by Dee J. Adams
* * *
Ashley managed to shut the door before her tears fell in earnest. She’d finally seen him and he’d broken her heart so completely she didn’t see how she’d recover. He had the most amazing eyes and they lied so well. He’d looked and sounded so sincere, but hadn’t the man proved to be the consummate actor?
She’d have to sell the house. She couldn’t live next to him anymore. That would be impossible. It would serve him right to have a houseful of people live here. Or maybe he’d just buy her out.
Tears came harder. She didn’t want to move. She’d made this place her own, it wasn’t fair that she had to give it up.
Since when was life fair?
How many times had her mother said those words? How often had her mother rolled with the tough punches life threw? She’d just have to do the same. Later. Right now, she stumbled to her bedroom and crumpled into a heap on the bed. She cried so hard her stomach hurt.
Roamer crawled on the bed and stayed next to her; quiet and worried, his eyes solemn and sad. Seeing her precious dog feel her pain was bittersweet.
The good with the bad. Another one of her mother’s quotes rang in her head. Her sobs echoed in the quiet room.
The phone rang a dozen times and she finally turned the ringer off so she wouldn’t have to hear it. Mel’s voice pleaded with her on the answering machine. To talk to him. Listen to him. Anything. But she couldn’t talk to anyone today much less him. It was the nurse on the answering machine that brought her out of her funk. Oh, God, she had to make the doctor’s appointment. Just when she thought she had a handle on her emotions, the tears came again. Somehow she pulled herself together enough to slide into Kelsey’s car and go to the doctor. She was one of only two known cases where the procedure had worked within a month’s time. Most patients took many months longer to respond. The doctor concluded that her eyes were probably on the verge of healing themselves and the shots pushed the healing faster.
Ashley forced her smiles and blamed her tears on the happiness of having her eyesight back. No one needed to know differently. She left with instructions to call the office if her vision changed in the least.
It should have been one of the best days of her life, but it wasn’t. Given a choice, she’d rather stay blind with the man she knew as Mel, than have her eyesight and be totally devastated.
The day dragged on and she couldn’t do anything but weep. It ranked right up there with her worst days in physical therapy. Right up there with getting buried by scaffolding and nearly dying. This was just dying of a different sort.
Every time she thought about him saying he was in love with her, more tears fell. If he loved her he wouldn’t have lied to her.
But he hadn’t planned to fall in love. She hated the stupid voice in her head.
He hadn’t planned to have neighbors. He’d wanted privacy. Anyone else might have been star struck or leaked his secret. He was only protecting himself. The voice droned on and Ashley stuck a pillow over her head to block it out. You made him feel like a regular guy. You didn’t want anything from him but friendship.
I didn’t fucking know I was going to fall in love with you.
“Neither did I,” she whispered.
The more the stupid voice in her head talked, the more she listened. If she’d been in his shoes, wouldn’t she have done the same thing? How could she know if a new neighbor was trustworthy or a money seeking snitch? What if she’d gone to all the trouble to have some privacy only to have it blown out of the water by some stranger?
He’d told her how after the incident in Idaho he’d changed. The press had crucified him, hadn’t they? Didn’t he deserve a second chance? Didn’t he deserve to have a private life?
There were too many unanswered questions and every one of them brought more tears until she passed out late that night.
Roamer’s barking woke her up. Then she smelled the smoke and immediately started coughing. She opened her eyes. Couldn’t see. Oh, God! No, wait. She could see, but the room was filled with smoke. Thick, cloying, suffocating smoke. She rolled off the bed and crawled toward the sound of Roamer’s bark. He was closed up in the office connected to her room. How did he get in there? She opened the door and he bolted out, running around the room like a lunatic. As Ashley started crawling for the door, she heard the crackling of the flames.
Her beautiful house…
“Easy, boy, it’s okay,” she soothed her panicked dog.
No sooner had she said the words than fire streaked into the room under the door and lined the walls. It was as if it had a trail to follow. That’s when she smelled the gasoline. The whole perimeter of the room blazed high. No way out.
