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Equalizer

By: IronDragon



Foreword: READ THIS FIRST

First, I would like to thank my lovely and talented wife for helping me with some of the finer plot points, as well as the proofreading of this tale. I love you, Boo. :)

This is something a bit different than what I've written before in this category. It's also quite a bit longer than the tales I usually write in LW.

This is also a work of FICTION (as in NOT REAL for the "super-realists" out there) from my slightly twisted imagination. No, it isn't a willing cuckold tale, or a wife sharing-swapping-swinging-whatthefuckever tale, either. I'm never going to write one of those, so don't worry.

Yes, this could go in several different categories. I could have gone with I/R, Romance, Novels and Novellas, or even Erotic Couplings. Instead, I'm putting it in LW, as the storyline features a cheating wife and a nasty Divorce.

FAIR WARNING: If you are one of the "militant" willing cuckolds, bull, hot wife, swinger, swapper, wife sharer, or someone who sympathizes with or condones one or more of those lifestyles, DO NOT READ THIS TALE. It will probably piss you the hell off. No apologies for that. 

Oh, and the hardcore BTB crowd might not like it either, as Wifey doesn't die or get mutilated in any way (SPOILER ALERT).

Also, this tale contains a couple of interracial relationships featuring black women and white men. If that offends you, just move along.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED: Any and all comments complaining about any of the above issues are now officially NMP as usual.

Everyone else, please enjoy the ride. :)

I.D.

*****

Where do I begin? Hmm. Good question. The beginning? My childhood growing up without my parents? How I went to live with my aunt and uncle and cousin after my folks died? My time in the Army? My time after the Army working for Red River Private Security? Getting married, and my wife telling me she wanted a Divorce a little over a year later?

I guess I could start at any of those points in time. Tell ya what. I'll give you a quick little overview of my life before I became an Equalizer.

What's an Equalizer, you ask? I'll get to that a bit later.

* * * * *

I was born in New York City, where my Mom and Dad lived at the time. I had a fairly normal first six years of life, but then it became something that I wouldn't call normal, and wouldn't wish on any child.

You see, when I was six years old, my folks died in a plane crash, so I was sent to live with my Uncle John, Aunt Naomi, and Cousin Cara out in California. Uncle John had been stationed at Ft. Irwin at the time, so that was where I went. Granted, my life wasn't normal anymore, and I did miss my parents, but Uncle John and Aunt Naomi did their best to make me feel loved. This, even as they struggled with their own grief over my parents' deaths.

John Shepard is my father's brother. He and Aunt Naomi had been married about the same time as Mom and Dad were. I vaguely remember my parents telling me that if anything happened to them, I would be living with John and Naomi, my Godparents.

At six, I barely remembered my folks. I wondered why my new Mom and Dad were my aunt and uncle, but after a while, I just accepted it. They had been really broken up over my folks dying, but always treated me like their own son. Cousin Cara became more of a sister to me than a cousin, and Naomi became Mom while John became Dad. I never questioned why John was white and Naomi was black. In fact, I think that bit of trivia contributed somewhat to my taste in women as I grew older.

My name is Declan Shepard, by the way. I've gone by Deck my whole life, though. I'm 33 years old, 6'1", weigh 205 lbs., and I keep in shape. I keep my prematurely graying black hair cut short as I did in the Army, but I've been called handsome by most ladies I've dated. My cobalt blue eyes round out my features along with a nose that has been broken in the past. Not too badly, but enough to give my face some character.

I was in my share of fights while growing up. Some were because of being the new kid in school, since Uncle John was in the Army and we moved around a lot. Some were because I was in a "salt and pepper" family, especially in the South when Uncle John was stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia, and we lived in Columbus.

When we moved to Santa Barbara, California after John retired, and Cara and I started High School there, we were definitely brother and sister, as far as our attitudes toward each other.

We loved and hated each other in equal measure. We were the quintessential siblings, rivalries and all. That still didn't stop me from dating some of Cara's cheerleader friends, though.

Anyhow, after High School, I joined the Army, and was sent back to Ft. Benning, where I'd spent a couple years of my life growing up. Only this time, it was for Basic and AIT. I did a four year hitch, and was sent to Afghanistan in early '02 as part of an Alpha Team under the command of Captain Drake. I saw some shit over there that I never thought could possibly exist. Weird shit. REALLY weird. You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Trust me on that.

When I reported to Ft. Jackson for Outprocessing, I was recruited while at the Bus Stop waiting for a ride to the airport. It seemed that the Red River Private Security Firm had done some checking on me, and found my skillset to be just what they needed. They were offering 5 times what I'd been making as a Sergeant (E-5) per month, so I jumped at the chance. Hell, after that six months in Afghanistan with a side trip to Israel, I figured that whatever Red River assigned me, it would be a cakewalk by comparison.

During my time with Red River, I met and married Cindy Ramirez, a gorgeous woman with nice tits and a hellacious ass. She was from Puerto Rico, originally, and her mother was black. I was smitten. She seemed to be smitten too, and after a few months of dating and a lot of hot sex, we got married.

Yep, as you can probably guess, that didn't last too long. When we had time together when I wasn't on assignment, the sex was HOT, but we didn't click on other levels.

Just over a year after our wedding, she filed for Divorce from me but asked for nothing in the settlement. She told me that she was falling in love with another guy, but wanted to do the honorable thing and get a Divorce before she went to be with him.

I was actually somewhat relieved at that. Hell, who am I kidding? I didn't love her. The sex was fuckin' awesome, but that was pretty much all we had. Marriages built on only sex don't last, folks.

So after discussing it, we had one last night of hot sex, said our goodbyes to each other, and sure enough, the Divorce went through relatively painlessly.

Sure I was going to miss the sex, but I was still young and there are plenty of fish in the sea. So I moved on, just taking a FWB every once in a while, no strings attached. Hell, let's not beat around the bush, here. I was a merc, so I was gone a lot; sometimes for months at a stretch. No sense in being married if I couldn't be around to take care of her and keep her happy. Besides, since I hadn't really been in love with Cindy, if I did find a lady that I was seriously attracted to as more than a fuck buddy, I wanted to make damn sure that she was The One for me.

I'd been with Red River for just over 4 years when my team was ordered to destroy a dam along a river in Sierra Leone, so it could be blamed on the rebels. The main problem with that Op was that there was a village downriver that would have probably been wiped out if we'd gone through with it. I refused the order, was reminded of the confidentiality agreement I'd signed, and was fired. So was the rest of my team, as none of them went through with the order, either.

It was for the best. The last year or so of my tenure there, Red River seemed to be getting into some sketchy shit, and I was a half-step out the door already when that op came down the pipe and I refused.

Contrary to popular belief, merc... err Private Security outfits don't summarily execute those who disobey orders anymore. Not since they got "civilized." Now it's just confidentiality paperwork and lawyers. If I spouted off to the Press or the Hague, I would be sued into the poorhouse. It didn't matter if the order was of questionable legality, and it would have just been my word against theirs.

So I returned to Santa Barbara for a while. I looked for work, but couldn't find any. I was approached by several people with dubious reputations looking for muscle, but I politely turned them down. I'd had more than enough of being a thug.

My family had stopped talking to me when I told them that I was working for Red River after I left the Army. Since I got fired and told them why, we've started mending our estranged relationship. I moved down to L.A. and took a part time Bouncer job at a night club, but it was barely paying the bills. I still had a decent chunk of the money I made from Red River, but that was still dwindling slowly but steadily.

I had to get a real job, and fast.

* * * * *

I was sitting in The Shamrock, one Thursday afternoon when I overheard a conversation that would change my life. I'd just sat down at the bar and ordered a beer when the two guys' conversation at the table behind me drifted over to where I was sitting.

"... but you have to help me. I need proof that my wife is putting our children in danger when she brings her boyfriend over to the house. She says that if I Divorce her, that she'll take me to the cleaners, take my children away from me, and I'll never see them again!" He somehow pleaded with the other guy without whining. That was what really caught my attention. His voice, while angry, while begging for help, had no trace of a whine anywhere in there.

I had to give myself a wry smile in the mirror. At least Cindy and I never had kids, and she didn't have a lover... that I knew of, anyway... while we were married. She'd been very specific that she hadn't slept with him yet. I kind of counted that as a blessing, and I had decided not to ask questions of her. I was pretty laid back about the whole thing, probably because I figured out that I didn't really love her. More like I lusted her. But now as I grew older, I did want to find a lady I could settle down with... once I had a full time job!

I clocked them in the mirror to see who they were. The guy who was speaking was a runt of a dude. Probably 5'6" standing on his tiptoes. He was balding and wore glasses. For some reason, "ACCOUNTANT" was the first thought I came up with to describe him.

"Mr. Turner, I don't know what to tell you. If she doesn't bring her lover into the house when your children are there, and have sexual intercourse with him in front of them, there's no real legal basis for denying her custody in a Divorce. This is California, so Wives and Mothers almost always get preferential treatment as far as division of assets and custody of the children."

I guessed that he was either a P.I. or a lawyer. Probably a P.I., since he sure didn't look much like a Legal Eagle. The cheap suit and the bulge of a gun under his suit jacket gave me that impression.

"I'll pay you $50,000 to get me anything that I can use to have her declared an unfit mother!" Turner said. That piqued my interest. 50K isn't a bad chunk of change.

"Mr. Turner, you've already said that she never brings her lover to the house when your children are there. She sends them to a sitter. That right there tells me that she doesn't put them in the middle of your... lifestyle.

"It's not MY lifestyle, Mr. Stone. My wife is forcing this on me, and I basically have no choice!" he snarled, his voice rising and starting to draw attention.

I sighed. I've always had a soft spot for the underdogs. I never like seeing someone get shit on when they don't deserve it. Blame it on how I was raised. Besides, if I could wrangle that 50K, it would at least be a start. The funds I'd squirreled away from my Red River days were starting to run a bit thin. I started formulating a plan of action immediately.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Turner. There's nothing that I can do. You already know your wife has a lover, and even with proof of it, she's still going to make your life hell in the Divorce. All I can really say is good luck to you. I hate it when cheaters get away with it, but with all the bleeding heart judges in this state, there's no way to prove her an unfit mother, unless she does something illegal or immoral in front of the children," Stone said as he got up to leave. Turner just sat there with his head down as Stone put his hand on the smaller man's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Then the Private Eye walked out.

