Edge of the Heat (Westwood Harbor Corruption) (13 page)

She explained how that had been a defining moment in her life, trying
to keep too much emotion out of her words, hoping he would see that these experiences shaped her, but didn't rule her. In the home for girls she had set out to escape the system. She spent every spare moment in the library or at her job grooming animals for a veterinarian. She saved $3000 and petitioned to be emancipated at 16. The court granted it and just like that she was on her own. She had to leave the home within 7 days, and her plan had been to find an apartment, but even with her emancipation letter in hand, no one would rent to her. On the last day before she was going to be homeless she heard the 1-800-GO-ARMY commercial on the radio and called it. Yes, the army would take an emancipated 16 year old as long as she was at least halfway to her 17th birthday.

She was, and so she joined. Boot camp and medic training were easy, compared to living in foster homes. She made friends, although she never got too close. The boys liked her but she was scared of getting pregnant, so she held them all at arms l
ength. There was no way she was ever going back into the system. She wanted freedom, independence, and a real and true family, so she would wait for the right boy.

Finally, she found a boy who pursued her even though she tried to hold him at arms length. H
e was strong and sweet and handsome, and he never looked at any of the other girls who fawned all over him. He only seemed to have eyes for Emma. She was a working in the emergency room of the Brooke Army Medical Center at the time. He was a medic attached to an infantry unit, and was often pulled in to the E.R. to run sick call for the units. They spent many hours discussing getting married when their tours were over and buying a house and having kids and a dog. If you combined their savings, they had almost $31,000. They didn't need much to live on in the Army.

Then he got deployed with his unit to Afghanistan. He never came home. Emma had had enough loss at this point. She pulled in on herself, shunning even her friends.

When her tour was over, she was 21 years old. She felt 51 - maybe 71. Dried up, and ready to be done with it all. There was no joy or sunshine in her life. She paid for paramedic school and tried to find a reason to be happy.

Emma thought about whether Craig would want to hear about Norman
, and she decided that yes. He needed to hear every sad detail to truly know her and understand why she did what she did, and when it was all out in the open, she would never hide who she was again.

Emma wrote about finishing school, returning to Westwood
Harbor, and getting a job - then meeting Norman - how he was a young patrol officer who turned women's heads everywhere he went. Even Emma noticed him. She didn't give him a second thought though, because he had a reputation of being a playboy. She had never wanted that.

Well when he set his sights on her she knew it. He was charming, and intensely focused. He sent flowers frequently. Sometimes he would go out and hand pick them for her. He would monitor her radio and show up when she was eating lunch, plyi
ng her with questions about herself, and then he would bring her gifts related to the things she loved the most. She felt flattered, loved, cared for, and wanted. Something she had never felt in all of her childhood. Slowly, she let him in. When they dated he seemed to good to be true. She had no idea that meant he probably was. He forgave her anything. He never got angry. The only emotion he showed to her was happiness and love. He was a tender lover, always putting her needs first. Would she marry him? Of course she would. She was in love with him. Or with the man he was pretending to be. He brought her happiness.

The evening of their wedding, after it was over, was the first time she saw a flash of the real Norman. She had danced with him first of course,
and then the best man had asked her to dance. She did, thinking it was tradition. Norman had seemed cold after that, but she didn't know what to think of it. He'd never said a cross word to her ever.

That night, in their suite, he had argued with her, say
ing she danced with his best man for too long and she shouldn't have touched her body to his. She was dumbfounded. She had never heard him yell before.

Within a month he hit her, just once, a backhand slap across the face because she forgot to bring home s
omething he asked her to get at the store. She left the house and didn't come back.

He apologized. Said he'd been under a lot of stress at work. Said he couldn't believe he had done it. He became dating Norman again. She found herself crumbling, but didn't
want to become one of those abused women, but also didn't want her marriage to fail. She had dreamed of marriage and her own family for so long.

Everything was good for two months, then she came home early one day and found him in her bed with a hooker. A
hooker whose face was swollen and red, like he'd been hitting her while screwing her. As Emma left, this time for good and forever, she thought to herself that she really didn't know anything about Norman's past. She'd never met his parents or siblings or even any aunts or uncles. None had come to the wedding - he'd said his siblings were busy and on the East Coast, and his mom and dad were sick and not able to travel. But he'd never shared even a story from his childhood. For the first time she wondered if she wasn't the only one in the marriage with issues.

