Perfect Stranger (31 page)

I heard a shout and a crashing noise from the front of the house. I glanced at Jenny and saw the blood drain from her face.

Jordan had just gone to the door.

We ran to the hallway, in time to see Jordan’s knees give way. He slumped to the floor. Someone screamed. Rob Allerton stood in the doorway, a blood-smeared baseball bat in his hands.

Jordan’s blood.

I couldn’t breathe.

Cade lifted Jenny and placed her behind him. “Call for help.”  He launched at Rob, and they landed on the path outside, wrestling and punching. I didn’t remember moving, but I knelt at Jordan’s side. He lay on the carpet, deathly pale, his eyes closed. A pool of blood beneath him grew wider with every second that passed.

I had to stop the bleeding. I had to stop him from dying. The side of his head was smashed in, cracked like a boiled egg. I cupped my hand over the wound, terrified I’d make it worse, but even more scared of him bleeding out.

“Help me,” I cried. “Please help.” He couldn’t die. Not now. Not when we’d just found each other again. My lungs wheezed with every breath, and black spots danced before my eyes, but I stayed there, kneeling in his blood.

The fight continued. Both men yelled. Did Rob think Jordan was Cade? They were both tall with short dark hair. Maybe he didn’t expect anyone else to be here.

Jenny crouched at my side and pushed a towel into my hands. I trembled so hard, I couldn’t hold it in place. She helped. The world blurred around me. The only thing I knew was the man I loved, whose lifeblood seeped through my fingers.

“Don’t you dare die, Jordan Merrill.” I sobbed over his still body. “Don’t leave me now.”

The police arrived, followed by an ambulance. The paramedics had to pry my fingers off, so they could assess the damage. They made me stand to the side, while they worked on him. I couldn’t even hold his hand. Cade and Jenny stood beside me, trying to comfort me. I wanted to curl up in a little ball and howl in pain. I had to fight for my breath, lungs rasping with the effort of drawing in the air, my focus on Jordan’s fight for life.

Jenny shoved a paper bag at me. “Breathe into this.
Now
.”

There was no room for her in the ambulance, on the frenzied rush to hospital. I could do nothing. The paramedics offered no comfort. My world ground to a halt, threatening to never move again.

Once we arrived at the hospital, the staff snapped into action. They whisked Jordan into surgery, leaving me standing outside, sobbing helplessly.

The police officer was kind. He tried to get me to sit down, while he asked for identification, next of kin—all the useless details I didn’t know. I huddled on a bench seat, shaking down to my toes, when a pair of arms wrapped around me.

Jenny. I’d never been so glad to see anyone in my life. I pressed my hands to my eyes. All I saw was Jordan’s face. His beautiful face, his soft gentle lips, and his long curling dark eyelashes. He’d been so pale. He lost so much blood.

Time passed in a daze. I was aware of people coming and going, of Jenny fetching me drinks, of the sounds and smells of the hospital. I refused to leave the bench. I was going nowhere until they brought Jordan back out. I tried to figure out how long they’d been working on him. If he’d died straight away, they would have told me. That they were still with him meant they were trying to save him. I tried to hang on to this thought.

What felt like weeks later, the doors swung open and the doctor emerged, pulling off his mask.

“Mrs. Merrill?” He looked at Jenny and me, where we huddled together.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He looked exhausted. “There was quite a bit of damage and a lot of blood lost. He’s going to take a while to recuperate, but he should make a full recovery.”

I didn’t hear the rest of it. I slipped to the floor in a dead faint.

Hours later, I clung to Cade. He was the only thing that kept me upright, and even then it was touch and go. We had matching scars on our faces now. I tried to joke that he wanted to copy me, but I couldn’t get the words out. Because of Rob, Cade had a black eye, a gouge along his cheekbone, and a cracked rib. His injuries paled in comparison to Jordan’s, though. Kate’s husband was being cared for in the High Dependency Unit, following emergency surgery.

She refused to leave the hospital but insisted Cade and I go home to get some sleep. I planned to return first thing in the morning and to bring clothes and toiletries for them both. Their luggage was in Jordan’s car, and Kate gave me the keys from his pocket.

It was now almost two in the morning, and we just got home by taxi. I craved sleep, but it was miles away. Every time I closed my eyes, the nightmare images assaulted me. Rob brandishing a baseball bat. Jordan bleeding on the floor. Cade and Rob fighting. Kate weeping. New details kept popping up, things that slipped my attention earlier. The way Cade picked me up and moved me to a safer place. The venom spewing from Rob’s mouth. My fear that he’d kill Cade. That he killed Jordan.

I’d stumbled into the kitchen and called for an ambulance and the police, stammering over the details. I had to stop Rob.

