Coming ine box set, p.157
Coming in Hot: Rescue Me Box Set, page 157
A pained sound rumbled in Charlie’s chest, but otherwise, she didn’t move.
Kash released his hold on her shoulder and then pressed brought his wrist to her mouth once again.
Mauve touched him on the arm, bringing his beastly gaze back to her. “Now, we wait.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kash paced the floor at the foot of his bed, glancing at the clock for the thousandth time. He stopped as Mauve approached Charlie’s side. “It’s been five hours, Mauve, I don’t think it worked.”
Mauve removed the damp cloth from Charlie’s forehead, replacing it with a fresh one. “If it hadn’t worked, she would not be breathing right now.”
“If you’re right,” Cash acknowledged, resuming his pacing, “then why isn’t she awake yet?”
“She’s been through a traumatic experience. I mean, with blood loss, the bite and the…baby…” Her voice trailed off, leaving her meaning hanging in the air.
Kash stopped his pacing once more, his gaze coming to rest on Charlie’s pale features. “Did the baby—”
“The child still lives, but I’m not sure for how long. If he makes it through the night, then there is a good chance at survival.”
Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Kash whispered, “He?”
Mauve skirted the foot of the bed and touched him on the hand. “I’m sorry. I only meant it as a reference.”
“Of course.” Kash cleared his throat. “I knew that.”
With a gentle pat on the arm, Mauve trailed off toward the door. “I’ll just give you some time alone with her. I’ll be back in an hour to check on you both. Can I bring you something to eat?”
Kash shook his head, keeping his back to Mauve in an effort to hide his emotions. “I thank you, but I’m not hungry.”
“You need to eat,” Mauve scolded softly, “if you’re going to be any good to her when she awakens.”
He noticed she’d said when, and not if. Relieved that Mauve obviously felt some sort of confidence that Charlie would wake soon, Kash nodded. “Anything you have will be fine.”
The door clicked shut quietly.
Kash eased around to the side of the bed and took a seat on the mattress next to Charlie’s hip; her chest rising and falling, the only evidence that she lived.
He lifted a hand to cup the side of her face. “I need you to wake up, Charlie. Open those sky-blue eyes of yours and let this idiot know you’re okay.”
Her skin felt cool to the touch. “Dammit, Charlie, don’t do this to me.”
His gaze stayed glued to her face for several minutes before lowering down her body to her stomach. He leaned over and rested his palm against her abdomen.
A lone tear spilled from the corner of his eye. It tracked down his cheek to drip off his chin. A lifetime of pain resided in that single tear, but mostly it represented regret and sorrow for pain that Charlie had been through. “I’m so sorry…”
“What are you sorry for?”
Kash’s gaze snapped to Charlie’s sky-blue eyes, and his heart stuttered. “You’re awake.”
She glanced around at her surroundings. “I’m in your bedroom.”
Removing his palm from her stomach, Kash picked up her hand and brought it to his mouth. “Yes, you’re in my bed…where I hope you will stay.”
Confusion entered her eyes. “How did I get here?”
Unsure of how much to tell her, Kash simply said, “I brought you here. Are you thirsty? Can I get you anything?”
Charlie shook her head, her face growing paler by the second. She abruptly sat up, pulling her bandaged wrist from beneath the covers before jerking her gaze back to Kash. “Celia!”
“She’s dead,” Kash assured her, gently taking hold of her arm to prevent her wound from bleeding again. He lifted the covers and propped her hand up on the pillow there.
“I remember now.” Tears sprang to Charlie’s eyes. “Kash, I have something to tell you.”
Kash clenched his teeth in an effort to beat back the emotions threatening to overtake him. “I read your letter.”
“So, you know about the cancer.” It wasn’t a question.
“I know.” He took a calming breath, wondering how much to tell her. “We can talk about that at a later time.”
More tears flooded Charlie’s eyes. “I don’t have time, Kash. I—”
“I changed you,” he interrupted, cutting off the rest of her words.
The confusion was back once more. “You…changed me?”
Kash reached up and pulled her shirt aside, exposing the bite mark on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t let you die.”
“But the cancer,” Charlie began, only to choke up, her voice breaking on that last word.
Staring into her sparkling, blue eyes, Kash informed her, “The cancer can’t survive in your body, Charlie. It will be gone soon…if it isn’t already.”
“What will happen to me?”
Was that fear he heard in her voice? “I won’t let anything happen to you, Charlie. Ever.” And he meant it.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Charlie felt as if her heart would beat out of her chest. Not only had she survived Celia’s attempt on her life, but she’d killed the Voodoo priestess as well. Now, she lay in Kash’s bed, only to be informed that her cancer was gone, and that he had turned her into a Rougarou. It was all a bit too much to comprehend.
And then Celia’s words echoed inside her mind. “I don’t need your blood, you simpleton, but rather, the child you carry.”
A soft gasp escaped Charlie, her hand flying protectively to her abdomen before she could stop it.
As if reading her thoughts, Kash leaned in and covered her hand with his much bigger one. “The baby is still alive.”
Charlie’s face scrunched up with emotion, and a helpless cry left her lips. “So, what Celia said was true? I’m really pregnant?”
