A few muffled snickers echoed through the small chambers, sending his beast raging inside him as if sensing danger. The hair along Trevor’s arms stood on end and his gut clenched with a primal need to hunt his prey. His preternatural senses warned him that something dangerous lurked in his courtroom.
Glancing over at his brother who even now scanned the room for danger, Trevor focused his thoughts to Ben, using the telepathy they’d been born with. Find the men who laughed.
Ben responded with a mental grunt. I’m already on it.
Trevor refocused his thoughts back on the trial.
“Then when you cut down the length of her very pregnant stomach with a dirty butcher knife…that was part of your normal routine, too? During your sexual encounters Daniels enjoyed blood play?”
Once again Sloan, Donaldson’s attorney jumped out of his seat. “I object, your honor. Green is leading the witness.”
“Sustained. Green, stick with questioning your witness and leave your own suppositions out if it.”
Adam nodded, then turned back toward the defendant who even now didn’t look like he believed he’d committed a crime. “Fine, Judge Marcum. Donaldson, did you know Zoe was pregnant when you took her to the cabin to reconcile?”
Donaldson leaned back, crossed his legs, apparently comfortable with this line of questioning. “Yes, of course I did.”
“And when you stripped her bare and tied her down, leaving her helpless, you knew she was pregnant then?”
Donaldson curled his lips in derision as though Green were an idiot. “I just told you I did.”
Trevor wanted to reach across his desk and strangle the condescending asshole, but that he couldn’t do. Unfortunately.
“So, knowing she was pregnant and possibly carrying your children, why did you cut into her stomach with absolute knowledge that she couldn’t get away if things went too far out of her comfort zone? Why did you beat Parkston bloody when he didn’t agree to do a crude amniocentesis in a filthy, rodent infested shack?”
Finally, Trevor could see the anger in Donaldson’s eyes. He didn’t like his actions questioned, his motives put in doubt. If it weren’t completely unethical and against both the moral and legal oaths he strived to live by, he’d let the prosecutor know. Still, Adam may have noticed the defendant’s reaction.
Green may be young to hold such a powerful position in the community, but everyone around, criminal and law-abiding, knew that he lived the law. He had a canny knack for knowing just what question to ask and when to get a reaction out of the defendant. If anyone could get a conviction on Donaldson, Adam Green could.
“Speak up, Donaldson. I won’t keep reminding you,” Trevor ordered. “Answer the questions promptly, sir, or I’ll declare you a hostile witness and charge you with contempt of court.”
Donaldson shrugged his shoulders, then retreated from the microphone, pressing his back against his chair. “Let’s just say I have a way with encouraging others to see things my way.”
Sloan, once again jumped out of his chair, this time knocking the heavy oak seat to the hardwood floors. He gripped the edge of the defense’s table and said through clenched teeth, “We ask for a short recess so I may confer with my client.”
Trevor shot a glance over at Donaldson and saw a too smug smile cross the man’s face. Something was up. Somehow they’d played right into Donaldson’s hands. But how? Should he grant the recess and let whatever they’d planned to happen, or call it a day and keep Donaldson and his lawyer isolated while they investigated the chortling thugs sitting in his courtroom?
“Fine. We’ll call it an early day and pick up tomorrow where we left off at Nine AM. Sharp.” Trevor turned toward the two guards watching over the proceedings. “Officer Kinsey and Officer Majors escort Prisoner Donaldson and his lawyer, Sloan, back to the holding cells at the jailhouse. They can have their meeting there behind locked doors.” As the prisoner and his lawyer were shuffled away, he felt Ben’s mind brush his.
You’re thinking the same thing I am?
Yeah, Ben. I think some out of town muscle is going to try to break our boy out of here.
Did you notice that even Abby is on alert? She’s been that way since before I walked in here today, constantly looking over her shoulder as if looking for danger.
