Love Will Find You

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “I promise,” she said, and Marco kissed her.

  She was going to tell them more about that night, about saving her mom and nearly getting raped, but decided that it didn’t matter. She told them about meeting her mom and about the agent. She was safe here in Cherry Hill in her new life and her new relationship. Nothing else even mattered.

  “So what happened to the whole avoiding them together thing?” Isla asked York when they met outside of the library.

  “I guess it went out the window the moment Marco kissed me and then Cab. The whole double-teaming thing I suppose.”

  Isla chuckled. “I’m happy for you. I could tell that the McCuen men really liked you, even though you tortured them.”

  “Tortured them?” York asked, and smiled.

  “Well, what else would you call fooling around with them and then pretending nothing happened?”

  York gasped and gave Isla a little nudge in her arm. Isla laughed. “So are you meeting them after you go shopping?”

  “Maybe,” York said, and smiled wide. “How about you, Isla? Maybe you want to check out the dojo with me soon and catch a glimpse of Ortley, Montana’s brother?”

  “Are you out of your mind? I can’t even look at that man without feeling palpitations.”

  York chuckled. “You’re that aroused by him?” she teased.

  “That scared of him. Duh.” They giggled.

  “York.” She heard her name and turned to see who it was, and at first, she didn’t know. The guy wore sunglasses and was leaning against an SUV. As he started to walk closer and pulled off his shades, she gasped and took a step back.

  Isla grabbed her arm. “York, who is it? Are you okay? Should I get a deputy?” she asked.

  York didn’t want to panic, nor did she want to scare Isla. “No, it’s fine. It’s Mo.”

  “Your dad?” Isla asked, and then stood straighter and right next to York. She held onto her arm. “We got this.”

  York took a deep breath and exhaled. “What do you want?” she asked as he closed the space between them. He looked her over and smiled then at Isla. She could tell he was checking Isla out, the pig.

  “How are you?” he asked.

  “Why are you here? How did you find me?” He raised one of his eyebrows up at her, and she almost got that feeling she had when she was younger and scared of him, but then she straightened out her shoulders and exhaled. “Leave,” she said to him.

  He glanced at Isla. “I came a long way to see you. To make amends.”

  “Wasn’t necessary.”

  “I thought otherwise. I’d like to talk to you alone though. If your pretty friend doesn’t mind.”

  “I do mind and she isn’t talking to you alone,” Isla said, and York could feel Isla shaking.

  York didn’t want to place Isla in any danger. “Isla, it’s okay. Just walk over there, not too far, and I’ll let him make amends then head out,” she said, and eyed him over.

  “Are you sure?” Isla asked.

  “Positive.”

  Isla walked away, but she waved her cell phone. “I can have cops here in a second,” she said, and York couldn’t help but to smile inside. Isla really did have her back.

  Mo looked at her. “You look all grown up, sugar plum.”

  “Sugar plum? Really? Don’t try your bologna with me, Mo.”

  “Dad.”

  “Mo, you lost the right of the title dad years ago. Now say your peace and then get going.” She saw his expression change. His face got red, the veins by his temple pulsated and she knew he got pissed at that.

  “I’ll always be your father. Always have that title and power over you.”

  “No, you don’t have any power over me or any right to me. Leave.” As she turned, he grabbed her upper arm. She gasped and as angry as she was, as much as she hated him for what he did to her mother and continued to do, and for the trouble he caused her, she didn’t strike back. It was like she still showed respect for the title of father that she just said he didn’t have a right to.

  He smirked slightly. “You listen here, and you listen real good. Your mamma needs you in her life. You want to be pissed at me, be pissed at me, but Gale needs you. She said she met you and you treated her terribly. That you said you never wanted to see her again. Now that ain’t right.”

  “Don’t tell me what is right. As a child, I was forced to stand there and see you abuse her, as an adult, with my own life I don’t need to. She wants to be your punching bag, then let her.” She went to yank her arm free, but he pulled her close. His face and teeth against her ear and head.

  “I own you, York. I can take you out at any time, and any of your cute little friends, too. I’d hate for that little blonde to disappear.” She tried to pull free, but his hold was so tight, and she knew she would have bruises.

  “You leave her alone. You get the hell out of here and never come back,” York said to him. He squeezed her arm so tight, she cried out and lowered down.

  “Get your hands off of her right now!” She heard Montana’s voice and saw him coming toward them, hand on his gun and pointing. Mo released her and stepped back.

  “Nothing is going on here, Officer.”