Kash gently massaged the hand that rested over her unborn child. “You’re really pregnant.”
Charlie no longer felt the need to stop the tears from falling. She cried openly.
Insecurity skated across Kash’s handsome face to pull at Charlie’s heartstrings. Did that mean he wanted the baby?
She slowed her tears enough to speak without hiccupping. “Now that Celia’s dead, I can go back to the Bickford place or return to California, if you’d like? I mean—”
His mouth slanted over hers, cutting off her lame attempt to read his intentions. He kissed her breathless, moving in close enough that she couldn’t tell where she ended, and he began.
He pulled back enough to gaze into her eyes. “What I’d like is for you to stay here with me, and let’s raise this baby as a family.”
Charlie’s heart soared. She couldn’t look away from Kash’s golden-colored eyes. Not only had he saved her from certain death in the form of cancer, but he’d given her his child; a child they would raise together as a family.
Another thought entered her mind, putting a damper on some of her happiness. “My father.”
Though Bill Howard had known his daughter’s death was imminent, he’d still begged her to try experimental treatments. Charlie had, of course, refused. She’d left for Louisiana with no intention of returning home; which is why she’d rented the Bickford house for six months. But now that she had a chance to not only live, but give Bill the only grandchild he would ever have as well, she wanted nothing more than to talk to her father.
Kash’s expression saddened. “He can never know, Charlie.”
“But, he’s all I have left in this world.”
“You have me,” Kash whispered, holding her gaze.
Charlie’s chest ached with the knowledge she could never tell her father that she lived; that he would be a grandfather. “I understand.”
“You can never be seen or heard from again, Charlie. Not without risking us all, including our unborn child.”
Tilting her head to the side, Charlie asked, “What about you? People know you live out here.”
“And in a few more years, I will have to disappear as well. But you had inoperable brain cancer. How will you explain that when you’re seen five, ten, even fifty years later, looking as beautiful as you are right now?”
The softly spoken compliment took the sting out his sad-but-true statement. “My dad can never know I survived.”
“I’m afraid not.”
Charlie nodded her understanding. “Then, in order for him to move on, he will need to learn somehow of my death. In fact, everyone will. Friends, co-workers, et cetera. I have a rather large life insurance policy as well. How will they be expected to pay my dad without a body?”
“I have that part covered.” Kash brushed her lips with his once more. “You just rest and stop worrying. I’ll take care of everything.”
He moved to get up. “I’ll get you some water.”
“Kash?”
Pausing on his way to stand, Kash sent her a questioning look.
“I’m sorry for drugging you.”
He shook his head. “You have nothing to be sorry for. I would have done the same thing if I were in your shoes.”
“I didn’t take her your blood.”
A surprised look entered his eyes. “You went there without the blood?”
Charlie softly laughed. “No, I took the blood, only not yours. I replaced it with the blood of a bullfrog.”
Kash’s eyebrows lifted. “I’m not even going to ask. I am, however, curious as to how you managed to overtake her. Celia Battiste was a very powerful priestess.”
“I gave her the rest of the drug she had me give to you. Plus, I added some powder from a couple of my migraine pills to the frog’s blood. Knocked her out cold.”
Kash laughed, a rusty sound that warmed Charlie’s heart.
Charlie returned his smile. “How are we going to pull off evidence of my death?”
“I’ve already taken care of that,” Mauve announced stepping into the room, carrying a glass of water. She sidled up next to the bed and handed the drink to Charlie.
Kash returned his hand to Charlie’s abdomen, but kept his attention on Mauve. “How did you manage that?”
Mauve shrugged. “I cleaned up the mess from Celia’s shack, carried her body back to the Bickford house, laid her in the bed, and set fire to the place.”
Charlie chocked on her water. “You burned down Mavis Bickford’s place?”
“It was the only way to ensure you were never found.” Mauve’s knowing look said all that needed to be said.
Kash spoke up then. “But Charlie’s car is still on Celia’s property.”
Mauve cackled. “Not anymore. I drove it back to the Bickford house before I set it on fire.”
“But you don’t know how to drive,” Kash pointed out, laughter in his voice.
“It wasn’t so hard. Besides, Mavis will need the information in Charlie’s purse to notify her next of kin.”
Charlie listened to the exchange with a mix of emotions. Though her heart was overwhelmed with happiness that she would live, she couldn’t help but feel saddened for her dad.
“Do not fret,” Mauve murmured, patting Charlie on the arm. “Your child will survive to be born.”
Briefly forgetting the consequences of her death, Charlie fought back the tears once again. “Are you sure?”
“I am sure.” Mauve turned to go. “He will be as strong as his father, but will have his mother’s sky-blue eyes.”
Charlie met Kash’s gaze, her tears now falling freely down her cheeks. “It’s a boy…my baby is a boy.”
“Our baby, Charlie…our son.”
Epilogue
Charlie screamed, baring down one last time as the child slipped free of her tormented body. After twelve hours of labor, she finally sagged in relief.
A cry rent the air, wringing tears of joy from Charlie. “Is he alright?”
Mauve waved Kash over, handing him a pair of scissors.
