Once Before (The Hero Next Door Series Book 3)

by Rebecca King

  ‘What do you mean? I am pleased that he has joined the Star Elite and made a life for himself.’

  ‘Even if it means that he will never be a part of yours?’ Reynold lifted his brows and waited.

  ‘Yes, even if it means he can’t be a part of my life,’ Tabitha replied. ‘I have lived my life without him and can carry on doing so. I just-’

  ‘Didn’t expect his reappearance in your life to summon so many emotions and memories,’ Reynold finished for her. ‘What I would suggest is that you pay attention to those emotions and decide if they are unresolved because of your memories. Don’t view Daniel as the young man he was because life and the Star Elite has changed him. The young boy he was no longer exists. He is a man now, a man who is free to make his own choices and live his life as he sees fit. If he doesn’t see how beautiful you are, how clever, how vibrant, how intelligent, then he doesn’t deserve you. Live your life as you see fit as well, Tabitha. Make your choices for you, and you only. You have wealth now and with that money comes choices. Choose wisely and don’t let anybody sway your opinion or decisions about anything. If you don’t want to live somewhere don’t live somewhere. If you don’t want to have someone a part of your life then don’t let them be a part of your life. If you want something out of life then you need to do what you can to get it, and don’t allow anybody to tell you that you cannot do this or that. Oftentimes people will try to stop you doing something because it makes their world more secure, their world more predictable. But that puts them in control of you, your choices, your thoughts, your life, and that is morally wrong. It says more about their problems than it ever will about yours. Your life is for you to live, here and now, not in the past with Daniel. He has moved on, and that is evident in that he had forgotten about you. He has had the might of the Star Elite and hasn’t even bothered to try to locate you even to find out where you were or what you were doing. Use that as evidence that he doesn’t care about you the same way that you care about him. I hope that the problems I have brought make you realise that life is for living. It is time for you to make the necessary changes in your life that will make you happy and put more into your future that you want. The money will buy you this house if you want it, but I would ask why someone like you wants to live out in the middle of nowhere like this. You should be with people; with friends and family.’

  Tabitha sucked in a deep breath, but it was calming. It wasn’t until her shoulders slumped that she realised how tense she was. Yes, it hurt but she knew that Daniel truly hadn’t given her a second thought for many years. As handsome as he was he had no place in his life for her anymore. It was time to put him into the past where he belonged. But even as she thought that, Tabitha knew that was going to be far harder than she expected.

  When she looked up at Reynold, their eyes met. The air shifted between them and became palpable. Tabitha didn’t move as she watched his head lower toward hers mostly because she was curious. The second that his lips touched hers she focused on nothing but him. Tabitha forced herself to shove all thoughts of anything else out of the way and focus on this one kiss. It was gentle, tender, loving. It hovered uncertainly, lingered, sampled, reassured. But after that first moment of hesitation, a heavy weight of guilt settled about her shoulders. She had the distinct feeling that it was wrong to kiss Reynold like this, and it made her ease away from him and offer him an apologetic smile.

  ‘Time is all you need,’ he whispered, stroking a gentle thumb down her cheek. ‘Time and some space to put him in the past where he belongs. Daniel needs to be fighting enemies like your father. You need a life you can live, preferably with someone who appreciates you. I will wait. For now, try to get some rest. We have a busy day tomorrow.’

  He paused at the door and looked back at her. ‘This house is effectively yours, my dear. You don’t have to leave it if you don’t want to. My friend has no intention of living here again. Maybe you should try to live here to see if you can be happy. After all, there is nothing to say that someone won’t appear in your life who will want to share it with you.’

  Tabitha remained mute as she watched Reynold leave. Reynold didn’t even glance Daniel’s way when he passed him in the corridor. He hoped he had given the man plenty to think about. If Daniel wasn’t wise enough to create a future with Tabitha, then he didn’t mind waiting until she was ready to move on with her life.

