“This is payback,” an unfamiliar male voice rasped in her ear.
Before she had a chance to respond, something sharp rammed into her side, and she gasped. Seconds later, he knocked her to the ground with such force her head bounced off the pavement.
Abbie tried to scream, but she couldn’t get any air. When she tried to inhale, it was as if her lungs weren’t working. Her mouth filled with blood as Abbie gasped for air. She felt like she was drowning, but before darkness engulfed her, she watched her car drive away.
“Help me, Ben,” Abbie tried to shout but everything went black.
Chapter 7
Why did he bring his mother to a place where all the women were working together to get him to settle down? His mother was bad enough, but when she was in the company of Keith’s mother, aunts, grandmother, and the rest of the women in the O’Connor family, it was like being swarmed.
To top it off, Keith’s quirky Aunt Cora had him in her sights. They called her Cora the Cupid because she was supposed to have a gift for matchmaking. Trunk seemed to be her current target, and she believed Abbie was his destiny.
“As soon as that girl comes to her senses and realizes that stuck-up man isn’t right for her, the sooner Ben can be with her,” Cora said as she sipped her tea.
“I don’t like that guy. He’s such a pig, and he gives me the creeps,” Billie interjected.
Trunk glanced at Mike, hoping for some backup, but the asshole shrugged as he wrapped his arm around Billie. While the women went on about how wrong Chad was for Abbie, Trunk had the urge to agree, but it would give the women more ammunition. Any fool could tell Chad was not the guy for Abbie, but neither was Trunk.
No matter how much he loved her, there was no way they could be together. His mother hadn’t made the connection with Abbie’s last name, and he thought about telling her, but it would bring back bad memories.
Twenty-six years ago…
Benji ran into the house and frantically searched for his mother and brother. They needed to know what Jerry did before he returned home. Benji knew his stepfather would be furious and that anger would be taken out on them.
“Mom, Christopher?” Benji shouted.
When he didn’t get an answer, he ran upstairs to the bedroom, bellowing even louder. He was about to run next door when he heard Christopher crying in the bathroom.
Benji pushed open the door and found Christopher with tears streaming down his cheeks. When he turned to the bathtub, he saw his mother’s motionless body on the floor. Her face was bruised and bloody while her clothes were torn and barely covered her naked body.
“I think she’s dead.” Christopher sobbed.
“No, she’s not,” Benji yelled and ran out of the bathroom.
They didn’t have a phone, and the only person he trusted was the lady next door. She and her husband often took Christopher and Benji inside when Jerry was on a rampage.
“Mrs. Maher, Mrs. Maher.” Benji pounded on his neighbor’s door.
“Heavens, Benji. What’s wrong?” The older woman pulled him into her arms.
“It’s Mom. She’s hurt really bad.” Benji tried to keep the tears from falling, but it was no use.
“Ambrose, come quick,” she called behind her.
“What is it?” Ambrose asked.
“Go next door and see what that monster has done now.” She pulled Benji into the house. “Where’s your brother?”
“He’s with Mom. Please help her,” Benji begged Ambrose.
“You go inside with Bridget and don’t open that door for anyone but me,” he told them. “Call the police, honey.”
With those words, Ambrose ran to Benji’s house. It seemed to take forever for him to return with Christopher, but he did and then left again. Benji sat on the sofa next to his brother in silence while Bridget talked to the police.
Benji waited for someone to tell him their mother was dead. He didn’t want to upset his brother, but he believed this time Jerry killed her. He was scared of what would happen to him and his brother.
“Benji, Christopher, this is Constable Simms.” Bridget sat next to them.
“You can call me Paul.” The man crouched in front of them.
Christopher pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, but Benji sat up straight and looked the friendly officer in the eyes. He had to be brave for his brother.
“You’re Benji, right?” Paul asked.
Benji nodded as Paul shook his hand like grownups did. The officer glanced at Christopher and then back at Benji.
“Would you mind if I ask both of you some questions?” Paul asked.
