“See? Nothing.” Disgusted, he flopped down and that’s when they all identified it; the floor. It wasn’t in the walls, it was under the floor. There was a mad scramble to grab some lights and rip back the carpeting. Sure enough, a hatch was revealed, sealed shut with four-inch screws all around the perimeter. Frustrated, Ty called for a drill and began the painstaking process of removing each one until finally, they could lift the cover. Jack drew his weapon. Jared and Kyle manned the flashlights.
And Ty held his breath.
~~~*~~~
Katy thought she heard a faint noise and paused in her frantic search for another way out of her dank cell. She’d hurt her shoulder already throwing herself against the outer door in the futile hope of either breaking the lock or the hinges, but both were in better repair than she’d hoped. Now she was feeling her way around the room, careful to avoid the broken bottle. The door that they’d entered through had to be here somewhere, but she couldn’t locate it in the dark. And the walls were gross. Moist from the dirt and spongy with mildew, she hated to think what kind of creatures occupied the space with her.
She’d just started again, her poor cut fingers stinging on the wood, when the muffled sound of tires on gravel warned her that her time was up. It was him, Ramsey. She’d taken too long to free herself and then lay the trap. If only she had moved faster she could have been gone when he came back. Instead, now she was going to have to corner the tiger in his den.
And hope she survived.
Katy hurried over to where she’d strung the rope, and picked up one of the unopened bottles of wine she’d stashed there just as the scrape of a key in the lock came from the other side of the door. Holding the end of the rope and the bottle like a Louisville slugger, Katy waited for the door to open, her heart in a flat-out run of the bases.
One. Shit.
Two. Crap.
Three. Dammit.
The door swung open letting in a blast of cool air. A second later the dark shadow of a gun and the hand holding it appeared in the opening.
A little more, just a little bit farther, come on.
Her inner chant paid off. He stepped right into the circle of rope. Katy pulled for all she was worth. His feet came out from under him. He went down hard on his back, and the gun discharged into the air.
She flinched, and then with a triumphant shout, brought the bottle over her head and slammed it into his upraised arm with enough force to knock the gun flying. He shrieked in pain and anger. That was all the incentive she needed to get the hell out of there. Except he was sprawled out in the doorway.
Now what?
She swooped low, grabbed up another bottle, shook it, and then popped the cork. The pressurized liquor spewed from the top and coated his face, burning his eyes with the acidity. He screamed, his fingers clawing at the liquid.
Katy wasted no time. Inching past his legs, she was almost to his shoulders when he realized what she was doing and made a grab for her ankles. She went down with a startled cry, to land across his chest.
She pummeled his neck and shoulders. It did no good. He rolled and the next thing she knew, she was under him with her hands pinned to the ground.
Strike.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Ty lifted the cover on the hatch. It revealed a wooden flight of stairs leading down into what seemed like the depths of Hell. An inky darkness ate up the flashlight’s meagre beam. The men covered their noses as the scent of decades worth of secrets drifted out of the hole.
“That’s nasty. It smells like your last girlfriend, Kyle,” Jared smirked.
“Fuck you,” Kyle mumbled from behind his hand.
“Okay, quiet you two. We don’t want to tip this guy off if we can help it,” Jack warned. “I’ll lead. Keep those flashlights covered with something. We only want enough light to see, not to announce ourselves.”
Ty stayed silent. His body vibrated with the urge to race down those stairs and save his woman. They were close, he knew it, but Jack was right. Too much noise and they’d only make things worse. Jared muted his light by stuffing it under his shirt, Kyle followed suit, and then they were on the move. Thank Christ.
It was slow going. They had to carefully check each tread for creaks, and for safety’s sake. The pitch darkness came from the fact that the short flights doubled back on each other, like a fire escape. Probably exactly what this had been, back in the days of the hotel.
They were on the third set of stairs when the unmistakable blast of a gunshot ripped Ty’s heart from his chest.
No.
