Dangerous Abduction (O'Connor Brothers Book 2) (3 page)

“You know if Aunt Cora said it, then it’s true.” Ian chuckled. James spun around to glare at his younger brother.

“Maybe we should ask Aunt Cora about Sandy.” James raised his eyebrow and Ian clamped his mouth shut.

“So where are you goin’ on the date?” Mason wasn’t going to drop the subject until he got an answer.

“I don’t know if we are, buddy. We’ll see.” James hoped that was the end of the topic. It really wasn’t comfortable having this conversation with his five-year-old son or anyone for that matter.

“Nanny Betty says you’re jus’ gun-shy.” Mason climbed up on his chair as James put the plate of waffles in front of him. “But you’re not ’fraid a guns.”

Ian had completely lost it and wasn’t even trying to hide his laughing. James had to admit the whole conversation was amusing and was struggling not to laugh as well.

“No, Mason, I’m not afraid of guns.” James chuckled.

“Nanny’s so silly.” When Mason started to dig in to his food James silently thanked God the kid found something else to do with his mouth. James needed to have a chat with his mother, grandmother and aunt about those conversations in front of Mason. Not that it would change anything but all he needed was Mason to say something in front of Danny or worse, Marina.

E
lizabeth Avenue on a Friday evening could be considered the equivalent of hell. Marina estimated she was driving about a meter every ten minutes, although, it was more like crawling. It was ten minutes past five and construction crews were on just about every road, trying to finish the last of the road work before winter hit.

Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the steering wheel in frustration because at the rate she was going, the daycare would be complaining about her not being there on time. Of course she couldn’t call, because as usual she’d forgotten to charge her cell phone at the office. One of these days that slip was going to get her into trouble. It wasn’t as if she was late picking Danny up every day, but the staff meeting ran late, and she had to send in her final edits to her boss. That took longer than normal because the article she’d edited was about the police force in the province, and of course her uncontrollable thoughts kept bringing up images of a certain sexy police officer she couldn’t get out of her mind for more than ten minutes.

“Come on, move.” She yelled at nobody really. She just needed to yell out to alleviate her frustration.

The traffic was one of the reasons she moved out of the city to Hopedale. It was a nice town and up until her sister moved there, she’d never visited the small ocean-side community. Stephanie had gotten a job as a physical therapist and personal care attendant but ended up falling in love with her patient and was now married to him. John O’Connor was a great guy and treated her sister like a princess.

He was nothing like Marc.

Marina shook that thought out of her head. He was the last person she wanted to think about right now. A shiver ran up her spine as her nightmare from the previous night flashed in her thoughts. She really needed to talk to someone about them, since they were becoming more frequent instead of less. It didn’t make sense for the dreams to return because Marc hadn’t contacted her in years.

Marina pulled into the lot of the Little Tots Daycare, and parked her car opposite the door. She stepped out of her car. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled.

She scanned the parking lot but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

“Great. Now I’m getting paranoid,” she mumbled as she pulled open the door leading to the daycare center.

The caretaker waved to her as she walked inside. She glanced around to catch sight of Danny, quickly found him at a desk fully entranced on whatever he was colouring. He was almost five years old and since his birthday was in January, he couldn’t start kindergarten until next September. He was so upset when he found out Mason would be going and he wouldn’t.

He was growing so quickly and constantly surprising her with things he said and did. Like the surprise phone call he’d made to James the night before. She still wasn’t over that embarrassment, but it was nice to know help was close by if she needed it. She didn’t know why everyone was so concerned about Marc but it was starting to make her think they knew something she didn’t.

Danny was the only good thing to come out of her marriage and the last thing he needed was to know just how mean his father had become. Being around the O’Connor family was good for him because he got to see how a man should treat a woman. He also had some amazing male role models in the seven brothers.

“Mommy!” Danny squealed and launched himself into her arms almost knocking her off her three-inch heels. She hugged him tightly as she barely caught herself from falling flat on her ass.

