Dangerous Abduction (O'Connor Brothers Book 2) (11 page)

“It’s probably better if we go to a hotel until my house is ready.” She turned away and started to walk out of the kitchen. James caught her hand and turned her back around.

“You’re not spending the night in any hotel. You’re staying here.” He hadn’t meant to raise his voice but when she pulled back from him as if she was afraid he was going to hit her, he wanted to kick his own ass.
Shit!
With her history he should know better than to grab her or raise his voice. “I’m so sorry.”

“James...” she started, but he held up his hands to stop her.

“You’re staying here. That won’t happen again.” The boys ran back into the kitchen. They grabbed Marina’s hands and dragged her out of the kitchen. “At least not until I’m sure we’re both ready for something more,” James whispered to himself.

The drive to the park was anything but quiet with the boys chattering away in the back seat. It was hard to get a word in with them talking. Marina hadn’t said a word since they left the house, but the wheels in his head were spinning. The only person he felt comfortable talking to about his feelings for Marina was John, and since that wasn’t possible at the moment, he had to work through this on his own.

It seemed lazy to be driving to a park he could see from his front step but he figured once the boys were tired of playing at the park, they could take a drive to Harbour Street for a treat. Plus, it was easier to wrangle two boys in a truck than walking down the road to the park.

It was probably going to be the last trip to the park for the year. It was the end of October and the weather was getting cooler. There was still a warm breeze in the air which was unusual for the time of year. When he glanced at Marina she had her hands clasped in front of her resting on her knees, and she sat with her back rigid. A sure sign that she was tense. He cursed himself since he was more than likely the reason she was uncomfortable. He didn’t regret kissing her, but he could have handled it better especially if she wasn’t ready. Hell, he was questioning if he was ready himself. He’d jumped the gun, but he’d gone with his instinct.

James pulled into the parking lot and scanned the park. It was second nature for him to search the area before exiting his truck. There were only three other vehicles in the parking lot because most people were within walking distance. He stepped out of the truck and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He spun to check behind him, but nothing was out of the ordinary. He walked around the truck the whole time keeping his eyes sharp because there was something giving him a bad feeling.

He couldn’t let Marina see his uneasiness so when he opened her door, he held out his hand and smiled. For a moment she just stared and then hesitantly placed her hand in his. The boys were yelling in the back seat as they wiggled in their car seats impatiently waiting to be set loose.

They were hardly free from the truck when they darted to the playground. James glanced at Marina and she smiled but it wasn’t her normal bright smile, the one that made his heart skip a beat. This one was a shy, and hesitant one, almost as if she was nervous to be with him.

They walked silently towards the playground with James keeping his eyes locked on the boys. He’d spent time working with the department that dealt with missing children, and he was always overly cautious when it came to Mason. He’d seen a lot of the missing children cases not end well and someone taking his son was his biggest fear. Although Hopedale was probably the safest place in the world.

Marina sat on one of the benches and James sat next to her. He leaned his elbows on his knees and did a quick scan of the other benches since he still had an uneasy feeling. Most of the adults were women, with a few men but none of them seemed out of place. That didn’t make him feel any less edgy. It was as if he was being watched. He turned in the direction of the parking lot but again nothing. He turned back to the boys and they were climbing up to the top of the slide. Mason suddenly stopped in the middle of the ladder and jumped down.

“Daddy, can you come push me and Danny on the swings?” Mason begged as he and Danny ran up to him. James glanced at Marina. She nodded and he took it as a sign she was okay with him leaving her alone, although, he wasn’t sure if she should be. He chased the boys to the swing set and helped them climb in. His gaze met Marina’s and he wondered what was going through that beautiful head of hers. She still seemed extremely tense and with the way she was scanning the park, he had a feeling she was getting the same uneasy feeling. What the hell was going on? Most of the people here were obviously from Hopedale and the ones that he didn’t recognize were talking to people from the area.

“Daddy, push me higher,” Mason yelled.

