Sins of the Father (34 page)

“
Sorry?” he
exploded. “You ruined his life.”

Alicia had to force
herself to look back at him. “I didn’t even know him.”

He didn’t seem to hear
her. He was staring at the screen now with such sadness it ripped
at her heart.

“
Paul, listen
to me, I didn’t do anything. You have to believe me, please, I’m
not her. I wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“
He had his
whole life ahead of him, and now he has nothing.” Paul looked down
at her again. His eyes were cold and full of accusation. “I’m going
to show you exactly what that feels like.” With one last glance at
the screen, he pulled a needle out of his pocket and held it
towards the light. He didn’t hear her cry of protest. The darkness
was closing in on him thick and fast. He wanted it to be
over.

“
Perhaps it’s
better this way,” he mumbled, flicking the syringe, thoughtfully.
“I had such big plans for you.”

Alicia wasn’t sure if he
was talking to her or the image of his son, only one thing was
clear – he was dangerously close to the edge. “Please don’t do
this. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“
It’s okay,
it won’t hurt.” For a split second, his eyes were lucid again.
“It’s basically a paralytic…a clever little cocktail-”

“
Stop this,
you sick son of a bitch.” She put all her effort into the command.
It was a vain attempt to reach him, to buy herself some time. “You
were the one to cause the accident. You’re the only one to blame
here.” It was a risk to bait him but she couldn’t stop now. Not
when she saw she had his attention. “Look at him, look at all that
potential. You destroyed everything. It’s your fault.”

“
NO,” he
screamed, putting a hand around her throat as he leaned close. “It
was you. You made me weak. You seduced me. I couldn’t say
no.”

Alicia struggled under
his grip, trying to get her breath. Her lungs burned from the
little gasps of air she managed to get in. Just as his face was
starting to fade, as she felt the fight draining out of her, he let
go. She sucked in a grateful breath.

“
I would
never hurt my son. He died because you poisoned him. You made us
both crazy wanting you.”

He pulled a tourniquet
from one of his pockets and began to tie it round her right
arm.

What little fight she had
reared to the surface when she felt the pressure building in her
arm.

“
Wait a
minute, just wait, please, I-”

The distinct sound of
breaking glass had them both jerking in surprise. She couldn’t see
where it came from, but she was glad of the distraction, especially
when the next sound she heard was the needle tumbling to the
ground.

Her eyes travelled to
Paul, who was following the path of the needle. He didn’t get far,
because his legs were knocked out from under him. At first, Alicia
thought she was hallucinating. She had prayed so hard for Brad to
find her, and now he was right there. One look at his face told her
he was real, and he was pissed.

Her tears flowed freely
now. “You came,” she choked out, ignoring the pain in her
throat.

“
Of course I
came.” He felt his heart rate settle now he knew she was safe. When
he’d seen Paul looming over her from the basement window, for just
a moment he’d thought he was too late.

“
Oh God, I
thought he was going to kill me.” She strained against the straps
that bound her to the table. “Get me out of here.”

He was about to oblige
when he caught movement at his feet. Paul lunged towards him with a
shriek of frustration, the knife in his hand coming perilously
close to hitting the mark. It wasn’t close enough.

Alicia’s heart jumped
when Brad dropped to the floor and disappeared from her line of
sight. “Brad?”

No answer.

“
Brad?” She
couldn’t keep the panic out of her voice. It rose in a flood when
he still didn’t answer, and then dropped away when the overhead
lights came on and she saw Brad kneeling on Paul Meeks’
back.

The sound of footsteps
came a moment before Detective Potts appeared. He walked directly
to Brad’s side to place a restraining hand on his shoulder. “I’ll
take it from here.”

He didn’t need to be
asked twice. Brad relinquished control so he could return to
Alicia. “Are you hurt?” he asked, checking her over as he untied
the binds.

“
No, I’m not
hurt. I just need to get out of here.”

He lifted her into his
arms, careful not to squeeze too tightly. “Are you sure you’re
okay?”

Alicia couldn’t answer.
She buried her face in his chest and held on for dear life. There
were no words to describe how afraid she’d been.

Brad ran a soothing hand
over her hair and felt her tremble. “I’m going to get you out of
here.”

He walked straight past
Paul Meeks without giving him another glance. He couldn’t hurt
anyone now. The man could barely form a coherent
sentence.

Alicia had recovered
enough to lift her head by the time they’d made it to the first
floor. She didn’t need to be carried any further, but she couldn’t
seem to ask him to put her down. He was as reluctant to let her
go.

“
What
happened to JJ?” she asked, tired now that it was over.

“
He’s fine.”
He lowered her to the ground. “I’m going to take you out through
the back. Detective Potts has it cordoned off pretty tight out
there, but you’ve been through enough.”

“
I’m okay,
now that it’s all over, I’ll be fine.” She rested her head against
his chest. “I knew you’d come, I just didn’t know if there’d be
time-”

“
Shh, I’m
here.” He tightened his arms around her.

“
No, it’s not
that.” Alicia pulled her head up so she could look at him. “I
didn’t know whether I’d see you again, or if I’d get the chance to
tell you that I want to be in your life. I want you.”

Brad came undone at those
three simple words. He buried his face in her hair and allowed,
just for a moment, his emotions to rule him. “I thought I’d lost
you.”

She felt his body tremble
and moved her hand in a soothing motion up and down his
back.

They stood that way and
allowed time to pass them by; they both needed the contact. Brad
had purposely led her away from the route they would take Paul
Meeks. She didn’t need to see him again.