“Did you have fun today?” Marina kissed his cheek as she put him back on the floor. He nodded and turned around to grab his things out of the small wooden box on the wall that Danny called his cubby. Each of the kids were assigned their own to put their belongings in.

Danny was babbling about something when Marina pushed open the door and held it for a woman entering the building. With one hand holding his backpack as well as Danny’s hand and the other holding the door, Danny managed to pull from away from her and darted into the parking lot.

“Danny! Stop!” Marina screamed and dropped everything to run after him just as a car turned into the parking lot. Another car was backing out next to the two cars he ran between. She lost sight of him for a moment as a large truck almost clipped her when it tried to turn into a parking spot. Marina frantically scanned the lot. The screeching tires of a car had her spinning around just in time to see someone scoop Danny up and head towards her. Marina covered her mouth with her hands, and her attention locked on Danny as they got closer.

“You know better than to run away from your mom, buddy.” She knew that deep sexy voice. Marina looked up and all the air gushed out of her.

James
.

“I’m sorry, Mommy.” Danny’s arms wrapped around James’ neck as he dropped his head.

“Thank you so much, James,” Marina tried to say but it seemed all the air was gone from her lungs. She pulled Danny from his arms and hugged her son to her.

“As you know, I’ve got one just like him.” James tousled Danny’s hair.

“He’s such a handful sometimes.” Why did her voice always sound so breathy around him?

“They certainly are.” James smiled showing his dimples and perfectly straight white teeth and she wanted to melt. That man could be a freaking model.

“I forgot Mason attends this daycare too.” Marina tried to avoid staring at him and glanced towards where her car was parked but a gust of wind brought his clean scent around her face and without even thinking, she inhaled deeply.

“Yeah, it’s the closest one to his school and the only one that will pick him up after school.”
Why the hell does he have to smell so amazing and why does he wear my favorite men’s cologne? Stetson.

“Mason’s my buddy.” Danny boasted.

“I think you’re his too, big guy.” James chuckled.

“I get my share of Mason stories everyday, especially when they stay with John and Stephanie.” Marina let Danny down on the ground but kept a firm grip on his hand.

“I don’t know what those two do but when Mason comes home, I can’t settle him down for hours.” James rolled his eyes.

“They spoil Danny rotten.” Why were her hands shaking?

“I guess since they’re having trouble getting pregnant, they’re trying to overcompensate with the boys.” She could hear the obvious compassion in his voice and it only made her want him more.

“I know Stephanie’s trying hard not to lose hope.” Marina’s heart went out to her sister and John. There weren’t two people in the world who loved kids as much as they did.

“Nan always says you’ll have what’s for you when it’s for you.” James smiled down at Danny. “I better go get my little terror.”

“It was nice seeing you again, and thanks for grabbing Danny for me.” Marina turned towards her car but stopped before James was out of sight. “James?”

“Yeah?” His gaze met hers and that flutter in her stomach started again.

“Thanks for last night too.” As much as it annoyed her that Stephanie set it all up, it was nice to know that someone was there if she needed them.

“Anytime. It was really great to see you again, Marina.” James turned and disappeared into the building but not before she checked out his firm ass. Damn, the man looked good in everything and knew how to wear a pair of jeans.

She enjoyed the drive from St. John’s to the small town of Hopedale. It was a close-knit town where everyone knew each other, and it was the same place where James and his brothers grew up. Stephanie and John had bought a house a few roads away so John suggested Marina buy his old one, and she jumped at the offer. She loved the relaxed atmosphere of living in a small town because it was quiet and Danny had a huge back garden where he could run around and play.

James wasn’t the reason she moved to Hopedale, but it was a bonus having him less than one hundred paces away. Ninety-eight steps to be exact or at least that was what she was told by Danny and Mason. It was as if the two little boys were joined at the hip. It wasn’t surprising to see Mason sitting in her living room with Danny watching television or having a snack in the kitchen.

