A Fortune's Texas Reunion, page 19
Georgia grabbed her hair, too, futilely trying to relieve the pressure. Another yard, she thought frantically. Another yard, and Charlotte would have dragged her out the side door. After that, she’d fight. Help would be coming. Pax would come.
She knew it with every fiber of her being.
She saw her brothers poised to help and caught Austin’s eye. “Stay,” she breathed, “Please, just...stay.”
“I’ll stay with you, all right,” Charlotte growled, sounding more animal than human. “I’ll stay with you until you rot. Precious Deborah. Get up.” She threatened to kick her again.
“I’m up.” Georgia scrambled to her feet. One of her heels had broken off. “I’m up.” She gestured sharply at her brothers, warning them back.
And then they were through the door.
Into the rain.
She gathered herself, ready to launch against the woman, but Charlotte just laughed like the crazed woman she’d become and swung the gun, catching Georgia across the head.
And everything went black.
Chapter Thirteen
She woke and her wrists were tied. Her dress muddy. Her hair wet. Her ribs on fire.
They were driving, she realized. She was on the floor of a motor home. Like the one that Savannah and Chaz had. The crazy woman was behind the wheel, still swearing, still screaming. And swerving.
Georgia rolled over and got to her knees.
Charlotte didn’t notice.
A reprieve.
Georgia closed her eyes, trying not to cry. Not to just lose her mind right then and there. They were out of the church. That’s what she’d wanted. Away from hurting anyone else. She pulled herself up onto the seat. High enough to see out the window.
She nearly chewed off her tongue to keep silent when she saw the SUV in the distance. No flashing lights.
But she still knew.
Pax.
She pressed her forehead against the window. Thank You, God.
“Should have stayed out of our life,” Charlotte kept repeating. “Should have stayed out.” She suddenly looked over her shoulder at Georgia.
“I’m sorry,” Georgia said, feeling the tears slide down her face. “I never intended to hurt you.” She was speaking through the window. Speaking to Pax.
“You should be sorry,” Charlotte snarled. “He’s just weak. All men are weak. You tossed Jerome away. But I made Gerald into the man he is. And he’s still weak. You deserve each other!” The RV swerved again. Hit the guardrail and sent sparks flying.
Oh, God, she really didn’t want to go over the road again.
The SUV was pulling closer.
Pax. Her lips formed his name. She didn’t dare speak.
He’d told her life was short. She didn’t want him to feel the pain of that proof all over again. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “You’re right about me. About everything. If I can make it right, I will. I promise.” She twisted her wrists against the plastic ties. Charlotte hadn’t tied her ankles. She was smart enough to do a lot of damage but crazy enough to forget something so critical. If only Georgia could think how to use it to her advantage.
She leaned down with her tied hands and unfastened the broken sandal, then slid out of its mate.
“You can’t make anything right,” Charlotte screeched. She was weaving all over the road now. “I’m ruined. My life is gone.”
They sideswiped the guardrail again. More sparks. More screaming.
A second SUV had joined the chase. A third. She spotted a helicopter against the rainy sky bearing down on them fast. A fourth vehicle. A car this time. Coming up along the side of the RV. She recognized Deeter Hayes behind the wheel and wondered if she’d truly lost her mind.
The SUV behind them had gained ground.
She could see him now.
Pax.
Through the windshield of his SUV she could make out his face. The deadly expression. He couldn’t see her, though. The RV windows were tinted, like the ones on her trailer.
She felt the RV skid, wheels sliding, and fell onto the floor again. Still Charlotte didn’t notice. She was in her own mad, mad world.
Georgia crawled along the floor toward the door there, next to the couch that turned into a bed. She could feel the vibrations of the straining engine, the bumps in the road as the RV swerved wildly, Charlotte suddenly cursing at the top of her lungs and turning off the highway. They were now running through a field of corn. Green stalks smacked the sides of the RV, ears and leaves flying against the windows.
She made it to the door. The field was better than the highway. Above the engine and Charlotte’s screeching, she heard the helicopter. Close above.
Then Charlotte screamed in such rage that Georgia just reached for the door and shoved it open. She threw herself out, tucking her head, her limbs, and flew into the cornfield. She landed hard and tried to roll because some cell in her brain told her that was the thing to do when you jumped out of a moving vehicle.
She heard the violent slam of metal on metal and cried out, finally coming to a stop on the muddy ground, covering her head with her hands.
And then just lay there, waiting, waiting for the world to crash down on her.
Sirens screamed now. Voices shouted.
And arms found her.
Lifted her.
She opened her eyes. Looked at Pax. His face was white. His eyes nearly black. His hands were shaking as he pulled her against him, cradling her. Holding her safe.
Purely. Utterly. Safe.
She cried then, her face against his throat, and inhaled the scent of him. The warmth of him as the rain fell. “You got my call, then?”
He gave a choked laugh and pulled out a pocketknife to cut the ties on her wrists.
