The Strand Brothers Series: Complete Set

by Lora Ann

  I pulled out of her and released the restraints with every intention of mounting her again, sans torture device. So when she yelled, “Bastard!” I was shocked.

  “Come again?”

  She then proceeded to strike me with her fists, again and again, as she wailed, “How dare you! I told you what I wanted. You refused.” I held her wrists so she couldn’t hit me anymore. She spat out, “You’re spineless. All you think about is your revenge on Aimee. Not to mention your damn Rachel. Who you refuse to accept is dead and gone. ”

  That did it! All I saw was red as I hit her, over and over, until my rage finally subsided. In my haze of fury, unfortunately, I had latched my hands firmly around her tender throat—which effectively killed her.

  To this day, I didn’t remember the precise moment she gasped her last breath.

  *****

  To dismember a body wasn’t anything new to me, though it was unbelievably messy. Not something I relished doing. That was more up Joe’s alley. As the fire roared, I sat quietly and watched the last of Marissa’s body go up in flames. There were no tears, just silent commiseration for a woman I had thoroughly enjoyed. Where would I find another like her? Did I want to? At the moment, I wasn’t completely sure if I did or not. What I was sure of; Aimee was to blame for the whole damn thing. And she would pay for it. Dearly. For that, I could ensure.

  Chapter Forty

  Nik

  Excitement filled me as I made my way to Lake Tahoe. Alex as well as Even had voiced their opinions, loud and clear, about me returning to this place. Although I understood their concerns for me, I was insistent that I would be the one to locate Aimee. Emotions ran high while I drove along the familiar road. My first and foremost thought was to tell Aimee how much I loved her. She had to hear me out and comprehend beyond a shadow of doubt that I needed her. My key to survival was her. She meant the world to me, as if she were the very air I breathed. There was no other option than for us to be together. Forever.

  A cold chill of foreboding ran up my spine as I traveled the fateful highway. Damn, I really hated this road! I tried with all my might to keep the past from colliding with the present, so I focused on my surroundings. Did I just see…? Wait! Was that smoke? No! It couldn’t be. Surely that was not the same ominous tree. Even when I glanced around to ensure I was definitely at the same curve, my brain just couldn’t quite wrap around it. Until I recognized the car that fit the description, to a T, of the one Aimee had rented. The only misstep she had made since she left me nearly two weeks ago—instead of cash, she used a credit card. No one was more grateful for that than me.

  Alright, Nik. Pull your shit together here, buddy. If that’s your wife in the car, she needs you. You’re a man, not a pussy; I reminded myself when my legs trembled beneath me as I got out of the vehicle. Holy hell, was there a white SUV parked down the slope? Not that I had time to contemplate what it meant if it were. Now was the time for action. Even if it wasn’t Aimee wrapped around the tree, whoever was in there needed help. Fast.

  I made my way down the snow covered slope. My breathing accelerated as I gazed upon the wreckage before me. My God, it was a complete reincarnation of what my truck had looked like all those years ago. As I took in the sight, for the first time, I realized how I had walked away and Rachel hadn’t. The entire passenger side of the car was coiled around the huge tree, almost as if they were embracing. I got down on my haunches to peek inside. What met my eyes took my breath away. Blood was everywhere. The beloved face of Aimee was hardly recognizable against what was left of the air bag. Her grayish-green eyes stared into the unknown. My knees gave out, then and there, as my mind raced to keep up with all the images flashing through it: Rachel telling me she loved me before she took her last breath. The haunting dream I had of Aimee dying, which seemed to be a premonition as the current situation played out. I would never survive losing another woman, another wife, I loved this way. No, that was just too damn cruel. Even for a bastard like me.

  I attempted to pull myself together—yet failed miserably—and placed my head in my hands. If I lost it now, there would be no coming back. I stood on the cusp of sanity, barely holding on. Then, over the high-pitched sirens, there was a faint moan. At first, I thought it was my imagination—wishful thinking—until our gazes locked. Tears slid down my face as reality hit with the force of a freight train. She’s alive! Aimee had survived the crash. I crawled towards her, not aware of the glass shredding my knees, and breathed, “Lille.” Then louder, “Hang on. Help is on the way.”