That was my cue. I got up and took my beer to the table. "Mr. Turner?" I asked softly. He looked up at me.

"Yes? Who are you?" he asked, his defenses coming up because I'd caught him crying.

"My name is Declan Shepard, and I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with the private detective. I know you don't know me, and have no reason to trust me, but I believe that I can help you with your problem," I responded with a nod. "May I sit down?"

His face lit up with hope. "Please do, Mr. Shepard," he gestured to the chair most recently vacated by the P.I.

"Thank you," I smiled with a nod and sat down. "Now, I couldn't help but overhear that your wife has a lover. She has basically backed you into a corner on it so you can't Divorce her without losing pretty much everything. Am I right so far?"

"Yes, pretty much," he said with a defeated snort. "I don't see how you can help, though. Are you a Private Investigator?"

"Not as such," I admitted. "But, I believe I can help you, just not quite in the way you were thinking."

"What do you mean, Mr. Shepard?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

"I can level the playing field for you. I can make it so that your wife won't be able to do much, when you decide to file for Divorce. I need some more information about her and her lover, though. I need to know what you know about him, especially," I said.

Turner thought for a few moments. "His name is Gordon Smith, and he's even bigger than you are. He's threatened me that if I put up any kind of resistance, he'll beat me or worse," he said, shaking with anger and fear. More anger was apparent, though. My respect for the man jumped another notch.

I nodded. "Ok, I'm not worried about how big he is," I responded. "What does he look like?"

"Big, blonde, and looks a bit like Thor from the movies. He even has the stubble on his face."

I got a picture in my head of an evil Chris Hemsworth type of character. "Ok, and do you know where he lives?"

"Two miles over from our house. I followed him once after he left our place. I can't fight him, though. As much as I'd like to beat him to death, I wouldn't stand a chance against him. I tried once," he said as he pulled out a pen and scribbled down the offending asshole's address on a napkin.

"Ok, back to your wife for a moment. How long have you two been married?"

"Sixteen years. Fifteen of those happily, at least on my part. I thought she was happy too, but then a year ago..." he let his voice trail off as he shook his head in disgust. He then finished writing and handed the napkin to me with the address on it.

I took it when he held it out to me, and I nodded as I looked at the asshole's address. "Does he have a family? Wife? Children?"

"Not that I could tell. He lives in a nice house in Beverly Hills, though," he said.

"Ok, so possibly no wife or kids that could be turned against him. Can you tell me exactly how and when this whole mess started?" I inquired.

He took a deep breath. "About a year ago was when everything changed. Candace, my wife, came home one day and said that we needed to talk. I thought that she was going to Divorce me right then and there, but she said that she was going to turn me into a cuckold, and there was nothing I could do about it. Of course, I threatened to Divorce her, and that was when she told me that she would take my kids and leave me a broken wreck if I tried that.

"So I got the bright idea to get my baseball bat and beat the asshole senseless the next time he came over. She'd told me that he would come over and fuck her, and she expected me to watch how a 'real man' takes care of business," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I take it the baseball bat tactic didn't work too well?" I raised one eyebrow.

"I would have laid him out cold, but my loving wife warned him, and he spun around and took the bat from me. He then hit me in the stomach with it, and that was the last time I tried to fight him. He said if I tried something like that again, he would beat me to a bloody pulp. Then he said that if I tried it again after that, he would kill me and that he and my wife would get my Life Insurance."

So the asshole was a bully, and one willing to break the law seemingly without a second thought. I could DEFINITELY work with that. Knowledge is power, folks. Sun Tzu had it right. Know your enemy. I was going to figure out everything possible about ol' Gordy boy before I moved on him.

I nodded, and then decided to ask about payment. "I heard you offer that P.I. 50K. I'll do it for that, and my way won't involve framing anyone. Would that be acceptable to you?"

He nodded, his face lighting up with hope. "Mr. Shepard, I can pay you half now, and half when it's over. Can you tell me how you're going to do it?"

"It's better that you not know," I said sincerely. "Mr. Turner, trust me on this. The less you know, the safer we both will be."

He looked like he was going to ask again, but thought better of it. Smart man. He swallowed hard from his beer, and just nodded.

I nodded back. "Good. Now, do you have a picture of your wife so I can get a read on her?"

"Sure," he said, pulling out his wallet and handing me a pic. Holy shit! She was gorgeous! Part of me wondered how this guy could score a hottie like her. The pic he gave me was of him, her, and their two kids, a boy and a girl. His son looked to be about 10 or 11, and the daughter looked about 13 or 14. Even after having the kids, his wife was still in great shape. Tall, dirty blonde hair, and an air of superiority that showed that she had chosen Mr. Turner because she thought she could dominate him. She was stuck on herself in a big way, and I felt sorry for the kids that had her as a mother.

Turner, I could tell, had a will of iron under his bean counter looks. Unfortunately, while his spirit was that of a lion, he was stuck in the body of a field mouse. He was fighting back in the only way he could.

After studying the picture, I handed it back to him. "Ok, thank you. Mr. Turner, do you have an aversion to anything happening to the man who has been hanging the horns on you?" I pretty much knew the answer already, but I needed confirmation.

"None, whatsoever," he said without hesitation. Very smart man.

"Good. I'm not going to lie to you. This will take a few hours to prep. Do you have your cellphone on you?" I asked, pulling out my own BlackBerry.

"Right here," he said, pulling his out. I got his number and gave him mine in return.

"Good to go," I said. "I'll text you a few hours before I go after him. Do you have any idea of when he's coming to your house next?"

"Tomorrow night," he said with a look of pure venom. "I wish I could just kill the bastard!"

"Tempting, but not an option," I said. "He won't be so enthusiastic to have sex with your wife when I'm done talking to him, though. I plan to make things a bit difficult for him.

"Also, can your wife or her lawyer trace the money you're going to use to pay me?" I asked.

"No, it's from a rainy day fund that I set up a year ago when all this started," he said. "A friend of mine went through a Divorce, so he told me what he did to minimize the damage his wife could do to him. The account is off-shore, and nobody knows about it but me."


Equalizer



"Good deal," I smiled, admiring his forethought on the whole mess. "Mr. Turner, what time tomorrow evening is Gordon supposed to be there?" I could probably catch him off-guard before he left his house if I knew his itinerary.

"Not sure, but she set it up for tomorrow that I was to take the kids to the sitter around 6 pm."

I smiled. "Good to know. When you get home from work tomorrow, break your key off in the ignition. Pull it out halfway, then tug sharply back so it snaps clean. I know, it sounds strange, but we're going to have to make this as difficult for them as possible."

He smiled genuinely for the first time. "I like it! My wife and the asshole won't be able to do anything with the kids there, unless she takes them to the sitter herself! She has her own car, and never lets anyone else drive it, including me."

He was whispering low, so nobody else could hear him. I checked around, and nobody was paying us any attention. After his initial outburst, everyone in the bar went back to minding their own business.

"Mr. Turner, I have to ask you something. Has your wife been the one in charge during your entire relationship?"

He looked down for a moment, then back up before answering. "Yes, she has. She came onto me, if you can believe it," he chuckled.

I nodded. "Sir, I think that as soon as this is all over, you should Divorce her. Are her parents still alive?"

"Yes, but she said that if I told them or anyone what was going on, I'd never see my kids again," he said with pain in his eyes. "I believe she'd do it too. She would probably take them out of the country where I couldn't find them."

"That isn't going to happen," I promised him. I just hoped I could keep that promise. Then I thought of something that would be very hard to ask. I noticed in the photo of the children that they didn't look much like Turner. They looked more like his wife. That started bugging me, so I went for it and asked the hardest question of the conversation.

"Mr. Turner, are you 100% certain that your children are actually yours? Please don't take this the wrong way, but with the way your wife has been acting, is it possible that she had an affair and had her lover's children instead?"

Turner visibly paled at that. He got a haunted look in his eyes that said that he wasn't sure, and now feared the worst.

"Get a DNA test, Mr. Turner. Make sure," I basically ordered him. "If they aren't yours, you might be able to sue for back child support from the actual father. Failing that, you might be able to sue both your wife and her lover for fraud, in that you were led to believe that the kids are yours. If they turn out to be your children, you'll still at least have some parental rights as their father."

I broke it to him as gently as I could. I'd actually toyed with the idea of becoming a lawyer at one point, so I'd studied some of the Law. I'd sampled several different fields of Law, and Family Law was one of the more convoluted areas. The part I really hated about it was trying to translate Legalese into plain English. So I gave it up as a lost cause.

He was just shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Shepard. I should be stronger for what I'm going to have to do. I love my kids, and I loved my wife until she started this crap. Sure, she was kind of domineering before, but she was also loving and caring in our relationship."

"I can kind of understand where you're coming from. My ex-wife traded me in for a richer model. Luckily, I wasn't that in love with her, and I was gone a lot of the time. I realize now that I wasn't ready to get married. I'm hoping that I find the right lady and settle down, but I won't let her run all over me."

"I see what you're saying, but Candace was my Heart and Soul. I worshipped her," he said as a tear streaked down his face.

"And she betrayed you for it. Mr. Turner, in any future relationships you have, don't give in to every little thing she wants, unless it's what you want, too. If you feel strongly against something, put your foot down. She'll respect you more for that than just saying 'yes, dear' to everything." I also had a friend that went through a bitter Divorce because his wife cheated on him due to lack of respect. He had tried to give her everything, and she'd stabbed him in the back for it.

He smiled and nodded, a look of understanding on his face. "I see what you're saying, and you're right. Maybe if I'd done that a few years ago, I wouldn't be stuck in this situation right now. Thank you, Mr. Shepard."

"Ok, Mr. Turner, my name is Declan, by the way. Everyone calls me Deck. Mr. Shepard was my Dad," I smiled.

"Declan, I'm William. Good to meet you, and thank you in advance for helping me," he said, reaching across the table to shake my hand. "Oh, and I never got used to nicknames, so I go by William."

"Good to meet you too, William, and don't thank me until it's over. Now, as to my payment..."

"Of course, I have a bank money order here for $25,000, and it's all yours. You'll get the other half when you finish whatever it is you're planning... as long as my wife can't follow through on her threats."

