Rescue Me (14 page)

We’re not even situated in the house for five minutes before there is a knock at the door.

“I wonder who that could be?” Erin says as she adjusts herself on the couch.

“I have no clue,” I shrug, sneaking a quick look out the window. “It’s Luke,” I tell her after noticing his Range Rover in the drive. I unlock the front door for him.

“What’s up, man?” I greet him and let him in.

“Luke, what’s going on?” Erin stands up and directs her attention towards the door.

Luke sighs heavily.

“I wish I was here with good news, but I’m not.”

He strolls in and has a seat in one of the chairs.

“Well? What the hell? Spit it out.”

The look on his face is grave as he keeps his focus directed on me.

“Joel was spotted south of town early this morning at some truck stop diner just off the highway.”

“D…did they catch him?” Erin responds first but I know they didn’t catch him. I can tell just by looking at Luke, there is more to why he is here than that. I take a seat on the couch next to Erin and place my hand on her leg.

“No. They haven’t and there’s more,” Luke continues, confirming my suspicions. He runs his hands up and down his face in frustration.

“What is it?” I demand.

“By the time the waitress noticed it was him and called the cops, he was gone.”

“How did she know it was him? I mean, I don’t understand,” injects Erin as she glances back and forth between the two of us.

“The local television stations have been blasting his picture on the news for the last twenty four hours. He has a warrant out for his arrest, not only here but back in Texas as well,” Luke advises.

“What? Oh my God, what has he done?”

“Erin, calm down babe and let him finish.”

“He’s a drug dealer, Erin,” Luke informs her.

“I knew it,” she whispers. Both Luke and I jerk our heads her way.

“What do you mean, you knew it?” I question, a little too harshly.

“Well, I mean I didn’t
know
it know it, but I suspected he was on something yesterday when he was here. The way his eyes were glazed over and... Wait. You both knew too, didn’t you?” She stands and places her hands on her hips. “And the cops this morning, why didn’t they tell me?”

There is silence in the room for a few minutes until I stand up and speak.

“I asked them not to tell you because I wanted to tell you myself. I just haven’t had the chance to. We just got home five minutes before Luke got here.”

Erin looks at me solemnly. “I’m sorry. This is all just too much. Like I said, I suspected it, but when the cops didn’t mention it, I figured I was wrong. I didn’t mean to snap at you all.”

Luke holds his hands up and chuckles a little. “I would say you have every reason to snap, Erin.”

“So that is why he went to prison then, isn’t it, I am guessing?”

“Yes it is. And once he is found I don’t think he will be getting out anytime soon,” adds Luke. “I am sorry for busting in on you two and for you finding out this way.”

“Don’t be sorry, Luke. You only confirmed my suspicions.”

Luke clears his throat. “There is one more thing I need to tell you.” He stands and puts his hands into his front pockets. “He was with Tonya.”

WHAT. IN. THE. MOTHER. FUCK?

“You have got to be kidding me!” I shout as Erin gasps beside me.

“Your ex, Tonya?” she asks, eyes wide.

“Yes. The one and only.”

If I was a pot of water right now, I would be fucking boiling over. How in the hell did she get mixed up with him? I stand and face Luke.

“Do the cops have her?”

“No. They are looking for her, too.”

“Good Lord, this is messed up, man. We have to find them!”

“Look,” injects Luke. “I have no idea how the two of them hooked up or what the hell is going on, but you are not doing anything, Adam, but staying here and keeping Erin safe. That is the way you can help. Let the cops and Big Neil do their jobs. I mean it.”

“I hear you man. I won’t be leaving her side,” I vow.
Damn it all to fucking hell, Tonya, what have you gone and done?
If anything happens to her, I know Erin will blame herself. Fuck!

“I need to get back to work. Again, I am sorry to bring you this kind of shit news but I wanted you to hear it from me and not anyone else.”

“Luke, please find her and get her away from him. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he did this or worse to her,” Erin pleads, pointing at her face and neck.

“We’re on it, Erin. And we will keep you informed.”

“Thanks for stopping by and letting us know. I really do appreciate everything you’re doing,” Erin says with a steady voice.

With a nod and a pat on my back, Luke leaves. When I spin around and look at Erin after shutting the door behind him, she is in tears.

“Oh, baby. Don’t cry.” I can’t stand it when she cries. “Come here. I need to hold you in my arms.”

She complies easily. I take her in my arms and let out a deep breath, burying my face into her hair and taking in the scent that is uniquely Erin.

