Finding Us

by Debra Presley

  “That wasn’t your fault,” Abby said softly.

  “Easy for you to say. I’m responsible in a lot of ways. Not for Sean being psychotic, but he was able to get too close too many times. That was my team that screwed up. And that reflects on me.”

  “How could they know? How could you know? I mean, I thought Kelly was my friend. I would’ve never guessed she’d do that to me.”

  “It’s my job to know. I’m supposed to be able to predict things like that.”

  “You can’t predict crazy.”

  He smiled, but it seemed forced. “I don’t see it that way.”

  Abby shrugged and sipped her tea and enjoyed the sounds of the woods. “I mean…shit.” She sat up in her chair.

  “What?”

  “Crap.” How did she not make the connection sooner? She rubbed her temple with her fingers.

  “Tell me.”

  “I’m so dumb. Stephanie.”

  “What about her?”

  “During one of my many run-ins with her, she mentioned having a picture or something of Sean with a redhead in a compromising position. I wonder if that was Kelly? That chick changes hair color every other day. I’m so dumb.”

  “Your not dumb. First, you don’t even know if that was her. Did Stephanie offer to show you those pictures?”

  “No, but still. There was tons of evidence, and I knew he cheated. I just accepted it.”

  “You can’t play the ‘what if’ game. It does no good now.”

  “I guess, but still I wish I had opened my eyes a lot sooner.” Maybe if she had questioned things more, all this mess might have been avoided. And maybe, nothing would’ve changed because she always just did as she was told. Accepted everything even when she knew it wasn’t best for her.

  “We all have events in our lives we wish we could do over.” Danny sighed, heavily. “Abby…I…”

  “Spit it out already. I know you want to talk to me about something.”

  Danny chuckled, but didn’t respond. “I guess you’ve been paying closer attention than I thought.”

  Abby laughed. “Thanks for the compliment, I guess. I’ve enjoyed this time to do some thinking, but I’m not totally in my own bubble.” Nope, the other times she was swooning over someone that she couldn’t have.

  “I’ll have to remember that.”

  “Yes. Do. Now talk.” She tightened her grip on her mug. She liked the warmth against her palms.

  “Well, it actually has to do with Kelly.”

  Abby frowned. “Okay.”

  “I’d like you to consider calling her.”

  “Why?” Abby turned toward him. He was sitting close enough that she could see him in the darkness. The thought of talking to Kelly, knowing she saw Abby that night and did nothing, sent a chill through her. No way.

  “We need to put an end to this. If we don’t, we’re dancing to their tune. We can’t sit around anymore and wait for Sean to show his face. Kelly drugged you. She must be helping him.”

  Abby forced herself to loosen her grip on her mug. She was afraid she’d break it out of anger.

  “At the moment, she’s our only direct connection to him. Calling her just makes sense.”

  “So what do I do?” She tried to sound brave, but really, was he nuts? Her direct connection to Sean was a reason not to call her, yet Danny was asking her to do the opposite. If her bodyguards didn’t show when they did, that night would’ve ended in a totally different way. This might make sense to Danny, but to Abby it sounded as close to insane as it could get.

  “You’re not going to call to say ‘what’s up’ or something like that. I want you to pretend you don’t remember anything about her involvement.”

  “Then what? Ask her over for coffee?” She tried not to sound snappish, but she was pretty sure it didn’t work.

  “Not exactly, but close.”

  She took a deep breath. Danny wasn’t crazy. He was highly trained. The least she could do was hear him out. “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “I want you to call her and mention that you’re up here with me. Say that you’ve been spending time here healing, and that you want to come back to the city but can’t until we find Sean.”

  “Wait a second.” Abby stared hard at him, and she thought she saw him move back a little. “Seriously? You want me to tell her where I am?” That confirmed it. He was out of his fucking mind.

