Things Lost In The Fire (47 page)

B
RODY’S BLOOD went cold.

“Sadie?” he shouted, checking his phone to see if the line had gone dead. When he lifted it back to his ear, he could hear the sound of footsteps and screaming, and his fingers tightened over the phone. He screamed her name again, despite knowing it was useless.

The cop looked at him in panic. “What happened?”

Brody gritted his teeth, eyes ablaze. “I don’t care what you have to do, you get me to that house.”

With a nod, the cop kicked up the speed of the patrol car and swerved around the traffic cluttering Highland Avenue. He radioed in for more back up as a precaution, only to be told that all the patrol cars in the area were tied up due to the fire.

When Brody heard this, his hands dove into his hair. It took all he had to not fly into a rage and take the wheel. He was helpless to do more than sit back and try not to imagine how scared she must be.

Get the gun, Sadie. Get the gun and aim to kill.

THOUGH SHE knew it was pointless, Sadie slammed the bedroom door shut and fumbled for the flimsy lock on the handle. Seconds later she heard him ram against it, accompanied by the sound of his breathless laughter. Retreating further into the room, she eyed the door with terror as he attempted to kick it down.

A roaring sound filled her ears, a panicked sob stuck in her throat. Feeling like an animal trapped in a cage, she stared around frantically, searching for a way out.

Thoughts of breaking through the window died as the door blasted open, sending splinters of wood flying into the air. The door rebounded off the wall with a thud and Drew pushed past it, barely more than a silhouette in the darkness. He hovered in the doorway, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. The lines of his face were just visible in the glow of the fiery sky outside.

Overhead, another helicopter thundered past.

Before Sadie could do more than step backward in retreat, he lunged at her. She screamed and tried to fight back, only to find her arms pinned as he dragged her onto the bed. His strength surprised her, as did the manic gleam in his eyes. It was the same as last time. So much the same.

“Stop it, please!” she cried, writhing against him in an attempt to break free. He held her wrists and forced her legs down with his knees, shaking his head.

A dark laugh shuddered out of him as he stared into her eyes. “But the party just got started.”

She winced with pain, her heart fluttering like a mad little bird inside her chest. “The police are on their way, they’ll stop you.”

“Why can’t you just accept that it’s too late for you, Sadie?” He released her right hand to slap her violently across the face. It sent a shocking jolt of pain into her system, dizzying her. “I can’t figure out why my dad risked everything just to have a taste of you. You’re nothing special.”

He leaned in to run his tongue along the side of her face, then over her mouth. She fought weakly, disgusted and horrified all at once as he kissed her. It was sloppy and violent, his teeth biting down hard on her lower lip until she tasted blood. When she whimpered in pain, he pulled away with a grin.

“You kiss like a whore. But that doesn’t surprise me.”

Sadie struggled until she was out of breath and weak, strands of her hair splaying across her face. He made a move to brush them away, and she saw her chance.

This time around, she wasn’t going to be a victim.

The hand he released went straight for his face and she dug her thumb into his eye socket. He howled in agony, shoving away from her and attempting to stand. He clutched the side of his face and stumbled into the corner of the room, shouting curses at her.

Sadie rolled over and reached into the bedside table for Brody’s gun, finding it in the case. She fumbled for the latch and unleashed the weapon, wasting no time getting it into her hands. Shoving in the magazine, she released the safety and racked the slide. When she whirled around to face him, Drew began to laugh.

“Isn’t this ironic?” His hand fell away from his face, showing his reddened eye. He blinked furiously, struggling to focus on her. “You going to shoot me like you did my old man?”

She clutched the gun in shaking hands, her finger poised over the trigger as she aimed it straight at his chest. Her voice trembled as she spoke. “I didn’t shoot him. No one knows who did.”

“Bullshit,” Drew replied with another disturbing laugh. “You’re a goddamn lying whore. Everyone knows that. He came on to you, so you grabbed his gun and shot him. He might not have been perfect, but he didn’t deserve to die.”

Sadie’s upper lip curled as indignation shot through her. “Oh yes, he did.”

In an instant Drew’s expression changed. It went from alarmingly humorous to contorted with rage, and the snarl that emitted from his throat sent an ice cold shiver down her spine. “You Albatross whores tore my family apart. You took him from me.”

Sweat slicked Sadie’s hands and loosened her grip on the pistol. She gritted her teeth, feeling braver with the weapon. “I didn’t kill him, Drew. But I
can
tell you the things he tried to do to me. I’m not sorry he’s dead.”

He slowly reached into his back pocket, revealing a switchblade. Pressing the button released the blade with a sharp click, the steel glinting in the reddish light.

