Topaz Heat (Christian Romance) (The Jewel Series) (26 page)

She crossed her arms and huffed, “Do you think I’m a target? Need a babysitter do I?”

“No. Because of your concussion.”

Sarah put a hand on her forehead and flinched at the tenderness. “I’ll be fine.”

He narrowed his eyes and she shivered at the directness of his cold stare. Finally he shrugged. “Your call. See you later.”

His car door wasn’t even shut before he gunned the powerful motor and started backing out.

DERRICK
drove his mighty Mustang through the nearly empty streets of downtown. Within minutes, he pulled up front in the loading zone of his apartment building. A valet attendant met him as he got out of his car. Instead of spending his normal time making small talk, he just nodded a greeting and went into the lobby. He didn’t stop at the guard’s desk. He waved hello and went straight to the elevator. The guard had activated it from his station, and the doors opened just as Derrick reached them.

He shoved his hands in the pocket of his leather coat and leaned against the corner of the elevator while it shot up twenty floors. Knowing full well the position of the security cameras and that he could be seen, he didn’t pace, or punch a hole in the wall of the elevator, or throw his head back and scream in frustration. He just stared at the tips of his boots and waited for it to get him home.

He straightened as the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened and he found himself outside of his apartment door. The door held a combination key instead of a key lock, and he punched in the code and stepped into the first sanctuary his life had ever offered.

He walked inside the living room and expected to feel a sense of calm and security envelope him as it normally did. But, he felt nothing but anger burning a hole in his chest. Throwing his keys across the room did nothing at all to make him feel better. Kicking a chair over also made it worse. So he sat on the edge of the couch and put his face in his hands, struggling to control the anger, fighting back the wrath, knowing they could destroy him if he allowed them control.

He took deep breaths, reasoned with himself, talked himself down. How he wished the ice and snow outside would go away so that he could get out there and drive spikes into rock, throw his body weight into a physical task that would occupy his thoughts and center his emotions.

He looked at his watch. Nine-thirty. He wondered how long it would be before the police knocked at his door again and arrested him for the murder of another person he didn’t kill.

Knowing he needed focus, he grabbed his worn Bible off the table next to his favorite chair and took it into the bedroom with him. He would read, focus on something else, until he couldn’t stay awake anymore.

SARAH
watched the sun rise over her back yard. She sat in her kitchen, knees pulled up to her chest, a cup of tea long cooled at her elbow, and watched through the kitchen window as the sun rose over the trees. Anxiety had settled like a fog over her whole body until she was nearly numb with it. She barely even felt the headache anymore.

She wasn’t upset about talking to Detective Beaumont. She knew that the peace she felt inside when she spoke to him was real -- was God-given. No other explanation existed for her. But what twisted her stomach and her heart into little knots of fear and hurt was the way that Derrick didn’t trust that. Just like her sisters, when an adult moment presented itself, he treated her like a child – like a disruptive teenager. And he was very, very angry.

Once Derrick’s car had gunned away, she felt the numbness settle over her. She went to her kitchen and made a cup of tea, then sat at her table.

As she sat there the rest of the night, eventually watching the sky gradually lighten in the winter morning, she decided that as unreasonable as Derrick’s treatment of her was, she certainly wasn’t going to go to him and say she’d been wrong, when she had definitely not. All she could do was continue to be there for him, to be present, and to pray.

The doorbell surprised her and made her stomach jump. As she got out of the chair, she stretched the muscles that protested at the first movement in hours. Rolling her head on her neck, she touched the edges of the bruise on her forehead and thought maybe some of the tenderness had gone away.

When she opened the door, her eyes widened in surprise to see Derrick standing there, the collar of his leather coat drawn up over his neck against the cold. She widened the door. “Come in,” she said.

He came in and put his hands to his lips, blowing against them. “Temperature’s dropped probably thirty degrees since last night,” he said.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Okay.” She waited, but offered nothing else.

Derrick shoved his hands into his pockets. “Listen,” he said. “I’m sorry I got so irrationally angry with you last night. I was temporarily overwhelmed.”

With a nod, Sarah gestured at the couch. “Have a seat.”

Derrick unzipped his jacket and shrugged out of it. “What you said was completely true. That was terribly unfair of me to doubt your faith. Please accept my apology.”

