by Mya O'Malley
“Elle, wake up!” she yelled as loud as she could, causing Mike to clamp down fiercely on her mouth.
“Shut the hell up, shut up!” Mike hissed.
Footsteps from down the hallway became louder. The door opened and the light was switched on immediately.
“What is going on? Mike?” Elle’s eyes were wide, registering confusion.
Mike stood, glaring back and forth between the two women.
“You do know that this is breaking and entering and I’ve already called the police,” Elle stated in a surprisingly calm tone of voice.
Morgan knew that Elle wouldn’t have had the time to make the call, but Mike didn’t seem to figure that out.
He backed his way out the door, holding a shaking finger directed at Morgan. “You’ll be sorry. Nobody makes a fool out of me. You can’t just get rid of me and replace me with him.” His voice shook as he spoke, spittle forming at the corner of his mouth.
“Get out, Mike. Don’t you come back here, either. I thought we could talk like civil human beings, but I was wrong. What did you expect, that I’d forgive you?”
“You forced me into a corner, how could I compete? I needed him to stay gone. That was the only way we had a chance!”
“But don’t you see how wrong that was? Maybe I never got over Declan, maybe that was my piece in this mess, but it just proves that you and I were never meant to be!”
It felt like ages ago when they were at that upstate cabin, newly engaged. Was this even the same man?
“We were meant to be and we’re still meant to be. We just have to get Declan out of the picture and we’ll be fine.” Tears flooded from his eyes. He had lost control of his emotions.
“No, Mike, you’re wrong. It never felt right, really right, and I shouldn’t have pursued a relationship with you. I wasn’t ready and I should have known better.” She felt calmer, more in control of her emotions now.
His mournful gaze traveled over her face, he stood staring at her, just staring.
“Mike, you need to leave now. Please don’t call me or stop by. It’s over.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Morgan, it’s not over, it’s far from over.” His words were laced with a threat; she could hear it and she could see from Elle’s face that her friend heard it as well.
“Mike, I believe the lady asked you to leave,” Elle commanded, crossing her arms over her chest.
With a last menacing look at the two women, he was gone. Morgan didn’t let herself breathe until she heard the front door slam. She walked to the living room to make sure he was gone; she needed to physically see him run across the street and get in his car in order to feel safe. Elle stood waiting for her.
“First thing tomorrow, we’re going to the hardware store,” Elle ordered softly.
“Thank you, thank you for being here. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t.” Morgan wept quietly, grateful that she had Elle beside her.
CHAPTER THIRTY
MORGAN HAD CALLED, as promised, in the middle of the night to tell him about the incident. Come hell or high water, that man would not touch her again or see her again if he had anything to do with it. It didn’t sound like Mike was wrapped too tightly right now and that’s what frightened Declan.
It made him crazy to think that the man had just walked into her home, in the middle of the night. He had just walked in. Unbelievable! Gripping his fists tightly, he punched the wall, causing D to whine softly and turn to head into the kitchen. Gut reactions included hopping on the first flight to New York, searching Mike down, and beating the crap out of him.
Taking a seat on the couch, Declan pondered over the dilemma. An unstable man was a dangerous man. Especially if that man had been burned by a woman. Morgan had insisted that she was okay, that she had Elle to protect her, and that she had changed all her locks. Thank goodness for that, but he still didn’t feel right being all these miles away from her.
Although he had just taken some time off from the shelter, he was pretty sure that both Amber and Cathy would be okay with him heading back there and besides, there had been several volunteers who had been donating plenty of time at the shelter lately. That settled it. Whether Morgan liked it or not, he was headed back to New York.
Wet kisses covered his arms as he looked down and laughed at D. “You’re coming this time, girl, don’t worry.”
D barked in agreement, cozying up to Declan. Nope, he wouldn’t even tell Morgan — that beautiful, stubborn woman — that he was coming. She would only insist that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
There was no way he would leave her alone. He powered up his computer and booked the flight for tonight, a red-eye, one way for now. Knowing that he would be seeing Morgan by early morning, he grinned as he packed light for his trip. Whatever else he needed besides some clothes, a few other items, and his toothbrush he could buy when he reached New York. Grabbing the dog carrier from outside on his back porch, he figured he was ready to go. Now all he needed to do was wait.
The shadows lengthened and the sunlight faded as Declan grew increasingly anxious to see her again.
“Let’s go, D.” He whistled as he grabbed his bag and D, heading straight for the airport.
One more errand left for today, she thought with slight apprehension. Mike’s ring would need to be returned; it was the right thing to do. There was no way that she was going to hand deliver the ring, no thank you, so she drove over to his place when she knew that he would be working. The ring would be safe in his mailbox near the front door; she had boxed it and wrapped it up.
Evening came and her thoughts came back to Mike as she prepared for bed. She was sorry it had come to this and hoped that he could move on and leave her and Declan in peace. Declan had offered to come and stay with her for a while and as much as she would love having him around, she just couldn’t ask him to drop everything to run and protect her. Part of her now wished that she hadn’t been so stubborn. Missing him every day since he had returned to Florida had been tough on her. There had been no more blocked calls or messages today, thank goodness, and she felt herself begin to relax.
