Monday, June 21, 2010

The streets were empty and quiet but his mind wasn’t it buzzed in anticipation every nerve, every muscle at the ready. Why didn’t these bastards leave his family out it. He was spoiling for a fight and God help the man who crossed his path.
He wondered if he could take revenge on Angel and knew the answer before he’d finished the thought. No matter what she’d done or taken from him the idea of his hands bringing her anything other than pleasure sickened him. The way she smell and tasted, the look of love in her eyes as she climaxed. He found it incredible that he could be feeling anything but anger and contempt for her no matter what her role in this mess. He thought his feelings for her had vanished like the early morning fog on the water. For whatever reasons he didn’t understand they were still there like smoldering ashes waiting again to be ignited by her touch. The anger he felt wasn’t for her but for himself and his physical and emotional betrayal of Kathy. He may have been coerced into having sex with Angel but a part of him wanted it just as badly as she had. This time he had made love to the woman not the child she’d been and he lost himself to her all over again. He loved the girl could he love the woman she’d become.
Nick knew as long as he served a purpose his son would be kept alive and used as a bargaining chip. They had a plan for him and this wasn’t a spur of the moment job it was well planned and thought out all the way down to Angel and her thirst for revenge. What could he have to offer? Drug connections, money, so many possibilities flashed in his mind. Nick was not a patient man and he wanted all the cards on the table needing to know who he was dealing with and what was expected of him. Nick’s heart sank when he walked into the room and saw Special Agent Bob Meyers with Angel. It made sense now how he had known about his involvement with her. He’d rather have seen Satan in all his horned glory than Meyers. He felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room and any hope of getting his son back along with it.
“I think you two know each other,” he said in that southern drawl Nick found so annoying.
He shoved Angel and Nick caught her before she hit the floor. She looked up at him with a tear stained face. Her left cheek was beginning to swell under her eye. She flinched as he wiped the tears from her face.
“How touching,” Meyers drawled.
Nick moved her aside. “You bastard,” he said angrily. He took a step towards him but Meyers was fast and in a heartbeat he had his gun out and pointed at Angel..
“I know you don’t give a damn about your own life but what about hers or your sons.”
Nick stopped in his tracks he couldn’t allow Angel to be hurt no matter what she’d done to him.
Meyers took the gun off safety and pointed it at Nick. Angel panicked and ran towards him. Nick and Angel both yelled ‘no’ at the same time. Nick felt nauseous it was too much like last time with Angie sacrificing herself for him.
Losing her seemed inevitable now. Would he show her mercy and give her the child she longed for. The dumb bastard Dempsey didn’t even know the lives of both his children were in his hands.
Meyers slapped her hard enough she spun around and hit the wall, she tasted blood. “How many times are you going to save a man who doesn’t love you?”
Nick sprung on him and sent Meyers sprawling onto the floor. The cold, cool headed Nick wasn’t present. Meyer’s once again aimed the gun at Angel. “I’ll just chalk it up to you Dempsey. Add one more to your body count. What are you going to do tough guy? Has she told you her little secret yet?”
As Nick turned to look at Angel Meyers gave him his best shot and Nick ended up on the floor. Nick and Angel looked at each other briefly and he searched her eyes for an answer before Meyers started in on him. She had killed for him once before would she do it again if he needed her to? She was there for his transgressions she’d paid enough for loving him it had cost her soul she didn’t need to give up her life too.
“You can always have more children. Maybe not with that vegetable but I’m sure Angel would be willing to oblige you. Maybe I‘ll find some nice family to adopt him or maybe he‘ll go to Thailand a handsome boy like that would be worth a fortune to the right people.”
Nick was an alpha male and that fact made Meyers insane. He’d never been able to best Nick at anything. But this time he was calling all the shots He’s used and abused what was Nick’s and got some satisfaction in that. From the looks of it Dempsey still cared about Angel or at least he was willing to take a beating for her but then Dempsey always cared a little too much about women. Meyer’s viewed them as toys to be discarded when he got bored. He hadn’t gotten bored with Angel and that fact bothered him. No other woman had ever gotten inside or past his defenses. Of all the women he’d been with it why did it have to be one that was in love with Dempsey? Both were going to die but the nagging question was which one was going to die first who did he want to inflict the most pain upon?
