When Tomorrow Ends (12 page)

“I love you Maggie.”

“Jake, you need to sit down. I can’t pick you up like when we were kids.” Jon’s voice sounded far away. Jake looked over at his brother and thought he nodded. Jon was right, his knees began to feel weak and his head light. He put his love down on the sofa and sat beside her, then pulled her on to his lap. She clung on to him as if he would disappear.

Jax lay on the other couch, his weakened state again stirring anger in Jake’s heart. “Someone did something to Jax.” He watched as Jon examined him. Even though Jon was a doctor, he could still tell if there was something going on with their pet.

Jon stood up. “I’m afraid you’re right, bro. His pupils are not normal. My guess is someone put a muscle relaxer in his food. They didn’t want him to make any noise. He’s coming out of it, so don’t be surprised if he seems fatigued for a day or two. He’ll languish around and appear listless, but don’t worry, he’ll be okay. I’ll keep him here and check on him, see if I can get some vitamins from the vet.”

“You may be stuck with us too, bro. The house is toast.”

Abby brought some warm drinks from the kitchen on a tray. She handed them each a cup filled with hot cocoa and whipped cream. “There’s nothing better than some old fashioned cocoa. Drink up, it’ll help put you to sleep. I made up the bedroom by the veranda for the two of you. I think Jon will agree you can stay here as long as necessary.”

Maggie stirred in his lap. “I don’t understand why Jerk would do this to us. We were a part of the reason he went to jail, but all Jake did was punch him in the face for kidnapping me. It wasn’t like we caused it, he did this to himself.”

Jake shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. He wanted to blame someone and by the way it sounds, he’s a spoiled rich kid that gets his way. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t get burned for this crime.”

Maggie squeezed her eyes shut. “I can’t bear the thought of him out in society. We need to put his ass away for good.”

Jake grinned. He flung his head back against the cushion. Maggie never swore. “Let’s see what Josh says, he’ll be here any minute.”

“He better come up with something good. Maggie McCoy is about to go postal.” Jake chuckled and gathered her tighter in his arms.

Chapter 11

“I’m sorry,” Josh told them. “We can’t jeopardize the mission at hand.”

“This is our lives, Josh!” Maggie was fighting mad. She stood with her hands on her hips and looked up at him, his face drawn and concerned. “He burns down our house, our home and you can’t do anything about him!”

Josh seemed distant, unconcerned, as if there was something else going on that had him uptight. He kept a constant eye on his watch. “Look. The drug empire will be crushed within days. Jesse is on his way to Baltimore to finish this job. Jerry is with him now. We can’t stop the wheels. If we do, there are so many innocent kids to consider. Please, try to understand. The old man is selling drugs to children in the city schools.”

Maggie closed her eyes. She wanted to scream and yell because it wasn’t fair. Her exhaustion began to overwhelm her and Jake placed a strong arm around her shoulders. “We need to lie down, baby. It’s been a long night.” Jake began to steer Maggie down the hall. “Josh, keep us informed.”

Josh went to Maggie and took her hand in his. “I’m sorry about your house and everything that has happened. I do understand, but right now I have to get back to Key West. Sara’s brother may be in danger, along with my sister and I can’t leave her to deal with it alone. I promise Jesse Storm will take down Jerry and this ring. You won’t have to ever worry about him again.”

Even though Maggie was exhausted, she realized someone else had troubles as well. “I’m sorry, Josh. Is there anything we can do? Is Sara okay?”

He shook his head. “Sara is fine. Don’t worry, we’ll handle things there, but please lie low for now. We’ll keep eyes on you and Jake at all times and I swear Jesse has taken Jerry away from here. They should be in Baltimore within a few hours. Their plane took off about ten minutes ago.”

Jake nodded to Josh. “If Jesse doesn’t take him down, I will. He’ll never hurt my family again.”

“Jake, keep your cool,” Josh warned.

“I will as long as the promises stated here are kept. I have enough money to hire someone to take them out. You know it’s true. I won’t hesitate, not any more. He almost killed Maggie.”

