Lingering Echoes (25 page)

Now that I had solidified a few more hours with him, there was something else I was curious about.

“Damien, I wanted to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Can I see your back?”

That wasn’t the question he was expecting.
I waited while his silence grew. I found myself chewing on my lip again. At last, Damien pulled away from me, his decision made.

H
e turned around. Slowly, he tugged his T-shirt up and over his torso. He pulled the shirt over his head, dropping it on the floor, waiting for my reaction.

I inhaled, swallowing
my surprise. The scars webbed from the bottom of his shoulder blades and crept to the top of his shoulders. I noted the ashy, purple hue that cascaded across his back, thickened with scar tissue. Tracing his scars with my fingers, I glided them across the stretched, destroyed skin. Damien didn’t move while I explored his bare back.

How painful it must have been,
not only the actual moments when he felt the searing, burning pain from the fire, but to lose his entire family all at once, to face the accusations and accept the undue responsibility. He had to bear that burden all alone.             

Sighing, I
wrapped my arms around him and placed my cheek against his skin. I closed my eyes, wishing I could absorb all his pain, as he’d already been doing for me. My thoughts turned to Maddie and the day I survived when she didn’t. Someone had rescued me that day from her same fate. How I wished someone could have been a hero to Damien—to rescue him from suffering the loss of his family.

I felt Damien take my hand
s in his, squeezing them in understanding. He turned around to face me, lifting my chin with his fingers. He kissed me on the lips, sending a delicate shiver down my spine. My eyes connected with his, my breaths sharpening. Damien scooped me up into his arms and carried me over to his bed, lowering me onto the mattress. I scooted over, making room for him beside me.

H
e sank into the mattress and sat with his back propped against his pillows. I curled up beside him, laying my head in his lap. He caressed my face along my temple to my jawline. My face nestled into the palm of his hand, enjoying the comforts of his touch.

Hearing Damien’s emotional account
of his life seemed to drain me as much as it must have drained him. I could feel him relaxing into the pillows, his head resting against the headboard.

My breaths slowed
. Within minutes, sleep tugged on the corners of my mind. I tried to resist, my last night with Damien disappearing too soon.

“It’s o
k,” Damien’s voice soothed. “You can sleep.”

“I d
on’t want to,” I argued. But my thoughts began to wander...

S
omewhere between awareness and dreaming, I found myself beside the river, cold and shivering against the damp soil. The rushing river roared in my ears as I coughed up a lungful of water. Someone lifted my head, holding my face in his hands. I shook my head, my eyes fluttering open, blinking out the river and rain. It was all a blur...coming into focus in small spurts—leaves waving in the wind, with slashing rain knocking them from their branches, and a dim, gray sky with dark clouds hovering overhead...

And
someone looking down at me, while my head rested in his lap. His hands cradled my face with such gentleness that for one moment, I felt safe from the turbulent river beside me.

“You’re going to be ok,”
his low voice informed me over the falling rain—a comforting sound that begged me to believe him, but it was his eyes that caught my attention—piercing, blue-gray eyes, covered ever so slightly by a wisp of damp, jet-black hair falling across his forehead...

My eyes flew open, no longer captured in memory.

Memory.

I bolted upright, startling
Damien, who looked at me in surprise.

“What’s the matter?” he asked. “Are you ok?”

It was dark outside now—the window letting in the dim moonlight—but as my eyes adjusted, I could see concern fill his eyes as he examined my bewildered expression.

My breaths heaved in and out of m
y chest as understanding came.

“It was you,” I whispered.

“Allie, what are you talking about?” Damien seemed confused.

“
I remember now. By the river. I saw it so clearly.” I touched my lips with my fingertips, remembering his mouth over mine, breathing life back into my lungs. My heart pounded awake and alert in my chest, keeping in time with my breaths.

I looked back at Damien. He was watching me
, with that dark hair I recalled so vividly draping over one eye as it often did. I reached over and brushed his hair above his eyebrow.

There was no mistaking it. His
unique, bluish-silver eyes reflected back at me, glowing against the moonlight. The very same eyes of my rescuer that day.

My eyes glistened as I choked back a sob, flooded with emotions. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Damien leaned back against the pillows. He blew out a breath of air. “It was the summer right after my parents and Jenna died. I didn’t need anyone thinking I was trying to be a hero.” He cast his eyes across the room, remembering that day. “The important thing was making sure you were safe.”

I scrunched my eyebrows, my memory still imperfect.
“I couldn’t remember your face or anything about what you looked like. My nightmares never focused on that part. When I awoke in the hospital, no one could tell me how I got there, except that a young man dropped me off and didn’t leave his name.” I looked at him curiously. “You mind filling in the gaps?”

