Unable to look away, she swallowed hard. ‘The latter,’ she acknowledged huskily, and watched as her answer brought forth a torrent of muttered oaths.
Abruptly Kerr rose to his full height, walking over to the wire fence and hitting it with a violence that made her gasp and must have hurt him. ‘If I ever get close to the bastard, I’ll kill him with my bare hands, so help me God!’
Maxi’s throat closed over, and she didn’t dare begin to imagine what that explosive anger meant, choosing instead to go to him, taking his hand in hers and examining it. There was bleeding from several grazes, and she quickly produced a handkerchief and used it as a makeshift bandage. Only then did she look up at him in a kind of daze.
But before she could ask the burning question, Kerr sent her a grim look. ‘Tell me about it, Maxi, before I go insane with wondering.’
She didn’t understand, but she nodded slowly, eyes never leaving his. ‘OK. It’s quite a long story, so we’d better sit down.’
When they were once more sitting side by side, she cleared her throat, finding it difficult to know where to start. ‘I suppose the real beginning was when I married Colin. I told Fliss the truth when I said I hadn’t intended to; what I didn’t say was that he virtually blackmailed me into it. He made a veiled threat about her, and told me he’d deny it if I went to the police. Well, I’d already discovered they couldn’t help me, so I agreed. At the time, I didn’t really think he was dangerous, although I guessed he took drugs. Oh, I had some crazy idea that I could marry him under my own rules. I certainly didn’t intend to sleep with him. I thought I could prove it wouldn’t work, and then get a divorce.’
‘But it wasn’t like that?’ Kerr encouraged, when her words tailed off into painful memories.
‘No,’ she agreed with a harsh laugh. ‘My instinct not to like him was well founded. Once he had his ring on my finger, he revealed himself in his true colours. He had a violent temper, and he didn’t like to be thwarted. From the start I wasn’t allowed to sleep alone, and the fact that I wouldn’t respond to him angered him.’ Maxi paused then, licking dry lips as she recalled that first crisis point. When she went on, her voice was husky. ‘I’d never experienced violence before, and I don’t mind admitting that he scared me. The second time he slapped me around because of my “frigidity”, I decided the best thing to do was pretend. I was very convincing. I...made all the right noises, all the right moves, and that pleased him. He decided he wanted it to go on. I became very good at faking pleasure.’
Kerr caught his breath, and his voice was gravelly when he asked, ‘Why didn’t you leave him? Surely you didn’t feel any loyalty for the creep?’
‘No, I didn’t. I loathed him. I could have gone after the first few weeks, and I would have, but two things happened. There was one particular time, when he was high, that I did or said something he didn’t like, and he beat me up quite badly.’ The memory made her eyes burn with a fierce hatred, even when her lips curved in a chilling smile. ‘It was a kind of poetic justice, because I couldn’t work. I stayed at home, and that was how I discovered that he wasn’t just taking drugs, he was importing them and dealing too.’
By this time Kerr was frowning heavily, following every word with a deep concentration. ‘You’re saying that made you stay?’
‘Yes,’ she agreed, with a fierce delight. ‘I discovered I didn’t just want to walk away. I wanted to get him put away for the misery he was causing thousands of people, not just me. I wanted that more than my freedom. I wanted them to lock him up and throw away the key! So I went to the DEA and offered to help them get him.’
‘Good God! Didn’t you think of the danger?’ Kerr exclaimed, taking her by the shoulders and staring into her emotive face. ‘For God’s sake, Maxi, you could have been killed!’ There was a wealth of pent-up agony in that exclamation, and, when she actually looked into his grey eyes and saw the alarm there, the fever went out of her, and she sighed apologetically.
‘Of course I did. But I’ve never backed away from what I knew was right. I had to do it. It took several months, but with my help they caught him. I was in court to hear him sentenced, then I left and went straight out and got myself a divorce. That was the greatest day of my life! I felt as if I’d been released from prison.’
There, it was out at last, and she experienced a wave of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She hadn’t realised just how heavy a burden her unspoken memories had been. But what did Kerr make of it all?