“You can ask me,” Benji told him.
“That’s good, but before we start, I wanted to let you know something,” he said.
“You don’t need to tell us. Our mom is dead,” Benji whispered.
“No, she’s not, buddy. She’s hurt, but she asked me to make sure you both were safe.” Paul smiled at Benji.
“She’s not dead?” Christopher lifted his head for the first time since the officer arrived.
“No, pal, but I still have some questions.” Paul took off his cap and placed it on the floor.
Benji and Christopher nodded.
“Do you know who did this to your mother?” Paul asked.
“It was Dad,” Christopher whispered.
“Do you know where he is?” Paul glanced at Bridget.
“I haven’t seen him.” Bridget shook her head.
“I know where he is,” Benji told them.
“You do?” Bridget seemed surprised.
“He was looking for me because I broke a window with a ball.” Benji started, but Christopher stopped him.
“Benji didn’t break the window, I did, but he wanted me to say he did it. Dad was mad and took off his belt…” Christopher stopped.
“Did he spank you, Benji?” Paul asked.
“No. I ran away. I was going to the store to find the policeman I saw there before. He said if I needed help to let the guy at the store know. They’re brothers.” Benji sat up straight.
“I know them. The Parkers own that store, and I work with Conrad.” Paul nodded.
“He was nice.” Benji dropped his head.
“Both he and I have sons about your age,” Paul told him.
Benji wanted to ask if he used a belt on his son, but he had a feeling Jerry was the only one who did it. He’d asked one of his friends at school about being hit, and after the boy gave him a weird look, Benji knew his life was different.
“You said you knew where your dad was,” Paul pushed.
“He was in his car, and he was drunk again. I think he hit someone…” Benji’s words stopped when another police officer ran into the room.
“We got him. A unit arrested him on Gilbert Street. He hit some kids with his car,” the officer told Paul.
Paul didn’t say anything as he pulled the police officer aside, and they spoke quietly. Bridget pulled Christopher onto her lap and Benji into her side. It made Benji feel better to know that Jerry had been arrested and his mother was okay, but he was still afraid of what would happen to him and his brother.
When Ambrose entered the room a while later, he said something to Paul. Benji had no idea where they were going to go, but there was no way they were splitting up him and Christopher.
“It’s okay, boys. Everything will be okay.” Bridget hugged them.
Paul and Ambrose walked toward the sofa. Ambrose sat down next to Benji and Paul sat on the coffee table.
“How would you boys like to stay with your friends here for a few days?” Paul asked.
“What about Mom?” Christopher’s voice cracked.
“Your mom will be in the hospital for a while, but she told Mr. Maher you could stay with them until she’s home.” Paul smiled.
“What about Dad?” Benji didn’t care, but he also didn’t want his stepfather to come back and take them away from the Mahers.
“He won’t hurt you or your mom
again.” Ambrose sounded angry but it didn’t scare Benji.
“Is he dead?” Benji gasped.
“No, buddy. He’s going to jail. He hurt your mom, and he hit some little girls with his car,” Paul said.
“I hope I never see him again,” Benji murmured to himself.
Present day…
“Trunk, are you okay?” Mike seemed to be the only one who noticed Trunk had drifted off into his painful memories again.
“What? Oh. Yeah. Just off in my own world.” Trunk forced a smile.
“Do you need anything?” Sandy asked.
Sandy, Keith, and Ian knew about Abbie’s sister and who killed her. He could trust them, which was why he didn’t worry about his secret slipping to Abbie or anyone else.
“Ya needs Abbie, dats wat ya needs,” Nanny Betty said in her Irish-Newfoundland accent.
Alice had placed a large table at the back of the diner half of Jack’s Place, and it was where the family would sit. The table seemed to grow every year. The O’Connors didn’t care if someone was family or not, because they welcomed everyone with open arms.
“Nan, that’s enough.” Keith met Trunk’s eyes.
“She’s not wrong,” Trunk’s mother said.
