Aaron faced his former associate, his fists raised. Blood dripped down his face from a cut on his cheek.
Standish merely laughed.
“How?” Aaron asked simply.
Standish made his way cautiously through the destruction to stand over Cathlene.
Aaron advanced.
“You made it fairly easy for me,” Standish said, sliding a hand casually along Cathlene’s arm. “I recognized her on sight this evening. The whore who worked as a governess for me not six months ago, now parading around as your wife,” he spat. “A man doesn’t forget a pretty woman, especially one who gets away.”
So intent was he on attacking Standish, Aaron didn’t hear one of the ruffians approach. The fist to his back knocked him to the floor, and he suddenly found himself pinned, a knife at his throat.
Timothy was preoccupied with the other ruffian. The man won the upper hand, kicking the young attendant to the floor, his head grazing a broken piece of wood before he went limp.
Standish ignored the fighting around him, his eyes remaining fixed hard on Aaron. “Now that it’s just you and I, you’re going to watch as I have my way with your wife.” Aaron struggled against the hold his capturer had on him. “If you attempt to save her,” Standish continued calmly, “I’ll shoot her, and then you.” To prove his point, he pulled a pistol from his boot and aimed it directly at Cathlene’s head.
Aaron stilled. “When I’m free, I’ll kill you, you son of a bitch. You won’t get away with touching a hair on her head.”
Standish turned Cathlene on her stomach, and reached for the lacings of her gown. “She doesn’t belong to the likes of you. She has a body that’s meant to be enjoyed. I have more to tempt her with than you ever will.” He undid the first hook, exposing a strip of creamy skin.
“We both might be able to provide her with the material comforts, but there’s one thing I’ll give her that you can’t.”
"She seemed more than satisfied working in my household,” Standish sneered. “She’d send me flirtatious smiles as she’d pass me in the hall. She was asking for my attention.”
Contempt and disgust rumbled through him. Death wasn’t a fit enough punishment for what Standish deserved. “She’s no whore as you wish to make her. She has more bravery coursing through her bones than you’ll ever have.”
Standish paused at the second hook, his gaze finally meeting Aaron’s. “Shut him up,” he ordered the man holding him.
Aaron took advantage of his captor’s momentary distraction and sent his elbow into the man’s nose. The ruffian whimpered, holding his broken appendage with one meaty paw.
Aaron ignored his cries as he carefully angled himself away. “I suppose a man such as yourself can’t perform properly. Suppose that’s why you turn to raping women because your own wife finds you distasteful.”
The two hirelings snickered. That got Standish’s full attention. He pivoted around to face Aaron, his nostrils flaring, his eyes growing cloudy with rage.
Cathlene worked to free herself from her bonds. She’d pretended to faint to help Aaron so he wouldn’t be distracted by her. Standish shifted the pistol’s barrel in Aaron’s direction. She continued pulling at the rope that held her. If she could only free herself and grab the shard of glass on the floor near her right shoulder.
"You will see how well I perform, O’Connel when I take your wife.”
Chills raced through her body, but she kept tugging at the rope, ignoring the chafing against her wrists. Relief replaced the fear. Aaron was here. Everything would be alright. He wouldn’t leave her again.
Standish had his back toward her, one foot raised to kick Aaron in the chest. She bit down on her lip to prevent her scream of warning as she managed to free one of her wrists. She reached for the piece of glass. Cathlene glimpsed Aaron from the corner of her eye, slowly angling his body away from the man who struggled to hold him with one hand.
With the shard of glass in hand, she sat up and prepared to leap onto Standish’s back. Her former employer still held the pistol steadied at Aaron’s head.
A bone snapped as Aaron struck the knife from his capturer’s hand. The weapon clattered to the floor as Aaron rolled aside. Standish’s foot connected with her kidnapper’s chest, sending the other man sprawling backwards.
In a flash, Aaron jumped to his feet and proceeded to disarm Standish of his weapon. A shot discharged as the men fought for possession of it, the bullet striking Standish in the leg. With a cry, he collapsed to the floor.
“Aaron, are you hurt?” Cathlene inquired, jumping to her feet and racing to his side.
He responded without glancing at her. “I am fine, my love.”
Aaron raised the pistol and trained it on her kidnappers. “You bastards move, I’ll put a bullet in your brains,” he threatened in a tone that would frighten the most jaded of criminals.
Neither man moved.
Cathlene heard a moan come from a point out of her vision. “Timothy? Are you harmed?” She recognized the theater attendant who’d assisted them to their box earlier. She stepped over the clutter on the floor to his side. “Give me your hand and I’ll help you to your feet.”
“Son of a bitch.” Timothy groaned coming out from behind a pile of rubble. “My skull’s been split in two.”
“There’s a lady present,” Aaron chided.
“Don’t scold him, Aaron,” Cathlene said smiling through her own pains. “I ache just as bloody much.”
“Are you well enough, Timothy, to fetch the police commissioner and a physician?”
He carefully got to his feet. “Yes, sir, I’ll fetch them right away.”
