Blind Love

by Kishan Paul

  Ben drove south on Interstate 285, trailing a blue sedan three cars ahead. The captain had told him to go home. Said he was off duty and way too emotionally connected to be part of the investigation.

  And how the fuck exactly was he supposed to do that?

  Since the order came down, all he got was scraps of overheard conversations and apologetic looks from the officers. So here he was, following the detectives in charge of the investigation. When Case stuck his hand out of the passenger side window and waved, a faint smile tugged at Ben’s mouth. He obviously wasn’t very good at this whole spy shit.

  The grin disappeared as fast as it appeared. There was no humor in this situation. Every muscle in his body was wound tight, ready to explode, while a vat of burning acid crept higher and higher in his gut by the minute. And of course, the fucking antacids were sitting on his side table at home.

  There were three people Ben blamed for this situation. Raymond West for being the psychotic piece of shit he was. Gabriel Briggs for coming to Denver and dragging Lauren into this fucking mess in the first place. And himself.

  He was too busy being jealous, and pissed off because he was jealous, to do his job. If he had focused more on the activities going on outside the house instead of inside her bedroom, Jack would still be alive and Lauren would be sitting on the couch right now, telling him how much of an over-protective asshole he was being.

  The more he thought about everything, the more the inferno in his gut raged. There were so many things he had failed to do and he couldn’t stop his head from imagining all the things the ass wipe might be doing or had done to Lauren because of it.

  His brain flipped through the events that had transpired in the past three hours: Lauren’s kidnapping, the voicemail left on his phone, Jack’s body…

  He clenched the steering wheel and tried to block the images of the dog’s remains in the woods. The German shepherd protected her when Ben couldn’t, and, in the end, gave his life doing it.

  Thinking about the other stuff wasn’t going to bring Lauren home. He forced himself to focus on the chain of events that led him to the interstate. It had been pure luck that the officers noticed the broken back door on the vacant home a few houses down from Lauren’s. Inside, they discovered letters Raymond had written to the dead woman promising to take care of her son, a bag of new clothes the same size as the kid, a dog kennel big enough for Jack or for a seven-year-old boy, and chlorophyll—enough to put an adult permanently to sleep. Then there was the bullet that killed Jack. They were pretty sure it was the same caliber as the one that murdered Autumn Briggs back in May.

  The blue sedan slowed to a stop at the exit ramp leading to Pike National Forest. Ben pulled over on the side of the highway and watched. Two patrol cars were parked nose to nose, blocking the area off from other vehicles. Case got out of the car and talked to one of the officers standing guard.

  The sirens of an ambulance blared seconds before it merged onto the other side of the interstate.

  Lauren?

  Every organ in his chest tried to shove itself up his throat at the same time. He considered his options. Follow the flashing lights or stay close to the detectives. As if reading his mind, Case turned to him and waved in the direction of the ambulance. It was all the help he needed.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Friends

  Lauren sometimes had dreams where the images and emotions were so vivid, she mistook them for reality. A lone tear escaped the corner of her eye. Hopefully, this was one of those times.

  A warm hand squeezed hers. “Lauren?” The worry in her father’s voice sounded real.

  Slowly, she opened her lids, blinking until her vision adjusted to the bright halogen lights above. As she stared at the ceiling, a blanket of sadness fell upon her chest. Lying in a hospital, her leg bandaged, she knew with clarity none of what she went through was a dream.

  “Baby, can you hear me?”

  Another realization hit her while she nodded her response. The left retina had degenerated some during her sleep. Which meant its visual field had shrunk, exactly like her right. Funny how up until this morning, the only thing important to her was her sight. Now it didn’t even make her top five lists of things to worry about.

  “Jack.” She choked out his name, praying she was wrong.

  Her father squeezed her hand a bit firmer. “He’s gone, baby.”

  More tears escaped, dampening her cheeks, ears, until finally falling to the pillow beneath her head. Soon the only sound in the hospital room was of her sobs.

  The one being on this planet that had never disappointed her was dead. As scary as the world had been for her, when he was by her side, she felt brave, strong. Never had he failed her. No, in the end, it was she who failed her best friend. Lauren gritted her teeth and tried to rein in her emotions, but the cries still pushed through.

  Her father rested his cheek against her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he said over and over as she cried.

  An eternity later, her body continued to heave, but the tears subsided. He stayed by her side, kissing her cheek and wiping her face.

  When she squeezed his hand in gratitude, he sniffled and pressed his lips against her bandaged wrist. “You haven’t let me take care of you like this in a very long time. Thank you.”

  Lauren rested her face in his palm and absorbed his warmth until her body calmed.

  “How’s the pain?”

  She rubbed the back of her neck. “Not too bad, actually. Did they give me pain meds?”

  “Yup, the good stuff too. You shouldn’t be able to feel a thing.”

  It wasn’t true. She felt a lot of things. Sadness over losing Jack. Regret about the choices she made, all of which were rooted in one central emotion—fear. There were so many things she needed to change. So many things she needed to accept.

  “You’re pretty beat-up. We’re very lucky the injuries weren’t worse than they were.”

