Mary Wine (3 page)

* * * * *

Roshelle found herself lingering over the process of getting ready for bed. It was late. Well past a sensible time for her to be asleep. She checked the front door for a third time before she slapped her hand down onto it in frustration. Never, never had she been afraid in this house!

Turning on her heel she marched straight to her bedroom.
He
would not destroy her grandmother’s house. It was her home and she refused to live in fear. Pulling the covers back, Roshelle settled her body into the mattress.

The dream came again. Roshelle knew it would.

She had never felt such urgency before. Her visions usually brought contentment, or at the very least closure. This time the difference was stark.

Roshelle sought the truth of this vision with a determination that was born of desperation. She still balanced on the border of fear, but drove herself forward in the hope that whatever she found would be more bearable than the unknown.

This time she heard his body as her car connected with it. The horror of injuring another human being sickened her, despite her knowledge that she had not killed him. Adrenaline flooded her body as she moved forward in her effort to assist her victim. His pulse throbbed under her fingers, and she clearly felt the impact as her body was brutally forced beneath his.

Once again Roshelle found herself bolting upwards from her bed. Her heart raced and she felt the prickle along her skin, but she remembered. Now it was there, yet she still didn’t know who
he
was.

Pulling deep breaths into her lungs, she calmed the racing of her heart.

Stepping from her bed, she went in search of some water. Her mouth had gone dry with the remembered trauma. Her bare feet padded softly over the hardwood floor. The house itself was an old friend and she knew it just as well in the dark as she did by light.

Her mind shifted among the puzzle that her encounter left. Whoever he was, she doubted that she would see him again. Her dream specter was a rare breed. Abba had never been very clear on just what had happened to Roshelle’s mother. But she knew that her mother had seen the visions as well. In fact, one of her clearest memories of the woman that bore her was that of the promise that she had extracted from her seven-year-old daughter.

Her visions must always,
always
remain a secret. She mustn’t talk about them, not at school, not ever. The world would not be forgiving.

It was strange that she could still see the desperation on her mother’s face as she had extracted that promise from her. Heather Everitt died just months after that night.

But that didn’t help her to understand just what her mother had meant. Forgiving? What did that mean? The visions were extremely real. In this case, painfully so. Still, Roshelle didn’t see where exactly the word forgiving came into it. While it was very true that the rest of the world would think her strange, it was the twenty-first century. She wasn’t likely to get burned at the stake.

Her hand stopped short of lifting the glass of water to her lips. Hard, callused fingers and palm scraped across her face, jerking her body backward into contact with solid steel. The hand gripped her nose and mouth together sealing off any attempt she made to draw breath.

Roshelle frantically bucked and withered against her captor, but her starving lungs burned for oxygen and her brain swiftly depleted its meager supply. Her mind struggled to remain alert, but without oxygen her mind succumbed to unconsciousness.

Her captor held his victim despite the laxness of her body. He wanted to ensure that she wasn’t playing possum. Assured that enough time had passed, he simply released her and let her body drop to the floor. The impact her head made with the floor didn’t concern him.

She was as good as dead already.

But it had to look good. That’s what he was paid for. Reaching down he felt along her chest for signs of renewed life. Her lungs filled and released, but she still lay like a broken doll on the tile floor.

Perfect.

Hauling her up again he tossed her across her bed. Her body bounced as the mattress absorbed her weight but she remained sprawled where she landed. Stepping back, he paused to consider the distance her bedroom was from the kitchen. Reaching into a pocket that ran the length of his faded overalls, he withdrew a tire iron. The crack that resulted from its contact with her skull brought a smirk to his face. Nodding his head in approval, he returned to the kitchen to finish his task.

* * * * *

A gun was just like a woman. Jared grinned as he slid the firing pin back into his rifle. The metal was perfectly matched and gleaming from just the right amount of oil.

He heard
her
again.

Jared felt her distress wash over his mind. It was a sharp cry that abruptly ended in dead silence.

But he knew who it was.

For some reason their encounter had linked them. The tone of her cry refused to release his attention. Annoyance rose up in response. There was no reason why he should be concerned with
her
.

She
was a civilian! The sooner he tossed aside her memory the better.

