Blind Ice (Razors Ice Book 5) (20 page)

Kate sucked in a gasp. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

Help was on the way.

* * *

Colby sounded surprised to hear from Gabe, especially since they’d just had lunch together a couple of weeks ago. To Gabe, it felt like a lifetime ago.

“Does your job offer still stand?” Gabe asked, bypassing the formalities.

“Of course. I like the work you’re doing, Gabe. I think a new division is just what MacDaddy Games needs.”

“Good. I’d like to take you up on your offer.”

Colby chuckled, pleased by Gabe’s enthusiasm. “Whatever you’re making at Intelliteck, add ten percent.”

Holy wow
.

When the details were finalized and Gabe hung up the phone, he felt like his feet were filled with helium. Colby said he could start immediately. He would no longer have a steamroller like Bill Killingsworth looking over his shoulder, working the puppet strings.

Gabe wasn’t admitting or even accepting defeat. He was just relocating the battlefield.

Without saving, Gabe closed the files he’d been working on, or more like staring at, and hopped onto the internet to purchase a one-way airplane ticket to Red Valley. The flight left in three hours, which was more than enough time considering he didn’t have much to pack. All he had to do was clean up here and then box up a few things in his apartment to have shipped to California.

Wesley came into his office and leaned against the doorjamb. “What’s with all this CosteMart bullshit?”

Gabe looked over at him and grinned. “I quit.”

Wesley blinked. “The project? Yeah, we’d all like to. It’s boring as hell, but you’ve never quit on a project before.”

“Not the project,” Gabe clarified and began pulling stuff out of his desk. There wouldn’t be much to pack up here either. “Intelliteck.”

“What?”

The way Wesley’s jaw hung open made Gabe want to chuckle. How he could go from complete devastation to wanting to dance an Irish jig on his desk was mindboggling.

He shoved some VINCE notes into a box and straightened to look Wesley in the eye. “I’m heading to Killingsworth’s office right now. I’m going to tell him I quit and then I’m walking out. I’m going to Red Valley. My flight leaves in…” he checked his watch, “two hours and fifty-seven minutes.”

Wesley’s eyes grew wide. “When are you coming back?”

“I’m not.” Gabe waved the airline confirmation at Wesley. “I’m going to be with Julia and I’m taking a job at MacDaddy.”

“You can’t leave. What about VINCE?”

“I’m taking him with me. Colby is creating a new division. I’m taking VINCE and finishing it. I’m seeing this thing through to the end.”

“And what did Killingsworth say about that?”

“He already terminated the project.”

Wesley was dumbfounded. In the span of thirty seconds, he had just found out that the program he’d been working on—a project he actually
believed
in—had been scrapped and his best friend was quitting and moving thousands of miles away.

Wesley made his way to the chair across from Gabe’s desk and collapsed into it. “You can’t leave me here.”

Gabe tossed him his spare house key. “You can stay at my apartment. The rent is paid through the rest of the month.” Wesley lived with his parents and Gabe knew he’d appreciate the privacy.

Wesley looked down at the key and frowned. “Thanks, but that’s not what I want. I want to go with you.”

Gabe shrugged. “Suit yourself. Colby told me I could put together my own team, but you’d have to move to Red Valley.”

“Sweet. I’m in.”

“You sure?”

“Hells yeah. I only stuck around at this morgue because of you. My mom drives me nuts and—” He waved his hand and shook his head. “Forget it. It doesn’t matter.”

Gabe looked down at the box in his hands. Funny, after six years he thought he’d have a bit more to take away from Intelliteck than a box full of files and a “Hang in There” coffee mug. Then again, he had VINCE and that was worth more than gold. The only thing he needed was the dream of completing it and a girl to come home to.

Wesley sprung up out of the chair like he’d been energized with a power-up from a video game. “I’ll go get my stuff.”

A few minutes later he met Gabe in the hall with two garbage bags full of action figures and as many office supplies as he could make off with. He didn’t know how much Post-its were worth on the black market, but he didn’t care. Killingsworth could suck it. He’d spent way too long wasting his talents at this dead-end job anyway.

Wesley beamed at Gabe and hefted one of the bags over his shoulder like Santa Claus. “This is like real-life Jerry Maguire.”

