“You need to put the gun down. Please.” Lora inched closer and held out a trembling hand.
Nick held his breath as he waited for Sterling to snap and kill them all. Lora wasn’t a negotiator, but Nick was in awe of the way she spoke to the guy with a hushed tone. When the gun lowered slowly, it took every ounce of strength for Nick not to grab the guy’s hand. It would make things a thousand times worse, and Sterling still had Nick's gun tucked into his pants.
Nick slowly let out the breath he held as Sterling was about to place the gun in Lora’s hand. Then things went to hell as the front door opened and two of his brothers walked in with weapons raised followed by three other officers.
“Drop the weapon,” John spoke in a calm but authoritative voice.
Sterling stiffened next to him, and Lora’s eyes widened just a little as the gun pressed against Nick’s head again.
“John, he’s not going to hurt Nick. He’s going to give me his gun, and Nick's gun as well because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone else. Right, Sterling?” Her courage made Nick so proud, but he was terrified something would set Sterling off, and she’d get hurt.
“Is that right, Sterling?” John sounded pleased, but Nick knew it was a tactic to make the subject believe he was doing something right.
“Of course, it’s right. We’re friends.” Lora held her hand out again. “Please, Sterling.”
“They’ll kill me.” Sterling maneuvered until Nick was pulled in front of him like a sheild.
“We won’t hurt you as long as you put down your weapons and come with us.” James didn’t move from where he stood next to John.
“Yeah right. I’ve seen those shows. As soon as I put down my gun, you’ll shoot me in the head,” He bellowed over Nick’s head.
“No, not unless you shoot first,” James stated.
“I’ll lower my gun if you do the same.” Sterling’s body shook, making Nick uneasy.
“I know what you see on television, but I’m sorry we can’t do that, Sterling,” John explained.
“I want to tell her something.” Sterling’s body vibrated.
“That’s okay, but I’d feel a lot more comfortable if you’d put the gun down.” John again tried to get Sterling unarm himself.
“Not until I tell her,” Sterling growled.
“Okay, that’s fine.” Lora held up her hand to John. “What do you want to tell me?”
“You were the only one to ever treat me like a person. The first day you came to the school to help out I was in grade twelve, and you smiled at me as soon as you came into Mr. Norris’s office.” Sterling stopped and took a deep breath.
“Dad liked you, Sterling.” Lora smiled.
“I told my dad I loved you and I was going to marry you. I told him you were mine and he laughed. Can you imagine? The principal of a high school laughed at me, his own son, and told me I was too much of a loser to get a woman like you.” Sterling’s grip tightened around Nick’s neck.
“I’m sorry your dad said that to you.” Lora’s apology was genuine.
“I sent you gifts. My dad said it was the kind of gifts women wanted. It was the same as the movies he watches. Where women dress in sexy clothes and let the men do things.” The gun moved away from Nick’s head.
“I see.” Lora’s voice came out in a shaky whisper.
“He’s gonna be pissed. I lied to him.” He released his hold on Nick and knelt back.
“What did you lie about?” Lora asked.
“He asked me if I hurt those women. The ones I tried to turn into you, but I told him it wasn’t me.” Sterling placed both guns on the floor next to Nick.
“Sterling, I need you to put your hands on the back of your head.” John sounded pissed.
In twenty minutes, Nick was on a stretcher being pushed into the ambulance with Lora clinging to his hand. Sterling was shoved into the back of a cruiser. His gaze never left Lora.
“It’s over.” Lora brought his hand up to her lips as they were transported to the hospital.
Nick closed his eyes. The relief of knowing he could stop worrying about her being taken away from him calmed him. They could finally move on with their lives. All he had to do now was make sure Lora knew how much he loved her and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
Chapter 31
They stood next to where the attendant lowered the urn into the ground. Lora clung to Nick as her heart broke for his family. He was dead, and it was hard to not blame herself.
