Ellora's Cavemen: Tales from the Temple IV (24 page)

Lonnie Stevens had a hard time keeping his eyes off Jenny, his secret crush, as he answered Aeryn’s sister. “There was a flash of light three times from one of the windows. The helicopter pilot called in and we figured it had to be a signal.”

Jenny nodded. “It had to be Aeryn, then. She must have done it after Craig took her in the bedroom to rape her.”

Devlin felt like a two-by-four slammed into his stomach. He had not considered that possibility. He fought back the urge to puke at the image of Aeryn with her ex-husband, and turned angrily. “She’s not down there, and the boat is gone. I’m going out to radio the helicopter, and get hold of the Coast Guard and Border Patrol.”

* * * * *

Aeryn moaned and rubbed her head. She felt something warm and sticky and realized she must have cut her head when she fell. She looked around and saw Craig at the wheel of the boat. He was focused on the dark water ahead and not on her. Aeryn turned and looked back and could see in the distance that the cliff house was now lit up like a Christmas tree. She prayed no one had been hurt when they took the other men into custody.

“Aeryn! Get over here, damn it! I need your help in figuring out the charts.”

Aeryn stood gingerly and walked the few steps to where Craig was struggling with the wheel, while trying to keep his map from blowing away. He was traveling without lights, on the ocean, at night, and they both knew that they could end up just about anywhere.

Aeryn stood for a minute and couldn’t resist a sarcastic comment. “What’s the matter, Craig? Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your compass and sextant?”

Craig glared at Aeryn angrily. That was what always pissed him off about Aeryn—

her spiteful tongue. “Just shut the fuck up and help me figure out where we are before we end up crashed on the rocks somewhere!”

Aeryn shook her head, but started paying attention. She looked towards the coastline, which was faintly visible, and then up at the stars. Living near the ocean, she had grown up sailing, and her father had taught her early on how to steer according to 148

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the stars. She took the wheel from Craig and steered the boat a bit further out into the open sea, and adjusted the direction so they were heading towards Canada. Carefully, she began making slight movements, zigzagging almost, hoping to use up the gas stored in the tank. With any luck, she could toss the can overboard and they could drift until spotted by the Coast Guard.

She heard Craig move away toward the back to sit down. She glanced around once and saw that he was rifling through some bags she’d not seen previously. Angrily she realized that he had hidden the stolen money in her boathouse!

She turned back to the wheel angrily. How dare he jeopardize her family like this?

Hell, she could have ended going to jail as well if the money had been found and they didn’t believe that she was as much in the dark as they. She got angrier by the moment as she heard him rifling the money packets and counting the packs out loud. She shifted her body to block Craig’s vision and used her foot to kick open a lever. They continued on for about a quarter of an hour when the engine started to sputter.

Craig came over, tossing the bag down. “What’s wrong, damn it?”

“I don’t know,” Aeryn said softly. She knew Craig was a total loss when it came to boats so she was pretty sure he would believe it when he saw the fuel tank now read empty.

“God damn it, Aeryn! I would have sworn the tank said full.”

Aeryn shrugged as the boat came to a stop in the rocking waves. She had slowly been steering back towards shore as the gauge needle kept dropping towards the big E.

“It’s an old boat, Craig. We don’t use it anymore, and it’s possible the fuel gauge is busted.”

Aeryn moved away and sat down. She knew Craig was thinking furiously, trying to come up with a plan. She wasn’t sure, but it looked like they had an hour until dawn.

And if she was right in her directions, the current should pull them into the sandy shore. She wished they would have stopped sooner, guessing they were now in Canadian waters. She didn’t feel so good though, when Craig turned around to face her a few moments later.

Craig came back and sat opposite her. “So, we’re stranded here, huh?”

Aeryn shrugged nonchalantly. “Looks like it.”

She didn’t see him move but in the next instant, Craig had grabbed her and flung her onto the deck of the boat. Aeryn screamed once in surprise, but Craig had moved too fast. He had her hands pinned above her head. His legs had hers held immobile while he loomed above her.

“You remember the time we did it on this boat, after everyone had gone to bed. We snuck down to the deck, and fucked each other’s brains out.”