Norman contested the divorce but the judge granted it anyway. Norman followed Emma for almost a year, trying to convince her to take him back. She had almost filed a restraining order against him many
times, but that would have gotten him fired. She didn't want that on her conscience.

Finally, he backed off. And the rest Craig knew. When she tried to date after about a year, Norman ran the men off. Finally she had just given up. She buried her dreams i
n overtime.

She did, however decide it was time to get healthy. She went to therapy and read books on how to recover from a childhood like she had. She made a lot of progress, and still went to see her doctor occasionally to look for new ways to break thr
ough the pain of her past.

Craig had to understand - she wasn't asking for pity. Just baring her soul so maybe he could understand why she did what she did just a little bit.

Then she explained about the vision she had, in which she had seen what she thought was her future husband, and he loved her. The joy from the vision overshadowed every hurt she'd ever felt. This was the man who would be the anti-Norman. He would love her always and be who he said he was and take care of her, and they would have a large family together. That was what she thought anyway. And the man in the vision had dark hair and dark skin.

So even though she had grown to love Craig, she pushed it aside and kicked him out of her life. She was still chasing the vision with desperation.
That's what made her go to Reece's apartment. That's what made her ask out Dennis. That's what made her tell Craig no when she really wanted to tell him yes.

And now, now she realized her folly. She was done with the vision. Whether she ever met the man or
not, the man she wanted was Craig. Life is for living as it happens, and she realized that now.

Emma re-read the letter and almost tore it up. She felt shame burn her cheeks at how messed up she was. Craig really would not want her now. But no. She straig
htened her spine and hardened her resolve. This was her and she had promised herself a long time ago she wouldn't hide who she really was anymore. If he could read this and forgive her and possible see her again, then he was a better man than she deserved. But she would work to deserve his love.

She sealed the letter, put a stamp on it, and mailed it to his address.

Craig pulled out the thick fire hose and started checking it for kinks. It was a slow day, and he needed to do something to keep his mind off Emma. He had gotten her letter 2 days ago. He hadn't read it at first, but the weight of it called to him. He couldn't imagine what she could say that would excuse her behavior that night. But he got curious. Obviously she was going to try.

After reading the letter he really didn't know what to do. He had liked Emma so much - maybe he had even been approaching that edge between like and love. She was everything he had ever wanted in a woman, and so much like his sweet Lucy, the woman he had
thought he was going to marry. But then she rejected him twice. And now the letter. Her past hurt his heart, tore at his soul. But he had personally seen that although she might have been scarred by it, she wasn't destroyed by it. She had learned to love and care and find joy again. His admiration for her deepened. But he did still feel hurt by her rejection, and a little concerned that maybe she wasn't as healed as she thought she was.

Most of his being wanted to run to her and kiss away every indignity she
had ever suffered. The rest of him was scared. Scared that she might see this man in someone else and push him away again.

He didn't want to think about it anymore, he just wanted some peace in his aching brain. So he hauled out another fire hose and wen
t over it even more closely.

Behind him, a large white sedan pulled into the driveway.

He walked over, waving it away, "Hey, you can't park there - you'll block in the firetruck."

Norman Foster got out of the car in plain clothes, badge in hand, large gun
on hip.

"This will just take a second," he said, his face a rock.

Craig stopped short, frenzied thoughts filling his head. Norman had no idea that Craig knew who he was did he? No he couldn't, and Craig wanted to keep it that way. This couldn't be good news though, for whoever Norman wanted to see.

"Craig Masterson work here?"

Craig sucked in his breath, but cut it off short. What kind of a fuck-up was this?"

"That's me."

An angry sneer crossed Norman's face for a second. He looked Craig up and down, probably trying to figure out who would win in a fight. Craig put his money squarely on himself, knowing he outweighed Norman by a good 30 pounds of muscle. Norman fought dirty, though.

"That's you huh? What are you boy, stupid?"

