The List

by Velvet Vaughn

  “Nicole!” Tash howled. “Look what you’ve done to her.”

  From the corner of her eye, Jac saw Lauren flee through the door. She breathed a bittersweet sigh of relief, knowing Lauren was safe but she was going to die. A beat passed before she felt the pain but when she did, tears burned at the white hot intensity. Tash crouched over her holding a sharp blade that sliced Jac’s upper arm. The knife was coated in red, Jac’s blood darkening the shiny surface. She could feel her fingers tingling, going numb, but adrenalin kicked in. She wouldn’t go down without a fight. Calling upon her training in several self-defense classes, she knocked the weapon out of Tash’s hand and threw her off at the same time. She rolled to her feet in one swift move.

  “You shouldn’t have done that.” Tash lunged for the knife.

  Jac stomped on her hand.

  “Aah!” Before Jac could grab the knife with her good arm, Tash scissor-kicked her legs out from under her and she hurtled to the concrete floor, her head hitting with jarring force. Stars exploded behind her eyelids, pain radiating around her skull. Fighting nausea and swimming black spots, Jac blinked to clear double vision and saw Tash approach with the knife and a menacing smirk.

  Thirty-eight

  “Umph.”

  The men heard the scuffs and scrapes of a struggle and Jac’s scream before all sound ceased.

  “No!” Matt cried.

  “Here’s the house.” Logan slammed on the brakes as the car squealed around a corner. The headlights bounced off the heavy fog, illuminating a young blonde girl in a long black dress running toward them.

  Matt threw the door open. “Lauren!” He ran, caught her, lifted her off the ground and scooped her against his chest. Sobs racked his body. “Oh baby, I was scared to death. Thank God. Are you hurt, princess?”

  “I’m fine, Daddy, but you have to go help Jac. She saved my life, but that woman is going to kill her.”

  Lauren quickly described the basement where Natasha Sparks held Jac. “Dad, she has a gun and a knife.”

  “We’ll get her.” He prayed he could keep that promise. He hugged Lauren hard, pecked her on the cheek and handed her over to a female officer.

  “Be careful,” she cried as he sprinted in a dead run toward the basement entrance.

  Creepy tendrils of vapor rolled ominously along the ground. You could reach out and touch the dense miasma, let the mist sift through your fingers. Between the burned-out house and eerie fog, Matt felt enmeshed in a bad Wes Craven movie. As he reached the cellar, Luke grabbed the back of his jacket and spun him around. Logan and several officers with drawn weapons lined up behind Luke.

  “If we all go rushing in,” Luke rationalized, “she’s liable to do something rash and kill Jac. I think it would be best if I went in and tried to distract—” Luke turned around but Matt’s head was already disappearing down the cellar entrance. The men hastily made plans to follow.

  Matt eased down the steps, careful to make no noise. As his eyes adjusted to the dim interior, he saw a collection of round rocks on a shelf, ranging in sizes and shapes. He grabbed one and stuffed the stone in his pocket. He had taken one step when Luke grabbed him again and pressed a gun in his hand. He already had one but didn’t have time to explain. Luke made a sign he interpreted to mean: “I’ve got your back.” He mouthed “Thanks.”

  He followed Lauren’s instructions and heard his receptionist. He carefully peeked inside, his gaze searching out Jac. He found her rolling on the floor and had to fight a gasp. Her arm was covered with blood. He looked up and saw Tash hovering over her, a dripping knife in her hand.

  “Stop or I’ll blow your head off.”

  He wasn’t exactly an expert marksman, but he was a pretty good shot. He aimed at Tash’s wild eyes.

  “Matt...” Jac whispered.

  If he surprised Tash, she showed no sign. She used his appearance to overtake Jac and yank her up by the hair. She held the knife to her throat.

  “Go ahead, boss,” she taunted, “shoot. You might kill me, but I’ll definitely kill your girlfriend before you do.”

  To prove her vow she slid the tip of the blade below Jac’s ear, opening a shallow cut.

  “Drop your gun or I’ll slit her throat right now.”