As soon as her hands were freed, she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”
“Shh.” His lips touched her cheek. Her mouth. “You’re okay. We’re all going to be okay.” She felt him lift an arm and wave to someone. “Over here,” he called out. Then he held her again. Held her against his heart, which was pounding harder than her own.
And she understood.
“Charlotte?”
Pax looked over to the RV where it had crashed against Deeter Hayes’s car. The woman was sitting on the ground, hands cuffed together. Her shoulders were rounded, all the fight seemingly worn out of her. His deputies weren’t taking any chances, though. They had their weapons trained on her while the helicopter settled in the field. Better them than Pax. It was going to be a while before he could gain some perspective where the woman was concerned. If he ever could.
“She’s not going to hurt anyone again,” he promised. “Especially you.”
“She’s delusional. She thought I was Deborah. I don’t—” She broke off, shuddering. “You saved me. Again.”
He’d aged ten years in the last thirty minutes. “You saved yourself,” he corrected roughly, cradling her face. “I should have been at the wedding. Should have been prepared.”
“Who can prepare against that kind of madness?” Her makeup was smeared around her eyes, her hair soaked and hanging in her face. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
The only woman he was going to love for the rest of his days, whether she liked it or not.
He rolled to his feet and helped her up. Her feet were bare. The dress was ruined.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and clung.
It was okay with him. Now that she was safe, he wasn’t letting her go. Even if she still wasn’t sure about them. He would wait. Forever, if he had to.
“You’re wearing your gun. You never wear your gun.”
He kissed the side of her neck. Inhaled the scent of her. “I do when everything that matters to me is kidnapped by a psychotic.” One day, maybe, he’d be able to recount the murderous rage he’d felt when Connie had patched the 911 call to him. The sounds at first were too muffled to make out, but the phone number that had made the call was unmistakable. As had been the sound of gunfire.
He cleared the knot lodged in his throat. “I need to get you out of the rain. Get you to the doctor.”
“Wait.” Her blue eyes searched his. “Love doesn’t have a timeline.”
It wasn’t a question and his chest tightened even more. “No, it doesn’t.”
“And if I fall, you’ll catch me.”
His eyes burned. “Always.” He could hear the others crashing through the cornstalks, running toward them. Even Deeter, who Pax was going to owe now for the rest of his life. He’d been at the station when Pax heard Georgia’s call. “And if I fall?”
“I’ll catch you,” she said thickly. “Always.”
He cupped her face. Stared into her eyes and saw it all. Everything he’d ever wanted.
“What do you want in this life, NOLA girl?”
She pressed her hands against his. “Your heart. Your future. Your everything.”
It was good enough for him. “I love you, Georgia Mae Fortune.”
Her drenched eyes overflowed. “I love you, too, Paxton Price.” She sniffed hard. “I think I’m going to have to marry you, you know.”
The choked laugh came out of nowhere. He wasn’t going to argue. He’d had his first inkling that she was the woman for him when she’d threatened to shuck her towel and show him what naked really was. “Why’s that?” He lifted her into his arms and started walking out of the decimated cornfield.
She wrapped her arms around him and her head found its way to the spot between his shoulder and his neck that he was pretty sure God had designed for just this purpose. “This is my last stint as a bridesmaid,” she said fervently. “It’s bride only from here on out.”
He pressed his mouth against her temple. That was something he could definitely get on board with. “Darlin’, as long as I’m the husband, you won’t get any argument from me.”
* * *
“It’s not as fancy as those deals Gerald arranged at the campground, but it’ll do the job.”
Pax stood back to survey his handiwork with the tent he’d put up and Georgia slipped beneath his arm, fitting herself to his side. “I think it’s magnificent.” She pointed toward the valley below. “Are those fireworks from Amber Falls?”
“Paseo.” He slid his hand down her arm, adjusting her angle slightly. “Amber Falls is there.” His hand kept going until his fingers slid through hers. Even though it was already dark, she could see the gleam of the wedding ring she’d placed on his finger that afternoon. “You sure this is what you want for our wedding night? A tent?”
“A night under the stars.” She wrapped her arms around his back. “You’ve even promised me a meteor shower. What’s more romantic than that?”
He touched her hair. It was shorter now. The first thing she’d done after getting the all-clear from the doctor at the urgent care in Amber Falls where Pax had taken her that awful day two weeks ago, was to cut off the long braid. She’d done it right then and there, using a pair of scissors one of the nurses had produced. Now her hair swung around her shoulders and neck, feeling light and flirty. Especially flirty with Pax running his fingers through it the way he was. “That hotel in Austin where Gerald wanted to set us up was a pretty nice place.”
“Jerome now, I think. And nice has its place in the world.” She trailed her hands up his spine and slipped them beneath his shirt. “But this is so much better than nice.” She brushed her lips against his neck. He’d changed out of the suit he’d worn earlier. Now, he wore a T-shirt and blue jeans. Same thing she’d changed into from her ecru lace dress.
Their wedding had been perfect. Simple. Entirely without drama and entirely filled with love. Just her family and his, standing alongside the pond outside his mother’s house, saying their vows on the same day that Cara had once said them to Joe.