  Daniel stared at Reynold in disbelief. The urge to demand to know from Tabitha what she thought she was doing was strong, but Reynold’s words still rang in his ears. When he had seen Reynold kiss her the need to draw his gun and lay claim to her had him rocking on the balls of his feet and reaching out for the door handle. He had waited for Tabitha to slap him or tell him to stop but she hadn’t. She had willingly kissed Reynold back. It rocked Daniel because until now, he had truly expected Tabitha to simply be there, to not be interested in anybody else. It was something of a shock to realise that she had not just one suitor but two, and that second suitor was none other than Reynold Muldoon, the county’s wealthiest man.

  Daniel ran a shaking hand through his hair. He struggled to get the memory of Tabitha in Reynold’s arms out of his head. He wanted to pretend he hadn’t seen them, but when he turned to continue his tour of the property, Daniel struggled to leave Tabitha alone in the study. He wanted to go and talk to her but when he did return to the room it was to find that Tabitha had already left. Daniel had no choice but to go to bed himself. Reynold was right about one thing; tomorrow was going to be a very long day and there was a lot to do.

  For tonight, Daniel had a lot to think about, mostly about Tabitha, and what he was going to do about persuading her to be his wife.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The following afternoon, Tabitha stood in Mildred’s house and listened to Roger describe the plan the Star Elite had in place to try to capture Lynchgate. She listened again to Daniel object to Tabitha going anywhere near the factory, but Roger insisted that she had to go. She had to be the one to travel to the factory with Lynchgate when he next called at the house.

  ‘We are going to make our way there now and will get into position. I do know that he was watching you return to town and has been trying to find out where you have been. Hamish is with Muldoon who should, by now, already be at the factory as well.’

  ‘It is far too dangerous,’ Daniel protested.

  ‘I can do it,’ Tabitha snapped. ‘I am not some addle brained chit, you know. I can cope with this. He is my father. I know how to handle him – better than you do. This is something I must do – for me.’

  A stunned silence settled in her wake as she snatched her shawl up and threw it around her shoulders and stomped angrily out of the room. Daniel knew that what she had said was really directed at him as well and took a moment to force himself to calm down.

  ‘I would leave her if I was you,’ Mildred said when he went to follow her. ‘Tabitha is annoyed because everyone seems to treat her as if she is incapable of surviving on her own. She has had to cope with a lot in life, and without help from any of you. If she had been the kind of person who would break easily, Tabitha would have crumbled many years ago. She hasn’t because she is far stronger than you realise and has been through her own version of hardships and difficulties. It isn’t for you to diminish the importance of her struggles because she has a home. You must understand, gentlemen, that long after you have ridden out of her life, Tabitha will have to take up the reins of her life for herself by herself. She must be able to stand up to the likes of David Lynchgate because he needs to learn that she is not vulnerable to him. The very things he thought he could use to destroy her, like letting her battle life to come here to live, are the very things that have made her stronger; far stronger than he is. If that man has to live with the knowledge that his own daughter helped you put him behind bars, he will start to be warier about coming near her if he ever gets released. I suggest you all start to treat her like a person. If you do, you may witness exactly what she is capable
of and it may be more than you realise.’ With that, Mildred snatched up her shawl, threw it around her shoulders and stomped out of the room as well.

  ‘Well, that’s that then,’ Hamish muttered, scratching his head in consternation as he tried to contemplate what anybody had done to warrant such an outburst.

  Daniel suddenly found himself the object of everyone’s accusatory looks. ‘She is going to help us, all right?’

  ‘Are you happy with that?’ Roger asked.

  ‘I don’t have much choice, do I? I wish we could put the bastards behind bars without her involvement, but Lynchgate and his thugs are arrogant. They have to go to gaol for their crimes, and Tabitha has to help put them there.’

  ‘We had better go and get into position,’ Peregrine murmured before quietly letting himself out of the house.

  Tabitha watched Daniel walk down the path with his colleagues and tried not to worry about what was going to happen.

  ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Mildred asked from behind her.

