When she knew she had it under control, she opened them again and looked at the man who attacked her. It wasn’t anyone she had met before. This man was tall, dark, with blue eyes. If he hadn’t abducted her she might be attracted to him. Until she studied his eyes. There was something so cold that she shivered.
His accent hit her.
“You have nothing to do with Petersen.”
His lips twitched. “No, I don’t.”
“Then who the fuck are you?”
“Tsk, tsk. American women are so coarse. I have no idea what those two see in you.”
She sensed he was from the same part of Ireland that Rory was from, just from the rhythm of his speech.
“So, this has nothing to do with me.”
“In a way it does. You are the one thing they want. The one thing they love in this world. I’m going to enjoy taking you from them…watching their pain.”
She wanted to argue with him. They didn’t love her. When things got tough, they both questioned her intelligence and in a way, abandoned her. But arguing with her abductor would not get her any more info.
“Your plan is to get them to come here?” She shook her head, trying to ignore the way pain sparked through her. “They won’t fall for it.”
The smile he gave her was so evil she knew she was dealing with a true sociopath. “But they will. Where you are concerned, these two will do anything.”
“And you plan on killing them.”
He shook his head. “They killed mine...I will kill theirs.”
So, he meant to kill her not them. All she had to do was get out of there before they got there. “At least tell me your name.”
His smile faded. “You do not need to know.”
“Unless you’re afraid you will fail and then I will tell them your name. I can understand where a coward like you would fear that.”
He said nothing but stepped forward. She didn’t expect the slap. The back of his hand came so fast and hard, she didn’t have time to brace for it. She could taste the blood in her mouth.
“Again I say American women are so coarse.”
His voice never rose. He didn’t show a temper at all. Fucking psycho.
But, he had a temper and she could use it.
“I don’t see what’s so coarse about pointing out the obvious. Apparently, you have some kind of agenda against Rory and Zeke, but you can’t tell me because of fear.”
He smiled. “You want to know? Fine. You will be dead in the next hour, so I don’t see that it matters. Does the name Frances O’Connell mean anything to you?”
“No.”
“That was my brother’s name.”
“Good for him?”
“Your two lovers killed him. Cold blood.”
“I take it this has to do with their time before they were hired by my brother?”
“See, love, your lovers are killers. They like to pretend they aren’t but they are. They killed my baby brother and then laughed over it. They mocked his death, to me, to anyone who would listen.”
“And because of that, you terrorized me, abducted me and now are sitting here hoping they will find me and you can kill them, then me?”
“All of it but the last.” He held up her cell phone. She could barely read it because she had no idea where her glasses were, but it looked like he had called someone. Probably one of the guys. Hopefully they weren’t listening because they would go ballistic. “I want to see their faces when I slit that lovely throat of yours.”
She tried her best not to show her reactions. She knew he was serious and planned to do that. While Zeke would think things through, there was a good chance that Rory would not be able to be contained. They would be at risk and put her at more risk if they showed up there, guns blazing. Her training from her brother kicked in.
Maura knew she needed to be free of the chair. Her arms were tied behind the back of it and she couldn’t get up without a struggle. She had to get him to get her out of it so she could surprise him.
“In review, you abducted me in hopes they would come here. I call that a coward. Why not face them right off? You go after a woman. Coward.” It took everything she had to let her disgust drip from every word.
“I am not a coward.”
“Why was your baby brother killed? Where were you?”
“I was out on a job.”
“Sounds like you didn’t do a very good job protecting him.”
“Shut up,” he said, his voice rising just a bit.
“It seems to me you are more at fault for your brother’s death than Rory and Ze—”
She broke off when he backhanded her again. This time he did it with such force that the chair tipped over. She landed hard on the cement, her head struck it with such force that she saw stars. But, it had done what she wanted. She was free of the chair.
Maura rolled over onto her back. Her abductor was walking toward her and now she knew she had him. He pulled back his booted foot to kick her, but she swung around out of his way. Then, she kicked him in the back of the knee. He stumbled but did not fall down.
He let loose a roar of rage and turned to face her.
“You fucking bitch.”
Now, his temper took hold of his emotions and it was just what she’d hope for. She was ready for him this time. He came at her and she kicked out, connecting first with his thigh. He stumbled again but turned on her easily. He got one swift kick in, then another. Soon, she lay still as she tried to fight the pain radiating through her entire body.
He made a mistake. He crouched down, his face inches from hers. “Now you are going to make this an enjoyable experience for me. You were just a means to an end but it will be a pleasure to kill you.”
She used what little strength she had left and pulled herself up. Then, as he leaned in closer she drew back and smacked her head against his. The pain of it made her dizzy and her vision blurred. She gritted her teeth and kicked the bastard in the knee again. He fell to the ground and now, she knew she could stand up. She swayed and almost fell over once or twice, but she pulled herself up to her feet.
