Handle With Care Read online

  “Her name is going to be Lenora Celeste,” Tricia said.

  “Lenora Celeste Allary,” Ben said quietly from his position perched on the arm of the chair she was in.

  Isa gasped and Tricia turned to see Ben holding a ring box. It was open and inside was the most gorgeous solitaire diamond engagement ring she’d ever seen.

  “If her mother will have me and do me the honor of being my wife,” Ben said, looking at her. He knelt by the chair and took her hand. “Marry me, Tricia I love you and I love Lenora like she was my own. She may not be here yet but I’m going to be her daddy. Let’s make this family one that’s permanent for the rest of our lives.”

  Tricia nodded through her tears. “Ben, it’s one hundred percent yes.”

  She slipped the ring on her finger and their friends cheered. Tricia looked around to see the twins were busy eating pieces of cake off a plate on the coffee table. They had no clue what was going on but they were happy. Soon Lenora would part of this big wonderful quilt of a family. In the midst of their happiness the telephone rang, she vaguely heard it in the midst of their congratulation and talk about weddings. When she heard the voice on the phone, dark, harsh and guttural, coldness washed over her.

  “You think I’m done with you, Tawny. This isn’t end, I’m going to cut that baby out of your stomach. Then take it to Nico while you die....”

  She tried to move towards the phone to disconnect the machine. Ben got there first and picked up the phone and pressed the call button.

  “Who the fuck is this?” Ben shouted into the phone. “You come find me and never threaten my family, god damn you to hell if you ever come near her. I’ll rip your head off.”

  The line disconnected and silence blanketed the room. Tricia felt hot tears fall and

  Bryce moved into action and grabbed the answering machine.

  “Does this thing use tapes or is it digital?” Bryce asked.

  David took it from his hands and looked at it. “Digital with a downloadable drive.”

  “Can you track the call?” Ben asked.

  “If he’s smart he’ll be using burner phones but I can get my techs on it.” Bryce said. ‘This is a piece of luck, we have evidence of threats. He’d been too quiet for so long I knew it was coming.”

  “Come sit down,” Isa said gently to Tricia.

  “He hasn’t been silent,” Tricia said quietly.

  “What?” Ben turned to look at her. “There’s more?”

  “That machine is probably full of them. I never figured out how to erase and I don’t use the landline much anyway.” She said in a rush. “He calls my cell phone too and says things, I just hang up. I won’t let him scare me or take my happiness.”

  “Tricia, why didn’t you tell me or any of us?” Isa asked.

  “What was I to say, he won’t stop calling me and wait for you all to fix it for me?” she asked. “The police already said they can’t do anything.”

  “How long has it been going on?” Ben asked, his tone held restrained anger. “Damn it, Tricia,” he yelled and she jumped at the sound. Ben took a deep breath and lowered his voice instantly. “I’m sorry, but sweetheart, you dream and cry out in your sleep, you won’t talk about anything that happened in Greece and now this. You don’t have to do it alone.”

  “I don’t have to be weak either, I wasn’t going to let him ruin my life!” She cried out and the dam inside her she built to hold back the misery of her time in Greece broke. “What do all of you want to know? How he hit me for no reason, that he was so drunk he threatened to burn me with his cigarettes? Or is it the fact that to placate him and keep him from hitting me I had to endure his sexual advances until it made me sick to even look at myself in the mirror? Do you want to know that’s how my baby was created? It was that or get punched over and over again or hit with a belt....”

  She gagged and couldn’t stand the thoughts any longer. She rushed to the downstairs bathroom and for the first time in her pregnancy Tricia threw up the contents of her stomach. And lay her head against the coolness of the tub and cried. She cried for being so weak and scared she didn’t know how to fight back. She cried for always being the one who needed to be rescued. Tricia just sobbed until her throat felt raw. There was a knock on the door and she looked at the barrier exhaustedly.

  “Go away,” she heard the rawness in her voice.

  The knob rattled and the door pushed open and Isa stepped in. “You seem to forget this lock is exactly like the one on the upstairs bathroom we shared for years. How many times did we get stuck in there and had to open the lock with a hair pin?”

