I gasped as the knife pulled away, and Rafe stood, pacing.
“Even then, I was willing to let you go. That punch you threw at me—I respected that. But you just couldn’t stay gone! You had to come back and ruin everything!” He turned, and pointed the knife at me. “You tried to take her away from me! I can’t let that go, Evan. I’m sorry. ‘Cause I like you, man. I really do.”
He lunged at me. I kicked my feet up at him, knocking him backwards. Rafe slammed into the wall behind him but bounced back, coming for me again. Adrenaline punched through me with a healthy dose of anger. I rolled to the side and kicked out, catching his leg. Two hits to my head had made my aim not as good as I wanted. Rafe fell—but on top of me.
His knife drove into my shoulder.
I screamed and head-butted him as he came up for the knife. He stumbled back clutching his nose while I tried to get my feet under me. I wasn’t fast enough.
Rafe grabbed me by the shoulders, picking me up and slamming me into the wall. He yanked the knife out while I tried to stop my head from spinning.
The knifepoint dug into my cheek again, and I knew. This wasn’t going to end well.
“Rafe!”
He froze. I tried to place the voice. A trickle of blood ran down my cheek along the length of the blade.
“Step away from him, Rafe!”
Ben. That’s Ben.
The world stopped for a full minute. Then Rafe backed off. I heard the knife hit the floor a moment before I felt myself slide down the wall. The room spun sideways as I fell over. The floor was cool, and it felt good. My head felt like it had been used for a basketball game, and everything sounded weird, as if I was underwater. Maybe I had been, because it was hard to breathe.
I heard two roars. One sounded human. The other made my head explode, and echoed against the stone. Gunshot, my brain registered finally.
Cool fingers on my skin brought me back. Cool fingers, and a voice I swore must have been a dream.
“Evan? Lord, Ben, he’s bleeding bad.”
I knew that voice. “Ginny?”
Another loud noise, this time next to me. Ben’s bag, I realized, turning my head to look.
And Ben’s voice. “There ought to be something you can use in that. But you’re going to have to get him up on your own.”
The pressure on my wrists released, making it easier to breathe. My shoulder screamed with pain as something mauled it. Hands tugged at my other arm.
“I’m so sorry, Evan, honey, but I need you to help me. Come on, sugar. Help me out.”
“Shit. Ginny?”
“I’m here, Ev. Come on.”
My head throbbed even worse as I pushed up with my good arm. The room spun too much when I blinked, but I wanted my eyes open. I wanted to see her. I could feel her hands pulling at me, helping, and I forced myself to focus on that as much as I could.
Upright sucked. But Ginny slid under my good arm, keeping me steady.
“Okay, Evan. One foot in front of the other. Just move your feet, and I’ll do the steering.”
I forced my feet to move.
Ben’s voice came from behind us. “I’ll be right behind you, Gin.”
“You damn well better be, Benjamin Eyre.”
Ginny dragged me along for what felt like forever. When I stumbled, she held me against the wall and talked to me until I could move again. Talked me over the tripwires and around the booby traps. Her voice and her touch were all I could hold onto. Until I felt the cool ocean breeze on my face and thought I’d died.
“Okay, Evan, it’s okay. Let’s just stop here.”
I was glad. My feet couldn’t hold me up, and my head was spinning in hard circles in the night. The grass I sank down against felt so good. Cool. Wet.
Her hands pushed at my chest. “Hang in there, sugar.”
“How’s he doing, Gin?”
“Not good.”
God, it was hot. I was hot. The breeze felt so good.
“Don’t you pass out on me, Evan, honey. Hello? Yes, I need an ambulance, and the police…
“…Botany Bay…
“…Bleak Hall ruins, yes.”
Her hands pushed at my shoulder, and I heard myself moan.
“Lord almighty, you’re losing a lot of blood. Ben!”
A scream sounded, and even in my half-unconscious state, I grabbed for Ginny, pulling her down. I saw and heard the flash and roar of a gun. I hoped it was Ben’s.