“It was just by chance that I found you
that day,” Damien said. “I was in my truck, driving into town for some supplies. I had only been in this cabin for a month or so. I drove across the bridge and heard you crying out. I saw you flailing around in the river, and your cousin just ahead of you. My truck wouldn’t make it through the trees, so I jumped out and ran.” He shook his head, looking down at his hands. He lowered his voice in remorse.

“By the time I got there, I had lost sight of the little girl. But I saw you, clinging onto the embankment
. Your head kept dipping below the water. I reached you just as you let go of the brush. I grabbed hold of your wrists and yanked you out of the water. You weren’t breathing. But it didn’t take a lot of breaths from me before you choked up the water and were breathing on your own.”

“
You held my head in your lap,” I interrupted, recalling my memories of that day. “And touched my face. That’s what I remembered just now—looking up and seeing your face watching over me.”

Dami
en nodded. The gentle hue of red that touched his face further highlighted his handsome features, even in the dim lighting.

“H
alf-drowned, I still thought you were beautiful.”

This
time I was the one reddening as I looked away, the insides of my stomach dancing around. “So you took me to the hospital...” I prompted, glancing back at him. Damien’s dimple deepened at my expression before he continued.

“There was no sight of
Maddie. I looked for her when I carried you to my truck. You were mumbling all the way to the hospital. As soon as my phone had service, I left an anonymous call with the police about your missing cousin, and they sent out a search and rescue team. At the hospital, you were swept up so fast that it was easy for me to disappear without being interrogated.” Damien paused. “I’m sorry about your cousin. I wish I could have helped her, too.”

I took a deep breath, mee
ting his eyes once again. “You did everything you could. Thank you,” I said. “I wouldn’t be here either if it weren’t for you.” I threw my arms around Damien’s neck and clung onto him. “Thank you,” I murmured again. “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to say that to the right person.”

He hugged me back, st
roking my hair against my T-shirt. “After that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I felt...connected to you. Not just because I had pulled you from the river, but....” He hesitated before continuing. “I heard what some of the locals were saying about the accident.”

Somber, I nodded
, recalling the blame that was placed on my shoulders for not looking out for my younger cousin. “I know. They held me responsible as much as I did. ‘Negligent’ and ‘careless’ are some of the words that come to mind.” I grimaced, remembering how hurtful that was to hear, despite the fact that I believed it myself.

Damien clenched his fists with a firm shake of his head.
“It made me so angry that they were putting you through the same torment that I went through—that I was
still
going through. It seemed deserved when it was me. It was harder to see the same thing happen to you.

“
Over the past year, I wondered where you were and how you were doing. We’d met for just a few moments, but you entered my thoughts all the time, even slipping into my dreams. The day I found out you were back at the lodge, I couldn’t get you out of my head,” Damien admitted in embarrassment.

“
The way you walked around, smiling now and then like everything was ok, but I could see the hurt you tried to hide. It’s much easier to recognize when you’ve felt the very same thing yourself. I wanted to protect you from everything. And I wanted to get to know you, to know more about you.”

I looked at him in mock annoyance
. “So you decided to scare me and make me fall out of that tree?” I laughed in remembrance. “Your tactics could have been a little more subtle.”

“
True. And like I said, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just...observing from the bushes—”

I laughed out loud at his choice of words. “Oh, is that what all the stalkers are calling it these days?”

He ignored my comments, placing a hand over my mouth. “Observing,” he continued, “and working up the nerve to talk to you. I had no idea I would scare you so much. But I’m kind of glad I did.”

I made a face. “What?
Why?”

“
Well, otherwise, I may not have discovered you were so feisty,” Damien said impishly.

I grabbed a pillow and
slammed it into his face. Grabbing my wrists, he wrestled the pillow from my hands, tossing it over the edge. He flipped over and pinned me against the bed, sitting on my legs to prevent me from further kicking at him.

Still fighting him, I shrieked,
“That’s not fair! You’re so much bigger than me!”

He shrugg
ed and smiled in satisfaction, but he didn’t let me up. His grip on me was firm enough that my struggles were useless against him. I conceded my loss. I relaxed under his weight, pausing to catch my breath.

My laughter subsided as I looked u
p at him. He was watching me with such adoration in his expression that my heart skipped a beat. My stomach twisted inside itself all over again.

H
ere I was with my hero, at last.

His striking features watched me, absorbed in his own thoughts.
Words came to my mind that I never dared believe in before, let alone voiced aloud, but our connection, however impossibly it had developed, begged recognition.

“Damien
...I love you.” The words felt so foreign on my tongue. But the words escaped from my lips, raw and unrehearsed. I was sure he could hear the penetrable thudding inside my chest. Or maybe it was his pulse I was hearing against my own.

Damien lowered his face
in response, embracing his lips with mine. His movements were slow and tender. I placed my hand on the back of his neck, pulling him against me. He didn’t resist.

