A Little Harmless Fantasy (32 page)

He had vowed to kill them both.

“Zee, what the fuck is going on?”

“O’Connell, he escaped.”

“Just now?”

“No. A month ago.”

He saw the recognition on Rory’s face. It was O’Connell
all along.

“Maura,” Rory said and turned and ran out of the room.
Zeke followed.

“Call her. I need to call my mother and stepda.”

Jennifer stepped out of her office. “Call Conner, tell him
“O’Connell”. Then you lock this place the fuck
down.”

He got a hold of his mother and was assured everything was fine by
the time they were heading toward his car.

“Okay, ma. I’ve got some other calls to make.”

Rory started up the car with a grim expression. “Maura’s
not answering her phone.”

“Dammit, you drive, I’ll call.”

Her phone rang and rang. No answer.

“She’s ignoring us. Hopefully.”

“Hopefully?”

“Yes. The alternative is she is separated from her phone. That
never happens.”

If it did, they both knew it meant trouble.

Rory sped through a red light. There were a lot of honking horns but
both of them ignored that. All that mattered was getting to Maura and
making sure she was okay.

Maura’s
head was pounding by the time she got home. She was so damned tired
she might force herself to take the stupid pills the doctor gave her
for pain. But that seemed so weak.

She
didn’t seem to give a damn.

The
men in her life were treating her as if she were going insane.

It
was too bad she couldn’t just curl up in a ball and sleep for
three weeks. She knew the signs of depression. Dr. Obenhaus had
helped her through all of that before, but one thing the doctor had
taught her was sometimes…just sometimes…you needed to
escape from the world you were in.

Life
wasn’t supposed to hurt this much, was it?

She
sighed. Sitting in her hot car feeling sorry for herself wasn’t
going to make anything better. After grabbing her briefcase, she
slipped out of her car and shut the door. After reaching the front
door, she punched in her security code, but when she stepped into the
foyer, she knew something was wrong immediately. She stepped back,
but stopped when she saw a man step from around the corner in her
house.

It
was the bastard who had attacked her in Hawaii.

“So
nice to see you again, Ms. Dillon.”

Before
she could react, he rushed forward. She turned but it was too late.
She felt the shock to her left shoulder and it jolted through her
body. Then, she fell, hitting her head on the pavement. Pain exploded
and then her world went to black.

* * * *

Fear
turned into terror when Rory pulled into the driveway and Zeke saw
the front door was left open. He was out of the car and running even
before Rory put it in park.

“Shit,”
he said. “Maura! Maura!”

No
answer.
Fucking hell.

“She’s
not here?” Rory asked.

“Let’s
search the house and grounds. I’ll talk to Conner.”

He
dialed Conner’s number. “I can’t find her, Conner.
She’s missing.”

“Fuck.
He has her, I know it,” Conner said, voicing Zeke’s
greatest fears.

“This
isn’t his stomping grounds, so I have no idea where he would
have taken her.”

Rory
ran up, shaking his head. Then, his phone went off. It was Maura’s
ring.

“Maura,
love, where are you?” He frowned. “Maura? She’s not
saying anything.”

“Maybe
she can’t.”

“Can’t
what?”

“Maura
called Rory.”

“She
might be trying to give you the opportunity to trace her. I’ll
call it in and then get back with you.”

The
phone clicked off.

Rory
was still trying to talk to Maura. “Maura, love, we know you’re
there. Just let us know where you are.”

Still
no answer. They felt helpless as they stood in front of her house and
waited for her brother to call back. It didn’t take long.

“He’s
heading to the docks,” Conner said.

“We
got a location,” he said and Rory started up the car.

“We’ll
get her, Conner, don’t worry.”

“I’m
calling the FBI and I am sure they will call Miami PD. If anything
happens to her, I will kill you.”

And
that was the end of the conversation.

“He’s
pissed.”

“I’m
sure he is. Gun in the glove compartment. You have yours?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll
get there, Zee, I promise.”