Aeryn shook her head, denying it. Craig just smiled, and managed to hold both her hands with just one of his. He moved his free hand down and onto her breast and molded it eagerly. He untied the knot holding the ends of her ripped T-shirt together 149

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and quickly yanked the shirt up, using it to tie her hands together, and then bind them to the deck, keeping her upper body immobile.

He eased back and watched as Aeryn angrily tugged to release her hands. His grin told her how much he was enjoying this. When they were married he got off making her breasts bounce all over the place. With his thighs on either side of her hips, he lowered his hands to cover her bobbling boobs.

“You always did have the greatest tits, Aeryn.”

Aeryn froze, remembering how Devlin had spoken almost the same words to her.

Craig noticed immediately.

“What are you thinking, babe? Are you remembering how much you like me playing with these sensitive tits of yours? I can’t tell you how many times imagining your jugs would get my nut off!” He laughed roughly, sliding one hand down to jerk open her shorts snap. “I’ve decided shaved snatch or not, it is going to be mine once again.”

“No!” Aeryn yelled at him angrily, redoubling her efforts to fight him, even if her hands were tied.

Craig wasn’t in the mood for a fight, and he could see dawn was coming, and he would probably have to start swimming to shore real soon. He pulled his hand back and slammed it into Aeryn’s face. Her head lolled to one side, and he saw he had cut her cheek open and it was bleeding. He cursed again, blaming her. He shifted to undo his own zipper, and pull down his pants. He returned his attention to Aeryn, tugging at her shorts, getting them down her hips. He looked at her bald pussy and shook his head.

“Bastard!” Craig rubbed his fingers over the shaved skin. “He had no right taking your bush, damn it.” He hated the fact she had been with another man since him. He was pissed as hell thinking of another man kissing her, even just holding her. He smiled a menacing grimace.

“Maybe I’ll knock you up and give you a little something to remember me by!” He rubbed his hand over her belly, holding her eyes. He laughed cruelly, ignoring Aeryn’s growing struggles as she started to become more alert. “What would you do then, huh?” Craig laughed, his head rearing back

So caught up in his own imaginings he didn’t notice Aeryn working to free her hands, he never saw her clasped fists before they slammed into his nose. There was the sound of grating, but Aeryn didn’t pause. She jerked her knee up and connected on target.

Craig fell to the deck in agony.

Aeryn scrambled to her feet. Thank God Devlin had taught her how to do that effectively in close situations. She knew she only had a second at most, so she kicked free of her shorts. She stood for a moment, glancing from the shore, where she could hear the tide lapping at the sandy shore to where Craig still writhed in pain. Putting 150

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aside her Christian morals about turning the cheek and forgiveness, she kicked Craig’s butt really hard, and then dove over the side of the boat.

Behind her, she could hear Craig shouting at her, and then moaning, but she didn’t stop. She was swimming so hard that her breath was rasping harshly. She’d worry about being naked later, once she was on the shore. And then she heard the roar of a motor, and then several more. Aeryn stopped in the water, a hundred yards from the shore. She saw boats coming from both directions. And overhead, she recognized the helicopter from the sheriff’s department. She turned around in the water. The lights highlighted her boat and she saw Craig scrambling in the boat, trying to grab his bags and jump out. Before he could get the second bag, several shots were fired over his head. He stopped abruptly, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

Aeryn was getting cold and swam towards shore. She hadn’t gotten too far when one of the boats was hailing her to stop. Aeryn didn’t relish being pulled from the water by a Coast Guard cutter, naked. But she did stop as they neared. Trying to hold one arm across her breasts, and use the other to paddle, she shivered in the cold water. A sigh of relief escaped when the boat finally was close enough to toss a life preserver. Aeryn slipped it on and let them pull her close. She shut her eyes, knowing there was no way around it, and waited for them to pull her from the water.

Aeryn was pulled from the water, but still kept her eyes tightly closed. The second she was close enough to feel hands grab her, she finally knew it was over, but she still kept her eyes closed. She could hear shouts around her, people asking if she was all right. Finally she felt a blanket wrap around her. She was enveloped from shoulders to knees.

“You looked like you needed a lift, little lady.”

Aeryn’s eyes shot open and she saw Devlin standing on the deck in front of her.