He handed me the money order, and I took it with a nod. "It won't be a matter of 'can't' follow through. By the time I'm finished, she won't want to follow through. Oh, do you know where Gordon works?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He doesn't work. He's from Old Money, or so he says," William said with a sneer.

"Old Money means he's probably going to have security around him at all times. That might be a slight problem," I pondered.

He laughed at that. "No way! He's so arrogant, he says he's the only security he needs!"

Ok, this was going to be fun, I thought as I chuckled along with him.

"Ok, enough of this. Get home and act normal. It might be tempting, but do NOT gloat when he doesn't show up tomorrow. Act like you have been, and don't give your soon-to-be ex-wife any ammunition to make her believe that you were behind anything. Just remember the key in the ignition trick. Got it?"

He just nodded with a look of determination on his face.

"Good. Now, it's Thursday afternoon. Does your wife suspect that you're here?"

"No, she thinks I'm at work as usual. I own my own Accounting Firm."

I came very close to laughing and shouting "YES! I CALLED IT!" when he said that, but kept my face neutral and restrained myself. It took a supreme effort of will on my part not to laugh.

"Good deal. Let's get out of here," I nodded and rose to leave. We shook hands one last time and I was out the door. I had the Asshole's name, address, and 25K to deposit in my account.

Once the deposit was done, I drove over to Gordon's place and staked it out. He wasn't there yet, but soon a Lamborghini Diablo pulled into the driveway through the wrought iron gate. I was parked across the street from his house and down a ways, so when he gunned it and drove up the driveway and out of sight, I slipped quickly from my car and through the gate before it could close all the way.

The house was barely visible from the road, so I made my way through the small forest between the house and street. When I reached the edge closest to the driveway, he was just getting out of his car with a very attractive black woman in a business suit and skirt. She reminded me of Lupita Nyong'o, the Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner. Except this lady wasn't anorexic looking like the actress. Same short natural hairstyle, though. Same dark chocolate skin tone, too, as well as similar facial features. I caught a bit of their conversation while they were walking from the car to the front door.

"I told you, Gordon. You are opening yourself up to a lawsuit from Mr. Turner. You should never threaten anyone like that, and if he can get his wife to corroborate what you said to him, you could go to jail!"

"That's what I pay you for, Tabitha; to keep me out of jail! Besides, she knows what's good for her, and she loves me. She won't rat me out." he snarled back at her. She was his lawyer. That explained it.

"Mr. Smith, you are a client, but I CAN fire you," she stated as they reached the door. "Your... activities are becoming more of a hassle than you're worth."

"If you fire me, I'll make your life a living hell, bitch!" he barked, turning on her and raising his hand for a backhand slap.

That was all I needed to see. Plan be damned. I wasn't about to let this asswipe hit her! I jumped up, broke cover, and was running for him at a dead sprint before he even finished pulling his arm back. Tabitha had already backed up a step, but I wasn't about to let him close distance with her and hit her.

The surveillance op was officially a bust.

His eyes caught me coming at him, and a look of surprise came over his face just before my fist impacted with his nose.

The blow staggered him, but he recovered quickly and dropped into a combat stance, shaking the blood and tears from his eyes.

"That's it, Gordon! You're fired!" Tabitha yelled at him as I snapped a kick into his knee, staggering him back a bit more.

The air rushed out of him as I slammed my fist into his gut, and the air left him in a whuff. He dropped to one knee, and I turned to Tabitha.

"Are you ok, ma'am?" I asked.

"Now I am, thank... Look out!" she said/shouted. I ducked reflexively, so his fist only caught the top of my head and grazed me. I stomped on his foot and kept dropping, then spun and came up with an uppercut to the point of his chin.

Gordon Smith dropped like a rock, unconscious.

"Come on, let's get out of here," I said. "Where is your car?"

"Back at my office. He gave me a ride here and promised me a ride back after he gave me some paperwork."

"I'll give you a ride, then. I'm parked across the street," I nodded, and we headed down the driveway before Dipdunk could regain consciousness.

I hit the button inside the inner gate house to open the gate, and we were out and gone before he regained consciousness.

Once we were in my car, she gave me directions back to her office.

"Has he ever done that before, Tabitha?" I asked as we drove.

"What? Try and hit me? No. He's become more and more unstable lately, though. He thinks his money can buy his way out of any kind of trouble he gets into." She was shaking her head as she said it.

"Well, he won't be doing that again," I said with conviction.

"Who are you, anyway? I know you weren't there just to save my ass," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"My name is Declan Shepard, and I'm working for a client," I answered her.

"Are you a P.I.?" she asked.

"Not as such. I'm helping a man with a problem, and Mr. Smith is central to that problem. Unfortunately, my original plan didn't survive first contact with the enemy. Murphy's Law, of course."

"Let me guess... William Turner hired you?"

"I can't tell you who my client is," I hedged. I didn't want to give William's name to a seemingly grateful, yet still unknown attorney who until a few minutes ago, had been working for the enemy.

"It's ok, hon. With the way Gordon's been going lately, I was already a half-step from firing his Richie Rich ass," she said with a smirk.

I just nodded, confirming what she already pretty much knew.

"I thought so," she said with a genuine smile this time. "He can't physically do anything against Gordon, so he hired someone who can. Right?"

"Something like that. I wasn't going to do any lasting physical damage to him, but Mr. Smith left me no choice in the matter." Then something else occurred to me. "Do you think he'll file a police complaint against me?"

"Nah, I really doubt it. Even if he did, you were acting in defense of another, and I was his lawyer. I'll back you up if he does, but I can pretty much guarantee right now that he won't. His stupid pride won't let him. He'll come after you himself, first. Honestly, he ain't that damn smart," she said with a small smile and a shake of her head.

I smiled back at her as we pulled into her law office parking lot. "Williams, Stanton, & Keller" was what the plaque said beside the door. It wasn't that big of a place, but it was clean and nicely decorated inside. There were two other female lawyers working in there, but they stopped when they saw us come in.

"Tabby, where's Gordon?" the first lady asked. She was a cute brunette with her hair in a pixie cut.

"He's been fired, Shelly," Tabitha replied. "Do me a favor and have his files boxed up and mailed to his residence please?"

"You got it, Tabs," Shelly replied with a look of relief on her pretty face.

"Who's this hot hunk of man, Tabby?" the other lady asked. I had to chuckle at that.

"Down, girl," Tabitha said. "Declan, this is Shelly Stanton and Maggie Keller. Shelly and Maggie, this is Declan Shepard," she introduced me to the brunette and the redhead. Maggie was a hellaciously hot redhead who could probably win a court case on sex appeal alone. She was turning on the Flirt full tilt as she looked me up and down like a side of beef.

Fortunately for me, Tabitha grabbed my arm and hustled me into her office. Once the door was closed and locked, she turned to me and smiled. "Maggie would eat you alive, hon. Trust me on this. She's a fuckin' tiger shark in the courtroom, and in the bedroom too, from what I've heard."

"I could handle her, but I'm not really interested in her, to be honest," I smiled.

She just nodded and sat in the chair behind her desk. She motioned me to sit on one of the chairs before her, so I did.

"Declan Shepard, you're a good man," she smiled.

"Thanks. I try," I flirted back. "So, Tabitha..."

"I prefer Tabby with my friends. You count as a friend for saving me from that nutjob," she smiled warmly.

"I heard Maggie call you that. It suits you," I smiled back. Yes, there were definitely signals being passed back and forth between us.

"Thank you. So what's your story, Declan?" she asked eventually.

"Well, everyone calls me Deck, and why do I have to have a story?" I smirked back. She gave me a raised eyebrow look that said she wasn't going to take any shit, and wouldn't let up until I told her about my life.

So I gave her the short version. Something about her made me want to tell her everything, but we didn't have time for that.

"Well, my mother and father were killed in a plane crash when I was six, so I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle. They are my Godparents, and my cousin Cara became my sister, sort of. We were pretty close growing up, but after I left the Army and went into Private Security, my family almost stopped talking to me. It wasn't until after I left Red River that they forgave me. During my time with that outfit, I got married, but she Divorced me a year later to trade up. In all honesty, I got tired of being a thug, which we pretty much were after a while. Now I'm living off the cash I made working for them, and looking for any job that I can find where I don't have to shoot someone or break their neck. I've been approached by some really shifty characters, but I'm not going back to that life. Unfortunately, my skillset isn't the most peaceful." I paused to see that she was listening intently.

"Anyway, earlier today, I met Mr. Turner in a bar, listened to his story, and asked some questions. I then offered to help him for what he was going to pay the P.I., before the guy turned him down," I finished.

She considered everything I said before replying. "Did he want you to do anything illegal?" she asked at length.

"He wanted the P.I. to basically frame his wife and get her ruled an Unfit Mother. I saw that wouldn't work too well, so I came up with my own plan. Fortunately, you showed up with the fucknut, and now here we are," I finished as I spread my hands out to indicate her office.

"Umm, don't you mean 'unfortunately'?" she smirked with a little chuckle.

"Nope. I can come up with a new plan, but if I hadn't acted, he would have hit you. I don't abide... men, and I use that term loosely, that hit women."

"So you've never hit a woman?" she asked with her raised eyebrow again.

"And God willing, I'll never have to," I shook my head. "I wasn't raised that way, and if I ever hit a lady without cause, my aunt would kill me."

She nodded with a puzzled expression. "The way you say aunt..." she started, referring to how I pronounced it "ahnt" instead of "ant".

"My uncle is white, my aunt is black, and my cousin, their daughter, is biracial," I shrugged.

She nodded and smiled. "I see. So judging by our earlier back-and-forth, do you like sistas too?"

"I like beautiful women, and you're one of the most, if not THE most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life," I answered truthfully in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, but I don't think you were flattering me just now," she said with a little half-smile.

"I was telling you the truth, Tabby," I shrugged. "You're gorgeous, and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't like to take you to dinner, dancing or whatever you'd like."

"We'll see," she kept giving me that sexy little half-smile with her full lips.

"So, you know my story. What's yours?" I asked, even as I was putting the final touches on a new plan in my head on what to do about Gordon.

"It isn't as interesting as yours, hon. I grew up in New Jersey, but moved out here to go to UCLA after a short, failed marriage. Shelly and Maggie were my roomies in College, and then Law School. We paid our dues as public defenders, and when we had enough cash saved up, we opened this little hole in the wall. We're doing good now, but it was rough going the first couple or years," she said.

