Little Jack

by Atlas, Lilly

  Fighting tears, Holly navigated to the nearest gas station. Only one other car idled next to a pump, and she chose the farthest spot from them.

  As she waited for the tank to fill, Holly kept her head down and hair curtaining her face. Wasn’t much, but hopefully, it’d be enough to keep any other patrons who came upon her from noticing her face.

  When the pump clicked off, Holly straightened and removed it from her car. Just as she was returning the nozzle to the rack, a voice from her right said, “Holly? Is that you?”

  Shit, shit, shit.

  A voice she recognized. Her stomach bottomed out. Faced with no other choice, Holly turned toward the newcomer. Bob Tanner, her parents’ next-door neighbor stared at her, jaw hanging and eyes bugging.

  “Oh, my God, Holly, are you okay?” The portly man who sported the same greasy combover all four times she’d met him took a step toward her.

  Holly held a hand up between them. As best she could with the intact side of her face, she gave him a half-smile. Pain shot up her cheek, nearly bringing her to her knees. “Hi, Mr. Tanner. I apologize for the shock. Had an accident in my self-defense class.” With a weak chuckle, she pointed to the mess of her cheek. “Took a hard elbow to the face. Guess I need a few more lessons.”

  The attempt at levity fell as flat as Mr. Tanner’s compressed lips. The pity in his eyes told her he wasn’t buying a single second of her pathetic cover story.

  “Do you need medical attention?”

  Did she? Maybe. All she knew was she hurt. Bad. And wanted nothing more than to crawl between her sheets and sleep the disaster of this night away. Preferably with LJ’s strong body wrapping her in a protective cocoon of strength. But, of course, that was about as likely to happen as a herd of zebras stampeding out of Tanner’s ass.

  “No, sir, I’m, really okay. Please don’t give it a second thought.”

  He opened his mouth as though to protest, then he shook his head. “All right. If you’re sure. I’d get some ice on that as soon as possible though.”

  Ya think? Holly nodded and hummed her agreement. “Thank you, Mr. Tanner. You have a nice evening.”

  How long did she have before he was on the phone calling her father? Five minutes? Fewer? Maybe as few as two.

  “You try to have a good one, too,” Tanner said with a nod before turning toward the gas station’s convenience store.

  Once out of earshot, Holly let out a furious curse. Her legs started to tremble. Time to go before she went into full-on freak out mode.

  She scrambled back into the car and peeled out of the gas station as fast as possible. The pain continued to intensify, almost faster than she could tolerate. With a swimming head, she white-knuckled the steering wheel and forced herself to remain focused on the road.

  Fifteen core-rattling minutes later, Holly pulled into the apartment complex’s lot. LJ’s bike sat in its usual spot.

  Shit.

  Seven pm. What the hell was he doing home? Poker night should have lasted until ten at the earliest followed by drinking and general craziness. No way should he be home already.

  Her phone chimed. Holly grabbed it from her purse.

  Mom: Have a great time, honey. Text us when you’re home.

  With a harsh laugh, Holly jammed the phone back in her purse and left the car.

  On the very tips of her toes, she climbed the steps to the second floor. Three goals dominated her mind. Ice, ibuprofen, and sleep.

  Outside her door, she held her breath while trying to insert the key in the lock with quivering fingers and fucked up vision. If LJ heard her, it’d be game over. She needed the next few hours to fortify herself to face his inevitable fury. And to think of a way to keep him from committing murder.

  The click of nails on the vinyl floor came from behind her closed door. Her furry welcome wagon. Since she couldn’t fall asleep in LJ’s arms, cuddling with her other man would have to do.

  Biscuit whined.

  “Shh, boy,” Holly whispered as she missed again with the key. At the sound of her voice, Biscuit let out a deep woof. Followed by another. And another. “Shit, shit, shit! It’s okay, buddy. I’m coming. Please be quiet.”

  Since the universe really seemed to have it in for her tonight, LJ’s door opened, and he appeared. She couldn’t see him since he was on her busted side, and she was staring at the ground.

  “Sugar? What the hell are you doing home?”