Gabe grinned. For a guy who loved his life through the computer and video games, the guy had a tendency to exaggerate. “Ready?” he asked.

Wesley nodded. “Ready.”

With his box of belongings tucked under his arm, Gabe stopped by Mr. Killingsworth’s office on his way out. Just as promised, the papers claiming ownership of the software were signed and waiting for him.

“I’m sorry, but he’s on a private conference call,” his assistant Jane curtly informed them.

Right. He was probably discussing imperative conveyor belt strategies.

Gabe nodded and strode past her desk with Wesley behind him, scurrying to keep up. He walked right into Killingsworth’s office and stuck his head in the door. “I just wanted to let you know that I…well, I quit.”

“Me, too,” Wesley added, puffing his scrawny chest out.

With that, Gabe turned on his heel and strode toward the exit. The look on Killingsworth’s face was priceless and they laughed about it all the way out the building.

Actually, Gabe thought with a grin, this did feel like a scene from a movie. This was his life and he was grabbing the wheel. He was making the move to California with his eyes wide open.

Hang on Julia. Red Valley here I come
.

Gabe stepped from the building and into the windy Chicago air. It was the first time he’d felt like he was breathing in fresh air in a long, long time.

He thought about calling Julia and sharing the news, but when he called she didn’t answer. It was just as well. How often could he pull off a surprise of this magnitude anyway? He’d much rather surprise her in person.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Unconditional Love

Kate wasn’t prepared for the scene she was met with upon arriving at the East Oak Apartments. Several fire trucks lined the streets, their long hoses extended, and paramedics were loading a woman into an ambulance. It was absolute chaos and Julia was stuck in the middle of it all, unable to see any of it.

Kate ran through the crowd, searching every face for a familiar one. Even knowing that her sister had already escaped from the building did nothing to help unclench the figure-eight knot inside her stomach. The fire looked like a living entity, its orange flames greedy and angry.

Not until she spotted Julia on the back lawn did Kate exhale a sigh of relief. “Are you all right?” she asked, rushing up to her and Shamus.

Julia’s face and clothes were smudged with soot and the fabric at the ankles of her baggy pajama pants looked like they had been singed by fire. Kate swallowed down bile and checked Julia for injuries.

Julia waved off the concern for herself. “I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s Shamus I’m worried about.”

Kate looked down. Shamus was standing beside Julia, just like he always was, but his legs were straining to hold his big body up and it looked like he was grimacing.

Julia’s lip trembled. “I think he’s hurt, but I can’t…”

Kate knelt down in front of the dog who had been a part of her family for the past eight years. She swallowed back the tears that bit at her throat and squeezed her eyes shut. “We need to get him to the hospital.”

“What’s wrong?”

Kate grasped Julia’s elbow. “Come on.”

In the car, Kate calmly told Julia about Shamus’s injuries. She’d loaded the poor dog into the seat as gently as she could. She’d taken off the cardigan she was wearing and covered him with it because he was shaking. He was probably in shock from losing so much blood.

Blood
.

Kate swallowed. Oh god, how could she have let this happen. She should never have let Julia live on her own, no matter how much she insisted she could handle the independence.

Rather than wait for the paramedics to take a look at him—they already had their hands full with the residents—Kate had called the Red Valley Animal Clinic on the way to her car. Thankfully, they had a 24-hour emergency line.

“How bad is it, Katie?” Julia already knew the answer from the way Kate’s voice had wobbled earlier, but she needed to hear the words. “
Tell me
.”

“I don’t know. He’s badly burned, JuJu.” Kate pressed her foot down harder on the accelerator. She couldn’t afford to slow down. If a cop tried to pull her over for speeding then they’d just have to follow her all the way to the clinic. A police escort would probably be a good idea right about now.

“He must have put his body toward the fire to keep you safe,” she explained keeping her eyes on the road. The dog had put his life in danger to save Julia’s and Kate would be forever in debt to him.

Julia sat in the backseat and cradled Shamus’s head in her lap, stroking his face and ears. She didn’t know what else to do. The gentle touch seemed to calm him some, so she just kept petting him. Over the ears, down the cheek and neck, across the shoulder, over and over while tears streaked down her face. There was nothing else she could do to help.

