Sky of Dreams BN

by Jenna Jacob

Katie darted a glance to her right as Tuck and Simon mumbled, continuing to play their parts. She didn’t chance a look back at Sky. She was already roiling with enough anxiety.

  “Please keep your voice down, Thomas. This is a small town. Rumors grow faster than the corn.”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Grant,” he replied in a contrite and apologetic tone. “I’m trying to help you. Why can’t you see that?”

  “By killing my assistant and my partner?” Katie tossed out the bait, praying Thomas would take it.

  “Who said I did that?” Suddenly, his demeanor took a paranoid turn as he jerked his head from side to side, taking inventory of the people in the diner.

  “I’m sorry,” Katie quickly amended. “I thought you were alluding to…”

  “And what if I did?” Thomas challenged, his gaze like a scalpel. “They both had it coming. I hated your lover from the first time I met him, but I took the job… I knew he was going to self-destruct soon. But when I found out the cocksucker was fucking my mother…embarrassed her in front of god and the whole company… Trust me. Doug got exactly what he deserved. And Veronica…that cunt, she and Doug wanted you out of the picture. Bet you didn’t know that. She played you for a fool while sucking that worthless prick’s dick.”

  No. Forcing down the bile in her throat, she shook her head before forcing the plastic smile she’d donned a million times before. “Then I guess I owe you a debt of gratitude along with a thank you.”

  Thomas leaned back, a look of pride glowing on his face. “The cops…they have no idea it’s me, do they?”

  “None,” Katie lied as her stomach pitched. “You were smart to follow him here.”

  “Of course I was.” Thomas chuckled. “After what he did to my mother…the abuse he gave you, he had to die.”

  Katie dropped her gaze to the table. “I didn’t know the abuse I suffered was common knowledge. Your loyalty is commendable,” she praised, trying not to choke on her words.

  “Veronica told me the night I got the files….told me a lot, by the time I was through with her.” Thomas’s expression hardened.

  Surrounded and choking on déjà vu, she felt as if she were talking to Doug while in one of his drug-induced stupors.

  “What I could never figure out is why a smart, attractive woman like you stayed with a bastard like Doug.” Thomas reached out and clasped his hands around hers. “I now know you were too scared to leave. I’m sorry for what he did to you, Kaitlin. I hope you know that when we get together, I’ll treat you like a queen.”

  Her skin crawled like a million ants had burrowed under her flesh. She wanted to launch from her chair and run like the wind. Katie forced down the scream bubbling from inside her.

  God, didn’t Devin have enough evidence to stop this nightmare? When were they going to draw their guns and arrest this monster?

  Painting on a passive, pleasant, and shy smile, she tilted her head. “What are you trying to say, Thomas?”

  “I’m saying we need to partner up, Kaitlin.” His voice dropped with a silky slide. “In every way. I’ll show you what it’s like to be fucked by a real man.”

  She couldn’t spend another second in the presence of this lunatic. She was either going to throw up or dissolve into tears.

  “I bet you could,” she stalled, swallowing the saliva pooling in her mouth. “But this is all rather sudden… I need a minute to process everything. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll take a walk to the ladies’ room while I weigh your generous offer.”

  “No. You answer me right here and now,” he thundered. “Don’t run off and hide in the bathroom.”

  “I—I’m not. I need to—”

  “Give me a fucking answer. Do you want your company to succeed or don’t you? I’m not Doug. I’m not going to roll over and play dead.” A manic laugh peeled from the back of his throat, and his eyes sparkled with a frightening twinkle. “Oh, my god. Play dead. That’s fucking hilarious.”

  The man was a lunatic…certifiably insane. No wonder Thomas and Doug hadn’t gotten along, they were both as crazy as shit house rats. While Katie could usually gauge Doug’s irrationality, she didn’t have a clue what flipped Thomas’s triggers…and she didn’t want to stick around to find out.

  She bolted upright, and her chair toppled to the ground as she turned to run. Fast as lightning, Thomas was out of his seat and snagged her wrist.

  “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” he snarled.

  Terror, white and hot, spread through her system, but Katie knew if she showed an ounce of fear, she was dead…as dead as Doug and Veronica. Movement behind her told her Sky was on his feet.

  “Take your hands off me,” Katie ordered, her tone low and menacing.

