Russ matched Josie stride for stride the first five miles. He didn’t have to call “uncle” until mile six. As she’d done every time they’d run together, Josie slowed to a walk so he could catch his breath.
The last two weeks had been close to perfect, as though the two of them were always meant to be a couple. When they weren’t working, they were together. Mornings were spent running or relaxing. Afternoons she caught up on her sleep—or they made love. Russ worked most evenings at Words & Music, and three nights a week Josie worked at the ER.
It was a nice rhythm.
“We going to Shamballa?” he asked when he wasn’t gasping for breath.
“Don’t we always?” she responded with a grin. “You’re really showing progress. Getting stronger every day. Before long, I’ll get us in a half marathon.”
“In your dreams,” Russ said, following her back to his SUV. “You work tonight, right?”
She nodded.
“I’m heading into Words and Music. Since Brad went with Savannah to her Boston concert, I’m taking a few management shifts for him.”
After digging the key out of his pocket, he unlocked the doors. Once inside, he looked at Josie as she buckled her seat belt. “I just wanted to tell you how much these workouts are helping me.”
The smile she gave him was so relaxed, he wondered if their time together had been every bit as relaxing for her. “I’m glad. You know, there are other things we can do to help with your stress.”
He started the engine. “I haven’t felt stressed lately.” Probably because his mind and body were both content, Words & Music was running smoothly, and things had quieted down at the Green home.
Russ had never enjoyed the type of peace he’d known in the time he’d spent with Joslynn.
“I’m glad, but…it’s not quite that easy.” She rubbed his thigh. “You have to admit, the last couple of weeks have been pretty low drama.”
Blessedly so, but he wasn’t going to admit it aloud and jinx himself.
“I really need to get you to one of my yoga classes. I’m sure you’d love it, and it’s so relaxing.”
“C’mon, Josie. I’d look ridiculous trying to bend myself into some of those positions.”
“They’re called poses,” Josie corrected. “And you’d do great.”
As he pulled into a parking spot at Shamballa, he said, “I’ll think about it.”
“I’ll get you there. One day,” she said.
* * *
Late that afternoon, Russ was driving to Words & Music when his phone rang. A glance to the SUV’s view screen showed his mother was calling. A quick touch of the screen, and he said, “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
Her voice echoed through the SUV. “Um…do you think you can come over?”
The fearful tone of her voice sent adrenaline running through him. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Really. I just could use a little help.”
He’d learned over the years that the more Yvonne Green downplayed something, the worse it was in reality. Fighting his growing anxiety, he glanced in the review mirror and then eased to the right lane so he could turn at the next intersection and head toward his parents’ house. “I’m on my way now. Tell me what happened.”
“It was silly. Daddy didn’t mean any harm.”
“Mom…” Russ tried not to get angry that she was being evasive, but the less she told him, the more his imagination ran wild. All that stress, all those feelings of anxiety that he’d kept at bay came flooding back. “What did he do this time?”
“He locked me in the basement.”
“He what?” Russ shouted.
“Calm down, Russell. I don’t think he meant any harm. I went down to fold a load of laundry. When I was just about done, I heard the door shut. Then I heard that old lock we had on the top of the door. Remember? We had it there—”
He’d heard the story a million times. “To keep me from falling down the stairs when I was little. I know.” He was finding it difficult to rein in his anger. This was a reminder that the man Russ had looked up to his whole life was ill.
And he wasn’t ever going to get better.
“I’m almost there, Mom. Hang tight.”
* * *
No one answered the front door when he pounded on it, so Russ used his key to let himself in. “Dad? Dad, where are you?”
Worried that his father wasn’t responding, Russ hurried to the kitchen and opened the bolt at the top of the basement door. Pulling the door open, he found his mother waiting a few steps down. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Yvonne pushed past him into the kitchen. “Where’s your father?”
“I don’t know.”
She cupped her hands around her mouth and bellowed, “Baron! Baron!”
“I’m checking upstairs,” Russ said. Jogging to the foyer, he stopped panicking when he saw his father on the top step.
Rubbing his eyes, Baron stared down at him and frowned. “I was napping. What’s all the shouting about?”
Yvonne grabbed Russ’s arm to move him out of her way. Then she hurried up the stairs. She alternated between scolding and hugging her husband while Russ let out a heavy sigh.
Funny, he didn’t feel much relief. He never did after that damned disease made his father do something stupid. His heart was still slamming in his chest, and he couldn’t seem to relax the fists he’d clenched his hands into.
“Why did you lock me in the basement?” Yvonne demanded as Baron followed her down the stairs.
Baron glared at her back. “I did no such thing.” Then he glanced to Russ as though he’d just noticed he was there. “What are you doin’ here?”
Moving aside so they could pass him and head to the kitchen, Russ replied, “I came to let Mom out of the basement, Dad.”
Yvonne poured three cups of coffee and handed a mug to Baron and then one to Russ, who leaned back against the counter.
“I’m sure it was an accident,” she said.
Temper still climbing, Russ dumped the coffee in the sink and all but tossed the mug in. “Why did you lock her in, Dad? And why didn’t you let her out when you heard her yelling?”
“I didn’t lock her in,” Baron replied.