Fear, loathing and rage surged. She pulled her leg back and kicked him right in the groin. After that, she didn’t truly remember what happened. She kept kicking him, over and over until she felt someone grab her by the arm. Maura turned ready to hit the bastard who touched her and came face to face with Rory. Zeke was right behind him. Miami police were pouring into every opening.
“Maura,” he whispered. Even with all the noise she heard the words and the horror in his voice. The room was spinning around her as Zeke walked up to her. Gently, he took her in his arms.
“It’s okay, baby. We’re here now.”
And for the first time since the ordeal began, she let the tears fall.
Rory walked over to the man and sneered. “O’Connell.”
Zeke looked over her shoulder and she could feel him shake. It wasn’t fear, it was rage and there was a good chance that one or both of them would have killed the man for what he had done to her—if the police had not been there.
Zeke shifted as if to join Rory, but she stopped him.
“Oh, damn,” she said. For the second time that day, her world went completely black.
Chapter Twenty-one
“You didn’t believe me.” She tried to sound angry but it came out in a hitching breath. She could tell that both of them knew she was near tears.
“We wanted to, love,” Zeke said as he tried to take her hand.
“Wanting to and doing so are two different things. I can’t deal with men who can’t tell the difference.”
The doctor glided into the room. “It looks like you can be released today. After a talk with your brother on the phone and the fact that your trip to Hawaii will be restful since you have your own jet, I’m going to allow it. But, I called a colleague at Queen’s Medical. You are to check in with her while you are there.”
She nodded.
When the doctor left them alone, Ro
ry stood up. “What’s this crap about going to Hawaii?”
“Conner wants me there, and Jillian does too. He wants me to take a rest.”
It wasn’t what she wanted, not really, but maybe it was what she needed.
“You can’t think that you need to be there, away from us,” Zeke said. His voice was low, and his accent deepened.
Looking at him hurt. It hurt more than the three cracked ribs that bastard gave her. She wanted to think that they wanted her on some other level, but when push came to shove, they didn’t. She couldn’t stay with men who couldn’t at least believe in her a little.
“I think it would be best for me. For…all of us.”
Zeke glanced at Rory and she could feel his need to argue rise. Zeke would argue just because he felt guilty. Thankfully, someone knocked at the door. It swung open and her brother strode in. His face was stern and there were bags under his eyes.
He didn’t stop until he was by her side. She could tell he couldn’t decide what to do.
“Maura,” he whispered. She wasn’t sure he even knew he said her name. She took his hand in hers.
“It looks much worse than it is.”
He swallowed and she knew that he was barely holding it together. Conner had a world-class temper when he let it loose and she was waiting for him to explode. He had probably been holding onto it the entire ride over. She didn’t have a long wait.
He looked at Zeke and Rory. “How the fuck could you let this happen?”
Zeke winced but Rory crossed his arms over his chest.
After a long moment of silence, Zeke answered. “We were looking at the wrong person.”
“You two are trained in the field of security and you let this happen? What the hell else can I think but you are incompetent.”
She knew her brother was upset, even scared. But she would not lay the blame of the entire episode at their feet. “You are the one who would not listen to me when I said it had nothing to do with Petersen. The cartel wasn’t going to care about Petersen and if they were going to go after someone it would be the federal prosecutor.”
By the time she stopped talking, she was exhausted. Apparently, once again, the cooler head in the room was Jillian.
“Guys, why don’t you take it outside?”
Conner opened his mouth but apparently after seeing Jillian’s expression, he thought better.
“Okay. Come on,” he ordered without waiting to see if they would follow. Typical Conner. She would have smiled but her split lip was still throbbing.
Rory gave her a glance, and said nothing else before walking out. Zeke hesitated, leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Get some rest, love.”
Then he walked out.
Jillian waited until the door shut to approach her bed.
“So, you really know how to throw a party,” she said.
Maura laughed then groaned. “Don’t make me smile. It hurts.”
“Oh, baby.” Jillian sat in the chair next to the bed. She slipped her hand into Maura’s. “How bad does it hurt?”
Maura squeezed her hand. “Pretty bad. Although, they keep me drugged up.”
“Let me guess, you don’t want to be drugged so you are making sure you only take in so much. You will take some drugs for the trip back. It will be too hard on you, honey.”
She nodded knowing that was true.
“Plus, they didn’t want me sleeping last night because of the concussion.”
Jillian sighed. “Now, you want to tell me how much the rest of it hurts?”
She glanced at Jillian and wondered not for the first time how strange fate was. The two of them had been thrown together in college. She was pretty sure that no one in their right mind would have paired the two of them up. The tattooed bohemian and the nerd. But, they had become good friends and now they were sisters.
The bad thing about that was that Jillian knew her all too well.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Listen, be straight with me. Your brother would get upset if I slapped you around considering the condition you’re in.”
She smiled, just a little so it didn’t hurt.