  Suddenly, panic lined his face as Sky stepped to the table, gun drawn and pointed at Thomas’s face.

  “You heard the lady. Let her go,” Sky demanded in an unnervingly calm voice. He looked menacing, frightening, and seriously fatal. But all Katie wanted to do was crawl into his arms and drown in his protection. Instead, she tugged her arm in an attempt to wrench free of Thomas’s grasp.

  “FBI,” Tuck barked. “Put your hands in the air.”

  Thomas twisted her wrist. Pain shot up her arm. She screamed and stumbled toward the table. She snapped her head toward Sky, and the gun in his hand jerked. The bullet streaked past her as a deafening boom filled the café. Blood erupted from Thomas’s shoulder as he released her. Spinning backward, he landed on the floor with a sickening thud.

  As she stood frozen in fear, a melee of motion erupted all around her. Within seconds, Sky, Tuck, Simon, and Devin converged, guns drawn. With a curse, Tuck bent and rolled Thomas to his belly. He writhed and screamed while Tuck slapped the silver handcuffs around the maniac’s wrists. Thomas wrenched his neck, jerking his head from side to side until he spotted Katie. Pinning her with a hateful glare, his face contorted with rage.

  “You fucking whore. You set me up,” he bellowed. “You’re next, cunt. I’m going to cut you into little pieces and throw you into Lake Michigan. You’re dead, bitch. You hear me?”

  ~*~

  Sky tossed his gun, and it skidded across the linoleum as he fell to his knees. With one hand, he slammed Thomas onto his back and, in a blind rage, began driving his fists into the prick’s face. The sound and feel of bones breaking beneath his fists did little to satisfy the bloodthirsty frenzy unfurling within.

  The bastard had already killed two people. Sky knew that if Thomas could, he’d make good on his threat and kill Katie, too. The only way to keep that from happening was to kill Thomas, and that’s exactly what Sky intended to do. Blood splattered in all directions as he landed blow after brutal blow. Thomas’s screams of pain reverberated in Sky’s ears. Strong hands tugged at his arms, but he shucked them off and continued to hammer away.

  “Stop. Goddammit. Stop!” Tuck roared as all three men pulled Sky off Thomas.

  Panting like a madman, his gaze swung toward Katie. She stood visibly shaking, her lips parted and trembling, and her wide eyes reflected terror as she took in the sight of him. Sky glanced down. His shirt and hands were covered and dripping in blood.

  The beast within—now freed—danced in glee, while shame washed over him in a slick and oily film of black regret. He’d unconsciously shown Katie the evil inside him. It didn’t matter how hard he’d struggled to hide the monster. She’d seen it with her own two eyes. And the look on her face told him she was beyond terrified of him.

  With a feral roar, Sky grabbed a chair and heaved it across the diner. It crashed against the wall, sending chunks of drywall to explode in a cloud of white powder. But it did nothing to quell the savage fury raging inside him. He’d failed her.

  Tears streaked Katie’s cheeks. As Sky stepped toward her, she inched back, clutching her arms around herself. Her rejection was more than he could take. She now feared him…feared him as much as she had Doug…if not more. Sky felt the blade drive deep into his hopes and dreams…and shred
his longing for happiness. His heart exploded, and pain pierced every cell in his body.

  Turning, he glared down at Thomas…mangled and bloodied. “You even think of coming near Katie, you piece of shit, and I’ll finish you off…long and slow. I’ll make you suffer a kind of pain you never knew existed,” Sky spat before he turned and ran out the front door.

  “Sky,” Katie called out in a desperate plea, but he didn’t stop. He simply sprinted down the street, turned the corner, and ran.

  Knowing he’d fucked up any chance of a future with her made him want to vomit. Rage at his own stupidity pounded through his veins. He’d snapped when he’d heard Thomas’s threat. The beast had exploded off the fucking chain. He’d lost all semblance of humanity, and there was nothing he could say… No excuse…no apology could ever exonerate him now. Katie had seen the weakness inside him. The look of horror in her eyes was forever branded in his brain.

  Sky felt more than gutted; he felt dead. He’d let his future with Katie slide through his fingers…again.

  Running, he soon reached the road toward home. Though it had been a mile, Sky realized it wasn’t far enough to purge the darkness still swimming within. There weren’t enough miles in the universe for him to outrun this pain.

