Overheated

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

FRED SMYTHE HAD enthusiastically engaged in the animal foundation project. Crystal spent the next few days mired in the incredible details of setting up the trust, and the next few nights painfully missing Larry. He was wrong to leave her. She wasn’t going to find another man. In twenty-eight years, even with Simon, she hadn’t truly fallen in love. And now that she knew what it felt like, she wouldn’t settle for anything less.

It was late now, after eleven. She squinted at the Humane Society bylaws in front of her. She didn’t want to duplicate their services, but she did want to learn from their experiences.

Her cell phone rang.

As always, her heart leapt at the thought of Larry changing his mind. But after three days, and three very long nights, she knew that wasn’t going to happen. In fact, she’d known that wasn’t going to happen the second she’d looked into his eyes and he’d told her he was doing it for her.

Ironic, really, the thing that made her love him the most-his integrity-was also the thing that meant they’d never be together.

Her phone chimed again, and she glanced at the readout.

Her heart clunked in her chest.

Jennifer.

She scrambled to answer it.

“Sweetheart? Are you all right?”

“Auntie Crystal?” came a shaking voice. Crystal could hear David crying in the background, and something was roaring above Jennifer’s voice.

“What is it? Are you all right? Where are you?” Crystal forced herself to take a breath.

“We crashed,” Jennifer whimpered.

“Crashed what? The car?” Panic clawed its way into Crystal’s throat, and she rose to her feet, marching compulsively toward the door. Rufus immediately followed.

“Yes,” said Jennifer, tears in her voice.

“Is that David? Is he okay? Who’s with you?”

“David’s crying!”

“Is he hurt?”

“I don’t know… It’s dark.”

“Where’s Mommy?”

Jennifer was silent as the engine roar and a country station rose around her.

“Mommy’s not moving.”

Crystal’s entire body went cold. “Was she driving?”

“My dad was driving.”

Zane.

“Where is he now?” asked Crystal, anger moving in on her rising terror.

Jennifer’s voice was hoarse. “He left us. He got out of the car and ran away!”

“Do you know where you are, honey? Can you see any lights or street signs?”

“We fell down a hill.”

Oh, God. Crystal’s throat closed over. “Tell me what you see?”

“We’re upside down!”

Crystal bit down on her index finger to keep from whimpering. Rufus snaked around her legs, pressing against her.

“I see the dashboard. It’s raining.”

Crystal glanced out her window. Raining here. Probably raining all over Charlotte.

“There’s a flashing light!”

“On the dashboard?”

“Outside… Up by the road.”

“The police?” Crystal’s heart gave a leap.

“I think so.”

“Can you see any people? Are they coming down the hill? Is David still crying?” Crystal clenched her jaw, forcing herself to quit peppering Jennifer with questions.

“They have flashlights,” said Jennifer, sounding calmer.

“And David?”

“He’s crying quieter. It’s okay, David. I see the policeman. He’s coming to help us.”

Tears flowed freely down Crystal’s cheeks. “Has Mommy moved?” she asked.

“No,” Jennifer whispered.

“Honey, can you do something for me?”

“Yes,” the girl’s voice wobbled.

“When a grown-up gets there. A policeman or a fireman. Can you give him the phone? Make sure you tell him I’m your auntie?”

“Here he comes,” said Jennifer. “I think it’s a policeman.” Her voice went quieter. “Can you talk to my Auntie Crystal?”

A man’s voice came on the phone. “This is Officer Davis.”

“My name is Crystal Hayes. Jennifer and David are my niece and nephew. My sister is in the car, and her name is Amber. Can you tell me how she’s doing? Are the kids okay?” Crystal prayed hard that Amber was still alive.

“I’d recommend you meet us at Memorial Hospital,” said Officer Davis.

“Can you-”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I have to attend to the accident.”

“Is she alive?” Crystal wailed.

“She’s unconscious,” the man told her.

Somebody shouted for a backboard, and David started crying again.

“Memorial Hospital,” said the officer, and the phone went dead.

Crystal scrambled for her shoes. Rufus stuck to her like glue, so she loaded him in the passenger seat of the car. She drove as fast as she dared through the pouring rain, tensing up at red lights, then cursing the crowded parking lot at the hospital.

She left Rufus in the car and flew across the parking lot to the emergency entrance. There was an ambulance outside, and she slowed her steps in horror as they unloaded her sister. Amber’s hair was matted, her face was streaked with blood, and three different IVs swung from poles on the stretcher.

Crystal rushed forward, taking her sister’s cold, damp hand. “Amber?”

Amber blinked her glazed eyes.