  ‘I have to. I cannot spend my life letting Lynchgate think he can shove me around whenever he wants to. The man is just a bully and a coward. I want him to know that I had a hand in his downfall. I want the man to think about me every day of his life when he is sitting in a cell with nothing else to do with his worthless life. I shall not be sorry for what has happened to him or my part in destroying what he has become. I shall not spend any part of my future thinking about him. He doesn’t deserve my time or energy.’

  ‘You sound so strong and defiant,’ Mildred whispered. ‘He really doesn’t mean anything to you, does he?’

  ‘People move on, grow up, change and adapt. The more they experience in life, Mildred, the more they change, the stronger a person can become. It is the strongest who survive, the most battle-hardened warriors. Weak people die. Unfortunately, Lynchgate still sees me as a sixteen-year-old girl who was full of self-doubts, worry, and confusion. He has no idea who I am now.’

  ‘He is a killer, Tabitha. Make sure you don’t lose your life,’ Mildred whispered.

  ‘I would lose my life if I allowed that man to evade justice. My future would never be my own. My life would never be free of his bullying. He has to leave, and so do his thugs, that is something I am not prepared to negotiate,’ Tabitha growled. ‘If he thinks I am just going to simply sit there while he or his thugs take my life, he has another think coming. And if he does succeed in killing me, I will haunt the damned bastard until the day he joins me.’

  With an air of confidence Mildred had never seen before, Tabitha tipped her chin up and marched out of the house. She stomped down the garden and began to yank the dead heads off the rose bush with a ferocity that made the bush shake alarmingly. Mildred watched her and couldn’t quite make her mind up if she should be proud of the young woman she had raised or be quietly horrified at how headstrong Tabitha was.

  ‘Well, Lynchgate, this is one battle I know you are going to lose,’ Mildred murmured with a heavy sigh.

  Worried, Mildred turned to face the empty house she had lived in for as long as she could remember. She was as familiar with it as she was with the back of her own hand. The very thought of leaving it was awful but staying in the property to wither away all by herself was even worse. With Tabitha ready to leave and set out on a life’s journey of her own – what was there for her to do now?

  ‘What indeed,’ Mildred sighed, slumping into a high-backed chair beside the fire, but only so she could study the woman out of the window, so full of life and with a future that was full of promise and endless choices. Mildred looked about her empty sitting room in dismay. ‘Whereas my future will be lonely.’ For the first time in a long time Mildred felt weary, as if something precious had gone from her life and she wouldn’t ever get it back. ‘Maybe it is time to move on myself.’

  Tabitha wasn’t surprised when she heard the clip-clop of horses’ hooves and saw Lynchgate’s thug on top of the carriage that was rumbling toward her. The sight of it made her stomach flip despite her bravado but she kept the solid, impenetrable wall of contempt for Lynchgate strong and squared her shoulders as she prepared to do battle. When Lynchgate alighted from the vehicle he turned to find Tabitha staring stonily at him without one ounce of emotion on her face, and eyes that flashed with shards of ice.

  ‘What do you want again?’ she spat, dropping the dead heads into the basket at her feet. ‘Come here to try to get your hands on my fortune again, have you? Well you can go to Hell, Lynchgate, because the answer is no, just like last time.’

  ‘Now that is no way to talk to your father,’ Lynchgate snapped.

  Tabitha rounded on him. ‘Don’t you dare call yourself my father. Being a father means more than providing your seed. You are no example, no moral compass. You are a liar, a thief, an utter bastard. Get out of here and stay away.’

  Unsurprisingly, Lynchgate didn’t move. He glared at her and clicked his fingers at his thug who immediately jumped down from the vehicle and opened the carriage door.

  ‘I am not going to leave until we have gone to see the factory.’

  ‘My business has nothing to do with you. If you think that your pathetic ten shares are going to get you through the door then you can think again. Why, you ruin everything you touch. You bully the life out of anybody who ever goes near you. The only people you have in your life, your little group, are liars, thieves, and scoundrels just like you.’

