Phantom (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #5)

by Michelle Irwin

  The vehicle smashed into a tree, but even that didn’t slow it at all.

  A few people ran towards me, but keeping my eyes locked on the SUV I held up my hand to stop them. “Don’t come near me. Whoever that is, they want me.”

  Despite my words, Beau’s hand wrapped around mine. A show of support. “Ya ain’t facin’ this alone.”

  I couldn’t answer him because the car was close enough now that I could see the person behind the wheel. It was exactly who I’d suspected it would be. Jase.

  He’d threatened that he’d ruin my wedding, but it wasn’t the way I’d thought it would happen. I thought he’d do something to hurt me; not something that would threaten the lives of every person I loved.

  Obviously, everything that had happened had pushed him over some edge.

  He turned the wheel to follow my path, but it was likely to take him through my family. I need to draw him away. Somehow. Twisting away from the car, saying a prayer that he’d continue to follow me and that everyone else would let me lead him away, I headed back to the now empty pier. If he wanted to hit me, he’d have to drive out onto the pier to do it.

  “What’re ya doin’, darlin’?” Beau ran right to my side despite me telling him to stay away.

  “Drawing him out here.”

  “What?” He spun to look at at the car, but I dragged him with me.

  “Jase. He doesn’t look . . . sane. How long will it take you to launch the boat?”

  “In a hurry? Not too long.”

  “We’re in a hurry.”

  Everyone seemed in a panic and unable to decide whether to come towards me or run for safety. Despite my heart racing and my knees trembling, I wanted to stop everyone from coming to help me. Some scrambled onto the pier, but I needed them to stay away. There was only one way I could see to do it. “Angel, keep them all off the pier!”

  The car hit the concrete bollards near the front of the pier, and a loud screech filled the air as the car hit one of the supports. The car slowed, but it wasn’t enough to stop him.

  “The boat!” I screamed at Beau. “Get the boat ready.”

  Jase didn’t turn the car to follow Beau as he rushed away. Instead, Jase’s gaze was locked on me as I stood in the middle of the pier—in the exact spot where I should have been getting married by now. At the speed the car carried him towards me, it would smash into me in less than ten seconds. Beau was in the boat already and had the rope in his hands. He was waiting for me, but I couldn’t risk him getting hurt by being too close when the car hit.

  “Push off,” I told him.

  “I ain’t—”

  “Push off!” I screamed, unwilling to let him doubt. If I couldn’t make it, I was damned if I was going to let Beau go down too.

  I started to run when he wouldn’t have time to turn, but I realised I wasn’t going to make it. I wasn’t willing to roll over and die, I had to do what I could, but I wasn’t sure I could get out of harm’s way fast enough.

  A pair of hands struck my side, pushing me over the edge of the pier. At the same time, Beau reached for me, leaning so far over the boat that it almost capsized. The instant I was in his arms, he jolted backwards, dragging me into the boat so only my shoes and the bottom of my dress got wet. The boat rocked wildly as he pulled me into his arms.

  A scream filled the air, followed by a crack. I glanced over towards the noise just in time to see the SUV smashed into the end of the pier and plunged straight into the water. Whoever had shoved me out of the way had gone down with the car and the debris from the pier and hadn’t resurfaced.

  The boat rocked wildly from side to side, both from the waves caused by the vehicle and also from my weight hitting it so hard and fast. I panted to catch my breath as Beau’s arms pulled me against him in the bottom of the boat in an almost crushing hold. Although it usually would have been the sort of embrace that would have sent me back into myself, in that instant I wanted him to hold me tighter still.

  “Who was that?”

  “Veronica, she pushed ya outta the way. She avoided the car, but went down with the mess.”

  “Why would she do that? I was okay.”

  His mouth twisted in a way that told me he thought I didn’t have it, but I wasn’t going to argue. After catching my breath, I pushed myself up and tore off my shoes.

  “What’re ya doin’?”

  “She hasn’t surfaced yet. I’m going in.”

  The dress would be a hindrance, but I wasn’t wearing a bra so I couldn’t exactly take it off before taking my dive. I went to jump, but Beau stopped me as Dad hit the water first.

  On the shore, there were some people crying, and there were pockets of activity all around. Maybe someone was hurt, or it was possible it was all just people in shock. There wasn’t a lot I could do either way though; Beau didn’t seem willing to move just yet, and I couldn’t blame him. My mind was still trying to catch up with the events and the rear end of the SUV sticking up out of the water, surrounded by a tangle that had been the barrier of the pier only added to the confusion.

  Dad emerged from the water, dragging Veronica behind him. He pulled her up onto what was left of the pier before collapsing next to her.

  “Get me back over there,” I said to Beau.

  People flooded in to surround Dad and Veronica as Beau started the short row back towards the pier. Because of the damage to the pier, we couldn’t get the boat close enough, but Beau reached out his hand to help me across the gap. I’d just put my feet on the ground when Jase breached the surface—grabbing hold of the boat and sending it rocking.

  Beau fell back against the side of the boat, hitting his head.

  I was torn between needing to jump back to Beau, and wanting to help Dad and Veronica.

