Dangerous Abduction (O'Connor Brothers Book 2)

by Rhonda Brewer

  Danny had only asked once why he didn’t have a daddy. She’d explained that his daddy had gone away, but it wasn’t because he didn’t love him, it was just that he and mommy didn’t get along. She told him that his daddy loved him and always would. It was a lie, but what else could she tell him? The explanation appeased him and he told her it was okay because he still had Uncle John and Poppy.

  A cool breeze blew off the lake making her shiver. The threat of winter was in the wind even if it was a nice day. She tried to control the tears streaming down her cheeks but it was no use. She’d opened the flood-gates again, and she wiped the drops away angrily. She was so tired of crying because of Marc O’Reilly. It was all so overwhelming, and being near a man that made her body come alive with want wasn’t helping. Then there was that kiss. It was so tender and she’d felt it right to the depths of her soul so much so that she probably would have let him take things much further had the boys not interrupted. That would have been a bad idea. Especially since she still didn’t know if her head was on straight.

  An icy chill skittered down her spine, and it felt as if someone was watching her. She glanced at James but he was busy pushing the boys on the swings. Marina glanced around the park, but there were only a few other families and they all seemed oblivious to her. She pulled the collar of her jacket around her neck as she tried to control the tears that were refusing to stop. To make it worse, the creepy feeling of being watched wasn’t subsiding.

  She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The park was probably the most beautiful place she’d ever seen. It was a piece of heaven in the middle of Hopedale and she loved spending time there. Although, all of Hopedale was paradise. People could actually let their children play outside without worrying about them being run down by a speeding vehicle or being taken by some crazy person. One of the reasons she’d moved there was because she’d always been afraid of something happening to Danny, and for a while the fear had subsided, but over the last few hours, the feeling was becoming overwhelming.

  Then there was James. She’d done a lot to make sure they weren’t around each other often, but her sister was making that difficult. Now she was staying in his house and she didn’t want to be anywhere else. That was a problem, because the more time she spent with him, the more time she wanted to spend with him. He’d stepped up when his wife died and was raising his son by himself the way a father should.

  She’d been holding back on her growing attraction to him because she was afraid of falling in love again. She could fall in love with James O’Connor way too easily. Maybe she was already in love with him. She had all the signs. When he was around, her heart pounded, her pulse raced, and he was always the lead of her dreams, well at least the dreams that didn’t include Marc trying to kill her. What was she going to do? The kiss they shared gave her hope that he was attracted to her, but was he really ready to move on? Was she?

  She was sure that Marc had killed the part of her that allowed her to trust a man, but there was no way of denying it, James was bringing that part of her back to life. She trusted him more than she ever thought she could.

  She turned and James was scanning the line of trees as if he was searching for something. When he turned around, she saw him glance towards the playground and a sudden look of panic came over his face. What the hell did he see? She spun to see and tripped over a rock sending her sprawling on the ground.

  Chapter 10

  James glanced at the bench. Marina was gone. He frantically scanned the park for her. Whatever he thought he saw was giving him a weird feeling. He lifted the boys off the swings and they ran to the slide. He quickly searched the park, and his heart finally slowed when he spotted her next to the lake. With a sigh of relief, he made his way towards her, but the boys tackled him, knocking him to his knees. He’d been so wrapped up in getting to Marina, he didn’t hear them run up behind him. He laughed as they both knocked him over and landed on top of him. He glanced at Marina again and saw her wipe her hand across her cheek. Something was wrong.

  “Okay guys, I need a break. You two go play for a bit but stay where I can see you.” The two boys ran back to the slide. James turned around just as Marina fell to the ground. He sprinted across the park and fell to his knees. She was sitting up with her forehead resting against her knees and he could hear her sobbing.

  “Marina, why are you crying? Are you hurt?” James helped her to her feet. She kept her back to the boys and he could still keep an eye on them.

