Freefall (25 page)

“Yeah, I could stay up here forever.” He smiled. “With you . . . naked. We could just stop to come up for air and an occasional meal.”

I rolled my eyes, but truthfully, it sounded like a heavenly plan. The freedom I felt at being away from Lincoln’s control and out in the world to start a life felt dreamlike. For so long, I hadn’t really cared what my future would be like. When I’d pictured it, it was always bleak and lonely no matter what the scenario. But now, being with Nix, I’d realized that with a little effort and desire, I could be happy again. I could have a life with laughter again. I could love someone and have them love me back.

We turned a blind curve, and another car nearly collided with us. I gasped in horror, but it was not from the near miss. Nix stared up into his rear view. “He’s turning around. Damn he’s good. I thought it would take a few days for him to find us.” Nix didn’t sound all that worried, but my heart was beating fast.

“Sorry about this,” Nix said, and his foot pressed down on the gas pedal. He kept an eye on the rear view and the curve in the road. I clutched the seat edges with my fingers, but I realized I trusted Nix a lot more than I had ever trusted Lincoln.

The car tires shrieked as we sped around each curve. I finally gathered the courage to glance back. Lincoln’s Porsche was catching up to us. He was alone in the car.

“Once we get to the highway, I’m sure I can lose him,” Nix said. “Or should we stop and confront him?”

I shook my head and held up my fake finger gun.

“I forgot about the guns.” Nix looked up in the mirror. “For a Porsche driver, he sure doesn’t have much skill on this winding road.”

My throat had gone dry, and I swallowed hard trying to get a grip on my fear. At this point, I was more worried about the madman chasing us than the wild ride down the road.

An oncoming car laid on its horn as we sped past. “It’s a good thing there isn’t much traffic up here,” Nix said as he looked up into his mirror and then his face snapped back up. “Holy crap, where did he go?”

I leaned forward and looked out the side window. The Porsche was gone, but a plume of dust rose from below the road. I sucked in a breath and grabbed Nix’s arm.

“Did he go over the side?”

I nodded frantically. Nix didn’t slow down at first. I tugged his arm to stop.

He pulled over to the side and flipped a U-turn. We drove back up the road to where black tire marks veered off into wilderness. The nightmare of my family’s accident was coming back to me in shards of terror.

Nix and I hopped out of the car. He was on the phone to the emergency services. My hand flew over my mouth to block my silent scream. The car was upside down at the bottom of a small ravine, and the only signs of life were the birds that’d flown down to the wreck out of curiosity.

Nix slid down halfway. The incline was sharp, and he had a hard time staying upright. “Hammond,” he yelled. “Hammond, are you alive?”

I sat down on my bottom and scooted down partway. Nix turned around and put up his hand to stop me. “Stay there. I see some fluid draining out the back, and the whole car might blow.”

I froze in place and pressed my arm against my stomach to slow my breathing. It was Lincoln, and I’d grown to hate him in the past days, but I wanted him to be alive.

Nix’s long legs hurtled down the unstable path. He grabbed branches along the way to keep himself from tumbling head over heels down to the car. The side window of the Porsche was broken, but I saw a flicker of movement inside.

Nix reached the car and knelt down to the window. He looked back up the hill to me. “He’s alive.”

Nix stood and pulled at the driver’s side door. With some effort, he managed to swing it open. I could see Lincoln now. He was in much the same position that my dad had been in when we’d crashed, but it seemed the expensive sports car and its plethora of air bags had kept Lincoln alive. Nix dropped to his knees and twisted up into the car to release the seat belt. Lincoln cried out in pain. Nix turned and called up to me. “Is there any sign of an ambulance? I don’t know if I can move him without hurting him more.”

I stood and climbed back up to the road, but it was deserted. There were sirens in the very far distance, but they had several miles of curves to go before they reached us. Once again, my silence frustrated me and left me feeling useless.

I ran back to my perch and shook my head. I pointed to my wrist as if it were a watch. I cupped my ear and waved the direction that I could hear the sirens.

“They’re far away?” Nix asked.

I nodded. He always understood me, even in times like this. Nix sat down next to the car and spoke quietly to Lincoln to comfort him while we waited. And then a crackling noise made me stand up. I glanced to the rear of the car and saw smoke. I jumped up and down waving my arms, and Nix finally saw me.

