Last Kiss Goodbye (24 page)

But pain and reality intruded, her body convulsing in horror at the thought of him touching her the way Matt had.

No, this was different. Matt’s touch had been gentle. Loving. Meant to give her pleasure.

George’s was harsh. Rough. Meant to take, not give. Meant to make her feel ugly.

Tears trailed down her cheeks, and she spat at him in disgust. Furious, he slapped her across the face. She screamed, but he smothered her mouth with his hand, and she gagged.

Matt…

Still, Matt had been with her mother, just like George.

The thought nauseated Ivy, and she sobbed, but renewed strength surged through her, and she bit her captor’s hand. Salt and sweat singed her tongue, and George bellowed in fury. His eyes went wild as he hit her again, then he ripped the gown completely open and ran his hands over her naked body.

She nearly lost consciousness, but a siren split the air, and she heaved a breath, praying help was on its way.

“No!” George yelled. “They can’t find us now.”

Frantically, he jerked the bindings from her arms and legs free, then grabbed her. Ivy yelled out and pounded him, but he slammed his fist into her face, and stars swam in front of her eyes.

Maybe he’d go ahead and kill her, she thought just before she blacked out. Anything would be better than having to endure his touch again.

Minutes, hours later—she had no idea how long it was—she roused from unconsciousness and panic tightened every nerve in her body. The heavy scent of wet earth and kudzu nearly choked her. She tried to move, but George had tied her up again. “I can’t get caught with you, Ivy.” He opened the trunk of a car, tossed her inside, then slammed it shut. Ivy cried out, panting for air. She was buried beneath the kudzu. Seconds later, she smelled smoke. Tears rained down her cheeks as it seeped through the cracks of the trunk. Dear Lord.

George had set the field of weeds on fire. Even with the light rain, if the gas tank had gas, the car might explode.

She was going to die here where her father had lost his life, and no one would ever find her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

MATT’S HEART RACED as they approached the old cabin. A.J. had flipped off the sirens and lights so they wouldn’t announce their arrival. A black sedan sat in the drive, offering hope that they had at least located the man, although technically the car might belong to someone else. But the house was boarded up in front, and so far off the main road no one would know about it who hadn’t visited before.

“Let’s circle around back, see if there’s an open door or window,” A.J. said.

Matt nodded and climbed out, taking the right side while A.J. went left. Knee-high weeds and scraggly bushes surrounded the rotting wooden structure, and the torn screens on the back porch quivered in the wind. Rain had collected on the sagging porch, and fresh mud splattered the steps near the door. Someone was here or recently had been. Matt eased toward the opening, then nodded when A.J. approached with his weapon drawn, and gestured for Matt to let him enter first. The wooden planks squeaked as he stepped inside.

The eerie silence felt daunting, the smells of sweat and dust permeated the air. Matt followed close behind A.J. as they checked the kitchen, the living room, then the bedroom.

The sight of the unmade bed and Ivy’s clothes discarded in a heap beside it stopped Matt cold. Blood dotted the sheets and he saw drag marks across it. What had Smith done to Ivy?

A.J. checked the tiny bath. “They’re not here.”

Matt spun around and raced back through the house. The car was still in the drive, which meant they had to be on foot.

“He carried her to the woods,” Matt yelled, studying the heavy boot prints in the wet ground. He frantically searched for signs of Ivy’s footprints, but didn’t see any.

“I’ll get a couple of flashlights!”

Matt didn’t wait. The rain died as he darted into the woods. He listened for sounds, but heard only the whine of an animal in the distance. A.J. caught up with him and handed him a flashlight. “Ivy?” Matt yelled. “Ivy, are you out here?”

“Smith, stop!” A.J. shouted. “You won’t get away.”

Only the howling wind answered.

Blind fear drove Matt forward at a dead run. He had to find Ivy and save her. A minute later, he broke through the clearing, but halted when he saw the trail leading to the junkyard. George must have taken her to where he’d killed her father.

“He’s going to the junkyard,” Matt shouted. “Come on, we have to hurry.”

Up ahead, smoke curled into the sky, and fury gripped him. “He set the kudzu on fire, A.J.” Hopefully, the wet leaves wouldn’t catch too quickly.

“I’ll call the firemen.” A.J. quickly phoned for assistance, then followed on Matt’s heels, running along the river. After a while they veered onto a shortcut they both remembered from their youth.

A.J.’s labored breathing cut through the air, but Matt pumped his legs harder, grateful he’d maintained a rigid exercise program in prison.

When he finally reached the junkyard, his legs ached, but the acrid smell of smoke made him quicken his pace. He spotted a man running from the small blaze toward the trailer park.

“A.J., there he is!” Matt shouted.

