Stock Ch. 19-33

Leave her? Why would he do that? Sean reached out to her, his Love. A pair of voices called out his name from above. His parents. Torn, Sean stood between his choices, indecisive. Farther below the Raven roared in fury as it raced towards them. Harsh winds whipped at him, forcing Sean to drift higher.

Warm hands touched him, loving and tender. His parents smiled at him and Sean felt at peace. A tranquility he had never known flowed into him. They loved him, he felt them say, but now wasn’t his time. He needed to go back. Go back. But why? It was so peaceful here. His parents placed their hands on his back and pushed, taking away his choice. Elizabeth awaited him. That was why he couldn’t join his parents yet. They loved him and they wanted him to be happy. They wanted him to be with Elizabeth. Sean wept as his parents drifted further and further from him. Goodbye.

Elizabeth.

Sean turned for her. Invisible winds pulled at him, trying to drag him back into the light, but he fought on. Inch by difficult inch he struggled to reach her, his beloved. Elizabeth, too, stretched out her arms, fighting for his touch. The Raven shrieked in fury as its ebony wings beat at the air. She wasn’t far now but neither was the Raven as it closed on them. Every succeeding inch became more and more difficult to attain as he pushed forward. Sean strained until he could feel his sinews stretch and pop.

Just…inches…away…

***

Elizabeth was too stunned to react. He shouldn’t be here, she thought as she stared down the barrel of his gun. She couldn’t move. If she did, and he fired, then Sean could get hit. Elizabeth stood her ground as she held onto the bed rail for support.

“Thought I’d left, didn’t you, bitch?” Charles sneered. The door was locked securely behind him as he grinned maliciously at her. “Cute trick with the Feds. They were all over the place but I wasn’t even in town. Most of my money was frozen but they couldn’t touch my offshore accounts. Got to love the Swiss, eh? I thought I’d get a little payback for sending the Feds on my case so I decided to take a little trip to your boyfriend’s university. Too bad I didn’t finish him off when I whacked him with the car, you too for that matter. Oh, well.” Charles raised his weapon and leveled it at her. “At least it made finding you that much easier.”

Within, Elizabeth shuddered. Sean’s plan had worked, too well it would seem. They left behind enough clues to let Charles know that it was they. He would come after them. They hoped that Charles would surface and when he did, the authorities could bust him for attempted murder. Elizabeth never thought that Charles would go through with it himself though; he always hired other people to do his dirty work. But now here he was and Elizabeth was too stunned to react. She had expected Sean to be with her when she finally faced Charles down, he always had been nearby ever since they found each other. But now, Elizabeth felt very naked and vulnerable.

“What? Nothing snide to say this time, Elizabeth? Your poor boyfriend too broken to rescue you?” His eyes glinted madly as he laughed. “You always were weak. That’s what made tying your legs open so much fun. You made it so easy.”

Painful memories surged to the forefront and Elizabeth was shaken out of her inaction. Those memories burned away in an all-consuming hatred for the man who stood before her. She remembered every humiliating and degrading second of those tortuous two years where she suffered at her ex-husbands hands. And now this, her fiancé battered into a month long coma from which the doctors were now beginning to think he would never pull out. Blood pounded in her head as Elizabeth’s eyes grew flinty and cold. Anger surged through her veins as the woman sprang into action.

Her actions were quick and her motions instinctively decisive from all the training Sean put her through. Elizabeth feinted quickly to her left, then her right and charged in, closing the short distance easily as Charles first fought back the surprise of her sudden movement and then tracked her with his gun. But he was too slow and Elizabeth far too quick, her speed fueled with ingrained fear turned hatred. She deftly ducked as the pistol thundered in the confined room, nearly deafening her from the close quarters. She charged forward anyways ignoring the ringing in her ears. A swift kick knocked his hand aside but it wasn’t enough to dislodge the gun from his hand. No matter, it perfectly set him up when he brought his arm back around again to shoot her. Charles’ arm gave a sickening crunch as Elizabeth followed through using his momentum and her own power as his elbow snapped at a backwards angle. He howled in pain and dropped his weapon but Elizabeth’s fury demanded more. Her elbow swung in tight and close and a solid crack was heard as a rib gave way. Another twist of her arms and Elizabeth tore his arm back around again, extracting another delicious cry in pain.