When she looked up at him, he was rubbing his hands over his face. ‘So all the time I thought you were gallivanting with Fliss’s man, you were actually conspiring to put him in gaol. Why didn’t you tell anyone?’
She raised a shoulder diffidently. ‘It wasn’t the sort of thing I could write home about. Unfortunately they didn’t throw away the key. He got out much sooner than I ever expected.’
‘And now he’s back to get his revenge by threatening me,’ Kerr guessed accurately. ‘How does he intend to take it?’
She shivered, recalled to the far more dangerous present. Immediately Kerr reached across to take her hand in his much larger one, and she glanced up to see such a look of blinding fury in his eyes that her heart stopped. ‘He said he wants me back, and that you could have an accident just like mine if I refused, or went to the police.’
‘The man’s certifiable. I’m sure that piece of information will be of great interest to our detective, because, if I’m not very much mistaken, we now know the identity of your burglar. Who else hates you enough to trash your flat?’ Kerr fell silent then, for a long time, eventually turning to her with a frown. ‘Obviously you haven’t said yes, so he’s going to have to contact you again. Do you know when?’
‘He’s going to ring me here at noon,’ she told him quickly, and he glanced at his watch.
‘Ten-thirty. That means we have an hour and a half to come up with an idea. I’m going to ring that detective, and our local police. Between us we should be able to plan a suitable reception for Ellis. One to teach him he threatens you at his peril,’ Kerr declared grimly, getting to his feet once more.
Maxi rose too, feeling rather wobbly inside at the way he had made that last statement. Good lord, it almost sounded as if he cared! Not daring to let her hopes take wing, she frowned up at him.
‘Why are you doing this, Kerr? Why are you helping me?’ she wanted to know. He looked at her as if he had forgotten she was there, and then, to her amazement, a slow flush rose into his cheeks.
‘Darling, you may be brave and foolhardy, but you are also incredibly dense. Unfortunately we don’t have the time to discuss it right now. It would take too long, and I don’t intend to do it less than justice. But if you need a clue...’
In the blink of an eye Maxi found herself swept into a hard embrace and had the breath kissed out of her. It ended much too soon, and she was given no time to ask all the million and one questions that bubbled inside her, for Kerr urged her trembling legs back towards the house. She didn’t have the strength to protest, and wouldn’t have anyway. Because suddenly the man she had thought was her enemy was now her ally, and that opened the door to the sort of miracle she hadn’t dared hope for.
CHAPTER TEN
MAXI was unaware how extremely chic she looked in her lightweight peach silk suit, and Kerr, who sat opposite her in the bow-window of one of the quaint tearooms in Lyme Regis, only registered it marginally himself.
‘What time is it?’ she asked huskily.
‘A quarter to two. I’ll have to be going. We need to be in place well in advance,’ Kerr told her shortly, as if daring her to argue.
Maxi ignored the warning. ‘I wish you’d change your mind and stay here.’
He smiled grimly, for they had been over this many times. ‘You’re not going out to face him alone.’
She glared at him. Why couldn’t he see she was worried he might get hurt? ‘I won’t be alone. The police will be there,’ she pointed out again.
‘I don’t care if they are there!’ he began explosively, then hastily moderated his tone when heads turned. ‘You could have a whole damn army with you, but I won’t be satisfied unless I’m there too!’ he finished through his teeth.
Lord, he could be so damn stubborn, she thought, smiling wryly. ‘And, of course, you’ll make all the difference!’
Now his smile was genuine as he reached across to cuff her chin gently with his fist. ‘You’d better believe it.’
Aware, as she had been for some hours, of a vital change in their relationship, Maxi sighed. ‘Then you’d better be going.’
Nodding, Kerr rose to his feet, but had taken no more than a couple of steps before he swung back to her, and, uncaring of their audience, bent and pressed a hard kiss on her surprised mouth. ‘Take care,’ he ordered gruffly, and this time made good his departure.