That smile returned as he edged closer to her, blue eyes filled with violent hate. “You whores always blame the man when he’s seduced by you. I’ll never understand that. Valerie was notorious for it. After I’m done here I’ll drop by her place again and see if she’ll flirt her way right onto my knife.”

A horrified breath shuddered from Sadie’s lips, but she held firm. “Stay back.”

“But we’re having so much fun.” Drew launched himself forward, knife flashing as he aimed it straight for her gut.

She pulled the trigger, the blast of the resulting bullet a bright light in the darkness.

THE TRAFFIC on Sunset Boulevard was unbearable.

Brody was losing his mind to impatience and the cold grip of fear, but he couldn’t make the drive to Sadie’s place go any faster. No matter what he did, he couldn’t stop thinking about what he would find once he reached it. Once he reached her.

After the patrol car broke through the mad rush of evacuating residents and curious onlookers, they stormed up Laurel Canyon with emergency lights blazing. The smoke was thicker now that the fire was being extinguished, making the drive through the dark canyon nail-bitingly perilous. The car’s high beams cut through the choking brown smoke, but the road was still hard to see. Brody imagined them careening off the side somewhere, and lamented that his life was in the hands of a rookie cop no older than he was.

At last they turned onto Sadie’s street and barreled up to the house, squealing to a stop before it. Brody was halfway out the door before the car fully stopped, not sparing time for a plan of action. He only had one goal—get to Sadie.

Dragging his key out of his pocket, he unlocked the deadbolt and threw open the door. He froze and silently took in the sight before him.

Shards of glass littered the dining room from the broken patio door, a chair from outside slumped halfway through the opening. He spotted her cell phone lying on the carpet where she must have dropped it. The living room light was still on, but the rest of the house was dark. And much too quiet.

“Sadie?” he called out, coming back to his senses. He darted for the hallway that led to the bedrooms, unable to breathe. He approached her room, where he saw the wooden door kicked in and splinted to pieces. Dread filled him as he shoved inside, expecting to find her body lifeless on the floor.

Instead, he found her hovering by the nightstand, shaking uncontrollably. In her hands was his father’s gun, pointed at Drew who sat upright on the floor by the bed. He was panting with pain and grasping at the bleeding wound on his chest.

“You bitch.” Drew let out a manic, gasping laugh. A sheen of sweat covered his pale face as he attempted to crawl toward her, an eerie smile contorting his lips. He gave up and collapsed, blood spilling through his fingers and onto the carpet. His body shuddered as he struggled for breath, a stream of curses leaving his mouth.

Sadie’s eyes were glassy and huge as she looked at Brody. “He came after me with a knife,” she told him, her voice oddly steady despite the tremors that raced over her body. “It was so loud. The gun.”

“I know, baby.” Brody exhaled with relief and went to her. He slowly released the gun from her hands as the cop came into the room behind him.

They met eyes and Brody nodded in Drew’s direction. “Careful. He’s got a knife.”

The cop held up his weapon and approached Drew, seeing the switchblade on the carpet. He kicked it aside, then knelt beside Drew to examine his wound and call for an ambulance.

Brody gently set his father’s gun down on the nightstand, making sure the cop saw him leave it there. Then he wrapped an arm around Sadie and urged her from the room.

She glanced back at Drew and caught him staring at her with that horrifying grin, blood dribbling from between his lips.

THEY SAT together on the living room sofa while the police swarmed over the house. Red and blue lights flashed outside, accompanied by the occasional helicopter and wailing siren.

Sadie couldn’t look when they wheeled Drew out on a stretcher. The image of his bloodied grin was still burned into her brain and the last thing she wanted was another glimpse of it. Brody simply held her closer, her shield against the ugliness of what had happened.

He calmly explained to the police that the Beretta had come from his father, borrowed for protection in light of the threats Sadie was facing. In retrospect, Sadie knew she owed Max Odell her life.

As the crime scene investigators came in to document the scene, Brody led Sadie to sit on the front porch steps. She stared out at the cluster of patrol cars and officers and noticed that the glow of flames had receded into darkness. The fire was being contained.

“At least the fire kept the press out,” Brody mused, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Sadie nodded. “They’ll be here the moment they get a chance, though.”

“We can arrange for somewhere else for you to stay.”

“No. I won’t be chased away again.” She sat up a bit taller, proud of herself for fighting back. Even if she hadn’t been very brave, at least she’d managed to get the upper hand in the end.

The memory of it was something of a blur to her now. It merged with her distorted memories of the night Lee Walker attacked her, his face blending with that of his son. Both men became one, nothing more than a monster in disguise. Likeable and charming on the surface, but infested with cruelty inside. How she’d missed the hatred in Drew’s eyes, she’d never understand. But the fact that she had made her realize how naïve she was. How foolish.