It must be hard for James, raising Mason on his own. Sure, he had an amazing family, but she knew from experience how hectic it was as a single parent, especially, when that parent had to work long hours. Even when you had family, it was still overwhelming.

The first night she’d met him, he’d driven her back to her parent’s house after Marc showed up at John’s. The same house where she and Danny now lived. James had been quiet at first, but when they’d pulled into the driveway, he said something she’d never forgotten.

“Marina, you don’t know me or my family, but you need to know something. Stephanie is part of our family now. She gave my brother back to us and he loves her very much. That makes you part of our family too. So if you need anything, and I mean anything, just pick up the phone and call one of us. We’ll move heaven and earth to help you.”

His whole speech moved her to tears and every time she thought about what he said, she’d feel that lump in her throat. The O’Connor family always had her back, through the crap with Marc, involving Danny and her in their family gatherings, and of course on those nights she screamed herself awake.

The only thing that made her uncomfortable was Stephanie, not so subtly, dropping hints about how great James was. Like she didn’t already know how absolutely amazing and sexy he was, but Danny was her only priority. However, her sister seemed to think Danny needed a father in his life and James was the perfect man for the job. Marina didn’t deny James was a great father and sweet to Danny, but she didn’t know if she was ready to open her heart again. Marc had shattered it and she still wasn’t sure if she’d put all the pieces together or if she ever would.

Stephanie had eased off on her lectures lately, but sometimes James would be thrown into the conversation. It wasn’t that she wasn’t attracted to him, because she’d have to be dead not to be. All the O’Connor brothers were hotter than men had a right to be, but the only one to appear in her dreams was James, and none of them were G-rated.

It scared her the way James looked at her sometimes because his gaze had an intensity that made her tremble with desire. Marc had that same intense gaze, and it terrified her. She knew James was nothing like her ex-husband but Marc hadn’t always been the monster he’d turned into at the end of their marriage. It was as if she married one man but divorced another. When she married Marc she had said until death do they part, but she had no idea that the death was almost hers.

She opened the front door and walked into the foyer of her small bungalow. Danny darted around her and went to the living room, plopping himself in front of the television to watch his favorite show. Something about dogs that was on Animal Planet. He was obsessed with dogs and had asked for a puppy numerous times, but Marina didn’t feel he was ready to have a pet. However, she did promise to think about it once he turned five.

Marina turned into her huge bedroom. John had renovated it since he and Stephanie lived there. It had been transformed into an enormous bedroom with an ensuite. She loved to ease into the huge soaking tub once Danny was in bed for the night and relax. Then she’d curl up in her bed to read, work or even walk out onto the back deck that was off her bedroom.

The spacious kitchen was her favorite part of the house mainly because through the large bay window she had a full view of the ocean. Of course Hopedale was surrounded on three sides by the ocean, but she thought the best view was from her garden. When her anxiety started to overwhelm her, she’d stand on the deck and let herself get lost in the sound of the waves splashing against the rocks. The feelings had lessened over the last four years, but lately they’d returned with the nightmares.

Marina changed into her clothing of choice, jeans and T-shirt because it was how she felt the most comfortable. She was never a fan of business attire, but in her line of work she had to be professional. So, the fitted business suits and the torturous high heel shoes were what she wore at the office. Both she and Stephanie were never girlie girls mostly because they’d spent so much time growing up on construction sites with their father or digging around the garden with their mother.

Marina glanced into the living room as she made her way to the kitchen, Danny sat crossed-legged in front of the television amongst the toys he hadn’t picked up before they’d left that morning. She reminded him to pick them up and to move back from the television, but she knew he didn’t hear her. The bunch of puppies running around a garden appeared on the screen, and Danny was enthralled. She shook her head and proceeded to the kitchen.

Getting home after six in the evening was always a pain. Throwing something together to make a quick supper, then homework, then bed. During the week her time with Danny was short but Friday bedtime wasn’t as strictly enforced. It killed her to miss so much time with him. She wished she could work more from home, or possibly even write herself.