“Are they here? I didn’t hear a siren.”

I tried to run down closer, but the terrain was too difficult. I pointed to the plume of smoke rising from the rear of the car. Nix lifted up and jumped to his feet. “Sonavabitch,” I heard him say. “Grit your teeth, Hammond. You’re coming out of there now.”

Nix leaned in and took hold of Lincoln’s arms. Lincoln cried out in pain as Nix pulled him free of the car. It was obvious Lincoln could not climb the hill with his injuries. Nix dragged him up the steep, crumbling ground. Several sparks flew out the back of the car.

“Nix!” I screamed.

He stumbled forward with Lincoln in his arms and dropped to the ground. His body shielded Lincoln’s, and his arms covered his head. I curled up into a ball as the car exploded. The explosion reverberated off the surrounding cliffs and pieces of metal and forest litter flew through the air.

The ambulance and fire truck pulled up on the road behind me, but I ran down toward Nix and Lincoln. They were completely still, and my pulse throbbed in my ears as I stumbled down to them. I was just feet from them when Nix lifted his head. He pushed to his knees, and Lincoln groaned as he lifted his face. It was pale and bloody, and once again, I had a fleeting moment of sympathy for the man.

“This is your fault,” Lincoln snarled at me, and the short moment of pity was gone.

Nix pushed to his feet, and I threw my arms around him. He hugged me tightly until the emergency crews reached us.

The firemen came down with extinguishers and doused what was left of the Porsche with foam.

“What happened here?” the paramedic asked as he leaned down over Lincoln.

Nix held me tightly as he spoke. “He was behind us, and we saw him drive off the road. I had to pull him out before the car exploded.”

The paramedic looked down at the charred remnants of the car. “I guess you saved his life.”

Nix smiled down at Lincoln. “See Hammond, it’s just lucky you met me.”

Lincoln found the strength to lift his middle finger at Nix, and the paramedic looked somewhat confused. “Why don’t you two go up so they can check you out and make sure you’re all right. The police will want a statement from both of you.”

Once again Lincoln found enough strength to laugh at the paramedic’s words. His cruelty had no limits.

Nix took my hand, and we struggled up the hillside. When we reached the top, he stopped and turned to me. He didn’t say anything at first and then I smiled up at him. “You said my name. And I’m feeling embarrassingly smug about it too.”

I looked down, blushing at the thought of it.

“And this time you heard it too.”

I nodded. Pure terror at losing him, had made me lose whatever barrier I’d devised to keep my words from coming out. I knew if I tried to speak at this moment, even at the height of emotion I was feeling, it would be impossible. But somewhere deep inside my heart, my voice was ready to break free.

Nix had dirt smudged on his face and his lip was still swollen and gashed but just looking at him stole my breath. I’d finally found the person who would hear my silent screams. I’d finally found someone to fill my empty heart.

I reached up and wiped the smudge of dirt from his forehead. He caught my wrist before I could drop my hand and lightly pressed his swollen mouth against my palm.

“I need a statement from the witnesses,” a voice said from behind. It was a policeman.

“We’ll be right there. My girlfriend,” he paused and smiled down at me, “needs to get her paper and pen from the car. She is mute, but she can give you a written account.”

“I’ll be over by the squad car waiting.”

I turned to get the paper, but Nix grabbed my hand. I peered up at him. “Look, Scotlyn, I know you spent a long time with Lincoln, and he probably wasn’t always a controlling asshole—”

I scrunched up my face to let him know that he was most of the time.

“If they brought guns into the country, you need to tell the police. Even if he’s down there right now with some wicked injuries, he still has to be stopped. Those guys he’s working with have to be stopped.”

I glanced down to where they were fitting Lincoln with a neck brace and taking his vitals.

“He was going to trade you in to an arms dealer.”

That was the final prod. I went to the car and got my paper. I wrote down the name of the warehouse I’d heard Grady mention, and we took it to the officer.

Nix was finishing giving the report as they carried Lincoln up on the stretcher. He looked frightened and in pain, which was exactly how I must have looked to him when he’d found me on the street.

I lifted my hand, and the paramedics stopped. I walked over, and Lincoln peered up at me from the stretcher. He didn’t say a word, but I placed my palm on his cheek. His eyes closed and he pressed his face against my hand. Then I lowered it, and they carried him to the ambulance.

