by K. L. Donn
“Come here, sweetie,” she mumbled, head pounding with every word.
“I dizzy, and my head hurt,” he uttered weakly.
Finally finding Casey’s pulse—weak but there—she reached down for Jax hoping he’d come to her. When she realized he wasn’t even looking at her, she knew she was going to have to go to him.
A door slamming told her she had seconds to get him out and run. Run where? You’re in the middle of bum-fuck Maryland. Fuck, fuck, fuck! One step at a time, Dee. Get Jax first. Grabbing his arms, she pulled as hard as she could without hurting him. Stumbling from the truck, she froze as she saw four huge men pointing large rifles at them.
Turning so Jax was protected, she lost her breath as she heard the rapid fire of gunshots while Jax screeched loudly in her ear.
Please don’t hit him. She prayed for the first time in years waiting for the bullets to assault her body.
*****
Dom watched in horror as four large, burly men exited the SUV at the same time he saw Deedee reaching over to the side, presumably for Jax or Case since he didn’t know what the fuck was going on. Watching as the men shot out the tires of Case’s truck had his adrenaline racing faster than any drug ever could.
As the two back tires blew, he’d watched Dee struggle with the wheel and finally lose control just as it hit a small post in the ditch. The way her head had bounced off the steering wheel like a basketball had his stomach knotting.
Stopping his own truck not far from the black SUV, he quietly crept out needing to surprise them, or he’d never have the upper hand. Sirens sounded in the distance just as Dee stumbled from the truck with a shaken up Jax in her arms. “Run!” he silently screamed.
When the men raised their automatic rifles toward his entire life, intending to snuff them out, he didn’t hesitate pulling the trigger on his own. Hitting two of the goons in the back of the head before the others were any the wiser.
“Fucking run, Deidre!” he roared out as she lay frozen on the ground protecting his son.
Just as a bullet flew towards him, he was able to duck behind the vehicle as he watched Dee and Jax hide in front of theirs. Knowing they were safe for the moment, he was able to easily take out one more of the men. Followed quickly by shooting the other in the shoulder and knee. They needed answers, and the best way was to keep at least one alive.
Coming out of hiding, he called out, “Deidre!”
She took a look around the hood of the truck before darting towards him with a crying Jaxson in her arms. “Dominic!” she wailed as he caught them both.
“I got you.”
“I am so sorry!” She cried, confusing him.
“What the hell for?”
“This is all my fault. I’m so stupid. I just wanted to get out of the house and now this...and Jaxson’s hurt...and Casey might die. I’m so sorry!” Her hysterical cries worried him, but no more so than what she’d said.
“Ambulance is on the way, Princess. Take a few breaths,” he instructed her. Looking down to his son, he saw a glassy-eyed looked in his gaze that had him worried. “How you doin’, bud?”
He laid his head down on Deedee’s shoulder quietly and didn’t answer. “His head hit the glove box as we crashed.”
“Shit. And Case?” His voice betrayed his worry for his friend. When she shook her head, he ran to the truck in the hopes that Case would be alright.
“Case, man,” he called opening the door. His friend was slumped over with blood pooling on the floor in a steady drip. The slow rise and fall of his chest eased some of the worry.
As the ambulance and sheriff’s cruiser pulled up on scene, Case began to cough and moan. “Fuck, that shit hurts.”
A bark of laughter left Dom at his words. Only Case would try to make a joke out of being shot. “Usually does, man.” Helping him sit up in time for the paramedics to come over, Case asked as he was about to back off, “Double D and short stack okay?”
“They will be,” he assured the other man. “Take care of him,” he told the medics, walking away to where the asshole he’d let live was bitching about being arrested. Searching out Dee, he saw that she was with Jax at another ambulance being guarded by the sheriff.
Satisfied, he kept moving towards the bitching goon. Stepping on his leg before he could be helped to his feet, he snarled, “Who the fuck are you working for?”
“Fuck you,” he spat out. Wrong answer.
Putting more pressure on the wound, he asked again, “Who?” When he refused to answer, Dom was fed up, pissed, and ready to blow his head off. So he whipped out his gun and stuck it between the guy’s legs, telling him, “Five seconds and I pull the trigger.”
“You can’t do that!” he protested.
“I can. Five…”
“This is police brutality!’
“Four…”
“Officer are you just gonna let him shoot me dick off?”
“Three…”
“Answer the man’s questions,” the officer suggested with a sick smile on his face.
“Two…”
“Fuck!”
“Dominic?” Deedee’s quiet question halted his progress.
“Not now, Princess,” he told her, not taking his eyes off the man with the muzzle of his gun implanted between his nuts.
“I know him,” was her quiet response.
That stopped everyone cold.
“What do you mean you know him, Deidre?”
“That’s Brock Simons. He’s my da’s cousin.”
“Nice to see you again, Deidre,” Simons snarled. The sick light in his eyes told another story.
“Shut the fuck up,” Dom snarled at him.
Turning to face Deedee, he asked her, “He works for Bradshaw?”
