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  Acknowledgments

  So many people have made my writing and publishing journey possible. A simple thank you never seems like enough to convey my gratitude.

  To the wonderful ladies who help me make my stories better, Amabel Daniels, Michelle Eriksen and Abbie Zanders, I don’t know what I would do without your advice, suggestions, keen eyes and encouragement. To my dedicated betas and dear friends, Jackie Dawe Ford, Nancy Arnold-Holloway, and Karie Deegan thank you for always being there when I need you. To Corey Majeau of Majeau Designs and Golden Czermak of Furious Fotog for making my covers so amazing.

  Last but not least thank you to my husband, children and grandchildren, I would never be able to do what I love without your love and support. You all mean the world to me, and I love you with all my heart.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my wonderful family who lifted me up when I was struggling and gave me the confidence to push ahead.

  I love you all.

  This book is fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be taken as real. Any resemblance to people living or dead, events, location, or companies is purely coincidental.

  This is the original work of Rhonda Brewer.

  All rights reserved. No part of this work can be reproduced in any way without written permission from the author.

  RISKY VENGEANCE@2020 Rhonda Brewer

  All Rights Reserved

  Prologue

  Eleven-year-old Abigale Martin lay on the floor of her living room with a scowl on her face and reading a schoolbook. She was grounded and not allowed to do anything else. Her mother, the mean Claire Martin, would not allow Abigale to go outside before she finished her homework. Of course, if Abigale had just done it and not yelled at her mother, she would probably be out with her sister.

  Laurie was outside, but she didn’t have her homework done. She was older and always got away with more than Abigale did. It was why she got so frustrated and screamed at her mom, telling her how unfair it was that Laurie could go out, but Abigale had to read a stupid book she didn’t like.

  Laurie was having fun with their friends Dana Sampson and Belinda Carter. That was another thing making her angry. Dana and Belinda were Abigale’s best friends, but Laurie stuck her nose in, and now they always tried to exclude Abigale from things they did together, or that was how it seemed.

  “Why are you lying on the floor, Monkey?” Abigale’s father entered the living room and got down on the floor with her.

  “I’m doing my homework,” Abigale replied as she rolled her eyes.

  “What book are you reading?” He smiled.

  “Diary of Anne Frank,” Abigale answered.

  “I read that when I was your age.” He nudged her with his shoulder.

  “I have to read it if I want to go outside before I’m old like you,” Abigale grumbled and dropped her head on her arms.

  “Old like me, huh?” Her father laughed, but she didn’t find it funny.

  Her father poked her, and she raised her head. She focused on the name tag on his overalls. Darren. It was weird when people called him that because most everyone around called him Hammer. Abigale had overheard the story of why her father had the nickname, and it had something to do with people he nailed. When she asked her mother about it, her mother said she’d understand when she was older.

  “Mom said you talked back to her.” Her father raised an eyebrow.

  “It’s not fair. Laurie can go out, but she didn’t do her homework.” Abigale complained.

  “Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you can be rude to your mother, does it?” Her dad had a way of talking to her without shouting and making her feel she had to apologize.

  “No.” Abigale sighed.

  “Laurie doesn’t have school tomorrow, Monkey. That’s why she was permitted to go out.” He kissed her forehead and then hopped up on his feet.

  “Abigale, can you run around the corner and tell your sister supper is ready?” Abigale’s mother shouted from the kitchen.

  Abigale held down her urge to remind her mother she was grounded because it wouldn’t make the situation any better. Instead of getting herself in more trouble, she shoved her book back in her backpack and headed out of the house.

  Abigale shuffled along as she made her way the two blocks to Dana’s house. Laurie told their mother she was going there to hang out with Dana. If Abbie had to go out to get Laurie, she wasn’t going to rush. That way, she’d get as much time outside as she could.

  As she turned the corner, she spotted Dana and Laurie on the sidewalk by Dana’s house. They seemed deep in conversation, and she hurried toward them to see if she could hear what they were saying. When Laurie saw Abigale, she waved, causing Dana to turn around.

