RetroCog

Chapter Twelve

Lara had faith everything would work out. She crossed her fingers and wished like hell Frank had gotten away. She could only hope Mike wouldn’t bleed to death before they had a chance to help him.

Walking up the steps to the house, she followed Noah, so incredibly in love with him that it took everything she had to keep her terror under wraps. If Bill shot him, she’d kill him. She really would. One way or another, Bill—Michael—whoever inhabited that body, would pay for this.

Noah looked over his shoulder at her again, his concern obvious.

“Up the steps. All the way up.” Bill aimed the gun dead center on Noah’s back. He sounded nothing like the Bill she knew, and everything like a vicious dead cowboy.

“Tell me something,” Lara murmured as they walked up the steps behind Noah. “Are you Bill, or are you Michael? Was Bill always Michael Fury, or is he possessed?”

Bill laughed. “Honey, we’re the same. I seen the ghosts a few times, Cecilia makin’ eyes at me like she was pissed, but I knew better.” Then his voice changed. It smoothed out, more cultured, more in the now. “Lara, he and I are the same. I won’t say he’s haunting me, but I’m him. Just like you’re her.”

She didn’t think so, the more she pondered the idea. Cecilia had called her here, had talked to her and laughed and teased and warned. But she didn’t dwell in Lara’s thoughts for more than the moments she tried to get Lara’s attention.

“So you’re Bill, with Michael Fury’s memories?”

“Curious, aren’t you?” That was Bill. They stopped at the second floor. “Okay, hero, go to the end of the hall and open the door. It leads to the attic. Your little friend can’t wait to see you again. What a pretty gal.” He sneered, then turned to Lara with a straight face. “Don’t be jealous. The others have always been play while I waited for you. You see, Lara, you’re the spitting image of Cecilia, Michael’s true love. He lost her years ago to his faithless younger brother. But he set that to rights. Now it’s just you and me.”

He hugged her, and she forced herself to ignore the spot of blood on his collar. Oh God, where had that come from?

“I still don’t understand. You’re Bill Knowles, with Bill’s thoughts and feelings. So Bill wants this?” She spoke slowly, not wanting to rile him with her questions. But as long as he concentrated on her, Noah remained clear of his direct attention.

Bill ended the hug and shoved her toward the stairs. He waited for her and Noah to walk up in front of him; then he stopped them at the top, and they entered the attic in a small group.

Chloe drooped, unconscious, tied to a wooden chair. She looked a little bruised but still wore all her clothes, none of them bloodstained. Her chest rose and fell evenly.

“Sit there,” Bill ordered Noah and waited until Noah sat on the ground next to Chloe.

There wasn’t much space for him to move, trapped on one side by Chloe and surrounded by lit candles all around. Everything centered around the portrait Noah had come to claim.

Bill suddenly slapped Lara across the face. The sting and unexpectedness of his action stunned her. Noah yelled out and rose but stopped when Bill aimed the gun at Chloe.

“One move and she dies.” He waited for Noah to resume his seat. “You sit there and wait for your turn.” An unnatural wind ruffled the thick drapes by the attic’s lone window. Bill slid the gun along Lara’s bruised cheek but didn’t take his gaze from Noah. “Don’t talk down to me, whore. I don’t like it. Now, to answer your questions. I’m fully in my right mind. I don’t need the ghost of Michael Fury to tell me what to do. I like women, Lara. Their smell, their taste, the way they moan when they’re riding a nice hard cock.” He fitted her hand around his erection.

She wanted to gag but stayed silent, letting him have his say. Frank, where are you?

“But the best is watching the life leave their eyes. For just a moment, you can see that spark, that part of the soul that makes us what we are. Of course, that’s before it leaves. A rush of blood, of cum, maybe some other nastier body fluids. Whatever’s there just pours out along with that spark of life.” He sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I love most about women. I’ve had my share, but you were my biggest challenge. Michael has been with me for a long time. He helped me overcome a lot in my life, but he’s not always here. I let him in sometimes.” He snickered. “Hell, when we’re fucking, it’ll actually be like a ménage. You, me, and Michael.”