Her eyes didn’t leave the injured man’s face. When Dom truly looked at her, she seemed paler, heart-broken, like someone had kicked her puppy or something. It was more than what had just gone down. Her emotions were bone deep. “Princess?”
Clearing her throat, she finally looked at him. “He used to work for my mam.”
Well that fucking changes things. He pulled her into his arms as they made their way to where Jax was laying on a gurney.
*****
The second the ambulance pulled into the parking bay, doctors rushed over taking Casey right to surgery. He was shot twice, once in the shoulder and once in the bicep. Blood was pouring from his wounds like a leaky faucet. Deedee was covered in so much of it that she couldn’t imagine him making it.
Everyone was rushed and frantic, and she didn’t know who was coming or who was going. Dom had followed the doctor to an examination room with Jax. She told him to go, that she’d be fine and wait on word about Casey. Now she had time to think, and all she could dwell on was the fact that it was all her fault. Casey being shot. Jax hitting his head on the bottom of the dashboard as her father’s goons shot out the tires of the truck she tried to control. Everyone was hurt and the blame lay on her shoulders.
People she cared about deeply were hurting, and she could have prevented it. Right now, they were at the hospital with one person in surgery and another with a probable concussion. She had to leave. She had go back to Ireland before something more serious happened.
If Dom were ever hurt, she would never forgive herself. Just the thought had her heart clenching so hard she couldn’t breathe. Besides, she was the reason Jax was now going through multiple tests. Not like he’d want her to stick around anyway.
Decision made and thoughts jumbled, she took a quick peek in on Jax to see him. There was a nurse taking his vitals while a doctor checked his pupil reaction. He sat there so stoically trying to be a strong little man, but she could see the fear in his eyes. It tore at her soul, ripped her heart to shreds. She’d done that to him.
Looking to where Dom stood to the side, his body was hard, tense, and coiled for action. He watched every movement in the room. Anytime someone came close to Jax,
his eyes never left them. The anger that lingered in his green depths scared her. She’d always been able to see a softening around the edge, but there was nothing but dark rage now.
Knowing what she needed to do wasn’t as easy as she thought it would be. She only had the cash Dom had given her for anything she needed. Admittedly, it wasn’t much, but a flight to Ireland wasn’t going to be cheap.
Leaving the hospital before Dom could find her, she hailed the first cab she’d come across and went straight to the airport hoping to catch a red-eye back home. The need to leave, to make them safe drove her, fueled by the fire burning through her veins to make sure they came to no more harm.
The cab driver wasn’t very chatty, but he watched her with a critical eye. You’re covered in blood, dummy. “Shit,” she mumbled remembering what she looked like.
“My friend was shot,” she explained weekly, a lone tear slid down her cheek at his sympathetic gaze. “Is there a discount store on the way?” She had to change and get cleaned up first or customs would just arrest her.
“Just a block over.”
After a quick stop in the restroom first, she cleaned up as much as possible before buying a cheap pair of jeans and t-shirt. Pulling up to the airport looking a little less serial killerish, she handed the driver his money and with a mumbled thanks was gone. Thankful she kept all her ID in her purse, she was in search of the first flight out.
*****
Fear was a cold-hearted emotion. It could grip a person in its depths faster than anything, and at the moment, it held Dom’s heart hostage. He watched with cold calculation as his son was looked over, examined, and hopefully given a clean bill of health. Casey was in surgery to remove one bullet that lodged in his bicep and repair the damage done from the through and through in his right shoulder. Thankfully, nothing major was hit, and he’d be fine in time.
“All right, Mr. Slade. No concussion for this brave young man. A bit of a headache and a few bumps, but he’ll be right as rain in no time. He was asking for his mom. Will she be here soon?”
“His mom?” Confusion laced his voice.
The doctor looked like he was about to run. Dom couldn’t blame him. He knew his rage radiated off him in waves. The blood coating his clothes wouldn’t have helped either.
“His mom isn’t in the picture. I don’t know why he would ask for her.” He tried to hide the hurt in his words.
“I want Pincess, Daddy,” Jax called out.
Understanding dawned on him. Jax had been dying to have Deedee as his mom almost since he met her. “Ya, bud. I’ll go find her once Miss Angie gets here.”
“Okay,” he whined as his eyes began to close.
Turning his attention back to the doctor at his side, Dom asked, “Will he need anything once I get him home?”
“Just monitoring. Making sure his condition doesn’t get worse. I’ll have the nurse get a list of instructions and things for you to watch for.” At Dom’s nod, the doctor and two nurses left them alone.
“I weally want Pincess.”
“I do too, kid. But she’s making sure they’re taking care of Uncle Case.”
For a while he watched his son fight to stay awake. Clenching and unclenching his tiny fists. When he finally lost the battle for sleep, Dom let out a frustrated breath.
The change in events was driving him insane. Her fucking mother hired those goons to kill her? It didn’t make sense. She’d been working for years to get Dee all the paperwork she’d need to get back into Ireland without her father knowing where she was. Why would she try to kill her?
When Dee was younger, she’d had nothing but good things to say about her mother. They were incredibly close. There wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other.
A vibration in his pocket broke him from his train of thought. Pulling out his phone, he saw Larry was calling him. “Yeah?”
