Blind Love (19 page)

Chapter Thirty-One

The Escape

Flat on his stomach and surrounded by thick brush, Gabe peered through the scope of his rifle. A green light flashed repeatedly on the cell phone lying beside him, alerting him to what he already knew. He was about a hundred yards away from Lauren and the gunman. The land between him and them was clear of obstruction, except for a few scattered oak trees.

The muzzle of his rifle poked out between a small opening created by two of the trees surrounding him. His elbows dug into the dry, dusty earth as the weapon was perched in his palms, its butt atop his shoulder. The gun’s stock stayed straight and stable under the grasp of his left hand. All but one of the fingers on his right wrapped tight around the grip of the rifle. A lone digit sat hooked around the trigger, waiting for the opportunity to press against it and make the kill.

And the target: Raymond West.

Gabe recognized the heavy-set, light-haired man the minute he laid eyes on him. The fucker had been Autumn’s neighbor. They even talked a couple of times in the past weeks while he was in Houston. His muscles tightened at the thought.

How the hell did the lying sack of shit fall under the radar of both the cops and him?

The trunk of an oak tree blocked Raymond’s head from Gabe’s sight line. He almost had the target in the center of the scope at one point, but the man shifted directions at the last minute.

Aside from the slight rustling of leaves, the woods were silent. Portions of the man’s conversation with Lauren floated to Gabe’s ears. He listened as Raymond proclaimed his love for Autumn and, in so many words, confessed to raping her. When he mentioned something about a promise he needed to keep, he noticed the way Lauren shook her head. The more the man talked, the more the pieces fell into place.

One thing became crystal clear: Raymond West was a killer and would kill again.

Anger brewed in Gabe’s chest and the urge to pull the trigger was hard to keep at bay. Especially when the son-of-a-bitch pressed his body into Lauren’s like he just did. It took every ounce of strength he could muster to not pepper the man’s body with bullets.

It was too risky. There could be a vest under his blue tee. If there wasn’t a vest, the bullets might go right through him and into Lauren. Or, realizing the attack, the target could take the gun in his hand and kill Lauren before Gabe had a chance to finish him off. With her life in danger, every move he made had to be calculated, precise.

He scanned Lauren’s body for injury. She stood with her arms wrapped around the tree behind her. The muscles in his jaw clenched as he took her in. Her face and clothes were stained red and from the way she avoided putting weight on her right leg, it was injured.

Gabe forced himself to look away. After spending twelve years as a Marine, eight of those as a Scout Sniper, he knew better than to let his anger lead him. Reacting emotionally and breathing erratically might set him up for error—something he couldn’t afford. So he worked on keeping his respiration steady and his eye fixed in the cross-hair of the scope—not on Lauren.

Patience was not something he had much of currently. He cracked his neck and waited for the few unobstructed seconds he needed to make a successful kill. And it would come. It always did.

When the man walked out from behind Lauren and directly into the sight line, Gabe sucked in a slow lungful of air, and, as he released it, pulled the trigger. One straight shot aimed for the head. He didn’t wait to see if it hit its mark before aiming and shooting again, this time into the man’s thick trunk.

Gabe rose from his spot, slung the rifle’s strap over his shoulder, and put the tracker in his jeans pocket. There was no need to see if the man was dead. He already knew the answer. Instead, he sprinted across the field to get Lauren the hell away from there.

The hundred yards between them seemed to widen with each second.
She can’t die.
He pounded his feet into the earth and ran as fast as he could while he repeated the words. By the time he got to her, she lay huddled on the ground, her arms still wrapped behind the tree.

Sliding to his knees, he cupped her face with his hands, tilting it up. “Lauren, can you hear me?”

Her eyes stayed closed and her head weighed heavy in his palms. For a few seconds, his brain shut down. He didn’t move or breathe. Could only stare at her as a chill crept up his spine. Was he too late? All his years of training hadn’t prepared him on what to do if the woman he loved died.

As the terror bubbled inside him, Gabe locked it away with the other emotions he’d pushed past in the last two hours. Fear. Anger. Guilt. The list was endless and none of them were of any help.

When he pushed his fingers against the vein in her neck, a faint pulse beneath her skin tapped back. He blew out a breath and pressed his lips against her cheek.

She was alive.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he leaned her against the tree. From his back pocket, he retrieved his army blade and reached around her, slicing the binding from her arms. She went slack the minute the ties were removed and fell onto his chest.