Lost in the bloodlust, Elizabeth rained blow after furious blow down upon her tormentor. How many nights had his laughter caused her to cringe in fear? How many nightmares of terrible rape destroyed her sanity? How many times did she have to remember the feeling of a tiny unborn life die inside of her? How many? Charles tilted back and fell over as much from surprise as pain. Elizabeth swung her knee up and hit him solidly between the legs. Charles was unconscious from the pain of his testicles rupturing even before he hit the floor.

And now justice, Elizabeth thought as she raised her bloody fist for one final blow. Elizabeth lunged, her wrath seeking completion of justice.

Slap!

Elizabeth’s arm froze in the air as an iron grip held her. She struggled with what restrained her, the maddening fighting frenzy held at bay. “Elizabeth, no,” his whisper cut through the haze like a blade through cobwebs.

“Sean?”

Elizabeth’s breath caught as her eyes widened at the thin voice. Slowly, she turned around, the unconscious man at her feet already forgotten. Sean knelt beside her, his pale body a tangle of wires and tubes that ran around him. She stared at him, her mind scrabbling to catch up with the situation. His tired eyes burned with fierce determination to stay her hand. Elizabeth relaxed her arm and he loosened his grip. Her mind crumbled as she pivoted her body around and fell into his arms on the thinly carpeted floor. “Sean? You’re awake.” Tears streamed freely down her cheeks as she cried hysterically. The past five minutes had been too much for her. First Charles furious and now Sean awake, holding her in his familiar arms.

There was a pounding at the door. The doorknob jangled as someone unlocked it with a set of keys. A nurse and a pair of orderlies stormed into the place followed by Dr. Lander. They stood shocked at the scene. The EKG and IV bag were lying on the floor, pulled down when Sean arose. There was an unconscious man lying broken at their feet. A patient who had been comatose for the past month was now wide awake and holding his fiancé in his arms. Dr. Lander ordered the nurse to get more help and then quickly began inspecting the large stranger lying on the floor while questioning Elizabeth and Sean. The two orderlies and a couple more recently arrived nurses helped Sean back into bed, since he was in no shape to walk, and then set the fallen equipment upright.

A shell-shocked Elizabeth was led out of the room. She waited in the visitor’s hall by herself until a police officer came and asked her questions. After two cups of coffee Elizabeth had calmed down enough to tell him what had happened, anxious to get it out of the way so she could see Sean. A nurse finally came and asked if Elizabeth could go to Sean. They were having a hard time getting him to rest because he kept asking for his fiancé. The officer nodded and said that he had enough information and that she could go.

Relieved, Elizabeth rushed off to Sean’s bedside. He was sitting up, arguing with Dr. Lander as she was about to administer some sedatives into his IV to calm him down. Elizabeth smiled. He was just as stubborn as ever. Elizabeth was in his arms in less than a heart beat. God, it felt so good to have him back.

They broke the embrace and had a good look at one another. “Gods, Elizabeth,” Sean smiled at her playfully. “You look horrible. First chance I get to see you and you’re a mess.” He brushed a stray lock of her hair aside. “But you’re still beautiful.” Elizabeth was pulled in and her lips mashed against his. His hot breath snaked down her throat and Elizabeth felt him moan with her as they embraced. Elizabeth felt herself flush as they held the kiss a moment longer and then looked lovingly at one another.

“I could say the same for you,” Elizabeth jibed. “You have a month’s worth of morning breath and you dare to kiss me? Tsk-tsk. I thought I trained you better than that.”

“A month?” Elizabeth watched the play of emotions roll across his face as he processed that bit of information. “I’ve been out for a month? Whoa.”

“Please dear, I just commented on your breath,” Elizabeth joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sean looked up at her. “Our wedding! Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. I’ve ruined the scheduling. And then there’s…”

“Shh…” Elizabeth calmed him. “It’s okay. I’m just happy that you’re up.” She hid her tired look. She had been so afraid he was never going to wake up. The past month was emotionally taxing. Elizabeth had to return to work after waiting a week by his bedside. There were several accounts that had piled up over the seven days she spent by his side. She nearly broke down from everything that had happened including having to cancel all of the wedding arrangements. She returned to Sean’s side every evening after work. She had lost weight from the worry and the stress and now her face now ashen and drawn. Vanessa and Eric did all they could to help her, but there really wasn’t anything they could do for Sean. She had spent their one year anniversary alone at Sean’s bedside weeping.

