Fever, Page 6

  definitely wouldn’t go over well in a women’s shelter.

  “I’m sorry, but no. She’s very quiet when she’s here. Keeps to herself. I did give her the name of a few other shelters but I’m sure she’s familiar with them all.”

  “I want those names,” Jace said flatly. “How long?”

  Her eyebrows went up in question.

  “How long has she been coming here?”

  “I’ve only been working here a year, but in that time she’s come in maybe a half dozen times.”

  Jace’s chest tightened until it was difficult for him to breathe. Bethany—his Bethany—was homeless. She’d been in his arms, safe, for one night, and with all his wealth, the ability to provide the very thing she needed the most, he had let her slip away. Back into the cold and uncertainty.

  God, even now, she was somewhere on the streets. Without a coat. Cold. Hungry. No protection.

  “Do me a favor please, Ms. Stover.”

  He shoved his card back into her hand, closing her fingers around it.

  “If you see her again, you call me immediately. Day or night. My cell number is on here. Call me the minute you see her and don’t let her out of your sight until I get here. Can you do that for me?”

  Ms. Stover frowned, and she looked at him oddly. He was quick to excuse his urgency before she became suspicious again and blew his story all to hell.

  The hell of it was, he absolutely did sound like some deranged, obsessed, abusive boyfriend bent on hunting down his runaway lover. Jesus. If Ash could see and hear him, he’d have Gabe down here and they’d both physically subdue and haul his ass out of here. Then they’d likely hire him a fucking shrink.

  “I’m sympathetic to her plight, Ms. Stover. She’s a qualified candidate, and now that I know her circumstances are what they are, it’s even more important that she be the one to receive my offer. I could hire someone else, but she needs the job. Can you contact me please?”

  He was proud of his even tone. He’d even managed to convince himself he hadn’t lost his fucking mind.

  Ms. Stover relaxed and then smiled, tucking the card into her pocket. “I’ll call you if I see her.”

  “Thank you,” Jace said.

  Then he gazed around the room at the women huddled on the cots and in the chairs and on the couch. And he tried to control the anger that rushed through his veins.

  “You’ll get your heat, Ms. Stover.”

  Her eyes widened.

  Even as he turned to walk back out to his car, he pulled his cell from his pocket and began to make calls.

  chapter eight

  Bethany shook violently as she stumbled across an intersection. It took all her concentration to remain upright. One foot in front of the other. If she fell now, she’d be run over. New York drivers weren’t exactly pedestrian friendly.

  She picked up her head, her breath blowing out in a fog and she saw the church just one block down. She was nearly there. A whispered prayer fell from her lips. Please, God. Let them have room today.

  Some of the numbness had worn off. Some of the shock had crumbled and reality pushed in. She turned her palms up, seeing the scrapes and the blood. Her pants were torn at her knees and at her hip and there were identical scrapes there, blood slick on her skin. It cemented the denim to her legs, which was freezing on her.

  Tears pricked her eyelids. How could Jack have done it? Her vision blurred and she sucked in her breath, determined to make it the last block to the shelter. Even if they could only offer her refuge for an hour, a place to warm up, clean her scrapes and rest her bruised body, it would be enough.

  She had no money. She had nothing at all. The cash she’d so carefully hoarded was gone. Jack owed some very nasty people and they’d come to collect. From her. While she’d lain, stunned, on the icy ground, they’d yanked the bills from her pocket. One had kicked her in the side and then they’d left her with a sharp reminder that Jack owed them a lot more and she had a week to come up with it.

  She bit her lips as more tears threatened. She was exhausted. She was sick to her soul. She was hurting and so cold and hungry that she just wanted to curl up and die.

  Relief made her weak when she reached the door of the shelter. For a moment, she was afraid to walk in because if she was turned away she wasn’t sure she had the strength to walk back out again.

  Closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath, she put her hand out and pushed open the door.

  She was immediately hit by a warm blast of air that felt so good that she went weak and nearly wilted on the spot. It hadn’t been this warm the last time she’d come. The heat hadn’t been working.

  Inside, she could hear the sounds of the other women. They sounded almost . . . happy. And shelters weren’t generally happy places. Tantalizing aromas wafted through her nostrils. She inhaled and her stomach growled. Whatever they were eating smelled wonderful.

