Hard as Stone (Passion in Paradise: The Men of the McKinnnon Sisters)

by Sarah O'Rourke

  Honor’s breaths were choppy as she continued. “Something touched my neck. It hurt,” she noted distantly, one hand lifting to touch the area where Harmony and the others knew that the prongs of a stun gun had burned her flesh.

  “That was a stun gun, Baby Girl,” Patience explained, filling in the blanks for Honor. “The police said that was how they immobilized you when you were taken.”

  “Oh,” Honor murmured weakly, rubbing the spot where two faint scars remained. “I guess that makes a weird kind of sense. I was out of it, but I remember being lifted. They must have dumped me in the trunk. I remember the smell of gas and motor oil, but I kept my eyes shut. I should have looked for a way out, but I was so scared. I just closed my eyes and prayed that I’d wake up. I thought maybe I was dreaming, you know? When I opened my eyes, I thought I’d be home safe in my bed.”

  Harmony felt tears strangling her, but managed to nod. “I think that’s probably a natural reaction. I used to do it when Tanner beat me. I’d close my eyes and wait to wake up back in my bed in Momma and Daddy’s house.”

  “That’s what I did, too.” Honor’s wide eyes stared up at Harmony’s face. “It didn’t work,” she whispered. Sniffling, she continued, “It was a bumpy road, but I guess I must have passed out. When I opened my eyes…” She tensed in the bed and seemed to shrink into herself. “It was bad when I woke up. So bad.”

  “I know it was awful, Honor, but you’ve got to remember that it’s over now,” Harmony stressed.

  “There were more than the two men that Zeke and the police found,” Honor whispered. “I swear I didn’t remember it until today. I didn’t even really remember the two. I just remember hands and legs and hurting, but when….when this one guy grabbed me, it was like a curtain lifted and no matter how hard I tried not to look behind the curtain, I couldn’t avoid seeing.”

  “Honor, that’s okay. You needed to see, honey. Who was behind that curtain? Do you know who hurt you?”

  “Only one,” she whispered. “But I didn’t know it until this afternoon. I mean, I know about the two that Ezekiel found because you told me about them… that they were gone and couldn’t hurt me anymore,” she choked, revulsion filling her pretty face. “But the others…If I’d known, I’d have told you. I swear I would have,” she said desperately, rolling in the bed to clutch Harmony’s arm.

  “I believe you,” Harmony assured her steadily, holding Honor’s tearful gaze. “I do. One of those men… one was my ex-husband, wasn’t it, baby? Tanner was one of the men who raped you.”

  “I don’t want you to hurt, Harmony. You’ve hurt enough,” Honor whispered painfully, her cloudy eyes filled with so much agony that it hurt to look at her.

  “You didn’t hurt me, Honor. He did,” Harmony replied huskily, lifting a hand to cradle her sister’s face. “Now, tell me.”

  “Yes.”

  It was the one word that confirmed all her worst fears. Yes, she’d suspected from the moment she’d watched Tanner approach Honor that afternoon, but knowing it was a fact -- a cold, unchangeable certainty – that knowledge turned her blood to ice. “I’m so sorry,” Harmony apologized on a choked sob as Honor launched herself against Harmony’s chest, burying her face as shudders wracked her tiny body. “This is my fault. I brought him into our family,” Harmony whispered as she felt Patience wrap her arms around both of them. “I did this to us.”

  “Nobody did this to us but those monsters that hurt our sister,” Faith gasped through her tears as she crawled up the bed to Honor’s other side. “It isn’t any of our faults except theirs.”

  Harmony knew otherwise, and no amount of pretty words from her sisters was going to change it. The guilt was crippling, a weight on her heart she wasn’t sure she’d be able to withstand. Hearing scuffling noises in the hallway, she knew that they had to get the whole story from Honor. She drew in a deep breath and attempted to stop the tears that were refusing to abate. “How many men were there, Peanut?” she asked quietly.