  “Uhh,” Holly said, keeping her head down and quickly pulling her hair over her shoulder. “Not feeling well. Just gonna lie down. Don’t come too close in case I’m contagious.”

  “Fuck that,” he said, coming up behind her. His huge hands went to her shoulders, massaging until she wanted to purr despite the excruciating pain in her face. “Your hands are shaking, let me help.”

  As he reached around her with his left hand to take the key, he used his right to sweep her hair back over her shoulder.

  Holly’s heart stopped.

  LJ’s hand went to her forehead. “You don’t feel feverish.”

  She couldn’t stem the flinch as his fingertips grazed her cheek.

  “What the…” LJ took a step back. “Holly, turn the fuck around.” If his voice grew any frostier, icicles would dangle from his tongue.

  Slowly, as though she was about to face her executioner—even though she had full confidence LJ would never hurt her—Holly turned. Knowing how the sight of her face would upset him gut her.

  Once she faced him, she took a breath then lifted her head.

  The eyes that stared back at her were the stormiest she’d ever seen. A shiver raced down her spine. At that moment, she had no doubt that LJ wouldn’t have hesitated to kill Rick Schwartz in cold blood had the other man been in the vicinity.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  LJ’S BLOOD POUNDED in his ears like a tribal drum calling him to war. Every instinct he possessed was screaming at him to hunt down Schwartz and peel the man’s skin from his body one inch at a time. Without a single detail, he was certain the cop was responsible for the destruction of his favorite face.

  But one glance at the fat tear rolling down Holly’s bruised cheek had him checking his own needs in favor of hers. He shifted his head side to side, cracking his neck. Schwartz could wait. The motherfucker would pay, but it didn’t have to happen at that moment. Taking care of Holly needed to be priority number one.

  In as level a voice as he could muster with rage simmering in his gut, he said, “Let me have the keys, sugar.”

  Without a word, she handed them over. Five seconds later, LJ scooped Holly into his arms and carried her straight to the sofa. She still didn’t speak but rested the uninjured side of her face against his chest. With the force his heart was slamming into his ribs, she was in danger of getting bruises on that side of her face as well.

  “LJ,” she said as he lowered her to the couch. The word sounded slurred passing through her swollen lip.

  He kissed the top of her head then the shell of her ear. “Shh,” he whispered against her ear. “Let me get you some ice, pain medicine, and a drink. Then we’ll talk.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “For not freaking out.”

  He rested his forehead against hers. “It’s taking a lot of effort not to lose my shit.”

  “I know. If it helps, it was about ninety percent an accident.”

  He held back a snort. Didn’t matter the circumstances. Just mattered it happened. “Doesn’t help. Want to kiss you so bad right now, but I’m terrified of hurting you.”

  With a one-sided smile, she brushed her lips against his lighter than the stroke of a feather. LJ groaned. The brief contact wasn’t enough. His body was fired up, wanting and needing to know she was okay in the most primal way possible. But along with fucking Schwartz up, taking his woman would have to wait as well. “I’ll be right back.”

  He took his time grabbing some ibuprofen from her medicine cabinet, filling a bag with ice, and pouring her a glass of wine. In that tim
e, he also fired off a text to Rocket letting him know Holly had been hurt and he’d need to find someone to cover for him at work in the morning.

  Rocket: I can be there in fifteen if you need me.

  LJ: Don’t have details yet. Good for tonight. Fill you in tomorrow. Might need to organize an ass-kicking.

  Rocket: Anything. Any time.

  When he returned to the den, Holly had her eyes closed, one hand resting on her stomach the other dangling toward the floor. LJ took a second to analyze the state of her injuries. Her right eye was swollen shut and so dark purple it was nearly black. Just below, her cheek was only a shade lighter and nearly as swollen. The right side of her mouth was puffed up as well.

  How the fuck had this happened? Guilt hit him hard. He’d known, deep in his gut, he should have put a prospect on Holly for the evening. A fucking mistake that cost her dearly.

  “I can feel you seething over there,” she said.

  “Sorry, beautiful. Wouldn’t be a man if the sight of my woman injured didn’t wreck me.”

