Emma’s knees trembled as she buried her fingers in his arm. She couldn’t believe this was happening. She couldn’t believe that Ash—the real Ash—was finally home and they’d found each other again. Their bodies could still create the same old magic.
He unbuttoned her jeans and slid them, along with her underwear, down her legs and Emma stepped out of them. Then she pushed him back on the bed and moved over him, trailing kisses along his chest and down his flat stomach.
He was different, Emma noticed. He’d always had a great body, but now he had the muscle definition of a man who’d worked hard for a living. A man who knew how to use his hands.
She unfastened his jeans and he helped her slide them off. And then there was nothing between them but twelve years of loneliness, and even that faded as their bodies touched for the first time.
He sat up and pulled her onto his lap. Wrapping her legs around his hips, he lifted her onto him and Emma’s breath quickened. Her heart pounded hard against her chest as she moved slowly at first, and then more desperately as time and memories slipped away. Nothing mattered but that moment….
“Ash…”
“I know,” he whispered on a ragged breath. “Just let it happen.”
She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight as her climax exploded over her. He was right there with her, and he fell back against the bed, still shuddering as he pulled her with him.
SOMETIME LATER THEY’D CLIMBED between the sheets and Emma lay in the crook of his arm, her head resting on his chest. “You can’t leave again,” she whispered furiously. “You can’t just disappear the way you did last time, Ash. I can’t lose you again.”
His arm tightened around her. “When I leave here again, you’ll be going with me.”
“But how? You’re still in danger. I don’t want Wesley using me to track you down.”
“I think it’ll all be over soon. Grandmother said at breakfast yesterday that she’s ready to make some changes to her will. Once Wesley becomes her heir, he’ll have what he wants. He won’t have a reason to come after us.”
“But he tried to kill you. He won’t just forget about that.”
“I can’t prove it was him. Besides, he tried to kill Ash. As long as he thinks I’m Tom Black there’s no reason for him to come after me.”
Emma splayed her hand on his heart. The rhythm was steady and reassuring. “When do you think it’ll happen?”
“She said she was setting up a meeting with David Tobias in a day or two, and then she’ll call the family together and make a formal announcement.”
“And then it’ll be over,” Emma said. “Everyone gets what they want.”
“I already have what I want,” Ash murmured.
Emma lifted her head to kiss him. It was a long, soulful kiss that opened her heart and bared her emotions. A kiss that was, in some ways, more intimate than lovemaking.
“I love you,” he whispered against her mouth.
“I love you, too.”
EMMA WOKE UP SOME TIME later to find him dressed.
“Where are you going?” she asked drowsily.
“I have to get back to my room before everyone is up and about and someone sees me leaving your room.” He bent and kissed her. “Go back to sleep.”
She rolled onto her back and stared up at him. “All this sneaking around…it’s kind of like old times, isn’t it?”
“It won’t be for much longer,” he promised. “Now get some rest. You don’t want people to wonder what you were up to all night.”
He crossed the room and, drawing the door open, glanced into the hallway. Then he quickly stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind him.
EMMA GOT UP AT HER REGULAR TIME, showered, dressed, and was headed down the stairs to the study when a scream tore through the house.
She paused at the top of the stairs, her blood going cold. And then she started running toward the sound. It had come from the direction of Helen’s suite and as she hurried down the hallway, she saw that the door was open.
Helen lay unconscious on the floor and Theresa Ramon knelt beside her. The woman looked up in horror as Emma came running into the room. “I found her like this when I brought her breakfast. I don’t think she’s breathing.”
“I’ll call 911,” Emma said, crossing to the phone. Just as she was dialing the emergency number, Ash came in.
“What happened?”
Emma tuned out Theresa’s frantic explanation as she gave the 911 operator the requested information.
When she hung up, she went over to Ash, who was kneeling on the other side of Helen, checking for a pulse.
“Is she…?”
“I can feel a pulse, but it’s faint,” he said grimly. “How long before the paramedics get here?”
“Ten minutes maybe. They’re on their way.”
“I don’t know if that’s going to be soon enough.” He checked her pulse again, and then Emma heard him whisper, “Hang on, Grandmother. Help is on the way.”
THE PARAMEDICS ARRIVED IN eight minutes, and Maris came in right after them. She checked Helen’s vitals, her expression as grim as Ash’s. Once Helen was loaded into the ambulance, Maris climbed in to ride with her to the hospital. “I’ll call as soon as I know something,” she promised.
They watched as the ambulance disappeared down the drive and then Emma turned to Ash. “Ash, I’m so sorry. What do you think happened?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the excitement of the party was too much for her.”
“She’s tough,” Emma said. “She’ll pull through this.”
He shook his head. “Not this time. There’s only so much that even Grandmother can take.”
Emma put her hand on his arm. “Ash…she didn’t change her will yet.”
His gaze darkened as he stared down at her. “I know. But I can’t think about that now. I have to get to the hospital.”
