Chapter 21 #2
“I’ll hurry.” Except my legs didn’t want to move.
I was frozen on the spot and that didn’t make any sense.
This was my apartment. The same stuffed animals were on the couch as when I’d left the last time.
I could see the dishes draining in the rack on the kitchen counter from when I’d hurriedly washed them before leaving.
My running shoes, for as many times as I’d promised myself I would take up jogging and hadn’t, were positioned near the hall closet.
Even the stack of mail, mostly dastardly bills remained on the kitchen table.
And the goddamn faucet the building owner had promised to fix four times was still dripping.
While the sound had been annoying before, tonight the slow drip was straight out of a horror movie.
Even so, everything was so… normal.
“It’s okay,” he finally said gently. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Some sense of relief filled me. At that point, if he tried to leave, I’d be the one chasing him down. I’d thought the reality of what I was dealing with had hit me before, but for some strange reason, returning to my apartment made everything seem sordid and dirty.
I found my rhythm, heading into Bella’s tiny room first. I grabbed her pink suitcase, haphazardly tossing in her favorite clothes and PJs. Then I shoved some books, a couple of dolls and another stuffed animal inside. Zipping it closed was an issue, but I managed.
With the generosity from my protector, I didn’t need as many items, but I wanted a few of my things that had kept me grounded during the horrible nights where sleep had evaded me. My favorite sweatshirt and my leggings that I’d lived in for months. My favorite pair of jeans.
As I was tossing some lacy underwear into my tried-and-true suitcase I’d had since college, I noticed a single nightie I’d purchased for myself after moving to Miami.
Snatching it in my hand, I had a fever of emotions.
The damn piece of lingerie still had a price tag.
That’s how close I’d come to actually wearing it.
Feeling sexy around Bruno had taken a backseat to everything else.
Including getting him the hell out of my life.
Why not? With an evil smile on my face, I tossed it into the suitcase. Now for a few toiletries and I’d manage to make it in just under ten minutes. Toothpaste. Check.
Makeup. Check.
Deodorant. Check.
The sudden prickle of goosebumps caught me off guard. I even looked over my shoulder to see if Hudson was standing in the doorway telling me time was up.
He wasn’t there.
With a cold chill creating tension, I moved closer to the tiny window in the bathroom, holding my breath as I peered outside. What?
No. No… There was no way. I had to be seeing things.
Backing away, I counted to ten and while the trickle of fear remained, I was now angry. Furious that the motherfucker believed it his right to torment the hell out of me when he was the one who’d murdered someone in cold blood. I rushed into the bedroom where the view was better.
I hadn’t been wrong. A figure stood under the streetlight, staring up at the building. And I could swear that not only was the bastard watching.
He was smiling.
Oh, hell, no.
Without saying a word, I fled into the living room, trying to control my nerves as I pointed down the hallway. “The monster is outside.”
“What?” Hudson snarled, immediately bristling.
“He’s standing outside under the streetlight just like he did before. Come look. Please. You need to know I’m not crazy.”
With his jaw clenched, he took long, pounding strides into the bedroom and to the window. I could tell in two seconds he was seeing no one.
“Don’t tell me he’s not there.”
“Where was he, Valentina?”
I moved beside him at the window. “Right there under the light.”
“Okay. Listen to me. Stay right here. I’m going to go check it out.” He moved quickly back to the front of the apartment. “Lock the door behind me.”
“Don’t go. I don’t want you to leave. I’m afraid something will happen to you.”
The way he looked at me was as if no one in his life had ever worried about him. “I’ll be fine.”
I took a step closer and that same feeling boiled over me, a terrible premonition that something tragic was about to occur.
With my heart racing, I peered at the cabinet under the sink.
It was ajar. That wouldn’t necessarily mean anything except I had safety latches on several of them since my bound and determined little girl was very curious about everything.
The one ajar definitely had a safety latch.
It was where I kept all my cleaning supplies.
With careful steps, I inched closer, every inch of me shaking. As soon as I curled my fingers around the top edge, a tiny moan escaped. But I found the courage to swing the door open.
“Hudson,” I whispered, tears immediately forming.
“What?”
“Come here. Please.” The terror was exposed in my voice.
He had no clue what I was concerned about when he moved beside me. “What?” His voice dipped to little more than a husky whisper.
All I could do was point.
The red digital numbers were all I could see.
His fingers wrapped around my arms and he pulled me back by several feet. Now I was shaking so badly I could no longer feel my legs.
“Listen to me,” he said, his voice commanding and comforting.
“Huh?”
“Listen to me.” The tone was more demanding.
I lifted my gaze, blinking several times. “Yes?”
“Get out of the building. Now. That’s a bomb. There’s not much time,”
“There are neighbors. I have neighbors.” Every inch of me was shaking.
“I’ll alert them. Now, do as I say. Get out. Now. Go across the street. Do you understand me?” His tone was more insistent.