Every time Shamus whimpered, Kate pressed down harder on the gas pedal until it was pressed firmly against the floorboard. When they arrived at the hospital, she screeched to a halt in front of the entrance.

Julia didn’t have her cane, so she held tight to Kate’s arm as her sister hefted Shamus from the car and led her into the building.

Under the bright lights of the animal hospital, Shamus’s injuries were even more prominent. He was covered in blood and so were Julia’s hands. The white cardigan was now red. His injuries were more serious than Kate had feared and she willed herself to stay calm for her sister’s sake.

“They’re rushing him into a room,” she told Julia, narrating everything that was happening around them. Kate kept her voice strong even though she wasn’t able to keep the emotion from rising up in her throat. “We need to stay out of the way and let them work.”

“Okay,” Julia said weakly.

“I see a restroom. Let’s go wash up while they see to him,” she suggested and led Julia into the restroom.

Let’s wash the blood off our hands.

Julia numbly went along, her slippered feet shuffling along the glossy linoleum. Like a meek child, she did as she was told, too numb to do otherwise. They might have to wait a while for an update on his condition and she didn’t have the strength to argue anyways.

Julia choked back a cough and let warm water from the faucet run over her hands.

“We need to get you to the hospital, Ju. You probably have smoke inhalation.”

“I was asleep,” Julia croaked, ignoring her sister. “Shamus was barking like crazy and then I smelled the smoke. VINCE was yelling about the temperature. He usually gets it wrong…”

“Shh, honey. It’s okay.”

Suddenly, Julia was enveloped in a warm, comforting embrace. As much as she wanted to, she wouldn’t let herself cry. If her eyes were so dysfunctional that they couldn’t see, then she wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of shedding tears.

When they emerged from the restroom, the veterinarian was there to greet them. He was a middle-aged man with kind eyes. Unfortunately, those eyes spoke more than words ever could.

“How is he?” Kate’s voice quivered and it was all it took to bring forth a whimper from Julia.

“He suffered third degree burns and severe smoke inhalation. We’ve bandaged him and given him something for the pain, but to be honest,” he said gently, “I don’t think he’ll make it through the night.”

“No,” Kate whispered.

Julia’s body slumped. Kate held tight to her, her face awash in disbelief, the air stolen from her lungs.

“I’m sorry,” he offered, knowing it wasn’t enough.

Julia straightened her shoulders and tipped up her chin. “Can I have a minute alone with him?” she asked the doctor.

“Of course,” he said.

“I’ll be okay, Katie,” Julia reassured her sister. “I just need to… I need to say goodbye.”

Inside the exam room, Kate squeezed her sister’s hand before placing it on the table next to Shamus so she’d have a point of reference in the unfamiliar surroundings.

The tags on his collar jingled as Shamus lifted his head.

“I’m here,” Julia reassured him and he laid his head back down with an exhausted huff.

His breathing was more rapid than normal like it was a struggle just to breathe.

It was one if the few times her blindness was a blessing because she didn’t have to see her best friend laying on the cold, hard table, bloodied and bandaged.

Kate leaned down and gently patted him on the head. “Thank you, Shamus.” They were the only words she could get out before her voice cracked and her throat tightened painfully. “I’ll be right outside,” she whispered to Julia.

When she heard the last of the feet shuffle out and the door click, Julia leaned down and nuzzled Shamus’s neck. His fur smelled like smoke, but beneath that he smelled like he always did. He smelled like Shamus.

She kissed his cheek and stroked his velvety ears.

“I’m going to miss you so much.”

Sensing her distress, he whined and she felt his tongue lick her face. “You’re a good boy. You saved my life, Shamus, and I thank you.” She wished she had more than kisses to give him, like a treat, or a miracle.

She petted his fur where there were no bandages. “I love you.”

All of a sudden his breathing slowed. He took one last sigh and then was still. The tears ran down her face and mingled with the soot on his fur.

“
I love you
.”

* * *

After Julia was checked out at the hospital and released with a few minor cuts and bruises, Kate took her home to her little bungalow.

“Let’s get you into the shower.”

