Resurrecting Charlie's Girl (6 page)

She
hurried over to him, the string of the kite grasped in her hand. There were
harsh lines around his eyes, and the hair on the back of her neck gave that
tingle of impending bad news.

From
the depth of her soul, she knew what was coming. She scanned the distance.
Somewhere out there, Jared might have a gun trained on her, or Tom.

"What
do you see?" She hooked a finger through one of his belt loops. The need
to connect with him strong, and knowing she wasn't alone gave her the courage
to face whatever danger threatened them. Besides, she was losing patience.
Jared ruined everything.

Tom
shook his head, but continued to stare toward the house. "I don't know.
Just a feeling."

He
took the spool of string from her hand. "I think everything's okay, but
I'd feel better if we pack it up and head back to the house."

"Okay,"
she whispered, grasping her elbows in her hand.

He
made quick work of winding up the string. "The kid probably wants his kite
back, and is spying on us. It's probably nothing."

She
nodded. Feelings had saved her life. She never ignored them, and someone out
there was watching them.

Barefooted,
Charlise walked beside Tom who kept her on his left side, putting himself
between her and the house. She ignored the wild grass that grew out of the
dunes and hurt her feet. She wanted back in the house where the walls protected
them.

A
young boy ran out to meet them in the street.

Tom
shook the boy's hand. "Andy, this is my friend, Charlise. Thanks for
letting us use your kite."

Andy
tilted his head and grinned at her. She leaned over and kissed the boy's cheek
to thank him for an enjoyable morning with his kite. She giggled when he
grimaced and hurried to wipe his cheek.

Tom
wagged his head as the boy ran off. "Aw, to be young and stupid."

"Stupid?"
She watched the boy who'd lost interest in the kite and peddled off on his
bike.

"The
kid made ten dollars, got his kite back, and a kiss from the prettiest woman
he'll ever meet." Tom snorted. "He didn't have a clue."

Prettiest
woman? Is he completely insane? He thought fake hair color and sweatpants were
attractive? Combine that with a psycho ex-husband that forced him into a
position of her protector—no , she didn't claim any beauty prize.

Swatting
the bottom of her pantlegs, she brushed off most of the sand before entering
the house. Tom followed suit and shut the door behind them. He strolled over to
the curtained window and peeked out.

Charlise
stood at the bottom of the stairs and caught her lower lip between her teeth.
She hoped this didn't mean that Jared had caught up to them already.

"I'm
going to go change clothes," Charlise announced.

Tom
closed the curtain. "I'm going to make some phone calls."

Tom
didn't move toward the kitchen, and Charlise didn't walk up the stairs. Their
gazes locked, and she waited for him to make the first move. All morning she'd
fought this moment, and out on the beach, he'd shown her how he felt in a way
that she'd never forget.

He
wasn't big on words, but his actions showed her a lot. She'd be an idiot if she
denied what was happening between them.

Tom
shoved his hands in his front pockets and lifted the corner of his mouth.
Charlise moved to stand in front of him. Her head barely came to his chin. Tom
bent his head toward her when she lifted her face to his. The kiss she bestowed
on Tom's cheek lingered longer than the kiss she gave the little boy next door.

"Thank
you. That was the first time anyone helped me fly a kite, and I'll never forget
it.," she whispered. She kissed him once more and walked backward toward
the stairs without taking her gaze from him.

Tom's
eyes softened and his bottom lip glistened from her kiss. She smiled to hide
the sadness welling up in her heart. She found herself without restraint around
him, and had no way to figure out how to deal with their relationship.

If
only this psychotic nightmare would end, so she could live a normal life. She
hurried up the stairs, afraid if she didn't get out of the room fast, she'd
throw herself at Tom and forget about how very wrong getting involved with him
would be. It didn't matter how many times she fantasized about what could be.
It wasn't possible.

Charlise
opened the bedroom door, stepped into the room, and screeched to a halt. She
left the bathroom door open earlier.
I'm positive I did.

"To—"
A hand snaked around her neck and smothered her cry for help.

The
scent of cinnamon coming from behind her caused her to gag.She clawed at the
arm threatening to snap her neck.

"Unless
you want your friend to come in here and be sprayed against the wall in little
bitty pieces, you'll shut up and do exactly what I tell you," Jared said.

A
moan of regret deep down in her belly ended the moment Jared's hand tightened
across Charlise's mouth. Too many people had died because of her. She didn't
want any more people hurt.

Jared's
voice rasped in her ear. "Now, we're going downstairs, and you can
introduce me to your new boy toy." He yanked on her hair and arched her
neck back. "You've been bad and have made me angry."

Jared
pushed her through the door, one slow step at a time, and descended the stairs
without letting her go.

Charlise's
eyes darted around in her search for Tom. Without a voice to yell, she only
hoped he saw Jared before her ex-husband drew his gun on him.
Please, Tom,
run. Run far away.

Her
foot hit the bottom step, she stumbled, and the arm around her tightened. She
cried out. Stars danced in her vision from Jared cutting off her air supply.

Click.

"Let
her go, Blatwell." Tom's firm command came from behind her captor.

Jared's
body stiffened against her back, and his hold on her mouth slipped down around
her neck and threatened to cut off her oxygen supply. She gasped.

"P-please
Jared, take me with you." Charlise hit at Jared's arm around her. She'd do
anything to distract him from Tom.

"Hear
that, lover boy? She wants to go with me." Jared laugh was evil and
brought bile to her throat. "I guess that shows you the moves you put on
my wife out on the beach didn't seem to work, huh? She's made her choice."