Sarah sat down against the corner of the couch and drew her leg under her. “Thank you.” She expected Derrick to sit opposite her, and was surprised when he sat close. He picked up her hand. His fingers were cold.

“I don’t know what my future holds,” he said.

Sarah surprised them both by sitting forward, one knee on the couch, one foot planted on the ground. “I do,” she said. She framed his face with her hands. Shadows under his eyes marked the fatigue on his face, but did nothing to take away from his handsome features. She stared into his eyes – eyes the color of the richest coffee. “Your future holds you and me together.”

“We don’t know that.”

“I know that,” she said. “I know with absolute certainty. And I’m here for you no matter what.” She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his, gently to keep from irritating her bruise. His eyes looked deeply into hers, and she felt a tug in her heart like nothing she’d ever felt before. “No matter how long it takes,” she said.

Derrick put a hand on the back of her neck. “I can’t ask that of you,” he whispered.

“You haven’t.” She gently pressed her lips against his and felt the cool skin warm under hers. He sat immobile at first, but very quickly deepened the kiss, pulling her toward him. Sarah shifted so that her thigh pressed against his, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Derrick moaned against her mouth. He moved, breaking the kiss as he stood. She looked up at him, dazed, and he laid his palm against her cheek. “I need to go,” he said.

Sarah stood quickly and grabbed his wrist. “No, stay.”

He gave a short laugh and hugged her to him. With his arms wrapped around her, Sarah felt wonderful, felt right. She laid her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes, breathing deeply in with a heavy sigh. “I have to go.” With the squeeze of his arms, he kissed the top of her head. “When do you work again?”

“This afternoon.” Sarah stepped back and watched him put his jacket back on.

“I’ll pick you up and drive you. What time?”

“You don’t have to.”

He smiled. “Yes, I do.”

With her fingers fluttering against her lips, she smiled back. “Two.”

Derrick reached forward and took her hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed her palm, sending a warm shock up her arm and through her heart. “I’ll see you at two.”

Sarah walked him to the door and kissed him good bye. She fought the urge to drag him close to her and convince him to stay, and knew that was exactly why he had to leave.

He paused on his way out the door and turned toward her as he lifted his collar up against the wind. “I love you, Sarah Thomas.”

Sarah smiled and laughed. “And I love you, Derrick DiNunzio. Have a good morning.”

She didn’t shut the door against the cold until he backed down the driveway. Rubbing the chill from the wind out of her arms, she moved to her bedroom and pulled the shades, determined to get a few hours of sleep before she had to work.

AT
one forty-five, Sarah came out of her bedroom and turned toward her bathroom. The text from Derrick said that he was five minutes out, and she wanted to get her hair pinned up before he got there. She slipped her phone into the pocket of her scrubs and gathered her hair at the base of her neck.

She felt the movement behind her but nothing registered until a hand grabbed the back of her neck and pushed her forward, slamming her against the wall. Her hands, which were already at the base of her neck, were grabbed together and raised above her head. Before she even had time to react, the cold blade of a knife pressed against her cheek.

Sarah closed her eyes and concentrated on slowing her breathing. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. As soon as she felt like she might not hyperventilate, she opened her eyes. A familiar voice spoke close to her ear. “Not a word,” he said. “We’re going to walk out of here nice and calm. No scene. Or I’ll cut your pretty face to pieces. Understand?”

She gave half a nod and whispered, “Yes.”

He released her hands but grabbed her again behind her neck. His hand on her neck kept her from turning around and seeing his face. He turned her body, propelling her through her house and toward her open front door. The security chain dangling, obviously cut, gave a clue how he broke through her meager defenses.

The shock of cold outside had her rubbing her arms, thankful that she wore a long-sleeve t-shirt underneath her purple scrubs. Her rubber shoes slipped on the ice on the edge of her sidewalk, but her abductor’s hand on the base of her neck kept her from slipping and falling.

He half pushed her toward a black sedan. As they approached, the back door opened and, using the forward momentum of her body, he bent her and shoved her inside.

She landed against another person, who put his hands on her shoulders and settled her next to him. Before she could turn and bolt out of the car, the door shut in her face. The other passenger clucked his tongue and shook his head, and she saw that he had a gun pointed at her.

“Do you know who I am, little girl?” he asked.