She watched his progress until he went from her view, her smile fading then as a chill of apprehension raced along her spine. Time seemed to be going exceedingly slow now the hour approached, whereas the time before noon had been a blur of activity. Kerr had spoken to her father, and then the pair of them had spent ages on the telephone. Apparently Colin’s fingerprints had already been matched to those found in her flat, and this, with what she had to add, caused the constabulary to move with dizzying speed.
Kerr had been amazingly supportive, insisting on being with her when she took Colin’s call at precisely twelve o’clock. The arrangements had been simple. She had told him she would meet him on the Cobb at two-thirty, and would give him her answer then. She had imagined he would argue, but he hadn’t, and then she had recalled his supreme confidence. He already thought he had won.
That would give them the edge they needed, she decided as she paid her bill and left. Ahead of her the Cobb stretched out its mighty arm into the sparkling sea. Out there, somewhere, was her ex-husband. But out there, too, was Kerr and any number of police, and that gave her the boost of adrenalin needed to face her tormentor for the last time. At the foot of the groyne she halted, searching for that familiar figure among the many sightseers. But she was unable to pick him out and slowly began to walk out along the top.
There were fewer people towards the end, and she could see those that arrived and departed by the steps to the lower level. Right at the very end, two fishermen were busy baiting their rods, and between them and herself a few couples strolled along, some with their children dancing about their legs. But there was no single man. Maxi stopped, glancing round, wondering what to do next. A childless couple were turning back. They smiled at her as they passed.
‘You came, then,’ a voice stated behind her, and she swung round, startled. There must have been more than one set of steps from the lower level, for Colin had appeared out of nowhere.
‘You knew I would,’ she said coldly, noticing that his once dapper appearance now looked very slightly seedy.
Colin smiled unpleasantly. ‘You must love him very much.’
‘I always did, and I always will, but that isn’t what we came here to talk about,’ Maxi stated evenly, knowing from past experience that it was important to remain in control. Colin fed off other people’s emotions as a parasite lived off its host.
His face turned nasty. ‘You always were a cold little bitch.’
Maxi swallowed hard on a wave of bile. Looking beyond him, she noticed that the fishermen had given up and were walking towards them. Were they police? She didn’t know; her only instructions were to keep Colin talking as long as possible. ‘Only towards you. I’ll always despise you, so why don’t you just let me go?’
‘No can do, love, sorry. You don’t get off that easily. Life wasn’t pleasant for me inside, and now it won’t be for you. Let’s go.’ He stepped forward to take her by the arm, and in the same instance all hell broke loose.
Suddenly there were people everywhere. Colin cried out as the two fishermen pounced on him from behind. Realising he had been tricked, he put up a furious fight, managing to break free for a few vital seconds. He came straight for her, and although another man executed a perfect rugby tackle, it brought Colin crashing into her. She felt herself staggering and falling, then the ground seemed to disappear from under her, and with a piercing scream she tumbled over the side.
Yet almost in that same instant, a vice clamped about her wrist almost jarring her arm from its socket, and instead of falling into the sea below, she crashed into the stonework and hung there, winded. Then miraculously she heard Kerr’s voice telling her she was all right, that he had her, and very slowly she began to be hauled upwards.
She hadn’t even realised she was crying until she collapsed into his arms when she was once more safe on terra firma. She clung on like grim death as the reality that she had been saved from a potentially fatal accident, and by none less than Kerr himself. Finally, when her nerves had settled somewhat, she pushed herself away a little, wiping moisture from her eyes.
‘You were right, you did make the difference,’ she told him gruffly.
‘You’d better believe it,’ he repeated shakily, before taking time out to study her. ‘How do you feel? I’m afraid your stockings are ruined.’
Relief made her feel quite heady. ‘I’d sacrifice any number of pairs, so long as you’re there to catch me when I fall!’ she gasped, sobering very slowly, and finding herself staring into fathomless grey eyes which appeared to be inviting her to drown in them.
Before either could say anything, though, they were interrupted. ‘Is she OK? Sorry we couldn’t hold on to him a bit better.’
