Touch of Fate (Bennett Sisters Book 2) (8 page)

“I’m okay, Doc. Are you going to release me?” The doc turned to look at Sam now stretching in a chair in the corner. His body too big for the small chair, he leaned back with his legs extended in front of him and his fingers laced behind his head. A smile curved his lips. Relief was evident in his posture, like the weight of the world had been lifted from his muscular shoulders.

Dr. Lister looked back at Abby. “You girls sure know how to pick them. We need to have lunch one day so you can tell me your secret,” she whispered before she straightened.

“I’ll go start the paperwork.” She looked around the room “Where is your obnoxious brother? I assumed he’d already be here yelling and scaring the nurses,” she said as she smiled.

The door burst opened. Mike stormed in and froze halfway through the door when he saw the good doc. His sudden stop made the people behind him bounce off his back. Emma hit him on the arm as she sidestepped her way past their brother. Abby’s lips tilted up in the corners. The scowl on her brother’s face should have been enough to scare the petite doctor, but it didn’t. Emma, Jake, Claire, Butch, and John pushed passed Mike, bumping his shoulder as they passed to enter into her now too-small hospital room. Her eyes got big, and her jaw dropped when she saw her son.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath. Her gaze went from Sam to John and back again.

People were asking her questions, but her world narrowed to the two men that had consumed her life. Sam was now standing in front of his chair and had his gaze glued on their son. She watched in panic as they stared at each other. There was no denying the similarities between them. The room turned silent when everyone else turned to see what held her enthralled.

Abby cleared her dry throat. “Sam, I’d like you to meet John…our son.” His eyes went from John’s to hers, and Sam stepped closer. John held up his hand to stop his advance.

“Don’t be confused, old man. I don’t care who you are; you’re nothing but a sperm donor to me, but let me warn you now. I want you to leave my mom alone. You’ve been in town for less then seventy-two hours and look where she is.” He pointed to the hospital bed then clenched his fist. His face turned red as anger threatened to overtake him. She’d only seen her son like this once, over a girl, and she knew the outcome. Before any words could pass her lips, John advanced on Sam. Butch stepped between the two before John could come to blows and placed his hand on John’s chest.

“Jonathan Mitchell, he can explain. And I taught you better manners than that, young man,” she scolded from her bed. Unable to get up, she felt helpless in diffusing their first encounter. Her shoulders tightened as her hands clenched the sheet.

“This is all my fault,” she whispered.

Butch turned to face John. “Look, man, she doesn’t need this right now. Look around you.” He waved to encompass the whole room. “Dude, think about your mom. She’s hurt and doesn’t need this on top of everything else.”

John turned back to his mother, ignoring the older man. “I’m sorry, Mom.” He stepped to her bed and kissed her head. She grabbed his hand and pulled him close. This wasn’t going to be a quick fix. She leaned her head against his. “He’s got a good reason, kid. Give him a chance.”

John clenched his eyes closed and released a breath. “If you believe him, I’ll try.” That was the best response he could have given her. “When are they letting you out?”

Dr. Lister took that moment to diffuse the tension in the room. “In a few minutes, after I file a copy of her discharge paperwork.” Dr. Lister held out the carbon copy of it in her hand. Sam took the paperwork from Dr. Lister who smirked at Mike, and sauntered out of the room with Mike hot on her heels.

John advanced on Sam and held out his hand. “I’ll take those.”

“I’ve got them, Junior.” He folded and pocketed the papers.

John’s jaw twitched, and Abby could see him grinding his teeth. He dropped his hand to his side. “You won’t be here to take care of her. I will. Now hand them over.” He bowed his chest, and narrowed his eyes. Abby silently wondered if John would come to blows with his father.

“So much for trying.” Abby shook her head and rested it on the pillow.

“Kid…I’m not going anywhere.” Sam crossed his arms over his chest as he gauged the faces in the room.

Abby felt that emotions were all over the place. Butch stood in an identical poise, as did most of the others. The tension made the hair on the back of her neck stand on ends. Testosterone filled the room. Damn men thought they were the bosses of her.

