Bedlam Read online

  The woman shuddered, her face turned toward the bed. “Please don’t rape me.”

  I froze. Holy fuck. She thought I brought her into her bedroom to assault her. Guess I couldn’t blame her. After all, I was a pervert and a bad man in her eyes, a man who used a crowbar to break into her house. I swallowed. “Lady, I swear to God that I’m not going to rape you. I just wanted to get a belt or scarf to tie your wrists so you won’t attack me again.”

  “I won’t attack you again,” she said in a small voice. “I promise. You have my gun. Just don’t hurt me or Sophia.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, feeling like a total shit. “Okay, I won’t tie your hands.” I released her wrists and stepped back, raising my palms in the air so I’d look less threatening. “Listen, I am really sorry that I scared you. I meant it when I told you that I work with a group that helps survivors. I’ll send men to fix your front door and bring you anything else you and Sophia need.”

  Silent, she stared at me with suspicious eyes. Another series of thumps rattled a door up the hall. I glanced over my shoulder toward the sound.

  “Maybe we should go check on Sophia,” I suggested.

  She shook her head. “She’s fine. You’ve done enough.” Her voice was bitter. “You should go.”

  I stepped backward into the hall. A narrow table held a vase of artificial flowers and more Precious Moments figurines. A loud thud sounded, and one of the doors shook in its frame. Three long strides and I was outside the closed door. I twisted the knob. It was locked, but I heard a muffled sound from inside the room.

  “What the?” I muttered. Someone threw themselves against the locked door. “Stand back,” I barked. I kicked out, striking the weak place below the doorknob, just like Ripper had taught me. The frame splintered and the door flew open.

  Not three feet in front of me, Ever stood. Zip ties bound her wrists and a knotted cloth gag filled her mouth. She frantically shook her head back and forth, making unintelligible grunts. I took one step into the room, and something struck me from behind. Staggering, I whirled around and caught the woman’s arm just before she clocked me a second time with a porcelain statue. I wrapped both arms around the woman’s torso, pinning her arms to her side. The porcelain statue clattered to the carpet. The assault had done more damage to the figurine than to me—knocked the head clean off the figure of a little boy holding a teddy bear—but it would probably raise a lump on the back of my head.

  I didn’t give a shit. The only thing that mattered was the little girl watching me with wide, tear-filled eyes. Behind her on a dresser, I spied a pile of zip ties.

  “Ever, grab me some of those zip ties, will you?”

  Despite her bound wrists, she managed to snag a few zip ties, then dropped them into my palm. I bound the woman’s hands behind her back and pushed her toward a rocking chair sitting in a corner of the room. She sat and I fastened her legs to the chair.

  “Come here, sweetheart.” I untied the gag, snapped open my pocketknife, and cut Ever free from the zip ties. She smacked her lips and made a face, then rubbed wrists banded with red indentations from the tight ties. I thought Ever might break down now that she was free, but the girl marched over to the bound woman.

  “You’re not my mama and my name isn’t Sophia.”

  The woman smiled indulgently, a smile that chilled my blood and raised the fine hairs on the back of my neck. “I knew the doctor lied, baby,” she cooed. “I knew you’d come back to your mama. I kept everything ready. Your clothes. Your toys. I even saved a bag of your favorite animal cookies.”

  Whoa. Grief can really divorce some people from reality, can’t it?

  “I’m not Sophia,” Ever insisted, stamping her foot. “My name is Ever van der Linden, and my mama is dead.”

  The woman twisted her lips into a moue and tut-tutted Ever’s assertion. Ever flushed and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Hey, Ever.” I touched the girl’s shoulder. “You’re right. You’re not Sophia and that lady isn’t your mother. I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself. But right now she’s mixed up, and I don’t think she’s going to listen to you.”

  “You mean she’s sick in the head?” Ever asked.

  “I mean she’s so sad that she can’t think straight.”

  “She kidnapped me,” Ever said indignantly. “I asked her if she saw Fitzwilliam. She lied and told me he was inside her house eating a can of tuna fish.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “She lied and she did a bad thing.”

  “Uh-huh.” Ever’s angry expression smoothed out. She spun around and wrapped her arms around my waist, hugging me tight and sniffing back tears.