A sudden ring of her phone sent her jumping. So much for her steady nerves.
“Hey beautiful.” Declan always chose a similar greeting and it got to her every time.
“Hi handsome, I’m glad that you called. I was just thinking of you.” Morgan twirled her hair with her finger, happy to hear from him.
“No more problems?”
She opened her mouth to tell him that she had returned Mike’s ring when she thought better of it. There was no need to get into every single detail of her actions. It was done, another piece of the debris tidied away.
“Nope,” she replied, biting at her lip.
“Good. I still think I need to pay a little visit to that guy, give him a piece of my mind.”
She knew that he was itching to punch the man square in the face to pay him back for all the trouble he had caused, but he respected Morgan’s wishes to stay away and let things settle down. Declan promised he would be okay with that, as long as there were no more problems. He had never been the kind of man to take a first punch just for the sake of a good fight. He was a trained soldier who was taught to fight when absolutely necessary, not for the sport of it, and Morgan respected the man’s values.
“Settle down, cowboy, no fights, you hear? It’s fine. I think it will be okay now,” Morgan quipped.
“Yeah, yeah. I wanted to tell you I miss you.”
“I miss you too. I can’t wait to see you again,” Morgan added.
More and more, her mind was busy thinking of ways that they could be together. Maybe they could stay in New York and keep his aunt’s house as a vacation home. She would love to be able to travel back and forth with him. They could even rent it out certain months, so it would be more of a practical decision. Wondering what his opinion would be, she intended to think about it some more and then pick his brain soon.
It sounded as if there was a lot of background noise; she wondered where he was calling from. “Where are you, Declan?”
“Oh, it’s just the television. Listen, I’m going to say good night. I love you and can’t wait to see you.”
She wanted him beside her, right here and now, but she would have to wait. It wouldn’t be too long before they made it work, she hoped.
“I love you, too.” Maybe she was feeling sentimental; she found herself wanting to tell him how happy she was that he was back in her life. “Declan?”
“Yes?”
“I just wanted to get sappy here for a moment and tell you again how happy I am that I have you back.”
“I love you, do you know that? I love you and I’m going to hold you to that promise you made me years ago. You know the one where you promised me that you would become my wife? Well, Morgan, I’m holding you to it.”
She knew that he would, and she wanted it so much. What would people think, though? All of this happening so soon? She shouldn’t be worried about what other people thought, it was her life, Declan had stated over and over.
She would be a liar if she denied the fact that she had brought his ring up from the dark basement and had secured a bright, happy place for it, right in her jewelry box upstairs in her bedroom. Could she deny that she also loved to try it on, holding her finger up in the bright light, seeing the diamond sparkle a hundred different colors?
“Okay, Declan, soon.”
It was the closest she had come to admitting that she, too, couldn’t wait to become Mrs. Declan Blake. In reality, they had both waited for years for this time to come.
“Good night.”
His gentle words hit her right in the heart.
“Good night, Declan.”
It would be a good idea to get right to bed. She would be alone tonight despite Elle’s insistence that she didn’t mind staying over again. Locks had been changed, doors and windows shut tight; there would be no more problems. She hadn’t been sleeping well lately with so much on her mind, and Mike’s little visit had certainly not helped. Hugging her pillow to her chest, she wouldn’t fight it. She let thoughts of Declan help bring her to sleep.
It was late, or rather early in the morning, when she heard the sound. It seemed like some kind of movement from downstairs. She was alert instantly, sitting up, heart racing. Straining to hear, she listened intently as the silence overwhelmed her. Nothing. It was probably just the house settling.
Cautiously, she laid her head back on her pillow and felt her heart rate return to normal. Then she heard the sound again, this time louder, definitely not the house settling. If she had a pet, she could write it off as her pet moving around the house, but there was no pet. Clutching her cell phone beside her, she pressed Elle’s name. If it was nothing, her friend would understand since she had promised to call at the slightest problem.
Come on, Elle, pick up. Of all times for her friend not to pick up, but then again it was the middle of the night. With her heart beating wildly, she moved to check out the window for any cars in the driveway — nothing. If Mike were to pull something again, he would most likely park across the street but she didn’t feel brave enough to venture outside her bedroom.
She should have locked her bedroom door. She should have, but she could definitely take care of it now. Careful does it. Tip-toeing to the bedroom door, her cell phone still in hand, she reached for doorknob, preparing to lock it.
The force of the door opening hit her smack in the face, knocking the still ringing cell phone from her hand. Her fight or flight instincts slammed into place, she immediately pushed at the door, screaming as loud as she could, fighting for all she was worth. The person on the other side of the door had her beat; they were much stronger than her, she wasn’t going to win this fight. Declan’s face flashed before her, telling her to be strong. Oh my God, help me.
“Stop fighting me, stop it, Morgan!” Sour breath and hard alcohol, whisky or rum hit her senses, making her want to vomit.
“Let me go!” she screamed. “Help!”
He flipped the light switch on, and his bloodshot eyes fell upon her.
“You know that you shouldn’t be here. How did you get in?”