  Lynchgate stepped over the flower boarder, marched up to her and grabbed her in a rough hold that left bruises. He dragged her toward the carriage and tried to force her inside, but Tabitha was having none of it. She doubled up her fist and swung it around as hard as she could and was rewarded with a loud crack of flesh striking flesh. Stunned, Lynchgate immediately released her and glared at her. The thug stepped toward her, but Tabitha backed away and screamed at the top of her lungs. When the thug charged toward her, she lifted her foot and kicked him straight between his legs. The thug immediately clutched his wounded privates and fell to his knees, his eyes glazed. Tabitha lifted her skirt but only so she could kick him in the face. It was satisfying to watch him drop onto his side, groaning with pain.

  Mildred came racing out of the house clutching a skillet. Lynchgate heard her and whirled to face her only to be smacked in the head with the heavy weight she yielded with all the force of an angry hen protecting her chick. Lynchgate clutched his head, staggered backward, and shook his head to try to clear it. Because his back was turned to Tabitha, he didn’t see her lift her boot again and give him a solid kick in the backside which propelled him forward into a heap at Mildred’s feet.

  ‘Take that you scoundrel. Shame on you for thinking you can come in here like the thugs you employ and throw your weight around. You saw a woman and thought she was vulnerable because she is alone and in your mind, inferior to you. Well, take that as a weapon.’ Mildred thwacked him again. ‘And that.’

  Lynchgate glared up at her through a swollen and cut eye. ‘You bitch, I will get you for that.’

  ‘Oh, really.’ Mildred smacked him on the head again. Lynchgate scrambled away but not before Mildred hit him again with another heavy thump and began to follow him down the path as he tried to run for his life.

  Tabitha turned to look at the thug beside her who was watching his boss and struggling to get to his feet. ‘I should stay down there if I were you,’ she growled. ‘Or that skillet is going to be on your head.’

  The thug crawled around to the back of the carriage. When Tabitha followed to see where he had gone, he lunged toward her, yanked her off her feet and threw her into the carriage. But Tabitha wasn’t prepared to give in that easily. She kicked the door open before he could slam it shut and jumped down, shoving the door roughly into his barrel chest. The thug grinned evilly at her but when he lunged for her, Tabitha threw her shawl over his head. Mildred, who was already on her way to her, slammed him on the back of the head with the skillet.

  ‘Right, let me lock the house
up,’ Mildred snapped before doing just that.

  ‘What do we do with them?’ Tabitha asked, eyeing the thug and Lynchgate, who were both rolling around on the floor clutching the parts of their bodies that hurt the most.

  ‘We are going to leave them here. That carriage is ours. We are going to go and see the factory and find out what these blackguards have been stealing.’

  ‘Oh, you are going to the factory but not to find anything on us,’ Lynchgate growled.

  When he lunged to his feet, Tabitha saw the gun in his hand. He staggered a little and glared balefully at Mildred. ‘Put that pan down,’ he commanded, glaring at Mildred until she did as she was told.

  Tabitha stepped backward only to watch Lynchgate swing the gun in her direction. ‘I will shoot her if you do.’

  ‘Get up you damned fool,’ he ordered the thug. ‘Get up there and get this carriage moving. We are going to the factory.’ He pointed to Mildred. ‘You are staying here. No. On second thoughts, you can come too.’

  Tabitha and Mildred quietly climbed into the carriage and sat opposite Lynchgate. For a few moments, nobody spoke. Tension, laden with animosity, hovered over them. Tabitha purposely ignored him and stared out of the window. Mildred studied Tabitha’s boots. She was relieved that Lynchgate hadn’t left her behind where she would have worried about what was happening at the factory.

  ‘I warn you now that you aren’t going to get anything from me,’ Tabitha announced into the silence. She turned cold eyes on Lynchgate. ‘Do you really think that you can defeat the Star Elite? I am sure that Terrence Sayers thought that too. Do you remember him? That little thug from the East End of London, who had that entire network of thugs working for him up and down the country. Hundreds of people were taken down by the Star Elite, either killed or put behind bars where they belong. And you, with your idiotic thug up top, really think you can take on men like them and succeed. God, you really are an arrogant fool, aren’t you?’