I’m smiling as I think of the possibilities of where I’ll find him today when my cell phone rings. I answer without looking at the caller ID assuming it’s Dad or Lindsay since everyone else just texts me. My great mood goes flying out the window when instead of either of them I get a frantic Frankie telling me I need to get back to the city as soon as possible since it looks like my woman and my dog are in police custody.
* * *
I somehow make it back to the city in twenty minutes without getting stopped by the police. Heart in my throat, I pull up and park a couple blocks from the girls building, where Frankie said Lindsay was being detained. When I finally see her, I go from being scared out of my mind to filled with a level of rage I’ve never felt before. It would probably scare me if I were in the right mind to care.
Lindsay is sitting on the curb with a bruise forming on her delicate cheekbone. Her hands are secured behind her in handcuffs and the tears that have ravaged her beautiful face are still falling. Boomer is in the back of the police vehicle in an agitated state as he tries to get out to get to Lindsay. I watch him paw at the metal cage blocking the backseat from the front. I swear if he’s hurt in any way by this, I’ll get these assholes kicked off the force.
Lindsay doesn’t even look up or react to my appearance. She’s so far in her head I don’t know if she’s even aware of what’s going on right now. I look around and only see two patrol cops that I don’t know standing over Lindsay. They react to my appearance by standing taller and puffing their chests out, I grab my phone and call my uncle Dom as I watch the younger of the two nervously dance his hand around his gun.
After Dom assures me he’s on his way, I try to go to Lindsay and comfort her but the nimrod duo won’t let me go to her. The two won’t even let me know why she’s in police custody or how she got a bruise on her cheek. Luckily, now that Boomer sees me he sits down in the backseat, I would say calmly but he’s still tracking the two cops like he wouldn’t mind using their bones as toothpicks.
“Why in the fuck is my nephew’s dog in the back of your squad car? And more importantly why is my niece handcuffed and sitting on a curb for everyone and their brother to see? You better have a damn good fucking reason why she isn’t receiving medical attention.” I hear a loud slightly accented voice boom from behind where I’ve posted up to guard Lindsay. I turn and see my uncle Dom walk up, when I look back, both officers look paler than Lindsay does. Uncle Dom happens to be a Lieutenant in the Philadelphia Police Department, at one time everyone thought I would follow in his footsteps but I decided not to since I’m not a big fan of the chain of command and working with others.
“Sir, we didn’t know she was your niece.” The younger officer that spoke up glances at me in fear realizing how much shit he’s in if I tell him how I was treated when I first showed up. “Your niece, well frankly we were just going to let her go since it was a clear case of self-defense, but she assaulted Officer Malone and wouldn’t calm down.”
“Apparently, some guy tried to grab her from behind not seeing the massive dog somehow. She fought him off and the dog kept him pinned to the ground until we arrived. The woman was fine until Officer Malone touched her arm and she back fisted him. It took both of us to subdue her and the dog was growling and pushing us away from her so he got him secured in the back of our car. We’re waiting on animal control to show up to take the dog before we took your niece in for processing.” He’s nervously looking at Lindsay swallowing realizing how ludicrous what he’s describing sounds. I take a deep breath hoping I’m doing the right thing, and this won’t set me and Lindsay back in our relationship.
“Did you try running her ID at all? Lindsay has PTSD from when she was attacked as a teenager. When Malone touched her arm was it touching it or did he grab her arm? If he grabbed her arm, he probably triggered another flashback while she was still on the tail end of the first from being attacked. She’s all of five foot, how hard could it have been to restrain her unless she was out of her mind with fear?” I look angrily at Malone betting he grabbed her arm trying to be a hardass and when she swung on him, he didn’t hesitate in shoving her face first into something giving her the bruise on her cheek.
I look back to the younger officer. I finally look at his badge and see his name is Officer Miller. Officer Miller is turning red, I’m guessing either with anger or embarrassment and that I’m correct in my assumption about what happened. Malone looks puffed up and pissed off but is sneaking nervous glances at Uncle Dom who is just standing and glaring from my side. I definitely take after my Mom’s brother.
