Starbright (15 page)

“And that’s why you’re the businessman, and I’m only the wardrobe girl.” Olivia placed a loud smooch on Nathan’s cheek.

“Darling, you’re wardrobe girl extraordinaire.” He kissed her back so sensually that Beth blushed and looked away, not wanting to intrude on their moment. Seeing them so happy together made her long for Aidan’s company again.

The couple stood from the couch. Nathan picked up Olivia’s suitcase, and Beth walked them to the foyer.

Nathan opened the door. “Lock up when we leave, okay?”

Beth nodded.

He kissed her on the cheek. “Good night.”

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Olivia said on her way out of the apartment.

After closing the door and locking it behind them, Beth weaved around stacks of boxes and returned to the couch. The silence that engulfed the apartment was a welcome respite after such a chaotic day.

She closed her eyes, savoring the quiet, until the shrill ring of the telephone blasted through the room. She jumped up to answer it, and in the process, collided with a large box that sat on the floor. With a wince, she picked up the receiver and rubbed the spot on her thigh where the box’s corner had poked her.

“Hello, Sutton and Weston residence.”

“Hey, baby.”

Beth’s collision with the box slipped from her mind. “Aidan, what a lovely surprise!”

“I just called to say good night.” His consideration made her heart flutter. “I’ve been trying to read, but I can’t concentrate. You’re all I can think about.”

Beth felt her cheeks turn red, as though he stood next to her, admiring her with his usual appreciative stare. “I’m thinking of you, too.”

“I miss you so much, little dove.”

Beth looked around the vacant apartment. Suddenly her alone time wasn’t such a blessing. “I miss you as well.”

“Have a wonderful sleep, and I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?”

A smile overtook her lips. “I look forward to it. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Beth hung up and checked the time. It was approaching nine thirty. She should’ve considered sleeping after her hectic week, but she was now wide awake.

Taking advantage of her renewed energy, she wrapped some small items from the living room in newspaper and packed them into boxes that were not yet full. After filling two more boxes, she labeled them on the outside in pen and sealed them with tape. There wasn’t much more she could do tonight, so she poured a glass of orange juice in the kitchen and decided to retire to bed.

As Beth closed the icebox, she heard a noise coming from the next room. She popped her head into the foyer. Her gaze landed on the front door’s jiggling doorknob.

“Olivia?” she called. “Is that you?”

The doorknob stopped moving.

With a trembling hand, she set her orange juice down on the foyer table.

“Nathan?” Her squeaky voice was overpowered by multiple loud bangs on the door.

Beth jumped back, her heart pounding so forcefully it felt like a bongo drum played on in her chest. The banging stopped. She retreated to the living room and waited for further disturbances, but the apartment remained quiet. With shaky confidence, she tried to convince herself it was merely someone attempting to get into the wrong apartment by mistake.

Beth sat on the couch and tried to steady her breathing. Several minutes passed without incident before she was able to relax and walk into her room to change for bed.

Clad in her nightgown, robe, and slippers, she headed for the bathroom. All she wanted to do was curl up with a good book and fall into a dream where Aidan held her in his arms and told her he loved her for the first time. It was then she remembered that the novel she was reading was next to the television in the living room, and she still needed to finish her orange juice.

She took only a few steps across the living room when she heard a rattling noise at the window. It sounded like it came from outside, but that didn’t make sense. The apartment was two stories up, and the fire escape ladder was retracted.

Beth chastised herself for acting so cowardly. Olivia had stayed at Nathan’s house on several occasions, and she had never felt this edgy before. She was an adult, perfectly capable of being on her own. To ease her concern, she crept toward the window. It was too dark outside to see anything properly, but the noise had stopped. It could have just been the wind, or perhaps a wandering cat…

As Beth moved to pick up her novel, the rattling at the window resumed, only this time with more force and urgency. She froze.

The telephone rang, whipping her nerves into a frenzy. A second ring couldn’t budge her, nor could a third. By the time she mustered the courage to lunge for the phone, it was too late. The ringing ceased, and a thick, eerie silence overtook the apartment.

Instinctively, she lifted the receiver to call Aidan. As she waited for the operator, she turned toward the window again. A figure of what looked like a man wearing a dark balaclava stood on the fire escape. His masked face pressed against the window.

Fear swirled inside her like a tornado. The receiver fell from her hand, clamoring against the telephone table as it dangled by its cord. Beth heard the muffled voice of the operator on the line, but fear trapped the scream for help in her throat. Her vision blurred. Then the room spun and closed in on her all at once.

Aidan jumped out of his Porsche and bolted to the main entrance of the hospital. Minutes ago, he was at home reading when Nathan called with news that he and Olivia were in the emergency department with Beth. They had found her in the apartment on the floor, panicked and mumbling about a man on the fire escape.

Nathan surmised she had blacked out and hit her head but said the doctor concluded in his physical assessment that she was all right. Nathan also insisted there were no signs of forced entry and nothing seemed missing, and after giving Aidan the name of the hospital, told him not to rush.

Moments later, Aidan was out of his house and breaking every traffic law on his frantic drive across town.

He barely made it through the front doors of the emergency department before the memory of his last visit to a hospital, years prior, brought him to a halt. Blinking against the fluorescent lights, he took a fortifying breath and soldiered on.

He arrived at the nurses’ station and propped both hands on the desk, his gaze unrelenting as he focused on the sole nurse staffing the area.

“Marie Bates’ room. Now.”

Nathan had told him Beth was registered under her real name, as required by the hospital, but also to avoid alerting the media about what happened.

The nurse eyed him strangely. “Are you family, sir?”

