Bayou Heat (26 page)

Eris resisted the urge to run knowing it wouldn’t take long
to search the closet. The woman came back into the bedroom and went directly
into the bathroom. Eris threw back the curtains and ran to the bathroom door,
plastering herself next to the wall. As the woman walked out, Eris pressed her
gun to the back of the woman’s head. “And maybe I’ll just blow your fucking
head off.”

The woman spun and caught Eris in the jaw with an elbow. The
gun flew from her hand as her head snapped back against the wall. She looked up
at the woman and the knife she was holding. “You were wearing the citrine
necklace. You’ve been using the crystal to change or mask your aura.”

“The light bulb is starting to flicker, isn’t it? My name is
Carmen, by the way.”

Fear flicked through her as she realized how close she’d
been to the killer and hadn’t even realized it. The woman didn’t intend to let
either of them live. Whatever hope she had been carrying vanished when the
woman announced her name. “You tried to kill me then.”

“I would have succeeded if you hadn’t pulled off the trapeze
act. You have more lives than a cat, but you’ve used up all of them and tonight
we’re putting an end to this.”

Eris tried to find a way around Carmen, but failed. She had
no idea where Rob was or how he was. “You arranged for the semis to run us off
the road.”

The woman smiled. “It takes very little to convince some men
to do what you want. I watched as the two of you surfaced and made your way to
shore. I couldn’t believe how incredibly lucky you are.”

Eris felt anger replace fear. “Rob almost died in the
wreck.”

“I know, and what a shame it would have been, but there are
always risks involved and he was deemed expendable. Just as he is tonight.”

The statement made Eris so angry she charged forward. She
went for the hand holding the knife but was caught off guard when the woman
blocked the move and sent Eris stumbling past her. Eris stopped her forward
movement, planting her feet for a roundhouse kick, which she hoped her
assailant wouldn’t be expecting. She heard movement behind her and realized
Carmen was closing the small distance between them quickly.

Looking over her shoulder, she realized her planned attack
wouldn’t work. Turning quickly, she reached for Carmen, hoping to flip her over
her back. Carmen saw the move coming and managed to turn enough that Eris
grabbed dress with one hand and hair with the other. With all the force she
could manage, she turned her back to Carmen, leaned over and pulled.

Eris tried to flip the woman over her shoulder—and would
have succeeded if she hadn’t lost her grip on the woman’s hair. Eris looked at
her hand and it took a moment for her to realize the hair was still there.

Stunned she looked over her shoulder as an arm went around
her neck and a knife was placed to her throat.

“Charlie? Charlie Tarrington?”

“Don’t call me by that name! Charlie isn’t here to help you
this time.”

“Then where’s Charlie?” Eris dropped the wig she held as her
brain tried to come to terms with Charlie Tarrington and Carmen being the same
person.

“He’s gone.”

“Where did he go, Carmen?”

“I’ve sent him to a dark spot where he can’t interfere
anymore and save you like he always does. He no longer controls me, I now
control
him
.”

The pressure against her neck increased as the scent of
Rob’s cologne drifted to her. She tried to see where he was, but couldn’t move.
In the distance she heard sirens and knew they were going to be too late. If
she stalled long enough, she might save him. “How’d he save me?”

“I was ready to run you down that night in the alley but he
stopped me at the last possible moment. He liked you too much to let me kill
you.”

“In other words, he’s stronger than you.”

“
Was
. Was stronger, but no longer.”

There was a hint of panic in Carmen’s voice and Eris played
on it. “Charlie, help me!”

“Don’t talk to him!”

“Charlie, please. I need you,” Eris pleaded.

Carmen’s voice rose. “Shut up, you stupid bitch! There’s
nothing he can do for you.”

The arm around Eris tightened and she felt the edge of the
knife slice into her skin. Warm blood ran down the side of her throat. “If you
were in control, Carmen, I’d already be dead, but you aren’t, are you?”

“Shut the fuck up!” Carmen screamed.

Eris kept talking. “Charlie’s here. I know he is, like the
night in the alley. He’s going to save me.”

The body behind her stiffened as if it was having a seizure,
and she was sure death was near. Then the arms around her loosened ever-so
slightly. “
Go!
”

Eris moved a few steps away and turned at the sound of
Charlie’s voice. “Charlie?”

