Fever (10 page)

searched her memory but couldn’t place whether she’d ever told the volunteer anything.

But she nodded, not wanting to do anything to lessen her chances of being able to stay.

“What on earth happened?”

The volunteer gasped when she approached Bethany and Bethany winced at the woman’s

expression.

“I’m okay,” Bethany said in a low voice. “I just fell. I was hoping . . .” Her throat threatened to

close in on her. “I was hoping there was room for me tonight.” Even as she finished, she braced

herself for rejection, unable to bear the thought.

“Of course there is, child. Come and sit down. I’ll get you a cup of hot cocoa and you can eat as

soon as you warm up.”

Relief was staggering. It swept through her body, nearly toppling her where she stood. Bethany saw

warmth and kindness in the woman’s eyes and she relaxed as euphoria set in. They had room for her

tonight! She would have a warm place to sleep. And food! It was enough to make her want to weep.

She trudged after the volunteer and frowned as she took in the occupants. There seemed to be more

women today than there had been the last time Bethany had come seeking shelter. And there hadn’t

been room for her then. Had they expanded? Gotten more beds?

“I’m Kate,” the woman said just as she stopped by a chair pulled off to the side of the others.

“Have a seat right here. I’ll get your cocoa and then we’ll work on getting you something to eat.

You’ll need to have those cuts looked at.”

“Thank you, Kate,” Bethany said huskily. “I really appreciate this.”

Kate urged her down and then patted her on the hand. “I’ll be right back. Everything is going to be

all right, honey.”

Perplexed by the strange promise, Bethany sank into the chair and promptly sagged, all her strength

gone. Her hands shook and she curled them into her thin shirt, trying to warm them faster. The cuts

stung but they weren’t serious.

Her gaze found Kate as she bustled around the kitchenette preparing the cocoa. She was on her cell

phone and it was obvious that whatever she was talking about was urgent. After a moment, she

shoved the phone back into her pocket and took a cup from the microwave. After stirring, she brought

the steaming mug over to where Bethany sat, and gently placed it in her hands.

“Here you are, dear. Sip it. It’s hot. Everything is going to be all right now. I don’t want you to

worry.”

It was the second time she’d offered the blind assurance to Bethany but Bethany was too tired to

dig any deeper. If she weren’t so hungry and cold she’d just curl up in one of the cots and sleep for

the next twenty-four hours. Or whenever they kicked her out again.

• • •

fucking weeks since Bethany had slipped away and he was no closer to finding her now than he had

been that first morning. It was not for lack of trying on his part.

Work was suffering. Most of the employees avoided him. Even Gabe and Ash had been keeping

their distance. Thankfully, Mia was so wrapped up in her wedding plans that she seemed oblivious to

Jace’s preoccupation and surliness.

Christmas was a mere week away and he couldn’t stand the thought of Bethany cold and alone, no

bed, no food.
Nothing.

He curled his hand into a fist and was tempted to punch a hole in his desk.

His door opened and he was about to snarl out a dismissal to whoever intruded on his privacy

when he saw Ash walk in. Something in his friend’s expression stopped his retort.

Ash was . . . well, he was typical Ash. Irreverent. Didn’t give a fuck. Was rarely serious. Today,

though, he looked . . . serious. Like he had something on his mind.

“Fuck, is your family harassing you about Christmas?” Jace growled.

There was really only one thing that ever got under Ash’s skin. His family. Ash spent most of his

time—and holidays—with Jace and Mia. They’d taken Mia to the Caribbean at Thanksgiving just a

few weeks ago to help nurse her broken heart when Gabe had pushed her away—thank God that

rejection had been short-lived—but it was true that Ash spent far more time with Gabe, Jace and Mia

than he ever had with his own family.

“There’s something you should see,” Ash said in a quiet, serious tone that wasn’t typical for him.

Alarm skittered up Jace’s spine and circled his neck in a chokehold.

“Is something up with Gabe and Mia?” he demanded. He’d kill the bastard if he broke Mia’s heart

again.

Ash flopped a folder down on Jace’s desk. “You’ll probably be pissed at me over this, but I’m

your friend and this is what friends do. You’d do the same damn thing for me.”

Jace’s eyes narrowed. “What the fuck are you talking about, Ash?”

“While you’ve spent the last two weeks looking for Bethany Willis, I’ve been looking for

information
about
her. You need to let this go, man. Walk away now. She’s bad news.”

Heat washed through his veins as he stared back at Ash. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say

that I should forget about a homeless woman we fucked. A woman we clearly took advantage of,

whether we knew it at the time or not. A woman who has no shelter, no food, no
damn coat
to keep

her warm.”

Ash held up his hand. “Just read the goddamn report, Jace.”

“Why don’t
you
just tell me why you think she’s bad news,” Jace said acidly.

Ash sighed. “She has a prior for drug possession. She hasn’t held a steady job. Ever. She was in

foster care most of her life. Graduated high school but never went on to college.”

Jace’s jaw ticked and he stared down at the folder on his desk. Then he lifted his gaze back to Ash,

who stood there staring at him. “And you don’t think those are very good reasons to help her now?”

“If you were only helping her, no,” Ash said. “But you and I both know you aren’t just helping her.

You’re fucking
obsessed
with her, Jace. I’ve never seen you like this. You need to snap the fuck out

of it. We fucked her, yeah. We’ve fucked a lot of women. Not sure why this one stands out from the

rest.”

Jace surged upward, ready to take Ash’s head off when his cell phone rang. He yanked it up,

checking the incoming number, but it wasn’t familiar and wasn’t tagged in his contacts. Normally he’d

ignore it, but he hadn’t ignored a single call since he’d been searching for Bethany.

“Jace Crestwell,” he said shortly, still glaring at Ash.

