A Little Harmless Fantasy

by Melissa Schroeder

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zeke tied the back of Maura’s hospital gown for her then helped her sit on the bed. His fingers were shaking from the anger he was trying to suppress.

  “I told you I didn’t need to see a doctor,” Maura said for the fifth time in as many minutes.

  “And apparently, I’m ignoring you.”

  She gave him an irritated look and he realized he had snapped at her. It was the best he could do. He glanced at their lover and as he had been since they talked to the mall cops, Rory said nothing. He stood as a guard by the door, stoic as he had been since they got to Queen’s Medical Center. Zeke knew that he was blaming himself for what happened. It wasn’t their fault, but he did understand why Rory felt that way. Maura was a tough woman, but the thought that someone had attacked her so brazenly in the middle of the day in a crowded mall was alarming.

  The door opened and Rome Carino walked in. Rory went on alert. It was easy to see why he would be. Rome Carino reeked of deadly force. Even when he wasn’t on the job as an HPD homicide detective he looked ready to kill.

  “Settle down, Rory. Carino’s the guy I called.”

  Rory nodded and stepped back. Carino’s lips twitched. “I take it you don’t need protection for Maura.”

  “Maura can speak for herself, thank you very much,” Maura said from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to find her glaring at all of them. She probably would have crossed her arms but the doctor put her right arm in a sling.

  “Of course,” Carino murmured as he stepped forward. “You want to tell me what happened?”

  She gave the detective a narrowed look. Zeke could almost hear her mind working.

  “The HPD sent a highly decorated detective to investigate a simple assault?”

  “I recognized the name.” There was a beat of silence. “So, tell me what happened.”

  Maura told her story again, her voice no longer wavering when she went over the details. As long as he lived, Zeke knew he wouldn’t forget the sight of her rushing towards them, her glasses askew and terror in her eyes. He had never felt so hopeless before in his life.

  She told the story in the same calm tone she had been using since she’d seen the doctor.

  When she was finished, Carino studied her. “It seems quite brutal for someone you don’t know.”

  His accusatory tone ruffled Zeke’s feathers and he knew for sure Carino was pissing Maura off. Of course, she didn’t rise to the bait.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Rome. The truth is I don’t know the man. He wasn’t even familiar to me by scent.”

  That brought Carino up short. “Explain.”

  Rory shifted his feet and Zeke gave him a warning glance. A Dom like Rory wasn’t going to take a man questioning Maura that way.

  “I have a very good sense of smell. I can sometimes tell who a person is if I know what cologne he or she wears, and a basic human scent. It’s freaky, but I have always been that way. This guy, I did not know, at least not well. He smelled off, like he had been living on the streets. His breath, well I don’t even want to go there, if you get my drift.”

  “How tall was he?” She opened her mouth but Carino stopped her. “Think back to when he was behind you. Did he seem shorter than you as he stood behind you? Taller?”

  She nodded, sighed and closed her eyes. “I was wearing flip-flops so I was practically barefoot. I think he was probably close to my height, maybe a half an inch taller. So, five ten possibly. No taller.” She opened her eyes.

  “Bastard broke my glasses. It’s a good thing I have another pair with me.”

  “And he said nothing else?”

  “No. But his accent was Irish, I am pretty sure of it. More like Rory’s, who is from Belfast, so it was definitely from Northern Ireland.”

  “You said you didn’t hear it at first.”

  She had already been arguing with both Rory and Zeke about it since they had pulled her out of the mall. Zeke thought maybe she had confused the accent because she had been traumatized. She was hiding it, keeping herself together, but he knew it had sent her over the edge.

  “Okay.”

  “Any luck on the security cameras at the mall?” Rory asked. It was the first words he had spoken in more than half an hour.

  Carino turned back to both of them. “The security cameras were tampered with. Nothing.”

  “Fuck,” Rory said.

  “Exactly,” Carino said. “It can only mean that he had been stalking her.”

  “Excuse me. ‘Her’ would like to speak right now.”

  Carino’s lips twitched again and he turned to face Maura. “What does that mean?”

  “It means there is a good chance he was stalking you.”

  “Me?” she shook her head. “I don’t think so. He mentioned both of you.”

  “Is there anyone who would like to cause you harm?”

  “No. Other than Susan Vincent from college.”

  “What?”

  “Susan Vincent from college. She was mean to me so I replaced her shampoo with Nair.”

  For a second there was stunned silence in the hospital room.

  “Jesus, Joseph and Mary, I don’t think Susan Vincent is after you in a mall in Hawaii.”

  She shrugged. “She was one mean bitch. She was Miss Georgia and you know how those types are.”

  “This has to do with the Peterson case. Damn, I hate to admit Conner might be right,” Zeke said.

  Rory nodded and Carino asked, “Peterson case?”

  “We helped nab someone who was in tight with the Mexican Mafia and my brother and these two goofballs actually think we are a mark for them. First, it doesn’t make sense because my name isn’t in any of the information. And, if so, it would be the company and Conner or Zeke at risk.”

  Carino looked at first Rory then Zeke. He read the answer in his eyes.

  “What?”

