Recalled

by Cambria Hebert

  She brushed at my hair once more and I leaned a little closer, my eyes closing.

  “It wasn’t the first time you did something to protect me,” she whispered again.

  I nodded again, my hands coming up to grip the sides of her waist.

  She looked down at me and I pulled her even closer. I could now feel the heat radiate from her body and into me. Her face leaned closer to mine and I lifted mine up.

  Inches… mere inches…

  “Tell me who you really are,” she said, the words practically touching my lips.

  My hands tightened around her and it took a minute for her words to actually make it to my brain. When they did, some of the haze I felt ebbed away and my eyes widened.

  “What do you mean?”

  And just like that the moment was lost. The corners of her mouth fell and she looked at me with some kind of disappointment in her eyes. The door to the room opened, and she jumped back like she was caught doing something illegal and turned away.

  “His wound is all clean. His pupils seem responsive so I don’t think he has a concussion. He’s ready for stitching.”

  “Doc could use you in exam three,” the nurse said, coming in and grabbing a pair of gloves.

  Piper disappeared from the room without a backward glance. The nurse pulled up a stool holding a needle and thread. “Did she numb you?”

  “No,” I said. “Just do it.”

  “It’s going to hurt,” she warned.

  “I don’t care.”

  “You got it bad,” she said, shaking her head.

  “What are you talking about?” I ground out as she directed me to lie back.

  “Piper. Only a lovesick fool would refuse numbing.”

  “I’m not lovesick,” I demanded as she stuck the needle in and began to stitch me up. It hurt so much I almost asked for that numbing shot.

  She made a sound like she disagreed, but I gritted my teeth against the pain.

  I wasn’t lovesick. I’d never loved anyone in my entire life. I wasn’t about to start now.

  * * *

  When Piper let herself back into the room, the nurse was applying a bandage over my stitches. The whole upper half of my face hurt and I was rethinking my plan of getting her out of the diner. Why did my plans always end up with me getting hurt?

  “I hear you had some morning!” the nurse exclaimed to Piper.

  Piper glanced at me, then back at the nurse. “How much did you tell her?”

  “When a woman has a needle in your head, you tell her whatever she asks,” I said, wincing and pushing myself into a sitting position.

  Piper shifted and I noticed she was holding something in her hand. She came farther into the room and handed it to me. It was a cold pack.

  “Here, this’ll help with the swelling.”

  I took it gratefully.

  “Now, tell me why you look so tired,” the nurse questioned her.

  “It’s nothing,” Piper protested.

  “Working too hard. Between school, work and this place, you never have any time to breathe.” She nodded her head.

  I took advantage of the moment to set my plan into action. “I think she needs a vacation. After today, I think I need one too.”

  “Ooh, yes! A vacation is what you need.”

  I almost forgave her for jamming a needle in my head repeatedly.

  Piper smiled. “That would be nice, but I don’t have time for that.”

  “It’s the weekend. Why don’t we drive up to that resort I keep hearing people talk about… you know, the one northeast of Fairbanks…?” I snapped my fingers like I was trying to remember.

  “Chena Hot Springs Resort?” The nurse supplied the name.

  “That’s the one,” I agreed.

  “I hear that place is nice. You can see the aurora borealis up there.”

  “The what?” I said.

  Piper smiled. “The northern lights. They’re supposed to be beautiful.”

  “Good, let’s go,” I said, shifting to stand up.

  “We can’t just go there,” Piper said.

  “Why not?” the nurse demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

  “I have work at the diner and here at the clinic.”

  “I’ll cover for you here,” the nurse replied.

  I was starting to like this lady.

  “I really think lying low after what happened at the diner this morning is a good idea,” I said, trying to sound convincing while holding an ice pack on my head. “Besides, you should probably watch me for at least twenty-four hours in case I do have a concussion.”

  “I thought you said you were fine,” Piper demanded.

  The nurse snorted.

  “I am. But just in case…” I looked at her and grinned. Maybe I could be charming too. “And you should probably drive. And I’ll pay for the entire weekend.”

  “A free vacation?” the nurse exclaimed. “If you don’t go, I will.”

  Piper laughed. “Okay, you convinced me.”

  “Let’s go,” I said, jumping up, wobbling a little on my feet.

  “Slow down,” Piper said, holding out her hands as if she might need to catch me. “I need to go home and pack a bag.”

  “I dug some money out of my pocket and handed the nurse a couple hundred-dollar bills. “Will this cover the bill?”

