A Little Harmless Fantasy (33 page)

“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.”

By
the time she stopped talking, she was exhausted. Apparently, once
again, the cooler head in the room was Jillian.

“Guys,
why don’t you take it outside?”

Conner
opened his mouth but apparently after seeing Jillian’s
expression, he thought better.

“Okay.
Come on,” he ordered without waiting to see if they would
follow. Typical Conner. She would have smiled but her split lip was
still throbbing.

Rory
gave her a glance, and said nothing else before walking out. Zeke
hesitated, leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Get some rest,
love.”

Then
he walked out.

Jillian
waited until the door shut to approach her bed.

“So,
you really know how to throw a party,” she said.

Maura
laughed then groaned. “Don’t make me smile. It hurts.”

“Oh,
baby.” Jillian sat in the chair next to the bed. She slipped
her hand into Maura’s. “How bad does it hurt?”

Maura
squeezed her hand. “Pretty bad. Although, they keep me drugged
up.”

“Let
me guess, you don’t want to be drugged so you are making sure
you only take in so much. You will take some drugs for the trip back.
It will be too hard on you, honey.”

She
nodded knowing that was true.

“Plus,
they didn’t want me sleeping last night because of the
concussion.”

Jillian
sighed. “Now, you want to tell me how much the rest of it
hurts?”

She
glanced at Jillian and wondered not for the first time how strange
fate was. The two of them had been thrown together in college. She
was pretty sure that no one in their right mind would have paired the
two of them up. The tattooed bohemian and the nerd. But, they had
become good friends and now they were sisters.

The
bad thing about that was that Jillian knew her all too well.

“I
don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Listen,
be straight with me. Your brother would get upset if I slapped you
around considering the condition you’re in.”

She
smiled, just a little so it didn’t hurt.

“They
didn’t believe me. Even while they were all checking out the
Petersen connection, they ignored what I said, and they doubted what
I claimed. They didn’t really believe someone was stalking me.”

Jillian
leaned forward and brushed some of Maura’s hair from her
forehead. “And that hurt more than being dumped.”

It
was so good to finally have someone understand. Tears filled her eyes
and her vision wavered. Jillian said nothing. She picked up a tissue
and handed it to Maura.

“To
have someone doubt me like that...I am not sure I can deal with that.
No one has ever doubted my intelligence.”

“They
called you stupid?” Jillian asked, outrage sparking through her
voice. “Isn’t that just like men? If it were someone
else, then yes, but you...you never overreact. Zeke knows that.”

“So,
it has been a rough couple of weeks.”

“Yeah,
I can tell. Basically because you look like shit.” Maura
laughed through the tears.

“I’ve
missed you.”

“You
just saw me ten days ago and if all of this was going on, you should
have called.”

Maura
sighed. “Promise me you won’t get mad?” Jillian
nodded. “I was afraid you would tell Conner. He wasn’t
happy with the situation of me being with two guys to begin with. I
know he has serious doubts about Rory. This just made it worse.”

“Tell
you what. As long as I think you are not in imminent danger, I
promise not to tell Conner.”

“The
two women in my life plotting against me?” Conner asked from
the doorway. He was alone.

Jillian
smiled when she saw him. For once in a really long time, Maura felt
the sharp sting of jealousy. She was happy for her brother and her
best friend, but their happiness saddened her even more.

“Not
plotting, but we have to establish rules for friendship again. Where
are the guys?” Jillian asked.

“They
had to go talk to the police again. They want all the information
they can get on O'Connell. Interpol is very interested in him. He is
suspected in doing some very bad things overseas.”

“In
Ireland?” she asked trying her best not to let anyone see just
how much it upset her that they left her. They just left the hospital
knowing she was leaving soon. It sealed the end of the relationship
she had with the two of them.

“There
and then he became a gun for hire. He’s suspected of teaching
some terrorists in the Middle East, and then some in Somalia. He’s
a very bad man.”

“And
Maura beat the shit out of him,” Jillian said with more than a
little pride in her voice. Maura fought the smile because it would
hurt again.

“I
did. So, I guess, I am better than the FBI and Interpol. They can
suck it.”

Conner
smiled then it faded. “You’re coming with us.”

She
nodded. “I think it will do me some good to just hang out on
the beach, rest.”

Conner
and Jillian shared a look of worry.

“Don’t
freak. I’m in a lot of pain and I’m smart enough to know
rest is the best medicine.”

Conner
nodded. “I’m going to call Brett and tell him we are
going to be leaving soon.”

He
left them alone and Jillian sat back down.

“You
can do it now.”

“What?”

“Cry.”

“You
think I am going to cry over those jackasses?” The last of it
came out on a sob.

“Yes,
and then we can plot revenge.” She took Maura into her arms.
And for the first time in days, Maura broke down and cried.

* * * *

A
day later, Rory was climbing the walls. He just didn’t know how
hard it would be without having Maura in their lives. And it had been
less than twenty-four hours. When they had returned and she’d
ignored them, it had been bad. This was impossible.

“Quit
pacing, you’re making my head hurt.”

He
snarled at Zeke. The man didn’t understand. He was always so
fucking calm and cool. Rory used to think that he could read him, but
right now, he couldn’t. He thought the bastard would be ready
to go get Maura, but he wasn’t. He was sitting there behind his
desk. Damn fool.