EMMA BUSIED HERSELF ALL DAY overseeing the cleanup from the party. Ash called once to say that Helen’s condition was critical. She’d suffered another massive stroke and wasn’t expected to pull through. Emma had asked if there was anything she could do, but Ash had said no and quickly hung up.
Emma didn’t want to have bad thoughts about a woman who might be lying on her deathbed, but it seemed to her that Helen’s collapse had pulled Ash back into the family. She’d seen how worried he was about Helen. It was only natural. No matter how cruel and vindictive, she was still his grandmother. His own flesh and blood. Emma didn’t resent his concern. What niggled at her was the knowledge that if Helen died, Ash would inherit everything. Would that change how he felt about Emma?
It seemed ghoulish and cold to be thinking about the consequences of Helen’s death when she was still very much alive. And she was a fighter. If anyone could pull through this, it was Helen Corbett.
Emma called the hospital late that afternoon, and then she walked down to the cottage to have dinner with her father. The two of them talked a little about Helen’s condition, but mostly it was a quiet, somber meal. Emma left soon afterward. She was anxious to get back to the house in case Ash returned.
As she emerged from the trees, her gaze went automatically to the summerhouse. She saw the orange glow of a cigarette, and her heart quickened. Ash was back.
She hurried over to the gazebo and stepped through the door. It was very dark inside. She could barely see his silhouette. He had his back to her as he stared out into the darkness.
“Ash.” She walked over and put her hand on his shoulder.
His hand came up to covers hers, and she let out a breath.
“I didn’t know you were back. How’s Helen?”
“She died nearly an hour ago,” Wesley said, his hand clamping around Emma’s wrist. “And now your precious Ash is a very rich man.”
Emma tried to back away from him, but he held her fast. Getting up from the bench, he slowly turned to face her. She couldn’t see his face, but his eyes were gleaming in the dark. They looked almost f
eral.
She tried not to panic. He didn’t know that she knew. Maybe she could bluff her way out of this.
“I’m sorry about your mother.”
He laughed. “No one’s sorry about Mother.”
“That’s not true—”
“Emma, Emma.” He shook his head. “You still don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?” She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let her. “Please let me go. You’re hurting my wrist.”
“Am I?” He released her then and held up his hand. “There. You’re free as a bird.”
But Emma knew better than to run. Not until she had a better shot at getting away. She still wanted to believe that she could talk her way out of this.
“Where is Ash?” she tried to ask casually.
“Still at the hospital with the others. He’s putting on a good show, I must say. Already taking charge. You should see him, Emma. He’s acting like a real Corbett.”
Emma didn’t say anything. She was too busy worrying about how to get away from him.
“Another day or two and it would have been mine,” he said. “All of it. Amazing how important timing can be.”
“Nothing has to change,” Emma said. “Ash doesn’t want Corbett Enterprises. He’s not interested in the money.”
“Don’t fool yourself, Emma. Everyone is interested in that kind of money. Because it can buy what everyone wants. Power.”
“Not Ash—”
“Yes, even Ash,” he said with a snarl. “He’s a Corbett, Emma. Nothing is ever going to change that. He’ll be a Corbett…until the day he dies.”
Her heart quickened at the menace in his tone. “Except…he’s not really a Corbett, is he?” she whispered.
“You know about that?” He laughed. “You don’t think I’m that stupid, do you? Of course, he’s Ash. I told you the other day, I knew who he was the moment I laid eyes on him, I don’t care what he calls himself.”
“Then why—”
“Why did I hire him to pretend to be himself? You know why. So that he would get Mother to change her will.”
“But you were never going to let him walk away, were you?”
“You’re starting to figure it out now, aren’t you? But I think you have yet to realize your part in all this.”
She tried to inch toward the door. “What are you talking about?”
“Do you think we really just bumped into each other that day in the lobby of your building? I knew where you worked, where you lived. I knew that if I got you back here, Ash would be right behind you.”
“You used me to get to him,” she said, her voice trembling.
“That was the main reason I wanted you back here, yes. But, Emma…” He lifted a hand and stroked her cheek. “I’ve had my eye on you for years.”
Her skin burned beneath his fingers and she jerked away from his touch. He grabbed her and hauled her up against the wall. His eyes gleamed in the dark; his breath was hot against her face. Emma tried to turn away. “Let me go.”
“I can’t do that. Because you’ve got something I need.”
“Don’t—”
“You can give me power, Emma. The kind money can’t buy. The kind of power that someone like you can’t understand. Mary didn’t understand it, either. No one did. But it’s a power like no other.”
Horror dawned on Emma as she realized what he was saying. It was him….
Wesley Corbett was the killer.
He had been killing for years, and now he intended for Emma to be his next victim.
He had her pinned against the wall. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t scream. Tears rolled down her face.
Don’t do this! she silently pleaded, but there was no compassion in him. He was too far gone for that.
Emma felt the prick of a needle in her arm and then a moment later, her knees collapsed as everything around her went black.