C
HAPTER 29

Nix

It had been a few months, but I was still getting used to Cassie and Dray walking up holding hands. She’d been totally happy, and like I’d always expected, she’d been good for him too. He had a great job as a longshoreman, and he spent a lot less time in the fight ring.

Clutch sat down with a basket filled with six tacos, and I heard a gasp of amazement come from Scotlyn. I looked over at her. “That’s probably just an appetizer.”

“Hey, I’m a growing boy,” Clutch muttered after he’d filled his mouth.

Dray reached over to steal one of his tacos, but Clutch blocked it. “If you’re still growing then I’m calling the Guinness record people.”

Clutch took another bite so he could ask a question. “How’s Nana doing in that place?”

I snaked my arm around Scotlyn’s waist and pulled her closer. Her fragrance and the solid feel of her body reminded me that she wasn’t just a dream. “Good. I was being a stubborn ass. It turns out she really likes it. She has some friends there that she plays cards with, and she’s happy.” I squeezed Scotlyn. “And Scotlyn is writing out all her memoirs. Apparently Nana was quite the wild woman. Almost wish I’d grown up in the sixties.”

“Yeah, that’s what we were missing in our rebellious youth— LSD and the draft.” Dray took a sip of Cassie’s drink.

“I asked you if you wanted one,” Cassie said.

“At that moment in time, I didn’t want one, and now I’m thirsty.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Besides, it’s too late to worry about germs.”

Cassie shook her head and looked at Scotlyn. “He is such a romantic.”

Scotlyn laughed. It wasn’t loud, but the soft sound was there.

“How is everything going with Carl?” Cassie asked. Her cousin was a therapist, and after he’d heard Scotlyn’s compelling story, he offered to treat her for free, as long as he could write about her case for his doctorate degree.

Scotlyn lifted her thumb in the air.

My friends had grown used to her hand signals and waiting for her to write responses. She was still mute when there were a lot of people around, but sometimes, when we were all alone, her voice would come out.

Clutch looked over at Scotlyn. “What time can you come into the office tomorrow? We’ve got a whole new list of products to input.”

Scotlyn pulled out her paper. “I can come as early as Nix can drop me off.” Like everything else Clutch touched, the vintage parts business he’d started with Jason had taken off like an oil well, and he’d hired Scotlyn to take care of the online orders. She just needed more practice behind the wheel before she could take her driver’s test.

Clutch looked at me. “Well, I’m not getting up at the crack of dawn, but I’ll get her there early.”

“Minor alert,” Dray muttered.

Clutch sighed. “She’s coming this way, isn’t she?”

I held up his napkin. “Maybe we could hide you under this.”

Taylor squeezed in next to Clutch. Her parents had decided they couldn’t really afford boarding school, and so she’d stayed in town to finish her last year of high school.

Scotlyn waved across the table to her.

“Hey, Scottie,” Taylor said, “I haven’t forgotten that you promised to show me how to pose as a pin-up. A photographer friend is going to take my pictures.”

Scotlyn nodded.

“Don’t encourage her,” Clutch said. “She actually thinks that she’s going to become a model.”

Scotlyn frowned at Clutch and wrote something. “She could definitely be a model. She’s gorgeous.”

Taylor leaned over to read the note too, and a smile split her face. She lifted her chin up at Clutch. “So there. Just because you don’t have any faith in me.”

Clutch ignored her, and Taylor bounced back up off the bench. “See you all later.” She ran off.

Scotlyn’s leg reached across, and she kicked Clutch’s big shoe to let him know he was an ass.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Clutch said on a sigh.

“I’m thinking of expanding my little custom jewelry business to online,” Cassie said. She leaned over. “Maybe you could help me with that, Scotlyn?”

Scotlyn nodded enthusiastically. She’d jumped into her new found freedom ready to try anything. I learned some more horrid details of her life after the accident, and it was no wonder why she’d remained mute for so long. She’d had to be incredibly strong to go from having a normal happy family to instantly being thrown into some of the worst life had to offer. And while Hammond had very likely saved her life by pulling her off the streets, she’d quickly become a sort of silent prisoner in his house. We’d stopped his illegal dealings, but as Scotlyn predicted, Hammond had managed to ‘slip the hangman’s noose’, as they say. Fortunately, he found another woman, one far more willing to be controlled as long as it came with lots of expensive handbags and jewelry.