Past Sins (West Haven book3): Protector, Action Romance

by Rhonda Lott

  “Thanks man.” One of the medics told him. “It’s a miracle she made it out of that.”

  The woman coughed and groaned as they placed her on the gurney. “I was outside taking trash to the dumpster when the explosion happened. The blast from it tossed me behind the damn thing. Imagine that, the dumpster saved my life.” A slurred giggle escaped her, before she passed out.

  “Elliot.” Someone shouted.

  He turned, Gabby was racing down the street from the direction of the park. Apparently she’d been helping Brook evacuate the kids from Brook’s daycare. Brook, like a mother hen, huddled the children together in a tight group. She walked back and forth, counting heads and assuring the children that everything would be fine.

  As Gabby ran past the little thrift shop, it blew up with a huge bang and a bright orange fireball. The outward whoosh of the blast sent Gabby flying through the air, landing hard on the opposite sidewalk. The world slowed down as he watched her body fold in on itself, arms and legs flaying around and then the ultra-loud thud as she hit the ground. His journey from one end of the street to Gabby was a blur. Kneeling down to the woman he loved unconscious on the ground, Elliot’s heart lodged firmly in his throat. He swiveled his head from side to side, checking for the town’s only paramedic, but they were gone already. He felt for her pulse, it was strong and steady, but she was out cold and there was a nasty bruise forming on her temple.

  “Help. Help over here!” he screamed, but in the mass of confusion and noise no one heard him. “Fuuuuk.” Elliot grunted, removing his jacket and covering Gabby.

  Wham, the Movie Theater went up, then in quick succession, the Dry Cleaners and the new clothing store exploded. Confusion morphed into pandemonium. Even though he knew picking Gabby up was the wrong thing to do. He did it anyway and ran as fast as he could toward the park. One last look over his shoulder revealed a scene from what he knew hell must look like. West Haven was an inferno, a hell on earth brought there by Night Corp and him.

  **

  The air smelled of smoke. A gray/black cloud of it draped over the town as the day turned into evening. This time of year nightfall came around early and with the setting sun came a sense of dread. Their home was under attack. People were shaken to their souls, in fear for their families. The town was at a standstill, schools and businesses closed.

  Gabby stood on the sidewalk, gazing at the once familiar landscape that was her hometown. Her town reminded her of a war zone. The dull throb at her temple and the soreness of her muscles didn’t deter her from coming back out to try and help where she could.

  The first responders were now cleaning up debris and the sheriff and his deputies were busy reassuring folks. How could this have happened and why? That question was foremost in her mind. A terrorist attack was the answer she heard some give, but she couldn’t see how blowing up a few buildings in a small town in this out of the way location would be the work of terrorists.

  The answer to her question brought a queasiness to her stomach. Night Corp. This had to be another message designed to let Elliot know they were serious. Terror and disgust battled within her. This was beyond anything she thought they would resort to. Innocent people were being pulled into this situation with Elliot and these mercenaries.

  Nobody was killed today. That was a blessing for sure, but what about the next time. Gabby turned and focused on the repair shop. No, there wasn’t gonna be a next fucking time. El caused this shit and he sure as hell was going to fix it. If she knew him at all, she knew, he would be torturing himself about this and hatching a plan.

  Dirty gray slush squished beneath her boots as she crossed the road towards the shop. The lights were off and the place was locked up tight. A noise from around the back caught her attention. She turned towards the sound and followed a path that lead into the trees. A rustle of leaves had her looking up into the canopy, but she didn’t see anything. Her nerves had her jumpy.

  Suddenly a body dropped down from the tree in front of her. Gabby screamed, sore and battered body forgotten as she took off back down the path as fast as she could. She didn’t get far, maybe ten steps, and strong arms wrapped around her waist. The second his arms closed around her, she knew it was.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Gabby punched Elliot on the arm. “Hiding in trees now, scaring people shitless?”

  “I wasn’t trying to scare anybody. I’m sorry if I startled you Gabs.” He ran one hand down her arm. “Why are you here? I thought we agreed you needed to rest after this afternoon.”

