"Okay, babe. Whatever you want. I only want to make you happy."
Lisa smiled warmly. "I know you do. Love you."
"Love you, babe."
Jonathan waited for Lisa to hang up before viciously throwing his cell phone against the trailer wall. He stalked around the apartment, the familiar rage beginning to build. That fucking little bitch. She was going to ruin his life forever. He was living in this filthy trailer park, like some lowlife because of her. If he didn't get his record expunged, all he had to look forward to were more minimum wage jobs. Jonathan wanted his family back and he wasn't going to let Shelby stand in his way. He lamented the fact that the shot had missed her the previous week.
He glanced at the rifle leaning in the corner of the living room, then crossed the room and picked it up. Pressing the stock against his shoulder, he pictured Shelby standing directly in his line of fire and carefully aligned the sight between her eyes, gently squeezing the trigger. A smile covered his face as he watched her head explode.
Shelby looked at Kris and shook her head ruefully. "Here goes nothing." She waited for the operative to round the car, then accompanied her to the door. Knocking twice, she walked in, Kris following.
"Hi, Mom." She walked over and hugged her mother.
"Hi, honey. Would you and Kris like some spaghetti? I've got plenty left." Shelby hesitated, but decided it might ease some of the tension. She glanced at the operative and smiled. "Mom makes great spaghetti."
Kris nodded. "Thanks, Lisa. That sounds great."
Lisa quickly served her guests and sat down to join them at the table. She had warned her sons to stay in the living room, promising that Shelby's spy friend would come and visit them after they were done talking.
The conversation was trivial, with Lisa talking about her flower garden and the boys' exploits at school. Kris excused herself when she finished eating, making her way to the living room and silently wishing her partner success.
Shelby smiled at her mother. "I love you, Mom and I want you to be happy."
A warm smile covered Lisa's face. "I know you do, honey. I love you, too."
"Why do you think Jonathan has changed?"
Having been prepared for a heated debate, Lisa was encouraged by Shelby's calm demeanor. "Because he saw a psychologist. That was a big step for him. You know how proud he is. And each time he calls or visits, he makes me feel so special. He's attentive to both the boys and me. He's trying so hard to do everything right."
"You do know, seeing the psychologist was part of his sentence, right?"
"Yes, but he talks so positively about his visits to the doctor. He admits he was wrong. It's not easy for anyone to face their mistakes, yet he is."
Shelby nodded. "Does he still see a psychologist?"
"No. The doctor told him he was a success story and he didn't need to schedule any more sessions."
He is such a liar! "Have you seen him very often?"
Lisa looked away and nodded. "He's been coming around for about a month, now."
Shelby inwardly sighed. Her mother had kept her contact with him well hidden. "Mom, I want you to be totally honest with me. Has he ever done or said anything at all that reminded you of before. You know, raised his voice, clenched his fists, all the things he used to do before he lost his temper."
Lisa's thoughts returned to his visit earlier in the day. For a minute, she'd been scared, but she could understand why he was upset. He wanted them to be a family again.
"Mom? He has, hasn't he?"
"Oh, it was nothing. He just raised his voice a little. He was just a little upset you didn't want to give him a chance. I told him you just needed some time."
Shelby's worst fears were confirmed. She'd known he was incapable of changing, but her mother had just verified it. "You remember my friend, Kim?"
"How could I forget her? I can't ever remember laughing so hard as I did the last time she came over with you. Why?"
"Would you do me a favor?"
"What are you talking about? I thought we were talking about Jonathan moving in."
"We are." Shelby paused, hoping her mother wouldn't explode. "Kim counsels abused women. I'd like you to talk to her."
"That's your answer!" Lisa stood up angrily. "You think I should see a psychiatrist?"
"No, Mom. She's a counselor. You've never talked to anyone about what you went through. If you agree to talk to her, I'll promise to try to be more impartial about Jonathan."
Pacing around the kitchen, Lisa said pointedly, "I really don't think I need to talk to a counselor."
"It wouldn't hurt to talk to her just once, Mom."
Lisa wasn't the least bit happy that her daughter thought she needed to talk to a professional, but Shelby had made the deal very sweet. "And if I do, you promise to be impartial about Jonathan?"
Shelby nodded. "Only one thing."
"What else?"
"You delay Jonathan moving in until after you talk to her."
Lisa had been prepared to delay a week anyway and, wanting to keep the peace with Shelby, she capitulated. "Okay." She smiled at her daughter and held out her hand. "Deal."
Chuckling, Shelby sealed their deal with a handshake. "I'd better go rescue Kris."
All of a sudden, they heard Jimmy and Jason explode with laughter. She grinned at her mother. "I think she's holding her own."
A short time later the two women bid Lisa and the boys farewell. Kris waited until Shelby was settled in before making her way around the car to the driver's side. Settling into the seat, she asked, "How'd it go?"
"Better than I could've ever hoped for. She agreed to talk to Kim before letting Jonathan move in."
Kris smiled at the obvious relief in her partner's voice. "How'd you manage that?"
"I promised her I would be impartial about Jonathan. And I will be. But that includes looking at both the bad and the good. I'm not sure she was thinking of that."
"As long as it worked."
"I hear you." Shelby watched Kris and sighed contentedly. They were headed to the apartment to change clothes, switch cars and gather up some drinks and snacks before staking out the drop again. It would be another long night, but the payoff would be well worth it.
Kris suddenly yelled, "Hold on!" She slammed on the brakes, swerved to the right, and thrust her right hand out in a protective measure to keep Shelby from falling forward before her seat belt had a chance to tighten, grimacing in pain at the sudden movement.
It had barely registered that she'd managed to miss the little boy who had darted out in front of the car chasing a ball, before she heard a loud crack and saw the windshield fragment into a spider web.
Her movements fueled by adrenaline, Kris slammed the car into park, released her seat belt, and threw her body on top of Shelby's, simultaneously releasing her partner's restraining device. She could barely breathe as a vise tightened painfully around her chest at the glimpse she'd caught of the red splattered windshield.
CHAPTER 15
AFTER CAREFULLY SECURING the rifle with a bungee cord on a branch well hidden by foliage, he quickly climbed down from his perch. The tall, dark haired man glanced around discreetly before getting on the bicycle leaning against the tree trunk and casually riding through the back yard of the vacant house to an adjoining side street, en route to his vehicle parked nearby.
He knew he'd missed his primary target - her head - but given the abrupt loss of velocity and swerving of the Sable, he felt very satisfied to have connected at all. With luck, the wound would be debilitating, but whether it was or not, it would still serve his purpose up to a point. Fear was always good tactic, and he was an expert at utilizing it.