"No." George protested weakly.
"You can't run forever George. You have to make a stand somewhere. And better here with us, than on your own somewhere else." Brian said taking her hand.
"Have you explained to them who John is?" she asked Brian with anger and fear burning in her eyes. "What he used to be?"
"Um, I, uh, did a check on him." Jesse said quietly. "John Maddox, age forty-three. He used to be a Prosecuting Attorney in Phoenix. Holding a position as judge currently. Vying for a spot on the Arizona Supreme Courts. Although, with criminal charges pending it doesn't look as good for him anymore. Married twice before. First wife died, second wife left him. No children."
"Why are you doing this?" she asked stupefied looking at all of them.
"Maybe we don't know you, but you're Brian's family." Dom explained looking her in the eyes. "We've learned that Brian's someone we can trust. He's family, and that makes you family. You and your sister deserve some normalcy. If we can help give you that, then just accept it. We'll just all have to get to know each other." he smiled at her, then took both of her hands in his. "You are gonna have to do one more thing."
"What's that?" she asked hoarsely. Thick emotions were filling her throat.
"You need to go to the cops here. Talk to them." Dom held up his hand again to cut her off. "Look, I ain't much for cops. Trust me. But, this is a situation that warrants the cops."
"I've been to the cops. He had them in his back pocket." She said bitterly.
"You haven't been here George." Mo finally spoke. A few tears had slipped down her face as she saw the struggle her sister was going through, and everything everyone was willing to do for them.
"She's right. Cops here aren't gonna be on his payroll." Brian said softly. "I'm not letting you guys down again George. I'm gonna take care of you both. I know you don't need me, but this is how it's gonna be. I still know some people."
Once George finally agreed the group went back to fun and frolic. She knew she shouldn't be giving in so easily, but it felt so good to have someone else making the decisions. When the phone started to ring not half an hour later Dom walked over and picked it up. "Does anyone else have this number besides him?"
"No." she frowned looking at the digital screen where John's number flashed. She couldn't understand why it mattered.
Dom nodded once. "Good." Then he proceeded to hurl the phone into the ocean. George watched with wide eyes and her mouth had dropped open in shock. "That's taken care of. Close your mouth, you look like a fish." Then he went back to playing in the water with everyone else.
A short time after that they headed home sandy, sunburned, and pretty much happy. "Here's the game plan. We get back to the house, shower off and cook out. Anyone got a problem with that?" Dom asked.
"We should probably go back to the hotel…"
Dom cut her off; it seemed he did that quite a bit. "You can shower at our place for now."
"Is he always so bossy?" she murmured to Mia with narrowed eyes.
Mia giggled. "Yep."
"It always seems to work out." Vince grinned down at her.
Georgia, Vince, Leon, and Mia got things together to cook as Letty, Dom, and Maureen took the first showers. Brian was calling the precinct to see if he could talk to someone about George's situation. He was no longer a cop, but still had connections. Jesse was patiently, well sort of, waiting for his turn in the shower.
"Didn't see you swim today." Vince commented.
"No. I'm not a good swimmer. I used to wade and splash around, but I almost drowned a few months ago, so I tend to stay away from the water now."
Mia looked at her with a frown. "How'd you almost drown?"
"I was in a car accident, and my car slid into a lake." She said lightly.
"That explains the scars." Vince said with a nod. Then he held out his arm. "A year and a half ago I almost died." George looked at the fading scars for a moment touching them lightly.
"Looks like they're healing up nicely."
He nodded. "Yeah, yours will too."
The people who'd taken the first showers headed in to let the others shower, and Letty showed George where to go. George had just undressed and stepped under the water ready to pull the curtain shut when the door opened and Vince walked in wearing nothing but a towel. He stopped stunned and his mouth dropped open as he stared. Georgia was also stunned. What seemed like hours was only seconds before she slammed the curtain shut at the same time he turned abruptly.
"Ohmigod! I'msosorryGeorgia, ohshitohshitohshit." He slammed the door as he left hurriedly.
After a moment of complete shock Georgia started laughing hysterically as she remembered the look of surprise on his face. She headed upstairs when she was done and found him standing, fidgeting from foot to foot, and a very unusual shade of red. "I'm so sorry." He began.
"Don't worry about it Vince. I know it was an accident." She told him with a small smile.
"Yes, it was." He shook his head earnestly. "I mean, not that it wasn't enjoyable, I mean you have a great body except for needing to eat more, but I wasn't intentionally trying to scope you out. I mean you're Brian's sister…" Vince was babbling.
Georgia grinned. "Vince. Seriously, it's okay." Then she looked down shyly. "You really think I have a great body?" she asked curiously.
"Oh yeah." He said with some force.
"Thanks." She turned and walked into the kitchen before she started babbling. It had been years since she'd even come close to flirting, and she wasn't exactly sure why she was now. All she could think was that maybe she felt safe in this environment, with these people. This struck her as odd since almost all of them were guys, and she had trust issues with men these days. That was a laugh, she'd had trust issues with men for the past five years ever since John had shown his true colors.
