Chapter 3

Poor Tabby looked stricken, she'd never seen me as affected by anything as I had been by my fear for her life after finding out one of her rapists was still at large. She asked me, "Jack, what's wrong?" I realized I was being a poor leader in not showing her a confident front. I gave her a long loving kiss and held her slim body to me possessively. "It's nothing we can't handle between the two of us, my love, my life, my soon to be wife! Get dressed, we're moving out." She smiled at me so damned prettily in relief I nearly took her back to bed right then, but my instincts were telling me to get the hell out of there. Following them has kept me alive through all sorts of shit, and I certainly was not going to ignore them with my darling Tabby's life possibly at risk.

Before we left the room I told Tabby, "I have to ask you one vital question, my Darling, though most people would think you're still a baby. Will you use a handgun on one of these murderers if they attack us? I have to know so I can know how best to react myself." She bravely told me, "If I don't 'Bonnie' will, Jack!"

I handed her a .357 Magnum revolver loaded with hollow points and some extra half moon clips, and told her, "That's my love! We have a new house rule, Dear. Both of us will be within reach of a weapon at all times. Here's yours. It works just like the revolver you shot so well today, except more so. We'll practice with it later. Remember, tap, tap."

She stuck the revolver into her new purse. It was an uncomplicated weapon. It had no safety to forget, and while it was exponentially more powerful than the .22 caliber she'd shot, with it she only had to make one good hit to incapacitate or kill someone. I drew my favored .45 semi-automatic from the shoulder holster and held it in my hand as I loaded the rest of our weapons and gear into the truck.

Twenty minutes later and halfway across town I pulled into a mall parking lot and used my cell phone to call John Kelly, the President of the police officer's union. He answered giving his name and I told him, "John, Jack Wilson here." He returned, "It's good to hear from you, Jack, will you be at the funeral tomorrow?" I told him, "Not officially, John, but we will be there. Will you please accept Bob's flag in Tabby's behalf and hold it for her?"

Tabby was briskly nodding her head and crying beside me, and I reached a comforting hand to her. John told me he'd be honored to, and I gave him the bombshell, "Thanks, John. I hope you're sitting down. Tabby told me it was four men who tortured and raped her and her mother and murdered her parents. Check the DNA tests when they come in."

It took John only a moment to digest this, then I heard, "Oh, fuck!" I told him, "That was close to my own reaction when I realized what she'd told me. We moved immediately, and we're both armed and dangerous. If we need backup we'll give you a shout." John came back with, "Anything you need to take care of her you call me. I mean that most sincerely. Oh, my God, that poor child! I'll talk to the detectives in charge of the case now, and line up some mug shots of the suspects and any known accomplices of theirs."

I told him, "Yes, I know, little Tabby has been through hell, and I'm training her to avoid that again in the future the best I know how." Tabby held tighter to me. "You do that about the mugshots, John, I'd rather you be hunting him, than him possibly hunting us. We'll get back to you soon."

I was feeling better about Tabby's chances for survival now. For one thing I'd considered myself invincible until my first day of combat, then I'd realized the keyword was dispensable. I'd survived many attempts on my life since, but where Tabby was concerned I'd go Kamikaze on anyone threatening her!

Under any other circumstances I would have had her a thousand miles away by daylight, but we owed it to her parents to attend their funeral and I knew it would help her in her grieving and recovery process. I resolved to make a run for it if we saw any signs we were being hunted though.

Before we left the parking lot I switched to another set of legal plates I had in the truck. Behind the truck seat I had one of those mechanic's creepers on rollers used to work under vehicles, doesn't everyone? I explained to Tabby what I was doing and why. This would be the furthest we'd been apart since the incident.

I kissed her and the darling thrust her own tongue into my mouth. Her youthful passion fired me up and we dueled with our tongues and lips. I moved my mouth to her shoulder and lightly bit her. "Oh Jack,"she pleaded, "I'm almost there!" I didn't have the heart to leave my Darling on the verge of an orgasm. I laid her down in the truck seat, and pulled her britches and wet panties down. I had room then to spread her legs enough to lean toward her and lick her hot pink clit and pussy lips. I reached for her nipples and she began to moan, "Oh yes, thank you, Love! That's so good, I'm cumming!" I tried my best to lap up all her sweet juices, but she was flooding me! She began to breathe easier then and I helped her to straighten her clothing.

My prick was so hard it hurt, but damn it, I'm supposed to be the one of us with discipline! I left her relaxing in the seat and slid under the truck on the creeper with a flashlight to inspect the undercarriage for radio tracking devices. Yes, I know it was a crazy thing to do. I believe I've mentioned before I'm paranoid, haven't I? I've also outlived a number of saner people who were in the same situations I've been in. My raging cock barely cleared parts of the undercarriage of the truck.

We rode around town for a while watching carefully for anyone tailing us and didn't detect anyone. I was schooling Tabby on some of the finer points of escape and evasion tactics and strategy as I drove. One I showed her was approaching traffic lights just before they changed, going through them, then watching to see if anyone ran through them to follow us. We also did that, then ducked down the next side street, and zig-zagged around to throw off anyone following us.

