Raquel Byrnes (34 page)

Levine was back at the door. He hit it hard, and it gave a little, his face and shoulder visible in the gap. “Go!”

We pushed through the other exit, the dark greeting us with musty puffs of cold air.

I bumped into her, knocked her down, and then grabbed her hand and ran down the corridor. I burst through the panel next to the grandfather clock in the foyer and sent the pendulum and weights clattering.

The storm raged through the broken kitchen door. It banged against the wall with the surges of wind.

“Lavender,” I panted. “I want you to run to your daddy’s workshop and lock the door.”

“No,” she pled, gripping my hand with both of hers. “I want to stay with you.”

“Lala, I need you to be brave, OK?” I shoved her into the kitchen. “Go to the lab. Pull the fire alarm.”

She froze near the door, her face a frightened grimace.

“Go, Lala, now!”

She ran out. I watched until her little form disappeared around the stand of trees, out of sight, and then ran to the stairs and stopped in the middle. I gripped the fireplace poker with trembling hands, waiting.

Levine burst through the panel, his head whipping towards the kitchen, and I shrieked.

He looked up, lunged, and I scrambled up the steps.

Slipping on the carpet, I fought to get my feet under me.

His hand closed around my ankle, and I cried out, swinging with the poker. He caught it in his other hand and yanked it from my grip. I gasped, panic welling up.

He climbed over me, his hand at my throat. Blood oozed from his nose and lip and sweat plastered his hair over his crazed eyes.

“Where is she?” he growled.

Sheer terror vaulted into my chest, and I screamed.

41

I twisted in his grip, raked my nails across his face, and he jerked, letting go just enough. I lashed out, kicking and clawing.

“Where is Lavender,” he yelled, grabbing me by the shirt and shaking me. He pulled his arm back, cocking his fist. “Where?”

Below us, a crash in the kitchen made him hesitate.

And then Simon ran into the foyer, his head snapping to us on the stairs.

“Simon!” I screamed, relief and panic whirling through me.

Simon launched himself at us.

Levine let go, and I scrambled upwards as he swung with the poker, slamming into Simon and sending him toppling back down the stairs.

“No!” I hesitated on the stairs, locked with fear.

Levine’s hand snapped out, grabbing me. He yanked on my blouse, and I cried out, clawing at the carpet.

Then Simon was on him, his arm snaking around Levine’s neck, he slammed Levine’s face against the railing. Levine lost his grip, stunned, and I crawled up the steps.

“Go, Rosetta.” Rage darkened Simon’s eyes. “Run.”

Levine rammed his elbow back, connecting with Simon’s ribs. The knife wound.

Simon yelled and lost his hold, falling back, his face a mask of pain.

I hesitated on the landing, stomach clenched as Simon’s hand went out to catch on the rail. Crimson spread across his white shirt.

Levine dove for me, and I jumped out of reach and ran down the hall, a sob ripping from my throat.

I heard them shouting, the crashes of things in the hall breaking during their struggle. I ran for the third floor stairs hitting the wall as I charged up the steps. Behind me, a jarring blow sounded, and I turned.

Levine threw Simon against the railing of the second floor, the bannister bending with a sickening crack under their weight. Simon’s fist smashed into Levine’s face, and the two of them tumbled to the floor. Simon scrambled over him, pulled back for another hit, but Levine grabbed a fallen statuette, slamming it against the side of Simon’s head.

“Simon!” I screamed as he toppled back, his hand going to the gash on his head.

Levine twisted, kicked, and sent Simon onto his side, groaning.

Levine’s gaze went to me, his grimace chilling as he jumped to his feet.

I ran up the steps, down the dark corridor, saw a door, and ran through it. The study. I turned, tried to get it shut, but Levine crashed through, and I flew against the desk, pain searing across my side. He turned, kicked the door shut, and shoved a chair under the handle.

“Come here,” he growled and dragged me by my blouse out to the deck.

The rain flew against us in waves of wind and leaves. A low howl tore over us, and the dark sky churned with roiling clouds. I slipped and slid on the slick wood floor, struggling as Levine yanked me with him. He whipped me to face him, my back to the railing.

“Where is she?” he screamed and pushed me against the rusty railing. The spear points dug into my skin.

“Levine, she’s just a little girl,” I sobbed, clinging to his hands. “W-We won’t tell anyone….”