“She can’t go back there. It isn’t safe. He knows where she lives now. I’m taking her with me. I have just the place to keep her safe.”

Her sisters let out a joint gasp. Butch stepped up, putting his hand against Sam’s chest. “Like hell, buddy. We don’t know you; she can stay with me. I’ll protect her.”

Her face felt red as she repositioned herself on the bed, adamant they were so not having this conversation without her.
Oh, hell no
. “I’m not going anywhere without John. He’s not staying in that house until we find this asshole.”

Emma repositioned the pillow behind Abby’s back to make it more comfortable. It wasn’t so long ago that she and Jake had been in this hospital. “You guys can come to the beach house with us, and you can stay at our house until we leave. You’ll both be safe there, and we have plenty of room.” She smiled, obviously trying to appease everyone and kill the mounting tension that soured the room. Emma glanced back at her new husband, who gave her a nod and placed his hand on her shoulder. The simple gesture loosened some of Abby’s pent-up stress.

“John’s going to stay with you.” She took Emma’s hand. “I need to help catch this guy so we can go home again, and Sam is the only one that can help me. He’s been tracking this guy for a long time and knows his habits. I’m going to need his knowledge.” She wouldn’t be able to concentrate if John was in danger. That wasn’t going to be an option.

“We’ll take care of John.” Emma leaned over and hugged her sister. I promise,” Emma whispered in her ear as everyone in the room watched in silence.

Claire leaned over and hugged her too. She whispered in her other ear, “If you need me, I’m just a phone call away, and I’ll come find you. I’ve got enough connections in this town, it wouldn’t be hard. There aren’t many places he can hide you. I can’t get a read on him with so many people in the room, but I will, if you need me to.”

Mike burst back in the room with the doctor trailing behind him. Her lips were swollen, and her hair a bit mused. She lifted her hand to her lips without taking her eyes off Mike. “What did I miss?” he asked as he searched the silent faces for clues.

Abby rolled her eyes, and Emma mumbled, “Everything,” as she grabbed John’s hand, pulling him behind her and Jake.

****

He arrived at the hospital after ditching the SUV and stealing another car. He hadn’t meant to hurt the little spitfire, well, at least not yet. He’d just wanted to scare her. He had plans for her, and it didn’t include killing her just yet. He sauntered into the lobby, about to ask for a room number when a younger version of Ryan/now Sam was exiting with another couple.
Well, well, well, what do we have here?
It seemed Sam had been a very naughty boy and had produced an offspring. The young man was the spitting image of Ryan, when the little bastard had witnessed his crime eighteen years before. His direction changed, and he followed them out.
This just keeps getting better and better. This small town is just full of surprises, first the girl and now the kid.
He hadn’t expected the bonus of both the spitfire and an offspring. Now it was just a choice of which would help him get to Sam.

He contemplated a new plan as he got in the car and followed the vehicle with the young man to a gated house. He hid his vehicle in the nearby brush to get a better look around the area.

“This place is going to be a problem,” he mumbled as he avoided the security cameras placed strategically around the perimeter. He wasn’t a security expert, but he could tell by the high tech equipment that he wouldn’t be gaining entrance. There were a few high trees and surrounding brush that might help him clear the height of the fence, but there was no way he could go in undetected. He would have to wait until they left the property before he could get to his next victim. Richard Daley climbed back in his vehicle to wait them out.

“Yes, he’ll do nicely. They won’t even be expecting it.”

C
hapter 11

Abby didn’t think they would ever leave her hospital room. After her release, she now sat in Sam’s SUV. Fear settled in her gut. This was no longer a random murderer but a lunatic after the people she cared most about. She clasped her trembling hands together in her lap. She wasn’t sure if it was the drugs responsible for her shot nerves or Sam’s proximity. Her leg throbbed, and pain radiated from the black-and-blue area, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the man behind the wheel.

Sam started the ignition and stared out the window for a brief second before turning his gaze on her. “Let’s get you settled and then we’ll talk.”

