Second Chances (30 page)

He walked around behind her. "Don't try to make me feel any better. It's obvious you aren't okay. There's blood on your shirt. Last night was too much. As a result, you've probably torn your stitches."

Now that he mentioned there was blood, she started feeling lousy. Great. Talk about stupid. Her poor attempt at bandaging herself must not have worked very well.

"Let me see," he said shortly.

She leaned forward to maneuver her arm out of the T-shirt. Gently, he pulled her shirt up partway only to drop it after a quick look under the bandage.

"Grab your purse. We need to get this looked at."

On the way into the hospital where the doctor was currently doing his rounds, she finally asked, "Brian. How did you know that I was hurt?"

"There was blood on the bed and pillows," was his brusque response.

Karina tried to hide the hurt. He seemed so cold and angry. With her or with himself? She didn't understand and she wasn't feeling up to sorting it out. The pain kicked up a notch.

Silence filled the car for the remainder of the trip. The wait at the hospital was equally uncomfortable. When the doctor finally arrived, he seemed to have formed his own idea about the injury. He gave her a shot and checked her over, then told Brian he wanted to speak privately with him. Karina was still reeling too much from the agonizing pain to pay close attention.

However, Brian squared off his shoulders and followed the doctor into another room. The walls certainly weren't very thick. Karina could hear the doctor sharply giving Brian hell. Brian never said a word in his defense. Finally, the doctor ran out of steam and loudly warned him to take better care of her.

They were a very subdued pair on the drive home.

Tired, sore and aggravated by the morning's odd events, Karina's temper built higher and higher. On her way back to her room, she turned around on the landing. With the last of her energy, she yelled down at him, "I'm not sorry."

With that, she stormed into her room and slammed the door.

Her outburst finished her and she headed gratefully for bed. The physical pain was easing under the gentling blanket of medication, but the emotional turmoil was attempting to gather speed.

She fell into a troubled sleep.

***

Ian peered through the closet doors as Karina slept. He hadn't expected her to come in here. Not if they were lovers. Surely they'd share the same bed? That all wasn't perfect in their world made him smile.

He'd barely made it inside the house when they'd returned home. He'd slipped into the first door he reached and hid in the closet, just in case.

Karina had entered the room shortly thereafter.

It been all he could do to hold back. He stared at her even now. In university she'd been gorgeous. Now she was freaking hot. Somehow she'd started to bloom in these last months. That it could be her relationship to Brian left a dry taste in his mouth.

She should have been his. If she'd gone out with him back in University, he'd have married her. He knew that. Instead he'd left school bitter and alone.

Kind of like he was now.

His bitterness turned to anger. Then determination.

He held his breath, and opened the closet door.

***

Brian bowed his head. Damn. He'd done it again.

The phone rang. Picking it up he withheld the urge to throw it against the wall.

"Ian has escaped. I tried to call earlier, and your cell went straight to voicemail." Markham began without preamble. "I've dispatched several officers to your house. They should be there in about ten minutes. I have as many officers out looking as possible."

Brian's stomach constricted. He could hardly breathe. He was alone in his office but couldn't help himself from spinning around and searching the small space anyway. His worst nightmare was repeating itself.

"When and how, damn it?" he asked in a clipped voice, striding out to the main foyer. The door had been locked when they'd returned from the doctor's. He made his way into the kitchen, waiting impatiently for Markham to explain.

"During the transfer to the new facility. He knocked out one guard and shot another."

So Ian's violence had escalated even more. Not good at all. "And you think he's coming here?"

"I think we have to consider that possibility." Markham sighed. "Ian might have gotten smart and decided to disappear instead, but I don't want to take any chances."

Neither did he. Brian stood at the foot of the curving staircase and stared up at Karina's closed door. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her. She needed to rest after this morning.

"I'll come by in an hour or so. In the meantime, let the officers in to do what they need to do and keep an eye out. Above all, stay safe."

Brian stared down at the receiver in his hand, shaken to the core. Damn, just when he thought they were safe and beyond all this.

The hair on the back of his neck rose.

He spun around.

P
hysical and emotional pain kept Karina from getting the full benefit of a healing sleep. Pain brought her to the surface once as she tried to roll over and landed on her damaged shoulder. She peered around the room groggily, realized she was alone and slipped back into slumber. But this time she took with her a vague uneasiness.

Fear snapped her awake for the second time only moments later. She lay there for a few seconds, desperately trying to drag air into her lungs. Gasping and shuddering, she waited for the nightmare of pain and horror to fade away.

Only it didn't.

"There you are, Karina. How nice of you to wake up for me."

"Ian!" She struggled to sit up, panic overriding the pain.
It couldn't be
.

But it was.

Ian propped himself against the wall. His face was destroyed—green and black, swollen and puffy—and co-ordinated shockingly with his bloody clothes.

He straightened and took a step toward her. He lifted his hand, a syringe held between his fingers.

Karina swallowed convulsively. Dear God, this man was mad. He was here. In Brian's house.
How?
Her panicked gaze searched for a way out. "What do you want?" she asked fearfully. "How did you get in here?"

Ian just smiled, a grotesque parody of the real thing.

"What's in that?" Karina asked staring at the clear liquid. How had he gotten free? He was supposed to be locked up—wasn't he? She couldn't clear her thoughts. The only thing on her mind was escape.