  She took a hesitant step, allowing the door to close behind her. The warmth was so welcome that for the longest time she couldn’t move as feeling started to return to her hands and feet. It was welcome and very unwelcome all at the same time because with that feeling came pain.

  “Bethany, is that you, dear?”

  Bethany’s head popped up, her brow furrowing. She hadn’t ever given her name here, had she? She searched her memory but couldn’t place whether she’d ever told the volunteer anything.

  But she nodded, not wanting to do anything to lessen her chances of being able to stay.

  “What on earth happened?”

  The volunteer gasped when she approached Bethany and Bethany winced at the woman’s expression.

  “I’m okay,” Bethany said in a low voice. “I just fell. I was hoping . . .” Her throat threatened to close in on her. “I was hoping there was room for me tonight.” Even as she finished, she braced herself for rejection, unable to bear the thought.

  “Of course there is, child. Come and sit down. I’ll get you a cup of hot cocoa and you can eat as soon as you warm up.”

  Relief was staggering. It swept through her body, nearly toppling her where she stood. Bethany saw warmth and kindness in the woman’s eyes and she relaxed as euphoria set in. They had room for her tonight! She would have a warm place to sleep. And food! It was enough to make her want to weep.

  She trudged after the volunteer and frowned as she took in the occupants. There seemed to be more women today than there had been the last time Bethany had come seeking shelter. And there hadn’t been room for her then. Had they expanded? Gotten more beds?

  “I’m Kate,” the woman said just as she stopped by a chair pulled off to the side of the others. “Have a seat right here. I’ll get your cocoa and then we’ll work on getting you something to eat. You’ll need to have those cuts looked at.”

  “Thank you, Kate,” Bethany said huskily. “I really appreciate this.”

  Kate urged her down and then patted her on the hand. “I’ll be right back. Everything is going to be all right, honey.”

  Perplexed by the strange promise, Bethany sank into the chair and promptly sagged, all her strength gone. Her hands shook and she curled them into her thin shirt, trying to warm them faster. The cuts stung but they weren’t serious.

  Her gaze found Kate as she bustled around the kitchenette preparing the cocoa. She was on her cell phone and it was obvious that whatever she was talking about was urgent. After a moment, she shoved the phone back into her pocket and took a cup from the microwave. After stirring, she brought the steaming mug over to where Bethany sat, and gently placed it in her hands.

  “Here you are, dear. Sip it. It’s hot. Everything is going to be all right now. I don’t want you to worry.”

  It was the second time she’d offered the blind assurance to Bethany but Bethany was too tired to dig any deeper. If she weren’t so hungry and cold she’d just curl up in one of the cots and sleep for the next twenty-four hours. Or whenever they kicked her out again.

  • • •

  Jace
sat in his office staring broodingly at the pile of documents in front of him. It had been two fucking weeks since Bethany had slipped away and he was no closer to finding her now than he had been that first morning. It was not for lack of trying on his part.

  Work was suffering. Most of the employees avoided him. Even Gabe and Ash had been keeping their distance. Thankfully, Mia was so wrapped up in her wedding plans that she seemed oblivious to Jace’s preoccupation and surliness.

  Christmas was a mere week away and he couldn’t stand the thought of Bethany cold and alone, no bed, no food. Nothing.

  He curled his hand into a fist and was tempted to punch a hole in his desk.

  His door opened and he was about to snarl out a dismissal to whoever intruded on his privacy when he saw Ash walk in. Something in his friend’s expression stopped his retort.

  Ash was . . . well, he was typical Ash. Irreverent. Didn’t give a fuck. Was rarely serious. Today, though, he looked . . . serious. Like he had something on his mind.

  “Fuck, is your family harassing you about Christmas?” Jace growled.

  There was really only one thing that ever got under Ash’s skin. His family. Ash spent most of his time—and holidays—with Jace and Mia. They’d taken Mia to the Caribbean at Thanksgiving just a few weeks ago to help nurse her broken heart when Gabe had pushed her away—thank God that rejection had been short-lived—but it was true that Ash spent far more time with Gabe, Jace and Mia than he ever had with his own family.

