by Avery Gale
Trinity, Catalina, and Israel all smiled. They had the perfect place, there was even a nice fence to keep the little rebel corralled. The tunnel was well lit, so she could go see London any time of the day or night. It was the perfect solution. They just needed to get her there.
Lilly crossed the room, promptly pulling Paris into a gentle hug, unsurprised when the young woman dissolved into tears.
“Damn, girl, you’ve had one hell of a night. You let all those tears wash away every bit of the negative nonsense you’ve had to deal with. From what I hear, you are very lucky, though I doubt it feels that way right now.” Paris needed to decompress, and there was nowhere better for a young woman to do that than the loving arms of a mother.
Lilly was honored Paris had asked for her and hoped they’d be able to develop a close relationship, despite the obvious challenges the distance between them would pose. Paris needed a mother and Lilly needed to be needed… they were perfect for one another. Smiling as she felt Paris relax, Lilly patted her back and helped her sit back up.
“You close those eyes for a few, sugar. I’m going to get you a cool compress. We’ll get that swelling down in no time. Trinity comes in here and sees you’ve been cryin’, he’ll scold me. Hell, I don’t need another man barkin’ up my tree. My husbands are the best thing since sliced bread, but they’re a bossy pair, don’t you think for a minute they aren’t. And those sons of mine think they’re all that and a bag of chips.” Pouring the ice water from a small pitcher into the sink basin, Lilly soaked a washcloth, then laid it gently over Paris’ eyes and upper cheeks.
“You know, I was a model when I met my men. Everybody thinks I gave up this fabulous career to marry two men, but what most people didn’t realize was my career wasn’t anything I was particularly proud of. I knew I was supposed to feel short-changed, hell, I was a part of the generation who burned their bras and fought for equal pay. We started the feminist movement… no offense, but your generation is being lied to about what feminism is about.” She heard Paris’ soft giggle and smiled to herself. Perfect.
“Anyway, I’ll bet your mama had her hands full with ten kids. Lordy, I can barely wrap my head around it. My boys were enough to make me take up drinkin’, I’d have probably drowned myself in margaritas with ten kids. Being the youngest, I bet you have some great stories. Everybody always forgets the youngest kids are in the room.” Paris pulled the cloth from her face, staring at Lilly with something between wonder and amusement.
“How could I have forgotten? You’re right, everyone spoke freely because they didn’t think I was old enough to understand what they were talking about. I learned a lot that way.” Lilly saw her bright blue eyes begin to spark to life and breathed a sigh of relief. The storm had passed, and Paris might end up gaining a bit of valuable perspective from their little chat.
“I’ll make you a deal. You get all healed up, and we’ll plan a big, girls’ trip into the city for a few days. There’s nothing like New York City during the holidays, and it drives Kent and Kyle crazy when I take Tobi out from under their watchful eyes for a few days.” Waving her hand as if dismissing the notion, Lilly grinned. “I work hard to be a pain in their asses for a couple of reasons.
“First, they have it coming… in spades, honey. Those two were wild as the Texas wind and just as damned unpredictable… then they decided to become Navy SEALs, and proud as I was of them, for years, every time the phone rang, my heart skipped a beat. I also feel pestering those two helps Tobi out a bit as well, and I couldn’t love that girl more if I’d given birth to her. If her men are worrying about what sort of nonsense I’m dreaming up, they tend to give her a bit more freedom because they see how good she is compared to me.” Lilly gave Paris a triumphant smile when she laughed but felt a pang of guilt when she winced, cradling her hands on both sides of her head as if trying to keep it from blowing apart.
“Damn, I’m sorry, sweetie. I’ll try to tone down my sparkling personality a bit, so you don’t end up with a headache worse than I suspect is already barreling down on you.” Soaking the cloth in the ice bath again, Lilly rolled it and laid it gently over her eyes. “You just sit back and tell me one of your favorite stories about your mama.” She’d no sooner spoken the words than the door opened. When Catalina led the others into the room, Lilly held her finger to her lips. The three of them nodded their assent despite the questions she could see in their eyes.