He
knew that, he just hoped they got there in time.

* * * *

Maura
sucked in a deep breath and winced from the pain. Fuck, she was
pretty sure the bastard cracked a rib or two when he tossed her in
the trunk of his car. She slowly opened her eyes. She tried to move
her arms but found them tied behind. She was in some sort of storage
area or warehouse. She didn’t know the area, that was for sure.

“It’s
about time you woke up, girlie,” he said.

She
turned in the direction of the voice. A shard of pain radiated from
her head through her body. A wave of nausea hit her and she closed
her eyes for a second.

When
she knew she had it under control, she opened them again and looked
at the man who attacked her. It wasn’t anyone she had met
before. This man was tall, dark, with blue eyes. If he hadn’t
abducted her she might be attracted to him. Until she studied his
eyes. There was something so cold that she shivered.

His
accent hit her.

“You
have nothing to do with Petersen.”

His
lips twitched. “No, I don’t.”

“Then
who the fuck are you?”

“Tsk,
tsk. American women are so coarse. I have no idea what those two see
in you.”

She
sensed he was from the same part of Ireland that Rory was from, just
from the rhythm of his speech.

“So,
this has nothing to do with me.”

“In
a way it does. You are the one thing they want. The one thing they
love in this world. I’m going to enjoy taking you from
them…watching their pain.”

She
wanted to argue with him. They didn’t love her. When things got
tough, they both questioned her intelligence and in a way, abandoned
her. But arguing with her abductor would not get her any more info.

“Your
plan is to get them to come here?” She shook her head, trying
to ignore the way pain sparked through her. “They won’t
fall for it.”

The
smile he gave her was so evil she knew she was dealing with a true
sociopath. “But they will. Where you are concerned, these two
will do anything.”

“And
you plan on killing them.”

He
shook his head. “They killed mine...I will kill theirs.”

So,
he meant to kill her not them. All she had to do was get out of there
before they got there. “At least tell me your name.”

His
smile faded. “You do not need to know.”

“Unless
you’re afraid you will fail and then I will tell them your
name. I can understand where a coward like you would fear that.”

He
said nothing but stepped forward. She didn’t expect the slap.
The back of his hand came so fast and hard, she didn’t have
time to brace for it. She could taste the blood in her mouth.

“Again
I say American women are so coarse.”

His
voice never rose. He didn’t show a temper at all.
Fucking
psycho
.

But,
he had a temper and she could use it.

“I
don’t see what’s so coarse about pointing out the
obvious. Apparently, you have some kind of agenda against Rory and
Zeke, but you can’t tell me because of fear.”

He
smiled. “You want to know? Fine. You will be dead in the next
hour, so I don’t see that it matters. Does the name Frances
O’Connell mean anything to you?”

“No.”

“That
was my brother’s name.”

“Good
for him?”

“Your
two lovers killed him. Cold blood.”

“I
take it this has to do with their time before they were hired by my
brother?”

“See,
love, your lovers are killers. They like to pretend they aren’t
but they are. They killed my baby brother and then laughed over it.
They mocked his death, to me, to anyone who would listen.”

“And
because of that, you terrorized me, abducted me and now are sitting
here hoping they will find me and you can kill them, then me?”

“All
of it but the last.” He held up her cell phone. She could
barely read it because she had no idea where her glasses were, but it
looked like he had called someone. Probably one of the guys.
Hopefully they weren’t listening because they would go
ballistic. “I want to see their faces when I slit that lovely
throat of yours.”

She
tried her best not to show her reactions. She knew he was serious and
planned to do that. While Zeke would think things through, there was
a good chance that Rory would not be able to be contained. They would
be at risk and put her at more risk if they showed up there, guns
blazing. Her training from her brother kicked in.

Maura
knew she needed to be free of the chair. Her arms were tied behind
the back of it and she couldn’t get up without a struggle. She
had to get him to get her out of it so she could surprise him.

