Chapter Twenty-Four Dare
T hree Years Later
As I flipped through the blouses in my closet, my eyes zeroed in on those with a high neckline. I wasn’t sure I possessed one that would cover everything I needed it to. One that would hide the multi-colored bruising from where I’d been forcefully choked.
My hands froze as the memories from two nights ago assaulted me. A shudder reverberated through me when I thought of his hands and mouth on me. The terror was just as fresh today as it had been that night.
When I caught my reflection in the closet mirror, I shook my head. How the fuck had I gotten here?
Growing up, many abusive men had come through the doors of Taverna by the Sea. Although their faces all ran together over the years, I explicitly remembered their wives and girlfriends. How they walked on eggshells around them. How they always wore extra heavy makeup. How their hands shook as they reached for their wine.
As a young girl, I’d vowed to never, ever be one of those wives or girlfriends.
Yet here I was.
Truthfully, I owed so many of those wives and girlfriends an apology. I always judged them for staying. What I hadn’t realized then was they’d probably tried to leave. But no matter how hard they tried to escape the abuse, their boyfriends and husbands wouldn’t let them.
Just like Wesley Stayton wouldn’t let me.
Pinching my eyes closed, I tried shutting his image out of my mind. His friendly smile juxtaposed with his menacing glare. He was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde incarnate.
When Dare shattered my trust, I’d closed myself off to men. After Piper’s birth, single motherhood had me so tightly in its clutches that I didn’t have time to think of dating. Even if I hadn’t been so busy, no one was more important than my daughter. Everything revolved around her and her needs.
But six months ago, I realized we’d shifted into a different phase. One where Piper didn’t need me as much as she previously had. It was then that I allowed myself to step my toes back into the dating pool.
As cliche as it sounds, Wesley seemed like a dream come true. Even Nick, who was my hardest dating critic, liked him. The first month was perfect. He wooed me with flowers, dinner and dancing, and hung onto my every word.
Then we had our first argument.
My right cheek ached with phantom pain from the crack of his palm. And even though I’d ended it immediately and cut all ties with him, he wouldn’t let me go.
In his eyes, I would always be his.
That possessiveness was what currently left me bruised. With a shake of my head, I grabbed a silky eggplant colored top with an exceptionally frilly neck and slipped it on over my head.
Glimpsing in the full-length mirror again, I grimaced. The dark blue bruises still peeked out of the top. “Concealer it is,” I mumbled before heading to the bathroom.
After unbuttoning the blouse, I placed some makeup wipes along the neckline to protect it from stains. Just as I started dabbing concealer across the angry black and blue streaks, Nick’s voice called, “Ava?”
“Bathroom,” I replied.
When he swept through the doorway, he sucked in a breath at the sight of my exposed skin. “That fucking bastard.”
“My sentiments exactly.”
Two nights ago, Nick’s face had been the first one I’d seen when I came back into consciousness in the ER. A sob choked off in my throat as the memory overwhelmed me. After getting Piper to sleep, I was in bed reading on my kindle. The last person I ever expected to see in my bedroom doorway was Wesley.
Especially considering I had a restraining order on him.
He was on me before I could reach for the phone. His mouth assaulted mine as his rough hands roamed over my body. When I began thrashing against him and screaming for help, his fingers wrapped around my throat.
To my horror, my screams were replaced with Piper’s cries as she beat her tiny fists against my bedroom door. Wesley ignored her until the wail of a police siren echoed down the street. Just as I started to lose consciousness, he let go of my neck and then ran out of the bedroom.
Later in the hospital I would learn it hadn’t been one of our neighbors who called the cops. Instead, my savior was Piper. Over the last few months of Wesley’s erratic behavior, I’d taught her repeatedly how to hit the panic button on the alarm system’s keyfob.
I never, ever thought she would remember.
But she did.
Guilt wracked me that it had been my three-year-old daughter who had saved me from being raped. It was far too much responsibility to put on her tiny shoulders. I would spend the rest of my life trying to make up for the trauma she had experienced because of my stupidity.
The growl echoing through Nick’s broad chest brought me back to the present. With his fists curling at his side, he proclaimed, “I want to end him.”
“I know you do.” In a whisper, I added, “So do I.”
After our gazes met in the mirror, he cocked his brows. “Are you sure about this?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure about anything anymore.”
But that was a lie. Deep down, there was one thing I was certain of. Wesley was eventually going to kill me, and there was only one man who could stop him.
Dare Kavanaugh.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
“I need you to watch Piper.”
“You could at least let me drive you, and she could come with us.”
“No!” At Nick’s questioning look, I sighed. “If I’m lucky, I can get in and out without Dare ever having to know about Piper.”
“I said it three years ago, and I’ll say it again. He deserves to know he has a kid.”
“Just because I’m asking him for a favor doesn’t change who and what he is,” I argued.
Leaning back against the counter, Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “Surely after everything you’ve been through with Wesley, you can see that it isn’t so black and white.”
With a roll of my eyes, I countered, “He’s part of the Irish mafia, Nick. There’s no grey area about a man who murders people.”
“And what about women who ask for men to murder for them?”