“I remember sitting in the tree outside our kitchen window one spring afternoon when I was probably four or five. The older kids had gotten into some kind of dust-up at school, and our parents weren’t happy with them. Dad was lecturing them on all the reasons violence isn’t the answer, but even at that age, I knew his argument wasn’t cutting it. My brothers and sisters had come to the defense of the little girl who lived down the street. Her dad had committed suicide when he was caught stealing from the bank where he worked, and some of the kids in her class were making fun of her.”
“Oh, sugar, I can only imagine what was going through your young mind.” Lilly held her hand over her heart as she listened to Paris’ heart-wrenching story.
“It wasn’t as bad as you think because it was the first time I can remember thinking my dad was wrong and knowing you can be wrong for all the right reasons.” Lilly watched as Paris rolled the rag from one side to the other without opening her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief; she still didn’t know she had an audience. Paris’ depth of understanding at four years old was remarkable and proved everything she’d hear about the newly graduated educator’s recent job interview hadn’t been overstated.
“Dad thought the older kids should have gone to an adult, but they’d insisted there wasn’t enough time. There was a lot of back-and-forth discussion, but it was Mom’s argument I remember. She said they’d taught the girl to be defenseless. I didn’t know what that meant, at least not entirely, but I understood her explanation.”
Paris would never forget hearing her mother’s soft voice waft through the open window.
“You won’t always be there to help her, just as your father and I won’t always be here to help you. That’s why we try to teach you how to deal with life’s challenges. We want to know you can defend yourself… and that you’ll help others become empowered as well. Would you rather your father beat up someone hurting one of you? How would that help you tomorrow or next week when the bullies return? If you want to help Melissa and her mother, help the little girl learn how to defend herself. Help her find ways to channel her frustration. Take the time to make sure she knows you believe in her… there’s no greater gift.”
The silence that followed her mother’s impassioned words had been louder than anything Paris had ever heard. She remembered lying in the tree for a long time, staring up at the twinkling stars and wondering if she’d ever be as smart as her mama. Hopefully, by the time she was a mother, she’d be as wise as the woman who’d been taken from them far too soon.
“After my brothers and sisters were sent upstairs to bed, my parents sat at the kitchen table, talking about how they were going to help Melissa’s mama. We didn’t have a lot of money, but somehow, my mom and dad got enough together to help them move at the end of school. Melissa never came back to our school, but I’ve thought of her often. Before they moved, my brothers and sisters taught her how to defend herself. But most of all, they were just her friends, and I think that’s what made the most difference. I’ve often wondered what happened to her.”
When she pulled the cloth from her face, Paris was surprised to find Israel typing silently on the screen of his phone as Catalina stood beside him, huge tears streaking down her flushed cheeks. But it was Trinity who captured her attention. The look of love and admiration in his eyes made her heart stutter.
“That’s a beautiful story, baby. You should write down all those sweet memories. They’d make a wonderful gift to our children.”
Without thinking, Paris tried to get out of bed. The only thing she wanted was to be in h
is arms. She hadn’t realized how many things the doctors had attached to her, and the alarms blared as the leads popped off. “Stop!” Trinity’s one-word command made her freeze, giving him time to take the few steps separating them. He’d no more than pulled her against his chest than the door slammed open, a steady stream of medical personnel filling the room.
The nurse who’d threatened to cut her hair gave Paris a scathing look, and Trinity growled deep in his chest, the vibration soothing Paris and terrifying Nurse Ratched. There was a strange crackling in the air between Trinity and Israel before her brother turned on the woman.
“You. Come with me.” He grasped her elbow, escorting her out the door, leaving Catalina and Lilly blinking in confusion.
“I told you letting her come back here alone was dangerous.” Paris turned her attention to the door and smiled at the indulgent looks the handsome faces of Del and Dean West.
