Risky Vengeance

by Rhonda Brewer

  “Mom, did he do something to you?” Chris asked.

  “He broke my heart, that was all.” She cupped Chris’ cheek.

  “Then why do you seem so shaken by seeing him?” Trunk asked as Abbie sat next to him.

  “I haven’t seen him in a long time, and I didn’t realize he’d returned to Newfoundland.” She sat back on the sofa and linked her hands together.

  “You must have cared about him a lot,” Abbie said.

  “I loved him.” His mother smiled.

  “What happened?” Trunk asked.

  She stared down at her hands for a while before she finally raised her eyes to look at Trunk. Then she turned to Chris and blew out a shaky breath.

  “He wanted to leave Newfoundland, and I didn’t.” She sighed.

  Something with that statement had the hair on Trunk’s neck stand up. The story was familiar, and he swallowed hard when his mother met his eyes.

  “Is he…” Trunk stopped.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  Chris glanced back and forth between Trunk and their mother. His brother wasn’t catching on to what his mother was saying. Trunk’s heart thudded in his chest, realizing exactly who Cole Donovan was.

  “Who is this guy?” Chris raised his voice.

  “He’s your father,” his mother answered.

  Chapter 26

  The silence in Trunk’s living room was deafening. Abbie watched Trunk and his brother as they tried to process what they’d heard, and from their expressions, it didn’t seem as if they welcomed the news. Fatima pressed her lips together, obviously struggling to hold back tears.

  Trunk sat quietly next to her and his body was rigid, but Chris’ expression concerned her. His jaw clenched and his hands were fisted in his lap.

  “He simply turned his back on you and left you to raise two children on your own,” Chris said with no hint of emotion.

  “He didn’t know I was pregnant with you when he left,” Fatima told her son.

  “That’s supposed to make it better?” Trunk spat out the words.

  “Ben, we were both young. He had plans to go away to school, and I couldn’t hold him back,” Fatima whispered.

  “Yeah, but you ended up with a man who almost killed you.” Chris shot to his feet as his resentment poured out.

  “Cole didn’t know Jerry would be like that,” Fatima said.

  “Wait, did Cole know Jerry?” Trunk asked.

  Fatima swallowed hard before she finally spoke. Abbie wanted to wrap her arms around Trunk’s mother when tears began to stream down her cheeks. There was no doubt she loved Cole deeply.

  “They were friends. Cole asked Jerry to take care of me while he went to school.” Fatima sniffed.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Chris threw his arms up in the air.

  “Jerry wasn’t always like that, Christopher,” Fatima said.

  “Cole obviously knew you had another baby if he and Jerry were such good friends,” Trunk snapped.

  “No. I overheard Jerry on a phone call with Cole the day I found out I was pregnant. He told Cole off for cheating on me with someone in Toronto. Jerry told him never to call again and said he’d be the one to take care of me.” Fatima shook her head. “When I told Jerry I was pregnant again, he told me Cole didn’t deserve to know, and he asked me to marry him.”

  “Mom, I’m sorry, but I can’t believe you married a man when you were in love with someone else.” Chris sat down again.

  “I was scared, and Jerry treated me wonderful in the beginning. It was after his mother died that he started drinking and becoming violent.” Fatima swiped her fingers under her eyes.

  Abbie grabbed a pack of tissues from her purse and handed them to Fatima. She gave Abbie a soft smile and thanked her. Abbie didn’t know the full story about Fatima and Jerry, but she knew it wasn’t good.

  “I think you need to talk to Cole,” Abbie told Fatima.

  “I can’t do that. He’s married and…” Fatima shook her head.

  “Cole isn’t married, Fatima,” Abbie replied.

  Abbie didn’t know much about Cole Donovan, but she read an article about him a while ago. Cole got married in his early twenties, but the marriage didn’t last, and he divorced the woman. He also had a daughter who was a veterinarian in St. John’s.

  “He married a girl we used to be friends with,” Fatima said.

  “They’re divorced, but he does have a daughter,” Abbie told Fatima.

