“Donna, you didn’t have to call Richard. It will take him at least forty-five minutes to get here. Call him back. I’ll take you home. Let’s talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about Sam. Richard will be here in a couple of minutes.”
“What’s he going to do, fly the helicopter?”
“No. He said he was down the road, visiting with a friend.”
Sam sighed in exasperation. “I should have known.”
“What do you mean?”
“Joyce lives at Cullercoats – about two miles away.”
“What does Joyce have to do with it?”
“If you give me a chance, I’ll explain. Call him back. Please, sweetheart. You wanted me to kiss you. I know you did. I stepped over the line. I’m sorry. I don’t understand. I was just following your lead.”
Donna turned to face him. “Sam, I don’t have a lead. I’m stumbling in the dark. I’m broken – don’t you understand. I’m hollow inside. I can’t feel. I can’t even cry. You don’t want that. You don’t deserve that.” She hung her head and swallowed to ease her burning throat. “Nobody does,” she whispered.
Sam cradled her face in his palms. “Call him….”
Donna’s cell phone rang. “It’s him. Hi Richard.”
“Pet, I’m sorry. I’m going to be a few minutes longer. I’m….”
“I overreacted. I’m fine, Richard.” She ended the call.
Sam pulled her into his arms. “Now,” he sighed deeply. “Tell me about the monster who broke your heart.”
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John read the number plate on the black Mercedes speeding toward them down Promontory Terrace. He watched as it reversed in Windsor Avenue, and zoomed past them. “That’s Ricky,” he groaned.
“Why is he in such a hurry?” Danny Greene asked.
John grinned. “I don’t know, but either there’s been some kind of emergency or he’s a bit peeved.”
“Think we should follow him?”
“No…” John sighed and unlocked his cell phone.
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Sir Richard’s last frame ended in a double, with ultimate victory in sight. Taking his time, hunched over in deep concentration, Gary sighted his ball, aiming slightly to the right of the first pin; a sure strike. If Gary could double on his last two frames, the score would be tied; the best he could hope for. Sir Richard seldom lost in anything.
Leaning back in his chair, Sir Richard dabbed his forehead with the end of his towel and regarded his opponent. He tipped his pint to his lips and gulped his lager, waiting.
Satisfied with his aim, Gary backed up a few steps, trotted forward and released the ball. One-by-one the pins tipped over. “Yes!” Gary cheered and waited for his return ball. He picked it up, turned and grinned at Sir Richard. “I’ve got you this time,” he bragged.
Sir Richard laughed and finished his lager.
Repeating his moves, Gary lined up his final frame. Eyes glued on his intended target, he trotted forward and pulled his arm back. Sir Richard’s cell phone rang just as Gary released his ball. “Sir, it’s John….”
Gary shook his fists in the air and groaned as the ball curved slightly, leaving pin 7 and 10 – a split. “Foul!” he shouted. “That’s a foul. I get another shot.”
Sir Richard chuckled, “We’re not playing baseball Gary. What’s up John? Oh – by the way – perfect timing.”
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“Is everything all right at the Hall?”
“Yes – thanks to you. Gary just got a split. The little bugger damned near beat me this time.”
“Ricky just sped past us like a bat out of hell, heading that way. I wanted to make sure nothing was wrong.”
“Everything is fine here. How about there?”
Looking through his binoculars, John noted the last light go off in Sam’s penthouse. “From the way things are going, I don’t think Donna will be coming home tonight. Looks like Ricky is going to lose out on this one. I guess me and Danny will take turns napping, assuming you want us to keep watch.”
“Sam’s apartment is not as secure as the Hall. I don’t see that we’ve got a choice. If Ricky has found a way to spy on him and Donna, that might explain why he was in such a hurry. He’s probably seen something he shouldn’t have.”
“This is going to create more friction between Ricky and Sam, and in turn between Donna and Ricky. Should we think about nipping this thing in the bud? One call to Arizona would end it all. He could be here by morning.”
“Yeah, John, I know, and under these circumstances, Jared wouldn’t hesitate, but we can’t risk it. Until I’m sure I can protect his daughter and family, I’m not getting him involved. Just stay where you are and let’s see how things go in the morning.”