SHE AWAKENED TO MORE DARKNESS, but as everything began to come back to her, Emma knew exactly where she was. She was in the old stone church on Shell Island. He’d laid her on some sort of altar. And suddenly she understood the sensation she’d had years ago on the steps of this church. It had been a premonition of her own death.
She tried to move her arms and legs. She wasn’t tied down, but as she struggled to get up, the after effects of the drug made her dizzy.
Staggering to her feet, she tried to make her way to the door, but the room spun wildly around her. She put out her arms, trying to steady herself, and after a moment, she felt stronger.
She stumbled to the door but it was locked. Whirling, her gaze lit frantically on the long windows. If she could find something to stand on, she could pull herself up to the window.
Her head still reeling, she managed to drag one of the old pews over to a window. As she used the tail of her shirt to remove the shards of glass, it occurred to Emma that this was a little too easy. Where was Wesley? Why hadn’t he tied her up? He had to have known that when she came to, she would try to escape.
Unless he thought that the drugs would keep her out longer.
Emma heard the lock in the door turn. She worked frantically at the glass, but she knew she’d never be able to get out of the window in time. He’d see her and come after her. She needed more time.
Hurrying back over to the makeshift altar, she lay down and closed her eyes.
The door closed behind him and she heard his footsteps on the stone floor. And then she could sense him standing over her. A moment later, she felt the blade of a knife against her throat.
For a moment, she was back in her apartment in Dallas with her assailant lying on top of her, ripping at her clothes. She felt that same helpless terror as the knife pressed against her neck.
And then as he bent over her, Emma’s hand came up and she slashed him across the face with the shard of glass she clutched in her hand.
Stunned, he stumbled backward, blood gushing between his fingers as he clutched his cheek.
Emma rolled off the altar and ran toward the door. She was still dizzy, but the drug was starting to wear off. She could make it to the door. She had to.
She flung it open and lunged outside. The night air hit her in the face and helped clear her senses. She hesitated for only a moment and then dashed toward the beach.
THE BOAT WAS TIED UP AT the pier, and Emma crawled on board, trying desperately to locate the key or a weapon. She found nothing but a heavy flashlight and she gripped it in her hand as she climbed back up to the pier.
She heard him, then, crashing through the underbrush. He was coming after her and coming fast. The boat would be the first place he’d look, but he wouldn’t stop there. The island was tiny and there was no way off. He wouldn’t stop searching until he found her. Emma’s only hope was to find someplace where she could take him by surprise.
Avoiding the path, she made her way back to the house that she and Laney had explored the day they’d come to the island. The floorboards creaked ominously as she stepped through the front door, but there was a far greater danger lurking outside.
Pressing herself against the wall, she tried to control her breathing as she waited.
It didn’t take long. She heard his footsteps on the porch and a moment later, the door opened. She waited until he was inside and then swung the flashlight against his head as hard as she could.
He grunted as he landed hard on the floor and grabbed Emma’s foot, pulling her down with him. She turned, gasping when she saw the blood dripping from his face. She’d done that to him.
“You bitch,” he spat and dragged her toward him.
Emma kicked him hard in the face and when he released her ankle, she scrambled away from him and jumped to her feet. Turning, she fled down the hallway to the back room, but when she tried to slam the door closed, he was already there, blocking her way. He flung the door against the wall and stood silhouetted in the opening.
Emma glanced around frantically. There was only one window and he was closer to it th
an she was.
When he saw that she was trapped, he started laughing. The knife gleamed in his hand as he slowly started toward her.
“You’ve got something I need, Emma. They all had something I needed.”
“Don’t do this,” she whispered.
“I have to. It’s like money, Emma. Once you taste it, you can never get enough of it. Mary was my first. And you’ll be my last. At least for a little while. Until it comes back.”
He started across the room toward her. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet and then gave away altogether. Emma watched in stunned belief as he crashed through. She wanted to draw a breath of relief, but already he was pulling himself up, his eyes blazing with rage.
Emma rushed through the door and down the hallway. He was behind her. She could hear him stum bling through the house, his bloodlust making him invincible.
He caught her on the porch. Emma fought him with every ounce of her strength, but even with the blood pouring from his face, he could still overpower her. He flung her down the porch steps. As Emma hit the ground, she heard something snap and a searing pain shot up her leg.
She tried to get up but she couldn’t. She tried to crawl away, but he was already standing over her. His blood dripped onto her face as he leaned down and grabbed her hair.
“You have no idea how much I’m going to enjoy this,” he said.
“Wesley!”
His head lifted in surprise.
“Get away from her!” a voice shouted from the dark.
Wesley paused for just a split second before he swung the knife downward.
The blade never touched Emma. A gunshot sounded and then another. Wesley fell backward without a sound.
Ash came running over and knelt at her side. Emma flung her arms around his neck and held on tight. For a long moment, she couldn’t say anything.
“It’s okay,” Ash whispered. “It’s all over.” He smoothed his hand down her hair. “We have to get you to a hospital.”
“I think my leg is broken,” she finally managed. “But I hurt him, too,” she said furiously. “I wasn’t going to die without a fight.”
Double Life Page 18