Beverly Barton: Grace Under Fire

Grace swallowed hard and looked the devil in the eyes, doing her level best to show no fear. He was going to kill her. But he wanted to torture her fist. Torture her for his own sadistic pleasure.

"You know that I could kill you quickly," he told her. "But what's the fun in that?"

The big black man standing guard at the door called out, "I hear a car."

"Go check it out," Booth ordered. "I don't want anyone interrupting my fun. You hear me, Aric?"

Aric opened the door and went outside, while Booth continued to toy with Grace. Using his pocketknife, he sliced Grace's slip from bodice to hem. A couple of times the blade's tip nicked her flesh. One nick on her belly, the other on her thigh. When Booth pulled apart the silk garment and saw the two bloodstains on her flesh, he smiled, then wiped off the blood and licked his finger.

The door swung open and someone shoved Aric inside, then came in behind him. Grace blinked several times to clear the moisture from her eyes. Then she saw Jed. Jed! Oh, God, Jed had found her.

"Well, well, look here at what the cat's dragged in," Booth said, turning his attention to Jed. "How the hell did you find me, boy?"

"Let her go," Jed said.

"Now, why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, I'm going to kill you."

Booth laughed as he glanced from Jed to the gun he held on Aric. "You can't kill both of us. If you shoot me, Aric will jump you. If you shoot Aric, I'll have my Ruger out of its holster before you get off a second shot." Booth eyed his shoulder holster, the rich brown leather gleaming against his sweat-stained, white shirt.

"Are you willing to bet your life on that, old man?" Jed asked.

"I could kill her right now." Booth held the knife under Grace's throat.

Jed growled. Booth eyed him speculatively.

"I know you'd hate to lose a client. Wouldn't look good on your record," Booth said. "Or is it more than that? You haven't been screwing Ms. Beaumont, have you?" Booth laughed. "Was she good, boy? Did she purr for you? Hell, I can't get her to say anything."

Jed glanced from Grace's badly bruised face to her eyes. She gazed at the boy lying in a pathetic heap on the floor. That's when Jed noticed Troy Leone. He cursed softly under his breath.

"I know you probably don't have the stomach to watch," Booth said. "You being weak like your mama, but if you leave now, you won't have to see her die."

Jed aimed his Beretta straight at his uncle. "Let her go or I'll shoot you."

"No you won't. I'm your mama's brother. Your uncle. That good guy conscience you inherited from your old man would torment you until the day you died if you kill me. I know you, Jed. You might want to kill me, but you won't."

"I will, if that's what it takes to save Grace."

"Grace, is it? You call her Grace and not Mrs. Beaumont. Then I was right. You did have her, didn't you?" Booth glared at her. "Did you think just because he screwed you, he loved you? We Fortier men don't love women, we use them. And if you think he'll kill me to save you, you're wrong."

"No, you're wrong," Grace said, finally speaking to the loathsome creature.

Just as Booth prepared to slit Grace's throat, two gunshots rang out within seconds of each other. One bullet hit Fortier between the eyes, the other entered his heart. The pocketknife in his hand fell into Grace's lap. Aric cried out and rushed toward his boss, as Rafe Devlin and several other men stormed into the old mill. Jed dropped his gun and ran toward Grace. He squatted beside her and gently cupped her bruised face. Two men, whom Grace assumed were FBI agents, apprehended the big black man, then the tall, lanky agent in a dark suit who seemed to be in charge walked over and inspected Booth Fortier's body.

He glanced at Jed and said, "My bullet killed him. He was already dead when yours hit him."

"How can you be so sure it was your bullet that killed him, Moran?" Jed asked.

"Take my word for it. You didn't kill your uncle. I did."

"Yeah, sure." Jed hurriedly untied Grace and lifted her into his arms. "I'm getting you to the hospital as fast as I can."

She draped her arm around his neck. "I don't need to go to the hospital. I'm all right. Just a few bruises. Please, Jed, take me home." As Jed carried her toward the door, she called to the one Jed had referred to as Moran. "Please, take care of Troy." She glanced down at Elsa's bound brother lying in a heap on the floor. "I don't think he's badly hurt."

Jed carried her out the door and to his car. With such tenderness that his loving care broke her heart, Jed placed her in the front seat, then gently kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Grace. God, I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she told him. "Don't you know that? You're my white knight, my protector, my hero."

Rafe Devlin herded a dirty, tattered and slightly bruised Troy Leone outside and over to Jed's car. "Mind if we catch a ride with y'all? You could drop me and the boy off at his sister's on the way to Belle Foret. Moran said the kid and Ms. Beaumont can answer questions tomorrow."

Jed grumbled.

"Yes, please, come with us." Grace glanced in the back seat after Rafe and Troy got in. " Troy, are you all right?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm okay." He bowed his head. "Hey, Ms. Beaumont, I'm sure sorry about what happened. It was stupid of me to ever go to work at the warehouse. If I'd known what would come of it, I'd never…" He swallowed and cleared his throat.

"If you're truly sorry, go home to Elsa and prove to her what a good person you can be. You owe it to her to straighten up your act permanently."

"Yes, ma'am. I swear that's exactly what I'm going to do."

When Jim told her that Booth was dead, Charmaine didn't quite believe him. How was it possible for such evil to die so quickly and easily?

"I want to see his body," she said.

"Honey, you don't want to do that."

"I won't believe he's dead if I don't see him."

"All right," Jim said. "I'll see if I can arrange it. I'll go with you to the morgue, but once that's done, I'm getting you out of Louisiana as fast as my boss can arrange things."

"You're coming with me, aren't you?" She clung to him, knowing that without him, she couldn't make it, that her life wouldn't be worth living.

"Let them try to stop me." He kissed her temple. "I've already told my boss that I'm resigning from the Bureau as soon as possible. He told me that he'd allow me to live under federal protection with you until after the trials of Booth's associates are over, then they'll arrange for us to go into the Witness Protection Program. We'll have new identities and new lives."

"We'll be just ordinary people, with ordinary lives." She sighed, loving the thought of being Jim's wife. "I guess I won't have to get used to calling you Jim, will I, since you'll have another name when we relocate."

"If you can call me husband and lover and maybe the father of your children, I don't care what other name you call me."

"Children? You-you want children?"

"If you do. Maybe only one. A little girl who looks just like you."

Charmaine cried; tears cascaded down her cheeks. "Oh, Jim… my sweet, sweet darling. You really want me-" she thumped her chest "-me-to be the mother of your child."

"Of course, I do. I love you, Charmaine. I think you're beautiful and smart and brave… fun to be with and-I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."

She laid her head on his chest and said the first real prayer she'd uttered since she was a kid, thanking God for bringing this fine, loving man into her life.

The lights inside and outside Belle Foret shone brightly, welcoming its mistress home. When Jed leaned over into the front seat of the car and scooped Grace up into his arms, Laverna and Nolan came rushing out onto the veranda. Jed carried Grace up the steps and into the house, the servants following, both making a big fuss over Grace.