Satan, Line One

by M. J. Schiller

  “That’s their decision.”

  “Yes, it is.” He was silent for a beat. “I don’t want to influence your decision, but I want you to be aware of any possible repercussions…. He could do this to another girl.”

  “I don’t think he will.”

  He searched my face again, looking for a reason for my change of heart.

  “Daddy, I don’t want to go through it all again. Relive it. But I’m not taking the easy way out. I think I’m taking the right way.”

  He reached across my body and wrapped his hand around my arm, rubbing it up and down, trying to give me a smile. “If that’s what you want, Zo, that’s what we’ll do.”

  I nodded my head rapidly. “That’s what I want.”

  He took a deep breath then exhaled. “Okay.” He got to his feet and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I don’t think Zack is going to like this.”

  I chuckled, raising my eyebrows. “No. He’s not.” I looked out the window, my portal to Zack. “But he’ll respect my decision.”

  “I know he will. He’s a good kid.”

  I looked at him and smiled.

  “And I owe him one for what he did today.” He assessed me. “Do you feel any better now?”

  I searched my emotions. A weight had been lifted. “Yeah. I do.”

  Tucker

  I closed the door behind me as Zoe asked me to do, but stood with my hand on the knob. She was so sure. How could she be sure? I was conflicted. It had been killing me for weeks, since Sally Beckwith told me her story. Their story. I shook my head and walked slowly along the hall.

  I was angry after the attack. So angry. Any man would have been, but…Zoe was what kept me moving forward when I was a new dad. Gina left me. I was finishing school…. But Zoe. Zoe was pure magic. That sweet innocent face…every time I looked at it, it filled me with this need to make everything right for her.

  I’d failed miserably.

  I knew it wasn’t my fault. Knew it on some level. But…. I trudged down the stairs. Dani looked up from where she was breastfeeding Myles on the couch. What a juxtaposition. From a child whose innocence was stolen from her, to this tiny one, who had no idea how dark the world could be.

  “How is she?”

  “Hmm…oh…she’s okay.”

  Dani frowned. “Care to elaborate?”

  “Uhh…,” I came over and rubbed Myles’ soft head. “Not until I have a chance to digest it myself.”

  “Oh.”

  She sounded hurt. I bent to kiss her. “I need to go for a drive and kind of sort things out in my head, babe.”

  She nodded, looking at me sympathetically. “Take your time. Dinner won’t be ready for another hour.”

  “’Kay. Thanks for understanding.”

  * * *

  I pulled in front of a Joe-average house, in a Joe-average neighborhood, with Joe-average cars in the driveways. Parking across the street allowed me time to assess things as I walked to their door. White, two-story house. Black shutters, black door. Standing in front of it, I stared at the brass knocker. Hands on my hips, I let out a sigh and hung my head. What was I doing? I knocked.

  Sally answered the door. Ben was a few feet behind her in the living room.

  “Oh, shit.” His face lost all color.

  “Can I come in?”

  Sally looked to her left. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  A newspaper crinkled and someone got to their feet.

  I gritted my teeth. “Please. I’d like to talk to you.”

  A man came into view. He was maybe 5’5, 5’6, balding, with a patch of black hair on either side of his head and thick-rimmed glasses on his face. His mustache twitched as he studied me, wearing a white shirt and black tie, with a yellow sweater vest over it. He mirrored my position, hands on hips.

  “Who are you?” he said gruffly.

  “He’s the attorney. The father,” his wife offered.

  His mouth dropped open and he looked at me to confirm it.

  I exhaled and nodded.

  Mr. Beckwith spun on his heels a little to look at Ben. Ben lowered his eyes, his shoulders hunched.

  He looked at his wife again and she shrugged.

  “Well…I guess you can come on in.”

  “Thank you.” I followed him, eyeing Ben, my jaw tightening to an uncomfortable level.

  A yellow floral couch stood under the front windows and Mr. Beckwith made his way to it, snatching a newspaper off it, and folding it as he went to the far end. He placed it on a table and sat, waving his arm over the couch.

  “Have a seat.” He crossed his arms and frowned at his stepson.

