Guard My Baby

by Rebecca Savage

  Would they always have to endure such insanity? Maybe. They didn't have to do it alone, though. They had each other, they lived in the same city, and they had wives. Cade had married a good woman, and Chuck would be right behind him, tying the knot and marrying Trish.

  Suddenly, Cade realized that he'd just accepted Lainie and entrusted her with his heart. He wished she were there, beside him, to comfort him. They could comfort each other. After all, wasn't that what marriage was all about? Love, trust, and comfort?

  Cade froze. Photos of Lainie at different stages of her pregnancy lined one wall. Drayton had been at it for a long time. Cade scowled in confusion. Why hadn't Drayton killed Lainie when she was pregnant? He'd had multiple opportunities. He must've been alone with her countless times. Cade told Chuck, "I'll kill him when I get the chance."

  Chuck's grip on Cade's shoulder tightened. "Get in line, bro."

  Cade was unbelievably tense. His body ached with the stress in his limbs and straining, taut muscles. It was all he could do to stand there and not go looking for Drayton to wipe him off the face of the earth. He had to maintain control. He needed to think, and he needed to plan. Cade asked through gritted teeth, "Why do you think he didn't kill Lainie before I came along? They spent time together, as much as it sickens me now to know that, and even if Trish was there, he could have found a way to kill them both." Cade's jaw tightened further, and he burned with fury. "So why didn't he kill her then?"

  Chuck shook his head. "I have no idea."

  Cade looked around, but he touched nothing. As much as he wanted to destroy the photos of his sister and niece, so he and Chuck would never have to see the gore again, Cade kept his head. He needed to save and protect the evidence, and he'd stay right here in this basement, until Blakely arrived and called the police.

  Cade sat down in a chair against the far wall, away from the photos. Chuck followed his lead. "He won't get away with this. I'll see him convicted and dead. I'll make sure he gets the death penalty, if it's the last thing I ever do."

  Chuck spat on the floor. He had a bitter taste in his mouth. "Does that mean we don't get to kill him with our bare hands?"

  Cade spat, too. "As much as I'd like to, I don't think it's a good idea. We'd both go to jail for killing someone who deserved it. Trish would miss you, and I'd not be there for Eli."

  Chuck looked at him. "And Lainie, you mean."

  Cade glanced at him. "Yes, and Lainie."

  Chuck swiveled around and looked him square in the eye. "When are you gonna realize and admit you're in love with her?"

  Cade faced him. "Right now's as good a time as any, I suppose."

  Chuck grinned. "Nothing like being stuck in a basement with your brother grilling you to make you fess up, huh?"

  Cade tried a smile. "Nothing like having a brother to be grilled by." Cade inhaled a deep breath. "I never thought I'd find someone like Lainie... never thought I'd let myself love and trust her, even after I found her. She sort of gives me no choice. She's open and honest, and she loves me." Cade let out a loud sigh. "She gave me Eli. That pretty much sealed the deal and stole my heart." Cade grinned. "The sex is great, too."

  Chuck laughed, and Cade wondered at the fact that he and Chuck could have this rather average brotherly conversation, here, amidst all the evidence of the horrific crimes Drayton had committed. There was something humbling and freeing about it all. He and Chuck had finally gotten closure. Finding out the truth had given them peace. Cade now knew for certain who'd killed his sister and niece. Lainie and Eli would be safe from harm's way. He could live his life and be happy. So could Chuck, Trish, Eli and Lainie. Thank God.

  Footsteps pounded the hardwood floor upstairs, feet shuffled on the landing at the top of the stairs, and muffled voices reached Cade's ears. And sobs...

  Lainie practically tumbled down the stairs, barely upright, gagged, her hands tied behind her back. Trish followed Lainie, bound and gagged in the same strict fashion. Trish landed in a heap on top of Lainie at the bottom of the stairs.

  Drayton held Eli, who had a gag over her soft, baby lips. Cade thanked God for the resilience of a child. Eli wasn't even crying. She simply stared, wide eyed and curious... so far.

  Cade started to move, but Drayton pointed the deadly end of a gun at him. "Don't even think about it, hero. Unless you want to die even sooner than you will anyway." Drayton smirked evilly. "You're all about to die, you know. Every last one of you." Drayton chuckled, the sound vile and not in the least jovial. "You'll all be cleansed by fire." Drayton lifted Eli slightly. "Especially this little one. The Devil's own seed." Drayton pointed the dangerous gun at Lainie and Trish. "Get up, you bitches, and move over there against the wall." He swung the gun. "You two little boys stand on the other wall."

  Both women's faces wore terror-stricken expressions, and Lainie looked desperately at Eli. Her tear-stained eyes begged Cade to do something, to help her, to save their child. Cade's fists were in tight knots, as was his gut, but he had to wait for the best time to make his move. If he did the wrong thing at the wrong time, Eli would be dropped and hurt - maybe even killed. Or Drayton's gun might go off and kill an innocent victim.

  He would make his move, though, and he would save his child, even if it took his last breath to do so.

