Irreplaceable (28 page)

I opened the door with an eager smile, only to be greeted
by the swollen red eyes of Hilary.

“Hilary, what’s wrong?” I asked, hurrying her inside and
out of the icy weather.

Her face was pale, her bottom lip disappearing between
her teeth as she gnawed at it, clutching a brown paper bag in her hands.

“I went shopping today,” she replied eerily and nodded
down at said bag, crinkled in her hand as though she’d held it the entire drive
over.

She held it out and I took it, hesitant to open it by her
pained expression. It was more supermarket shopping than boutique.

“Before you open it, you have to swear not to tell
anyone.”

What was in there? “Of course.”

Nervously, I unrolled the bag that had been nearly worn
through from her handling of it, and peeked inside.

“Hilary.” I sighed, pulling out a pregnancy test that was
piled in the bag with a dozen more of every brand.

She plopped down on the couch and shrugged out of her
coat, not saying a word. I didn’t press her—just placed it back in the bag and
sat beside her quietly for support, unsure what I could say or do.

“Caleb’s going to kill me,” she finally said after a few
minutes.

I pulled my legs under me. “Are you sure about this? I
mean, have you taken a test yet?”

“Not yet. I was waiting till you were with me. Didn’t
want to do it before school. ” She ran her hand over her eyes and down her
face. “My cycle has been regular since I was thirteen, yet I’m two weeks late.”

“Did you guys use protection?”

“I’m on the pill, but I may have forgotten to take them
every day.”

“You forgot?” I hadn’t meant for that to sound as
judgmental as it had come out.

“Yes, forgot! Seeing as my best friend was laid up in a
hospital, unconscious, I was a little stressed last month, all right!?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Crap.
What a good
friend I was. I took a deep breath and stood. “There’s no reason to sit here
freaking out until we have an answer.”

I dumped the bag over the coffee table, spilling the
tests out.

“Did you need so many?” I chuckled, then bit the inside
of my lip. Not the time to laugh.

“I grabbed every kind off the shelf and made a beeline
for the register. Had to throw in an extra twenty to swear Mr. Tanner to
secrecy.” I caught the twitch at the corner of her lip.

“Seriously, you’re worried old Mr. Tanner’s going to
spread gossip?” There was no way to hold in my laughter at that. The man was
pressing ninety-five years old.

“Shut up!” She giggled, throwing a test at me. “I was
panicked, all right!?”

“Whatever you say.” I grinned.

“There has to be an easier way,”
I said through my hysterical laughter.

“Come on, hand me another.”

I was nearly bent over, standing in the doorway to my
bathroom. I handed her another test as she sat on the toilet. She dipped it
into her stream of urine before setting it on the counter.

“Another, hurry!”

“You have eight more. There is no way you have that much
pee in you!” I shook my head in disbelief, holding out another test.

“Shit!”

“Told you.”

“Okay, well, we have the first seven tests, and I’ll
drink lots of water and take the rest next.”

“You sound crazy, you know that, right? You only need
one—maybe two, tops.”

Hilary flushed the toilet, stood, and pulled up her
jeans. The tests were thrown all over the counter, and all she could do was
sigh as she turned on the faucet and washed her hands.

“I know, I just want to be sure. So please just let me
have my irrational freak-out.”

My attention was now trained on the instructions, reading
to see how long we needed to wait, when my head dipped back in a fit of
laughter.

“What now?” She turned back, staring at me. “I get it. I
took too many tests. Haha.”

I shook my head and read back the new knowledge I’d
learned. “‘Place a clean cup in the urine stream to collect sample, then dip
the test for five seconds.’”

She gaped at me and sucked in a deep breath, blowing it
out and rolling her eyes. “Well, now we know for the next time someone, maybe
even you, has a pregnancy scare.”

“Watch that mouth of yours!” I cracked a smile and tossed
the paper in the trash with all the others. “Besides, there’s no cup of mine
I’d have let you piss in!”

Hilary laughed and followed me out to the living room.
Five minutes later, all seven pregnancy tests were spread out on the small
coffee table over a long sheet of paper towels. It was hard to watch as she
anxiously placed each one out, her hands trembling, gnawing on her lip as the
timer counted down the minutes.

The buzzer jolted her up from her seat, absolutely
terror-stricken.

“I can’t look! You do it!” She walked across the room and
began pacing.

“You sure?”

“Positive. I mean—just do it, no positives. Please!” Her
nails were being chomped to bits in her mouth, her eyes glued to her feet.

“Whatever these say, it’s going to be all right. I’m here
for you, and Caleb will be, too. He’s a good guy.”