"Why didn't you fire Gordon before this?" I asked. "I mean, if you knew he was unstable, why keep him around?"

She sighed and looked down for a moment. "His retainer alone was enough to keep this place up and running. I'm a damn good lawyer, Deck. I've managed, so far, to keep him out of prison. Let's just say that if it wasn't for me, he might just be serving 25 to Life right now."

"He killed someone?" I asked, both of my eyebrows shooting halfway up my forehead in surprise.

"I don't know for sure. He always maintained his innocence, and the evidence was all pretty circumstantial. No DNA or fingerprints of his on the murder weapon. The fact that he was having an affair with the victim's wife actually worked in our favor. She ended up being our star witness, telling everyone that he was with her when her husband was killed. Time stamps on the security cameras set up at the Motel corroborated their stories. Since there was no DNA evidence linking him to the murder, plus her testimony and the security footage, we won pretty easily," she said with a look of anguish in her eyes. "Deck, I almost fired him after that case. Hell, I believed he could have done it. Now, I believe he DID hire someone to do it, but Double Jeopardy is in effect. He can't be tried again for murder. Even if we find the hitman who did it, it would be tough to prove Conspiracy."

"If he did hire a hitman, that means that Turner could be in danger," I said as I fished my phone out of my pocket and called his cell number.

"This is William Turner," he said, answering his phone. "What's going on, Deck? Is it taken care of yet?"

"Not yet. Something came up, but I just wanted to call and warn you that Gordon might try something before I can move on him. Be careful, and if you have a gun, keep it loaded and on you at all times."

"One moment, please," he said. It was quiet for a couple of minutes before I heard him again. "Ok, I had to get out of the room to another part of the house. I told my wife that it was Phil Decker from the work. He goes by Deck too. Now, what's going on?" 

I looked at Tabby before continuing, and she just nodded with a concerned expression on her pretty face.

"William, I need you to be very careful until I tell you otherwise. I'm sitting in Tabitha Williams' office right now, and she just informed me that Gordon Smith is a very unstable individual. Do you remember anything about a murder trial some time back involving him as the Defendant?" I explained. I didn't. I'd been out of the country, most likely.




Equalizer



"Yes, I remember. It was in all the papers and all over the news, but he was acquitted. That was about two years ago, now. Do you think he...?"

"Tabitha says it's very possible. Gordon might not be quite as stupid as we thought he was. We don't think he did it himself. Most likely, he hired someone. His alibi was rock solid for the time his rival was killed."

"I... I understand," he said. "Unfortunately, I don't possess any firearms. Candace doesn't want me to have one. She hates guns."

"That, and she knows that if you had one, you'd never allow them to do what they did, and the balance of power would shift in your favor," I replied. "Go out right now, buy one, and wait the seven days before picking it up. I just hope that by then, we'll be finished and you won't need it."

"I hope you're right, Deck," he said.

"William, listen to me. Even if I'm right, you might still need one to defend yourself and your family. From what you've said, and what I've overheard, your wife could pose as much of a danger as Gordon. It sounds like she won't take the change in balance lying down. She could go ballistic, no pun intended. Now, I'm NOT saying to buy a gun just to murder your wife, but you may need one for self-defense. Also, remember to buy a box of bullets in the right caliber."

He chuckled at the last part. "I've shot guns before, and I know how to load them."

"Good to know. I recommend a revolver. A .38 would probably serve you best."

"Ok, that sounds good," he said. "I'll buy one first thing in the morning."

I didn't like the "first thing in the morning" part, but I decided that if all went well, he might not even need it for ol' Gordy.

"Ok," I responded. "William, just keep acting normal, and hopefully this will all be over very soon. When I'm done, your wife won't want custody, but even if she does, it probably won't work out the way she plans."

"If you can pull this off, Deck, I will be forever in your debt!" he exclaimed.

"Nah, you'll just owe me the other 25K," I chuckled.

He laughed at that. "I'll pay you as soon as you get that gorilla out of my life and do what you have to do to get Candace not to sue for custody."

"I'll do my best on both counts, and my best is pretty damn good," I smiled. "See you later, William."

"Ok, goodbye," he said and Ended the call.

As soon as the call ended, I looked up at Tabby and saw her smiling. "It's good to see someone sticking up for the little guy."

"I've always been a sucker for the underdog," I shrugged. "Besides, he offered me 50K to do the job, and I don't leave a job half-finished once I start it."

We talked for quite awhile, getting to know each other. Likes and dislikes, taste in movies, music, food, and other things. We actually had more in common than I thought we would.

My new plan to deal with ol' Gordy had pretty much solidified in my brain, so I was able to devote more attention to the lovely lady I was talking with.

We talked until Maggie knocked on Tabby's office door. When I unlocked it and let her in, she and Shelly told Tabby that they were knocking off for the night. I checked my watch, and sure enough, it was after 2200 hrs.

"Oh my lord," Tabby chuckled and blushed. "I had no idea it was getting so late."

"No problem, Tabs," Shelly said. "We'll see you tomorrow." She winked at me, and both of them gave us knowing smiles before closing the door and heading out.

"I think they think we're an item," Tabby said after they left.

"I wouldn't object to that," I grinned. "But not tonight. I have a new plan to deal with your former client. I need to get a few things straightened out first, but it shouldn't take long."

"Deck, please don't kill him. He might be an asshole, or even a total psycho, but I can't condone murder."

I stood up and took her hand in mine. "Tabby, you have my word that I won't kill him."

Her touch electrified me. Her hand was soft and supple, and I wasn't even thinking as I brought my lips down and kissed the back of her hand.

"I... I... Oh my..." she stammered. "A real gentleman? I thought chivalry was dead."

"Not dead. Just not seen very often," I smiled.

"I won't lie to you, Deck. I can't remember the last time a man kissed my hand."

I kissed her hand again. "Well, now hopefully you will."

She stood from behind her desk and pulled me over to the side as she walked over to meet me. When we were face to face, she reached up with her free hand and pulled me down into a kiss. It wasn't a hungry kiss of pure lust. It was a soft and sensual kiss promising more when we would meet again. 

Her kiss caused an instant erection, and I had to fight every instinct inside me not to take her right there on her desk!

"Not until this is all over, Declan," she said softly, as if reading my mind.

"You're right," I replied, still staring into her dark brown eyes. "But when this is over, I'm taking you out to dinner, dancing, maybe some wine, and then who knows?"

She gave me a sexy smile. "I think you know, already."

"I don't want to presume," I replied with a half-smile of my own.

"Then I won't say anymore for now. Get Gordon to stay away from Turner, and then we'll have some time for us."

"Like I said, I promise not to kill him. But when I'm through with him, he's going to wish he'd never been born."

She shrugged. "Works for me. Now, I hate to kick you out..."

"I understand," I smiled. "Oh, can I get your number?"

"Sure, hon," she grinned as she took my phone, programmed her number in, then called her phone with it and saved my number in hers. "There. Now we have each other's digits."

"I'll call you when it's done, Tabby. I promise you." With those words, I leaned down and kissed her soft, full, sensuous lips again. That kiss, like the one before, seemed to last a blissful eternity.

I left her with her eyes closed as I turned and walked out of her office.

* * * * *

The next morning, I put my new plan into effect. I'd been able to get some good intel on Gordy boy, and it was time to act on it. A few hours the night before using Google and Bing to find out everything about his arrest record and court appearances told me most of what I'd already suspected and figured out about him.

One: He was richer than the Pope. Old Money didn't begin to describe him. Hell, the son of a bitch was giving Bill fuckin' Gates a run for his money... literally.

Two: He was a narcissist through and through. He took great care with his appearance, and used it to devastating effect on his "prey". Basically, any married woman he looked at.

That brings me to Three: He seemed to target married women exclusively. He had been named as a co-respondent in several Divorce cases both in Boston, where he was from originally, and even a couple here in California. He'd also been charged with assault and battery once when a man had come home to find Gordy fucking his wife. He hadn't even had a chance to act before Gordon had jumped up and attacked him. Unfortunately, Gordy had pled out on that one too.

Four: Gordon Smith was a druggy. He had several arrests in Boston for possession of Cocaine and Marijuana. He pled out on several charges, and then he actually wised up and got a good criminal defense attorney. An oxymoron, if I ever heard one, but it fit.

Five: He had rarely been turned down, but those times he had failed to seduce a wife, she had been assaulted by person or persons unknown shortly after giving him the brush-off. Usually within two or three days, she would get "mugged", but was unable to identify her attacker or attackers.

Reading that last part, I figured he had hired some guys to take "revenge" for him, when he felt he couldn't handle it himself. The single attacker was possibly him, while the multiple attackers were probably hired goons. That's how bullies operate. They rarely fight their own battles when they know that someone could take them, or if they even suspect that someone could beat them in a fight.

I found it strange that none of the three women had been sexually assaulted during their muggings. They had all named him as a man who had propositioned them, but nothing was done about it. Like with the murder trial, Gordon had a rock solid alibi, and no paper trail to show that he'd had anything to do with the ladies getting mugged.

So my initial conclusion about him that he was stupid seemed to be wrong on some levels. He was a cunning asshole. I had to give him that. He was one of those assholes that prefers to let others do his dirty work for him. I guessed he paid them in cash, so the money couldn't be traced back to him.

I'd met assholes like him before, mostly in Red River. The main difference was that the guys in Red River tended to fight their own battles instead of hiring outside help. However, the same basic narcissistic bully personality had been evident with all of them.

Gordon wasn't just a bully. He was a full blown coward. He put on a brave façade with his "I'm the only protection I need" garbage, but he refused to fight his own battles unless he was attacked outright and didn't have a chance to run away.

My biggest advantage had been that he didn't even know I existed. Now, my advantage was slightly less because he DID know of my existence now. Now my biggest advantage was that he still didn't know who I was.

This was the time, however, for me to act. Yesterday's misadventure was supposed to just be a quick surveillance op to see what kind of security he had at his house.

This new plan would be hampered a bit by the fact that I'd failed to get the necessary intel on his home security system. The good news was that I would be confronting him with something he wouldn't be expecting.

It was almost noon, so it was almost time for me to go see ol' Gordy boy again. I had just finished my shower when my cell rang.

I smiled when I saw Tabby's number, so I answered with "Hello, Beautiful."

