Riveted: Drawn Series Book 1 (22 page)

“She was a great person. You would have liked her. I
tried to get her away from her family, but they had such control over her. In
the end, she realized how poisonous they were and knew she was in too deep to
get out. That’s why she gave me custody of Harley. To keep our daughter safe,”
he said.

“Can I see a picture of Harley?” I asked.

 He pulled his phone out, hit the screen a few times
and then handed it to me. On the screen was a picture of a round cheeked little
girl with short black curls and huge brown eyes. She was sitting in the grass,
holding a stuffed bunny that looked well loved. She was so sweet.

“She is beautiful. I can’t wait to meet her!” He smiled
and took the phone from me.

“I can’t wait to see her and hold her again,” he replied.

We talked a bit more and then he went to work.  I
had an appointment with my doctor to get fitted for a walking cast. I was tired
of the crutches. I threw on a sundress and went out to the front porch. Because
I could not drive and Jack had to work, Dad was going to take me to the doctor.
Dad pulled up on his Harley. He smiled and waved.

“Hey princess. You look better. Well rested,” he said. He
hugged me and nearly squeezed the breath out of me.

“Hey Dad. Can we take my truck?” He looked at me
seriously.

“The cast is not really ideal for riding on your Harley.
Could we need to leave now? I don’t want to be late,” I said quickly. He nodded
and we climbed into my truck, Dad drove of course.

After the doctor’s appointment, we grabbed some breakfast
burritos from a local deli and drove to the park. Sitting down on a bench, I
took a bite of my sandwich and sighed.

“Alright, you have kept me in suspense long enough. What
is going on?” he asked, studying my face.

“I am pregnant,” I said quickly. He dropped his burrito
in his lap and his jaw dropped. Then he grabbed me and hugged me.

“I take it you are really happy,” I said. He laughed his
deep Santa Clause laugh and hugged me again.

“Does Jack know?”

“He was there when I took the test. He is amazingly
happy."

“I am glad things are better. I know you were scared to
tell him how you really felt about him. And I can relate to that. I was
terrified to tell your Mom the same thing. I was afraid that she would never
want to be with someone like me. I was worried that we were too different. She
nearly kicked my ass when she found out.”

“Really? Wow,” I replied.

“You are more like me than you think. I guess you just
needed to give Jack some time. But he loves you and you were able to work
everything out. It will never be perfect, but love is the key my princess.”

"Thank you so much Dad. You know Axel was always
talking about how he and I lived this cycle. Things were okay, then they got
terrible, then things calmed down a bit and so on and so on. But I think he had
it wrong. Things are amazing and the tough times, just make all the amazing
times worth it," I said. He nodded.

"Your mother was amazing Bleu. But she always told
me that love is such a gift. She always made me promise that if something happened
to her, that I would not shut the door on love. That if it came into my life, I
would welcome it. And I just shrugged it off as touchy feely shit. But I think
she was right. Who knows, your old man may have some Casanova in him after
all," he said with a smile.

"Anything is possible Dad," I replied and he
pulled me in for a hug.

Chapter 17
–
One month later

“Seriously? You want to pierce my Dad’s nipples??!!” I
asked Chloe, incredibly stunned. She laughed and nodded her head.

“I have no words Chloe. None,” I replied, biting into a
carrot. We were seated on the couch near all the tattoo stations in the shop.
Chloe and I were eating a quick lunch. I was sitting Indian style on the couch
next her. Her little feet were tucked underneath her.  She had just
dropped the bombshell.

“You are funny! It’s not a big deal Bleu,” she replied.
Shaking my head, I took a sip of my soda.

“Awful lot of caffeine today woman!” she commented. I
frowned at her.

“Stop avoiding the topic,” I said with a frown.

“I find it humorous that you are so protective of your
father,” she said, biting into an apple.

“He is my Dad. Of course I am going to take care of him.
My oldest brother certainly is not going to. And Axel has his own stuff to take
care of,” I replied matter of fact.

“I get that, but I think now that he is out of jail, that
you should maybe let him do his own thing.”

“I know. I am trying,” I replied.

“Besides, save all the muttering for your little one,”
she said. I put my hand on my belly and felt the flutter that was the baby.
Jack finished up with his client, a short little woman with long hair. I stood
up slowly so that I could take her money and make another appointment for her
if I needed to.