He was on the move before the reverberations ended, shoving his way past Jack and ignoring his call to wait. He braced his hands on either side of the wall and jumped, taking a leap of faith. Landing, he turned and did the same with the next flight, and the next, the men behind following like a herd of buffalo now that the need for silence was past.
At the bottom there was a narrow tunnel of a hallway leading toward what he assumed was the back of the building. He trotted along the corridor, slashing his arm at the cobwebs stretching out to grasp at his hair. The men followed him, the rays from their flashlights making eerie shadows on the walls. Muffled cries came from beyond an old wooden door at the far end. His foot went up and slammed the thing open. It banged against the inner wall and startled the two people on the floor.
The figure on top threw themselves to the side and the one on the ground sat up and screamed, “Ty.”
Katy, dear God. Ty raced forward, only to get knocked off his feet by the man on the floor. He landed hard on his back, the wind temporarily knocked out of his chest. He blinked and sat up, and then froze. The son-of-a-bitch had a gun trained on Katy who was highlighted by the peek-a-boo moon as she sat in the open doorway.
“Don’t move,” Ramsey growled. “And you two,” he waved at Jared and Jack, “over there, where I can see you.”
His face was grotesque under the flashlight’s beam. Some kind of red liquid, too thin for blood, had made channels under his eyes and down the sides of his nose. A weird, fruity smell fought with the dank odor of a root cellar, permeating the room.
“Throw down your weapon,” he ordered Jack. “And you, drop the flashlight.” He motioned toward a tensed Jared. At Ty’s slight nod they slowly let their weapons drop, hands away from their sides.
Ramsey laughed and used the gun to point at a softly crying Katy. “You got a live one there, don’t ya? Me and her, we’ve been having a good time together. Haven’t we, bitch?”
Ty swore and lunged forward, only to come to a sliding halt when the unmistakable click of a cocking chamber could be heard throughout the room.
“You think I’m fucking around here?” The humor was gone, replaced by an almost frightening calm. “One more move and her head is going to explode like a watermelon.” His red-rimmed eyes tracked the men. “Try me.”
With his attention split in so many directions, Ramsey had missed seeing Kyle creep into the room. Ty tried to give Katy’s brother time by keeping the focus on him. “What do you want? How did you find this place?”
Ramsey smiled. “That’s right, you haven’t heard. Me and that one’s ma,” He nodded at Katy, “we go back a ways. She’s the one that set this all up, you know.”
Kyle froze. Ty silently urged him to not make any dumb mistakes. He was Katy’s only hope at the moment.
He tried to keep Ramsey talking, “Why would she do that? She loves her daughter.”
“Yeah, well, not enough to keep her away while she got me to destroy her husband’s pet project.” His teeth gleamed in the dark. “She’s the one that told me about this room. Said it would make it easy to slip in and out of the theatre so’s I could destroy all that hard work you was doin’. The girl there,” he lifted his chin in her direction. “I decided, she’s my bonus. What do you think? Should be a good ride, eh?”
Ty saw red. He flew through the air. An animalistic roar of rage erupted from his chest as he plowed into the bastard’s smarmy face. Ou
t of the corner of his eye he saw Kyle dive for his sister as the gun exploded, searing his side. But there was no stopping him now. The fear of the past few hours rose up and drove his fists to smash down over and over, until there was nothing but a bloody pulp beneath them.
Finally, the crazed haze cleared. He gave in to Jack and Jared’s pleas, rolling away and gasping for air. As soon as he could move again, he sat up and looked over to the doorway.
Kyle crouched over his sister’s still body, tears streaming down his face.
~~~*~~~
Katy was dreaming. She had to be. In this imaginary world she floated weightless among the clouds, held safe in Ty’s warm embrace. Their son, with his father’s bright mop of curls and shiny blue eyes, chased butterflies in a never-ending meadow, while her dad and brother lounged side by side in the thick green grass. They laughed and chatted around a picnic lunch spread out on a red checked cloth, completely at ease in each other’s company.