“They didn’t believe me. Even while they were all checking out the Petersen connection, they ignored what I said, and they doubted what I claimed. They didn’t really believe someone was stalking me.”
Jillian leaned forward and brushed some of Maura’s hair from her forehead. “And that hurt more than being dumped.”
It was so good to finally have someone understand. Tears filled her eyes and her vision wavered. Jillian said nothing. She picked up a tissue and handed it to Maura.
“To have someone doubt me like that...I am not sure I can deal with that. No one has ever doubted my intelligence.”
“They called you stupid?” Jillian asked, outrage sparking through her voice. “Isn’t that just like men? If it were someone else, then yes, but you...you never overreact. Zeke knows that.”
“So, it has been a rough couple of weeks.”
“Yeah, I can tell. Basically because you look like shit.” Maura laughed through the tears.
“I’ve missed you.”
“You just saw me ten days ago and if all of this was going on, you should have called.”
Maura sighed. “Promise me you won’t get mad?” Jillian nodded. “I was afraid you would tell Conner. He wasn’t happy with the situation of me being with two guys to begin with. I know he has serious doubts about Rory. This just made it worse.”
“Tell you what. As long as I think you are not in imminent danger, I promise not to tell Conner.”
“The two women in my life plotting against me?” Conner asked from the doorway. He was alone.
Jillian smiled when she saw him. For once in a really long time, Maura felt the sharp sting of jealousy. She was happy for her brother and her best friend, but their happiness saddened her even more.
“Not plotting, but we have to establish rules for friendship again. Where are the guys?” Jillian asked.
“They had to go talk to the police again. They want all the information they can get on O'Connell. Interpol is very interested in him. He is suspected in doing some very bad things overseas.”
“In Ireland?” she asked trying her best not to let anyone see just how much it upset her that they left her. They just left the hospital knowing she was leaving soon. It sealed the end of the relationship she had with the two of them.
“There and then he became a gun for hire. He’s suspected of teaching some terrorists in the Middle East, and then some in Somalia. He’s a very bad man.”
“And Maura beat the shit out of him,” Jillian said with more than a little pride in her voice. Maura fought the smile because it would hurt again.
“I did. So, I guess, I am better than the FBI and Interpol. They can suck it.”
Conner smiled then it faded. “You’re coming with us.”
She nodded. “I think it will do me some good to just hang out on the beach, rest.”
Conner and Jillian shared a look of worry.
“Don’t freak. I’m in a lot of pain and I’m smart enough to know rest is the best medicine.”
Conner nodded. “I’m going to call Brett and tell him we are going to be leaving soon.”
He left them alone and Jillian sat back down.
“You can do it now.”
“What?”
“Cry.”
“You think I am going to cry over those jackasses?” The last of it came out on a sob.
“Yes, and then we can plot revenge.” She took Maura into her arms. And for the first time in days, Maura broke down and cried.
* * * *
A day later, Rory was climbing the walls. He just didn’t know how hard it would be without having Maura in their lives. And it had been less than twenty-four hours. When they had returned and she’d ignored them, it had been bad. This was impossible.
“Quit pacing, you’re making my head hurt.”
&nbs
p; He snarled at Zeke. The man didn’t understand. He was always so fucking calm and cool. Rory used to think that he could read him, but right now, he couldn’t. He thought the bastard would be ready to go get Maura, but he wasn’t. He was sitting there behind his desk. Damn fool.
Rory stopped in front of the large window and looked down on Miami. He never would have thought a city like this would appeal to him. So many people, hot weather...but he realized for the first time he was home. Or he had been before everything had gone to hell. Without Maura with them, it felt wrong. He needed her as much as he needed Zeke, and that scared the fucking bloody hell out of him.
“You know, if you would work, it would be easier.”
He rolled his shoulders. It was the only thing that kept him from hitting Zeke in the back of the head.
“I don’t have anything to work on right now.”
“Yes, you do. Sanders wants an estimate on the security for that fundraiser. You need to come up with how many men we need for it so I can work it up.”
“And just like that, you expect me to go back to work, pretend everything is alright?”
“What else can we do? She chose to leave. We have to let her go. Besides, it wasn’t like it was more than an affair.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
Zee sighed. “From the beginning you didn’t want anything to happen. But then, all the sudden you were interested. You don’t think I know why you did that? Come on, after knowing you most of your life I think I know you well enough to understand your motives.”
Rory shook his head. “I did it for you. You were sitting here pining over her.”
For a moment a flash of anger slid over Zeke’s face. The fact that it made him satisfied, also made him feel small.
“Really? So it has nothing to do with controlling the situation?”
“I was attracted to her.”
Zee snorted. “Any man would be, if they were smart. But, that wasn’t it, was it? You were worried about my relationship with her. It’s the only reason you came here. You knew that there was something there between Maura and me and it was driving you crazy that you couldn’t control the situation. So, you come here, hook back up with me, then bring her in.”
A Little Harmless Fantasy Page 25