He knew that the answer was there within the periphery of his mind, but each time he looked it was gone — leaving behind just a shadow of the thought. His nights were filled with dreams of clutching at answers, only to have them slip through his fingers like smoke. He was positive that he could complete the jigsaw, once he could put the final pieces together, but somehow he just couldn’t see the full picture. At the same time, Stone was worried that he was putting people at risk unnecessarily. Because of his relentless pursuit of the Wrecking Crew, Carter and Megan were in danger — and of course, there was Linda. Stone was worried about Linda.
He looked down at her now, as she lay face down by his side — her hair in disarray and her arm casually flung across his chest. What of Linda Smart? This intelligent, funny, beautiful, and erotic lady had come into his life just a few days ago, and yet somehow she had stolen his heart. Suddenly he couldn’t imagine living without her. He involuntarily shook his head as he realized that he was hopelessly in love with Linda Smart. He would do everything in his power to protect her, he would kill for her, he would die for her — and yet here he was putting her in real danger.
In retrospect, he should have kept her away from the investigation, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. Stone knew that he should have been firmer when he saw that the investigation into the Wrecking Crew was taking a dangerous turn. However, Linda was insistent, and Eric had selfishly decided to keep her close. Like most men in the presence of a beautiful woman, his ego and hormones had got the better of his intellect — and now it was too late to change to a different path. Was this the reason for his uneasiness, or was there something else? He took a deep breath to try and ease his tension.
Linda lifted her head onto his chest.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
“S’ok,” she mumbled sleepily. “What ails you?”
Stone shook his head.
“Just worried about putting you guys in danger. I feel bad, particularly for you.”
In one swift movement, Linda knelt upright. As she did, the sheet fell away revealing her nakedness to the moonlight. Stone realized that this was no time to admire the scenery. Her face was tight with repressed anger, and she was suddenly all business.
“Now you listen to me, Eric Stone. Ed and Megan are good people. You’re privileged to have them as friends who are willing to help you with this, but they are also consenting adults. They know what they’re getting into, they understand the risks, and they have their own reasons for participating. And so do I.”
She waved an angry hand at the world.
“This isn’t just about Charles Rathbone and a search for justice and retribution. Sure, something bad happened to him, but we know now that bad things will continue to happen to others, if this Wrecking Crew isn’t stopped. What was the quote? ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’. Well that’s where we are with this. We’re the ‘good people’ here Eric, and we can’t trust the authorities or anyone else. This is our responsibility, and we have to see it through.”
Stone sat up. He tentatively reached forward and put a hand gently on Linda’s knee.
“You make a convincing argument Linda, but what about you? I know that you’re one of those ‘good people’, but this really isn’t your fight. Why are you doing this?”
Linda reached up with her arms, as if she were trying to break through the tension. With a gentle sigh, she ran her hands through her hair. In the dappled moonlight, her small breasts bobbed enticingly. Stone had to work hard to maintain his composure.
“It’s hard to explain, Eric.”
She huffed in frustration and dropped her hands to her lap.
“It’s partly because I love you, and I want to be by your side, but there’s something else — and I can’t put my finger on it. When you told me about the Wrecking Crew, something inside me boiled up. It’s hard to describe. I feel duty-bound — like… like a lioness protecting her cubs. Perhaps it’s the injustice of it all. Perhaps their breath-taking arrogance has just pissed me off, or maybe I feel pain for all of the other unnamed victims. I’m not sure why, but I have no choice in this. I am compelled to act — and I won’t rest until this is over.”
Stone was surprised by her answer. He knew that he was inclined to try to protect the innocent, and that he hated injustice. When he had seen his friend’s suicide video, he had immediately committed to action. He was driven by friendship and duty, but he hadn’t really stopped to consider Linda’s motives. He had assumed she was following him like a lovesick schoolgirl. Now he felt like a selfish fool.
“Ok, I understand, or at least I think I do. I’m sorry I was being so selfish. I guess I was so worried about you and the others that I didn’t stop to ask why you were all getting involved. It never occurred to me that you had your own reasons.”
Linda smiled.
“It’s so typical of you to take all of this on yourself — imagining that it was all your responsibility, and that everyone was taking risks, just because you asked. You could lead an army, Eric. You have such charisma and passion. If you just asked, people would follow — but they would all still be volunteers. Do you understand?”
He smiled back.
“I think so.”
“It’s why I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips and as Stone responded, Linda put a hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer, teasing his mouth with her tongue. Breaking the kiss, she took his hand in hers and guided it towards her breast, softly caressing her erect nipple. Once she was sure that Eric had the correct idea, she reached under the sheet to confirm her intentions.
The harsh ringing of Eric’s phone impolitely interrupted their embrace. A cold fist squeezed his heart. It was 4am, and only two people knew his number. As he pushed the button to accept the call, his throat was tight with apprehension.
Linda reached over Eric to switch on the sidelight. She pulled the sheet around herself, suddenly conscious that her nakedness had become inappropriate. The phone conversation was one sided, with Stone giving the occasional grunt of acknowledgement. Linda attracted his attention and mouthed ‘What?’, but Stone waved her question away, his face visibly darkening with anger and tension.
“Right, we’ll meet you there in less than two hours,” he said as he hung up.
Stone buried his face in his hands. Linda waited silent for thirty seconds, finally she could no longer stand the tension.
“What… what is it?”
Stone’s voice was ice cold.
“A fire at Megan’s place. They got to her Linda, the Wrecking Crew tried to kill Megan.”
Linda brought her hand to her mouth in shock.
“Oh my God! Is she all right?”
Stone slowly shook his head.
“She’s alive — but barely. She’s in a coma. The doctors’ think she inhaled a lot of toxic smoke. They don’t know if she’s going to pull through. Just now Megan’s in the ICU at Harlow hospital. Ed called in some favours and they have her under police guard. It looks like she’d been attacked before someone torched her place. They’d tried to make it look like a burglary gone wrong.”
“How did she get out?”
“Pure luck. If you remember, Ed said he was going to stop by and see Megan, on his way home. He saw the flames and immediately called for help. Then he kicked down the door and dragged her out.”
“We should go to her.”
Linda jumped up and began searching for clothes. Stone stood and put a gentle hand on her arm.