“I wanna go up to the sky.” Danny giggled.

“Okay, hold on tight guys.” James said as he pushed both boys harder making them squeal, but something out of the corner of his eye had him spinning around to see a shadow disappear behind a tree.

J
ames tossed Mason into the air, and her son squealed with glee. When he did the same with Danny, her heart melted. James treating Danny the same as his own son only drove home what a great father figure he could be for Danny, and her son could see how a father should be. He’d never know how it felt to be with his own father, but she was glad Marc was not in their life anymore. She sometimes wondered how to explain what happened to his father when she didn’t really know what happened to him herself. At some point Danny was going to ask, and all she could do is tell him about the man she’d fallen in love with. Nobody would know how to explain the evil man he turned into.

It was getting hard to swallow, and her eyes blurred with tears. She didn’t want the boys or James to see her about to lose it, yet again. She made her way to the lake at the side of the park.

Over the past four years she’d managed to keep her tears hidden from Danny, and she wasn’t going to let him see it now. James wasn’t going to see them either. In her mind, she knew Danny was better off without Marc in her life. The drugs had turned him into a cruel and violent monster, and her son didn’t need that. He needed a man like her own father or James. It hurt to know Danny would never have what Mason had, but then again Mason didn’t have a mom. Maybe it was why the boys seemed to get along so well—they were each missing a parent.

Danny had only asked once why he didn’t have a daddy. She’d explained that his daddy had gone away, but it wasn’t because he didn’t love him, it was just that he and mommy didn’t get along. She told him that his daddy loved him and always would. It was a lie, but what else could she tell him? The explanation appeased him and he told her it was okay because he still had Uncle John and Poppy.

A cool breeze blew off the lake making her shiver. The threat of winter was in the wind even if it was a nice day. She tried to control the tears streaming down her cheeks but it was no use. She’d opened the flood-gates again, and she wiped the drops away angrily. She was so tired of crying because of Marc O’Reilly. It was all so overwhelming, and being near a man that made her body come alive with want wasn’t helping. Then there was that kiss. It was so tender and she’d felt it right to the depths of her soul so much so that she probably would have let him take things much further had the boys not interrupted. That would have been a bad idea. Especially since she still didn’t know if her head was on straight.

An icy chill skittered down her spine, and it felt as if someone was watching her. She glanced at James but he was busy pushing the boys on the swings. Marina glanced around the park, but there were only a few other families and they all seemed oblivious to her. She pulled the collar of her jacket around her neck as she tried to control the tears that were refusing to stop. To make it worse, the creepy feeling of being watched wasn’t subsiding.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The park was probably the most beautiful place she’d ever seen. It was a piece of heaven in the middle of Hopedale and she loved spending time there. Although, all of Hopedale was paradise. People could actually let their children play outside without worrying about them being run down by a speeding vehicle or being taken by some crazy person. One of the reasons she’d moved there was because she’d always been afraid of something happening to Danny, and for a while the fear had subsided, but over the last few hours, the feeling was becoming overwhelming.

Then there was James. She’d done a lot to make sure they weren’t around each other often, but her sister was making that difficult. Now she was staying in his house and she didn’t want to be anywhere else. That was a problem, because the more time she spent with him, the more time she wanted to spend with him. He’d stepped up when his wife died and was raising his son by himself the way a father should.

She’d been holding back on her growing attraction to him because she was afraid of falling in love again. She could fall in love with James O’Connor way too easily. Maybe she was already in love with him. She had all the signs. When he was around, her heart pounded, her pulse raced, and he was always the lead of her dreams, well at least the dreams that didn’t include Marc trying to kill her. What was she going to do? The kiss they shared gave her hope that he was attracted to her, but was he really ready to move on? Was she?

She was sure that Marc had killed the part of her that allowed her to trust a man, but there was no way of denying it, James was bringing that part of her back to life. She trusted him more than she ever thought she could.