“I’m here, honey.”

“Crystal,” she breathed. “The kids?”

Crystal had no idea how the kids were doing. She glanced around, but couldn’t see them anywhere. “I talked to Jennifer. They seem okay.”

Amber cracked a very weak smile.

The doors whooshed open, and Crystal paced along inside, unsure how long they’d let her keep talking. Already a nurse was checking the IV, and people were shouting instructions.

“Take care…” Amber whispered. “The kids…Please.”

Crystal’s eyes welled up with fresh tears. “Of course I’ll take care of the kids.”

“Ma’am,” said the nurse, touching Crystal’s arm.

“They can stay with me as long as they need.”

“I love them,” Amber whispered, tears appearing in her green eyes.

“Ma’am,” the nurse said more firmly. She pointed to a set of double doors coming up in the pathway. “You can’t go through there.”

Crystal stopped, taking one last look at her sister as she disappeared in a flurry of white coats and rushing feet.

“Crystal Hayes?” came a deep voice from behind her.

Wiping her eyes with a rain-wet hand, she turned to face a police officer.

“Are you Crystal Hayes?” he repeated.

She nodded, and he motioned to a small alcove in the hallway.

“I’m Officer Davis. Can we talk over here?”

“Is she…” Crystal began, then swallowed. “Do you…” But she couldn’t bring herself to voice the question. “Are the kids okay?”

The policeman nodded and adjusted his cap where it was tucked under his arm. “The children are with a doctor. So far, it looks like bruises only.”

Crystal staggered back with a wave of relief.

Officer Davis quickly grabbed her arm. “Are you okay, ma’am?”

Crystal nodded.

He opened a little notebook. “What can you tell me about a Zane Crandell?”

Other than the fact that he’s about to die by my hand? “He’s my sister’s ex-husband. Jennifer, my niece, said he was driving.”

“When you talked to her on the phone?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know where he lives? The places he hangs out?”

“I think he still lives in Atlanta. I don’t know where he was staying in Charlotte.”

“We’re concerned about some of the things the children told us.”

Crystal raised her eyebrows.

“It sounds like Zane made some threats against both their mother and them.”

Crystal felt her blood pressure rise. “What kind of threats?”

“Does Zane drink?” asked the officer.

“All the time. What were the threats?”

“Regarding their physical safety. Until he’s caught, we think it would be best-”

“Crystal?” came her mother’s voice as her parents appeared in the hallway.

“I saw her for a minute,” said Crystal as they drew close. “I haven’t talked to the doctor yet. She’s hurt.” Her voice broke. “Pretty bad.”

Her mother glanced around, motioning for her father to follow her to the nurses’ station.

Crystal watched them for a moment, then turned back to the officer, gathering her strength from deep inside her. “What do you need?”

“Understand this is an abundance of caution. But do you have somewhere to take the children? Not to your house. Preferably somewhere unknown to Zane Crandell.”

Crystal immediately thought of Larry. “Yes.”

“We’re fairly certain he has bigger things to worry about at the moment, but…”

“I understand. Thank you, Officer.”

The man nodded and flipped his little book closed.

Crystal headed for her parents at the nurses’ station.

Her father looked pale in creased shorts and a rumpled T-shirt, but her mother was her usual, controlled, no-nonsense self. “They’re taking her into surgery,” she told Crystal. “The children are fine, and we should know something more in a few hours.”

She marched to a set of plastic chairs lined up along the wall.

Crystal took a seat beside her mother. “They’ve asked me to take the children.”

Her mother patted her knee. “That’s a good idea. We’ll stay here with Amber. There’ll be paperwork and things to fill out. We can get it done before she wakes up.”

“Mom?” Crystal couldn’t figure out if her mother was the Rock of Gibraltar, or simply in denial.

Her mother looked at her, face composed, no hint of emotion. The same way she’d looked through every crisis Crystal could remember. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe worrying wouldn’t help any.

“I think I’ll take the kids to Larry’s.” Crystal was certain Larry would say yes. “It sounds like Zane’s out of control.”

There was a flicker of something deep in her mother’s eyes. But she didn’t say anything, simply gave a sharp nod of acquiescence.

Crystal stood up and pulled out her phone.

She dialed Larry’s home number. But when there was no answer there, she dialed his cell.

“Larry Grosso,” was his quick response.

“Larry, it’s Crystal.”

The announcement was met with silence.

She heard music in the background.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she began, hoping he wasn’t on a date or something equally embarrassing.

“No problem,” he said. “Nash and I are having a beer.”

He was at Myrtle Pond. Her heart sank.

“Crystal?”

