Her Only Salvation (3 page)

“Okay, but how can this be held over your head? He never drove away, and they can’t prove the guy who hit him was drunk,” she pointed out.

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have some responsibility to make sure my customers make it home safely.” Pushing off the bar, Luke returned his glass to the sink without finishing it. “If he wakes up, he might decide I didn’t hold up my end. If I’m sued, I’ll probably lose this place in legal fees alone.”

“Well what about this driver? Didn’t anyone see who it was? What kind of car they were driving? Anything?” Terri felt desperate for answers. It wasn’t even her business to save, but she felt a kinship with Luke, and that made her concerned with what happened to him in his life. 

He had offered her a job when no one else would. She was uneducated and hadn’t worked since the day she married. To top it off, he treated her kindly, something she hadn’t experienced in years, and he was her friend. Those she called a friend she stood behind fully. His fight was now her fight, as far as she was concerned, and anything she could do to keep him from losing his livelihood—his dream—she would do. 

“One of the witnesses said they saw a late model blue pickup speeding away. They didn’t get the plates or see who was driving, though. So they probably won’t catch the guy, which leaves just me, unless that boy recovers and gives us something good to go on.” Reaching out, Luke placed a gentle hand against Terri’s cheek. “Hey, you’re all pale. What’s wrong?”

She didn’t know how she could’ve missed it, but her eyes were wide open now. The guy at the club earlier with the broken beer bottle and the driver of the truck in the parking lot responsible for running down one of their patrons…

Shaking now, Terri peered up at Luke hoping he wouldn’t confirm her worst fears. “Who was the victim? The guy they took to the hospital.”

“Terri, I don’t see how—”

“Please,” she pleaded, “I have to know.”

“It was that guy who hassled you tonight. The college kid.”   

Terri’s legs crumbled beneath her. Luke’s quick reflexes made sure she didn’t fall. Scooping her into his arms, Luke carried her quickly to his office before anyone noticed what had happened.

Luke place Terri on a very smart-looking sofa in his office. He left her long enough to close the door, then returned, pulling up his desk chair and sitting down to face her.

“Want to tell me what just happened out there?”

Terri shook her head. Words failed her. They were all locked up in her throat. Blood pounded through her veins, making her pulse thunder inside her ears. 

Rubbing two fingers across his chin, Luke studied her. “Okay. Do you want to go home, Terri?”

She thought about it. The idea of going back behind that counter, walking around the dark club floors where someone could be watching her, and she’d never know it, terrified her. 

“Yes” was all she could say.

“Okay then.” Luke stood and rounded the desk. He slid open a drawer and drew out a set of keys. “I’ll drive you home.”

Terri’s attention snapped back to him. “What about my car?”

Luke held up a hand. “Leave it. I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon on my way in. Your car will be fine until you get back.”

Terri didn’t argue.  She stood up and let Luke lead her from the office, thoughts of Randy racing through her mind. Had he finally been released from jail? Was he free to come after her now? If he was, would he really do it after all this time? But she already knew the answer to that. Of course he would. 

The question now was, would he be waiting for her, ready to run her down the moment she stepped across the protective barrier of the club provided her like he did to that boy? 

She could only hope that having Luke by her side would be enough to keep her safe.

Chapter Three

Terri chewed her thumbnail, a nervous habit she had developed sometime between marrying Randy and leaving him. She did it now because she was worried. What if Randy was coming to get her? The safe world she had built at the edge of the cliff could finally be about to plummet over the side. She always knew this day might come. Now, she just had to hope he wasn’t lurking in the shadows somewhere waiting to pounce.

Luke pulled into the short driveway and cut the engine. They sat together quietly, looking up at the squat ranch-style house. 

“Nice place,” he commented, his head nodding slowly.

“Thanks.”

It was a very nondescript house, only nine hundred square feet. It had a slab of concrete for a porch, box hedges under each shuttered window, so overgrown they blended together, making them appear as one giant bush. She hadn’t trimmed them in ages. A plastic bag, stark white against the deep evergreen, sat tangled in one of the branches, moving lazily with a soft breeze. The yard was little more than a strip of grass, plain and unremarkable.

“You should trim those bushes,” Luke told her. “It’s a good hiding place for someone who wants to break in.”

Terri’s stomach fell. She had never thought about that, but now that the idea was planted she knew she wouldn’t get any rest until the problem was taken care of. 

“I’ll cut them,” she assured him. Maybe even tonight, she added to herself.

Luke’s head swiveled around, and he regarded her with a serious expression. 