  “I’m fine, just had the wind knocked out me is all. I came over here looking for you.” Gabby turned in his arms and searched his face. “Didn’t think I’d find you in a tree of all places.”

  “This tree has the best view of the road.” He shrugged. “I like it up high, thinking comes a little more easily.”

  A rustle in the nearby bushes made them jump around. Gabby laughed. “I guess everyone’s jumpy after today.” She brought her attention back to him. “The explosions were done by Night Corp. Right?”

  “Yeah. I saw Brady ride out on his bike right after the first blast. He might have set the charges, but you know I’m the reason for it all. I brought hell to West Haven. Didn’t think for one fleeting second about the people or their safety, now look.” He pushed away, his voice low and harsh. “The past isn’t something that’s left behind and forgotten, not for me. Fucking Trigger Man will never die. I bring destr—” a snowball hit him hard between the eyes. Snow blinding him and getting in his mouth. El sputtered and swiped his hand across his wet face.

  “That got your attention, now listen. Enough of that bullshit. You are not Trigger Man, damn it.” Gabby stomped closer, eyes intent on his frowning face. “You are Elliot Fuller. A man who owns up to his mistakes and fixes them. You help, not harm. You build, not destroy and now you have to stop beating yourself up. Night Corp is responsible for what happened today. All they had to do was, leave you alone and everything would have been fine, but they chose to pursue you. Now you have to do something to stop them, not wallow in this, whatever it is you’re doing.”

  Elliot heaved out a breath and turned away. “I have a plan. I just have to talk to Carter in the morning, but as for you, Gabriella.” Without missing a beat, he spun around and in quick succession plastered two snow balls across her upper body. “Never hit a killer in the face with a snowball.” He laughed, bending to scoop up more snow.

  “Oh hell no. It’s on Mr. Killer.” Gabby ran behind the nearest tree, stooping to build a small arsenal of cold wet bombs. Too late, she was bombarded with snow, hit after hit wetting her jacket and face. Elliot was pulling his punches because the snowballs didn’t hit her hard and that was his first mistake. Gabby came from behind the tree in a whirlwind, arms swinging as she rushed the big man. She didn’t give him time to react as she pelted him steadily, then flung her body on to him at the last minute. They went tumbling back, Elliot didn’t stop. He grabbed her tightly around the waist and rolled until he was on top.

  Her heart fluttered when she looked up into his eyes. There was a laughter in them and he smiled down at her with curious wonder.

  “Why are you still with me, playing in the snow, trusting me to fix this?” He asked, his breath blowing warmth across her face.

  Gabby pulled up and gave him a quick kiss. “My papa had a saying for just about any situation. He would say ‘When you see potential Gabby girl, cultivate it.’ I see so much in you El. I believe in you.”

  He stared down at her for a long moment. Gabby saw many emotions skitter across his handsome face, in the end, he smiled. Elliot lifted himself off of her and helped her to her feet.

  “I don’t know how I got so lucky to find a woman like you, but I do know that I’ll do everything in my power to deserve your trust.” Elliot told her as he led her back towards the shop.

  The evening was closing in fast. Gabby followed Elliot through the darkening shadows. He did deserve love and she was gonna give it to him. T
hey might have to work harder than most for their happy ending, but it was out there and if they stayed alive long enough they just might find it.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Elliot stood before the glass doors of the West Haven Sheriff’s Office. Why was he stalling? His mind and body were dead set on entering and yet he delayed. It wasn’t that he feared talking to Carter and Dean. The two men were as honorable as they came, but still he didn’t move.

  Was it a good idea to bring them into this? Night Corp proved that they didn’t give a shit about harming civilians and these two men were the backbone of this town. They were seen as heroes in the eyes of the people here after putting down a serial killer not too long ago. Elliot knew in order for his plan to work, he needed help.

  Help. That was the little bugger that had him standing there, staring at the golden sheriff’s star on the door. Asking for help rubbed him absolutely the wrong way, it left him exposed, edgy.

