Katie, at first, resisted because she didn't want a sexual response to an emotional issue, but she couldn't stifle the moan that came up as Ciarán deepened his kiss. She could feel her traitorous body respond to him in the way that she always responded to him, submitting, melting into his muscles, letting his body strength absorb hers and her own hunger increased. She allowed her thoughts to still, and her body to give to Ciarán what he owned—her whole self. Her whole being was his right here, right now, forever.
Katie's cell phone rang and she made no move to answer it. Ciarán released the kiss and straightened some, still looking down at his wife, and sighed. Then he pulled her close to him laying her head on his shoulder, his chin down on her head, inhaling the fragrance from her shampoo. One minute after the phone had quit ringing it rang again. Ciarán chuckled and Katie moaned. Katie reached out, pushing herself off Ciarán with evident regret. It took a second before she could get her bearings. Her strength seeming to have totally gone into Ciarán. She bent down to the coffee table and swiped her phone from the table flipping it around she answered it grumpily.
"Yes, Jocelyn, sister-girl, this had better be an emergency," Katie grumbled with irritation. Then her face changed and she listened intently while the person on the other line said what they needed to say. Pulling her phone from her ear, she looked up at Ciarán and answered an unspoken question.
"There is a mother that just showed up at the Haven. She wasn't referred; she just knew that it was there from a mother that has already been there before. She has four children and all of them look like they are in need of medical care, food, and everything, so I need to go and see if we need to call an ambulance or what we need to do."
"Is that Jocelyn on the phone? Let me talk to her," demanded Ciarán. Soon he was speaking with what the women called the 'Dom husband' or 'that' voice. It was unmistakably authoritative, intense, expecting full compliance. Katie listened to his side of the conversation and tried to piece together what they were talking about.
"Just showed up? Any history with them before? What is the danger factor? Because my gut is my version of women's intuition and something in my gut is uneasy. I have heard that name before. I'll let her go, but you call me if there are any problems. Fine, call Liam then, but," Ciarán commanded insistently, "you make the call if needed."
"Why were you so demanding? It's nothing we haven't done plenty of times before, Ciarán."
"Just something that I feel, mo chroí, and I listen to my gut." His look was familiar and demanding, it was the look. The look that anyone who knew the O'Connors knew well; it said, do exactly as I say and things will go fine. And in her case, you will be able to sit just fine.
Having done a quick inventory the week before, Katie knew she had all the supplies she needed in her little exam room off the kitchen at Bhaile Haven. Other than grabbing her jacket and her purse and replacing her phone in it, she was quickly out the door, driving to the north gate.
While waiting for Katie, Jocelyn was feeding the family of five but they were so afraid eating in the kitchen where one could see inside through the windows, she took them to their room, upstairs and in the back so that their anxiety would lower enough they could eat. Katie came in asking for the family and found Jocelyn cuddling the baby that didn't look quite a year old. These children were frightened that their father would find them and they reminded her of the family Jocelyn had worked with before Bhaile Haven. It was this type of family that was the catalyst for the life-saving shelter. It was what Katie thought of when she looked at the family before her.
After getting some basic information from Jocelyn, Katie said that she would look after the little group while Jocelyn did her reporting and paperwork needed for the family. She already had one of the volunteer advocates working on the required information on the family, doing court research on the father.
Katie went about looking at the baby first for signs of abuse or neglect and as she ran into things, she would ask the mother what happened to cause a red streak or a bruise. She carefully checked the baby's head and asked important questions about impact incidents, previous injuries, sleep habits, and she noted the child was very skittish. Katie frowned. All ready so hyper-vigilant, it would take a lot of securities to help this child.
She carefully checked on each child and annotated everything the mother would disclose and her children's reactions to the disclosures were devastating. Then it was mom's turn. While Katie tried to take her to another room, the children wouldn't be parted from her nor she from them. So, in the room with her children looking the other way, Katie examined the children's mother. She was sickened at the abuse the woman had endured physically, not even touching the mental and emotional abuse she had endured; was still suffering at the hands of a man who took an oath in front of God and man to protect and cherish her.
Examination over, Katie called over to Doc Ames' clinic and told them what she expected the children needed and she got the order to take urine and blood samples. He would have his nurse package up the necessary injections and immunizations for the children who had never had any in their life. Katie was wrapping up and was going to her office to dictate her notes on the physical exams when she heard a ruckus in the front yard. Instinctively rubbing her belly, she was going to send their security guard to go and see what was going on when she saw him on the front stoop, unconscious and a man, brandishing a knife in front of Jocelyn.
His eyes were wild and he was yelling while Jocelyn was responding quietly. It seemed to be working for the moment. Katie had no idea who the man was but could guess he was the spouse of the woman she had just examined. Kathrine slipped into the kitchen, just stopping in the doorway and told Mrs. Carnes to take the children and their mothers to the van using the back door.