“Hurry it up there, boy,” Standish ordered. “I’m lying here bleeding to death.”
Timothy strolled away, whistling a merry tune.
“Don’t move, Cathlene, my love. I’ll carry you out of here soon enough.”
She made her way to his side. “I am alright, Aaron, truly. You’re here. I knew you wouldn’t let that pig there harm me.”
“Where is that good-for-nothing boy?” Standish complained.
Aaron pointed the pistol straight at his head. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you here and now after what you’ve done to my wife.”
“I thought she was a poor woman. How was I to know she was your wife?” Standish stammered indignantly.
“Don’t try your lies on me,” Aaron snapped, cocking the weapon.
One of her kidnappers moved. Aaron shot the man’s hat off his head. He stilled.
“I’m not the first woman you’ve attacked,” Cathlene said. Because it felt good, she turned to Aaron, hoping he’d follow her. “Why not kill him, love? He’ll just continue with his gross deeds. No woman deserves such callous treatment."
Standish flinched.
Aaron glared at him over the pistol. “You’re a coward who hides behind others to shield himself. That ends now.”
For the first time ever, Cathlene glimpsed true fear in her tormenter’s gaze.
“I’m a changed man since then,” he said, his retraction going ignored.
“You’re lying. What of Anna?”
“What of her?”
“You killed her. I saw it with my own two eyes.”
Standish didn’t reply.
“First, we’re going to have a long discussion with our friend, the police commissioner,” Aaron said. “Once he’s through with you, it’s our turn.”
Standish’s complexion grew paler. He glanced to the door and the street beyond, but no one came to his aid. He was a pathetic rat finally caught in a trap. And he knew it.
Standish finally turned his gaze to her. “Anna isn’t dead.”
Cathlene kept her relieved tears at bay. She was so glad her friend wasn’t gone. “Where is she?”
“I paid for her care and gave her the money to leave the city. She won’t return.”
Cathlene shivered. She knew he’d frightened her into fleeing. “A changed man wouldn’t be so generous,” she commente
d. “But a scared man would.”
“She went to a police officer and told him her story. He even came to question me. The going’s on between an employer and employee aren’t the business of the police.” He sneered with disdain, horrified that anyone would dare question a man of his status. “I couldn’t very well have her show up dead.”
“We have much to tell the commissioner. If society hasn’t heard of your actions against my wife and Anna by the time he’s through with you, you might still have a chance to walk among them, but if I hear of any mistreatment to anyone, or if you plot another scheme to take my wife or to harm me, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”
Standish merely nodded, the pain of his injury and cowardice apparently making him unable to speak.
Cathlene stood over him, her fear of this man gone forever. “I’ll be delighted to properly introduce myself to your wife and inform her of why Anna and I departed so abruptly from your employment.”
Standish shook his head. “Please don’t speak of this to my wife.”
“If a pup cries, and I hear of it, you’ll be ruined,” Aaron vowed. “I’ll see to it. You’ll lose your money, your standing within the community…everything. Any hope for a bright future for your children will disappear.”
Cathlene knew Aaron would rather kill Standish than let him go free, but he was in a new world, one where money and power were kings. Standish was greedy for both. He wouldn’t sabotage his chances to increase his fortune or status. Not when his actions would ostracize him.
Standish hung his head in defeat. The blood from his wound coated his fingers.
Timothy returned a short while later with a physician and two policemen. They ushered Standish and his accomplices to waiting wagons, leaving Aaron and Cathlene alone with Timothy.
“I’m in your debt,” Aaron said to him after his cuts and bruises had been tended to, and Cathlene’s gown had been refastened.
“No, sir, there’s no debt owed.”
“You helped save my wife’s life. There’s no amount of money that will be enough repayment. If there’s anything you need, please ask. I can’t tell you how glad I am to have her returned to me. I thought she was lost to me again.”
Something akin to hope sprouted inside her.
“There’s no thanks necessary, sir,” Timothy said, shaking Aaron’s hand. “I appreciate the gesture, but…”
“I insist, lad. You’d best thank me. I’d hire you as a footman to escort my wife about town. I know she’d be safe with you. Of course, the decision is yours. The position will always be open to you.”
Timothy nodded and bowed. “I thank you, sir. I am content working at the Gardens. I won’t forget your generous offer. If I’m ever on the hunt for a new position, I’ll come to you.”
Then, without another word, he hurried off down the narrow street, finally leaving them alone
“You’ll really help him?”
Aaron rubbed at her reddened wrists. “I would’ve lost you again if it weren’t for him. I owe him my life.”
“Let’s hope it won’t come to that, love. I don’t want to lose you again.”
“If I had a choice, Cathlene,” Aaron said levelly, “I wouldn’t be parted from you ever again.”
Her heart gave a hopeful skip in her chest. “Never again? Or do you just want me for the son I’ve agreed to give you?”
“I want sons and daughters, as many as the good Lord above will bless us with. And I want you to be their mother, to remain with me to raise them. But I won’t hold you to me.”
