Burning for You (Blackwater)

by Lila Veen

  “Ash, let’s go,” I plead.

  “Get. In. The. Car.” My eyes widen, and he opens my door for me and stands calmly, staring at me. I step up into the car and sit down on the seat. I lean forward, but Ash slams the door in my face. Startled, I press my face to the window and watch Ash walk back toward Michael. Michael’s face is bloody and swollen, with a gash just under his eye where Ash’s fist split the skin. Ash squats down next to Michael and says something to him, his lips close to his ear. I see Michael’s eyes open and then close. Ash gets up and walks back toward the car, crossing in front and staring at me the whole time. He gets in next to me and slams his door shut.

  “How are we getting out?” I ask him, indicating Michael’s car blocking us in from behind. Ash says nothing as he starts the engine and begins driving forward on the beach. We’re jostled as the SUV roves over the unstable sand, and Ash drives a bit down the beach in silence, away from the Gallows. I hold my breath, wondering what the plan is. Finally, he veers off the sand toward a dirt road and we’re driving through trees down a path I never would have known was there. When we approach Sinistro Road, I let a breath go I didn’t know I was holding. “Say something,” I demand.

  “Something,” Ash replies through clenched teeth.

  “What did you say to him back there?” I ask. “You almost killed him.”

  Ash shakes his head. “I told him to get out of your life, or I’d get him out for you,” he finally says.

  “Christ,” I reply. “You might as well have killed him.”

  “Would that be so terrible?” he wants to know.

  I shrug. “There’d be no love lost, but I’d rather him just go away.”

  Ash rests his head back against the seat and sighs. “He’s gone, Leah.”

  Chapter 16

  “Where have you been?” my mother demands when we walk through the blue door of Heidi and Jack’s house. “I told you lunch was an hour ago.”

  “We got delayed,” I tell her. I leave out the fact that we got delayed first by Gabe, followed by a sexy romp at the Gallows, then by Michael, and finally by Ash stopping at a gas station restroom to wash Michael’s blood from his face and hands. I can see from my mother’s youthful face that she already knows something about what’s kept us from arriving on time. She simply nods and turns toward Ash as he takes her hands and brings them to his forehead.

  “Mrs. Holt,” Ash says. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  My mother goes so far as to blush furiously and flutter her eyelashes. “Please, call me Ursula. I insist. It’s so nice to meet you, Ash.”

  I breathe a deep sigh of relief at the ease of introductions. “I’m sorry we’re late, Mother. Did we ruin lunch?”

  “Nothing I can’t fix,” says a familiar voice from the kitchen. Isabel walks out, wiping her hands on her tight boot cut jeans with rhinestone piping down the legs. She embraces me, stretching to her toes to wrap her arms around my neck. “Damn that’s a fine sight,” she whispers in my ear, referring to Ash. She makes me beam and forget all the nastiness that occurred less than an hour ago.

  “Ash, this is one of our family’s dearest friends,” I say when Isabel and I break apart. “Isabel , meet Ash Lavanne.”

  Ash does the formal greeting and brings Isabel’s hands up to his forehead, stooping down significantly to the point where my mother and I laugh. Isabel chides us on making fun of her stature. “Where’s Jack?” I ask my mother when we’re finished with hysterics.

  “Trying not to starve to death,” I hear a deep voice say. Jack comes out of the kitchen, licking his fingers in a telltale sign that he was unable to wait for Ash and me to show up. He’s wearing khakis and a blue button down shirt. His grey hair is in the same buzz cut I remember seeing on him in pictures Heidi sent me from their wedding. His cerulean blue eyes sparkle with something that likely makes him very politically popular. I instantly warm to him. He comes in and shakes Ash’s hand diplomatically, and gives me a hug, even though we’re not exactly on familiar terms. “Leah, it’s so good to see you back in Blackwater. I know Heidi is glad to have her sister so close now, particularly with the new arrival. I’m hoping you’re up for some babysitting so we can get some sleep.”

