Forever Hers (10 page)

“Good. Step back and aim at me again.”

He moved toward her, grabbed the wrist holding the gun with his left hand. With his right, he grabbed the barrel, pushed it toward her, rolling it against her thumbs until the gun pointed at her. He now held the barrel.

“If you’ve noticed, all my moves involved forcing the thumb away from the gun. The thumb might anchor your grip on the barrel, but it is also the weakest part of your hand. Now that I have the gun, I can remove the magazine and throw the gun away or hit you hard on the temple to stun you. You try it.”

She tried and he let her take the gun from him. He made it too easy. “You could try resisting.”

“I will. Right now, I want you to get the basic moves. Later, we’ll work on each move until you master them all.” He stepped back and wiggled his fingers. “Point the gun at me, except this time, use one hand. Pretend you are holding Raelynn’s hand with your other one.”

He waited until Amy complied then he grabbed her wrist with his left, faked a punch. “Hit the inside of the elbow as hard as you can. The intention is to break it or sprain it. The gun drops or you pry it from his hand, knee him as hard as you can and run.”

Amy nodded, but on the inside, she wondered if she had what it took to protect her daughter. She wasn’t sure what Nolan’s end game was.

“Listen, when you point a gun at someone, you’d better mean business. Knowing how to use a gun and actually shooting someone are two very different things, so I’ll ask you one thing. How far are you willing to go to protect yourself and Raelynn?”

Memories of what Nolan put them through flashed through her head. Her hand began to shake, but she stiffened her arm not to show it. “All the way.”

“Then show it.” Eddie stepped back and crossed his arms, his expression serious.

Egged on by the horror from her past, Amy lifted the gun. Eddie walked toward her, eyes fierce, lips curled back in a snarl, muscles bulging in his arms as his hands fisted. A feeling of
déjà vu
rolled through her. Light exploded in her head. The man bearing down on her was no longer a friend. No longer her trainer. In his place was a shorter man, curly light-brown hair, moustache twitching, hazel eyes gleaming with malice, mouth hurling taunts.

“Pull the goddamn trigger. If you mean it, you sniveling idiot, pull the trigger.”

Rage rose from deep inside her core, the echoes of it piercing the air in a yell as hands reached for her. Amy pulled an evasive maneuver she’d read about online—she dropped to her knees, raised the gun and pressed it against his stomach.

Surprise flickered in hazel eyes superimposed on gray. The mouth opened and closed, but all she heard was, “You don’t have it in you to do it. You are useless, Amy. You are less than useless. You are nothing.”

She pulled the trigger. The click sounded like a cannon in the silence and everything fell into place. Sanity returned as Amy recognized her surroundings and Eddie staring down at her in total shock. He sunk to her side, sat on the floor and pulled her into his arms. Her breath hitched. Eyes burned.

“It’s okay,” Eddie murmured. “You’re safe.”

She was shaking so hard the gun slipped out of her hands. The thud, as it hit the garage floor, reminded her she was supposed to be strong, the protector of her family. Yet she couldn’t find the strength to push Eddie away, to refuse the comfort his arms offered. She’d stay for a minute longer while she gathered her wits about her.

“Shh,” he murmured, tucking her head against his chest. “It’s okay. You did it.”

She didn’t know how she’d ended up between his thighs, her hands gripping his shirt. She became aware of his hot skin against hers, the pulse beating at the base of his neck, the way his shadow tickled her skin. Fear disappeared and desire leaped through her senses faster than a smoldering line of gun powder.

Heart pounding, she leaned back just as he did. Their gazes locked. Amy gulped at the answering heat in his eyes. He cupped her face, his eyes moving to her lips. Amy’s lips opened in response. She wanted to feel his lips against hers, needed the connection to another person even if it was just for a moment.

“Talk to me, Amy,” Eddie said. “I want to help you but I can’t without knowing what’s going on.”

