Chapter 10
Rowan dreamed of serpents, their thick muscular necks skewered with giant shards of wood, hissing and breathing fire. He didn’t see Anthony anywhere, but knew his son was here among the beasts, the baby’s cries piercing even over the roars and the violent thrashing of the serpents.
He had to find Tamra. Her and the baby. A snake larger than all the other serpents stopped him in his tracks, rearing up as if to strike.
I have no weapon.
How can I defeat this monster?
The baby cried again and he heard himself cry out, “Tamra! Where are you, Tamra!”
“What’s the matter, can’t find your wife?”
Becky appeared like an apparition, her body barely covered by thin strips of fabric. She was voluptuous and strutted around like a streetwalker, her red hair blowing up and around her. Reaching up, she beckoned to their leader, the enormous snake lowering itself for her to climb on.
The baby cried out again and Rowan knew he should go in search of Anthony, but his feet stayed still of their own accord. There was evil standing between him and the boy, and he was rooted to this spot, spellbound by Becky as she rode the monster’s serpentine back like a lover.
She’s a distraction, sent here to keep me from finding them.
It’s a trick. You must go!
The thought forced him to look away from the spectacle before him, Anthony’s cries seeming to come from all directions. Then Becky was beside him, the sharp nails of her fingers digging into the flesh of his arms as she purred, “Stay with me, Rowan.”
“I have to find my family.” He looked into her eyes and was mesmerized, all other thoughts vanishing as if spellbound.
Then he was kissing her wildly, all reminders of his purpose forgotten.
There was only this woman who burst into his life like an explosion, leaving cinders and searing heat in her wake.
Never before had he felt so alive, so free and so desired.
Passion pounded through his veins, no room for regret or excuses, and he clutched her body to his own.
A movement caught his eye and he raised his head, his eyes suddenly locking with those of his wife.
She stood just feet away, surrounded by hellish flames, holding baby Anthony. “Help me,” she whispered, the words reverberating through his consciousness. The fire leapt up around her, and she vanished.
“Tamra!” he yelled, the word ripped from his throat like a piece of flesh. “Come back!”
Becky had woken with the dawn, which was certainly not her norm. She was high-strung, anxious to finish what she came here for and to get the hell out of Dodge. She made coffee and began working on breakfast.
This place was a palace of food choices. She dug out a muffin tin she’d spied yesterday and got to work filling each compartment with a different food, cheese and grapes, olives and crackers. She had just sat down to eat when the sound of an approaching vehicle brought her to the window.
It was a FedEx truck. The hard drive with Tamra’s computer files would be on it, along with the new computer and FireWire Becky ordered yesterday after Rowan went to bed.
It would be hard for her to leave if her personal computer had Tamra’s files on it, and she had every intention of hitting the road as soon as she was able.
The delivery truck was like the cavalry, if only slightly less welcome.
She was looking forward to going home, she really was.
She had enough of being Rowan’s stress-reliever, his sexual distraction for everything that was going on in his life.
Her feelings for him weren’t enough to bridge the gap between their lives, and she was growing weary of wanting the only person on the planet she couldn’t really have.
Opening the door to the chilly winter air, she said good morning to the driver and signed for the packages.
There was no reason to wake Rowan until the files were installed on the new computer and accessible, so she let him sleep while she set up the machine, began the file transfer and ate her breakfast.
That was the plan, anyway. Before she heard the yelling.
It was guttural, like he was in pain. Becky stood outside his door and debated what to do. Clearly he was having an upsetting dream, but it seemed like an invasion of his privacy to just walk in. Besides, what if he slept naked?
Would that really be so awful?
She raised her eyebrows and turned the knob.
Rowan was stretched out on his back, moaning loudly, a thin blanket covering him from the waist down. It was instantly obvious that she shouldn’t have opened the door, but she didn’t move as she watched him thrash and heard his breath come in ragged, excited bursts.
The skin along the back of her neck grew hot and tingly. She lifted one foot to get closer to the bed, some half-formed, ill-advised plan taking shape as she moved.
You shouldn’t do this. Turn around right now and get out of this room!
Her cheeks were flushed and hot, her steps unsure.
See? This is why I need to leave this cabin. I can’t stay here. I can’t be trusted to keep my hands off this man.
Reaching out, she hooked her fingers on the blanket, sliding the covers down so she could slip in next to him, the side of his naked torso peeking out to tease her.
“Tamra!” he yelled out.
Becky dropped the blanket like it was on fire. She backed away from the bed, her ego shriveling like a cut flower.
She stumbled to her room, a horrible feeling of worthlessness clinging to her skin.
Tears bit at her eyes as she grabbed the few belongings she’d brought on the trip and shoved them into her duffel bag.
The file transfer was nearly complete, her obligation to this friend of a friend now fulfilled.
There was nothing to keep her here, and every reason to leave.
She picked up the box with the address of this house, then used her cell phone to dial information.
Good thing I didn’t give it to my agent.
“I need the name of a cab company that services this area.”
Rowan threw the muffin tin into the porcelain sink with a loud crash. “Damn it!” he yelled, covering his eyes with the heels of his hands. Becky was gone, long gone, and there wasn’t a freakin’ thing he could do to get her back.
The computer on the table was open to a FileSafe restore window that claimed to be 98% done. How long ago did she leave, and why the hell did she sneak away like some kind of criminal?
He remembered the incident in the hallway, his hands groping her naked bottom beneath the towel.
You just couldn’t keep your hands to yourself, could you? She told you she wasn’t interested, asshole. Now she’s gone.
He smacked his open palm hard on the table. “Damn it to hell!”
He didn’t have time to go find her. He had to focus on Tamra and the baby. A flash from his dream tormented him, Becky as a distraction that was keeping him from finding his family. “Bullshit,” he said out loud to the empty kitchen. “Bull. Shit. She was helping me.”
He wandered to the window, fresh tire tracks visible in the snow. She must have called a cab to pick her up, the keys to her own car safely tucked in his pants’ pocket.
What did you think, she was going to stay forever?
Rowan bristled at the direction his thoughts had taken.
As much as he cared about Becky, it wasn’t until that moment that he really considered their future.
For the past year he had planned ahead only until the evening at the Gardner.
Secure the painting in the museum. Extricate himself from this sham of a marriage.
The future beyond this adventure never even entered into his mind.
But if he was going to have a real relationship with Becky, it had to enter his mind. He had to want her there, had to plan for her to be with him, had to make her understand. No wonder she ran away. He was living for the moment with a forever kind of girl.
An electronic chime brought his attention back to the computer screen.
Complete.
He clicked off the FileSafe program and found himself staring at an exact replica of Tamra’s computer. Somewhere in all these files were clues that would lead him to his family. He just had to find them.
Rowan’s chin touched his chest. He couldn’t remember the last time he had prayed, but he couldn’t remember ever having so much to lose.
Please help me find what I need to see.
Doubt covered him like darkness. Uncertain there was a God, uncertain there were answers, and unsure he could do any of this without Becky by his side.