  When she reached for my hand, a sob of elation broke free. There was suddenly horror in her eyes as she looked over my shoulder. “What is it?” I asked while glancing back; however, I couldn’t see anything to cause such alarm. Yeah, there seemed to be a shadow, but, honestly, I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. A man, maybe? Of course, that didn’t make any sense. If someone were there, wouldn’t they offer to help? I shook my head to clear it, grasped her hand and assured, “It’s okay. You’ll be out of there in no time.” God, please let my words be true. Granted, I’d stayed mad at Him for years, yet, at the moment, prayer was all I had.

  The smell of gasoline was ripe. And yes, I was aware you’re not supposed to move an injured person; therefore, I began to pray more fervently, promising to take my sorry ass back to church if He would help her. I will do anything, even die in her place, I avowed. As long as she was all right, I really didn’t care about the particulars.

  I was taken aback when Aimee groaned, “Stop that.”

  Crap. I hadn’t realized I’d spoken aloud. “Those weren’t words for your ears.” I half-smiled.

  She snorted, “Then you probably shouldn’t’ve been talking so loud.”

  I shrugged and asked, “How can I help?”

  When she tried to lift her head, she cried out, “Get me out of here. It hurts, Nik.”

  Fuck the not moving her rule. I began to tug on the door, but it wouldn’t give. Next I reached into the car to see if there was a chance, I could pull her through the broken window. No such luck. The steering column held her in place. Visibility was poor due to the setting sun; therefore, I couldn’t tell if her legs were crushed. The thought caused a grimace to cross my face. She hadn’t missed it, either. “What?” Her voice was full of panic. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Shock would set in soon, so I calmly stroked her jaw where there was no injury. “Hey. Hear that?” I announced, “They’re here.”

  All of a sudden, we were blinded by the bright lights that shone down on us. Someone yelled out our location. Then several uniformed people made their way down to us. Thankfully they silenced the shrieking sirens. The entire scene was covered in a myriad of blue, red, and yellow flashing lights, which made it a mishmash of abstract horror. As I leaned in, I gently pressed my lips to her head and declared, “I’m not leaving you. But I need to get out of their way.”

  “Please,” she appealed, “I just want to hold your hand.”

  I looked up at the firefighter assessing the car. “For now,” he approved.

  Soon EMS was checking Aimee over; consequently, I had to release her. “No!” she screamed, “Don’t leave me!”

  The terror in her voice froze my heart.

  The medic addressed, “Ma’am, he’ll be right here. Let’s get you out of this mess.”

  She finally agreed by nodding her head, yet her eyes held mine. Every ounce of pain she endured I could see in her gaze. Even though it about killed me to watch her go through it, I never lost eye contact. She needed me. And I’d be damned if I would let her down.

  Once she was freed from the wreckage, they placed her on a stretcher to get her up the steep incline. I approached the ambulance when an officer stopped me to ask the required questions. Afterwards, they let me ride with her to the hospital. She had lots of cuts, but seemed to be all right—all things considered. However, I would feel better once a doctor confirmed that.

  *****

  While the doctors
and nurses worked to patch Aimee up, I called my brothers to inform them of what had happened. They loved her, too, and their concern was a balm to my soul. We agreed they would be there in the next twenty-four hours.

  Aimee was eventually moved to a private room. When I entered, she was asleep. So I sat in the chair next to her bed and held her hand. A nurse came in to check her vitals. I had already been apprised of her condition by one of the ER doctors. There were lots of bruises and lacerations, along with a few stitches in the deep gashes, in addition to a mild concussion. Otherwise, she would be sore for a while, but fine. They were holding her overnight for observations. As long as she did well, I could take her home. I knew she wouldn’t be up for traveling any time soon. Besides, E had agreed to let us stay at his home here at the lake. He kept it since snowboarding and rock climbing were his two favorite sports. Well, actually, sex was probably at the top of that list, but my brother’s erotic tastes were none of my concern. I was grateful, yet again, that one my brothers had come through for me. What they did in private flat out didn’t matter to me. They were good men, even better brothers. I loved them, demons and all. Huh, wonder if that’s how they feel about me?