Rory
stopped in front of the large window and looked down on Miami. He
never would have thought a city like this would appeal to him. So
many people, hot weather...but he realized for the first time he was
home. Or he had been before everything had gone to hell. Without
Maura with them, it felt wrong. He needed her as much as he needed
Zeke, and that scared the fucking bloody hell out of him.

“You
know, if you would work, it would be easier.”

He
rolled his shoulders. It was the only thing that kept him from
hitting Zeke in the back of the head.

“I
don’t have anything to work on right now.”

“Yes,
you do. Sanders wants an estimate on the security for that
fundraiser. You need to come up with how many men we need for it so I
can work it up.”

“And
just like that, you expect me to go back to work, pretend everything
is alright?”

“What
else can we do? She chose to leave. We have to let her go. Besides,
it wasn’t like it was more than an affair.”

“What
the fuck does that mean?”

Zee
sighed. “From the beginning you didn’t want anything to
happen. But then, all the sudden you were interested. You don’t
think I know why you did that? Come on, after knowing you most of
your life I think I know you well enough to understand your motives.”

Rory
shook his head. “I did it for you. You were sitting here pining
over her.”

For
a moment a flash of anger slid over Zeke’s face. The fact that
it made him satisfied, also made him feel small.

“Really?
So it has nothing to do with controlling the situation?”

“I
was attracted to her.”

Zee
snorted. “Any man would be, if they were smart. But, that
wasn’t it, was it? You were worried about my relationship with
her. It’s the only reason you came here. You knew that there
was something there between Maura and me and it was driving you crazy
that you couldn’t control the situation. So, you come here,
hook back up with me, then bring her in.”

“I
came back because I love you,” he said. It was the truth. There
was no sense hiding it because he knew that Zeke already understood
the depths of his feelings for him.

“Ah,
but what of Maura? What do you feel about her?”

“Fuck,
I love her too,” he shouted. Then, he stopped his pacing.
Dammit, he did love her. She was a goof, someone who could always
crack a joke. Seeing her pain the last few weeks had been one of the
most debilitating things he had confronted. When she hurt, he hurt.

“About
bloody time you admitted it,” Zeke muttered as he stood. He
turned off his computer and started toward the door.

“Where
the fuck are you going?”

Zee
turned and faced him. “To Maura.”

“Wait.”

He
jogged to catch up with him. “What are you doing? Dammit, Zee,
stop.”

He
stopped in the hall and turned to face him. “What?”

“What
the fuck is going on?”

“I’ve
been waiting for you to come to your senses. Can’t believe it
took so long but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It took you
long enough to admit you loved me.”

Rory
frowned. “You’re not upset I admitted to loving her?”

Zeke
shook his head. “No. Why would I when I love both of you?”

He said it as if it was simple and for Zee, it was. He could always
look through the shit life handed him and see what was really
important. Other people got bogged down in the details, but when
something was this important, Zee didn’t. He loved both of them
and it was all that mattered.

“People
will think we’re freaks.”

Zee
shrugged. “They already think that. This way, we have Maura and
they think we’re freaks. Besides, when did you decide to worry
about what other people think? Seriously?”

He
sighed. “I thought you would.”

Zee
smiled and walked forward. Rory felt his heart turn over. The man had
him by the ballocks and Zee knew it. Hell they both did. And there
was something so bloody sexy about that.

Zee
cupped his face in his hands and kissed him. Slow, long, and wet.
When he pulled back, he smiled.

“Let’s
go get our woman.”

Warmth
spread through Rory. For the first time in days, the feeling of
rightness shifted through him. He gave Zeke a quick kiss.

“Let’s
go.”

“She
might say no.”

“Too
bad. I’ll drag her back by her hair if I have to,” Rory
said.

“There’s
the man I love,” Zee said as he pulled out his phone.

“You’re
calling her?”

“Nope,
but we need a flight, love.”

“Good.
Get the flight, then we get Maura,” Rory said.

But
he did have something he needed to pick up at home before they left,
then off to their future.

He
just hoped they hadn’t waited too long.

“What
are your plans today?” Conner asked at breakfast. Jillian knew
that he was trying to engage with Maura but she knew her friend
wasn’t ready.

Maura
shrugged as she played with her cereal. She hadn’t been eating
enough to keep herself alive, but Jillian knew she needed her space.
Unfortunately, her brother didn’t understand that. He wanted
his baby sister to be better. Now.

The
physical bruises were just now starting to fade, but the wounds to
Maura’s pride were going to take longer.
Much longer
.

“I
think I’ll go for a walk on the beach,” she said.

Conner
rose with her and she looked at him. “What are you doing?”

“Going
with you.”

She
glanced at Jillian and she could see Maura wanted to be alone. Conner
had been hovering like a mama. Jillian was of the belief that brother
and sister needed to set their own boundaries. She was not getting in
the middle of that.

“I
want to be alone, Conner.”

“I
think that you might—”

“I
didn’t ask. I just told you, I want to be alone. Deal with it.”

With
that she left the kitchen, letting the screen door slam behind her.

There
were a few moments of stunned silence. Jillian wasn’t stunned.
She knew that Conner and Maura had their own issues to deal with and
they were starting to come to a head. Trying to sooth either one of
them was going to leave Jillian hurt…and Conner and Maura
wouldn’t heal. Of course, her stubborn husband wanted
everything to be all right right now. Like Maura was going to feel
better overnight.