“Hel...hello,” she stammered.
“I’m looking for Marina Kelly,” the soft female voice asked.
“I’m Marina Kelly.”
“Ms. Kelly, do you have a son Danny?”
Marina started to shake and her legs were about to give out. She went down on her knees before she answered.
“Yes, I do. He’s been missing for the past four days.” Marina tried to keep her voice calm, but she hiccupped halfway through her response and the tears started. James walked into the room as she went to her knees. He was at her side in seconds, and Marina hit speaker on her phone so he could hear.
“My name is Barb Druken and I live on Shea Heights. I train K9 dogs for the R.C.M.P and the N.P.D. One of my dogs escaped the kennel earlier today and when he came back he had a boy with him. The boy said he’s name is Danny Kelly and gave me your number.” Marina gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as the tears flowed.
“He’s okay?” Marina sobbed.
“He’s a little cold, but I’ve got him wrapped in blankets by the fireplace,” Barb told her. “Would you like to speak with him?”
“Oh my God, yes.” Marina almost screamed and James ran out of the room, returning seconds later with John and Stephanie.
“Mommy?” Danny’s voice echoed through the phone and her tears flowed down her cheeks.
“I’m here, baby. Are you okay?” Marina sobbed.
“I wanna come home.” His pleading voice made her want to run right to him.
“We’re coming to get you, baby. Don’t worry. Can you put the lady back on the phone?” Marina was on her feet and heading out of the bedroom.
“I’m here Ms. Kelly,” Barb said.
“I need your address,” Marina said but before Barb could answer John interrupted.
“I know where she lives,” John said. “I was with Cory when he picked up a couple of the dogs last year.”
Marina thanked her and she didn’t remember getting into the truck but the next thing she knew they were driving on the highway towards St. John’s. John had made the calls to the family on the drive and Kurt had warned them not to ask Danny anything. He needed to be interviewed by someone outside the family. Marina didn’t care who questioned him. All she cared about was having Danny out of Marc’s clutches and having him in her arms.
The drive to town never seemed so long before, but when she thought they were never going to get there, John told James to turn into a driveway off Blackhead Road. Marina was out of the truck before James had a chance to put the truck in park. She ran to the small bungalow at full speed and almost tripped as she ran up the steps to the door.
The front door opened and an older woman smiled at her. She motioned for Marina to enter and held the door open as the rest of them made their way to the house. Marina looked at the couch next to the fireplace. Danny was sound asleep curled up next to a huge white husky. The dog raised its head as Marina approached and at first she didn’t think the dog would let her near Danny.
“His name is Cloud.” Marina heard Barb behind her. “He’s the one that brought Danny here, but Danny seems to insist on calling him Buddy.” Barb chuckled.
“Well, Cloud, thank you for finding Danny.” Marina crouched and carefully petted the dog’s head. “You are a handsome boy, aren’t you?” Marina smiled when the dog sat up and licked her face.
“Mommy?” Danny’s eyes were open and she couldn’t stop herself from pulling him into her arms. At that point she didn’t care if the dog tore her arm off.
“Danny, are you okay?” Marina held his face between her hands and examined him.
“I’m okay, but I don’t wanna go back to that house anymore. It smells bad and the one man wouldn’t talk to me and the other man said he was my daddy, but he left.” Danny had tears in his eyes.
“You aren’t going back there. You’re coming home with me and James.” Marina pulled him into her arms and hugged him to her. Cloud seemed to want to get in on the action because he began to lick Danny’s face, making him giggle.
“Barb, I don’t know how to thank you,” James said from behind her.
“It wasn’t me. I don’t think Cloud is going to make a good K9, but he seemed to know that Danny was in trouble and escaped the kennel to find him,” Barb said.
“What are you doing with him?” Marina asked.
“I’ve been searching for a family for him, but until then he’ll stay with me.” Barb bent down to ruffle the dog’s head.