On the other side of the grave his sister sobbed in the arms of an older man. Lora never got a chance to meet the woman, and now they were at a grave burying her brother.
“May the love of God, and the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ bless and console us and gently wipe every tear from our eyes. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The priest prayed.
Lora still couldn’t believe any of this. He didn’t deserve to die that way. There was nothing to justify what Sterling did, but he was raised by a father who did nothing but beat down his self-esteem and make him feel unworthy of anyone loving him.
Lora was relieved Clyde was currently the subject of an investigation and fired from the high school for the distribution of pornographic photos to male students. The pictures weren’t illegal, but by sending them to kids made him not only sick but a criminal.
Sterling confessed to the murders of all five women, Dulce, as well as the couple who bought Lora’s family home. The thing that stunned everyone was he admitted to murdering Molly’s father too. She didn’t even realize Simon was missing since she hadn’t seen him in over a year.
Two weeks passed since Sterling’s arrest, and the judge deemed him unfit to stand trial. According to the doctors, he was raised by a verbally abusive father who never showed any affection. Clyde continually humiliated his son to the point that when Lora showed him the tiniest bit of attention, he built a whole imaginary relationship with her. He’d spend the rest of his life in the Waterford Hospital mental health facility.
Lora was relieved that it was over, but the number of people who’d been hurt or killed was tough to get her head around. It was hard to believe that the sweet young man who used to help her when she’d go to the high school to volunteer was the same man that terrorized her for so long.
His father was such a bastard. She never liked Clyde because of the way he treated the teachers, but to know he’d mistreated his son so terribly that Sterling became infatuated with her was unforgivable
“Hi, Lora, Nick,” Sunshine’s soft voice called from behind them.
“Hey, sweetie. How are you doing?” Lora gave the teenager a huge hug.
“Mom and Dad got me an appointment with a therapist because I’ve been having nightmares.” Sunshine glanced at Nick and gave him a weak smile.
“That’s a good thing.” Nick touched the young girl’s arm.
“I know, and to be honest, it’ll probably help me deal with Mr. Batten’s death as well.” Sunshine looked back to the grave. “I didn’t even know he had a sister. He said he had no family.”
“I don’t think anyone did,” Nick told her.
After the police released the name of Albert Batten as the victim of the fire, his sister’s husband contacted the police. Albert’s brother-in-law told the police that Albert had a falling out with his sister a couple of decades earlier over their father’s estate. Albert moved to Hopedale and the siblings never spoke again.
“I can’t believe he’s gone. He was a cranky old man, but I’m going to miss his gruff complaining.” A tear ran down her cheek.
A woman called to Sunshine, and she gave Lora and Nick a quick hug before she hurried off. Hopefully, the young girl would deal with what happened and move on with her life.
“Hey, we’re going to see Hulk.” Keith stood next to the car.
“He practically begged Keith to come over because his sister is driving him crazy.” Emily laughed.
“Do you think he’ll mind if
I take Molly to see him?” Lora asked.
Ever since Molly found out Hulk was out of the hospital, she’d begged Lora and Nick to take her to see her buddy. She even threw a couple of tantrums when they wouldn’t take her right away.
“I’m sure he’d love to see her.” Emily got into the car.
“Great. We'll see you there.” Nick opened the door for her, and they got into his truck.
An hour later Lora laughed as Hulk tried to explain why he couldn’t do his lift trick with Molly. The doctor told him he needed to take it easy and not to exert himself. Molly pouted for a bit but quickly crawled onto his lap when he said he’d let her watch the Disney channel.
Hulk would fully recover, thank, God, but it would take some time, and Lora was happy about that. His sister agreed to stay with him until he was back on his feet, much to Hulk's dismay.
Diana Steel was younger than both her brothers, but Lora found out very quickly the woman didn’t let them tell her what to do. She reminded her a lot of the O'Connor girls in her personality. Hulk’s brother Clark was the oldest and returned to Gander because he was a firefighter there.
