Haunting Ellie (40 page)

Elizabeth walked across the room and rested a shoulder against the wall next to Alex. “The property’s not important to Jon. Is it all that important to you?”

He tilted his head to look at her, and that slow grin she’d come to love crossed his face. He shook his head. “No. All that matters is Amanda.”

“Then I say we have a quick celebration before Francesca shows up for that ledger and I have to
watch my brother get hauled off to jail. Once that’s done, we can take you back to Dalton House, and see if we can send you on your way.”

“You think it’s going to be that easy?” Alex asked.

“I hope so.” She smiled at Alex and at Jon. “Right now, I want to celebrate. I’ve got wine and bread and cheesecake. I know you can’t eat or drink, Alex, but you don’t mind sharing one more evening of fun with us, do you?”

Alex
offered a cockeyed grin. “Only if you’ll let me swing from the chandelier.”

oOo

“To Alexander Stewart.” Jon raised his glass of wine, and his sapphire eyes sparkled, brightening the room even more than the light from the crystal chandelier. “May your days on earth be few.”

Alexander’s laughter
echoed through the room. “A right nice sentiment, grandson. But now it’s my turn.” He raised his empty glass and added his own cheer. ‘To Jon and Ellie. May you have as much happiness in your lifetime as... as Amanda and I would have had in ours.”

Gordon MacRae’s
beautiful voice drifted through the room, and Jon took her into his arms, carrying her to heaven and beyond, as they waltzed to “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’.”

“Think you’ll be able to let him go?” Jon asked, as Alex swung from the chandelier to the fireplace mantel and stretched out to watch them dance.

“It won’t be easy.” Elizabeth rested her head o
n Jon’s chest, cherishing his warmth and the slow, steady rhythm of his heart. “I’m going to miss his antics, but it’s high time he leave this place and, hopefully, be with Amanda.”

Jon’s arms tightened and his dance steps shortened. They whirled together beneath a calm, steady chandelier, his hands caressing her back, hers caressing his neck. The
y moved together as one, slow and easy, and she couldn’t imagine ever being away from him again. When he kissed her, she wanted that sweet yet almost possessive caress to last for all eternity.

“Mind if I cut in?” Alex interrupted. “You’ve had the pleasure of the lady’s company all night, and if you’re lucky, you’ll have it for the rest of your life. If you don’t mind, I’d like at least a minute.”

Jon’s lips brushed over Elizabeth’s mouth one more time before releasing her into Alexander’s open arms. But Alex didn’t touch her. Not yet. He moved back a foot and offered her a most gracious and gentlemanly bow. Elizabeth smiled in return and curtsied, pretending she wore one of the frilly pink ruffled dresses that Amanda had liked to wear.

Alex moved closer then, and she felt his strange, weightless touch as he took her hand in his, placing his other lightly at her waist. “It’s been a while. Forgive me if I step on your toes.”

“I’m sure I won’t feel a thing.” She laughed and allowed Alex to lead her around the room. She was
positive he could lift her high into the air if he wanted to, but instead he held her at arm’s length and smiled as he waltzed.

“Amanda and I waltzed at our engagement party. Maybe we’ll get another chance.”

He spoke with so much hope it nearly brought tears to her eyes. “When you’re together again,” she said, “tell her about tonight, about Jon, and me. And tell her we loved you.”

“
I reckon I just might do that, right after I kiss her and hold her and tell her how much
I
love her.”

Elizabeth
looked over Alexander’s shoulder, catching glimpses of Jon as her ghostly companion danced her around the room. He was smiling, the same smile she’d seen on Alexander’s face, and she realized even when Alexander was gone, she’d still have a part of him in her life—forever.

Jon swept her back into his arms a
few minutes later. “God, you’re pretty,” he said, and lowered his lips to hers as if they hadn’t kissed or touched in ages. It was the sweetest, tenderest kiss she could ever remember.

And then her entire world exploded.

The chandelier crashed, sending shattering glass spraying in all directions. Jon dived over Elizabeth, pushing her to the floor and wrapping his arms about her to protect her body from splinters and shards.

“What’s happening?”
Elizabeth screamed.

Another explosion thundered through the hotel
. A blast of heat blazed across her skin. She heard the rumble and roar of another explosion, as if someone had set off a ton of dynamite beneath her feet.

And once again a house collapsed upon her.

“Wake up, Jon—wake up,” Alex shouted. “You’ve got to get out of here.”

Jon heard Alexander’s
voice, but it sounded far away. Maybe it was simply a dream. But the sharp pain ricocheting through his shoulders, his back, and his head was far too real. He was in so much pain he wanted to keep his eyes closed and go back to sleep until it ended.

“The place is on fire, Jon. Please—get up.”

Jon felt someone tugging on his arm, but he jerked away and pain ripped through his body. He wanted to doze, to drift into a world where the torture being inflicted on him didn’t exist.

“Hell and tarnation, boy! Think about Elizabeth. You’ve got to get her out of here.”

Elizabeth?
What about Elizabeth? Had he really heard her name? Was she in trouble?

He tried to move, but
the weight of the world pressed down on his spine, trapping him in some sort of hell.

“
Come on, son. I’ll help you.” Was that Alex talking again? “You’ve got to push. I can’t budge this gall-darned thing all by myself.”

“
Jon?” Somewhere in his fog of agony he heard the faint sound of Elizabeth’s voice, so quiet, so very, very quiet.