  He’d asked for help when bullies fucked with him and Jared, no help came. He had to toughen up and fight for the both of them. He’d asked for help when Jared was killed and still nothing. He hooked up with Night Corp to seek a measure of atonement.

  Now, here he was, staring at his reflection in the door, about to ask for help once again. For all he knew, Carter might lock his ass up after listening to his story. Elliot pushed his way into the building. Without these two men his plan would fail and failure would mean that he, his mom and now, Gabby would be at risk forever.

  The reception desk and the front office section of the building was vacant. Elliot could only guess that Carter had sent his deputies home after the grueling day they put in yesterday. A quick look towards the back made the hairs on his arms stand up. Carter and Dean stood in the doorway of what must be the Sheriff’s office.

  Both men wore dark foreboding expressions. Tall and broad they would both be threatening if he were anyone else, but Elliot had a life time of fighting tucked away in his body and no matter the foe, he stood his ground. The men before him weren’t killers, rapist, or international terrorist. No they were good men worried about their families and town. They had cause to worry.

  “Fuller,” Carter’s booming voice echoed through the empty office. “You have information about the explosions?” He nodded towards his office, turned and walked inside.

  Dean, with his short cut black hair and dark beard looked menacing and pissed as fuck. Dean continued to watch him with icy, grim eyes as he passed him into the office. The guy never truly trusted him. Now that he was seeing Gabby, Dean’s general position of big protective brother, meant that Elliot was an unknown threat.

  Carter sat behind his desk a troubled expression on his face. He wore his long black hair tied back making prominent his Native American features. He was a fair and solid man, not a friend, but always friendly towards him.

  Elliot took a seat and Dean leaned against the wall eyeing him with a frown cut deep in his forehead. Elliot wondered if it hurt the dude to keep his face set like that. Elliot didn’t remember a time Dean didn’t wear a frown, not around him anyway.

  “What’s up Elliot? The last twenty-four hours have been a bitch. Please don’t add any more shit to my life.” Carter bit out.

  Elliot didn’t know any other way around it. He was about to add a load of shit to their lives, so he started talking. He started at the beginning. He told them how he became friends with Jared, them joining the military, and ended with Night Corp and the fact that they were presently fixated on him and West Haven.

  As his story progressed the air in the room thickened. By the time he came to the end, Elliot felt his lungs tighten. Long silent seconds ticked by as the men before him took in his words and evaluated them to their own satisfaction.

  Elliot’s shoulders tensed and his body prepared for their reactions. This was the monster in the back of his mind. He could beat himself up from now till he was put in the ground, but it sickened him to see the revulsion he knew would be in the eyes of others. He didn’t want to care what they thought of him, but there it was in the pit of his stomach. The shame of what he was clawed at his insides.

  Dean was the first to move. He pushed off the wall and leaned in close to Elliot. “You brought this shit to town and pulled Gabby into it. Now what the fuck are you going to do?” Dean straightened, his eyes never leaving Elliot’s. “Because, from what you told me this Night Corp. doesn’t just give up and go away. How are you going to protect her?”

  “Not only that, but they fucked up my town and that’s not going to happen again.” Carter injected, raising to his feet. “You made a mistake, a big ass fucking mistake that’s followed you to our door. We know there’s a threat now and can prepare. Changing who you are takes guts and I applaud you for that. You haven’t caused trouble from the day you and your mom arrived here, so I can only believe that you want a new life. If this place is known for anything it’s second chances. So what now?”

  Both of them looked him dead in the eye, waiting. He never expected this. They didn’t judge him, lock him up or lecture. Acceptance was a new sensation to him. It curled its way around the shame and shoved it back a bit. This wasn’t pleasant in the least for him, and yet, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, acceptance felt surprisingly good.

  “I have a plan, but need help. Donovan Pierce wants the video evidence that I have of the mercenaries under his employ killing innocent people. I also have documents of the money trail that leads back to his company. For the last three years I’ve used this as a threat to keep him at bay. Now, I plan on using it to lure him to West Haven.” Elliot told them.