  Stopping in the road beside his house, he bent at the waist. Gripping his knees, he gasped air into his tight and burning lungs. Sweat dripped to the dusty white gravel beneath his feet, as the look of horror on Katie’s face scorched deeper and deeper into his brain.

  Bits and pieces of her conversation with Thomas fluttered through his mind. Sky had been so fucking proud of the poise and command she wielded with the deranged prick. She’d unveiled every ounce of strength she’d possessed as a young girl. Katie had found herself again…while Sky had fallen into a chasm of no return. He’d suspected his future had been set in stone when he’d left Iraq. Sky was certain now that he was destined to carry out the sentence for his sins for all eternity.

  He didn’t deserve Katie. She was loving and kind and warranted more than a half man, half monster.

  Sky jolted when a strong, warm hand gripped his shoulder. He jerked upright to find Joe Brock standing beside him. The lines of his weathered face seemed deeper as worry and anxiety hummed off the old man’s body.

  Joe dropped a gaze to Sky’s bloody shirt and hands. “Oh, jesus, son. Have you been shot? What’s happened? Where are Katie and the others?” Joe asked. His voice quivered with fear.

  Sky shook his head. “No. Katie’s fine. She’s alive. They’re…they’re all still at the diner. Thomas…they arrested him,” he panted. “Katie got him to confess. He’s the murderer.”

  “Thank god,” Joe exhaled on a heavy sigh. “Then it’s over.”

  “Yeah,” Sky grunted. It was all over. Him, Katie, their future…everything gone.

  “Whose blood is this on you, Sky?”

  “Thomas’s. He threatened Katie… I lost my fucking mind and went berserk,” he confessed. Joe snorted and smiled, as if it were a good thing. Sky didn’t have the heart to try and convince him otherwise. “Where’s Gran?”

  “In the family room with Katie’s lawyer, drinking coffee and visiting. I saw you in the road and told Ione I was going outside for a smoke. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up before she sees all this blood. She’ll think you’ve been shot, like I did…or that something bad has happened to Katie.”

  “I’m all right,” Sky maintained as he tugged the bloodstained shirt over his head.

  “No, you’re not. Something dark’s got a hold on you…bad,” Joe responded perceptively. “You’ve come back here alone looking like the devil himself is trying to steal your soul.”

  “He already did,” Sky mumbled. “I’ll be fine. Go on back up to the house with Gran.”

  Joe shook his head and gave Sky’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “You go climb inside my truck. I’m not taking no for an answer, son. I’ll be right back.”

  Whether out of respect or a foolish hope that Joe might lend some sage advice, Sky begrudgingly did as the old man instructed. Long minutes passed before Joe climbed in behind the wheel and turned onto the gravel road. Sky’s thoughts were snarled in a tangled web as he gazed out over the fields, lost in guilt and despair.

  “Just so you know, I told Ione that Katie was fine and Thomas was going to jail. I may have overstepped some boundaries, but I explained that you were pretty shaken up. Told her we were going to spend a little time together so I could offer you some fatherly advice.”

  Joe was a kind and caring man. If it hadn’t been for him and Greg, Sky wouldn’t have been able to grow weeds. The two men had been more of a father to Sky than his own ever was or could be. He couldn’t push words past the lump of emotion clogging his throat. Instead, he gave Joe a nod of appreciation.

  As they drove past Main Street, Sky turned to see half a dozen sheriffs’ cars and an ambulance parked in front of Sharp’s. It seemed the whole town had turned out…clogging the sidewalks and spilling onto the street as they craned their necks seeking a peek inside the diner. He fought the urge to jump from the truck, find Katie and wrap her in his arms, and run as far away as they could go. But the fantasy was futile. Sky couldn’t go back and erase the damage he’d done.

  “The first time I laid eyes on Ione was 1945. It was our first day of school. She walked into the classroom wearing the prettiest ruffled yellow dress I’d ever seen. She had a long yellow ribbon tied up in her hair.” A wistful smile tugged the old man’s mouth. “I’ve been in love with that woman ever since.”

  Sky whipped his head toward Joe and stared at the man as if he’d just popped out of a damn spaceship. “You what? Does Gran know this?”

  “Of course she does.” Joe nodded.