"Deck! I'm glad I caught you. Whatever you're planning as far as dealing with Gordon, you're too late. He's already headed over to Turner's house."

"Ah, crap!" I said. I should have seen this coming. "How do you know this?" I asked.

"Turner called me. He got my office number online and called me to let me know that Gordon was on his way. That was five minutes ago." She paused, and I thought I heard Maggie's voice in the background. When she came back on, she said, "If you get over there now, you might be able to intercept him. Turner overheard his wife having a conversation with him, so he called me. Now go!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," I said. "I'll be there in five."

Sure enough, I was out front of William Turner's house five minutes later. I'd grabbed a little something on the way out, and it had taken me a minute to find it, so I was too late to intercept the psycho. His Lamborghini Diablo was already parked out front. The dumb son of a bitch hadn't even bothered to lock it!

I headed up to the door after checking something on the Italian sports car. I was wondering why he hadn't called me before Tabby. That was strange.

My question was answered when I got to his door. I rang the bell, and heard some shuffling going on inside the house. When the door opened, it was Mrs. Turner, AKA Candace who answered.

"Yes?" she asked with a sneer. I had to admit that she was even more of a knockout in person than in the pictures.

"Ma'am, are you Candace Turner? Wife of William Turner?" I asked. I was now improvising, since this latest development had shoved Plan B out the window. Mr. Murphy was definitely along for the ride. I was also working on Plan C as we spoke.

She rolled her eyes. "For the moment. What has the little shit done now?"

"He hired me as his personal bodyguard," I said with an evil smile. "He's given me full authority to defend and protect him in any way I deem necessary to keep him from physical harm. Now. Let me in."

My tone caught her completely off-guard, and she stepped back involuntarily as I stepped forward. As I stepped inside, I saw that Gordy boy had William backed against the wall. He grabbed William by the throat and turned with a "Who is it, Cand..." but the words stuck in his throat when he recognized me.

William, God Bless him, said "Meet my new bodyguard, asshole. The Equalizer."

"I level the playing field, and anyone who messes with my clients," I said as I stalked towards Gordon with a stony expression on my face.

The Asshole paled considerably as I moved towards him. He released William and took up a combat stance similar to the one he'd tried to use the day before. I could tell that he had some martial arts training, but that he hadn't stuck with it. He knew just enough to be dangerous to himself more than others.

I took a bit of twisted pleasure in the fact that his nose was swollen and was obviously broken from when I'd hit him, and even more twisted pleasure in the fear radiating from him in waves.

"Run," I said as I continued to close with him slowly.

He didn't need to be told twice. However, he made the mistake of trying to run past me to get out the front door.

It was a simple matter to turn my foot sideways and stick it out a bit, and he tripped and fell face first onto the linoleum floor. His hands, which were trying to brace his fall, slipped outward, and his broken nose was all the cushion he had as his face hit the floor.

Candace was staring at me in pure terror. The balance of power had shifted dramatically in the space of less than two minutes.

"Where are your children?" I asked in a calm, conversational tone to William. "And why aren't you at work?"

"Oooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww," Douchebag said as he regained consciousness after only a few seconds, and his hands went to his ruined nose.

"They're at school. I would have called you, but my wife interrupted my call to Ms. Williams. I'm glad she called you for me," he seemed immensely relieved.

I nodded. "I'm glad she called me too. Now, since this is your house, would you like Mr. Smith here to be charged with trespassing?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed.

"Then call 911," I said with a nod. Then I turned to Mrs. Turner. "Mrs. Turner, you aren't going to be married to Mr. Turner for much longer. He is going to Divorce you."

She sneered. "No he won't. Not if he ever wants to see his children again!" she barked.

"So, if the Judge in your Divorce case awards Mr. Turner partial custody, you would defy that and risk Contempt of Court charges?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

Her attitude was undeterred. "As if they could find me," she rolled her eyes in contempt. "I have enough money to disappear in Europe or Asia to a non-extradition country. My limp dicked hubby will never see his kids again!" she hissed while looking daggers at William.

William held firm. "Candace, I'm going to Divorce you. End of story. You and your ape there don't scare me anymore." So saying, he pulled out his phone and dialed 911.

The ape in question was rising to his feet unsteadily, and Candace went to grab a towel for his ruined and bloody nose.

I took that moment to move over to where Gordon was swaying groggily, and leaned in close. "Gordon Smith, I know who you are and where you live. I know how to circumvent your security anytime I want, and I can break your neck before you can scream. If you don't want that to happen to you, you will leave here now and don't come back. Because I guarantee that if you come back, you will most likely end up in jail, if the cops arrive in time to stop me. See, unlike you, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty."

I paused for emphasis on what I was going to say next. "Your money can't protect you from me. All the security goons you could hire won't protect you from me. You've obviously had martial arts training, and I took you down twice now without even breaking a sweat. What does that say about my skills?"

Yes, I was using the "It's not that you suck, I'm just better than you" ploy.

He had no answer for that, except to try and staunch the flow of blood from his nose without hurting himself too badly.

Like I said before, this was Plan C. Plan A and B had fallen apart, so I was improvising my ass off on this one. Preying on his fear was the only play I had, at least until I could come up with a Plan D.

Candace had come back with a towel for her boyfriend's nose, and I backed off enough for her to give it to him. I just looked at him levelly, basically daring him to say anything about my threats.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and William walked over quickly and opened it to two uniformed police officers.

"Thank you for coming, officers," he said and nodded as he stepped back to let them in.

The cops took in the scene for a moment. "Mr. Turner, which one is the trespasser?" asked Officer Horton, the older of the two. He was looking back and forth between me and Gordon.

"That's him," William said, pointing at Gordon.

"You bether shuth your thrap you weakth lithle cuckth!" Gordon shouted/lisped around his swollen lips and ruined nose. He then pointed to me. "Thath athhole ruineth my nothe!"

"Mr. Shepard here is acting as my bodyguard," William said. He then went on to explain the whole situation to the cops, who wrote everything down on their notepads.

"I'd also like you to remove Candace Turner from the premises, please," William said finally. "She is going to be served Divorce papers in a few days, and I don't trust her to live here anymore."

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT TO ME, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Candace screamed. "I OWN YOUR SORRY LITTLE ASS! YOU'LL NEVER SEE YOUR CHILDREN AGAIN!"

"Ma'am, you need to calm down," Officer Johns said. He was the younger of the two.

The front door was still open, and I glanced outside to see Tabby walking up the driveway with Maggie and Shelly right behind her.

William had followed my gaze. "Ah, my lawyers are here. Good," he said. I looked at him and caught him smiling. He'd finally taken control of the situation, and from Tabby's track record for keeping Gordon the Numbnut out of jail, it was a safe bet that Mr. Turner wasn't going to pay much in the way of alimony or child support after the Divorce was final and the dust had settled.

When they got to the door, Maggie handed a manila envelope to William first, then turned to Candace. "Are you Candace Turner, ma'am?"

"Y... Yes, I am. What's this all about?" she asked, understanding beginning to dawn.

Maggie handed her the second manila envelope. "Candace Turner, you've been served," she said with a shark like grin. She then looked at William. "That is your copy of the Divorce papers. I took the liberty of filing under Adultery on your behalf."

"I'm no Divorce attorney, but Maggie here is one of the best," Tabby said with a shrug at our questioning looks.

"That's right. Oh, one more thing," Maggie said, pulling a third manila envelope out of her legal satchel. She handed it to Gordon. "Gordon Smith, you've been served as a co-respondent in the Divorce of Mr. William Turner from Mrs. Candace Turner."

"Ok, HOW did you guys do this so quickly?" I asked with a chuckle as Gordon stood there, struck dumb by the way the events had unfolded.

Shelly answered. "Well, when we got into the office early this morning, Tabby told us the situation. Maggie drew up some Divorce papers in record time, just in case. We did it just to see if we could. It usually takes a day or two, but we did it in just a few hours."

"Maggie is damn good at her job," Tabby grinned. "One reason why I keep her around."

Everyone laughed at that, even the cops. 

Well, Gordon and Candace weren't laughing.

The cops arrested Gordon for Trespassing and Assault, and took him downtown. They also ended up arresting Candace for trespassing when she refused to leave the residence. As it turned out, William had owned the house since before he'd even met Candace. It was all in his name, so it wouldn't be in Community Property during the Divorce. As the sole homeowner, he had the right to evict anyone who wasn't welcome there.




Equalizer



After the cops had left with Gordon and Candace in cuffs, we all sat down so that Tabby and her girls could explain the situation in detail.

"We sorta figured you'd need our help," Tabby said. "From your call this morning, it was pretty evident that things were coming to a head. So, are we hired? Our rates are reasonable."

"Hell yes, you're hired!" William said with a grin and a relieved chuckle.

"Ok, now why didn't you call me before you called Tabby?" I asked. "She had to call me to tell me the situation."

"I was already planning to call her first, to see if she would handle my Divorce. I was already dialing her number when I overheard Candace telling Gordon to come over now. So I finished dialing her number, then asked Ms. Williams to call you, since Candace caught me talking to her. She came and found me after she got off the phone with the Asshole. I told Tabitha to call you right before I hung up and had to deal with the harridan."

"Ok, that makes sense. Oh, here," I said, fishing the small pocket recorder out of my pocket. "On here is your wife's confession that she would commit custodial interference to keep you from seeing your children in case of Divorce."

His eyes widened at that. "Really?"

I pressed Play: "So, if the Judge in your Divorce case awards Mr. Turner partial custody, you would defy that and risk Contempt of Court charges?"

"As if they could find me. I have enough money to disappear in Europe or Asia to a non-extradition country. My limp dicked hubby will never see his kids again!" I hit Stop.

"So, would that be admissible in court?" I asked the ladies with a raised eyebrow.

"Should hold up. Mr. Turner, as long as you gave Mr. Shepard specific instructions to record that on these premises, there isn't anything that your wife can really do about it. She made that statement of her own free will," Maggie said, grinning her shark grin again.

William was quick on the uptake. "Of course, I did," he lied with a smile on his face. "I was very specific that Mr. Shepard could record anything that would help in my Divorce from Candace."

I understood. I popped open the SD card slot and ejected it. Then I handed it to William. "Mr. Turner, here is the recording you requested."

