Free Fire of My Heart by Erin Grace

library. She slumped against the desk. Her legs had
turned into jelly. She’d worked so hard to keep him at arm’s length, when those
same arms were the only place she wanted to be.
    Now the
fortress of lonely work protecting her from the heartache and hurt of bad relationships
kept out the only man she wanted to let in.
    Time for
the walls to come down.

Chapter Eight
     
    A crackling bolt of
lightning ripped apart the night sky and sent electrified pitchforks hurtling to
the ground, lighting up the dripping conservatory like a scene from a black and
white horror movie.
    “Shit!”
Ellen placed the pillow she’d been clutching beside her, stood from the couch.
A loud banging came from the conservatory. Must be a loose window. The wind
howled outside like a wild animal, picking up speed in the deepening storm.
After her confrontation with Rowan, she’d sat there in front of the fire for
what must have been hours, trying to sort out her feelings. God, her life was
such a mess.
    What was
she getting herself into?
    She hadn’t
been prepared to change her ways for Bryant. What made her so certain she could
for Rowan?
    Wiping her
puffy eyes, she picked up a lamp and edged her way into the darkened room, the
occasional flash from outside lighting the way ahead. Everything looked
unusually creepy, and though she wasn’t one to scare easily, Rowan had managed
to startle her on several occasions.
    Amazing how
that man could just appear out of nowhere.
    Then, out
of the corner of her eye, a shadow moved.
    “Rowan?” Nothing
but the silhouette of the trees blowing in the storm outside. Thank goodness.
    A window in
the far corner of the conservatory rattled and clanged. She didn’t need another
breakage, and must secure it. Water had trickled through the opening, making a
silvery puddle on the tiled floor.
    Using both
hands, she wrestled with the stubborn lock. Finally the rusty catch gave way
and clicked into place. “There.” Odd. Being so stiff, it shouldn’t have come
open in the first place. But then, stranger things had happened lately.
    Satisfied
the window had been secured, she picked up the oil lamp and walked back toward
the fireplace. What might have become of Rowan? Hopefully he wasn’t out in that
storm somewhere. Maybe he’d gone to town.
    The library
door slammed shut. She jumped, her heart in her throat, the lamp teetering in her
hand. “God, I don’t need to be breaking any more of Michael’s possessions, he’s
going to kill me as it is.”
    Sensing
someone behind her, she smiled. Rowan had tried to sneak up on her once again.
    She
prepared herself to apologize for her earlier outburst. He’d copped a lot of
pent-up anger that had never been meant for him.
    She turned,
and was greeted by a vaguely familiar face. One of the men from the pub. Her smile
slipped away and insides ran cold.
    Thin lips
twitching, he leered at her and shook his head. His stare made her skin crawl,
the bile in her stomach rise.
    “Tisk,
tisk, me girlie. I don’t think we’d care for you breaking the goods now.” She
followed his gaze over her shoulder. Two figures were emerging from the shadows
behind her. “Would we, lads?”
    Shit!
    He knocked
the lamp from her grasp, grabbed her wrist and held it painfully tight.
    “Oh dear,”
he cooed, looking down at the mess on the floor with his torch. “Now you’ve
done it. How’s about you say sorry and make it up somehow, eh?” The trio burst
into vile fits of laughter.
    “Who the
hell are you, to come in here?” She struggled against his grip. “Let go of me,
you bastard!”
    God, help
her she was scared. Adrenaline pumped through her veins like gasoline.
    And where was Rowan damn it?
Did he know these creepy guys, or was he in on it? No,
    he couldn’t be. Of course
not.
    The man
pulled her closer and touched her cheek. She leveled him with an acid stare.
    Grinning, he licked his
pimple-edged lips.
    Gross.
    “We’ve got
a right pretty one ’ere boys, and a foreigner