  “It’s nothing, I’m fine.” She was avoiding his eyes.

  “People don’t cry over nothing. How did you fall?” He wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “I tripped on a rock and I think everything’s hitting me all at once. I just don’t know why someone would break into my house and destroy my things.” She sobbed and tears spilled down the side of her face. James pulled her into his arms and tucked her head under his chin. How could he answer her question? None of it made any sense to him.

  “I don’t know why people do these things, but we’ll find out what happened, Marina. Please, don’t worry.” He kissed the top of her head, and his heart was breaking to see her so distraught. He knew firsthand people did terrible things for no reason, or at least no good reason. Hell, he arrested them on a daily basis and it was hard to stay disconnected from the victims of these crimes, but with Marina, it was impossible.

  When her sobs subsided he pulled back, but fear and sadness still filled her eyes. If he only knew how to make all of it go away. Maybe there was one thing he could do at the moment. Distraction.

  “Let’s go get some ice cream.” James held her hands, and Marina smiled. He gave her a moment to get herself together and reluctantly released her hands. She took a couple of deep breaths. “Are you ready?” She nodded, and James linked his hand with hers.

  Danny and Mason were not happy about leaving the park. Well not until James used the secret word. Ice cream. Suddenly, they were more than ready to go and bolted for the parking lot. James held Marina’s hand in his until they were in front of his truck. He gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go, and she mouthed the words, ‘Thank you.’ James nodded and turned to help Danny and Mason into their car seats. She didn’t have to thank him, because no matter what he would do anything for her.

  “How about we make an afternoon of it and go into town for lunch?” James asked once he had himself buckled in.

  “Sounds good.” She smiled but it certainly didn’t reach her eyes.

  “All right, boys, we are going to get lunch before ice cream,” James announced as he pulled out of the park

  “Awww... You said we were getting ice cream,” Mason whined and James didn’t need to look in the rearview mirror to know he was pouting.

  “It’s okay, Mason, we’re gonna have ice cream after lunch. Right, Unca James?” Danny reminded him of Keith. Growing up, Keith always tried to be the mediator between any brothers who were having a fight. It seemed Danny had that same type of personality.

  “That’s right, buddy.” James glanced back at Mason. His son still had his I-don’t-like-this face but at least he wasn’t whining anymore.

  “Can we go to Dairy Queen?” Mason asked. “They have burgers and ice cream.” Obviously Mason was going to make sure they didn’t miss out on the ice cream.

  “Great idea.” James chuckled as they pulled out of Hopedale and headed to St. John’s. He didn’t miss the fact that Marina wasn’t saying anything. All she did was stare out through the window. He couldn’t stop himself and reached across the seat to cover her hand with his. She didn’t look at him, but she covered his hand with her free one. The gentle squeeze she gave it told him she really needed the contact. They stayed this way the entire way to town without saying a word. The kids had dozed off, so the only sound was the soft music playing from the radio.

  Burgers and ice cream were apparently the best thing in the world according to Mason and Danny. Marina didn’t eat much, but she did manage to join in the conv
ersation with the boys. James was glad they didn’t seem to notice her distraction.

  “Why doesn’t Mason have a mommy?” Danny asked out of the blue, and Marina almost knocked over her drink at the question. James glanced down at Mason, and he was staring up at James.

  “Do you want to tell him or will I?” Mason asked and James chuckled. James had made sure Mason knew about Sarah and answered any questions he had over his short life.

  “You can answer him, if you want?” James glanced at Marina. She seemed surprised by Mason’s reaction.

  “My mommy had to go to heaven when I was a little baby,” Mason started. “She was real special and couldn’t stay here for a very long time.” James shook his head for a moment since he had never said anything like that to his son. He didn’t know where on earth Mason came up with what he was telling Danny. “She’s my angel mommy, and Nanny Betty says she’ll always keep me and Daddy safe.” It all made sense now. It seemed Mason had been talking to Nanny Betty and as always, his grandmother explained people’s deaths with being needed in heaven. It was probably the better way to explain to a child.