Revenge stuck in her throat and tasted like bitter medicine. It burned her insides on the way down. As she lay there staring into his eyes she caught a glimpse of the man who had saved her all those years ago and she knew she couldn’t go through with it. She knew then she had to tell Nick about their daughter. To hurt him was to hurt herself. She had worshiped the man who saved her looked at him through a young girls eyes expecting undying love and loyalty. Today she saw the man flawed and human with all the frailties that went along with it. She found a new love and respect for him as he struggled to do what was right. Because of her betrayal there were going to be no good or easy choices for him only bad and worse. Choices that could cost him his life.How could she live with that knowing it was her fault? She wanted to scream, to cry, "Love me". Now that she had him again how could she let him go? She was bleeding on the inside; her heart shattered like glass into tiny painful shards. She bled for him, for Kathy and the children they all cherished.
Angel was frightened never having seen this side of Meyers before. He had never raised his hand or his to her until now. Had he hated her all these years using her for some plot of revenge against Nick? They had both wanted to teach Nick a lesson but he’d never said anything about killing Nick or taking his son away permanently. If he’d lied about this how could she trust him to find her daughter?
Nick struggled to rise but couldn’t. He knew he had to take what Meyers dished out. He had to survive for Nicky and Kathy. He needed to have faith Jack would find his son before it was too late.
Kingston walked in the room and shoved Meyers. Making sure he kept his face hidden from Nick. “What the hell are you thinking? He’s of no use to us dead or so beat up he can’t do the job.”
“He’s a tough son of a bitch. He’ll be fine. Maybe we could get some coke for you, Nick?” He nudged Nick with the toe of his boot. “You‘re nothing but an animal that needs to be put down.”
Angel quietly left the room. Nick had taken the beating to protect her. She didn’t deserve that kind of compassion after what she‘d done to his family. The only way to make this right was to save Nicky. How could she let him suffer they way she had all these years? Not knowing what had become of her daughter. The kind of pain that drove people to madness. She had to be insane for her to betray the man she loved. There was nothing she could do for Nick now except bring him his son.
Meyer’s bent down and whispered. “If you tell anyone they all die. You’ll be hearing from me soon.”
Nick was alone in the room and tried to rise but pain shot through him like hot needles. When he opened his eyes again three hours had elapsed. It had been seventy two hours and twenty two minutes since he’d last seen his son. The sins of Nick’s past had been reaped upon those he loved. Nick was in too much pain to do anything more than punch Jack’s number on his speed dial. Jack answered on the second ring. “Nick where the hell are you?” He thought he heard the sound of breathing. “Damn it Nick answer me.”
“Forty third and Lakeview, number 211.”
“I’m on the way.”
He wondered what he was going to find when he got there. He punched the gas and sped through the city streets. Did the lucky cat have another life left in him. The locked door didn’t stop Jack. He found Nick on the floor with his cell phone laying next to him. His heart stopped for a minute when he saw Nick wasn’t moving. Maybe this time his luck had run out. Nick coughed and Jack moved quickly to his side.
“What the hell did they do to you?” Jack shook his head in disgust. No one man could have done this to Nick.
“Meyers,” Nick groaned and rolled onto his back.
“What?” Jack couldn’t imagine Nick taking a beating from that pipsqueak “That son of a bitch is involved?”
Nick groaned and nodded the movement sending waves of nausea through him. “He’s got Nicky.”
“You need a doctor.”
“Too many questions.”
“If you don’t kill the little prick I will.”
Nick rolled over onto all fours pulling himself to his feet with Jack’s help.
“He’s as good as dead,” Nick said. “Did you see Angel he hit her pretty hard.”
“No after all you did for her she’s involved with a man who’s out to get you. Good riddance,” Jack grumbled.
Jack helped Nick into the house but got only as far as the couch.
“Damn you’re heavy. You been gaining weight.”
“No you’re getting soft old man.”
Jack let go and Nick collapsed onto the couch. “Lay down smart ass I’ll get you some ice. Just remember you’re only eleven years younger than I am.” When he walked out of the kitchen with the ice pack he found Nick’s eyes were closed. “Nick,” He said softly but got no reply. He watched the steady rhythm of Nick’s breathing and felt reassured his friend would be all right. It wasn’t like Nick to stand still and take a beating like that but if his son’s life was at stake he’d do the same thing. Nick, Kathy and little Nicky we’re his family and when this was over there was going to be hell to pay. He’d never really put into words just what Nick meant to him, that wasn’t what men did but he hoped he knew. They’d been through so much over the years it was mind boggling; births and death and everything in between. He felt the loss of Little Nicky as if he were his own. He had to make sure they all came out of this safely and letting Nick run rampant was the answer.