That was her final straw. Her legs collapsed beneath her, she slid to the deck in a dead faint.

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Chapter Four

It was hours later before Devlin finally got away from the office. The prisoners had all been processed, the money retrieved and turned over for state’s evidence. He had gone almost thirty-six hours without sleep, and he was dead tired. As he entered the small local hospital, it was almost time for the sun to set once again. He’d had a hell of a time concentrating on business while he didn’t know how Aeryn was doing. He had talked with Elyse at least once an hour, but that still wasn’t enough.

Aeryn had finally awakened about an hour earlier, her unconsciousness mostly due to the concussion she had received. The doctor insisted that she stay at least the night, if not longer. So Devlin was ending his day at the hospital. He wondered what everyone would say if he sat by Aeryn’s bedside all night. But at this point, he didn’t give a damn what anyone said or did. He felt like he had walked through hell, and he still wasn’t sure the journey had truly ended.

Aeryn glanced up as the door to her hospital room opened. She saw Devlin standing in the doorway, looking ten years older and dead tired. She knew she looked like something the cats had brought home, which didn’t help her feel much better. She saw how serious he looked, and felt a sharp pain in her gut. She had feared that all this with Craig might change how Devlin felt about her. Or even worse, it would make him realize that he had no business being involved with an ex-con’s ex-wife.

Devlin let his eyes travel over Aeryn’s face hungrily. God! He was so grateful she was safe. He hadn’t realized how much he really loved her until he had learned that Morelli had taken her captive. He had stayed away from Morelli since his arrest because he’d been worried he would lose control and beat the guy to a pulp, and then have to face police harassment and excessive force charges. So he had not even entered the room and let his deputies interrogate and process Morelli, while he oversaw the processing of the two cousins.

Aeryn couldn’t stand the silence while Devlin looked at her. “Sit down, Dev. The doctor assured me that what I have isn’t catching!” she added, trying to lighten the oppressive atmosphere.

Devlin smiled and pulled a chair to the side of her bed. “You’re looking good, Aeryn.”

Aeryn closed her eyes, grimacing as she tried to smile. “Liar!”

Devlin laughed for a moment, but met Aeryn’s eyes as she reopened them slowly.

“No, honey, I mean it. When we finally pulled you out of the water—” his voice broke for a second.

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Aeryn flushed, knowing that Devlin had been there when she was pulled naked from the sea. “I’m sorry, Devlin.”

Devlin frowned. “What the hell do you have to be sorry about, damn it? I’m the one who should be apologizing to you! I forgot about the secret passage through the rocky caves. If you hadn’t had the presence of mind to signal the helicopter—”

“It was just timing, Dev. And even Elyse and Sara had forgotten about the old passageway. It was just bad luck that of all things Craig would remember, it would be that! Of course, now I know he had good reason to remember. You found the packs with the money?”

Devlin nodded. “Where were they hidden?”

Aeryn pulled her knees to her chest beneath the blankets and wrapped her arms around them. “He hid them in my boathouse. God, I was so pissed when I saw those knapsacks on the deck of the boat—”

She stopped and rubbed the cut on her forehead. As she moved her hand back down, she realized one eye was sore and puffy. She moved her fingers over her face and was taken aback to find several more stitches. She hated it when tears came to eyes.

Devlin moved onto her bed instantly, sitting beside her bent legs. “Please, honey, don’t cry! I know it must hurt, but it’s all over now. I can go and get you some pain pills.”

Aeryn shook her head and used her fingers to wipe away the tears. “It doesn’t hurt that bad, Dev. I’m just thinking about what I must look like. I never was all that pretty in the first place—”

Devlin shook his head. “Damn! You are the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Aeryn had to laugh, but shook her head. “Not anymore with these scars I’ll have.”

She scoffed softly. “You’d think I wouldn’t care about vanity, of all things, wouldn’t you? Guess this shows how shallow I really am!”

Dev put his finger under her chin and pulled her face around toward him. “Let’s get a few things straight right now, honey. I love you, and if you will have me, I am going to marry you!” He stopped and covered her lips with his finger. “And if I could, I would have strung Morelli up from the nearest tree. If you want to talk about what happened, I’ll listen. But as far as I’m concerned, it is you that matters, not what might or might not have happened to you.”