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” And then it hit her. “Oh my God.” If she did what Danny asked, then Sean would know exactly where she was. Danny wanted Sean to know. A wave of nausea rolled through her, and she choked down the urge to vomit. It would serve him right though. He deserved to be puked on for even suggesting something like this.

  “Abby, hear me out—”

  “You want Sean to know where I am.” A chill raced up her spine. “You’re setting a trap. And I’m the bait.”

  He cleared his throat, something he did when he was nervous. “When you put it like that—”

  “There’s no other way to put it, Danny.” She gripped her mug tightly again. She stared across the lake and focused on her breathing. The calm darkness of the water transformed. Her feeling of safety, security fell away. All she could see was danger in the unknown. Every light that used to be someone enjoying the lake at night was suddenly a threat. Her perfect cocoon ruptured, and she was left exposed and vulnerable. Fuck him for taking that away from her. Fuck Sean for putting her in this position in the first place, and fuck Danny for making her feel safe only to tear it away from her with just a few words.

  “Okay, listen, please. Yes. I want him to come up here so we can trap him. He’s a ghost right now. And so is Kelly. No one can find him, so he’s laying low and has at least one person helping him. We have men on your mother twenty-four seven so I doubt it’s her. With what you’ve remembered and Kelly being MIA, it has to be her.”

  “So I tell Kelly where I am and then what? We wait?” Abby felt numb. She forced all her emotions, the churning unease, into a dark corner of her consciousness. She couldn’t afford to let her fear rule her for one more day. She was tired of leaving her well-being up to so many other people, and it was time for her to reclaim some of the responsibility for her own life.

  “Yes.”

  “What if he doesn’t show?” But she knew that wasn’t possible. From what she could remember of that night, Sean was a man possessed.

  “He will.”

  She knew he was right. And somewhere deep inside, she actually wanted Sean to come for her. She thought about fear and anger and decided she’d let anger be her guide this time. She was fucking tired of running.

  “Abby?” He said her name uncertainly. Maybe he thought she was a total head case. Or maybe he knew he was asking too much. His job was to protect her, not dangle her in front of her own personal psychopath ex-boyfriend.

  Her thoughts were in overdrive. All the possible outcomes of doing this were running through her mind like scenes in a movie. So many things could go wrong, and she couldn’t silence the twinge of doubt in her head. Could Danny really pull this off? Sean had been one step ahead of them this entire time. The only thing keeping her safe was that Sean had no idea where she was. Doing this could give them the upper hand. Did she really have faith in Danny? She wanted to. When he looked at her with that sincere, fierce promise of protection, she believed he could do anything. And if she said no, what then? Live in fear? Double and triple security? Live like a hermit because she was scared Sean might get close again? No. She was done with that, and she wanted her freedom and her life back. “All right.”

  “Look, it’s the only…wait. All right?”

  She laughed. There was absolutely nothing funny about this situation, but she’d surprised him, and it struck her funny. “Yeah. I’m tired of running.”

  “I…okay. Well. Um.”

  Did she just agree to do this?

  “Okay.” He cleared his throat again. “Nothing will happen to you. Connor and I have it all
planned out.”

  “And of course you’re going to tell me the whole thing, right?”

  “Yes, but all you really have to do is make the call. The rest is on my team and me. You’ll be here, and you’ll be safe.”

  “Well, let’s hope, anyway.” She took another sip. She wanted to feel safe again.

  “He won’t get near you.”

  “He’ll try,” she said. “But I’m really tired of him. And I’m tired of my mother, and I’m really disgusted with Kelly.”

  Danny was silent for a long time, and Abby imagined the wheels turning in his head, trying to figure out where this new Abby came from. I’ve always been here, she thought. I let shit get to me. I’m over it.

  “I’m sorry. I knew better than to let you go that night, but I didn’t want to act like your keeper. After all, I’m your bodyguard.”

  Bodyguard. That stung. Again Danny reminded her about the boundaries of their relationship. “Let me know what you want me to tell her.”

  “It’ll be okay.” He assured.

