Leah had been the other half he’d been waiting for. The one woman who could bring more comfort, laughter and color to his daughter’s life than either of her biological parents ever could.
He had to do something.
He had to call her.
How long was he supposed to fool himself that his work was better, stronger, more thrilling than anything he’d written before? All he wanted was to see Leah.
Storming back upstairs, he walked into his study and picked up his phone...and it vibrated in his hand.
Hope surged through him as he looked at the display. Caller ID withheld.
He stabbed his finger to the talk button. “Hello?”
“Is this Mr. James? Mr. Ethan James?”
Ethan clenched his jaw. “Speaking.”
“Don’t you recognize my voice, boy? Don’t you know who I am?”
Ethan closed his eyes and gripped the phone, his heart beating dangerously. “Wyatt.”
“The one and only. Calling from Her Majesty’s most modest hotel.” His soft laughter slithered down the line. “How are you? How is that soon-to-be-dead-informant ex-wife of yours?”
“You or anyone else harms Anna in any way and I swear—”
“Dear God, man, do you still care for her? Are you still in love with her? Sad, my friend. Very, very sad, seeing as I’m the one who has been banging her for the last two years.”
Fury pulsed at Ethan’s temple. “I don’t love her, but neither do I want the death of my daughter’s mother on my conscience. Just suck your time up, Wyatt.” He opened his eyes. “It’s you who put yourself where you are, not Anna.”
“Not true, my friend.”
“No? So it wasn’t you she witnessed dealing drugs? It wasn’t you who arranged for her to be beaten up and terrorized? It wasn’t you who tried to get into my head by sending photos of my daughter?”
Harry chuckled. “And still you didn’t heed my warnings.”
“No, and I never will.”
“No? Well, there’s no chance of me spending my golden years rotting in prison, either, so I want you to listen to me very carefully. Are you listening?”
Ethan ground his back teeth and paced the study, his free hand clenched into a fist at his side. “No, I’m not listening, Wyatt. I’m not listening to a damn word you have to say.”
“Yet you haven’t put the phone down, so I’ll take that to mean you find the sound of my voice pretty irresistible.”
“Go to hell.” He was just about to hang up when Wyatt’s next words brought Ethan to a dead halt.
“Have it your way, James. You give me no choice but to tell my man, who is currently wooing your pretty lover, to up his game.”
His pretty lover? Did he mean Leah?
Wyatt laughed. “Shame she isn’t answering your calls anymore, but the pair of them are getting along just fine and dandy with you out of the picture.”
“What the hell are you talking about? What man?”
The line buzzed dead in his ear.
Ethan tossed the phone onto his desk. Christ, did Wyatt mean Charlie Hickman? The guy who’d asked Leah out the night they went to the Oceanside? Was he with her now, while Ethan wallowed in self-pity and pretended to write a novel that could sell a million copies and still wouldn’t be worth one ounce of her?
He snatched up his phone and dialed Leah’s number.
It rang and rang until the line clicked as though she’d picked it up and then ended the call. “Shit.” He redialed and it went straight to voice mail. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Storming from his office, he raced downstairs and grabbed his keys. He slammed the front door and jogged to his car. Gunning the engine, Ethan sped from his driveway and headed for Leah’s house.
Fifteen minutes later, he screeched the car to a halt outside, then ran over and banged his knuckles on her front door. No answer. Where the hell did he start to look for them?
Running back to his car, he turned on the ignition and sped toward the Cove’s town center. It was Friday night and the promenade bustled with people enjoying their free time, laughing and joking, sitting at the small bistro tables outside the Seascape restaurant and the Coast. He parked the car and strode toward the main eating areas, scanning the tables and bars for Leah’s pretty blond hair and beautiful face. Just a single glimpse of her, just a whiff of her perfume, was all he needed. As though he were a man dying of thirst, Leah was his oasis, his mirage, and if he didn’t find her tonight—if anything should happen to her—Ethan would surely die, too.