Charlie watched as Kash cut the cord and then lifted the wailing child into his arms. He kissed his tiny forehead and then laid him across Charlie’s chest. “Our son.”
“Oh, Kash, he’s perfect.” Emotion choked her, making speaking difficult.
Mauve stepped up and laid a warm blanket over the infant’s body. “What are you going to name him?”
Charlie kissed her son’s nose, and smiled up at Mauve. “His name’s William Kash LeRoux.”
“Your father will be happy that you gave him his name.”
Mauve’s words finally registered in Charlie’s brain. “My father…?”
“Is here,” Mauve finished for her. She moved over to the door and pulled it wide.
Bill ran into the room, his eyes swollen and red. “You’re alive. My baby is alive.” He stumbled over to the bed and buried his face against Charlie’s neck.
Charlie wrapped her free arm around her father’s head, her watery gaze shifting to Kash.
Bill lifted his tear-stained face from his daughter’s neck and laid a trembling hand on the baby’s back. “Ah, God, Charlie girl, this is the happiest day of my life.”
“I’m so glad you’re here, Dad. How long have you known?”
“Kash called me about a month ago. It took me a while to come to grips with everything he told me, but none of it matters, Charlie. All I care about is that you’re alive and my grandson is alive.”
Charlie glanced from her father to Kash, and then back to her father again. “So…you know?”
“He knows,” Kash interjected, reaching up to wipe a tear from her cheek.
Bill sent Kash a grateful look. “Thank you for everything. For saving my daughter, for my beautiful grandson, and for trusting me with the truth.”
Charlie rubbed her cheek against her son’s downy head. “How long can you stay for, Dad?”
“Well, since I have applied for Chief of Staff at Mercy Medical Center in New Orleans, it looks as if I’m going to be here for a long time.”
“They hired you?” Charlie held her breath.
Bill grinned. “I start next month. I bought the Bickford property so I can visit my daughter and grandson without anyone knowing about you.”
Charlie’s mouth dropped open. “But that house has been burned down.”
“I’m having a new one built. I’ll be renting an apartment in Shell Island until the house is complete. In the meantime, you’ll only be a short boat ride away.”
Glancing at all the faces in the room, Charlie wondered if a person could die from sheer happiness. Kash had done the impossible; he’d not only given her back her life, but he had given her a son as well. He’d also managed to bring her dad back into her life, and for that she would forever be grateful. She wondered if he had any idea how much she loved him.
Kash picked that moment to lean in, kiss his son’s cheek, and then bring his lips close to Charlie’s ear. “I love you more than I ever thought possible. Thank you for having me.” He straightened, and moved toward the door. “I’ll give you and your dad some privacy.”
“Kash,” Charlie called out before he made it to the door. “Love doesn’t begin to touch how I feel for you.”
He sent her a smile that never failed to capture her heart, opened the door, and disappeared into the hall.
Charlie turned her attention to her dad. “Would you like to hold your grandson?”
She watched as her precious father took his only grandchild into his arms. Life couldn’t get any better than it was in that moment, and Charlie would never regret going in search of Celia Battiste. For, without the Voodoo priestess, and the legend of the Rougarou, she would have never met Kash, and found her true destiny…
The End
Read Below for a Sneak Peek into the Pages of Enigma: What Lies Beneath – Book One in the Best-selling Enigma Series.
Prologue
“Abbie, wait.”
Henry’s voice could barely be heard over the thundering of waves crashing in the distance.
An endless stream of tears streaked down Abbie’s face as great racking sobs seized her small body. Pain welled up from her chest until it became impossible to breathe. Still, she ran.
Her father’s shouts faded with every step she took until they disappeared altogether.
Branches grabbed at her arms like the bony fingers of a thousand skeletons, cutting into her skin. She welcomed the sting of every scratch; anything to relieve the pain in her heart.
Her mother’s cold, pale face burned behind her eyes, frozen and empty. Gone were the laugh lines, the sparkle…the life.
Abbie couldn’t bear to see her mother lying in a box for hundreds of people to pass by and say words over. She might be only seven, but she was old enough to know it meant goodbye. A coffin, they’d called it. Resting place. Final.
A wail wrenched from her small chest. It ricocheted off the trees, scattering birds in different directions. She’d give anything to have wings in that moment, to fly away and never look back.
Abbie burst onto the beach without slowing. Her little legs ate up the sand as she ran straight for the water.
Memories of swimming with her mother lit through her mind in sorrowful detail. The laughter, splashing around and exploring the unknown.
A storm was coming, but she didn’t care. She needed to feel her mother’s presence, to beg God to give her back.
“Abbie, do you know why the ocean is salty? It’s all the tears God cries when someone passes away.”
“Mama, what does ‘passes away’ mean?”
“Well, it means when people die, they leave this earth to become angels.”
“If they get to be angels, then why does God cry?”
“For the ones that are left behind who will miss them after they’re gone.”
Abbie sailed headlong into the waves with her sights on the second sandbar. She would swim out as far as she could to be sure her prayers were heard. If God cried enough to create an ocean, maybe He would take pity on her and give back her mother.