“Your ink came out great!” I told her, looking at her
almost finished sleeve. She smiled.

“Thanks. I think so too. Jack does great work!” she said
as she handed me her money. Before she left, she made an appointment to finish
up her sleeve. I turned as I felt someone tug on my hair. Axel shot me a
playful smile and then placed his hand on my belly.

“How’s my nephew doing?” he asked. Shaking my head I
smiled.

“How do you know you are having a nephew? For all you
know, it could be a niece.”

“Jack told me. He said you guys found out the other day,”
he replied.

“That blabber mouth!”

“Who’s a blabber mouth?” asked Jack, coming up behind
Axel...

“Weren’t you the one who said to wait to tell everyone?”
I asked. He grinned.

“Baby, I could not help myself. I was too excited,” he
said, rubbing my basketball sized belly and then kissing me.

“Yeah okay. I still think you are a blabber mouth,” I
replied.

“I will show you what I can do with my mouth later,” he
whispered in my ear. Butterflies filled my stomach and I giggled a bit. Axel
shook his head and left.

“It’s a deal baby,” said with a smile. He kissed me and
went back to work. God I loved that man. Things were really going great; I
admit that sometimes I waited anxiously for the other shoe to drop. But if it
did, I was ready. And I had the full support of my family and friends. Life was
good.

“Could you please stop wiggling? You look like a poodle
hopping up and down like that!” said Axel with a frown. He was talking to me.
We were in the airport, waiting for my Aunt Almeida’s plane to land. Jack was
attempting to hold my hand, but my hopping, as Axel put it, was making it hard
for him to hold onto me.

“Besides, I cannot imagine that all that hopping is good
for the baby,” he said. I was seven months pregnant and sometimes I wondered if
I was having twins. But it was one little boy. It had been two months and Axel
was finally getting his little girl back. Jack and I had bought a little three
bedroom house near my Aunt Almeida’s and my Dad, well things had definitely
changed with him. About a month ago, he took off, saying he needed some time to
clear his head. Jack had told me to leave him alone, and I did. But I was
worried.  I had also considered hiring Wolf to help me find my brother
Beau. I was almost tempted to ask him to check up on my Dad, but I was guessing
it would only drive him away. Even if he did not want to talk to us, I wanted
to make sure he was okay. Oh and Jack and I eloped, it happened in Florida on
the beach. I was a happy woman. Mrs. Jack Doyle had a nice ring to it! Carl had
dropped the charges against me, right after he married that trifling bitch of
an ex boss of mine. Whatever, I secretly hoped they gave one another herpes or
something.

“She is fine. You two are grown people and you still
bicker like ten year olds,” said Chloe, laughing and shaking her head.

“I don’t think they are ever going to grow up,” said
Jack.

“What is taking so long? The arrivals screen said the
plane had landed fifteen minutes ago,” I whined.

“Wow, patience is not a virtue of yours is it Mrs.
Doyle?” commented Jack. I loved it when he called me that.

“Get used to that man, patience was never her virtue,”
remarked Axel. I poked him in his bicep. His head shot up as a little voice
screeched.

“Da!!!” said a little ball of energy, toddling toward
him, her curls wiggling as she bounced. Axel crouched down and she threw
herself into his arms. She giggled and he closed his eyes, squeezing her tight.
He stood up with her in his arms. Her big brown eyes studied us and she gave me
a huge smile. God she looked like my mom.

 “Wow, I guess no one missed me huh?” remarked my
Aunt Almeida with a smile. She was wearing jeans and a white tank top. Her
curly chestnut brown hair was tied up loosely and she wore zero makeup. . 
She came over and hugged me, placing her hand on my big belly and smiling.

“I cannot wait to meet my new little nephew,” she said. I
walked back over to my brother and smoothed Harley’s curls. She smiled again
and held her arms out to me. Axel passed her over and she snuggled up to me and
put her head on my shoulder and her thumb in her mouth. I smelled her baby
scent, sunshine and flowers. Jack came over and put his hand on her back.
Looking around, I smiled and felt warm inside as I realized all of my family
was together. I was thinking about my Dad, and wishing he were here. Jack put
his hand on my shoulder. He could read my expression I was guessing.