  “You boys have a sister,” Fatima whispered.

  “I think you should tell Cole. Keeping secrets only causes trouble,” Abbie said as she met Trunk’s eyes.

  They knew from experience that holding back information caused more issues than it solved. She and Trunk would’ve been together since their one night, if he’d told her about his past. Maybe Trunk finding out about his biological father might help him get over the guilt of what his stepfather did.

  “Why would we want to tell him anything? He took off and left Mom with a toddler and a baby on the way. It didn’t matter if he didn’t know about me. He abandoned Ben,” Chris shouted.

  “I told him to go,” Fatima told Chris.

  “If he were any kind of man, he wouldn’t have left,” Chris returned.

  Trunk sat back on the sofa and it seemed as if he wasn’t listening to the conversation between his mother and brother. It was as if he was in a state of shock. It was almost certainly a lot for him to process.

  “Ben, are you okay?” Abbie touched his hand.

  “I don’t know,” Trunk whispered.

  Before she could suggest he talk to Cole, the chime of the doorbell echoed through the house. Abbie went to answer it because the last thing Trunk and his family needed was visitors. When Abbie opened the door, she was stunned to see Cole standing on the step.

  “Mr. Donovan?” Abbie glanced behind to see if anyone was there.

  “Ms. Martin, I’m glad to see you’re up and around, and it’s Cole.” Cole smiled as he shook her hand.

  “Thank you and call me Abbie. I thought you went to the hospital?” Abbie stepped outside and closed the door.

  “I don’t go to hospitals. My physician checked my knee, and it’s bruised but fine,” Cole assured her.

  “That’s good to hear, but why are you here?” Abbie asked.

  When he smiled and hitched his thumb over his shoulder, she saw the resemblance between Cole, Trunk and Chris. She glanced over his head and saw Cole’s bike being lifted onto the bed of the truck.

  “I won’t be able to drive the bike for a while, so my brother-in-law followed me out here to pick it up.” Cole pointed to the man at the end of Trunk’s driveway.

  Before Abbie could respond, someone stepped behind her and she turned to see Trunk. His body tensed as he locked eyes with Cole, but he didn’t say a word.

  “Trunk, I hope nobody got hurt at the police station,” Cole said.

  “No,” Trunk answered coldly.

  “That’s good. I haven’t had a chance to talk to James about the incident. Have they figured out who shot at me?” Cole asked.

  “No,” Trunk replied with the same coldness.

  “I’m sorry, Trunk, but are you angry with me?” Cole seemed to notice the harshness of Trunk’s tone.

  “I think we should step inside and discuss this.” Abbie motioned for Cole to go into the house.

  Cole looked back and forth between Abbie and Trunk. He seemed apprehensive about entering, but when Abbie gave him a reassuring smile, he nodded.

  “I’ll tell my brother-in-law to take the bike and go. He followed me in the truck.” Cole limped down the front steps and made his way to the man waiting at the end of the driveway.

  “I don’t know if this is the time, Abs,” Trunk whispered.

  “I think you need to get this out in the open so we can move on and find Jerome before he hurts someone else.” Abbie took Trunk’s hands and gave them a gentle squeeze.

  “Fine.” Trunk sighed.

&n
bsp; When Cole walked into the living room, Chris didn’t try to hide his hostility for the man. Abbie didn’t know Trunk’s brother well, but she could see he wasn’t happy about Cole coming into the conversation.

  “Cole, would you like something to drink?” Trunk asked.

  “No, thanks. I’m good.” Cole shifted nervously on the couch.

  “Mom, do you want to tell Cole everything?” Trunk sat next to his mother.

  Fatima looked ready to throw up, and she dropped her head. It took a little while before she raised her eyes to meet Cole’s confused expression. His eyes flicked back and forth between Trunk and Fatima, but she seemed unable to speak.

  “Fatima, you don’t need to say anything. I understand why you were scared to tell me about the baby.” Cole gave her a small smile.

  “You knew?” Fatima whispered.

  “Jerry told me,” Cole answered.

