Blaze: A Small Town, Nerdy Girl, Opposites Attract, Protector Romance (Ghost Ops Book 1)

Chapter 49

The sceneinside Rory’s house wasn’t what Emma had expected when she’d walked through the door. She’d been thinking of Rory asleep, too lethargic to change her insulin pump, and planning how to treat her friend and get her to the hospital for monitoring.

But Rory’s pump wasn’t the problem.

The man standing in the cased entry to her dining room was.

“Hello, honey,” Simon said. “Did you miss me?”

Emma’s insides turned liquid. It was everything she could do not to puke up her guts then and there.

Rory sat on her couch, hands bound in front of her body, a piece of duct tape over her mouth. There were tear streaks on her cheeks, but her eyes flashed angrily as she glared up at Simon. It was quickly replaced by fear, which tore at Emma’s heart.

Theo was handcuffed to a chair and his mouth was also duct taped. The hatred shining in his eyes would have made Emma recoil if it had been directed at her.

Simon didn’t care. Of course he didn’t.

“Let them go. Your problem is with me, not them.”

Simon swaggered toward her. His hair was reddish brown, and his eyes were green. Contacts, of course. He was also wearing clothing that made him look stocky.

Her insides were ice. Stocky, the way Rory had described her engineer from Huntsville.

He had his gun in his right hand, hanging loosely at his side. Emma considered her options.

She could swing the bag at his head. Step into his space if he got close enough and try to disarm him before he knew what she was doing.

But he stopped just out of range and lifted the gun until it was pointing at her chest.

“You’re fucking right my problem is with you. I chose you, Emma. I had a plan, and you fucked it all up.”

Emma’s heart hammered. “How did I fuck it up? You’re the one who hit me.”

His expression was vicious. “You weren’t supposed to leave. I said I was sorry. Isn’t that what you bitches like? A contrite, apologetic man who kisses your ass and tells you how sorry he is and that he’ll never do it again?”

“You weren’t sincere.”

Simon snorted an ugly sound. “I told you what would happen if you left me. I’m here to make good on that promise, baby.”

Emma shuddered at the way he called her baby. It was nothing like the warmth and kindness of Blaze’s endearments.

“Then let Rory and Theo go and take me.”

She hoped he’d come closer, but he didn’t. His eyes narrowed. “You think I don’t know you’ve been taking self-defense classes from that gorilla you’ve been fucking? Your girlfriend here likes to talk. She told me all about your boyfriend and your classes. So if you’re hoping I’m going to move closer so you can stomp my instep or swing that case at my head, you’re gonna be disappointed. Drop the case and get on your knees, arms out in front of you, hands together.”

“Please, Simon. Please let them go. It can be just you and me.”

“Where’s the fun in that, Emma? Knees, now. Case over there,” he said jerking his head toward the wall.

Emma set the case on the floor and slid it over. Then she dropped to her knees, feeling hopeless and helpless at the same time.

All the training. All the preparing. It was nothing when your assailant had been planning his revenge and used your friends against you. Maybe Blaze could have ended it with a toothpick and a deadly look from twenty paces, but she was powerless to stop this man she’d once thought cared about her.

She held her arms out, hands together. Her eyes pricked with tears.

“Who are you?” she asked. Because there was no sense in pretending he was Simon Marsh any longer.

He arched an eyebrow as he stuffed the gun in his pants and cuffed her. He yanked the cuffs tight enough to make her wince then stepped back again.

“Who am I? I’m the man who’s gonna make you bleed for interfering with my plans. It’s been three years since I killed Simon Marsh and took his money, and though I couldn’t take your identity, I was so close to getting into your accounts and draining you dry before I moved on.”

Her throat squeezed. He was psychotic. She’d always thought it was about control and possession, not this. He’d wanted money. All that time, he’d wanted money. It wasn’t about romance and jealousy. It never had been.