Dinner was a fun event, and Georgia found herself relaxing quite a bit. Part of her was sure this was because there was no constant threat of a phone ringing to interrupt her. Deep down she knew she should be worried. Her not answering was gonna seriously piss John off, and pissing John Maddox off was not a good or safe thing. She'd learned that the hard way. She played Vince's guitar and sang for awhile; running the gamut for the types of music she knew. Maureen sang a few, and she was just as talented as her sister.
George found herself looking at Vince. "You must play, seeing as it's your guitar?"
He shrugged. "Not so much since the accident. It bugs my arm too bad." He grinned wolfishly. "Besides, the only reason I used to play really was to get the chasers."
"Chasers?"
"Racer chasers." Letty elaborated. "The girls at the races who chase after the drivers. Normally they're skanks."
Georgia laughed. "Yeah, I could see you guys bringing in the girls at whatever these races are."
"Do you still race?" Maureen asked with interest.
Dom shrugged. "Sometimes. Not as much as we used to."
"That would be so cool. Maybe we can go see one some time, eh Georgia Anne?"
"Maybe." Georgia murmured leaning back in her chair. It was another beautiful night, she'd actually eaten everything on her plate, and the wind and beer she'd had were making her sleepy. How long had it been since she could just relax? Longer than she could remember. Back before her mom got sick for sure. Actually probably before she got married which would have it high school…
Mo looked at her sister sleeping in the lounge chair with the guitar across her lap. "She's asleep." She said softly. Mo looked at Dom and the others. "Thank you so much."
"You're home now kid. No need to thank us." Dom told her. "Let's get her inside and into bed." He stooped down and handed Vince the guitar, and then moved Georgia into the house and up the stairs. She was extremely light, and didn't stir the entire time. He put her in Letty's old room. She'd been sleeping down with Leon lately. Surprisingly enough it didn't bug him anymore. That was good. Nothing he could've done about it anyway. Nothing he would've done about it. He looked down at the sleeping girl and smiled slightly. It was good to be needed again.
Mo had followed and was busy taking off Georgia's shoes. "Good night." She whispered.
Dom kissed the girl on the forehead earning himself another of her bubbly smiles, "Night kid." He watched as Maureen crawled into bed and cuddled up with her sister.
Georgia awoke disoriented. For several moments she didn't remember where she was and she jumped up in bed. Looking at the pictures around the room before completely panicking she realized she must be in Letty's room. She relaxed instantly and slowly let the memories of the day before wash over her. Mo slept beside her curled on her side. A soft snore gave evidence that the girl was still asleep. It was Sunday which meant, well, she didn't really know what that meant. She knew the shop wasn't open. She also knew she wouldn't be meeting with cops until Monday. So she supposed that meant she had the day to do nothing. That didn't seem right.
George got out of bed and headed downstairs. The house was silent and she noticed it was nine o'clock. Everyone must be sleeping in. Georgia figured she'd make breakfast for everyone seeing it was the least she could do. It was as she was cooking that she realized she'd slept the night through without any dreams. She almost felt rested, and she had an appetite. By the time breakfast was almost done, and the coffee was brewed people started wandering into the kitchen sleepily. Mia was the first one down and she looked extremely surprised.
"You didn't have to make breakfast!" She admonished Georgia.
Georgia smiled. "I wanted to. This is the first time in a long time I've been hungry. We have scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, fruit and juice. Help yourself. There's also fresh coffee. I want to go to the store later and pick up some groceries since I used quite a few."
Mia was going to say something but she didn't get a chance before Jesse, Vince, and Dom entered the room "Good god something smells good." Dom exclaimed.
"Georgia made breakfast." Mia announced.
"You didn't have to do that Georgia." Dom said looking at the redhead.
"I wanted to. I won't say it again. Now sit down and eat. Who wants coffee?" It seemed everyone wanted coffee.
Vince took a sip, looked surprised, and then took a larger sip. "This is really good coffee."
Mia nodded. "Much better than what I make. I just can't make good coffee." She wasn't apologetic. They could have been fixing it themselves if they didn't like hers.
Georgia shrugged. "No big deal. My Dad taught me before he died. Gosh, I think I was eight." She smiled at the memory.
"Well he did a good job teaching you." Dom nodded with approval. It wasn't long before Letty, Leon, Brian, and Mo had joined the large group. Breakfast turned out to be a fun event with everyone laughing and talking at once. With so many conversations going on it was hard to keep track of who was saying what.