“I’m never wrong,” Cora reminded everyone.
“How long more does Pam have to go before the twins are born?” Trunk asked Cora.
Cora’s daughter, Pam, got married in the early part of March. She and her husband wanted to be married before she delivered in May, but nobody knew she was having twins until they announced it on her wedding day. The last time he’d seen her, she looked ready to pop.
“I thought she would go early, but the babies are still inside, and she has three weeks to go.” Cora smiled.
“Nice distraction, Ben.” Billie smirked.
Most of the women in Keith’s family refused to call any of the guys who worked for NES by their nicknames. Sandy was the only one who did, but that was probably because she’d worked with them for so long. Sandy also had another nickname for Trunk and Bull when they pissed her off. She referred to them as Chrome Dome because Bull was bald, and Trunk had started shaving his head over the last couple of years.
“You didn’t think that worked, did you?” Cora chuckled. “I just love talking about my grandbabies.”
None of them would let it go. As much as Trunk hated the thought of Abbie with that stuck-up ass-wipe, it was better for her. Trunk would have to get used to the gut-wrenching pain knowing she was not his.
Billie was interrupted by the soft music coming from her phone. She hopped up from the table to answer, because with all the chatter at the table, she’d never hear whoever was on the other end of the call. Trunk didn’t think anything odd since she was a real estate agent, and he’d seen Abbie get calls at all hours of the day and night.
Trunk relaxed as he listened to the din of the conversation of the people he’d grown to love. They discussed their plans for the summer and throwing sweet sixteen parties for Sandy and Ian’s two oldest girls.
“I can’t believe they’re both going to be sixteen this year.” Kathleen shook her head.
“I asked if they wanted two separate parties because Evie’s birthday is in July, and Lily’s isn’t until September, but they split the difference and want to have a big party on Ian’s birthday in August.” Sandy shrugged.
“So, they want to make their father miserable on his birthday by flaunting the fact they aren’t little girls anymore. Happy Birthday, Ian.” Keith chuckled.
“Sounds about right,” Sandy returned.
Trunk glanced toward Billie and noticed her face had gone pasty white. Her eyes were wide, and she was waving her hands anxiously. It wasn’t like her, which meant something was wrong.
“Mike.” Trunk tapped his friend on the shoulder and pointed toward Billie.
In seconds Trunk, Keith, and Mike surrounded the frantic woman as she ended the call. She dropped her phone on the counter and immediately fell into Mike’s arms, sobbing hysterically. They couldn’t understand what she was saying, but Trunk tensed when he heard Abbie’s name.
“Baby, you’ve got to calm down and tell us what happened.” Mike kissed her forehead.
“Abbie… she… she’s in the hospital… she was… she’s hurt… someone stabbed her,” Billie cried.
“What?” Trunk’s body stiffened, and his heart thundered in his chest.
“Explain on the way.” Mike wrapped his arm around his wife as Keith hurried to the table to fill everyone in.
“I’ll get Mom to take Fatima back to my parents’ place,” Keith said.
“I’ll drive,” Trunk said as he stalked ahead of Mike and Billie.
Trunk was back in the same place where he first met Abbie. This time, they were waiting in a room for news on whether Abbie would make it out of surgery. It hurt to know she was with another man, but at least she was still alive. If she didn’t make it through this surgery, Trunk would not survive the pain.
He listened while the police explained everything they knew to Abbie’s parents. His blood ran cold when they said someone attacked her from behind. Whoever hurt her stole her car, her phone, all the jewelry she wore, and they left her in the middle of the parking lot to die.
The more Trunk discovered about the attack, the more enraged he became. He prayed the police found the bastard who hurt her before he did. If he got to the prick first, the guy wouldn’t make it to prison.
“We can’t lose her. I won’t survive losing another child.” Abbie’s mother sobbed.
Trunk met Claire and Darren Martin when he was Abbie’s security. Darren wasn’t a big man, but he’d definitely kill someone who hurt his daughter. Trunk would help the man when they found out who did this to Abbie.