He glanced at the portrait, and his features slacked. Michael had returned. “I’m so happy you’re here, Cecilia. I missed you, even though you are a two-timing slut. But Finn was like that, stealing whatever was mine. His fault Mama died, you know. I didn’t mean to kill her, but she asked for it. She took his side over mine. And then…”

His voice changed; Bill was back. “It happened all over again. My mother loved me, I know, but sometimes love hurts. I had to kill her. Her and her younger sister. The fire wiped them clean. And then Aunt Ida came. She knew what I’d done, but she loves me.” He frowned. “I thought she did. She knew what I was doing, the women I played with. The fun we had. She and I were in it together, forever. And then she fussed at me because of my cousin, her dear little nephew, the Keystone Cop. He’s not a problem any longer though, is he?”

“And Ida?”

“She’s not either.” Bill’s smile gave her the shivers. Nothing sane lived in that gaze. “In fact, she’s lying in bed, trying to hold her intestines in. Just like Aunt Brenda died. Waiting for the flames to lick her right up.” He beamed. “Now we’re going to play a game. You get to pick which one of them”—he looked at Noah and Chloe—“I cut first. In fact, we’re going to cut them together, just like a real couple in love, Cecilia.”

Bill Knowles or Michael Fury, the man standing so close to her was a danger to them all. She had no doubt he’d kill her once he finished with the others.

“No.”

Bill tensed. He withdrew a blade from his pocket and shoved the tip of it under her chin. “Don’t tell me no. I love you. You always hurt the one you love, Cecilia.” He laughed, a maniacal chuckle that convinced her she was living a nightmare.

She smiled at him with all the warmth she could muster. It threw him off balance, enough for her to back toward the stairs. He followed her, as she’d meant.

His laughter ceased. “Get the fuck over here, now.” A shadow of a man appeared next to him. An image of anger, brute strength, and a helpless devotion to a woman he could never have. Michael Fury.

“Lara, listen to him,” Noah ordered.

Instead of answering, she threw Michael Fury and Bill Knowles a dare. “Come and get me, sugar.”

He/they growled and took another step closer.

Everything happened then in slow motion, all at once. Noah launched himself from his spot on the floor but was too far away to reach her. In doing so, he knocked a few candles over, which lit the dry floorboards on fire. Something crashed through the large attic window and got caught in the drapes blocking out the light. Lara embraced Bill when he neared her and swung them around so that his back was to the stairs. Then a ghostly shove and an inhuman shriek knocked them both down the stairs. They tumbled down head over heels, and the gun went off.

Pain flared in her leg. Bill gripped her shirt and refused to let go, sputtering and shouting before his head hit one of the steps a little too hard. They landed in a heap at the base of the stairs, neither of them able to move.

“Get Chloe,” she heard Noah shout. “Lara.” He raced down the stairs and leaped over them. Then he pulled her to her feet and took her in his arms. “Lara. Are you okay?” He paled. “Oh shit. You’re hurt. Baby, you’re bleeding.”

Frank appeared at the top of the steps holding Chloe in a fireman’s hold over his shoulder. Behind them, Mike Buckman stood glowering.

Then Bill laughed, still curled up in a ball on the floor. Lara swore she could see a faint glow over his body, as if he moved with Michael Fury working him like a puppet. She’d swear Bill’s neck looked bent at an odd angle, yet that didn’t deter the gun in his hand. Noah spun Lara around, his body between her and death readying to fire. “Fuck y—”

“You,” Deputy Mike Buckman finished as he fired into Bill’s body. Five shots in a row before he stopped. “That was for my mother, you piece of shit.” He lowered the gun to his side and tapped the frame of the painting against his legs with his other hand. “Party’s over, folks. The attic’s on fire. We need to get out of here. Noah, get Lara out. Frank, take Chloe. I’ll check on Ida.”

Before any of them could move, a psychic blast knocked them all back a step. Then nothing but the crackling of flames could be heard.

