“She was my best friend.” Tears ran down my face, but I didn’t move to wipe them away.
“I loved her. I tried to help her, but she couldn’t see how she was throwing her life away for that scumbag.” He took a step forward, and I cowered. I had seen his strength when he rescued me from the diamond thief. I didn’t stand a chance against him. “Come here, Adri. It will be different with you. You have a better understanding of what marriage means.”
Dallas flipped his wrist, and I saw a gleam of silver in his hand.
“Dallas, please. I’m sorry it took me so long to say it, but I do love you. I’ve been scared. It’s hard for me, working with so many couples and then seeing those marriages fail. I’m cautious.”
He inched closer, the blade of his knife reflecting the light toward my face. “But you’re just like her. You want to be with someone else.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t dated anyone else.”
“What about Luke Stetson? You always seem to find a reason to run into him.”
“No.” How did he even know about Luke? Then I realized how Dallas had kept tabs on me. “The photos? That was you?” No wonder he was so good with a camera.
“That’s how I found you that night and saved you from that man. I followed you to take more pictures. And you repaid my love by spending time with that dirtbag lawyer.”
“No. It’s not what you think.” I shook my head. I needed to stay calm, but I could hear the hysteria underlying the soft tones of my voice. I needed to come up with something quick. “I was consulting Luke about a potential lawsuit. Sylvia threatened to sue my business over her stolen wedding dress.”
“I saw you. The way you looked at him. Smiled at him. Laughed with him. Wanted him.” Each word came out heavy, punctuated with pained emotion, and he moved closer. The knife in his hand jerked back and forth as if he were warring within himself whether to stab me or slice me.
I did not want to die in my bathroom. Or any place, for that matter. I needed to keep moving. Deciding on a new approach, I stepped toward him. “If you really love me, you should trust me. I was scared when I saw this ring, but I understand now. Every moment I’ve spent with you has made me feel more alive.” I made one small movement toward him. His throat constricted, and he swallowed. We stood in the doorway of the bathroom.
“Could we sit on my bed for a minute?”
“Why?” He glanced at the bed and then back at me.
“Because every time you kiss me, it makes me go weak in the knees. I thought you’d noticed.”
His lips twitched. I forced myself not to look at the knife in his hand.
“I want you to hold me again, Dallas. Make me feel safe.”
He hesitated, and I took another step toward my bed. When he didn’t stop me, I continued forward. I patted the quilt and held up my left hand. “I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve you. I was scared because I didn’t think it could be true.”
Dallas studied me, and I kept my eyes focused on his, refusing to look at the knife. His eyes narrowed. Something rubbed up against my legs. I heard a meow and jumped back. “Oh, it’s just you, Tux.”
“You have a cat?” Dallas looked at Tux and then glared at me. “Where has he been?”
“He hangs out in my laundry room. He sleeps a lot, but he usually finds me around now to fill up his food dish.” I tried to keep from rambling as I struggled for an explanation.
I knew exactly where Tux had come from—the patio. Someone must have opened the sliding glass door, and I needed to alert that person that we were in the bedroom and Dallas had a knife. I prayed that it was Tony.
“You said you were going to kiss me, but I’m worried about that knife. Could you please put it down?” I emphasized the word knife as loudly as I dared. Dallas studied me for a moment, and I saw his biceps quiver as he clenched the knife tighter.
“I tried to convince her. I didn’t want to—but it was the only way to save her.” The side of his face twitched.
My body was shaking, and my breaths were shallow. I glanced at the knife and directly into his eyes. “You killed Briette, but you don’t have to kill me.”
Dallas pressed his lips together and closed the distance between us. He held the blade near my throat. “I loved her.”
“Dallas, please don’t do this.” My ears perked up at the sound of the creaky floorboard in my hallway. Someone was there to save me, but how could they when Dallas held me at knifepoint?