  “What took you so long?” Laurie asked.

  “I had to do homework, unlike some people. Mom sent me to tell you supper is ready,” Abigale told her sister.

  “Are you coming back out after supper?” Dana asked them.

  “I doubt it. I’m grounded.” Abigale grumbled.

  “Why?” Laurie tilted her head in confusion.

  “I got mouthy with Mom.” Abigale shrugged.

  “You will never learn.” Laurie rolled her eyes.

  They talked for another few minutes before they began to head home. Abbie’s mother would come looking for them if they took too long or worse, she would send their father. He would toss both of them up on his shoulders and carry them back home.

  “Call me if…” Dana’s words stopped when Laurie shoved both Dana and Abigale.

  “Watch out,” Laurie screamed.

  Abigale tumbled to the ground and landed hard on her side. A sudden surge of pain shot up her arm, and all she could hear was someone screaming. She tried to get up, but her arm hurt too much, and she cried out in pain.

  “Jesus, Christ,” a woman shouted.

  “Stop him,” a man yelled.

  “He’s fucking drunk,” another person roared.

  Abigale felt sick, and her head started to hurt along with her arm. Everything spun around her, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her mother was next to her, tears streaming down her face, and her shirt covered in something red.

  “My arm hurts,” Abigale cried.

  “It’s okay, Abigale. We’re going to get you to the hospital.” Her mother glanced behind her.

  Abigale lifted her head to see a car on the sidewalk, and a crowd of paramedics around it. It was hard to figure out what they were doing, but when she locked eyes with her father, she realized something was seriously wrong.

  “Mom, where’s Laurie?” Abigale asked.

  “She’s hurt, honey.” Her mother trembled, and her voice cracked.

  Abigale didn’t get a chance to ask another question as more paramedics surrounded her and her mother stepped back. Her dad wrapped his arms around her mother, and they followed Abigale to the back of the ambulance.

  “You go with Abigale. I’ll go with Laurie,” Abigale heard her father say.

  “Darren,” her mother choked.

  “She’s going to be fine,” he whispered, and they were the last words she heard when the ambulance doors closed.

  Abigale had some x-rays, and her arm was placed in a cast. The doctors put stitches on the back of her head and bandaged a small cut on her knee. She was woozy because they gave her some medication to help with the pain.

  It didn’t prevent her from overhearing the conversation outside the curtain between her mother, father, and Dana’s mom. They talked about Laurie and how there was nothing the doctors could do for her. Laurie’s brain was dead.

  “Hey, Monkey, would you like something to drink?” Her father walke
d into the room holding a paper cup.

  Abigale nodded and he helped her sit up. As he held the cup to her lips, she stared up at him. His eyes were red, and it looked as if he was crying. The sight made it hard to swallow the juice and she carefully pushed away the cup.

  “Dad, is Laurie’s brain really dead?” Abigale whispered.

  Her dad dropped his head, and when he lifted his eyes to meet hers, she saw tears. Abigale saw her dad cry once before, and that was when his mother died. If he had tears in his eyes, it meant something was bad.

  “Monkey, your sister was hurt when the car hit her. There was nothing the doctors could do.” Her father took her uninjured hand.

  “She pushed Dana and me,” Abigale remembered.

  “What do you mean?” Her dad tilted his head.

  “She screamed and told us to watch out. Then she pushed us hard.” Abigale swallowed hard.

  “She saved you.” Her dad’s voice cracked as a tear slipped down his cheek.

  “Is she… you know.” Abigale didn’t want to say the word.

  “Yes, Monkey. I’m afraid so.” Her father ran his hand over the top of her head.

  Abigale couldn’t stop the tears if she tried. Her sister was dead, and she knew what that meant. She just didn’t realize that it happened to someone as young as Laurie. Older people died, or that was what she thought.

  When they got home, Abigale sat in her room, staring at her sister’s empty bed. It still had her bookbag on it, and her school uniform tossed on the floor.

