The Good Sister (16 page)

Lindsey stuck a hand over her heart while hoping it wouldn’t explode out of her chest. She hung her head against the cabinet until her involuntary shaking started to slow down. Why did she have to go and argue with Noah? He offered her an easy, quick, comfortable “out” about what almost happened last night. It could have just been ignored and swept under the rug. It could have not been so weird and awful between them… but, she couldn’t accept that. Oh no. She stomped away from him like a sixth grader who got dumped in lieu of her best friend. She taunted Noah to bring it up with her. She wanted to yell at him. And stranger still, she did yell at him. It surprised her to know she still had so many nasty words left to say in her. She often thought they were forgotten in her obedient subservience to Elliot.

She sighed and didn’t like him excusing what happened as if it were nothing. To her, it was everything. It was a huge moment and one she couldn’t remember having with any other man, surely never with Elliot. It was true passion. It was temporarily forgetting where she was, and who she was, but feeling so glad she was the person, right then, sharing that moment.

It was such an awful thing to almost do. Noah didn’t deserve having games played on him. And she couldn’t imagine what Elliot would do to her if he found out. So why would she risk such a thing? And, why would Noah get as caught up with her as she was with him? He couldn’t like her. There was no way. He knew she was practically incapable of typing her own name, and suddenly, he wanted to kiss her? It didn’t seem possible.

She straightened her shoulders and shifted her weight. She could not continue to sit in there, hiding. She had to go out and do her job. With only limited, rapidly waning days left, she refused to waste a minute, or quit working. She would perform as any professional and forget all of this.

She managed to pass Noah with a pleasant enough smile, and he nodded at her. His bland expression was back in place, and consequently, they were back to nothing. Except pleasant. At least, she could breathe again and perform the duties she had grown increasingly proud of.

She did all that for seven more glorious days, until she glanced up on the eighth day, and there stood Elliot.

Her mouth dropped open, her eyes widened and her heart nearly stopped.
Holy shit, what was he doing here?
How? And… what would he do to her, now that he caught her here?
She pressed a hand into the doorjamb to support her trembling legs. He hadn’t seen her yet. She was hidden behind the corner. He was staring around, the disdain clearly etched on his face.

Standing erect, with his back straight and his weight balanced perfectly on both feet, he wore a gray, pinstriped suit, with a spotless, crisp white shirt underneath and a green-speckled-with-gray tie. His brown hair was brushed off his forehead. He appeared to be a man who could stand before anyone, be it politician, CEO, or anyone else in the world, and become the most imposing, commanding, breathtaking model of humanity. His voice was always smooth and low, like honey on his tongue. Always. Even when he was on top of her, beating her, hitting her, kicking her, burning her, choking her, or locking her in her room: he always spoke in the same low, baritone voice. It should have been soothing and wonderful to her ears. It should have brought her feelings of comfort and love, not a blood-curdling fear that paralyzed her.

What could she do? Where could she go? He had to know she was here, or he wouldn’t be standing there. She glanced around, but saw no escape. And even if she managed to, it would only make whatever punishment awaited her so much worse.

With a deep, breath of courage, she emerged from the alcove that hid her. She fisted her hands as she gulped down the knot of dread that was lodged in her throat.

He turned fully towards her when he heard her stepping forward. His clear, big, green eyes narrowed in on her. They followed the line of her body from her casual, purple t-shirt and jeans down to the black flats she wore before his lips curled back with disgust.

“What did you do?” His tone was as silky smooth as a sports announcer. But his facial expression was that of a murderer.

“I—”

“Lindsey, where is—” Noah asked as he came walking up behind her, just at the exact moment she opened her mouth to
answer Elliot. Noah stopped talking when he noticed her frozen stance before the stranger in the entryway.

“Lindsey?” Noah’s prompt shook her as much as if he actually touched her.

“Yes, uh, yes, Dr. Clark. This is Elliot. My husband. I was just picking up some paperwork for Jessie to do while on bed rest. Could you please get that for me, Dr. Clark?”