  Memories of the kidnapper flooded her. She sat straight up and scanned the room. “He wanted Evan.”

  Her father squeezed her hand. “Evan’s safe, honey. Everyone’s safe. The asshole who did this is dead. Gabe killed him.”

  Lauren rubbed the edge of the bandage wrapped around her thigh and, when she wiggled her toes, realized her ankle was also wrapped up tight. She took long, soothing breaths and repeated her father’s words.

  Everyone’s safe.

  “Your mom and Sunny are on their way here.”

  Lauren raised her brows. “Wait, how are you here if Mom’s not?”

  He positioned pillows behind her and helped her lean back. “For the record, I sometimes do things without her.”

  When she tilted her head, even more confused, he chuckled. “Gabe brought me. We were going over the renovation plans on the new house when I got the call you were missing. So I hopped in his truck and we took off. Figured the less your mom knew the better.”

  A smile stretched across her face at the image of her father sitting in Gabe’s pickup. “Really?”

  “Yes, and we made a good team too. He drove. I navigated.” He ran his finger around her wrist. “That bracelet we gave you saved your life.” The emotion in his voice tugged at her. “Speaking of which, I understand you’ve never been to Brazil.”

  She laughed through fresh tears. “He told you?”

  The bed dipped as he sat beside her. “Among other things.”

  When her father wrapped an arm around her, she rested her head on his shoulder. “Other things?”

  “For starters, you’re the smartest person to ever walk this earth.”

  “If he was right, I wouldn’t be sitting in a hospital room now, would I?”

  He tucked her head under his chin and squeezed. “The reason you’re alive is because you used your brain. Don’t ever doubt
it.”

  She didn’t respond, just savored his love.

  “That’s not all he said.”

  “Do I want to hear the rest?” The words came out mumbled because her father’s shirt was pressed against her lips.

  “I think you should,” he said. “Did you know there’s nothing you can’t do?”

  Her face warmed. “He didn’t say that, did he?”

  “He absolutely did.” Her father paused for a second before continuing. “And if your mother and I want a real relationship with you, we need to start treating you like you’re all of those wonderful things.”

  The room went silent.

  “Gabe said those things?” she whispered.

  He let out a breath. “When you realize you might lose the person you love, it makes you say and do a lot things you wouldn’t normally.”

  Lauren’s stomach tightened. “He used the word love?”

  “No, but I saw the look on his face. The man loves you. He’s the reason you’re alive.”

  She fought away the moisture building behind her eyes. Gabe was a complicated person, and chances were her father was wrong. Instead of arguing with him, she changed the subject.

  “Sounds like he laid into you hard. Sorry, Dad.”

  “Don’t be. When you realize you might lose the person you love, it makes you listen and understand a lot of things you normally wouldn’t. I’m sorry it took almost losing you for me to say it, but Gabe’s right. You are strong, smart and beautiful.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I am so proud to call you my daughter.”

  How long had it been since she’d heard him say anything like that? Lauren blinked back the new surge of tears and tried to breathe through the emotion.

  “Do you love him?” he asked.

  Lost in thought, she fixed her gaze on the blurry white hospital wall. “I didn’t think I was going to live.”

  Her father squeezed her a little tighter.

  She kept talking, pretending not to hear his sniffles. “My thoughts went straight to you, and Mom, and Sunny, and Jack, but then to him. It took that moment for me to realize I loved him and had never told him.”

  He cleared his throat. “I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’ve done way too much of that and you never listen anyway.”

  Lauren laughed and nodded.

  “You need to understand, I support you and whatever decisions you make. But, promise me if you ever decide to get married again, you’ll let me know? And I mean before the wedding, not after like last time. I’d like to, at least once, walk my daughter down the aisle.”

  She rolled her eyes and giggled. “I’m not getting married, Dad. By the way, where is he?”

  “Still at the police station.”

  When she started to pull away, he held tighter. “Don’t worry, I’ve made some phone calls. He should be getting out soon.”

  In a matter of hours so much had changed. “I wish I could go back in time and fix things. Not let Jack out of the house. Not let that man inside. Erase all my mistakes today.”

  The door to her room squeaked open as she spoke.

  “If you did, Evan would most likely have been kidnapped,” a familiar voice said.

  She smiled. “Hi, Ben.”

  Her father rose to greet his once son-in-law. This was their first meeting since the divorce. Unsure of how the interaction would go, Lauren held her breath.

  “Hi, James. How are you?”

  “Better, now that my daughter’s safe. I heard about all you did. Thank you.”

  She watched the two blurred shapes shake hands. “I wish I could have done more.”

  Metal scraped against the floor when Ben pulled up a chair. He took her hand and held on tight.

  “Jack’s gone,” she choked out.

  His thumb traced circles against her skin. “I know. I saw him.”

  Lauren slammed her eyes shut and tried unsuccessfully to block out the memory of his agonized cry. “He was in pain.”

  Ben leaned forward and wiped her tear before it ever hit her cheek. “He’s not hurting anymore.”

  He pressed his palm against her face. “You know what I loved most about him?”