"Thank you, Mr. Shepard," he said, then handed the SD card to Maggie, who put it in a small clear carry case which she then put in with the rest of the Divorce paperwork that she would be filing with the Judge.

I made sure that my exchange with Candace was the only thing on there, as I'd hit Start right before I asked the question and Stop right after her answer. That had been Plan C, by the way... sort of. I knew I had to improvise, and had grabbed the pocket recorder just in case. I'd been hoping for verbal threats from Gordy boy against either William, myself, or both of us. But when Candace had given me a wide open shot with her rant about the kids, I'd taken it. Half court shot, nothin' but net.

No, the threats hadn't started until the cops had gotten there, and they had witnessed the whole thing.

"Now I can go purchase that gun," William said. Then he turned to Maggie. "Could you please get a restraining order against my wife and her lover, so they can't come to the house, my business, or the school?"

"I can draw one up in no time and have it to a judge before close of business," she smiled. The Redheaded Vamp smelled blood, and she was going to bleed those two assholes dry.

I didn't even know Shelly and Maggie that well, but I liked them already. I just prayed that I'd never be in their sights like ol' Gordy boy and Candace were, right then.

"So what's next?" William asked to the room at large.

Maggie spoke up. "First off, you have some errands to run..." she started. She went on to enumerate all the things he would need to get done before close of business. First, he needed to hit the bank and close out the joint account, then put all his money into an account in his name only. Then he would need to head to the kids' school and let the Principal know that his wife was not allowed to pick up the children under any circumstances. After that, he would have to cancel and pay off all joint credit cards.

I counted myself lucky in that moment that Cindy hadn't wanted anything from me in our Divorce. I had no idea that it would be like going into battle in some cases.

I saw the strategy immediately. Divorces like this one are like going to war. You want to cut the enemy's supply lines while fortifying your own position. Taking every last dime out of the joint account did both for William. His wife wouldn't have anything to hire an attorney with, and he would be flush with funds to wage his own battle. Another fortification would be the kids' school. With her threats to take the kids and run, he had to act quickly to prevent her from abducting the children. Then the credit card cancelations would really hurt his soon-to-be ex-wife, while solidifying his own position.

I had to hand it to Maggie. She knows her shit as far as Divorces go.

"Come on, Deck," Tabby whispered to me. "Let's leave the Divorce experts to their job. I rode with Maggie and Shelly, so my car is back at the office. Would you take me to lunch? I'm getting hungry."

Maggie was going over some of the finer points for William, and Tabby's closeness was getting to me. A big part of me wanted to grab her, kiss her, and do other things to her that we'd both enjoy.

"Ok, guys. I'm going to take Tabby here to lunch. Will you all be ok without us for a bit?" I asked.

"We should be fine, hon," Maggie said with a genuine smile. "You two lovebirds have fun."

We were up and leaving as Maggie was telling William that he would need to change the locks on the house and change the house alarm code and the garage door openers as well.

When we got into my '79 Camaro, Tabby looked at me and squeezed my hand. I looked back at her and smiled. "Is there some reason why you're looking at me like that?" I asked with a bemused smirk.

"Just wondering why I didn't meet you ten years ago," she said. "You coulda saved me from marrying my asshole ex."

"I remember you telling me that last night," I said. "His fault, I take it?"

"Uh huh. Asshole couldn't keep it in his pants. Gave me a case of the clap before I kicked him to the curb. I made sure our whole church knew about it too. They pretty much ran him outta town on a rail. Anyway, after I got treated, nobody else in town would touch me. So I came out here to Cali, went to college, law school, and the rest you know."

"Hmmm. And you said your story wasn't very interesting," I chuckled. "That's way more interesting than my Divorce from Cindy."

"Do you believe in second chances?" she asked. At my questioning look, she said "No, I don't mean as in giving second chances to cheaters. I don't play that shit. I mean second chances at love."

"Good, because I had a girlfriend cheat on me once with my former best friend. I didn't take her back, and the whole fuckin' school knew she was a slut by the time my cousin was done with her."

"I gotta meet your cousin," she laughed.

"Well, she lives up in Santa Barbara close to our folks. My aunt and uncle, that is," I smiled. "To answer your second question, yes, I do believe in second chances at love. I won't lie to you, Tabby. I've been attracted to you since I first saw you chewing out your former client yesterday."

"Me too, Deck," she said with a smile. "I have to be honest too. I have dated white guys before, but you put them and the brothas I've dated to shame. You're the best kisser out of all of them."

That made me grin. My cock was rock hard from her closeness, and her statement gave my ego a huge boost. I could feel the signals coming from her. After Cindy, I had promised myself that I wouldn't fall so hard and so fast next time. With Cindy, it had been pretty much pure lust on both of our parts. I couldn't deny the attraction with Tabby, but I didn't want to do all my thinking with my cock, this time around.

"Tabby, please don't take this the wrong way. You are the best kisser I've ever experienced, and right now I would like nothing better than to take you back to either my place or your place and fuck you, make love to you, or whichever you prefer. The thing is, I'm still a bit gunshy about a new relationship, and it kind of scares me that I'm feeling this intense attraction to you."

Her smile disappeared for a moment. "What are you saying, Deck?"

"I'm saying that I want to take it slow with you. I don't want just a 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am'. I want to date you, get to know you, and make sure these feelings are real." I went on to describe how it had been with Cindy. The whirlwind courtship between assignments, and the fallout when she met a man who made more money than I did. Granted, the Divorce from Cindy had been very amicable, since I discovered that I didn't miss her at all after a while, but still. Ok, the sex had been incredible, but that was it. Seeing what was happening to William with what was most likely going to be an all-out war in court, made me think.

"I understand where you're coming from, hon," she smiled. "My Divorce was pretty hostile. If you want to take it slow, then I'm ok with that. It makes sense for both of us, anyway."

We shared another smile and I couldn't resist kissing her again. "Where would you like to eat?" I asked once we broke the kiss.

"I know this little place close to the office," she said. "I'll tell you where it is."

* * * * *

We got to the little diner and I was impressed. I like a good burger, and Tabby said they had the best burgers in California.

Once inside, we ordered our food and talked while we waited. We told each other our favorite types of music. I was a bit surprised to find that she enjoyed Country and even some Metal, while I admitted to enjoying some R&B along with my Metal. I even listen to Country sometimes, too.

Food wise, she admitted that Chinese was her favorite, while I told her that I love Italian. Granted, I like Chinese food as well, and she likes Italian too.

We ate and talked between mouthfuls, and I realized that I had learned more about her during our conversation last night and then this one than I had learned about my ex-wife in our year long marriage.

Tabby had been married for two years to her ex, a black guy named Thomas. He insisted on being called Thomas, not Tom or Tommy. From the way she described him, I pictured Blair Underwood's character from the movie "Something New". In other words, a complete douchebag.

When I mentioned that, she burst out with a melodic laugh. "That isn't too far off the mark," she chuckled. "I caught him cheating with my best friend, if you want a good cliché."

"Ouch! I feel lucky that Cindy wasn't cheating on me, that I know of. When she told me that she had met someone else, she made it a point to tell me that she hadn't slept with him yet, but was 'in love' with him. When I found out who he was, I kind of felt sorry for him. I'm pretty sure that if they don't have a pre-nup in effect, she's going to take him to the cleaners if they get Divorced."

"A real Richie Rich type, huh?"

"Yeah. Some big shot Lawyer named Warren Symington," I snorted. "I guess a Lawyer makes more than a Private Security goon, even though I was pulling down six figures a year."

Tabby's mouth had dropped open at that. "Warren Symington?!" she exclaimed. "I faced off against that asshole a few months back with another client. He's the Assistant DA for the City of Los Angeles!"

"Small world," I chuckled. "Like I said, I feel sorry for him if Cindy finds another guy who makes more than he does."

She snorted in response. "As far as I'm concerned, he deserves it if she takes him for every dime."

I just shrugged. "Well, it would teach him a lesson about gold diggers."

"She really didn't ask for shit when she filed?"

"Nope. She just said she wanted out. No division of assets. No alimony. No kids, so no child support. Just out. I believe she had literal dollar signs in her eyes when the Judge gave us the Quickie D and she was free to marry her 'one true love,'" I said with a wry smile.

"Well, if she's looking for a good reason to dump him, he's a lecherous asshole. He hits on every woman with a hole and a heartbeat. The man is fifty years old, but acts like a fuckin' teenager when it comes to women. Sometimes, I get the feeling that the heartbeat would be optional with him."

"Ok, that's kind of sick," I said, and couldn't help laughing. "Do you really think he would crack open a cold one?"

"Ewwwww!" she made a disgusted face. "I wouldn't put it past him, though. He hit on Judge Sherman once. That bitch should be retired by now, since I think she's pushing 90."

I laughed. "Are you sure she's that old?"

"Ok, she's probably around 60, but she LOOKS 90!"

"Still, that's kind of sick," I acknowledged.

"Yeah, well Warren is a horndog, so I think your ex would want to know if he's messing around on her."

"I'm not worried about it. It's her life. If she finds out and takes him to the cleaners, more power to her," I shrugged.

Tabby laughed at that. "You really are pretty laid back, aren't you?"

"On most things, yeah. If I dwelled on bad stuff, I'd go crazy. So I just take it in stride and do what I have to do."

"That's cool. I mean really cool. I like that in a man," she said, slipping her hand over to mine and giving it a squeeze.

I looked into her beautiful eyes and we shared another smile. Tabby is a strong woman, but doesn't let her strength translate into cruelty. I admire and respect that about her. She just doesn't put up with bullshit from anybody, as evidenced by how she'd stood up to Gordon and then stood up for William alongside me.

"You aren't like most lawyers I've met, Tabby. You actually have a good heart," I said as we gazed into each other's eyes.

"Thank you, hon," she said with her beautiful smile. "I try to see the goodness in people, but it's hard to do when I sometimes have to work with the worst that society has to offer."

"I know that feeling, too," I said. "Working for Red River, it was pretty easy to spot the assholes who were there just for the violence. I've run into guys like Gordon. Most of them weren't cowards like he is, though. At least they got their own hands dirty. I know it isn't much to respect someone for, but guys like Gordon who hide behind hired goons, even though he says he doesn't, are pathetic."

