Endangered Hearts

by Jolie Cain

  "Yes,” Abby whispered. With Lauren off to the side and out of sight behind the door, Abby unlocked it and eased it open a few inches, just enough to allow her to lean out so Jack could drop a kiss on her mouth. Abby stared up at Jack in an attempt to convey without words that something was going on. She couldn't tell if he suspected anything or not. He just gazed at her in concern.

  Suddenly, without warning, the bedroom window crashed in, and Clay dove into the room, rolling across the floor. When Lauren turned in surprise, the gun wavered in her hand. Immediately, Jack slammed the door back, knocking against Lauren. Then he pushed Abby down and to the side, covering her with his body. Clay rushed Lauren and shoved her back, pinning her against the wall. A gunshot sounded loudly in the room before Clay managed to knock the gun from her hand.

  Lauren fought him like a woman possessed, scratching and clawing at Clay and biting his hand until he cursed aloud. “Goddammit, you crazy bitch!” he shouted, losing all patience. Quickly drawing his arm back, he delivered a hard jab to her jaw, which knocked her unconscious, and she collapsed facedown onto the floor. Clay rolled her over before slapping a pair of handcuffs onto her wrists. He hefted her up and dropped her across the bed, where she lay limp as a rag doll. “Damn, she had some fight in her.” He reached up to feel the long scratch mark that ran down the side of his jaw. Then he turned to Jack and Abby. “Is everybody all right?"

  "I'm okay. Abby? Did she hurt you, angel?” Jack pulled Abby up and wrapped his arms around her so tightly she could hardly breathe. But that was okay. She didn't really care about breathing. After her nightmare with Lauren, all she cared about was being held safely in Jack's embrace.

  Trembling in reaction and crying with relief, she shook her head. Holding onto him, she just kept repeating over and over again, “Thank God. Thank God you came."

  Jack looked down at Lauren where she lay on the bed, her eyes flickering open to stare dully at them. “What the hell were you thinking, Lauren?” She didn't answer, just turned her head away to stare at the wall. His eyes filled with a dangerous light and he took a step toward the bed, but Abby held him back.

  "Please, Jack. Get me out of here.” She didn't know what he planned to do, but she knew she didn't want Jack anywhere near Lauren looking the way he did.

  Jack stopped and looked down at her “All right, baby. We'll go to the other room.” He told her. “Clay, can you handle things in here by yourself?"

  Clay nodded, “I'll use the short-wave to call the sheriff. Lauren isn't going anywhere."

  "Thanks, man. For everything."

  Clay just waved Jack and Abby from the room, already moving to turn on the shortwave.

  Jack led Abby to the couch and tugged her down into his lap to cuddle her closely against him, running his hands up and down her back as if needing to reassure himself that she was really all right. Clay came into the room a few moments later and asked Abby if she felt up to telling him what had happened. Haltingly, Abby proceeded to recount all that Lauren had said and done to her. Tears were streaming down her face by the time she finished. When she stopped her recitation, Jack stroked her cheek and said, “I'm so sorry, angel. This is all my fault."

  With a tear-streaked face, Abby turned to reassure him. “No, Jack, it's Lauren's fault. Not yours. I think—I think there's something wrong with her. I mean, seriously wrong. She's unbalanced."

  "I agree, Jack,” Clay commented. “You can't blame yourself for what Lauren did. Abby's right. Something inside Lauren just snapped when she realized that her plans to get all that money had fallen through."

  Abby nestled deeper into Jack's comforting arms, feeling completely safe for the first time in weeks. She wondered what had brought them back to the cabin so quickly. “How did you know what was going on? That I needed you?"

  Jack tightened his arms about her. “When we got to the other cabin to put out the fire, we realized someone had set it to lure us up there. I was already suspicious anyway, but someone had doused a pile of green wood that was stacked up against the back of the cabin with gasoline and tried to set it on fire. It smoked a lot, but it hadn't really caught fire yet. We took care of it as fast as we could and then raced back here. We snuck around to the bedroom window to see what was going on. When we heard Lauren talking, Clay and I knew we had to get you out of there as fast as possible."

  Abby told them. “She was already in the house when you left, Jack. I didn't have time to lock the doors. She caught me just as I was going into the bedroom to use the radio. I didn't know what to do since she had a gun. I thought the smartest thing would be to just go along with her and hope you would come back to the cabin pretty soon."