Kate linked her arm with Julia’s and Julia shuffled along beside her like a zombie. She didn’t particularly want to take a shower right now, but apparently that’s what Kate wanted her to do. Once again, she didn’t have the strength to argue.

The will to fight had left Julia’s body and left an empty numbness behind. Afterwards, she would crawl into her sister’s spare bed and escape into sleep. Numb and quiet sleep.

And maybe, if she was lucky, she wouldn’t wake up.

In the bathroom, Kate shoved the shower curtain aside. “Okay, the soap is here on the ledge. Shampoo on the left and conditioner on the right. I’m putting towels right here on the corner of the counter. All right?”

“Left, right, corner,” Julia repeated numbly.

Kate left and quickly came back with a T-shirt and shorts for her to sleep in. “I’m putting a fresh change of clothes underneath the towels. We’ll have to buy you some new things tomorrow.”

New things, new clothes, new
everything
to replace all that had been lost in the fire.

Kate had switched into “in charge” mode and had already begun making mental lists of everything that would need to be done.

“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything.”

When Kate closed the door behind her, Julia let out a sigh of relief.

She undressed and stepped gingerly into the tub, careful not to trip. She tried not to think about how Shamus used to hold her towel out for her when she got out of the shower. She tried not to think about anything at all.

But maybe if she concentrated hard enough she could return everything back to normal and magically transport them to her non-inferno engulfed bedroom, cozy and safe.

No, it was too late for that, she realized. She had left normal’s zip code several miles back.

Quickly, she realized her legs were too weak and couldn’t hold her for the duration of a shower. She bent down, felt around for the tub stopper and plugged the drain. Then she lowered herself into the tepid water and sat there wondering how everything had gone so terribly wrong.

* * *

At the airport, Gabe claimed his luggage and tried calling Julia again. He had been calling her phone for the past hour and she still wasn’t answering or returning any of his calls. After reaching her voicemail for the umpteenth time, he pondered calling Kate. This was the first time he’d ever not been able to contact Julia on the first try and he was beginning to worry that something might be wrong.

Maybe she just really didn’t want to speak to him and was following up on her plan to break up with him despite their talk. Even if that was the case—and he had a hunch it wasn’t—he had no qualms about bringing her sister into the mix to help clarify the situation. They were free to be together now with nothing standing in the way. Except maybe for Julia herself.

When Kate answered her phone, she sounded tired and Gabe was afraid he’d woken her up. “Hi Kate. It’s Gabe. I can’t get ahold of Julia.” He couldn’t help the panic that crept into his voice. She always answered her phone when he called. That was their routine. Every day they talked and he hadn’t missed a day in a year.

He just needed Kate to reassure him that everything was fine and dandy before he rolled up to Julia’s apartment in his rental car.

Kate made a strangled sound and then she finally spoke. “Gabe, there’s been a fire. Don’t worry, Julia is okay, but there was a fire at her apartment.”

“What?! Is she okay? Where is she now?” What happened to fine and dandy? There had been a
fire
?!

He sputtered and she kept talking so he’d hear the details. “She’s here at my house.”

“She got out? She’s not hurt is she?” Gabe had a thousand questions and Kate wasn’t answering any of them quickly enough.

And there was more she wasn’t telling him, he was sure of it.

“She’s unhurt, but the fire destroyed everything.”

“I’m here in Red Valley.” He sprinted over to the rental car counter. There was no time to waste. “Just tell me how to get to her.”

Kate gave him her address and he programmed it into the GPS on his phone. Luckily, she didn’t live far because he didn’t want to wait another moment to see Julia.

* * *

When Gabe arrived at Kate’s bungalow, he parked on the street and bounded up the steps. He would sort out the details of getting a hotel later. He had to see Julia.
Now
.

Kate met him at the door before he even had the chance to knock. “Gabe.” She rushed toward him and embraced him in a hug. “I’m so glad you came.” She pulled back and gripped his hands in hers. “Come on in. Julia’s in the bedroom.”

“How is she?”

“She’s had a rough night.” Kate searched his eyes and he waited for her to elaborate. She looked like she was trying to keep herself from crying, but wasn’t doing a good job of it. He had a feeling that what she was about to tell him would be painful.

“What happened?” he asked gently.