  I laugh, recalling Gabe saying he was Jack’s best man at Heidi’s wedding. My impression of Jack is still unclear, but he seems friendly enough. “Of course I’ll babysit. I’m ready to be an Auntie!” I tell him. Jack smiles and leads me over to the kitchen with his hand gently resting on the small of my back. I catch a look in Ash’s eye, fueled by the sight of another man’s hand touching me. I’m not sure if it’s jealousy or suspicion or something else. Heidi and Jack’s kitchen table is set for five and a feast is laid out before us, all cold meats, brioche, a cheese plate, smoked salmon, various spreads and breads and jellies and a quiche, plus three chilled bottles of champagne. Jack begins to pour and pass around glasses. I immediately begin to salivate upon seeing the spread, realizing I’m starving. Our session in the Gallows has left me famished, though I was too shaken up by our encounter with Michael to notice until now. Ash and I sit next to each other on one side of the table, my mother and Isabel across from us, and Jack at the head.

  “I’d like to say a few quick words before we eat,” Jack says to my dismay, and my hand reaching for a roll stops in midair. “Just informally, Isabel,” he continues, noting the scowl that’s crossed her face. I was able to suppress mine.

  “I didn’t say anything,” Isabel grumbles. “But that quiche isn’t going to reheat any more than it already has without falling.”

  Jack smiles. “I just want to thank you all for being here for Heidi and me during this time,” he says. “Family is so important, and now that ours is about to increase by another person, I’m so happy you all could be part of this joyous occasion.” Wow, he’s really turning on the politics, I think. “I won’t delay anyone a minute longer,” he says. He raises his glass and we all follow suit. “To family.”

  “To family,” we all echo and toast. Ash winks at me as we clink our glasses together and I feel his hand squeeze my leg under the table. I stop it from traveling any higher, knowing that the smallest touch of his will turn me beet red in front of everyone.

  It’s an amicable brunch, mostly consisting of Jack making small talk with me about Chicago, my job over there and my job at the hospital. He indicates that he’s considering running for mayor, and my mother drops her fork loudly against her plate, but feigns a lack of concern. I know she gets nervous about anyone in the family becoming a public figure, considering my dad was police chief before he left. I pile my plate full of food, filling up on fruits and cheese and meat, scarfing down bread, and likely polishing off a half a bottle of champagne. Soon I’m stuffed to the gills and satisfied in every way possible. When I settle back from gorging myself, Ash takes my hand and smiles softly at me. No one comments on the gesture, though I wonder what everyone could be thinking. After lunch, my mother and I help Isabel clear the table and my mother yanks me aside. “What happened today?”

  “What do you mean?” I ask her, blushing when I remember what Ash and I did at the Gallows. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

  “Michael,” my mother says. “He’s not gone?” I shake my head. “I’m sorry, Leah. It’s not too late, you know,” she says lowering her voice. “You could still go back to Chicago with him. Ash will understand.”

  “No he won’t, Mother,” I snap. “Look at you, living without Dad all these years. Everyone knows you died the day he left. Don’t you think the same thing would happen to Ash and me?”

  She nods, her eyes welling up with tears. “I know it,” she whispers. “But I want you safe. Your father left to make sure we were safe. Ash will understand.”

  “I still don’t understand why I’m not safe,” I hiss back. “If I go with Michael, I’m certainly not safe at all. With Ash at least I feel protected.”

  “There’s so much you don’t know, Leah,” she goes on to say. “I ca
n’t even begin to tell you-“ She stops and grabs my arm, her ice blue eyes clouding over in alarm.

  “Mother, what’s wrong?” I ask her. Isabel shuts the water off from the sink and comes up to my mother. She puts a hand on my mother’s shoulder and gasps. “What’s going on?” I demand to know, looking from one woman to the other. Startled blue and green eyes turn to look up into my own. “Will one of you please tell me what the problem is?”

  “Eleanor,” my mother whispers, and Isabel nods. “Leah, have Ash take you to Eleanor, now.”

  “But, why?” I ask. “What’s going on?” I watch my mother turn away and shake her head.

  Isabel comes up to me. “Leah, we can’t know what’s wrong, but something happened to Eleanor, and you should go to the hospital and find out right now. Do you understand?” I nod, looking at Isabel’s terrified face and my mother’s teary one and feeling the dread each of them conveys. My heart is pounding as I make my way over to the table where Ash and Jack are having a casual discussion. Something about the property taxes in Blackwater.