When we were satisfied we were clear we signed into another motel with parking that couldn't be seen from the road, and settled in for the night. Tabby and I placed our weapons on our respective nightstands, and we got cozy again. I asked her, "Would you like some more of that loving I gave you earlier, Sweetheart?" She told me, "I thought you'd never ask, Jack, but when do I get to make you feel good?"

"I've been thinking, Sweetie, wait, don't run away," I joked, "we'll go by the courthouse tomorrow after the funeral and get a marriage license. You know, Judge Thomas, of course, he played poker with your dad and me. We can see him and ask him to do the honors if it's okay with you?" I could tell my Love was thinking, too. "Okay, if you can wait I can, but you have to give me lots of sweet kisses!" I was very happy to oblige my little darling. She'd learned a lot from her and Marcie's kissing practices, and I think she was improving my own techniques.

I got a few hours of fitful sleep that night, but mostly I watched Tabby's beautiful face as she slept and I worried. I spent the night with my shoulder holster on and pistol in it. I was ecstatic about holding her close to me, though. The Most Beautiful Creature in the Universe not only loved me, she'd been in love with me her entire life!

I woke her with gentle kisses at about 7:00 AM; we took a shower together and this time we both enjoyed scrubbing each other. I got a raging hard on, since I wasn't thinking of her as a baby anymore. She asked me the Mae West question, "Is that a pistol in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" I laughed crazily at that of course. She asked, "Would you like for me to take care of that thing for you?" I laughed and told her, "It's taking all my will power to resist saying yes, Darling, but that "thing" can wait until you make an honorable man out of me by marrying me."

I don't think anyone will ever fully understand the depths of my love for this exquisite woman/child. Had she asked of me my love for her be the nonsexual love of a Knight/Priest she would have had it.

Tabby dressed in those hip hugger denims, tank top, and riding boots and I remarked her dangerous pointy things were sure hot looking in that snug tank top. With the vest and jacket on she made an adorable little biker broad. She wore her favorite beret and told me she'd switch to a scarf for the bike ride. She had me out of breath from laughing when she told me, "I like these boots, Jack. They make me look tall and statuesque!" She was still a slim little squirt, but she meant more to me than the rest of the world put together!

Tabby suggested we go by the diner for breakfast again, and told me, "I'm hungry for more of those grilled cheese sandwiches like you shared with me." I told her, "It sure is nice to be engaged to a beautiful woman who agrees with my tastes."

She put her hands on her hips and informed me, "Jack, you'd better be on your best behavior around that waitress, I won't marry a no-good, jive-ass, trifling man!" She'd gotten that term from Judge Hatchet, the out-spoken lady television judge we both loved. I ducked my head, shuffled my feet, and told her contritely, "Yes, ma'am, Judge!" We laughed, and once again I damned near cried at how beautiful she looked. I told her so and my Love gave me more sugars. I thought to myself I had only tasted her body and gotten kisses, but I was pussy whipped already!

I had the waitress add sliced avocados to our grilled cheese, bacon, tomato, and egg sandwiches, knowing my Love liked them as I did. We enjoyed our breakfasts, the waitress earned another good tip, and I didn't get pinched a single time. That gave us a good start considering it was a potentially terrible day.

We made a detour past a clinic run by one of the international birth control organizations and they quickly fixed Tabby up with a prescription and a one-month sample of pills. I breathed a deep sigh of relief, which earned me another laugh from Tabby. I told her, "Seriously, Babe, none of this has been your fault or mine, and I know you are still in survival mode, but I don't want to make you a mom while you're still a baby yourself. You can talk to me about making more Baby Jacks when you're eighteen or twenty years old and physically mature!"

Our next stop was a jewelry shop. My darling picked out her engagement and wedding rings and I was proud to pull out my cash card. Tabby insisted, "We will buy a ring for you, too, Jack. Pick one out. I want my territory marked!" We walked out with three rings, Tabby was wearing her engagement ring.

We drove on to the bike shop. Tina and Rex both oohed and awed over my pretty Tabby. She excitedly thanked them and shared the news of our engagement with them and showed them her rings. Tina gave us both hugs and congratulations. I got a handshake, a slap on the back, and good-natured ribbing from Rex about cradle robbers. He made me an offer of a loan to help pay for her diapers and formula. He knew the real situation well enough, though, to fill in the blanks about why we'd ever gotten intimate with her being so very young.

Rex had a cooler with a couple of cases of beer and some colas mixed into it. I stuffed a ten into the kitty jar, and asked Tabby her preference. Tabby had been raised the European way pertaining to alcohol and around her parent's home or mine if she were thirsty for wine or a beer, she drank it. She asked for a soft drink this time and I opened one for her and a beer for myself.

Tina got down to business with her make up kit, and then held a coin to Tabby's cheek while she circled it with her colored laundry pens. She added freehand details, and made it look shockingly like a tattoo on my darling's adorable face! I told her, "Don't you ever think of getting a real tattoo, Tabby Jack. I'm damned upset just looking at this fake one on my Darling!" I had never liked tattoos on women, their natural skin colors are attractive enough for me.