“Don’t,” I warned.
“I’m sorry if the truth hurts, but you have to see how hypocritical you’re being.”
“If Dare…” I swallowed hard, unable to physically say the words that my head and heart so desired. “If he takes care of Wesley, I have the blood of one man on his hand. God only knows how many he does.”
Nick opened his mouth to argue when Piper’s voice echoed through the bedroom. “Mommy!” she called.
Placing my finger on Nick’s lips, I replied, “In here, sweetie.”
At the sound of her hurried footsteps, I removed the makeup wipes and fluffed the neckline of my blouse back in place. As my daughter came running in the bedroom, her auburn bounced off her shoulders.
Tilting her head to the side, she peered curiously up at me. “We gettin’ my kitty today?” she asked.
Glancing between us, Nick cocked his brows at me. “Kitty?”
With a grin, Piper bobbed her head. “Mommy says I can has a kitty.”
“Have,” I corrected.
Wrinkling her tiny brows, she argued, “Dat’s what I says.
“Bribing her already?” Nick mused.
I smacked his arm. “Shut up.”
Reaching over, I grabbed Piper by the waist and hoisted her up on the counter. As I wet a cloth to wash the pancake syrup off her face, I said, “I said we would get one this week.”
“Today?”
I shook my head. “Mommy has to go to Boston today for work.”
Her lips turned down in a pout. “But I wants my kitty now.”
“You have to be patient.”
“Can Nicky take me to get a kitty?”
As Nick snorted, I rolled my eyes. “No, he cannot.”
With an indignant huff, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I not happy.”
As I stared into her face, it was like looking directly at Dare. And it wasn’t just her physical attributes. From the mischievous glint in her eyes to the way she poked her bottom lip out when she was thinking. I’d always thought children picked up on their parents' mannerisms because they lived with them. But that wasn’t the case with Dare and Piper.
Her frustrated face was so much Dare’s.
“If you can’t be Mommy’s good, sweet girl, then we’re not going to get a cat.”
“But you pwomised!” she argued.
“You’re right. But only if you behave and will help me feed it and clean out the litter box.”
Nick chuckled. “Oh, I can’t wait to see this.”
“Not helping,” I muttered.
Piper bobbed her head obediently. “Okay. I be patient.”
I smiled. “There’s my good girl.”
Leaning over, I drew her into my arms. I knew what I was doing today was about more than just my safety–it was about hers as well. As long as I had a breath left within me, I wouldn’t allow Wesley to hurt her.
After bestowing a kiss on the top of her head, I pulled away. “All right then. Mommy better be going. Be good for Nick.”
“I will,” she promised.
Nick picked her up. “Why don’t you and I go to the store and get all the things you’ll need for your kitty? Then all you and Mommy will have to do is go to the shelter to pick them up.”
Piper’s face lit up. “Okay.”
“Now who's bribing her?” I challenged him with a smile.
“Hey, I’m just trying to find a way to spend the afternoon.”
“Why do I think I should send you with a strict budget in mind?”
He shook his head. “Oh no. This is my goddaughter’s first cat, and it deserves only the best.”
“You’re impossible.”
Grinning, he kissed my cheek. “But you love me.”
Suddenly I became overwhelmed with emotion. Unable to speak, I merely nodded. Leaning over, Nick said, “Dare’s going to take care of him.”
More than anything in the world, I wanted to believe that.
Although I’d entered the address for the Celtic Grand into my GPS, I didn’t need it. I remembered the way by heart. I’d never forget the night Dare had taken me there to show me around.
As I stepped into the lobby, an ache reverberated through my chest. Everything looked amazing. Dare had really brought his dream to life. I couldn’t help feeling so proud for him.
Although it had practically been bare bones then, I remembered my way to the office. Before I could start down the hallway, a bodyguard stepped in front of me. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but only authorized personnel are allowed.”
“I’m here to see Mr. Kavanaugh.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
I had balked at the idea of an appointment because I didn’t want Dare to have the chance to refuse me. Somehow I felt catching him by surprise was the best bet. “I wasn’t aware I needed one.” Flashing him a smile, I replied, “We’re old friends.”
“Mr. Kavanaugh has many friends who try to see him. However, no one is allowed back unless they have been vetted.”
I didn’t miss his subtle dig at all the women who came to see Dare. Undaunted, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not leaving until I see him,” I pronounced.
“Then I suggest getting comfortable because you’re going to be here a long time.”
Jerking my chin at him, I said, “Call Dare, and tell him I’m here. I can assure you when he finds out who is here, he will see me ASAP.” Or he’ll have his bodyguards throw you out on your ass for leaving him four years ago.
“No one tells me how to do my job except Mr. Kavanaugh,” he growled.
Although my bravado was slightly waning, I thought of Piper and realized I couldn’t back down. Squaring my shoulders, I countered, “Do you enjoy having a job?”
“Aye, I do.”
“I can assure you that if you refuse to let me see Mr. Kavanaugh, you’ll be out of one.”
Although he narrowed his eyes at me, he reached over for the phone. As he dialed Dare’s office, I silently prayed that my bravado wouldn’t be for nothing.