The emotion-based feeling persisted. Rising to his feet, Jared set himself into motion.
She
wanted to play? Fine, he’d be happy to teach her the rules of the game. No one invaded his mind.

A pair of hazel eyes watched Jared’s departure. The look on the man’s face was familiar.

Pushing himself to his feet, Captain Shane Jacobs began to follow his operative. If Jared Campbell was going tracking tonight then Shane’s unit would be backing him up.

As he walked, Shane pulled a small cellular phone from his vest pocket. The line of encoded numbers that he punched into the keypad was so committed to memory that it did not require him to oversee the job with his eyes. His eyes were focused on the rapidly departing figure of Jared Campbell. He knew without a doubt that the man was tracking somebody. Just who was the question. The fact that Jared had taken off without some sort of personal property was extremely odd. Shane hadn’t seen him do that in the entire fourteen years that he had been learning to command the unit backing the man up.

* * * * *

The urgency that drove Jared was beginning to raise his temper. Just who was this creature that he seemed unable to block her from his mind?

Jared intended to put it to rest tonight! He didn’t have time for interruptions. If she were purposely attempting to gain a hold on him then he would have to see her dealt with permanently.

The first hint of smoke in the air distracted him from his anger. It was becoming stronger with each step he took. With only a quarter moon, there was little light. The night sky failed to reveal just where the smoke was coming from.

The source of the smoke didn’t remain a mystery for long. Even through the dense forest that surrounded the Everitt home, the light from the fire lit up the night.

Jared covered the last hundred feet at a dead run. Half of the house was already engulfed by the blaze. The orange tongues of light were eagerly licking their way along the roof of the house. The amount of smoke that rose from the shingles announced that the wood slates were rapidly approaching the needed degree of heat to combust.

Where was
she
?

Shane slid to a halt a mere step behind Jared. There was no need to ask if the woman was in the house. Jared’s body language gave him that information. The man’s shoulders tightened before he leapt for the rear of the home.

Damn it, move!

Jared issued the command straight into her mind. He didn’t wait for a response. Rounding the corner of the house he raised his gun and simply shot out the bedroom window. As the glass fell away, thick smoke began to pour through the opening. Taking a last breath, he jumped through the windowpane.

The smoke immediately robbed him of his sight, but he didn’t need his eyes to find her. The link between them was far stronger than Jared had first believed. He knew exactly where she was, the fact that she was completely silent fueled his urgency.

Pulling her body from the bed, Jared took the three steps back to the window before the lack of oxygen deprived him of his strength.

The smoke was wrapped around him like a thick blanket. It took his complete control not to panic and lose his sense of direction. With his lungs demanding oxygen, he simply dumped his burden out of the open window.

Without her weight, it was easy to propel his body out of the impending inferno. Jared landed on his feet and neatly launched himself away from the frame of the house. The temperature difference of the night air was as shocking as ice water. His body shuttered with the traumatic change.

Shane knelt over their charge where the man had placed her away from the burning structure of her home. His men were mere shadows in the night as they moved over the area in practiced search patterns. Slipping to one knee, Jared assessed her himself. A steady throb beneath her throat met with his approval. His own breath was still raspy and labored from the exposure to the smoke. Roshelle’s lungs filled and emptied in a slow rhythm.

Casting his eyes back to her house, Jared watched as the last of the roof began to blaze. Flames shot upwards as the snap and pop of wood filled the night air.

The distant whine of an emergency vehicle touched his ears. Casting his attention down again, he noted the signs of life displayed by her body.

He would have liked an excuse to stay with her.

Jared pushed himself to his feet and forced himself to begin the trek back up the mountain. Self-loathing was eating its way along his brain. There was absolutely no reason why he should be so concerned with her welfare.

Frustration, he would have understood. He would now have to wait to interrogate her ‘til she recovered.

That wasn’t the emotion that was currently seeping through his brain. No… It was more relief, mixed with an almost gratefulness for the fact that he had heard that cry of hers.

Digging his feet into the forest floor, Jared increased his pace yet again. He didn’t have time for something like this. Now, he would have to risk a trip to question her personally. This link that had been forged needed to be severed immediately.

Skidding to a halt, Jared turned to look at the orange glow in the night sky. He could hear the buzz of activity as the local firefighters tried to keep the blaze from spreading to the forest.