  Dean lifted a brow. “Lure him here and then what?”

  Elliot didn’t respond right away. “Cut the head off the snake.”

  A look passed between Carter and Dean. Carter leaned forward, his shrewd eyes pinning Elliot.

  “How?” Carter asked.

  Elliot took a deep breath, and then laid out his plan. When he was done, a grunt sounded from Dean. Elliot noticed the frown was gone from Dean’s face and a look of mild irritation remained.

  “I’ll be damn, I think I might grow to not hate you Fuller.” He said.

  Carter laughed and Elliot caught himself smiling slightly. Asking them for help sucked, but their quick agreement to help was the shocker. West Haven was a remarkable place indeed. For Elliot the future was starting to look a little less dim.

  **

  There it was again. A thumping sound from her living room. Gabby sat up in bed, her heart beating quickly, eyes darting around the room. Her sleep addled brain had a hard time figuring out what the hell was happening. If not for the fact that the noise woke her from sleep, she would have thought she was having a nightmare. The thumping sound came again. Someone was inside her apartment, the power was out and she was scared out of her mind. The noise sounded right outside her bedroom, and wouldn’t you know it, tonight was the night that she decided to leave the door open.

  Slipping from the bed, Gabby snatched her flashlight and cell phone from the nightstand. Slinking across the room in the pitch blackness, she stubbed her toe on the foot of the bed, pain like lightening shot up her leg. Gabby quickly covered her mouth to stifle a shout from blasting out. The flashlight slipped from her fingers and hit with a loud clank on the hardwood.

  “Shit.” She whispered. The bright beam of light twirled around the room as the flashlight spun. It lit up the bed, then wall, doorway, man in doorway, and on around the room. Man in doorway! Gabby screamed like a slasher movie queen and barreled towards the bathroom.

  In the pitch blackness she couldn’t see where she was going and ran head first into the door frame. Her breath rushed out and stars flashed before her eyes, but she kept moving. Her head felt like somebody had knocked her across the face with a hammer. Not thinking about the pain, because there was a motherfucking guy in her room. A motherfucking guy, in the dark, in her fucking bedroom!

  Gabby slammed the door shut, breath wheezing in and out of he
r lungs so hard passing out was a distinct possibility. She pressed her back as hard as she could against the door and waited for the man to try and burst in. Nothing. No noise, no movement from her bedroom. Her heart was pounding like a drum behind her ribs. Gabby swiped her fingers across her cell phone calling Elliot.

  “Gabby, what’s wrong?” He asked, voice gruff from sleep.

  “I need you. A guy is in my apartment, in my bedroom. I hid in the bathroom, but I know he saw me.” She whispered into the phone.

  “Hang up and call Carter. I’m on my way.” He disconnected the call.

  Gabby called Carter. He cussed a good number of times, then told her to hang tight he would be right there. Gabby clutched the phone to her chest, holding on to it like it was a weapon or a shield.

  The apartment was silent. Did he leave or was he still out there. On her knees Gabby used the flashlight function on her phone. She rambled through her cabinet. Not one thing she could use as a weapon, unless she burned him to death with her flat iron. She didn’t even have a lighter to ignite her hair spray like they did in the movies.

  Fuck and Fuck again. Her eyes shot up to the window. Climbing up there wouldn’t be a problem, but the drop to the ground would most likely break her neck. The trick would be fitting her hips through the space. Why was she cursed with birthing hips? Why couldn’t she be tiny like Raven?

  A loud bang came from outside and Gabby held her breath. “Gabby?” Elliot called her name.

  Relief washed over her. “I’m in the bathroom.” She cracked the door open a sliver. “Is he gone?”

  Elliot didn’t respond for a second. The lights came on and she sank to the floor. Gabby wanted to cry with relief, but the tears didn’t come. She wrapped her arms around herself and trembled so uncontrollably she felt light headed.