  “Sure will,” she said, taking it and then waving us away. “Don’t come back until you’ve had all the fun you can stand.”

  My stomach tightened. I wondered what she’d say if she knew Piper wouldn’t be coming back at all.

  Chapter Thirty

  “Phone - To impart (information or news, for example) by telephone.”

  Piper

  She answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, I’m running a few minutes late. I’ll be by soon to drive you to campus.”

  “I don’t need a ride anymore, Frankie,” I replied, holding back a wince, waiting for the inquisition to begin.

  “What do you mean? Are you riding the bus?”

  “No, I’m actually not going to classes today.”

  Here it comes… three… two… one.

  “What happened?! Oh my God. Did you almost die again?!”

  “No, Frankie, I didn’t.” I sighed. “I just… Dex came by the diner…”

  “I should’ve known he was involved.” Frankie snorted. “What did he do?”

  “He’s taking me away for the weekend. We’re going to that resort on the outside of town to see the northern lights.”

  She gasped. Then she squealed. “I knew it! You got it so bad,” she yelled into the phone.

  I slid a glance at Dex who was standing nearby, acting like he wasn’t listening. I’m sure he was. But I sure hoped he didn’t hear Frankie.

  “I just wanted to let you know I wouldn’t be home so you wouldn’t worry,” I said into the phone, trying not to smile.

  “Uh-huh. I want a full report when you come home.”

  “Deal,” I agreed.

  “Oh, and Piper,” she sang. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

  It was my turn to snort. But then I sobered. “Frankie. Take it easy this weekend, huh? Stay in.”

  “Oh, sure, you can go out, but I can’t?”

  “I don’t want to worry about you,” I said low. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea that I leave after that vision I had.

  Frankie sighed dramatically. “I don’t have plans anyway. I have to work half of tomorrow and then Sunday I’ll probably sleep all day and await your juicy phone call full of details.”

  I smiled. That made me feel a little better. “I’ll call you, ‘kay?”

  “Yeah. Have fun. You deserve it.”

  I hung up the phone and came around the nurse’s station where Dex was leaning on the counter.

  “You ready?” he asked.

  “Yes,” I agreed, butterflies dancing just beneath my ribcage. I’d never spent a weekend away with a guy before.

  “We’ll go to you
r place so you can pack a bag and then mine so I can pack one too. After that we’ll hit the road,” he said as we walked to the door.

  At first I wasn’t sure if this trip was a good idea, and I guess I was a little nervous, but it did sound like fun. Plus, it would give me a chance to spend a little extra time with Dex. Maybe, just maybe, by the end of the weekend all my questions about this guy would be answered and the “report” that I owed Frankie would be overflowing with information.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “Warning - An intimation, threat, or sign of impending danger or evil.”

  Dex

  I took the stairs two at a time and didn’t pause at his bedroom door. I didn’t really want to talk to him and was hoping if I moved fast enough I wouldn’t have to deal with him at all. I found a duffle bag in my closet and began shoving in a few pairs of jeans and other necessary items I would need. Whatever I forgot I’d just buy once we got there.

  Now that my plan was in action, I was motivated to see it through. The sooner I got this over with, the sooner I could move on.

  The thought made me drop the rolled-up socks in my hand. Moving on implied that I would be upset, that this was something I was going to have to move past. It wasn’t. This was a job, plain and simple.

  Then why do you have to remind yourself of that? a voice in the back of my head argued.

  I picked the socks up and shoved them in my bag as I saw a cloud of red out of the corner of m eye. Suddenly, I didn’t mind so much talking to Charming. It was preferable to thinking.

  “Is that the Target I see sitting out there in your car in the driveway?” he asked, leaning against the doorjamb.

  “I’m taking the Target out of town for the weekend.”

  “You do realize you’re supposed to kill her, not date her, right?”

  This guy really had a way of getting under my skin.

  “I’m going to finish the job this weekend.”

  “I could just go outside right now and take care of that quick,” he said, pushing away from the door and coming farther into the room. “Smile my handsome smile, get her to roll down the window, and the minute she does I could just reach inside and snap her neck.” As he spoke he held out his hands like they were really reaching for her. “It would be over in two seconds.”

  Without any kind of warning I swung the duffle up and around, catching him in the side of the face. He stumbled and fell into the closet door, which buckled so he fell into the closet, knocking several hangers off the rack.

  “Keep your hands off my Target,” I ground out, dropping the bag.