“I still find it so funny that your parents named all of you after their favorite comic book superheroes.” Emily chuckled at the story Diana told them about their parent's love of superheroes
“I guess you were destined to be named Hulk.” Nick laughed.
“That wasn’t where he got that name.” Keith snickered.
“I’ve never heard that story.” Diana propped her arms on the chair where she crouched next to her brother.
“And you’re not going to.” He growled and glared at Keith.
“Oh, come on. I want to know too.” Lora leaned forward in her chair.
“Rusty, shut your mouth,” Hulk used Keith's nickname with a low warning growl.
“I know how he got the name.” Emily grinned mischievously.
“Spill,” Diana giggled as she covered her brother’s mouth and muted his protests.
“When Keith first hired Bruce, they found an old run-down building for the offices and sleeping quarters.” Emily moved to the edge of the sofa where she sat next to an amused Keith.
“Don’t you have control over your woman, Rusty?” Hulk groaned.
“How long have you known this family? We don't control any of the women in this family once Nan gets hold of them,” Keith laughed.
“Anyway,” Emily rolled her eyes, “They were painting the offices and the bedrooms, and there was a slight disagreement between Trunk and Bull about the color of the main room. The guys got a little physical over the whole green versus blue thing.”
“For the love of, God.” Hulk rolled his eyes. “I was… entertaining a lady friend… in bed… I heard the argument and didn’t know what was going on…Fuck… I ran out of the room as naked as the day I was born, bumped into the ladder the idiots left in front of my bedroom door, and I knocked an entire can of green paint over me.”
As soon as Hulk finished his embarrassing story everyone in the room broke out into hysterical laughter. Molly glanced around the room, but it wasn’t enough to take her attention away from Disney.
“It wasn’t funny.” Hulk groaned. “The woman took off like a bat out of hell when I walked back into the room.”
"Probably because he stomped in the room roaring like a crazy person." Keith laughed
“Oh…what did… Oh my, God. Did she think you were … an alien?” Diana choked as she tried to catch her breath.
“Or she thought he was the Incredible Hulk.” Lora held her stomach.
"The truth was she wasn't a really smart woman either." Keith chuckled.
“I’m glad you are all enjoying my humiliation. It took days to get rid of all the paint.” Hulk grumbled.
“Yeah, I bet little Hulk didn’t enjoy all the scrubbing.” Emily giggled.
“I used to think you were a nice lady, Em.” Hulk sighed, but when his lips quirked up, Lora could see he wasn’t the least bit angry.
“Boy, did I have you fooled.” Emily tucked her feet under her bottom and snuggled into her husband.
Lora eased into Nick’s side. His laughter vibrated through her body, and she sighed. For the first time in a year, she was relaxed and happy. So very happy.
Lora was glad to be back at her old job as well, but did miss the diner sometimes. Molly started kindergarten, and Lora's mother took over Lora's place at Jack’s Place. It wasn't that her mother needed to work, but she wanted something to keep her busy. Ethan took a job at the pub as a bartender until he figured out what he was going to do next. Lora was just happy to have her family close to her.
It was the second week of September and Kristy’s wedding was the next day. She stood in the middle of the hall at the Hopedale Sailing club making sure all the decorations were perfect.
Kristy hired Lora to decorate the hall for the wedding. Since Lora was an interior decorator, setting up for a wedding was a piece of cake. Plus, Lora got to spend time with the people she'd grown to respect and love.
Alice hobbled toward Lora with a huge smile on her face. The cast was gone, but she was wearing a walking brace for another couple of weeks. She wasn’t happy about it, but Pam took her shopping, and she found a great pants suit to wear.
“Lora, this is absolutely beautiful.” Alice glanced around the room.
“I had lots of help.” Lora motioned to the group of O’Connor women and their friends.
“You always do in this family.” Alice chuckled.
By the time she arrived back home, it was just before midnight. Nick and Ethan were still awake and sipping beer while they watched a ball game.