“Dammit! Evan, both of you, stay—”
The world erupted in sound and fire. Ginny held onto me as everything burned.
Chapter Twenty-One
I don’t remember much else about that night. Fire and sirens and red and blue lights. Images that I couldn’t place or fit the pieces to. A lot of pain. But I do remember that Ginny never left my side, talking to me, touching me. She wouldn’t let me sleep until the paramedics got there, and even the bits I remember of the ambulance ride, she was there.
I woke up later to the taste of canned air—an IV in one arm, and an oxygen tube under my nose. The pain in my shoulder had cooled to a dull throb, and my vision wasn’t sideways anymore. One of my hands was oddly numb, though, and it took me a while to realize it was because Ginny was asleep on it.
It took some doing, mostly because I couldn’t feel half my arm, but I managed to get it out from under her. After an agonizing minute of the blood returning, I pulled the cold oxygen tube off and reached out to push the hair away from her face.
Ginny, it appeared, hadn’t escaped last night unharmed either. A fist sized bruise covered one cheek, white butterfly bandages stretching across the center where the skin had split. I traced my thumb underneath it, and she shifted. Her eye opened, and then focused.
“Hey, you.”
She smiled, and yawned. “Hey, sugar. You’re awake.”
I smiled back. “Yeah. Are you okay?”
Ginny sat up and stretched, then held out her hand, which was wrapped in a brace. “It’s just a mild sprain. A few bruises. He wasn’t ready to really hurt me yet.”
I reached my good hand out for her, tracing her jaw, and she curled her face into my fingers. “I’m sorry I was such an ass before.”
Ginny kissed my palm and took my hand, shaking her head. “It’s not your fault. And he might have killed you out-right if you’d stayed. Evan, I…” She hesitated, and I could see the memories flickering in her eyes. “Thank you. For coming back. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you hadn’t.”
“Ginny—”
“No, just listen, sugar. Please. I didn’t treat you right. And I’m sorry. Mama was right when she said I’d been stringin’ you along. I owed you better. And I’d like to make it up to you, if you’ll let me.”
I shifted, which made me wince. “Ginny, you don’t owe me anything.”
“Hush that. I owe you my life. Though if you ever risk yours for me again, I might have to kill you myself,” she added with a grin.
“So does that mean I’ve been upgraded to boyfriend status?”
She kissed me by way of answer.
“So what exactly happened after I left?”
“I—”
A knock interrupted her. “Welcome back to the land of the living, man.”
I looked up to see Ben, who stood leaning in the door of my room. “Who let you out?”
“You’re looking at a free man. Between the lawyers and everything Rafe did and didn’t blow up, they dropped the charges.”
“That’s great, Ben. Wait—what blew up?” I must’ve been further gone than I’d thought.
“Yeah, I guess you missed that part.”
I grunted as a blurry memory floated back. “Wait—that was the fire? He tripped a wire?”
Ben nodded. “How are you feeling?”
“Like someone used my head as a speed bag and shoved something sharp in my shoulder.”
Ben laughed. “Well, the good news is Aunt Catherine is negotiating your release. No more hospital food for you.”
> “Damn, and I haven’t had my pudding yet.”
“I’m sure we can find some for you back at Eyre House.” He glanced at Ginny. “I’ll look and see how negotiations are goin’.”
He walked away, leaving me alone with Ginny again. I smiled as her thumb played along the back of my hand. “I missed you.”
She smiled and leaned in until her lips brushed mine. “I missed you, too.” Her face grew serious again as her fingers traced the side of my face. “He cut you really deep.”
I’d forgotten about the cut on my face. I expected it to hurt, and I could barely feel anything. “How bad is it?”
“Stitches-bad.”
She leaned in again, and I sort of half felt the touch of her lips on my face. I turned my head and caught her mouth with mine. Her hands cupped my jaw, cradling me while we kissed. I’d missed her taste, her touch, and it was like heaven.
The nurse interrupted us just as my good hand slipped around Ginny’s waist.
“Break it up, you two.”
Ginny and I grinned as she sat back down. “Does this mean I’m getting out?”