The sheriff darted across the property, and Matt halted. He wanted to kill the man with his bare hands, but what if Ivy was trapped somewhere in the kudzu and it burned in spite of the earlier rain?

“Ivy!” He yelled her name over and over as he plunged into the thick viny weeds, bypassing old broken-down car parts, tire rims and vehicles. Once, he’d saved Ivy’s life here.

Would he be able to do so this time?

The blood roared in his ears. What if he was wrong? What if she wasn’t here?

“Ivy!”

A gunshot pinged through the air, and Matt pivoted to see the man who’d been escaping drop to the ground. A.J. had shot him.

“Ivy!” Matt plowed on through the vines, flashing the light beam ahead of him. Heat singed him as a few of the leaves caught fire. Smoke filled his nostrils but he covered his mouth and forged on, looking for any sign of movement.

“Ivy! Please tell me where you are, baby!”

A low sob caught in the howling wind. Was it the spirits the locals said roamed the junkyard or Ivy?

“Ivy?”

Matt paused and listened. And when another cry erupted to his right, he removed his pocketknife and whacked away at the choking vines as he rushed forward. He kept calling her name, then listening, letting the sound of her terrified cries lead him to her.

A heartbeat later, he whacked away a thick layer of kudzu, then wrenched at the door of a ’67 Chevy, pulling it open. But Ivy wasn’t inside. “Ivy!”

Banging came from the trunk, and he raced to it, then yanked it up. Ivy, dressed in a long white gown, coughed and struggled toward him. Matt’s heart tripped in his chest as he untied her restraints, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He lifted her and ran, the fire nipping at his heels as he carried her to safety.

IVY CLUNG TO MATT as he lowered her to the gurney in the ambulance and wrapped a blanket around her. “Where is George?”

“A.J.’s taking care of him.”

Through the haze of smoke, she spotted the sheriff leaning over a body. A paramedic knelt beside them, blocking her view.

“He shot him?” Ivy asked. “Is George alive?”

Matt fingered her torn gown, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “I hope so. I want to kill him myself.”

Ivy shuddered and accepted another blanket the paramedic wrapped around her. While one of the EMTs took her vitals and checked her over, Matt walked toward A.J.

Ivy’s heart broke all over again. In spite of the fact that Matt had slept with her mother, she was still grateful he’d been freed from jail and that George had been caught.

But things could never work out between them. Even though her heart did an odd tap dance as Matt turned back to look at her, and she knew that she would always love him.

Forgetting about him and her mother was impossible, however. She would always wonder… No, she couldn’t allow her mind to travel to that disgusting place where she saw the two of them together.

But she had survived, and Matt was free now to pursue his own life. She could go back to hers.

Alone. The way she’d felt most of her life.

Back to the routines, the patterns, the rituals that had helped her overcome adversity.

Tears threatened, the horror of the past few hours and weeks too daunting to stifle, and she trembled all over.

The paramedic placed ice on the bruise on her forehead. “Are you all right now, ma’am?”

She nodded, although it was a lie. George, a man who’d pretended to be her friend, had killed her parents and almost raped her. He would have if he’d had time and hadn’t heard those sirens.

And Matt…

She was heartbroken and would miss Matt terribly. But it was time she said goodbye and left Kudzu Hollow forever. There was nothing here for her but sorrow and painful memories.

MATT FELT WALLS BEING erected between him and Ivy, separating them both physically and emotionally. Guilt and regret weighed down his shoulders, but hurt still dug at his throat at the fact that she hadn’t trusted him. Still, he had to talk to her in private and explain.

“Smith is dead,” A.J. stated.

Matt frowned. “He didn’t deserve to live, but the punishment wasn’t harsh enough.” In fact, he felt robbed that he hadn’t been the one to kill George.

“I know you’re bitter,” A.J. said. “But maybe it’s time to let it go, Matt.”

Matt glared at his former friend, the cold rage he’d felt since he’d returned fading slightly, replaced by pity. A.J. had been a coward years ago, but today he’d helped save Ivy, and catch the man who’d tried to kill her. Matt owed him for that.

But letting go of his bitterness would take time. Anger had been his friend, his constant companion, for so long that he didn’t know how to exist without it.

He stalked back to the ambulance, fury mounting at the sight of the bruises on Ivy’s face and cheeks. He gripped his hands into fists, aching to hold her and comfort her. But her wary gaze warned him not to bother, that his touch was as unwelcome as her attacker’s.

The realization sickened him, reminding him of his prison days and the ugliness that had blackened his soul. He wanted the Stantons’ real murderer to experience that pain, but suddenly his need for vengeance took second stage to his need for Ivy.

“She’s stable, but we’ll take her to the hospital for rest and observation,” the paramedic said.

Matt wiped sweat from his brow. “Can I talk to her for a minute?”