“Leave it alone. Yeah I can see those wheels turning in
your head Bleu. Remember we talked about this? Your Dad will be back, I know
it,” he whispered. Frowning, I kissed my niece’s head.

Aaron’s story
to be continued in
CAUGHT
UP

Wow. I cannot believe how many people I want to
thank. So many wonderful people have helped me along this road to completing
this wonderful story.

Thank you to Ms. Carolyn Trela, my junior high and
high school English teacher. She read my earlier works and was always there
with encouragement and advice. 

Thank you to Baltimore Street Tattoos, especially
Ashley Brubaker. You helped me develop Chloe and a little bit of Bleu
too…there’s a lot of you in them. You rock lady!

Thank you to Jay Crownover and D.L. Roan. You two
are my inspiration to think out of the box and not be afraid to let my
characters get down and dirty.

Thank you to Tony Means, Nicole Webster (My Boo)
and Jodie Miller (Ethel). You guys are kick ass to start, but you hold a very
special place in my heart for being brave enough to read my book before ANYONE
else and giving me your honest opinion on it, regardless of if it pissed me off
or not. I love you guys!!!

Thank you my loonies: Kaci, Mandy, Lee and Lisa
(aka #theChemist (aka #Mattsome), #FatLisa, #EvilEditor and #theLordAddicted.)
You ladies have kept me sane-ish and have helped me out so much. You guys have
pimped my book, talked to me about everything Drawn and really made my heart
happy. I cannot thank you enough for reading, re-reading and re-re-reading my
ARC for me. For forcing me to work and not read other authors’ books and for
making me stick to a deadline (Lee). Mandy, thanks for letting me email you
random sex scenes and helping me bring Jack back to where he needs to be. I
love you ladies, I am so glad I met you all.

Thank you to my family, ESPECIALLY my husband.
Without you, this book would not be possible. No really. When my flash drive
was broken by one of our hooligans, you swooped in and saved the day, and my
manuscripts, while I had a nervous breakdown in the living room. You are
amazing. You are awesome. SOOOO awesome!!! To my hooligans, you guys are above
and beyond my best creations. You are amazing, beautiful and you inspire me
every day. I love you all to pieces!

To my Mom and Dad, thank you for never telling me
that writing a book was out of my reach. Thank you to my Dad for sitting with
me every night and reading to me, just you and I. I love you and thank you. To
my Mom, you are an awesome, amazingly strong woman. I love you. Stop rolling
your eyes Mom!

Coming soon… Caught Up: Book 2 in the Drawn
Series- Aaron’s story. Read on for a sneak peek

I tried to run up the front porch steps
but I was stopped by a police officer. There was an ambulance parked on the
front lawn and yellow Caution tape everywhere. The police officer held me back
a bit.

“This is my house; I have to get in
there!” I yelled, as I tried not to kick the ass of the uniform in front of me.

“Daddy!!” a voice yelled. Behind my
shoulder stood my daughter, tears on her face, holding onto the hand of her
brother Axel. She ran to me and threw herself at me.

“Bleu, princess, what happened my
love?”I asked her kneeling down to her eye level. She sniffled and wiped her
eyes, her cheeks dirty. Axel stood next to her sniffling then let her go and
started to cling to me. I picked both of them up and walked over to the oak
tree in the front of our yard. Before I could talk to them, my neighbor Blake
walked over, and his face grim.

“Blake what in the hell happened?!!”
I yelled. He looked at his hands and then back up at me, tears in his eyes.

“Aaron, it’s not good. It’s Abby,” he
said, unable to finish.

“What about my wife? What about
her!!??” I yelled. Axel whimpered in my arms and I kissed the top of his head.

“She’s…well the kids found her
inside, it’s uh...not good. She was a mess Aaron,” he said. My vision grew hazy
and I dropped to my knees, holding my children tight to me. Blake put his hand
on my shoulder and I openly sobbed. My angel, my love, was dead. Looking up, I
took a deep breath.

“How bad Blake?” I asked. His eyes
refused to make contact with mine.

“They said she was stabbed. It’s awful
Aaron. The kids ran over and we called the police,” he replied, his voice
choked.