She turned and James was scanning the line of trees as if he was searching for something. When he turned around, she saw him glance towards the playground and a sudden look of panic came over his face. What the hell did he see? She spun to see and tripped over a rock sending her sprawling on the ground.

J
ames glanced at the bench. Marina was gone. He frantically scanned the park for her. Whatever he thought he saw was giving him a weird feeling. He lifted the boys off the swings and they ran to the slide. He quickly searched the park, and his heart finally slowed when he spotted her next to the lake. With a sigh of relief, he made his way towards her, but the boys tackled him, knocking him to his knees. He’d been so wrapped up in getting to Marina, he didn’t hear them run up behind him. He laughed as they both knocked him over and landed on top of him. He glanced at Marina again and saw her wipe her hand across her cheek. Something was wrong.

“Okay guys, I need a break. You two go play for a bit but stay where I can see you.” The two boys ran back to the slide. James turned around just as Marina fell to the ground. He sprinted across the park and fell to his knees. She was sitting up with her forehead resting against her knees and he could hear her sobbing.

“Marina, why are you crying? Are you hurt?” James helped her to her feet. She kept her back to the boys and he could still keep an eye on them.

“It’s nothing, I’m fine.” She was avoiding his eyes.

“People don’t cry over nothing. How did you fall?” He wiped a tear from her cheek.

“I tripped on a rock and I think everything’s hitting me all at once. I just don’t know why someone would break into my house and destroy my things.” She sobbed and tears spilled down the side of her face. James pulled her into his arms and tucked her head under his chin. How could he answer her question? None of it made any sense to him.

“I don’t know why people do these things, but we’ll find out what happened, Marina. Please, don’t worry.” He kissed the top of her head, and his heart was breaking to see her so distraught. He knew firsthand people did terrible things for no reason, or at least no good reason. Hell, he arrested them on a daily basis and it was hard to stay disconnected from the victims of these crimes, but with Marina, it was impossible.

When her sobs subsided he pulled back, but fear and sadness still filled her eyes. If he only knew how to make all of it go away. Maybe there was one thing he could do at the moment. Distraction.

“Let’s go get some ice cream.” James held her hands, and Marina smiled. He gave her a moment to get herself together and reluctantly released her hands. She took a couple of deep breaths. “Are you ready?” She nodded, and James linked his hand with hers.

Danny and Mason were not happy about leaving the park. Well not until James used the secret word. Ice cream. Suddenly, they were more than ready to go and bolted for the parking lot. James held Marina’s hand in his until they were in front of his truck. He gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go, and she mouthed the words, ‘Thank you.’ James nodded and turned to help Danny and Mason into their car seats. She didn’t have to thank him, because no matter what he would do anything for her.

“How about we make an afternoon of it and go into town for lunch?” James asked once he had himself buckled in.

“Sounds good.” She smiled but it certainly didn’t reach her eyes.

“All right, boys, we are going to get lunch before ice cream,” James announced as he pulled out of the park

“Awww... You said we were getting ice cream,” Mason whined and James didn’t need to look in the rearview mirror to know he was pouting.

“It’s okay, Mason, we’re gonna have ice cream after lunch. Right, Unca James?” Danny reminded him of Keith. Growing up, Keith always tried to be the mediator between any brothers who were having a fight. It seemed Danny had that same type of personality.

“That’s right, buddy.” James glanced back at Mason. His son still had his I-don’t-like-this face but at least he wasn’t whining anymore.

“Can we go to Dairy Queen?” Mason asked. “They have burgers and ice cream.” Obviously Mason was going to make sure they didn’t miss out on the ice cream.

“Great idea.” James chuckled as they pulled out of Hopedale and headed to St. John’s. He didn’t miss the fact that Marina wasn’t saying anything. All she did was stare out through the window. He couldn’t stop himself and reached across the seat to cover her hand with his. She didn’t look at him, but she covered his hand with her free one. The gentle squeeze she gave it told him she really needed the contact. They stayed this way the entire way to town without saying a word. The kids had dozed off, so the only sound was the soft music playing from the radio.