Georgia had carried wildflowers and cattails and her dad had given her way. Her parents had tried to talk them into having the wedding in New Orleans. But when Georgia remained steadfast, they’d come to Paseo. Her mom had cried a little and her dad’s voice had been more than a little choked up as he gave her away.
Utterly, utterly perfect.
She kissed her way along Pax’s jaw. “Are you going to set up the telescope?” She knew he’d brought it, packed it carefully in the back of his truck along with their tent and camping equipment.
“Eventually.” His hands molded to her back, then slid downward to sneak beneath her T-shirt.
She felt gooseflesh rise on her skin as his warm fingertips walked up her spine, bringing the shirt with them. She lifted her arms and he pulled it off over her head and tossed it aside.
She shivered.
“Are you cold?” His hands swept around her again, pulling her close. “It’ll be warm in the tent.”
“I don’t want the tent yet.” He’d set up an inflatable mattress that filled the tent nearly from side to side. They had lanterns, sleeping bags zipped together, camp chairs and an ice chest full of provisions. Not to mention the fishing poles that were always in the bed of his truck.
They had an entire week to spend together out here on the ridge overlooking his county before they returned and began the beautiful task of married life. One of his deputies had a vacation scheduled, which meant he’d be shorthanded at the office for a few days. She had to begin coordinating her public-relations department from Paseo. She couldn’t wait to begin it all.
But first, they had this night. Their wedding night.
Their first night.
And she was aching everywhere for his touch.
She drew his hands to her breasts. “I just want you. I feel like we’ve waited forever.”
His thumbs slowly rubbed over her tight nipples. “You were the one who wanted to wait until our wedding night,” he reminded her. “Once I knew you didn’t have any cracked ribs, I was all set—”
She boldly reached between them and he broke off with a laugh that made everything inside her sing a little. She twined her arms around his shoulders, holding tight because her legs were turning to mush. “Waiting seemed like the right thing to do,” she said throatily. Not that he’d made it easy. Every time she’d turned around, it seemed, her sheriff had been right there, tempting her. She pulled at his shirt. “Take this off.”
He obliged, then pulled her back against him and she melted a little more. “Did you see Gerald—Jerome...whatever—talking with your dad this afternoon?”
“I saw my father didn’t look entirely thrilled.” He wanted to blame Jerome for the danger they’d faced at Charlotte’s hands. But he also knew that it was Jerome’s helicopter that had been instrumental in forcing Charlotte to veer into that cornfield two weeks ago. “He’ll, ah, get over it.” She sucked in a needy breath when he kissed her shoulder and began working his way down from there. He kissed her breasts, leaving her nipples damp and so exquisitely sensitive that she could hardly breathe when he went down on his knees and kissed the plane of her stomach. Toyed with her pierced navel. Gently stroked the bruise still showing on her rib cage where Charlotte had kicked her.
“Does it hurt?”
“What hurts is you stopping to talk.” She dropped to her knees and clasped his face. She knew he still blamed himself for not getting to the church quicker. “Charlotte won’t hurt anyone ever again,” she reminded him. “Remember?” He’d promised it to her that day in the cornfield.
“She’s gotten more mercy than she deserves.” His voice turned flat. “She paid to set fire to the Robinson estate. Even sabotaged things at Robinson Tech despite the fortune she stood to lose. She terrified Savannah with the ransacking of her apartment. Damaged the Fortunados’ real-estate reputation. Maneuvered the hacking at your work long before you came to Paseo. Hell, the woman was hiding in plain sight in that motor home. It was only a matter of time before she’d have succeeded in slipping into the campground the way she’d planned.”
“I know,” she soothed. “But she didn’t succeed.” It was that initial hacking at Fortune Investments that had enabled Charlotte to keep track of everything going on in Miles Fortune’s world. Including Georgia ordering her sports car. After that, it had been a simple matter to take control of the vehicle. From its basic mechanics right down to the R-Haz system, designed by Robinson Tech.
She’d wanted the entire affair to come home to roost at the doorway of the man she claimed she’d made. By the time she’d seen Georgia and Gerald together in the animal barns at the rodeo, she’d unraveled to such a degree that she couldn’t distinguish reality at all.
“She’s a sick woman.” When Charlotte began confessing, they’d all been shocked at the lengths she’d gone to. None more so than her own children. “At least the hacker she hired is going to jail for a long time.”
“And Charlotte will live out her days in a high-priced institution, paid for by Gerald.”
“Everything has a price,” she murmured. “The man’s paying for his sins.” She was still glad that he had Deborah at his side. The two of them had married the day after their aborted wedding. Deborah had been adamant. After Charlotte was finally found out, she wasn’t going to let the woman steal yet another day from them.
“Now...” She reached between them and slipped his belt buckle free. “Are we going to keep talking about her, or are we going to do what we came up here to do?”
His hands nudged hers aside, making quicker work of the task than she could. “Watch the fireworks?”
“I have fireworks in mind,” she whispered, shaking a little as she wriggled out of her jeans. “Not necessarily the ones they’re setting off down in Paseo.”