Russ closed his eyes and tried to hold tight to what little patience remained. “You did.”
“I went to do the laundry, honey,” Yvonne said in what seemed like a far-too-calm tone. “I heard you click the lock at the top of the door. I’m sure you didn’t do it on purpose.”
Baron thought it over for a minute. “I guess I did.” He looked at the open door. “I thought…” His brows gathered. “The door was open, and I thought Russ might fall down the stairs.”
“Makes sense,” Yvonne said with a nod. “We put that lock on there to keep you from getting hurt when you were a kid, Russell.”
Makes sense, my ass. “I’m not a kid now. There was no reason to lock the damn door. Hell, Dad, I don’t even live here anymore.” Russ took a few deep breaths so he’d stop shouting. Baron couldn’t help what was happening to him. Yelling wasn’t going to change anything.
“Innocent mistake,” Yvonne insisted.
“I went upstairs to do a crossword puzzle and I must’ve fallen asleep,” Baron added. “I didn’t hear her knocking.”
With a hesitant smile, Yvonne shifted her gaze to Russ. “No harm, no foul. Thanks for helping us out, Russell. Were you heading into work?”
Tossing his mother a curt nod, he frowned. “I need to go. Are you two okay now?”
“We’re fine,” his father insisted.
* * *
Russ was still upset when he left his parents’ house, and he picked up a hefty speeding ticket on his way to Words & Music.
* * *
The crowd was rowdy all evening, as though they sensed Russ was in a tempestuous mood and were committed to making him miserable. By the time the partiers fully took over the bar, all he had remaining of his self-control was one thin thread.
A group of six men, all wearing ridiculous baseball caps that labeled them as a bachelor party, were especially obnoxious. The best man, or so his hat claimed, was the worst of the lot. Russ had already warned him several times to stop making sexual remarks to the waitresses. Not only were the party members harassing the staff, but they were so loud that the other patrons began to complain.
When the best man pinched one of the waitress’s asses, that last thread snapped.
Russ went to the groom and leaned down, frowning. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you gentlemen to leave.” Although the words were made with a clenched jaw, he was rather proud of himself because he thought he’d masked the hostility flowing through him very well. “The last round is on the house, but it’s time to call it a night.”
The best man, clearly listening in, started laughing. “Hey, don’t I know you?”
Russ shook his head, not wanting to engage the worst of the troublemakers. “I’ll give you a few minutes to settle your tabs and then—”
“You used to play for the Colts, didn’t you?” The best man let out another loud guffaw. “Anyone ever tell you that you sucked as a quarterback?”
Hands clenched into fists, Russ turned to walk away. Adding this situation to what had happened with his father and all of the calm Josie had helped him find became a distant memory.
He wanted to hit something. Hard.
A rough grip of his upper arm made him whirl back around. The best man had narrowed his eyes and was glaring at him. “I guess you knew you sucked, ’cause here you are, bein’ a bouncer in some fuckin’ bar for minimum wage.”
Instead of smacking the guy’s hand away, Russ leveled a hard stare at him. He reminded himself that the best man was drunk and not in control of his actions, but if Russ didn’t get away soon, he wouldn’t be in control of his own, either. “Let. Go. Of. Me.”
With a snort, the guy let his hand fall away. “Pussy.”
Turning on his heel, Russ planned to head to the office to try to cool down. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t get into another fight, especially with a patron, no matter how obnoxious and insulting that patron was.
But his heart was pounding like a jackhammer in his chest and his ears were ringing. Every muscle was tense, and his vision began to tunnel.
He’d gotten only a few steps away when a mug went flying by his head, splashing beer on him before smashing against the wall.
That was all the provocation he was going to take. Russ rushed the best man, grabbed his shirt, and started walking him backward until he collided with the bar. “I should knock your lights out, you bastard.”
“Fuck you, you has-been.”
A strong hand took a hold of Russ’s fist as he cocked it back so he could break the best man’s nose. Shifting his anger to whoever was restraining him, Russ growled at Ethan standing there. “Let go.”
Instead of saying anything to Russ, Ethan shot a hard look at the groom. “Get your friend out of here. Now.”
“Not until I beat some manners into this asshole.” Russ tried to pull his hand free.
“You’re not hitting him.” Ethan’s voice was calm, considering the tension in the air. “Go to the office. I’ll meet you there.”
When the best man let out a snicker, Russ jerked against Ethan’s tight hold. Before he could cock his fist back to take a good punch, the groom grabbed his best man’s arm and pulled him away.
Russ would’ve followed if Ethan hadn’t put himself between him and the retreating bachelor party attendees. “Get outta my way, Ethan.”
“I’m not letting you beat that guy up.”
“He was begging for it!” Russ insisted, pointing at the door where the men were fleeing.
Anger flowed through him in heavy waves, and he flushed hot. As his light-headedness returned, he suddenly heard a rushing noise in his ears, so loud that it drowned out all other sounds. He couldn’t catch his breath. The harder he tried to draw in air, the less air he seemed to get, until he was panting like a hard-run dog.
Sparks of light began to dot his vision before it narrowed as though he were suddenly in a tunnel, drawing closer and closer.
And then the world faded to black.