December Frost (A Southern Romance Monthly) (13 page)

But there was one thing she was forgetting. The same thing that made it possible for her to read him, made it possible for him to read her.
 

And right now, the slant of her eye lids, the set of her mouth, the way she gripped the gun, told him volumes.
 

"He wouldn't help me."
 

"Agent Clark?"
 

"Yes."
 

Thomas's jaw worked back and forth as he silently mourned his friend, and his mentor. "That makes you alone doesn't it? All alone?"

"You're still here."
 

"But you're going to kill me."
 

She hesitated. "Y-yes."
 

"But you didn't want to kill me did you? You wanted me in jail instead of dead. Why?"

Blair narrowed her eyes. "Because then I could see you and mock you. Tell you I was the Phantom and you had lost."
 

"But you wanted me alive. You need me alive."
 

Again, she hesitated. "N-no I don't."
 

He was going to lose her. He needed to act. Now.
 

Thomas feigned dizziness and leaned to the left as he gripped his right shoulder.
 

"What is it?" she demanded.
 

"It's your wound…where you shot me in the jail. It's…" He rolled his eyes back and fell over onto the bed.
 

"Thomas?" Blair's voice cracked a little as she stepped closer and reached out with her left hand to touch him. "Hey…what's wrong?"
 

He had one chance. One.
 

He grabbed her outstretched arm with his right hand and pulled her to his right, then grabbed the wrist with the gun in his left. She tried to head butt him but held her far out enough so when she tried to kick, he stood up.
 

The sheets fell away.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Cecelia fought her way back to consciousness with the sound of people talking. One of them, a woman's voice, was loud. Ugh…she wanted to smack that woman and tell her to be quiet.
 

A second later she realized she heard Thomas's voice and she was on the floor in the hall between the kitchen and the living room.
 

The lights were on.
 

And she had the mother of all headaches.
 

She took in a deep breath and started coughing. Cecelia buried her mouth into the crook of one arm to smother the sounds as she pushed herself up and finally got to her feet. Blood smeared the floor and her throat hurt. She knew the blood was from the wound to her head and it made her just a little bit queasy.
 

The voices caught her attention. The intruder was in the bedroom with Thomas and it sounded like that were arguing. She heard a thwack sound and Thomas groaned.
 

Cecelia looked around the kitchen for her gun—she knew she had it when she came in from sweeping the perimeter before she started dinner.
 

She found it under a used dishrag and checked her magazine. Full.
 

Now armed and with a strong need to kick her intruder's ass and get Thomas out of there alive because she was not going to lose something so wonderful, Cecelia tip toed to the door and pressed her back against the door next to the frame.
 

She counted to ten, grabbed the door knob and thrust the door open. She ran in and pointed her gun—

But the intruder, Blair Hodges, was on the floor with a red mark on her face and Thomas stood nude over her. He turned to Cecelia and his expression changed. "You're bleeding!"
 

Cecelia straightened and lowered her gun. "You're…naked."
 

"That's the way you left me in the bed." He came to her and pulled her to him.
 

She instantly felt his response against her thigh. With a sigh, she said, "Thomas…now?"
 

"You've got handcuffs, don't you?"
 

Laughing, Cecelia looked up him and brushed his hair from his face. The action made her light headed she slumped against him. But Thomas leaned down and picked her up in his arms, cradling her close.
 

"Don't you have a fever?" She leaned her head into his warm chest.
 

"You always give me a fever." He kissed her forehead and placed her on the bed. "You rest. I'll take care of everything else."
 

***

Cecelia was surprised when Lex and Sheriff Harmon showed up. The snow had stopped falling, but it was still powdery enough to drive through—with the right vehicles. After checking the breakers and turning them back on and shutting the generator off, the Sheriff took Blair into custody and drove off but Lex stayed behind so he could patch her up and check on Thomas.
 

The three of them were in the kitchen. Thomas was at the stove warming up the dinner left overs, and Cecelia sat at the table as Lex treated up the cut where Blair clipped her with the axe.
 

"…morning when the snow starts melting. The temperature's not supposed to get much higher during the day," Lex talked as he worked. "And then the temperature's going to drop again. That's when the ice will come and getting up here or out of here will be the worst. So," he said as he sat back and examined his work. "I would suggest the two of you come back with me and stay at the house with Nana and I."
 

"So she's on her way here?" Thomas said.
 

"Yep." He had Cecelia turn in her chair to face him. "Okay…sis. You're good. But you're both going to need to take it easy for a few days."
 

"So…" Thomas began as he turned off the stove and grabbed a bowl. "Would it be too inconvenient if we—meaning Cecelia and I—stayed here?" He wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
 

Cecelia smiled up at Thomas then looked at Lex.
 

Lex looked at each of them and shrugged. "Sure. Just make sure you both take your pills and try and get
some
sleep?"
 

After a final run through the cabin to make sure Blair hadn't sabotage anything, Thomas finished off the linguini while Cecelia took a shower. When she turned off the water she opened the door to find Thomas leaning against the sink, a clean fluffy towel in his hand. "May I dry you off, sexy lady?"

She laughed and stepped out of the shower.
 

About the Author…

CJ is an avid reader of romance. Her tastes in romance range from sweet romance, to even a hybrid of cozy/romance to suspense. When she starts a book she has no idea what the tone or the story will be. She starts with two people and watches as the story unfold.