  Her one eye popped open. “You’d still be a man, you just wouldn’t be the incredible man you are.”

  Shit, this woman destroyed him.

  “How bad is the pain?”

  “Scale of one to ten?”

  “Sure.” LJ knelt next to the couch and gently placed the towel wrapped ice bag against her cheek. Her cringe felt like an actual slap.

  “’Bout an eight out of ten right now. Was a nine for most of the drive home. Not sure the pain lessened. Think I’m just getting used to it. Ohhh, that ice feels so good.”

  “Leave it on a while. Want some meds too?”

  “Yes. Hell yes,” she said as she struggled to sit up straight.

  “Woman…” LJ rolled his eyes as he set the wineglass and pain medicine on an end table. “Let me help you for fuck’s sake.”

  He lifted her back, then handed off the pills and drink.

  “Washing pain meds down with wine,” she said with a chuckle. “That’s poor-decision making one-oh-one right there.”

  LJ grunted. Watching her wince and groan as she moved had the need to pulverize Schwartz returning in full-force. Only way to keep it at bay would be to have Holly in his arms. “Hold on,” he said as she went to lie back down.

  “What’s wrong?” She had the ice pressed against her face, hiding the worst of the damage.

  “Nothing’s wrong, beautiful. Just need to hold you.” The maneuvering ended up being awkward as hell since he was trying hard not to jostle her, but he managed to wedge himself behind her on the couch. Once in position, he encouraged her to lie back and use his bicep as a pillow.

  As she snuggled into him, Holly let out a sigh. “This feels so nice.”

  The surprise and appreciation in her voice had LJ feeling like shit. Of course, it felt nice to be held by her man or fuck buddy or whatever the hell he was. Despite weeks of fucking, eating together, hanging out alone and with his friends, this was the first time he’d held her in his arms like this. The risk of falling asleep was too great and weighed too heavily on his mind. Meanwhile, Holly probably assumed he just wasn’t into her enough to just lie around cuddling her.

  He was a grade-A prick.

  “Yeah, baby, it is nice.”

  “I’m guessing you want to know what happened.”

  “You up for telling me, now?” Please let her be up for it because his mind would swirl with horrifying possibilities if he didn’t get the real story.

  “Yeah,” she said.

  “What’d you mean by mostly an accident?”

  Eyes closed, Holly held the ice to her face. LJ stroked her hair over and over.

  “He was drunk when I got there. Super drunk. Right from the moment I walked in his house, he was a complete jerk. Spouting off all kinds of shit about you and the club, and you and me.”

  “What kinda shit?”

  Holly shook her head. He’d give her tonight, but tomorrow he wanted a word for word repeat of the conversation.

  “It’s all right. What happened next?”

  “He started going off about not understanding why I’m with you, which somehow morphed into him being able to take you in a fight. He was stumbling around, swaying but decided to demonstrate his amazing boxing abilities. He started throwing all these wild punches in the air, but he was crazy close to me. I tried to dodge them all, but he got me once. Oh, my God, LJ, it hurt so bad. I had no idea one punch could hurt like that.”

  One punch to a woman from a man twice her size. Yeah, that would fucking hurt and fuck up a face, as it did.

  “See,” she said, voice growing thick. “Mostly an accident.”

  A grunt was the only response he could form. Mostly an accident made sense to his logical brain, but he didn’t tend to think with that side of his brain when it came to Holly. Mostly an accident translated to a little bit not an accident which was un-fucking-acceptable. Even if he hadn’t hit her, the fucker shouldn’t have spouted off his fat mouth and shouldn’t have been drunk off his ass when he was about to take out a woman. Especially LJ’s woman.

  Asshole had a bill to pay, and LJ couldn’t wait to collect.

  “I’m not sure why I’m so sleepy. It’s not late at all.”

  “Adrenaline dump.” Decision made, he said, “Sleep, sugar. I’ve got you and I’m not going anywhere.” And he wasn’t. It’d been a solid seven days since LJ had been plagued by any nightmares, so he was probably safe to doze for a few. Besides, chances were high he wouldn’t sleep a wink, just stare at Holly and plot Schwartz’s death.

