Fighting Perfection (The Perfection Series Book 2) (36 page)

     I began to feel woozy as the other paramedic tended to the slash across my chest.  He laid me back on the sofa as I started to sway.  My vision was growing foggy as he, too, held gauze to my chest trying to stop the bleeding.  I whispered, “Get James,” as the fogginess overtook my vision and I passed out.

     When I came to, I was strapped to a gurney in the emergency room at the hospital while a man in a white coat was suturing the cut on my chest.  “Welcome back,” a soft feminine voice whispered over my head.  I rolled my eyes up to see an older, motherly-looking woman standing over me with a soft smile on her face.

     “Dr. Brandon will be done with you in just a moment.  After that, the police would like to come in and ask you some questions if you’re feeling up to it.”

     I blinked at her, trying to clear the disorientation I was feeling.  The fight in the house all came rushing back in at once and I started to cry and asked frantically, “My dog.  What happened to my dog?” I couldn’t stop sobbing, sure that she had mortally wounded.

     “Everything is going to be all right,” she said.  “Just relax and let Dr. Brandon finish you up.  I’m sure the police will be able to tell you everything you need to know.”

     Dr. Brandon paused as my heaving chest interfered with his suturing.  He looked at me kindly, then nodded to the nurse.  I felt a pinch in my arm, and I slowly faded away into the darkness again.

     “How is she?” I heard a low voice ask as I struggled to come completely awake.  I opened my eyes and saw Justin talking to the same nurse who had been attending me when Dr. Brandon was closing my wound.

     “She’s just fine,” the nurse said. “We just had to give her a mild sedative to calm her down while we stitched up that nasty cut.”  She turned to look at me and smiled.  “Ah, she’s awake now.  I’ll let you two talk.”  She moved out of the little room and left us alone.

     “Dear God, Peaches.  I was so worried.  I couldn’t see how bad your injuries were when they took you away.  I was going out of my mind as the officers questioned me.”

     “Snowflake.  What happened to Snowflake?” I asked near hysterical.

     “I got her over to the veterinarian before coming here.  They didn’t think she had any                  life-threatening injuries, but they’re going to check her out thoroughly.  Delia stabbed her twice, but the only deep one was on her flank.  They didn’t seem to think it was anything she couldn’t heal from.”

     I breathed a sigh of relief.  I owed her my life.  It would have torn me up if she’d given hers in the process of saving me.

     “Are you feeling up to talking to the police?  They’re waiting outside for you to give them the details of what happened.”

     “What happened to Delia?” I asked.

     “They treated her injuries at the scene and then took her down to the station to be booked.  She was screaming and threatening a lawsuit the whole time.  She said that you had invited her over and then sicced your dog on her.”

     “How did they know to come?”

     “I called them.  Delia had been to my house first.  She was in my driveway ranting and raving about how she was going to prove she was the one for me by removing the obstacles that were in our way.  I could only guess what that meant.  I stayed in the house and called the cops, but explained that I suspected she was going to your house when she got in her car and screeched off.  I followed after her as soon and as fast as I could.

     “The officers knew about her prior arrests and the restraining orders we have against her so it wasn’t too hard to sort out once they got her out of your house.  Now all they need is your statement.”

     The police came in, and I explained my version of events.  They too informed me that Delia was in custody.  The nurse came in after that and gave me after-care instructions and a prescription for antibiotics.  She told me I was free to leave at any time.  She didn’t have to tell me twice.  I was in a rush to get out of there and go see how Snowflake was doing.

     As we got into his car, Justin handed me my purse.  “I made sure to grab this before I left so I could give the hospital registrar all of your insurance information.  Your cell phone is in there, too.  I thought you’d probably want it to call James.  I called him from your phone on my way over to the hospital.  I’m sure he’s eager to hear from you yourself.”

     I gave Justin a grateful smile for thinking of it.  As we drove to the animal hospital, I called James and assured him I was fine.  He was frantic insisting he was coming down to get me.  I agreed because all I wanted at that point was my dog and him.  He promised to see me soon and hung up.

     We were able to take Snowflake home right away.  Her only injuries had been a shallow slice to her chest and the stab wound in her rear flank.  Her examination otherwise appeared normal, and they gave me her own set of after-care instructions.

     Once we got home, Justin saw to the comfort of both of us, insisting I lay down on the sofa.  He made me a cup of herbal tea, saying it would help calm me, then set about cleaning up from the scuffle.  Exactly two hours from the time I hung up with James, my doorbell rang.  I moved to answer it, but Justin gently pushed me back down and answered it himself.  James pushed past him and rushed over and knelt beside me.  He stroked the hair back from my forehead and leaned in to kiss me.

     “I want to take you into my arms and hold you tight, but I’m afraid I’ll hurt you,” he said.  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

     “I’m okay physically but more than a little traumatized by everything that’s happened.  Mostly, I’m glad that Snowflake is okay and you’re here right now.”

     Justin cleared his throat, drawing our attention to him.

     “Oh, it seems silly to make introductions at this point but James, this is Justin.  Justin, this is James.”

     James stood and walked over to Justin.  He appraised him for a moment.  “I don’t know whether to shake your hand or punch you in the face for allowing this situation to get this far,” he said in a low voice.

     Justin nodded soberly.  “Yeah, I would feel the same way in your shoes.  I’m man enough to take either.”

     “In the end, you saved Mimi’s life so I’ll settle for shaking your hand.  Just know that I won’t forget that this is all your fault.”

     Justin nodded tightly again, a look of guilt so strong over his face that my heart tugged for him.  I didn’t blame him for any of what happened.  Yes, he had made some foolish choices, but he had no way of knowing how unstable Delia was.  The two men put out their hands and shook firmly.