Brian. He should be here.

Downstairs. She just had to scream loud enough. And get out that damn door. The door she'd slammed shut.

"Oh, just something to help you sleep. Of course, if you get too much then you won't wake up at all."

"Brian will see you in hell for this."

"I'll take care of him. This way you see, if I don't get that opportunity for a little while, I'll know he's living in the same hell that I am."

He lunged.

She screamed at the top of her lungs and threw herself clear of the bed only to become tangled in the sheets. She stumbled to the floor and pain screamed through her body. Fire shot through her shoulder, with her other arm now a second inferno. But the pain was almost secondary. Every part of her was focused instead on the maniac coming towards her. Frantically, she wracked her brain for some sort of plan, a way to get out—

Too late!

A brutal hand grabbed her good arm and pulled her toward him. Karina burst into nonstop screams, punching and kicking blindly. One blow managed to catch the side of his face, but with the second she struck his injured shoulder. He bellowed, pulling back slightly in pain.

Good, a weak spot. No mercy. She lashed out with her free foot and nailed it again.

He roared and grabbed at his shoulder.

Dimly, Karina could hear shouting coming towards them, but she wasn't safe yet. Using all the anger, fear and pain Ian had inflicted on her, she struck out at him repeatedly. She neither knew where her blows were landing, nor cared. She was blind to everything but the fight for her life.

***

Brian pulled the door open to see the promised officers standing on the porch as Karina's screams reverberated through the house. He spun and bolted up the stairs, filled with terror. Christ, the bastard was already in the house. "He's upstairs," he yelled. He didn't wait for a response from the officers, but instead focused on getting to Karina.

He threw her bedroom door open and found his worst nightmare in progress.

Striking and lashing out with everything she had, Karina was fighting for her life. Lunging forward, Brian grabbed Ian by the shoulders and pulled him off her. Something flew from his hands to hit the far wall. He managed to trip him, getting him down on the floor. His right fist pounded Ian's face again and again.

This time the bastard wasn't going to get up and run away.

"Stop, Brian. Stop. We've got him."

Only as the words slowly penetrated the red haze in his brain and hands tugged at him, did he relent. Bending over, chest heaving, he waited for sanity to return to his mind. He gasped several times.

God.
The bastard almost killed Karina again.
Karina.
She'd collapsed into the corner of her room, crying uncontrollably.

"Brian, go to Karina. We'll take care of him." One of officers nudged him.

Brian glared down at the unconscious man. "Keep him under control this time. If he gets to Karina again, I'll kill him myself."

The officer nodded. "We'll deal with it. You deal with Karina."

Brian shook off the black wall of rage and raced to her side. "Easy, sweetheart, easy. Ian's gone. The police have him again. It's okay. Shh, baby, it's going to be all right."

"Brian—" she struggled to get words out.

"I'm here, Karina. Just relax. Please sweetheart, you're going to hurt yourself."

She tried to smile, in between her sniffles. "I'm okay. I'm just so glad you were home."

"Yeah, me too."

Her attention moved to something behind him, and Brian turned, surprised to see a room full of men. Foremost in the group, surveying the chaos, was Officer Markham.

"Are you both okay?" Markham asked.

Brian nodded, tugging Karina tighter against his chest. "We will be." He looked down at her. "Won't we, sweetheart?"

"Does she need a doctor? I have an ambulance coming for Ian. If she needs to get to the hospital I can call for another ambulance."

"No." Karina shook her head frantically. "I'll be fine."

Brian tightened his arms protectively around her. "If she needs medical attention, I'll take her in myself."

Karina relaxed in his embrace.

He stood up, tugging her upwards with him, and moved with her downstairs. They didn't need to be cramped in the same room as the others—and especially Ian. He was currently unconscious and would hopefully stay that way, but that didn't mean they needed to stay in the bedroom. At least he was restrained now, with men standing guard. How he'd escaped last time, he didn't know.

In the kitchen, Karina curled up on a chair while he made a fresh pot of coffee.

Markham came in as the pot finished dripping. He refused a cup. "We're moving him out in a few minutes. He's done a lot of damage today."

"Damage?" Karina asked, looking pale yet valiant. "Like what?"

"He severely injured his two guards at the hospital. One is still unconscious and the second is in surgery right now. They're both expected to make it. And you can bet that neither will underestimate another hospital transfer patient again. Ian had them both fooled. Even the hospital staff thought he was remorseful and cooperative."

"He's insane," Karina exclaimed. "How could anyone think any different?"

"Because he's very, very clever. I don't know what will happen in terms of the legal system. He'll likely go through testing to see if he's mentally competent to stand trial."

Officer Markham reached out to shake both their hands. He moved to the entryway and paused, turning back to face them once more. "Ian's goal was to stop you two from finding happiness together. If that meant killing you both, he was prepared to do that. You're both very lucky to have survived. Don't let him achieve his goal through your own actions." He smiled. "You've been given a second chance. Make the most of it."

A
s Markham left the house the ambulance arrived. In a swift and efficient manner Ian was transferred to the waiting vehicle and within minutes, the house was empty. There would be statement to give but that could happen tomorrow. At least, not until after Karina had been seen to.