by Jolie Day
Sometimes she cried, and Jack would hand her a tissue without comment from his seemingly unending supply, and ignore her tears. In the evening, she was so exhausted that she fell into bed, and for the first time in years, slept through until morning.
Every now and then Abby wondered if the feeling of security, which was slowly growing inside her, actually had something to do with Jack’s presence. Her father had refrained from comment when she had told him that Jack was living in the guest room and left the two of them mostly to themselves.
At the end of the third day he had asked Jack if he would stay, and had signed a generous check over to him. When Jack was still there on the fourth evening, Simon Beauchamp smiled, satisfied, and said only that Abigail seemed different to him.
On the fifth day, Abigail woke up and noticed that she was looking forward to spending the day with Jack. No matter how exhausting the time they spent together was – the work that Jack expected of her was backbreaking – at the end of the day she felt like she had accomplished something. Small steps, the therapist had warned her.
Together with Jack, she could take giant steps.
The plan he had suggested, or rather: the plan he had thought of and in which she now had a part, was not without its dangers. But instead of sitting at home and watching the world from her window, she was finally part of the action again. Abby enjoyed the feeling of becoming more active and doing something about her fears. Even Jack seemed to relax the more she progressed.
When she went into the mall by herself for the first time in forever, and then came back out after half an hour, he was just as proud as she was. Abby came sauntering to the parking lot with a small bag in her hand, and they fell into each other’s arms. A minute passed, during which he just held her, his nose buried in her red hair. Abby’s face was pressed against his broad chest, and she could feel his regular, calming heartbeat under his hard muscles. Memories of the moment, when his lips and hers and touched, sent more than warmth through her body. When she realized that she was snuggling up to him, she jerked back out of his arms. His squinted at her for a second, but the awkward moment between the two of them dissipated.
Abigail acted as if nothing had happened, while Jack was quieter than usual for the rest of the afternoon.
At home, they sat down at the kitchen table. “Tonight is the night,” he said and waved the letter in front of her nose. A new threat had arrived in the mail. This time, the author was almost eloquent in his threats. After having spent a few days in a row with Jack, Abby could tell he was tense in the way he tilted his head back and rolled his shoulders. “Do you think you can do it?”
I am scared,” she replied. “But I can do it. Don’t worry. My cell phone is charged, and I know for whom I need to be on the lookout.” She couldn’t stop a shiver from going down her spine. Jack thought they needed to draw him – whoever he was – out of his shell. “It must have something to do with the death of one of the men who attacked you,” he said. “I am betting it is one of his friends who were there that night and are out for revenge now. I just wonder how they found you.”
Abigail gave him a quick smile. “All they had to do was look at one of my father’s election posters to recognize me,” she answered. “I am pictured next to my father in a few of them. They would have seen my face when they came back with the attacker.” She frowned. “I still wonder how you managed to deal with four men at the same time. When the police arrived, were all of them out of commission?”
“I was a soldier, Abby, and trained in hand-to-hand combat. In the parking lot… that was something completely different than war.” He lowered his voice. “Everyone knows what to expect in war. But when I saw you there, lying scared and injured on the ground, I lost it. I can’t put it any other way.” He looked at her somberly. “I am not sorry that I helped you. I have never regretted it for a second, and would do it all over again. But I should have reined myself in. I could have disabled them without fatally injuring one of them. I can’t forgive myself for that part.”
“Jack… I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there, and for that I am grateful to you.”
The wry look he gave Abby hit her at her very core.
“Grateful is the wrong word,” she admitted. I have never felt as safe as I have in the last few days. I would give anything to make things up to you.”
Carefully, she reached for his hand. His skin was soft, but she could feel the callouses on his palms. “I like you a lot, Jack. More than that.” The heat she felt was from embarrassment. Her heart palpitations, too. Right?
Two heart beats passed. Then his lips met hers. It was bittersweet, the kiss, full of memories and everything that remained unsaid. Yet Abby felt an unbelievable tenderness in the way his lips slid over hers, full of promise. The joy that swept through her made her knees go soft. As if on their own, her hands went up to his face, brushing up his cheeks into his soft hair. The second his lips let go of hers, she already missed their warmth. His blue eyes sparkled mischievously, and he held out his hand to her. Abby took it, and followed him willingly, as he pulled her towards him and put her on his lap, her legs spread. His hands went slowly up and down her back.
Abby put her hands on his shoulders. Her breath came faster, and she enjoyed the prickling that was slowly spreading through her belly. With a questioning look, Jack let his hands wander to the front. He started to unbutton her blouse. Every open button was followed by caressing her skin, first with his lips and then with his tongue, until he pushed the thin fabric from her shoulders.
She froze instinctively. Jack, feeling her unease, asked if he should stop. At first, Abby wasn’t sure what she wanted. A thousand thoughts in her head mixed with her growing lust. He was the man she had deserted, and now her bodyguard. Her father’s employee.
And then she realized that she didn’t care.
Instead of an answer, she put her hands on his chest and leaned in. He lowered his head to the black lace on her bra, and began to nibble on her nipples.