“Is this really what you do Uncle Dom? What if it’s an abused wife that doesn’t know it’s a cop that’s trying to help her? Victims get victimized over and over again? It’s not like she had a weapon and was intentionally hurting someone. She thought she was fighting for her life again. Look at her, she’s not a risk to anyone at the moment, she’s practically catatonic.” We all look over at her where she’s staring vacantly with tears silently running down her face.
“Go get those cuffs off of her Malone. How do you think it would look when this gets out? I can see the headlines now “100 Pound Mugging Victim Assaulted Then Arrested by PPD” all with a photo of that bruise on her cheek that already looks horrible. My nephew is right, sometimes you need to not just react but look at the circumstances and figure out the next step. If you’re not smart enough to do, that then listen to your partner. He’s clearly uncomfortable with what was going on. And Miller, if you are uncomfortable speak up.” As Dom is dressing him down he lets Boomer out of the backseat, he immediately goes and sits next to Lindsay blocking Malone from getting near her. I wonder what they would find if they looked over Malone’s service record in regards to victims, I see the same thoughts crossing Dom’s and know Malone is going to regret today for a long time to come.
As soon as Miller takes the cuffs of Lindsay, she wraps her arms around Boomer and buries her face in his back. I crouch down so that I’m at eye level with Lindsay before gently touching her face. She pulls back so fast she almost falls over and Boomer backs up so that he is behind her and keeping her from falling. I watch as awareness creeps back into her eyes followed immediately by shame, which is what I was afraid of. She shocks the shit out of me with her next move though, which is to throw herself into my arms and wrap herself around me before breaking down with painful wails that make my soul ache.
“Do you want me to take you home, honey?” I whisper as I stand up with her wrapped around me. I notice Malone who was already giving me the hairy eyes take a startled step back when I do. I almost roll my eyes at him. She’s only one hundred pounds, she doesn’t exactly weigh much. When I reach my feet, I put an arm under her ass to support her and reach for Boomer’s leash which is trailing on the ground as he follows us.
“Yes, take me to your place Anthony,” she whispers into my chest.
“Are you sure? Wouldn’t it be better to be around your stuff to help you calm down? I really don’t care, I just want you to be comfortable.” I explain as I walk down the street with my precious cargo.
“Adrenaline crash is coming. I’ll be fine at your place and this way I’ll have gotten through a night there without issue, making the next time easier.” I nod my head at her logic. I don’t know if it was true but if she was convinced it would be okay, I would believe her.
“Hey Anthony, we need to get her statement about what happened so I’ll swing out by your place tomorrow if that’s alright?” Dom quietly asks as I get her settled in the passenger seat. Boomer nimbly leaps into the truck and curls his big body between her feet and lays his head in her lap staring out at me. His doggy thoughts of “Hurry the fuck up humans” are plain as day on his face.
“Yeah Dom that should be fine, just text or call first so I can make sure we’re there. We were going to have a lazy Saturday and have a barbeque. If we still are, you can grab some food while you’re getting her statement and hangout for a bit. Just a word of warning, Dad�
�s dating a woman and it seems pretty serious this time so she’ll probably be there.” I inform him after closing Lindsay’s door and starting around the truck for the driver's door.
“Good, it’s about damn time. My sister was a great woman, and I know your dad will always love her, but a ghost can’t keep him warm at night and take care of him.” I shake my head at my uncle’s answer. It’s exactly what I expected but I still felt like I owed it to him to warn him.
“Alright Dom. Thanks for helping out and getting here so fast. We’ll see you tomorrow.” I hop in the truck and am not surprised to see that Lindsay has finally crashed with her arms wrapped around Boomer holding his head to her middle. It would be really stupid to be jealous of my own dog, huh?
20
Lindsay
I slowly drift awake in the dark and listen to the quiet murmur of the television while my mind tries to decide if it wants to be awake or not. I stretch and feel the tightness of my muscles and remember what happened yesterday. I have no idea how I got in bed but I’m guessing Anthony carried me here. I wince thinking about how embarrassing yesterday turned out to be.