She turned towards him, and his mouth dropped open at her hasty, ill-prepared and poorly executed introduction. His head whipped around to Elliot, who continued to stare hard at her. She could feel it. His eyes pounding, no, drilling into the back of her head. Elliot hated every aspect of this scenario. How she looked. How she spoke with a stupid, incomprehensible stutter. How she worked in a veterinary clinic alone with Dr. Clark. If Noah failed to get her message, which she tried to tacitly communicate through her pleading eyes at him, she feared she might be dead by morning.

Noah glanced back at her and his mouth turned downwards into a deep frown. He didn’t know what to think of this. Or of her.

“The paperwork, Dr. Clark?” she repeated.

He nodded slowly. “Oh, right, Jessie’s work. Yeah, I’ll run back and get it.” He glanced over her head. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Johanson.”

Elliot’s gaze was cold and his expression blank. What was he picturing? What was he thinking? She could not begin to guess. “Yes, Dr. Clark. I was curious as to what my wife is doing here.”

Lindsey tried to gulp the goose egg stuck in her throat. “How… how did you know I was here? I’m here so infrequently. Barely a few times a week to grab the work for Jessie.”

Noah shook his head and muttered as he left to go down the hall.

“I knew the name of the vet where Jessie worked, but I wasn’t sure how to get to her house. I was planning to surprise you.”

“Oh. Right.”
Surprise her? Yeah, right
. It was more to see if he could catch her doing something “wrong.” Did he know anything? If he knew the truth and caught her lying about it, he’d react much worse than if she begged for mercy. But if he didn’t know anything, then it would be like committing suicide for her to tell him.

Her breath hurt as she expelled it from her lungs. She could not do this. She could not face Elliot. It wasn’t so much his anger, but what she knew he would do to her. She shouldn’t have come here. Having so much luxurious time, free of Elliot, must have made her reckless. It made her temporarily forget what it felt like to be weak, and wrong, and scared. She had to live as if a loaded gun was constantly being aimed and ready to fire into her temple. That was the atmosphere in their house.  That was how she made decisions. What could keep Elliot from pulling the trigger now?

Being there, away from Elliot, with her sister, Will and Noah weakened her and made her soft. They allowed her to forget. But now, it felt so much worse to go back to it. It was like having concrete poured on her feet. She could not face moving forward with Elliot. She could not do that. She had the impulse to turn and run after Noah. She could tell him and he would surely help her. She knew he would. He would keep Elliot from taking her back, and hurting her. He would call the police and maybe even get Elliot arrested. One word. One scream. One tear. Any of it, and Noah would save her.

But… for how long? How long could he save her? A week? A month? A year? How long before Elliot was free again to find her? And that would be only if Elliot actually got in trouble for abusing her. There was no proof. She did not have one photo of her injuries. There were no police reports. There were no witnesses. There was nothing, but her word against Elliot’s.

Not to mention, what Elliot would do to her once he found her again! No matter what anyone thought or said to reassure her, she had no doubts he’d find her. He promised her that on more than one occasion.

She licked her lips and tried to accept that there was no escape. She realized it several years ago,
but managed to forget it for the last few weeks, and pretended there was a way out. Now he was back and the shackles were snapped back on.

“Come here, Lindsey.”

She nodded as she came around the desk. Tears streaked her face and she rubbed them. He touched her cheeks. “Tears?”

She smiled up at him and nodded. “I missed you, Elliot. Seeing you now, I don’t know how I managed to be away from you for so long.”

His expression didn’t soften, but he nodded slowly. “I don’t know how I allowed it either.”

He slid his hand from her cheek, down her neck, and cupped the back of her head as he pushed her into him. The grip of his fingers was vise-like. He raised her face to his and put his lips on hers. There was no moving away as he held her head completely immobile. His fingers pressed into her jugular vein, applying enough pressure to give her the sensation of choking. She knew not to fight him. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing in and out of her nose, despite the wet, hard lips moving over hers.

A throat cleared behind her.
Noah
. She shut her eyes and her embarrassment was obvious. She didn’t want Noah seeing her like this. Elliot pried his face off hers before he rested her forehead on his shoulder. She couldn’t bear to face Noah. Or Jessie. Or Will. She didn’t want them to see her as “Elliot’s Lindsey.” Not after she established herself as simply, Lindsey.

