Dangerous Abduction (O'Connor Brothers Book 2) (13 page)

The day she kicked him out, Marc told her he wanted to forget she ever existed and Marina felt the same way. Only once since then did he try to see her and Danny but that ended with him being arrested without seeing either of them. Why he suddenly wanted Danny had nothing to do with him suddenly wanting to be a father.

Nobody knew what he put her through and she still wasn’t sure what happened to the man she married. He’d become a completely different person two months after she found out she was pregnant. From the way he spoke to her to how distant he’d become unless he wanted to smack her around. It had been so humiliating and she was so ashamed to tell her family what was going on. She still didn’t know what had come over her to allow him to treat her the way he did because she hadn’t grown up with that type of man.

She hugged herself when the memories caused her to tremble and the lump in her throat she’d been trying to swallow was threatening to choke her. James walked up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him. Her body actually relaxed and she stopped shaking. Just that one simple gesture and she felt safe.

“It’ll be okay, sweetheart.” James whispered and pressed his lips against the top of her head. Something told her he’d do everything to protect her and her son. Not because he said it, not because Stephanie was his sister-in-law, it was a feeling deep inside her that made her trust him implicitly. There was a connection with him she couldn’t explain and at that moment she knew Cora was right.

When the doorbell rang, James kissed the top of her head again and released her. She missed his body heat immediately. He returned with an older woman who seemed to be in her mid-sixties. She seemed familiar but Marina couldn’t remember how she knew her but her warm friendly smile put her at ease.

“Marina, this is Mrs. Ray.” James wrapped his arm around the older woman, making it obvious he knew her well.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ray.” Marina smiled, desperately trying to remember where she’d seen the woman before.

“You call me Mary, my dear.” She said. “I’ve been telling Jimmy and his brothers that for years.” She chuckled and Marina didn’t miss the slight flush of James cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Mary. I’m trying to remember where I know you from,” Marina said.

“Mary lives in the house between us.” James chuckled. She was a complete idiot. She’d seen the woman a few times and even said hi to her from time to time.

“I feel like I should apologize for not recognizing you.” She was so embarrassed.

“Don’t you worry about that, my dear.” Mary chuckled.

“I hope you don’t mind watching Danny.” Marina was apprehensive letting anyone outside the family babysit Danny especially since she knew Marc was stirring up trouble.

“Not at all. I raised nine children of my own and have twenty grandchildren. Two little boys are a holiday for me.” Mary laughed.

When they got into the truck James just sat watching the road. She buckled up her seatbelt and turned back to him. He was tapping something into his phone and he kept glancing up at the road.

“Are we just going to sit in the truck?” Marina asked when it seemed he wasn’t going to move.

“Just waiting for Keith to send one of his guys over to watch the house,” James said without looking up from his phone. “Before you say anything. I’m just being cautious.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything but thanks for being cautious.” It probably seemed a little over the top but she appreciated it.

A black car pulled into the driveway. James nodded to the guy in the driver’s seat as he started the truck and pulled out of the driveway. Marina glanced behind her to see a very large man exit the car. He walked to the front door and turned around.

“Did you let Mrs. Ray know that there would be a mountain of a man in front of the house?”

“Keith called her to let her know Trunk would be watching the house while we were gone.” James chuckled.

“Trunk?” Marina laughed.

“Yeah. His real name is Ben Murphy, but for some reason all the men that work with Keith go by nicknames. They call Keith, Rusty because of his hair color but his employees are the only ones that call him that.”

Here they were again driving the two-minute walk between houses, but she had to see how much of her and Danny’s belongings she could salvage. James pulled into her driveway and Marina turned to face him. She tried to stifle a giggle but the name Mary called him hit her funny. She’d heard his grandmother and Cora call him Jimmy but for some reason it struck her funny with Mary.

“Speaking of nicknames. Jimmy, huh?” She giggled.

“Don’t start.” James groaned.

“Start what? Jimmy.” Marina put the emphasis on the name.