“No, I’m not family. I’m—” Divulging the truth wouldn’t be a smart move. He sighed. “Just give me her room number.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t—”

“Look, lady, I wasn’t asking for permission.” His menacing voice ricocheted throughout the hallway. “Now give me her fucking room number.”

The nurse backed away but maintained her straight posture and eye contact. “If you’re not family, you cannot see her.”

Aidan’s anger exploded like a stick of dynamite, annihilating any patience he had left. He slammed his hands on the desk, his lips curled into a sneer. “Fine. I’ll find her myself.”

He took off down the corridor.

The nurse scurried after him, her heels clicking along the linoleum floor. “Sir, come back here!”

Aidan sped up. “Beth!”

“Sir, you must leave.” The clicking stopped. “I’m calling security!”

“Beth!” Aidan looked into every room he passed. “Beth, where are you?”

Nathan emerged from a room ahead and waved him over. “Aidan, she’s in here.”

Aidan broke into a run and pushed past Nathan into the room. He skidded to a stop. Beth sat in bed, wearing a bloody nightgown and housecoat. Her hair was tangled; her red-rimmed eyes glowed from her pale face.

Aidan gawked at the bloodstained gauze stuck to her forehead. Flashbacks of his mother sprawled out on the porch after the attack invaded his mind. He nearly doubled over from the resulting nausea.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he willed the images to go away. He needed to stay strong, but the shock of Beth’s injury was an unrelenting opponent.

Finally, fury won out over fear.

Aidan opened his eyes and gestured hastily to Beth. “Nate, I thought you said she was okay.”

He looked over his shoulder. Nathan was no longer in the room.

“We heard what the nurse said to you in the hallway. I think he went to try to call off security,” Olivia said quietly. She sat at the bedside, holding Beth’s hand. Makeup and tears streaked her face. “We were allowed to stay because I said I was Beth’s sister. Hopefully he can convince them to let you stay, too.”

Aidan scanned Beth again. Her head injury looked worse than he’d imagined, but at least she was awake and alert. He could tell by the way her face lit up upon his arrival and how she studied him so intently now. His first instinct was to pull her into his arms, but he held back. Unsure of the true extent of her condition, he didn’t want to hurt her.

Instead, he approached her cautiously and sat on the edge of the bed. Taking her hand from Olivia, he surveyed for other injuries he might have missed at first glance. All he saw was blood. Its foul, metallic stench made it impossible for him to concentrate.

“Aidan, please don’t be mad at Nathan.” Beth gave a weak squeeze of his hand. “I told him not to tell you about my cut because I wanted you to get here safely.”

Aidan exhaled deeply, fighting against his anxiety, which no amount of cigarettes in the world could settle. “What happened to your head?”

“I’m fine. I just bumped it—most likely on the edge of the telephone table when I blacked out.”

“Don’t say you’re fine. You’re
not
fine.” Aidan’s nostrils flared. “There’s blood everywhere, and you have a huge bandage stuck to your forehead.”

“Really, I am. The doctor said it’s a superficial cut.” Beth shrugged under his suspicious stare. “Apparently head wounds have a tendency to bleed heavily. I only needed a few stitches.”

Aidan’s eyes widened. “Christ, Beth, stitches? You needed fucking stitches?”

Shock over his outburst registered across her face. “Please don’t be sore at me, Aidan.”

“Damn it, Beth, I’m not. I just—”

At the sight of her eyes filling with tears, Aidan’s voice died in his throat. He grazed his other hand across her cheek, feeling the strain ease from his body. He wished he could heal her wound with his touch, or better yet, take back the entire night.

Nathan entered the room. Olivia rushed to his side.

“I was able to convince security not to take action against you,” he said.

Aidan pinned the couple with a no-nonsense glare. “What the hell happened?”

The cocktail of panic and grief that transformed Olivia’s face told Aidan he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear. He tensed again as he awaited an explanation but made sure the hand that held Beth’s remained relaxed.

“I’m not entirely certain. I… I wasn’t home.” Olivia glanced at her beau. “I was at Nathan’s. I was going to spend the night there.”

Aidan’s first instinct was to let out a series of curses and ask them how they could’ve been so selfish, but placing the blame on them would accomplish nothing. Ultimately, it was his fault. He should’ve been there.

He looked at Beth, his expression layered with concern. “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to be alone tonight when I called to say good night?”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

Aidan gritted his teeth to prevent speaking his true thoughts—they’d only come out sounding surly, despite his good intentions. He refocused on Nathan and Olivia. They looked back apprehensively, as though they expected him to go berserk on them.

“If you two weren’t at the apartment, then how did you know Beth was hurt?”

“I called her from Nathan’s to say good night, but she didn’t answer.” Olivia stole another glance at her beau. “Before I left the apartment, she told me she was going to bed shortly, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. I told Nathan to drive me home right away and—” Her hand flew to her mouth on a sob.

Nathan wrapped his arms around her and she cried into his chest.

Guilt swarmed the couple like a colony of bustling bees. Aidan’s anger yielded to empathy. They cared a lot about Beth, too, and it couldn’t have been easy for them to find her in such a state.

“I’m so sorry, Beth.” Olivia peered at her tearfully. “I never should’ve left you alone.”

“It’s all right.” Beth gave a small smile in return. “You’ve left me alone overnight before, and I’ve been fine.”

Aidan bristled at her admission. If he had been aware of this, he never would’ve allowed it. She would have stayed at his house where she would’ve been safe.

As his eyes roamed over her bandage, however, his confidence faltered. He’d been home when his mother was attacked, and it hadn’t made a difference to her fate. Then there was the catastrophe in the Santa Barbara hotel room…

Considerate of her injury, Aidan pulled Beth into his arms and served Nathan and Olivia a look he wasn’t accustomed to showing others: powerlessness.