  Matt glanced from the blood on Jac’s neck to her terrified eyes. The revolver slid across the concrete. “I’ve done as you instructed. Let her go.”

  Tash laughed. Her gaze locked on Matt as she lifted the knife with both hands.

  “No!”

  In a split second, Matt whipped the stone from his pocket and launched it at Tash just as she plunged the blade into Jac’s stomach. The rock wasn’t as big as a pigskin, but he hadn’t lost his pinpoint accuracy. He nailed her between the eyes, sending her reeling backwards. She screamed and lost her grip on the blade.

  Matt rushed to Jac’s side as she crumpled into a ball. “Jac, honey, can you hear me?” Her eyelids fluttered. He ripped off his shirt and pressed it against the stomach wound. Engrossed in tending to Jac, he didn’t care Tash had picked up the gun. She aimed at Matt.

  Crack.

  Matt flinched, expecting searing pain to overtake him at any moment. When he felt none, he opened his eyes to see Tash crumple to the ground.

  Luke’s shot blew off the top of her head.

  Thirty-nine

  Matt exhaled and turned his attention back to Jac, pressing his shirt against her stomach with one hand and brushing the hair from her face with the other. Officers filed in the room as sirens shrilled loudly in the distance.

  “Lauren?” The word was low and weak.

  “She’s fine, honey.”

  He wanted to thank her for saving his daughter but she croaked, “S-sorry…didn’t mean…put her in danger…love her…” Her voice died on a shudder.

  “Jac, stay with me! Open your eyes.”

  Jac’s head rolled to the side.

  “Jac!” Matt fought the hands trying to pull him away as two men in blue uniforms dropped down and went to work.

  “Let me go!” he ground out through clenched teeth.

  “We need to give the paramedics room to do their job, buddy,” Luke said softly.

  Matt gave up fighting and sagged against his friend. They watched as a medic tore open an antiseptic pad and swabbed the blood with gloved hands. The other jabbed a long needle in Jac’s arm and attached an IV. They stabilized her and within minutes, lifted her onto the stretcher.

  A camera’s flash bounced off the white walls and Matt spared one glance at the woman responsible for incomprehensible destruction. He winced at the bloody remains as crime scene personnel worked the area, then hustled to follow the stretcher. He grabbed one corner to help carry her up the steps.

  “Jac.”

  Lauren rushed forward, hugging a blue police parka around her shoulders. Matt embraced her, reassuring himself that she was alive and grateful God brought her back to him. He said another prayer of thanks and tacked on a new one, asking that Jac pull through as well.

  “Is she going to be okay, Daddy?” Lauren sniffed as a fat tear rolled down her cheek.

  “She has to be, princess. She has to be.”

  * * * *

  Logan and Luke joined Matt and Lauren in the waiting area, having just left Dan’s room.

  “Any word on Jac?” Luke asked.

  Matt watched the two men stride into the room. Luke stopped at the coffee pot while Logan dropped into a chair across from the couch he and Lauren shared. Matt shook his head to Luke’s question. “None.”

  Lauren pushed upright from her spot cuddled next to his side. “How is Dan?” she asked with genuine concern.

  “Nursing a broken wrist, a killer headache and pretty much out of it,” Logan stated. He rolled his head back, closed his eyes and exhaled with immense relief. “But alive.”

  Luke handed Logan a Styrofoam cup and plopped down next to him. “He’s been drifting in and out of consciousness, but managed to fill in the blanks from the police investigation
and eyewitness reports.”

  “What does he remember?”

  Luke blew on his coffee and then sipped tentatively. “He remembers Mary asking for his help and checking to make sure Lauren was safe before going to the supply closet. He felt a searing pain in his head. The next thing he remembered was waking up here feeling as if he’d been run over by a dump truck.”

  “He thought he was being a Good Samaritan and ended up with a cracked skull,” Logan added.

  “A cracked skull? Is he going to be okay?” Lauren asked with alarm. “Can I see him?”

  “He’s resting now but you can see him in the morning. The doctor said it’s a good sign that he’s awake and remembering. They don’t predict long term damage. But he’ll have the mother of all headaches for a while.”