  “Five,” Honor answered, her voice small and scared. “There were five of them. Big. Scary. They wore masks over their faces and every one of them smelled like stale beer and cigarettes. The things they did to me…. Oh, my God!” she gasped, tightening her arms around Harmony as the memories became real once again. “Th-three of them put on c-condoms, but the other two didn’t. And one of them, he kept shying away from me – like he didn’t wanna be there. It was like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hurt me, but the others, they goaded him… called him names until finally he…. He hurt me, too, but he kept whispering in my ear. He kept saying, ‘I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!’”

  Honor shook in her arms and all Harmony could do was hold on to her. One by one, she told them about each assault. She closed her eyes when Honor started talking about the last one.”

  “I knew the final one was Tanner because he whispered in my ear that I tasted like a peach. He liked that I was innocent. I knew his voice,” Honor said woodenly, her voice almost gone and barely a whisper. “But I was really sure it was him because he’s the only one I saw. I fought. I struggled against each one of them, but they all took turns holding me down.” Her sobs echoed throughout the otherwise quiet room once again. “One of them lost his grip on one of my arms while Tanner was on top of me. I hit him and my ring snagged on his mask and pulled it off his face. I made that scar when my nails got his face. I saw him, Harmony! I saw him and he was laughing,” she shrieked in a whisper, her thin voice ragged with unspeakable pain.

  Every woman in the room was openly crying by the time of that admission. Rocking Honor in her arms just the way she did when Heaven was hurting, Harmony felt the hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

  Honor clutched at Harmony’s shirt, her fingers clawed into the fabric as her knees drew up against her stomach. “A-after they were done, I heard Tanner say that they had to get rid of me. That I’d seen his face and couldn’t live. He tossed a knife toward one of them and told them to have fun. I remember one of them stomping toward me and that knife swinging down. I heard the one that had seemed not to want to hurt me yelling, but the other two held him back. I felt the knife go into me, then, nothing else…not until I heard Cain yelling my name as they lowered him down that sinkhole where they dumped me.” Her voice faltered, and she sighed hard as she pressed her nose against her sister. “Everything is foggy from there on out. I don’t wanna ‘member anything else, okay? I don’t wanna, please? I’m done now!”

  Honor’s voice sounded so childlike that it reminded her of Heaven, and the mother in Harmony responded. “Shhhh…baby, you’re done. You don’t have to talk anymore. I’m so proud of you, Honor. You did good, sweetie. You survived. You survived for us, and that’s all that matters.”

  “Didn’t wanna,” Honor mumbled into Harmony’s chest, shaking her head. “Didn’t wanna live.”

  “But you did!” Harmony returned fiercely. “You did because you matter to so many people that love you.”

  “They broke me.”

  “No,” Harmony denied firmly, squeezing Honor in her arms. “They didn’t. They injured your spirit and hurt your body, but they did not break you. You were stronger than they were. You defied them all, Honor, and lived. That means you won that fight.”

  “This doesn’t feel like winning.” Honor breathed raggedly, holding onto her sister. “Not even a little bit.”

  Feeling someone nudge her shoulder, Harmony turned her head to see Aunt Orla holding out a pill and a cup of water.

  “Cain said she could have another one. It’ll help her get some rest,” the old woman whispered.

  Nodding, Harmony took the pill between her thumb and index finger. Turning back to Honor, she shifted her sister against her. “Peanut, take your medicine,” she ordered gently. And unlike her earlier anger at being secretly medicated, this time Honor accepted the pill and the relief she knew it would provide almost eagerly, popping it between her lips and taking the glass of water Aunt Orla held in front of her face. Easing her baby
sister back to the pillows, Harmony curled around one side of her body as Faith did the same on the opposite side of the bed.

  The sisters all sat in silence as Honor slowly grew sleepier, her breathing growing more even in the stillness of the room. Watching as her wet eyelashes, still spiked with tears, fluttered against her pale cheeks, Harmony released the breath she was holding as her sister slipped from wakefulness to slumber.

  Distantly, everyone in the room heard the door creak as Zeke pushed it open and filled the doorway, Jake and Ice standing on either side of him. Biting her lip as his tortured gaze locked with hers, Harmony’s chin trembled as his eyes moved to Honor’s still, wan face. She saw her sister exactly as Zeke did – dressed in a simple floral print gown, she looked like a fragile doll, her blond hair fanned against the ivory pillowcase with her hands curled on either side of her head. The image alone was enough to make the most jaded soul want to weep.