I open one eye and peek at the other side of the bed. I don’t know if I should be relieved or disappointed that Anthony isn’t in bed with me. I hear Boomers nails clicking on the floor, so I turn my head and watch him walk up to the bed, laying his head on the edge staring me in the eye. We have a meeting of the minds for a few minutes before he licks the entire side of my face and starts nudging me out of bed. What’s this world coming to when not even a dog respects sleeping in on a weekend?
I’m glad I was wearing comfy clothes yesterday because looking down I realize Anthony just took off my shoes before putting me to bed. I can see by the dent in the pillow and how the blankets are that he at least slept with me for part of the night. I get up and make the bed before going to his dresser and grabbing one of the t-shirts I brought over a couple of weeks ago.
Last night may have been the second time I spent the night but we hang out here all the time. Also, a couple of weeks ago Anthony point blank told me he made room for me to bring stuff over before handing me a key. He dropped the subject after giving me the key. It was a perfectly Anthony thing to do, something gruff and seemingly brusque but still meaningful. He wanted to let me know he wanted me there, did it and then dropped it.
I swapped my leggings for a pair of shorts before following an impatient Boomer out of the room. I want to laugh at how much Boomer is like Anthony. The entire time I was getting dressed, he sat there staring at me indulgently but I could tell he wanted me to hurry up so he could get down stairs. After yesterday, I know how fierce of a protector he is. I shake my head trying to get my mind off of what happened, before wandering down the stairs in search of coffee and Anthony.
When I reach the kitchen, I take a moment to stand in the doorway and take in the sight of Anthony at the stove. He’s wearing a pair of low slung jeans that lovingly cup his ass and show off the dimples low on his back. I indulge myself with looking at his back and the tattoos that stretch across its massive surface. There are times I am astounded with how huge he truly is and this is one of those times.
Anthony is so gentle and can accomplish such delicate work with his hands you can forget how big he is. Then, you see him standing next to a refrigerator, and he’s over a half foot taller than it is and needs to bend over to look in it, and his size really registers. Right now, he’s at the stove cooking and the spatula he is using looks like a child’s toy in his massive hands.
I walk over to him and press a gentle kiss on his spine and wrap my arms around his waist. I turn my face to the side and press my cheek to his back and feel his body relax into mine. I absently run my hands over his stomach, enjoying the feel of his smattering of hair and feel the muscles under my palms tense. Taking pity on him and not wanting my bacon burned I give his back another kiss and move to the coffee pot. I never thought the day would arrive that I would go to anyone or anything, other than the bathroom, before coffee.
“I need to get Frankie to make you an apron. I’m enjoying the view but worried about you getting burned by grease from the bacon.” I chuckle to myself at the mental image of him in a custom made apron that knowing Frankie she would add ruffles or lace to just to harass him. They really are like brother and sister. My inner fat kid perks up as I watch him take the bacon out of the skillet and crack an egg in, to fry in the grease. It’s so unhealthy but so delicious.
Anthony chuckles and the sound ripples through my body. I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing about what Frankie would do to an apron for him. I eye his body and wonder if I can talk him into nipple rings. There’s just something about a rock solid male chest with nipple rings that makes me want to lick, bite and touch more than I already do.
“Do you want to talk about yesterday or wait until Dom is here and only go over it once?” Anthony asks as he slides a perfectly cooked egg onto a plate before cracking another into the skillet. He keeps his eyes on his work, but I can tell he’s still focused on me. He’s not treating me like he’s expecting me to break down but he’s still clearly worried and on edge.
“How soon will Dom be over? I want to wait until he’s here but I don’t want to make you wait all day. Thank you for taking care of me last night, by the way. As soon as I realized you were there, I knew I could relax and you would handle it. Only Frankie has ever made me feel that way and even then, I still have to worry about taking care of her physically.” I answer as I drink my coffee and watch him work.