“Hey, could you do me a favor?” Sean asked and Elizabeth nodded. “I miss sleeping with you in bed.”

Elizabeth smiled warmly at the idea and eagerly climbed in with him. She curled up in the loving crook of his arms and nearly began crying again. She breathed deeply and the smell of hospital fabric and stale sweat assailed her nose. But beneath all of that was Sean’s unmistakable scent, a warm and lingering aroma that calmed her nerves. She sighed.

Shortly after that, a police officer entered the room to a few questions about the incident with Charles. Elizabeth reluctantly abandoned her fiancé’s bed and left the room to answer the officer’s questions for the next half hour. By the time Elizabeth finished answering questions she was exhausted and Sean was soundly asleep in his hospital bed. She quietly closed the door behind her and climbed into bed with Sean. Sleep claimed her quickly.

***

Sean tried to be discreet about it but five minutes into his meal Elizabeth yawned and opened her eyes, the smell of breakfast having awakened her. He greeted her with a smile, gave her a peck on the forehead and then took another bite of his toast. “Morning, beautiful.”

Elizabeth looked up at him with those warm liquid brown eyes and smiled. She rested her head on his chest and snatched a triangle of toast off the steaming tray. Sean gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze and resumed his meal in silence as his fiancée nibbled on his breakfast. “No pizza?” she finally commented.

“Nah, I’m not going to let hospital food mar the memory of my favorite meal. Besides, I think I need something a little more bland before I can work my stomach up to handle that yet.”

“You mean Dr. Lander won’t let you have any,” she prodded.

“Yes,” he answered dryly then laughed. “There’s no way to fib around you.”

“You just remember that when some young slip of a girl tries to put the moves on you.”

He laughed. “You and I both know that won’t happen.”

Elizabeth sat up in bed and looked at him. “Sean, before you met me what did you do in your spare time? I mean, besides studying and working and all the usual things.”

Sean sat, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Well, when word of the accident spread…”

“It wasn’t an accident,” Sean cut in.

“Don’t be difficult right now,” Elizabeth chided him and continued. “When you were hurt word spread and a lot of people showed up at the hospital. A lot of college students. All claiming that you rescued them at one point or another. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

Sean knew exactly what she was talking about. “Yes, I used to go on long walks around campus and ran into people that needed help. I helped them out, that’s all.”

“That’s all?” Elizabeth chuckled. “Sean, you selfless bastard, you saved their lives.”

“Yeah, well...” Sean tried to evade the inquiry. He never took compliments very well. They always made him feel self conscious and awkward. But from the determined look in Elizabeth’s eyes he knew he couldn’t just avoid the question and move on. “Okay, so I helped them out. They’re alive and that’s all that matters.”

“Sean, do you realize there are at least four girls out there that have been mooning over you ever since you popped into their lives?”

“Popped in? ‘Liz, I never even hung around long enough for them to figure out who I was.”

“Regardless, they were determined enough to find you and have been trying since forever to screw up enough courage to talk to you. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a knight in shining armor in this day and age? When they found out the story behind us they started kicking themselves for not introducing themselves to you. After they met each other...”

“They met each other?”

“Yes, when every one came to see you. The girls met and were about to claw each other to ribbons over you when they found out about your numerous other exploits. I had to step in and show them you were engaged, to me. One or two of them still thought they could win you from me.”

“Fat chance of that happening,” Sean remarked.

Elizabeth sighed. “You are horribly loyal and I love it.”

“Well, we are getting married for a reason.”

“We are, aren’t we?”

“Yes, we are. Slightly postponed but still getting married.”

Just then there was a knocking at the door. A tall figure entered the room and introduced himself as Detective Albreck. He was a plain, unassuming looking man dressed in slacks and a slightly rumpled dress shirt and simple blue tie. He said he was investigating Charles’ financial case. They were a bit frustrated after he disappeared on them soon after they raided his house for hard evidence. He basically disappeared after they found that he hopped on a plane to Guatemala. It turned out the plane trip was a ruse so that he could hunt down Sean and Elizabeth. He showed up at the hospital last night and sweet talked his way past a nurse and found his way to Sean’s room. Needless to say she was being questioned as well and would most likely lose her job.

