Page 21 of Abigail
“Oh, honey,” the Admiral calls to her over the phone line. “Please don’t be upset. I thought perhaps you’d already talked with Straw about everything.”
“He’s…he’s gonna hate me!” she whispers into the phone. Just when she thought things might be going her way, everything is ruined. She’d hoped she could be the one to tell him what had happened so he would understand her side and not think the worst of her, but it is too late now. Why didn’t she tell him last night at dinner when he asked her what was wrong? She should have told him then why the admiral made her nervous, but she didn’t. She’d been afraid and now she’s ruined her only opportunity to find some kind of happiness. She continues to weep, her breathing hitching when she tries to catch her breath. This goes on until she feels little arms wrapping around her legs.
“Momma?” Ellie’s soft voice reaches through her grief. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”Ellie!She has to calm down. Ellie will be frightened seeing her crying. She never cries in front of her, no matter how hard things have gotten. She’s always stayed strong for Ellie. As she begins to get herself under control, the admiral’s voice reaches her through the phone. She’s still gripping the phone tightly to her ear.
“Abigail, honey, please calm down,” the admiral is begging her. “No one is going to hate you. I don’t know why you keep thinking anyone will blame you for what happened.”What??Has this man lost his mind? I killed his son, yet he isn’t blaming me? It’s just too much to comprehend. “Listen Abigail, let’s meet at the park in an hour, and I will explain everything. Will you be all right to drive?” Would she? Honestly, she isn’t sure.
“I’ll call Robert if you’re certain he isn’t upset with me,” Abigail replies. Apparently, the admiral is certain as he agrees with her plan then disconnects the call. Abigail is still in shock, but when she feels Ellies shifting at her feet, she pulls her head out of her ass and puts her arms around her daughter to assure her that everything is fine.
“I’m sorry I scared you, baby girl,” Abigail says softly. “Momma is feeling a little sad this morning, but you are making me feel better. Thank you for giving the best hugs.” Ellie gives her a bright smile, and something settles in Abigail. No matter what happens, she has Ellie, the greatest blessing she could ever have. Abigail gets Ellie’s breakfast on the table and makes sure she is settled before she again picks up her phone to call Robert.
“Ford.” Robert’s deep baritone voice comes across the line. Abigail is momentarily at a loss for words. His voice never fails to set her body on fire and send her thoughts straight to the gutter. Images of him murmuring her name in that voice as he hovers over her naked body. A shiver of desire runs through her in the best way.
“Um…R-Robert?” Abigail stammers as she fights to get her thoughts out of the bedroom and back on the situation at hand.
“Abigail.” Robert’s soothing voice sends more shivers down her spine. That’s how he would sound in her fantasy. She loves hearing him say her name in his deep rumbling voice. Goosebumps erupt on her skin and her nipples harden. How can him just saying her name make her unbelievable needy?
“Is something wrong, sweetheart? Brent said you called off work this morning? Are you and Ellie all right?” The concern in his voice calms Abigail’s mind. Helps her to focus on the reason for her call.
“Yes…well no, not exactly,” Abigail begins. She signs before she continues, “I was wondering if I could ask a favor if you’re not busy today.”
“Ask away, sweetheart,” Robert immediately replies.
“I was wondering if you would be able to take Ellie and I to the park today?” Abigail enquires. “I, uh, need a…a friend.”
“Of course, sweetheart,” Robert answers. “What time would you like me to pick you up?’
“In about thirty minutes?” she asks softly. “I’m sorry for the late notice.” She’s still not sure this is a good idea, but she knows without doubt Robert can help her get through the meeting with the admiral.
“That sounds good, sweetheart, no problem,” he replies. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Wait! I need to give you my address,” Abigail says. His chuckle sends a delicious sensation across her body and settles in her chest.
“I already have it, sweetheart,” Robert informs her. She’s shocked at his admission. “Full disclosure, I was worried when you didn’t come to work this morning. So I convinced Brent to give me your information. I was going to show up on your doorstep uninvited, but thankfully you called me before I came across as a total stalker creep.” Now it’s Abigail’s turn to giggle. While she can see how someone might view that as stalkerish, she understands where he’s coming from. She feels a connection down to her soul. Never, ever, in her adult life has anyone been concerned about her and certainly not enough to seek her out. His concern for her means more to her than he will ever fathom.
“Robert,” Abigail manages to croak, emotion having stolen her voice. “I don’t know what to say to that, so I’ll just say see you soon…and Robert, thank you.”
“No need to thank me, sweetheart,” Robert assures her. “Pleasure’s all mine. See you soon.”
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
She called.Those two words run through Straw’s mind over and over as he drives his rented SUV through city traffic to Abigail’s place. She’s trusting him to have her six when she meets with the admiral. Having been with Hawk when he spoke with the admiral, Straw knows that whatever is about to go down isn’t going to be pleasant. Yet she trusts him to be there for her. She can’t understand what her trust means to him. It is everything, well almost everything. Having her in his life permanently, that will beeverything!