“In
review, you abducted me in hopes they would come here. I call that a
coward. Why not face them right off? You go after a woman. Coward.”
It took everything she had to let her disgust drip from every word.

“I
am not a coward.”

“Why
was your baby brother killed? Where were you?”

“I
was out on a job.”

“Sounds
like you didn’t do a very good job protecting him.”

“Shut
up,” he said, his voice rising just a bit.

“It
seems to me you are more at fault for your brother’s death than
Rory and Ze—”

She
broke off when he backhanded her again. This time he did it with such
force that the chair tipped over. She landed hard on the cement, her
head struck it with such force that she saw stars. But, it had done
what she wanted. She was free of the chair.

Maura
rolled over onto her back. Her abductor was walking toward her and
now she knew she had him. He pulled back his booted foot to kick her,
but she swung around out of his way. Then, she kicked him in the back
of the knee. He stumbled but did not fall down.

He
let loose a roar of rage and turned to face her.

“You
fucking bitch.”

Now,
his temper took hold of his emotions and it was just what she’d
hope for. She was ready for him this time. He came at her and she
kicked out, connecting first with his thigh. He stumbled again but
turned on her easily. He got one swift kick in, then another. Soon,
she lay still as she tried to fight the pain radiating through her
entire body.

He
made a mistake. He crouched down, his face inches from hers. “Now
you are going to make this an enjoyable experience for me. You were
just a means to an end but it will be a pleasure to kill you.”

She
used what little strength she had left and pulled herself up. Then,
as he leaned in closer she drew back and smacked her head against
his. The pain of it made her dizzy and her vision blurred. She
gritted her teeth and kicked the bastard in the knee again. He fell
to the ground and now, she knew she could stand up. She swayed and
almost fell over once or twice, but she pulled herself up to her
feet.

Fear,
loathing and rage surged. She pulled her leg back and kicked him
right in the groin. After that, she didn’t truly remember what
happened. She kept kicking him, over and over until she felt someone
grab her by the arm. Maura turned ready to hit the bastard who
touched her and came face to face with Rory. Zeke was right behind
him. Miami police were pouring into every opening.

“Maura,”
he whispered. Even with all the noise she heard the words and the
horror in his voice. The room was spinning around her as Zeke walked
up to her. Gently, he took her in his arms.

“It’s
okay, baby. We’re here now.”

And
for the first time since the ordeal began, she let the tears fall.

Rory
walked over to the man and sneered. “O’Connell.”

Zeke
looked over her shoulder and she could feel him shake. It wasn’t
fear, it was rage and there was a good chance that one or both of
them would have killed the man for what he had done to her—if
the police had not been there.

Zeke
shifted as if to join Rory, but she stopped him.

“Oh,
damn,” she said. For the second time that day, her world went
completely black.

“You
didn’t believe me.” She tried to sound angry but it came
out in a hitching breath. She could tell that both of them knew she
was near tears.

“We
wanted to, love,” Zeke said as he tried to take her hand.

“Wanting
to and doing so are two different things. I can’t deal with men
who can’t tell the difference.”

The
doctor glided into the room. “It looks like you can be released
today. After a talk with your brother on the phone and the fact that
your trip to Hawaii will be restful since you have your own jet, I’m
going to allow it. But, I called a colleague at Queen’s
Medical. You are to check in with her while you are there.”

She
nodded.

When
the doctor left them alone, Rory stood up. “What’s this
crap about going to Hawaii?”

“Conner
wants me there, and Jillian does too. He wants me to take a rest.”

It
wasn’t what she wanted, not really, but maybe it was what she
needed.

“You
can’t think that you need to be there, away from us,”
Zeke said. His voice was low, and his accent deepened.

Looking
at him hurt. It hurt more than the three cracked ribs that bastard
gave her. She wanted to think that they wanted her on some other
level, but when push came to shove, they didn’t. She couldn’t
stay with men who couldn’t at least believe in her a little.