Several of the other regular shop customers came in, some with wives and girl friends, hanging out prior to the funeral run. I knew some of them and had a couple of friends among them. Tina was like a protective mother hen hovering over Tabby, telling the men loudly to give her her space and gaining her more sympathy and hugs and kisses from all the women. I could see it was doing Tabby good to socialize with them. Most of these folks were good hard working middle class people. All of them were patriotic and sympathetic toward the fallen police officer and his wife's orphan.

I asked Tabby, "Do you feel comfortable enough for me to go check our ride, Sweetheart?" She hugged Tina, smiled, and told me, "I'm okay here with Tina protecting me, my Love, but don't please don't be gone too long." This was a welcome change and much healthier than her clinging to me at the hospital, though I'd thoroughly understood it. I knew she had found her mother substitute, and it was more than obvious Tina had already adopted Tabby into her own heart!

I hugged Tabby, and kissed her passionately, which got a big reaction from everyone, and left us both breathing hard. I went to check the bike. Hell, I knew how erotic she looked French-kissing an older lover, but I wasn't going to be bashful about showing my love for her. I was damned proud of her and becoming more so every day.

I kick started my Harley engine and it started easily and idled smoothly. The gas tank was nearly full, and the oil clean, so it looked like we were good to go. I rode it out of the shop and parked next to our truck in case Tabby wanted to transfer anything to the saddlebags.

She still seemed okay when I went back in and kissed her again. I told her loudly and dramatically enough for everyone to hear, "Sweetheart, I missed your sweet lips so much while I was gone from your side!" This brought moans and groans from some, but Tabby looked at me adoringly and smiled. I grinned, winked, and told her, "Don't let anyone tease you, Lover, they're just jealous of us." That brought a cackle of laughter from Tabby, which made it well worth my effort. I hadn't heard her laugh that loudly in days and it was worth more than millions to me.

Rex had done the coordinating with the Police Motorcycle Division, and he spoke up, "Okay, listen up! We move out in thirty minutes to meet up with the cycle cops at Police Headquarters. We'll ride from there and we'll be parked behind them at the city auditorium, and then be in the procession to the grave site after the services. Anyone needing gas, get it now, That means you, too, Maynard." Maynard had run out of gas at a previous service.

My life, my love may have been feeling the increasing tension. I saw tears in her pretty eyes, and I thought I'd surely die, she is just that precious to me. I told her, "Darling, once we get through this I'll do anything I have to to keep tears from your eyes. I'll even put the icky bait on our hooks when we go fishing without arguing!" The little dear may have seen the distress on my face, she grabbed me, and kissed me then told me, "Jack, my darling, now I know your love is true!" Have I mentioned she's damned near as crazy as I am? I'd stopped her crying for a while at least.

The ride to Police Headquarters was pretty cool, despite the reason for it. It has always been my opinion there are few sweeter sounds than the rumble of a Harley. The more Harleys there are rumbling the better. My Tabby loved them, too, she'd been packing behind her dad and me on Harleys since she was big enough to reach the pegs.

Before that she'd ridden in those kangaroo or papoose things on our backs or chests you put babies in, or straddling a fat bob gas tank in front of us. I could remember a couple of runs during which we'd made her a bed in saddlebags, being certain they were properly ventilated, of course. Bob and I had also stuck our precious little critter into our jackets against our chests to keep her warm when she was an infant more times than once. She had looked more like a turtle without a shell then, instead of the elegant creature she's grown into. We had loved her even then though.

I didn't want her dwelling on the tragedy so when we got into position to wait I turned around on the bike seat and asked her, "Can you teach me to kiss like you and Marcie do, Love?" She laughed, and began instructing me in the fine art of good kissing.

A few minutes later she had my dick hard as a rock and I was nearly out of breath. "You are a fine Professor, my Love. You could make a fortune tutoring Kissing 101. I'll give you all of my business!" That comment got me laughed at, slapped, then kissed again. "You'd better," she told me, "remember, I'm armed and dangerous!"

My tutoring joke got her thinking about school, which was fine with me, as long as her mind was off the funeral. She asked me, "Could we look into home schooling for at least this next year, Jack? I've always made straight A+ in advanced classes and wouldn't need much help. Every school kid in the country has heard about what was done to me. You know how cruel some adolescents can be and if they hurt me I'll have to hurt them back. I'd also be terrified of the men teachers."

I slapped my own face! "I hadn't thought of the schooling you need several more years of, Love. There's also the consideration I'd be in severe Tabby withdrawal after two hours without a fix of you. Everyone knows that can be fatal, first your lips dry out from no sweet kisses." I buried my face into both of my hands. "I can't bear to even think about the other terrible symptoms! I'd say the chances are very good we will be home schooling you. With a good laptop with the right programs and a long-range wifi antenna it could also be done on cross-country bike rides and hunting and fishing trips. How does that sound to you, Dear?"