  “Let’s get you back home to Mrs. B. and Sunny,” I said, patting her shoulders.

  Ever lifted her face to mine. “Is Mrs. B. mad at me?”

  “Mad? Maybe a little bit.” I didn’t want to lie to the kid. “But more than anything she’s scared and worried. We’ve all been scared and worried. She’ll be super happy to have you back home.”

  “Me, too. I want to go home. I wish... I wish I’d found Fitzwilliam. He’s an indoor kitty and he’s not supposed to go out by himself… just like me, I guess.”

  “Good news,” I said. “Fitzwilliam came home this morning.”

  Ever grinned and tugged on my hand. “Let’s go.”

  “We can’t leave the lady by herself tied to a chair,” I said. I pulled the two-way radio out of my pocket and called Jonesy. “I found Ever. A grieving mother took her. Looks like as a replacement for her dead daughter. I have the woman secured. She shouldn’t be left here alone.”

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  I gave him the address. “Could you get Sunny for me?”

  “Sure.”

  A minute later, Sunny’s voice came on the line. “Kyle?”

  “Ever’s with me. She’s fine.”

  “Oh, thank God. Mrs. B.—” Sunny’s voice faded as she called to her friend. “Ever’s okay. Kyle has her.” In the background, Mrs. B.’s exclamation of joy filled the air.

  “Hurry back,” Sunny said.

  “We will,” I said. “Jonesy will be heading our way any moment.”

  “And… thank you, Kyle. Thanks for saving Ever. I think losing her would have broken me into a million little pieces.”

  “Sunny,” I breathed. “No matter what, we’ll keep her safe. I love the little twerp, too.”

  “Hey, did you call me a twerp?” Ever protested. I ruffled her hair and she lunged at me, hugging me once again.

  “Jonesy wants his radio back.” Sunny laughed. “See you in a few, baby.”

  “See you.”

  When we disconnected, I stared at the radio for a good minute. How was it possible that my life had changed so much in less than one week? I was one hundred percent committed to the well-being of a little girl I’d met three days ago. Mrs. B.? I’d do anything to keep that woman safe and happy. And Sunny… I shook my head.

  Sunny was my miracle, our reunion a life-changing stroke of luck. If I hadn’t looked out my bedroom window at that exact moment on Tuesday night, I wouldn’t have seen her light moving in the McAllister house. I would have returned to Valhalla the next morning without ever discovering that one of my oldest friends had survived the pandemic. A woman whose kisses made me feel alive again. A woman who called me baby as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Gratitude almost dropped me to my knees.

  Brakes squealed outside and I shook off my reverie. I offered Ever my hand. We ran downstairs and opened the door to the Allsop security team. Within ten minutes our group had split into two. Jonesy and Brody took the bereaved mother in one SUV. The Allsops had set up a facility in town where people who needed help could be cared for, and Jonesy would take her there. The other SUV carried Ever, three additional security men, and me back to Mrs. B.’s place.

  The Valhalla ranch truck pulled onto the street a few seconds before we did. The pickup came to a stop in front of Cressida’s Cottage, and a ta
ll, blond young man jumped out.

  “That’s my pickup,” I told the man driving the SUV. “Can you give that guy a ride back to the Allsop place. I’ll drive the truck back later.”

  I climbed out of the SUV, then offered a hand to Ever to help her out.

  The blond guy rushed toward us. He dropped to his haunches and held out his arms. “Glad to see you back, sweet pea.” Ever hugged him. The front door flew open and Sunny and Mrs. B. ran outside. With a happy squeal, Ever raced toward them.

  “Sunny and I are going to spend some time with Ever and Mrs. B., so I’ll need my truck. You mind riding back with the rest of the men?”

  The blond man stood and looked me over from head to foot. He’d spent the past couple of days in Sunny’s company. He was probably wondering if I was good enough for her. Had I passed muster? He offered a slow smile. “No problem. Suppose you’ll be needing your keys.” He tossed the keys and I caught them. “’Night,” he said, tipping an imaginary hat.

  “Good night.”