A noise in the distance caught their attention, and a dark cloud suddenly loomed on the horizon. The breeze picked up, flirting with the edges of the gingham fabric. Kyle stood and yelled something, though she could hear no words. Her dad rose also, slower and stiffer, and raised a hand over his head, his expression worried.
Katy shifted, unaccountably upset. Then Ty’s hand captured hers, his lips grazed her cheek, and she settled once more.
Down below, Kyle and her dad were searching the meadow. The sun disappeared and the wind had whipped the trees into a frenzy. Something was wrong. Katy’s brow furrowed. Where had the trees come from? They were great, hulking giants, casting gloomy shadows upon the forest floor. She didn’t remember a forest being here. Where was… funny, why couldn’t she remember his name? She should know his name.
Her heartbeat picked up on her agitation and answered with a rhythmic pounding of its own. That sound again. Familiar, yet she couldn’t quite place where she’d heard it before.
They’d reached the trees now and were fighting to breach the impenetrable vegetation. Then she saw him. He was skipping down a path straight toward two shadowy figures she couldn’t make out. Katy cried out, desperate to warn her son, to slow him down until Ty could reach him.
Ty. She meant Kyle of course. Ty was here, with her. Safe.
Except it was him, and he’d managed to breach the tree-line. Thorny branches cut his face and ripped at his clothes, but he kept going, running as though something horrible was about to happen.
And then it did.
One of the shadowy figures lifted a gun, and then boom, a shot rang out and Ty dropped to the ground, unmoving. The gunman slowly stepped forward into a stream of light bursting through the trees. Katy gasped; it was her mother.
Her father’s soft voice with its hint of Irish brogue summoned Katy from the depths of her dream. “C’mon, Katybug, talk to your old man. I didn’t come all this way just to watch ya sleep, you know.”
She moaned. Her head felt like a jackhammer was going off inside of it, and her mouth tasted as if she’d swallowed a jar of cotton balls, both dry and scratchy. Her eyelids were glued down and she had to force them to open. Blinking, Katy realized what that noise was she’d been hearing in her dream; a heart monitor. She was in a hospital.
As her vision cleared, she made out the shape of her brother and her father sitting by her side, a green curtain at their back separating them from the next bed. They looked tired; their eyes puffy and bloodshot. As soon as Kyle noticed she was awake, he rose and leaned over the bed, tears flooding his sea green eyes, so like her own.
“Thank God, you scared the living shit out of me. Don’t ever do that again.” He kissed her cheek and gave her a careful hug before standing up and clearing his throat. “I need a coffee now that you’re back among the living. Anyone else?”
“Yeah, I’ll join you.” Katy’s dad leaned over and kissed her, “I love you.” He smiled into her blurry eyes, then rose and shared a look with someone on her right side.
“Nah, I’m good,” the voice murmured.
She turned her head and there he was. The light above her bed shone down on his beloved face and she could see his scrapes and a big bruise darkening his cheek. Ty lifted the hand he’d been holding and brought it to his lips.
His eyes, filled with love, crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “Hi, Sleeping Beauty.”
Her insides turned to goo at his reference. God, she loved this man. More than she’d thought possible. When he’d taken that bullet…
“You were shot.” Her voice was so raspy she doubted he understood. But then he grinned and lifted his T-shirt to show off a shiny white bandage wrapped around his ribs.
“You mean this little thing? It’s just a graze, nothing to worry about.” Then he sobered. “Nothing like you. Shit, Katy, when I looked over and saw you laying there… you scared the bejesus out of me.”
“What happened?” she mumbled, her words slurry.
He reached over and brought a cup with a straw to her lips. “Here, drink this.”
The fresh coolness of the water was a balm to her parched throat. She took a good drink and then sank back into her pillows, flinching a little at the persistent throbbing in her head and shoulder.
Katy cleared her throat and tried again, “Was I hit?”
Ty ran slightly shaky fingers through the hair at her temple. “Yeah, you were caught by a ricochet. It grazed your shoulder. Then when you fell, you hit your head on the door-jam. Swear to God, I lost ten years of my life when I saw you laying there.”