He pulled her into his arms and laid her gently on the earth, inspecting her injuries. Welts and deep gashes covered the soft skin of her wrists. The edges of her mouth were red and crusty with dried blood and abrasions. But those injuries weren’t the reasons his heart was pounding.

It was the tinge of blue on her lips. The clammy, cool feel of her skin.

Somewhere, she was bleeding out.

After scanning the rest of her body, he had his answer: the injured right leg. The blood-soaked jeans and bullet hole in her thigh had his lungs pole-vaulting out of his body.

Sweat dripped down his face and back as he cut off the fabric and assessed the damage. The wound went deep, bleeding excessively. He pulled off his shirt and tied it directly above the gash. Unbuckling his belt, he wrapped it snug over the fabric and tightened the leather as much as possible in the hopes of decreasing the blood flow to the area.

When Gabe slid his hands under her, lifting her into his arms, she cried out in pain. It was the most beautiful sound he’d heard in hours. “Can you hear me, sweetheart?”

“Don’t call me sweetheart,” she whispered.

He grinned and held her a little tighter. The smart-ass woman he loved was still there. “Deal. Put your arms around my neck and hold on. I’m going to run.”

Lauren hugged onto him and rested her head against his shoulder, falling in and out of sleep. Having her so close, feeling her breath against his neck, and the faint smell of citrus in her hair, had his eyes burning. After an hour of driving down the interstate not knowing if she was alive or dead…

He blinked away the moisture threatening to spill and sprinted through the woods. She’d lost a lot of blood, and from the way it was soaking into his jeans, she was still bleeding. Between the injuries and the sun beginning its descent, everything was getting darker by the minute.

Gabe jumped over a log, jostling her back to consciousness.

She rubbed her nose against his neck. “I dreamt about Jack. He was running down the beach coming straight at me. All big and beautiful and happy.”

Her head bounced against him as he hurdled over obstacles and weaved around trees. Soon she fell back asleep.

“Gabe?” she asked as her grip around his neck loosened.

He tried to ignore how her lips moved against his skin when she spoke.

“Still here,” he said.

“I love you.” Her voice came out soft and breathless, but he heard every chest-piercing syllable.

Her words were so unexpected and shocking, Gabe stumbled, almost dropping her. He caught his footing, adjusted his grip and continued forward, trying to shake off the impact. A tear slipped from his eye. No. Now was not the time to think about what she said. His only job was to keep her alive.

Lauren’s arm fell from his neck and dropped limp to her side. Seconds before her head flew back, he lifted her higher, crushing her cheek against his chest.

Moisture dripped from every part of him. “Hang on, baby, we’re almost there.” Even as he said the words, he knew she couldn’t hear him.

In the distance, men yelled out orders and dogs barked. The sounds sent a surge of energy through him, pushing him farther, faster.

When he approached the steep incline separating the forest from the road above, a half dozen of the local PD’s tactical team were waiting. Dressed in dark body armor and helmets, the red lasers of their guns flashed in his face.

“Put her down,” one of the men ordered.

Gabe stopped in his tracks and tried to catch his breath. “She’s lost a lot of blood and needs medical attention.”

“And we’ll make sure she gets it. First, you need to lay her down, put your weapon on the ground, and step away.”

“Lower your guns.” Lauren’s father slid down the steep incline to the human wall of the SWAT team. “He’s the reason she’s alive. Let him through.”

Before James could get any further, one of the men restrained him.

“And we will, as soon as he puts her and the gun down and backs away.”

Gabe understood. At this point, they didn’t know if he was the killer or the friend. He carefully rested her on the earth in front of him. With one hand in the air, he pulled off his rifle and laid it beside her. Stepping a few feet away, he got on his knees and placed his palms on the back of his head.

His arms were yanked hard and wrists cuffed. They said things he didn’t hear. For him, it was all background noise to the more important scene unfolding in front of him. Paramedics picked Lauren up and laid her on a stretcher.

Her father stood by her side, looking between his daughter and Gabe.

Gabe tilted his chin toward Lauren, encouraging the man to go with her. James nodded and flashed a grateful look before running behind the EMTs as they carried her up the slope.

They shoved her stretcher into the vehicle’s open doors. James jumped into the cabin of the ambulance seconds before the doors slammed shut. Sirens sounded. The dark sky filled with swirling lights as they transported her.

If anyone could survive this, it was Lauren. She was the strongest person he’d ever met. The vehicle and its valuable contents disappeared from his line of sight.