“Hey,” Nick tipped his head back to look up at her as she walked behind the couch. Lora bent down and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.
“Hey, I see you guys have had a busy night too.” Lora laughed.
“This is tough work making sure we keep up on who will make it to the world series.” Ethan pointed his finger toward the television.
"Plus, weren't you the one that told us to scram once all the heavy lifting was done?" Nick raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, I was, and I bet you two are exhausted,” Lora said sarcastically.
“You know we could have stayed and helped you decorate.” Nick took her fingers in his hand.
“I love you, honey but the ladies and I had a blast.” Lora wrapped her arms around his neck. “Plus, I can’t honestly see you and your brothers or the other guys, filling vases with flowers.” Lora kissed his cheek.
“I’ll have you know I do a mean flower arrangement.” Nick chuckled.
“Jess is very talented. I only found out tonight that she owns a flower shop. She said she opened it before she joined the academy.” Lora was still shocked by the information. “She still owns it and said she goes there when she wants to relax.”
“Yeah, we used to say Jess was the only flower child that could kick ass.” Nick stood up and pulled her into his arms. “We should call it a night. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last six weddings, tomorrow is going to be a long, hectic day.”
“I love weddings.” Lora glanced at her brother who stared up at her with a wide grin on his face.
“What’s that look?” Lora questioned.
“Nothing at all.” Ethan smiled.
“Ethan?” Lora warned.
“It’s nothing, sis. I better get to bed.” Her brother stood up and made his way to the room he’d been staying since he arrived in Hopedale.
“I hate when he does that.” Lora groaned.
“How about we forget all about your brother. Molly is all tucked in, and your mother is spending the night at Daphne’s house.” Nick rested his hands on her hips and backed her slowly toward her bedroom.
“I see, and what did you have in mind, Mr. O’Connor.” Lora reached behind her to turn the knob to the bedroom.
“Oh, let's see. How about a hot shower where I fill your shower poof with body wash?” Nick ripped his
shirt over his head as he kicked the door closed.
“Yeah? What else?” Lora slipped her shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor.
“I'll take my time and run it down the back of your neck, down your back, and take special care to that sexy ass before I make my way down your legs.” Nick rid himself of his track pants and boxer briefs.
“Sounds heavenly.” Lora wiggled out of her yoga pants and panties as Nick turned on the shower.
“You are my heaven.” Nick moaned when her hand wrapped around his erection, and he pulled her against him as they stepped into the shower.
Nick devoured her mouth, and Lora forgot everything else but how it felt to be pressed against him. Skin to skin, body to body. She loved this man with all her heart, and she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life.
Nick treated Molly as if she was his own daughter. Her little girl idolized him, and there was nothing in the world was sexier than a man who loved children. Lora loved him with every beat of her heart. Hopefully one day, she’d be getting ready for her own wedding day.
Chapter 32
Nick took the time to speak to her brother and mother while Lora was out decorating the hall. He'd always been told to speak to the woman's father before he ever proposed, but since Sam Norris passed away, Nick went with asking the two members of her family that were left.
Her mother was thrilled and practically strangled him when she hugged him. Ethan held back a little more. After Sheila left for the night, Nick wanted to know why Ethan was uncomfortable with Nick proposing.
"It's not that I don't think you two belong together. I'm just sad that our father won't be there to give her away." Ethan dropped his head.
"Isn't that where her big brother is supposed to step in?" Nick asked, and Ethan raised his head again.
"Yeah," Ethan held out his hand to Nick. "If you love her as much as she loves you, and you take care of my niece, you have my blessing."
Now he stood at the bar and watched Lora as his father twirled her around the dance floor. She laughed and looked absolutely beautiful in the floral, sleeveless sundress. The pale blue of the dress made the blue in her eyes stand out, and the pink flowers complimented her pale skin.
Dangerous Delusion (O'Connor Brothers Book 6) Page 24