“We have had an intruder. We got gassed. The police are here and we are looking into how he got in.”
“Right. Shall I put some coffee on?”
“Yes, please. When you are feeling up to it. Breathe in the fresh air and wait until you can stand before you do anything.”
“Yes. Thank you.” Wells nodded and sat on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.
The officer went to Wells’ side. “How are you doing, cuz?”
“Great, Thomas. Doesn’t it look like I am having a helluva night?”
“Funny, Ben. You look like hell. I was just talking to your employer. She knows the man who did this.”
Wells looked at her with bleary eyes. “You know him?”
“We are not on friendly terms. I have a past with him that I am not happy with. Your cousin has offered some advice on how to deal with it.”
Tiff straightened her shoulders. “If you are his cousin, I may as well tell you that I spooked Dennis with a half shift. He wasn’t expecting my jaws snapping at him and he fell back which made him an easy target. Now, I would like to find out where he got in.”
The officer patted his cousin on the shoulder and followed her out.
“That was some quick thinking, Miss Grayson.”
“Thank you. I recognized the scent and sound of the gas. At fourteen, I was drugged first, but the amount of time that I was missing couldn’t be accounted for by the rufies.”
“You seem very calm discussing it.”
“I got over the self-recrimination years ago. I was young and vulnerable, they were evil. That is what it comes down to.”
“You would testify in court?”
“Sure. I am not ashamed of it. I did not have a relationship before, and I didn’t have one after. The slut card is off the table. The drugs showed up in my blood tests and the samples were all stored. I do check on them now and then.”
The lock to the kitchen door had been drilled out. It was the simplest lock in the house and the furthest from any of the rooms. Tiff had been meaning to upgrade the locks and security, but she hadn’t gotten to it. Now, she knew that it had been a mistake.
She looked but didn’t touch.
“Yes, this is where he came in. We will have someone come in and sweep for prints, though with him actually here with the hose in his hand, it does make it rather simple.”
More cars arrived.
Tiff headed to the front door and greeted the officers while a groggy Dennis was led out of her home in cuffs.
They were taken individually and asked what had happened. Tiff knew what had gone on from her perspective, but she sat with the coffee that Wells brought her and answered everything while wondering what Davus was saying.
“Who is Davus Fergus to you?”
“My fiancé.”
“Have you known each other long?”
“Long enough. We have lived close to each other all our lives and everything just finally clicked.”
The officer smiled. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Our ceremony is next month. Our families were just hashing out details last night.”
“Do you know why Mr. Miller chose this moment to break in?”
“No. I don’t have a clue. I haven’t been face to face with him since I was fourteen.”
“So, you knew him previous to this.”
“Of course I did. We live in the same area and his father is my doctor.”
The officer nodded. “Well, I have all I need. We will be in touch.”
The officer left and she sat in her robe, sipping coffee and watching the birds fly over the forest.
Davus came up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder before sitting on her right.
“This was not how I imagined our first morning together.”
She leaned on his shoulder. “Me neither. I wanted to sneak out at dawn and play on that swing.”
“Damn, that would have been good. Are you going to pursue the old charges?”
“I think so. I think I need a clean start, and for me that means purging the past. As long as I have that DNA waiting for me to press charges, I will be tied to my history. So, if you can stand it, I will go through the muck and then be ready to begin my future.”
“I will be with you the whole time.”
He kissed the back of her hand and something inside her loosened.
Two days later, Tiff sat in shock and read the copy of the suicide note that Dennis had written. He was obsessed with her, confessed to the rape with his companions and named names. Her engagement and public appearance with Davus had snapped his self-control. He wanted to have her one last time.
He confessed because the creature from hell that attacked him had pointed out the error of his ways. He had seen it as a sign of things to come and this letter was his last chance to confess and gain forgiveness.
Tiff stood up and left the page on the table. She curled against Davus and shook as her body reacted to the confession that she had been planning how to extract by violent means.
He lifted her in his arms and carried her out, across the lawn and through the forest. He sat with her on his lap on the swing and held her close while she sobbed.
She wailed, held fistfuls of his shirt and gasped for air as her body was wracked with spasms of tears.
He didn’t murmur, didn’t try and get her to stop, he just held her while the storm raged, rocking her gently.
When she stopped and looked up at him through eyes so puffy she could barely see, he had never looked better, while she had never looked worse.
“Thanks for that. I didn’t need Gran or Wells to see that. I am sorry you had to.”
“I am glad I was here for you. You did not need to go through that alone. I can tell you, I had a few moments myself after my rescue. I felt that I would never be whole again, that something had been taken from me.”
She leaned against him and listened to the beating of his heart.
“When you offered to help me gain myself again, the edges of the hole began to fill. You reached out a hand to help and expected nothing in return. When we kissed, I knew that you were the one for me. You would be there for me and when you needed it, I would be there for you, Tiff.”
She sniffled weakly. “That is so sweet.”
“I don’t mean to be sweet. I just wanted to be sure that you know how much you mean to me. I may be a little clingy at times, but I am starting from scratch. As you said, a new start, a whole new beginning, for both of us.”
He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out something small. “This was my grandmother’s. She gave it to me to give to my fiancée. Tiffany Grayson, will you be my wife in the human world?”
The ring was perched in between two of his long elegant fingers.
She smiled and wiped at her eyes. “Davus Fergus, yes, I will.”
He slipped his ring on her finger, and she smiled at the brilliant emerald glowing from the centre of the setting.
“The moment I saw your eyes, I knew that this ring was meant for you.”
She kissed him and clutched at him as he began to swing them with more energy.
What started as comfort ended up with testing the swing for a violent coupling that sent all the wild creatures running and flying in every direction. Naked and exhausted, Tiff kept her arms and legs around Davus as they slowly swung to a halt.
She chuckled. “I am guessing that you are glad I spent all that time sanding that swing seat.”
His laugh was that of a courting peacock, and it echoed through the woods. He already had her, but he could flex anything as long as she was riding him at the time. With him always in the mood to court her, she was in for a fascinating relationship. It was a good thing that the future had just begun.
Author’s Note
It got a little dark for a while, but I think I pulled it back to my normal silliness.
For the next book, Snake Charmer
, I pair the unlikely cobra and mongoose. Can two born enemies mix and mingle in the Crossroads? Of course, they can. It will just take some severe negotiations.
Zenina Masters
www.zeninamasters.com
[email protected]
About the Author
Zenina Masters was born in Canada and lives in Canada. She has a regular job and does nothing particularly exciting with her life. She enjoys fishing, silence and the ability to pick and choose friends she can trust. Life is too short to watch your back all the time.
Her writing life is a teeny bit of escapism, she would probably chicken out if confronted by three naked men and looks forward to one day finding out.
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