As she sits there in my embrace with tears streaming down her face, she is so quiet that I can hardly hear her.

“You know, I never liked her because she had you,” she finally sniffs. “And now I feel guilty for thinking that way. I don’t want him to hurt her.”

I don’t want to pull myself away from her warmth, which is so tightly pressed against me, but nevertheless I need to look into her stunning eyes when I tell her what I know she so desperately needs to hear. As I cup her face tenderly in my hands I give her the words.

“She never had me, Erin. Not in the way you do,” I state firmly. “You’re the only one who has ever had my heart. I want to experience everything with you. Quiet walks on the beach while I hold your hand. Watching the sunset. I want to help Sierra grow up into an amazing woman, just like her mother. You’re the only woman who I have ever wanted a future with. You know that cliché where they say you complete me? Well, you do. It’s you, Erin, and even though I know you’re going through hell right now, I want to be right there beside you.”

She lets out a deep breath and when she smiles up at me I feel it seep into every bone of my body.

“You see a future with me?” she asks with elation.

“Sweet cheeks, I see so much of a future with you that it consumes my every waking thought. I am so deeply in love with you. I knew I loved you but I didn’t realize how much until I saw you lying in that hospital bed. All I could think about was how much I wanted you to wake up so I could tell you you’re everything I was looking for, and for you to know that you’re mine and I am yours. I promise you, nothing and no one is going to stand in the way of our happiness.”

I bring my hand up to wipe away all the tears streaming down her face.

“You really mean that, don’t you?” she asks as she lays her head up against my chest.

“I feel like I have been waiting my entire life for you, Erin McIntyre, and I mean every word I said.”

She sighs in satisfaction and when she lifts her head and those out-of-this-world baby blue eyes look up into mine, I know I have found what every man dreams of finding- someone who loves them back with no conditions or price tags or any type of bullshit. She loves me just as much as I love her.

“I love you, too. You are a dream come true, Adam Payne.”

I want to tell her I was just thinking the exact same thing but I don’t. This is her dream and I will always make them come true.

Chapter Eighteen
Erin

I could stay in the comfort of Adam’s arms forever. The way I feel inside right now is totally indescribable. Adam has a way with words I never knew existed. Everything he says and does I can tell comes straight from his heart. And he never complains about a thing. I know he’s real and not a dream; however, he is the ultimate package. He’s a man who is not afraid to tell me how he truly feels about me, he doesn’t hold it all in.

And the way he has brought me out of the self-sufficient dark place I thought I would be living in for the rest of my life has shown me life is not full of evil and shades of black, it’s full of every bright color of the rainbow and I, too, want a future with him.

We are both brought back to reality by the slamming of the back door.

“That must be my sister.”

We walk into the kitchen where Shelby is dumping bags on the counter. She starts taking items out of the bags and tossing them into the pantry. She bangs the door shut.

“What is your problem?” I snap at her.

She turns and glares at me. “Freaking Antonio Schavone is my problem. That man is a self-absorbed grade-A jerk.”

“That’s going a little overboard Shelby, don’t you think?” I ask gravely.

“No. I don’t think it’s even a little bit ‘overboard’,” she air quotes. “Of all the people that I have to run into at the store, it’s him. He’s like a damn pesky ass bug that you can’t seem to get rid of,” she stews.

“Seriously, Shelby. I think you’re overreacting here just a little bit, don’t you? I mean, what did he say or do this time that has your panties all in a bunch?”

“What did he do? You mean what
didn’t
he do?” She places her hands on her hips. I take a glance at Adam who just stands there with a peculiar look on his face. “He grabbed my ass right in the middle of the fucking store. That’s what he did. Who the hell does that?”

Adam lets out a loud laugh and I can’t help but join him because the look on my sister’s face right now is comical.

“Shelby,” Adam says through his laughter. “Antonio is attracted to you, girl. You’re a challenge to him. He may not be the most subtle person in the world, but I have known him for most of my life. Yes, he can be a jerk sometimes, but he’s not used to being told no. I am here to tell you right now that like most men, when we see something we want ,we stop at nothing until we get it.”

He peers my way with a heated glaze in his eyes.

“Well he is not getting a piece of me, and the quicker he realizes that then the better off he will be. He’s a man-whoring twat and UGH I just want him to leave me alone.” She stomps her feet.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon, sis, so why don’t you give it a try and just give in and go out with him?”

“Ah, hell to the no I am not going out with him. And why are you two pushing me at him, anyway?”