“So sweet,” he whispered hoarsely and sucked on the nubs. Abby moaned and threw her head back. She was wet, and her clit started to throb with expectant arousal. He held her back with his left hand while she pushed her pelvis against him. He was hard and ready. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him! Knowing that Jack desired her gave her confidence. Boldly, at least for her, her fingers played with the zipper of his jeans.
Jack’s hands, which seemed so familiar to her, pushed her skirt up. His eyes encouraged her to keep going. He raised his hips, to make it easier for her to pull his annoying clothing off of him, and in a small corner of her brain, Abby wondered how strong he must be to lift her up, too. She drew a sharp breath when she saw his erect manhood. He was … big. Suddenly, her heart was beating much too fast, and her breath caught. Was this lust, or fear? She swallowed. It had been so long since she had been with a man that she couldn't even remember the first time with a man at all. She got dizzy.
Jack pulled her into his arms. At first Abby thought he wanted to rub his hard manhood against her so he could climax, but then she understood, and it brought tears to her eyes. “Jack,” she whispered, “I am so sorry, I…”
“Psst,” he interrupted and put a finger to her lips. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Abby. Never, as long as I am here.”
His words tipped the scales. His hard cock, which didn’t feel like an obstacle any more now, was warm and alive, like steel shrouded in silky skin. She put her right hand around it and started moving it up and down.
Jack’s fingers found their way into her panties. When he touched her clit, it was almost too much for her overstimulated senses. She drew in a sharp breath and when he wanted to stop, she wouldn’t let him.
“Don’t stop, Jack. Please!”
Her feet found the floor while he rubbed her clit with regular strokes. She stood up and reached for his manhood. Jack pushed her panties to the side and hel
ped her by spreading her wet labia a little. Then his hands directed her slowly, unbearably slowly, back onto his lap.
For a moment, it took her breath away. Again, Jack looked at her, searching. What he saw in her face spread a satisfied smile on his face. Again, his left hand was on her back, brushing away any remaining fear. His right hand found its way to her clit again.
Then her lust chased away any clear thoughts, and her fear disappeared, too.
Chapter 4
Plans for Revenge
Around 11 at night, the time had come. Abby got out of the car she had parked near the Golden Tiger Inn, and looked around. Jack was nowhere in sight, but that was part of the plan. She felt overdressed and vulnerable, and forbid her hands from tugging on the ultra-short mini skirt. The low cut of her blouse and her shiny jewelry ought to be enough to draw attention to herself. Jack’s original idea had been for her to make a scene in the bar, as he called it. But even though her confidence was growing, she didn’t think she could do it. Thinking about Jack helped. A lot, actually. Without having to say it out loud, they had agreed to hold back initially, even if it was hard for Abby. Whenever she felt the fear return, she thought of how much Jack had helped her overcome it all. Abby was well aware that Jack might not be with her forever, and that she couldn’t depend on him blindly, but it was a first step. And it felt really good to be alive again.
During his trial, Jack had told her, it had come out that the Golden Tiger was a regular hangout for the attackers. And since, in his mind, only one of the boys could be the attacker, and since they wanted to go on the offensive, they needed to stir things up in the bar a little. Since Abby didn’t dare to approach the guys herself, she needed to draw attention to herself in another way. “I feel like a …,” she complained, but Jack only grinned naughtily.
“You look great, no matter what you’re wearing,” he reassured her. “And anyone who has a little common sense will not think that you are a woman of ill repute. All you need to do is draw attention to yourself and provoke the guy. Don’t forget, I will always be near you.”
This consoled her a little, but didn’t change the fact that she felt uneasy. Do it for Jack, she egged herself on. And do it for yourself! a new voice told her. It sounded suspiciously like her old, confident self. No matter how much she had fallen in love with Jack and depended on him, it was important for her, Abigail Beauchamp, to bring this situation to a close. If everything went as she and Jack imagined, then Jack would be exonerated and she would be able to look at herself in the mirror again without hating herself. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said in the end.
She opened the door with a swing, and went into the smoky bar. Lord, how had she ever stood it in here? With a lofty gaze and upright gait, she strutted to the bar, slammed her purse on the counter and asked for a Caipirinha. For a while, all she had to do was fend off pushy and drunk wannabe admirers, but then the time finally came. The face she would never forget, as long as she lived, leaned over her.
“You had better get out of here, slut,” the man hissed. He was close to thirty, and his former good looks had fallen victim to alcohol. His puffy face and unsteady gaze were those of a drunk. When he spoke, a fine rain of spit hit Abigail’s face. She pulled back instinctively, and grimaced in disgust.
“Get out of here,” she said as harshly as she could. “This is a free country, and I can have my drink wherever I want to. And right now, I want to have it right here.”
At her words, his face, which was already red, turned a shade darker. He balled his fists and raised his arm. His fist hit the counter and spilled her second Caipirinha. But apparently, that wasn’t enough. He grabbed her by the shoulders. “It’s your fault that my Jason is dead,” he screamed in her ear. “If you had just kept still, none of it would have happened. Did you think I wouldn’t recognize your pretty face underneath all that make-up?”