I looked down at the first test and then ran my eye over
each one in the line. They all revealed the same results.

“Well?” She was facing me now.

“Congratulations—you’re going to be a mother, and a damn
good one!”

“Oh…I’m going to be sick.” With that, she sprinted from
the room, slamming the bathroom door shut behind her.

This may not have been how she’d planned it, but she
loved Caleb and he loved her. I knew they’d make it work. He wouldn’t leave
her.

I’d started cleaning up the table when my phone rang.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hello, sweetheart. Sorry, I’m running late. Oliver had a
karate class after school, but I’d love for us to have dinner. Can you come
over in an hour?”

Hilary walked back in the room then with a washcloth,
wiping her mouth. She was as white as a ghost.

“I’m sorry, Hilary’s here and she isn’t feeling well. How
about tomorrow?”

There was a beat of silence before he spoke. “You’re not
backing away, are you?”

“No, I told you last night and this morning. I’m yours.”

“Good, then I’ll come see you tonight after I put Oliver
to bed. Jax should be home by ten to keep an eye on him while he sleeps, then
I’ll be there.”

“I’ll be waiting,” I said before hanging up.

“You and Logan finally worked things out, huh?” Hilary
smiled.

“Yeah, it appears so.” I placed the phone on the side
table and continued cleaning up, walking into the kitchen.

“If you have plans, I can go.”

“No, stay and hang out. We can try another hand of poker
and see if our luck’s improved,” I said, opening the junk drawer by my fridge.

“Seriously,” Hilary said, her eyes darting to her
stomach, “does it look like luck’s on my side?”

“How about a movie then?” I chuckled, tossing the cards
back in the drawer and heading back to the sofa.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Blindsided

That night, after Hilary left,
Logan was there just before ten and had me wrapped around his body before the
door was shut behind him. We spent the night making love and talking about
nothing important, and yet it meant more to me than anything else. For the
first time in a long time, I felt the connection I’d been longing for.

The next day, I went out to get groceries for dinner. I
wanted to make something special for Logan and Oliver, and found myself walking
blissfully through the grocery store when I felt the hairs on the back of my
neck stand.

I looked back, feeling eyes on me, only to see the back
of someone’s legs as he or she left the aisle. I shook off the shiver and
continued until I had a cart full of groceries and was on my way home.

The roads were icy and snow-covered, so I took my time,
my nervousness about driving after the accident amplified even more by the
weather. As I drove down a back road, I noticed a pickup truck behind me. It
was close to my bumper, and then it was swerving.

I slowed, watching the scene unfold as the truck lost
control and flew across the other lane into the ditch. I pulled over
immediately and ran over, opening the driver door, when I noticed the man
inside clutching his head.

“Are you all right? Did you hit your head?” I asked.

Slowly, his hands lowered, and I found myself staring
into the familiar, menacing eyes of Kurt, my blind date who, last I heard, was
still in jail.

My stomach dropped, but I tried to play it off. Maybe he
wouldn’t remember me.

“I left my phone in my car, I’ll go grab it and call for
help,” I explained, smiling, hoping he didn’t recognize me. I was about a
quarter mile from my house and knew the tow truck wouldn’t be there for at
least twenty minutes with the condition of the roads.

“Thank you,” he said with a smile, then dropped his head
back into hands. “I hit my head on the steering column.”

“Just stay there, I’ll be right back.”

It was a lie. I’d get in my car, drive away, and then
call for help. His head looked fine and so did his car, but I’d still call for
help—I just wouldn’t leave myself out there with him, in case he did suddenly
remember me.

As I walked to my car, I heard him step out, then slam
his door behind him. I quickened my pace and made it to my car, rushing inside
and grabbing my phone.

With a trembling finger, I shot a text to Logan.

Kurt near house.

The knock on my window startled me, my phone slipping
through my hands as I looked up to see Kurt staring in.

“I just phoned the local garage for a tow truck. Do you
want me to call for an ambulance?” I asked through the glass as I gripped my
keys tightly.

“I can’t hear you!” he yelled through the glass.

“I said, do you want me to—”

He shook his head as though he still couldn’t understand
me. I rolled the window down half an inch. I still wasn’t sure if he was a
threat, since he didn’t appear to remember me. I reminded myself that I needed
to calm down.

Lifting myself up slightly, I spoke through the open
crack of the window. “Do you need me to call the paramedics?”

“No, thanks, that won’t be necessary, Cassandra!” His
smile faded into a snarling scowl.