“There’s…uh…”

A page came over the speaker, and she walked a little ways down the hall, hoping for more quiet.

“Where are you?” Larry asked.

“At the hospital.”

“What-”

“It’s Amber. There was a car accident. Zane.”

Larry swore. Then he mumbled something.

“What did you say?”

“I just told Nash.”

Crystal took a deep breath. “Listen. I thought you’d be in town. Amber’s going into surgery, and the police want me to take the kids someplace Zane doesn’t know.”

Larry’s tone went dark. “Why?”

“He ran from the accident, and he’s made some threats.”

More mumbling, then his tone went crisp. “Are the kids with you?”

“They’re here. They’re scared and bruised, but the policeman thinks they’re okay. They’re being looked at right now by doctors.”

“Hang on a second. Nash wants to talk to you.”

Confused, Crystal waited.

“Crystal?”

“Nash?”

“Here’s what we’re going to do.”

We?

“Take the kids, and drive straight to the airport,” said Nash. “Don’t go anywhere but the passenger drop-off zone. There’ll be a security guard waiting there to meet you.”

“A what?”

“A security guard.”

“But-”

“Go with him. He’ll take you to meet Larry.” There was a clattering sound.

“The police don’t think there’s any real danger.”

“And I’m sure they’re right. Larry and I are on our way to the airstrip right now to get the Cessna.”

“Crystal?” It was Larry’s voice again.

“I don’t understand.” They weren’t running for their lives, simply taking an extra precaution.

“Do what Nash told you,” Larry said. “I’ll be on the ground in Charlotte in half an hour.”

Jennifer and David appeared at the far end of the hall. A nurse was between them, holding their hands. They looked tiny, pale and vulnerable. And she suddenly wanted to get them as far away from their bastard father as humanly possible.

“I’ve got the kids,” she said into the phone.

“Good. Straight to the car. Straight to the airport, and go with the security guy.”

“Right.”

“See you soon.”

Crystal dropped to one knee and opened her arms.

Jennifer and David rushed in, and she held them tight.

“You were so brave,” she told Jennifer. “You did everything exactly right.”

“They chopped my shirt off with scissors,” said David, holding his arm to show off a hospital smock.

“They wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt,” said Crystal, struggling to keep the emotion out of her voice. She didn’t want to scare them any more than they already were.

“Mommy?” asked Jennifer in a quiet voice, slipping an arm around her brother’s shoulders.

Crystal drew back to look them both in the eyes. “Mommy needs to have an operation.”

They nodded gravely, then they glanced up to see their grandparents.

Crystal’s father engulfed each of the kids in a warm hug, while her mother efficiently checked them over for anything the medical staff might have missed.

“How would you guys like to go see Uncle Larry at Myrtle Pond?” Crystal asked.

David’s face lit up. “In the airplane?”

Crystal nodded.

“Yeah,” said David.

“Are we sleeping over?” asked Jennifer.

Crystal nodded. “Grandma and Grandpa are going to stay here with Mommy, and I’m going to take care of you two for a few days. That okay?”

“Did Mommy wake up?” asked Jennifer.

“I talked to her for a couple of minutes before she went in to see the doctor. She said to tell you she loves you.” Crystal was forced to turn away before Jennifer could see her tears.

Her father was quick to distract the children, gathering them against his broad chest. “Give me a hug goodbye.”

Then he met her gaze above the kids’ heads. He was worried. She was worried, too. She tried to be like her mother, but a sick feeling of dread wormed its way through her system. She indulged herself in ten seconds of complete despair, then she forced herself to rally.

“Rufus is waiting in the car,” she told the kids, taking their hands. “We might have to run through the rain.”

As they headed down the hall, she turned back to mouth the words “call me” to her parents. She didn’t doubt they would. But it made her feel better to clarify the request.

When they got to the main doors of the emergency department, a young police officer fell into step with them.

“Are you heading for the parking lot, ma’am?”

Crystal nodded.

“I’ll walk along with you.”

Maybe it was the officer’s presence, but an eerie feeling crept along Crystal’s spine as she hustled the kids through the dark rain. She was glad when they were in the car-doors locked, engine running and Rufus taking a post next to David.

When she drove up to the drop-off zone at the airport, three men in black vests, with SECURITY emblazoned in yellow across their backs, all but swarmed her vehicle. One took the keys and whisked the car away. The other two guided them, Rufus and all, to a private lounge. There, one of the men stayed outside the door while the other introduced himself to the kids, chatting cheerfully while he showed them a small side counter with muffins, fruit and soft drinks.