“Jon? Please, help me.”

He forced his eyes to open and through splinters of wood and shards of glass he could see ebony hair and porcelain skin.

And blood.

“Ellie!”

“That’s what I’
ve been trying to tell you.” Alex shouted. “She’s hurt. You’ve got to get her out of here.”

Jon
shook his head, trying desperately to gather his wits. He dragged in a deep breath, and in spite of the pain, shoved his fists against the floor and pushed, hoping what little strength he had would be enough to lift the oppressive weight bearing down on him.

“Keep pushing, Jon. Keep pushing.”

Hell of a time for Alex to become a cheering squad, Jon thought, as burst of adrenaline coursed through him. Again he pressed against the floor, straining every muscle in an attempt to straighten his arms. Whatever it was that had fallen on top of him fought back. It didn’t want to release him, but he had to get the hell out from under it. With one more shove, the heavy weight shifted and fell away.

Lighter debris tumbled down around him, bit
s of plaster, shards of crystal. Only then did he realize that he’d fallen on top Elizabeth, that she’d been crushed beneath him and the ceiling and roof and God knows what else that had come crashing down on them.

“Jon?” Her voice
was weak; barely a whisper. Blood covered her face and flowed down her neck; it matted her hair.

“I’m here, Ellie,” he answered, praying that she’d be safe, that he could get her out of the hotel and somehow stop her bleeding. “I’m going to get you out of here.”

“I think I’m okay,” she said, amid raspy breaths. “Nothing hurts. I just can’t breathe.”

Jon eased his weight and that of the fallen debris off of her.
“You’re bleeding.”

“But I feel fine,” she whispered.
“I just want to get out of here.”

Jon sucked in a deep breath
, consumed with relief and fear. Smoke and fire burned his lungs, and suddenly he was
more than aware of what was going on around them.

With a new burst of energy and the resolve to get Elizabeth to safety, he shoved
against the floor, and with all the strength in his shoulders, back, and legs, he sent the splintered wood and glass flying.

He
rose to his knees, and through the cinders and soot and smoke billowing through what was left of the hotel’s drawing room, he saw timbers tumbled every which way. Beams squealed and moaned, as if they were just barely holding the top floors of the house in place.

Suddenly, flames leap
t about the entry, blocking the only exit he could see.

They
grabbed hold of downed drapes, overturned furniture, and raced closer to where he and Elizabeth were still partially trapped.

They came closer; moving fast.

The flames crackled. Sweat coursed down his face.

Oh, God, he had to get Elizabeth out.

Now.

“
Ellie,” he tried to shout over the roar of the flames. “Can you roll over and crawl?”

Somehow she managed to laugh. “Really fast, I think—if you can just find a way out of here.”

“I’ve already found a way,” Alex called to them.

Jon could see Alexander’s face filled with worry and fear and excitement. “Lead the way, Alex. We’ll be right behind.” Jon
swung his arms out, trying desperately to clear some sort of a pathway. “I can’t hold your hand, Ellie,” he yelled, as she twisted around and got up on her hands and knees. “You’re just going to have to stay close and keep your eyes on me.”

“There’s too much debris.
” She coughed, and he could hear the strain the smoke and heat was taking on her throat. “We’re never going to get through.”

“Like hell! We’re not getting stuck in here. Just stay close and I’ll clear
the way.” He took one more look into her eyes and smiled. “I love you, Ellie; I’m not about to let anything happen to you.”

Flames sprang up on his left and he began to
crawl, shouldering through timber and plasterboard, clearing the way for Elizabeth, holding beams steady for her when he thought for sure they might collapse.

“Where are we going?” Jon yelled to the
ghostly figure floating easily up ahead.

“The kitchen door,” Alex hollered. ‘There’s no fire there.”

“Thank God,” Jon heard Elizabeth whisper.

“Thunder and tarnation!”

“What now?” Jon screamed.

“The fire’s moving into the kitchen. You’ve got to move faster.”

Jon prayed, and pushed, and then he heard Elizabeth muttering at the top of her lungs as if she was chewing someone out. “This isn’t fair, you know. I got crushed under a house a year ago. It’s not supposed to happen twice. I promised I’d change. I promised I’d be a better person, and I’ve tried, I’ve really, really tried.”

“Who are you talking to?” Jon asked, as he burrowed through a space so narrow a rat would have had trouble squeezing through. He arched up so Elizabeth could get to the next reasonably clear spot and she answered back when she was directly beneath him.

“I’m talking to God, if you really want to know. Guess He enjoyed last year’s conversation so much, He dreamed up a reason to have another. Remind me to say my prayers more often, okay?”

“Quit gabbing, you two,” Alex thundered. “We’ve got a slight change of plans.”

“What now?” Jon yelled.

“The kitchen walls and the door are on fire. We’ve got to get to the basement.”

That was impossible, Jon thought. “We’ll be trapped if we go down there.”

“Not if you take the tunnel to the bank.
Digging that blasted thing might have been illegal, but right this minute, I’d like to thank my murderer for doing it. Might be the only good thing Luke Winchester ever accomplished in his godforsaken life.”

Jon managed to laugh as he pressed on through. He had no idea where they were or how much farther they had to go, but the smoke was entering his lungs. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe, but somehow he crawl
ed faster, with Elizabeth right behind.