  ‘Too many to count,” Tricia smiled sadly. “It is a horrible lock, I’m sorry I caused a scene.”

  “You did not such thing. What I saw was my sister holding in all the horrible things she endured without telling me or anyone who loves her,” Isa said gently and sat on the floor next to her.

  “I was ashamed, I felt weak like I let it happen,” she explained. “He would have never done that to you if you were in that situation.”

  “I’m military trained and I would’ve kicked his ass,” Isa answered. “I still may do it, if Ben doesn’t get to him first. But I will tell you what I see, I see a beautiful girl who was smart enough to get out of risky situation when we were growing up. You never gave in to the advances of those perverts who were supposed to be government caretakers. How many times did we—not just me—come up with plans to get them off our backs? Nico is a monster, a sadistic woman abuser who didn’t break you. Other women would’ve lived looking behind their backs but not you. You dared to live in the face of his threats. T, you’re stronger than you think, you survived and thrived in spite of it. You are pretty fucking awesome and you are going to be an amazing mother.”

  Tricia grabbed Isa in a hug and together on the floor they held each other. Remembering the past and embracing the future. When she got herself together and with the help of Isa fixed her makeup, they went back outside into the living room. Ben was by her side instantly and pulled her into his arms.

  “I love you,” he whispered brokenly against her neck and she heard the tears in his voice. “I love you so much. I won’t let you ever be hurt again, I swear it.”

  He lifted his head and she kissed him gently and placed his hand on her belly. “I know that, Ben. We both know.”

  After both David and Bryce hugged her, they helped clean up and got the sleepy twins ready to leave. She and Ben walked hand-in-hand upstairs and he helped her undress and tucked her into bed.

  He got in next to her and pulled her into his arms. “Sleep, honey. You sleep and I will fight the bad dreams if I have to.”

  “I know you will, you’re my Lancelot,” Tricia pressed a kiss on his bare chest.

  “Lancelot?”

  She looked up at him. “My knight in shining armor.”

  “I like that a lot,” he grinned and kissed her. “Close your eyes and dream of our future.”

  “It’s already here,” she whispered.

  She was lulled into sleep by the even sound of his breathing and his beating heart. Tricia didn’t wake up with nightmares or expecting a painful slap or a punch. Instead she slept because with those walls down she truly began to heal.

  * * * *

  Ben was livid, the anger didn’t abate as he worked at his practice and delivered babies at the hospital. Nothing made it any better. He pushed it to the back of his mind, but it was always there—the urge to beat the living hell out of Nico for what he’d been putting Tricia through. He boxed at the gym to release the tension and came to the conclusion that until Nico wasn’t a blanket threat over their head, he would constantly be pissed. He wanted to defend the woman he loved and the unborn baby she was carrying. Hearing the things she said.... he could only imagine the fear she felt, not only the calls but what she lived through those long months in Greece. I didn’t take long to break someone’s spirit in an abusive relationship.

  He’d seen and gotten help for people at t
he Port in The Storm that were terrified of their spouse after only a few weeks of dealing with PTSD and the anger it could cause. But those men and women had issues related to deployment and combat. Through various forms of therapy he could get them help, but Nico was just sick and depraved trying to prey on a woman he thought as weak. Well, she has me now, Ben thought and God save Nico when he finally got his hands on the asshole. Tricia was home working on the nursery and putting the baby clothes away. He sat across from Bryce in his corporate office looking at the paperwork Bryce handed him when he got there. Unbeknownst to Tricia or Isa they’d formed a plan and all out effort to find Nico.

  ‘Thanks for getting this together so quickly for me,” Ben said. “All we have to do is find the idiot now.”

  “As soon as David confirms the source and that he’s there, we go,” Bryce said. “He may think that he has Tricia over a barrel but in this case he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. We couldn’t bring Rich in on this, but he did give me the information in regards to Tricia filing charges against Nico with the NOPD. I think when he sees what we have, he’ll go nicely like the sick little man he is.”