A few minutes later, the security guard who’d taken the car showed up. He gave Crystal the keys and produced a new T-shirt for David. It was a bright blue tourist special, with North Carolina embroidered across the chest. But David was thrilled.

When Larry walked through the door, Crystal felt a rush of relief. He hugged both the kids.

“You guys okay?” he asked them.

“We wore our seat belts,” said David. “Just like jet fighter pilots.”

She met Larry’s gaze, and her gratitude nearly staggered her. Amber hadn’t been wearing her seat belt. Who knew if she would have insisted the kids wear theirs?

A split second later, Crystal was wrapped in Larry’s arms. She all but melted against his strength, feeling like she could finally share the load of emotion.

Too soon, he was easing back from her. “Anybody been in an airplane at night?” he asked the kids.

“Not me,” said David.

Jennifer shook her head.

“Then you’re in for a treat.” He ushered them toward the door.

LARRY’S ADRENALINE WAS STILL at a steady hum when they got the kids to sleep around two o’clock. Closing the door of Nash’s upstairs bedroom, he had to stop himself from taking Crystal in his arms. It was bad enough when she wasn’t around, but with her here-and beautiful, and vulnerable and hurt-it was almost more than he could do to keep his emotions in check.

“Your bedroom’s next door,” he pointed to another doorway. “Bathroom’s at the end.”

“What about you?” she asked, those wide green eyes gazing at him in the soft light.

“I’ll be downstairs.”

Nash’s bedroom was on the main floor, and Larry was going to take the pullout couch. He could have gone to his own house next door. The odds of Zane showing up in Myrtle Pond were astronomically low, but Larry couldn’t shake the instinct to put himself between Crystal and the kids, and any potential danger, no matter how remote.

“You want a drink or something?” he asked.

“I think I’ll go straight to bed.”

He nodded, but his mind was straying to thoughts of crawling into bed beside her and drawing her sweet body up against his own, wrapping her in his strength and working like hell to make her feel better, if only for a little while.

“Anything more from your parents?”

She shook her head. “They expected the surgery to take hours. She has some broken ribs, but they’re most worried about…” She raised trembling fingers to her mouth. “Internal bleeding, and the head wound.”

He took her hand, almost desperate to hold her, but terrified he wouldn’t be able to let her go. “You call me if you hear?”

“I will.”

“And let me know if you need anything. Anything at all.”

The depths of her eyes told him what she needed, but it was the one thing he couldn’t give her. Now wasn’t the time to flaunt logic. Decisions made under emotional duress were inherently dangerous. A powerful hormonal cocktail was at work in his body, dilating his blood vessels, heightening everything he was thinking or feeling, making even insignificant issues seem of paramount importance.

If ever there was a time to let cooler heads prevail, this was it. And he’d had a cooler head on Sunday. He had to trust that he’d made a good decision then.

He let go of her hands. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

She nodded, and he turned to head down the stairs.

Nash was typing on his computer, a headset on one ear, his voice low into the microphone.

He spotted Larry, then turned to search the room, obviously checking for Crystal.

“Roger that,” he said into the microphone. “Call me when you know.”

Then he leaned back in his wheeled desk chair. “Got a few friends lending a hand with the police in Charlotte.”

“I like your friends,” said Larry, taking a seat nearby.

“They’d like you, too. They’re following up on a couple of leads, checking out the local bars and hospitals. It looks like Zane left enough blood at the scene to test for blood alcohol. The jerk was plastered.”

“Yet he tosses his own kids in the backseat for a joyride. The man ought to be shot.”

“You serious?”

No, Larry wasn’t serious. “We can hardly hunt him down and shoot him.”

Nash slid his mouse pointer across the screen and clicked on an icon. “Apprehension mishaps happen all the time, my friend.”

“I’d settle for a long stint in a detestable prison.”

“Odds are with you, then.”

LATE AFTERNOON, Crystal stood at the rail of Nash’s deck watching Larry tow the kids on an inflatable raft behind Nash’s speedboat. Amber had come through the surgery well, but she would be in intensive care for the foreseeable future. She’d also have months of therapy ahead of her for a shattered ankle and a broken pelvis.

She hadn’t regained consciousness yet, which was probably a blessing. It was going to be a long, painful haul, and the best they could hope for was one day at a time.

They’d glossed over the details to the kids, and Larry had spent the past two days valiantly distracting them with games, water sports and renovation projects on the Victorian house. They’d even taken a shopping trip into Asheboro to pick up a few clothes.

Nash appeared next to her, handing her a glass of iced tea. She hadn’t even heard him approach.

“Thanks,” she told him, taking the cool, slippery glass.

