Covered In Lace

chapter SIXTEEN

Flynn made his way out of the arrival terminal at Bradley International Airport and walked to the parking lot where he had left his truck less than twenty-four hours earlier. The last nine hours had been a total blur for him. Had he really ended things with Lacey, he thought? His head hurt and his gut was churning. He needed food and sleep and he wasn't sure which of those he needed more.

He turned his cell phone back on when he reached his truck and it started ringing almost immediately afterward. He noticed he'd missed five calls while he was in the air and it was Annie on the line now.

“What is it, Annie?” Flynn asked.

“Don't you ever return your calls?” she asked.

“I've been a little busy flying home,” he said. “And it's way too early in the day for you to be busting my balls about Lacey.”

“Michael and I have been desperate to get in touch with the two of you all morning, and neither of you seem willing to answer your damned phones! I'm also betting the State Police have been trying to contact you, too!”

“Why would the police be calling me?” he asked.

Annie hesitated on the line and Flynn repeated his question.

“Lacey could be in serious trouble,” she finally said.

Flynn sat up in his seat, doing his best to keep the panic out of his voice. “What the f*ck is going on?”

“Lacey flew out of Cincinnati several hours ago. She should already be back at her cottage,” Annie said. “She used the private jet service to get back there before you because she wants to try and work things out. But there's a chance someone could be waiting there, or will very soon be there – in the hopes of finding me.”

“What the hell are you saying?” Flynn asked.

“The State Police called this morning to warn me,” she said. “They got a tip from an informant and have reason to believe my attacker from Florida is driving north supposedly to get revenge on me.”

“Are you talking about that nutcase you sent to jail?”

“Yes! The informant told the police Earl Fisher was going to Massachusetts to find me. Problem is, I'm not there...Lacey is.”

“Son of a bitch!” Flynn swore loudly and pounded his palm against the steering wheel. “I'm over an hour away from home, Annie. Call the State Police for me and tell them I'm on my way!”

“I'll do that,” she said. “Call me when you get there!”

It would be a miracle if he made it home without getting a speeding ticket, he thought, passing several cars on the road. He couldn't stand the idea of Lacey being alone with a guy that was capable of attacking women and breaking their bones. What would he do to Lacey when he found out Annie wasn't with her? What if he'd already hurt her? He couldn't bear the thought. He pressed his foot into the gas pedal and passed another car on the highway.

Fifteen minutes from his house, Flynn called Annie. “I'm getting close,” he said. “Do you have an update?”

“The unit in charge of this case are on their way and should be at your house within the hour.”

“I'll be there long before that,” he said.

“Don't do anything crazy, Flynn. If Earl is there, he's armed and dangerous. The police want you to wait until they get there.”

“I tried calling her,” he said. “It went straight to voice mail.”

“My calls did, too.”

“I don't have a good feeling about this, Annie.”

“It'll be fine,” she said. “Just let the cops do their job.”

“Easy for you to say.”

Flynn ended the call and drove along the road skirting the shoreline of the lake. In seconds his house and Lacey's would come into view. He wasn't sure what he'd see; what he hoped to see, but he'd never been more afraid in his life. This made all the house fires he'd fought over the years look like child play.

He said a silent prayer and took the last curve in the road leading to his house. He was now within a quarter mile of their cottages. He slowed his speed; his eyes scanning both properties and surrounding land, and then he saw her rental car parked right beside her cottage. The one time he had hoped it wouldn't be there and it was. His heart sank to his feet.

Beyond her place, he saw the sun glinting off the windshield of a car parked suspiciously in the pine grove bordering her cottage. Not one police cruiser was visible anywhere he looked. He started to consider things he might use as a weapon but none were as threatening as a guy holding a gun.

He took the turn into his driveway slowly, his mind racing through a million different plans and none of them gave him peace of mind. He stopped by the back steps of his house and parked, glancing over at Lacey's cottage. Nothing seemed disturbed, not one thing out of place, almost like she wasn't there.

He stepped out of his truck and started walking toward his barn where he had a few hunting knives he might consider using – if need be. The one rifle he owned was inside his house hidden in his bedroom closet. He was almost to the barn door when he heard Lacey scream; an ear piercing scream that raised the hair on his arms. He spun around and began running toward her cottage.

No weapon and no plan.





Earl heard the crunching sound of a vehicle driving over gravel and went to a kitchen window. He used the barrel of his gun to part the thin, white curtain and peered across the yard; watching a pick-up truck come to a stop.

“Looks like yer neighbor's home,” Earl said, chewing on a toothpick he had collected from the back of the stove.

