh found themselves thrown into it, along with the appropriate musclemen. Gerry and the rest of the guys, thankfully, peeled out on Harleys, leaving four machines in his driveway. That, more than anything else, made him uncomfortable. They would never leave their bikes if they didn’t have a plan for coming back. Hell.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Susan sat on her couch, Tony and Andy on either side of her. Mathew stood in front of them, trying to convince her Bea would be all right. She picked at her skirt, concerned that Jim hadn’t come out of Bea’s room yet. Did he care? He had come. That had to mean something. She’d forgotten how handsome he was.

  The front door opened and Gerry strode in. “We got him.”

  Susan stood to greet Zach. Tony and Andy joined her as two of Gerry’s boys brought him to stand before her. A bright-red mark shone clearly on his jaw. Oh dear. “Let go of him this instant.”

  They dropped Zach’s arms and backed away. She glared at Gerry. “You hit him.”

  He shrugged. “Trust me, he had it coming, right, Charlie?”

  “Yup.”

  Two more bikers came in with another person, but Zach drew her attention. “Hi, Susan.”

  She shook her head. “Zach, did they tell you why we needed you to come?”

  He glared at Gerry, though he spoke to her. “Nope, not a single clue.”

  She added her glare to Zach’s and Gerry threw up his hands. “It wouldn’t have made a difference. He would still be here. Anyone want a beer?”

  Every man in the room wanted one, but Zach.

  Susan shook her head. Thank God she and Gerry had sex last night or eleven men in one room would have sent her into a frenzy. “Zach, the reason we brought you here is that Bea is not doing well. I think, I think…” Oh God, she couldn’t say it.

  Andy put his arm around her shoulders. “What she’s trying to say is she thinks Bea is dying.”

  Susan sniffed. “And her—”

  Tony interrupted. “Bea asked for you.”

  Zach’s heart constricted as perspiration seeped along his skin. She couldn’t be dying. She was too alive, too quirky, too beautiful. What happened? Bea should be in a hospital with doctors who could help her. His gaze collided with Josh’s and Josh gave him a brief nod.