My fingers slid along
his back until I found his scars—the scars that represented all the pain Damien had been through, and the loss and torment that strangely allowed us to connect with each other. Swathed by an overwhelming emotion, our bodies pulled closer together.

It was then that we heard the slamming of car doors from the front of the cabin. Damien leaped up
with astounding speed, hurling himself off the bed. I gasped in surprise as he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

“Come on!” his hushed voice urged.

Flustered and disoriented, my bare feet followed his. He hurried me out of his bedroom, towards a door that stood between his room and the kitchen. He pulled it open.

What I once thought must be a closet or a pantry, did in fact, open to a stairwell.

“Go. Hide. Don’t say a word. And no matter what happens, don’t come upstairs.”

My eyes widened as I detected the fear in Damien’s eyes, and the
taut line of his jaw. I had just enough time to nod before he shut the door, leaving me in the dark.

I heard his feet shuffle away, just as the front door burst open with a bang.

“Damien, my man!” a deep voice bellowed. “Long time, no see. Long time, no see...” An eerie chuckle filled the room.

I held my breath, trying to quiet the air that was exploding i
n and out of my lungs. I tiptoed down the stairs, my hands stretched out to the walls, as I descended into the basement. It was difficult to find my way in the dark. One hand was stretched out in front of me, while the other slid across the wall. My fingers found a light switch, but I didn’t dare turn it on.

The low voices upsta
irs caught my attention again, their words seeping through the floorboards. I listened hard to decipher the rumble of voices.

“
Look at you. You’re all grown up now!”

“
We’ve always liked you, Damien,” a different voice was saying. “We tried to give you a break last time—”

“A break?”
Damien’s angry voice interrupted. “You think killing my entire family was giving me a ‘break?’”

“Hey now,
don’t be so ungrateful. The fire wasn’t meant to kill. They could have made it. But they didn’t make it, did they? Natural selection, we like to call it.”

Quick footsteps thudded against t
he floor and heavy bodies fell to the ground. Something like a wrestling match had ensued.

“E
asy now, Damien!” A third voice interrupted them.

More sounds of struggle and grunting.
There were at least three of them, then.

Three against Damien.

The dominant voice continued. “We could have killed you like we did that Miller kid—one shot to the head would have solved all our problems years ago. But we liked you. And see now, we leave you alive out of the goodness of our hearts, and look what happens. Cops show up with a lead, and you look like you’re packed and ready to go rat us out. That’s no way to treat old friends.”

“
We
are not friends.” Damien’s voice was filled with such menace that it was almost unrecognizable.

“Well, that should make this easy then,” came the second voice.

A gunshot echoed through the cabin.

“No!” I screamed. I threw my hands over my mouth, but it was too late. I could hear footsteps hurrying to the stairwell door.

I bolted across the room, stepping inside a small bedroom. Cardboard boxes were scattered throughout the room, disheveled and disorganized.

Th
ere was nowhere to go. I tripped my way to the corner of the room, stubbing my toe and ignoring the throbbing pain.

I could hear
the heavy footsteps descending the stairs. Falling against the corner wall, I buried my head behind a large, unopened box. I crouched low, too afraid to even peek around the corner.

A set of footsteps entered the room, pausing by the entryway.

My hand clamped back over my mouth, muffling my breaths and the scream that threatened to escape. I wished I could quiet the pounding in my chest that was sure to give me away.

“Hey, Damien’s friend!
We know you’re here. Don’t worry. We were coming for you anyway. We saw your car out front. Come on out now, and maybe we won’t kill you.”

I didn’t move an inch, despite the
painful cramping in my thighs. I closed my eyes, leaning my sweaty forehead against the cardboard.

A swift click flooded the room with light.

“There you are!”

I tumbled backwards, jumping against the wall as a very large man stalked towards me.
At the sight of me, he lowered his gun, smiling in amusement.

“Stay away from me!” I managed to squee
ze out from my dry throat. My voice sounded weak and small. I barricaded myself in the corner, my eyes jumping from side to side, searching in vain for an exit.

There was nowhere to go.

I watched the tall, thick-statured man step towards me, smirking as he closed the gap. He held up his gun with his fingers, waving it loosely in the air. “Come on, now. We already shot one person tonight.” He shoved the box to the side in one swift movement. Bending down, his left hand wrapped around my bicep, he tugged me upwards. He dragged me across the room, stumbling after him.

As we stepped into the living room, I gasped.

Damien was kneeling on the ground, his right hand covering a bloodied wound to his left shoulder. Profusely bleeding, his face was twisted in pain.

But he was alive.

The two other Samoans stood nearby, looking down at him. One of them held their gun ready, pointed at his head.

“Damien!” I tore free from my captor, dashing towards him.

“Hey!” a voice called out. I saw a flash of silver pointed my way as I fell next to Damien.