  I lean over to whisper to Ash, “We need to go now.” I straighten up and smile at Jack, coming over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. “Jack,” I begin, “Thank you for hosting brunch, even though it was more like between lunch and dinner. That was my fault. I apologize.”

  “Linner,” Jack says, grinning. “It’s no problem. Thank you for your help with the crib, Leah. I do appreciate it.”

  “The delivery should be later today, they told me,” I remind him. “And I guess you have a car seat coming to you from Gabe Locke.”

  “Car seat?” Jack says. “Heidi mentioned she was going to get one. She can’t bring the baby home without a car seat. It’s illegal.”

  “Oh,” I say, shrugging. “Maybe you’ll have two now. You do have two cars.”

  Jack shrugs. “I’m so new at this, I don’t know how it all works, but you’re right, it’s probably easier to have two car seats than to switch them every time we want to take a different car.”

  I smile at Jack, amused by his new-parent-jitters. “It will all be fine, Jack. And do take me up on babysitting. I’ll come over and relieve you and Heidi any time you need me.”

  Once Ash and I are outside, he wants to know why we’ve left so abruptly. “Get in the car and drive to Blackwater Memorial,” I say quietly.

  “Shit,” he says, starting the car and throwing the gearshift into reverse. “That can’t be good.”

  “My mom said Eleanor’s name,” I say, my hands writhing nervously. “Why would she say Eleanor’s name?”

  Ash sighs. “I grew up with it too, Leah. My mother would just stop whatever she was doing and without warning, run in the other direction. We don’t know why they know what they do, but one thing I can say is that she’s never wrong. Sometimes she doesn’t know everything, but when she feels something, you had better drop whatever it is you’re doing and go along.” I nod, knowing he’s right. Ash and I haven’t talked much about crafting yet, more intent on learning about each other. I make a mental note to explore the topic as soon as we have nothing going on, which means never as far as today is concerned.

  We find a spot in the employee lot and I notice a large crowd of police cars out in front of the main entrance. My heart begins to pound as we approach. I have to show my hospital employee badge to a policeman who stops us just before the entrance. He waves me through, but tries to stop Ash. “He’s with me,” I tell the officer, who looks ready to protest but then stops himself and nods. I look at Ash, who has his eyes on the officer, and we pass through the sliding glass doors and into the lobby. I’m almost positive Ash just changed that policeman’s mind.

  Chaos ensues. Police are everywhere, and although it’s not unusual to see policemen at the hospital, something about this seems to be related to my mother’s fears. I’ve never seen so many at once. I remember my dad saying that if a police officer is shot or injured, the rest of the force tends to gather at the hospital. The mood isn’t like a wounded officer, it’s far worse.

  “What floor are you going to?” an officer asks as we get to the elevator, stepping in our path.

  “Fifth,” I say. “I’m here to see my friend who just had a baby.”

  The officer shakes his head. “I can’t let you up there,” he says. “No one is allowed on five unless they’re police or hospital maternity staff.”

  “I am hospital staff,” I say, but don’t have much hope that it’s going to work. “Can I call my friend?” The police officer nods and I step over to dial Eleanor. There isn’t any answer, and the feeling of dread increases. Just then, the elevator doors open and I turn and see Andrew Laurent, Eleanor’s husband and my ex-boyfriend, stepping out of the elevator with two police officers on either side of him. “Drew!” I exclaim, and I’m alarmed to see that he looks a mess. His normally neat, dark blonde hair is standing up on one side, and his dark blue eyes are red and bloodshot. He’s definitely been crying. He turns to me and blinks, as though he has no idea who I am. “It’s Leah,” I say. “What the hell is going on?”

  “Ma’am, please,” the officer standing by the elevator says, grabbing my shoulder as if to pull me away. I feel Ash grab my hand and I hear the sharp intake of breath from him at Drew’s appearance.

  Drew stops the two officers on either side of him and comes up to me, and gives me a huge hug. I feel his shoulders shaking as he sobs silently against me. “Drew,” I whisper. “What’s happened?”