Straw maneuvers the large rental skillfully as he turns onto a sketchy looking block. The vehicle is much too large for just him, but he wants to have some time just him and Abigail as they drive to the park where they are meeting with everyone else. Hawk, Ace, Deadeye, Wallace and their women and children are meeting them at the park. Tank, Hack, Virus, Bull, and Mercury will be providing extra security for everyone involved while the admiral has his chat with Abigail. The admiral had indicated he’d only have one man with him, that being Colonel Mark Olsen, our former leader before Hawk took over his role. Olson had received a promotion and moved on to additional responsibility. The admiral seems to not want to draw attention to his son’s actions or the woman and child that are involved. Therefore, the only people he will discuss it with are Hawk’s team and his friend, Col. Olsen. Straw still doesn’t know details, but when the team had met with the admiral and Col. Olsen this morning, he’d not gotten a warm and fuzzy feeling about the situation.
Col. Olsen knows more about the situation than he is letting on, but he’s been as tight lipped as the admiral. He even blew off Hawk’s questions, and those two men are tight. Col. Olsen had been the one who pushed Hawk to take college classes, officer training, and position himself to take over the teams when Olsen moved on. I never thought I’d see the day the man would tap dance around something like a fucking ballerina and evade an honest conversation with Hawk. Normally the man is straight forward, no shit, but today he’s been evasive as hell. While Straw knows the man has his reasons, they better be damn good ones. Straw has a bad feeling about this sit down in the park. The closer he gets to Abigail’s apartment the worse the feeling grows.
Straw makes the final turn. Seeing his destination just up ahead, that bad feeling turns to stone in his gut. The apartment complex is seriously run down. It hasn’t been cared for at all. The exterior walls are faded, the paint peeling, and the walkway appears broken with weeds growing in the cracks. Scanning the area, he notices several of the exterior lights are broken as if someone broke them intentionally. Additionally, he doesn’t get the warm fuzzies, looking at the obvious gang hanging around the entrance doors. This is beyond unacceptable. No way will he allow Abigail and Ellie to live in this any longer. Red flag warnings are screeching at him, like the red alert on the old Star Trek shows that Wallace and Tank enjoy watching.
Pulling into the parking lot, he parks next to Abigail’s Nissan. He eyes it closely as he gets out of his rental and beeps the automatic door locks. Her vehicle has more than seen better days. Ellie’s car seat in the backseat is the only thing modern about the old clunker. He can say that as he’s heard her start it every day she’s worked the last two weeks. Even on the days when she refused to allow him to escort her to her car, he’s followed and ensured she started it and made it safely out of the hotel parking lot. At the moment, he wants to kick his own ass for not following her home at least once to see where she lived. Her safety is a priority and he’s dropped the ball, but he’ll make damn sure he rectifies that today. She isn’t going to like it, but it’s necessary. This place isn’t safe for them.
Straw strolls toward the entrance. He’s on high alert. He’s tracking the men lining the walkway leading to the building’s entrance. There are seven men altogether. Varying heights, races, and ages of the men aren’t what concerns him. It’s that every one of them have the same tattoo on the right side of their necks. Straw isn’t familiar with the gangs in the local area, but it’s plain to see this is some kind of gang. Straw isn’t afraid of these men even though he’s vastly outnumbered. Hearing the sound of more vehicles shutting off in the parking lot, Straw glances back. A smile crosses his face as his brothers are rolling out of matching rental SUVs. He stops to wait for them to catch up with him. He should have known Tank and the others would have his back. He’s been so lost in his head with thoughts of Abigail he missed the SUVs following him. No doubt Hack or Virus one, had google searched Abigail’s address, checked the crime rate in the area, and made the decision that Straw might need back up. Once again, Straw is thankful for his brothers and their undying support of one another.
When the men reach him, Straw proceeds toward the entrance, and sure enough the gang members move to block the entrance. Shaking his head at their stupidity, Straw stops in front of the line of men. He waits for one of them to speak. He has his hand on his side arm. He can feel the weight of his ankle holster and its cargo. Additionally he has his K-bar knife and a backup knife strapped to him. If these men in front of him have any sense at all, they will clear the way and stand down. However, not one of them appears to be very smart.
“Yo! Never seen you around before, so I’ll fill you in on how it goes ‘round here,” the apparent leader of this group of hooligans begins. He appears to be around 5’8” with a thick abdomen. He’s dressed in jeans with a white wife-beater tank. His cap is on backward. His short black hair peeking out around the bottom of it. “I’m T-dog. This’s my crew.” The man motions to the men standing around him. “We rule this hood. No one passes without payin’,” T-dog declares. “Seein’ how you’re new and all. I’ll cut you a little slack. You got three days to come up with the monthly protection fee. A thousand a month…a person.”
T-dog’s gaze slowly slides over Straw and his friends at his back. Then T-dog crosses his unexceptionally sized arms over his chest. Straw feels certain T-dog thinks this is a pose of intimidation, but Straw is unable hold back a chuckle at the man’s attempt to intimidate him and his teammates. Therefore his laugh escapes him. This only infuriates T-dog. Straw notices the shock on T-dog’s cronies’ faces. Straw goes on high alert and is ready for anything as the two men stare one another down.