  “That bastard told you about the baby, but you still didn’t bother to come back?” Chris snapped.

  “Christopher, enough,” Fatima chastised her son.

  “Cole, this is my brother, Chris.” Trunk did a quick introduction.

  “I wanted to say how sorry I am about what happened with Jerry. When I came back to Newfoundland and found out what he did, I was dumbfounded. I knew he had a rough childhood, but he seemed…” Cole stopped when Chris jumped to his feet and stomped out of the room.

  “I apologize for my brother. He’s having a lot of difficulties dealing with all this,” Trunk said.

  “I can’t say I understand. I’m glad you got away from your father.” Cole shook his head.

  Abbie listened intently to the conversation, but it was obvious Cole didn’t understand what was happening. When she met Fatima’s eyes, she could see Trunk’s mother sensed the same thing.

  “Cole, what exactly did Jerry tell you?” Fatima tilted her head.

  “He called me about two weeks after I left and said he had a confession to make. He said he couldn’t lie anymore, and I needed to know the truth so I could move on with my life,” Cole began.

  “What did he confess?” Abbie asked.

  “He told me Benji wasn’t my son. He said you didn’t want to hurt me, so you let me believe the baby was mine.” Cole’s eyes filled with tears.

  “Son of a bitch,” Trunk said through gritted teeth.

  “Am I missing something?” Cole glanced around the room.

  “Cole, he lied to you.” Abbie eased down next to the older man.

  “What are you saying?” Cole’s jaw clenched.

  “Ben is your son, Cole,” Fatima told him.

  Cole stared wide eyed at Trunk, then turned his attention to Fatima. He stood up and limped across the room to sit next to Trunk’s mother. It was as if he needed to be close to her. When she repeated her statement, he shook his head.

  “I didn’t know, Fatima. Jerry shattered me when he told me. I dropped out of university and went wild until my father gave me an ultimatum. I’d been running around with Rebecca, and we ended up married. I did go back to university and busted my ass to graduate. Things didn’t last with Rebecca, and when we divorced, I moved back to Newfoundland.” Cole seemed as if he wanted to touch Fatima’s hand but was afraid.

  “Why would Jerry do something like that?” Fatima shook her head.

  “Obviously, he wanted you for himself.” Trunk’s voice sounded cold.

  “He told me you were cheating on me. I heard him on the phone, but I guess it wasn’t you.” Fatima stared down at her hands.

  “Cole, there’s something else you need to know,” Abbie interjected as Chris returned to the room.

  He’d obviously been listening from outside the doorway because his expression had softened. Chris stood in the doorway of the living room with his hands in his jeans’ pockets.

  Fatima reached across the couch and took one of Cole’s hands. Abbie could see there were still feelings between the couple. She felt as if she was intruding on an intimate moment, but Trunk had a tight grip on her hand as if he was afraid to let her go.

  “Two weeks after you left, I found out I was pregnant again,” Fatima said softly.

  It seemed to take a moment before Cole realized what Fatima was telling him. The second it did, his mouth dropped open and his gaze moved to where Chris stood.

  “Congrats, it’s another boy.” Chris waved his hands in the air in an obvious attempt to break the tension.

  “That two-bit piece of shit. I’m going to hunt down that bastard and beat him within an inch of his life.” Cole growled as he shot to his feet.

  Abbie was shocked by the alpha side of Cole. Anytime she was in his company, he always seemed controlled, but watching him in the middle of Trunk’s living room, growling like a bear, she had no doubt he was Trunk’s father.

  “He’s not worth it, Cole.” Chris shook his head. “I also want to apologize for being so rude. I grew up thinking my real father ran off and left us with a monster.”

  “I spent more than thirty years thinking the woman I loved betrayed me with one of my closest friends.” Cole wiped his hand down over his face.

  It was as if the realization of the information hit Cole at that moment. He glanced back and forth between Trunk and Chris and after a few minutes, he sat down on the couch next to Fatima again. He met her eyes and then turned his attention back to his sons.

  “You have a sister… I guess she’d be a half-sister, but she’s amazing. She’s a veterinarian, and she lives in St. John’s. I should call her…” Cole began to babble.

