The Prime Objective. Ginna Gray

ambulance.

      “Thank heavens they got there before Ed came back. The paramedics rushed Colleen to the hospital and the police waited for Ed and arrested him.”

      “What kind of damage did he do this time?” Jack asked.

      “She had to undergo emergency surgery to repair a tear in her esophagus. He also broke two of her ribs, her collarbone, her nose and cracked her cheekbone. Plus there were various other contusions and cuts and both of her eyes were swollen shut for a couple of days.” Kate shuddered and stared straight ahead into the darkness beyond the windshield. Recalling how her sister had looked still gave her chills.

      Jack reached across the space between the seats and gave her arm a squeeze. “She’s lucky she had you.”

      “I suppose. But to tell you the truth, once I knew that she would recover, I was furious with her. A part of me still is.

      “Dammit, she should have left him long ago. She knew that we—that I would have helped her. But all that worthless animal had to do was shed a few crocodile tears and vow that it would never happen again, and she would forgive him and the whole cycle would repeat itself.

      “It was always the same—he would beat her, then be full of remorse, they’d reconcile, there’d be a brief period of him being all lovey-dovey to her, but before long his true nature always emerged and the abuse started again.”

      Kate clenched her fists and made an exasperated sound. “It was maddening. And so difficult to watch. I love my sister, but I swear, Jack, most of the time I wanted to shake her until her teeth rattled. Even at the hospital, as concerned about her as I was, I was still angry.

      “Something had to be done. I knew that if she stayed in that marriage he would eventually kill her. So that night I took matters into my own hands.

      “I had to act fast. I knew that as soon as Ed posted bail he’d be hunting for Colleen.”

      “Whatever you did, it obviously worked. How did you convince her?”

      “By the time she woke up after surgery I had our attorney at her bedside and round-the-clock off-duty policemen guarding her door.” A wry grimace twisted Kate’s mouth. “Poor thing. I lit into her before she could say a word. I told her that Mr. Atwood had a restraining order and divorce papers drawn up and ready to file. And if she didn’t sign them and give Ed the boot this time I would never speak to her again. That I was through picking up the pieces. From that point forward she would be on her own.”

      “Yeah, right. Tell me another one.” The look Jack slanted her way was rife with wry amusement even though his lips didn’t move. “You’re incapable of turning your back on your sister and you know it. Don’t tell me that Colleen fell for that.”

      “All she said was, ‘Show me where to sign.’ Actually, she had to write it. She couldn’t talk.”

      “Good for her. It’s about time.”

      “Yes, well, I have to admit, she was so weak she couldn’t put up much of a fight.

      “After David Atwood left to file the petitions I started worrying that Colleen’s quick agreement had been the anesthesia and the pain medication talking, but the next day she was wide awake and still determined. She hasn’t wavered from her decision.

      “To be honest, I think she’d already made up her mind on her own. Ed’s violence was escalating, and she realized that she probably wouldn’t survive another attack.”

      Jack shook his head. “Talk about learning a lesson the hard way.”

      “I know.”

      After a short pause Kate added, “There was one bright spot in all this, though. Ed was served with divorce papers, a restraining order and a pink slip all at once while still in jail. And I went along with the process server and watched.”

      Jack glanced at Kate and chuckled at the look of hard satisfaction on her face. “I would’ve enjoyed seeing his reaction to that.”

      “Trust me, he was livid. All he could do was rage and rattle the bars like the animal he is.

      “I made it my business to attend his arraignment, too. At first he pleaded ‘not guilty’, but later, at trial, he changed that to ‘no contest’ after the ADA entered into evidence the photos that I’d taken of Colleen at her home before the medics arrived and at the hospital, before and after surgery.

      “Just as I expected, the restraining order turned out to be worthless. The moment Ed bailed out of jail he ignored the order and came storming into the hospital. You wouldn’t believe the scene he created when he tried to charge past the guard. That, fortunately, got him rearrested and his bail revoked. He had to cool his heels in jail until his trial, which was fortunate for Colleen.

      “But even from jail he managed to harass us. He called Colleen’s and my cell phones constantly and filled up our voice mail with heavy breathing calls. We both finally had to cancel our phone service and go to prepaid phones just so we could make a call now and then. Trust me, we’ve given those numbers out to only a few key people.”

      “Good move. That’s going to work to our advantage. Those things are impossible to trace. If we are dealing with bad cops or agents at least they won’t be able to trace her movements or yours through phone records.”

      “Oh, good. We need all the breaks we can get.”

      “So…what kind of sentence did Ed receive at trial?”

      “Oh, wait until you hear this! Because Colleen had never pressed charges before, the judge treated the case as a first offense. Ed got ninety days in county jail and a severe lecture. Big woo.”

      “Has he stayed away from her since he got out?”

      “Yes and no. Since his release about a month ago he’s been working for Goldrush Homes, a contact he’d made while working at Mahaffey’s Interiors. Unfortunately, it’s a job that requires him to pick up orders at the store. We went to court and tried to bar him from the premises, but the judge decreed that we couldn’t interfere with his livelihood. However, he does have to give us notice before he makes a pickup so that Colleen can leave the premises.”

      “What about when she’s home? If he knows she’s alone in that house what’s to keep him from harming her there?”

      “That worried me, too. Which is why I moved her into the condo with me when she was released from the hospital. At the store there are always employees around and I spend as much time there myself as possible.

      “I leased the commercial space adjacent to the store and moved my design studio there. I also had a connecting doorway cut through the common wall between my office and Colleen’s. The arrangement has worked out great. I can keep up with my own design work and run my business and still be there for her.”

      “You’re kind of delicate for a bodyguard, don’t you think?” Jack drawled.

      “Maybe so, but Ed knows that I’m licensed to carry a weapon and that I keep my .38 and a stun-gun with me at all times. He also knows that I won’t hesitate to use either, especially on him.”

      “What happens when your business takes you out of town like it did last week?”

      “I’ve cut back on traveling as much as I can. In the past four months I’ve managed to limit my trips to two. The rest of the time I’ve sent Jennifer Warren, my assistant. When I absolutely have to be gone Colleen stays with Jennifer at her place.

      “I called Jennifer on my way to Tralee. She told me that just a short while earlier Colleen had come flying through the connecting door like a bat out of hell and yelled over her shoulder on her way out the back that she wouldn’t be staying with her that night. Jen was surprised, but she didn’t question her. She didn’t have a chance. The wall between my studio and the store is soundproof, so she didn’t hear the shots or the commotion.”

      “How much did you tell her?”