Page 61 of A Very Un-Shakespeare Romance
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
The momentthey were inside the family room, Robbie pulled Tara to him again, Billie and Tim be damned.
“What happened?” Because he knew she was running scared from the way she’d started trembling the moment he wrapped his arms around her.
“The Kellys set a fire at my main nail salon this morning.” His arms tightened around her when her voice hitched, helping him suppress the rage rising inside of him. “The chairs were full. My clients had to run barefooted into the street. My ladies held up, but they looked terrified. I didn’t know what to do.”
He rocked her as Billie and Tim patted her back tenderly, their faces tense with the same combination of anger and worry battling inside him. “You did good to come here. They meant to scare you, Tara. All the way back to Boston.”
“I know!” She pressed her face into his chest before raising her troubled, mascara-smudged eyes to his. “And I knew it would be the stupidest move ever to go back. But I can’t leave my nail girls hanging like that. Or my clients. Robbie, I drove here the whole day from Cincinnati—”
“Why Cincinnati?” Billie broke in before Robbie could ask.
“Because it was over twelve hours away from Boston, like the Outer Banks, and I thought it would work in my favor that it’s not a common tourism destination. I figured it was smart to be about twelve hours from everything—including my girls. God, it was a long drive today, but I knew I finally had to meet up with you. Robbie, promise me you can look after the girls and me. Otherwise, I’ll…”
“Hey!” Billie said, punching her lightly. “Don’t you see three O’Connors here? Tara, we’ve got you and the girls. But Jesus, you scared us!”
Robbie finally pulled back to study her. She looked scared too. Her usually perfect makeup was understated, and her hair was pulled back into a serviceable ponytail. She had on a plain brown T-shirt and tan shorts along with pitifully ugly old ladies’ white sneakers. Was this Tara’s version of undercover?
“You did a really good job with everything,” he said in a soothing tone. “I mean, look at you. Nothing to make you stand out or draw attention to yourself. Exactly what you should do on the run.”
“I know!” She rubbed her nose, which was dripping. “Look, I hated scaring you, but I had to make a decision, and separating—”
“It’s fine,” Robbie said. “We work from now. Okay, let’s sit down and talk this out. I should probably check my computer—”
“Your computer!” Tara practically shouted. “But you can’t—”
“It’s encrypted and untraceable,” he assured her, taking her shoulders and looking into her wild eyes. “Now, take a few deep breaths.”
Tim handed her a tissue as she did her best to suck in air. He could see her pulse beating fiercely in her neck, a combo of shock and stress. He hated seeing normal victim behavior in her—his family. Billie started to open his mouth, but Robbie shot him a look. He glared at him but stayed quiet.
His mind started to play out various scenarios. If the Kellys were willing to start a fire, it meant they didn’t think their money was on the premises. “When did the fire happen?”
She sniffed and blew her nose. “After eight sometime. I saw the reports on the morning news online. I watch it every day and pore throughThe Boston Globefor info. But there wasn’t anything until today.”
“I’ll need to watch that footage and check my messages.” He kissed the top of her head. “I checked my computer before the fire, so I didn’t know about it. I need to find out who’s running point—”
“Not to butt into police work,” Tim said, wrapping an arm around Tara. “But have you eaten anything today, sweetheart?”
She shook her head. “No, I just…went to pieces and then sat down and thought things through. When I decided the best option was coming here, I packed and jumped in the car.”
“Let me fix you something,” Tim said, glancing Robbie’s way to make sure he wasn’t stepping on toes.
“That’s a good idea.” He let out the breath he’d been holding as well, but it didn’t diminish the weight pressing suddenly on his shoulders. She was here, she was scared, and the Kellys had just taken another shot at her.
“Then we should talk about when you want to see the girls,” Tim continued calmly. “Because they’ve missed you despite all the fun we’ve been having. The kids are doing great, Tara.”
“I’m so glad!” She put her face in her hands. “You have no idea how scared I was for them.”
“All right now,” Tim said, continuing to earn Robbie’s respect with his measured, thoughtful approach. “We’ve got you.”
Robbie spotted the feline before it started to weave figure eights around Tara’s feet. She bent down with a cry and scooped up the cat. “Oh, Miss Purrfect!”
As she snuggled the cat, he caught the unblinking stare it gave him. He gestured to Tara, wishing he could say:Look, fleabag. I’m taking care of your mistress. So cut the attitude.
“An omelet okay, Tara?” Tim asked.
“I don’t think I can eat anything, but I’ll try.” She buried her face in the white fur again and then put the cat back on the floor.
