Page 26 of All The Things: The Last Thing He Needs Omnibus

“Okay, just relax. I’ll be there soon, all right?”

She was crying when she hung up.

Tommy put the phone down and growled, “Jesus. My fucking life.”

He started to run his hand through his hair and remembered it was bleeding. He kicked the door to the kitchen open, and Bobby followed him. Tommy was muttering to himself as he washed his hands in the sink, talking about being a magnet for trouble. “See?” He turned to Bobby as he dried his hands. “One shitty scenario after another.”

He didn’t add that this was what Bobby had to look forward to if he stuck around. He didn’t tell Bobby he should get out while the getting was good, but he thought it. Then he noticed Bobby had his cell phone pressed to his ear, his finger in the other so he could hear.

Bobby furrowed his brow as he spoke. “Right, Colleen O’Shea, she was just brought in.” He was silent for a minute and then nodded his head before giving little affirmative sounds into the phone. “Okay. Anyone pressing charges?” Tommy’s stomach lurched, wondering what exactly had gone down. “Typical. Some asshole tries to rob some little girl and her boyfriend and then calls foul when they fight back.” He laughed at whatever the person on the other end said before he spoke again, “Thanks, Sue. I owe ya one. Yeah, her parents are out of town right now, but her older brother is in charge. He’ll be there in a few to pick her up.”

When Bobby slid his phone back into his pocket, Tommy looked at him expectantly. “Well?”

“Nothing to worry about, Tom.” Bobby reached for him, his hands warm and strong on Tommy’s shoulders. “She and Wyatt were jumped on their way back from playing some ball. She’s okay, they didn’t hurt her, but it shook her up.”

Tommy let out a deep breath. “I bet. They got the guys that did it down in lockup?” he asked as Bobby pulled him closer.

“Only one.” Bobby laughed as he added, “The other two are in the hospital. Colleen busted them up pretty good.”

He couldn’t help but grin. “Good. The little bastards.” The swell of pride for his sister died suddenly. “She in any trouble for it?”

“Probably not. It looks pretty clear that it was self-defense, but they had to run her in too and take her statement, since the guys that tried to roll them said they were just minding their own business and she attacked them. There were witnesses that saw it go down and backed her up, and she didn’t put anyone in ICU or anything, so I think she’ll be fine.”

Tommy was angry again. He knew his sister, knew she’d never hurt anyone—unprovoked at least. And the idea of Wyatt going after three men with a baseball bat, or anything else, was ridiculous. “Thanks for checking on her.”

“No problem.” Bobby pulled Tommy in and kissed him. When he drew back, he said, “Get on down there, I’ll stay with the kids until you get back.”

Tommy didn’t thank him again. His mind was flooded with all the things he still had to do before his shift started. “Gotta get the kids fed, and Christ, I should probably call in and see if someone can swap with me at the pub.” He let out a sharp curse. “I don’t even know if we got enough gas to make it down to the station and back.” Tommy started digging for his keys.

“Take mine.” Bobby held out his keys. “Just get going, Colleen needs you there.”

“Right, thanks.” Tommy was a little taken aback. For some reason sex and flirting and cleaning the kitchen together didn’t seem nearly as serious and boyfriend-like as Bobby letting him use his beloved car.

Collin and Davey ran into the kitchen at that moment, ready to show they had cleaned up the scratches. Tommy told them, “Collin, you stay here and help Bobby out with the twins. I gotta go get Colleen. Davey, you go find Mike and get Carrie home. She’s down the street at what’s-her-name’s house. I want everyone here while I’m gone.”

Well trained and used to taking orders without asking when Tommy looked serious, Davey darted out the back door, and Collin went into the living room where the babies were playing.

Tommy didn’t like leaving the kids in anyone else’s hands, but he didn’t have much of a choice. His mood was as dark and heavy as thunderclouds, and a headache twitched at his temples. He got in Bobby’s car and tried not to speed on his way to the police station.

Chapter Six

“You okay, Col?” Tommy had his arm wrapped around his sister as he walked her out to the car. She was still crying, despite the reassurances from everyone they talked to that she hadn’t done anything wrong. The witnesses backed up her story, and eventually the guy they had in lockup came clean about it all. It was self-defense, plain and simple. Even the cop who hauled her in had told her there was no such thing as excessive force when outnumbered like she had been.

She nodded her head against his shoulder. “Wyatt’s mom came to get him. I think I freaked him out.”

“He’ll get over it. If he’d been knifed or beaten up by those guys, it would’ve freaked him out more.”

Colleen seemed to agree, but she didn’t say anything else for a long minute. Tommy wondered if she was waiting until they were out of earshot of the people coming and going as they headed for the parking lot. He was right. As soon as they were alone, Colleen stopped and threw her arms around Tommy’s shoulders. “They touched me,” she whispered. It was a simple statement, but Tommy knew exactly what she meant and could only guess what that must have been like for her. “They came outta nowhere and one of ’em jumped on Wyatt and was punching him and digging through his pockets, and the other two….”

Tommy couldn’t help shushing her, holding her like she was a little girl, like she was Carrie or Zoe. “You wanna talk about it?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know.” Her voice sounded muffled against his shoulder, and he ran his hand through her hair, wanting to soothe away the hurt and make her feel safe again. “What good does talking about it do?” she asked as she pulled back enough to see his face.

Tommy didn’t have much of an answer for her. “Maybe it’s better than keeping it to yourself?”

Her eyes were swollen and shimmering, nose running all over him when he hugged her again. Colleen’s exhale shuddered out of her before she continued. “They just…. They grabbed me, and I think at first they were just checking my pockets, ya know?” Tommy nodded, holding her tight as she went on. “Then they started to feel me up, and I just… lost it.” She paused, taking another shaky breath. “When it happened before, I was so young, ya know? I didn’t know how to stop it or what the guy was doing or anything. I just knew it made me feel gross. But this time… I knew what they were gonna do if they got the chance, and then… I just didn’t think anymore. I barely even remember it.”

“You did good,” he whispered, wishing he’d been there, wishing he could get five minutes alone with the guys.

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