  Sally stood rubbing her hands. “Wh-what do you want?”

  “I want to ask Ben a couple of questions.”

  She grimaced and looked at her son but remained silent.

  “Ben,” I said his name carefully. It tasted bitter on my tongue. “My daughter Zoe has decided to drop charges against you.”

  His lips parted and he looked at his mom. She stared at me as if not comprehending.

  “She is convinced—”

  “Mr. McCord, I—”

  “Don’t interrupt the man, Ben,” his stepfather barked.

  “No.” I sat back into the couch more. “I’d like to hear what Ben has to say for himself.”

  He closed his mouth and stared at the coffee table for a moment. “Mr. McCord. I want to apologize for what happened between Zoe and me—” Before I could say anything, he corrected himself. “What I mean is,” he looked me in the eye, “I want to apologize for what I did to Zoe. Not that an apology will fix what I’ve done. I know the damage. How it feels, and how it doesn’t disappear. Ever. I can’t believe I was capable—” He took a step back and rubbed a finger over his bottom lip.

  If this kid is acting, he deserves an Oscar.

  “My doctor says I had a breakthrough. She used hypnosis to—” He shook his head, starting over. “She said I have repressed things that happened to me instead of addressing them, and like a pot put on the stove, it will eventually spill out, or something like that. I won’t make excuses for my behavior like my mom does,” he looked at her, “because—”

  “But Benji, you—”

  “Mo-o-om. Please let me handle this.” She looked like she was going to say something else but he cut her off. “Please.” She quieted, though she looked very unhappy about it.

  “There is no excuse for the things I did. It was wrong. And, well, wrong is simply…wrong. I can’t undo the harm I’ve done to Zoe, and that’s something I have to live with. I know that doesn’t compare with what she has to live with now, but….” He looked at me again, and tears were in his eyes. “I wish I could go back and,” he swung his arms out to his sides, “erase the things I did. But I can’t.” He lowered his head and shook it. “I can’t.” His voice rose in pitch and he had to stop. “I don’t know what to say to you. There’s nothing I can say. I—” He held a hand over his stomach and bent at the waist, his shoulders shaking, finally breaking down. Sally ran over to him and put her arm over his back, bending to whisper comforting things to him, but she was crying, too.

  I looked at the husband, who stared at me with his mouth open. Pain screamed in his eyes. I put my hands on my knees and pushed to a standing position. I looked on for another moment, then moved toward the door.

  “Mr. McCord, wait.” Ben fought to gain control of himself. He came toward me. “I don’t deserve what Zoe’s doing, but I am grateful for it.”

  What does one say to that? I stood and stared at him, collecting my own emotions before saying, “If I ever hear you’ve done anything to any woman, you won’t get any mercy. I’ll come after you myself.”

  “I will never do anything like that to anyone. But if I were to, I want you to come after me. I want you to come after me and make sure they lock me up and throw away the key.”

  I left without saying another word.

  Chapter 12

  Killian

  T
hat second night Sam, Dani, and Josephine appeared at Paddy’s, a large group entered from the door on the opposite side of the bar from where they sat, so I had to scurry away to attend to their needs. When I was finished, I began to walk back to where my friends were, but I was dismayed to catch Josie approaching a guy midway down the bar. I stopped so abruptly on my non-skid mat I almost toppled over despite it. I walked slowly past them, then hovered within hearing range. I knew I shouldn’t do it, but I was glad I did.

  “Hello. Anyone sitting here?” Josie said sweetly.

  The cur whirled to face her, a slick smile spreading across his face like a freakin’ oil spill. “Only you, gorgeous.” He was the size of a small mountain. He was in before, a time or two, with his construction worker pals. I could tell by the loose way he moved, and the way he squinted his eyes to focus them, he was good and fluthered.

  Josie threw a quick glance and a smile at the other girls while taking her seat, apparently counting this as a victory. Her eyes shifted to Sam.

  “Go on. Go on,” Sam whispered hoarsely.

  “Umm…so…is it a good game you’re watching?”

  A news program was on the piped telly, but she hadn’t bothered to look. This amused him. He chuckled, then pushed a strand of her hair back, raking his eyes over her face. My gut rolled and my jaw became as tight as a bear trap.

