Furious Read online

  Furious

  By

  Susan A. Bliler

  Copyright © 2012 by Susan Bliler

  www.susanbliler.com

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Cover Artwork done by:

  H.Leao

  Spine and back cover done by:

  Cindy Hubbard

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidences are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Susan A. Bliler.

  DEDICATION

  Cindy

  “For singing me to sleep when my heart was sad.

  Let me tell you a dream…”

  Chapter 1

  The car in front of Lucia came to a screeching halt. Too late, she realized that the action was intentional and all she could do was grit her teeth and brace as her cherry red BMW M5 slammed into the back end of the white street racer that cut her off. The impact was devastating!

  Her body slammed forward then was just as violently jerked back thanks to her racing grade safety harness. Somehow, her car came to rest teetering atop that of her teammate, Kennedy, and Lucia watched helplessly as Kennedy scrambled from the crushed vehicle beneath Lucia’s own and ran to safety. Relief at her teammate’s escape was only momentary.

  Before she could even consider her next course of action, flames sprang to life under the hood of the car and the front dash console. Lucia began frantically trying to free herself from her safety harness. She cursed the fat fingers of her racing gloves, her oversized helmet, and the too-small buckle on the harness, but she didn’t curse the custom racing suit she wore. Accompanied with the protective suit underneath, her racing suit was all that kept her flesh from being seared by the intense heat of the flames as the fire quickly spread.

  Seconds passed like minutes, and Lucia had no time to notice her surroundings, nor did she care any longer how her team was faring in this illegal endurance street race. The heat was becoming too much and she’d spent far too much time trying unsuccessfully to free herself. Those precious moments had allowed the fire the chance to feed on the material in the cab of her car. As she pressed frantically on the button of her safety harness, she was anticipating the fire reaching the fuel line and the car exploding with her in it at any second. That thought inspired the deepest sense of fear, which led to the most drastic of decisions.

  Quickly, Lucia removed her gloves. Instantly, she felt the delicate skin of her hands blister from the heat. She quickly looked down to relocate the fastener on her safety harness, but the size of her large helmet and its rear strap that connected to her head rest prevented her from being able to adequately look down.

  In sheer panic, Lucia used her blistered hands to remove her helmet. The sound of the fire was terrifying! She’d always heard the expression ‘roaring fire’, but this was the first time she’d ever truly understood the term. As she forced the helmet from her head, the flames licked up at her face as if they had been waiting for her creamy porcelain features to be revealed. She screamed in agony as her now melting hands worked at a speed she thought impossible to grasp the searing hot fastener of her harness and free her from her terror.

  Before her arms were free of the safety straps, her legs had already begun shoving her body up from her seat. Her hands were slapping at her racing suit attempting to extinguish the flames that were devouring her suit closest to her face. As her legs locked straight and made her erect, her torso bent and she leaned sideways to allow her body to fall from the car to the ground just beside the now nearly flame-engulfed vehicle. Because her car sat atop that of her teammate, it was a longer fall to the ground than Lucia had anticipated, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

  On the ground, she rolled frantically back and forth, extinguishing the flames on her racing suit. Looking to her left, she realized that her car was completely engulfed in flames and knew she needed to get as far away as she could because the amount of fire practically ensured explosion. The sight of her racer igniting the dark London night was horrifyingly beautiful.

  Lucia pushed herself up off the ground, the pain from her burns temporarily numbed by her adrenaline. She stood then immediately crumbled back to the ground. Looking down, she saw crimson seeping from a gash in her left thigh. Again, she struggled to her feet and hobbled as quickly as she could away from the car. Her chest burned from inhaling too much smoke, and her thigh throbbed demanding attention but neither compared to the white-hot searing pain of the burns covering her hands, neck, and cheek. In survival mode, she ignored the pain. Her eyes darted across the track to the pits…to safety.

  She struggled to quicken her pace but her progress was nullified when she had to jump backward to avoid a silver Audi that sped past nearly hitting her. In shock, she realized it was Warren and that the race continued, which only added another element of danger to her already doomed attempt at escape.

  Lucia’s heart contracted painfully as she became aware that Warren had to have seen her car crumpled and in flames, yet he chose to continue the race. She shook the thought from her head and quickly limped while dragging her left leg in an attempt to clear the still-active racetrack. She cleared a plume of smoke and looked up to see a black Nissan speeding straight at her. Like a deer caught in headlights, her body refused to move while her mind went a mile a minute. She could only stand and watch as her fate sped toward her. Somewhere in the distance she heard a scream, but only managed to throw her hands up in front of her face as she turned her head away, her heart thudded to a halt in her chest.

  An eternity passed with Lucia holding her breath and she only opened her eyes when she realized she was being shaken. She turned to meet the penetrating gaze of Draken Shatan. Instantly she realized that the scream she thought she’d heard was actually the screeching of his tires. Draken was the last thing Lucia saw before her body finally succumbed to the pain and shut down. She crumpled in his arms.

