Chapter 9 Theo
THEO
That fucking asshole. We knew he was biding his time. That he would make his move when he believed we were comfortable. And we were right.
I started my car and drove down the driveway. “What does the note say?”
Her choked voice broke my heart.
“That’s right, little bird, I will break you too.”
If I had my way, he wouldn’t get close enough to try.
“Maggie, don’t touch anything else.” I turned the corner onto the Forte Femme block. “There might be finger prints on it.”
The silence on the phone had me worried.
My sister quickly answered. “Theo, where are you?”
“In the driveway.” I left the car running, while I rushed inside. “Coming through the front door.”
I killed the call as I walked into the kitchen.
As soon as she spotted me, Maggie rushed over and I didn’t think twice about pulling her close.
My arms wrapped around her and I never wanted to let her go.
I took several moments just to memorize the feel of her.
How small she was against me. How alive.
I allowed my fear to leave, and the rage to lower to a simmer. I’ll get that asshole.
I buried my face in her hair, inhaling that apple shampoo. With my palm against her back her heartbeat pulsed quick and even. She’s safe. I reminded myself.
Tiffany looked up at me. “Shiloh and Nick are on their way over.”
“That’s good.” I kissed the top of Maggie’s head. “You’re safe, sweetheart.”
And I meant it, no one would touch her. Ever. If she thought that kiss earlier was an accident or a mistake, she had another thing coming. It proved that she was mine. And I would burn down the world to keep her safe.
She stepped out of arms, and instead of the fear I expected to see, there was fury etched into her pretty features. “He killed a fucking bird, Theo. Who the fuck does that? What kind of sick perverted monster did that?”
No answer I could give would satisfy her. She needed to vent, so I let her while I held her hand.
“Did he do this to piss me off, or to scare me. Because, yes I am terrified. He killed a defenseless creature who did nothing to him, just to make a point. Imagine what he could do to me. Imagine what he would do to you if he knew where me and the kids were staying.”
I offered her a small smile. “I’m not worried about me.”
A small lie, but necessary under the circumstances.
“Maybe not, because you have that million dollar security system. And I’m grateful for it.
So fucking grateful. Because it means my kids are safe from that monster.
Can you imagine killing a fucking animal.
God, he better not come anywhere near me, because I’ll make sure he’ll never be able to procreate again.
And that would be a pity, since that fucker does make beautiful children. ”
“Maggie.” Tiffany walked around the counter and placed both her hands on Maggie’s shoulders. “Those kids are all you. They have your smarts and kindness.”
“Exactly.” We turned around at the new female voice. Shiloh stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Tiffany must’ve called her while I was freaking out. “There is no part of that man, other than the obvious, in any of those kids.”
The thought eased an ache in my chest I hadn’t even realized was there. No matter how much good I tried to do, I still feared that there was more of my father in me than I wanted to admit.
Nick walked around Shiloh. “Where is the package?”
“On the counter.” Tiffany pointed in the direction of the package.
“The police are on the way, they’ll definitely want to dust it.” He then looked directly at me. “And you will let them do their job before you go all scorched earth on him.”
I snorted but didn’t answer. Every instinct told me to drive over to that motherfucker’s house and beat the shit out of him.
He waited until my woman was comfortable. This was worse than his brothers showing up at The Reverse Cowgirl to give her a hard time. At least then, if one of us were around, those fuckers would see the other side of our fists. We’d all get arrested but Maggie wouldn’t be terrified.
Usually, she picked the kids up at school, bought groceries, and even popped into The Reverse Cowgirl to check on things. During the day she placed orders and handled most of the admin. She had yet to do a night shift since she had capable staff and wanted to be home with the kids.
Still, we both knew it would come. She’d want to check on things and make sure her staff was competent enough to handle things when she wasn’t there. And the fucked up part was that I would have to let her go. My home was not a prison or a cage.
How was I going to let that happen knowing the douchebag was trying to terrorize her.
Two police officers showed up and confiscated the package and took both Maggie’s and Tiff’s statements.
One of them also dusted the door for prints. Once he was done he walked back inside. “Ma’am, it may be difficult to tie this to your ex-husband. We only found two sets of prints on that box, and neither of them are clear. But I do believe they belong to the two of you.”
He flicked his pen between Maggie and Tiffany.
“I believe that’s all you’ll find.” Maggie rolled her eyes at the cop. “He would’ve made sure there was no way I could prove anything. It would be a strong strategy if I was the woman he thought I was.”
The female cop smiled at her. “And what kind of woman does he think you are?”
“He thinks I’m a weak little woman.” She sat on one of the stools facing all of us. “He thinks that I would go back to him just to stop that from happening again. But he’s learned nothing in all the time he’s known me.” She pointed at the box with an exaggerated wave.