Damien leaned in front of me, wincing as he did so.
“Stop! You don’t have to do that!”

My eyes looked up to see the second gunman pointing his weapon at me.
His build was similar to the one I met downstairs, but his eyes were dark and not amused.

Damien was livid, still gripping his injured shoulder.
“What do you think she’s going to do, huh? Yeah, takes a real tough guy to aim a gun at an unarmed girl.”

The gunman knocked
his nine-millimeter across Damien’s jaw, whipping his head to the side with an agonizing crack. My hands formed around Damien’s face, as if that would ease his pain.

“We’ll do the talking from now on,” the man informed.
The Samoan next to him put a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Easy now,
Afona. We already have this mess to clean up.” He kicked at Damien’s foot, where the blood was trickling around him. “We’ll take care of her elsewhere.”

“She doesn’t know anything,” Damien insisted. He muffled a groan as he tried to reposition himself. “Just let her go.”

“You need to stop the bleeding,” I interrupted, my eyes still following the oozing liquid. I wished, now, that Damien still had his shirt on to soak up the blood.

Leaving my
tank top, I tore off my shirt. Moving Damien’s hand, I tied the cloth around his shoulder. I ignored the chuckling behind me, and the way his voice mocked mine.

“We need to stop the bleeding.” More laughter followed
. “Ha! That’s a good one!”

I turned around to glare at the man, who sauntered over to join his two friends.

“You shouldn’t bother,” he said, tapping his gun with his index finger. “It’s not going to make much difference in a few minutes.”

“Iona,” Damien said. “Please. Do whatever you’re going to do with me. But leave Allie out of this.” His eyes moved to the dominating Samoan.
“Fanua. Please.”

Fanua
smiled. “Listen to the Palangi begging. Found love at last, Damien?” He laughed. “You know we can’t do that. You think she’s not going to say anything about what she’s seen tonight?” His eyes moved to my face, studying my expression. “And you know, I don’t think she knows as little as you are claiming, brotha.”

My hands clung to Damien’s
bicep, feeling the warmth of his skin seep into my cold hands. I tried to hide how they trembled. I lifted my chin, staring hard at each one of them.

“
Fanua,” the one named Afona said. He pointed to the clock on the wall. “We need to get moving. Don’t want any more unexpected visitors.”

Fanua
nodded. “Iona, take the girl.”

I struggled against the firm grip that yanked me to my feet.

“Give him your keys,” Fanua ordered.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked.

“The keys,” Iona emphasized.

My eyes scanned the living room in defeat.
“They’re—they’re on the coffee table.” Fanua tossed Iona the keys. He lugged me towards the front door. I struggled, throwing my head towards Damien in desperation.

“Allie!”
Damien jumped to his feet and lunged at Afona.

Afona
struck his face with a solid fist and kicked his ribs. Damien grunted, falling back onto the floor. Afona cocked the gun, aiming it once again at his head. He stepped on Damien’s injured shoulder, slowly adding pressure.

Damien hollered in pain, writhing on the floor.

“No!” I shrieked. “Please—don’t do this!”

“For that,
maybe we’ll even have some fun with your girl before we’re through with her. Each and every one of us,” Afona emphasized. Damien cursed at the man, his voice full of rage.

Iona
continued to hustle me out the door.

“Finish him off,”
Fanua ordered. “Come pick us up when you’re done.”

“Damien!”
I turned my head, searching for Damien’s eyes.

His
eyes—those piercing, blue-gray eyes—looked back at me. The love and adoration from minutes before were now replaced by remorse and anger, which flooded his dark features. He watched helplessly while I stumbled out the door.

I was shoved into the passenger seat of my suburban
with my hands bound behind my back. I grimaced. But I didn’t expect my captor to notice or show any sign of mercy. He slammed my door shut and moved to the driver’s seat.

I looked out my window.
Fanua seemed to be leaving Afona some final instructions. I saw them nod at each other. Fanua cast one last glance at Damien’s tortured expression, leaving him with one more broad smile. Then he shut the door. Fanua jumped into the backseat of the suburban.

“
All right, let’s roll.” Iona pulled the car into gear and took off, heading north towards the mountains. Nobody bothered to look back. Outside, the moon shone, lighting our rugged path and glinting off the lake.

Thoughts of
Damien raced through my mind. I wanted to plead and beg these men to turn around, to stop this madness. But I knew my words would be wasted.

Don’
t take Damien away from me
...Torturous thoughts of our last moments played through my memory: his soft lips around mine, our bodies holding each other close, and my first confession of love to the one man who would remain a hero in my heart.

Outside my head
, there was heavy silence.

And then, two
consecutive shots rang out, disrupting the quiet nature of the night.

The only sounds that followed were the inconsolable sobs emanating from deep within my throat.