  He stopped when Fatima dropped her hand on his thigh and smiled. It was the first time Abbie saw Trunk’s mother relax since they returned from the police station.

  “One step at a time, Cole,” Fatima said.

  “Yeah, sorry. Wow. I guess nobody calls you Benji anymore,” Cole chuckled as he turned his attention to Trunk.

  “Not if they don’t want a black eye.” Trunk laughed.

  “I can see Fatima raised two wonderful men. I’m glad Jerry didn’t screw that up,” Cole said.

  “We got away from him before he became too much of an influence,” Trunk replied.

  Abbie stood up to give the family some quality time together. She told Trunk she’d make some coffee for everyone and quickly exited the living room.

  She stood at the counter, watching the coffee drip into the pot as if she was hypnotized by the process. Abbie was drained from everything that happened over the last couple of days, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Jerome and how Cole, her father, and she were connected.

  Revenge was the motive for everything, but it was all so random. Abbie grabbed a notepad and pen and began to write down everything that happened over the last twelve months that she could think of.

  The one thing she remembered was Jerome never interacted with anyone at any of the parties or events if Abbie was close. He was always professional and never looked out of place. She also didn’t see how the shooting was related to anything that happened to her either.

  Abbie closed her eyes and put herself back at the restaurant the night she was attacked. She tried to focus on everything around her and not on the infuriating conversation she’d had with Jerome.

  By the time Abbie focused on her exit from the restaurant, she was ready to give up on figuring out the connection. That was until she remembered two men off to the side of the entrance. Both men were older, and she remembered one of them had a cane. When she tried to focus on their faces, she gasped.

  “Gary was at the restaurant,” she whispered to herself.

  “What restaurant?” Trunk’s voice had her spinning around.

  “I remember seeing Gary at the restaurant the night I was stabbed. He was talking to another man with a cane. I know it was him because of the picture, and I didn’t put it together until now.” Abbie started to pat down Trunk’s pockets.

  “Woman, what are you doing?” Trunk asked.

  “You took pictures of the photos from the cottage.” Abbi
e reached around and found Trunk’s phone in his back pocket.

  “Yes.” Trunk handed her his phone.

  She opened a photo with some guys standing next to a truck. All of them were holding rifles and looked as if they’d been hunting. She enlarged the picture enough to make the men’s faces larger. She wanted to see if she recognized any of them. She gasped when she found him standing right behind Gary.

  “That’s him.” Abbie handed Trunk back the phone.

  Trunk looked at the screen, and his face turned completely red. She’d never seen him fly into a rage, but at that moment, it looked as if his head would explode.

  “That fucker,” Trunk roared.

  Chapter 27

  Trunk’s body vibrated with anger. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen the son of a bitch in the picture before, but there he was next to Gary. Both of them smiling as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

  “Ben, what’s wrong?” Abbie asked.

  “That man is the bastard who killed your sister.” Trunk tapped the screen and lifted his gaze to meet Abbie’s.

  “That’s your stepfather?” Abbie sounded surprised.

  “Yes,” Trunk growled through gritted teeth.

  “How does Gary know Jerry?” Abbie asked.

  “Gary was married to Cole’s sister, and Jerry was Cole’s friend. They would meet at some point.” Trunk spun on his heel and practically ran into the living room.

  “Is everything okay?” his mother asked as Trunk stalked toward Cole.

  “I’m not sure,” Abbie replied.

  “Cole, did Jerry and Gary know each other?” Trunk asked.

  “Jerry was a friend of mine, and I believe he was at Violet’s wedding.” Cole shrugged.

  “He was. He brought a girl from school. Remember?” Fatima said.

  “That’s right.” Cole sat up straight.

  “You were at the wedding?” Trunk asked.

  “Yes.” His mother nodded.

  Cole studied the photo for a few minutes before he lifted his head. His face turned bright red as he handed the phone back to Trunk, and cursed.

  “Do you think these two hatched some kind of revenge to get back at me?” Cole asked.