  I turned toward the house and strode up the path where Sunny, Mrs. B., and Ever waited for me.

  SEVENTEEN

  Sunny

  We hadn’t intended to stay so late at Cressida Cottage, but both Mrs. B. and Ever had been jittery and wired after the little girl’s rescue. Ever insisted she was A-okay, but her actions said otherwise. She clung to Kyle’s side, imploring him to sit next to her at dinner. They played gin rummy together for a solid hour. After her bath—two inches of warm water in a claw-foot tub—Ever begged him to read her a bedtime story. Fitzwilliam sprawled at the foot of the brass bed while Kyle and Ever leaned against a mountain of pillows at the headboard. He read Anne of Green Gables, nodding patiently every time Ever pleaded for one more chapter. By the time she finally drifted off to sleep, it was a little past eleven.

  “You’re her hero, you know,” Mrs. B. said. Rising up on her tiptoes, she pulled Kyle’s head down and soundly kissed him on the cheek. “Mine, too. Thank you for bringing our girl home.”

  “Would you like us to stay?” I asked. “Kyle and I could bunk out in the living room.”

  “No, I’m fine. There’s a glass of sherry with my name on it in the kitchen cabinet. I plan to read for a while then toddle off to bed. You two scoot.”

  We scooted. The moon rode high in the sky when Kyle parked his truck in front of the Allsop’s garage. Hand in hand, we walked into the dark house. The guards standing sentry outside the front door nodded to us as we passed.

  “You want anything from the kitchen before we head to our room?” Kyle asked.

  “No. I’m good. You?”

  “Nah.”

  We climbed the stairs in silence and made our way to the guest suite. Once inside, I switched on the nightstand lamp on my side of the bed, casting a pool of light over the midnight-blue silk coverlet. Kyle lingered at the door, eyes intent as he watched me. An awkward silence hung between us.

  When did I ever have trouble speaking my mind? Jake used to tease me, saying I blurted out every thought in my head, but now, when it mattered the most, I couldn’t find the words. I plopped down on the edge of the mattress and buried my face in my hands.

  Instantly, Kyle was at my side, kneeling in front of me, his palms warm where they rested against my thighs. I lifted my head and gazed into his serious hazel eyes. Reaching out with one hand, I traced along his jaw. Stubble prickled my fingertips and I smiled at the sensation. Kyle returned my smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. I ran my thumb over his mouth, outlining the firm bottom lip, then sweeping across the cupid’s bow on his upper lip. His lips parted and his teeth closed around the pad of my thumb, his warm mouth encircling the digit down to the knuckle.

  I gasped, then sighed. “Kyle...”

  His mouth released my thumb and he angled his head, his expression serious again. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Sunny?”

  Too many things.

  “It’s been a day,” I said.

  It had. Instead of keeping a stiff upper lip, Kyle had confided in me, had allowed me to comfort him. Allowed me to act like an adult, an equal, instead of the kid sister of his best friend, a person who must be sheltered from all of life’s harsh realities. We’d shared the best kiss of my life. Then Ever disappeared, and sheer panic held me in its grip until Kyle found her and brought her home. Life reminded me once again how quickly we could lose the people we held most dear. How very fragile was our existence. It struck me deep down in my bones that I would do whatever was necessary to hold onto those I loved.

  “Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?” Kyle asked.

  “I feel like I’ve been through an emotional wringer,” I said. “We came so close to losing Ever. The experience made me step back and take a look at my life. I decided that you’re right. That we need to go to Valhalla. Now. Before anything else bad happens. I want to pack up Ever and Mrs. B. and Fitzwilliam and go someplace safe. Even if it means leaving behind my responsibilities in Boise. I’m ready to be selfish and take what I want.”

  “You’re the least selfish person I know,” Kyle said, taking a seat next to me on the bed. “You’re not abandoning Boise. The Allsops are going to turn things around here. They’ll take care of the people, the way they took care of that deranged woman who kidnapped Ever. You can leave town with a clear conscience.”

  “I hope so,” I said. “But that’s not everything. I want to talk about us.”

  I closely watched his expression for any reaction, positive or negative. How would Kyle respond to my assertion that we need to talk? Isn’t that a conversation that most men dread?