“Are you okay, Ben?” Billie whispered next to him.
“I’m fine,” Trunk lied. “Are you okay?”
“I know how you feel about her, and I’ll be fine when they let us know how she is.” Billie’s voice cracked.
Trunk swallowed hard as a tear ran down her cheek. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave her a comforting hug. It took everything he had to keep his fear hidden so he wouldn’t upset Abbie’s family and friends.
“She’ll be fine. She’s as tough as nails.” Trunk hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.
The truth was, he was scared to death. From what he’d overheard, Abbie lost a lot of blood, the knife had nicked her lung, and when she hit the ground, she cracked her head on the pavement.
“Has anyone called to see what’s taking Chad so long?” Dana asked.
Dana was the one who called Billie and was with Abbie’s parents when Trunk arrived at the hospital. As a nurse, Dana knew more than anyone how critical Abbie’s condition was. She seemed to be doing her best to keep everyone updated, but Trunk could see the concern in her eyes.
“Leave that SOB where he is. The last person I want here is that conceited piece of shit.” Darren snapped.
“Darren, he’s her boyfriend.” Claire sighed.
“Then why the fuck was he not with her? That prick let her walk to the car alone.” Darren’s voice echoed in the small waiting room.
“What do you mean?” Trunk found it hard to get his head around the idea of Chad not walking Abbie to her car at night.
“Abbie told us they were having supper at that overpriced pretentious restaurant where all the snobs go. The place on Water Street,” Darren told them.
“You mean, Maison De Vaisselle?” Billie asked.
“Yes,” Darren replied.
“I don’t get the name, it’s French, but in English, it means house of dishes.” Dana shook her head.
“Should be called the house of overpriced food,” Darren scoffed.
“Does he know what happened?” Mike asked.
“He called us to let us know she was attacked and was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. We haven’t seen or heard from him since, and that was over two hours ago.”
Claire sniffed.
“He’s a selfish bastard, and I wish she would throw him to the curb. Tattoo boy would be better for her than that idiot.” Darren motioned toward Trunk.
“She’d be with tattoo boy if he would get his head out of his ass,” Dana whispered.
“Don’t start.” Trunk muttered.
“Then tell me why you left that night.” Dana narrowed her eyes at him.
“That was a lifetime ago. It was better to stop it before it went too far,” Trunk stated with a matter of fact tone.
“How much further could you go? You slept with her.” Dana snorted.
“This is not the time or place to discuss any of this,” Trunk reminded her.
“You’re right.” Dana sighed and turned away from him.
Trunk couldn’t blame Dana for being pissed with him. He’d treated her friend like a one-night stand, and Abbie was so much more to him. One glance at her, and she’d make his day brighter, but that was all he could ever have with her, and it had to be enough.
It was over four hours before the doctor came to get Abbie’s parents. She’d made it through the surgery, but there was some slight swelling where she injured her head. They said they wouldn’t know anything about the damage until she regained consciousness.
Billie asked Keith to assign someone to Abbie until the police apprehended Abbie’s attacker. Law enforcement seemed to think it was a mugging gone wrong, but Trunk couldn’t shake the feeling it was more than that.
“I trust him. He kept our daughter safe before.” Claire pointed to Trunk.
“I don’t think Trunk is the one to put on this…” Keith began.
“It’s Trunk, or it’s Trunk. My wife trusts him. If he won’t do it then we’ll find another company,” Darren interrupted.
Keith glanced at Trunk and raised an eyebrow as if asking him if he wanted to do it. It was obvious Trunk avoided Abbie as much as possible, but it would be a form of torture to spend every day with her again. He knew all the men who worked for NES were qualified, trustworthy, and would protect Abbie with their lives.
“I’ll do it,” Trunk said without hesitation.
“Good. I want you by her side until they find this son of a bitch.” Darren shook his finger in Trunk’s face.
Risky Vengeance Page 6