A Little Harmless Fantasy(93)
He let loose a roar of rage and turned to face her.
“You fucking bitch.”
Now, his temper took hold of his emotions and it was just what she’d hope for. She was ready for him this time. He came at her and she kicked out, connecting first with his thigh. He stumbled again but turned on her easily. He got one swift kick in, then another. Soon, she lay still as she tried to fight the pain radiating through her entire body.
He made a mistake. He crouched down, his face inches from hers. “Now you are going to make this an enjoyable experience for me. You were just a means to an end but it will be a pleasure to kill you.”
She used what little strength she had left and pulled herself up. Then, as he leaned in closer she drew back and smacked her head against his. The pain of it made her dizzy and her vision blurred. She gritted her teeth and kicked the bastard in the knee again. He fell to the ground and now, she knew she could stand up. She swayed and almost fell over once or twice, but she pulled herself up to her feet.
Fear, loathing and rage surged. She pulled her leg back and kicked him right in the groin. After that, she didn’t truly remember what happened. She kept kicking him, over and over until she felt someone grab her by the arm. Maura turned ready to hit the bastard who touched her and came face to face with Rory. Zeke was right behind him. Miami police were pouring into every opening.
“Maura,” he whispered. Even with all the noise she heard the words and the horror in his voice. The room was spinning around her as Zeke walked up to her. Gently, he took her in his arms.
“It’s okay, baby. We’re here now.”
And for the first time since the ordeal began, she let the tears fall.
Rory walked over to the man and sneered. “O’Connell.”
Zeke looked over her shoulder and she could feel him shake. It wasn’t fear, it was rage and there was a good chance that one or both of them would have killed the man for what he had done to her—if the police had not been there.
Zeke shifted as if to join Rory, but she stopped him.
“Oh, damn,” she said. For the second time that day, her world went completely black.
Chapter Twenty-one
“You didn’t believe me.” She tried to sound angry but it came out in a hitching breath. She could tell that both of them knew she was near tears.
“We wanted to, love,” Zeke said as he tried to take her hand.
“Wanting to and doing so are two different things. I can’t deal with men who can’t tell the difference.”
The doctor glided into the room. “It looks like you can be released today. After a talk with your brother on the phone and the fact that your trip to Hawaii will be restful since you have your own jet, I’m going to allow it. But, I called a colleague at Queen’s Medical. You are to check in with her while you are there.”
She nodded.
When the doctor left them alone, Rory stood up. “What’s this crap about going to Hawaii?”
“Conner wants me there, and Jillian does too. He wants me to take a rest.”
It wasn’t what she wanted, not really, but maybe it was what she needed.
“You can’t think that you need to be there, away from us,” Zeke said. His voice was low, and his accent deepened.
Looking at him hurt. It hurt more than the three cracked ribs that bastard gave her. She wanted to think that they wanted her on some other level, but when push came to shove, they didn’t. She couldn’t stay with men who couldn’t at least believe in her a little.
“I think it would be best for me. For…all of us.”
Zeke glanced at Rory and she could feel his need to argue rise. Zeke would argue just because he felt guilty. Thankfully, someone knocked at the door. It swung open and her brother strode in. His face was stern and there were bags under his eyes.
He didn’t stop until he was by her side. She could tell he couldn’t decide what to do.
“Maura,” he whispered. She wasn’t sure he even knew he said her name. She took his hand in hers.
“It looks much worse than it is.”
He swallowed and she knew that he was barely holding it together. Conner had a world-class temper when he let it loose and she was waiting for him to explode. He had probably been holding onto it the entire ride over. She didn’t have a long wait.
He looked at Zeke and Rory. “How the fuck could you let this happen?”
Zeke winced but Rory crossed his arms over his chest.
After a long moment of silence, Zeke answered. “We were looking at the wrong person.”
“You two are trained in the field of security and you let this happen? What the hell else can I think but you are incompetent.”
She knew her brother was upset, even scared. But she would not lay the blame of the entire episode at their feet. “You are the one who would not listen to me when I said it had nothing to do with Petersen. The cartel wasn’t going to care about Petersen and if they were going to go after someone it would be the federal prosecutor.”