  * * * *

  Jac floated in a murky state of unconsciousness, visions passing through her brain like snapshots from an instant camera: her club burning down—click; her best friend betraying her—click; the girl she loved like a daughter kidnapped—click; and the man she loved telling her he never wanted to see her again. Images merged together as crystal blue water became deeper blue eyes. The only emotion she felt in her current state was despair. Maybe Tash succeeded in killing her after all. It didn’t matter. She didn’t see much reason to live.

  She thought the day her parents died was the worst day of her life. How did she get lucky enough to have two worst days?

  Voices kept floating to her cloudy brain but she ignored them. They told her to wake up, pull through. Yeah, well, what did they know? Didn’t they realize the pain of the blade that sliced her flesh was nothing compared to the verbal one that sliced her heart clean in two?

  * * * *

  Matt sighed deeply and scrubbed a hand down his weary face. He could use a few hours of sleep, he passed hunger ions ago, he needed a shower and a shave, but he wasn’t leaving this hospital until Jac could come with him.

  Monitors hummed gently in the background, the only sound in the dark, gloomy space. Thick drapes blocked the early morning sun’s harsh light. It was Sunday, October thirty-first. Happy freaking Halloween.

  He practically bought the hospital out of flowers and the sweet aroma of roses and daisies and violets mingled with the antiseptic smells that permeated every hospital he’d ever been inside. Luke and the Bradley brothers pitched in to help decimate the florist’s stock. Lauren had added a holiday touch with pumpkins she carved herself last night on the floor beside Jac’s bed.

  It had been almost thirty hours since Jac had been wheeled into the hospital covered in blood. Doctors stitched up the wounds and she rested in a room with wires and tubes attached to her pale, lifeless body. Her hand was a block of ice in his.

  The emergency room doctor told him that she was lucky—if the knife in her stomach had gone a quarter inch deeper or been a fraction to the right, it would have pierced a vital organ and she’d be dead. Thank God his aim had been good enough to nail Tash just as she stuck Jac. He’d been nervous and his hands sweaty and shaky. And if not for Luke’s steady shot, he might not be here either.

  It also helped that the police summoned an ambulance en route to the house and it arrived seconds after they did. Jac had the proper treatment immediately.

  The doctors said she lost a lot of blood and while serious, the wounds weren’t life threatening. And although she did have a bump on the head and a probable concussion, she should have regained consciousness by now. When one nurse confided that they thought she didn’t want to wake up, that she seemed to be shutting life out, willing herself to die, he almost broke down on the spot with grief and guilt. The nurse said they had seen this happen to patients who’d gone through emotional trauma, such as the loss of a spouse or child. It was as if they gave up the will to live.

  And now, some two and a half dozen hours later, he felt the shame and sorrow in every individual fiber of his body. How could he have uttered those dreadful things? What if he never got to tell her how sorry he was? He’d reacted in the heat of the moment and now regret would plague him all his life.

  He choked back the lump of remorse lodged deep in his throat. How could he live without Jac? In a few short weeks, she’d become as important to him as his daughter. He was prepared to renege on his personal promise about waiting until Lauren was in college to pursue a relationship. He didn’t have a choice with Jac. She’d slid under his defenses and cemented herself in their lives. They belonged together; she was his future.

  “Jac, sweetheart, please wake up. I need you. Lauren needs you. We love you.” He repeated the same mantra he’d crooned ever since he was allowed by her side.

  A nurse stuck her head in the door and stepped inside, a silver chart in her hand. She greeted Matt and he reluctantly moved away while she checked Jac’s vital signs. When the doctor entered as well, he slipped out in the hall and peeked into the adjoining room. Lauren was still asleep, clutching the white teddy bear Luke bought her from the gift shop. She’d spent hours holding Jac’s other hand but she had suffered an emotional trauma as well. He arranged for her to catch some sleep in the empty room next door. She hadn’t wanted to leave Jac’s side either. After placing a phone call to Billy’s grandparents and finding out he was fine but resting now that she was okay, she finally relented.