“We’ll take him.” Marina and James said together. They looked at each other and laughed.
“How could we not take him after what he did?” James smiled at the dog.
“What do you think, Cloud? Would you like to go live with Danny and his family?” The deep bark from the dog and the excited jumping had Marina believing the dog knew exactly what they were saying.
“When can we take him?” Marina asked. Barb explained that he’d already been released as a potential K9, but she’d still have to do some background checks.
“No offense but I need to make sure he’s going to be cared for and you have the space for him,” Barb explained.
“We understand.” Marina glanced at Danny. “Do you want Cloud to come and live with us?” Danny nodded and giggled when the dog began to lick his face again.
“I need your address so I can do a home visit and once the checks come back, I can release Cloud to you.” Barb shook James’ hand and nodded to Stephanie and John.
“Let’s go home, Bud.” James ruffled Danny’s hair. “I know someone else who’s been really missing you.” Marina knew he was referring to Mason.
As much as Marina didn’t want to let Danny out of her arms, she knew she had to put him in his car seat. She sat in the back seat of the truck with Stephanie and held Danny’s hand the whole way home. She gotten a rancid smell from him when she hugged him first but she really didn’t care at that point, but in the confines of the truck the smell was pungent. Danny had fallen asleep and she turned his hand over to see the dirt caked into his palms.
“What are you looking at?” Stephanie whispered so she wouldn’t wake Danny.
“His hands are filthy,” Marina whispered. “And he smells really bad.”
“I noticed,” Stephanie said.
“I’ll give him a bath when we get home,” Marina whispered as she pushed back his hair from his forehead.
She sighed when they pulled into the driveway and saw the front door open. Her father and mother were on the step next to James’ parents. Kathleen was holding a wiggling Mason in her arms, and Nanny Betty was in the doorway with her hands clasped in front of her chest and tears in her eyes.
“Danny, we’re home, baby. You’ve got to wake up now.” Marina spoke softly as to not startle him. His eyes fluttered open and he stared at her.
“I’m really home,” he said sleepily.
“Yeah, pal, you’re home.” James stood outside the truck holding open the door. Marina released the car seat harness and Danny jumped into James’ arms.
“Can I call you daddy now?” James looked at Marina, and she nodded.
“You can call me anything you want, buddy.” James hugged him and Danny wrapped his arms around James’ neck. With all the happiness of having Danny home, Marina still knew Marc wasn’t finished with her, but she put that in the back of her mind and just let herself enjoy the moment of happiness. Waiting for the other shoe to drop would only drive her crazy and take away the joy of finding her son.
Danny wasn’t happy about taking the time to get a bath, but with James and his negotiation skills, Marina managed to get him to take a short one. James also managed to put off the questioning until morning by promising Kurt and Greg nobody would ask Danny anything about what happened.
It was after three in the morning and way past the boy’s bedtime, but considering what they’d been through the last few days, it didn’t seem important and with the family filling the house, there was no way Danny and Mason would make it ea
sy to get them to bed.
“I love seeing that smile.” James stood behind her as she watched Danny play a video game with Aaron and Mason.
“He seems okay. I don’t think he’s been too traumatized by Marc.” Marina leaned back against James, and he wrapped his arms around her.
“Dad checked him out and physically he’s fine, but it will probably take a few days to know if there’s any psychological trauma,” James said.
“I know.”
The sun was coming up when Mason and Danny passed out on the couch. Everyone except for Keith and Bull had gone home. Bull was now permanently assigned to Danny until Marc was found. James brought both boys up to bed and tucked them in while she had a minute to herself. She hadn’t taken her eyes off Danny since the minute they picked him up. Even after a long hot bath she stood in the doorway to the boy’s bedroom and just watched him sleep.
“I think you need to get some sleep, Ms. Kelly.” Marina turned to see Bull sitting at the end of the hallway reading.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?” The man had to be a robot.