Her lungs burned as hot as the fire around her. Smoke clogged her throat. Goddammit, she didn’t want to die like this! Hadn’t she been through enough already? Was this really the plan for her? To suffocate? Or burn to death?
“No, dammit!” I will not die today. She had too much to live for. She went back to the end table and reached for the phone. The line was dead. Naturally.
She couldn’t die.
She had to tell Mel she was sorry for not listening to him. Sorry for shutting him out. He had no reason to tell her he loved her unless he really felt that way. She loved him, didn’t she? Now she might die without ever having a chance to tell him.
“No!” she said again. “I have to tell him.” She fought back the sting of tears. Think, Ashley, think. What was her best defense?
Water. The closest water was in the bathroom. Ashley crawled for the bathroom as fast as she could. She had to strip the blanket off the bed and smack down the flames at the doorway. At least the tile in there wouldn’t burn as quickly. Just as she got the flames down, something exploded in the hallway and knocked the bedroom door off its hinges. The wood smacked down the flames and Roamer bolted for the new opening.
“Roamer! No!” Ashley screamed, but she couldn’t get any voice behind it and coughed as Roamer disappeared into the burning house. “Roamer!” She kept calling him and fire quickly consumed the new piece of material, blocking the way again. Fresh tears blurred her vision as she doused the flames enough to get into the bathroom. She turned the faucet on the tub full blast and watched it fill with blessed water. It might be just enough to keep her alive long enough for help to get here.
Ashley grabbed towels in the cabinet and soaked them with water from the sink then lined them at the bottom of the door. She tried to open the only window in the room, but it didn’t budge. How was that possible? These were new windows. The crackling of the flames got louder and Ashley’s heart nearly beat out of her chest. She wrapped a soaked towel across her mouth and tried to breathe, but her hope slowly faded.
Someone must have seen the flames by now. Mel must have seen them. If he was home. Maybe he’d left after she’d shut the door on him. Maybe he’d given up on her. She stepped into the tub and sat down, soaking herself.
A huge crash sounded in her bedroom. It sounded as if the glass in the French doors had busted open. Maybe she could get out if she wrapped some wet towels around herself. She scrambled out of the tub.
“Ashley!”
She lifted her head, her heart pumping rivers of adrenaline. “Mel!” Had he broken the windows? “I’m in here!” she screamed. She shoved the wet towels away from the door and used one to open the searing hot knob. The door sprung open and Mel stood there, singed and gorgeous. He had on jeans and a T-shirt he slept in and he was already covered with soot.
Ashley threw herself into his arms. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I shouldn’t have shut you out and now this and I don’t know where Roamer is.” She couldn’t stop babbling, couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “There was an explosion and he ran out the door. I don’t know how this happened. How did you—”
“Baby, I’d love to talk…” Mel held her shoulders and gave her his gorgeous smile. A smile she’d heard and imagined, but hadn’t seen for herself until this very second. Laugh lines crin
kled around his eyes and his white teeth gleamed in the dark. He shouted to be heard over the raging fire. “But we need to get the hell out of here.”
“Right.” She stopped him when he turned to go. “Wait. Hurry. Come in here first.” She grabbed his hand, ran back into the bathroom and jumped in the tub, dragging him with her. “Soak yourself first.”
“That’s another reason I love you,” he said. “You’re one smart chick.”
This might be her only chance to tell him. There was a very real possibility they wouldn’t make it out alive. She turned to him as she grabbed the wet towels. “I love you too. I thought about what you said all day and I should’ve seen your side.” She threw a giant dripping beach towel over Mel and one around herself.
Mel held her face in his hands and everything stopped. “I never meant to hurt you, Ash. I love you so much.” He kissed her. Full throttle. Ashley would’ve been happy to continue except she wanted to do it without the threat of death. They pulled apart at the same time.
“C’mon,” Mel said as they sloshed out of the tub. “I’ve got you.” Before she had a chance to say anything he lifted her in his arms and dashed toward the French doors.