  He righted himself quickly and looked at me with flashing, angry eyes. Then he smiled a cruel smile and turned for the door.

  He was going after her.

  I launched myself at him and leaped onto his back. He fell forward onto his knees and I took the chance to punch him in the kidney. His breath made a whooshing sound and then he hit the floor. As he hit, he rolled so he was on his back, facing me. I was straddling him from when I jumped onto his back and so I drew my fist back to punch him again.

  He caught my fist in his hand and squeezed… He squeezed so hard I thought my bones might break. How much strength did this guy possess?

  I wasn’t willing to find out. So I kneed him.

  I climbed off him and stood as he rolled into the fetal position, cupping himself.

  “Don’t you know there’s a guy code about never nailing another guy in his family jewels?” Charming said with a strained voice.

  “There is no guy code where I come from.” I spat. Then I leaned down in his face. “And if you threaten me or my Target again, you’ll find out what other dirty tricks I learned from the streets.”

  He sprung up, hitting my shoulders, and I fell back but caught my balance. He stood in the center of the room with a red face and a heaving chest. I calmly grabbed the duffle bag and slung it over my shoulder.

  “Don’t be here when I get back.”

  “You better kill that girl this weekend,” Charming said, his voice unnaturally calm and low. I stopped in the doorway to hear what he would say next. “Because if she comes back, you’re going to wish she hadn’t. I’ll go after her and use every single one of my ninety years’ experience to make sure she suffers. And then I’ll come for you.”

  He’s been killing people for ninety years?

  That would explain his sense of entitlement, but not his lack of patience. I glanced over my shoulder, pretending his words didn’t bother me at all.

  “I thought old people were supposed to be wise. You aren’t very wise at all because making an enemy out of me is the stupidest thing you could ever do.”

  Then I walked away, down the hall and toward the stairs. From behind me he called out. “This weekend. Finish the job or I will.”

  This time I didn’t look back. I was afraid if I did he’d see genuine fear on my face.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Ominous - threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments.”

  Piper

  My favorite song was playing on the radio when Dex pulled into the driveway of his townhouse. As Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars” played, I mouthed the words. After a few minutes of us just sitting in the driveway, the car idling, I realized he wasn’t moving. I turned my head and looked at him. He was watching me. I felt my cheeks heat under his gaze.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You like this song?” He smiled.

  “No. I just mouth the words to songs I really hate,” I said sarcastically but with a smile on my face.

  “I do that all the time too.” He grinned. “Why is it the worst lyrics always get stuck in your head?”

  I laughed. “I don’t listen to songs I don’t like.”

  “Huh. Now there’s an idea.”

  I shook my head.

  “If I leave you out here in the car with the engine running, you aren’t going to steal it and run away are you?” He teased.

  “I don’t know. I might. This is a pretty amazing car.”

  “It won’t be as amazing once I get out of it.” He wagged his eyebrows.

  “I think that bump on your head has done more damage than we realized,” I said seriously.

  He pulled on his glasses and looked at me over the black rims. “I assure you, I’m thinking perfectly clear.”

  I laughed and a new song drifted through the speakers.

  “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to grab a few things. That’s all that’ll fit in the trunk with the fifty pounds of stuff you brought.”

  “I did not bring fifty pounds of things.” I sniffed. “Only forty-five.”

  “Close enough,” he replied and got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. I watched him run up to the front door and let himself into the townhouse.

  I really couldn’t believe the way my life had been going lately. It was so full of unexpected twists and turns. And now, here I was, about to go on a weekend getaway with a guy. It was kind of surreal.

  The song that was playing on the radio was not one of my favorites so I leaned forward to turn the volume down and when I did, some movement in the upstairs window caught my eye. I looked up, and there was definitely something or someone there. But the person—a man?—was standing back from the glass, not right up behind it so I couldn’t make out who it was. Plus, there were sheer curtains hanging and they were almost pulled together, only giving me a glimpse at the dark shape through the crack.

  I doubted it was Dex. Why would he stand in the window and look out when he was supposed to be packing? Then I grinned. Maybe it was him and he was really looking to see if I had taken off with his car.

  I leaned forward even more and waved up at him.

  He didn’t wave back. In fact, he stepped away, the curtains swaying slightly from his movements, and then he disappeared.

  Maybe it really hadn’t been Dex. Maybe it was the butler… Hobbs, I think.

  But hadn’t he said Hobbs was off for a few da
ys? I shrugged it off and leaned back in the seat.