  The detective sighed. “The truth is you might be collateral damage right now. They might use you to get to them.”

  “I think you are blowing this out of proportion.”

  “For fuck’s sake you were attacked. You need to take it seriously.”

  The words burst out of Rory. Zeke knew he had been barely keeping it together since they had left the mall. His anger wasn’t truly for Maura. Just like Zeke, Rory felt helpless, and for both of them, it was beyond what they wanted to handle.

  She frowned. “I know the attack is serious. And I might be collateral damage, but not for that. He specifically mentioned you two. Not Conner, who I would think he would mention first before Zeke because he’s my brother.”

  “That makes sense. I take it the relationship you are in hasn’t been a long standing one?” Carino asked.

  “What?” Maura asked apparently stunned by Carino’s blunt question.

  “The three of you. You haven’t been together long have you?”

  She shook her head. “Rory and Zeke have been though. They’ve known each other for years.”

  Before Carino could say anything else, the door swung open, hitting Rory in the back. He turned, ready to pounce on the intruder, but since it was Conner, he backed down.

  Conner rushed to her side. “What the hell happened?”

  “Way to show the great bedside manner, Con,” Jillian said. She wasn’t smiling though. Her face was unusually serious. “How you doing, kid?”

  She sat on the bed next to Maura.

  “I would be fine if everyone would listen to me.”

  “I knew something with the Peterson case would come back to bite us in the ass,” Conner said.

  “I don’t think it was a good idea to come here. We should have stayed in Miami,” Zeke said.

  Conner shook his head. “I’m not sure it would matter.”

  “Will you idiots listen to me? This was not anyone related to a Mexican drug lord. This was plain and simple an Irishman.”

  Conner looked at the two of them. Zeke shrugged and Rory did nothing. “Explain.”


  Even though it was the same word and attitude from earlier from Carino, Rory didn’t rise to the bait, thank god. They didn’t need to deal with this and Conner finding out what was going on with the three of them.

  “He had an Irish accent.”

  “You said at first it wasn’t. It was American,” Zeke said.

  “Then later it was Irish. After he got hurt.”

  “How did that happen?” Conner asked.

  “I kicked him in the shins then head butted him.”

  “Good girl,” he said and kissed her bandaged forehead.

  “Maura, can you be sure? You have a slight concussion according to the doctor. You might have thought you heard it because you’ve been spending so much time with us.”

  “I know what I heard. He was Irish.” She stuck her lip out, but it wasn’t a pout. This was stubborn Maura.

  “Where are your glasses?”

  She blew out an irritated breath. “They were broken in the attack.”

  “Well, Zeke can bring them by the house. You’re staying with us for the rest of your time here.”

  “The hell she is,” Rory said. Zeke rolled his eyes and knew now there would be no way of avoiding Conner finding out. It didn’t really matter. They were going to have to face it at some point.

  “What?”

  “I said she’s staying with us,” Rory said, his voice turning dangerously soft.

  “You didn’t do a great job watching her before. I think I would do a better job.”

  “Quit talking about me as if I’m an idiot. I can take care of myself.”

  “The hell you can,” both Rory and Conner said at the same time.

  “I might want to remind you that the man was dragging me out of the mall and I got away. I didn’t need any help.”

  “You were attacked. You should have been more aware of the situation.”

  She opened her mouth but Carino stepped in. “Looking at the scene through pictures, I would say that Maura did everything she should have done. I doubt any of us would have been aware of what the guy was up to. He turned off the lights.”

  “Yes, it was much darker when I stepped out of the bathroom.” Maura’s voice turned smug.

  “That doesn’t mean that you should not be particularly careful. If this trial has something to do with it, you need more protection.”

  Conner glanced at Zeke. “I think she should come home with us.”

  “No bloody way,” Rory said, grounding out every word.

  Conner looked from Rory to Zeke then back to Rory. Zeke knew the moment Conner realized what was going on. His eyes turned cold, colder than he had ever seen his friend turn.

  “We will talk about this.”

  Zeke nodded.

  “I need to call a few friends of mine and my wife’s to see if she knows what’s going on with this Peterson thing,” the detective said.

  Conner turned his attention away from Zeke to focus on Carino. “I’ll help. I have a few connections still and I’ll have Jennifer call around too. She just left and she had ties to the Secret Service through a family member. She might be able to find out just where they are in the negotiations. I know they were trying their best to get him to turn state’s evidence.”

  Before anyone could say anything else, the doctor stepped in. “Well, this room is just a little too crowded. Everyone out.”

  Conner opened his mouth at the same time that Rory and Zeke did, but Maura stopped them. “Do you mind if my friend Jillian stays here?”

  The doctor smiled. “Of course not. That means all the men need to hit the road.”

  Zeke wanted to kiss her but from the look on Conner’s face he thought it would be best that he didn’t. They filed out into the hall.

  “As I said, we’ll talk about it,” Conner said.

  Rory stepped in. “Not that it is any your blood fucking business, but if you discuss this, I want to be there when it happens.”

  Conner’s phone rang. “Jennifer calling me back.”

  Zeke watched him walk down the hall to speak.