She reached for the keys from the hook on the kitchen wall and handed them to Mrs. Carnes. She was to gather all of them quietly and lead them out. Katie would go upstairs and call while directing the families out the exit to the vehicle. It was a blessing that the van was kept on the side of the shelter that didn't face the road or the front drive. They had thought of that in the design and Katie would forever thank the inclusion of that safety feature. She had no doubt that it was the O'Connor men who made sure that feature was in place.
She was so scared that she could feel and hear her heart pounding in her ears, hammering out of her chest, and the pressure pumping her blood through her bulging veins. She was whispering to the families and to herself to stay calm. She began quietly to remove everyone and had them leave through the fire exit door on the second floor designed to provide a way to elude danger. She grabbed the list of all occupants in the card file that was kept on each floor in case of emergency. She then walked up to the third floor. It was then that she remembered she had not called for help.
"911, what is your emergency?"
Chapter Seven
"Parker, what's up?" Liam was having lunch with Ciarán, Cheyenne, and the ranch managers, discussing the accounting methods, ordering schedules, ranch management changes, and shifting of duties. Liam listened casually for the first sentence or two then said he needed to put the phone on speaker. "Now, say that again?"
"There was a call that just came in from Katherine. There is trouble at Bhaile Haven and you need to get as many men out there as you can. We are trying to come up fast. Quinn is already on the road. I'll tell you the rest as you get on the road. However, under no circumstances do any of you engage. Do nothing; just get there."
The table had already jumped up; the manager calling the bunkhouse, knowing most would be there for lunch right then. Ciarán had switched to a cell phone with Quinn on the line and they were jumping into their trucks leaving Cheyenne to field calls at the house. Ciarán headed for the south gate because he figured he could come from behind. It would take longer, but it would be the element of surprise that he hoped would be significant.
"Quinn, tell me what is going on?" Quinn quickly and succinctly told Ciarán about
the call Katie had made to 911. He said that they suspected that it's a husband having found his wife and wanted her back. Jocelyn was trying to talk to the man who was wielding a knife. Padraig, thank God, was at home today and Bailey was with her Aunt Kelli for the day. The rest of the boys were in school so there were no concerns with the older boys finding their way to the house. Katie was on the third floor and didn't know if she should go down to help Jocelyn but Quinn said the dispatcher was able to get her to stay on the line until help arrived.
Ciarán was willing Katie to mind for once.
*****
Katie sat on the phone but was desperately trying to make sure all were gone from the house and attempted to do a head count to see if there were any she missed. According to her card file concerning the third floor, there weren't. The van drove off in the opposite direction of the front of the house and while they would need to go a ways to get to the south gate to drive through the ranch, it was the safest escape route. The crazy man in the front wouldn't be able to see them leave. She told the woman on the phone that except for herself, Jocelyn, the unconscious security guard, and the crazy man, she didn't think there was anyone left at the house, and that she was going to look out the front window to see if anyone was coming.
When she saw police coming and several other vehicles behind them, she sighed in relief. Then the scream came; Jocelyn's scream. "Oh, God, I have to go, my sister just screamed. The dispatch tried desperately to get her back on the phone but it lay on the floor and all she could hear was Katie's retreating footsteps. Dispatch called Quinn and told him. "Diabhal é. Damn it, Katherine, stay out of sight. And Jocelyn, a dead heroine isn't a good outcome." He loudly yelled in the SUV, hoping they could get the vibes he was sending. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the home came into view. Some of the ranch hands were already there, holding just out of sight but standing outside of their vehicles. All right gentlemen, time to rock and roll.
Katie decided to exit from the fire escape so she could look in the windows to locate Jocelyn without possibly walking in on them and causing more problems. She had to take care of her unborn child, but her sister was in trouble. She had to think and keep her head calm and in the game. She had retrieved her phone before leaving the building. She turned it to silent, just in case Ciarán called to check in with her because she had expected to get home earlier and because, by now, he would have known his gut instincts were in full working order.
Creeping around to the back of the great room, she saw some movement. She was craning her neck to see who and what was going on when a big hand covered her mouth and a strong arm pulled her away from the window. Blind fear entered her head and Katie began to kick and squirm for all she was worth, but being pregnant, she was much less agile than she had expected. The arm tightened and she could feel hot breath in her ear making some sounds. She was in panic mode so listening was not a function that was in prime working order.
Finally, through the fog of fear, Katie heard a commanding voice directing her to stop fighting. There was something familiar about that voice. Still trying to switch on her thinking with the taste of fear so strong in her mouth, she willed herself to be still. Listen. Then she heard him demanding her to stop moving and calm down.
"Katherine O'Connor. Stop. Moving. Now. Settle. Now. It's Ciarán." His powerful voice was penetrating her fog and fear. "It's Ciarán. Mo muirnín, be still." The command and the strength of his voice and the steady but cautious arm he had around her waist, careful for where he had it placed had her understanding. Ciarán.
"Are you calm, mo chroí?"
Katie nodded and relaxed with great effort so Ciarán would release her. He did so after kissing her ear where he had been speaking to her. "Are you hurt? No? Then go to the truck behind the trees and drive it back home through the south gate. First, where is Jocelyn?" Listening to what Katie knew, he nodded and said, "We'll take it from here. Go home, mo ghrá." Ciarán was not spending any more time on the subject. He was getting his wife out of harm's way and that was the end of the story. Katie, on the other hand, didn't feel the same way about ending her physical involvement.