  Bryce’s phone rang and he picked up. “What do we have, David? Very good, keep on him we’re on our way,” Bryce said and hung up the phone. “He’s at The Chateaux Hotel.”

  “That place is beyond a dump,” Ben commented as he stood.

  “It seems that Nico has developed a habit for nose candy. David has seen him make at least two buys from the downstairs room in the last hour.” Bryce locked his office door using the key code pad on the wall after Ben stepped out.

  “Real nice,” Ben said grimly. “So David, he’s not just your driver and pilot is he?”

  “He is when he wants to be,” Bryce grinned as he pressed the elevator button. “Let’s just say David in unique, when he knows you better maybe you’ll get the story.”

  “I look forward to the conversation,” Ben said.

  The elevator went to the ground floor with a soft whoosh and they walked out to his car. The dark colored Mercedes started with a soft purr of the engine and Bryce pulled away from the curb. They were silent as they drove through the city streets and moved towards where Nico was. The hotel was dingy, old and the paint that was once mint green was covered with grime. It was one of those two floor no-tell motels types with metal stairs that led to the second floor. Prostitutes stood under the street lamp and in front of the local store that sold cigarettes and other small essentials. Bryce parked behind a large black SUV that Bryce recognized as one of the Forte fleet of vehicles. David got out from behind the wheel of the big black vehicle. He was dressed in a black leather jacket, dark pants and a dark shirt. Special Forces, Ben thought automatically. He may not know much about David but he could recognize a man with military training.

  “No movement in the room?” Bryce asked.

  “One of the local entertainment left about fifteen minutes ago,” David stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket. “Couldn’t be much good, she went in ten minutes before that and the look on her face wasn’t one of being pleased.”

  “You’d have to be the top level of pig to disgust a hooker,” Ben said. “Ok, let’s do this. Are we knocking and going in or can I kick in the door?”

  “How about we knock and invite ourselves in politely?” Bryce asked amused.

  “Fine,” Ben grumbled and they went up the stairs in single file and headed towards the room Nico occupied.

  David tapped on the door lightly and Ben silently approved his tactic. Nico would probably not open the door if he thought they were outside but if it was his lady friend returning, that was a different story. True to Ben’s assumption, Nico opened the door with a cocky grin on his face.

  “Hey baby, back for seconds? This one will be a freebie...”

  His words trailed off when he saw the three of them at the door and he turned white. David shoved him back and they stepped inside. Bryce closed the door behind them. Ben took in Nico: rumpled clothing, the scent of sweat that permeated the room. Not that he could make the room any better because the horrible paisley bed spread and the greenish yellow on the wall was not appealing. Or the smell coming from the bathroom that obviously needed to be cleaned.

  “Let’s talk, shall we?” David said mildly.

  “You cannot do anything to me.” Nico sneered. His voice was thick with his accent. “I’ve gone nowhere near Tawny and I’m a tourist, I know my rights.”

  “Here are my rights.”

  Ben moved before Bryce or David could stop him and had the intense satisfaction of punching Nico in the face a few times before Bryce caught his hand. Ben let go of Nico’s shirt and watched him fall to the ground. It was reminiscent of the first night in Greece. David hefted the man on to the corner of the bed and propped him up. “I think you broke him and he can’t listen now.”

  “Oh, he’ll listen or I’ll hit him again,’ Ben growled and moved.

  That seemed to wake Nico up and he scrambled away to the head of the bed. “What do you people want from me?’

  “Me? I want to beat you bloody and drop you in a well somewhere but apparently that’s illegal,” Ben snapped. “So we are here to offer you a deal.”

  Nico looked at the warily. “What kind of deal?”

  “Tricia recorded all the calls. Some from you and some more than likely you paid someone around here to do,” Bryce said. ‘That’s stalking and even if you get charged with menacing, you’ll do time in jail for leaving the doll and everything else we’ve got documented on you including the drug use.”

  “Prove it,” Nico said defiantly.

  “Oh please, let me hit him again,” Ben surged forward.