  Death was a hard thing to understand, and listening to her mother sobbing hysterically was difficult for Abigale to hear. She’d never seen her parents cry so much, and although her arm started to hurt her again, she wouldn’t ask for anything. Abigale didn’t want to cause any more trouble for her mother and father.

  Over the next few days, Abigale heard everyone talk about the man who hit them. He was drunk and tried to leave without helping. Some men in the neighborhood caught him and held him until the police showed up.

  She didn’t know what would happen after this. Abigale knew she would never see her sister again, and she felt as if part of her heart was gone. She didn’t know if any of them would ever get over losing Laurie.

  Chapter 1

  Ben Trunk Murphy ended the call he’d received and made his way to the third floor of the Health Science Center. It was the largest hospital in the city of St. John’s, and he despised the place. Still, when his boss assigned him to a job, he didn’t question the location.

  Trunk’s boss, Keith O’Connor, ensured his clients were always given top-rate help from Newfoundland Security Services, but these clients were especially important. The two women were close friends of the family.

  Keith’s brother, Mike, wanted his girlfriend’s friends safe. Billie Carter had been going through a tough time over the last few weeks. One of her friends was murdered and two were now in hospital after they were trapped in a fire. Trunk was assigned as security for the women until the threat was neutralized.

  Keith and Dean Bull Nash owned the high-end security firm. The company dealt mostly with private security for politicians, dignitaries, and VIPs but also were hired from time to time as bodyguards. Keith and Bull were great friends and Trunk loved working for them.

  Trunk loved the job and got along well with his co-workers. Since the company was relocated back to Newfoundland from Yellowknife, the entire staff were more like family than people who worked together. There was also the perk of living rent-free in a bunkhouse Keith built on his property.

  Keith’s six brothers had quickly become close friends with Trunk and the rest of the men who worked for NSS. Between Keith, his brothers, cousins, parents, aunts, uncles, and their quirky grandmother, it was like having a huge extended family.

  Trunk stepped off the elevator and immediately locked eyes with John O’Connor. Keith tended to work side by side with the police for the most part and since four of his brothers were with the Newfoundland Police Department, it became a necessity. Although sometimes the scales of justice were tipped if it was in the best interest for the person they were protecting. The client’s safety was always the most important.

  Trunk’s assignment was to protect two of Billie’s friends. They were caught in a fire that the police believed was set by the same people after Mike’s wife. It didn’t matter who was after the women, Trunk’s job was to keep them safe, and that was what he would do.

  “So, you’re saying some sicko is obsessed with Billie and to get her attention, he’s killing, or attempting to kill people she cares about?,” one woman asked.

  “That’s the theory, but John doesn’t want to take chances. The fire probably destroyed any evidence, but you never know,” Mike explained.

  Trunk could hear the conversation from outside the partially opened door as he waited for the okay to go inside. John was on the phone and nodded when Trunk motioned to the door.

  “But you’re saying until they find out, we’ll have someone following us around,” the same woman said, but she didn’t seem happy about the situation.

  “Abbie, it’s for our safety.” The other female voice was soft.

  “I don’t want some goon following me around,” Abbie snapped and then coughed.

  Trunk figured both women were still choked up from the smoke they’d inhaled. At least the second woman sounded concerned, but the one she called Abbie seemed pissed.

  The conversation stopped when Trunk stepped inside the room, and partially drawn curtains blocked them from his view. It took a few seconds before Mike noticed him standing there and nodded.

  “Hi,” Trunk said.

  “Don’t be afraid, Trunk.” Mike smirked. “I’m sure Abbie won’t bite.”

  He wasn’t worried about being bitten, but he had a feeling Abbie wasn’t going to take kindly to security. As he stepped forward into view of the girls, he wasn’t surprised by their reaction to him. After all, he was a big guy, not to mention his fitted T-shirt clung to his muscled body and revealed a sleeve of tattoos down his right arm.