  ****

  Opening her eyes, Lucia was greeted by pain. She licked her dry lips, forcing her eyes wider and looked around the room. It was unfamiliar. She attempted to sit up in the bed, but before she could execute the maneuver, she realized her hands felt strange and lifted them to meet her blurry gaze. Both hands were thickly wrapped with gauze. As her eyes became more focused, she looked down the length of her body. The movement revealed just how tense and sore she was. Oh God!

  She wore a clean white hospital gown and she lay atop crisp white linen sheets, the scent of the perfumed detergent wafted up to her nose, which was surprising because the scent of smoke had been so strong before she’d passed out that she thought she’d never shake the scent.

  Her left leg was propped up on pillows with her thigh tightly wrapped in bandages. She righted her head and realized that something was on her neck and chin. With her hands wrapped, she wasn’t able to feel her throat. Turning her head slightly from side to side, she realized that her neck and chin were bandaged as well.

  Her entire body ached as if she’d been beaten, and her lungs burned from the smoke inhalation she’d endured. She sighed and allowed her body to relax into the bed, again lifting her gaze to look about the room. It was either the nicest hospital room she’d ever seen, or she wasn’t in a hospital room at all.

  The room was ornately decorated. The dark oak of the floors, matched that of the doors and walls. The windows, framed with floor length satin burgundy panels were covered with billowing sheer white linings, which allowed her to see that it was a clear summer’s night. Is it still the same d
ay? She wasn’t sure how long she’d been unconscious.

  Still scanning the room, she was captured by the sheer beauty of the place. A filled bookcase lined one wall, and the paintings, plants, and furniture gave the room the feel of an elegant yet rustic castle.

  Again, Lucia licked her lips wishing for a drink of water. She turned her head looking for a side table hoping to find a pitcher and a glass, but she was shocked when her gaze fell upon Draken Shatan sleeping silently in a chair next to her bed.

  What in the hell is he doing here? Quickly, she again scanned the room attempting to decipher just where exactly she was. She remembered the race in vivid detail. She also remembered Warren racing by and Draken nearly hitting her. She couldn’t help but question why Warren wasn’t at her bedside instead of his enemy. Where in the hell is my team?

  Lucia quietly attempted to push herself to a sitting position, forgetting again that her hands were badly burned. When she pushed her fists into the mattress and attempted to put her weight on them, she instinctively let out a cry. Blinded by tears, she didn’t see Draken startle from his sleep.

  “Are you alright, what’s wrong?”

  Lucia was holding her hands up in front of her, but didn’t want to let on that she was in pain even as a tear rolled down her cheek. She licked her lips and attempted to say, “I’m fine,” but her throat—damaged by smoke and intensely dry—only managed to croak the words in a slight whisper.

  Draken stood and grabbed a glass off the bedside table and quickly filled it with the pitcher of water that sat next to it. He leaned over Lucia as he held the glass to her lips while his other hand slipped behind her neck and cradled her head.

  Lucia gazed at him questioningly beneath furrowed brows while slowly sipping from the glass. She accepted several small drinks and turned her head away to indicate she was finished.

  Draken returned her head to the softness of the pillow then set the glass on the side table.

  Clearing her throat as best she could, Lucia managed in a slightly louder whisper, “Where is Warren?” She didn’t miss the dark expression that clouded Draken’s features or the clenching of his jaw at the mention of Warren’s name.

  “He’s not here.” The response was gritted out from between clenched teeth.

  “Where is here?”

  Draken sat down in the chair by her side and looked at her evenly, his dark eyes piercing hers as he answered, “You’re in my home”.

  What? Her mouth dropped, “Why...how long have I been here?”

  He leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands behind his full head of jet-black hair as he offered a nonchalant, “You’ve been here four days.”

  Lucia straightened her head as her eyes rested on her propped up leg. “My leg?” she questioned shortly.

  Draken uncrossed his hands and scooted his chair closer to the bed as if he didn’t want her to miss what he was going to say. He leaned closer and said with all seriousness, “The gash was pretty deep. There was severe damage to the muscle tissue, tendons, and nerves, but if you give it adequate time to heal, you should recover fully…aside from the scar.”

  “Scar?” Lucia repeated softly still frowning at her leg.

  Draken saw panic instantly spread across her features as she sat up, the panic causing her chest to rise and fall erratically with the increased speed of her breathing. “What’s wrong? Lucia, what is it?”

  She looked up at him with dread in her eyes and asked, “My face?”

  His scowl melted and he stood to sit carefully on the edge of her bed. He sighed then spoke evenly, “Listen to me. You’re going to be fine. The burns to your hands were the worst because they were exposed to the flames the longest. The doctor grafted skin onto them and expects you’ll regain full use, but you will have extensive scarring. The burns to your neck and face were less severe. You escaped the car quickly after you removed your helmet, and the fact that you had your hair tied back and your head covered in the racing suit greatly spared you. Your neck and face will have slight scarring, but it won’t be as bad as you think.”