“I’ll get a few hours when Keith takes over at eight,” he said.
“Do you want a cup of coffee or something?” Marina felt the need to make sure he wasn’t going to fall asleep on the job and get in trouble.
“James has a pot of coffee already made for me when I need it. He’s just locking up downstairs.” He told her.
“He’s finished locking up and agreeing with Bull that a certain Ms. Kelly needs to go to bed.” Marina glanced towards the top of the stairs to see James leaning against the rail.
“Wow! Men really do think alike.” Marina smiled.
“Come on, sweetheart, I think we both can use some sleep.” James led her to the bedroom. “Bull, coffee is ready whenever you want it and if you want a bite to eat, Nan left a ton of leftovers in the fridge.” Bull nodded and made his way downstairs.
“You know there may not be enough food in the fridge to feed him.” Marina giggled.
“I’m sure it’s enough for a few hours.” James closed the bedroom door and pulled Marina into his arms. “Right now I don’t care if he eats everything in the house. I just want to crawl into bed and hold you all night long.”
“That sounds like heaven.” Marina leaned her head against his chest and sighed.
She never realized how exhausted she really was until she curled up in James’ arms and closed her eyes. Between the relief of having Danny home safe and sound, and the warmth of James holding her, sleep was coming fast.
“I love you, James,” she murmured before she started to drift off
“I love you, too, sweetheart,” was the last thing she heard before she fell into a deep, content sleep.
Chapter 23
The fucking idiot had to overdose and the stupid kid didn’t even find what he wanted him to find. So now he had no kid, no key for the box, no box and no way to get the money that was due to him.
“Now what the fuck do I do?” He flopped down on the end of the couch next to the dead druggie. He knew he shouldn’t have left so much meth for Tucker. The guy would keep shooting up until he had none left, and the stuff he gave the dummy was high quality. It was way too easy to overdose.
He glanced around the cabin and wondered if his parents had spent time with him here. He remembered nothing about them and finding his brother had been no help at all. It pissed him off that his own flesh and blood refused to help him when he asked. Goes to show that blood is not thicker than water. Then he was saddled with that whiney bitch for far too long and it was like a halleluiah moment when she kicked him out. If she knew everything, she’d be devastated.
The only thing was, he couldn’t cut ties completely until he had the papers in that fucking box. They were what he needed to get the money that was due to him, and with his brother no longer in the picture, and nobody really knowing about him, all that money was his. He just couldn’t figure out how to get the box and the key back.
First, he had to get rid of the body before it started stinking up the place. He could dump it next to that old trailer, but when he’d gone by there earlier, the place was crawling with cops. They probably found what he’d left inside by now, so he knew it was only a matter of time before they figured things out. He jumped up, grabbed the old blanket off the back of the couch and spread it on the floor in front of the couch. He rolled Tucker onto the blanket and wrapped him as best he could by himself. The guy was not big, but the dead weight was heavier than he expected. He grabbed Tucker’s feet and dragged him out through the door of the cabin. He didn’t want to alert the cops by driving by them with his truck, so he dragged the body into the dense trees as far away from the cabin as he could get it. He also wanted to keep it far away from the old trailer so the cops wouldn’t notice it. He hurried back to the cabin and grabbed a shovel out of his truck, and then he made his way back to the body. He covered it with snow and hoped it was good enough to keep anyone from finding it. He felt a little guilty for tossing his friend aside like garbage, but he really didn’t have time to feel guilty. Maybe when he got his money he’d come back and give Tucker a proper burial.
Back at the cabin he grabbed a beer out of the fridge and chugged half of the bottle before he took it from his lips. Now he needed another way to get the box from that bitch. She was ruining his life even when she wasn’t in it anymore. How anyone could love her was beyond him. Getting close to her was going to be impossible because her overgrown father, that do good boyfriend of hers, and his brothers were watching her twenty-four hours a day. Plus, there was that big guy who looked as if he could bench press a truck. There had to be a way. He wasn’t taking the kid again. Not only would they have him in lockdown, he couldn’t stand the constant whining and crying again. Being a father was not for him, and the kid was never going to get to know his real father.