He pushed through the crowds in the Coast and back onto the street. He jogged to the promenade and scanned the beach. It was too busy, too crammed with teenagers, to see anyone clearly.
His gaze landed on the Oceanside.
Would she go there with another man so soon? The only place he’d taken her for a meal? She would hardly view a restaurant where he had lied to her as a romantic place to remember him by. So maybe she’d want to eradicate thoughts of him by eating there with someone else...
He raced onto the beach, taking the steps into the restaurant two at a time. He burst through the doors, causing the maître d’ to step back and fix him with an impenetrable glare. “Sir, may I help you?”
“Leah Dixon, is she here?”
“I’m sorry, who?”
“Leah Dixon. Short, blond hair, slim, sexy...” He shook his head. “The most beautiful woman in Templeton.”
A small smile lifted the man’s mouth. “I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t recall—”
“Ethan?”
Ethan looked past the maître d’ toward Marian Cohen as she stood from her table where she was dining with her husband and walked toward him. “Whatever is the matter?”
He pulled back his shoulders and tried to appear calm. “Leah. I need to speak with her.”
“Why?”
“Why?”
“Yes, why? I’m not having you going after that girl in the state you’re in unless it’s for a very good reason. Now...” She nodded to the maître d’. “I’ll deal with this, Daniel. You go back to your diners.” Marian faced Ethan and, gripping his elbow in a hand like iron, pulled him to the side of the restaurant. “Well?”
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut, his temper simmering hot beneath his skin. “She could be in danger.”
Marian released him and glanced toward the restaurant doors and back again. “And would this danger have anything to do with the handsome devil who’s been after her ever since he got into town?”
Ethan’s gut clenched. “You know him? You know Charlie Hickman?”
She nodded. “They left a half hour ago. Arm in arm. She looked happy. Why do you think she could be in danger? She looked pretty relaxed to me.”
“She, and you, have no idea who this man is, Marian. No idea at all.”
A hint of panic showed in Marian’s eyes and she nudged him toward the door. “The beach. They were going for a walk on the beach.”
Ethan nodded, not wasting the time to ask how she would know, and pressed an impulsive kiss to her cheek before running from the restaurant.
* * *
LEAH LEANED ON Charlie’s arm, second-guessing her choice to arrange this date. All she had wanted was to ensure Charlie was nothing more than an admirer. But if the guy worked for Harry, she’d just agreed to being alone with him. She glanced toward the bustling promenade and a little of her fear dissolved, so she slipped off her high-heeled sandals. “Thank you so much for such a lovely evening. I’ve really enjoyed it.”
“You’re welcome.”
She moved to pull her hand away when he gently, but firmly, slipped it into the crook of his elbow and held her close. Swallowing, she forced a smile as they walked, arm in arm, down the steps onto Cowden beach.
The tid
e was out and the sand was filled with people enjoying the late Friday evening. Stars had begun to appear in an almost black sky; the sounds of the waves were calm in the distance. Leah breathed deep and battled thoughts of Ethan that circled once again in her mind.
She looked up at Charlie as he stared toward the ocean, and cleared her throat. “You have the look of someone who isn’t too keen on leaving the Cove anytime soon.”
He met her gaze and shrugged. “It’s nice here. Not sure if it’s somewhere I’d want to settle, but nice for a break.”
“A city boy through and through, huh?”
“Something like that.”
The almost melancholy tone of his voice piqued her curiosity. “So you don’t like the coast or the city?”
His gaze lingered on hers before he turned to the ocean again. “I’m not the settling type. I have work to do and I always make sure the job is done.”
His words stirred her caution and she lifted her chin, poised to make a run for the promenade. “Have you finished the job you came to Templeton to do?”
“Not yet.”
Her tension escalated. “But you’ve been here a few weeks now. I got the impression when I first met you that you hadn’t intended on being here this long.”