“Mr. Lee, do you know exactly what Mr. Talworth is being charged with?”

“Um, besides attempting to murder Elizabeth and I just last night?” Albreck nodded. “Some money laundering and tax evasion as far as I know.”

“Try drug trafficking.”

“What?”

“Yeah, we found about five kilos of cocaine in a wall safe at his estate. That coupled with everything else you mentioned should put this scumbag behind bars for a good long time. I expect you and Miss Richards will be in court to testify?”

“Most definitely.”

“Good, because sticking guys like him behind bars is what I live for,” the detective said as he made his way out of the room.

Sean nodded. Good, it looked like this chapter of Elizabeth’s life seemed to be close to an end. And not too soon either, Sean thought. He knew when Elizabeth was about to kill Charles. Granted, he probably deserved it but it wasn’t their place to decide. It was for reasons like last night that Sean had been so reluctant to teach Elizabeth anything in the first place. He too had been very close to that precipice. He wondered, though, if Elizabeth was the least bit disturbed by her own actions the other night.

“I could have killed him. He would have died and that would have been the end of it. No need for a judge or the court process. Swift justice,” Sean heard Elizabeth think aloud as the door closed. “I could have killed him and there would have been no coming back. Would there?”

Sean sighed. “No, there wouldn’t have been. Once you take that first step, there’s no coming back,” Sean replied and gave her tense shoulders a comforting squeeze. “I’ve been worried since the beginning that you would take that step. It’s why I didn’t want to teach you in the first place. The knowledge I gave you can kill. You see; killing is the easy part. The hard path is allowing things to live. Even people like Charles. You can’t be judge, jury, and executioner. That isn’t justice. That’s revenge.”

“Justice or revenge, I just wanted him out of my life.”

Sean spun her around and looked at her sternly. “No, do not mistake the two. If you had killed him his blood would have been on your hands. His death would gnaw at you, change you.”

“I don’t think it would.”

“Believe me, it would have. I’ve seen it before. Killing takes something out of you, something you can’t get back. Your soul would be stained. Linger not on that train of thought. With the knowledge you possess, killing him would not have been self-defense. It would have been murder. That’s why killing is wrong, it’s too easy. You step over that bridge and it will burn before you can even think to step back.”

“But with all his money and lawyers…”

“They still won’t be able to refute the simple truth that he tried to kill you last night. You don’t bring a gun into a hospital for visiting reasons. Trust the system. Charles will be put away for a long time. He’s not going to bother us any longer.”

Elizabeth sighed and rested her head on his chest. “We still have to go to court.”

“Then we’ll nail him in court for the bastard he is,” Sean replied. “Vanessa and the lawyers she found for us can walk us through the legal process. We’ll get him; don’t worry about Charles. Let’s worry about getting our wedding plans back on track.”

“Not until you get better. You’re going to have a busy schedule doing physical therapy. You have been stuck in bed for the last month.”

“I should be fine,” Sean fended. “A few days of jogging and some exercise and I’ll be fine.”

“We’ll see,” Elizabeth challenged.

Chapter 31

Sean eased himself into his own soft bed after finally returning from the hospital. It was good to be back. The doctor kept him for another week for observation but was finally satisfied that he was doing fine. Sean tested out his stiff shoulder. Physical therapy was tough. After laying in bed for over a month his muscles had become lax and soft. He had also lost some weight. Well, Sean always did think he could stand to be a tad lighter.

He looked out the window hanging over his bed. It was a bright, sunny day, the kind of weather for a picnic. Charles won’t be in any shape to enjoy one Sean thought. Elizabeth had given her ex-husband a multiple compound fracture in his right arm as well as a broken a rib. The crowning achievement though was her final blow. She had ruptured and irreparably destroyed one of his testicles when she kneed him in the groin. Even thinking about it now, Sean could not help but shudder. As soon as the hospital was able to patch him up, the authorities immediately rained down on him and sent him to jail without bail. It would be another six months until his trial. It looked as if Sean and Elizabeth wouldn’t have to worry about him for a long time to come so they could concern themselves with other important things, like wedding plans.