Читать книгу Plain Target - Dana Lynn R. - Страница 14

FOUR

Air whooshed past her ears as she fell, tumbling into the darkness. She pitched forward, flailing her arms, desperate to catch the railing, or anything that might break her fall. Her fist clipped something.

Seth’s chin.

He must have turned toward her. She landed against him.

Unfortunately, instead of stopping her fall, he was knocked off balance, as well. His arms closed around her, and even in her terror she realized he was trying to shield her as they continued crashing down the stairs.

But the crashing thankfully only lasted for another second.

Their downward spiral came to an abrupt halt. Seth’s whole body shuddered as his back slammed against the wall on the landing. Inertia had her thudding hard against his chest.

“Oof!” Seth’s breath puffed against her ear. His arms tightened around her. Lying so close to him, she could feel both their hearts racing. Briefly, she dipped her head and pressed her forehead to his chest.

They were alive. Someone had deliberately pushed her down the stairs, but they had survived. But for how long? It wasn’t likely that whoever had pushed her was going to give up. On the contrary, the attacks were escalating.

Why had the person chosen to show their hand, here? Did they think the hostile environment would leave her so vulnerable that no one would notice, would assist her?

Gratitude welled in her heart. Because she wasn’t alone. God had sent her Seth. An unlikely hero, given their past, but who was she to question the ways of the Almighty?

Carefully, she pushed away from Seth. He stood, then gave her a hand to help her up. The arguing they had heard moments before was gone. She could hear doors around them slamming, felt the vibrations on the landing of someone moving up the stairs toward them. She tensed. Seth’s arms moved again, this time to shove her behind him.

A wide beam of light cut through the dark, moving in a back and forth pattern as someone approached. It came to land on them and Jess could see that it came from a heavy-duty LED flashlight.

“Seth? Jess? What’s going on?” Ted exclaimed, his loud voice echoing in the stairway. “I thought I heard someone screaming.”

“It’s okay, Ted. Jess—”

“I just tripped on the stairs,” she interrupted Seth. He had no clue that she had been pushed, and she didn’t want to get into it now, not when everyone else was closing in. For now, she just wanted to hurry and move to a new location. Already the top of the staircase and the landing below were filling with other guests, their flashlights aimed straight at them. And although she couldn’t see their faces clearly, she imagined many of them were filled with anger at being awakened. Or maybe even malicious joy that she had suffered a mishap.

“Probably stumbling under the weight of all that guilt,” a familiar voice called out. Bob Harvey. Jess kept herself from reacting, although she could do nothing about the anxiety crawling like ants over her skin.

Seth put a hand on her shoulder, then leaned over and whispered something in his uncle’s ear. Ted started. She literally saw the beam of light from his flashlight jump.

“It’s okay, folks,” their host called back in an overly jovial voice. Was she the only one who could tell how forced his tone was? “Go on back to bed. I’m sure all will be set to rights in the morning.”

Meaning the electricity would be back on and the flood waters would recede, she supposed. One could only hope.

Seth, keeping her at his back, moved slightly away from her. She shivered. It had gotten colder. Or at least that’s how it felt without his warmth nearby.

She kept her eyes focused on Ted and Seth as the other guests meandered back to their rooms, taking their flashlights with them. Amazing how long it took people to walk a few feet. After the last door had closed, Ted nodded and jerked his head, indicating they were to follow him.

Jess was startled when a hand closed over hers. Seth had reached back to take her hand. Tears stung the back of her eyes at his silent care. Rapidly, she blinked them away, chastising herself for giving in to irrational emotions. Of course he took her hand. He was just being a gentleman, making sure she didn’t fall again.

Whatever. She was still touched by his actions.

Ted led them into a room on the other side of the house. Even with the high-powered flashlight, she still managed to bang her shins on objects twice. Tomorrow she was sure to have bruises to remember this fun evening by. Upon entering the room, she was pleased to note a fireplace with a roaring blaze. There were three candles flickering on tables. It was a relief to be in a room that was warm and reasonably well lit.

Ted turned off his light, then swiveled to shut and lock the door. When he faced them again, his normally cheerful face was more serious than she could ever recall seeing it before. The direness of their situation stabbed at her.

“Okay, son, want to tell me what this is about?”

Seth glanced over and met her eyes. She understood what he was asking. Slowly, she nodded, hoping she was making the right decision. Her instincts said to trust Ted; that he was on her side. But she knew it was very possible he was only being a good host. Or worse. Yet either way, what choice did she have, really? She was stuck in his house until they could find a way out of this mess.

“Do you need me to sign?” Seth asked her.

Again, she was surprised by his thoughtfulness. The longer she was around him, the more she felt sure he had truly changed.

“No. It’s quiet, so I can hear you pretty well. And there’s enough light for me to read lips, if necessary. Thanks for checking.”

He nodded, then got down to business.

“Someone is after Jess, Uncle Ted.” Seth began. “Even before we arrived here, we had the feeling someone was trying to hurt her, but since yesterday, things have escalated.” Seth explained about the cowboy in the hallway, and the intruder in his room. He even mentioned his confrontation in the kitchen with Bob Harvey. At that, anger crossed Ted’s affable face. Even in the less than perfect light, she could see the angry tide of red rolling up his neck.

“I should have known that hothead would cause trouble. But to confront my own nephew in my house? Why, I have half a mind to—”

“There’s something else you should know.” Jess hated to butt in, but she knew she needed to say something before her courage deserted her. Or before he got off on a tangent, which Ted was well-known for doing.

Both men turned to face her. Seth’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“I didn’t fall down those steps. I was pushed.”

Complete.

Silence.

Jess swallowed, the reality of her situation crashing down on her as she said the words out loud. Her shoulder and back tingled where her attacker had touched her. “Someone pushed me.” Just saying the words made the fear and shock rise again, even worse than before. “I’m going to be sick!”

Her stomach rebelled, and she had to focus all her attention on keeping the contents of their late supper down. She retched, but thankfully nothing came up. Still, she had a nasty taste in her mouth.

An arm came around her shoulders. Seth.

“Easy, Jess. It’s the shock. You’re safe. I’m here. If you need to be sick, that’s okay. I’ll take care of you.”

“I’m good,” she whispered, suddenly drained. “Just want to sit down.”

Seth led her over to the recliner positioned next to the fireplace. Ignoring her protests, he helped her to sit down, than covered her with the afghan from the couch. She felt like such a baby, being fussed over.