A scream shot out of me when his arm connected with my
window. I flew across the seat as he beat on it again and again. My keys fell
from my hands and I struggled to cover my face while scouring the floorboards
to find them.

Glass showered over me with his final blow. His hand
encompassed my ankle, while his other reached in through the broken window and
unlocked the door.

“What’s the chance that I run into you before leaving
this shitty little town, huh?”

Glass tore into my stomach as he yanked me across the
seat. My feet were relentless, kicking, beating down as hard as I could manage
while I clawed against the seat, fighting to reach the other door handle,
desperate for an escape.

“Let me go!” I shrieked, finally grasping the handle.

“Why? I did nothing to you, yet I found myself sitting
back in jail anyway! I thought I was helping you that night, but you’re just
like every other woman out there!”

His hands were up my skirt, gripping the thick black
leggings I was thankful I wore. In one painful move, he ripped them down my
legs.

“Now I’ll get what I have coming to me! Take what I want,
since being a gentleman isn’t what you’re looking for.”

His fingers gripped the band of my panties, and my
adrenaline spiked into full-blown panic. With all my strength, I yanked my leg
free and kicked back as hard as I could, landing my foot right on his face.

Kurt stumbled back, releasing his hold as blood gushed
from his nose.

Taking full advantage, I pushed open the passenger door
and scrambled out, darting into the dense forest beside the road. I knew I was
close to my house and Logan’s house, so I ran, never once looking back through
the heavy snow. It was bitterly cold; my leggings hung around my waist in
pieces.

Over fallen trees and through dense, thorny brush I
raced, my heart pounding against my chest. I could only hope I was going in the
right direction. Rows of fat pine trees blocked the path, and in desperation, I
slipped between them. The needles scratched my legs, and a frozen branch sliced
into my cheek, but I never stopped. My pulse was racing and body trembling when
I heard his sickening cackle.

“You can’t hide out here, Cassandra! You’ll freeze to
death before you find help, because I’m not going anywhere until I have what
was mine that night!”

I ran faster, tripping over a hidden pile of rocks
covered by the snow. It didn’t slow me. I was back up and going.

Kurt’s voice was a constant, his words only growing
angrier and nastier as he spouted out exactly what I had coming to me. The man
was out of his mind—worse than a menace to society. He was psychotic!

Finally, hope was near. My house. I wasn’t sure if Kurt
knew I lived there or if he’d only followed me from town, but it was my only
shot. Nobody would be home at Logan’s, aside from the off chance that Natasha
was back, but she’d be little help.

I needed my house, my phone, and my gun.

The instant my body collided with the back door, I
scrambled for the small porcelain bird to the side that held an extra key, and
with shaky hands, slid it into the lock.

“Where you going?” Kurt voice washed over me.

He was close, his voice no longer a yell. Still, I wasn’t
looking back to see. The knob turned and I pushed myself inside, then twisted
the lock back in place, only to come face to face with his black eyes staring
at me through the glass.

“Well, this will be even better—I won’t have to freeze my
ass off fucking you!”

I stepped back, eyes wide in terror as his foot connected
with the door. There was no time to grab the phone on the wall. No time for
anything.

Tears heating my eyes, I raced into my bedroom, slammed
the door, and fell to my stomach, digging around under my bed for the safe. It
only took a second to grasp the box and pull it out.

The shattering of glass echoed through the room, adding
to the pulsating trembles wracking my body as I yanked open my side-table
drawer and dumped it on the floor.

Papers, books, and miscellaneous junk were scattered
around, yet with luck, the small gold key fell out on top.

His pounding on my bedroom door had me focused on the
safe, bent over, on my knees. The key unlocked it with ease. There, exactly
where my grandfather had left it, was the gun I’d only used during target
practice years earlier.

With the gun in hand, I opened the accompanying box of
bullets and spilled them onto the floor in front of me.

Another pound at my door followed by his gut-wrenching
snicker had my clammy hands in a fit, unable to place the bullet in the
revolver.

“The fun’s over—here I come, baby!” With those final
words, the door flew in, busting off the hinges.

I ducked down, the bullets further scattering over the
floor with my rushed movements.

“There you are. Getting ready for me?”

I held up the unloaded gun, threatening him to stay
there, and hid two bullets in my other hand.

“Leave! Now!” I yelled.

His smile broadened into a wicked grin. “Why would I do
that? So you can call the police? Send me back to prison? No, I think I’ll
stay.”

He took a step toward me and I swallowed, struggling to
hold the gun steady.