They stared into each other’s eyes and acknowledged they were lucky to be alive. It could have turned out so much worse.
“Mom…?” Katy asked, half afraid of the answer.
Her dad leaned forward and grasped her hand. “We’re getting her some help. The doctors think she has early stage dementia, so the judge is willing to make some concessions. She’ll have to get counseling, of course, but we’re hopeful that she can avoid jail time.”
Katy nodded, saddened that she hadn’t picked up on the symptoms herself. Maybe if she had…
“What about Ramsey?” she whispered, and a shiver skated up her spine.
Ty answered that one. “You don’t have to worry about ever seeing that asshole again. He’s going to be spending the rest of his days avoiding picking up the soap in the prison showers, and I for one, couldn’t be happier.”
Ty’s gaze dropped to her mouth. Katy licked her lips. That was all the invitation he needed. He leaned toward her. And held out a small blue box. A ring box.
She lifted her head and met his wobbly smile.
“Will you marry me?” His voice had deepened and his hand shook as he opened the case and lifted out the diamond ring. “I know it’s not much, and if you don’t like it, I can buy you another.”
Tears dripped off her chin. Overwhelmed, Katy held up her left hand and nodded. Ty slipped the ring on and she twisted it in the light, delighted with the simple design.
“It’s perfect. I love it.” Joy warmed her entire soul. She loved this man more than she’d ever thought possible and now they were going to build a life together.
“I will love you for all our lives,” she promised.
“Forever,” he vowed.
EPILOGUE
Katy stood in the lobby of the theatre, her heart beating with nervous anticipation. The counters gleamed with a fresh coat of polish while tall urns of oriental lilies, matsumoto asters, roses, and pink peonies, accented with stems of variegated ivy filled the room with a heavenly scent. In the gallery friends and family waited expectantly under the glittering dome of the five tier chandelier Ty had given her as a wedding gift. Any sign of the lunatic who had tried to destroy their lives, long gone.
The piano rang out with rolling notes of faith and devotion. She trembled. It was time.
Sara Reed’s daughter, Jessica, led the way in a dainty pink dress with Annie’s son Christopher clutching the ring pillow in both hands and marching alongside in a little
tuxedo that brought tears to the women’s eyes. Rebecca glanced back to give her a quick thumbs up before she too, began her march. Then Sara and Annie went next, in a swirl of sea foam green dresses.
“Ready?” Her father stood beside her, elegant in a navy suit and crisp white shirt. A hint of tears moistened the corners of his eyes, darkened with emotion. “I’m so proud of you, my girl.”
The bouquet of lush white peonies and garden roses rattled in her hands. Her smile came out wobbly and she had to blink back her own tears to avoid ruining her makeup. “I love you, Daddy.”
“Oh, Katy. I love you, child.” He hugged her tight, then bent his arm and held it out to her in a grand gesture. “Let’s go meet that soon-to-be-husband of yours, shall we?”
Butterflies danced in the pit of her stomach. Soon. Soon she would be Mrs. Katy Garrett. Images of the two of them as teens floated through her mind. The time Ty had taken her for a date to the park. He’d pushed her on the swings and then they’d goofed off on the teeter-totter. After a while they’d taken a walk through the grounds. He’d stopped by a tree marked by hundreds of initials.
“Know what this is?” he’d teased, and caged her body with his to the trunk.
Of course she knew. Everyone talked about the kissing tree at school, but this was the first time she’d been here with a boy.
“Why don’t you tell me?” she’d tipped her head back, closed her lids, and pursed her lips like she’d seen other girls practice in the mirror. When nothing happened, Katy opened her eyes. Ty hadn’t moved. His gaze, focused on her mouth, made her stomach feel funny. Squishy. Embarrassed, she went to slip under his arm braced on the trunk near her head.
“Don’t,” he whispered.
She froze.
“You’re so damn pretty,” he said, half under his breath. Then he leaned forward and their lips met, and Katy just knew.
T. G. + K. F. forever.
He’d carved a heart in the bark right where their first kiss took place and signed it.
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