“No, but things haven’t gone according to plan.”
“Oh?”
He smiled, his gaze still on the ocean. “But they’re taking shape now.” He turned his study to the clusters of people around them. “How about we take a stroll farther along the beach? It’s kind of crowded here.”
Before she could respond, he tightened his grip on her arm and eased her forward. Leah’s heart picked up speed. “Why don’t we stay here? The ocean looks so peaceful tonight.”
“Just a little farther.”
The sights and sounds of the crowds dispersed, leaving them surrounded by little more than the soft crash and whoosh of the waves, the muted tracks playing from the restaurants high above on the promenade and distant bursts of laughter.
“Do you want to make out?”
Leah snapped her head up to look at Charlie. “What?”
He laughed and pulled her closer. “Sorry. I just had to see that expression on your face.”
“Not funny.” She forced a laugh. “For a second there, I thought I was dating a teenager.”
His arms clasped her waist so quickly, so roughly, Leah’s breath caught like barbed wire in her throat. Crushing her ribs, he pulled her along the beach, her bare feet dragging through the sand.
She fought. She tried to scream.
He yanked her tight to his chest with one strong and muscular forearm across her abdomen, and crushed his other hand to her mouth. The smell of garlic and pesto infused her nostrils, evoking her urge to gag.
On and on he dragged her, her shoes lost somewhere in the distance and her feet feeling strangely warm, as though blood already seeped from her skin. He released her mouth long enough for her to snatch a breath, but when she again tried to scream, he slammed his hand down once more.
Panic rose inside her. What did he intend to do? Her life, friends, Ethan and Daisy whirled in a kaleidoscope through her mind. Was this how she would die?
He threw her to the sand and crouched down in front of her.
Light glinted on the blade of his knife before he held it to her cheek. “A single noise and I’ll cut up that pretty face of yours. Do you understand me?”
Trembling, Leah nodded and fought the darkness that ebbed and flowed in her vision. She could not faint. “Yes.”
“Good. Now, I want you to listen very carefully, because I am sick and tired of being in this sad little town and pretending to want a pathetic woman like you. Ethan James is dead and so is that daughter of his unless you do exactly as I ask. Understand?”
Leah’s eyes burned with tears and she rapidly blinked them back as she nodded.
He smiled and eased the tip of the knife into her cheek. “Good. Now. You’re going to get your boyfriend to leave his ex-wife to her own devices. No more chasing after her. No more turning up in Bristol as though he has any chance of going up against Harry. He needs to turn his weak mind to his own life and leave his ex-wife to us. Harry’s whore will not testify against him or she’ll not live to see another day. If your boyfriend values his daughter’s life...” He pressed the knife in harder and warmth trickled down Leah’s cheek. “...and your life, he’ll forget he ever knew Anna. He’ll forget he ever heard the name Harry Wyatt. Do I make myself clear?”
Leah nodded, her mind racing. How could she get away from this man? She had seen so many betrayals, so many lies and mammoth dishonesty in her life. Over and over again. She wouldn’t stand for it anymore.
Anger exploded like dynamite inside her. “Get the hell away from me!”
With strength she hadn’t known she possessed, Leah lifted her legs and slammed her bare feet into his torso. With one massive forward lunge, she propelled him off her and sent him crashing to the sand. She scrambled to her feet and turned, planting her heel, hard and precise, into his groin.
“Arrgh!” He twisted in a ball, his hands shooting between his legs as he rolled onto his side.
Thinking of nothing else but to get away from him, to get back to the crowds farther up the beach, Leah ran. She ran as fast as she could.
“Leah! Leah, it’s me.”
She looked up, and as soon as she saw Ethan, every ounce of strength, every drop of adrenaline seeped from her body. She collapsed to the sand, lifting her hands to her face to cover the traitorous tears that sprang forth when she remembered Charlie looming over her, a knife slowly piercing her cheek.