Holy crap! She still hadn’t told him she could see. He didn’t know she could run with him. Except as he ran through the fire all she could do was scream. Fire licked around them, eating the hard wood floor. Ashley lifted the towel over Mel’s head and kept it in place with her hand.
Seconds later, she took her first breath of cool outside air. She sagged against him in relief. Something slammed into her hand. Pain ripped up her arm and she screamed as Mel fell. Whatever hit her hand had slammed into his head. A fresh surge of energy kicked in as they hit the ground. Ashley braced herself and rolled as she landed. It didn’t make sense since they were clear of the house. What had hit them? She heard a thud, then another and looked up. The horror of the picture she saw registered slowly. Paula held a baseball bat over her head and landed a hard blow to Mel’s back a third time. She lifted the bat to hit him again and Ashley realized the woman wasn’t going to stop. Paula was out for blood. Out to kill.
Ashley leapt without thinking about the consequences. All that mattered was getting Paula away from Mel. She’d seen her old roommate do—and talk about—enough stunts to know what she had to do. While Paula had her arms up, the bat ready for another strike, Ashley plowed into her, drove her shoulder into Paula’s midsection. She heard the grunt, the release of air from Paula’s lungs as she made contact. They both flew backward toward the far edge of the yard. Ashley felt the bat make contact with her lower back, but the blow lacked power and the bat bounced out of Paula’s hands. No sooner had they landed than Paula struggled and rolled, managing to get Ashley on her back. Her hands wrapped around Ashley’s neck in a crushing vise. Fire flickered in the background and cast eerie shadows across Paula’s face. The hate in the woman’s eyes went beyond rage, beyond anything Ashley had ever seen.
Mel wasn’t the only person Paula wanted dead. The realization sent Ashley’s blood roaring in her ears. The fire hadn’t killed her, but Paula might.
The fire. Paula had set the fire. She probably hadn’t counted on Mel coming in to save her, but she’d been ready with the bat in case Ashley had escaped on her own. Or maybe her plan did include killing them both tonight.
Ashley tried to pry Paula’s hands from her neck, but it wasn’t working. Her lungs burned with the need for air. She bucked and fought like a wild woman, but the edges started blackening and her vision closed in on her. Paralyzing fear tore through every cell of her body. Mel lay unconscious. There was no one to help her. Her grip on Paula’s wrists loosened as her energy faded. Her eyes fluttered shut when she heard a sound that seemed to come from far away.
A split second later, something hit Paula and knocked her off. Ashley gasped for precious air and rolled to her side in time to see Roamer all over Paula. He’d knocked her closer to the side gate. Blood stained the sleeve of Paula’s shirt and a sliver of hope raced through Ashley.
She got to her hands and knees, unsteady even on the ground as she got closer to the fight. Roamer had Paula pinned, his snarling and growling added to the roar of the fire as he gripped Paula’s forearm in his mouth. A second later, Roamer’s scream of pain made her blood run cold. Paula had something in her hand and Ashley spotted the small steel bucket of gardening tools that had tipped over. She got to her feet as Paula lashed down again and knocked Roamer off her, his yelp tearing through the night like a death toll. But Paula didn’t stop there. As he lay on the grass, panting, she got up and kicked him.
That did it.
Paula would not kill her dog. Or her man. Or her.
Paula would not get away with torching her house and taking away all the good things in her life.
With new adrenaline pumping through her system, Ashley plowed into Paula a second time. They both hit the dirt hard and Ashley didn’t wait for Paula to strike. This time she started hitting her as hard as she could. Her right hand didn’t work, so she used her left. She pounded Paula’s face with a tight fist, releasing all the pent-up rage streaming in her own body. Ellie had taught her how to throw a punch. She’d just never done it before now. It felt good.
Slam. Her fist hurt. Slam. She relished the pain. She pulled back again…
Realized her mistake. Paula still had a weapon in her hand. She saw it a second too late. Saw the flash of sliver and moved to the side as it slashed high against her upper arm. The sting burned like fire. Blood instantly gushed from the deep slice. Ashley fell sideways and felt another blow into her back then another. With a last-ditch effort, she shifted, kicked out and caught Paula’s wrist, knocking the narrow steel spade out of her grasp.