  "You did the right thing, Abby. God only knows what would have happened if you had tried to escape or fight her. It was all I could do to control her myself.” Clay added.

  "I'm just glad it's over. I don't have to keep looking over my shoulder and wondering what's going to happen next."

  * * * *

  A few days later, Abby and Jack walked down the corridor toward Jack's father's room in Atlanta Memorial Hospital. Jack held Abby's hand clasped in his own. She squeezed his hand as he paused before the entrance to the private room. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door, and they walked inside. Jack's father lay on the bed, propped up with a mass of pillows. His eyes focused on the door and immediately lit up when Jack and Abby stepped inside. “Son,” his gruff voice seemed loud in the small room. “I'm glad you're here. I'm so sorry for everything...” Weakly he held a hand out towards Jack, and Jack stepped over to take it in his own.

  Stunned by how old and ill his father looked, Jack stopped his apology. “Not now, Dad. You just concentrate on getting better. We'll talk about everything once you're back home. Right now you just rest."

  His dad looked like he wanted to say more, but he refrained.

  Jack put his arm around Abby's shoulders and drew her closer against his side. The old man's eyes focused on her with unexpected acceptance and gratitude as Jack introduced them. “Dad, this is Abby, my fiancée. I told you about her on the phone. Abby, my father, Robert Cole."

  Abby smiled. “It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

  He smiled back at her. “Likewise, my dear. Welcome to the family."

  "Thank you.” She bent down and dropped a kiss onto his cheek.

  "You be good to my boy, you hear? God knows, he deserves it,” he whispered in her ear.

  Abby smiled. “You can count on it,” she replied before standing back up.

  After a few more minutes of conversation, it was clear that Jack's father was becoming tired, so Jack and Abby left with the promise to return the next day to visit again. As they made their way out of the hospital, he paused for a moment, looking down into her eyes. “I'm glad you made me come."

  "Me, too,” she smiled at him gently. “I know it was hard for you."

  "Not as hard as I had expected. He looks so thin and frail that it's hard to stay angry. It seems foolish to try to hold onto old hurts now. I just want to forgive and forget."

  She held onto his arm. “I know. Now ... you promised me a special present. What is it?"

  "It's a surprise.” Jack laughed and tugged her arm, drawing her out into the tide of people busily walking down the sidewalk.

  It was good to see him so happy and carefree, Abby thought to herself as they wound their way through the oncoming pedestrian traffic. He stopped suddenly and dropped a short but passionate kiss onto her upturned mouth. “Actually, this surprise is as much for me as it is for you,” he commented mysteriously. He gestured to a small building in front of them with a sign that read Georgia Peach's Tattoos and Body Piercing. With a wicked gleam in his eye, Jack pushed open the door. “I promised myself this the first time I saw your cute little belly-button, and I always keep my promises."

  "What are you talking about?” Abby questioned with a laugh, already having good idea what he wanted.

  "You're mine, and I want to put my mark on you ... a
sweet little diamond stud piercing in that delicious tummy of yours.” He paused, reaching out to brush a finger over her blouse right above the indentation of her navel. “Well, what do you say, angel? Are you willing?"

  Abby didn't hesitate. “Let's do it."

  Hours later, Abby and Jack lay entwined in a king-sized bed at his father's house. His head was pillowed on her tummy, and he stared in satisfaction at the glint from the heart-shaped diamond that nestled there. He smiled with pleasure at the sight. “I love you, angel."

  He felt her belly shake silently with joyful laughter. “I love you, too, Jack.” Her hands tunneled through his hair in a tender caress.

  "I want us to get married as soon as possible, sweetheart."

  "If you really want to, that's fine with me. I don't want a big wedding anyway.” Abby agreed. “But are you sure that's what you want?"

  "I've never been more sure of anything in my life.” Jack responded. “I want you tied to me in every way possible, so that there's not doubt in anyone's mind who you belong to."

  "All right.” She tugged gently on his hair, and he lifted his body to cover her, his mouth closing over hers with a demanding kiss.

  It didn't get any better than this, Jack thought.

  The End

  About the Author:

  Jolie Cain is a wife and mother of two whose home is in the Deep South. All her life she has created characters and stories, with dreams of one day bringing them to life. She finally decided to stop procrastinating and just do it! Thus, her first book was born. She has discovered that there's much more to writing than, well ... writing. But there's nothing quite as satisfying as taking an imaginary world and turning it into reality. Jolie invites you to visit her at her website at www.joliecain.com

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