No matter how much I loathed him and what he’d done, I couldn’t use a knife on him. I’d hesitate before hitting him with a rolling pin, and that could be a fatal mistake. I darted my gaze left and right. What to do?  A towel lay on the counter. I’d seen a movie, where an assailant used a wet towel.

It took a second to throw it in the sink of washing up water, and then I hurried to the doorstep. Cade was on the ground. Rob was on top and reaching for his bat. Before I could second-guess myself, I wrapped the wet towel around his face and pulled it tight in the back of his head. He let out a muffled howl, temporarily blinded and unable to breathe. It was enough to give Cade the chance to take control.

He grabbed Rob and slammed him into the doorframe. Rob slumped to the ground, and Cade called, “Get something to tie his hands.”

I was already darting back, to pick up the ball of kitchen twine.

That had all been hours ago, but every detail was etched onto my brain as though it just happened.

Cade and I walked slowly up the path to the front door, and I saw the dried blood smeared across it. Nausea rose in my throat. “I can’t rest with that still there.” While Cade hobbled into the living room, I grabbed disinfectant wipes and proceeded to rub away every trace of blood.

Strong hands on my arms made me pause. “Shhh, Jen. It’s gone now. You can stop.”

I scrubbed over and over, as though I could wipe out this whole ugly episode. “Why did he do it, Cade? Why did I get involved with him?”

Cade held me to his chest, and there, under the floodlights and the cloud-filled sky, he rocked me while my heart broke some more. One day I’d be all cried out, but not yet.

* * * *

Friday was spent giving more detailed interviews to the police and supporting Kate at the hospital. To my relief, Rob had been remanded without bail. He’d have to go to court and through the entire legal system, and I hoped he’d be locked away for years. There was a flurry of activity when some of Jordan’s family arrived, and I helped them find hotel accommodation.

By Sunday night, Jordan was conscious again. His recovery would be long and slow, but the medical team were optimistic.

I wanted to go back to work on Monday. I needed to see Marella.

Cade came with me, and we went straight to her desk. Annoyance flickered in her eyes, but then she saw the state of Cade’s poor face. “My God. What happened to you?”

“
Rob
is what happened.” I stood by Cade’s side. “He came looking for Cade with a baseball bat. He mistook my best friend’s husband for him, and smashed his head. With the bat. Jordan only just survived, and the damage is extensive.”

Marella’s face paled. She stood, gripping the edge of the desk with both hands. “That’s terrible.”

“I know you didn’t believe me about Rob, but you can see for yourself. They ran a story in the Evening News, with some of the details. I can send you a link.”

“Are you okay, Jenny? Did he hurt you?”

“Not physically. Not this time. And I hope he never gets the chance again.”

She swallowed, darting her gaze between Cade and me. “I’m sorry. He was so convincing. But what do I know? I’m clearly hopeless at telling when a man is lying.” She stretched a hand out to me. “I really am sorry, Jenny. I should have believed you. I felt bad enough about how I treated you last week, but seeing this, I’m appalled.”

I squeezed her fingers. “Rob fooled me as well, for a long time. If it wasn’t for my friends, I’d probably still be married to him.” I corrected myself. “If it wasn’t for Cade. He saved me.”

My friendship with Marella could be repaired, and my bond with Cade was even stronger. Maybe one day, I’d be ready for a relationship again, but for now, he was all I needed.

18 months later

Kate

The sun shone brightly onto the rectory gardens, and my newly planted borders were full of summer flowers. I sat on the bench, admiring the sweep of freshly cut lawn, as it disappeared around the back of the house. I felt at peace here. When I was stressed or tired, this was where I liked to sit. Under the honeysuckle.

Billy strolled out, to sit on the patio in front of me. I reached down to scratch his head. “Keeping out of the way? I don’t blame you.”

The quiet of the garden dissolved, when Louisa walked out through the French windows, her crying year-old baby in her arms.

She laughed, as she sat down next to me. “Would you like to feed him this time?” She offered me the formula.

I took the wriggling child in my arms, as Louisa had shown me, and gave him the bottle. Apart from the gulping sounds he made as he fed, he stayed quiet.

Louisa yawned, and stretched in the warm sunshine. “You really have a lovely place here. So peaceful.”

“Mmm.” I felt lazy and sleepy, and not very talkative.

“Is your morning sickness gone by now?”

I glanced at her and smiled. “Yes, thank goodness. Though why it’s called
morning
sickness is beyond me. I was sick morning, noon, and night.”

“I was too, with Ted,” said Louisa.

I calculated in my head. “I haven’t been sick for two weeks, so I hope that was the last of it.”

“Your friend Jenny is having a baby too, right? When is she due?”