“It boggles the mind how she manages to land in the middle of pandemonium, looking fresh as a daisy and as gorgeous as the day we met her.”
Damn, Lilly’s men brought back memories of her own father. He’d been tall with broad shoulders narrowing to slender hips. Before he’d died, her dad’s hair had been graying at the temples, and she’d thought he was the most handsome man in the world when he’d laughingly called the change wisdom highlights.
“Damn, girl. I thought somebody started a pinball tournament back here. Lights flashing, bells ringing, and beepers blaring. It was frick-fracking exciting until my brain turned back on. Holy cat balls, how’s your head?”
Paris blinked as she looked around her. Things were still dim, but for the first time since all the drama in California, Paris felt herself relax, confident everything was going to be fine.
A year was a long time to live under the strain Paris had been subjected to. She’d wondered if she’d ever be able to trust enough to have friends again, and now, she found herself surrounded by a group of people who’d offered their support and friendship without asking for anything in return. They weren’t trying to score an introduction to one of her siblings, they weren’t trying to form a political alliance by marrying one of the owners of Adler Oil. The only reason David’s mother had tolerated Paris as her son’s friend was her desire to align herself with Austin, and the good senator had obviously known more about her son’s interest than Paris had.
“Come on everybody, let’s invade the cafeteria. It’s always fun to see the panic on their faces when a large group of Texans walk in.” Turning back to Paris, Lilly winked. “I’m looking forward to our girls’ trip, sugar. We’re going to scheme up something spectacular.”
A collective moan sounded from the men as the women snickered. The room might still be cast in subtle shadows, but Paris suddenly realized how bright her future looked.
Chapter Eighteen
“I’m convinced he is the dumbest son of a bitch on the planet.” Jace Garrett stood with his booted feet spread shoulder length apart, arms crossed over his muscled chest, staring at the wall-mounted monitor in Ian’s office.
“The hospital staff has been circulating the story one of our resort guests fell breaking a hip. The last I heard, there had been two different inquiries they suspected were from Senator Lamb’s camp. It seems her son likes to use his mother’s staff as his personal assistants when it suits him.”
“Not surprised. I can’t imagine the little fucker plans to do much with his life aside from living off the millions his mother has mysteriously acquired as a government employee.” Jace had no use for crooked politicians, and it seemed the club’s staff was always dealing with them in one capacity or another. Hell, I need a fucking vacation.
“I assume your greeting committee is in place.” Jace laughed because Ian’s question was a contender for understatement of the week.
“We had more volunteers than I had places for them. With Paris on her way back to Massachusetts, I have mixed feelings about scooping the little bastard up.” Turning his focus to Ian, he knew his friend understood the dilemma. Local law enforcement wouldn’t be able to charge Lamb with anything other than unlawful entry. Hell, he’d be out of the local lockup in an hour. The only way they’d catch a break would be if he were stupid enough to bring some sort of drawn plan, but since there were no schematics of the island available, he’d have to have drawn them himself from satellite images. Dimwit probably doesn’t know which end of a crayon to use.
“I understand and agree. The FBI agents who interviewed Paris before she was discharged were impressed with her ability to recall details despite her head injury.”
“From what I heard, they cautioned her it probably wouldn’t be enough to convince the D.A. to take the case to trial, which is damned frustrating.” Jace hated knowing David Lamb was going to get away with stalking and sexual assault. He was also concerned Paris was just getting a temporary reprieve. Men like Lamb didn’t stop until they were forced to.
“The D.A. isn’t going to risk pissing off a powerful politician, known for being vengeful, to prosecute a case he doesn’t think he can win. It’s sad but true—prosecutors are worried about their success ratio and their future political aspirations.” Jace knew Ian was right, but that didn’t stop it from grating on his last nerve.