“You ruined everything!” He shook me, fury distorting his features. “Because of you, the kid knows, Simon knows. It was perfect. Simon pays for ruining my life, my chance at happiness with Amanna, and his waste of a cousin takes the blame for Simon’s death. The whole Hale family finally getting what it deserves!”

I heard frantic banging as Simon threw himself at the door over and over. My name came as a muffled shout through the wood. I cried, my mind breaking with fear.

“What did Simon do to you? What has he ever—”

“Amanna was mine! We could have been happy, but she refused to leave him. And now…” He leaned me further over the edge. “Now he will pay with what he loves.”

“Please don’t hurt Lavender,” I begged.

“Amanna ended it with us because of her. That brat must have been sneaking around again,” he snarled. He brought his mouth to my ear. “She saw me with her mother one night. Out by the cemetery.”

Her secret. The obliterated mouths of her mother in the pictures. Lies and fear.

“She won’t say anything.” The point of the rail sent a jagged rush of pain through me, and I cried out.

“Yes, she will. But I’m willing to bet that people believe that Simon, with his guilt and his psychotic breaks, took you and Lavender with him over the edge.”

I let go of his hands, pawed frantically at the railing, desperate to stop the agony of the point in my back.

A piece broke off in my hand. I stabbed at Levine with it, driving the point into his chest. He yelled and staggered back, blood pouring from the wound just below his collar bone. He threw me to the floor just as the door in the study flew open.

“Rosetta!”

“You can’t save this one, either!” Levine shouted and grabbed a section of the railing. It came off in his hand, a wrought iron spear. “I’m not losing everything to you again.”

Simon hurled himself at Levine, the fire poker cutting through the night with a whoosh. The two weapons clashed, a spark flicking off them. They slashed at each other, metal clanging over the low rumble of thunder. Simon sliced, ripped across Levine’s hand. Levine shouted with pain, clambered back.

“Always second best,” Simon shouted, his face pulled into snarl. “Never quite good enough. In school, in life.” The metal rods clashed again, the sound deafening. Simon grabbed Levine by the shirt, shoved him back. Levine thrust the rod down, knocking the poker from Simon’s hand. It clattered to the wood floor.

“You can’t take that she wanted me. For once, someone chose me over the beloved Hale son,” Levine yelled, his eyes bulging. “I was the one. I was the winner.”

Simon ran at him, Levine pivoted and slammed him against the wall. Lightning flashed, a jagged rip in the sky, illuminating their knotted bodies. Levine thrust the railing bar across Simon’s throat, pinning him. I scrambled for the fire poker and tried to grab it, but Levine turned and kicked it out of my hands.

Simon growled and rammed his knee into Levine’s gut, sending him reeling backwards. The fire poker rolled beneath Levine’s feet, tripping him.

“Stop, Levine,” Simon rasped. “Don’t do this—”

Levine snarled, grabbed the fire poker, and swung at Simon’s head. He missed, lost his balance, and slammed back against the railing. He canted over, his eyes widening with terror as Simon’s hand swiped out to save him, but it was too late.

The roar of thunder tore over us, drowning out my scream.

42

Huddled in the corner of the deck, I stared wide-eyed at the broken railing as a frigid torrent washed over me. My body quaked with shock and cold.

Simon knelt, gathering me in his arms, and carried me into the study.

I clutched onto him, and sobs ripped from my throat. “Is he…is he—”

“Shh,” Simon whispered, setting me onto the desk. He reached up gently, cupped my face in his hands, and held my gaze with his. “You’re safe, love. He’s gone.”

“Lavender,” I gasped. “She’s—”

“She’s fine. She pulled the alarm.”

“I—I need to see her.” I tried to push off of the desk, but he held me still, a strange look on his face. “What’s the matter?”

“You used yourself as bait to keep her safe.” He ran his thumb along my bottom lip. “You risked your life for her.”

“I love her,” I said simply. “She’s our Lala.”

“Yes,” he whispered. His blue eyes held mine. “Ours.”

****

Levine’s deputy, Mike, showed up after locating Davenport at the restaurant. They searched the house and found Phillip in his room, his hand around the phone. He’d crawled from the hall after I hit him with the vase, but passed out before he could call out.