Noah carried her outside, far from the house, and refused to put her down. “Don’t ever do that again. Christ, you scared the life out of me.”

“I’m okay. We’re all good,” she said to reassure herself as much as him. Michael Fury had finally gone. She could feel it. A sense of ease, finally.

He leaned his forehead against her own, and she started crying.

“Baby, don’t. Please. You said it. We’re good now.”

“He was going to kill you, Noah. And Chloe, me…”

“Shh. It’s over now. It’s all over.”

Chloe, Frank, and soon Mike met them outside.

Mike wiped away soot from his cheek. “Frank said this belongs to you.” The portrait of Cecilia Fine didn’t have a smudge on it.

“How… Mike, we saw him shoot you.” Lara couldn’t help feeling caught in the aftermath of a huge storm. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.” He gave her a small smile and tapped his chest. “When all this shit went down, I knew something wasn’t right. I had the vest and put it on, knowing I was coming out here to grab the killer, or who I thought was the killer. Ever since Noah left the hospital, I’ve been keeping an eye on him.”

“Thanks.” Noah exhaled a deep breath. “I mean that.”

“Yeah.” Frank sighed. “And for the record, because I know how Chloe will distort this story later, I wasn’t running from you guys. I was waiting for an opportunity to take Bill down. I was going to follow you into the house when I saw Mike get up. He and I used the trellis on the side of the house to climb to the attic.”

Mike shook his head. “I used to play here as a kid. With Bill, if you can believe that.” His eyes took on a suspiciously glassy sheen. He cleared his throat. “Shit, Lara. What was all that talk about Michael and Bill and killing? Was he that Fury guy or not?”

“I don’t know. I think maybe he was always kind of crazy, but I saw Michael Fury. I heard him. We all felt him there at the end. Maybe Fury’s ghost made Bill into what he was, or maybe Bill was born a killer. We’ll never know.”

Frank shook his head. “And Ida. What the hell, Mike? Your aunt knew about Bill killing your mom and her sister?”

Mike sighed. “I don’t know. I do remember my mom wasn’t that close to Ida. Only to Nancy, Bill’s mom. But he killed her and my mother.” Mike grew quiet. “And Ida. Now they’ll all burn.”

“Like history repeating itself,” Frank murmured.

Noah hugged Lara tight. “Not exactly, Frank. I think this is the start of a new beginning.”

The fire burned bright under the light of day. The ugly reality of the past and the present right there for them all to see. And then something magical happened.

Cecilia Fine and Finnegan Fury appeared with smiles on their faces.

Mike stared. “Holy shit. I’m seeing this. You’re seeing this too, right?” He turned to Frank, Lara, and Noah.

Chloe moaned. “It’s done, finally. The cycle’s broken, or so they say.”

“Who? Them?” Mike asked, but Chloe passed out again.

Chloe leaned on Frank until he lowered her to the ground. He groaned under her weight. “I’m not—oh man, they’re coming closer.”

“It’s done. Thank you.” Cecilia smiled, and her beauty lit up an answering smile on Finn’s face.

“We have things to do, but we’ll be around.” Finn considered the sheriff and his gun. “Need to be faster on the draw, son. Work on it.”

They faded, holding one another, and Lara felt Cecilia’s relief like it was her own. And then she realized the pain in her leg had faded to a numbness. Happy, dizzy, and on the verge of passing out, she stroked Noah’s cheek.

“Lara.” He sighed her name.

“It’s over. Now you’re supposed to ask me…” The world grew fuzzy.

“Dammit.” Noah sounded panicked. “We need to get her to a hospital.”

“I’ll get the car.” Mike’s voice.

Then Frank’s. “Just hold on. You’ll be okay, Lara. Jesus, Noah, she’s losing a lot of blood.”

“Ask me to go with you.” She blinked and felt the world focus again. But with it came the pain.

“To go with me? Anywhere, honey. I love you.” Noah lowered her to the ground.

“Ow!”