  “But…she married…” Sky stammered, utterly confused.

  “Bart. Yes, indeed, she did, and it damn near killed me, too. I was a stupid young buck who thought I needed to give her things instead of my heart.”

  “I don’t understand. You mean…she said no when you asked her to marry you?” Sky asked, totally and utterly confused.

  “No. I’d always dreamed of marrying her, I just never got around to asking,” Joe replied with a sour expression.

  A sick feeling landed in Sky’s stomach. He’d done the same damn thing with Katie.

  “I didn’t think I had to. I was so cocksure she’d say yes. Hell, I’d convinced myself that she’d wait while I saved up enough money to buy her shiny trinkets and set her up in a big ol’ fancy house.”

  “Gran’s not a gold digger, she’s a simple woman,” Sky blurted out.

  Joe sent him a patronizing look. “Yep. And I learned that the hard way.”

  “Aw, Joe.”

  “Don’t want your sympathy, son,” he replied with a wave of his wrinkled hand. “I’m trying to make a point. Ione didn’t want sparkling jewels, a fancy car, or even a big house. She wanted the love of a good man and she found that. Unfortunately it wasn’t me. When she said yes to Bart’s proposal, I was as heartbroken as a coon dog without supper. Stayed that way for years. But Bart was a fine man…a good father, and an irreplaceable friend. I couldn’t hate him for winning over my woman, especially when he spent his whole life showering her with love and respect. He made her happy. And in the end, that’s all that mattered to me.”

  Sky swallowed tightly. The backs of his eyes stung. He knew he’d never get the chance to make Katie happy. All he could hope for now was that she’d find someone else who could.

  “I think Katie is a lot like I used to be. She left Connor thinking she’d find happiness, but after talking to Ione and Reed today, I know she only found sorrow, until she came back to you.”

  Sky mutely nodded. He didn’t have the guts to tell the old man how he’d fucked everything up.

  Joe pulled up to his house and cut the engine, then turned and stared at Sky. “So now I’m going to ask you…what’s keeping you from finding peace, son? What happened to you over in that desert that’s changed
you so much? And why are you still hanging on to it?”

  Sky dropped his head and stared at his hands. His knuckles and callouses were tinted with blood. A little voice inside told him it might be time to finally try and wash the stains away, for good.

  “You got any whiskey inside?” he asked.

  Joe grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. “Enough to get the job done. After you get a shower and I find you a clean shirt.”

  Twenty minutes later, they sat in Joe’s kitchen, staring at his crops as they billowed in the wind, and sipping good, smooth whiskey. Sky told the old man everything. Told him about the ring he’d bought for Katie, in hopes that she would stay. And how, like him, Sky had never gotten around to asking her to marry him. Told him about Iraq and how he’d come to bring Nina home. Told him how he’d gone berserk at Sharp’s and that Katie was terrified of him. Sky purged it all.

  “She’ll never see me as anything but a monster now. She’s had enough terror in her life with Doug.”

  Joe sat quietly pondering for several minutes before he tipped his glass and emptied it. “That’s where I think you’re wrong. You’ve both been shit through a sieve. You two have endured some of the worst life has to offer. But you two share a kind of love a blind man can see. Yes, Katie-Beth might have been scared…who wouldn’t be? But you and I know you’d never hurt her. You’ve convinced yourself that not only does she think you’re a monster but you do, too. That’s just not true, Sky. I’ve known you nearly your whole life. You were a good boy and you’re an even better man. What you had to do in Iraq was your duty. You’re carrying around the casualties of war as if you’re still a soldier. What I want to know is when you’re going to shuck it off your shoulders and start living like a man again…a happy man again.”

  “I don’t know,” Sky replied on a heavy sigh. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for a long, long time.”

  “Bullshit,” Joe barked, slapping his hand on the table. Sky jumped and stared at the angry look on the old man’s face. “You’ve got a little girl who is counting on her daddy to teach her how to love. Counting on you to protect her and ensure she makes the right choices. You’ve got a mother who’s sacrificed her whole life to make you into the strong, educated, and well-respected man that you are. And you’ve got a young woman who is willing to sell off her company and her home to stay with the man who owns her heart…you. If that’s not enough incentive for you to set your sights on the future and stop letting the past dictate your life, then I don’t know what is.”