She held back a sob; she didn’t want him to feed off of her fear.
“I just… I just found the window… downstairs.” His speech was slurred; this made her more nervous.
The basement window, she had forgotten about the basement. Don’t aggravate him. That will only intensify his anger.
“Okay, Mike, you’ve been drinking…”
“You think?” His laugh wasn’t humorous; it was creepy.
“So why are you here? What is it that you want?”
It was a daunting task, but she thought that she made a good attempt to appear calm.
Mike’s fingers fumbled, eventually producing the diamond ring. Oh, this is not good.
Swaying slightly, he held up the ring, far away at first, but then he brought it close to her face, so close that it brushed her eyelashes.
“Mike, I thought you’d want it back. I was giving it back to you.”
Knowing that anything else she said right then would only further aggravate him, she bit her tongue.
“I’m speaking now. Don’t be rude. I think you’ve been rude enough,” he stumbled over his words.
“What is it that you want me to say?” Anger was seeping in; this was crazy. “What can I say, Mike?”
“It’s too late… nothing you can say. The damage is done.”
What was that? She thought she heard a siren approaching from a distance. Keep him talking, that was her plan now. She had to rein in her emotions. Maybe Elle had picked up her call after all and help was on the way, she could only hope at this point.
“Mike, wait. Listen…”
“I loved you, how could you do this to me?” Mike’s hands went to his face.
“Mike, try to calm down so that we can talk about this.”
“I don’t want to talk about this!”
Morgan cringed at the sound of his voice. She needed time, she had to stall him.
The sirens drew closer but they were still too far away. Please, please…
Wait- she was sure that she heard someone on the stairs. It must be Elle; Elle must have come for her.
“Elle!”
Mike pinched her hard, causing her to cry out.
Declan’s face came into view, running into the room, shouting for Mike to get his hands off her. Mike spun at the sound of Declan’s voice and released Morgan, retreating into the bedroom with a smirk on his lips.
“Oh… I can’t fight a soldier… a soldier with a disability.”
Declan’s fist connected with Mike’s face. Mike hit the floor; the engagement ring flung across the room. Mike was out; he lay with his face to the hard wooden floor.
“Declan!” She jumped into his arms, causing him to stumble a bit. “Oops, sorry.” She placed kisses all over his face, from his forehead down to his chin and back again.
“Are you okay?” Declan questioned, returning her kisses with his own.
Morgan nodded as she gazed at him. Declan gently set her down and placed his arms on hers. “Morgan, I don’t know what he would have done to you had I not been here,” Declan began, shaking his head. “I can’t bear to think about anything happening to you. I can’t lose you.”
Morgan didn’t want to think about what would have happened to her. Hopefully she would have been able to talk some sense into him; maybe he would have even passed out. She was just grateful that Declan had shown up when he did. Wait — what was Declan even doing here? The sound of sirens grew closer, until Morgan knew the police had arrived at her house. She breathed a bit deeper.
“How… why are you here?”
“I decided that I didn’t trust the guy, call it a gut feeling, so here I am. I saw that your bedroom light was on and then noticed the basement window open.”
“Did you call the police?”
“I didn’t have the chance,” Declan responded.
So it was Elle.
To think that she had tried to talk Declan out of coming here. Groaning complaints came from the floor; it looked like Mike was waking up. Declan bent down to grab the man, assisting him to a standing position. Mike rubbed at his jaw, staring up at Declan.
“Declan.”
“You know what, Mike? I believe you owe the lady an apology.”
Glancing at the floor, Mike mumbled his lame attempt at an apology. Declan placed a hand on the man’s shoulders, then spun Mike toward him.
“Now, I want you to understand this — if I ever see you near Morgan again, if you ever talk to her again, you won’t be so lucky next time, you hear? I won’t be as kind.”
Mike opened his mouth to speak as Declan clamped down harder on his shoulder.
“Yes,” Mike mumbled.
“Sorry, what was that?” Declan placed a hand to his ear, pretending that he couldn’t hear.
“Sorry, sir.” Mike stated, louder this time.
“Good. Now, I believe we have some company.”
Morgan ran out of the room to let the police inside. She returned after briefly explaining the situation to the two officers. The younger of the two officers approached Mike, guiding him out of the room as he read him his rights. Morgan could hear muttered complaints from Mike. She didn’t completely relax until she heard her front door slam shut.
“Declan…” It was all she could say as she threw herself in his arms. Weeping softly, she clung to him.
“You’re safe. I’m never going to let anything happen to you.”
“Promise?”
“Promise,” Declan answered.
After a moment, Declan straightened and gazed at Morgan. “Oh, Morgan, do me a favor, would you? D is here in my rental car, can you grab her?”
Morgan jumped up. “I would love to,” she wiped her tears.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
BOTH MORGAN AND DECLAN were too hyped up to sleep. How could they with all that had just happened? Declan couldn’t believe his timing, if his flight had been just a half hour later, who knew what Mike may have done. Morgan stated that she had never seen Mike drunk like that before. The guy had been through a lot in the past few weeks, but it was his own fault and it wasn’t cool to go breaking into his ex’s house. Twice.