  Beau recovered quickly and shoved Jase off the side of the boat. Jase reached for the pier and dragged himself up. Beau beat him there though and positioned himself between Jase and me.

  “You!” Jase’s eyes were wide and bloodshot as he scrambled to his feet. His voice was scratchy, and the words were followed by a round of coughing so intense, I wondered whether he’d taken down some water trying to get out of the way.

  “What’s goin’ on, Jase?” Even though Beau’s words were nice enough, his tone made it very clear he was close to attacking Jase if he said one word out of line.

  “That self-absorbed bitch needs to die.” Jase dropped to one knee as a coughing fit took over him. “She’s cost me everything!”

  Beau stood in front of me and crossed his arms, proving with his usual quiet demeanour that he wasn’t going to move out of Jase’s way or let him come anywhere near me. He was steadfast, and it was exactly the reason I loved him. “She didn’t cost ya nothin’. You made a choice to attack her at Richards Racing. You made a choice to come here. Ya chose this path all on your own.”

  “She’s a little slut and a selfish—” Jase was so busy concentrating on Beau and spitting vitriol at me he didn’t see Dad stand and take a swing until it had already connected and knocked Jase on his arse.

  “That’s my fucking daughter you’re talking about, and if you say one more fucking word about her, then the things your buddy Hunter did to her will seem like a fucking dream compared to what I’ll do to you.”

  Jase paled and cowered away from Dad. I doubted he’d ever had anyone stand up to him in quite the same way. Even when Beau had pulled Jase off me, Beau had only thrown him across the room. Before Jase could even acknowledge Dad’s words, Dad had dropped back to Veronica’s side where Mitch was tending to her. She looked like she was moving, and breathing and a big portion of my worry was swept away with that knowledge.

  The situation was so surreal it was hard to feel anything but the numbness that encompassed my whole body. I swayed in place as the day overwhelmed me. Beau drew me into his arms.

  “What the hell is going on?” I wrapped my hands around Beau to steady myself. After the excitement, I was feeling a little dizzy. “This wasn’t how today was supp
osed to go.”

  He ran his hand up and down my back in a comforting gesture.

  In my periphery, I caught site of a lot of sidewards glances and questioning gazes being shared, but I couldn’t focus on anything but the arsehole in front of me.

  The crowd around us murmured to each other, sending ripples of conversations in all directions as they seemed to understand the danger had passed. From the sounds they were issuing, they were as confused about the turn of events as I was. Angel ran closer to us.

  “Your mum called 911 already,” she said. “Are you okay?”

  “Is everyone else?”

  She nodded. “It looks like it. The only one I wasn’t sure of was Veronica.”

  I nodded as I swayed a little more. “Good. I’m glad.”

  “Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale.”

  I waved her off. Her concern was almost laughable. After everything, the exertion, the stress, and no food for hours would it really be a surprise if I was a little pale. Or a little woozy.

  “I’m fine. I’m just—” I didn’t get to finish my sentence before everything went black.

  I WOKE IN the bed in Beau’s house. My head ached, and I was drenched in sweat.

  I glanced down and saw I was in my pyjamas.

  Was it all just a dream?

  It had all felt far too real for it to be a dream.

  At the foot of the bed, my wedding dress lay in tatters. The end was a darker green, as though it was wet, which went along with the memory I had of what had happened.

  “You’re awake,” Angel’s voice was the first I heard.

  “I’m not sure about that.” I moaned. “What happened?”

  “What do you remember, sweetie?” Mum asked.

  “The car. Veronica. And then . . . nothing.”

  “You passed out,” Angel said. “It scared the shit out of us all.”

  “Veronica? Is she okay?”

  “She’s in the hospital. Dad called from there about ten minutes ago. Apparently, she has a little internal bruising and is being watched to ensure she didn’t get any water in her lungs, but she should be fine. Jase has been taken away by the police, and he’ll likely be charged with a string of offences. If they find anything at his house like the things they found at Bee’s, he might be locked away for life without you even needing to testify.”

  With all the things they’d told me, I had one burning question. “How long was I out for?”

  “At first, you were going in and out of consciousness really quickly,” Mum said. “Then you were okay for a while, even talking and everything. We got the doctor out though because you seemed a little out of it still. He gave you a sedative to get some proper sleep, and you’ve been out for about three hours.”

  “What’s the verdict?” I turned to Beau when I asked the question because he was the one person who hadn’t spoken yet, even though he was usually the first to fill in the blanks.

  Sitting beside me on the bed, he bowed his head and didn’t answer me.

  “What is it?”

  “The doctor thinks you should go to see Dr Reins again as soon as possible,” Mum said.

  “It’s getting worse?” My hands shook as I reached for Beau. No wonder he was so quiet.

  “He doesn’t know, but he said it might be. It’s a possible reason for you being disorientated,” Angel said. “He didn’t want to run any tests to get any firm results while you were unconscious. He doesn’t want to get involved when you’re already seeing a specialist.”

  Why wasn’t Beau telling me this? Why wasn’t he talking?

  “Beau, talk to me,” I begged.

  “This was supposed to be a happy vacation,” Beau murmured, burying his head in his hands.