  She shook her head. Ben loved Jack as much as she did. If anyone could understand her grief, it would be him.

  “How much he loved you,” he whispered.

  Lauren’s lip quivered.

  “And I saw the way he was with Evan. He loved the kid too.” Ben handed her a tissue. “I know it’s not fair to weigh the value of one life over another, but I want you to consider something. Raymond West’s plan was to kidnap Evan. Jack saved his life, and if the dog had the chance, we both know he’d do it again.”

  A cell phone rang. “It’s your mom; I’m pretty sure she’s lost. Ben, if you’re going to be here a while, I’m going to step out and take this.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Ben said, continuing to run his thumb over her cheek. “I shouldn’t have left you this morning,” he whispered after her father left.

  “This isn’t your fault.”

  “If I hadn’t left…”

  She didn’t let him finish. “Like you said, Evan might be gone. And you’re right, Jack wouldn’t have done it any different.”

  “Ever since I got your voicemail, I’ve been in hell.” He grazed a finger over her cheekbone where the kidnapper had punched her. “Seeing what that asshole did to you, I want to beat the shit out of him. But the good news is, he won’t ever hurt another woman again.” He dropped his hand and leaned back in his chair. “Thanks to Gabe.”

  Lauren cringed at the tinge of jealousy in his voice.

  “This thing with him, it’s not a one- or two-night fling, is it?”

  She lowered her eyes and shook her head. “I love him.”

  The room became painfully quiet. Ben shifted in his seat. “You don’t say that very often.”

  “I’ve only said it about one other man.” She searched for words to make it better but came up with nothing. “I don’t want to hurt you, Ben.”

  “I know. It’s okay.”

  Although he said the words, the sadness in his tone told her it wasn’t.

  “I want you to be happy. Not knowing if you were dead or alive made me realize something. It doesn’t matter if you’re with me or not, as long as you’re alive.” His voice cracked. “We’ve always been close. It’s what’s made these last five years so hard. Every time something good or bad happened in my life, I wanted to talk to you. Even when Chloe was born, you were the first person I thought to call. Stupid, I know, considering everything leading up to her birth.”

  He blew out a breath. “What I’m trying to say is I need you in my life, Cat. I need to know you’re okay, we’re okay.”

  “And if I’m with someone else?”

  He took in a lungful of air and, after slowly releasing it, answered her question. “I’ll deal with it. We were friends once. If nothing else, it would be nice to have my friend back.”

  “As long as you remember she already has a best friend.” She jumped at Sunny’s words. Lauren had been so absorbed in his sadness, she didn’t even hear the woman enter. “And the one she currently has is about to beat the living shit out of her.”

  “Hey, Sunny,” Ben said.

  “Sorry, dude. You two were having a moment and all, but up until twenty minutes ago, I thought she was dead.” Her voice quivered as she spoke.

  “Obviously, I’m still alive.”

  “Barely. I mean look at you.” She sniffled, pulling Lauren into a tight hug. “You stupid, blind, arrogant freak. What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Lauren spit out the lock of Sunny’s hair currently wedged in her mouth and rubbed her friend’s back. “I love you too.”

  Her best friend held her tight and cried for a long time
before releasing her. Sunny blew her nose and kissed Lauren on the forehead. “Okay, much better now. You look like shit by the way.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Listen, there’s a tall, dark and sexy detective out there by the name of Casey Johnson. He wants to talk to you. Should I let him in?”

  Lauren nodded. “As long as you two stay with me.”

  Ben squeezed her hand while Sunny answered, “I did mention tall, dark and sexy right?”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Hospital

  Gabe peeled off the orange jumpsuit, tossed it on the floor and headed for the shower. Four hours had passed since he watched Lauren’s ambulance pull away. At which point, he’d been taken to the police station in handcuffs, asked to change out of his bloodied clothes while the officers watched, questioned, signed papers, and then questioned again. With the help of the well-dressed smooth-talking lawyer Lauren’s father sent to the police station, Gabe’s explanation of events was finally checked out.

  It turned out Raymond West had taken his lunch break during his security guard shift at the bank very late the day Autumn died. He timed it according to when she clocked out. Since there were no cameras in the employee lounge and no one noticed him leaving the building, it had been an easy alibi for him. Her body was found fifteen minutes from where they worked, giving him plenty of time to get there, kill her and get back to work without being noticed. Fortunately, all the letters he wrote after killing her detailed everything he’d done. The gun they found on him matched the one that killed Autumn. Once all the I’s were dotted and T’s were crossed, the case would be officially closed.

  The only thing it didn’t answer was why she never called the police and why she ever got in his car. He shook his head. One of the few things he learned from his father’s and brother’s suicides was sometimes he’d never know the whys.

  After making him sit through a speech about vigilantism and the importance of calling the police, the captain encouraged him to join the force. An offer he politely declined. What he needed was a shower and to go find Lauren. Fortunately, her father had texted him the hospital information. The officers had volunteered their locker room for him to get cleaned up. Considering his skin was covered in Lauren’s blood and his house was an hour away, Gabe had taken them up on the offer.