"Pathetic," she said with a snort. "That's a good way to describe him. The calls he made to me to get him out of trouble were filled with fear whenever he'd get put in a holding cell with some real badass hard cases," she said with a chuckle.

I chuckled along with her. We spent another 20 minutes talking, then called for the check. After I paid the bill, we left out and I dropped her at her car. We kissed, and then I followed her back to William's place.

* * * * *

When we got there, William and the ladies were just returning from their errands. Shelly had gone with him, while Maggie had gone and filed the Restraining and No-Contact orders with the court, as well as filing the Divorce paperwork.

They were still coaching him on what to do in preparation for the upcoming battle. He had removed his wife from his insurance and medical plans and named his children as sole beneficiaries of his Life Insurance policy. He had also gone to the hospital and had them take a DNA sample to see if the kids were actually his. Their DNA was already on file from when they were born. It would only take a few days to compare the sample he gave to their records and get him the results.

"Wow. I think I was lucky that my Divorce wasn't this bad," I said with a wry smile as they wrapped up the latest coaching session. When I told Maggie and Shelly how amicable it had been, they laughed and told me that I had to be the luckiest man alive, as far as Divorces went.

"Well, hopefully I won't have to go through an all-out war like William here," I smiled. "I'm going to stick this one out, though. I have the feeling you're going to need my help at some point. I have a bad feeling about this whole mess."

"I hope you're wrong on that, but we'll take all the help we can get," Maggie said with a smile. "You've already provided some great evidence against Mrs. Turner, with that recording. I got it logged into evidence for the upcoming court hearings, and made copies while I was at it."

So saying, she handed me a copy on a different SD card, and handed one to William and Tabby as well. "There. Just in case something happens to the original. After the crap Gordon has pulled in the past, I wouldn't put it past him this time to try and tamper with evidence on that bitch's behalf."

"Would he really do that?" William asked.

"You stood up to him, William," Tabby said. "Bullies like him don't like it when their victims stand up to them and stop being a victim. Right now, he's facing some serious jail time. You and Deck will probably be subpoenaed to testify against him on the Assault and Trespassing charges."

William looked at me, and I nodded that I was with him on this. He looked at Tabby. "I'm not scared of him anymore, and I'll testify against him if it puts him away." Then he turned and looked at me. "I have a week to go before I can pick up the Smith & Wesson .38 I bought while I was out earlier. I've also applied for a Concealed Weapons permit."

I nodded. I should have thought of that, but I heard they're notoriously hard to get here in California. That William had taken the initiative on that showed that he was thinking for himself too.

"Good. That way, you won't be unprotected while you're out of the house," I smiled my respect for him. "I have one question, though."

"What's that?" he asked.

"If the kids aren't yours, will you still sue for custody?" I asked. I had to get a sense of where he was.

He sighed. "Yes, I will. If it comes to that, and my children have a different biological father, I'll also sue Candace and whomever their birth father would be for Fraud and back child support, since I was led to believe that they were mine. If they ARE my children, which I believe they are, I won't sue anyone, and won't care about Child Support from Candace. But either way, I love my children, whether of my own flesh and blood or not."

"Sounds like a plan to me," I shrugged. He'd been the kids' father for all of their young lives, and loved his kids dearly. I saw the determination on his face, and hoped that one day I'd be a father too. Cindy had been on Birth Control during our entire relationship, and back then, it had suited me just fine. Now, however...

"So what's next?" William asked Maggie, breaking me from my reverie.

"I think that's pretty much all you can do for now, William," she responded. "You will probably be notified of their court date, and we will notify you if they get out of jail on Bond or Bail. Until then, we have the Restraining and No-Contact orders in place, to be reviewed after your initial Divorce hearing. I'll be working to get them made permanent, but you will need to NOT contact either Gordon or Candace at all. If you do, those Orders will most likely be voided by the judge."

"I understand," he nodded. "I've never been one to gloat, and I have you all to thank for getting me out of this mess."

So saying, he stood and shook hands with all of us.

"Don't thank us yet though, William," Tabby said. "There are still a lot of things that might go wrong, and then there's the possible danger to your life from Gordon. We can't prove anything yet, but with his threats against your life, we're going to have to keep a close watch on you and your children. That will be Deck's job."

"That's what I'm here for, alright," I smiled. Then I lost the smile as I laid it all out for him. "William, I'm not going to lie to you. This could get dangerous for you and your children. Even with the Restraining Order in effect, it's just a piece of paper. You can't pick up your gun for a week, and that's only going to increase your security a little bit. As long as you know how to use it effectively, it should provide a good defense for your home. If you get the Concealed Carry License, that will help you outside the home too. But until then, if you have ANY problems with what you think might be an intruder on the premises, or someone following you, you call ME right after you call 911. Got it?"




Equalizer



I'd worked enough bodyguard gigs to know that protecting a client is always a risky proposition. Anytime some lunatic threatened violence, I would have to take EVERYTHING into account. In this case, our opponents were known to me, but it would be sketchy if Gordon hired some goons to kill William. As much of a coward as he was, and as much as he hated being beaten, I'd have to protect him as best I could, not to mention watch my own back in the process.

I was also worried about Tabby. Sure, she could hold her own, and had a spine of titanium, but she was still human like the rest of us. I hoped that Gordon wouldn't be that stupid, but you never can tell with some assholes.

"I get it," he said with a nod of understanding. God bless him, he was taking it all in stride. My first impression of him was correct. The heart of a lion. Too bad his stature didn't reflect that. I wondered, not for the first time, how he'd ended up kowtowing to Candace for the years they'd been married. My only conclusion was that he'd loved her completely. She didn't love him anymore, if she ever did, though. That much was apparent by the way she'd been treating him in the last year or so. My best guess on that was that she'd lost all respect for him because he gave her whatever she had wanted with no fight or argument. By the time he put his foot down, it was too late, and she had turned into a fuckin' harpy from Hell. It didn't help William that she'd also taken a lover who could beat William into a pulp if she had told him to.

So here I was, the Equalizer in this whole mess. 

My job was simple on paper: Protect William Turner and help him in any way possible until this situation was resolved.

My job was complicated in practice: Protect William Turner from an unstable sociopathic asshole and a seemingly unstable sociopathic soon-to-be ex-wife. Add to that the fact that the unstable sociopathic asshole's former attorney was now helping his rival, and shit got even more complicated. He might go after her as a sort of revenge for firing him and changing sides.

This was going to suck.

* * * * *

After getting Plan D hashed out with my cohorts, and praying that this one wouldn't get waylaid by circumstances beyond our control (Mr. Murphy), I left and went back to my apartment. I showered and turned on the TV to the News. I was mildly surprised to see that the story in progress was about Gordon Smith and his latest arrest. The feed was Live for the interview portion of the spot and I recognized William's house. When it panned to the front door, William was on the porch with Maggie beside him and Shelly on the other side of Maggie.

Maggie was the one answering the questions. "Mr. Turner doesn't have any comment on that at this time," she said. "As to his bodyguard, he isn't needed right now due to the fact that Mr. Smith and Mrs. Turner are currently incarcerated. Next question?"

"Yes, how did Mr. Turner end up in a cuckold/hot wife relationship?" the asshole reporter asked.

This time, William stepped forward. "Listen up. I was not a willing participant, and I am currently in the process of Divorcing my soon-to-be ex-wife. Mr. Smith is listed as the co-respondent in the case, and I for one will not be slandered by the likes of you. This interview is over."

So saying, he turned and was followed into his house by Shelly and Maggie, and the door slammed and was locked in the asshole reporter's face even as he tried to ask another asinine question.

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face. William made me proud to know him in that moment. He didn't take any shit, and made his position known to the broadcast journalists, or as I like to call them, TV Idiots.

The TV Idiot who had asked the dumbass question tried to cover his own ass as he told the home audience that he was surprised by Mr. Turner's hostility. I just shook my head at the asshole and flipped over to another channel.

Hell, William had been anything but hostile. He'd given his last statement to the TV Idiot in a level tone of voice, so the Idiot came off looking like a total Idiot (natch). Reminded me of one of the Today Show anchors asking stupid questions about classified operations that she had to know the Brass couldn't answer, during the early days of the War on Terror. Each time a General said "I can't talk about that", the TV Idiot in question would then ask ANOTHER stupid question about classified ops. Yep, gotta love TV Idiots.

* * * * *

Taking it slow with Tabby turned out to be harder than I thought, no pun intended. During that first week, we went out to lunch or dinner every day until the next Wednesday, when we got word that Gordon made bail and had posted bail for Candace, too.

That put a damper on our mood that night at dinner, which had gotten increasingly romantic as we danced a bit and kissed on the dance floor during slow numbers.

We bunkered down when that happened. I got to meet Tara and Kevin, William's kids, for the first time when I moved into their house for a couple of days. I was given the guestroom for the duration of my stay. Kevin was impressed when I told him that I was his dad's bodyguard, but Tara couldn't care less. She was too busy texting her friends to really worry about her father's safety. Kids. Gotta love 'em.

Kevin was 11, and Tara was 14. She was your typical teenage girl. Kevin was your typical pre-teen boy. At least typical from what I'd seen of other kids their age. They at least respected their father, and surprisingly took their parents' separation in stride.

William told them that their mom wouldn't be around for a while, and he wasn't sure when she would be home. He left it at that, refusing to say anything bad about their mother to his children. The man has class.

The next day, the results arrived from the DNA test. Maggie, Shelly, Tabby, and I were all there when he opened the envelope.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. William stared at the envelope in his hands for what felt like half an hour. He looked up at each of us in turn, and finally tore the corner off and opened it. He pulled out the paper and unfolded it as if he was reading his own death warrant. His face remained blank while he read the whole thing twice.

I was hoping that the results would show that he was the father, but I was expecting the opposite. The tension got even thicker as he read it a third time.

Nobody said a word. I think we were all holding our breath while he read it yet again. His expression gave nothing away, and I was beginning to think that my expectation of the worst was going to win out over my hope for the best.

Finally, he looked up and at each of us in turn. His face broke into a grin as he said "They're mine! Both of my kids are mine!"

Maggie squealed in glee, Shelly laughed to release her tension, while Tabby and I both just sighed in relief, letting out laughs as we did so.

"Congratulations, hon!" Maggie and Shelly said, pretty much in unison. They both hugged William, then Tabby moved in and hugged him too. I shook his hand, then pulled him into a backpounding hug.