  “Yeah, baby. It’s a good game.”

  He no doubt thought he had a Sheila on his hands and was in for an easy screw. I couldn’t see his hands over the bar, but Jo jumped and the positioning of his arms suggested he’d placed a hand on her leg. He licked his lips.

  “You’re so beautiful.” He moved closer, the hand presumably traveling up her leg farther.

  I couldn’t see her face, but her voice shook slightly when she said, “You know what? I think I made a mistake. I think I should get out of here.”

  “Oh, no. Not when we’re just getting started.” His voice held an edge to it I didn’t take to. I moved closer.

  Josie leaned in and her voice was calm and as sharp as steel. “No. Whatever you thought was getting started, it’s through.”

  I tilted my head and nodded. Impressive. I wouldna’ thought it in her.

  She got to her feet and turned to go, but the ass grabbed her arm, jerking her toward him.

  “Listen, bitch. Nobody talks to me that way. And I’ll say when we’re through.”

  In my peripheral vision I caught Dani and Sam rising. One word erupted from my throat, catching me off guard. I was ragin’. My voice didn’t even sound like me. “Apologize.”

  This seemed to flummox the brute, as his ugly puss took on a baffled expression. A bigger bollox never put an arm through his coat. “What?”

  My teeth were gnashing together so hard I thought I’d grind them right out of my mouth. “I said, apologize to the lady.”

  He released his hold on Josie and rose from his stool, and I swear upon me da’s grave, the man grew larger. Like one of those animals that evolved and adapted defense mechanisms that made them look bigger and more intimidating, he expanded. He inhaled and his chest got broader, his fists got meatier, and he grew by a foot. “The hell, I will.”

  I threw the towel I’d been pretending to use onto the bar. “Look, fella. If I have to play the equalizer and throw you out of here bodily, I’m up for the task.”

  He laughed. And to be fair, it was a particularly ridiculous idea, my hundred-eighty plus pounds to his two tons. “What’s it to you, Mick? This your whore?”

  I don’t know how what happened next actually transpired. Maybe I stepped on the shelf that held the bottles, but I woulda thought it wouldn’t o’ held me weight. In any case, I vaulted over the bar and crashed into his rock solid chest. The powerhouse cocktail of surprise, momentum, and adrenaline rocked him. He didn’t have the time to brace himself for my ferocious attack, so he stumbled and we fell to the ground. We scrapped around some and I finally got my arm free enough to belt him a good one in the son-of-a-bitch’s face, which was like boxing a bar of gold. I knew I hadn’t a chance in God’s wide world to take him, but I hoped to inflict a bit of damage before he knocked my teeth out.

  Damn. I jerked my hand back and waved it about to cool the sting. I forgot how much that hurts. I’d had myself a few schoolyard fights, but hadn’t been in a donnybrook in years. People swarmed us. Seemed like a dozen hands hauled me away from mountain-man, and a dozen more dragged the incredible bulk to his feet. Ow. Ow. Ow. was reverberating through me noodle, but I shook off those around me.

  “Lay off, will ya?” They backed away. I rushed over to Josie. “Are you all right, girl?”

  She nodded with wide eyes.

  Quinn’s, “Mind yer house!” registered a beat before my body was driven into the bar. My opponent had freed himself to come at me. I turned toward him and my face met an areoplane, which was odd, as there wasn’t an airport in miles, but that’s what it was like. I crumpled to the ground. Blinking the stars away, I looked up from the shadow of the bar. A shower of savages was leading mountain-man away, and Quinn was riding his back like he was a mechanical bull, whooping to beat the band. Josie and another patron helped me to my feet.

  “Teddy!” I shouted, beside myself. “Clear him off that animal’s back before he hurts himself, for Gawd’s sake.”

  Teddy McGinley wrapped his massive arms around Quinn’s waist and disengaged him, a parcel of scratching, clawing, kicking old man.

  “Let me at ’im. Let me at ’im.” Quinn’s last drink musta had some of that liquid courage in it, else he was a head melter.

  “You want we should throw him out, Killian?” Jack McDonald asked in his simpleton voice.