“When we were first reunited, I saw the man you’d become, and he wasn’t the Aaron I knew. I didn’t know what to do. I’d thought you’d changed for the worse, letting your new way of life erase the Aaron I loved, replacing him with your show of power and arrogance. I was wrong. You had to change, as did I to survive.”
“I knew striking the bargain with you would be the only way I could keep you close to me,” he admitted. “I knew you wouldn’t stay if I confessed I still loved you, that I’ve never stopped giving up hope that I’d find you again. You suffered much because of me. That I can never make up for.”
“Aaron, no,” she cried, her tears spilling over. This dear strong man blamed himself for what she’d been through. No wonder she loved him so. “Every experience taught me a valuable life lesson, and shaped the woman I am today. I’d do it all over again because it would lead me back to you. I had to relearn to trust myself and you.”
“Does that mean you’ll stay?” he asked, hope showing in his smile.
“It does if you’ll be rid of our bargain, and tell me what the one thing is you can give me that Standish can’t. Who knows?” she quipped saucily, “I might change my mind.”
“Our most recent agreement, yes. Consider it forgotten. I have another proposal for you.”
Cathlene smiled through her tears. “What would that be?”
“I propose that you let me love you for the next fifty-odd years or more. Have a dozen or so children who we’ll spoil and marry into the richest families. Be my wife and my friend. Can you agree to that?”
“I believe I can. We have a bargain, Mr. O’Connell,” she replied with mock sternness. “I’ll be sure you’ll implicitly live up to every one of those terms.”
Despite her protests, Aaron carried her to the carriage he hailed. Once home, he summoned his personal physician. After the kind gentleman examined her, Aaron joined her in bed. “I’m feeling perfectly fine. I don’t need bed rest.”
“You’re not rising from this bed until I’m certain you’re well.”
She sent him a wicked smile. “With such an attentive husband seeing after my care, it won’t be long until I’m on my feet again.”
He slipped her night gown over her head and tossed it to the floor. “You’ll be under my close observation the next few days just to be sure all is well. You might be abed longer than you’re anticipating.”
As long as Aaron remained at her side, Cathlene didn’t mind.
Bio and Other books
Bio
Abbey MacInnis is a published author of Contemporary Western romance. Along with Contemporary, she writes Historical, Paranormal and erotic romance. Whether she’s being swept off her feet by a Medieval knight, regency rake, or cowboy or cop, her heroes are always strong men who’ll love their women unconditionally.
On most days, Abbey can be found at her computer, penning her latest tale. A tale where love, respect, and passion combine to create a satisfying and happy ending. Guaranteed. She invites you to step in to the pages of her romances, to leave your worries behind and get swept up in her world.
She also writes erotica short stories as Eve Knight.
www.eveknight.com
To hear about releases as both Abbey and Eve, and contest opportunities for newsletter subscribers only, before anyone else, head to either
http://www.abbeymacinnis.com
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http://www.eveknight.com
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http://abbeymacinnis.blogspot.com
Other books by Abbey MacInnis
Delighting Miss Daisy (Wayback Texas)
Published by The Wild Rose Press
About the book:
When Sam Howard, CEO of Sam’s Smooth Sliding Ale, arrives in Wayback to advertise his product for the rodeo, bakery entrepreneur Daisy Porter goes on a crusade to tear down every poster in town. Can Daisy look past the businessman to the compassionate man underneath, or has the lock to her heart finally rusted shut? Sam is a patient man, who doesn’t force his way through the walls s
he’s placed up to guard her heart. With the threat of someone from her past shadowing her, can Daisy reclaim her self-confidence and strength to find happiness with Sam?
Reviews:
Between The Lines
“Ms MacInnis has a nice writing style that is easy to follow. Her characters are very likeable and read as though they could step from the pages and easily take up residency in any small town. She concludes the book with a twist that showed remarkable growth in one of the characters.
If you are looking for an escape from all the current darkness, Delighting Miss Daisy is what you need. This is a character who knows how to make it in life no matter what comes her way.”
“A first time reader of Ms. MacInnis work, I was pleased with Delighting Miss Daisy. The book starts off with small town baker meeting high power promoter and the feathers starts flying from the first few pages in.
The sexual tension also starts as well and it only gets better as the book progresses. Daisy has a whole lot of issues, some known and some she keeps deeply buried. Living in a small town there is little that is not known by one and all, in the name of being neighborly.
Sam has is own chip on his shoulder, but is man enough to face them head on, and roll with the punches as they come at him. When he meets Daisy he has to re-evaluate his plan of action, of how to get her attention and more from her.
With the intervention of small town nosiness, and friendly protectiveness, small town Wayback close ranks around Daisy, when she seems to be bombarded by emotion at the best time of her life and memories from the worst time of her life.
Delighting Miss Daisy is a good addition to the Wayback Series. Ms. MacInnis has a great sense of timing with her characters and her plot. The book was even paced, the love scenes very PG, as would denote small town lifestyle. As much as the book is a part of a series, all the loose ends were tied up, with anticipation aplenty for fans of the Wayback Series to follow on and get caught up in another Wayback story.”
His Fifth Avenue Thief Page 8