  “I believe you.” She stood. “I’m off to bed. Thanks for a great night out. See you in the morning.” She strode off the porch and up to her room. Bodyguard. That’s what he thinks. Thank God she never made her feelings known. Damn Sophie anyway for making her think his feelings were more than just professional.

  She closed her bedroom door.

  “How stupid am I?” she said into the silence of her room. She got ready for bed turned her bedside light off and thought about what she’d say to Kelly when she called her. It would be an Oscar worthy performance, she was sure. But she wanted to do it, wanted to put an end to people thinking they could push her around. And maybe she’d be able to let go of the little dream she’d had about Danny.

  “Here’s your phone.” Sophie slid it across the kitchen island to Abby.

  Abby stared at it for a moment. It’d only been a few days since she surrendered it, but it already looked unfamiliar to her, like a leftover relic from another life.

  Thank goodness she had Sophie. She had been answering messages and taking care of anything that couldn’t wait for Abby. Sophie had also started to research new management for her. Weeding through all the companies was proving to be a harder task than she ever thought it would be. Sophie had really stepped up though, and it had Abby rethinking future plans.

  “Thanks.” Abby stared at it, and after a bit, she picked it up. It felt foreign in her hand. She knew she had to make the call, but knowing and doing were two separate things. She had sat down with Danny and Connor, and they explained their plan to her this morning. She wanted to trust Danny blindly, but couldn’t. She’d been through too much and knew that anything could happen, even with bodyguards around.

  “Abby?”

  She looked up at Danny.

  “You can do this, and everything will be okay.”

  “Yeah. You’re sure this will work?”

  “Nothing will happen to you.”

  She stared at her phone.

  “Look at me.” Her gaze automatically found his.

  “I give you my word. Nothing will happen to you. Sean won’t get near you.”

  This wasn’t the first time Danny had said that, but still Sean managed to get close to her. He hurt her. A lot. Too much for her to take Danny’s promise at face value. Abby knew he believed what he said, and she believed him too, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared. There were too many unknown variables, but if she didn’t do this, she’d never get the control she desperately wanted in her life. She nodded and looked back at the phone, steeling herself.

  “Act normal. You’re checking in and wanted to let her know you’re okay. You don’t want to make her suspicious. Mention in passing how you’re at the cabin.” Sophie recapped for the millionth time.

  “Yep.” I’d like to thank the Academy… She took a deep breath and pressed Kelly’s number on her speed dial. She hesitated only a second before putting the phone to her ear. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could maybe move on. From both Sean and Danny. Last night’s words still hurt. Crushes sucked.

  “Hello?” Kelly answered, sounding tentative.

  “Hey,” Abby said, glad she sounded normal. “What’s up?”

  “Abby?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. Sorry I haven’t called you”

  “That’s all right. I lost you that night, and I was worried.”

  “I’m okay now. I was pretty messed up for awhile.” Oh, yeah. This was definitely an award-winning performance. Sophie gave her a thumbs-up.

  “Girl, do you remember what happened to you? The gossip is flying. I can’t believe Sean could do that.”

  Abby wanted to reach through the phone and smack her. Do you know what happened to you? Yeah, I do, Abby thought. You fucking set me up.

  She said, “Is the gossip really that bad? I’ve tried to stay away from it.”

  “Your face and name were plastered all over the place for awhile. It’s died down some, now.”

  “Well, that’s good. I guess. No news is good news.”

  “How did he get to you?”

  “I don’t know. I know what I’ve been told from John and Aaron. They were helping you. There was some guy getting rough with you or something.”

  “Yeah, that bastard I was dancing with got really upset I was talking to Aaron, and he came up and just punched him. Shit got out of hand after that.” She sounded blasé, as if that kind of thing happened all the time and she was an innocent bystander. Abby knew better, but she sure as hell wouldn’t let Kelly know that.

  “Things are really blurry,” Abby said. “I remember that Sean took me, but that’s all. The doctor said memory loss is common with head injuries. After that, all I remember is waking up in the hospital.”

