Page 60 of Cold Vengeance

SHE WAS BACK.She couldn’t believe it. How could they have found her? She tried to move her arms, but they were strapped down. She cried out for help, but no one answered. Where was Audrey? Was she all right? She started to cry. Then the door opened, and he came inside. How could he just show up? How could he face her? When he stepped up next to the bed, she wanted to hit him, but she couldn’t move.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t ever try it again. If you do, I may not be able to keep you alive. Promise me you’ll settle down and quit causing trouble.”

“I can’t do that. I won’t promise you anything of the sort. I’ll get away from here someday, and then I’ll tell the world the truth about you.”

“You know I can’t let you do that,” he said. “You’ve got to accept this for now if you want to live.”

“You mean if I don’t want you to kill me?” she asked. As he started to walk away, she called after him. “Where is Audrey? Is she okay?”

He never looked back or responded to her question. As the door closed behind him, she felt the tears roll down her cheeks, but she couldn’t wipe them away.

RIVER WAS DOING THE DISHESwhen her phone rang. Tony. She realized she’d forgotten to ask Mrs. Weyland what he could bring for supper tomorrow night. She answered by saying, “I’m sorry. I totally forgot to find out what...” As soon as she heard Tony’s voice, she knew something was wrong.

“First of all, I’m okay,” he said, his voice hoarse. After coughing several times, he said, “Look, there’s been a fire at my place. I’m going to check into a hotel near you. I felt like I had to call you tonight in case you heard about it some other way. There was a news crew filming ...”

River waited until he finished another round of coughing. “On the news? How big is this fire?”

“Pretty big. Most of the damage was to my apartment, but some of the nearby apartments were affected too.”

“How in the world...”

“Look, River. Can I talk to you about this later? I’m really tired, and I need to find a hotel that will take Watson and doesn’t mind how much I stink right now.”

“Hush up,” River said. She was trying to sound forceful, but her voice shook. “You’re not going to a hotel. You’ll come here. Both of you. Now. You’ll stay with us. We’ve got a washer and dryer for your clothes.”

“I appreciate that, but you’ve got your father coming tomorrow. I don’t want to cause a problem.”

“Tony, I care a lot more for you than I care about my father. You get yourself over here, and I mean it. Our couch makes into a bed, and there’s even a bed somewhere downstairs in the basement if you decide you’d feel better down there.”

“Okay, okay,” he said. He sounded so tired.

“Are you sure you’re all right? And what about Watson?”

“Thank God he was with me. Sometimes he goes to bed before I do. If he’d been in the bedroom...”

This time, the sound River heard wasn’t from his coughing. She couldn’t help but cry along with him. “I’ll be watching for you. How long will it take you to get here?”

“Not long. I already loaded the car. As soon as the paramedics say I can leave, I’ll be on my way.”

“The paramedics? Oh, Tony, are you sure you’re all right?”

“Yeah, just some smoke inhalation.”

“Did they treat you? What do we need to do?”

“Listen, River. I’ll give you all the details when I get there. If you don’t let me off the phone, it will be next week before I leave.”

In spite of herself, she laughed. “Okay. Just get here as soon as you can.”

“I will.”

When she heard the phone disconnect, she put her phone down and began to cry. Then she prayed, thanking God that Tony and Watson were all right.

“Honey, are you okay?”

River looked up and saw her mother standing there. She tried to tell her about the call, but she couldn’t get the words out. Rose came over and put her arms around her. She let her cry while she stroked her daughter’s hair. When River could finally talk, she told her mother about the fire.

“I told him he could stay with us, Mom. Is that okay?”

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