I could feel the cool metal against my skin, and I struggled to hold perfectly still. He narrowed his eyes, pressing the flat edge of the blade down my throat toward my collarbone.
“I love you,” he said and flicked the tip of the knife downward. A stinging sensation ran across my chest. Pain sparked up my throat. I screamed and fell back on the bed at the same moment Luke sprang forward. He clubbed Dallas across the head with my Mag flashlight. Dallas stumbled forward and fell to his knees.
I pressed a hand to my wound. Blood trickled over my fingers and onto my shirt as I moved to the far side of my bed. My chest throbbed, and the knife wound seeped dark red. I grabbed my running shorts off the bed and put pressure on the cut.
“You’re hurt.” Luke’s eyes widened in fear as he approached me. Dallas brandished the knife as he struggled to stand. Luke hit him again with the flashlight, and the skin above Dallas’s brow split. Blood trickled down his face as he staggered forward. Luke kicked Dallas on the side of his knee and his leg buckled. The knife fell to the floor as Dallas collapsed with a grunt. His head hit the side of my dresser as he fell. Luke kicked him again, but Dallas didn’t move. “I think he’s out.”
A cry escaped my throat. I lifted one of my hands from the cut on my chest and pointed toward the blood dripping from Dallas’s hairline. My other hand felt tingly, and I dropped my blood-soaked running shorts. Luke grabbed a washcloth and held it against the wound on my chest. I winced and felt the room spin. “I think I’m gonna pass out.”
“Hold on. We need to get you to the hospital.” Luke cradled me in his arms, lifting me off the bed and heading for the door. “I’m sorry. I came as fast as I could. I didn’t know what to do when I heard you say he had a knife.”
“Thank you.” I leaned my head against his shoulder. Then everything went black.
I came to in the ambulance, completely disoriented. Fear overcame rational thought, and I thrashed and cried until Luke’s face appeared above me. He gripped my hand. “It’s all right. Hold still. They said you just need a few stitches.” He brushed my hair back from my face with his other hand and leaned in close. “Shh—try to relax.”
Focusing on the feel of his fingertips against my clammy skin reminded me that I was alive. “He killed Briette.” I sobbed, and the pressure from my heaving chest caused pain to arc through my body.
“We’re going to have to sedate her.”
“No.” Luke’s voice was firm as he spoke to the EMT. Then he turned to me and put both his hands on the sides of my face. “Adri, look at me. You have to stop moving. Breathe. You’re safe now. I know Dallas hurt you, but you’ll be okay.” He kept one hand on my face, and the other clasped my fingers. “Can you lie still?”
I nodded as tears rolled down my cheeks. I closed them and took a few shallow breaths. When I opened them, Luke was still right there, worry lines crinkling his brow. “The police have Dallas in custody. They showed up right after you blacked out.”
I took a minute to absorb that and then asked, “How did you know?”
“That you needed help?” He smiled. “Lorea called me. She said you sent her some weird text to call Tony, but she couldn’t reach him on his cell. She was freaked out and said she was calling 911. She knew I lived nearby, so she told me to run to your house and go in through your patio door. She told me where you kept the spare key.”
“Dallas was watching me. I couldn’t call for help.” My voice sounded raspy, and I coughed to clear my throat.
“I told her to call th
e police, and I would come to your house. When I got there, I saw Dallas’s car and had a bad feeling. I know it’s crazy, but I never liked him. He was strange.”
“Why didn’t you say so?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I did. Remember at Brock’s house? You were pretty ticked at me. Anyway, I’m thankful I found the key.” Emotion flickered across his face, and he stopped talking.
I was about to say thank you again when the doors to the ambulance flew open and the EMTs carried me inside the hospital. Eleven stitches and some pain meds later, I rested on a hospital bed in recovery. Tony had taken my statement and questioned me on specific details.
“Adri, I’m really sorry about this.” He patted my arm. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
“It’s over now. Luke saved me.” I closed my eyes. The medicine took the rough edges off my pain, and I began to relax.