“Sorry, baby. I have to keep pressure on it. But I’m not asking you a goddamn thing. I’m telling you. Either you come with me back to Bend, or I’m staying here in Brownville with you. You’re not getting rid of me, now that I’ve found you. Oh, and we’re getting married too. I’ll give you a couple months to get used to the idea, but if the answer isn’t yes, I’m not proposing.”

“How romantic. No wonder you don’t rely on that charm to get laid.” Frank made a retching sound.

Noah chuckled. “Hey, man, it works for me.”

“That’s what you think.” Lara poked him in the chest. “I’ll say yes when you’re on one knee and begging me to marry you.”

“Begging, hmm?”

She could read the interest on his face and knew he was thinking about how to make her beg in the bedroom. She wished she had the energy to indulge him right now.

He smiled at her blush. “Oh baby. You have a lot to learn about who’s in charge.”

Not willing to give him the complete upper hand, she raised a brow, trying like heck to ignore the pain in her leg. “Remember the shower?”

Noah ignored Frank’s apparent interest. He leaned down to whisper, “Look, just let me pretend for now. It’s good for my ego.”

Lara gave a weak laugh, then groaned. “I love you, Noah, but I’m going to have to take a stand on this. We’re going to Bend. I want to get as far away from this place as possible. Besides, I can’t stay in a town no longer haunted by ghosts. Who will talk to me when you’re not around?”

“I’ll always be around. I love you, Lara.” Noah kissed her but didn’t let up on the pressure he was applying to her leg.

Frank huffed. “Ech. The sweetness between you two is killing me. Oh good, Mike’s back with the car. Let’s get out of here.”

“I second that.” Chloe sat up, rubbing her head. “What did that bastard give me?”

Mike arrived and helped get Lara and Chloe into the SUV. He used his belt to slow the blood flow of her leg. “I already called the hospital on my cell. They’re waiting on you.” He waved Noah to the driver’s side.

Noah put his hand on the handle. “You’re not coming?”

“Fuck, no. I’m not going through another hit-and-run, or shoot-and-run. Whatever. You can handle the injured. And Noah—” Mike paused. Lara couldn’t see his expression, but he sounded more than sincere when he said, “Make sure you take care of her. Lara’s a special woman.”

“I know. Thanks.” Noah shut the door and drove off. He didn’t look at her as he sped away from the burning house. But he took Lara’s hand in his own. “My special woman.”

Three days later, Noah had never felt so unsure of himself. He stared at Lara’s bandaged leg, still shaky at how close he’d come to losing her.

She patted the spot next to her in her bed. “Come over here, hero.”

He checked to make sure her bedroom door was locked before joining her.

“Paranoid?” she teased.

“Hell, yeah.” Though all the reports had been made and the authorities called in to deal with Bill’s victims, he wouldn’t be satisfied until they left Brownville for good. “How are you feeling?”

He sat next to her, careful to keep himself from brushing against her injury.

“I’m a little sore, but the painkillers are doing their job. And really, the bullet passed right through me. So I should be up and running in a few weeks.”

He groaned. “Lara, no running. Not unless I’m right there next to you.” He sighed. “You’re sure this is what you want? Coming with me to Bend?”

She took his hand in hers and kissed it. “I’m sure.”

He cleared his throat. “I told you I love you. And I do. But Lara… I don’t want to wait.” He hadn’t meant to ask her now, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Wait for what?”

“I want all of you.”

“I’d say you’ve had all of me.” She winked at him. “I’m a little put out you haven’t had more lately. I’m in bed, half-dressed, just you and me and no one else for a change, and you haven’t made a move.”

“Woman, I’m trying to ask you to marry me.” There, he’d said it.

She blinked at him. “Huh?

Not exactly the response a man wanted to hear after proposing. “Lara, I love you. I know I said I’d give you time. We haven’t known each other very long. But I love you. All of you. You can handle me. You don’t freak out just because I’m a little different. And you’re so strong, so intelligent and funny. I want to live the rest of my life with you. You’re the one for me, honey. I know it deep inside.” He brought her hand to his chest.