  “Mirror!” Lucia demanded in a shaky voice, not at all concerned that she was being abrupt with the man who had apparently been taking care of her since her accident. Her fear was nearly tangible as she sat wondering how bad she looked, and she couldn’t help but wish that Warren or Kennedy, or any of her teammates were there with her. She was fighting to keep from crying and demanded again. “I want to see a mirror!”

  Draken gave Lucia a defeated look as he sighed. He didn’t move for a moment, only staring at her as he obviously wrestled with his options. Then he slowly got up and retrieved a mirror from a bureau by the window. He returned and slowly handed Lucia the mirror.

  She attempted to grab the mirror, but her bandaged hands prevented her from being able to sufficiently grasp it. Draken gently shoved her hands down and held the mirror up to her face.

  When she saw her appearance, she stopped fighting the tears that flooded her eyes. Her neck was covered in swirled looking marble scaring that inched up from under her chin and onto one cheek. A thin layer of some ointment covered her burns and where her face wasn’t burned or red it was either too pale or swollen. She turned her head away from the mirror in disgust and sunk back into the bed.

  “Lucia…,” Draken began softly, but was cut off by Lucia’s scratchy whisper.

  “I’d like to be alone.”

  Draken stood for a moment looking down at her, her head still turned away from him. He began to argue, but was cut off a second time. “Lucia, I…”

  “I truly am tired.”

  He huffed once before returning the mirror to the bureau and quietly exiting the room.

  ***

  Draken stood in the hall for long minutes after he left Lucia’s room. It had been difficult to watch her reaction to her scars. Oddly, he felt compelled to comfort her, which didn’t make sense. He hadn’t felt the need to take care of anyone since before his sister’s death.

  He ground perfect teeth together and speared a strong hand into thick hair that was just as dark as his demeanor. The small creature on the other side of the door had his protective instincts surging to the forefront and he cringed at the realization. He didn’t know Lucia and he didn’t want to. What he wanted was to find out if she had played a role in the death of his sister.

  She’s your enemy! he scolded, hoping to fortify his resolve. It was difficult to do when he remembered her tears. How Warren could put such a lovely creature at risk baffled him.

  The night of the wreck he’d come upon the crash and had nearly plowed over Lucia. The look of pure terror on her face impelled him into action. He’d been shocked at the time when Warren had continued the race, opting to ignore the fact that two of his own teammates were down. It didn’t shock him now. Warren had always put money above all else. Luckily for Lucia, Draken’s character didn’t afford him the luxury of such inconsideration. He’d given up the race to rescue Lucia and when she’d crumpled in his arms, he couldn’t help but wonder if his sister Arabella had suffered the same fate.

  Unlike Lucia, no one had been there to rescue Arabella and that fact had spurred Draken to carry Lucia to his Nissan GTR. He’d raced from the track with Lucia unconscious in the seat next to him. He knew he should have taken her to the nearest hospital; instead, he called his family surgeon and had his staff prepare a room for her on his estate.

  He knew now that the decision had been a mistake. Lucia was getting to him. She was soft, and small, and feminine, and all the things he didn’t want to notice in a woman who could have potentially played a role in the death of his sister.

  With steely resolve, he stormed down the corridor and away from Lucia with a renewed determination to keep his distance. I’ll get my answers by manipulating Warren. If the coward ever decides to come for what’s his!

  Chapter 2

  Four weeks passed with Lucia remaining in the luxurious room on Draken’s estate. He hadn’t been back to see her since she�
�d asked him to leave and she hadn’t expected him to.

  An elderly nurse informed Lucia that she and her supervisor, Dr. White, had been hired by Mr. Shatan to care for Lucia. While Dr. White visited infrequently, Nurse Hall was in with Lucia nearly all day, every day.

  After helping Lucia bathe and dress, Nurse Hall bid Lucia farewell and took her leave for the evening. Two days prior, Dr. White had removed the bandages from Lucia’s hands, replacing them with flesh-colored gloves that would allow the skin to breathe and were much more functional.

  Now as Lucia sat on the edge of her bed, she grew restless. She’d been on Draken’s estate for weeks and he hadn’t reappeared in that time. She questioned Dr. White and Nurse Hall as to her being there and as to Draken’s whereabouts, but neither had any answers. Looking down at her slippered feet, Lucia couldn’t help but wonder why Draken was allowing her to stay with him, and paying for her medical expenses. If he wanted something in return, he certainly wasn’t going to get it.

  Sighing, Lucia kicked her good leg back and forth and wondered why Warren hadn’t been to see her. She’d been telling herself that he hadn’t come because she was on Draken’s estate and Warren would never willingly enter into enemy territory, or perhaps Draken refused to allow Warren access to the estate; nevertheless, she gained little comfort from either assumption.

  She’d met Warren two years prior at her first illegal street race. She wasn’t a driver then, but merely attended out of curiosity and sheer fascination. After the race, Warren approached her. He said he was enchanted by her fascination with the sport and wanted her to experience the thrill for herself. She took out her entire savings and under Warren’s tutelage, purchased her own racecar, a BMW M5. He taught her to race and praised her skills on the track.

  “Not bad for a newbie.” He’d told her.