A Hero to Rescue Me (Hero's Crossing) (8 page)

“Melanie!” He groaned her name as he thrust into her helplessly. “Oh, sweet, God!”

“Need you,” she gasped, her breath punctuated by the slaps of their bodies colliding in the sweetest dance. “Come inside me again, Chase,” she whispered. “Please.”

That was all it took. He had to sink his teeth in to the pillow to keep from bellowing his satisfaction. Melanie still squeezed him rhythmically as her orgasm continued to course through her.

No more did Chase fear the future, or despair from the past. From the moment he’d met Melanie, the grief inside him had eased until he’d accepted it as a part of him. Had it not been for Ritchie’s selfless act of saving the life of a stranger, Chase would never have been driven to the point where the letters of two mysterious strangers would be the highlight of his week. He’d never have bridged the gap he’d created with his family. And he’d never have met his Melanie or her sweet Abigail.

Life just didn’t get much better than this...

The next afternoon, U-Haul loaded and ready to go, Melanie did one last inspection of her apartment. The only thing left was Abigail’s bag of stuff she wanted with her in the car, mainly a few toys and some of her baseball memorabilia. Once everything else had been emptied out, Melanie had insisted on cleaning the bare rooms before she left. Once done, she’d waved at Rick as he drove off in the big U-Haul truck, bound for her new apartment and new life. Chase had stayed with her, waiting on Abigail. The three of them would head back to Lexington as soon as the little girl got home from school.

When she’d climbed into the shower, Chase had joined her. Startled at first, Melanie had self-consciously touched the shower cap protecting her hair, not relishing the idea of him seeing her in it. Chase, however, didn’t seem to notice it at all, concentrating instead on the rest of her, shaping her curves with those big, work-roughened hands. It hadn’t been long before Melanie could have given a damn about the stupid shower cap.

Before they left, Abigail wanted to go to her bedroom one last time. Melanie supposed this was a more than exciting adventure to the little girl. On some level, Abigail knew this was the start of a new life, one that included Chase and a brand new town. Leaving behind her old life must have been difficult for the little girl, even if she didn’t know how to express what she was feeling. Chase, bless his soul, went with her. Even now, Melanie could here Abigail chatting about something that had happened when she was younger that had caused the peeling of the wallpaper along one corner of the room. Chase’s rumbling laughter sent a thrill through Melanie.

A knock at the door startled her. Must be the landlord. Without hesitation, Melanie crossed to the door, opening it...to stare into the face of an obviously confused and angry Dan.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, barging into the apartment, backing Melanie up several steps before she stood her ground. Looking around, his face grew even more thunderous. “Where’s all your furniture?”

“I’m leaving,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. “I got another job, but it’s away from here. Abigail and I are moving.”

“Where?” He took a threatening step forward.

“None of your business! You need to leave before someone gets hurt.” Melanie wanted nothing more than to run to Chase, but there was no way she was tucking her tail between her legs now. Dan was an ass. She could deal with him.

“Just what do you think Social Services will say? You don’t have permission to leave!”

“I don’t
need
permission! I’m Abigail’s legal guardian, soon to be her mother, and there’s not a damned thing you can do about it!” Melanie was rapidly passing the realm of angry to royally pissed off. The
nerve
of the man!

He lunged for her, his hand shooting out to grab her neck. Instinctively, Melanie’s own hands went to his thick wrist. She had just dug her fingers under his pinky to pry his hand away from her throat when Chase entered the room with Abigail in tow.

“Mommy!” the child shrieked. Chase stepped in front of the little girl when she would have run to Melanie.

Dan looked startled, but didn’t let go of Melanie. Instead, he put her between Chase and him.

Melanie glanced at Chase. Calm as ever, though there was a gleam in his eye that gave her the shivers, he pulled his cell out of his pocket, punched a few numbers, then put it on speaker.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“This is Chase Carver, I’m at one, one, three South Main Street, the home of Melanie Wade. I’m about to throw a beat down on an intruder. He has Miss Wade by the throat, and her child is with us.”

There was a pause as the operator either was dispatching police or trying to decide if Chase was for real before finally saying, “Officers are on the way.”

“I’ll stay on the line so you can hear what actually happens. The intruder is Dan Jackson.” He paused looking Dan straight in the face as he added, “Might want to send an ambulance too.”