He lay back on the couch and closed his eyes until he remembered not an hour ago Tucker lay dead on the same couch. He jumped up and plopped down in the armchair across from the couch. He’d be tossing that in the back of the truck and dropping it at the dump.
With his eyes closed, he searched his thoughts for an idea to get what was due him. Then it hit him and a grin formed on his face because nobody would ever suspect him to be so bold. He was going to get what belonged to him no matter what.
*************************
James tossed his phone on the desk after ending yet another call to the lab to see if they’d made any headway on the identity of the remains found in the trailer. Three days later and they were still working on it. Plus, forensics was still sifting through all the garbage they’d found inside and outside the trailer. He knew all of it had something to do with Marc, and he didn’t need to be told Marc was the reason the John Doe in the trailer was dead. The thought of that man married to Marina sent a chill up his spine.
He hadn’t really wanted to return to work, but Marina had insisted plus Keith and Bull wouldn’t let anyone near her or Danny. However, he wasn’t so relaxed about the staff meeting she’d be attending that afternoon. It was really the first time he’d argued with Marina since they’d been together and it wasn’t pretty. He smiled as he remembered.
“Tell your boss you’re not going because there is no way in hell I’m letting you leave this house.” James rested his hands on the desk and stared down at her.
Marina slowly pushed herself away from the desk and stood up. James stood up to his full height and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re not letting me leave the house?” she said slowly as if she wanted to make sure she pronounced every word correctly. Then as if she was making sure she knew what the words meant, she repeated it. “You. Are. Not. Letting. Me.” She pronounced each word.
“No. You’re staying here until we find Marc.” When she narrowed her eyes and slowly walked around the desk, James backed up to keep her at arms’ length because the look in her eyes was kind of scary.
“James, thank you for caring but I�
�m going to say this once, and once only. Nobody is ever going to tell me what I can or can’t do ever again. This is my job and I’ve got to go to this meeting. You aren’t going to stop me from going, Keith is not going to stop me from going and even that overgrown ape, Bull isn’t going to stop me. I’m not going to be bossed around by anyone. Ever. Again. You got that?”
He stood with his back against the wall while she poked him in the chest the same way she’d poked Kurt a few nights before. He decided at that moment to keep his mouth shut. She reminded him of his grandmother when she went on a rant. It was funny, yet it made him proud that she had the strength to stand up for what she wanted.
“Keith is sending Bull with Marina to her staff meeting. Trunk is at the house with Danny and Mason.” James shook himself out of his thoughts and looked up to see Nick leaning his hip against the desk.
“Yeah, I know. Mason was so excited because he had no school today and was going to get to spend the day with Superman.” James chuckled. “What are you doing here at the station?”
“After everything that’s been going on over the past few years, first with Stephanie and now with Marina, I’ve decided being a lawyer for scumbags is just not what I should be doing with my life.”
“Honestly, I could never get my head around you as a lawyer.” James always saw Nick as a doctor, fireman or even a police officer. Nick never seemed the suit and tie kind of guy.
“Yeah, well it took working with corporate assholes to make me realize the same thing. So I just spoke to Uncle Kurt and filled out the application for the academy.” Nick grinned.
“Holy fuck, another O’Connor on the force. We’re being invaded.” The voice of Rick Avery came from the other side of the office.
“Well I think I’ll be the last of them for a while.” Nick chuckled. “Well until Mason is older anyway.”
“If you’re half the cop your brothers and uncle are, we’re lucky to have you.” Rick slapped Nick on the back as he walked up to the desk.
“Just stay away from my little sister.” Rick narrowed his eyes and grinned.
Dangerous Abduction (O'Connor Brothers Book 2) Page 22