John groaned, pushed his seat back and stretched his legs. “Get some sleep, Danny. I’ll take the first watch.”
------------
Jared stared across the Sonoran Desert, watching heat waves rising off the scorching sands. He glanced up at the clear Wickenburg sky. Tom Thundercloud quietly approached. “You can’t do this, Jared,” he softly said as he rested a hand on his son’s shoulder. “You’re only supposed to help Donna, not take on all the pain.”
“I’m the reason she’s hurting Dad,” he growled low in his throat.
Nadine’s eyes glossed as she stood beside her husband. “Your father is right, Jared.” So much her son had been forced to bear, and she’d seen it all. When he was hurting, Jared never let anyone help. Like Donna, he bottled it up and suffered in silence.
“Donna thinks it’s her fault, Mother. I let her believe that.”
“You had no choice, Jared. You couldn’t risk Sarabeth’s life as well as Donna’s. Remember what Sir Richard told you. Forrest would have killed them both.”
“Not if I’d killed him first!”
“You’re not a murderer, Son. You’re a protector, and that’s what you’re doing. Protecting someone you love is not always easy, Jared.”
The steel fence pipe creaked and groaned under Jared’s vice grip. “You don’t know that Mother. In my dreams, I saw her face as she wrote the words in my diary. When I held the rings I’d given her in the palm of my hand, my heart all but stopped beating. Donna was in such agony. I thought of a million ways I could torture George Forrest. I wanted to slowly slice his throat and watch the life ebbing from his body. I wanted to shove my fist into his chest and yank out his dark heart. Feel its last beat in the palm of my hand. That’s how bad it hurts, Mother!”
“Jared,” Tom interjected, “…being part of a perfect match is sharing each other’s pain, as well as each other’s joy. You have to let her bear some of the load, or it will all be in vain. She has to choose, Son. Donna can’t do that if you take her guilt as well as her heartache. She’s strong, Jared. In the end, she’ll pull through this and so will you. Keeping all this from her will destroy you. Unless fate sees fit to cross your paths again, you have to let her go.”
Jared turned glowing crimson eyes on his father. “No, I don’t!” he forced through his teeth. “Donna needs to heal. Donna won’t heal as long as she feels guilty. I won’t see her go through this any longer. It is my right and my decision. Until I can be with her again – in this life or the next – I will live half a life. I will bear the load. I’ve done it before, and I will do it again.”
Tom opened his mouth to speak. Nadine touched his wrist and shook her head. “We’ll be here if you need us, Jared.” She tugged on Tom’s wrist urging him to follow her.
Jared leapt the cyclone fence, looked toward Mother’s Mountain and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
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Sir Richard locked his cell phone, sighed deeply and looked at Gary. “What is it?” Gary asked. “Has something happened to Donna?”
“John doesn’t think Donna is coming home tonight.”
“What?” Gary’s mouth gaped. “Why?”
Sir Richard narrowed his eyes. “Use your imagination, Gary.”
“On their first date? He must have done something to her! Got her drunk, drugged her maybe? The Donna we know wouldn’t do something this careless.”
Sir Richard raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t she? What about Jared? She had one date with him and then moved into Wisteria Hall.”
“But that was different! Donna was in love with Jared. She barely knows Sam.”
“She’s not a child, Gary. I think we’ll just have to trust her judgement. Whatever happens between them is none of our business. Our problem will be dealing with the standoff between Ricky and Sam.”
“Or, between me and Sam, if I find out he took advantage of her on the rebound!”
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Gary went upstairs, but before he could go to sleep, he had to make sure Donna was OK. He pushed her speed number. Several rings later, her voicemail picked up. Gary left a message and waited for a reply. When it didn’t come, he took a shower and got ready for bed. He picked up his Kindle and read for a while. Still no answer. It had been about half an hour since he left a message on Donna’s voicemail. He tried her number again, but all he got was her voicemail. That was it. Gary pushed Sam’s speed number and waited. He’d made up his mind. If he didn’t get an answer; he was going to Whitley Bay himself.