“Mr. Carver, I highly recommend–” Whatever the woman was going to say was wasted because no one was listening, least of all Chase. He stalked toward Dan. When the man jerked Melanie more fully in front of him, Chase grabbed Dan’s wrist–the one attached to the hand encircling Melanie’s throat—and squeezed.  With a groan, Dan let Melanie go. She wasted no time, instead ducking under his arm and lunging away.

“Get away from me!” Dan shrieked. “Melanie is
my
woman. Everyone knows it. We’re getting married–”

His words were cut off when Melanie, ever conscious of the open 9-1-1 line, interrupted him. “You got me fired from my job at
your
office, tried to get social services to take Abigail away from me, destroyed my car,
and
tried to strangle me! What part of that makes you think we’re in any shape or fashion a couple?” All the while, Melanie backed away from him, wrapping an arm around Abigail, ushering the girl farther into the apartment away from danger.

Abigail had just disappeared into her old bedroom when a gunshot rang out, followed by a grunt of pain. With a cry, Melanie slammed Abigail’s room shut and darted back to the living room. There she found Chase and Dan locked in a grappling fight.

Blood ran down Chase’s left arm, and Melanie noticed him favoring it. Dan took every opportunity to take advantage of Chase’s weaker side, punching and swinging at his left shoulder as much as possible.

Chase might have been slower on the wounded side, but his eyes were steady, his movements fluid and deadly. Several times he landed solid hits to Dan, the other man crying out in pain but not backing off.

When the glint of a gun flashed into view, Melanie saw red. Dan raised the weapon, ready to fire again, but Chase knocked his hand aside. Somehow, Dan managed to retain possession, but seemed unable to raise it a second time.

Lunging for the bag Abigail had left out, she found a child’s ball bat sticking out of the end of the duffel. She snatched it and ran toward Dan...

Just as he raised the gun in her direction.

***

For the second time in his life, Chase was about to lose someone he cared about. Only this time, he knew he’d never recover. The gun pointed at Melanie might as well have been pointed straight at his heart.

With a cry, he lunged for Melanie, not caring if he was shot again as long as she was safe. But his woman proved too quick even for him. With a battle cry to do any warrior on the battlefield proud, she swung her bat, the blow landing squarely on Dan’s gun hand. The weapon skittered across the room. Dan’s wrist snapped with a sickening
crunch
.

Raising the bat to swing again, Melanie’s expression was a mixture of fear, anger and...
anguish
. In that moment, Chase realized the differences in their situations. He was a man she’d known only a few weeks, while Dan she’d dated a few
years
. Obviously, she’d expected to marry him or she wouldn’t have stayed with him for so long. Yes, they had issues. Yes, Dan had told her he hadn’t wanted Abigail. But did Melanie still have feelings for him? In such a violent struggle, would she choose Dan over Chase? Surely not. The man was a complete ass, as well as a certifiable bully.

“That’s enough, miss.” The arrival of the police had gone unnoticed by everyone, including Chase. That was when despair hit Chase. As awful as it was to lose Ritchie, the thought of Melanie going to Dan instead of him felt like someone had not only gutted him, but sliced open his chest and cut out his still-beating heart, showing it to him like they’d won a trophy.

Melanie dropped the bat, sinking to her knees, her body visibly trembling.

“Melanie?” Dan’s pleading voice rang in Chase’s ears even as his shoulder began to sear him with pain where the man had shot him. Double whammy.

As if in waking up from a trance, Melanie shook her head and shot to her feet, launching herself at Dan. Only, far from a sobbing, clinging woman begging for forgiveness, Dan Jackson got a banshee on the warpath.

It took two cops to pull her off Dan. Surprisingly, they didn’t cuff her, but pulled her away gently, not commenting when she spat in Dan’s direction.

“Take it easy, ma’am,” one said as he stood between her and her target. “The ambulance will be here in a minute to check you over. Social Services were notified, but I don’t see a child.”

Melanie’s horror-stricken eyes met Chase’s. “Ohmigod! Abigail!”

Hearing her name, the little girl burst from the back room where she’d been hiding and into Melanie’s arms. The two of them sank down beside Chase and included him in the circle of their love! In an instant, all his despair turned to elation. Abigail threw her arms around his neck, making his shoulder scream in protest. Not that he cared. He clung to her as tightly as she did to him.

“Baby, be careful with Chase.” Melanie tried to extract the little girl, but neither Abigail nor Chase was having any of it. Finally she gave up, adding her own embrace, though careful.