Interesting. Rather than watch them hauling Donaldson away, Trevor searched out Abby. Sure enough, she looked like the entire world hated her and wanted to do her in. Her luscious body appeared coiled tight, ready to take on anyone who dared to approach her. She continually scanned the emptying courtroom, observing, judging, like she preformed this same exact ritual every day. Maybe she did.
Both he and Ben figured there must be a deep-rooted reason why she helped others even if it hurt her in the process. One day soon, maybe she’d clue them in on it. It was one of their hopes anyway.
Ben sighed through their telepathic link.
What, Ben?
She always appears ready to take on the world, looking for the next battle she can jump into if someone so much as looks at one of her patients wrong.
I know what you mean, Ben, Trevor agreed. She’s like a mother protecting her cubs. Think she’ll react the same way when she has our cubs?
Ben approached him at the Bench as he made his way down, then slapped him on the back. Let’s get her to agree to go out with us first before we scare her off trying to talk her into having our children.
Trevor glanced back over his shoulder just in time to see Abby stalk out of his courtroom. Now where was she going in such a rush?
Chapter Three
Abby shivered, her body taut with nerves. Donaldson and his lawyer were more than they seemed, something evil hidden behind a wealthy, civilized veneer. Those two would bear watching. But they weren’t the only evil ones in this town. She’d felt the growing miasma of hatred and fear more and more frequently of late, and quite a bit of it had focused on not only her, but Ben and Trevor Marcum, too. Did the growing malcontent in town have to do solely with the Donaldson trial or had Serenity turned into the newest hotbed for Supernatural baddies to hang out? Hell, had she drawn the danger here when she moved to Serenity three months ago?
As she left the courthouse, Abby continually scanned her surroundings. She wanted to paint a target on her back, to face the enemy head on rather than wait for whatever it was to attack. And what was going on with the brothers? She swore at certain times the pair seemed to be having a conversation with each other and yet their lips never moved.
Even though it was just after three in the afternoon, the town seemed dead. More stores had closed signs than open ones. Current city traffic consisted of one elderly gentleman racing down the center of Main Street
on his sparkling new motorized wheel chair followed by two yapping toy poodles on long leashes. Abby chuckled. Talk about taking your dogs out for a nightly run… Sanders was a kind sole and the love he felt for Elise and Tippy kept him going as his body continued to age with ruthless abandon. Soon, even these nightly walks would be impossible for Sanders to carry out. Then she’d take the dogs in to her own home. She promised the old man when she rescued him from the old folk’s home that abused him—and other patients—under the facility’s care.
Even the diner across from Doc Rambler’s office looked slow. Mary’s Place was famous for its Monday night special—a meatloaf and mashed potato dinner with buttery yeast rolls and cheesecake topped with fresh fruit for dessert—but she could clearly see through the windows that only three people were chowing down inside, Zoe Daniels and her partners, Conn Brady and Marcel Carson. The twins must be in their travel seats inside the booths because she couldn’t see them and no way would they be left with a sitter with Donaldson and his minions in town. Perhaps they’d have an idea of just who those two men were that interrupted the hearing with their rude behavior because they didn’t look like Michael Donaldson’s normal thugs. And she knew up close and personal just who his thugs were.
With the absence of
traffic, Abby jogged across the street and up the diner steps. Mary’s daughter, Gloria, worked the long breakfast counter while Mary’s granddaughter, Twila, waited on the tables. The three women were like a well-ordered machine from food preparation, to speedy food delivery and just the right personality to make you feel welcome.
The diner became Abby’s sanctuary within hours of her arrival into town and, the fact that all three women she wanted to speak with as well as Zoe, Conn and Marcel, seemed like a divine sign to her. A long time ago she learned to follow the messages where they led. She hadn’t regretted a moment of it, even when it cost her more than she’d ever thought she’d have to pay.