“I’m sorry, Eris. I never meant for you or Orbit to get
hurt! I’ve tried for years to control Carmen, but she’s gotten so strong and
I’ve become so tired I can’t do it anymore…”

“There are people who can help you, Charlie, put the knife
down.”

“Back away from him, Eris.” Rob’s voice cut through the room
like lightning in the night sky.

Eris turned to see Rob standing about five feet away. Blood
covered half his face, but he was alive. “Charlie’s not going to hurt me.”

“But I will, bitch!”

Eris turned in time to see Carmen charging her with the
knife raised high. She put her arms up to block the attack, but it was too
late. She felt the blade slice through the tender skin on the inside of her
upper arm as the sound of gunfire penetrated the air. She tried to block her
fall with her left arm but it wouldn’t move. Air escaped her as she hit the
floor hard with extra weight across her legs. Before she could figure out what
was on her, blinding pain engulfed her senses.

“Eris!” Rob yelled as the two bodies hit the floor. Running
across the room, he kicked the knife out of Tarrington’s reach before rolling
the body off Eris. The smell hit him before he saw the blood soaking her
clothes and the floor beneath her. Fear penetrated his body like nothing he’d
ever felt before.

“Eris,” he said again, and this time watched as her eyes
opened and she worked to focus on him. “Where are you hurt?”

“Left arm.” Her words were weak.

He moved her arm and watched as blood ran freely from the
wound. He’d seen enough injuries to know an artery was cut and time was
critical. Looking around, he found a scarf draped over a lampshade. Taking it,
he started wrapping her arm. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Throat, but don’t think it’s bad.”

He could hear the way her words were slurring together. He
reached for his phone and remembered he didn’t have it. He looked about the
room but didn’t see a house phone and turned his attention back to Eris and the
bandage, which was already soaked in blood. Where were the fucking cops? “Talk
to me, princess. I need to hear your voice right now.”

“Granddaddy calls me that.”

He tried to smile. “Guess he and I are more alike than I
thought.”

“Controlling, both of you.”

“I’m not controlling.”

A slight smile played at her lips. “Yes, but love you
anyway.”

Tears burned his eyes and a knot formed in his throat. “I
love you too.”

She looked him in the eyes. “Wish we had more time.”

Rob’s heart stopped beating in his chest. “Don’t talk like
that. We have years and years ahead of us.”

Her body started to shake. “It’s cold.”

He pulled a blanket from the end of the bed and wondered
where the hell the ambulance was. “This will help keep you warm.”

“Rob…”

“Eris, wake up.” Rob’s words filled the house as he felt his
world crashing down around him.

“Move!”

Rob looked up to see Lance racing across the room toward
them. He dropped down to his knees beside her.

“What’s her injury?”

“Here.” Rob moved her arm so Lance could reach it. “The way
she’s bleeding it looks like an artery was cut.”

“Take the bandage off, I need to hold the bare skin.” Lance
rolled up his sleeves.

“I’ve only now gotten the flow to slow. If we take the
bandage off she’s likely to bleed to death.”

“She might, but look at her. Dammit, she’s not going to make
it like this either!”

Rob watched the slow, shallow rise and fall of her chest.
Lance was right, she was slipping away and there wasn’t a damn thing he could
do about it. His hands shook as he untied the scarf and watched as the blood
started to flow.

Lance placed his hands over the wound, closed his eyes and
appeared to go into a trancelike state.

Rob leaned down next to her ear and started telling Eris
about all they were going to do in the years ahead.

Eris sat on the back porch of her parents’ house and watched
as Rob took an exceptionally hard hit from Zane. It’d been two weeks since her
attack and she still hadn’t returned to her apartment or Rob’s. Two weeks of
living back at her parents’ place was starting to feel like an eternity in
hell.

This morning it’d finally dawned on her why she didn’t want
to live in either place she’d shared with Rob. Tomorrow she was going to ask
for help packing her apartment and moving into the house Orbit left her. She
just hoped she wasn’t moving in alone.

She watched as Rob crossed the yard, grabbed a couple of
beers from the ice chest and walked over to her. He took the seat next to her
on the wicker loveseat, twisted the tops on both bottles and handed one to her.
She took the bottle and watched as Rob played with the label on his, slowly
peeling it away.

“I have a question no one will answer for me.”

His voice carried such a serious tone she stiffened. “What?”