  “After he hears me out,” Bryce said quietly. “I’ve had people watching you. You were smart to keep moving, not staying one place, but I always found you and we’ve the pictures, evidence of everything. Did I mention that I don’t mind paying someone in prison to make your life in American jail as miserable as possible?”

  “I know people that no one wants to know, and you would make someone a very pretty bunk mate and wife.” David’s voice was deadly quiet but Ben could see by Nico’s reaction he got the point.

  Bruce snapped his fingers in front of Nico’s face to get his attention. “Here’s the deal, a one-time offer, ten seconds to answer. No maybes or buts. “We’re buying you a ticket tonight. You leave New Orleans, go home, go to the moon or to Alaska for all we care as long as it’s not here. If you return here, you’re going to jail and that’s after Ben gets a hold of you. You say no, I step back and let him turn you inside out and I won’t see a thing. And yes, even if it’s a year or ten years from now we will know if you come back.”

  ‘That’s it, that’s all you want?” Nico asked.

  “No,” Ben stepped forward and pulled the papers from his pocket. “You are going to sign these documents, that child she is carrying is not yours from this day on. You were never a father. You used her and she had to give it to you to save herself a beating. You don’t deserve to even call yourself a man, let alone think you’re a father. So you are going to sign these, we will escort you to the airport and wait until we see that plane take off with you in it. Then you’ll be safe from my extreme contempt for you.”

  “I need money, money to live and survive in Greece,” Nico implored. “Tawny left me with no money....”

  “Get a job you deadbeat asshole. You’re lucky to be getting a plane ticket and not me ripping your spine out,” Ben snarled.

  “Clock’s ticking, Nico, what’s it going to be?” Bryce asked.

  “I will sign and go,” he puffed up his chest. “Nico always lands on his feet and never wanted to be tied down with a screaming child.”

  Ben looked heavenwards and asked for Almighty intervention to not kill Nico where he sat. Instead he passed the papers to Bryce, who gave them to Nico and he signed quickly on all the areas Bryce pointed out.

  “Get your things together, you’re riding with me,”
David said and gave him a deadly smile. “Try anything and I’ll speed up and push you out of the car.”

  They watched him pack a small, beat up leather bag and it burned in Ben’s belly knowing he was using Tricia for her money and abusing her for the time they were together. He wondered how many times he pulled the con of pretending he was this rich bachelor to take advantage of women. They hustled him out of the room after he cleaned up the best he could and had him in the SUV in less than thirty minutes. At the airport they bought him a ticket on the next flight out of New Orleans to Greece with a brief layover in New York.

  “Don’t think we won’t know if you happen to not make it to Greece,” Bryce said. “You should know by now my reach is very far, I will find out.”

  Nico didn’t answer but when it was time to board he hustled through with his bag in haste to get away from them.

  “You’d think he didn’t enjoy our company,” David mused as the left the airport.

  “I kinda hoped he’d give more of a fight,” Ben said. “I wanted to hit him some more.”

  “Well, I’m going to take you to your car and you can head on home to Tricia. We are way beyond late,” Bryce pointed out.

  “Are we going to tell the ladies about this?” David asked, amused.

  “We will eventually,” Ben said. “Right now I want to focus on Tricia with her near the end of her pregnancy. At least now my name can be on the birth certificate.”

  “Planning on getting married before or after the baby?” Bryce asked.

  “After, Tricia wants Lenora to be there,” Ben grinned. “She will be a baby flower girl. Thanks, both of you for being there and having my back on this plan.”

  “That’s what family is for,” Bryce said.

  “What he said,” David answered and shook his hand. “I’ve got to get going.”

  “Plans?” Bryce asked.

  David gave them a small smile. “Something like that.”

  He drove off before they got into Bryce’s car and drove towards home. After Bryce dropped him off, Ben got into his own vehicle and made his way to Tricia’s house. His too, since they decided she had more room and he would sell his townhouse after the wedding. He was excited because now when the baby was born he could be listed as her father and Tricia no longer had to worry about if or when Nico would ever come around. He pulled into his usual parking spot and went through the gate to the front door. He unlocked it and expected her to be asleep instead Tricia was sitting on the sofa watching TV.