McIver's Mission
Page 22
"You're too late," Blake said, his eyes cool, his lips curving in a self-satisfied smile.
"No!" He couldn't believe it, he wouldn't believe that he was too late. If Blake had already killed her, he wouldn't still be hanging around his garage. And Shaun would know, deep in his heart, that Arden was gone.
She was alive. She had to be.
"Don't worry," Blake said. "I'll be more than happy to see that you join her." He took a step back and picked up an ax from the workbench. He waved it menacingly, the smug smile still on his face.
"You won't use that on me," Shaun said. "You're a bully and a coward. A coward who likes to beat women."
Blake's eyes narrowed, glittered dangerously, and Shaun was less confident that the man wouldn't use the weapon he'd grabbed hold of. If Blake was far enough gone to want to kill Arden, there was no telling what he would do.
"You don't know anything." Blake spat the words at him.
"I know you used to knock your wife around," Shaun said. "And that's why she left you."
"She loved me," Blake said, his voice trembling with suppressed fury.
"She left you because she was pregnant and she didn't want her child to grow up with you for a father."
Blake howled with outrage and swung wildly with the ax. Shaun ducked, and the lethal blade sank into the doorjamb less than a foot from his head. Before Blake could wrench the weapon free, Shaun pivoted and plowed his fist into his gut. As Blake doubled over, Shaun came up with his other fist and connected with his nose. He heard the crunch of bone, felt the spurt of blood.
Blake swore viciously, but he didn't hesitate to return the attack.
* * *
Arden blinked several times, tried to focus. Her head was pounding, her eyes were burning and her stomach was churning with nausea.
It was dark and something was digging into her ribs.
She eased back into a sitting position, winced as the pain in her head escalated, pressed a hand to her heaving stomach. She blinked again.
She was in her car.
In the garage.
And the motor was running.
Warren must have dumped her behind the steering wheel and put the key in the ignition.
She found the door handle and released the catch. She had to get out of the garage. She fell out of the car, smashed her knee against the concrete floor. The pain didn't register. She was aware of nothing but the throbbing agony in her head. Until she heard his voice.
Shaun.
Her heart fluttered with hope. He was home. He'd come for her.
She felt her way along the edge of the car, realized that his voice wasn't the only one she heard. Warren was still there. She could hear grunts and curses and the sound of fists connecting with flesh. Her eyes finally focused on the shadowy figures engaged in battle. Shaun's head snapped back as Warren landed a particularly harsh blow, and the force of the punch threw him off balance. Warren took advantage of the opportunity to lunge for the ax embedded in the doorjamb.
Arden's heart flipped over in her chest when she realized that Warren intended to kill Shaun, too. Shaun had the advantage of height, but Warren was stockier, and desperate. And Arden knew if she didn't do something soon, it would be too late.
Her fingers tightened around the smooth wooden handle of a garden shovel. It wasn't much of a weapon, but it was the best she could do.
Warren freed the ax.
Arden raised the shovel over her head and brought it down hard. Warren crumpled at her feet.
* * *
Lieutenant Creighton was on the scene almost immediately, with reinforcements arriving a few minutes later. It was at least an hour after that before Shaun and Arden were alone again.
Shaun's knuckles were raw and swollen, his lip bleeding. Arden wanted to throw herself into his arms, but she knew he was stiff and sore from his altercation with Warren.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently, moving to the sofa to sit beside him.
He tried to smile, grimaced when the action pulled open the cut on his lip again. She grabbed a tissue and dabbed at the drop of blood.
"I'm okay," he told her. "How about you?"
"I've had better days," she admitted, and folded her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry you got dragged into the middle of this."
"I'm not."
"Your garage is a crime scene because of me."
He shrugged. "I don't use it much, anyway."
She managed a small smile. "You're awfully cavalier about all of this."
"The only thing that matters to me is you, Arden. I'm just glad that this nightmare is finally over."
"It is, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is." He lifted an arm to curve around her shoulders, pressed his lips gently against her temple. "Finally."
"I never would have suspected Warren." She shook her head.
"I can't say I ever liked the guy, but I didn't really think he was capable of something like this, either."
"He said he loved her. And that I took that away from him. That's why he did this."
"That isn't love, it's obsession," Shaun told her.
She nodded carefully so as not to amplify the throbbing in her head. She understood the difference now, and she knew that love was a gift, not a curse. Something to be embraced rather than feared. Something to share.
"I was afraid … I really thought I was going to die and…" her words faltered as she stifled a yawn. "There's something I need to tell you."
"You should get some rest," he said. "We can talk later."
"I don't want to wait, I was so afraid I wouldn't ever get a chance … to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
Her heart was jumping crazily in her chest, but she took a deep breath and braced herself to say the words she'd never spoken to anyone before. She looked into his eyes, wanting to see his reaction when he first heard them, wanting him to see the truth of them in her own. "That I love you."
His eyes darkened perceptibly. "I love you, too, Arden."
She smiled. "I know."
Then he covered her lips in a kiss that was breathtakingly tender, agonizingly sweet, overflowing with love.
"It took me a long time to get to this point in my life, and I'm not sure that I'd be here now if it wasn't for you. I've dealt with the past and I'm ready to move on. With you."
"Does that mean you're going to cancel your lease on the new apartment?"
"That depends."
She could tell her equivocal response had surprised him. He frowned. "On what?"
"Whether or not you're willing to marry me."
He snapped his jaw shut, swallowed. "You want to get married?"
"Only to you."
"Really?" The beginnings of a smile curved his lips.
She shrugged. "I figured if I can handle this love thing, maybe the rest won't be so hard."
His tentative smile widened into a grin. "The rest? Marriage, kids, the whole deal?"
"The whole deal," she agreed. "You once told me that nothing that happened before matters, and you were right. My past has made me who I am, but it doesn't control me. I'm ready to move on. And from this moment, I want to be with you."
"From this moment," he promised, and touched his lips to hers again. "Forever."
* * * * *
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