  “What about us?” He took my hand in his, and his thumb massaged the center of my palm.

  Spill it, McAllister.

  I sucked in a breath, then exhaled slowly, searching for the words. “When I was a teenager, I’d lie awake at night fantasizing about you, my big brother’s impossibly cool best friend. You were everything I wanted: handsome, smart, athletic. And I mean, you had to know how I felt. You had to see the way I blushed when you caught me staring at you...”

  He offered a rueful smile. “Trust me, Sunny, if there was anything I was determined not to notice, it was my best friend’s little sister crushing on me.”

  Fair enough. The Bro Code and all that.

  “I was convinced that I was in love with you, and I kept hoping that someday you’d see that I was all grown-up. And that you’d declare your undying love for me.”

  His lips quirked. “How did you imagine that? Would I burst into the room carrying a dozen red roses and spouting poetry? Would I hire a skywriter to spell out the words Kyle Loves Sunny?”

  I punched his shoulder. “Shut up.”

  He rolled his eyes and his expression sobered. “Sorry. I’m being an ass. I do that sometimes when I’m anxious.”

  I smiled. “Anyway, I compared every guy I met to my vision of you, and they all came up short. I wasn’t a nun. I dated, but you were always there in the back of my mind. The perfect guy.”

  He winced. “Shit, Sunny, I am so far from perfect.”

  “My point is that I thought I was in love with you, but I see now that I didn’t really know you back then. I didn’t see you for who you really are.”

  “Okay.” His face turned thoughtful. “So what are you saying?”

  “I’m not a kid with a crush anymore. Tonight, when I watched you reading to Ever, I saw a kind man taking care of a traumatized little girl.” Tears welled in my eyes, and I brushed impatiently at them. “And I understood that the real Kyle is so much better than any fantasy I had when I was a teenager. I could fall in love with the real Kyle. Really, truly in love. In fact, I’m halfway there already.”

  Kyle said nothing and my pulse stuttered. Crap. Had I read too much into our kiss? Was he trying to think of a way to let me down easy? I focused my eyes on the opposite wall for a few agonizing seconds. Screw it. Life was too short and too uncertain to play it safe. I turned my gaze back to Kyle. If he couldn’
t see any kind of future with me it would sting, but I could deal.

  “I didn’t see the real you either,” he confessed. “I put you in a box. Jake’s little sister. A naive do-gooder with a heart of gold. I actually thought that you’d grow out of it. I was wrong to be so dismissive. These past few days I’ve seen the real you, too. More than ever, the world needs good people like you. I’m halfway there, too, Sunshine.” He pushed my hair away from my face. With one finger, he gently traced the shell of my ear, a caress that sent shivers to my core.

  I stared at him unblinking while his words sunk in, then I pinched myself, hard on my upper arm. “Nope,” I said. “Not asleep.”

  Kyle laughed softly and pulled me onto his lap, turning me so I straddled him. He brushed his knuckles across my cheek. My lips parted and I dragged in a slow, tremulous breath, quivering beneath his touch. He cupped my face with gentle hands.

  “It’s been a day.” He repeated the words I’d spoken minutes ago. “It’s after midnight on a long, stress-filled day. I’d like—shit, I can’t believe I’m actually saying this—but I’d like our first time to be something special. Not something we do late at night when we’re exhausted and still reeling from almost losing Ever.”

  “I get it,” I said. “I’d like my first time to be something special, too.”

  Kyle stiffened and his brows drew down. “Sunny, you said your first time?”

  He didn’t need to look so shocked. At twenty-one I was definitely late to the party, but not ridiculously late. Suddenly, I couldn’t meet his eyes. Did Kyle think I was some kind of freak of nature for waiting for the right moment? For the right man? For him?

  I squirmed. “Yeah. My first time.”

  “Well, hell, Sunshine. We’re definitely going to make it something special.” He grinned, setting my mind at ease. “Tomorrow night. I’m going to tell Hildy that we’d like to have dinner in our room. We’ll take the entire evening. Candlelit dinner. Champagne on our balcony. Rose petals in the whirlpool tub. Make it a night we’ll never forget.”