Ben drove south on Interstate 285, trailing a blue sedan three cars ahead. The captain had told him to go home. Said he was off duty and way too emotionally connected to be part of the investigation.

And how the fuck exactly was he supposed to do that?

Since the order came down, all he got was scraps of overheard conversations and apologetic looks from the officers. So here he was, following the detectives in charge of the investigation. When Case stuck his hand out of the passenger side window and waved, a faint smile tugged at Ben’s mouth. He obviously wasn’t very good at this whole spy shit.

The grin disappeared as fast as it appeared. There was no humor in this situation. Every muscle in his body was wound tight, ready to explode, while a vat of burning acid crept higher and higher in his gut by the minute. And of course, the fucking antacids were sitting on his side table at home.

There were three people Ben blamed for this situation. Raymond West for being the psychotic piece of shit he was. Gabriel Briggs for coming to Denver and dragging Lauren into this fucking mess in the first place. And himself.

He was too busy being jealous, and pissed off because he was jealous, to do his job. If he had focused more on the activities going on outside the house instead of inside her bedroom, Jack would still be alive and Lauren would be sitting on the couch right now, telling him how much of an over-protective asshole he was being.

The more he thought about everything, the more the inferno in his gut raged. There were so many things he had failed to do and he couldn’t stop his head from imagining all the things the ass wipe might be doing or had done to Lauren because of it.

His brain flipped through the events that had transpired in the past three hours: Lauren’s kidnapping, the voicemail left on his phone, Jack’s body…

He clenched the steering wheel and tried to block the images of the dog’s remains in the woods. The German shepherd protected her when Ben couldn’t, and, in the end, gave his life doing it.

Thinking about the other stuff wasn’t going to bring Lauren home. He forced himself to focus on the chain of events that led him to the interstate. It had been pure luck that the officers noticed the broken back door on the vacant home a few houses down from Lauren’s. Inside, they discovered letters Raymond had written to the dead woman promising to take care of her son, a bag of new clothes the same size as the kid, a dog kennel big enough for Jack or for a seven-year-old boy, and chlorophyll—enough to put an adult permanently to sleep. Then there was the bullet that killed Jack. They were pretty sure it was the same caliber as the one that murdered Autumn Briggs back in May.

The blue sedan slowed to a stop at the exit ramp leading to Pike National Forest. Ben pulled over on the side of the highway and watched. Two patrol cars were parked nose to nose, blocking the area off from other vehicles. Case got out of the car and talked to one of the officers standing guard.

The sirens of an ambulance blared seconds before it merged onto the other side of the interstate.

Lauren?

Every organ in his chest tried to shove itself up his throat at the same time. He considered his options. Follow the flashing lights or stay close to the detectives. As if reading his mind, Case turned to him and waved in the direction of the ambulance. It was all the help he needed.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Friends

Lauren sometimes had dreams where the images and emotions were so vivid, she mistook them for reality. A lone tear escaped the corner of her eye. Hopefully, this was one of those times.

A warm hand squeezed hers. “Lauren?” The worry in her father’s voice sounded real.

Slowly, she opened her lids, blinking until her vision adjusted to the bright halogen lights above. As she stared at the ceiling, a blanket of sadness fell upon her chest. Lying in a hospital, her leg bandaged, she knew with clarity none of what she went through was a dream.

“Baby, can you hear me?”

Another realization hit her while she nodded her response. The left retina had degenerated some during her sleep. Which meant its visual field had shrunk, exactly like her right. Funny how up until this morning, the only thing important to her was her sight. Now it didn’t even make her top five lists of things to worry about.

“Jack.” She choked out his name, praying she was wrong.

Her father squeezed her hand a bit firmer. “He’s gone, baby.”

More tears escaped, dampening her cheeks, ears, until finally falling to the pillow beneath her head. Soon the only sound in the hospital room was of her sobs.

The one being on this planet that had never disappointed her was dead. As scary as the world had been for her, when he was by her side, she felt brave, strong. Never had he failed her. No, in the end, it was she who failed her best friend. Lauren gritted her teeth and tried to rein in her emotions, but the cries still pushed through.

Her father rested his cheek against her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he said over and over as she cried.

An eternity later, her body continued to heave, but the tears subsided. He stayed by her side, kissing her cheek and wiping her face.

When she squeezed his hand in gratitude, he sniffled and pressed his lips against her bandaged wrist. “You haven’t let me take care of you like this in a very long time. Thank you.”

