Special Delivery by April Wilson
Chapter 24 – Sophie
Sophie Zaretti
“I never thought I’d say this, but we’re having Lia’s bachelorette party.” I shake my head in disbelief as we head out to the front drive—Lia, Hannah, Erin, Haley, Annie, and Molly. Unfortunately, Beth won’t be able to join us as she’s recuperating, but she sent us out with her best wishes and told us to have a fantastic time.
“Will wonders never cease?” Hannah asks, rolling her eyes.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Lia snaps back. “It’s just an excuse to drink.”
“Remember, Haley’s only seventeen,” Annie gently reminds us. “Not too much drinking, right?”
Since there are so many of us, we decide to take Annie’s minivan, which seats eight.
Before we walk out of the house, Mack pulls me aside, along with Lia and Hannah. “Keep an eye on Haley—she’s underage. That means absolutely no alcohol. I’m serious. And watch out for Erin. She gets anxious in crowded public places, especially when they are a lot of strangers around—namely men.”
I pat Mack’s rock-hard bicep. No one has forgotten the horrific assault Erin experienced not that long ago. “We understand, big guy. Please don’t worry.”
Jake pulls Annie into his arms and kisses her. “Have fun, honey. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Ha, funny,” Annie says as she kisses him back. “That’s not saying much.”
Dominic stands behind me, with his arms wrapped around my torso as he gently rubs my baby bump, his chin resting on my shoulder. “Have fun, babe.” He presses his lips to my ear and whispers, “But not too much fun.”
Mack puts his arms around Erin. “Maybe one of us should go with you ladies.”
Of course, by us, he means one of the men. “No,” I say. “It’s a bachelorette party, Mack. That means girls only. If you want to have a bachelor party, you guys can do that here while we’re gone. Besides, Lia will be with us—she’s a freaking professional bodyguard. And frankly, Hannah is just as skilled as Lia when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. So relax.”
Mack is blatantly scowling. There’s no other word for it. He’s so not on board with this idea.
“Seriously, dude, chillax,” Lia says as she claps him on the back before stepping down onto the drive. “I’ll look out for all my chickies.”
After we climb into Annie’s minivan and buckle our seat belts, I glance out the front windshield at the collection of grumpy guys standing on the front steps. Namely Mack, Jake, and my Dominic. Jake and Dominic look bummed, as if they feel left out because their women are going out without them. Mack, on the other hand, looks truly worried, and honestly, he has a right to be. I know that Erin’s emotional health has really suffered after her assault.
I glance back at Erin, who’s sitting in the middle row of seats. “Are you okay, sweetie?”
Erin tucks her straight black hair behind her ear and smiles, showing perfect dimples in her round cheeks. But her blue eyes are shadowed with anxiety and misgiving. “I’m fine,” she insists. “Really.”
“Erin, you don’t have to go—”
“I want to,” she says adamantly. “I do.” And then she betrays herself by glancing out the window at Mack, who’s standing rigid on the front steps, his arms crossed over his chest. “This is a good step for me,” she admits. “I need to go out more on my own—I mean without Mack. I rely on him as my security blanket way too much.”
“All right. But if you feel uncomfortable for any reason, you tell us and we’ll come straight home. Got it?”
She nods. “Got it.”
Annie’s driving, since we’re taking her minivan. I’m in the front passenger seat as I’m pregnant and don’t feel like climbing into the back. Molly and Erin are in the middle row, and Lia, Hannah, and Haley are in the back row of seats.
We take off for town, passing through both security checkpoints on the property. Old man Charlie is manning the intercoms, and he lets us through. It’s a quick five-minute drive to the little downtown heart of Kenilworth, which is a quaint little shopping area made up of a few restaurants, a bar, a laundry mat, two gas stations, an ice cream shop, a grocery store, and a handful of other assorted businesses.
“Where to, ladies?” Annie says as she pulls into an off-street parking lot.
No matter where we decide to go, we’re within easy walking distance.
Lia points down the street. “How about that place? The All-Star Bar and Grill? It’s a sports bar, family friendly.” She nods toward Haley. “You know, kids are allowed.”
Laughing, Haley bumps shoulders with Lia. “I’m not a kid.”
“That sounds like a good place as any,” Molly says. “We can get appetizers and drinks… well, those of us who can drink.” She nods toward Sophie. “Obviously, you and Haley can’t.”
“I can’t drink either,” Lia says. “I’m too young and impressionable.”
Hannah elbows her sister hard. “Give me a break.”
The seven of us cross the street and walk two blocks to the restaurant. It’s dark out now, but the streetlamps are on, illuminating the sidewalks.
Hannah opens the door, and we all file into a small waiting area. The hostess gets a name and checks her seating chart. “Give us a few minutes to clean off a table for you guys. It won’t be long.”