Abby trembled and looked around. Most of the other guests were either staring intensely into their glass, trying not to notice what was happening, or they were openly watching with interest. Where was Jack? At that moment, a woman came up to the bar. She must have been a waitress at the Golden Tiger Inn, because she put a tray with empty glasses on the bar, and then turned to Abby.
“It would probably be best if you left,” she said, and put a hand on the man’s arm. “Sloane, please. It’s useless. Jason is dead, and nothing will ever change that. You can beat her up as often as you like, but that won’t bring him back to life. And you wouldn’t want to go to jail because of someone like her, would you?”
It took a few seconds for her speech to sink into his drunk brain. “I would go to jail for Jason,” he stammered, but backed up a step. Abby inhaled deeply and nodded at the waitress in gratitude. She wore her ample blond hair in an up-do, and unexpectedly, she was hardly wearing any make-up. Her green eyes glowed in her pale face with its sharply protruding cheekbones. “Go freshen up,” she ordered. “You wouldn’t want to go outside looking like that.” She gave Abby a complicated look. “In the meantime, I will make sure this idiot here doesn’t get into any more trouble.”
Abigail got up quickly and threw a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. When she turned around again, she saw the strange way the waitress was looking at the money. Instead of going to the ladies’ room, she went to the door. Something wasn’t right. Jack should have shown up long ago. She ran out to the parking lot as fast as her high heels would allow.
****
She looked around. Still no sign of him. The she saw the drops of blood shimmering in the light from the street lamp. Fear set in like a sour, nasty taste on her tongue, and her throat tightened. Then she saw him. He was slumped against her car, and had lost consciousness. Panicked, she ran to her car, screaming his name. While running, she pulled out her cell phone and called 911. Hastily, she told them where she was and called for an ambulance.
Finally, she reached Jack and fell on her knees next to him. She searched for a pulse desperately. Thank God, he wasn’t dead. But he was bleeding. The head wound looked bad, and when she called his name, he opened his eyes. His eyes were unfocused and swam back and forth without really being able to lock on to her. “Abby,” he moaned and tried to sit up.
“Don’t move, darling. Stay still. The ambulance is on its way. They will be here any minute. Everything will be fine. I love you, Jack.” Abigail didn’t care that she was babbling. All she cared about was that Jack stayed conscious. That was the only thing that mattered.
He opened his eyes with effort and pushed himself up a little. “You need to get out of here,” he groaned in pain.
“Oh no, Jack Sinclair. I am not leaving you. Not again. Stay with me, Jack.” She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a semi upright position. At that moment, a shadow fell over her. Jack gave a choking cry and pushed her over to the side. The baseball bat that the figure behind her had swung hit the asphalt next to Jack and shattered with a terrible sound.
It must have hurt, because the figure held its arm. Then she stepped into the street lamp’s light and Abigail recognized the face of the blond waitress. “Do I have to do everything myself?” she hissed, and gave a signal to the guy behind her. The man from the bar appeared behind her, swaying. He had a knife in his hand, and looked terribly big in the lamp light. He stumbled towards Jack and fell on his knees next to him.
“Do it!” the waitress screamed. “Do it for your best friend. You promised me, Sloane.”
“I can’t,” the big guy whined, but still raised his hand with the knife. Neither of them was paying any attention to Abby, who was desperately searching in her handbag for anything she could use as a weapon. There, a flashlight. Blessed be her father, who insisted that Abby carried the heavy thing with her in case of an emergency.
Then one thing happened after the other.
Blue lights flickered as a police car, closely followed by an ambulance, pulled into the parking lot. With a scream, the woman tore the knife out of the thug’s h
and. Abby literally flew at her, pushed her to the ground and swung at her with the flashlight. Right now, she could understand how Jack must have felt five years ago. Then she heard steps behind her, and felt her arms being pulled behind her. Handcuffs clicked, and the sound filled her with more satisfaction than she would have ever thought possible in her entire life.
She smiled the whole way to the police station.
Epilogue
Jack Sinclair was released from the hospital one week later. Abigail was waiting for him and supported him as they walked to the car.
“I know I have already asked you a hundred times, but how are you?”
“I am fine,” he answered a little disgruntled. “Except for the fact that I just can’t believe what happened.” He smiled to take the bite out of his words, and Abigail’s heart skipped a beat. Oh, how she loved that slightly crooked smile!
“I know it must have been very tough for you that I was the one to take the hellcat out of commission,” she answered. “But let me just say this: I would do it again any day.”
“Even though your father knows everything now, and the newspapers are having a field day with it?”
“He was surprisingly relaxed for a politician,” she retorted. “I think he is just happy that I am myself again.”
“Even though your new self has a record for doing bodily harm?”
“I don’t care,” she said defiantly. “Dad will have to live with it. At least we managed to get a new trial for you. Man, that guy must have sung like a lark,” she said, consciously being flippant. “Seriously, I am happy that we survived the whole thing. Even if the detective wasn’t exactly thrilled that we took the law into our own hands.” She thought back to the policeman’s lecture with a shiver. Fine, the man had been right, but he had given the word yelling a completely new meaning. She had felt like a five-year-old when she was finally allowed to leave the station so she could go straight to the hospital to see Jack.
