Lucky Stars (55 page)

Belle had had enough and therefore announced, “If you buy or lease my father a Corvette, Jack, I swear I’m going to jump into the Channel and not stop swimming until I hit France.”

“
Bellerina
!”
Dad shouted.

Jack studied Belle, his eyes lit with amusement and he looked at Dad.
“Sorry, Jensen.
The Abbot luck just ran out.”

“Always the
fuckin
’ way,” Dad muttered.

Belle decided to ignore it all and announced, “I need to go to work.”

“You need to eat breakfast,” Jack reminded her.

She looked down at her empty plate and mumbled, “Oh yeah, right.”

“I’ll find Elaine,” Joy said, bustling out of the room.

Jack looked at Angus and Cassandra and stated firmly, “And you two need to go to work.”

“Oh yeah,” Cassandra replied, smiling, “right.”

They both got up and moved from the room.

Belle picked up her coffee cup and took a sip of it’s now not so warm, but still thankfully, caffeinated contents.

“Can I ask at this juncture,” Olive enquired sounding perplexed and not at all happy to be that way, “what on earth you’re on about with ghosts, entities, reincarnation and Corvettes?”

Belle looked at her peeved face and couldn’t hold back a little giggle.

“I’ll explain it after I take Belle to work,” Jack replied.

“If you’re cracking up, Jack Bennett, I’ll need to inform the Board,” Olive said staunchly.

“If you inform the Board of one word uttered at this table I’ll need to reconsider the glowing appraisal I wrote on Friday,” Jack returned.

“Oh yeah,” Olive’s cheeks went pink, “right.” Then she looked at Belle and whispered loudly, “I’ll consider informing the Board
after
I get my rise and bonus.”

That was when
Belle’s little giggle
frothed forth as full blown laughter.

And since her laughter was full blown she missed Jack’s warm smile aimed at her.

But she didn’t miss the velvet feel that hit the room.

* * * * *

“Mate,” Belle heard and she stopped on her way to Jack’s study and turned to see Cassandra coming her way.

Jack was going to take her to work, it was well late and Belle was glad that Jack had hired Dirk for the past three and half weeks he’d been a godsend.

After breakfast, Belle had run to their room to do some finishing touches on getting ready and Jack had gone to his study to give Olive some instructions so she could start work while he was driving Belle into St. Ives.

“Hi Cassandra,” Belle greeted.

“You live in Crazy Land,” Cassandra replied, a smile on her face as she arrived at Belle. “I mean, Angus and I just did a job up in Devon and those people were pretty nutty but your parents…”

Her dark brown eyes were dancing and her words were borderline covetous.

“I know,” Belle said quietly, “I’m pretty lucky.”

“You are, mate,” Cassandra replied and her face gentled. “But with the good comes the bad.”

Belle looked into Cassandra’s kind eyes, pulled in a breath through her nose and nodded.

“Let’s be sure this ends
good
,” Cassandra went on and then held up a necklace. It was a thin, long, silver chain on which hung a small glass amulet surrounded by pretty filigreed silver and it looked like it was filled with baby pink powder. “I need you to wear
this at all times
,” Cassandra instructed.

Belle caught the amulet in her palm and Cassandra draped the chain over Belle’s hand.

“What is it?” Belle asked.

“Protection.
An all-rounder.
I don’t know what we might be up against so this is pretty powerful stuff.
Should keep you safe from just about anything.”

Belle blinked at her.
“Anything?”

Cassandra nodded. “Can’t stop a bullet but there are things it
can
stop. The powder in that amulet is fifteen years old. It’s
fermented
. In witchcraft, time is power, power is time. All the best spells, potions and protections have to agitate, the longer the better. Fifteen years,
mate,
means that powder’s like gold dust.

Belle stared at the fragile glass ball anxiously. “What if it breaks?”

“Belle,” Cassandra got close and grinned, “you think I’d put what amounts to protective gold dust in an unprotected vial? Nothing can break that amulet. Trust me.”

“Okay,” Belle whispered as she put the chain around her neck and the amulet came to rest just below her breasts. She looked up from what appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be a pretty, filigreed glass charm and smiled at Cassandra. “Thank you.”

Cassandra’s hand came up, gave Belle’s upper arm a squeeze and she started, “You’re –”

But she didn’t finish because at that moment they heard a loud crash coming from the study.

Belle’s heart dropped to her feet then those feet, frozen for a split second, ran toward the study.

Cassandra was at her heels.

When Belle hit the room, Jack was facing down Olive who looked pale.

Jack, on the other hand, looked furious.

No, Belle thought, shrinking back so much she bumped into Cassandra, he looked
murderous.

And he was talking.

Or, more to the point, thundering.

“
…
fucking
report!
”

“I put it on your desk weeks ago,” Olive replied.

Jack lifted a newspaper and threw it on his desk with such force it slid across, taking everything with it in its path.

“With that?”
Jack roared.

“With that, yes, Jack,” Olive sounded shocked and upset and maybe a little scared.

Belle was more than a little scared at Jack’s fury, the intensity of which she would have never imagined he was capable.

And this made Belle want to run.

Unfortunately Cassandra was the strong sort of woman and she probably never ran from anything.

Therefore she called attention to their presence in the room by asking, “What’s up?”

Jack turned to them, his eyes zeroed in on Belle and they narrowed ominously.