  “Why, no, Jack. I’d prefer to get kicked and booted some more.”

  Humor was lost on the poor fella. He stared at me with his gob hanging open.

  “Take him out. Take him out.”

  “Oh.” The lot of them shuffled toward the door, draggin’ the big moose effin’ and blindin’ the whole way. He fought like the devil himself, but he was no match for the mob.

  “May you be inflicted with itching without the benefit of scratching,” I called after him as they crossed the threshold. “You best be gone before I send the guards after ya,” I added.

  Teddy set Quinn softly on his feet. Quinn shrugged him away, straightening his coat. He looked in the direction of the door. Although everybody was outside by this point, he still called out, “May the cat eat you, and may the devil eat the cat.”

  I helped him over to his stool. “Got your blood up, have ya, Quinn? Feelin’ yur oats?”

  “That I am.” He sat. “I wasn’t gonna let no bad egg put the hurt on my man, Killian.”

  I chuckled, and grabbed his face, giving him a big smacking kiss on each cheek. “Thank ya, friend.”

  He waved me off. “Oh, go about ya.”

  “Oh, Killian.” I spun around, and Josie took hold of my cheeks in a similar manner. My blood began to boil, and I stopped breathing. She turned my face to the right, and to the left, assessing my injuries. To be sure, me mug throbbed like a heartbeat, but I wasn’t about to let on. “Your poor face.” She was so close I could smell her sweet scent, as fresh and enticing as the yellow furze roaming over the hills of Ireland.

  “Ach. ’Tis nothing.”

  “Yes, it is. It’s already swelling and it’ll bruise.”

  From behind me, Quinn weighed in. “Your gal’s right. You’ll be boastin’ a fine shiner on the morrow.”

  I glanced in the mirror behind the bar. The mess of wavy locks on my head were floppin’ every which way, my lip was busted, and, on the whole, I was looking a hint worse for wear. And I’d do it all again to have Miss Josephine touch me like she was at the moment. I smiled. I’d got myself socked in the face, and, because of it, the day was looking up.

  Quinn chuckled. “I never seen a man come flyin’ over the bar like you did.”

  Teddy laughed. “For sure.”

  “’E was like a f
reakin’ Superman, I say.” They busted out.

  Josie dropped her hands, her eyes still roaming over my face. I took them into mine as the boys carried on behind my back. “You’re okay, though, right?” I said softly, surprised to find my voice coming out rough.

  She stood frozen for a second, then came to life. “Yes. Yes. I’m fine.” She smiled. “Not a scratch on me.”

  I looked at our joined hands, rubbing my thumb over the top of hers. “Good.”

  Quinn elbowed me from behind. “’E was like a rabid dog.”

  Josie looked around me, then dropped her gaze, although her lips still curled up at the corners, and took a step back, releasing my hands.

  I sighed, and turned to the old man.

  He clamped a hand on my shoulder. “You did good, son.” The twinkle in his eyes disappeared. He was serious for a moment. But only a moment. “But you’ll be hurtin’ in the morning.” He roared, and Teddy joined in. Pair of fools.

  I gave Josie one last smile, nodded at Sam and Dani, who were holding a little secret conversation of their own, and walked around to take my place again behind the bar. “Can you believe the cheek from that one?”

  Teddy nodded. “It’s often a man’s mouth broke his nose.”

  “Aye.” Quinn and I responded. I tapped the bar in front of him. “That fool was lucky not to have you release your full fury on him, Quinn.”

  “’Tis true. I have to keep a tight grip on me temper with strength like I have. ’Tis a curse at times, having the perfect specimen of a body like I do. Scares the women.”

  I looked at Josie and rolled my eyes. “Ahh, is that what it is?”

  He sighed. “It’s a heavy burden. But I’m the man to carry it.”

  “Uh-huh.” I set glasses on the bar. People began filing back in. “Drinks on the house.”

  A cheer rose. Quinn looked toward the ceiling. “Ahh. I’m hearing the voice of the angels.”

  I began to pour their pints. My fellow bartender, Ginny, who had been relaxing with her beau, came around and poured.