“It was more than a coincidence that I saw you in the
supermarket today. I mean, here I am, my first day out on bail, grabbing a
carton of cigarettes before skipping town, and who do I see? The girl I thought
I was trying to help that night. The girl I thought I was being a gentleman
with.” He shook his head at me and ticked his tongue.

“I never pressed charges.” My palms were sweating against
the weight of the gun in my hands, yet I never let the barrel sway from its aim
at his chest. “It was a misunderstanding, that’s all.”

“Yes, I agree, it was. Except your so-called boyfriend
didn’t think so. He
did
press charges, and he also paid off some guards
to make my life hell the past couple months!”

“I’m sorry,” I practically sobbed. “I didn’t know. I
haven’t thought about you since that night.”

“Funny, considering I thought about you every. Single.
Night I was there. With every fist I took to the gut, elbow to the face, knee
to the groin, I saw your face. And now I’m going to make it all worth it.”

Kurt ran at me and I darted to the side and around the
bed, focused on loading the gun, but he was fast, knocking me down to the floor
the instant the bullet slid in. The gun fell, and I rolled to my stomach,
scurrying to reach it.

“Come on, it doesn’t have to be like this. It doesn’t
have to be painful,” he drawled in my ear, his body lying flat over mine as I
lay on my stomach.

His erection pressed into my ass, and tears began to
stream down my cheeks.

This wasn’t happening.

Kurt’s hands grabbed mine and buried them under my chest,
then he pressed his palm down between my shoulder blades, using my body to lock
them down. His other hand was tugging at my skirt, lifting it over my hips.
Then his weight shifted, and I heard the earth-shattering sound of his zipper.

I kicked my feet, but it was useless. He was on his
knees, his elbow now digging into my back as I felt him pulling his pants down.
I needed to move, get a hand free, something. I couldn’t let this happen.

He leaned forward over me, his elbow lifting only to be
replaced by his forearm resting over the back of my neck, forcing my face into
the carpet. Tears and snot covered my cheeks, but the pressure removed from my
back now allowed me to wiggle my hands.

It was the moment his palm slapped down over my ass
before he tore at my panties that I managed to rip my hand free and grab the
gun. The weight of his entire body dropped onto me as he began grabbing at my
outstretched hands gripping the gun. He snarled, trying to reach it as his bare
erection rubbed over my backside.

A loud, piercing scream escaped my throat at the feeling
of him there, so close, and my body burst into an uncontrollable tremor,
rolling from side to side.

I closed my eyes, crying, screaming, begging for the
strength to move the gun at the right angle to shoot. But on my stomach with
him on my back, it was impossible, until his weight was suddenly gone.

My body flipped over and I pointed the gun up, only to
see Logan holding Kurt against him, his arm around his neck.

“Logan!” I cried, the gun shaking in my hands.

“I’m here, you can put the gun down. The police are on
their way.”

My breath had abandoned me, a cold sweat pouring down my
face. “He…he…” I sobbed louder, my gun never once moving from the target.

“I know, sweetheart. It will be okay now, put the gun
down.”

With the inhale of a deep breath and then another and
another, my head spinning, lungs empty, I couldn’t loosen my grip on the
weapon.

“He...was…”

“Shhh, I’m here.”

“Son of a bitch! I’ll fucking kill you both!” Kurt
roared, and with indescribable ease, Logan released Kurt just enough to whip
him around and connect his fist to the side of his head so hard he fell
unconscious to the floor.

Logan was beside me instantly, his hands covering mine
and removing the gun slowly. My body fell into his, grasping handfuls of his
shirt as I unloaded my sobs onto his chest.

“It’s all right now. I’m here.” He stroked his hands down
my back, his heart beating against my ear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they
released him. Caleb called right before I got your text. One of Kurt’s friends
bailed him out.”

He sighed, and his body fell back against the foot of my
bed. “God, I’m sorry, Cassandra. This never should have happened. I promise I’m
here now. I’ll never let anything bad happen again.”

I wasn’t sure how long I lay in his arms crying until the
police knocked on the front door, but when they did, my entire body stiffened
against him, not ready to let go.

Logan called out that the back door was open and drew me
closer. My back door was more than open—it was destroyed—yet instead of letting
that fact and the images of watching the events unfold tear me back down, I
found solace in the firm embrace of Logan’s arms that never let me go.

The police entered the room moments later, guns drawn.
After they assessed the scene, paramedics followed.

“Can you talk to them?” Logan asked, lifting my face up
gently to meet his pained stare. The pad of his thumb ran over the cut on my
cheek, and I winced. “I’ll have you cleaned up soon. They’ll need a statement,
but if you’re not ready—”