Thoughts of running a fleeting memory, Belle froze in terror under his heated stare.

“You were married?” he asked. He was no longer roaring, his voice was low, menacing, showing his fury in a vastly more terrifying way.

His question made every cell in Belle’s body petrify.

“What’s going on?” Joy entered the room.

Jack ignored his mother and demanded, “Belle, I asked you a question.”

With great effort, she cleared her throat but even doing so, her voice was breathy when she replied, “Yes.”

She barely finished the sibilant ending of her word when Jack clipped, his tone no less infuriated, “He beat you.”

Joy gasped and Cassandra made a strangled noise.

He’d found out.

Oh God, he’d found out!

Belle couldn’t answer, she just nodded.

“For years, he beat you?” Jack pushed, his eyes spearing Belle, his words feeding his own rage.

“How…” Belle’s voice hitched but she persevered, “How did you find out?”

“Well
you
sure as hell didn’t tell me, poppet,” he bit out.

“Jack!” Joy snapped.

Jack ignored his mother again and answered Belle, “The papers. Front page.
With photos.
Would you like to see?”

The newspapers.
Of course, the stupid,
stupid
newspapers.

“N… no,” Belle stammered, her eyes glued to Jack.

“No, I suggest you don’t,” Jack agreed immediately.

“Maybe you should calm down, mate,” Cassandra advised softly but firmly.

Jack ignored her too, his eyes
searing
into Belle. She felt their heat like laser beams and he repeated, “He beat you?”

“Jack –” Belle whispered.

“He raised his hand to you?” Jack didn’t let it go.

“Jack, darling, don’t –” Joy tried to soothe, moving forward.

Jack only had eyes for Belle, his questions stopped and this time he made a statement. “He hurt you.”

Belle just stood frozen to the spot and stared at him.

“Again and again.”
Jack’s voice was cutting and she knew it. She knew. If he found out he’d think she was weak and he’d judge her for it and she’d been right. “Come here, Belle,” Jack suddenly ground out and when Belle stood unmoving, Jack shouted, “
Come fucking here!
”

“Jack, darling, calm down,” Joy demanded, stepping in front of Belle.

“Get out of her way, Mum,” Jack ordered but Joy shook her head and Jack threatened, “I won’t ask again.”

“What’s happening?” Rachel whispered as she walked in the room.

“Take Belle out of here,” Cassandra said urgently.

“Belle,
get over here!
” Jack
commanded,
his voice close to being back to a roar.

“What’s on earth is happening?” Rachel whispered, this time fear threading her voice.

Cassandra moved behind Joy, shielding Belle, repeating, “Rachel,
get her out of here
.”

Something about Cassandra’s words caused something in Belle’s brain to fire and finally the demand from her brain reached her feet, she turned and she ran.

She got ten feet down the hall before she was caught at the waist by a strong arm and then she was going back.

Fear sounded in a muffled way deep in her throat as Jack backed her against the wall and caged her with his body.

She winced and braced, waiting for it to happen, the blows, the slaps, the punches,
the
pain.

But instead, his hands came to her head, sliding down her hair to her neck, over hers shoulders, down her back and he pulled her to his hard body, his arms wrapping around her tight.

“He hurt you.” Jack’s voice was no longer angry.

There wasn’t a shred of fury in it.

Instead, it was tortured.

Slowly, Belle’s head tilted back and she looked at his face.

It was ravaged.

“Again and again,” Jack’s voice throbbed.

Her heart clutched.

“Jack –” she whispered.

“Again and again.”

“Jack, stop it.”

His hands retraced their path up her back, her shoulders,
her
neck to frame her face.

“Again and again,” he whispered.

Tears filled her eyes and spilled over. “Please, stop it.”

“I’ll kill him.”

“Jack, stop.”

“I’ll fucking kill him.”

“Jack, please.”

Jack’s neck bent, his forehead touched hers and Belle watched his eyes close as he murmured, “He hurt you.”

“It’s over,” she whispered.

His eyes opened but he didn’t lift his head even as both his thumbs slid along the wetness at her cheekbones.

“Your Dad thought I hurt you,” he said softly.

“He didn’t mean anything by it,” Belle assured him quietly. “They’re protective of me now.”

His head moved a scant inch away. “Why didn’t you tell me, poppet?”

She swallowed and admitted, “I didn’t want you to think badly of me.”

He shook his head and a humourless smile touched his mouth before he said, “You should have told me.”

“I’m sorry,” she said in a barely there voice then, frightened out of her mind but needing to know more than needing to give into her fear, she asked, “Are you angry with me?”

Jack didn’t answer.

His hands left her face and his arms closed around her so tight she lost her breath.

“Does that,” she wheezed over his shoulder, “mean you’re not angry?”

His mouth at her ear, he replied, “Yes, it fucking well does.”

Her body relaxed into his and her arms slid around his waist.

“You seemed pretty angry when you were in the study,” she reminded him.

His nose nudged her ear before he whispered, “You’ll have to forgive me, poppet, I just found out the woman I love had been married before not to mention beaten viciously by her first husband. I was a little out of sorts.”

Belle’s tears stopped as did her breathing.

Jack said, “The woman I love”.

The woman he loved.

She
was the woman he loved.

“You love me?” she breathed.

His head came up and his beautiful green eyes captured hers.

And he didn’t have to answer.

Because she saw it, stark, right there in his beautiful green eyes.