CHAPTER 29
Methos wasted no time putting as much distance as he could between himself and Ridgetop, Tennessee. So caught up in the shock and pain of it all, it took almost two hours for him to realize he was heading west.
It was as good a direction as any, he thought as he tried to figure out what he'd missed. Why hadn't he seen the signs? "Simple" he replied to himself. "There hadn't been any signs."
Up until the very instant he took the letter from Rayna's hand, nothing in his heart or mind doubted Beth's complete and total love for him. God, she'd walked into a quickening and risked everything for him. He knew at that moment she had to have loved him. So when did it all change?
"You fool!" he pounded on the steering wheel as he breezed past another exit on I-40. "How could you let yourself be so completely duped?"
He could almost let himself believe that Beth hadn't been responsible if she hadn't made such a point of giving him the poisoned beer herself. No, as much as he wanted to believe otherwise, she had set him up so she could leave with the man she really wanted to be with. Her letter and the locket said it all. She wanted him out of her life.
For the next hundred miles he played every word they'd ever said to one another and every word that hadn't needed to be vocalized over and over in his head. He'd completely let himself be wrapped up in this woman, and he could have sworn she felt the same. Hadn't she almost begged him to be Cassie's father? This didn't make sense.
The thought of the little girl caused his heart to wrench in agony. The love he had for that child was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. How could Beth let him get close to her only to rip the baby so callously from his life? How could he have missed any indication that she could do something so cruel? When he thought of Beth he thought of unfaltering love, kindness and a soul that treated others with care.
"How could I have been so wrong?" Methos gritted as he pulled into a gas station outside of Memphis. It was raining pretty hard, so no one noticed his car pull to the back of the property. His mind flashed back to the night before. He saw the way she looked at him as she walked down the aisle, the way she trembled as he slipped her hand through his arm and the way her body melted against his kiss so many times as they celebrated their union with friends and family.
But then he remembered the way she'd danced with Garrett and the words he'd heard him say to Beth. He'd kissed her on her cheek and looked directly at Methos as he told her that he loved her and couldn't say no to her. "I'll do what you asked." Garrett had said, and then there had been the kiss at midnight.
"I knew something wasn't right." Methos said to himself, remembering the chill that had run through him as he saw Cassie for what was probably the last time. "Why didn't I pay more attention? Was I that blinded by her?" He'd been suspicious of Garrett from the beginning, but never of Beth.
As he sat in the car, staring at the rain on the windshield, the memories and the knowledge of what he'd lost hit him full on and Methos was powerless to stop the wave of emotion that overtook him. He wept bitterly as he clutched the wheel of the car. Beth and Cassie's faces were painted on his soul and he didn't know how he could ever remove them. It was almost an hour later when the rain began to taper off and the pain he'd let himself feel began to channel into deep anger. Anger was an emotion he knew well, and it was the emotion that would help him survive.
He knew MacLeod, Joe and the others would be looking for him. He knew they would feel not only his pain, but pity for him. And pity was something he couldn't afford, not if he wanted to survive. And yes, even in the depths of this pain something deep in his being told him that he wanted to survive.
He reached into the back for his overcoat, and realized he'd been even more foolish than he imagined. His sword was not in the lining. "Damn her." He cursed, knowing Beth must have taken it thinking it would keep him from coming after she and Garrett.
"Don't worry sweetheart." He spat as he opened up his suitcase, retrieving the spare he always carried from inside the faux top of the case. "I won't waste another minute bothering with you or your precious farm boy." It wasn't his preferred Ivanhoe, but it was a fine weapon and would serve his purposes.
He slipped the sword into the lining of his coat, determined that he had cried his last tear and wasted his last breath on Beth or any woman. There was only one thing that he could count on now, and that was himself. Methos strode into the station, bought a case of beer and a road map before paying for his gas and continuing his trek west.
Two days later the sun had only just set as he crossed the border into the Mexican town of Nuevo Laredo. He had driven non-stop, and this was as good a place as any to crash. Methos hadn't thought much further than crossing the border, but he'd lived in Mexico many years before and knew he could disappear in this country easily. And for now all he wanted was to disappear.
-----------
"Leandra this is ridiculous." Garrett said as he pounded on the door to her room. "You know I have the key to the door and even if I didn't, how hard do you think it would be for me to simply break it down?"
Still he heard nothing from the other side.
"You should give her time." Helen Matisse told him. Helen was the woman he'd hired to be Cassie's nanny, and although she had been well paid for her loyalty to Garrett and Rick she also knew that he wouldn't get very far with Leandra if he pushed.