  There was a squeeze on my hand that effectively pulled me from my musings. I looked up and met Aimee’s gaze. “Hey,” I greeted. “How’re ya feeling?”

  She licked her dry lips. “I’ve been better.” I glanced over at the water glass on the bedside table and reached over to get it for her. She drank the entire thing greedily.

  “Easy, lille,” I cautioned. “You don’t want to make yourself sick.”

  When she bobbed her head it brought about a wince, along with a frown, and then she cried out, “Ow!”

  “Yeah, you have a couple of stitches on your left eyebrow,” I imparted.

  “Oh,” she gasped. “Do I have any more?”

  Softly, I stroked her cheek where a burn from the airbag left its mark. “Yes. You have a few on your right bicep, compliments of flying glass.”

  She half-smiled. “I see.”

  “All in all, you’re in pretty good shape,” I apprised.

  She attempted to sit up as she said, “Good. Then let’s get out of here.”

  I pushed her gently back against the pillows. “Not so fast,” I warned. “You have to stay tonight for observation.”

  For a moment, she studied me before she asked, “Why’s that?”

  “You have a mild concussion,” I informed. “And in case you’ve forgotten, you were just in a major car accident.”

  “Better safe than sorry?” she inquired.

  “Precisely,” I confirmed as I leaned in to kiss her nose.

  “Can you stay with me?”

  “Is that what you want?”

  Tears threatened to spill over as she replied, “More than anything.”

  I maneuvered my overlarge body into the small bed with her, and then positioned her head so she lay across my wide chest. The nurse did not approve and stormed out of the room. But when she returned, there were no more complaints. I had to assume whoever was in charge set her straight on who was in the room. While I didn’t come back up to the area frequently, I did make generous contributions to this hospital. After all, it was where Rachel and I had been brought all those years ago. And though there had been no help for her—since she had died at the scene of the accident—they had helped me. Besides, there was a children’s wing named after my unborn daughter, Miley Faith. This was just one of the things Aimee needed to know. There would be no more secrets. Time to lay it on the line, all of it, and trust she still wanted me afterwards. Because if she didn’t, I doubted I would survive without her. I held her, as close as possible, with the knowledge it could be the last time she was ever in my arms.

  *****

  Once we arrived at E’s place, she had something to eat. Then I offered, “Would you like a bath?”

  She smiled, “I’d love one.”

  “Wait here while I go and draw it for you.”

  She nodded as I left the room.

  After I ensured the water was the right temperature and filled it with soothing oil, I set up some music, lit the candles, and made sure the bathroom had become a relaxing spa like environment. I wanted her comfortable. No more pain.

  I assisted her with disrobing in the connecting bedroom, swept her into my arms and carried her into the bathroom. Although I was aroused, this wasn’t about sex. It was all about her comfort. I eased her into the bath and knelt beside the tub. She tugged my arm and queried, “Aren’t you joining me?”

  I stroked her face tenderly as I explained, “Not this time. Let me take care of you.”

  She leaned back and let me do just that. I began to wash her hair, careful not to get any shampoo on her stitches. The song I had wanted finally began to play. As if she understood the cue, she listened intently before she whispered, “Secrets.”

  I agreed, “Yes, I like One Republic.” After I rinsed her hair, I soaped up the pouf and washed her sore body, as I confessed, “That’s not why I chose this song, though.”

  “Mmm,” she hummed as she fully reclined, and let me pamper her. She surprised me when she inquired, “Then, why did you?”

  “Seemed fitting in many ways,” I stated matter-of-factly.

  That got her attention. She sat up too quickly, which caused water to lap over the edges, soaking my jeans. “Oh, no!” she exclaimed. “I’m so sorry.” She tried to reach over and assist me, so I stilled her hands.