The next few hours passed in a blur for Chase. He and Dan were taken to the hospital–though in separate ambulances. Melanie and Abigail refused to leave his side, even during the short interview with Social Services. Melanie’s friend and caseworker had been the one to conduct it, tears welling in her own eyes as Melanie related the events. Everything had been confirmed by Chase’s open line to 9-1-1 during the incident. The bullet wound to his shoulder had been a through and through. He’d be hella sore for weeks, but, with proper rehabilitation, should heal nicely.

The hell had started when Chase’s family stormed into the ER like the Hatfields after the McCoys. Chase had stopped trying to argue with everyone, raising his voice to the officer outside in the hall. “Just take them all to jail. Well, except Mama. She’s meaner than the other four.”

That had gotten startled looks from everyone until Abigail giggled, rushing into Vivian’s arms. “I hope they don’t take Rick to jail!” the child blurted out, hugging Vivian tightly.

“Don’t worry, Princess Abigail. No one is going to jail.” Vivian reassured the child.

“No one here, anyway,” Melanie muttered. “I hope Dan rots in there.”

“I know it’s bad,” Jennifer, Melanie’s caseworker and friend voiced, “but, with all this happening, no one will take anything Dan says seriously. I’m officially labeling his claim as unsubstantiated and extremely predacious, citing this incident and the recorded call as proof.”

“Wait.” Mike pinched the bridge of his nose, squinting, trying to make sense of the little girl’s though process. “Abigail. Why are you worried about Rick going to jail, but not me or Leland?”

“Well, the potties are in the cell,” the little girl answered, little face serious.

“So?” Mike still had a blank look on his face. “I don’t want to go to jail either. Aren’t you worried about me?”

“Well, yeah. But
you
don’t have overactive bladder.”

Halloween was always the start of the holiday season for Melanie. This year was especially exciting. In her new apartment, with a new job, a new family, and a new life, she felt like she was a different person. Dan had gotten six months in jail–far too lenient as far as Melanie was concerned–with the condition that, when he got out, he stay away from Melanie, Abigail, and Chase. It would be a condition of his parole. If he violated those terms, he’d spend several
years
behind bars. Melanie almost thought it would be worth it if the bastard showed up again.

Then she looked at Chase and Abigail playing in the leaves. No. Nothing better disturb her happiness. Nothing at all.

“Mommy!” the child squealed. “Chase is burying me in the leaves! Make him stop!” Of course, the shrill laughter ruined the effect, but Melanie went to them like a good mother should.

Mother... She was truly Abigail’s mother now. The adoption papers had been signed, all the legal mumbo-jumbo complete. Once she and Chase married, he’d be her daddy. They’d already started the paperwork.

For the first time since her father had died, Abigail seemed like a normal child. All the time. Chase’s family had been so good for her. Good for them both. Melanie was no longer alone. She found that Chase’s brothers and parents treated her like they would a sister and daughter, sometimes taking her side over their own children. Most of the time, in fact. Not that anyone complained. Sometimes, she thought they argued with her just to see her temper flare.

When she reached for Abigail’s hand to pull her free of the leaves, the little girl and Chase tugged until she fell onto the ground with them, both laughing as they attacked Melanie with tickles and kisses.

“Nana Vivian!” Abigail squealed when Vivian and Leland pulled into the drive. The older couple welcomed an enthusiastic Abigail with open arms, surrounding her with love and affection the child had been missing no matter how much Melanie tried. A child should be surrounded by people who loved her. Not just one.

“You know how much they love her. Right?” Chase was all serious now as he stroked Melanie’s face, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb.

Smiling, Melanie nodded. “She loves them too. And your brothers.” She lifted her hands to frame Chase’s face. “And we both love you, Chase Carver.”

“You’re my hero, you know that?” he murmured as he bent to gently kiss her lips, his tongue tracing the path where his thumb had been. “You’ve given me so much.”

“The feeling’s mutual, I assure you.” They stared at each other for several moments, the background noises fading away until it was just the two of them.

“Thanks for coming to my rescue.” Chase nuzzled her neck and Melanie arched into him.

“It wasn’t anything you didn’t do for me. For us. I feel like the whole world is brand new because of you, Chase.”

He pulled back to stare into her eyes. “I love you, Melanie Wade.”

“And I love you, Chase Carver.”

“Always?”

“Forever.”