  “Do ya miss her?” Danny asked.

  “I don’t remember her but I know Daddy misses her. Don’cha, Daddy.” Mason looked up at him.

  “Every day, buddy.” James felt odd talking about Sarah with Marina at the table.

  “My daddy went away,” Danny said and Marina instantly stiffened.

  “Sometimes that happens, buddy.” James wanted to help, but he didn’t know exactly what Danny knew about his dad.

  “Yeah, but I have Poppy, Unca John and you.” Danny grinned as he scooped the last of his ice cream into his mouth.

  “You have lots of unca’s, Danny.” Mason stood up on his chair.

  “I know.” Danny smiled.

  “Could you excuse me for a moment?” Marina stood, and he watched her quickly disappear into the bathroom.

  “I think Mommy misses my daddy,” Danny said when Marina made her quick exit.

  “Why do you think that, buddy?” James needed to know what was going on in Danny’s head to think Marina missed the asshole.

  “She’s always telling him to stop when she’s sleeping.” Danny sighed. “She gets real scared in her dreams.”

  James knew Marina might have been having bad dreams because of the night that Danny had called him but if what Danny was saying was true, she was having them more often than he first thought.

  “They’re just dreams, buddy.” He didn’t know what else to say to the kid. “Mommy will be fine.”

  Danny nodded though something told him that the little boy had a lot more questions about his father but he didn’t want to ask. He probably thought it would upset Marina and if there was one thing James’ knew about Danny it was, he didn’t like to see his mother upset.

  James rerouted the conversation by helping the boys assemble the small toy they got with their meals. Marina seemed to be gone a long while, and he was constantly glancing towards the bathroom area. He saw a couple of men and women enter and exit but Marina hadn’t returned. He checked the time on his phone. He was giving her one more minute and he was going to check on her.

  Almost as if she’d sensed his panic, Marina opened the bathroom door. James tensed when a grungy-looking man stopped her. She spoke to him for a moment and although she didn’t seem afraid of him, she didn’t seem comfortable talking to him. He was about to go see what the guy was saying, but Marina smiled at the man and continued towards them.

  She sat at the table and ruffled Danny’s hair. She seemed more relaxed but when the man that had stopped her kept staring on his way out of the restaurant, James had to ask.

  “What did that guy want?” James cringed at the way he blurted out the question, but she turned and met his eyes.

  “He told me I had a cute kid and I was a very lucky woman.” Marina told him.

  “That you are.” James glanced at Danny, who seemed to be oblivious to their conversation since he and Mason were now completely concentrating on their new toys. “He’s a pretty lucky little boy too.”

  Marina smiled and lowered her eyes as her cheeks flushed. It was nice to see the color back in her cheeks. It didn’t matter to him either way because to him she was absolutely beautiful. He couldn’t help watching her help Danny on with his coat. Her ponytail was hung over one shoulder, and the memory of how her hair felt between his fingers that morning when he tangled his hand in it made his body react the way it always did around her, and he was the biggest ass in the world. Here they were at a restaurant with their kids and all he could think about was how much he wanted to strip her naked and bury himself inside her.

  “Daddy, are you okay?” Mason was standing in front of him with his head tilted to the side. He glanced up from where he was still sitting to make sure his ridiculous reaction was hidden from view.

  “I’m fine, Mason.” James turned himself in the chair and zipped up Mason’s jacket but as he glanced out the window he caught a glimpse of the man that had stopped Marina, sitting in a car just outside the window. He was leering at Marina and it sent chills through his entire body. The good thing was it helped his previous situation because now he was more concerned with the way the guy seemed focused on Marina.

  “You see him too,” Mason whispered.

  “Who?” James noticed Mason had seemed to pick up on the man as well.