  “Bullshit nothing. I saw you grabbing her.”

  Montana immediately put her dad in handcuffs and was patting him down. Her father was giving her the stare down, a warning that if she did anything, Isla would disappear. She knew her father was capable of that.

  She heard the revving engine of a car, and then the two deputy vehicles come to a screeching halt. Lotus and Finn got out and came right over. “York?” Finn and Lotus were by her side and she was holding her arm.

  “Are you okay? What the hell is going on?” Lotus asked, and looked at her dad.

  “He hurt you?” Finn asked.

  “What? Who is he?” Lotus asked.

  “You can press charges, York. I’ll take him in right now.”

  “No, Montana. I’m not pressing charges. He’s my father,” she said, and Finn and Lotus immediately looked angrier.

  “You laid a hand on my woman, asshole?” Finn reached for her father’s arm to drag him to jail himself.

  “Finn, please,” she said, and grabbed onto Finn’s arm.

  “Boyfriend?” Mo asked, and eyed over Finn.

  “That isn’t any of your business. Montana un-cuff him and let him go.”

  “York, he assaulted you,” Montana said to her.

  “He came to say his peace, and he isn’t ever coming back here again, or I will be pressing charges,” she said, and stared at her father, but he looked smug as Montana un-cuffed him.

  Lotus wrapped his arm around her waist and it didn’t go unnoticed by Mo. He rubbed his wrists where the cuffs had been. “I hate to end things like this, York. Your mamma needs you. If she calls, you better be there for her. She doesn’t deserve the things you said to her.” He winked at her, and she knew this wasn’t going to be the last time she saw Mo. Isla came up by her and they all watched her dad drive off. Montana and Finn took down his license plate number.

  “You should have pressed charges. Then he would be in trouble with his parole officer,” Finn reprimanded her.

  “God damn it, York. He knows where you live now. He can come back to hurt you,” Finn exclaimed with his hands on his hips, pacing.

  “I take it her father is trouble,” Montana asked.

  “And then some, and on parole from Hutchins. He’s no good and she should have pressed charges,” Finn stated again, and now he and Lotus were angry with her.

  The tears hit her eyes and she looked at her arm and saw the red fingermarks that would surely turn to bruises.

  “Damn it,” Lotus said, and pulled her into his arms and hugged her. The tears spilled from her eyes as Montana placed his arm around Isla’s shoulder, and she had tears in her eyes and was fearful, too.

  York knew that she couldn’t let her father hurt Isla or anyone else she cared about. But how could she protect Isla and even her men,
when she didn’t know what her father wanted, or when he might strike? She knew his expressions and understood the meaning of his threats. He wanted her for something, and if she didn’t do it and show up to hear him out when her mom called, then Isla, and possibly even Finn, now that Mo knew he was her boyfriend, could get hurt or worse. She squeezed Lotus tight and hoped that nothing else happened.

  “Why the hell wouldn’t she press charges then? You saw physical markings on her arm, he should have been brought in,” the sheriff told Finn, Lotus, and Montana.

  “We were trying not to cause anymore heartache and upset for York. She had gone through enough as a child and teen with him as a father. She recently met her mom, and the man is still abusive to her. York was cutting ties with her mom once and for all, and her father showed up to confront her and order her to see her mom if her mom calls,” Finn told them.

  “So, what the hell is really going on and don’t bullshit me, son, or else?” Kane stated firmly.

  Finn looked at Lotus and then at Montana. “Close the door, please,” he said, and took a seat in Kane’s office. Lotus and Montana were in there, too, and Montana closed the door.

  “Go one and tell me, everything.”

  “Do you have her or not?” Lurk asked Mo over the phone.

  “No, the bitch has a boyfriend and the fucking deputies came out of the woodwork before I could make a move.”

  “This isn’t good, Mo. We’re doing this job in a week. A fucking week. Maybe I need to step in.”

  “Fuck that. She’ll come. I threatened her and now she knows she is needed and will come.”

  “What the fuck do you mean you threatened her? She could go to her cop boyfriend and tell him more about you, about us, and that you want her for a job. What the fuck, Mo?”

  “No, Lurk, she won’t. She’s scared of me, and she knows what I’m capable of. There was a cute little blue eyed, blonde haired woman her age with her. Really cute. I kind of made it seem like she could disappear.”

  “Not fucking good. No more abducting women. It draws too much attention. We need to be completely under the radar. Everything is in place, including the secure location for York to do her thing. We need her in your possession by tomorrow, or else the shit hits the fan.” Lurk ended the call and then called Suade. “What’s up?”