“Looks that way. How’s the shoulder feel?”
He poked and prodded, took my vitals, and pulled out my IV. Another nurse brought in a sling for my arm. They helped me up and led me to the bathroom to get dressed, then got me into the sling and the waiting wheelchair. Someone had been nice enough to bring me a pair of jeans and a shirt from the clothes I’d left at Eyre House. We found Ben and Ms. Catherine in the lobby, waiting.
I dozed on and off on the ride back to Edisto, my head resting on Ginny’s shoulder. I was happy to just breathe in her summer-sunshine smell.
Ginny helped me upstairs once we got back. I was mostly okay on my feet, but the concussion lingered, along with whatever drugs they’d given me. More than anything, I just liked having her arm around me. She left me in my room with a kiss, saying she’d be right back. I sat on the bed for a minute before wandering in the bathroom to look in the mirror.
I could only remember about half of what happened after I found Ginny. Rafe must’ve surprised me from behind, and I knew I’d hit my head after he’d punched me. But the damage he’d done with my knife surprised me. Two long lines ran red and raw down my face, one from just below my eye to my jaw, and a second next to it that didn’t look as long or deep. Both had been stitched up, just like Ginny had said. I counted fourteen in one, eight in the other.
I dumped out the bag of stuff the doctor had given me, which included a thing of cream I was supposed to apply twice a day. Even with it, though, he’d said there was no chance in hell it wouldn’t scar.
“I’ve decided you’ll look good with the scar.”
I turned to find Ginny leaning in the doorway. “I didn’t realize it was so bad.”
She nodded, her smile failing. “Your shoulder was the worst, though. You lost a lot of blood.”
I ran my good hand through my hair. “As out of it as I am, I’m not surprised. I feel like I missed everything.”
Ginny stepped closer, her hands coming up to hold my face. “You’re never allowed to do that again, alright?”
I ran my hand down her arm. “Fine by me.”
“Good.” Her hands pulled me down until our lips touched. Her tongue licked my lips, pushing gently into my mouth.
Lord, I’d missed this. I’d missed her. Her touch, her taste, her sweet smell. My free hand wrapped around her back, holding her close as I moved my lips from her mouth to her jaw and neck.
“I missed you so much, Evan. I need to feel you inside me, sugar.”
Her words made the blood pound in my head. “Ginny…” Her name came out as a moan, full of ache and need.
She pulled away, taking my hand in hers, and dragged me to my bed. I was still too tired and weak to protest when she pushed me down on it. Her fingers worked at my shorts. I opened my mouth to protest and stopped. I’d missed her, and the growing ache in my groin was pushing all my arguments away. So I lay back and let her undress me, watched with a smile as she stripped for me, and moaned when she ran her hand up and down me before rolling on a condom. My hand slid down the smooth skin of her back as she climbed over me to kiss me again, this time with more hunger.
And when she lowered herself onto me with a sigh, it was all I could do not to say to hell with my stitches and roll her beneath me.
Ginny laughed. “Sorry sugar.” Her hands leaned on my chest, careful of my injury. “You need to just stay right there and let me drive.”
I groaned as her hips rolled into me. “Lord, Ginny. Are you sure I didn’t die and go to heaven?”
She laughed and rocked into me again, slowly picking up the pace until there weren’t any words, just the feel of me inside her and her hot body moving against me. My good hand clenched and unclenched against her hip, needing more and more.
Ginny gasped, letting her head fall back, and sped up. “Evan, honey, I’m gonna…” Her words became a moaning cry, her back arching and shaking as she came. Her wet heat tightened around me, sending me over the edge into ecstasy with her.
“Rafe showed up the day you left,” Ginny started. After recovering, she’d helped me dress again and led me outside. We’d found ourselves a quiet spot on the back lawn to stretch out in the sun and talk.
“He said he’d heard from his CO that Ben had been arrested, so he’d come back. I didn’t care enough to doubt him.” She looked down at our hands and gave a sad laugh. “I was too upset about you leaving and Ben being in prison. He wanted to talk, but I didn’t. I told him to go away, and every time he came back, I told him the same.