His words were like a dunk in the Arctic. What was she thinking? She had enough problems to deal with without starting an affair with Eddie Fitzgerald.

She swallowed and found her voice. “You are already helping by teaching me self-defense.”

“It’s not enough. Who’s stalking you? Are you running from the law? Whatever you did, I can get you a legal team with one phone call.”

Amy scrambled from his lap. His expression was so earnest, the concerned look in his gray eyes real, but she couldn’t involve anyone in her mess. She tried with her parents and they’d ended up believing Nolan. She didn’t want Eddie to know how weak and stupid she’d been. Call her vain, but she rather liked the occasional flash of interest and admiration in his eyes. It had been awhile since a man looked at her like that.

“I can’t discuss this, Eddie. This is my problem and
I
will take care of it.” The piercing sound of the house phone resounded in the empty garage and Amy jumped, her eyes going to the phone mounted on the wall. Each ring was like a needle prickling her skin.

She knew she should answer the phone, but she couldn’t close the short space to pick it up. Nolan would be on the other end. Ever since she saw him at the grocery store, someone had been calling and then hanging up without saying a word. If she wasn’t expecting a call about her car, she would have unplugged all the phones days ago.

“I’ll deal with this,” Eddie murmured as he walked past her and yanked the receiver from its cradle. “Listen, you son of a bitch. I told you to never, ever call here again. You want to talk to her, be a man and show your face.” He slammed the phone back on the wall then turned around. “How long has he been calling?”

Amy’s eyes widened. “Since we dropped off the car. How did you know?

“He called while you were showering. Three times.”

The phone started again. Eddie cursed and reached for it. Amy gave herself a mental shake. He shouldn’t fight her battles. “I’ll answer it.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, took the phone and brought it to her ear. “What do you want?”

“Mrs. Franklin?”

Amy frowned. “Yes?”

“This is Randal from Jack’s Auto. Your car is ready.”

“Oh, uh, thank you. When do you close?”

“Six o’clock.”

“I’ll be there before then. Thank you, Randal.” She put the phone back on its cradle, then unplugged it from the wall. Now, she didn’t have to listen to his heavy breathing. She planned to unplug all the ones inside the house too.

“Was that Randal from the auto shop?” Eddie asked.

“Yes. My car is ready. Do you think you can give me a ride into town before six?”

A pensive look crossed his handsome face. “Sure. In fact, we can leave after Raelynn wakes up. I have somewhere to go at four but I’m hoping you and I can go through some self-defense moves before I leave.”

***

Before going to pick up her car, Eddie stopped by the sporting goods store to pick up a few things. Randal was waiting for them with the keys when they arrived at Jack’s Auto Services. She left Eddie in the car with Raelynn and went inside the building to pay for the repairs.

“It runs very smoothly. We also changed the oil and rotated the tires.” He flashed a boyish grin. “Those were complimentary because we want you to come back.”

Hoping he wasn’t going to ask her out again, Amy pulled out her purse and counted several hundred dollars and offered them to the guy.

Randal shook his head. “He hasn’t told you?”

“Who?”

“Your brother. He came here the day we inspected your car and said he’s paying for it. He did this morning. We told him the car also needed an oil change and he offered to pay for that too, but we decided we wanted you to come back, so we threw that in as a comp.”

Eddie Fitzgerald. He must have called while she was in the shower or something. How many times did she have to tell him she wasn’t a charity case? Amy gave the service tech a tight smile. “He forgot to mention that.”

“He said it was a surprise. Great guy. Funny sense of humor. Tell him I’ll see him tonight at Eichardt’s Pub.”

“I’ll do that.” Great guy, my butt. More like dense and arrogant. Her anger at Eddie’s high-handedness grew with each step. It irked her that she couldn’t yell at him in front of Raelynn. And to imagine she was ready to tell him every ugly, dirty detail of her past life.