As soon as she entered the toasty warm diner, Abby inhaled the heavenly scents surrounding her. She could smell the decadently rich Triple Fudge Cake cooling on the bakery counter, could hear the hiss and pop of the freshly brewed dark Columbian blend coffee she preferred and could practically taste the moist Tex-Mex meatloaf the diner was famous for just being pulled out of one of the kitchen’s many ovens.
Every time she walked through the diner doors, a sense of homecoming enveloped her as if she’d finally found the place that was meant to be her home, the place she’d truly fit in and use her skills for the good of others. Whenever she had a lot on her mind or needed to seek council outside herself, she came here to the women who called to her on an emotional level and the place that embraced her every time she entered its doors. The fact that Zoe Daniels and her life partners, Conn and Marcel, were here was a bonus to her way of thinking.
She met the triad the first time she entered Mary’s Place and, it seemed whenever her concerns grew too heavy to bare, they were always here then, too. Fate. She was a tricky bitch. Giving you only what you absolutely need to follow the path they chose for you, but not something you’d necessarily want—like her gift to sense evil around her.
Though she’d never openly discussed her abilities before with any of her new friends, she edged around the topics on several occasions and felt that just possibly these people wouldn’t scoff at her when she told them what happened today. Today felt like the perfect time to let them know what she could do. It was an innate instinct and, when her instincts clamored at her, she always chose to follow her gut.
When the door chimes tinkled and she turned to look and see who the newcomers were, she knew fate had just chosen her path for her because no way could she not tell them what she could do when she could see the aura of danger surrounding Ben and Trevor Marcum. Oh hell, life just got much more interesting. How could she protect the pair from danger when she thought of them constantly? When she wanted to feel them inside her—together or apart didn’t seem to matter to her. She just wanted—no, needed—them filling her, riding her long into the night.
Before she could greet them—hell, greet anyone—a wave of evil swept over her. Bile rose in her stomach and her knees went out beneath her. The once blue sky outside the diner now looked sickening greenish yellow. Tornado weather even if she’d never seen it for herself. What was going on in this topsy-turvy world today? Tornados weren’t supposed to be common in Upstate, New York. She’d have remembered reading about that while searching for a new place to call home. Then again, they weren’t completely unheard of. But still…
As Abby headed toward the counter, Gloria lifted her head and waved her over. “Lordy, girl. Come over here and give mamma Gloria a hug.” Unable to resist such an offer, Abby met the woman halfway. She swept her up in her embrace, making Abby feel truly cared for. This was the reason she came to Mary’s Place, this acceptance for who and what she was.
Gloria gripped Abby’s shoulders, then looked her up and down. “I’m thinking this is a Dark Hot Chocolate conversation you’re needing, girl,” she added as she led Abby to the corner booth where Twila had a pile of silverware and napkins ready to roll up for place settings.
As soon as the three women were seated at the table, steaming cups of cocoa in front of them, Gloria looked at Abby, one eyebrow raised in question. “What’s on your mind? You never come in this early in the day unless something is troubling you, so spill it.”
Twila lowered her head, hiding behind her mug of cocoa as she chuckled.
“You don’t think it’s funny when she’s grilling you, Twila,” Abby chided.
Lifting her head, Twila smiled, her green eyes twinkling with mirth. “That’s true, but you should be thankful that Grandmamma isn’t out here with us, too.”
“True enough,” Abby admitted. “But I think this is a conversation I need to have with her present. I also want to ask Zoe and her men over here, as well as Ben and Trevor. There something about to go down and I think it’s about time I trusted you with more than I have up until now.”
Sitting back in her chair, Gloria’s lips tilted up in a smile. “It’s about time, girl. I’d like to know how you know some of the things you do. I’ll just go get mother and the others.” Turning to Twila, she pointed at the two tables in front of theirs. “Honey, why don’t you push all these tables together. I think we’ll need the space.” As Gloria walked away, she looked over her shoulder toward Abby one more time. “Abby, girl, you flip the sign to closed and invite Ben and Trevor over while I go gather the others.”