  “Hey, it’s just water,” I said as I grabbed a towel, proceeding to dry off myself and the floor. While I did that, I started, “We didn’t always live here in Lake Tahoe.” She sat there quietly and let me spill my guts. “We moved here the summer before my senior year of high school.” I clarified, “We were previously in San Diego. But after my dad was killed in an accident, we relocated here.”

  She swallowed hard and then asked, “How did he die?” She added, “If it’s too hard to talk about, I understand.”

  Always putting others first, I was in awe of her for so many reasons. Once I finished with the towel, I went back to washing her. “He was a zoologist. There was an incident with one of the elephants. When he entered the enclosure to check things out, the elephant panicked and trampled him. He died instantly.”

  “How awful,” she gasped. “I’m so sorry.”

  I shrugged. “It was a long time ago. My mother always loved this place, because it reminded her of Norway. So she packed us up and brought us here.”

  She grasped my hand. I half-smiled as I continued, “My brothers and I decided to go mountain biking at one of the resorts once we had finished unloading the moving truck for Mom. That was when I first met Rachel.” I expounded, “Her parents owned the ski resort, and she had been working that day.” I ran my knuckles along her cheek. “I won’t tell you those details, Aimee. It wouldn’t be fair to you, or to her memory.”

  She held my hand against her face and nodded.

  I went on, “Needless to say, we hit it off instantly and dated our entire senior year. We were married right after graduation. And she got pregnant our first night together.”

  Aimee titled her head and stated, “On your wedding night.”

  I exhaled loudly before I replied, “Yeah. We played by the rules and waited until we were married. Little did we know how short our time together would be.”

  There was no controlling the tears that slid down my face, but I persevered, “Rachel’s dad was really angry about our marriage; hence, she hadn’t seen her mother since graduation. You see, they were really close.” I suddenly noticed a strange look pass over Aimee’s face. It was gone before I could put a name to it.

  I continued, “Anyhow, Rachel was thrilled when her parents invited us to dinner that night.” I barked out a humorless laugh. “She couldn’t wait to tell them about the baby. Although I had pulled a double shift that day, I just couldn’t tell her no.” I paused and took a deep cleansing breath. “Unfortunately, Rachel’s car was
out of gas. She’d been so sick and hadn’t made it out that day. For that reason, I thought it best we stayed home. But she refused. So we took my work truck instead. We knew a storm was coming in, but, quite frankly, we weren’t concerned. Since Highway 89 was more convenient to her parents’ house, we took that route instead of Kingsbury Grade.” A sob broke, and I had to pause for a few minutes.

  Aimee chimed in, “You don’t have to do this. I know what happened next.” She climbed out of the tub and onto my lap. I don’t know how long we sat there like that—her holding me while I broke down completely.

  I eventually brought my emotions to heel, picked Aimee up as I stood, and carried her to the bed. Once there, I stripped out of my wet clothes and spooned up against her, careful of her injuries. I knew full well I had to confess the next part if we were ever going to move forward. I grasped her hip tightly and admitted, “The night you left I was saying goodbye to her.”

  She peeked over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing as she listened. I continued, “In order to cope with my loss, I wrote a song. Music is therapy for me in many ways. I know you must’ve heard me playing.”

  She inhaled sharply and then confessed, “That wasn’t the reason.”

  “To let her go, I needed to also play her song.” I clarified, “Not the one I wrote. The one that was playing as she died in my arms.”

  She choked out, “Please Remember Me.”

  I snorted, “Yeah. That radio was busted all to hell. How it was able to play, I’ll never know. But it did, and that was the song.”

  She turned towards me and held my face. “She was saying goodbye to you.”

  I shrugged. “Possibly.”

  She began to kiss the tears that were falling freely, but I couldn’t let her think I loved Rachel more. Therefore, I drew in a breath and conveyed, “Yes, I loved her very much.”

  She tried to pull back, but I held on and clasped her face between my hands. “I love you more, lille.”

  As she blinked back her own tears, she looked into my eyes quizzically. “What’d you say?”