Dropping her hand, she covertly wiped her wet thumb nail off on her skirt and searched for something to say.
What kind of conversation can you hold with your boss anyway?
she wondered. “Well.” Terri smiled awkwardly and reached for the handle. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She was all the way out of the car when Luke stepped out to join her.

“I’ll see you inside if you don’t mind.”

He was already moving toward the house, leaving her with little choice in the matter. She was actually kind of relieved. Nothing was more unsettling than coming home to a dark, empty home.

Walking alongside Luke, Terri peered at the darkened windows and wished she would have had the foresight to at least leave on a lamp.

“You shouldn’t come home to a dark house,” Luke remarked, echoing her thoughts.

Terri smirked, bypassing him so she could fit the key in the lock.

“Dangerous, right?”

Pushing open the steel-clad door, she stepped inside and flicked on the wall switch. Light flooded the living room, illuminating the adjoining hallway that led to the back two bedrooms.

Luke came in behind her and performed a cursory glance around the tight space.

“I know.” Terri immediately began apologizing for the state it was in. “It’s a little cluttered, but it’s not dirty.”

“No, it’s not dirty,” Luke agreed slowly. “Just a lot of furniture.”

Terri took in the oversized sofa and loveseat, the recliner and two end tables, the coffee table and finally, the entertainment center, all crammed into the restrictive room.

“I couldn’t afford a storage unit after the divorce, and I didn’t have the heart to let everything go,” she confessed, then immediately zipped her lips. She hadn’t intended to share her past with anyone. The more you revealed about yourself the more likely the past would come back and haunt you. And Terri’s past was better left secret.

“You were married?” Luke sounded surprised.

Terri wasn’t sure if she should be offended—as if a woman like her wasn’t capable of securing a husband—or embarrassed that she was standing here talking to her boss about her personal life.

“Still am, actually. But the divorce will be final at the end of the month,” she went on.

Of course, that’s what her lawyer had told her. It had been the same song and dance month after month for nearly a year. At first she thought it would be a quick process, but it turned out to be more complicated than that. Randy had disputed one thing or another all the way, resulting in several postponements until things could be worked out between their lawyers.

Luke nodded slowly, his gaze sliding around the room. “Must have been something bad for a woman like you to call it quits.”

Terri frowned. “What do you mean?”

A shrug. “Just that I figure you to be the type with stick-to-itiveness. Care if I have a look around?”

Terri was too tired to protest. She waved him on. “Go for it.”

She followed close
ly from one room to the next.
Luke peeked around the corner into the kitchen. He went for the bathroom next, drawing back the shower curtains and replacing them.

“What are you doing exactly?” she asked him, moving to the side so he could get past her.

“Making sure everything is secure,” he replied, opening first her guest bedroom, then her own. He stopped to study the room. “I think you might have a hoarding problem,” he told her.

Terri glanced over his shoulder seeing the large queen bed framed by two bedside tables topped with elegant Tiffany lamps. There was an armchair in the corner by the closet, a five-drawer pine dresser she had picked up at a flea market and painted white to match the rest of the furniture, and a cedar chest at the foot of the bed.

“What?” she said defensively. “This isn’t that bad.”

He shook his head, a glimmer of a smile creeping up on his face. “No, not nearly as bad as the guest room, I’d say.”

“Well nobody asked you,” she snapped.

No longer in the mood to be judged, Terri shoved past Luke, hastily grabbing the handle and slamming the door shut.

Laughing, Luke followed her back into the living room.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, honest,” he insisted.

Terri wasn’t having any of it. She had long grown tired of having to answer to a man.

She spun on him, shoving a finger in his face. “Who taught you that you could just traipse into someone’s house and start passing judgment, huh?”

He held up his hands in self-defense. “I’m sorry, Terri. Really.”

Narrowing her eyes briefly, Terri backed off. If she wanted to keep her job, she better not get on her boss’s bad side. “Don’t let it happen again,” she warned.

Luke tracked her as she moved around the room, retrieving the afghan she kept draped over the loveseat. She folded it into squares just for something to do. The man had a way of stirring up nervous energy.

“Do you want something to drink?” she asked, growing tired of looking for something to distract herself while he stared after her.

“No, thank you,” he said quickly. Taking two steps back, Luke opened the front door. “I should be heading home.”

“Okay.” Terri crossed the room to see him out. Polite as ever, she mused, holding the door open as he stepped out onto the porch.

“I’ll swing by to pick you up at four,” he informed her, and took off down the short path leading back to the driveway. Stopping midstride, he spun back around. “And Terri?”

She raised her brows.

“Don’t forget to keep a light on.”

Jerking upright, she saluted him. “Yes, sir!”