She didn’t know where they were going, but there wasn’t a place in town she couldn’t recognize from the landscape alone. She kept her eyes out the window. Darkness had settled in while she’d been in the hospital, and she hoped it wasn’t a sign of things to come. She could barely make out the trees lining the road, but she could still sense their location. His cologne was intoxicating, and she absorbed it into her brain. She had a hard time keeping her gaze focused on the passing trees and not on the man in the car that was only an arm’s length away. Abby closed her eyes, remembering his caresses from eighteen years ago, and wondered if his hands would still be so smooth, or if the years apart had been hard on him. Eighteen years before they had fumbled through their first time. She knew that wouldn’t be the case now.
Why couldn’t he be bald and fat, instead of so yummy?
It just wasn’t fair. John deserved a father. She just wasn’t sure she could trust him. The secret he had just revealed was a doozy, but her bombshell had the potential to change his life, and Abby didn’t know what to expect.

They pulled up to a two-story log cabin on the outskirts of town hidden behind a grove of lush apple trees. She hadn’t even known the cabin was here. It was so well hidden from the street. She shifted in her seat to get a better look.

“It’s my house,” he said as he got out of the car and opened her door. He carried her encased in his steel arms, gentle enough and careful not to hurt her bruise as he made his way to the door.

“Sam, put me down. I can walk.”

He eased her down, sliding her body against his when he reached the door. His muscles flexed under her palms, and her breath caught.
God, I still want this man. Geesh already, get your head in the game so you can go home again.

Sam slid open a panel near the doorframe and started punching numbers. He scooped her up in her strong arms and again carried her inside the house gently placing her on the couch. Abby sighed then frowned. The warmth of his skin touching hers was already fleeting, but his slight touch sent tingles through her traitorous body. Damn it, she still wanted this man. Abby shook her head to clear her thoughts. Those thoughts didn’t have a right to be in her head, not with such uncertainty surrounding their future.

“You bought a house here?” She looked up into his eyes, sure that confusion showed on her face. The décor was pleasant enough. The tan couch was comfy, and a stone fireplace graced the wall across from where she sat with her legs propped on the couch. She turned, keeping her leg immobile and scanned the rest of the crème-colored walls, there wasn’t a picture in sight. After a few minutes, Sam reentered the room, handing her a steaming cup of coffee, and placed a pillow behind her back. He made her physically comfortable, but emotionally she was a basket case and knew she needed to explain. Sam lit a fire. The warmth from the fireplace touching her skin didn’t replace Sam’s touch. She couldn’t see much from her position. Furniture filled the room, but it was scarce of personal belongings. No knickknacks lying around, there wasn’t a woman’s touch anywhere to be seen.

Sam rubbed the back of his neck and stayed in front of the fire poking the logs. The only sound heard was the crackling of the embers. “Just because I couldn’t be with you, Abby, didn’t mean I didn’t want to be. I tracked you down after college and the military and bought this place, hoping maybe one day we could find a way to be together.”

He turned and walked toward her. She opened her mouth to speak and closed it just as he placed a gentle kiss on her lips. His soft lips grazed hers and were gone before she could pull him into her embrace. He straightened to his full height.

“I need to make some arrangements.”

Pulling his phone from his clip, he left her with only her thoughts to keep her company. Abby sipped her coffee and settled into the couch to wait on his return, barely able to keep her eyes open. The events of the day had drained her physically and mentally. She closed her eyes.

****

Sam pushed open one of the swinging doors to the living room for the millionth time to check on his sleeping beauty. Each time he lost his train of thought and the conversation on his cell phone fell silent. He exhaled a breath and eased the swinging door closed.

“Sam, I’m sure she’s fine,” Stone, his long-time protector and mentor, said again.

“I know. I just can’t believe she’s here, and I’m worried about her safety. I can’t figure out why Daley is here. He must have followed me, and now he knows where she lives. I can’t believe I let my guard down. If anything happens to her, Stone…” Sam sat back down at the kitchen table and took another sip of his beer. The liquid did little to douse the worry coursing through his veins. He had to keep reminding himself why he couldn’t go back in there, carry her to his bed, and make love to the only woman who’d ever held his heart.