"And how long do you think that will take?" he replied impatiently.
"That's hard to say. You took her from her home, her family, the man she just married. If you are looking for forgiveness you may be waiting till hell freezes over. However if all you want is for her to take the tray, I would recommend you go downstairs and let me try." She told him pointedly.
Garrett didn't like it, but he knew how stubborn Leandra was. As long as she could take care of Cassie, she would deprive herself of anything he gave her. He nodded and told Leandra he was leaving.
"Leandra . It's Helen." The woman rapped on the door. "He's downstairs and I have your breakfast tray."
Still no response.
Helen took a deep breath and rapped again. "I know you don't feel like eating, but you will need nourishment for the baby. And if he thinks you can't properly care for her, you know he'll take matters into his own hands."
Beth looked over at Cassie as she slept in the crib. She would be hungry soon, and although Beth knew she could go another day without eating and hurting her daughter, she couldn't risk Garrett taking her away. She lifted herself from the bed and wiped at her eyes. Brushing her hair out of her face with her hands, she walked across the room and unlatched the door.
Helen brought in the tray and set it on the table near the window. Neither woman said a word. Beth saw Helen as another player in Garrett's plan to remove Adam from her life, and Helen saw Beth as simply a means to make the best money she ever could. As soon as Beth lifted the cover from the plate and began to look over the meal, Helen turned and left quietly, not surprised when she heard the latch close behind her.
"Did she take it?" Garrett asked impatiently when the woman came downstairs.
"She did, and I think she will eat it. She's very protective of her daughter, and that is enough motivation."
"How did she look?"
"Like she'd been crying for three days." Helen replied dryly.
"Damn" Garrett cursed under his breath.
"Honestly, what did you expect?"
Garrett didn't want to hear her commentary, but he needed Helen to keep an eye on Leandra in the house just like he needed the guards around the mountain villa to make sure she didn't escape. Rick hadn't exaggerated when he said this place was hidden in the shadow of the Swiss Alps. The view in either direction was breathtaking.
The nearest town in the Aosta Valley was Chatillon, Italy. And although this time of year it was filled with tourists intent upon enjoying the sport and beauty of the mountains, Rick's mountain villa was well protected and almost invisible unless someone knew where to look.
Methos wasted no time putting as much distance as he could between himself and Ridgetop, Tennessee. So caught up in the shock and pain of it all, it took almost two hours for him to realize he was heading west.
It was as good a direction as any, he thought as he tried to figure out what he'd missed. Why hadn't he seen the signs? "Simple" he replied to himself. "There hadn't been any signs."
Up until the very instant he took the letter from Rayna's hand, nothing in his heart or mind doubted Beth's complete and total love for him. God, she'd walked into a quickening and risked everything for him. He knew at that moment she had to have loved him. So when did it all change?
"You fool!" he pounded on the steering wheel as he breezed past another exit on I-40. "How could you let yourself be so completely duped?"
He could almost let himself believe that Beth hadn't been responsible if she hadn't made such a point of giving him the poisoned beer herself. No, as much as he wanted to believe otherwise, she had set him up so she could leave with the man she really wanted to be with. Her letter and the locket said it all. She wanted him out of her life.
For the next hundred miles he played every word they'd ever said to one another and every word that hadn't needed to be vocalized over and over in his head. He'd completely let himself be wrapped up in this woman, and he could have sworn she felt the same. Hadn't she almost begged him to be Cassie's father? This didn't make sense.
The thought of the little girl caused his heart to wrench in agony. The love he had for that child was unlike anything he'd ever felt before. How could Beth let him get close to her only to rip the baby so callously from his life? How could he have missed any indication that she could do something so cruel? When he thought of Beth he thought of unfaltering love, kindness and a soul that treated others with care.
"How could I have been so wrong?" Methos gritted as he pulled into a gas station outside of Memphis. It was raining pretty hard, so no one noticed his car pull to the back of the property. His mind flashed back to the night before. He saw the way she looked at him as she walked down the aisle, the way she trembled as he slipped her hand through his arm and the way her body melted against his kiss so many times as they celebrated their union with friends and family.
But then he remembered the way she'd danced with Garrett and the words he'd heard him say to Beth. He'd kissed her on her cheek and looked directly at Methos as he told her that he loved her and couldn't say no to her. "I'll do what you asked." Garrett had said, and then there had been the kiss at midnight.