“I guess he wasn’t happy about that. He was nice to start. Then he started getting mad. I tried avoiding him, but he always seemed to know where I was.
“I argued with him Thursday night, and hoped that was the end of it. But I woke up after one, and he was standing over my bed.”
She shuddered, and I drew her in with my good arm. “Lord, I’m sorry, Ginny. I should’ve just let him bleed to death on your birthday.”
“I almost wish you had. But you still saved me. I’d gone to bed curled around my phone because of your text. He didn’t know I had it until after I’d texted you back.”
I hated that she’d gone through that. I pulled her tight and just held her for a while. “What happened after I found you?”
“He knocked you out, dumped me in another room, and took you. But the door didn’t lock all the way when he left, and I managed to jimmy it open. Ben found me after that. He said he disappeared because he saw Rafe and had followed him. He wanted to just get me out, but I wouldn’t let him leave without you.”
“Did he shoot Rafe?”
“Yeah. He was ready to kill you. Ben didn’t have a choice.”
“Hey, no complaints here. Hell, I’m glad he did! I only asked because I’m trying to put the pieces together. I know you got me outside after that…”
She nodded against my chest. “Ben followed with Rafe. He’d only shot him in the shoulder. We wanted the police to have him so that Ben could be cleared.” Ginny slid her hand under my shirt and ran her fingers along my stomach. “It was a mistake. Rafe attacked him. Ben tried to shoot him again, but Rafe got away. He knocked Ben down and ran back into the ruins. He must have had some kind of bomb rigged. The whole section blew up. Apparently the fire department spent half the night putting it out.”
“So, wait…if he blew everything up, how did Ben get the charges dropped?”
“He said there was enough evidence still down there.”
“And Rafe?”
“Dead. They found his body. The DNA they said would take a few days to confirm, but they’re pretty confident it’s him.”
“I’ll still be a lot happier when they’re a hundred percent sure.” I turned and kissed her head. “I’m glad you’re all right. Really glad. I was terrified when I got your text.”
She looked up at me and smiled. It wasn’t her carefree, trouble smile—not entirely. B
ut under the bruises and the emotion of the last day, I could see it there, peeking out. “Just how glad are you, sugar?”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. “Very glad.”
“Yeah?” Her smile grew, and she shifted, crawling on top of me. “Because I’m not seeing it, honey.”
I raised my eyebrow and glanced at my sling-wrapped arm. “I’m working at a disadvantage here.”
“Oh, is that it?”
“You could help me out.”
“Hmm.” Her eyes flickered to my lips and back. “I could.”
My hand tightened around her waist as she slid in close. The tips of my fingers found the edge of her shirt just as her lips closed on mine, drawing me in. I think we both tried to keep it slow. I know I did. But the minute her tongue grazed my lip, it was over.
My hand slid up the skin of her back, pulling her as close as I could. The confinement of my injured arm nearly made me insane, but Ginny seemed to understand that. Her arms wrapped around my neck, sliding her up my chest and changing the angle of her kiss. Her tongue swept deep into my mouth, pressing and sliding against mine.
A growl built deep in my throat. I wanted her so badly. Again. I needed to hold her down and show her how much I missed her. But she just smiled and broke away.
“Poor Evan.” She laughed. “It’s so hard being one-armed. I guess you’re just going to have to let me take care of everything.” Her lips danced down my jaw to my neck. I stretched my head back and resigned myself to her teasing as her teeth nipped at the soft skin under my jaw.
“You are cruel, you know that?”
She moved higher, placing kisses along the uninjured side of my face, my nose, my eyes.
“Mmm. And I love it.”
Her mouth moved back to mine, and this time, I made sure it stayed there.
The slamming of a car door woke me. Ginny and I had kissed until we’d fallen asleep in the sun, still exhausted from everything. But there was an angry quality to the slamming door that caught my attention.
Or maybe it was the yelling that immediately followed it.
“Ginny.”
“Hmm?”
Eyre House Page 24