That stalled her feet. "Really?"
"Really. Now come sit here beside me." He'd rather have her on his lap—or under him—
but that would have to wait a few days.
She hitched up onto the gurney beside him, flattening a hand to his forehead with a cool, gentle touch. "You feel okay, but—"
"Trust me to know what I am, and right now I'm a man in love with a woman. I'm a man who's finally found the woman he wants to build a life with. And most of all, I'm a man who's damned determined to win her over."
"That's really beautiful, but..." She swayed toward him with a trembly smile that boded well for the rest of what he had to say.
Ooh-rah. The gunshot wound didn't sting nearly as much with Paige's smile to distract him.
"Shush. No more 'but this' or 'but that.'" He pressed a finger to her mouth. "I'm also a guy in a lot of pain. The quicker you let me have my say, the sooner I can have some serious drugs.">"Listen to her." Eddie's smile looked so warm and normal no wonder her child had trusted him. "Nobody wants to hurt your mother, but we need to know about the stories.
Be a brave girl and tell us so everyone can go home."
Kirstie's hold stayed tight on Paige's leg. "You mean the princess story?"
"Yes, what about the princess story?"
"The one where the Princess Kirstie marries a king and they get the treasure hidden under the bush."
"What bush?"
"The one with pretty flowers in the side yard that Daddy and I planted for Mama for Mother's Day. The azzy, uh, az-aylee, um—"
"Azalea bush?" Eddie prompted.
"Yeah, that one."
The men exchanged nods.
"You did well, Kirstie Adella." Eddie stood, patting her on the head. "Your daddy would be very proud of you."
Bile burned Paige's throat stronger than the sting of her arms straining against the biting grip. The cops weren't going to make it.
Chuck smiled without it ever reaching his dead eyes. "Nice work, Eddie. How about getting the plane ready now."
The plane? Ready for what? Already Eddie ducked beneath the wing, a toolbox in hand.
Was Rusty going to fly them away? But the plane was wrecked, the nose gear sheared off.
"What if Kirstie's wrong?" She struggled to reason with monsters even as she knew it would be hopeless. "If you kill us you'll lose any hope of finding out more. At least keep her alive."
"There's no other choice," Chuck declared. "Once Eddie was stupid enough to tell her his name, we knew it was only a matter of time until they tracked him and she identified him."
"But the police already know about him."
Leaning closer, Chuck whispered against her skin, the sickening spice of his cologne almost gagging her. "And that won't be a problem once I take care of him, too. The poor man will die in the accident with you, and don't bother trying to warn him. He'll never believe you, anyway."
A few feet away Eddie pulled a screwdriver from his toolbox and hammered it through the gas tank. Fuel trickled from the small puncture and tainted the air. The large grill lighter sticking from his back pocket sent a chill of premonition through her.
Chuck stepped back and raised his voice. "I really don't want to scare the child any more than we have to. You two can make this easy and peaceful, or it can be frightening and painful. Your choice. If you fight us, the coroner will simply assume injuries are from the crash. If he can even tell from the charred bodies."
She'd been right not to trust Chuck all those years ago, but she hadn't even begun to realize the depth of this man's immorality.
He turned to Rusty. "Put a gun to the child's head while I tie up the adults."