  Choking back a sob as she heard Zeke make a broken sound low in his throat, she watched him spin on his heel and stomp down the hallway. She could hear footsteps following him and knew that the men had followed him out of the house.

  “Alright, girls,” Aunt Orla said after a tense moment of complete silence. “You all need some air,” she remarked sternly, taking in each shattered face around Honor. “Go, take some time and deal with all you’ve heard. Tomorrow, Honor will need her sisters’ strength.”

  “I don’t want to leave her,” Faith argued in a whisper, her eyes shifting from Honor to Orla.

  “Me either,” Patience added on a husky murmur.

  Taking a deep breath, Harmony cleared her throat softly. “Aunt Orla is right,” she said softly. “We’ll take turns sitting with her tonight, okay?”

  “And I’m going first,” Aunt Orla declared firmly. “Go on.” She jerked her head toward the open door. “Eventually Zeke will settle and he’ll want his time in here. Y’all need to go get yourselves calmed down. I’ll take care of your sister.”

  Slowly, each of the girls acquiesced to Orla’s demand. Rising carefully from the bed, she followed Patience and Faith out the door and down the hallway to the living room. Faith walked straight into Cain’s arms; Harmony envied her that tight embrace.

  “Jake’s outside with Zeke,” Cain shared quietly, staring at Harmony over Faith’s head as he held the crying woman against his chest. “Ice is, too. Slade left. He needed…he needed a break.”

  “Me, too. I need air. And tequila,” Patience declared, her voice tight as she went into the kitchen and grabbed her bottle of Jose Cuervo from the counter before hurtling toward the back door, Abel close on her heels.

  Burying both her hands in her hair, Harmony dug her nails into her scalp as she turned blindly toward the stairs. She needed a minute… somewhere quiet to still the screaming voices in her head. And mindlessly, she moved toward her daughter’s room.

  Chapter Forty-one

  An hour later, Jacob Stone quietly climbed the stairs of the McKinnon house, carefully making as little noise as possible. Pausing to peek inside what Faith had told him was Harmony’s bedroom, a quick scan of the room confirmed it was empty. He’d known the chances of finding her inside were slim, but he figured he’d try there first. Moving to the next door in the hallway, he opened Heaven’s bedroom door.

  His eyes adjusted to the darkness easily and he found Harmony sitting on the edge of Heaven’s bed, staring at her daughter silently. She was exactly where he’d thought she’d be. “Harmony,” he murmured softly, keeping his voice low, “You need to get some rest.”

  “Go away, Jake,” she ordered without turning her head. “I don’t want you here.”

  Dropping the small camera he’d carried upstairs with him on the table near the window, he aimed it toward the bed and flipped the switch on, ignoring Harmony’s demand. She could scream, yell and throw things if she wanted. He wouldn’t stop her; God knew, she had enough reasons to be pissed, but what he wouldn’t do was leave them.

  “What are you doing?” Harmony whispered, her eyes following his movements as he adjusted the camera. “Why are you….”

  “I want eyes on Heaven at all times,” he explained quietly. “Zeke put a receptor in your bedroom and downstairs. The deputy will stay outside, but I want to be able to see her at all times. It’s just a precaution, darlin’.”

  “You think Tanner and Diego will come after her, don’t you?” she asked in a whisper, looking back at her daughter and staring at her with worried eyes.

  “I think I’m not taking any unnecessary risks with any of you,” he replied. Crossing the room to stand behind her, he murmured, “We need to talk, darlin’. C’mon. I don’t want to risk waking up the Princess.”

  “I don’t have anything left to say to you right now,” Harmony declared quietly, shaking her head. She couldn’t deal with him tonight. She might not ever be able to deal with him again. After hearing what the last man she’d been involved with had done to one of her family and knowing that Jake had been keeping secrets… big secrets from her already, she didn’t trust her judgment. She needed her space. She needed to think. She needed him to get the hell away from her.

  “So, while I’ve been outside trying to stop Zeke from doing something crazy stupid, you’ve been up here adding bricks to that wall you’ve built around yourself. That’s great,” he noted sarcastically, lifting his eyes to stare at the ceiling. “Great use of your time, Harmony.”

