Crazy Maybe (33 page)

“To my beautiful fiancé.  The man I am today is because of you.  Your strength, your gentleness.  Your love, your fight.  Your thoughtfulness, your boldness.  I love every quality you possess, Andi, and you inspire me to be a better person.  Every day.”

We clink glasses as I wipe a tear away.  Having someone to call my own still doesn’t feel real sometimes.  I’ve been alone for so long.  He starts to take a sip from his glass but I halt him with my hand on his arm.

“Wait,” I say.  He lowers his hand and keeps his eyes trained on mine.  “I have something to say first.”

“OK,” I hear the trepidation in his voice.

“To my handsome and sexy fiancé,” and his face lights up in that gorgeous, panty-dropping smile that still gives me goose bumps.  “You’ve given me more than I could’ve ever hoped for.  You’ve been everything I’ve always needed and never had.  You are my rock, my encouragement, and my protector.  You’ve fulfilled dreams that I never let myself even consider.  I love you, Luke, more than life itself.”

We clink glasses again, drink to each other, and suddenly the wine glasses are crashing to the ground and we are in each other’s arms.  I’m totally lost in this man’s arms, his masculine scent, the hard muscles in his body, until….

“Well, now.  Isn’t that just. So. Fucking. Sweet,” the male voice from the shadows mocks.

Luke and I jerk apart and Luke automatically pushes me behind him, shielding me with his body and readying his for all-out war.  I’ve seen him in this fighting stance before and it’s a balls-to-the-wall, take-no-prisoners stance.  It would be a huge turn on if Jackson Rhoades wasn’t hiding in my kitchen right now.

Jackson steps out into the light and lightly chuckles.

“You know, I never knew you had it in you, Andi.  To be so passionate.  If I’d known, I’d –“

“Rhoades, if you value your fucking tongue, you won’t finish that sentence.  Or so help me God, you’ll choke on it when I rip it out of your mouth and shove it down your fucking throat,” Luke growls out as he takes a step closer to Jackson.

Jackson may be an older man but he has been careful with his health and fitness.  He obviously still works out and looks much younger than he is.  He is still no match for Luke in a fair fight, but I don’t expect Jackson to fight fairly.  I know Luke’s time as a street fighter will help him.  I just don’t want to take any chances with his life.

“What do you want Jack-,” my question is suddenly cut off when Jackson lunges at Luke. 

He throws a right jab and connects with Luke’s nose.  Blood sprays out from the impact then runs down his face.  If Jackson thought that would knock Luke off-kilter, he is sadly mistaken.  It only serves to make Luke madder and more dangerous.  Luke counterpunches with a right hook to Jackson’s jaw followed by a left uppercut to the chin.  Jackson loses his balance and goes down with Luke quickly jumping on top of him to pound him into the ground.

Jackson gains some leverage underneath Luke and they roll around in the floor, each getting close shots in on the other.  Jackson is the first back to his feet in an attempt to flee but Luke isn’t finished with him.  He hits Jackson with a right cross, his power punch, on Jackson’s left cheek, which spins him around.  Just as Luke is about to hit him with a straight right and end the brawl, the sound of a revolver hammer clicking draws our attention.

The
wicked foster-bitch
steps into the room and has her .22 magnum aimed at Luke.  “That’s enough, Woods.  Step away from him.”  Then she looks at me.

Luke steps away from Jackson and steps over in front of me, using his massive body to shield me from the gun aimed in our direction.  His left hand
slowly reaches back to secure me behind him while he holds his right palm facing Delia Rhoades.

“I’m really sorry to break up this little party,” Delia says mockingly, “but The Speaker and I have previous engagements we simply must attend to.  Darling, if you’re ready to go?”  She speaks as if she’s leaving early from
the country club instead of the stark reality that she’s threatening to shoot us both in my own home.

Jackson straightens his clothes and starts to back away when he says, “I don’t think I’m done with Andi yet, darling.  I
t’ll be good for Luke to watch.”

Delia thought it over for a second before conceding, “You always did have a crush on her.  Just this once, then.”

I stand gawking at her, completely speechless at her flippant attitude towards what her husband just said.  And her response!  Before I can even form an intelligent response, Jackson is striding towards me with an evil gleam in his eye and a wicked smile on his face.  I intuitively take a couple of steps backwards.

“Ah, Andi.  I’ve waited for you for a long time now,” he drew out each word and each step, increasing the anticipation and anxiety as he approaches me.

“Over my dead body, Rhoades,” Luke bellows.

“That can easily be arranged,” Delia’s reply sounds completely uninterested.  She levels her gun at Luke’s chest and put her finger on the trigger. 

I knew instantly from the satisfied look in her eye and the triumphant smirk on her face, she is going to kill Luke.  My heart is about to pound completely out of my chest – my chest that is in a vice and it’s as if the life is being squeezed out of me.

I can’t watch him be shot.  I can’t watch him die!

“Not yet, dear.  I want him to see what I do to Andi.  I want him to hear her scream over and over when I finally take her.”  He looks pointedly at me, locking eyes and slightly lowering his head so that he’s looking at me through his eyebrows.  “You sang to me tonight about ‘
a real man
.’  I’ll be more than glad to show you what a real man is.”

Luke steps forward and Delia threatens him again, “I don’t have to
kill
you yet, Luke.  I can merely
wound
you and still let Jackson have his fun.  Move again and I’ll show you exactly what I mean.  Don’t try me.”