"I
have a problem with that Blatwell. You see, I don't believe the lady really
wants to go with you." Tom's voice stayed level, low, and in control.

Without
warning, Jared spun around, putting Charlise between the two men. She struggled
to get her feet under her to relieve the pressure on her neck.

"Unless
you want to hurt my wife, I'd think about putting that gun down and backing
away." Jared used her as his weapon against Tom.

Tom
wouldn't harm her to get to Jared. That's what made him different from Jared.

Charlise
understood the indecision that flashed over Tom's face. She closed her eyes.
She didn't want her desperation to influence him in any way. She wanted Tom to
live to see another day, and for that to happen he needed to let her go with
Jared.

Tom
blew out a breath and Jared jerked her backward toward the front door. She
opened her eyes, and gazed at Tom. She ached at seeing the torment on his face.

He'd
shown her a part of herself she'd lost long ago. An important piece she
desperately wanted to find again and for that kind of gift, she thanked him.
Tom made her feel special and that life should bring hope, love, and happiness.

Jared
walked her down the sidewalk. She stared at the Tom, standing on the porch,
helpless and wanted to tell him she understood. He'd given her more in the last
twenty-four hours than Jared offered her their whole marriage.

She
better understood what a true friend could be. Thanks to Tom, she'd learned how
much her life meant to her again.

Jared
opened the back door of the black sedan. She struggled anew. If she entered the
car, everything she'd lose everything she'd fought for the last couple of
months.

"No,
Jared. Let me go." She hit out with her fist. "You have to let me go.
We're not married anymore. You promised!"

The
giant who worked for Jared moved to subdue Charlise. She held her breath and
pushed against Jared's arm. The blood rushed to her head, and she feared she'd
lose consciousness.

Bang!

The
arms around her neck fell away. She fell to the ground. Coughing, she labored
to fill her lungs with air.

Burnt
rubber choked the little air she drew into her body and she covered her head to
escape the gravel, spitting from Jared's car. On her hands and knees, she
crawled toward the house.
Tom!

Oh
God, Jared shot Tom…

"Charlise,"
Tom yelled.

Relief
flooded through her when Tom ran to her, keeping her body between himself and
the street. She hurried with him, getting closer to Tom's car. Once he stopped
on the side closest to the house, her hands roamed over his body to check for
wounds.

"Are
you shot?" Charlise coughed, and doubled over.

"No,
I did the shooting." He gathered her in one arm, keeping his weapon raised
with the other. "We need to get out of here."

Tom
led Charlise around the car and she climbed into the passenger seat. She wiped
her mouth and her hand came away with a swipe of blood. She must've bitten her
lip during the scuffle.

Tom
started the car. She gripped the edge of her seat as Tom squealed the tires
getting out of the neighborhood. She kept her eyes straight ahead, afraid to
look around and see a black sedan behind them.

"You
okay?" Tom zigzagged the car up one side street and down another to cover
their tracks.

"Yeah,
I think so. God, I thought you were shot." She scooted back in the seat
and put her seat belt on. "I heard the shot, and it all happened so
fast…"

"I
know. I saw an opening when you started fighting to get away and took it. I
only winged Jared. The most the son-of-a-bitch will have is a scratch, but it
was enough for him to drop you." Tom cut in front of another car on the
entrance to the highway.

"W-where
are w-we going?" The chills hit her hard and fast.

"Right
now, we're going to drive until I know we're not being followed. When it's
safe, I'll call into G.P.I. and set a new plan." Tom turned on the heater.

The
blast from the fan blew hot on Charlise's feet. The sensation shocked her and
she gazed down at the floorboard of the car in horro. Then she buried her face
in her hands, groaning.

"What's
wrong?" Tom rubbed her leg.

A
harsh bark of laughter came from deep inside her, damning her to hell. She
prided herself at how prepared she'd kept herself the last few months, and here
she sat with no shoes on her feet.

Whether
hiding or on the run, she always made sure she wore sneakers. She even wore
them to bed in case she had to make a quick getaway in the middle of the night.

She
might have to wear second hand clothes, but her shoes—she'd bought the pair
she'd worn earlier back when name-brand clothes meant something in her life.
She picked them out on a shopping trip with Julie. Now even her shoes remained
lost to her forever.

Chapter Seven

Tom
pressed down on the accelerator and the car shot forward. Charlise's outburst
concerned him. Usually calm and collected to an eery degree, considering the
circumstances. Her hysterical laughter followed by tears worried him enough, he
feared Jared pushed her to her limit this time.

"I'm
pulling over at the next exit. Stay with me, Charlise," he said.

Her
body tilted in the seat, and he knew any moment she might slip into a world
where there wasn't any danger. Her changing moods were playing havoc with her
mind. A body could only take so many traumas and he worried that she'd
witnessed more than her body could tolerate.

He
whipped the car around the corner, tires screeching, and pulled to the curb on
a one-way street lined with mature oak trees. With one hand on Charlise's leg,
he checked the rear view mirror and the side mirror for suspicious vehicles
before directing all his attention to Charlise.

"Come
here, sweetheart." He undid her seat belt, pulled her sobbing body over
the gearshift, and onto his lap. His chin rested on the top of her head. What
he wouldn't give to kill the bastard who scarred her so deeply, and make him
pay for the damage he caused her.

Her
best friend murdered, her Dad gone. Hell, she'd been on the run so long, he
doubted if she ever slept a full night. He needed to put an end to it for her
sake. She didn't know it, but he didn't plan to leave her side, now or in the
future.

"Sh…."
He stroked her arm and kissed the top of her head. "Can you take a deep
breath for me?"