Lacey said upright in the kitchen chair. She knew it had to be Flynn. He'd probably already seen her rental car and she feared he might take a walk over to her cottage. She couldn't let that happen; couldn't risk him getting hurt by Earl.

She wiggled her wrists in the rope restraints and pulled her arms against the chair Earl had tied her to, ignoring the pain shooting up to her shoulders and back down to her finger tips. No matter what the cost, she had to try and warn Flynn.

Earl's focus was on Flynn and he never noticed Lacey had released herself from the rope. She made a dash toward the kitchen door but Earl managed to catch her by the hair. He twisted his fingers in the long strands and jerked her to a sudden, and painful stop. Her scream nearly made his eardrums burst. He silenced her by a backhand to the cheek; his knuckle tore open her skin and made it bleed. He ignored the blood and tugged her toward the window.

“Who's the guy?” he asked.

Lacey had her eyes closed and was whimpering; the throbbing pain behind them causing the her head to spin. Earl tightened his grip on her hair. The heightened pain brought her to attention.

“Open yer f*cking eyes and look at him,” Earl seethed. “Who the f*ck is he?”

He yelled his question at her; irritated to see the man now running toward their cottage. Once again, he could blame a stupid bitch for blowing his cover; first Maggie and now Lacey. It seemed they all had shit for brains.

Lacey did her best to focus on Flynn, now running full force. The blood from her cut cheek was mixing with her tears and making an ugly mess of her face. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. She feared Earl would shoot Flynn on the spot and she'd have to watch him die right in front of her. She couldn't bare the thought of that and she knew she'd never survive the visual, either.

“Landlord,” she said.

Earl stiffened. “F*cker's coming right to the door!”

He pulled Lacey along with him and stopped at the door. He turned to her and glared. “You say one f*cking word and I'll blow yer brains out,” he said, and kicked the screen door open with his foot.

“Howdy,” Earl said, a fake smile smeared on his dirty face. “What can I do for you?”

Flynn came up short when he saw Earl; greasy hair plastered to his head, skinny body and stained clothes. One arm was braced against the door frame; the other hand concealed behind the trim. Flynn tilted a bit to try and to see what Earl's other arm was gripping on to and caught a quick glimpse of Lacey.

“I heard someone scream,” Flynn said. He swallowed hard, trying his best to seem nonchalant, but the impact of seeing Lacey's bruised and bleeding face and torn clothes, was almost more than he could take. Seeing the depth of fear in her eyes tightened every muscle in his body. His knee-jerk reaction was to go into protection mode, storm the door, and take Lacey to safety. But he knew that was an unrealistic thought. And he also knew Earl had a gun.

“Yeah, that'd be my girlfriend,” Earl said. “Haven't seen the little lady in a while, and, well, she can be a bit of a screamer – if you know what I mean.”

“Girlfriend, you say?” Flynn took a cautious step forward. “Mind if I have a word with her?”

Earl's hold on Lacey felt like a python slowly squeezing its prey to death. In another few seconds she swore her ribs would start snapping one by one like dry tinder. She could barely breathe and her entire body was starting to beg for relief.

“Well, now, that's gonna be a problem,” Earl said. “Cause she's a bit shy. Especially since you caught us right in the middle of things.”

“It'll only take a minute,” Flynn said, and took another step closer. “It's about the rent.”

“I said no, so if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to giving this little lady the f*cking she so rightly deserves.” Earl was about to close the door and stopped. “Oh, and you best ignore any more screaming you hear,” he said. “Cause I have a feeling it's gonna get loud.”

Flynn stood there on the lawn and watched the screen door close first and then the wooden inside door. A few seconds later, he heard Lacey scream again and then the furniture in the kitchen being jostled around. He needed a plan and quick. He'd die first before he let Earl beat Lacey anymore than he already had.

He jogged back to his cottage and stepped inside. Reaching for his cell phone, he called Annie.

“He's got her,” Flynn said, out of breath.

Annie stifled a sob. “Are you sure?”

“I just had a f*cking conversation with him!”

“Did you see Lace?”

Flynn closed his eyes, trying to get the visual out of his head. “Yeah, and it looks like he's been using her face as a punching bag.”

Annie wiped the tears from her face. “Are the State Police there yet?”

“No, and I can't wait for them, either,” Flynn said. “I can't leave her in there with him for another minute. I won't do it.”

“No heroics, Flynn, you promised!”

Through his open kitchen windows, Flynn heard another scream coming from Lacey's cottage.

“The cops are taking too long,” he said. “They'll get here too late. This ends now. I won't let him hurt her anymore than he already has.”

“Flynn, no! Stay put until they get there,” Annie shouted, but the phone line was dead.