Ethan dropped down beside her and gathered her in his arms. “My God. I’m so sorry. Leah. So bloody sorry.”
Heavy footsteps sounded from behind her.
She turned to look as Ethan lowered her gently to the sand before scrambling to his feet.
“What did you do to her?” Ethan charged at Charlie Hickman, tackled him to the beach and straddled him.
Leah tried to shout, tried to scream, but her words were nothing more than a croak as Ethan punched Charlie once, twice, in the face...and then there were no sounds but the waves and muted voices.
A sob caught in her throat and then she was in Ethan’s arms once more. He stroked her hair back from her face, brushed his lips across hers. He looked into her eyes. “It’s going to be all right. It’s over, Leah. It’s all over.”
She started to smile, and then noticed the shadow behind Ethan’s head. Terror clutched like a fist around her throat, blocking her airway, stilling her tongue.
Ethan’s eyes widened and then, as if in slow motion, he fell forward on top of her, while Charlie Hickman ran away up the beach, a bloodied knife in his hand.
EPILOGUE
Four weeks later...
ETHAN LISTENED TO the sounds around him and tried to get his woozy brain to cooperate. Where was he? A slow beep sounded over and over on one side of his head and what seemed to be the steady rise and fall of someone softly breathing close to his ear on the other. He fought to open his eyes and quickly shut them again.
Everything was white. Too white.
He managed to move his fingers, ridiculously pleased when they worked. He lifted his thumb, then each finger again, as though learning how to use his hands for the very first time.
A rustle to the side of him brought his fascination to a sharp standstill. He forced his eyes open again and strained his ears.
“Ethan?”
His head seemed full of cotton wool, his mouth drier than the desert. “Leah?”
“Oh, my God.” Her face appeared in front of him, her eyes glistening with tears and her beautiful smile wide. “You’re back. Hi.”
“Where am I?” He struggled to lift his fingers to
her face.
She gently gripped his hand, turned his palm to her lips. “You’re in the hospital. Here, drink this.”
Ethan lifted his head forward and took a few sips of water through the straw Leah placed between his lips. She smiled. “Better?”
He nodded and collapsed back against the pillow. “What happened?”
“Charlie Hickman stabbed you.” Her voice cracked. “You had internal bleeding. You’ve been under sedation for almost a month.”
“A month?” He struggled to sit up again, and immediately nausea overwhelmed him, forcing him to drop back against the pillows. “Daisy...where’s Daisy?” Panic threatened, but there was no strength in his body and his mind wasn’t functioning. “Where’s my little girl?”
A tear gently rolled over Leah’s cheek as she cupped her hand to his jaw, her smile soft. “They should be here anytime now. The doctor authorized your sedation to be reduced a few hours ago, but I didn’t expect you to come around this quickly. Your mum and Daisy were coming by as soon as Daisy finished school.” She glanced at her watch. “Which was half an hour ago.” She smiled. “They’ll be so thrilled you’re awake.”
She moved to stand. “I should go get the doctor.”
He gripped her arm. “Don’t leave me. Not yet.”
“But—”
“Not yet.” Memories seeped into his mind, and with them, his anger and frustration rose. “Where’s Hickman now? Where’s Wyatt?”
“Don’t worry about them. There’s plenty of time—”
“Tell me. Tell me before I see my little girl. Tell me so I know how to look at her. Have I let her down? Could they still get to her?”
“No, Ethan. No.” Leah’s tears flowed faster and she leaned forward to press kisses to his cheeks and lips. “They’ve gone. Charlie was charged with attempted murder the night after he stabbed you. Anna has given all the information she can on Wyatt and agreed to testify when his case comes to court. She’s in protective custody, Ethan. She’s safe. Daisy’s safe. You’re safe.”
“And you?” He longed to hold her, longed to kiss her, but how could he when he lay in a hospital bed as useless as a lump of lead? “What about you?”
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