Lauren rested her face in his palm and absorbed his warmth until her body calmed.

“How’s the pain?”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Not too bad, actually. Did they give me pain meds?”

“Yup, the good stuff too. You shouldn’t be able to feel a thing.”

It wasn’t true. She felt a lot of things. Sadness over losing Jack. Regret about the choices she made, all of which were rooted in one central emotion—fear. There were so many things she needed to change. So many things she needed to accept.

“You’re pretty beat-up. We’re very lucky the injuries weren’t worse than they were.”

Memories of the kidnapper flooded her. She sat straight up and scanned the room. “He wanted Evan.”

Her father squeezed her hand. “Evan’s safe, honey. Everyone’s safe. The asshole who did this is dead. Gabe killed him.”

Lauren rubbed the edge of the bandage wrapped around her thigh and, when she wiggled her toes, realized her ankle was also wrapped up tight. She took long, soothing breaths and repeated her father’s words.

Everyone’s safe.

“Your mom and Sunny are on their way here.”

Lauren raised her brows. “Wait, how are you here if Mom’s not?”

He positioned pillows behind her and helped her lean back. “For the record, I sometimes do things without her.”

When she tilted her head, even more confused, he chuckled. “Gabe brought me. We were going over the renovation plans on the new house when I got the call you were missing. So I hopped in his truck and we took off. Figured the less your mom knew the better.”

A smile stretched across her face at the image of her father sitting in Gabe’s pickup. “Really?”

“Yes, and we made a good team too. He drove. I navigated.” He ran his finger around her wrist. “That bracelet we gave you saved your life.” The emotion in his voice tugged at her. “Speaking of which, I understand you’ve never been to Brazil.”

She laughed through fresh tears. “He told you?”

The bed dipped as he sat beside her. “Among other things.”

When her father wrapped an arm around her, she rested her head on his shoulder. “Other things?”

“For starters, you’re the smartest person to ever walk this earth.”

“If he was right, I wouldn’t be sitting in a hospital room now, would I?”

He tucked her head under his chin and squeezed. “The reason you’re alive is because you used your brain. Don’t ever doubt it.”

She didn’t respond, just savored his love.

“That’s not all he said.”

“Do I
want
to hear the rest?” The words came out mumbled because her father’s shirt was pressed against her lips.

“I think you should,” he said. “Did you know there’s nothing you can’t do?”

Her face warmed. “He didn’t say that, did he?”

“He absolutely did.” Her father paused for a second before continuing. “And if your mother and I want a real relationship with you, we need to start treating you like you’re all of those wonderful things.”

The room went silent.

“Gabe said those things?” she whispered.

He let out a breath. “When you realize you might lose the person you love, it makes you say and do a lot things you wouldn’t normally.”

Lauren’s stomach tightened. “He used the word love?”

“No, but I saw the look on his face. The man loves you. He’s the reason you’re alive.”

She fought away the moisture building behind her eyes. Gabe was a complicated person, and chances were her father was wrong. Instead of arguing with him, she changed the subject.

“Sounds like he laid into you hard. Sorry, Dad.”

“Don’t be. When you realize you might lose the person you love, it makes you
listen
and
understand
a lot of things you normally wouldn’t. I’m sorry it took almost losing you for me to say it, but Gabe’s right. You are strong, smart and beautiful.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I am so proud to call you my daughter.”

How long had it been since she’d heard him say anything like that? Lauren blinked back the new surge of tears and tried to breathe through the emotion.

“Do you love him?” he asked.

Lost in thought, she fixed her gaze on the blurry white hospital wall. “I didn’t think I was going to live.”

Her father squeezed her a little tighter.

She kept talking, pretending not to hear his sniffles. “My thoughts went straight to you, and Mom, and Sunny, and Jack, but then to him. It took that moment for me to realize I loved him and had never told him.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’ve done way too much of that and you never listen anyway.”

Lauren laughed and nodded.

“You need to understand, I support you and whatever decisions you make. But, promise me if you ever decide to get married again, you’ll let me know? And I mean before the wedding, not after like last time. I’d like to, at least once, walk my daughter down the aisle.”

She rolled her eyes and giggled. “I’m not getting married, Dad. By the way, where is he?”

“Still at the police station.”

When she started to pull away, he held tighter. “Don’t worry, I’ve made some phone calls. He should be getting out soon.”

In a matter of hours so much had changed. “I wish I could go back in time and fix things. Not let Jack out of the house. Not let that man inside. Erase all my mistakes today.”