“How did Lance get to us so quickly? I didn’t call any of
your brothers and we only told Zane where we were. I’m totally baffled here but
they all refuse to say a word.”

Eris sighed and wondered if he would like or dislike what he
was about to hear. “Remember when he called because he’d picked up on my uneasy
feelings?”

“Yes.”

“Apparently when Carmen showed up I was so focused on her
and you, I let down the mental wall that normally keeps him out. He picked up
on my thoughts and he realized you’d been hurt. He knew Lance was still in town
and called him to come help you. He had no idea at the time of the call that
Lance would end up saving me.”

“I didn’t think he could pick up thoughts from any distance.
How did it happen?” His voice was very neutral, not giving away any of his
feelings.

“Zane told me nothing like this has ever happened to him
before and he hopes like hell it never happens again. Mom has always said that
Zane and I have a strong mental connection, and that’s why I can block him from
reading my thoughts. So, when I dropped that barrier, my fear-amplified
thoughts hit Zane like a freight train. I don’t remember reaching out to Zane
but maybe I did. We might not ever know how Zane picked up my thoughts.”

Rob brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I don’t care
how it happened, I’m just glad it did. Then when Lance showed up, I had a
decision to make. Not so long ago I’d have not let Lance perform his woo-woo,
but I did because deep down I knew Lance was your only hope. It scared me to
take that leap of faith. Now it feels like you’re slipping away anyway and I’m
as helpless to do anything about it as I was that night. Only now, Lance nor
any of your other family members can help. What’s going on, Eris, did you have
a change of heart?”

He dug into the pocket of his shorts, pulled out a box and
flipped it open.

“I bought this a week ago and have been waiting for the
perfect moment to give it to you. You’re breaking my heart one small piece at a
time, princess. What’s going on?”

Tears burned her eyes as she looked at the beautiful
princess-cut diamond winking back at her. A knot the size of Dallas formed in
her throat. “I know my grandfather hired you, he confessed everything to me in
the hospital.”

Rob sighed. “He hired
Titan
to protect you, not me.
Believe me, he didn’t ask for me to seduce you and he definitely didn’t plan on
me falling in love with you.”

Eris studied the man she loved. “I know that, and he even
said the same thing.”

“Then what’s wrong? Your entire family is being
unwanted-guest polite to me until you decide if I’m a keeper or not. If not,
I’m going to be hurting in more ways than one, but there is nothing any of them
can do to me that’ll surpass the pain of you turning me down.”

She brushed his hair back and traced the new scar at his
hairline. “Nothing’s really wrong. I just need to know I’m going down the right
path. I’ve been thinking a lot and I do have a couple of requests.”

Rob took a deep breath. “Let me hear them.”

“I want us to move into Orbit’s old house. The one time we
were there it felt like…”

“Home,” Rob finished for her.

Eris smiled for the first time in two weeks. “Yeah, it did,
didn’t it?”

“Done.” Rob brushed the pad of his thumb across her lips.
“What next?”

Her stomach tightened at his touch. “I want to do something
about Drew. He can’t stay where he is and I don’t want to let him down like
others have.”

His eyes grew serious. “We won’t let him down. Tomorrow
we’ll make calls and start figuring out what we can do. Until something legal
can be worked out, we’ll get Drew a key to the house and make sure he
understands he’s welcome anytime, all the time. He can even have his own room.”

She looked him in the eyes. “You’re sure about this? Because
my family has a take-no-prisoners attitude.”

Rob pulled her into his arms. “The only one capable of
running me off is you, and I don’t plan on going anywhere without a fight.”

He lowered his mouth to hers and she felt the kiss all the
way to her heart. The fear and uncertainty plaguing her since the attack melted
away. It was Rob’s understanding, acceptance and love that would heal her
wounds. She needed him as much as he needed her. Slowly she ended the kiss,
pulling back so she could look into his eyes. “I was thinking we could move in
tomorrow.”

“I have a better plan.” Rob took her hand in his and slipped
the ring on her finger. He kissed her palm before looking back into her eyes.
“Why not start our lives together tonight, princess?”

Happiness and certainty filled Eris as she stood and held
out her hand. “Let’s go home.”

Without a word, Rob stood and took her hand. Together they
headed down a new path together and Eris knew no matter how crazy her life
became, Rob would always be there, strong and steady by her side.