As Gloria headed toward Zoe, Conn, and Marcel, Abby girded herself for the coming conversation and headed toward Ben and Trevor who had settled in a booth near the front door. Just looking at the men left her breathless, but she was a woman who went after what she wanted and, depending on their reaction to what she needed to tell them, she might just start her seduction now.
Besides, she’d already admitted to herself that setting herself up as their protectors would make it nearly impossible not to jump them, why fight it? So long as she kept aware of her surroundings and didn’t let her guard down unless absolutely certain no harm would come to them and they were in agreement, she might just find out for herself what made Zoe so happy with her men.
* * * *
Ben watched Abby approach their table, determination and maybe even a bit of wariness in her gaze. What do you think she’s up to, Trevor?
I’m not sure, but it looks like we’re about to find out.
Ben and Trevor both stood as she approached, showing the respect she deserved, all woman deserved. They were raised believing that females were strong, independent and could carry their own weight and more, but that didn’t mean they didn’t enjoy and deserve to be cherished for just those things. Their mother had drummed into them that once they found their mate, not to forget to show her they wanted her for more than just sex. Though she was the first to admit to them that lovemaking would most definitely be on their mind once the mating heat began.
Ben could certainly agree because at his first glimpse of Abby when her scent wrapped around his balls, his mind had centered on how quickly he could get her in his bed. The last three months were a living hell, but he wanted her for more than that and both he and Trevor were determined to prove it to her. Soon.
When she stopped directly at their table, she looked from him to his brother, then glanced back at the table she’d been sitting at just moments ago. Several tables were being pushed together and Zoe Daniels stood while her mates, Conn and Marcel, each held one of the twins as they waited for everything to be set up.
Not willing to just stand there staring at her like an idiot, Ben tilted his head toward the other end of the diner. “What’s up, Abby?”
“I’d like to talk to you and Trevor…and the others about something. Afterward, if you’re willing, I’d like to talk to the two of you privately.”
Trevor reached out and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “What’s going on, Abigail?”
Abby shook her head. “I’d like to tell you all at once, if that’s okay.”
Tucking his hands in his pockets to keep himself from reaching out and running a finger along her cheek like he itched to do, Ben nodded. “Sure, no problem.”
After looking them both up and down and givin
g them a wink, Abby turned her back and headed toward the combined tables, her ass sashaying back and forth, leaving them to follow her if they wanted.
“Did she just do what I thought she did, Ben?”
“I’m sure she did. So the kitten isn’t afraid of her shadow when it comes to us. She’s just been playing with her prey.”
“It looks like it, little brother, looks like it. What say we hurry on over and see just what she has on her mind?”
Ben couldn’t agree more. He quickly grabbed up his uniform jacket and followed her and Trevor toward the others. He couldn’t help but feel that his future plans depended on what Abby wanted to tell them.
By the time the threesome reached the tables, everyone else was already seated, leaving three seats placed closely together. Ben looked to Gloria and smiled his thanks. One of his best friends, almost another mother to he and Trevor, she knew how desperately the pair wanted Abby and how hard it had been to give her time to get to know the town and them as individuals.
Gloria looked up at Abby, her eyes twinkling with mirth. “Mama said to tell you that she’s making you a special cake in the kitchen and that I can fill her in later about what’s going on.”
Abby nodded, then picked the empty middle chair to sit, leaving the brothers to flank her. Trevor looked over her head to Ben, his brow lifted in question. Do you think this means what I hope this means?
Abby snorted. “Oh for cripes sake, will you two stop talking to each other and sit your asses down. I have some things to say and you’re wasting my time. Time that could be put to better use later.”
Ben’s throat when dry and his cock jerked in his pants. “You just can’t say crap like that and expect a guy to think afterward, Abby,” he said, but he and Trevor quickly pulled out their chairs and took a seat, waiting for her to take the lead in this little game of hers.
Sheltering Abby Page 2