“You’re amused by that, aren’t you?” James turned to face her, and it was obvious he was trying to hide the smile.

“You just don’t look like a Jimmy. It makes you sound like a little boy.” But James was far from a boy, he was all man.

“I’ve known Mrs. Ray all my life, and besides Nan and Aunt Cora, she is the only other one to call me that.” James pulled the keys out of the ignition. “And John is Johnny, Keith is Keithy, Mike is Mikey, Nick is Nicky but the funniest one is Ian. They used to call him Inky, and he’s tried to make sure that name gets used as little as possible.” Marina burst out laughing.

“You forgot A.J,” She held her stomach because it hurt from laughing.

“Oh he got off easy. They call him plain old A.J. Imagine, he’s the worst of us all, and he gets away with what everyone calls him anyway.” James rolled his eyes.

“He’s not that bad.” Marina smiled.

“You really don’t know him very well. First he hits on anything with a pulse, and he’s the biggest practical joker in the family,” James said. Marina turned her head and focused on her house. Her smiled disappeared, but James gently grasped her hand and kissed it.

“Don’t worry, you’re not alone.” James released her hand and got out of the truck. She noticed whenever he walked out of the house or got out of his truck, he looked around. Almost as if he was checking for danger. It must be something ingrained in him because of his job. 

He opened her door and held out his hand. She stared at the house and for a moment she just wanted to stay in the truck and go buy all new things. James grasped her hand as she drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. There were things in the house that just couldn’t be bought again. She had to at least try and collect some of those special things.

She glanced around as they walked inside. Black spots were all around her living room and it was like something she’d seen in one of the one-hour crime shows. It sent a chill down her spine seeing so many of them because it would have been so much worse if she’d been home when it happened.

Mentally shaking the thought from her head, she released James’ hand and hurried to Danny’s bedroom. His room was the only one that hadn’t been destroyed. Nothing was broken, nothing tipped over, and his bed was still made. The only thing that seemed to be moved was his favorite stuffed animal. A huge black Newfoundland dog that usually sat on the foot of Danny’s bed was now on the floor next to his dresser. Besides the teddy bear Danny wouldn’t sleep without, it was the only other stuffed toy he paid any attention. Probably because he was so infatuated with dogs.

“I brought a couple of duffle bags to pack your things.” He dropped one on Danny’s bed and she started to open the drawers in his dresser. “Why don’t you go into your room and get your clothes. I’ll get Danny’s things.” He handed her the other duffle bag.

“Okay, but make sure you take that dog. It’s one of his favorites.” Marina grabbed the other bag and left the room.

Her room was a disaster area. Clothes were tossed all over the floor and her bed. Her dresser drawers were splintered on the floor and the dressers were smashed. Marc had touched all her things, and it made her want to wash every last piece of it. She grabbed the clothes as quickly as she could, shaking the splinters of wood off of them right before she stuffed it all into the bag. When the bag was full she opened her closet and grabbed the suitcase from the top shelf.

The closet of course was completely emptied, except for her jewelry box that was neatly placed in the middle of the closet floor. She held her breath as she picked it up and glanced through it. Her breath blew out in a whoosh seeing that everything was still there. At least he hadn’t taken any of her grandmother’s jewelry. She packed it carefully into the middle of her suitcase with as much of the rest of her things as she could fit.

With one last quick scan of the room she made her way out dragging the two bags behind her. She dropped them in the foyer and made her way back to the living room. James stood in front of her fire-place, holding a picture frame in his hand and didn’t seem to notice her entering as he stared at the photo.

Marina needed to distract herself from the disaster surrounding her, so she focused on the only thing of beauty. The only thing she’d found in the last four years that made her feel desirable. James. His white shirt fit snuggly against his body, showing every sexy muscle. His jeans hung low on his hips and hugged his backside. The man had the sexiest ass she’d ever seen. He reached up and placed the picture on the mantel making the muscle in his bicep flex and she wanted to swoon but he turned around and his eyes met hers. She met his gaze as he moved towards her.