He grinned as he made his way to the car. Terri waited until he was out of sight before shutting and double-locking the door. Call her paranoid, but she felt much better having sturdy locks barring the outside world from intruding on her personal space.

A smile tipped her lips as she readied herself for bed. Luke may be her boss, but he had captured her attention from day one. She often replayed that fateful day she walked into
Sunset
Black
. She was desperate for a job, and no one had wanted to take the time to train someone with no skills, no job experience, and no references. She had the word
unemployable
stamped across her forehead it seemed.

Determined to land something before she went fully bankrupt and ended up homeless, Terri marched into the dimly lit club during peak hours of operation and demanded that she be interviewed. It was the first time she ever stood up for herself or raised her voice to anyone. So of course it wasn’t a character she could maintain.

About halfway through the forced interview, about the time Luke was preparing to turn her away, Terri broke down into tears, utterly defeated.

Worried by her obviously fragile mental state and realizing the deep need for her to have this job, he offered to start her right away. As in that night. She didn’t know a thing about bartending or waitressing, but she was eager to learn and that seemed to make all the difference.

It was a rough start, but she thrived under the constant praise and encouragement from Luke, picking up things easily. Despite her attraction to him, as well as half the staff who looked at him with lust-filled eyes, she figured out pretty fast that he didn’t see any of them in the same light. They were more like sisters to him, and he kept a watchful eye to make sure they were staying out of trouble and trouble wasn’t finding them in turn. He offered a certain sense of brotherly protection, a shelter from the rain. Even though the pay wasn’t so great, Terri grew to love working at
Sunset Black
. The view wasn’t so bad either.

One day some lucky girl would snatch Luke up, leaving his admirers grieving from the loss.

Dressed in her pajamas, Terri ventured into the kitchen for a snack. Despite her pack-rat tendencies, her kitchen was sparse, lacking anything to make a real meal out of. Finding one last slice of bread in the bag, she made a peanut butter sandwich and poured herself a glass of milk. She was planning to fall asleep in front of the TV tonight watching infomercials.

She was halfway to her bedroom before Luke’s words came back to her.

Turning around, she went back and flipped on the porch light. It was going to make a dent in her electric bill, that was for sure, but she would do it because he was right. Safety was important.

***

Randy drove aimlessly around city blocks, circling back to the club several times while he waited for the police to leave. It had been a mistake, allowing his emotions to rule him. But then they always had, hadn’t they?

Ever since he was a kid, Randy had had anger problems. Like a match, once struck, the anger spread, destroying whatever it touched. Early on he tried to control it, but the battle proved more work than he was willing to put in, and eventually he just let the chips fall where they may. People inevitably got hurt, but he no longer worried about them. In nature, only the strong survived. And Randy was strong.

The club,
Sunset Black
, came into view once again, and Randy coasted toward it. His fingers gripped the steering wheel as his mind replayed the moments before he snapped. The boy was out of line, moving in on his property. Like Randy, he was a man, and everyone knows that men are ruled by their anatomy.

Terri knew that full well, too.

Randy had watched her strutting throughout the club, sidling up to tables full of men in her barely there getup. Whores get what they deserve, he recalled his father telling him once. And Terri definitely played the part well.

Yes, the more he thought about it, the more he realized the blame for what happened that evening lay firmly at her feet. He never would have had to punish the kid if she hadn’t drawn him in with her feminine wiles. She always had been one to spark his temper, and she had succeeded once again tonight. It was almost as if she enjoyed ruining men.

Well, he would teach her better.

The parking lot was dark when Randy pulled in. A quick scan revealed Terri’s white Ford Focus was still there, which meant she was still inside. Tucking the truck into a space shrouded in shadow at the far end of the lot, he waited. His plan was simple: When she drove home, he would follow her. From there, he would employ any means necessary to get inside and deliver the shock of her life.

He could see it now, the look on her face when she realized he was back. She would be surprised, but would it be a happy surprise, or something born of fear? After the way they had left things, coupled with the fact that she hadn’t even bothered to visit him once, he figured the reunion wouldn’t be a very welcoming one.

That didn’t bother him, though. They may have had their problems, but Terri loved him. She would never forsake him over a simple impassioned argument. She knew how he was, and she accepted that. It’s why he stayed with her for so long, after all. No one knew how to handle his tempers like Terri, which is why he didn’t feel it necessary to hold back.

Sure, sometimes he would take it too far and he would find himself in some trouble, but it always worked out in the end. Give him an hour, and he would make Terri see that they still worked well together. He would make her understand what she had done wrong and accept her punishment like a good girl and they would move on. Things didn’t have to change. Love transcended all barriers.