  “There’s something you should see,” Ash said in a quiet, serious tone that wasn’t typical for him.

  Alarm skittered up Jace’s spine and circled his neck in a chokehold.

  “Is something up with Gabe and Mia?” he demanded. He’d kill the bastard if he broke Mia’s heart again.

  Ash flopped a folder down on Jace’s desk. “You’ll probably be pissed at me over this, but I’m your friend and this is what friends do. You’d do the same damn thing for me.”

  Jace’s eyes narrowed. “What the fuck are you talking about, Ash?”

  “While you’ve spent the last two weeks looking for Bethany Willis, I’ve been looking for information about her. You need to let this go, man. Walk away now. She’s bad news.”

  Heat washed through his veins as he stared back at Ash. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that I should forget about a homeless woman we fucked. A woman we clearly took advantage of, whether we knew it at the time or not. A woman who has no shelter, no food, no damn coat to keep her warm.”

  Ash held up his hand. “Just read the goddamn report, Jace.”

  “Why don’t you just tell me why you think she’s bad news,” Jace said acidly.

  Ash sighed. “She has a prior for drug possession. She hasn’t held a steady job. Ever. She was in foster care most of her life. Graduated high school but never went on to college.”

  Jace’s jaw ticked and he stared down at the folder on his desk. Then he lifted his gaze back to Ash, who stood there staring at him. “And you don’t think those are very good reasons to help her now?”

  “If you were only helping her, no,” Ash said. “But you and I both know you aren’t just helping her. You’re fucking obsessed with her, Jace. I’ve never seen you like this. You need to snap the fuck out of it. We fucked her, yeah. We’ve fucked a lot of women. Not sure why this one stands out from the rest.”

  Jace surged upward, ready to take Ash’s head off when his cell phone rang. He yanked it up, checking the incoming number, but it wasn’t familiar and wasn’t tagged in his contacts. Normally he’d ignore it, but he hadn’t ignored a single call since he’d been searching for Bethany.

  “Jace Crestwell,” he said shortly, still glaring at Ash.

  “Mr. Crestwell, this is Kate Stover from St. Anthony’s Women’s Shelter.”

  Jace’s pulse accelerated and he dropped into his chair, shutting Ash out. “Yes, Ms. Stover, how are you?”

  “She’s here,” Kate said bluntly. “She just came in. She’s . . . hurt.”

  His stomach bottomed out and fear was thick in his throat. “What? What happened?”

  “I don’t know. As I said, she only just arrived. I have her sitting down and I’m making her a cup of hot chocolate now. She doesn’t look good, Mr. Crestwell. She’s clearly frightened and exhausted and, as I said, she’s injured.”

  “Sit on her if you have to,” Jace growled. “I don’t care what you have to do. Do not let her leave before I get there.”

  He shoved the phone into his pocket and surged out of his chair. As he passed Ash, his friend’s hand shot out to grab Jace’s arm.

  “What the fuck, man? What’s going on?”

  Jace jerked his arm from Ash’s grasp. “I’m going to get Bethany. She’s hurt.”

  Ash swore and shook his head. “This is a bad idea.”

  Jace left his office and entered the hallway. He could hear Ash hurrying up behind him as he reached the elevator.

  “I’ll go with you,” Ash said in a grim voice.

  Jace stepped onto the elevator and when Ash would have followed, Jace put his arm out to block his friend. With his other hand, he punched the button for the bottom floor and then pushed Ash back.

  “Stay out of this, Ash,” Jace warned in a soft tone. “It doesn’t concern you.”

  Ash’s nostrils flared and his eyes blazed a moment. Jace knew it was a shitty thing to say, but then Ash had been pretty shitty himself.

  “Yeah, you’re right. You don’t concern me at all,” Ash said, heavy sarcasm laced in his voice.

  He pushed back from the elevator allowing it to close, his lips tight as Jace disappeared from view.

  chapter nine

  Jace ordered his driver to the shelter and told him to step on it. He couldn’t be certain that Bethany would stick around, and he wasn’t about to take any chances. Not when she’d already disappeared on him once.

  Kate had said Bethany was injured and his mind was filled with images, none that were good. They hadn’t gotten into specifics. Jace had been too impatient to get to her. How the hell had she gotten hurt?