  Harmony’s jaw dropped as she jerked her eyes from her daughter to him. “Are you serious?” she hissed. “You’re actually gonna walk in here and criticize me?”

  “Oh, I’m serious, but I’m also not doin’ this in here,” he growled, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. “We’re talkin’. Either get up and walk out of this room or I can pick you up and carry you out. Take the warning. This isn’t the night to test me.”

  Hopping to her feet, she whirled to glare at him. “How dare you? How dare you barge into my life… into my family and start throwing around demands?”

  Pursing his lips as Heaven shifted restlessly in the bed, Jake wrapped a hand around Harmony’s wrist and jerked her toward the door. “You’re gonna wake Heaven up with this bullshit. You wanna throw a temper tantrum? Fine. But not here,” he rumbled softly, pulling her out of the room and into the hallway. Closing the door behind them, he met her glare with one of his own. “Look, I know it’s been a rough night for you, but….”

  “A rough night?” Harmony echoed incredulously, jerking her wrist from his hand. “A rough night?” she repeated again, shaking her head at him as she took a step backward. “No, Jake, this hasn’t been a rough night. This has been a shit night. In fact, it might rank in the top three shittiest nights of my life. I think it’s only been superseded by the night my sister got taken by my last choice of man and the night that same man beat me nearly to death!”

  Taking a deep breath, Jake closed his eyes and silently counted to ten, reminding himself that all the rage he saw reflected in Harmony’s eyes wasn’t directed entirely at him. Oh, he’d played a part… a big one, but most of this rage was for the man that had come before him. Opening his eyes, he stared at her. “I’m not him, Harmony. I am not Tanner Suarez.”

  Holding up a hand, Harmony shook her head. “Don’t.”

  “I’m not, darlin’,” he stated quietly, taking a step toward her. “I didn’t hurt you. I didn’t hurt your sister. I’m not him. I’ll never be like him. Don’t make me responsible for something he did.”

  “Stop it!” Harmony took another stumbling step backward. “You have more in common with him than you think. It started with lies from him, too! And since the last man I dragged into my family’s life did nothing but do his level best to wreck it, I’m not anxious to repeat the experience. We’re not going to work, Jake. I’ve thought about it and decided that no matter how good your intentions were for telling your lies, they were still lies.”

  “Didn’t lie to you, Harmony. I didn’t tell you things, but I didn�
�t lie,” Jake stated, his voice low, but firm as he kept his eyes glued on Harmony’s flushed face. He knew he was restating what he’d said a dozen times since he’d told her who he was, but he hoped one of these times the truth would sink in and she’d actually hear what he was saying.

  “Fine, not lies then. Omissions,” she sneered. “You do realize that a sin of omission is still a sin, right, Jake? It’s also just another fancy word for lie. I’m not going back there again. I’m not going to bury my head in the sand and hope for the best this time. I’m not going to chance bringing another bastard into this family that could hurt any of those people I love. I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life than risk hurting my family with another lousy choice of man. I’m done. You can stay tonight because I have no idea what Zeke and the rest of the boys will wanna do, but in the morning, I want you gone. Stay away from my daughter. Stay away from my family. And stay far, far away from me!” Her hand sliced through the air in a gesture of finality before whirling and disappearing into the upstairs bathroom.

  He moved on instinct, catching the bathroom door before she could slam it in his face. “You think I’m gonna make it that easy on you?” he asked quietly as he moved inside the room, crowding her back against the tub as he shut the door behind him. “Do I look the type of man that intimidates that easy to you? You think you can hurl some ugly words at me and I’ll just put my tail between my legs and run?”

  “Get out!” she yelled, jabbing a finger toward the door.

  “No.” He didn’t shout or growl. He didn’t slam his fist through a wall or move toward her in any way. Instead, he just leaned against the closed door and crossed his arms.

  “Why? Why are you making this so hard?” she asked, her voice finally cracking as a sob crawled up her throat. “Why won’t you just go? You’ve done what you came here to do. Evidently the DEA is well on its way to catching your sister’s killer, and you know that my family isn’t involved with the cartel. You can go now. Let your colleagues and Zeke’s department handle this. Leave my family alone. Leave me alone.”