  He gingerly closed the door and turned to see Luke walking down the hall. Luke and Logan divided their time between work, Jac and Dan, who was improving but still suffering from debilitating headaches.

  “You look like hell.”

  “Thanks, buddy.”

  “Have you slept at all?”

  Matt shook his head and slouched against the wall. “I want to be here when she wakes up.”

  Jac’s door opened and the doctor exited. He looked at Matt and shook his head. “No change.”

  His head hit the wall and his eyes closed. Why wasn’t she waking up?

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Luke offered. “You go home, grab something to eat, shower, catch a few hours of sleep and I’ll stay by her side. The second she starts to wake up, I’ll call you. Besides, you don’t want that—” he swept his hand the length of Matt’s body—“to be the first thing she sees when she wakes up, do you?”

  “You’re an asshole, you know that Colton?”

  Luke chuckled. “I know. Now go.”

  “I do need to feed Murphy,” he conceded, shoving a hand through his hair. “I’ll be back in an hour or less. No way can I sleep. If her condition changes at all, call me.”

  “I promise.”

  Forty

  Matt didn’t have to worry about Luke keeping his promise. Jac’s condition didn’t change. Another twenty-four hours elapsed without one flutter of a pale blonde lash. He finally passed out from sheer exhaustion for all of ten minutes and Lauren forced a burger on him but otherwise, he hadn’t eaten or slept.

  He packed Lauren and himself a change of clothes and was walking out the door when the phone jingled. Positive it was Luke, he snatched the receiver. It was his mom. He gave her an abbreviated recap and she had freaked to find out what he and Lauren endured. He couldn’t talk them out of ending their trip early and coming home.

  He sighed and ran his hand over Jac’s pale forehead. He wanted, needed to see those unique eyes open, shining with life.

  “Come back to me, sweetheart.”

  A dizzying sense of déjà vu washed over him and he closed his eyes against the sharp visions. Suddenly he was transported back twenty years to a muddy bank on Lake Patoka. The image of a cute little girl with long blonde hair and the heart of a tomboy appeared in his head. She’d followed him around all summer and would giggle and run away when he smiled at her. He knew she had a crush on him, that her name was Jacqueline, and that someday she would break hearts. He had been thinking about her when he walked down a rarely used path and had almost been steam-rolled by Marcus and Sean Cardinal as they tore past him. He knew that meant trouble. He turned to grab them when he heard splashing and desperate screams.
He took off running as fast as he could and saw a small head go under the water. He’d been terrified. He dove in and searched through the cloudy water until he found a limp little body, but by the time he got her out she’d stopped breathing. She was tiny, fragile and didn’t deserve to die at the hands of two juvenile delinquents.

  With tears in his eyes, he put his mouth to hers and breathed air into her lungs. He repeated those same words: “Come back to me, sweetheart,” after each puff. After a few breaths, she woke up and heaved the water from her tiny body. The relief he felt had been overwhelming.

  He never told her about the CPR, he didn’t want to frighten her or have her know just how close she came to dying. Her parents rushed her to the hospital to be checked out and it was the last time he saw her—until that night four weeks ago when she showed up at his house.

  And now that sweet young girl had grown up to be the love of his life. Maybe he’d known it would happen all along. When he held her in his arms all those years ago, he’d felt something vital, something substantial. He was eighteen years old and she’d been just a child but he felt it nonetheless.

  Now he’d ruined everything. He’d been cruel. She would never forgive him and he couldn’t blame her. But if she would just pull through, he could apologize and learn to live with the pain of a broken heart when she inevitably sent him away.

  “Don’t leave me. Please open your eyes. I love you and I’m sorry. Come back to me, sweetheart.”

  Swiping tears he hadn’t even realized he shed, he dropped his head to hers and closed his eyes.

  * * * *

  The vapor was slowly dwindling, giving away to a bright white light. The despair weakened and peace settled over Jac. The pain, both physical and mental, nothing but a distant memory. She felt calm, serene.

  The constant sounds in her head the last few hours—beeping machines, names called over loudspeakers, human voices—faded away.

  “Come back to me, sweetheart.”