“Where is Beau?” I asked, looking
around for him wildly.

“He is still at school. Michael is
with him too, they had an away game tonight in WillowVale,” he replied. 
The information did not really process, but I nodded anyway.

“Listen; let me take the kids to the
house. The police need to talk to you anyways,” he said, again as he put his
hand on my shoulder. I kissed Bleu and Axel. Bleu looked up at me and she
touched my cheek with her hand.

“It’s okay Daddy. I will watch Axel
and play with Abs,” she said, kissing me. I kissed her back. She took Blake’s
hand and never let go of her brother Axel’s. Axel looked back at me, his sock
monkey clutched in his little hand.

“Mr. Drawn?” said a voice behind me.
Turning, there stood a tall man in dark dress pants, a blue dress shirt and a
black tie. He ran a hand through his graying black hair and looked at me
grimly.

“Yes?” I said.

“We have some questions for you,” he
said.

“When can I see my wife?” I said. I
just wanted to hold her, tell her that I was there. She had to be alright. He
looked down at the ground and then back up, as if he was struggling to give me
an answer.

“Sir, we are trying to find out some
things. It did not look like anyone broke into the house. There was a sign of a
struggle, but nothing to indicate a break in. Your wife was stabbed numerous
times, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell you every detail of the
murder,” he responded in his no nonsense, clipped voice.

“Murder? My Angel was murdered?? How?
Why? I want to know. I need to know,” I replied, forcing myself to calm down,
balling my hands into fists. I could feel tears streaming down my face, burning
into my skin. She cannot be dead. No, it was a mistake.

“I uh...no one told you what
happened??” he asked. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

“No. No one. I come home, to move
back in with my wife, with my family and I find this here. Please. Tell me what
happened?!” I cried.

“Sir are you sure? We can go down to
the station. We don’t have to do this here,” he said, putting his hand on my
shoulder. I looked down at his hand like it was a poisonous snake.

“Yes I am fucking sure. So tell me
what in the FUCK happened to my wife before I lose my fucking mind!” I said
through clenched teeth.

“Your wife was stabbed over 25 times.
She was nearly decapitated sir. Once we perform the autopsy, we will be able to
determine if there was any sexual assault,” he said in one breath, softly. With
a moan, I fell to my knees. My beautiful Angel. Her light blonde hair, her huge
blue eyes, the quiet softness of her voice. I would never see or hear it again.
Some monster took her away from me. What was I going to do?

“Sir? Are you alright?” he asked,
looking at me with concern. I looked up at him and then shook my head. Was he a
fucking idiot? Of course I was not alright!

“No Detective, I am never, EVER going
to be alright,” I responded grimly. He nodded, looked at me and walked away. He
went over to a uniformed police officer, they began to talk and then they
looked over at me. All I could do was stare at my front door as they wheeled
out a gurney with what looked like a body bag on. I closed my eyes and heard a
high pitched scream, realizing after a few seconds, that it was me.

           
The trial was long and drawn out. Because my “alibi” and her sister denied
seeing me earlier that night, I could not prove that I was not in my house,
murdering my wife. They used the fact that she and I were separated for a time
and that I had a history of being in trouble and being a bit hot headed. I
could not account for my whereabouts. The cops had contaminated not only the
scene but the evidence, well some of it, was” lost”. The cops therefore pinned
the murder of my wife, my only love, on me.

           
25 years. I was sentenced to 25 years. They, the jury, found me guilty. My
children were given ten minutes to say goodbye to me. My sister, Almeida, she
agreed to take custody of them. Beau barely looked at me and did not say a
single word to me. Angel did not have any family. Thankfully, I was allowed to
go to her funeral. I got to say goodbye to my sweet angel. Poor Bleu, she
looked destroyed. She screamed when she hugged me and then I had to go. She
even kicked the police officer. My heart, already ripped to shreds, nearly
exploded at her reaction. Axel just clung to me, burying his face into my leg.

“I will take care of them Aaron. I
promise,” said my sister as she cupped my face and then hugged me tight. Her
husband Tangler patted my shoulder, at a loss for words.  The guards led
me away and that was the last I saw of what was left of my family. Beau, again,
refused to even look at me, his little face a mask of stone. I had lost
everything. Absolutely everything.