"I have to stay here and make sure Jocelyn is good. I can't just leave her, Ciarán."
"You can and you will," he whispered so harshly it spoke like an echoing shout. He grabbed her chin when she would drop her gaze from his and had it firmly caged in a position that wouldn't allow for any movement. He actually released a growl from his throat that, at any other time, Katie would have thought sexy as hell. Now, she got a shiver of foreboding.
"This isn't a game of wills that you are playing with me, Katherine. If you believe me to be the authority in our house, your authority, you will get out of here." The look that Ciarán gave her was not one anyone could misinterpret. It was one of absolute control, power, fury, and fear. One that, if defied, assured immediate incineration could be expected.
Katie sucked in her breath and saw over Ciarán's right shoulder one of the ranch hands come around the corner followed by two more. They stopped for a second, like deer when they come upon a predator, trying to decide what they should do.
Quietly, meekly, Katie said, "All right, Ciarán. Be careful?"
Ciarán released his breath and his tension, lowering his shoulders, and his expanded physical self, relaxed. "Thanks, baby. I love you." He leaned down and gave her a desperate kiss of entitlement then released her to go. She whispered back that she loved him. He followed that with an entreaty for the hands to come closer, all the while watching her get to where the truck was behind the tree line before he turned to the rest of the issue at hand.
The fifteen-passenger van arrived at Liam's place first, after coming in the south gate. Cián's future Vet Clinic drive was across from the furthest entrance. Mrs. Carnes almost turned down that road because she had never gone that way before and Cián's access came about an eighth of a mile before the south gate. It was also well posted as Circle C Ranch lands. One of the children who had been watching the fence line on the right-hand side saw the large arch of the Circle C and pointed it out to Mrs. Carnes who agreed it was probably the right gate being on the same side of the road as the main gate.
Driving up to Jocelyn's house, Cheyenne and Mrs. O'Malley raced out and got all of the women and children out of the van and into the house. Mrs. O'Malley hugged her sister and brought her into the kitchen with her to work on keeping the food cooking and grabbing Padraig when he woke up from his nap. They set about making sure that as far as they had control of the situation, they would handle things well.
Cheyenne also was doing her part. She no longer was receiving phone calls from the rescuers so she set about making everyone cozy and helping mothers use the bedrooms for gradually putting small children down and the common rooms downstairs for calming children and regaining some order. Cheyenne had everyone settled except for the four little ones all lined up on the floor against the wall. The eldest looked to be about seven years old, holding her little brother, not more than a one-year-old, who was asleep. The other two children were somewhere around three and five years old. Where was their mother, she wondered? The children were afraid and the eldest was stoic but tears were running down her face.
Mrs. Carnes walked in at that exact moment and explained quietly to Cheyenne that they were the children of the man who was at Bhaile Haven and their mother had stayed behind to try to trade herself for Jocelyn. Cheyenne quickly got on the phone and called the dispatch to let them know so they could safely tell their law enforcement. All the while praying that everyone was all right, she said an extra prayer for the mother to these four children before she went to be the little lost children's surrogate mom.
Chapter Eight
Katie sat in the truck and eased it into reverse to see if she could get a good view of the Bhaile from her secluded spot and just when she thought it would be a fruitless endeavor, she found the sweet spot. Still hidden but able to see all from the back, well, a lot from the back anyway, she lo
cked the doors so that she could see and not worry about safety. She sat and waited.
The house was surrounded and Parker was in the back, Quinlan in the front with a variety of ranch hands, the couple of police belonging to Elk Ridge, sheriff's office deputies, Liam and Ciarán as well as the volunteer fire department. The assailant, who had not been identified yet, had moved Jocelyn into the Bhaile's main floor enabling the rescuers to remove the injured and still unconscious security man.
The plan was to take the back and the front at the same time and with Jocelyn in full sight. Liam, Ciarán, and two others would grab Jocelyn if possible, and the rest would tackle the knife-wielding attacker. Jocelyn was brought into the main living room where the group activities were often held and Ciarán had to hold Liam back so that he would wait until there was the best possible opening. Ciarán remembered how they had to restrain him from bursting through a window when Katie was with that Landau lunatic.
"Liam, we have to keep our heads out of our asses on this one. We aren't saving a calf from a wolf; we are saving your wife and my sister from a crazy lunatic. We have to be on our toes and smarter than him. The element of brute force in a surprise attack is the best way."
Liam didn't want to hear what Ciarán was saying but he knew he only had one chance to get his wife out without harm and he was going to do it. What Ciarán was saying was right but damnaigh if he was going like it. He smiled a bit when he thought of how he wouldn't let Jocelyn swear, even something as simple as damn in the Irish. When she heard him curse in the Irish, she would give him an incredulous look and he had tried to stop, but he felt if any occasion deserved a curse or two, this one did.
Katie Consents (Ciaran O'Connor Book 3) Page 11
