Chapter Thirty-three
As they walked, a thousand thoughts crowded into her head with one instinct overriding the others. It was now or never. If she let him take her prisoner, she’d be in terrible trouble. And if he took her gun, she’d be at his mercy.
Seeing a low-hanging branch right in front of her, she played a trick she’d been known to do on Palmer and the others when they used to hang out in the woods as teens.
She stretched up, grabbed it, and dropped to the ground at the same time as she let it go.
The brush swung wildly, hitting him square in the face.
Taking the opportunity to scramble away failed. His hand snaked out and clutched her ankle, holding her in place. Reaching for her gun, seeing as how he’d lost his in the fall, she turned it against him only to get a fist in her stomach while he loomed over her.
“Little bitch. You wanna kill me, do ya? I’ll fix you.
” Loathing crawled over her skin from the disgusting smell of his breath.
Swiftly, he moved to grapple for the gun she’d managed to hold on to, but in the struggle, it flipped into a pile of brush and was lost from sight.
Not willing to spend precious moments diving after it, she spun around and kicked at his face, determined to push him away.
The bastard must have sensed her intention and was able to swerve in time to avoid the worst of the hit. Standing now and seeing him off center – intending to get the maximum power from her slight body – she pretty-much leapt in the air bringing her arm down on his neck as hard as she could.
Seeing him weakened, she pushed him over and using her foot, tried to grind it in his pelvis area, knowing that would take a lot of fight out of the asshole.
At the last minute, he rolled away and got to his feet.
Before he could stand fully, she once again aimed at his groin, connected and then ran like the devil himself followed.
She rushed behind the jeep to hide before he could recover. Stretching her hand under the fender where she kept the extra key hidden, she slipped inside and started up the vehicle, aiming to knock him down with the only weapon left at her disposal.
Just as she closed in on him, he seemed to understand her purpose and though she hit his shoulder, he rolled off the hood and before she could get to him, he’d bounded off into the woods, disappearing from sight.
Slamming on her brakes, she shuddered. Jesus H.
Christ, that was intense… and insane. With her adrenalin surging, she bent over the wheel and clutched it hard, her whole body shaking from the close call.
Not willing to leave the area, and too battered to take any chances, knowing the maniac would be back to retrieve his gun, she did the right thing.
She stayed put and called for backup. When Cane answered, his voice went from happy to icy cold after hearing the shaky sound of his name.
Once she explained what had just unfolded, his terse order brought a smile but had her agreeing.
“Stay in your vehicle, baby and lock the doors. I’ll be right there. ”
***
When Noah took Val to the second office where he’d be interviewing her and taking her statement, Cane had been left alone at the desk.
While they were away, for some stupid reason, he opened the bottom drawer and saw the bottle of booze that had taken up permanent residency in his mind.
At first, he just stared at it, thinking about how insignificant it appeared, yet knowing the toxic shit could wreck a man.
Wanting to prove something, needing to show himself he was strong, he lifted it from the place where it rested. Slowly, he took off the top and went to smell the liquid.
Just then Noah appeared to go to the copy machine, and noticing Cane’s weird behavior, he stopped dead. “You gonna drink that shit or snort it?” His voice didn’t hold an ounce of emotion… just plain matter-of-factness.
Hearing another person in the room, Cane reacted like a kid with his hands in the cookie jar. He whipped the top back on the bottle seconds before he threw it in the drawer and slammed it shut. Sucking in a sigh, he answered, “Not this time. Hopefully, never.”
Stopping in front of the desk, Noah’s sincerity showed itself. “Hey Cane, I know how that feels, wanting a drink so bad it rips at your guts.”
“You, too?”
“Oh yeah. Look, we need to talk, you and I. Gotta tell you how I pulled myself from the brink after hearing that Louise had terminal cancer. Drank like a fish for months, almost lost my job and my family. She left me, took the kids, and swore she’d go it alone unless I wised up.”
“What happened?” Still shaking, Cane leaned back in the office chair, listening carefully.
“I wised up. Went to some meetings, got my head screwed back on, and brought us here to a place where she’d always wanted to live.
A place where she figured we could raise our family better than in the city.
From the day we arrived, that lady of mine began forming connections with other women, making friends, wanting to leave Josh and Ami with a village to help raise them. It’s been a Godsend.”
“I’m so sorry you lost her the way you did, bro. I mean it.”
“Yeah, about that. She was suffering a lot, the pain getting worse every day. Maybe the good Lord decided to bring her home to Him to save her from the next few months of excruciating agony when things would get worse and the end was non-negotiable. I don’t know.
But when I thought I’d lost them all, I found out what real hell felt like.
Never want to go through that again. Thanks to you and Raven, I won’t have to. ”
Agitated and showing it, Cane nodded. “I’m still there… in hell I mean.”
“You got a story too, don’t you?”
Taking the bull by the horns, Cane spit it out. “I killed my wife and our son a couple years ago. That’s when I hit rock bottom.”
“Jesus.” Noah moved closer and sat down across the desk from Cane. “What happened?”
Holding his forehead in both hands, Cane fought to release the words, to talk about himself, something he’d rarely done since the incident.
“I-I was driving the car, and a drunk plowed into us. I’d been so worried about a case we were working on, I wasn’t paying attention to the road. Fucker came out of nowhere.”
Noah reached to touch and then stopped. “Not gonna say what you’ve heard a thousand times.
But I will share what Louise told me when I hit bottom.
She said, “Shit happens. Just like that.” I couldn’t believe she’d take her sickness so lightly, but I could tell she meant it as a way to be able to accept the inevitable.
Then she gave me an order to follow. “Think about it,” she said.
“So, I did, challenging every argument I could think of against her pure simple statement without finding any answers. And suddenly it made sense.”
“Your Louise must have been a strong woman.”
“Not so much… until she got a death sentence, but she wasn’t one to fight against God’s choices either.
So… just know this. You have another chance to find happiness with Raven.
Oh, don’t stare at me like I’m an idiot.
I’ve seen the way you look at her and the way she lights up when you’re around.
Hell man, when the universe gives you another prospect for a good life, grab it with all your might and hang on with both hands. ”
Before Cane could scoff, the phone rang. After listening to what Raven had to say, his heart in his throat, he suddenly understood exactly what Noah had been saying as clear as he’d grasped anything in a very long time. She was in danger, and he could lose her too. Now that couldn’t be borne.