When Elliot released the pressure on her neck, she turned slowly. Noah was standing behind her temporary desk. His brilliant, blue eyes were clouded with confusion. He didn’t know what to make of this. Her lying. Her strange mannerisms. Too quickly, he forgot that was how she usually behaved.

“Here’s the stuff for Jessie.”

She nodded and stepped forward to take it from him. He held it for a second and his gaze
invited hers. He was seeking comfort from her and wanted her to assure him she was okay. He wanted to know why she was lying. She smiled a small, forced grin as if to say, sure, she was great. This was all her normal behavior.

“Thank you, Dr. Clark,” she said, adding at great risk, “for everything. I know Jessie appreciates everything you’ve done and are doing for her.”

Noah stared at her for a prolonged moment. Then he nodded as he handed her the pile of paperwork. Most of it had to be fake. Someday, she hoped to find a way to thank Noah for doing that. “Yes, I know how
Jessie
appreciates working here. It is good for her. I hope she remembers that. I mean, of course, after the baby is born. Will you let her know that?”

Lindsey’s eyes filled with tears. She smiled and dropped her
gaze to the floor. He knew what she meant. She knew what he meant. She should never have let them get close enough to share coded messages. All if it was far too dangerous.

“I will,” Lindsey replied as she turned and smiled at Elliot, saying, “Let’s go.”

Elliot stared at Noah, but nodded, and took her hand. She felt the unnecessarily tight grip around her fingers, but dared not let on. He was furious. She would not be okay. Maybe never again.

Noah watched Lindsey being nearly dragged behind the stern, formidable figure that was her husband. He deposited her on the passenger side of his sleek, black, rented Porsche. There was nothing subtle about the man. He was as imposing as an FBI agent bursting in there. And as secretive as a CIA spook, running a covert operation. In a matter of only a few seconds, he had Lindsey right back to the strange, awkward, formal, fake, incompetent and unsure woman she was when she first got there.

Noah passed around the desk and crossed over to the front windows. She didn’t look okay. Her expression was bleak and fearful. The man got into the front seat. He was talking. Rapidly. She had her head lowered and kept nodding frequently. Something cold and strange rocked through him.

Why did she so quickly lie and try to cover up what she was doing there? He glanced back. Luckily, her bag with her lunch and other telltale signs of working there were off in the break room. She left her purse and car behind. Did that even register with her strange husband?

He dropped onto the couch that ran the length of the reception room. Was she okay? It didn’t seem like it. The man appeared angry and lethal in a way he never experienced before. He was so cold, it was like a zombie invaded his clinic, leaving an icy chill that hung around from his dead and lifeless spirit.

He shook his head. Where the hell was he getting that? He was not usually prone to jealousy, much less disliking someone for no real reason. He wiped a hand over his face. But… he hated Elliot Johanson. He did. There was not one kind, caring or decent thing about him. And he ruined Lindsey. He instantly transformed her from the beautiful, capable, compassionate, sweet woman he knew five years ago in North Carolina, and whom he only recently revived. Elliot automatically turned her into the cold, senseless mannequin that she was when she first arrived there.

He fisted his hands. She was married. He knew that five years ago, when he first felt an intense flash of attraction toward her. He ignored it, however, since they were only introduced in passing, and she was married. He did not consider it much beyond that in all the years that Jessie discussed her sister with him.

But now, he felt something for her and there was no denying it. The passion and the fierce care that independently motivated her to help Tessa reminded him that maybe she really was a former officer in the U.S. Army.

But in a matter of five seconds or less, Elliot had her scrambling and falling over herself to please him. Noah stood there, feeling shaken before he wandered back to the animals that needed tending, and the dwindling supplies he needed to reorder. But instead, all he could think of was her long, slender body pressed against him with his mouth over hers in a deep, hot kiss.
Her kiss with Elliot was overtly sexual; at least, that was how it appeared to Noah. Elliot seemed to take complete domination over her, both in body and soul. Maybe… maybe she was into that. But somehow, he didn’t think so.