  Drayton laughed - a loud bark that sounded nervous, yet evil. "I see the look in your eyes, hero." Drayton glared at Cade. "I know you hate me." Drayton stopped laughing and sobered up. "Drayton hates me, too, sometimes."

  Drayton? Why does he refer to himself in the third person? What the hell is going on inside this guy's brain?

  "Drayton tried to do the right thing. He thought he did God's work, but then God came to us in a vision, and he told us the Devil had planted his seed in those women's wombs." Drayton shook his head and sat down on the bottom step of the staircase that led to freedom.

  Us? Who the hell is us?

  Then it all clicked into place. Drayton had lost his mind, and all Cade could do at the moment was wish he could get his family out of there.

  Drayton flung the gun with a limp wrist. "Drayton had to do it. He had to kill the babies and women." Drayton shook his head, staring blankly at the wall, as if seeing something else. "He didn't want to kill the women." Drayton looked at Lainie. "Not even you, Lainie. Especially not you."

  Drayton surged back to his feet, anger twisting his features. "It's your fault. You're stubborn. You wouldn't give up the brat." Drayton shook his head as if to clear it. "You should've given up the babe." Drayton put the butt of the gun to his head and closed his eyes, as if trying to wipe out the confusion or the pain. He breathed slowly but shallowly, as if his breath came hard and laboriously. "My head hurts so bad. So damned bad. Wayne won't stop talking to me inside my skull."

  Who the hell is Wayne?

  Cade tried to talk reason with Drayton, or Wayne, or whoever the hell was in the lump on the shoulders of the slumped body in front of him. "Why don't you let us go, Drayton, and... "

  "I'm not Drayton, you fool." The rage in Drayton's taut voice brought Cade up short as he tried to take a step toward the fool.

  Drayton's strange response confused Cade. Hadn't he referred to Wayne? What happened? Were two personalities fighting for control?

  Shit. It's hard enough to deal with one crazy.

  Cade tried not to disturb the sick freak any further. "Who are you, then?"

  "I'm the strong one. I'm Wayne Hickson." Drayton pointed to the newspaper clippings, the ones describing the murder of Drayton's mom. "They suspected it all along - the cops, the pigs." Drayton spat the bitter words out viciously. "They couldn't prove it, though. I'm too smart. I covered Drayton's tracks and hid his prints. I wrote my name all over the walls in his parents' blood and dipped my hands in acid. I erased Drayton's identity and created my own."

  Drayton laughed insanely. "I got away with it, too. Drayton has always been so weak, so spineless. He never could've done something like this. I had to do it for him. I had to get rid o
f his abusive, controlling mother for him." Drayton sat back down on the step. "Then I just took over." Drayton touched his temple again with the butt of the gun. "But Drayton wants out. He's fighting to get out." Drayton shook his head. "But I won't let him. I can't." Drayton looked at Lainie with hatred. "He loves you. He'd save you if he could, but I won't let him. The Devil's spawn must die, so you'll all have to burn. I'm sorry."

  Drayton's arm drooped, and he wore a blank, sober expression. He let Eli's body, wrapped in her blanket, slide to the floor from his lap. Drayton stood. Cade couldn't believe his eyes, or his luck. He had his chance. He could jump Drayton, as soon as he turned his back to go upstairs. Drayton planned to burn them all alive. Cade wouldn't let that happen.

  Drayton turned to climb the stairs, and Cade took advantage of the opening. He lunged forward, Chuck right on his heels, the women silent behind their gags, not wanting to give Cade's and Chuck's movements away. They let their husbands blindside Drayton, or Wayne, or whoever the hell the blithering maniac was.

  Drayton spun and aimed the menacing gun at Eli, lying on the floor cooing as if nothing occurred that was out of the ordinary.

  All Drayton seemed to care about was killing the child. Cade dove to the floor, caught Drayton's ankles, and pulled him onto his back. He dragged him down the stairs he'd started up, and Chuck stomped his foot down hard on Drayton's gun hand. Drayton screamed bloody murder, and suddenly he wasn't Wayne anymore. Drayton had apparently regained mental control, Cade assumed, based on the nut job's next words.

  "Lainie," Drayton shrieked. "It's me. It's me. Drayton." There was real terror in Drayton's wild eyes and confusion in Lainie's. Drayton kicked Chuck in the knee and pulled his arm free. Chuck yelped in pain, and Drayton put the trigger to his own head. "This is for you, Lainie. This is for you. I'll never let Wayne hurt you again."

  He pulled the trigger, and Chuck threw himself in front of Trish, blocking her view. Cade wrapped himself around Lainie and covered her eyes, shielding her from the sight of seeing her former friend blow his own brains out.

  "Shhh. Don't cry, baby. Don't cry. It's okay. You're safe. Eli's safe. It's over now, and I love you." Lainie sucked in a breath and held it. Cade drew back, just enough to gaze into her tear-filled, stunned eyes. "It's true. I love you."