Adam shrugs. “I think you two would be good for each other,” he remarks.

“Oh dear Lord, you have got to be joking. Good for each other? The only type of good that he is, is no good, so no thanks.” She moves to the cupboard and pulls down a glass then reaches into her purse and pulls out my prescription. She takes a deep breath and hands them to me along with the water.

“Here. Sorry about my rant, it’s just he gets under my skin. You don’t need to be hearing about it, though. So next subject, please. How are you feeling?”

My sister could seriously give me a case of whiplash if my neck wasn’t already a little tender.

“I’m doing okay.”

“You sure? Because when you first walked in here you looked a little, oh I don’t know...red in the face and your eyes are a little puffy. Have you been crying?” she asks tenderly.

“Just a little, but it’s not what you’re thinking.” I take the pills and down two of them after reading the bottle.

“Then what is it? Did something happen while I was gone?” 

Adam and I fill her in on everything Luke told us and by the look on her face when we have finished our tale, I know that she is just as scared for Tonya as I am.

************

“Mommy!”

Sierra comes barreling into the bedroom where I had just woken up from my nap about a half hour before she got here. She comes to an abrupt halt when she looks at me.

“Your face is purple. Does it hurt?” She creeps slowly over to me as I sit on the edge of the bed and pull her into my arms.

“Just a little bit, sweet girl. Mommy is fine so don’t you worry about me, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy, but can I kiss it and make it feel better?” She looks up at me with tears in her eyes.

“I would love a kiss from you, baby girl. In fact, I would love to have lots of them and a big hug, too.”

Ever so gently she cups my face and places sweet little tender kisses on my bruises.

“Those are the best kisses ever, Sierra. See? I feel so much better already.” I smile at her as she pulls her hands away from my face.

“I don’t like to see you hurt, Mommy. You better remember to hold onto that hand rail from now on when you go down the stairs just like you told me to,” she frets and I wipe away the few tears that have leaked out.

“I will, Sierra. Don’t worry about mommy, okay? Now tell me about school today.”

She proceeds to tell me all about her spelling test and that she doesn’t have any homework tonight.

“Daddy said since I don’t have homework, we get to make your surprise tonight and then tomorrow we get to give it to you when I get home from school. He said we’re going to build a fort in the basement, too.”

I love listening to the sweet and innocent sounds of my daughter’s voice as she goes on and on about Adam and all the things he has planned for her. A man who can love someone else’s child as if they were their own like Adam does is a man who beyond a shadow of a doubt is as sincere as they come. I listen to my child talk about Adam and the mere fact that she calls him her dad makes me love him all the more.

“I can’t wait to see my surprise, sweetheart, and pizza sounds so good.”

“I have the best mommy and daddy in the world!” she screeches and lifts her hands into the air in affirmation.

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Adam remarks as he stands in the doorway with his legs crossed at the ankles and his hands folded over his chest. He’s got one hell of a big grin on his face.

“Daddy? Can we go make Mommy’s surprise now? I kissed her owies and made them feel better just like you said I would.”

She jumps down off of my lap and runs into his arms where he lifts her up effortlessly.

“You bet we can, Butterfly.”

“Yay! Mommy, don’t come in my room.” Holding my hands up as if to say 'no, I won’t', I watch the two of them until they are out of my sight and I hear her door shut behind the sweet sound of her giggles.

I head for the kitchen, but as I approach I hear Shelby’s voice talking to someone. I am all of a sudden curious at the unusual tone in her voice. As she notices my entrance she places her hand over the receiver so whoever she is talking to can’t hear her and whispers, “Joel’s mother.”

I don’t know why I am shocked; I shouldn’t be. I really do not want to stand here and relive this nightmare all over again with Joel’s mother. I shake my head ‘no’ in regards to not wanting to talk to her; however, I can hear Emily carrying on in the background, so with resignation I reach for the phone and say hello.

“Erin, dear. I know this is upsetting to you, but honey I just need to know. Is my son all right?”

Shit!

“Emily, I really don’t know what to tell you and I don’t know how much Shelby has told you.”

“She really didn’t tell me anything. Joel contacted us when he got out of prison a few weeks ago. We tried to tell him he could come home, but he said he didn’t want anything to do with us.”

“Emily, how did you even know he was here?” I press the issue.

“I didn’t. I just took a wild guess that he would try and find you and Sierra and I’m right, aren’t I? Oh dear, honey, please tell me he didn’t hurt you. Please. I don’t think I could live with myself if he did.”