  “The baby,” he says, pulling away from me and wiping his eyes. “Someone’s taken Phillip from us.”

  Chapter 17

  The paper the next day doesn’t fill in many of the gaps in my knowledge regarding what happened. From the little Drew was able to tell me and the bits and pieces I managed to seam together at the hospital, Eleanor and Drew’s baby boy was taken for a routine test for his hearing and reflexes by a nurse. The nurse was found an hour later after Eleanor and Drew began to panic about why their son hadn’t come back, locked and unconscious in a supply closet with a needle mark in her neck. She had no recollection of being drugged or what happened after she took the baby from the room. There were no witnesses.

  After we left the hospital, Ash took me back to my mother’s house and held me until I fell asleep. I didn’t want to be apart from him, and I was terrified and devastated for Eleanor. My mother sat and listened to Ash tell her what happened, as I sat dumbstruck and curled in a ball on the sofa next to him, and then called Renee to console her after she heard our part of the tale.

  When I wake up, Ash is gone, with a text on my phone. “Errands 2 run. Cya @ lunch.” I get ready for work, choosing a pair of slim black dress pants and a flowy turquoise shirt with a black blazer and black heels to match. There are muffins on the table when I walk downstairs, and so I grab one and eat it on the way to the hospital, only realizing as I take the last bite that it’s banana. I hate bananas.

  Security is tighter than usual. The hospital is anticipating reporters from the Blackwater Bias trying to come in and get information about the kidnapping, Gwen informs me as I get to my workstation and turn on my computer. Kelly and Linda are even in deep discussion about it and I realize that very little billing cleanup will likely be accomplished for the day. I have to admit, part of the reason I came in to work at all is because I want to see Eleanor.

  “I know she’s a good friend of yours, Leah,” Gwen is saying. “Didn’t you talk to her at all?”

  I shake my head. “I talked to Drew yesterday before it happened,” I tell her. “He had mentioned she was getting some rest and so of course I didn’t want to disturb her. Then I came to see her, and Drew was getting off the elevator. I’ll never be able to forget how his face looked.” Kelly, Linda and Gwen are riveted by what I have to say, which is a first for Linda, who usually blows off any words coming out of my mouth with a dismissive hand gesture and a “yeah, yeah”. I consider weaving in some facts about revenue codes to try and make her absorb some relevant infor
mation. Something about the phrase “I went in to verify that Eleanor was billed for revenue code 112 and found out her baby was stolen,” doesn’t seem natural.

  I work well into the morning, immersing myself in codes and provider issues and barely notice the message light blinking on my phone. It’s from Ash.

  “Need to reschedule lunch. Caught up in stuff. Dinner?”

  “K.” I type back. “B home @ 6.”

  “Explain 2 U later.”

  “NP.”

  I realize my lunch hour would be a great time to make another attempt to go see Eleanor and try and console her. Prepared with an excuse to speak with one of the obstetricians about unbundling some CPT codes for a caesarian, I make it up to the 5th floor via the north stairwell, managing to avoid any illicit sex or smoking, though I can smell a little of both. The door swings open in my face almost the second I put my hand on the handle, startling me. “Erika!” I say, panting a bit.

  “Are you okay?” she asks me. “Asthma attack?”

  I shake my head. “I’m fine, just didn’t expect the door to open.”

  She nods and is quiet. I move to go past her and she stops me. “Leah, I…are you free for lunch?”

  “Um, actually, yes,” I say warily. I’m somewhat relieved to know that Ash didn’t ditch me to go to lunch with Erika. “Right now?”

  “Sure,” she says. “Were you planning on seeing Eleanor? I just came from her room. I can give you some time to do that.”

  “You saw Eleanor?” I say dumbly.

  Erika smirks. “We’re friends, Leah, believe it or not.”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean that,” I reply. “I came by last night, wanting to see her. Security was tight.”

  She nods. “It’s better now. I just wanted to see how she’s doing. She’s going home today, so you can catch her now at the hospital or wait until she’s home, but she might not be taking visitors for a bit.” She shakes her head sadly. “She’s really upset, obviously.”