Page 22 of Special Agent Joseph

“Probably because shortly after your first birthday he took off.”

Knowing that wasn’t the full story, she didn’t admit that she knew her mother had run him off with the threat to call the cops after he stole money from her purse… their rent money. Dean had shared that story on one of the rare times when he was babysitting, her and he’d been talkative. Rather than ignoring his little sister like he usually did when forced to stay with her, he’d been in a good mood that day.

“Why’d you ever marry him, Mom?” Megan had wondered this many times.

“Look in the mirror, Meggie. You got your good looks from him. That red-headed man was a handsome devil with sexy ways for a country girl like me who never had any self-esteem.” Half-smashed, she leered toward Megan, holding up her glass crookedly and waving it in the air. “Truth is, I never could figure out what he saw in me. At the beginning, he treated me like a-a princess and life was pretty sweet.”

“Then what happened?” Megan held her breath and hoped her mother wouldn’t shut down.

Instead, Stella reached out to touch her daughter’s golden-red mane of hair, running her fingers through the thick waves. Expecting Megan to pull away like she usually did withaffectionate displays, she smiled happily when the girl laid her face in her hand… a rare show of vulnerability. When Megan stayed in place, Stella smiled lovingly. “You’re so beautiful, Meggie… both inside and out. After all the hard work life has handed me, I’m pleased for accomplishing one thing to be truly proud of.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’m sorry about Dad and what he put you through.”

“Know what, sweetie. I’m glad you don’t remember him. You weren’t much more than a baby when he took off for the last time. Guess having a son was acceptable, but me getting pregnant the second time and birthing a colicky daughter, well that seemed to be the last straw. One night he stole all my wages and that was it for me.”

She gulped back a sob and continued. “And no matter how hard I tried to stop it happening, Dean became more like him every day. I loved that boy more than I can ever say, but I could see him heading down that same dark path.”

Megan sat up, pulled away, and hurt anger erupted. “Is that why you loved Dean more than me? Took his side all the time?”

Stella glared toward her daughter. She banged her glass on the table and reached out to take Megan’s hands in hers. “Baby, no. You’re not like them, weak and selfish. You take after me and thank the good Lord you do. You’ve never been afraid to work for what you want. I know I’ve been tough on you over the years, but this is a hard life for us women. No one and nothing owes you a living. Anything you want, you have to achieve for yourself. In today’s world, you need a strong work-ethic, a strong back-bone, and you can’t let any man take advantage of that soft heart you try so hard to hide.”

Then she’d pulled Megan back into her arms, and they stayed that way until they finally fell asleep together. That night hadalways remained one of Megan’s favorite memories of time spent with the woman she’d be losing within the year.

Thankfully, her mother’s warning had stayed with her right up until she enrolled in Quantico. Hanging out in gangs of mostly girls, she hadn’t met a boy who made her want to give up her independence. It had been easy for her to turn down sexual advances and there were a number of them. Hanging out with scads of friends, safety in numbers, had been her mode of entertainment all through high school and even college.

It had taken a martial arts agility trainer in Quantico who’d finally been her downfall. His name had been Callum O’Neil, an Irish sweet talker who melted the hearts of all the girls, including hers. At first, she’d held out, kept her distance, worked his routines, acing most of them. But the more she’d push him away, the more determined he became to win her over.

He’d call on her more than anyone to be his role player in a number of fighting maneuvers and each time, he’d have his hands on her legitimately. At first, it had pissed her off but after getting teased by the others for being so lucky, she began to look forward to the attention and enjoy those times. The more he called on her, the more she got used to him in her space.

He’d hold her back when the others cleared out of the gym and ask her to either practice with him or help set up the gear for the next class. While they worked together, he’d tease her about everything from her grades to her attitude… calling her a hardass. As she softened to his playful ways, he finally asked her to meet him after classes for extra training for a special badge and she agreed. That’s when she fell for his tactics of pleading brown-eyes and hands combing back her curls. His soft words pleasured her as did his incredible body. “Megan, you’re the best student I’ve ever worked with, a natural. I really want to spend extra time with you. What do you say?”

“I don’t know. Why me?”

“I told you before. It’s because you’re special. A natural. Your beautiful body was built for these actions. Say you’ll let me teach you.”

As his voice put a spell over her, she nodded in agreement. “Okay. Should I come back here after class?”

“Yep. We’ll start off by going over some of the more advanced blocking techniques. Then I’ll take you to the officer’s club for a drink so we can get to know each other.”

And so began a relationship that started with a blast and fizzed out with her catching him using the same appeals on another of the pretty students. Unfortunately, when Megan finally succumbed, she fell hard and all the way.

Remembering her mother’s cautioning, she learned her lesson fast and dumping him became easy. Getting drunk after her last meeting with the jerk – where she let him know what a slimy creep he was by using one the techniques he’d taught her – left her wallowing in a morose pity party. Finally, she admitted that she could be conned just like any other female. A sweet-talking Irishman won her heart, broke it, and moved on, leaving her devastated. And she deserved exactly what she got. After all, hadn’t she been warned?

Chapter Fifteen

Joe knocked at Megan’s door and didn’t recognize the red-headed beauty who answered his summons. “Is Megan here?”

“Don’t be an ass.” The girl shoved her backpack into his chest before stepping forward to close her apartment door.

“Excuse me?” He stared into the narrowed blue eyes, and it dawned on him that the young teen in front of him was the same woman he’d hung out with earlier. Except now she looked to be sixteen and made his mouth water. Her eyes and red hair suited each other as did the outfit that took off twenty years.

“Sorry. In my defense, this is quite a change. I’d never have recognized you.”

“Is that meant to be a compliment? Because if so, you need to brush up on your technique. Your style stinks.”

“Well, that’s okay then since I don’t have a style. I say what I think. You look different.”

“Hey Sir Galahad, back off.” The man dressed as a pilot, who laughingly broke into their conversation, approached with histravel bags. Heading for Megan’s apartment, he stopped to visit. “Our Meggie here doesn’t like men who flatter her. I’d suggest you treat her rough, but she’d break your face, so it’s best to just be honest.” After saying this, he bent over Megan and kissed her forehead, ruffled her hair, and then chuckled before adding, “Be home by curfew pumpkin or you’ll be grounded.”

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