     Justin came over to me.  “Now that you’re in good hands, I’m going to get going, Peaches.  I’m sorry for everything.  I hope you can forgive me.”

     “There’s nothing to forgive, Justin.  This was Delia’s doing, not yours.”

     He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead.  He squeezed my hand and whispered, “Call me soon,” before standing and heading out the door.

     James returned to my side.  I looked at him puzzled.  “How did you get here so fast?”  I asked.

     “I leased a small plane again then rented a car once I got into Los Angeles.  One of the guys at the leasing company owed me a favor so he set everything up fast.  I couldn’t take the time necessary to drive here.  I had to be with you as soon as I humanly could.  I would have gone crazy if it took me four hours to get to you.”

     I leaned up to kiss him.  It tugged on my stitches but I didn’t care.  I needed to be close to James, feeling safe and protected in his arms.  I began to cry, the events of the day overwhelming me.  He just held me gently and soothed me while I let my emotions out.  Snowflake slowly walked over and nudged my thigh with her head.  I reached down and stroked her, happy to have my little pseudo-family with me.

     I spent a week recovering at James’ house.  Snowflake healed remarkably fast and was back to her usual self within a few days, gnawing on toys and bringing me her ball to throw for her.

     While I improved physically in good time as well, I still endured flashbacks of the fight and my dreams were haunted by Delia’s wild eyes.  James suggested I begin seeing a counselor to help me work through my trauma, and I had to agree with him.  As soon as he left for his deployment and I was back home, I intended to find someone to help me.  I didn’t want to live my life obsessed with memories of her trying to kill me.  I was feeling the effects of the trauma;  I was still jumpy at any unexpected noise and was constanty scanning my surroundings whenever we went somewhere.

     Delia had been arraigned yet again and was being held without bail this time around.  Finally, someone had realized what a danger she was.  Her trial was postponed one more time, of course, but this time I felt reassured by her indefinite incarceration.  Francesca agreed that our case against her was much stronger than before.  She felt confident that a jury would convict her, and I was able to start believing the whole ordeal might be over.  At least for me.  Justin still had to deal with her pregnancy and what it could mean for his life.  I didn’t envy him, and prayed that he was not the father.  Just the idea of him having to deal with her in any way for the rest of his life made me feel like my stomach was filled with lead.

     James did his best to distract me with the plans he had made for our vacation.  He decided we should go to Mexico.  We’d fly into Brown Field in San Diego, then drive the rest of the way to Rosarito Beach in Baja, California.  I thought a nice, relaxing vacation by the beach was exactly what we both needed.  Rosarito was a popular destination for college kids during spring break and the summer months, but at that time of year, it was mostly retirees who had purchased vacation homes and local residents.  I’d been there a couple times and found it a nice little haven where one could take a break and just get away from it all.

     We left a week before James was due to be deployed.  It was a Monday and the sky was overcast, but there was nothing in the weather forecast that suggested we’d have anything but a smooth flight.  With Snowflake in the rear seats with her favorite chew toys and our luggage firmly stowed, we set out for our much-needed vacation.

     The flight was smooth until we were just past Los Angeles.  Dark clouds suddenly surrounded us and turbulence became rough.  “Crap,” James said.  “It looks like we’re heading into a storm.”

     “Can we still fly?” I asked. 

     “We should be fine.  We’re not too far from Brown now.”  He looked over at me and smiled, just as a flash of white light surrounded us and the plane jolted harshly.  The skies opened up and the rain began to pour down on us, hard pelts of fat raindrops splattering against the windshield. 

     “Shit!” James exclaimed.

     “What was that?” I asked nervously.

     “The lightning struck the plane.  I think the electrical system is fried.  All my gauges just died.”

     “Oh, God.  That’s bad, isn’t it?” I asked frantically.

     “Don’t panic, Mimi.  I just need to get below this cloud cover so I can navigate by the ground terrain.  It’s not going to be easy in this weather, but we should be okay.  Like I said, we’re not far from where we need to be.”

    I felt the plane dip down lower and lower.  Finally, the clouds dissipated, but our vision was obscured by the pounding rain.

     “Damn this rain.” James cursed.  “It’s too heavy for me to see clearly.”

     Snowflake whined from the back seat.  Even she knew something was wrong.  The wind was gusting, blowing us up and down in the air.  It could have been fun, something like being on a rollercoaster, if James were intentionally doing it and we weren’t so fucking far from the ground. 

     James brought us lower trying to see his way better.  All I could see around us were rolling hills and scrub.  I gripped my seat, my knuckles white from the tightness of my grasp.

     “I think we’re off course.  I have no idea how far.  God damn it.”

     Just then I heard a sputtering sound.  “Oh Lord, what is that?”

     James looked at me, grim faced.  “We just lost power to the engine.  I’m going to have to find a place to set this baby down fast.”

     “You mean we’re going to crash?” I screamed.

     “I’m hoping for just a hard landing.  Either way, hold on tight.  We’re going to be fine, Mimi, just brace yourself.”

     I held my breath as I squeezed my eyes tightly together.  I couldn’t believe I had gone through everything with Delia only to meet my end this way.  I couldn’t indulge those thoughts.  If James said we were going to be fine, then we would be.  I hoped.

     When I opened my eyes, I saw what appeared to be a wide empty valley between the hills in the near distance.  James saw it, too.

     “There,” he said, gesturing with his chin.  “I think that’s the best place we’re going to find.”  He paused for a moment.  “In case I don’t get a chance to say it again, I want you to remember that I love you, Mimi.”  He nosed the plane lower, and I felt our rapid descent.  My hands came up to grip the safety harness as I watched the ground rushing up toward us, my heart in my throat. 

     “I love you, too, James.  You don’t know how much”, I said just before we hit the ground.

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