The EMT cut his eyes between them, then nodded, stood and walked to the end of the ambulance.

Ivy bit down on her bottom lip. “Matt—”

“Are you all right, Ivy?” He gently touched her bruised cheek. “Did he…”

She shook her head, but shuddered, and Matt swallowed hard. She had barely missed being sexually assaulted and murdered, and it was all his fault.

“I…thank you for finding me, Matt. You were just in time.”

“Don’t thank me,” he growled. She never would have run off alone if he hadn’t hurt her. “I almost went out of my mind when I realized he had you.”

“Matt, don’t—”

“Don’t tell you how I feel about you?” Emotions thickened his voice. “I have to, Ivy. I love you. I almost went crazy thinking that he might hurt you. That I might not see you again.”

“Matt, it doesn’t matter now. It’s over.”

His heart shattered. She was talking about more than the mystery surrounding her parents’ death. “Don’t say that, Ivy. I know I don’t deserve you, but I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I’m just sorry that you didn’t trust me, that you ever thought I killed your parents.”

She averted her eyes, glanced down at her knotted hands. “It won’t work, Matt—”

He pressed his fingers over her lips. “Shh, you have to listen for just a minute. About what A.J. told you—”

Ivy gave him a sharp look. “I don’t want to talk about my mother.”

“Well, that’s too bad because we’re going to.” Matt’s voice hardened, the need to hold her driving him insane. She’d almost died, and he ached to touch her.

“Matt, please, I don’t want to hear this.” She covered her ears with her hands. “I had to listen to George tell me about sleeping with my mother.” Her voice caught. “I understand that she was a hooker, I do, but still, I can’t bear to hear the details, especially not about her and you….”

Guilt slammed into him, but he pried her hands from her ears.

“I’m sorry for all the turmoil you’ve been through, Ivy. But you have to hear this. Then, if you still can’t forgive me or trust me, I’ll walk away and never bother you again.” He tipped her chin up and forced her to look at him. “I didn’t sleep with your mother.”

Confusion filled her beautiful green eyes. Disbelief followed, driving a knife into his already throbbing chest. “Then why did A.J. claim that you did?”

Matt shoved a hand through his hair. “Because I let him believe that I did.” This was the tricky part, the part she’d have to forgive. “I did go to Red Row,” he admitted in a low voice. “A.J. and I went the same night, it was a boys’ thing. A stupid rite of passage into manhood, or so we thought back then.”

“And my mother was a part of that passage,” Ivy said in a tortured voice.

He hesitated, hated that he was hurting her, but she had to hear him out and know the truth.

“Anyway, we drove over,” he said again. “A.J. went into a trailer with one hooker. Then…then I went inside with your mother.”

Ivy’s chin quivered, tears sparkling on her eyelashes. “Why are you doing this? I told you I don’t want to hear about you and her—”

“You have to listen, Ivy.” Matt’s voice cracked. “When I saw your mother, all I could do was think about you and your family. I’d seen you out in the yard playing with her, in town with her buying ice cream, then outside your trailer, putting up Christmas decorations, and I…couldn’t go through with it. She was a mom and you didn’t deserve to have a hooker for a mother.” He reached for her hand, hesitated. “I’m not proud of going there, but nothing happened, Ivy. I…swear I never touched her.”

“But what about A.J.?”

Matt muttered a sound of disgust. “I didn’t want to lose face, have him think I chickened out, so I never told him the truth. I just let him believe I went through with it.” He cleared his throat, took her hands in his. “There’s something else you should know. Your mother…she told me she was getting out, that she was taking you away so you would have a better life.”

Ivy bit her lip, but tears streaked her face. “Oh, Matt, I’m sorry I didn’t trust you, I was just hurt—”

“Shh.” He wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. “Don’t cry, Ivy. I don’t want to make you cry again. I never want you to hurt.” He cleared his throat, bracing himself for a rejection. “And I’ll understand if you don’t want me now, but if you’d give me a chance, I swear I’ll make something of myself. I studied law the last few years in prison, and I’m going to take the bar exam, become a lawyer, become a man you can be proud of—”

Ivy reached for his hand, gently kissed his fingers, hating that she had hurt him, too. “Oh, God, Matt, I
am
proud of you. I love you with all my heart. And you’ve been so wonderful to forgive me for not remembering—”

“I don’t want your thanks, Ivy, just your love—”

“But I do love you. I have for a long time. Maybe forever.”

He couldn’t believe his ears. He gazed into her eyes, expecting to see wariness there, or regrets, but she smiled and cupped his jaw in her hands, then leaned forward and kissed him.

The tenderness and love in her touch finally dissolved the bitterness from his heart. The anger faded, once and for all.

Instead of hatred, love filled his soul as he kissed her, a love he knew would last forever.