  “Do you think he’s going to cause us problems?” Rory asked.

  “He’ll try. He’s always been too protective when it comes to Maura.”

  “No more dizziness?” Doctor Akako asked.

  “Nope, just tired. I know that’s from some of the pain meds.”

  She nodded. “You won’t be alone tonight?”

  Jillian snorted but said nothing thankfully.

  “No.”

  “I figured those two Alphas who shot me threatening looks every time you drew in a breath would be hanging around for awhile.”

  “When can I travel?” Maura asked. She wanted to leave, to get away from there.

  She ignored Jillian’s stare. Maura had decided during all of the mess that she wanted to go back to Miami as soon as possible.

  “I would say at least a few days. You should spend most of your time resting. Traveling would not be good.”

  “We have a company jet with a bed. I can sleep my way back to Miami.”

  The doctor sighed. “Okay, but maybe wait a day.”

  She nodded.

  “I’m going to get the nurse to get the paperwork ready for you.”

  When they were left alone, Maura said, “Stop staring at me and being quiet. You’re freaking me out.”

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah. It hurts, but I think I gave him a few nice bruises too.”

  “The guys were a mess when they called. I’m surprised it took Conner this long to figure it out, but then he was holding out hope that you were still a virgin.”

  Maura smiled then winced.

  “Oh, sorry,” Jillian said.

  “How pissed do you think he’s going to be?”

  Maura didn’t have to say who she was talking about.

  “It’s hard, hun. He sees you like a father would and knowing that you are having some hot freaky sex with two men is going to be hard for him to take. He still sees you as the teenager he raised.”

  She nodded.

  “You’re not having any issues here?”

  Maura looked up and around the room. Jillian was the only person who really understood the way she felt about hospitals. She hadn’t had a true panic attack for years. “I’m doing okay. I think because I was out of it when I came in I didn’t freak out. Plus, I’ve been concentrating on getting those two Neanderthals to listen to me. Why does everyone think this is Peterson? They don’t know where we are. We aren’t even mentioned in anything in the case, mainly because the FBI didn’t want to drag us into it.”

  Jillian laughed. “Oh, honey, they did. Your brother threatened a few people to make sure that none of you were. I have a feeling he has some dirt on some people at Quantico and he made sure they knew it would come to light if they ever pulled you into the case.”

  She sighed. “I have to admit, when he does stuff like that, I love him. Now my personal life, I have a feeling this is not going to go over well.”

  “He’ll live with it. He doesn’t want to see you get hurt. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “I’m not sure that’s possible.”

  “Maura, have you talked about what’s going to happen when you get back?”

  She shook her head. “I think we’re all afraid to talk about it. We need to and I was going to push for a discussion but now...I just want to go home.”

  “Conner’s going to want to keep you here.”

  “Well, fat lot of good that did me.”

  Jillian smiled. “You will call me. Don’t hide in the house and pretend nothing is wrong.”

  One of the best and worst things about having your best friend as your sister-in-law is that she knew Maura too well.

  “No. I promise. I don’t think this is Peterson. Even if it were, coming here apparently did not help one bit. They found me—whoever it is. I want to go back to familiar surroundings.”

  The door opened and Conner stepped inside. His fa
ce was pale, his eyes cold. Zeke and Rory followed. They didn’t look much better.

  “We have a problem,” Conner said.

  At first, she thought it was her relationship with the guys but apparently not. “What?”

  “Peterson has disappeared and the FBI doesn’t know where he is.”

  “Didn’t they have protection on him?” Jillian asked as she stood up.

  “They were trying to back him into a corner and since he would not turn on his former bosses, they left him out to dry. They had a car on his house, but sometime during the night, he disappeared.”

  “You mean they think the Mafia got a hold of him?”

  “That’s not the really bad news.”

  “Dammit, Conner just tell me.”

  “The name of the company, your name in particular, came up in some documents.”

  She frowned. “Documents?”

  “Bloody hell, this is painful,” Rory said as he stepped forward. His expression softened as he took her hand. “Love, there were some transcripts of bugged phone conversations. Peterson mentioned you to his lawyer more than once.”

  “Yes. He told his lawyer it was you that brought the FBI in,” Zeke said.

  “What? How did they find that out? There’s the confidentiality thing with the lawyer. That’s against the law.”

  “Not when the lawyer is on the take,” her brother said, his expression turning even darker. “They arrested him a day ago.”

  “What are you saying?” Jillian asked.

  “Maura might have a hit out against her because the FBI is planning on bringing her in to testify.”

  “I want to go home.”

  “We’ll get you out of here as soon as we can, love,” Zeke said as he sat on the bed next to her hip.

  “No. I want to go back to Miami.”

  He shared a look with Conner. “It might be better to stay here.”

  “Fat lot of good that did me. No. I want to be home.”

  She needed her house, the one she felt secure within. Conner opened his mouth to argue but Jillian shook her head. Thank God her best friend at least understood.

  “We can wait until tomorrow, but I want to go home, be in my house. The doctor said since I had a private jet where I could recline she was okay with it.” She looked at Rory and Zeke. “You can stay if you want, but I’m going home.”