  “That creepy guy is staring at us.” Mason pointed towards the guy and when the man saw Mason point, he backed away from the window and sped out of the lot.

  “Okay, so that wasn’t creepy at all.” Marina glanced at him, the concern was clear on her face.

  “He’s gone now, and there is no way he’d get near any of you.” James motioned for her to stay behind him and he held tightly to both boy’s hands. “Just stay next to me in case.” Something about the whole incident gave James a bad feeling but he wasn’t going to let Marina know that or the kids. He just wanted to get them out to the truck and home safe. Maybe he was over reacting but his instincts were usually pretty good.

  They walked out of the restaurant, and he scanned the lot as they walked to the truck. He opened the door for Marina and the boys to pile in. He’d worry about getting the boys buckled in when they were all safely in the truck. He ran around to his side and scanned the lot as well as the road. The guy was gone and James puffed out a breath as he climbed into the truck.

  “Well that was fun.” Marina tilted her head to the side and stared at him.

  “Do we have to sit in our seats?” Danny asked.

  “I’m afraid so, buddy.” James said as he twisted around and help each of the boys into their seats. It was awkward, but he managed to buckle them in and turn back around in his own seat.

  “You know it would have been easier if you’d let me do that,” Marina said.

  “Why is that?” James buckled himself in and glanced at her. She was grinning at him.

  “Well you aren’t exactly a small man.” She moved her hand up and down. He knew she meant his height.

  “Are you calling me fat?” James feigned outrage and she laughed.

  “You are anything but fat, but you are tall and wide.” She said.

  “So you are calling me fat.” James held his hand over his chest. “I’m so wounded.”

  “Oh God, and you talk about A.J. being over-dramatic.” Marina rolled her eyes.

  “Dear Lord, don’t compare me to him.” James chuckled as he started the truck.

  “A.J. is sweet, but he doesn’t even come close to his big brother,” she said so low that he almost didn’t hear it. He glanced over at her to see her staring at him.

  “I’ll let John know you think he’s sweeter than A.J.” James smiled.

  “I wasn’t talking about John, and before you list the long list of big brothers A.J. has, I’ll narrow it down for you. I was talking about you.” She gently slapped the back of her hand against his arm and he caught it before she pulled away. She raised her gaze
to meet his and felt an odd tightness in his chest as he took in her true beauty. She seemed to be doing the same as her bright green eyes scanned his face.

  “Are we gonna go anytime soon?” Mason whined.

  Marina pulled her hand from his and turned her head to look out the side window. She rubbed her hands against her thighs and cleared her throat.

  “We’re going now.” James put the truck into drive and pulled out of the parking lot. He knew what was happening to him and he was terrified to admit. The last time he’d felt this way about someone he’d lost her. Going through that again would probably kill him, but the draw to Marina was becoming stronger every day. He’d started falling in love with her the day he met her, but admitting it was his problem. Was he ready to admit it?

  Chapter 11

  James rushed to unlock the front door as the shrill ring of the land line could be heard from the front step. He ran to answer it as soon as he threw the door open while Marina helped Danny and Mason out of their coats. They clambered into the living room as she kept her focus on James. They’d had a moment in the truck and if Mason hadn’t spoken she knew she would have kissed him but kissing him again wasn’t going to be enough. She needed him so badly that she ached.

  Her mind was so jumbled with the whole day. First her lack of sleep was making her an emotional basket-case, then the way it started, her break-down at the park, and then the creepy guy at the restaurant. Just thinking about him made her shudder. He’d seemed harmless when he told her she had a cute kid but when they’d noticed him staring, she was glad she was with James. Then again she was glad to be with James period.

  James spoke quietly into the phone, and she couldn’t read his expression. When his eyes met hers, he smiled, but there was tension in his jaw that said he was getting news she probably didn’t want to hear. He hung up the phone and jerked his head towards the kitchen. Goose bumps popped up all over her body. This wasn’t going to be good.