“Uh-huh. I think I do. Yes, yes, I do.”
“Go. Now. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t stop. Not for anything.”
I sprinted out the door, immediately rushing to the one across from me, pounding with all the rage that I’d stored deep inside. I couldn’t leave everyone to die. That wasn’t me.
“Andrew. Get out. Get out now!” My scream was louder than I’d expected.
He flung open the door. “Val. What the hell? What’s going on?”
“There’s a bomb in my apartment. I don’t have to explain.” I didn’t give him time to answer, spinning and grabbing the handle for the railing.
Hudson appeared behind me. “You heard the lady. Get the fuck out. Go. Both of you.”
Thank God Andrew heeded the warning, grabbing something and rushing down the stairs.
I flew down after him thinking Hudson was following. Everything was a huge blur as I pounded and screamed. Within seconds terror created chaos. My neighbors running. A dog barking.
“Everyone. Get out. Go as far as you can.” Hudson’s voice boomed above the horrific din as panic had begun to settle in.
While my body was moving, working through the terror, my mind was frozen, incapable of comprehending why this was happening.
I rushed down to another floor, pounding on one door. “Jackie. Get your puppy and get out. There’s a bomb in the building.”
“Out. Out. Out!” Hudson bellowed. “Call 9-1-1.”
Jackie’s puppy tripped me as he came running out. Down I went on my hands and knees, the pain jarring. As soon as I managed to stand, I hugged the wall, shifting my gaze back and forth across the melee in search of Hudson.
Where had he gone?
No. Oh, God. Please.
Pushing away, I descended another floor, glancing all around me. Frantic. Terrified. The bastard had done this. He wanted me dead.
“Come on, Valentina,” one of my neighbors called, breaking my slight trance.
“Yes. Okay.” I called to him in my mind, gasping for air as I suddenly felt a stifling sense of suffocation. I caught a glimpse of Hudson and almost called out to him. My voice was scratchy, barely any sound registering.
Suddenly, the stairwell became crowded and I lost sight of Hudson. I pushed people aside in trying desperately to catch a glimpse of him.
He was nowhere.
“Hudson! Hudson!” There was no way my screams could be heard above the shouts and wails.
Suddenly, I was pushed by a group of people out the front door onto the sidewalk. My heart thudding, I glanced from side to side, praying to God I just hadn’t seen him.
In my mind was the tick, tick, tick of the clock.
Seconds later, he appeared on the landing, searching for me as he trotted down the stairs.
“No!” Jackie screamed as she rushed by. “My baby. My baby.”
I caught her arm just as I noticed the golden retriever puppy rushed back into the building.
“You can’t go in there,” I shouted, holding her arm and preventing her from getting free. “The building is going to blow at any second.”
“That’s my goddamn baby. I’m going to get him.” She jerked her arm free, instantly stopped by Hudson. Whatever he’d said to her, she nodded and tumbled backward.
Then I watched in horror as he disappeared inside the building.
“No. No. No!”
“Don’t,” Andrew barked, blocking me from racing toward the building. “Let him get the dog.”
“You don’t understand. You…” I backed away, shaking like a leaf. My neighbors all backed away leaving me standing by myself. Another eerie feeling.
Another tingle of icy water.
I turned my head. There the bastard stood under another streetlight.
Watching.
Waiting.
My instinct was to run after him. Just before I did, I heard a strange poof then…
Boom!
The power of the explosion tossed me halfway into the street. I pitched and rolled, coming to a stop. Every inch of my body ached and as I tried to open my eyes, every sound around me echoed.
Screams.
The wail of sirens.
The gasps coming from everywhere.
Using both hands, I pushed them against the vehicle, using the leverage to allow me to stand. As soon as I did, tears began to stream down my face.
The building was engulfed in flames.
Another scream cut through the horrific sounds, one full of shock and despair.
It took a few seconds to realize I was the one screaming.
Embers created fireworks in the sky, falling ever so slowly to the ground below. Debris floated through the air, shoes and clothes, pictures and papers.
Lives torn apart.
Prized possessions lost to the madness.
Smoke and flames rushed toward the heavens as if offering a sacrifice.
All around me the noise and horror continued.
But I was lost in the ugliness that Hudson was gone. He was… gone.
“Hudson. Hud… son.” Falling ever so slowly to my knees, I covered my face with my hands.
The swelter of heat pulsated through me, images of his face filtering into my fractured mind. One after the other. And his voice chimed in my ears. Nothing was real.
“Val,” a voice said and I felt a weight on my shoulder. “Val. Look.”
Andrew’s encouraging voice allowed me to lift my head.
And a scream from Jackie announced what I wasn’t certain was possible to be seeing.
“You saved my baby. You’re my hero.”
His face and body covered in soot, his face and clothes charred, Hudson walked further away from the debris with the golden puppy in his arms.
Just as rain began to fall.