“
I’m sorry I
put you through that.”

He shifted so he could
see her face. “I was scared because I couldn’t imagine my life
without you in it. I’m not afraid anymore.” He lifted her into his
arms again before she could protest. “There’s just one more thing
before I get you the hell out of here.”

The kiss was unexpected
and sweet. He lingered only a moment or two, teasing her lips with
his own.

“
Take me
home,” she whispered against his mouth.

“
It would be
my pleasure.”

Justin was waiting for
them when they got to the back door. If he’d parked any closer he’d
have been in the building. It was enough to make her smile. He
opened the door so that Brad could lower her into the jeep. His
face held a secretive smile, one she only understood when she saw
her brother waiting anxiously in the back.

Jack dragged her across
the seat as soon as she’d touched down. He clamped his arms around
her so tight she could hardly breathe.

“
Hey, what’s
all this? It’s over now, honey. We’re okay.”

“
I hate that
this is what you went through when I got hurt. The pain of almost
losing you was unbearable.”

She waited calmly until
he’d loosened his grip. Then slipped her hand into his and held on
tight. “But you didn’t lose me, baby brother. If we agree never to
do that again will it make you feel better?”

Jack smiled because he
knew she was making an effort to help him through the shock.
“Nobody, and I mean nobody, is ever going to keep us apart again,”
he said fiercely.

“
No they’re
not.” She laid her head on his shoulder and looked at Brad through
the rear-view mirror.

They began to move slowly
through the traffic, weaving in and out of the obstacles until
Alicia felt her eyes drooping.

“
I know you
need rest, but I promised we’d stop off at Burton House first.
Everyone is waiting to see you.”

“
So our
families have been waiting it out together,” Alicia said with a
smile. “That’s nice.”

“
It made the
most sense.” Jack kissed the top of her head. “An hour tops, and
then you can get out of there. It’s either that or the hospital,
because Sarah insisted on getting you checked over.”

Alicia’s eyes flew open
in surprise. “She has Dr Fisher with her, doesn’t she?”

“
You
bet.”

She couldn’t help the
chuckle. There was no point arguing. If that’s what it took to put
Sarah’s mind at rest, it was a small price to pay.

“
Okay, wake
me up when we get there.” Alicia settled further back into the seat
and allowed the steady rumble of conversation to lull her to
sleep.

Chapter
25

The hour turned into
three. She held fatigue at bay, hovering between a state of elation
and blind panic. It was over, but though her head seemed to accept
that, her heart was still trapped in the basement.

Her friends were
supportive. They smothered her in affection, and made it impossible
for her to feel alone. It took a great deal of cajoling to get
Sarah unglued from her side.

She loved her friend, but
when at last it was time to leave, she was glad of the escape. Her
emotions were like a pressure cooker and her family weren’t helping
the fight to keep it under control.

Brad took her home. It
was the first time she’d seen him behind the wheel of a car and he
handled it like he did everything else, with a quiet
competency.

She was silent as he
followed the familiar path to her home. She tried to remember the
last time she’d seen it. She was used to leaving for weeks at a
time, but she couldn’t remember ever wanting to be home quite so
much.

Brad watched her from the
corner of his eye. She was still too pale for his liking. He could
see the strain that control was putting on her body and wondered
what he’d do when that control began to crack.

She lived in an apartment
on the edge of the city. He’d driven past it often enough, but he
couldn’t seem to picture Alicia being part of such a
community.

He’d seen her in
different environments. He could picture her living in a moderately
sized house, at peace with the solitude he knew she favoured from
time to time.

Perhaps it was because
his mind was wandering and the picture he painted was a place to
come home to – to her. It scared him a little. Their relationship
was not something he’d wanted or expected. Now he didn’t want
anything else.

Still, it helped that the
security for the building was airtight. It seemed they were both
having difficulty believing it was over.

When they pulled into the
parking garage, he saw her settle a little. Here, at least, she was
on familiar territory.

“
Thank you,
Brad. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am.” It was the
first time he’d heard the polite tone from her and he didn’t care
for it. Maybe because he didn’t say anything her nerves kicked in.
“You don’t have to stay. I’d appreciate if-”

“
No, I don’t
have to stay.” He turned her face to look at him. “I’m not here
because I have to, but because I want to be.”

He could see the relief
in her eyes, but there was the gratitude she’d spoken of. He didn’t
want it, and because he didn’t know how to deal with it, he did the
only thing he knew how. “Let’s get you inside.”

It wasn’t until they were
outside and Brad took her hand in a supportive gesture that she
felt her control slipping. It was all too much. The moment they
were in the lift, the floodgates opened. She sank to her knees,
neither acknowledging nor caring where they were.

Brad hit the emergency
stop button and sat down beside her so that he could pull her into
his lap. He felt her tremble as the sobs wracked her body and held
on tight. He didn’t say anything. He simply stroked her hair and
waited it out.

Eventually, the crying
subsided. Alicia had her head buried in his chest; and was curled
in a tight ball. But her breathing was even again and her body was
slowly beginning to relax.

“
Better?” he
asked, kissing her hair.

She looked up at him with
a small smile. “Much.”

Even with eyes all puffy
and red, she looked beautiful. He was toast.

Alicia saw the moment his
expression changed from simple concern to desire. She felt her
heart accelerate in response. There weren’t any barriers this time,
so she saw or felt none of the hesitation.

His mouth claimed her
almost possessively; there was a need in him, matched only by her
own.