  Cade removed the gag from her mouth and kissed her gently where the red marks etched and marred her delicate facial skin. She kissed him back hungrily, and Cade thanked God that they'd all survived their terrible ordeal. She tore her mouth from his. "Eli. Get Eli away from him."

  Eli whimpered, and Cade's eyes widened. He should've already thought of Eli. What the hell was he doing? What the hell kind of father let his baby lie on the floor near a corpse oozing blood? He turned Lainie away from the disgusting sight. "Stay. I'll cover Drayton's body." He grabbed an old tarp and spread it over the body. He picked up Eli and gave her to Lainie, whose hands Chuck had untied. Lainie gasped and grabbed at Eli. She kissed her repeatedly and removed the tape covering Eli's precious lips as gently as possible. Eli whimpered, and Cade cringed. He'd never let danger come to his family again. Never.

  More footsteps echoed above, followed by the familiar, bellowing voice of Blakely. "Anybody down there?"

  Cade took the steps two at a time, wanting to fill Blakely in before the private investigator saw Drayton's corpse. After he'd explained the events to Blakely, Blakely called the cops, and then they all got the hell out of that basement. The badly lit place had come too damned close to becoming a fiery tomb.

  They sat outside on the front porch, until they could answer all the questions of the police officers. Then they went back to Lainie's childhood home. Cade could hardly wait to get Lainie alone. He'd tell her again that he loved her and show her just how much. He did that, the moment he had her in her girly childhood bedroom. Not even a room that feminine could squash his raging desire for her. Lainie made him burn.

  They came together in a heated rush, hands grappling for each other. They ripped clothing over each other's heads and pulled clothing down over each other's hips. Their lips met in feverish passion, and they devoured each other.

  Cade put his hand at the base of Lainie's throat, wanting to feel her pulse, needing to feel her life's blood flowing. She pulled her mouth from his. "Tell me again."

  He knew exactly what she wanted to hear, and he'd never refuse her again. "I love you."

  "Again," Lainie commanded, smiling widely.

  He kissed her repeatedly and said between kisses, over and over again, "I love you. I love you. I love you."

  She laced her hands in his hair, and kissed him with a fervor he hoped would never die. Then she tore her mouth from his and asked in a ragged voice, "What about trust? Do you trust me?"

  He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. "With my heart. With my life."

  They were both naked, and her femininity hovered just over his hardened manhood. She smiled. "Good. Me, too." Lainie drilled him with a meaningful look. "Now, take me."

  He did. He lowered her onto his shaft, and she arched backward, taking him into her clenching body completely. They both shuddered, and then he lifted her and lowered her onto him again, painstakingly slowly, purposefully. Then he picked up speed and plunged into her, until she shuddered and shattered around him. He followed her into ecstasy, his legs going weak as he spilled his molten liquid into her. He thanked God he'd found her, and she loved him, and had given him Eli. He breathed heavily, and the words were raspy through his parted, panting lips. "I want more."

  She smiled and let her head fall back. "Just how much more can I give you?"

  "More babies." Cade forced his breath to slow. "I want more babies."

  She stared into his eyes, and then she asked a little nervously, "Right now?"

  He grinned. "Not right now, but soon. Eli's still a baby, so maybe in a couple of years." Cade looked into her eyes. "That okay with you?"

  "Only if you plan on sticking around and raising them with me."

  "Forever. I'll be here forever. You'll not be able to get rid of me, Mrs. Sheridan."

  She smiled, and a tear escaped. Her watery voice said, "I'll never want to get rid of you, Mr. Sheridan. Never." She kissed him, and he felt all the love in her overflowing heart flow into him. Lainie stopped and pulled away long enough to say, "We'd better get some sleep. Chuck and Trish will want us to be awake for their wedding ceremony tomorrow, and Eli may wake up and want fed to be later."

  Cade kissed her, ignoring her suggestion for the moment. "I doubt if Chuck and Trish will sleep any more than we will tonight. Besides, the wedding isn't until four o'clocktomorrow afternoon, and Eli will be just fine. She has the breast milk you pumped out earlier and put in the fridge. Your mom said she'd handle her, and your dad promised not to disturb us tonight."

  Lainie blushed. "Really? When did he say that?"

  Cade cleared his throat. "When I told him what'd happened and hinted and at what we were about to do."

  Lainie sucked in a breath. "You told my father we were going to... "

  Cade put his finger on his lips. "He was young once. I think he already knew what would happen in this room tonight, and so did your mother." Cade grinned. "I wouldn't be surprised if your parents weren't doing something like this, right about now."

  She gasped, and her jaw dropped. "Cade... "

  He laughed into her neck and drew her away from the wall. He laid her on the bed and followed her down, covering her body with his. He looked deep into her fathomless eyes. "I really do love you, you know, and I'll always guard you, and protect you, with everything in my power."

  "And our babies. Guard our babies, Cade. All of them."

  He lowered his mouth to hers, hovered just above her delicious lips, and breathed, "All of them."

  He kissed her and sealed the promise... the promise of forever.

 

 
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