He gave her a nod in response.

“And thanks for the security guards at the airport. I didn’t realize how rattled I was that night.”

“Not unusual,” he said.

It wasn’t the first time Nash had piqued her curiosity. “How would you know that?”

“You’re human.”

She supposed that was true enough.

“You did everything right,” he assured her.

“Thanks.”

The outboard motor whined as Larry made a turn, David squealed as he came flying off the inflatable raft, skimming the surface before bobbing under for a split second then being righted by his bright orange lifejacket.

He waved his arms, giving a thumbs-up.

Hanging on tightly to the inflatable herself, Jennifer shouted, “We’re coming around for you!”

“He sure knows how to show them a good time,” said Crystal, wishing for the thousandth time she was ten years older or Larry was ten years younger.

“You going to be okay?” asked Nash in a gruff voice.

She looked up at him for clarification.

“Spending time with him. Like this. While he stomps all over your heart?”

“He’s not stomping-”

“Maybe not intentionally. But I see the way you look at him.”

Crystal felt an embarrassed flush rise in her face. Pity from a man like Nash was really hard to take.

“It’s the kids that count,” she said.

“Agreed. But you have to live with the aftermath.”

She swirled the iced tea and ice cubes. “I have a plan.”

There was amusement in his voice. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’m going to start a charitable trust for abandoned animals and employ myself. I already have a lawyer working on the details. It’ll be worthwhile, satisfying work. Next, I’ll get a new apartment.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“I’m going to be fine.”

“Okay.”

“No man is that important.”

Nash gave her a look that said she was deluding herself. Maybe she was. But it was all she had at the moment.

David shrieked again, as Larry pulled up to the dock. He tied off while the kids pulled the inflatable out of the water and up onto the beach.

“Guess I’d better think about dinner,” said Nash, pushing his chair back.

“Never would have guessed you were the domesticated type.”

“There are a lot of things you wouldn’t guess,” he said with a mock, two-fingered salute.

“Auntie Crystal,” David called, jogging across the lawn ahead of Larry and Jennifer. “That was cool!”

“Really?” said Crystal. “I couldn’t tell you were having fun.”

David made it to the top of the stairs. “We were having fun,” he confirmed, hopping up and down in place.

“Glad to hear it. Coming up on dinner, so you better get out of that wet bathing suit.”

He nodded, scampering for the glass door, remembering to wipe his feet on the mat before heading inside.

Jennifer arrived, her skinny arms wrapped around her bathing suit-clad body. “We’re going to need a big dinner,” she announced.

“I could eat a horse,” said Larry.

“Eeewww,” squealed Jennifer, prancing into the house.

Nash appeared in the doorway, his telephone headset in his ear.

He looked at Larry just as Crystal’s cell phone rang.

She turned to the table to answer it and thought she saw Nash give Larry a nod.

“Hello?” she greeted.

“Crystal Hayes?”

“Yes?”

“This is Sergeant Wilson of the Charlotte Metropolitan Police. I’ve been asked to inform you that a Mr. Zane Crandell was taken into custody today. He’s here at the Central Station.”

A wash of relief fell through Crystal’s body, and she dropped herself into a deck chair.

Larry approached, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said to the man.

“Do you have any questions?”

“No.” There was nothing more she wanted to know. Zane was off the streets and that was all that mattered.

“Very well,” said the sergeant. “Goodbye, then.”

“Goodbye.” She gripped the little phone tight. “They got him.”

“That’s great,” said Larry, with a squeeze. “Do you want to tell the kids?”

Crystal pictured their dripping hair and laughing eyes. “Let’s do it later.”

Larry nodded, and Crystal’s phone rang again.

She put it back up to her ear. “Hello?”

“Crystal?” It was her mother.

“You heard? I am so relieved.”

“Crystal.”

Relief began turning to anger. “Whatever they give him. Whatever he gets-”

“Crystal.” Her mother’s tone was uncharacteristically sharp.

“What?”

“It’s Amber.”

Everything inside Crystal went dead still. “What?” she rasped from deep in her chest.

“They had to do emergency surgery.”

Time stopped while her mother took a breath.

“She didn’t survive it.” Stella’s voice broke.

“No,” Crystal moaned. “No.”

How could it happen? How could it have gone so terribly wrong? The relationship should have run its course. Zane should have grown tired and left town.

“It was the bleeding,” said her mother, regrouping. “They couldn’t stop the bleeding.”

David’s laughter echoed down the stairs, and Nash immediately retreated inside, closing the door behind him.

Larry’s arm went around Crystal’s shoulders as the first sob burst from deep in her soul.