“I’ll follow up with you later.” Tony stepped away from the bed. “Luke wondered if he could talk to you for a minute when I’m through taking his statement.”
“Of course,” I answered. “He saved my life.”
Tony grinned. “You said that already, but I’m sure glad he did.”
My eyelids felt heavy, and I dozed off until I heard the scraping of a chair against the floor. My breathing relaxed, and it took some effort to open my eyes. Luke sat beside my bed. He leaned forward in his chair and grasped my hand.
“How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been stabbed by a psychotic boyfriend.”
Luke shook his head. “I’m really sorry. In my defense, I did ask you out.”
Laughing would surely hurt, so I smiled instead. “It’s not your fault.” Then I changed my teasing tone to the more serious thought that had been buzzing through my mind. “I only dated him because I felt Briette wanted me to.”
Luke leaned forward in his chair. “Who’s Briette?”
“She was my best friend. Dallas killed her.” I could feel my lip trembling. “I kissed him. I kissed the man who murdered Briette.”
“Don’t do that to yourself. How do you know he killed your friend?”
I covered my mouth with my hand and saw the glint of diamonds. The ring was still on my finger. I held my hand out in front of me. “This was her engagement ring. That’s how I knew. Dallas asked me to marry him and gave it to me.” I slid the ring off my finger and cupped it in my palm. “When Briette was murdered, her ring was missing. The police thought the crime was connected to the theft.”
Luke stared at the ring. “That’s horrible.”
“I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t seen this ring.” I shuddered. “Every time I would think about whether or not to go on another date with him, I would remember how Briette tried to convince me to give guys a chance to show their best selves.”
Luke was quiet for a moment, and Briette’s words hit me again with new meaning when I looked in his eyes.
He rubbed the back of his neck and spoke softly. “You solved her murder. Don’t you think that’s what she would want?”
I thought about Luke’s words and closed my eyes. Could it be true? Did Briette have a hand in bringing Dallas and me together so she could finally be at rest? My fingers tingled, and I opened my eyes.
The diamonds surrounding the emerald flashed as I moved my hand. I looked toward the window to see a bright ray of sunlight coming through the half-open shades. The light reflected off the gems, and warmth filled my body. An image of Briette came to mind, and this time when I thought about her, it felt different. I studied Luke, sitting quietly at the edge of the bed.
“I think you’re right,” I whispered. “I kept giving Dallas another chance—going out with him even though I wasn’t sure. I made myself like him. I think Briette brought Dallas to me. She wanted me to date him so that her fiancé could finally have peace. She loved Caleb so much.”
Luke put his arm around me, and I leaned into his side and sobbed. “She was my best friend. He killed my best friend.”
He didn’t say anything. He just held me and lowered his head to mine, rubbing my back as I cried. My throat hurt, my chest was sore from the stitches, and I felt completely exhausted, but the tears wouldn’t stop. After my cries subsided, he handed me a tissue and offered me a drink of juice from a Styrofoam cup. I set Briette’s ring on the table beside my bed. The police would want to see it, and hopefully it could be returned to Caleb.
Luke watched me release the ring, and he grasped my hand. The raw pain in his eyes mirrored my own. He knew what I was feeling. That’s why he didn’t say anything, because he knew there were no words that would help me feel better. Nothing would bring Briette back.
When I had drained my reservoir of tears, and my body was left trembling, he embraced me gently and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
I lifted my head so I could see his face. “Thank you. Me too.”
He nodded and handed me another tissue.
Lorea burst into the room. “Adri. Nide lagune—my friend, I was so worried.” Dark lines of mascara were smeared across her cheeks. She moved as if to hug me, then stopped when she saw the bandage.
“It’s okay. I’m—Luke saved me.”
Chapter 27
Key to My Heart
Add this special touch to the ceremony. Attach a key to the groom’s boutonniere and the matching lock to the bride’s bouquet.
Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com.
Lorea hugged Luke and cried. “If you hadn’t gone to her house . . .” She covered her mouth and sank to the edge of the hospital bed.
“Lorea, you saved Adri,” Luke said.
I reached my hand out to her, and she clasped it. “I’m so sorry that he hurt you.”
“He would’ve killed me if it weren’t for you and Luke.”
“But still, look at what he did to you.” She indicated the bandage poking out of the top of the hospital gown.
“You did the right thing,” Luke said. “I think Adri likes me now.”
I grimaced. “But how did you even know where to reach Luke?”
“I took the card out from under the vase and put his number in my phone. Just in case you tossed it.” She ducked her head. “Then he came by the shop, wanting to talk to you, so I told him where you lived and that he needed to try harder.”
“Thank goodness you’re so bullheaded.”
We all laughed.
“I’m going to take you back to my house. And I passed Tony on the way in. He said your parents are coming.”
“My poor family. My mom will never let me out of her sight again.”
“I guess she can help us with preparations for Natalie’s wedding.” Lorea lifted a sack onto the bed. “The doctor said that I could take you home with me—you need supervision. Your parents are going to stay with me too. I brought some of my things for you to change into, unless you want to wear that lovely outfit home.”
I wrinkled my nose and reached for the sack. “Thanks.”
Luke cleared his throat. “I guess that’s my cue.” He stood, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans and looking at me.
“Actually, stay right here. I need to get Adri some water.” Lorea gave him a pointed look as she left. I followed her gaze to Luke, and his face broke into a wide grin.
“What’s that about?” I asked.
“Well, as she mentioned, I stopped by your shop earlier today when you were out. You really have done a great job with your wedding business.”
“Thank you. That means a lot, coming from someone who doesn’t believe in marriage.”
Luke’s shoulders dropped. “I thought you’d forgiven me for all my past sins.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “You’re right. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try my best to convert you from your unholy beliefs.”
He held out his hand. “You’re on.”
“For what?”
“I’d like you to try to convert me.” He stepped closer and grabbed my hand. “Would you g
o out with me?”
He still wanted to date me after every crazy thing we’d been through? My mouth started to drop open, but I clamped it shut. I didn’t understand Luke or his persistence in asking me out. He watched me with a smile on his face—that cute dimple in his chin made him even more endearing. I pulled my hand from his and touched the edge of the bandage—it felt itchy against my neck. My heartbeat sped up, and I closed my eyes, not wanting to go where my thoughts were taking me. Luke was quiet until I opened my eyes.
“You didn’t call, so I thought I’d give it one more shot.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “Lorea made me promise that the next time I saw you I would ask you out and that I couldn’t take no for an answer.”
I lifted my eyes to the ceiling. “That girl.” My heart raced as Luke took my hand again.
“I thought this was bad timing, but apparently she’s holding me to my promise.” He blew out a breath. “I always keep my word. Adri, I’d really like a chance to get to know you. When you get feeling better, would you consider going out with me?”
I blinked back tears. There were too many emotions swirling around me. I had worked so hard to convince myself to like Dallas that now I didn’t trust my feelings. The movement it took to lift my head off the pillow caused more pain in my sore chest than I’d bargained for. I winced and sucked a breath through clenched teeth.
Luke put his hand on the small of my back and helped me to an upright position. “What do you need? You sound like you’re in pain.”
“It’s just really sore.” I indicated my chest.
“I heard the doc say it would be pretty tender for the next few days. You’ll need to take it easy.”
“Yeah, about that.” My lips twitched with the feelings I struggled to express. “I think I should take it easy in the dating arena as well.”
The disappointment in his eyes was obvious, but he recovered quickly. “I understand.”
“But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to treat my hero to something special, like his own order of fried pickles.”
“You’re on.” Luke held out his hand. “As soon as you’re feeling better, we’ll go.”
Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things Page 27