While we wait in the bar area, a bar tender takes our drink order. Most everyone orders beer. Haley and I order Cokes.
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Erin says.
Annie and I make eye contact. That’s right—Erin was drugged in a bar. Her attacker snuck the date rape drug into her drink, and when she was partially incapacitated, he forced her up to his hotel room. No wonder she’s so nervous and wary of accepting anything to drink.
“Do you want me to see if we can get you a sealed bottle?” I ask Erin. “Water or juice? Or a soft drink?”
Erin shakes her head. She’s hypervigilant now, her gaze sweeping the area around us as if she’s expecting a monster to jump out of the shadows. “Nothing, thanks. I’m just not thirsty.”
Of course that’s most likely a lie. She’s probably scared to death.
We’re in a sports bar, so it’s not surprising there’s a Chicago White Sox game playing on all the TV screens—well over a dozen of them. Fans are cheering the replay of an earlier game—one the Sox won, of course.
Thank goodness we arrived when we did because a charter bus pulls up to the restaurant and an entire team of college baseball players streams into the restaurant.
We’re seated not long after. We decide to order just about every appetizer on the menu and share—hot wings, nachos, fried onion rings, potato skins, soft pretzel bites, and fried dill pickles.
Our server brings us a fresh round of drinks, and our appetizers arrive soon after.
I raise my glass—this time a virgin strawberry daquiri—and makes a toast. “To my baby sister. Congratulations, Lia, on finally tying the knot with one of the hottest guys on the planet. I hope you have some great sex tonight to commemorate the occasion.”
As everyone laughs, Lia says with a straight face, “We always have great sex.”
“Just wait until the news gets out on social media,” Haley says. “His fans are going to freak out that he’s off the market.”
Just our luck—the traveling baseball team is seated across the aisle from us, taking up a number of tables They’re loud, obnoxious, and drinking way too much booze. My guess is they were already well on their way to being trashed before they even got here. From the noise they’re making, it sounds like they’re celebrating a big win tonight.
I hear a couple of cat-calls and whistles that I suspect are being directed at our table. I do my best to ignore them and hope the others do too.
“Hey, ladies. Looking for a good time tonight?”
“Hey, sugar. How about we hook up? Our hotel is just down the street.”
We’re just about done with our appetizers when our server returns to our table carrying a tray of seven shot glasses containing clear liquid.
Frowning apologetically, the young woman holding the tray says, “These are for you guys—vodka shots, courtesy of the guys over there.” She tilts her head toward the tables across the aisle from ours.
“No, thank you,” Annie says, glaring at the players. “Take them away. We’re not interested.”
After our server leaves, two of the guys approach our table, both in their early twenties. They’re still dressed in their team uniforms, with dirt-stained knees. One has short dark brown hair, and the other is blond.
“Hey, ladies,” the blond says. “We’re staying at a hotel just down the street tonight. Wanna join us for a little after-game party? Help us celebrate?” While he speaks, his gaze roams hungrily over the younger women—Haley, Lia, Erin, and Hannah.
Erin’s staring down at her folded hands in her lap. Haley’s looking anywhere but at the guys. It’s Lia and Hannah I’m most concerned about; they both look like they want to shred these guys.
The dark-haired guy winks at me, then at Annie and Molly. “You sexy MILFs are invited, too.”
Lia sets her beer glass down hard on the wooden table and levels an icy glare on the two players. “I’m sorry, but what gave you pathetic losers the impression that we’d be interested in a bunch of prepubescent dick wads like you?”
Haley snorts out a laugh and then quickly covers her mouth.
Momentarily stunned, the two guys look at each other, then back at Lia. Then they laugh.
“Oooh, I call dibs on the blonde bitch,” the blond guy says. Then he has the audacity to run his hand down the front of his uniform slacks, stroking himself.
Lia motions to herself. “You want some of this, pal?” she says, egging him on. “You think you can handle it?”
The two guys laugh, as do their eavesdropping friends back at their table.
I glance at Erin, who’s sitting frozen in her seat between Haley and Lia. Her expression is stone-faced, and her complexion has turned sickly pale. I catch Molly’s and Annie’s gazes. We need to leave now, I mouth to them.
Molly nods as she pulls out her wallet, withdraws some cash, and lays it on the table. Annie and I do the same.
“Let’s go, guys,” I say as I slide out of the booth.
“Time to go,” Molly says to the other girls as she rises to her feet.
Lia and Hannah head straight for the exit, with Erin and Haley right behind them. The rest of us follow behind to make sure these assholes don’t speak to Erin again. Haley’s annoyed, but she doesn’t look concerned. It’s Erin we’re worried about.
Once we step out onto the sidewalk, I take a deep breath, sucking in the cool evening air. “That was unpleasant,” I say.