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Sam’s cell phone flashed and then vibrated. With as little movement as possible, he picked it up off the bedside table and put it to his ear. Donna lifted her head, studying his eyes. “Hello, Gary,” he grinned and softly kissed Donna’s lips. “What can I do for you?”
“You can tell me where Donna is!” Gary snapped.
“Hold on a second.” Sam palmed the microphone. Donna’s eyes widened. Sam pressed his lips to a thin line and arched his eyebrows. “I think we’re in trouble, sweetheart,” he whispered against Donna’s lips, kissing her again. “He wants to know where you are. Do I tell him, or….”
“Give me the phone,” Donna groaned and cleared her throat. “Hi Gary.”
“Donna… do you know what you’re doing?”
Donna locked her eyes with Sam’s; a soft smile spread across her mouth. “Yes, Gary….”
“Did Sam drug you, or get you drunk? Is this because of what happened in America?”
“No, Gary – to all three questions. Why are you calling me?”
“It’s late. You’re obviously not planning on coming home tonight. I just wanted to make sure you were… OK.”
“I’m fine. I’m not a little girl. You don’t need to check up on me. I’ll be home tomorrow. Goodnight Gary.” Donna ended the call.
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Richard stamped on his brakes, coming to a screeching halt, stopping just shy of the back bumper of his father’s car. He grabbed the offensive piece of paper from off the passenger seat, got out and slammed the door shut. Storming through the kitchens, Richard hooked his car keys on the rack and headed for the lounge.
Sir Richard watched him walk past and straight to the bar, pouring himself a double shot of scotch. He unlocked his cell phone. “John, it’s me. Ricky is home. Any changes there?”
“No, Sir. A couple of minutes ago, there was a dim light in Sam’s bedroom, but the house is completely dark now. It was probably a bedside lamp.”
“Still no sign of threats?”
“No, Sir. It’s all quiet.”
“OK, John. I’ll see you sometime in the morning. I’m going to see if I can find out what happened from Ricky.” Sir Richard locked his cell phone.
Richard turned. “Checking up on Donna, Dad?”
Sir Richard raised an eyebrow. “No more than you.”
“What makes you think that’s what I was doing? I told you, I was spending the evening with Joyce.”
“If that’s the case, why were you in such a hurry when you left? Don’t try that with me, Richard Triplet. You timed yourself, so Sam and Donna wouldn’t know you were following them. I don’t know what arrangements you made with Joyce, but it wasn’t a social call.”
Richard tossed back the last of his scotch and set his empty tumbler on the bar. “Dad,” he said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “For your information, right before I left Whitley Bay, Donna rang and asked me to come and pick her up. In five minutes, I would have had her in the car with me, but I got held up. There was a stream of cars at the church on Mandale Road. Then there was high traffic on Broadway and to top it all off, about fifty people wanted to use the zebra crossing at the station - all one at a time. When I rang Donna back to let her know, she’d changed her mind.”
“What do you mean? What did she say?”
“She said she had overreacted and that she was fine. Oh, and on the way home I got a fucking speeding ticket on the coast road just past North Shields. What’s worse, I couldn’t talk my way out of it, so I have to either pay the bloody thing or fight it.”
Sir Richard stifled a laugh. “Are you going to fight it?”
“I was about twenty miles over the speed limit – what do you think? I’m going to pay the bloody thing!”
Sir Richard laughed.
“It’s not funny, Dad,” Richard growled. “Bloody unmarked police cars!”
“Sounds like we’ve all had an interesting night.”
“You might have,” Richard scoffed. “I’ve had a bloody awful night – most of it anyway. I knew this was going to happen the minute he got her alone. If it hadn’t been for the fucking traffic…” he broke off.
“Ricky… leave Donna and Sam alone. If she wants to be with Sam, that’s none of our business. Whatever she decides, I don’t want this to interfere with the project. Now that Donna’s here, I expect to see some real progress in finding a vector. That’s the last step. That’s all we’re waiting for. We can’t afford setbacks!”