  “He fucked up. The woman has balls of steel and basically told him to go scratch. He threatened her friend or some shit. I don’t know, and York has a deputy as a boyfriend.”

  “This is turning into a fucking mess. That dumb ass Mo would be stupid enough to abduct York’s friend, maybe even kill a deputy, just to get her to cooperate.”

  “Of course he would, that’s why he’s going to take the fall for everything. He’s an idiot. We don’t need dead bodies or pretty country girl blondes being taken.”

  “Except for York. Saw the pictures. She’s hot, no wonder Vin is a go on whatever we need,” Suade said.

  “Of course he is. Has a place all set up for her to be in Hawaii with him by the weekend. Then who the hell knows. Vin’s got so much power and money, he could take her anywhere he wants, and no one would find her.”

  “You’re telling me, and I’m an agent with resources. They could disappear off the radar if he wanted to, but he won’t. He’s got too much money coming in, way too many businesses, and people depend on him. However, he could hide a woman in a lot of places. Anyway, what do you think? Did Mo scare her enough that she’ll be worried about her friend and boyfriend, or should I contact her and plan to meet and talk?”

  “I guess since we’re running out of time and need her, you should step in. I don’t think Mo will do anything today or tonight.”

  “I wouldn’t put it past the idiot. He could fuck up everything, and if he gets caught, who knows what he might blab,” Suade said. “He’s going down for everything, so I will make sure he doesn’t screw up. You get your hands on York so we can prep her and force her to cooperate. I can have her mother anywhere you need her to be with an adequate amount of time,” Lurk told him.

  “We don’t need her mother. We have Vin.”

  “This is not acceptable,” Marco said to York. He and Lotus got to town after Finn contacted them about the incident with her father.

  He held her arm, and Marco and he looked at it. He pointed at her. “You should have pressed charges.” Her eyes filled up with tears. He just didn’t get it. He stared at her. At her blue eyes and thick eyelashes glistening with tears.

  She looked at Cab. “I couldn’t do it,” she said, and tears fell.

  Marco pulled her into his arms and kissed her neck and shoulder. He caressed her back. “You guys take care of her. We’ll discuss this more tonight at home,” Finn said, and he and Lotus headed to the department to talk to Kane.

  Marco pulled back and wiped her tears away. Cab took her hand and looked at her arm and the clear red and bruising finger marks. “I know that he’s your father, but he’s abusive and he doesn’t love you or care about you.”

  “I know, Cab. I know that, and when he grabbed me…when he grabbed me I thought of striking him and then couldn’t do it. It was like even though he’s never been a father to me, he still is this authoritative figure from the past. I can’t explain it.” She closed her eyes and exhaled.

  “Because you wanted him to be a father. A good man, a good husband, and to love you, but it didn’t matter what you or your mom would do, he didn’t, doesn’t appreciate either of you. You’ve moved on and have your own life, York. He doesn’t need to be part of it or to ruin it for you,” Cab told her.

  “How do I not feel guilty, or weak and affected by him? How?”

  He caressed her arm and squeezed her shoulder as Marco held her around the waist. “I don’t know how, but only you can do it. You have to let go. You have to move on with your life and not let that man have any power over you. We are your providers, your protectors, your family, not him,” Cab said, and more tears fell from her eyes as she reached out and hugged them both.

  Chapter 5

  York didn’t know what to do. She talked to her men about her father, about not pressing charges, but she didn’t tell them about his expression and the type of man she knew him to be. So when her cell phone rang and it turned out to be that Agent Suade Felt, she felt like a miracle was happening.

  “Miss Fayer, we know your father came to see you. We also know that there is some kind of operation going on between him and a crew of others he’s involved with.”

  “He did come to see me. He threatened to hurt some friends of mine, but there isn’t anything I can do. I’m so scared, and glad that you called. What can we do to stop him? To get him to never bother me again?” she asked as she sat in her car outside work, preparing to go in for the night.

  “Meet me, so we can talk and figure out a way to get him to confess to you what he’s doing, and then we can bring him in. It could end all this upset for you and your new life in Cherry Hill,” he told her.

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure he would confess. Do you mean like wear a wire?”

  “That’s old school. We have better means. Safer ones so that you’ll be protected. The thing is, you can’t tell anyone. We can’t take a chance that he’s watching you or that he’ll get tipped off.”

  “My boyfriend is a deputy.”