I see the rise and fall of his shoulders, signaling that he’s taken a deep breath.  Luke doesn’t move as Jackson takes another step towards him and intentionally bumps his shoulder as he walks by.  It’s an act of utter disrespect and
it’s killing me that Luke has to take it.  I know he’s trying to figure out a way to fight back without getting shot and leaving me alone with these two lunatics.

Jackson is intent on me and it’s as if there’s no one else in the room.  He’s licking his lips and rakes his eyes from my head to my feet, undressing me as he goes.  It’s sickening and I would like nothing better than to snatch his eyes out of his head.  With his next step, a shot rings out followed by a blood-curdling scream.  After a second, I realize I am the one screaming and running towards Luke.

There’s blood on his shirt and he’s lying on the floor.  I drop to his side and start searching for the entrance wound.  He grabs my hands as he sits up and I finally hear him speaking to me, “Andi!  Andi – stop, baby!  I’m ok – it’s not my blood.  Rhoades knocked me down when he fell into me.”

What?

I look up just as Jackson and Delia are leaving through the back door.  Jackson is leaning on Delia and blood is gushing out of his arm with every beat of his heart.  I cut my eyes back at Luke, still confused, and he’s looking at something over my shoulder.  He lowers his voice to an easy, soothing tone as he says, “You’re ok now.  He’s gone.  You can put the gun down.”

What the hell is happening?

I snap my head in the direction Luke’s looking and see a young girl, maybe sixteen years old, standing in the doorway.  She’s still holding the gun and her finger is still on the trigger.  Her eyes are wide, her skin is ashen, and she’s shaking uncontrollably.  The adrenaline dump she just experienced is taking a toll on her body.  The fact that she just shot someone is weighing heavily upon her now.

Wait a second.

“Kelly?”  I say as I rise from the floor – very, very slowly. “Kelly, sweetheart, is that you?”

She finally moves her eyes and looks at me.  At first, it’s as if she’s looking through me.  I’m not sure she’s really here with us until her eyes start to focus again.

“Kelly?”

She chokes out, “Andi,” before sobbing and her knees fold under her. 

I rush to her side and catch her in my arms as we both crumble to the floor.  She drops the gun beside us, buries her face in my chest and clings to me as tightly as she can.  I’m in an extremely uncomfortable position, but I don’t dare move.  I lightly stroke her hair and give her calm, soothing words.

“You know her?” Luke asks.

I nod, “This is Kelly.  She was my little sister when I was in the
house of horrors
.  She was only about six when they sent me off.  She has to be about sixteen now.”  I’m still holding her, much like I used to when she was younger, and gently rocking her back and forth.

“Andi, he was going to hurt you,” Kelly whispers into my neck.  “I had to stop him.”

“Everything’s going to be ok, sweetheart,” I whisper back.

Luke moves a little closer and Kelly jumps, drawing into me as if she’s scared to death of him.

“Sweetheart, this is Luke.  He’s my fiancé and he would never, ever hurt you.  You can trust him.  No one will ever hurt you again,” I vow to her.

“It’s ok, Kelly.  I will keep my distance if you want.  I just want to talk to you.  Is that ok?”  Luke gently coaxes her.

Kelly looks at me, I nod to let her know that it’s ok and she nods.

“Thank you, Kelly.  Can you tell us about tonight?”  Luke asks.  I keep rocking her and gently rubbing her hair.

“He said he was going to hurt Andi.  Delia said she would kill her.  Jackson wanted to have his way with her.  I had to stop him.  Had to stop her,” Kelly’s rambling a little but I get the gist of what she’s trying to tell us.

“Kelly, we need to call the police and report all this.  But Luke and I will protect you.  I won’t leave you.  Do you understand?”  I’m trying to be as reassuring as possible, but I’m highly cognizant of the fact that the door is unlocked and they could come back at any time.  Jackson was injured but they’re both still alive.  I don’t want to freak Kelly out by pointing this out to her though.

She nods in understanding.  She’s completely trusting me to take care of her just like she did when she was little and first came to the Rhoades’ house.  Luke steps away to call the police. I vaguely hear him ask them to come without sirens.  I’m sure he’s thinking of how it would impact Kelly in her current state.

I am trying to come up with a strategy for taking care of Kelly when Luke walks back towards us.  She doesn’t jump this time but she still keeps a wary eye on him.  He squats down so he’s not lording over us.  “The police are on their way.  We have to answer some questions about what happened tonight.  We won’t leave you, Kelly.”

“That’s right, baby.  We’re right here.”  She nods and I notice her stronghold on me has lessened a little.  “You saved us, didn’t you?”  This earns me a tiny smile.  I’ll take it, though.

Luke looks at me, “They’re sending a female detective in to talk to us.”  Relief floods through me.  I didn’t even think of that but I can always count on Luke to take care of me.

Hours later, we’ve answered Detective Burns’ questions over and over again.  She asked the same question at different times and in several different ways.  I know she’s testing our story for inconsistencies and she’s finally satisfied that she’s gotten the full story out of us.  She puts out an APB for Jackson and Delia Rhoades, knowing he will more than likely visit a hospital or clinic somewhere between Atlanta and DC.  Once he goes in for treatment, they’ll get him.

Since Kelly is a minor and the news of the abuse that happened in that house is national news, Detective Burns didn’t take Kelly to the juvenile hall or call the Department of Family and Children Services.  Her reasoning was there is no body and no definite proof, yet, that Kelly actually shot him. 

She discharged a firearm but until she has a bullet in hand that matches the ballistics from the gun Kelly had, there is no crime.  Also, if there was a bullet wound, Delia could have just as easily been the shooter.  Detective Burns also stationed a couple of units outside my house and they will make frequent rounds to check the entire perimeter of the house.

I really like Detective Burns.