Straightening my spine and looking at my sister, I lie.

“He hasn’t hurt me.”

“Oh, thank God,” she gasps. “You have seen him though, right?”

“I have, and he...he looks... oh, Emily. He doesn’t look good at all.”

I close my eyes as I know she has got to be hurting hearing these words. “I really don’t have much more to tell you. I really don’t.”

I hear her sniffling and know that she is crying. “I am so sorry, Emily.”

“God, Erin. I’m the one who’s sorry. I don’t know where I went wrong with him. He’s my son and even though he has done some horrific things in the past, I love him.”

The guilt in her voice is so clear.

“Emily, none of what happened was your fault at all. Joel made his own choices back then and he is making them now. I know you love your son, and I promise if I hear from him again I will let you know.”

I feel a pang of guilt set in because there is no way I will be the one calling her when Joel is found. I get a huge lump in my throat as I finish up my conversation with one of the kindest women I have ever met, and my heart breaks for her in more ways than one.

“You’re a good girl, dear. How is my little granddaughter doing? She must be getting so big.”

“She is getting so big and she loves her new school. This move was the best thing for both of us.”

I chew on my lip and turn my attention to Shelby who is just sitting at the table actually twiddling her thumbs. I stifle a laugh and continue on with my conversation.

“Are you dating anyone Erin?”

“Umm. As a matter of fact, I am.” I kind of put a little too much enthusiasm in the ‘I am’ part.

“That’s wonderful. You deserve to be happy.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more. He’s truly perfect.”

Shelby rolls her eyes at my effervescence.

“Who’s perfect?” Adam asks as he comes around the corner and makes his way to the fridge giving me a picture perfect view of his sculpted ass.

“Hey, Emily. I will keep you posted if we hear from him again, okay?” I tell my ex mother-in-law while never taking my eyes off of the incredible man who is now chugging a bottle of water as he holds my gaze.

“Thank you, Erin. Please give Sierra a hug for us.”

“I will. Take care.”

I sigh deeply as I set the phone down on the counter and jolt when I feel strong arms encircle my waist.

“Joel’s mom?” Adam asks.

“Yes. Apparently Joel called her when he got out and she asked him to come home. Of course he declined, and she wanted to know if we heard from him.”

I spin myself around and put my hands up against his chest. I fill Adam in on the rest of the conversation and all the while out of my peripheral vision I can see Shelby looking down at the floor. Something is up with her and I am going to find out what the heck it is. Adam gives me a short but sweet kiss, and as he starts to walk away he turns back around with a wink and says,

“I’ll show you just how perfect I am later, sweet cheeks.”

Yes, please!

Once Adam is out of sight, I turn to my sister.

“Okay, Shelby. Spill, girl. What is going on with you?”

I pull out a chair and sit down next to her. She shrugs.

“Come on. I know you, sis.”

“Erin, you have been through so much. You don’t need to listen to my bullshit on top of everything else,” she says as she gets up and starts taking items out of the fridge for what I assume is dinner. She has kind of taken over the kitchen since she has been here, which is fine by me.

“Shelby, stop that. Now tell me, what’s going on?”

She sighs and places the vegetables on the counter. “I feel like such a fool telling you this. Then again, nothing is going to come of it, anyway.”

Her face turns a light shade of red. OH MY GOD, my sister is blushing! I know her so well that I know the exact reason, or should I say person, who is causing it.

“You like him, don’t you?”

“Who?” She looks at me, stunned.

“Antonio. You like him.”

“I do,” she whispers. “And it pisses me the hell off that I do. So, there. That’s my problem.”

“Shelby,” I say as I get up and cross the room to her. “Don’t act like that. If you like him, then tell him. Go have some fun while you’re here.”

She shakes her head ‘no’.

“He’s a damn manslutting, slutbag, that’s the most infuriating part. I don’t understand how I can be attracted to a man like that and it just pisses me off even more.”

I bust out laughing at her outburst.

“It’s not fucking funny,” she fumes.

“It is! I am sorry but it really is. It’s about damn time you’re attracted to something or someone besides that damn restaurant of yours.”

She huffs and turns her back to me, starting to cut up her vegetables while trying her best to ignore me as I gain some control. I nudge her shoulder with mine and grab a knife to start helping her. It only takes a few short moments before she nudges me back with her hip and I swear when I chance a glance her way she has a hint of a sparkle in her eyes.