George found herself getting lost in thought remembering all of the formal dinners she and John had to attend. Even when they ate at home it had been mostly in silence. When they'd first begun dating he'd taken her out for romantic dinners often. Talking to her, telling her about his dreams; asking her about her dreams. About six months after they'd married all of that had fallen by the wayside. That was when she found out he'd had two wives before her. Georgia had been raised to believe that marriage was forever. She hung in for as long as she could. It wasn't until the first serious injury, when he dislocated her shoulder, that she'd finally left him. She'd just been a trophy wife for him. Young, pretty, and a smooth perfect body. Georgia wasn't a conceited woman, but she knew her looks and body were what attracted him, not her mind. If anything her mind had detracted from her perfection as far as he'd been concerned. John hadn't wanted a smart wife.
When she'd met him she'd been a senior in high school and had just broken up with her high school sweetheart; Sam Andrews. She'd been the captain of her high school drill team, the captain of the dance squad, part of several academic clubs, active in the drama department, and valedictorian of her class. Georgia could have gone to any college she wanted. Her hair had been long, falling down her back in tumbling waves, and she'd had amazing friends. Looking back she didn't really understand why she'd let John sweep her off her feet. She'd met him at a fundraiser her dance squad was running. He'd made a rather large pledge, and she'd gone over to thank him. He'd been so handsome and smooth. Nothing like the high school boys, or even college boys she went out with occasionally. He'd been her first, and only at this point, lover. That wasn't such a big deal though. If sex was like that all the time, she didn't know what the fuss was about. Perhaps John had just been a selfish lover, or perhaps she was frigid like he constantly told her….
"Earth to Georgia?"
She came back to herself to find the entire table looking at her. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Those must have been some seriously deep thoughts." Brian said softly. "You were out of it."
"Sorry. Just zoning." she smiled at the group, who relaxed somewhat. "What were you asking?"
"What did you want to do today?" He asked patiently.
"Oh, I don't know. I really hadn't thought about it." she said with a stumped look on her face.
"Well, why don't we go by your hotel and get your stuff?" Dom looked at her.
"Yeah, okay." She agreed. "That won't take long."
"We'll do that and then figure out what to do from there." he advised settling the matter.
Georgia was right it didn't take long at all to pick up their belongings and check out of the hotel. While they were gone, Letty moved her belongings down to Leon's room. The two would be moving out at the end of the month when their place was ready so they didn't mind the tight space for that little while. Mo would share the room with Georgia and then Georgia would move downstairs to the room which had been Leon's in the finished basement area when the couple moved out. Once they got everything inside they met in the living room. Jesse, Vince, and Leon were playing videogames. While Brian and Dom had gone to help the girls, Letty and Mia had decided to plan a cookout and had invited some of their friends from the races.
Maureen and Georgia had changed into clean shorts and tanks before heading downstairs. There were several Hispanic men and women, and a short, thin black man. Mia introduced them as Hector, his cousin Esteban, his girl Carla, and Esteban's wife Maria. The black man was Edwin. Everyone seemed friendly enough. Hector had circled the two girls and whistled. "Damn Dom, how is your crew gets all the new hot girls?" This earned him a slap across the back of his head from Carla, but she was smiling so Georgia got the feeling it was almost a game between the two.
It turned out Maria was attending college at Cal-Tech, so she and Maureen started bonding almost instantly. Edwin was busy flirting with Georgia and she couldn't help but be flattered. He was funny, and had her laughing almost constantly. She didn't even notice when Brian's cell phone rang and he stepped away from the group. Several minutes later he put his hand on her shoulder. Georgia looked up with a smile on her face, but it didn't last long. The look on Brian's face told her something had happened.
"Excuse me." she murmured to Edwin, and followed Brian a slight distance away. Dom, Vince, and Letty joined them.
"John just called me." Brian told her softly. At her panicked look he reached out and rubbed her shoulder. "He doesn't know you're here. I told him I hadn't seen or talked to you. I also told him I found it odd he didn't know where you were. He told me you'd had a fight and had stormed out. Said he was sick with worry. The man disgusts me." Brian said angrily. "He wanted me to call him if you did contact me."
Georgia let his words seep in and she focused on them. "So he doesn't know where I am today. But Bri, we both know as soon as I talk to the police, that's gonna change. As soon as they start digging, it's a done deal."
"I know George. You have to trust us to take care of you." He took both of her hands, which had gone cold, into his. "We're gonna protect you and Mo. I promise you this."
"I know you'll do your best Bri. And I guess that's what counts in the end." she said looking at all of them. "I'm going to try my best to put this out of my mind for the rest of today and tonight. I'll talk to the police tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan." Dom said with a smile. "Let's eat some chicken!"
Georgia was good to her word and pushed John out of her thoughts for the rest of the day and evening. Brian had arranged for two agents to meet with them the next morning. When he'd spoken with LAPD they'd told him since it had crossed state lines between Arizona, Texas, and now California, along with the position John held, the case would fall to the feds. They were meeting her at the garage. Both Dom and Brian had wanted it that way so that they would be there if she needed them. Mo would be touring Cal-Tech, and talking to their administration department.