Stiffening her upper lip, Amy started her car and jacked up the AC then took a deep breath before opening the back door of the SUV. She unbuckled Raelynn and helped her down. When she turned around, Eddie had already unhooked the booster seat.

She gripped the booster seat and yanked it from his hands. “You and I are going to have a long talk when we get home.”

He gave her a puzzled look that only pissed her off more. Grinding her teeth, she turned and snapped the seat in place than buckled Raelynn in and closed the door. She yanked her wallet from her purse, pulled out five hundred dollar bills, which should cover what she owed him, including towing her car and groceries, and slapped them in his hands.

“I know your family has money, Fitzgerald, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t turn me into your latest charity project. I pay for my own things.” She marched to the driver’s door, opened it and slid behind the wheel.

Eddie rapped on her window.

She ignored him, started the car and turned to watch the rear as she reversed. When she faced forward, her eyes widened. What the hell was he doing? Eddie had planted himself in front of her car and from his flashing eyes, he was furious.

Well, tough. That made two of them. Amy gripped the steering wheel and glared. She could either run him down or continue going in reverse. The problem was there was very little space between her rear fender and the line of second hand cars in the parking lot.

She pressed a button and the window rolled down. “What are you doing?”

“Do you mind explaining this,” he waved the money, “and that ridiculous comment you threw at me?”

“That is the money I owe you. I told you…” Amy looked at the rearview mirror to make sure Raelynn wasn’t watching them. Raelynn was busy playing with Mr. Rabbit. Amy shifted the gear into park, then stepped out of the car, crossed her arms and glowered. Eddie moved closer, his eyes narrowed.

“Your buddy Randal just told me what you did. You shouldn’t have paid for the repairs behind my back. This is my car, therefore my responsibility.” His expression grew thoughtful. “That money should cover everything including the towing fee and the groceries. As for the self-defense lessons, they’re off. I will not be treated like—”

Eddie muttered something then shoved the money in her hand and took off toward the service shop. Amy stared after him, wanting to yell at him. What was he going to do? Punch Randal for telling her the truth? She would have found out anyway when she picked up the car. Shaking her head, she turned to enter her car and froze. The words he’d mumbled finally registering.

“I didn’t pay for your car repairs,” he’d said.

If not him, then who? Even as the question crossed her mind, everything fell into place. Nolan. She owed Eddie an apology.

Eddie searched the sprawling and busy interior of the auto shop until he located the young man Amy had been talking to earlier. “Are you Randal?”

The young man turned and frowned. “Yes?”

“Did you service Mrs. Franklin’s car?”

“One of our guys did. Why? Is something wrong?”

“The car is fine. I’m more interested in the man who paid her bill.”

Confusion flashed in the mechanic’s eyes. “Her brother?”

“Is that what he told you?”

“Yes. He knew her name and her little girl’s and had pictures of her.” His voice became defensive. “He even had one of her when she was pregnant. Her hair was a different color, but it was Mrs. Franklin. He said it was a surprise.”

“That’s the oldest trick in the book, Randal. He pays the bill, you give him the receipt, he gets access to her phone number and address.”

Randal frowned. “You mean he’s not her brother?”

“No, Nolan is my ex-husband and a very disturbed man,” Amy said from behind him.

Something cold settled inside Eddie at her words. This was worse than he’d thought. Whenever exes were involved, it always meant custody dispute. And custody disputes were ugly. Raelynn, seated inside Randal’s cubicle a few feet away, played with Mr. Rabbit. She appeared completely oblivious to the unfolding drama.

“Can you describe him?” Amy asked, surprising him.

“About five-eleven, maybe six, skinny, black hair and a thin moustache. I had no idea he was crazy. I would never—”

“Yet you did.” Eddie wasn’t in the mood to placate the man. “I don’t know how you do things around here, young man, but you never give out information about a customer to strangers just because they claim to be a relative. I don’t care how many pictures he flashes and how much money he spends in your shop. Because of you, he’s been calling the house and harassing her.”