Josh nodded as if he understood.

“Come on, Jake, let’s go to bed,” Maggie commanded. She wrapped her arm around his waist and they walked down the hall. Jake was tense and on edge and she didn’t blame him. She felt the same way.

Abby had the bed covers pulled back and one of her nightgowns on the pillow. Maggie looked down at her body and realized she was still painted up. “No one ever noticed these aren’t real clothes, Jake. I can’t believe the paint didn’t rub off after all we went through.” She stood and stared at the bed as if it called out to her. “I need a shower,” she whispered, her voice ragged.

Jake picked her up and carried her in his arms to the shower. He stripped off his jeans and shirt and stood with her under the water as it cascaded over their bodies. She clung to him as the water ran down her face. “Ahh, this is heaven.” Jake took soap and began to run his hands all over her skin. She wobbled, her knees were about to give out and he held her up against him as he whispered sweet words in her ear.

It wasn’t sexual at first but so soothing. As Maggie stood there and watched the colors from the paint run down the drain, she took Jake’s hand and pulled the soap from him. “Turn around,” she ordered and began to return the favor. The soap sizzled over his taut skin and she rubbed his shoulders and massaged his neck and back. Jake placed both hands against the shower wall and hung his head. “Maggie. I’m putty in your hands.”

Her hands, along with her body began to wake up. As she ran her fingers along Jake’s shoulder blades and down his back, he moaned out loud. When she ran her hands further down, he turned and crushed her to him. Soap and warm water encased their bodies, but Maggie didn’t notice. An urgency so strong took a hold of her and she took Jake’s mouth in hers and plummeted her tongue inside.

He pushed her against the wall, his mouth as desperate as hers. His hands cupped her breasts and ran down her belly and thighs. “I need you, Maggie.”

He sat down on the bench along the one side of the shower, the water teasing his skin as it dripped off a well tanned muscular chest. Maggie didn’t wait, but sat down on his lap and let him bury himself in her. He nuzzled his face in her neck and hung on to her hips and rocked. She called out his name, over and over again and he did the same. Their urgent lovemaking was over within a few minutes but it drained them both of the pent up hell they went through.

Maggie stayed on his lap, her body spent, her arms wrapped around his strong shoulders. Her hair, drenched, hung over her face.

“Baby, we need to get up.”

“I can’t,” she murmured.

Jake laughed and hoisted her up. Her knees buckled when he let her go to turn the now cold water off. She leaned against the wall of the shower. “I don’t think I can make it to bed,” she moaned and almost fell.

He picked her up and wrapped a towel around her shoulders, then set her on the counter and began to rub the towel over her body. He lifted each arm and gave them a gentle pat. “You’re too good to me,” she told him. “I love you.”

Jake dried himself off while she sat on the counter in the bathroom, drained of all energy. He wrapped two towels over her body and then took the nightgown Abby left on the bed and put it on her. As he picked her up, she looked in the floor length mirror. “Look at us.”

He stopped when he saw their reflection in the mirror. Naked and taut, Jake held her in his arms like she were a princess in her nightgown. “There’s one thing missing,” he said.

She smiled at him. “What?”

He picked up her left hand and kissed her ring finger. She watched him in the mirror, saw the exhaustion in his eyes and the strength of the man she loved reflected there. “A diamond, the size of my love for you, Maggie McCoy. I promise you tomorrow there will be one there.” He bent down and kissed her to seal his word.

When he placed her in bed, she reached up and pulled him to her. “I don’t want to be alone,” she told him. He reached over and turned out the light, then slid down beside her.

As he pulled her close, he murmured in her ear, “I don’t want to be alone either.”

<><>

“You can stay here as long as you need to,” Abby told Maggie as they sat at the kitchen counter for coffee. “I don’t mind and neither does Jon. Plus, look at Jax and Penny. I think she took the little fellow under her wing.” Maggie stretched her neck to look out the window to find Penny mothering Jax. He was still a bit weak and he stumbled when he walked. That’s when Penny would circle around him like she was herding him and he would sit down until he got his strength back.