He released the breath he’d been holding. There was something about her. This link was very interesting. At the moment, it was worth her life.

And as much as he might wish otherwise, it pleased the hell out of him to have a reason to see her again.

Chapter Three

One hand slowly rubbed at the throbbing pain under her forehead. Her efforts were in vain, but Roshelle continued the motion a bit longer anyway.

“Maybe you should go lay down.”

Roshelle’s headache doubled. She handed the file over to the nurse as the woman gave her a sharp inspection with her eyes. Roshelle forced her hand to drop to her side.

There wasn’t such a thing as “discreet” in Benton County, much less a secret. The entire medical staff had taken to dodging her steps, as well as giving her endless bits of advice to go home and take it easy.

Roshelle would have liked nothing better than to go home, but the sheriff’s department had closed off the scene. She wasn’t even allowed to set foot on her own property.

“Thank you, Paula, but I’m just fine.”

“Um-hum.”

The middle-aged woman issued her comment while folding her plump arms across her ample chest.

Her headache was beginning to border on migraine level.

The chiming of her cell phone broke into her thoughts. Reaching for the slim unit, she was grateful for any interruption.

“Dr. Everitt.”

Exactly one minute later, Roshelle snapped the phone shut. It was the Huntley law firm requesting that she stop by their offices. The man on the other end of the phone assured her that it would be worth her time.

Just how did these people get a hold of her private information? Abba had used the same phone number for almost thirty years and her pager had been on file at the medical center.

Her new cell phone number was another matter. She’d signed the contract on the little piece of technology only yesterday. Now that she had an actual paycheck, she could indulge in the luxury of her own cell phone, instead of relying on a pager provided by the medical center.

Roshelle was positive that she had given the number to exactly two people. The oddest feeling was slowly creeping down her spine in response to that bit of knowledge.

Pulling the keys to her rental car from her purse, Roshelle began a determined pace that would lead her to the parking lot. She would be delighted to pay the Huntley law firm a visit.

However she doubted that they would be so content with what she had to say.

* * * * *

“Just what have you been up to?” Christina issued her question before she even slid into the booth across from Roshelle.

“Why don’t you tell me? It’s always much more interesting to hear it after it’s gone through the gossip mill.”

“So true.” Christina regarded her friend a second before sending her a brilliant smile. It was so good to have Roshelle back. She had never had a truer friend. At the moment, she was just a bit concerned. The sheriff’s department had ruled the fire as an accident but Shelly was just about the most cautious person that she knew.

“Let me see… First, it is being widely spread about that you threatened Clark Huntley within an inch of his life.”

“Just his professional one.”

“Then you did the unforgivable and took your legal business over to Preston.”

“Guilty as charged.” Roshelle currently felt not an ounce of grief over having crossed over town lines by taking her business to the next county.

Roshelle was still a little unsettled about that encounter with Clark Huntley. The man had been nervous almost to the point of panic when she yet again refused to sell her land.

The look in the back of the man’s eyes had been enough to set her on her way. Two days later, it was still bothering her. She didn’t understand just what could be so valuable about her plot of land. There was plenty of land for sale in Benton County.

“Just what did you need a lawyer for anyway?”

“Nothing much. I just figured it was time to have a will put together.”

“Roshelle Marie, you can just forget about dying anytime soon.”

“It just seemed the right thing to do.” Roshelle rolled her shoulders and tried to smile at her friend. Christina gave her a sharp look from beneath her eyelashes.

“So, start explaining, doctor.”

“It’s nothing, really. I’m not the first person to think about their mortality after a brush with the grim reaper.”

Christina narrowed her blue eyes before letting a smile cross her face. “All right, I’ll buy that for now. Just don’t do anything crazy.”

“Without you, you mean?”

The blonde tossed her head, as her smile became brilliant. “That’s right! So, if you are going to run off to Las Vegas and flash all the truck drivers on the way, I’d better be invited.”

“I’ll drive and you can do the flashing.”

“Spoilsport.” Christina glared at her in reprimand. “It’s your insanity trip.”

“Fair enough, but I think we should wait ‘til August or we’ll freeze our nipples off.”

“Toss in a convertible and you’ve got a deal.”