  “Damn, girl.” She actually sounded a little contrite.

  “It’s been crazy. If it wasn’t for Danny taking me away from it all, I think I’d have had a breakdown.”

  “He took you away?”

  “Yeah. Up to his cabin. It’s so beautiful up here. It overlooks Lake George.” She looked at Danny to see he was nodding his head in approval.

  “Well, that’s good. You probably needed a break after that.”

  “For sure, but I need to get back to my life. We’re planning on coming back to the city sometime next week. I’m getting antsy and want to get back to the tour.”

  “I’ll bet. Call me when you’re back in the city, and we’ll hang. Raven is opening this weekend. We can totally check it out.”

  “Sounds good. Later.” Abby hung up and set the phone on the table. “Nothing. She didn’t give me any hints that she’s in on this. She’s just as fucking crazy as he is.”

  “You won’t hear me defend her,” Sophie said.

  Abby shot her a look. “I should have listened to you.”

  “It’s hard to believe the worst about someone.” Sophie squeezed her hand.

  “She acted like she was innocent. Like ‘oh, sorry that happened. Let’s hang out.’” It hurt, knowing that. But Abby’s growing anger helped burn it away.

  “You did great,” Danny said. “You sounded natural, and that was most important.”

  She smiled. “At least that’s something. Academy Awards, here I come.”

  “For sure, girl,” Sophie said with an answering smile. “So now what?”

  “Everybody’s here, and we’re ready,” Danny said. “Stick to the plan. Act natural, like nothing’s up.”

  Easier said than done. Abby thought she saw that thought echoed in Danny’s eyes. Or maybe she just wanted to believe that. She’d thought she’d seen other things in his eyes and been wrong before. She turned to Sophie. “I know you need to micromanage every last detail, and I love you for it, but maybe just let me know the big stuff for a while. I’m going to go upstairs, find my keyboard and maybe, for the first time in forever, get lost in what I love to do.” She gave Sophie a small smile before she left the phone on the counter and headed to
her room.

  * * *

  Danny figured they had, at minimum, six hours before Sean could be in the area and, at most, a day. His men were already close by, and King would be walking through his door within ten minutes. He wanted to sit down with both Connor and King to go over any last minute concerns.

  He let himself think about Abby. Damn, she’d done a fantastic job. And he liked the fire in her he’d seen last night. Liked it a lot. Maybe too much for his own good. And after the phone call, he had a feeling that the fire in Abby was here to stay.

  “Nucci?” Connor called from the porch.

  “Kitchen.”

  Connor opened the screen door. “The King is in the building.”

  “Coming.” Danny finished stirring the sauce and lowered the flame. Restaurant food and take out was getting old, and Danny was apparently the only one that knew how to cook.

  He walked through the living room and out onto the porch. Connor and King were waiting for him near the front of the cabin.

  “How was the ride?” He greeted King.

  “Fucking long. Never drive six-plus hours with Ricky.”

  “I already know that.” Danny chuckled. “He doesn’t shut up. Stakeouts are always fun too.”

  “Thanks for the heads up,” King said sarcastically.

  “Anytime. What have you got for me?”

  “We’ve been to every gas station and motel in a twenty-mile radius. If he shows, we’ll know.”

  “Everyone’s in position,” Connor said. “Now we need that fucker to show his face.”

  “He will.” Danny scanned the area.

  “I’ve got Ricky and Freddie camped out at the interstate exits,” King added.

  “Good. There are a ton he could use to get here, but maybe we’ll get lucky and they can follow him.”

  “That’d be good, but all this prep work could be useless if he looks online and uses his GPS rather than asking one of the locals,” Connor pointed out.

  “Well, we’re prepared either way. We have a point man hidden at the beginning of the road. It’s the only way to get to the cabin, so that gives us enough time to get the upper hand.”

  “We’ve got this covered, man.” King mock punched Connor in the shoulder.