"I knew something wasn't right." Methos said to himself, remembering the chill that had run through him as he saw Cassie for what was probably the last time. "Why didn't I pay more attention? Was I that blinded by her?" He'd been suspicious of Garrett from the beginning, but never of Beth.
As he sat in the car, staring at the rain on the windshield, the memories and the knowledge of what he'd lost hit him full on and Methos was powerless to stop the wave of emotion that overtook him. He wept bitterly as he clutched the wheel of the car. Beth and Cassie's faces were painted on his soul and he didn't know how he could ever remove them. It was almost an hour later when the rain began to taper off and the pain he'd let himself feel began to channel into deep anger. Anger was an emotion he knew well, and it was the emotion that would help him survive.
He knew MacLeod, Joe and the others would be looking for him. He knew they would feel not only his pain, but pity for him. And pity was something he couldn't afford, not if he wanted to survive. And yes, even in the depths of this pain something deep in his being told him that he wanted to survive.
He reached into the back for his overcoat, and realized he'd been even more foolish than he imagined. His sword was not in the lining. "Damn her." He cursed, knowing Beth must have taken it thinking it would keep him from coming after she and Garrett.
"Don't worry sweetheart." He spat as he opened up his suitcase, retrieving the spare he always carried from inside the faux top of the case. "I won't waste another minute bothering with you or your precious farm boy." It wasn't his preferred Ivanhoe, but it was a fine weapon and would serve his purposes.
He slipped the sword into the lining of his coat, determined that he had cried his last tear and wasted his last breath on Beth or any woman. There was only one thing that he could count on now, and that was himself. Methos strode into the station, bought a case of beer and a road map before paying for his gas and continuing his trek west.
Two days later the sun had only just set as he crossed the border into the Mexican town of Nuevo Laredo. He had driven non-stop, and this was as good a place as any to crash. Methos hadn't thought much further than crossing the border, but he'd lived in Mexico many years before and knew he could disappear in this country easily. And for now all he wanted was to disappear.
-----------
"Leandra this is ridiculous." Garrett said as he pounded on the door to her room. "You know I have the key to the door and even if I didn't, how hard do you think it would be for me to simply break it down?"
Still he heard nothing from the other side.
"You should give her time." Helen Matisse told him. Helen was the woman he'd hired to be Cassie's nanny, and although she had been well paid for her loyalty to Garrett and Rick she also knew that he wouldn't get very far with Leandra if he pushed.
"And how long do you think that will take?" he replied impatiently.
"That's hard to say. You took her from her home, her family, the man she just married. If you are looking for forgiveness you may be waiting till hell freezes over. However if all you want is for her to take the tray, I would recommend you go downstairs and let me try." She told him pointedly.
Garrett didn't like it, but he knew how stubborn Leandra was. As long as she could take care of Cassie, she would deprive herself of anything he gave her. He nodded and told Leandra he was leaving.
"Leandra . It's Helen." The woman rapped on the door. "He's downstairs and I have your breakfast tray."
Still no response.
Helen took a deep breath and rapped again. "I know you don't feel like eating, but you will need nourishment for the baby. And if he thinks you can't properly care for her, you know he'll take matters into his own hands."
Beth looked over at Cassie as she slept in the crib. She would be hungry soon, and although Beth knew she could go another day without eating and hurting her daughter, she couldn't risk Garrett taking her away. She lifted herself from the bed and wiped at her eyes. Brushing her hair out of her face with her hands, she walked across the room and unlatched the door.
Helen brought in the tray and set it on the table near the window. Neither woman said a word. Beth saw Helen as another player in Garrett's plan to remove Adam from her life, and Helen saw Beth as simply a means to make the best money she ever could. As soon as Beth lifted the cover from the plate and began to look over the meal, Helen turned and left quietly, not surprised when she heard the latch close behind her.
"Did she take it?" Garrett asked impatiently when the woman came downstairs.
"She did, and I think she will eat it. She's very protective of her daughter, and that is enough motivation."
"How did she look?"
"Like she'd been crying for three days." Helen replied dryly.
"Damn" Garrett cursed under his breath.
"Honestly, what did you expect?"
Garrett didn't want to hear her commentary, but he needed Helen to keep an eye on Leandra in the house just like he needed the guards around the mountain villa to make sure she didn't escape. Rick hadn't exaggerated when he said this place was hidden in the shadow of the Swiss Alps. The view in either direction was breathtaking.
The nearest town in the Aosta Valley was Chatillon, Italy. And although this time of year it was filled with tourists intent upon enjoying the sport and beauty of the mountains, Rick's mountain villa was well protected and almost invisible unless someone knew where to look.