Breathing hard, Paula recovered and stood over her. “You can’t have him,” she panted. “He’s mine.” She grabbed Ashley’s leg and started dragging her. Ashley lashed out with her other leg, but had little energy left to do anything. The ground scraped against her back and every step had new pain arcing through her body. “You’re going to die the way I originally planned,” Paula told her. “I want to watch you fall. I want to see the fear in your eyes before I drop you.”
They were headed to the beach stairs.
Paula was the one who’d orchestrated the faulty railing? The answer seemed pretty damn obvious. And Lizzie? What had she done to Lizzie?
Ashley struggled with new energy. She flipped over to her stomach and reached for anything she could grab. Her fingernails scraped over the brick until she reached the beach gate then wrapped her hands around the steel pole and held on tight.
Paula screamed in rage. She dropped Ashley’s leg and tried to pry her fingers from the steel.
“Don’t do this, Paula,” Ashley screamed. “You don’t have to kill me like you killed Lizzie!”
Paula froze for a quick second. Their gazes locked. “Yes, I do. It’s the only way.” Her nostrils flared and her dark eyes sparkled with vicious light.
“Where is she? What’d you do with her?”
“Don’t worry. I buried her real good. She’s a permanent resident of Solvang. It’ll be a little different than your burial at sea.” Paula slammed her foot into Ashley’s hand. Pain ripped up her arm as Ashley lost her grip on the gate and Paula kicked her legs off the landing. Ashley grappled for the new railing post and held on with both hands. Her right arm continued to gush blood and her fingers barely worked. Paula once again began prying her fingers and hands from the post.
“Paula!” Ashley screamed. “Don’t do this.”
“Shut up and die,” Paula hissed.
Ashley looked down as the bloodless fingers of her right hand finally drooped to her side. Sweat poured off her body. Her one-handed grip wouldn’t last another thirty seconds. Paula’s grasp disappeared and Ashley readied for a kick or something sharp to loosen her tenuous hold. Instead, she heard the sound of a hit then the weight and sound of something swooshing next to her.
Fingers wrapped around
her wrist and a fresh bolt of fear churned in her stomach.
“Ashley, I’ve got you, baby. Can you reach up with your other hand?”
“Mel!” Ashley looked up into the most beautiful face she’d ever seen, her profound relief washing through her like a tidal wave.
“Déjà vu, huh?” he said, his smile crooked as he grabbed her with both hands and hauled her up. Together they eased back against the stairs, both breathing hard, but Ashley wanted to make sure the nightmare was over. She crawled toward the edge and saw Paula’s broken body lying face down against the rocks below.
Mel pulled her back. “What are you doing? Come away from there.”
“I want to see,” she insisted. See. He still didn’t know she had her sight back. She turned to him, both of them kneeling on the landing. Mel had installed a large solar light that lit up the stairs and now as Ashley gazed into his eyes, she saw the beautiful shades of blue, green and gray. “I can see,” she told him softly.
Mel placed a gentle hand on her cheek. “Oh, baby.” He pulled her against him in a hug and Ashley held tight. There was nothing in the world that matched being in his arms. The safe haven of his embrace banished all her worries.
Something exploded behind them as the fire raged on. The tender moment vanished.
“C’mon,” Mel said, tugging her up. “I called 911 before I went in for you. I hear the sirens.”
She stood and everything turned topsy-turvy, but the wailing sirens cut through the night and gave her hope. Clutching each other, they stumbled through the gate. A trail of blood left a gruesome line to the yard. Her blood? Nausea churned in her stomach just as Mel lost his balance and hit the ground on his knees.
“Are you okay?” Ashley knelt next to him, dizziness making her stomach roil worse.
“Actually,” Mel said, “I’m not feeling so…” His eyes rolled to the back of his head as his lids fluttered shut. Ashley barely caught him before he plowed face first onto the brick. She saw the trail of blood that flowed from his head to his T-shirt. Paula’s original hit with the bat must have cracked his head open. Panic seized her. She couldn’t lose him. Not after all this.