  A woman alone on the streets . . . There were 1,001 ways for her to get hurt and every one of them made Jace’s gut clench.

  When his car pulled up in front of the shelter, he directed his driver to wait. Hopefully he wouldn’t be long, but he was prepared for anything.

  He strode toward the entrance, the wind biting through his coat. When he opened the door, his gaze immediately swept the room, searching out Bethany. Then, finally, he saw her. In the back. Off to one side, away from the others. She was sitting in a chair, pale and looking lost. Still, he drank in the sight of her, relieved beyond words that she was here. He could see that her pants were torn at the knees and on one side. He could also see the bloodstains on her clothing and the raw scrapes on her elbows. What the ever-loving hell?

  Before he could start over, Kate stepped in front of him, her face creased with worry.

  “Will you be taking her with you, Mr. Crestwell?”

  “Oh yes,” he said quietly. “She’s coming with me. I’ll take care of her. I promise.”

  Kate’s expression eased. “Good. I worry about her. About all of them.”

  He started to step forward, eager to get to her and to see how badly she was hurt, but Kate stopped him once more.

  “I want to thank you,” she said in a soft voice. “For everything. The heat. The food. The generous donation. Look around you, Mr. Crestwell. All these women have a warm place to sleep and food to eat because of you.”

  Jace grimaced, uncomfortable with her gratitude. He nodded briefly and then headed for Bethany. Her eyes were closed. She looked asleep sitting up. He took the opportunity to study her more closely and he swore at what he saw.

  She looked even thinner if possible. There were shadows under her eyes. She was pale.

  And she was hurting.

  He knelt quietly in front of her. As soon as she sensed his presence, her eyes flew open and s
he flinched away, panic firing in her eyes.

  “It’s all right, Bethany,” he murmured.

  Her eyes widened and he was gratified to see that her fear disappeared, but it was quickly replaced by confusion.

  “Jace?”

  His name came out a cautious whisper, almost as if she didn’t believe it was him kneeling in front of her. Then she straightened and she turned her hands inward, hiding the scrapes and the blood.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked in a trembling voice.

  His expression hardened and he stood. Her gaze followed him up and without saying anything, he simply reached down and plucked her slight weight from the chair.

  She landed softly against his chest and he cradled her possessively, determined that nothing else would hurt her. Then she stiffened and her mouth fell open with a gasp.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed.

  He strode toward the door, his grip tightening when she began to struggle.

  “Taking you away from here,” he bit out.

  She began to protest in earnest and Jace caught Kate’s worried stare. He nodded to reassure the older woman and then he tightened his hold on her further.

  “Enough,” he ground out. “Don’t fight me. You’re worrying Kate. I’m not going to hurt you. I promised her I’d take care of you. Don’t make a scene. Do you want to frighten all the women?”

  She bit her lip and went limp. Slowly she shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “But you can’t just carry me out of here, Jace.”

  “Watch me.”

  He shouldered his way out of the door and the burst of cold air made her instantly shiver. He swore under his breath, pissed that she wasn’t better protected from the cold. Her clothing was no barrier to inclement weather at all.

  “You’re scaring me.”

  Her voice was small and he could feel her trembling in his arms, whether from the cold or from true fear he wasn’t sure.

  “I won’t hurt you and you goddamn well know that.”

  Her gaze was haunted as she stared up at him. He paused at the curb as his car approached, ignoring the stares from passersby.

  “How do I know that?”

  His lips tightened. “If you don’t already know it, you soon will.”

  The car stopped and his driver hurried out to open the back door. Jace leaned in to settle Bethany on the seat and then he slid in beside her. She sighed the moment she made contact with the heated seats.

  A moment later, the car pulled into traffic and silence settled over the backseat.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, the tremble still evident in her voice.

  He reached for her hands, turning them both palm up so he could inspect the scrapes.

  “What happened, Bethany?”

  She went so still against him that he had to look to make sure she was breathing. There was such darkness in her eyes—hopelessness—that it took his breath away. And he knew, without a doubt, that he’d done the right thing. No matter what demons she battled, what her present or past circumstances had been. He’d done the right thing by tracking her down and taking her away.

  • • •