“He’ll be over in a couple of hours. I have enough to keep me occupied until he comes over so I can wait. Are you still good with everyone coming over today or do we need to reschedule?” He answers while still frying eggs, he reaches over and squeezes my hand without taking his eyes off the skillet. I know he did it because he’s worried about me but doesn’t want to smother me.
“Yeah. I need to be with people I love today.” I focus on my coffee like it has a coded message from the gods in it. I’m not shy unless it comes to admitting my feelings for people. I think it took two years for me to get comfortable saying it to Frankie, there’s no way after only four months of being more than friends I can say the actual words to Anthony. I risk a glance at him from below my lashes and based on the smile on his face he knows he’s included in the group of people I love now.
I feel my lower body bumped and look down to see Boomer almost sitting on my feet leaning his big body into my legs. I reach down and scratch behind his ears, making him release doggie grumbles of joy deep in his big barrel chest. “Yes Boomer you too,” I tell him. I stop scratching and just rest my hand on his big head. He turns his head licks my wrist with his long tongue before turning and walking across the kitchen and collapsing with a thud that shakes the house in a spot of sunshine.
* * *
I ignore the shaking in my hands and my heart thundering in my chest, when I hear Anthony’s doorbell ringing. I know that it’s Dom since he texted about twenty minutes ago letting us know he was on his way. I really hated the idea of Anthony’s family knowing what happened. I know how much his family means to him, and I’m terrified they will think I’m not good enough for him when they find out how messed up I am. If yesterday proves anything, it’s that I’m a big ball of fucked up.
Anthony runs his hand over my hair and gets up off the couch and heads to the door. I hear quiet murmurs coming from the door and ignore them and focus on Boomer who is lying practically in my lap. I close my eyes and count backwards from one hundred focusing on breathing and relaxing my muscles. I’ll probably feel edgy and keyed up the next few days.
I feel the couch sink with their combined weight when they sit down with me. I open my eyes and try to hold back a snicker at how alike Anthony and his uncle look. The massive gene is clearly dominant in their family. Any kids I have with Anthony will be taller than me by the time they’re ten.
The shock that thought causes, makes me mentally space out for a
moment or two and I must have missed something one of the guys said based on the looks on their faces. They even have matching looks of concern. It makes me want to immediately trust Dom so for once I’m going with it.
“Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts for a minute. What did you say?” I ask as I kiss Boomer on his big head laughing that even he looks worried.
“It’s okay, I just asked how you were doing after yesterday,” Dom answers in his deep rumbling voice. It’s a good thing he’s not on patrol anymore, I could see women calling 911 reporting strange sounds in their house just hoping he would be the one to show up. Asking him if he would use his cuffs on them over jaywalking or something.
“Truthfully, I’m still a little on edge but I’ll be okay.” I decide to just be honest and not try to sugarcoat anything. I am on edge right now, but I do know that I will be fine and back to normal probably quicker than I ever have been after a flashback. If Boomer weren’t laying on my legs, I would probably have my legs up so I could curl into a protective ball. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why the perceptive beast was laying on my legs like he is.
“Okay, well, let’s get this out of the way so you can go back to relaxing. Why don’t you just tell me what happened and then we can eat?” Dom pulls a little notebook out of his back pocket. I didn’t even know police still carried those. Not only that but seeing how fit Dom is in his jeans and black shirt is making me think of how hopefully Anthony ages just as well.
“It’s not that big of a deal I don’t think. If the cops hadn’t been there I probably wouldn’t have even reported it. I was walking Boomer, or he was walking me, that part is always questionable. I’m guessing the guy didn’t see Boomer, I don’t think anyone would be dumb enough to try anything with him there. He grabbed me from behind with an arm around my neck when I walked past the alley. I don’t know if he planned on pulling me in the alley or what, but I had a flashback and when I came out of it he was half a block down by the park. Boomer had him pinned with his paws on his shoulders and was growling at him.
Big Meat (A Recipe of Love Book 2) Page 13