Over the next few days, as the truth came out, it was realized just how much damage Levine had caused all on Noble Island. We found a knife with his prints with O’Shay’s blood on his boat. O’Shay must have suspected Levine and confronted him, only to pay with his life. The pestle and mortar that Mrs. Tuttle gave me also had Levine’s prints underneath. He’d evidently held it while he crushed the drug he took from Tobias.

My visit to speak with Levine that afternoon and my questions about Amanna having an affair must have tipped him off that I was beginning to put the pieces together. Still, if he hadn’t misspoken, if he hadn’t slipped to reveal that he’d planted the bottle of medicine to frame Phillip, I might never have known.

Lavender, reeling from the mind games Levine threw at her, was inconsolable, but eventually understood that her brother was gone and that the sheriff had been tricking her. It was as if she’d lost him all over again.

A search of Levine’s belongings gave more proof that he’d been behind the strange gypsy rituals in an attempt to throw off suspicion. A suicide note forged with Simon’s handwriting revealed his plan to dose Simon on the anniversary of Amanna’s death and then stage a suicide in the same place that she’d died. With one terrible act he would have taken revenge on the man he believed responsible for all of his misery. With Simon’s blackouts and strange behavior, Levine might have pulled it off.

A few days after, Simon and I took Lavender for a sail and celebrated her birthday. It was just the three of us on the
Lotus
, a pink birthday cake, and lots of quiet hugs.

So much sorrow. So many lies, and yet the Lord had brought us through the most dangerous storm of all.

Epilogue

I sat in a sea of rose-colored silk, the skirts of my gown pooled at my feet, and I ran a hand down the bodice, touching the beautiful bead work. My long hair fell in waves down my back, and I took a wayward lock in my fingers, twisting it.

Simon pulled me closer to him on the backseat of the town car as we made our way back to Shadow Bay Hall. He took my hand in his and brushed his lips across my knuckles. His golden hair and cobalt eyes were striking in contrast with the black tuxedo he wore. Just gazing at his impossibly handsome face sent my heart fluttering.

“They loved you at the gala,” he said and smiled. “You were the most beautiful woman in the room tonight, my love.”

“It was an amazing night,” I said. “I loved every minute, Simon. Thank you.”

“And the necklace?” His lips pulled into a grin, and he chuckled. “Anyone recognize it?”

My hand went to the blood-red ruby that dangled around my neck, and I shook my head, giggling. The Pharaoh’s jewel. “Nope.”

“More precious than rubies.” He slipped a finger under the delicate gold chain, caressing where it brushed my throat. He leaned forward, his lips at my temple, whispers hot against my skin. “I was lost without you.”

I looked into his eyes, the intensity burning there nearly overwhelming. Before I could answer, he held up a length of silk.

“What is that?” I asked, smiling.

“I have a surprise for you.” He held it up, just in front of my eyes. “But you can’t peek.”

“Simon,” I said, a bubble of laughter escaping my lips. “What is going on?”

“Only for a moment, love,” he said and gently used the silk to blindfold me. He held my hands. “We’re almost there.”

The car slowed, and the sound of gravel crunched before the car stopped.

Simon moved, the door opened, and I felt the cool mist of evening waft over me. He helped me out of the car, leading me forward and upward. I heard the familiar tinkle of chimes as we climbed the front steps to the door. A few steps more and then he was behind me, his fingers at the knot, untying the silk. It dropped from my eyes, and I gasped.

The solarium was lit from within, a hundred flickering flames bathed the glass in a warm glow. On the floor, a blanket of red rose petals traced a path from the foyer to the entrance. He took my hand and led me into the glass room, his eyes watching me intently.

“Do you like it?”

I nodded, my eyes filling, overcome. The interior of the once wasted room now brimmed with greenery and flowers spilling from every corner. White candles of all sizes lined the shelves, the tables, and the chandelier. Water spilled from the fountain, its surface polished to a reflective gleam.

“This…this is beautiful,” I said and twirled, and the skirts of my gown flared out in a soft rustle. “It’s like a dream.”

He pulled me close and gazed down into my eyes. “Before you, I thought that I was left to wander in darkness without hope of morning. Your faith. Your belief in truth and promises kept—” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat. “I couldn’t help but see the Lord in you. I couldn’t help but believe that maybe…” He pulled away, reached into his pocket, and knelt on one knee.