“Mr. Crestwell, this is Kate Stover from St. Anthony’s Women’s Shelter.”

Jace’s pulse accelerated and he dropped into his chair, shutting Ash out. “Yes, Ms. Stover, how

are you?”

“She’s here,” Kate said bluntly. “She just came in. She’s . . . hurt.”

His stomach bottomed out and fear was thick in his throat. “What? What happened?”

“I don’t know. As I said, she only just arrived. I have her sitting down and I’m making her a cup of

hot chocolate now. She doesn’t look good, Mr. Crestwell. She’s clearly frightened and exhausted and,

as I said, she’s injured.”

“Sit on her if you have to,” Jace growled. “I don’t care what you have to do. Do
not
let her leave

before I get there.”

He shoved the phone into his pocket and surged out of his chair. As he passed Ash, his friend’s

hand shot out to grab Jace’s arm.

“What the fuck, man? What’s going on?”

Jace jerked his arm from Ash’s grasp. “I’m going to get Bethany. She’s hurt.”

Ash swore and shook his head. “This is a bad idea.”

Jace left his office and entered the hallway. He could hear Ash hurrying up behind him as he

reached the elevator.

“I’ll go with you,” Ash said in a grim voice.

Jace stepped onto the elevator and when Ash would have followed, Jace put his arm out to block

his friend. With his other hand, he punched the button for the bottom floor and then pushed Ash back.

“Stay out of this, Ash,” Jace warned in a soft tone. “It doesn’t concern you.”

Ash’s nostrils flared and his eyes blazed a moment. Jace knew it was a shitty thing to say, but then

Ash had been pretty shitty himself.

“Yeah, you’re right. You don’t concern me at all,” Ash said, heavy sarcasm laced in his voice.

He pushed back from the elevator allowing it to close, his lips tight as Jace disappeared from

view.

chapter nine

Jace ordered his driver to the shelter and told him to step on it. He couldn’t be certain that Bethany

would stick around, and he wasn’t about to take any chances. Not when she’d already disappeared on

him once.

Kate had said Bethany was injured and his mind was filled with images, none that were good. They

hadn’t gotten into specifics. Jace had been too impatient to get to her. How the hell had she gotten

hurt?

A woman alone on the streets . . . There were 1,001 ways for her to get hurt and every one of them

made Jace’s gut clench.

When his car pulled up in front of the shelter, he directed his driver to wait. Hopefully he wouldn’t

be long, but he was prepared for anything.

He strode toward the entrance, the wind biting through his coat. When he opened the door, his gaze

immediately swept the room, searching out Bethany. Then, finally, he saw her. In the back. Off to one

side, away from the others. She was sitting in a chair, pale and looking lost. Still, he drank in the sight

of her, relieved beyond words that she was here. He could see that her pants were torn at the knees

and on one side. He could also see the bloodstains on her clothing and the raw scrapes on her

elbows. What the ever-loving hell?

Before he could start over, Kate stepped in front of him, her face creased with worry.

“Will you be taking her with you, Mr. Crestwell?”

“Oh yes,” he said quietly. “She’s coming with me. I’ll take care of her. I promise.”

Kate’s expression eased. “Good. I worry about her. About all of them.”

He started to step forward, eager to get to her and to see how badly she was hurt, but Kate stopped

him once more.

“I want to thank you,” she said in a soft voice. “For everything. The heat. The food. The generous

donation. Look around you, Mr. Crestwell. All these women have a warm place to sleep and food to

eat because of you.”

Jace grimaced, uncomfortable with her gratitude. He nodded briefly and then headed for Bethany.

Her eyes were closed. She looked asleep sitting up. He took the opportunity to study her more closely

and he swore at what he saw.

She looked even thinner if possible. There were shadows under her eyes. She was pale.

And she was hurting.

He knelt quietly in front of her. As soon as she sensed his presence, her eyes flew open and she

flinched away, panic firing in her eyes.

“It’s all right, Bethany,” he murmured.

Her eyes widened and he was gratified to see that her fear disappeared, but it was quickly

replaced by confusion.

“Jace?”

His name came out a cautious whisper, almost as if she didn’t believe it was him kneeling in front

of her. Then she straightened and she turned her hands inward, hiding the scrapes and the blood.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in a trembling voice.

His expression hardened and he stood. Her gaze followed him up and without saying anything, he

simply reached down and plucked her slight weight from the chair.

She landed softly against his chest and he cradled her possessively, determined that nothing else

would hurt her. Then she stiffened and her mouth fell open with a gasp.

“What are you doing?” she hissed.

He strode toward the door, his grip tightening when she began to struggle.

“Taking you away from here,” he bit out.

She began to protest in earnest and Jace caught Kate’s worried stare. He nodded to reassure the

older woman and then he tightened his hold on her further.

“Enough,” he ground out. “Don’t fight me. You’re worrying Kate. I’m not going to hurt you. I

promised her I’d take care of you. Don’t make a scene. Do you want to frighten all the women?”

She bit her lip and went limp. Slowly she shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “But you can’t just

carry me out of here, Jace.”

“Watch me.”

He shouldered his way out of the door and the burst of cold air made her instantly shiver. He swore

under his breath, pissed that she wasn’t better protected from the cold. Her clothing was no barrier to

inclement weather at all.

“You’re scaring me.”

Her voice was small and he could feel her trembling in his arms, whether from the cold or from

true fear he wasn’t sure.

“I won’t hurt you and you goddamn well know that.”

Her gaze was haunted as she stared up at him. He paused at the curb as his car approached,

ignoring the stares from passersby.

“How do I know that?”

His lips tightened. “If you don’t already know it, you soon will.”

The car stopped and his driver hurried out to open the back door. Jace leaned in to settle Bethany

on the seat and then he slid in beside her. She sighed the moment she made contact with the heated