The Tulip Eaters by Antoinette van Heugten

Author:Antoinette van Heugten [Heugten, Antoinette van]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Historical
ISBN: 9780778317067
Google: NY8PAAAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0778313883
Barnesnoble: 0778313883
Goodreads: 17738176
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

26

He had her, he had her! But then she had jerked free, some bastard came from nowhere and Ariel’s fingers grasped only cold air. Then he ran, his lungs on fire, until finally he came to a café kilometers away. Now he sat gasping, peering fearfully up and down the street.

When the waitress came, she looked at his attire and smiled. Probably thought he had been jogging instead of running for his life. He ordered two Scotches, belting down one after the other.

He stumbled to the pay phone in the back of the café. He could barely dial, his hands were shaking so. “Peter!”

“Ariel?”

Ariel’s words tumbled over one another. “Peter, for God’s sake, come now! I need you!”

“Where are you? What’s happened?”

Ariel gave him directions, hung up and collapsed onto a bar stool. By the time Peter rushed in Ariel had calmed somewhat.

Peter yanked out a seat next to Ariel. “What the fuck is going on? You look like hell! And why are you so far from home?”

Ariel hung his head, then spoke. “Oh, Peter. You won’t believe what I’ve been through! I told you Isaac was dead, but I didn’t tell you that he murdered someone. And then there’s Jacoba—I mean Rose. I kidnapped her—Amarisa took her—the real mother is—”

Peter moved his chair closer and shook Ariel’s shoulders. Ariel raised his head and looked into his brother-in-law’s shocked eyes. Just knowing he could tell someone made him sob.

“What in hell are you talking about? Kidnapping? Murder?”

Ariel saw the waitress looking at them curiously. He stood and paid. “Let’s get out of here.”

They went into a dark park across the street. Ariel explained everything. When he finished, Peter just stared at him. “Why didn’t you or Leah tell me about this!”

“I’m sorry, Peter.” He felt guilty. “We should have, but we’ve been terrified about Rose, the police, everything.”

“Ariel, this is outrageous! You’ve put everyone in jeopardy, but mostly yourself.”

“I know, but you’ve got to help me. You’re the only one I can trust!”

“Christ, Ariel—I’m a teacher, not a detective.” He sat down hard, shaking his head. “I can’t believe this! Give me a minute to take it all in.”

Ariel felt sick. Telling the story again had made him realize how insane his life now was.

“And why in hell did you attack that woman in the alleyway?”

“To scare her off. I was going to tell her to go back to Houston or Rose would be killed.”

“Have you gone crazy? Beating up women?”

“If I’d had one more minute, everything might have been fine.” He heard the stubbornness in his voice. “And I’ll try again. I’m not going to lose Rose.”

Peter’s eyes darted around. “The first thing you need to do is to go home and stay there. You’re nuts chasing this woman around, exposing yourself in public. You’ll get caught and then what will happen to Leah and the baby?”

“But Amarisa—”

“Fuck Amarisa. She’s using you to protect herself.”

“But Rose—we can’t lose her, Peter. Leah will be devastated.”

“Buddy, you’ve lost her already.

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