“Oh Noah.” Her eyes filled. “That was so romantic. I can’t believe it came from you.”

He grunted with laughter.

She continued. “I trusted you from the beginning. It wasn’t even the voices, it was you. Something about you that called to me. You’re the only man who’s ever seen me. I won’t lie and say I’m not a little scared by the idea of marriage, but yes, I’ll marry you. In eight or nine months.”

“Hell, Lara. You want a long engagement, you got it.” Noah wanted to burst with happiness. If only the woman would stop shifting on the bed. The T-shirt she wore kept riding up, exposing her smooth belly. And those damn shorts hinted at all kinds of things. Even with the bandage, her legs would look perfect spread wide while he licked and sucked her pretty pussy.

“Uh-oh. You have that look again.” The wicked grin she sent him made him groan and press down his hard-on. “Tell you what, handsome. You want me to say yes, then you have to show me what it’s worth to you.”

She spread her legs, slowly. “Man, my leg hurts, but not as much as my pussy.”

The sly woman knew he liked it when she talked dirty. Damn, he loved her.

“Fuck me with that huge cock, and we’ll see if I say yes.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He sounded like he’d swallowed a bag of gravel.

“Then don’t. You’ll have to be gentle. And we’ll fuck so slow, until I come all over you.”

He swore under his breath and stood. Stripping down to nothing, he did the same to her, being ultracareful of her leg. “I think I like you this way best. Naked.”

She laughed.

“Now don’t move. You’re only allowed to lay there and take what I give you.”

“I love when you get all bossy on me.” She moaned when he sucked her breast, biting gently on her nipple. “Oh God. Noah, I’m ready to say yes right now.”

He chuckled and turned his attention to her other breast. He had her begging in seconds, and he ached to fuck her. But he wanted to draw this out, to please his woman and himself by taking his time.

He drew down her body and knelt between her legs. Lowering his head to her pussy, he licked her with patient, deliberate strokes. She writhed and moaned, but he wouldn’t be rushed. When he sucked on her clit, her flavor exploding on his tongue, she cried out for more.

“I said be still.” He palmed her stomach, holding her in place while he ate her out.

He waited until she’d come before he eased himself next to her and turned them so that he spooned her. Then he eased her injured leg over his, taking care to move without jarring her. “Okay?” he asked on a breath, out of his mind with lust.

“Oh yeah. I want to feel you inside me, Noah. Come on, deep in me.”

He found her entrance and slid inside her. “Oh fuck. You’re hot.”

“And wet. Very, very wet.” She whispered his name as he continued to push.

He continued until he’d put the whole of himself inside her. Shaking at the effort to hold still, he kissed her neck and nibbled at her ear. “I love you so much, Lara.” He pulled back, then thrust inside her again. “Always.”

Their lovemaking was slow, tender, and so rich that it tied his every thought and breath to hers in a way that felt almost mystical. Not just sexual, this loving wrapped emotion and psychic pathways together, until the two of them flowed together like one entity. Like Flynn and Cecilia must have been, came the unbidden thought.

And then thoughts of the outlaw lovers left him as he poured himself into Lara, the woman who owned him heart and soul. He’d spent his life caught up in the past, but he’d found his future in the arms of a woman steeped in the present.

“Forever, Noah. I love you.” Lara hugged his arm over her belly and snuggled with him, still joined.

He had trouble catching his breath. “Oh baby. Me too. You’re mine. Never forget that.”

“As if I could.” She laughed, and he laughed with her.

Noah couldn’t be sure, but he felt a soft sigh and the sense of approval from a powerful presence beyond them.

“Oh, she’s glad we found each other,” Lara whispered. “She’s leaving me in peace now. And she’s thankful we solved their murder.”

He pulled her tighter against him. “I have all the thanks I need, right here in my arms.”

“You said it, cowboy.” Lara sighed and settled against him. They lay in silence for some time before he finally withdrew, and Lara turned to face him. “Bend, Oregon, hmm? Tell me more about this PowerUp! gym and the people who work there…”