  THE LAST THING Holly remembered before falling asleep was the incredible sensation of being wrapped in LJ’s strength. Warm, safe, comforted. Free to let her mind release the events of the night long enough to fall asleep. Him cuddling her had been just what she needed after learning just how vulnerable she was last night.

  Waking, however, wasn’t nearly as pleasant. It happened in an instant. No warning, no time to prepare. Holly was ripped from the cozy cocoon of sleep by an intense weight on her chest and a crushing pressure against her windpipe.

  Her eyes flew open to find a stone-faced LJ flattening her with the full weight of his six-and-a-half-foot frame. One bulging forearm lay across her neck, compressing her airway with such great force, she couldn’t draw in a breath.

  “LJ,” she mouthed. The only sound she expelled was a feeble squeak since there was no air behind the words.

  Busted face forgotten, Holly immediately surged into survival mode. She thrashed, clawed at LJ’s back, and tried to shove him off with her legs. Nothing worked, and every action only served to drain her reserves and increase the need for air. He had to be covered in bloody scratches as she could feel his skin gathering beneath her fingernails.

  Panic began to take over, but Holly fought the terror for all she was worth. Above her, LJ’s eyes darted in every direction, but he seemed completely unaware of his surroundings, or the fact she was grappling under him. With each passing second, she grew closer to passing out until darkness rimmed the edges of her vision.

  He groaned, a tortured sound that had Holly’s heart clenching despite her anxiety. Whatever nightmare had him prisoner, it was a chilling place to be. LJ jerked up slightly, staring at the white wall behind her couch as though he’d seen a ghost. The movement shifted his arm and finally allowed Holly to suck a breath.

  “LJ,” she screamed as loud as her ravaged voice would allow. A deep bark followed by the rapid click-clack of Biscuits nails sounded from somewhere in the apartment. Holly’s bedroom probably, where the lazy dog had spent the night in her bed.

  The moment LJ snapped back to reality, the awareness he’d hurt her would absolutely kill him, but he needed to wake up before one or both of them were seriously injured. “LJ please wake up! It’s Holly. You’re safe. I promise. You’re safe.”

  She repeated the phrase again and again. His arm had returned to its position across her throat, but no longer held with pressure. Just a warning
not to move. LJ continued to scan the room as though anticipating an enemy attack from any angle at any second.

  Was he back in the Middle Eastern desert? Reliving the horrors he’d encountered while fighting overseas? The thought sent a twist of sadness through Holly. This was why he’d refused to sleep with her. Dread of this exact scenario was why he wouldn’t so much as close his eyes in her presence. What a lonely way to go through life, terrified to let his guard down.

  “LJ,” she tried again, this time, making her voice as soothing and caring as possible despite the rasp. Instead of scratching, she smoothed her fingers over his back, flinching as she encountered wetness.

  He blinked twice and stared down at her. Just as his expression morphed into one of abject horror, the door to Holly’s apartment flew open with so much power, it smacked against the wall behind it.

  Before either of them had a chance to process who had breached Holly’s home, LJ was ripped off her. His scream of agony would ring through Holly’s head for years to come. LJ fought like an animal, growling, kicking, and screaming as four uniformed police officers forced him face down on her floor.

  “No!” Holly screamed as she launched off the couch only to be tackled back down. “No! Get off him!” Biscuit went crazy. Her loyal dog snarled and snapped at the officers, barking like mad at the men who’d entered her home without permission.

  Whoever had restrained Holly seemed to misunderstand her freak out, probably assuming she was traumatized by the scene they discovered her and LJ in. Had someone heard her yelling at him and called the cops? Everything had happened so fast; she had no idea how long she’d been struggling under him.

  And now she was fighting to get free of the officer with the same ferocity LJ fought with on the ground. He screamed something about diving for cover and tried to army-crawl away, but the four officers slammed him back down, making his head crack on the floor with a sickening thump. He was gone again, lost in a disassociate episode far worse than the last she’d witnessed.