  “Abbie and Dana, this is Ben Murphy, but we all call him Trunk,” Mike introduced him. “Trunk, Abbie is on the left, and Dana’s on the right.”

  “Nice to meet you, ladies.” Trunk folded his hands as he studied the two women.

  “Holy, mother of Jesus. It’s a real-life Adonis.” Abbie gasped as she practically undressed Trunk with her eyes.

  “Not quite, but thanks for the ego boost.” Trunk chuckled, but she was eyeing him so intensely that it gave him a peculiar feeling in the pit of his stomach.

  “How in God’s name do you need an ego boost? Do you have a mirror at home?” Dana raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes, I do.” Trunk smirked.

  “Okay, the name Trunk, is it because your arms are the size of tree trunks?” Abbie’s eyes dropped to his crotch, and Trunk prayed she didn’t see his dick twitch.

  “Not even close.” Trunk chuckled.

  “Oh, is something else as big as a tree trunk?” Abbie wiggled her eyebrows.

  “You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?” Trunk pointed at the attractive woman.

  “Yes, she is,” Billie interjected.

  “I’ll be good if you tell me why they call you Trunk.” Abbie’s grin was mischievous but sexy as hell.

  “I doubt you’ll ever be good, but Trunk came from locking myself in one when I was trying to win a bet with my brother. I told him I could get out of our grandmother’s travel trunk and told him to lock me in. Neither of us knew the thing wasn’t locked before because the key was missing,” Trunk told them.

  The truth was he was hiding in the trunk with his brother to get away from their abusive stepfather. The man was pissed because ten-year-old Trunk had screamed to leave their mother alone. His stepfather had ripped off his belt and chased them up to the attic of their old house.

  Since his stepfather was piss-eyed drunk, he couldn’t catch them and lost interest when he couldn’t find the
m. They didn’t exactly get locked in the trunk, but they were locked in the attic for hours.

  “Well, I’m just going to imagine my own story about why you’re called Trunk.” Abbie’s eyes dropped to the zipper of his jeans again.

  “I’ll be outside your room. Nobody gets in here without my say so.” Trunk chuckled as he headed out of the room. “Good evening, ladies, Mike.”

  “I think I’m going to be all right with being shadowed by him,” Abbie said as Trunk stepped into the corridor.

  “As long as you remember to do what he says.” Mike was serious. “He’s good at his job.”

  “I will.” Abbie’s tone changed, and Trunk could hear a hint of fear in her voice.

  They weren’t wrong about Abbie being trouble because she hooked him from the first day. She was sassy, sexy, and had a mouth that would make a sailor blush. Her constant sexual innuendos drove him crazy with want for her.

  The police tightened up security on Billie, her family, and friends, which made Trunk a permanent fixture in Abbie’s life. With each day, it got harder to resist her, but when her real estate business was targeted with Trunk barely getting Billie and Abbie out of the building, he knew he had to stay professional.

  Abbie clung to him, and the only reason he released her was that he’d gotten sliced when they climbed through the broken window. He tried to cover his concern for Abbie by acting pissed about his tattoo, but the damage to his tattoo didn’t bother him half as much as what could have happened to Abbie and Billie.

  The tattoo was special. Trunk and his brother had gotten matching ink to represent their bond and what they had survived. They were able to escape their violent childhood when the police arrested Jerry for killing someone. Their mother packed up, moved them to central Newfoundland, and changed all their last names to her maiden name, Murphy.

  Trunk never met his biological father and didn’t know his name. His father left when Trunk’s mother was barely pregnant with Chris and Trunk was a toddler. Jerry Stamp was the only father Trunk knew.

  Jerry was a violent alcoholic who brutally beat Trunk’s mother almost daily. Even as a kid, Trunk knew if they didn’t get away, it would end in tragedy. The day Jerry was arrested, he’d beaten Trunk’s mom so severely she almost didn’t survive. Luckily, she recovered, and Trunk hadn’t seen the bastard since.