Craig blinked at the insult. Boy? Stupid? What was going on here? Was he about to get a good dose of Norman's scare tactics firsthand?

Norman shook his head disgustedly at Craig's lack of an answer. "You must be stupid, seeing as how you are sniffing up my tree."

Holy shit, is my cover blown?

"
Your fucking tongue broken?"

Craig wiped his hands on a shop towel and considered his possible answers. None seemed safe so he kept quiet.

"You really are a stupid idiot. Well let me just lay it all on the line right here."

Norman sauntered forward
and jabbed a finger into Craig's chest. "You stay away from Emma Hill. She don't belong to you."

Emma! This is about Emma! He's still doing this!

"
You stay out of her house." Jab. "You stay out of her car." Jab. "You stay out of her life." Jab. "She's mine."

Craig finally had enough of the jabbing. He grabbed Norman's finger off his chest and yanked it backwards, hoping to tear some tendons.

Norman's eyes widened and his face contorted. He bent backwards with his finger, trying to alleviate the pain.

With h
is other hand, Craig whipped his phone out of his pocket, swiped the screen with his thumb, and face timed Hawk, holding the phone at arm's length, facing him so Norman couldn't see.

"Emma's not yours." Craig growled, giving one final heave backwards again
st Norman and then he let go.

Norman's hand dropped to his gun and he popped the snap on the holster, pulling the gun out an inch.

Hawk picked up right away. "Go."

"There's a cop here threatening me, I'm going to show him to you."

A finger covered Hawk's lens.

Craig pointed the phone at Norman. "You going to shoot me Officer? What did you say your name was again? I don't have anything in my hands but my phone and I'm not attacking you, but you are pulling your gun out?"

Norman looked at the phone and back at Craig. A calm mask dropped over his features.

"Of course not," I was just going to take my holster off. Sometimes I find it intimidates people." His hands found the buckle at his waist, working it. He walked back to his car and tossed the holster and gu
n in the open window.

"I think this might be a misunderstanding. Why don't you hang up the phone and we can talk about it."

"OK." Craig mimed swiping the screen and put the phone down on the length of hose curled up in the firetruck, then he crossed his arms and widened his stance and waited to hear what other gems were going to come out of Norman's mouth. He felt almost giddy over the encounter. Norman Foster was getting sloppy.

"Look, Craig? We got off on the wrong foot here. I don't want to be your enemy
. I don't have many enemies. Anymore. All I'm saying is I don't think you are good for Emma, and if you know what is good for both of you, you will leave her alone. She has a lot of issues, you know? I'm just trying to keep her safe."

"I think I can keep h
er safe," Craig responded.

Norman's eyes narrowed. "Well, I guess you could try, but she has a lot of issues, you know. Her addiction, and how she pays for the blow."

Craig's mind spun. He knew Norman was both lying and baiting him, but he still couldn't believe the lies coming out of this man's mouth.

"Her addiction?"

"You never noticed? You've never seen her head for the bathroom too often? Or just excuse herself? She does cocaine man."

Craig felt his temperature rising at the words coming out of this mon
ster's mouth. His hands itched to punch some part of Norman's body. But he needed to know what Norman was going to say next. And he also needed to stay out of jail tonight. He looked down, hoping Norman would interpret this as yes or maybe.

"She's asked me
for help and I'm trying to help her, but she just keeps getting back on the stuff. At least the whoring hasn't been as bad lately. When she runs out of money, she fucks the dealers as payment."

Craig suddenly knew that Norman had been the one who called t
hat prick who tried to rape Emma. He posed as Jerry and told some stories, and Emma almost paid the price.

Craig couldn't take it for one more second. He roared and rushed Norman. Norman sidestepped him easily and laughed. He had been baiting Craig, waitin
g for this reaction. Craig stopped short, checked his rage with effort, and danced back towards Norman, looking for an entrance. Norman stood there, and dropped his guard. Craig knew if he touched Norman he was going to jail tonight, but he didn't care. He just wanted to get his hands on Norman long enough to let him know how it felt to be on the receiving end of a fist.

He leaned forward, about to take him down, when someone yelled. "Craig don't do it man!"

Frankie was in the bay. Craig hadn't heard him enter but he was here, running towards them.