“I wondered what that awful smell was…” Sierra joked.
Bree left to get ready and Sierra walked downstairs, climbed in the borrowed car, and started driving to her father’s home. There was one employee still working there, a maid, who Sierra had befriended. The girl had begged Sierra to get away, threatening to turn her father in, but Sierra had finally managed to convince her that he’d just make her go away and Sierra would lose her friend if that happened, so Mara had agreed to keep silent.
Sierra realized she’d left her ornaments behind. It was a tradition for her mother to buy the girls a new Christmas ornament each year, and Sierra had to have them. Mara had told her that her father was away for the entire day in business meetings, so Sierra should be safe to run in and out. She knew if she asked her dad for them, he’d just destroy the irreplaceable treasures. She couldn’t let that happen.
Mara opened the gate for her and Sierra parked up front. She wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible, not taking any chances of running into her father.
“Sierra, I’ve missed you,” Mara said as she flew down the steps.
“I’ve missed you, too. As a matter-of-fact, Bree told me she’s looking for a new maid. Hers got pregnant and is moving in two weeks. The position comes with room and board,” Sierra told her.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Mara gave her another hug, obviously excited to get away from Douglas Monroe.
“Let’s hurry and find your treasures so you can leave here. I don’t want to take any chances on your father returning early,” Mara said as she looked around.
“I agree. Go finish cleaning so you don’t get in trouble. I’ll tell Bree you want the job. You can leave here in two short weeks. I can’t wait to visit with you again.”
“You’re right. I’m already behind schedule. I’ll see you soon, my friend.” Mara quickly left and Sierra made her way to the stairs. The decorations were in the attic.
When she reached the top of the landing, terror momentarily paralyzed her.
“You do realize I have all the calls made to and from here monitored, don’t you?” Her father was standing before her.
Panic filled her as fight or flight kicked in. She didn’t know which direction to run, she just knew she had to get away. The stairs – that would be her quickest escape route. She turned and took a step when she felt his foot in the small of her back.
She desperately tried to regain her balance, but it was a losing battle. With horror flashing through her, Sierra went flying down the stairs. She felt a shooting pain in her leg before everything went dark.
∞∞∞
Damien took a drink of coffee as he prepared his briefcase. He was utterly exhausted, not having slept more than a couple hours a night since he’d broken it off with Sierra.
He missed her.
Refusing to cave into even himself, he guzzled the rest of the hot liquid and grabbed his keys. She was the one in the wrong, not him. She’d betrayed him. He opened his front door, barely catching himself from stumbling backward.
“You miserable, rotten bastard!”
“What the hell.” Bree poked him hard in the chest, her short but sharp fingernail almost tearing through his shirt.
“Sierra is lying in the hospital right now, black and blue, three broken bones, and a partial concussion all because of you!” Bree yelled as she poked him again.
It took several seconds for her words to compute in Damien’s brain. Sierra was at the hospital? He needed information. In his worry, he forgot Bree was the enemy.
“What happened? My fault? How? Why? Is she going to be okay?”
“No, she’s not. She’ll never be okay again because you’ve ripped her heart out into a million pieces and then stomped on those just to make sure there was no chance of her healing,” Bree snarled.
“Did she try to kill herself?” Damien asked in horror, all color leaving his face at the thought.
“Of course not, you moron! Sierra would never do something like that. What I meant was that her father nearly killed her, but that doesn’t compare to the devastation you’ve put her through. She has to want to get better in order to survive; otherwise the slightest infection can sneak up on her and take her life. Right now, she’s so miserable because she’s in love with you and you tossed her aside like yesterday’s news, so she’s not trying hard enough. She doesn’t feel like she has anything to live for anymore…”
Bree choked on her final words as tears welled in her eyes. Damien was horrified. Was Sierra really in love with him? She couldn’t be, because she never would’ve betrayed him if she was.
“Where is she?”
“You don’t need to go there and upset her all over again. I swear if you hurt her again, you’ll have to deal with me!” Bree threatened.
Damien looked at the petite girl before him, not standing more than a couple inches over five feet, weighing less than half of him, and he realized she actually thought she could harm him. The thought was so absurd it made him smile, which was apparently the wrong move on his part. He jumped when the heel of her shoe slammed down on his foot.
“Damn!” he shouted as his toe began to throb. She knew how to aim those things. He glared down at her.
“Do not laugh at me, Damien Whitfield. You may think that me and my family are horrible people, but we love each other more than you could ever comprehend. I consider Sierra my family, and I swear I can take you out if you so much as make one more of her tears fall,” she roared.
Damien almost staggered again as the realization hit him that he liked her, he actually liked this woman he’d thought of as his enemy for so many years. He fought the warm feelings building inside toward her, but he couldn’t stop it.
“Let’s go,” he said, his voice gruff.
“What?” It was Bree’s turn to be confused.
“You obviously aren’t going to tell me where she’s located, so you’ll just have to drive me there,” he commanded as he locked his door and swiftly walked down the stone steps. He eyed her small convertible with suspicion as he glanced at the open roof and the grey sky.
Oh well, nothing like living on the edge, he thought as he maneuvered his large body into the small passenger seat. He suddenly had sympathy for sardines.
“I didn’t invite you in my car,” she said as she eyed him with suspicion.