“Nothing to say, honey?” He came over and gripped her chin in his fingers hard enough to leave a bruise. “I was planning to enjoy watching you overdose on Fentanyl. How sad it would have been when they found you, the poor stressed doctor who couldn’t take the pressure of her job anymore.”

“Why?” she whispered. “What did I ever do to you?”

He shoved her away from him and she fell, landing on her bad arm and gasping at the pain. He didn’t answer her as he went over and put the gun against Theo’s head.

Emma’s heart climbed into her throat. Rory screamed behind the tape as tears began to streak down her cheeks again.

“I’m trying to imagine the best way to do this,” Simon said as Theo glared. “Do I kill all three of you here and make it look like a murder suicide? Or do I draw this out and make you suffer for the extra work you’ve caused me? If you’d just cooperated, Emma, you’d be the only one dead, and I’d be in a new city, enjoying my life with all that doctor money you have stashed away.”

“Let them go and you can have it all. I’ll give you the logins to my accounts. You can walk away with everything I have.”

His smile was evil. “That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said. But money first, Emma, or I’ll splatter his brains all over this wall. Hers too.”

She was sensible enough to know he’d kill all of them as soon as he had the money. She had to delay, hope that Blaze got her message soon and came looking for her.

Because he would. She didn’t doubt that at all.

“I-I don’t have the logins with me. I don’t carry them around. I’d need to go to the office. My computer is there.”

He seemed to think about it. When he moved away from Theo, she nearly sobbed with relief.

But then he stalked over to Rory, shoved her backward on the couch, and dragged her shirt up to expose her insulin pump.

Emma screamed when he ripped the pump out.

He dropped it and stomped down with his boot. The plastic cracked. Rory looked stunned. Theo was screaming behind the tape, and Emma started to beg.

“Shut up,” Simon hissed. Then he laughed. “This is how I was going to get you here in the first place. I knew you’d drop everything to save her if I told you I was going to let her run out of insulin.”

Theo was on his knees, moving toward Simon. His hands were tied but he was still a big guy, and he was determined. Simon didn’t bother to shoot. He kicked Theo in the face, sending him sprawling backward. Blood poured from his nose and mouth as Theo tried to get up again.

But Simon kicked him in the belly so hard that blood sprayed from his mouth. Emma screamed again and levered herself up to launch at Simon.

Theo tried to rise, but then he just sort of crumpled and didn’t move again. Simon went over and grabbed Rory by the arm, dragging her upright as he pointed the gun at Emma.

“Get up. You and Country Barbie are coming with me. If you’re lying about the computer, she dies. If not, I’ll let you give her a shot.”

“Please,” Emma said as she levered herself up on legs that shook. “Theo needs medical attention. Let me tend to him.”

“I’ll tend to him with a bullet if you don’t fucking do what I tell you.”

His face was evil. Insane.

Emma swallowed. She wanted to help Theo, stop him from choking on his blood, see if he’d ruptured an organ when Simon kicked him. But if she pushed, he’d die that much quicker because Simon would put a bullet in him.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Thank you.” As if he wasn’t crazy. As if he was thanking her for passing the salt and pepper. “We’re walking out the door and getting into my car. Then we’re going somewhere safe and waiting until dark.”

Emma’s heart plummeted to her toes. Safe? There was no such thing as safe so long as they were with him.

But Theo was alive, and so was Rory. The clock was ticking as her body didn’t get insulin, but she had a few hours before DKA set in.

“I-I need my medical bag,” Emma said as he motioned to the back of the house where the garage was. “I need insulin.”

Simon’s eyes narrowed. She was positive he was going to tell her to leave it.

Then he shrugged. “Fine. Make it quick.”

Emma hurried over and grabbed the bag. It was awkward with her hands cuffed so tightly together, but she managed it. She shot a look at Theo. He was breathing because there were bubbles in the blood coming from his nose.

But she had to turn her back on him, no matter how hard it was to let him suffer, and go with Simon before he did something even worse.

All she could do now was pray that Blaze got her message. Soon.