“Oh, ages. She’s only twelve weeks along.” Jenny planned to get married to Cade the minute her divorce was final, and I was thrilled for them both. “I was talking to her on the phone yesterday and she had some interesting news. Do you remember me telling you about Adam? The creep who made a pass at anything in a skirt?” I asked.

Louisa nodded.

“Well, Jenny heard he was boasting about a big promotion. Heading up a new team in London. He resigned from ComCo and put his apartment on the market, and even put down a deposit on a new sports car. But this is where it gets fun. They withdrew the job offer. He was fuming, as you can imagine. Apparently, they’re super focused on political correctness, and they got wind of certain allegations against him. Allegations, by his employees, of sexual harassment.”

“Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.”

“He was awful to work for. I’m glad he finally got what he deserved.” I giggled when I thought about it. “Even better, it was his ex-fiancée who was behind it. She rounded up all the girls he’d harassed and convinced them to make formal complaints. He tried to get his ComCo job back, but they wouldn’t take him. Last I heard, he worked in a friend’s nightclub, while he tried to find another job.”

“This is the same guy you dumped your drink on?”

I sighed, happy at the memories. “Two drinks. It’s poetic justice that he now works behind a bar.”

We sat until baby Ted finished his lunch, and I got him to burp, by patting his back. “This
is
good practice. You’ll have to come to stay more often.”

“Oh, you’ll soon have your hands full. Believe me. One baby is enough.”

I passed Ted back to his mother and stood. “I’d better check on lunch, before it burns to a crisp.”

“Would you see what my husband is doing, while you’re there?” Louisa called to me softly, and I nodded. She seemed such a natural mother, and Ted was a happy, easy baby.

I patted my bulging belly, hoping for such a sunny child of my own.

As I checked on the chicken roasting in the oven, I heard a step behind me and turned to see Marcus.

“Anything I can help with?” he asked.

“Thanks.” I smiled at him. “It’s all under control. I just need to make the salad, and it can be served up.”

He moved to stand beside me and gathered the cutlery and napkins I’d selected. “Do you want these in the dining room?”

“Please. And can you take the salt and pepper as well?” He disappeared, and I stretched and rubbed my lower back, which ached sometimes these days. As I stood there, a warm pair of hands took over the massage, and I looked over my shoulder and saw Jordan.

“Hello, my beautiful wife. Are you okay? Do you wanna sit down?”

“I’m fine, and you’re doing a great job. I’ll have to hire you out.” I enjoyed the gentle pressure of his hands and how it made the ache disappear. I turned to kiss him, slipping my arms around his neck and pressing my bump against him.

He smiled at me, and then whispered in my ear, “Have I told you today that I love you, Kate Merrill?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I love you.” He nibbled my earlobe, and I felt a knot of desire forming in my stomach.

“And I love you.”

We held each other, indulging in a passionate kiss, when the doorbell rang. Jordan sighed. “Someone else coming to lunch?”

“I don’t think so. Could you get the door, while I take the bread through?”

Jordan appeared in the dining-room doorway a few moments later. A teasing grin played across his face. “You’d better set some more places. We’ve got a couple of visitors.”

To my delight, when he stepped aside, in came Jenny and Cade.

They were having a day out and decided to drop by. I hadn’t seen Jenny since she announced her pregnancy, and she looked good, glowing with health. Cade smiled like all his Christmases had come at once.

Jordan set two extra places, and we sat down for lunch.

I’d never dared to hope it would all turn out like this, with Jordan running his own freelance design company from here at Rhosneigr, and with me getting pregnant again.

He still had a scar on the side of his head, and his hair grew unevenly there, but to me, he never looked better. He glanced at me from across the table and tossed me a smile, while chatting to Marcus and Cade. Louisa cuddled Ted, and Jenny cooed over him.

Jordan had been so lucky to have escaped more serious damage. The police suggested that Rob’s baseball bat had lost some of its momentum when it hit the doorframe. If it hadn’t, Jordan would be dead now.

Rob got my address from Adam and used the family meal as his alibi. God only knew what he’d have done to Jenny if he had the chance.

Cade had subdued Rob and restrained him until the police arrived. As far as I knew, the bastard was still locked up and wouldn’t be released for another four years.

I looked around the room and took in the smiling faces. “We’re lucky.” I spoke slowly. “We’ve all had our share of good times and bad, and we’re still here.”

I
was lucky and so very much in love. My perfect stranger was now my perfect husband. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

THE END

~*~

Although Perfect Stranger is a standalone novel, if you enjoyed meeting Kate and Jordan, you can also find them in
Pole Position
. Her best friend or her lover. How can she choose?

~

They also appear as cameos in an upcoming series from Sofia Grey. Look out for the
Event Horizon
books, coming late 2016.

~*~

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