“I’m ready,” she managed to say but couldn’t look away, and then he was in front of her. Close enough that his scent surrounded her, making it hard to think. The way he gazed at her made her heart pound, and when he touched her cheek with his finger, she closed her eyes. His thumb glided across her lower lip just before his lips met hers. The fingers of one hand slid into her hair and the other cupped the back of her neck, and she rested her hands on his hips as she pressed against him. When his tongue entered her mouth she moaned but pulled back.

“James, we can’t do this here.” Marina rested her head against his chest.

“I’m sorry.” He kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her for a few minutes while they both steadied their breathing. He stepped back and plowed his hands through his thick hair. She’d come to notice it was something he did when he was frustrated.

“You said today it wasn’t the right time, and maybe you’re right.” She cupped his face in her hands.

“It isn’t but it will be someday soon, I promise.” James stared into her eyes and she smiled.

“I’ll hold you to that.” She turned and scanned the living room.

“Let’s pick up some burgers for dinner. Aunt Alice makes the best cheeseburgers in the province.” James lifted the bags as if they weighted nothing and she took one last look around. She didn’t know when she was going to get back, but she wasn’t sure if she’d ever feel safe there again. At least not until Marc was caught.

M
arina was on the phone trying to convince Stephanie not to cut their vacation short, because of the break-in. From the way she rolled her eyes, it was going about as well as her conversation with her parents went. The only way her father was finally convinced to stay and finish out his vacation was when he spoke with James and made him promise to keep Marina and Danny safe from her ex-husband. Doug Kelly was almost as intimidating over the phone as he was in person. The man was huge and James didn’t want to get on his bad side. Not that he’d seen the man angry, but he was sure it wouldn’t be pleasant.

When the doorbell rang, James opened the door and was almost knocked over as his family swarmed into the house. Did it surprise him to have his entire family show up at his house when they found out who broke into Marina’s house? Not in the least, because when there was a crisis they were an army ready to do battle. Obviously, his family considered Marina part of the family, but he didn’t know whether she should feel blessed or if he should tell her to run like hell.

Nanny Betty, as usual, was the first one through the door, and as the matriarch of the family she’d be considered the Commander of their family army. She was respected by not only the family but the community as well but they also feared her. She was less than five feet tall and in her early seventies, but she was a force of nature when anyone pissed her off. James bent to kiss her cheek and she almost bowled him over on her way to the kitchen. James assumed the large containers she held were full of food.

Behind his grandmother was his mother, Kathleen and she kissed James’ cheek as she hurried behind Nanny Betty with yet more containers. His father, Sean was next and gave him an apologetic look, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of Marina’s situation or because of the O’Connor invasion.

Before he had a chance to close the front door, his brothers arrived. Ian, Keith, Mike, Nick and Aaron filed in one after the other. Aaron held up his phone, and James read the text message showing on the screen. It was from Nanny Betty telling him to get to James’ house right away. It wasn’t a good thing that his grandmother had learned how to text, because now she could order them around from anywhere.

Mike waved him into the living room with the rest of his brothers. James didn’t bother to close the front door, because Isabelle, Jess and Kristy were walking up his driveway.

“I brought over the papers, and I’ve read them over again.” Mike held papers. “I even had one of the senior partners look at them, and there’s nothing Marc can do. His parental rights have been dissolved.”

“At least there’s that, but I just get a feeling there’s more to this.” Aaron was peering over Mike’s shoulder at the papers.

“Right now there’s an APB out on him, and when I left the station there was still nothing.” Kurt’s voice boomed from the front door.

His father’s younger brother was also the superintendent with Hopedale’s division of the Newfoundland Police Department. He was also one of the best police officers in the province, and highly decorated. If anyone could help them figure this out, it was Kurt.

“Uncle Kurt, what do you think?” James had a feeling Marc had something planned, but he just didn’t know what it was.