She had a point. Maggie had never done anything other than what she believed was the best thing for her and her children.
She married a man despite her family’s protests because she believed a child needed his father.
We all knew she hadn’t spoken to the police about what she knew because it was the bargaining chip to keep her children away from that family.
The Marina De Ferrier police department was angry at that decision. They believed Maggie had enough to lean on that family.
And now she was living with me because she wanted to keep her children safe. Fred Ripper had no idea who he was dealing with.
The cops left, the click of the front door echoing in the silence surrounding us.
I kept my gaze on the hallway they’d walked through for longer than was necessary.
The cops had the evidence and the statements, and we all knew nothing would come of it.
Fred Ripper knew what he was doing, and he wouldn’t stop until he had Maggie.
Or, someone stopped him.
Maggie’s shoulders sagged and she let out a long breath and sat on one of the stools at the large kitchen island.
I moved to her side, wanting her within touching range.
She leaned back, her back resting against the island and shook her head as her eyes found mine.
The righteous rage drained from her features, and even her posture.
The twist of her mouth indicated that she was far from okay, but she was calming down.
The front door opening had us all on alert as a pair of workboots stomped down the hallway.
Seeing Hunter’s annoyed face had us all relaxing. “Please for the sake of everyone’s safety, can we put some cameras up around this place?”
“No.”
“No.”
Both Maggie and Tiffany spoke at the same time.
Nick let out a wry laugh. “You may as well speak to the wall for how effective that will be.” He shoved his hands in his pockets.
“My wife, my sister, and two of my sisters-in-law lived here and at one point or another all of them were resistant to what they called excessive security measures. I think the house does something to their sense of self-preservation.”
Hunter let out the longest sigh as Nick walked out.
“Come on you guys.” His gaze darted between Maggie and Tiff. “Surely, we can upgrade to something more than you have here. It’s marginally better than having a tin can that rattles when the door is opened.”
The alarm system was still the same one from when Tiffany moved in and at that point it was almost decade old. There were cameras at one point but they were taken down once a stalker was caught.
Shiloh smiled at Hunter. “You guys always go to the extreme.”
“Extreme.” Hunter’s eyes widened. “A mad man just dropped off a dead animal on their doorstep. I think the situation calls for getting as extreme as we can.”
“We don’t need cameras.” Tiffany cocked her hip and placed her hand on it as she stared down Hunter. “We know who sent the package.”
“But the cameras will help you prove it.” His face softened as he looked at her. “Maybe you should move back home until all of this is over.”
She shook her head. “That satan’s skid mark is after Maggie. We’ll let word spread where she’s staying and he’ll know she’s not here. And I’ll be fine.”
Hunter and I exchanged a look, then he looked back at her.
He took a step closer to Tiffany. The concern showed in the stiff set of his jaw and the deep set of the lines at the corner of his eyes.
“Then at least let us upgrade the alarm system. Maybe I should move in here until all this blows over.”
“Absolutely not.” Tiffany’s brows reached her dark hairline. “You know only women live here. Besides, I am perfectly safe. I will chat to some of the patrons at Bowzer’s tomorrow and let them know how cozy Maggie looks shacking up with my brother.”
She gestured her chin at my arm around Maggie’s shoulder.
Maggie looked where my arm rested then back at my sister. “Not one word.”
“Oh, there will be lots of words.” Tiffany said.
Shiloh smiled and sat on Maggie’s other side. “And lots of questions.”
Maggie rolled her eyes but didn’t move away from my arm. “I think both Tiffany and I can agree to an upgraded alarm system.” Then she turned to my sister. “If cameras will make you feel safer while I am not staying here I think you should do it, and we can talk about it when I move back.”
“No cameras.” Tiffany was adamant.
The reminder that our living arrangement was temporary twisted in my gut. I knew that it was. I knew that eventually Maria would be coming back and that Maggie would want to pay her way somehow.
That was not a problem I could solve immediately. What I needed to do was convince her that my home was her home. I needed to show her that her and her kids belonged with me.
“How about this?” I stepped closer to Maggie. “Hunter stays here tonight, in case Fred comes back. And tomorrow we get a new system installed.”
Maggie smiled up at me. “A fancy one with a retina scan and a DNA sample.”
“We’ll get the latest and greatest system.” I rolled my eyes at her and then tightened my arm around her, pulling her flush against me. We were done talking about Fred and I was done with her being out in the open. I needed her safe. Now. “In the meantime, let's get home.”
Maggie looked over at Tiffany. “Do you want me to stay?”
My sister looked at her and the two of them seemed to have some internal conversation before my sister squared her shoulders. “No, I’m sure everything will be fine.”