“Thanks Abby. I’m not sure what to do yet. We haven’t talked about it and Jake ran off early this morning to take care of some things at work. He promised he’d be back here by dinner because he said he had something special for me. I can’t wait.”

“Do you think he’ll be here on time?” Abby asked.

Maggie nodded. “After what we went through, yes. He’ll be here. I think the explosion made Jake realized life is too precious and short to spend so much time at work. I’m going to try to live by that code too. I know I get carried away at times and hide at my desk for weeks at a time.”

“Sounds like the two of you have things worked out. I’m glad you’ll be with the living from now on, Maggie. There were times I worried about you. I would call and you wouldn’t answer so I knew you were at work writing, only to get a call back a week or so later.”

“True. I’m sorry about that but when I get involved in my books I forget about the rest of the world. When Jake and I talked last night before we fell asleep, I realized we both need to walk away from our work now and again. We promised each other we would work on this part of our lives. We decided to have a date night every week and nothing will prevent it from happening.”

Abby reached out and squeezed her hand. “I’m so happy for you Maggs. I know your house is destroyed, but homes can be rebuilt. Have you given any thought to what you want to rebuild there?”

Maggie shook her head. “I’m not sure. When Jake gets back, we’re going to go back to the property. I told him I want to see if I can salvage anything.”

“Maggie, are you sure that’s a good idea?”

She nodded. “Jake said the same thing, but I want to. I need to go back in the light of day and make a decision. He says it’s up to me. We can rebuild our home or find another property. I’m not sure. It’s all so raw.”

“Whatever you decide, I’ll be here for you, Maggie. I can help and I know Sara will too. We can have fun with this, it doesn’t have to be so sad.”

“I love you Abby. You make the people around you feel like no matter what, it will all be okay.” She got up and hugged her friend. “Now, I’m going to take advantage of the sunshine and go sit out on your beautiful deck by the water. I need to think a bit.”

<><>

Maggie didn’t realize she sat by the water all day long. Jax and Penny frolicked behind her and then Jax, worn out, lay down beside her chair. Penny ran off to find other things to do. This is the life, Maggie thought. She loved living by the water. Abby’s place was ocean front, where theirs was along a canal.

Perhaps it was time for them to build their own home, by the ocean. She could write with a backdrop like this, Maggie thought. Even more so than their place in the canal. She loved their place but didn’t know if she could go back, even if they rebuilt the home. Maggie sighed and closed her eyes.

She wanted to run away. Get away from the chaos that Jerry caused. She sent up a special prayer for him to be caught in the drug bust and be put away for a long time. Right now, all she wanted was to bask in serenity. Peace. She found it for a while right here with the bluest skies and white clouds so close it was as if heaven were a breath away.

Maggie had her hand on Jax’s back, running her hand over his fur. When Jax became taut and his tail began to wag, she closed her eyes. She knew Jake tried to sneak up on her but the dog gave him away. “Too late, love. Jax told on you.”

A gentle laugh followed and then he reached down and nuzzled her neck. His arms went around her from behind. “You ready to go?” he asked.

“I think so.” She let him pull her up from the chair and fell in to his arms. “Are you?” she asked, concern at the way he looked. She reached up and traced a line across the dark circles under his eyes. “You seem to be a bit disheveled.”

“I’m fine. I’m better than you think. Now, my lady, let’s go take a look at our home.” He held out his arm so she could tuck her own around his. Maggie waved to Abby, who was out on the veranda with her hand in the air.

“Don’t worry, Jax can stay here,” she yelled. “He’ll be taken great care of.”

Maggie gave her a thumbs up as Jake helped her in to the boat once again. “She acts as if we’re not coming back,” Maggie said.

Jake shrugged right before he started the boat and guided it back out in the water. She sat beside him and leaned her head back as the sea wind rustled her hair. The sun kissed her skin and she picked up the lotion from the console with a giggle.