“Everything all right, Dom? I heard on the scanner about what happened.”
“Case is in surgery. Two shots. Nothing vital was hit. He’ll be worse than a sick calf for a while, but fine. Li’l man’s got some bumps and bruises but physically, he’s fine. And I haven’t had a chance to talk to Dee yet, but she looked like she was hanging in there.”
“Good, good. Look, bad news. Can you talk now?” His friend’s voice held something he was sure he was not going to like.
“Yeah. Just let me find a room so I don’t wake Jax.” Making sure he was asleep, Dom left the small exam room in search of a visitor’s space. Slipping inside, he told Larry, “Go ahead.” Preparing for the worst and hoping for nothing.
Thirteen
Flying over the Atlantic Ocean gave Deidre a little less perspective than she’d hoped for. To say she was dazed would be an understatement, more like completely and utterly broken. Her heart hurt to think her mam had sent Brock to not only kill her but whoever happened to be with her. She wasn’t stupid; she knew her mam. It was impossible that she could be some cold-hearted killer. Her mother was a sweet, loving woman who only wanted the best for her daughter.
But how well do you really know her?
Doubt was starting to creep into her mind the further she flew away from Dominic. He was going to be so angry and worried.
You shouldn’t have left.
Shut up.
Great, now I’m talking to myself.
She had a feeling that bitter regret was going to be her constant companion while she was home. When they got to the hospital, she’d been terrified at having to see Dom struggle with his desire to make her leave and his overwhelming sense of duty to protect her. Even at the risk of everyone he held dear.
Half way through her nine-hour flight, she finally realized Dom wouldn’t have sent her packing, not when her life was officially at risk. They hadn’t known that their outing today would turn into such the catastrophe it had. But knowing it now didn’t make things any easier because the actual who, how, or why behind the incident still wasn’t clear. The why, though, was eating at her. Dom would have figured it all out, too, if only she trusted him enough to let him do his job.
“You’re so stupid, Deidre,” she groused to herself.
It was too late now, however. She had to face the situation she’d put herself in.
Two fears niggled at her going home…
Was her mam really trying to kill her?
Would Dominic forgive her?
Questions she would never get answers to because she didn’t think she’d last too long by herself.
*****
“Motherfucker!” To say Dom was shocked at the news Larry had just given him would be an understatement. He was furious. Not only did he have more bad news to deliver to Deidre, now he had to figure out exactly what the fuck was going on.
A knock on the door pulled him from his silent cursing. Turning, he was relieved to see Angela standing there, tears in her eyes but strong as the Berlin Wall once was.
“He’s still sleeping,” she told him. Making Dominic wonder how long he’d been in there.
“When did you get here?”
“About an hour ago.”
“Fuck!” He couldn’t believe he’d lost track of time so completely. Rushing out, he went to the nurses’ station asking, “Is Casey out yet?”
She clicked away on the computer before finally looking at him. “They just brought him to recovery.”
“Thank God. When can I see him? Is my girlfriend still up there?” He felt frantic at having lost nearly an hour processing the new information. Now he needed to see everyone at once.
“You can go see your friend in about twenty minutes, once they’ve got him settled in. But there’s no one up there with them.”
“She must be with my son then.” Now he was confused.
“I’ve been with Jaxson since I got here, and Miss Dee hasn’t been in there,” Angela informed him as she walked up behind him.
“What? Well, where the fuck is she?” Panic was engul
fing him again. He’d left her alone; he shouldn’t have done that. He knew she was in danger, but the hospital was crawling with cops and other officials, so he figured she was safe as could be there. Apparently, he was wrong.
“I need you to get security down here right away and call the sheriff. Someone tried to kill her today. She didn’t just walk out of here.”
He hoped...
*****
An hour later, and he had less answers than before he watched security footage. He observed as Deidre was bustled around, told where to go and to stay out of the way, and a hundred other things. She looked more lost then than the day he’d found her again. She’d been covered in Case’s blood, cuts and bruising on her face showed she probably needed medical attention too, but everyone—including himself—had been more absorbed in what happened with Case and Jax than her. She silently held in her pain, yet it was written across her face in every stiff move she made.
“I’m sorry I failed you, Princess,” he’d whispered to her sad face on the screen.
She was lost and alone in a place she’d never been, only trusting two people in her world, and they couldn’t stand by her. When she’d gone to Jax’s room at one point, he’d been confused because he certainly hadn’t seen her. They asked the staff if any of them had taken notice of her, but no one recalled seeing her. So they were back at square one.
She was missing.
Except…
She had a look on her face. One he knew well. Resolve and determination colored her features, and he knew she had a plan. Just what that plan was; unfortunately, became something he had to figure out.
“What are you thinking, Dee?” he murmured aloud. “Ang? Can you take care of Jax for me? Larry will be here soon, and he’s going to take you both to a safe house.”
“Of course, dear, but you best go see him before you leave. He’s very anxious to see his princess.” The affection ever present in her voice when she spoke of his son made it easier when he had to leave. He knew Jaxson was well taken care of with her.