Maxi looked up swiftly, responding to the reassuring smile of the young woman who had passed her. She was obviously part of the force, as was her partner, who was now adding his weight to that of the other two men. From a distance she heard one fisherman cautioning Colin while the young man slipped on handcuffs.
‘I’m fine, really. Just a couple of scraped knees,’ she reassured the woman, deciding not to mention the near dislocated arm, plus a body which was already bruising, and would no doubt ache like the devil tomorrow.
Kerr dragged a none-too-steady hand through his hair. ‘All the same, I want to get you home,’ he said decisively, and started when a hand clamped on his shoulder.
‘Well done, Mr Devereaux, it worked like a dream,’ the fisherman said, then nodded to Maxi. ‘DS Short, Miss Ambro. You can relax now, we’ve got the...so-and-so. So if you’ll both come back to the station with us, we can book laddie here and take statements.’ He glanced round at the considerable crowd they’d attracted. ‘If we stay here any longer, they’ll think we’re a sideshow.’
It was a further two hours before they were finally free to go. By that time her body was already beginning to protest in reaction to her fall. Kerr took one look at her pale, strained face, and told her to stay where she was while he went to bring the car round to the front of the police station. Once in the car, she sat back with a sigh and closed her eyes.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked tiredly, not really caring, just glad it was all over.
‘Back to my place,’ Kerr informed her, without taking his eyes off the road. ‘What you need is a long soak in a hot bath.’
She couldn’t argue with that; in fact it sounded wonderful. Still she chose to prevaricate a little, lest he think he was going to have everything his own way. ‘I could do that at my parents’ place.’
Kerr’s lips curved upwards. ‘I know, but if you think I’m going to let you out of my sight you’re mistaken. You and I still have a lot of things to sort out—that’s why we’re going to my house.’
Her eyes came open as her head turned, and she studied his profile lazily. ‘What things?’
‘Oh, important things. Such as—do you love me, Maxi?’ he declared in a voice which wasn’t quite as casual as he tried to make it.
She was taken by surprise, although in truth she shouldn’t see why she was when she must have betrayed herself any number of ways in the last twenty-four hours. Yet
for him to come out and boldly ask her, and in a tone which seemed to suggest her answer was important, made her hold back a pride-saving evasion. Should she hesitate? Wasn’t there a point where a gamble was worth the risk?
‘You must know that I do,’ she admitted huskily, deciding there was.
Kerr’s soft laugh had a ragged edge to it, and his chest swelled as he took a deep breath. ‘I heard you tell Ellis you did, but I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just fighting talk.’
Maxi swallowed hard to hide her disappointment that he hadn’t returned the compliment. ‘There are some things I would never lie about.’
‘That’s what I thought, so it’s only fair to tell you that I love you, too.’
Even though she’d heard it, she could scarcely believe he’d really said it. After all their fighting, it just seemed so incredible. ‘Kerr!’ she exclaimed, sitting up straighter. ‘How...when?’
He sent her a brief but intense look which halted the stumbling flow. ‘All in good time. First things first. You need that bath. There will be plenty of time to talk later.’
Although she was bursting to have all her questions answered, she subsided, feeling her heart swelling with a happiness she had thought lost forever seven years ago. With a childish gesture, she actually pinched herself to make sure it was real, that she hadn’t fallen asleep and was dreaming. But it was real all right, and she spent the rest of the journey with her eyes fastened on his strong profile.
At last the house loomed up, but before she could do more than unfasten her seatbelt Kerr was round the car and opening her door, picking her up in his arms. It felt so good to be held by him that Maxi wasn’t even tempted to protest. He carried her right up to his bedroom, and through to the bathroom, only setting her on her feet then so that he could start running water into the bath.
Looking on in a pleasant daze, Maxi took the large fluffy towels he produced from the cupboard. ‘Take all the time you need,’ he advised her. ‘Do you need any help?’
An Old Enchantment (Harlequin Treasury 1990's) Page 16