The door to her room squeaked open as she spoke.

“If you did, Evan would most likely have been kidnapped,” a familiar voice said.

She smiled. “Hi, Ben.”

Her father rose to greet his once son-in-law. This was their first meeting since the divorce. Unsure of how the interaction would go, Lauren held her breath.

“Hi, James. How are you?”

“Better, now that my daughter’s safe. I heard about all you did. Thank you.”

She watched the two blurred shapes shake hands. “I wish I could have done more.”

Metal scraped against the floor when Ben pulled up a chair. He took her hand and held on tight.

“Jack’s gone,” she choked out.

His thumb traced circles against her skin. “I know. I saw him.”

Lauren slammed her eyes shut and tried unsuccessfully to block out the memory of his agonized cry. “He was in pain.”

Ben leaned forward and wiped her tear before it ever hit her cheek. “He’s not hurting anymore.”

He pressed his palm against her face. “You know what I loved most about him?”

She shook her head. Ben loved Jack as much as she did. If anyone could understand her grief, it would be him.

“How much he loved you,” he whispered.

Lauren’s lip quivered.

“And I saw the way he was with Evan. He loved the kid too.” Ben handed her a tissue. “I know it’s not fair to weigh the value of one life over another, but I want you to consider something. Raymond West’s plan was to kidnap Evan. Jack saved his life, and if the dog had the chance, we both know he’d do it again.”

A cell phone rang. “It’s your mom; I’m pretty sure she’s lost. Ben, if you’re going to be here a while, I’m going to step out and take this.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ben said, continuing to run his thumb over her cheek. “I shouldn’t have left you this morning,” he whispered after her father left.

“This isn’t your fault.”

“If I hadn’t left…”

She didn’t let him finish. “Like you said, Evan might be gone. And you’re right, Jack wouldn’t have done it any different.”

“Ever since I got your voicemail, I’ve been in hell.” He grazed a finger over her cheekbone where the kidnapper had punched her. “Seeing what that asshole did to you, I want to beat the shit out of him. But the good news is, he won’t ever hurt another woman again.” He dropped his hand and leaned back in his chair. “Thanks to Gabe.”

Lauren cringed at the tinge of jealousy in his voice.

“This thing with him, it’s not a one- or two-night fling, is it?”

She lowered her eyes and shook her head. “I love him.”

The room became painfully quiet. Ben shifted in his seat. “You don’t say that very often.”

“I’ve only said it about one other man.” She searched for words to make it better but came up with nothing. “I don’t want to hurt you, Ben.”

“I know. It’s okay.”

Although he said the words, the sadness in his tone told her it wasn’t.

“I want you to be happy. Not knowing if you were dead or alive made me realize something. It doesn’t matter if you’re with me or not, as long as you’re alive.” His voice cracked. “We’ve always been close. It’s what’s made these last five years so hard. Every time something good or bad happened in my life, I wanted to talk to you. Even when Chloe was born, you were the first person I thought to call. Stupid, I know, considering everything leading up to her birth.”

He blew out a breath. “What I’m trying to say is I need you in my life, Cat. I need to know you’re okay, we’re okay.”

“And if I’m with someone else?”

He took in a lungful of air and, after slowly releasing it, answered her question. “I’ll deal with it. We were friends once. If nothing else, it would be nice to have my friend back.”

“As long as you remember she already has a best friend.” She jumped at Sunny’s words. Lauren had been so absorbed in his sadness, she didn’t even hear the woman enter. “And the one she currently has is about to beat the living shit out of her.”

“Hey, Sunny,” Ben said.

“Sorry, dude. You two were having a moment and all, but up until twenty minutes ago, I thought she was dead.” Her voice quivered as she spoke.

“Obviously, I’m still alive.”

“Barely. I mean look at you.” She sniffled, pulling Lauren into a tight hug. “You stupid, blind, arrogant freak. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Lauren spit out the lock of Sunny’s hair currently wedged in her mouth and rubbed her friend’s back. “I love you too.”

Her best friend held her tight and cried for a long time before releasing her. Sunny blew her nose and kissed Lauren on the forehead. “Okay, much better now. You look like shit by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“Listen, there’s a tall, dark and sexy detective out there by the name of Casey Johnson. He wants to talk to you. Should I let him in?”

Lauren nodded. “As long as you two stay with me.”

Ben squeezed her hand while Sunny answered, “I did mention tall, dark and sexy right?”