  “I am happy.” I sat up and leant against his back.

  He spun and grabbed my hands, threading his fingers through mine. “But you’re sick. Sicker than ya were. Maybe that’s because we came here.”

  “But I’ll get better,” I reassured him. “We’ll get through this, Beau. Together.”

  He raised our joined hands to my face. “D’ya promise me? D’ya promise you’ll be okay.”

  “I’m a Reede,” I said forcing a smile. “We’re fighters.”

  Instead of cheering him up, it made him drop his hold. “You were supposed to be a Miller now.”

  I grabbed his hands in mine and pressed it against my cheek. “I will be. We might just need to try to get married again when we get home.”

  “Why wait that long?” Mum asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Everyone is still here. Your dad has his phone on roaming so we can Skype him at the hospital so that he and Veronica can watch.”

  “You’re saying we should get married now?” I asked. “After everything?”

  “Why not?” Angel practically bounced in place. “I think it’s a great idea.”

  Wasn’t it obvious? “Because the pier is destroyed,” I said. “One of the guests is in the hospital, and the day has a great big cloud over it.”

  “It ain’t the way we imagined it,” Beau agreed.

  “I get that,” Angel said, turning her emerald eyes onto him, “but don’t let that fuckwit ruin the whole day. Do it in the Kitchen, it’s all set up for the reception anyway.”

  I glanced at Beau, who seemed to be warming to the idea. “I don’t even have a dress.”

  “Wear mine,” Angel said, turning her gaze to me. “I’ve got something else I can wear. Don’t let the bastards win, Pheebs.”

  “It hardly screams bridal though.” It was cute as a bridesmaid dress, but it wasn’t exactly a wedding dress.

  “You could walk down the aisle wearing what you have on right now and still find Beau happily waiting at the other end.”

  Beau chuckled, no doubt because Angel was right.

  “What d’ya think?” he asked as his eyes found mine.

  What did I think? I was ready to be married to Beau. I didn’t want to go through the whole build-up again. “I’m game if you are. It’s still today after all.”

  “Are ya feelin’ up to it?” His gaze travelled my body before landing on my face.

  “Give me twenty minutes to freshen up, and I think so. At least, so long as I’m not standing too much.”

  “Or running for your life,” Angel joked.

  I glared at her. “Not funny.”

  “It will be in a few years,” she said. “We’ll all look back on this day and laugh.”

  “Somehow I doubt it.” I pushed myself into a seated position. “But I am ready to put it behind us for a few hours and finish it on a positive note.”

  Beau’s lips spread slowly. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

  “I’ll let everyone know that dinner is on,” Mum said. “How about we keep the marriage thing as a surprise though? We can give them all a good surprise.”

  “Mitch and Joe will need to know,” Beau said. “But I agree, we’ll keep the rest of ’em guessin’.”

  I pushed myself up to test that I was indeed able to stand and walk without experiencing another dizzy spell. When I was certain I wasn’t going to go arse over tit, I walked over to Mum and wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll have everyone gathered in half an hour.”

  “Perfect. Beau, can you help her? Angel, can you hang here and help me get ready? I’ll have to piece together a new outfit.”

  “You can wear my dress,” she offered again.

  “It won’t fit me nearly as well as it fits you,” I said, brushing my hand over her cheek.

  “Okay, let’s see what else you’ve got.” She clapped her hands and rubbed them together as she moved towards my suitcase.

  Twenty minutes later, we’d pieced something together. It wasn’t a traditional bridal outfit, but I figured it would be perfect for Beau and our relationship.

  “You look hot,” Angel said. “Beau’s going to love it.”

  “It’s hardly br
idal.” I brushed my hands over the pants.

  “But it’s very . . . you.” She grinned. “Besides, how do you think Beau will react when you walk in there wearing the same clothes you were wearing when you first met?”

  I ducked my head to hide my mile-wide grin. “The one he has tattooed on his chest.”

  “Exactly. I couldn’t think of a better outfit.”

  “It is a shame about that dress though, it was beautiful.”

  I looked at the mess at the end of the bed. “Yeah. You’re right though. This might be better.”

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah.” As we were about to walk out the door, another dizzy spell struck me. Not with quite the same intensity, but with enough that I stumbled a little.

  Angel was at my side in an instant, her hand under my elbow to support me. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Instead of answering her question, I turned to her. “Angel, I need you to promise me something.”

  “What’s that, girlie?”

  “When . . . if something happens to me, can you promise that you’ll look after Beau?”

  “What are you talking about, Pheebs. You’re not going anywhere.” She clasped my head and drew my forehead to hers before frowning at me. “You’re not allowed to go anywhere.”

  “Of course I’m not going anywhere. Like I told Beau, I’m a fighter. I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon. I’m going to fight, and I’m going to fight like hell, but if I fail—”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “You won’t.”

  “If I do, I need to know that Beau will be okay.” I wiped her tears away. “And that you will be too. You have to promise me you’ll look after him, and let him look after you.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because if I do, you’ve got a reason to give up, and I don’t want to give you one single reason to give up.”

  “Even if that was true, one reason to give up can’t offset the thousands of reasons I have to never stop fighting.”