Deep in his gut Jack wasn’t sure Nick was going to survive this time. Tears stung his eyes at the thought of losing any of them. That was not an option for him. He headed into the kitchen to make food and take his mind off the problem. If Nick wasn’t sleeping he probably wasn’t eating either. He would need all the strength he could find to face what was a head of him.

.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The room was dark and quiet, almost peaceful. It had been three days since he made love to Angel and got the news his son was being used as insurance to ensure his cooperation. Waiting on word from Angel about his son and waiting for Kathy to wake up was taking it’s toll on him. He felt afraid to leave her alone just in case Angel came back to finish what she started. He’d hired guards but wasn't sure who he could trust at this point. Jack always seemed to be on hand to reassure him and spell him so he could get a few hours of restless sleep. He hadn’t told Jack what had happened between him and Angel. He just couldn’t find the words to bring that dark secret into the light. The swelling in Kathy’s brain seemed to be going down and all functions were normal she was off the ventilator but she still wasn’t there with him.
The big bouquet of flowers he sent her sat in the corner of the room. The air was filled with the sweet scent of lilacs. They were blooming now but they had such a short life. So much like his Kathy, they brought beauty and happiness to all who saw them.
Kathy felt warm and peaceful for the first time and something smelled so wonderful she had to find out what it was. She opened her eyes and her breath caught in her throat the man from her nightmare was sitting in the chair next to her bed asleep. The face seemed almost peaceful but it had taunted and terrified her in her dreams. The dark wavy hair looked unruly and a dimple she was all too familiar with. The long and lean body shifted in the chair her heart pounded and something on a primal level told her she needed to be afraid of this man. Dark, fierce eyes had burned her with their gaze before. Her body felt heavy like it didn’t belong to her. She looked around the room looking for a way to escape and when she looked back those eyes were open and staring directly at her. The man sprang to his feet quickly. Kathy opened her mouth to scream but all that came out was a high pitched squeak.
“Oh my God, Kathy.” He reached out a hand to touch her but she struggled to get away from him. Tears slid down her cheeks as she tried to move uncooperative legs. She tried to scream again to plead for her life but what came out made no sense.
“Baby, what’s wrong. It’s me, Nick.” He tried to hold her and comfort her but she struck out at him and he tasted blood. “Calm down.” He tried to hold her still as he hit the call button. Kathy’s Dr. hurried into the room. “What’s happening?”
“She’s awake but she’s hysterical. She seems scared of me.”
“Step back Mr. Dempsey and hit the call button again we’ll give her something to calm her down.”
Nick hit the button again and stepped into the corner of the room out of her sight.
“Nurse, you stay with her until I get back.” She stopped struggling when Nick was out of her sight. “Mr. Dempsey.” The Doctor motioned to the door and Nick followed him into the empty lounge.
“What the hell is going on,” Nick said pacing back and forth.
“I told you she could have some problems. Have you ever been violent with her Mr. Dempsey? Her reaction was very unexpected.”
Nick turned on the Dr. “Where the hell do you get off asking me something like that. I’ve never hit a woman. I couldn’t.” somehow he had managed not to hurt Angel for her part in all this. Nick shook his head. The Dr. didn’t know why but he believed him. His reaction was too sincere and he didn’t seem like he was capable hurting someone defenseless.
“YOU said possible memory loss you didn’t say she’d be terrified of me.” Nick put his hand up to his bleeding lip.
“Mr. Dempsey the best thing you can do right now is to go home. I’m going to run some tests. She may have had a small stroke. I don‘t what to say except stay away from her for now. The fact she‘s awake and alive is amazing any more stress could kill her.”
“She’s my wife for the love of God how am I supposed to stay away. She wasn’t making any sense and she couldn’t move her legs.” Nick rambled nervously.
“I think you should stay away. Her inability to speak and move concerns me. She may never be the Kathy you knew. Please, Mr. Dempsey go home I’ll call you as soon as I know anything.”
Nick shook his head and glared at the Dr. before he left. “That isn’t an option.”
The Dr. let out a sigh of relief and tried to steady his nerves. He’d never had this kind visceral reaction to anyone before. Every time he dealt with the man he wasn’t certain he’d make it out alive. He reminded him of a wolf caring for its wounded mate and God help him if he made a mistake. He couldn’t imagine what a woman like Kathy Tyler could see in a man like that he didn’t understand that bad boy, Batman obsession. Taming the wolf that could kill you but didn’t.