“Asshats,” Lia grumbles as we start down the sidewalk toward the parking lot.
We don’t get a hundred yards away before we hear renewed catcalling and whistles following us. Lia and Hannah pivot instantly and step around us, putting themselves between us and the idiots.
“Go to the vehicle,” Hannah says as she and Lia stand side-by-side on the sidewalk, watching the guys approach. There are five of them, and from the way they’re carrying themselves, I’d say they’re all drunk.
“No, Lia.” I put my hand on her shoulder. “We’re all going. Together.”
Lia shrugs me off. “Go, Soph. We’ll join you in a minute.”’
There’s no way we’re leaving Lia and Hannah here to deal with these assholes alone. Annie pulls Erin behind her, and Molly does the same with Haley.
“Come on, guys,” I say. “Let’s just go.”
But it’s too late for that. The guys run up on us, sweaty and disheveled from their game, no doubt.
“Why’d you run off like that?” the blond guy asks. “We were just trying to be friendly.” He stumbles and falls into his dark-haired friend, and they both almost tumble to the ground.
Yep, they’re drunk.
Lia steps forward, getting in the blond’s guy’s face. “Why don’t you and your moron friends get lost?”
The blond’s expression morphs instantly into a belligerent sneer. “Why don’t you shut your bitch of a mouth? Or at least put it to good use.” And then he grabs his cock and makes an obscene gesture.
“Calm down, Cody,” his dark-haired friend says as he grabs the guy’s arm and attempts to pull him back.
The one named Cody pulls out of his buddy’s grasp.
The rest of the guys are starting to fan out around us, caging us in. Shit. This isn’t going to end well. Someone’s going to get hurt. Namely them.
“Come on, fellas,” I say, hoping to defuse the situation. “Go back to the restaurant and leave us alone.”
“Shut up, bitch!” Cody growls. But his gaze is locked on Lia.
I glance back at Erin, whose arms are wrapped tightly around her torso. Her blue eyes are huge in her pale face, and she’s literally shaking. Haley notices, too, and puts an arm around Erin.
It’s time for an executive decision because we need to get Erin out of here. “All right, do it, Lia,” I tell her. Then I take out my phone and take some pics of these assholes in case we need photographic evidence.
Then I nod to Annie and Molly. “We have to go.”
Five of us resume our walk to the van, knowing that Lia and Hannah won’t let the idiots follow us. We don’t get more than a dozen feet away before we hear the scuffle, followed by grunts and cries of pain.
I look back to see Lia standing over Cody’s prone body. He’s not moving, so I assume he’s out cold.
“That’s what you get for being disrespectful to women,” Lia grounds out as she digs her boot into the guy’s belly. He still doesn’t move. “Wimp.”
Hannah has his buddy in a choke hold, his arm twisted sharply behind his back. He’s grimacing in pain as he sinks to his knees.
The three other morons stand there indecisively as they weigh whether or not to get involved. When Lia takes a step toward them, they scatter and run back to the restaurant, leaving Cody and his friend on the sidewalk.
As Lia wipes her hands on her cargo pants, I smile at my little sisters. They are both kick-ass bitches. “Well done, ladies,” I tell them. “Let’s go.”
When we arrive back at the house, the guys are outside waiting for us—all of them. I called ahead to let Dominic know what happened, so he could give Mack a heads up. Now they’re all waiting outside for us—Mack, Dominic, Jake, Philip, Jamie, Jonah, and Killian. And they’re pissed.
“Oh, wow,” Annie says as she parks the minivan and peers out the passenger window. “Look at that wall of angry male testosterone.”
As Molly smiles, I fan myself. “You have to admit, that’s hot.”
Mack is at the vehicle even before Annie has shut off the engine. He opens the door and helps Erin out.
Dominic opens my door and peers inside the van. “You girls all right?”
“We’re mostly fine,” I say, taking Dominic’s hand as he helps me out of the vehicle. I glance at Mack, who has his arms wrapped around Erin. “Erin’s not fine.”
Jake and Killian are standing beside the van, both of them looking grim. Jake looks Annie over as she steps out onto the drive. “Are you okay, babe?” he asks his wife. I can tell he’s holding back rage.
As Hannah exits the van, Killian’s gaze skims her from head to toe, but wisely he doesn’t say a word.
Lastly, Lia and Haley hop out.
Jonah steps forward and eyes Lia. “I heard you kicked some ass.”
Lia nods. “He was scrawny, though, so it wasn’t much of a contest.”
Mack holds his hand out to Haley. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Dad,” Haley says, not seeming a bit upset. “You should have seen Lia and Hannah! They were awesome. They sent those perverts running for their lives.”
“All right, everyone inside,” Annie says. “We’ve had enough excitement for one evening.”