"I'm happy that it worked out for you, man," I said sincerely.

"Yes!"

"Definitely!"

"Thank God!"

"Thank you all. I had to know for sure, especially after that talk we had and the fact that Candace was so brazen about the whole thing," he laughed in relief as well.

"Don't worry about that, William. I do need to make a copy of that for the Custody portion of the Divorce, though. I wouldn't put it past your wife to try and bring your paternity and parental rights into question," Maggie said.

"Of course," he nodded, handing the form over to Maggie with a smile.

"At least now, she can't claim that you aren't the father. I won't lie to you, William. The mothers in Divorce cases get primary custody of the children 95% of the time, no matter the circumstances that cause the Divorce. That's including cases where the husband is the cheater, and cases where the couple Divorce for reasons other than infidelity," Maggie said.

"No. Unacceptable. I want full custody. Anything less, and she's already made her intent clear to take my children and run!" William had a look of steely determination on his face.

Maggie nodded again. "I understand that, and her recorded confession to that effect should go a long way toward getting primary custody for you. It will depend on which Judge we get, though. Before we even get to the Custody portion, I will offer supervised visitation for Candace. An olive branch, but one where she will never be alone with the children. I've already submitted a petition to have the Orders of Protection against Gordon Smith made permanent due to his history of violence."

"Maggie," I said. "Orders of Protection are all well and good, but like I've said before, they're just pieces of paper, and if our theory about Gordon hiring outside muscle to do his dirty work for him is accurate, he won't need to come anywhere near William in order to try something."

"Isn't that why you're here?" she smirked.

"For the moment, yes. Granted, the gun should help, and there's only 24 hours left on the hold before he can pick it up."

William spoke up. "So am I going to have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life because of Gordon?"

"Not ideally, no. Gordon has shown that he holds a grudge, though," I said. "I'm going over a worst-case scenario here. If he decides that he has to have revenge, and hires some hitters to do it, you are going to have to get very good with that pistol. I'll go with you to the range and give you a course on it if you need one. You said you've done some shooting before, so you might be ok. The thing is, paper targets and assholes trying to kill you are two different things entirely."

"I'm not a killer, Deck," he said, shaking his head.

"I'm not telling you to kill anyone, William. What I am telling you is that you might very well need to defend yourself and your family. I'll be moving out tomorrow after you pick up your weapon, so it's going to be on you to defend yourself and your children when I can't be here."

He listened and thought about what I'd just said. "What's it like?" he asked softly. "Killing someone, I mean."

How did I answer that? I thought for a moment, then settled for the truth. "It's different for everyone, and some people actually enjoy it. For me, the first time I had to take another life, I puked my guts out after the battle was over. Then Captain Drake told me something that helped quite a bit. He said: 'They have no fathers or mothers; no sons or daughters; no sisters or brothers; no wives or lovers. They aren't Human. They're The Enemy.' That right there helped me out if I took his philosophical outlook and compartmentalized the enemy as less than human. It might sound cruel, but it's how I kept my sanity over there. I didn't know the Enemy personally, though. You know Gordon Smith, even if he's a dickhead. I hope you don't have to kill him, but if you do, he is The Enemy."

As I was reciting that, Tabby took my hand in hers and gave me a squeeze to show her support. I squeezed back in thanks.

William was mulling over what I'd said, and finally looked up with a smile. "Then he's the Enemy, and I'll do what I have to do to protect my children and myself."

"Good man," I said with a nod of respect. When a man, even a mild mannered man like William has his family threatened, he can turn into a lion to defend them. As far as Candace and Gordon went, they now posed a clear and present danger, as far as I was concerned. Candace might try to kidnap her own kids, while Gordon might go completely ballistic and try to kill them and William too. Granted, we had no proof that he had hired a hitman to kill his previous rival, but we couldn't take anything for granted.

Tabby herself had told me how unstable the asshole is, and how it had been getting progressively worse over last several years since he'd hired her as his attorney.

Well, that little meeting ended with the kids getting home from school. Kevin was now my bud, as he thought I was cool because I'd been a soldier. Tara was starting to warm up to me, too. I let them both know that I would only be staying one more night, but I was never more than a phone call away, and would be here off and on until the whole thing was over. They took it well.

Then William came clean with his children about the reasons why their mother and father were not living together anymore. Tara and Kevin were both surprised, to say the least. But then Kevin said something that shocked the shit out of all of us.

"Is that the guy who was doing bad things to mommy a few weeks ago?" he asked.

That got everyone's attention, and instilled the previously stated shock.

"Kev, what do you mean by 'bad things', son?" William asked, having recovered from his son's statement before anyone else.

"I saw them in your bed and he was making her scream. I know I was supposed to be at school. I wasn't feeling good, but the school nurse couldn't get ahold of mom to come get me, so I walked home. When I got here, this big buy was on top of mommy and she was screaming. I was so scared I ran out of the house and back to school."

When Kevin finished saying that, William looked like he was about to go find Gordon and his soon-to-be ex and kill them himself. "Son, did you get a good look at the man's face?"

"Yeah, but I was so scared. I'm sorry, dad. I should have told you before, but when I came home later, and mommy was ok, I just thought I'd imagined the whole thing," Kevin finished.

"It's ok, son. That was the day that your mother told me that you weren't feeling well, and you were already in bed by the time I got home, right?" William asked.

Kevin just nodded.

Tara just stood there with her mouth hanging open while her little brother related the events of that day. Then she accused him of making it all up.

"No, sweety. He isn't making it up," William told his daughter. When she heard that, she went paler than a ghost. Then she went running and screaming to her room.

"I'll go talk to her," Shelly volunteered. She went chasing after Tara to try and do some damage control.

It had just become a whole new ballgame, folks!

Maggie, as it turns out, is really good with kids. So is Shelly, for that matter. Maggie, as gently as humanly possible, interviewed Kevin and recorded his account of what had happened that day.

As she was wrapping up the interview, Shelly and Tara came back into the living room and Tara just smiled apologetically, then ran and hugged her father tightly.

"I'm so sorry, daddy," she sobbed. "I had no idea that mom was like that!" Then she looked at her brother. "I'm sorry I accused you of lying, shithead."

I had to chuckle at that. Brothers and sisters will always fight while growing up. It's human nature. Even when apologizing, she still had to insult him. It reminded me of growing up with Cara as my "sister", so I had to grin at the memory.

"It's ok, sweety, but don't call your brother names," William said in a stern voice, even as he hugged his daughter.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Then she actually hugged her brother, and they shared a different sibling emotion together. Compassion. Most times, blood will win out, and you love your family, even if you sometimes hate them too.

* * * * *

Things started to move quickly after that. With the new recorded testimony from Kevin as to what his mother had been doing with Gordon Smith, and then picking him out of a photo lineup, the Judge in charge of the Divorce, a Judge Reinhold (no relation), found in favor of William having primary custody. At least until the final settlement came down, that is. It seems that while the Judge was a bit of a bleeding heart, he was also a father himself. So he understood.

That was just the preliminary ruling, however. The final settlement, including custody, was still debatable. It all depended on how the rest of the case went.

Maggie gave her argument to the Judge about how Mrs. Turner had shown a pattern of disrespect, not only to her husband, but to her own children as well. She had also put her children in danger by being unreachable in case of an emergency. She was, after all, their primary contact for coming to get the kids in case of an illness at school or any other issues that may arise.

I studied Candace's stature, and what I could see of her face from my vantage point over on William's side and in the bench behind the Plaintiff's table. She had first a look of shock, then one of profound shame and guilt, as she realized that her little boy had witnessed her affair first-hand.

When I looked at Gordon, sitting beside her, his look was one of smug satisfaction. He still believed that he was going to skate away scot free.

His new attorney was a fuckin' Great White Shark, and unlike Tabby and the girls, wasn't hampered by anything as trivial as a conscience.

The only members of our "team" in court that day were Maggie and me. Tabby had to get an Order of Protection and No-Contact against Gordon as well, since he'd called her up one night while we were on a date.

She'd put him on speaker, and I'd listened to him making some very thinly veiled threats against her. You know the kind. "It would be a shame if..." fill in the blank.

She finally told him that she wasn't intimidated, and hung up on him. She then Blocked his number, and called Maggie and Shelly and told them to do the same.

When she reported what he'd done, with her smart phone's recording feature and my testimony backing her up, the Judge was more than happy to grant permanent Orders of Protection and No-Contact against ol' Gordy.

When we walked out of the courtroom, I took Tabby's hand. "Sweetheart, why not stay at my place for a while?"

"You think he would try to get me at my place?" she asked.

"Well, that, and I think we've moved slow enough. If you don't mind, I'd like to speed things up a little," I smiled and kissed her.

"Mmmm, I like that idea. I've been wanting you since the night after you rescued me from that asshole."

We had been dating and spending a lot of time together for almost two months, since that fateful day when I'd gone to run that surveillance op on Gordy boy and had ended up flattening him.

"Good. We'll stop by your place on the way, and you can pick up some clothes and other necessities," I smiled even wider.

With what William was paying me for retainer and on-call protection services as needed, I was making some damn good money. He'd already paid me 100K, surprising me with his rationale that I'd already saved his bacon once, and would do it again if the need ever arose.

For the Asshole's and soon-to-be ex-wife's part in this little play, they'd kept away from us except in the courtroom. All contact was through Lawyers, and even with Candace and her shark fighting tooth and nail, the Divorce was still proceeding, albeit slower than we would have liked.

As we drove over to her place, I reviewed what had happened since the initial hearing. Candace and Gordon had pled out on the Trespassing and Assault charges, and got community service for the lesser charges they'd opted for. With Gordy's insanely high priced shark, the sentence was the minimum for what he'd pled to, as well.

We found out that Gordy was bankrolling Candace's shark too. Trust Fund Babies. Gotta love 'em, right? No? Good, because I was being sarcastic anyway.

For some odd reason, Candace seemed to want to stay married to William. Her lawyer was now lobbying for Marriage Counseling, which Maggie was fighting tooth and nail, arguing that William had no need or desire for Marriage Counseling, as his mind was already made up. Judge Reinhold (still no relation) felt the same way. He even chastised Candace's shark by saying "If my wife had done to me what Mrs. Turner has done to her husband, I wouldn't want to go through Counseling, either."