“I’m not making any promises about his condition when the locals get their hands on him.” Jace knew his grin probably made him look like a deranged crackpot, but he didn’t care. David Lamb was going to get his ass handed to him as soon as he stepped foot on shore. Ian chuckled as he zoomed in on the man, struggling to row the small boat the last hundred yards. Lamb killed the motor a quarter mile out, no doubt under the mistaken impression he wouldn’t be noticed if his entry was silent.
“I’d expect nothing less. If his resistance doesn’t look convincing enough, we’ll suffer some mysterious recording glitch.” Ian’s negligent shrug was almost amusing. “It happens.”
Not in Jace’s system it didn’t, but he could damned well play that card if he needed to.
Gage leaned against a large tree, watching David Lamb struggle to row ashore. Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, today was one of the calmest days Jace had ever seen on the Atlantic side of the island, and the pansy-ass was probably going to have a damned heart attack before he managed to get the small dingy close enough to pull it ashore. Hell, Callie had rowed a small boat across the bay in rougher seas and in the damned dark. Fucking pussy.
“You’d better be talking about that candy ass and not me, my friend.” Tony Dent nodded his head in David Lamb’s direction, his low-pitched voice doing little to hide his Italian heritage. Jace knew the other man’s teammates had often teased him about sounding like a character in The Godfather and smiled to himself. Tony joined McGregor Holdings security team after losing a portion of one leg while serving in the Navy SEALs. The injury hadn’t slowed him down, but the desk job Uncle Sam offered hadn’t held any appeal.
Gage admired Tony’s calm demeanor but hated the pain he’d seen in the other man’s eyes when subs rejected him based solely on what he’d lost. Jace and Ian both regularly shut down efforts by Callie and Holly to play matchmaker, but Gage wasn’t foolish enough to believe the two hadn’t enlisted the help of his wife’s best friend and Jace’s younger, wild-child sister. If Abby was involved, the whole thing could go up like the fucking Fourth of July. He only hoped the three of them didn’t drive Tony away from Club Isola with their damned machinations.
“I’m never getting close enough to your happy ass to find out what it’s made of, Tony. But just for the record, I was talking about the limp-armed mama’s boy trying to row ashore. Hell, we may have to send Callie out to show him how it’s done.” Tony snorted a laugh, shaking his head in disgust.
“Is the little fucker armed?”
“Yes. A decent sized knife in one boot and a small caliber handgun in the other. I still can’t believe the asshat never looked up. If I planned to kidnap a woman off Ian McGregor’s private island, I’d fucking be looking around me like
a wild man.” Personally, Gage agreed with Jace and Ian. David Lamb was dangerous for several reasons—his access to quick money, the protection of a crooked politician, and balls bigger than his damned brain. “The weapons aren’t as big a concern as the damned syringe Jace saw him tuck in his shirt pocket. Get it. They aren’t going to be able to make much of a case here, so preserving evidence isn’t a concern, but we damned well want to know what he planned to use.”
The team would relay the information to Trinity in case Lamb decided to make another play for Paris. The plan was to make a huge public spectacle of today’s incident and hope his mother yanked him back in line.
“I still can’t believe you’re letting Abby in on this. Hell, I’d have thought you would have intervened even if her brother allowed it.”
“We choose our battles carefully with Abby. She’s pregnant, not helpless, and we’ve learned from experience, she is safer when we keep her in plain sight. It’s when she decides to fly under our radar, we have issues.” Abby and Paris resembled one another enough to make them easy to confuse from a distance. The goal was for Lamb to spot a woman he believed was his target and walk directly into their trap. They needed him far enough inland to negate any argument he was nothing more than a stranded boater.
Gage watched as Lamb struggled to pull the small craft far enough onto the rocks under the service dock, evidently, the nearby trees would be too much trouble. What a lazy ass. He didn’t bother looking around for cameras, which probably shouldn’t surprise anyone since he’d just spent most of the weekend with a drone hovering overhead without noticing.
“Who’s covering?” Gage knew exactly what Tony was asking. They never left anything to chance, and with Abby set to appear at the top of the trail, this wasn’t a time to let their guard down.
