Love Drunk

by Marita A. Hansen

  ‘Stay away from my man’s boy or I’ll make you smile in a way you don’t want to.’

  Then, he’d run the tip of the knife up my cheek, also doing it to the other side, all the while laughing like a hyena. He hadn’t broken the skin, just had gotten his point across that he could scar me for life. Georgie had wanted me to go to the police after I’d told her about it, but I’d refused, too scared to provoke not only Killer, but his gang.

  Screaming and yelling cut through my thoughts of Killer, drawing my attention to the clinic’s entrance. Simon, with the help of a security guard, was trying to remove a blonde woman through the sliding doors. Although she was gorgeous, she looked like a hooker, her tiny leather skirt and barely-there top not covering much.

  She kicked back with her stiletto, connecting with Simon’s leg. He cursed and let go of her, grabbing his shin. In response, the guard shoved her, causing the blonde to tumble down the steps. She cried out as she hit the concrete footpath, her hands and knees taking most of the impact. Andrew followed her down the stairs, his large body looming over hers. He was a rough-looking man in his forties, with leathery-looking skin and a face only a mother could love.

  He grabbed the woman’s arm and roughly yanked her to her feet, wrapping his other arm around her middle. He said something into her ear, his hand moving to one of her breasts.

  Georgie stepped around the bonnet of my car, yelling, “Let go of her!” sounding just as horrified as I was.

  Andrew’s eyes snapped to us, only just realising we were watching from the car park. He instantly let go of the woman, what happened next a blur. The blonde spun around, slashing her nails across his cheek. He hollered and brought his hands to his face, yelling even louder as she kicked him in the groin. He dropped to his knees, the big man crumbling before her.

  Georgie yelled out, “You go girl!”

  The blonde glanced over her shoulder, a proud grin spreading across her face. She pursed her lips at Georgie, reminding me of Dante’s habit of blowing kisses. The gesture made my skin prickle, the woman reminding me of someone.

  She turned away from us and headed back up the stairs to the clinic.

  Simon approached her warily. “I don’t want any more trouble,” he said, holding his hands out in front of him. “Please, just leave.”

  “No!” she spat. “Get out of my way!”

  He shook his head and pulled out his mobile phone. “Either leave or I’ll call the cops and have you arrested.”

  She smacked the phone out of his hand. Simon cursed as it dropped to the ground. He bent down to pick it up, getting a knee to the head for his trouble. He fell back, swiping out at her legs as she went to step around him. She fell over too, cursing loudly in English and another language that sounded Slavic. I ran to help Simon, Georgie following me. Simon’s attacker pushed to her feet and went for the door again, hollering…

  Dante’s name.

  I stopped in my tracks halfway up the steps, her identity slamming into me. No wonder she was familiar. It was the woman I’d seen Dante with after I’d gotten out of prison … his partner at the time.

  Simon scrambled to his feet and ran after the woman, grabbing her before she could reach the main corridor of the clinic. No longer holding back, he swung her around and carried her outside as she kicked and screamed, letting go just before the steps. Keeping a wary eye on her, he swiped up his phone quick as a flash. “Last warning!” he barked. “Leave before I call the police!”

  She swore at him. “You can’t keep Dante away from me! He’s my boyfriend!”

  “He doesn’t agree,” Simon snapped back, looking both furious and in pain, his forehead red from where she’d kneed him.

  She swore at him again, adding a vulgar gesture at the end, then stalked down the steps past us, spitting on Andrew as he writhed in pain. Ignoring us, Simon went to Andrew, asking if he was all right. Andrew muttered something unintelligible and pulled his phone out of his pocket, taking a snapshot of the blonde’s car as she climbed into it. Simon whispered something to him, then helped him to his feet and inside the clinic.

  Georgie elbowed me softly. “Was that the woman you mentioned Dante was with when you visited him after prison?”

  My gaze flicked to the blonde’s car as it spluttered to life. “Yes,” I replied, glad that Dante’s ex didn’t remember me, my pink hair and new style making me look quite different. Though, I wasn’t sure she would recognise me even with blonde hair, since she’d only seen me for a few minutes over five years ago. A few minutes too many in my opinion, the woman horrible. She’d knocked me down and insulted me just for asking to see Dante. She hadn’t known who I was, what she’d done completely unwarranted, along with the way she’d talked down to Dante. She’d treated him like he was stupid, not to mention humiliating him in front of me, making sure I knew he’d worked as a stripper.

  Georgie shook her head. “She’s bonkers.”

  “You got that right.”

  We headed up the steps, entering the clinic. Andrew was gone, but Simon was behind the reception desk, holding an icepack against his forehead. He narrowed his eyes at Georgie. “You’re late. I had to cover for you. And don’t think I didn’t hear you yell go girl to that psycho.”

  Georgie rushed around the reception desk. “I’m sorry, it wasn’t to do with you, it was against Andrew. He went too far. No man should touch a woman like that.”

  “And no woman should treat a man like this,” he said, removing the icepack from his forehead, which still looked red.

  “I’m sorry, I really am.” She placed her hand on his arm, looking guilty as hell. “I didn’t want you getting hurt.”

  He exhaled. “Fine, I accept your apology, but you’re still not getting off for being late. This is the second time—”

  I cut in, “This isn’t Georgie’s fault. She phoned Maggie to let her know we’d be late. We had to talk to the police about a breakin.”

  Before I’d even finished the sentence, Simon was bolting around the desk, in front of me within seconds. “Are you okay, Clara?” he asked, giving me a concerned once-over.

  “Oh, thanks very much,” Georgie said over my yes. “Ask her if she’s all right, not me. I do live in the same flat.”

  He glanced back at her. “I can see you’re fine, and you’re skating on thin ice, Georgie. Don’t push your luck.”

  She grumbled something I couldn’t hear, then grabbed the phone as it rang, looking relieved she had an out.

  Simon refocused on me. “What did the police say?”

  “Nothing much, other than we shouldn’t stay in the flat for the time being.”

  “If you need a place—”

  “No, we’re fine, Georgie’s already rung her friend Roxanne. We’ll be staying with her.”

  “Roxanne, as in the woman Georgie brought to the Christmas function? The one who got so drunk she fell off the counter—”

  “—while dancing,” Georgie piped up, finishing with the call. “Yup, that’s her. You were such a sweetheart for giving her a lift home.” She smiled at him, obviously trying to get back in his good books. “And you should stop fussing over, Clara. You’re the one who’s hurt. Go to the sick bay, have a lie down. I’ll find someone to cover for you until you feel better, that is, unless you want to go home?”

  He shook his head. “No, I’m staying until the police get here.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll be making a formal complaint against that woman.”

  “Do you think that’s a wise idea after what Andrew did?”

  He looked over at her. “Why? She assaulted us.”

  “While he assaulted her. He didn’t just restrain her, he grabbed her breast. That’s why I yelled out. I may not say anything to the cops, but it’ll still be on CCTV. If you lay a complaint, that woman could do the same, not only against Andrew, but the clinic.” She glanced back at the door that led to the sick bay, then at Simon again, lowering her voice. “You really should fire Andrew. He didn’t just act inappropriate
ly towards that woman, he says the most inappropriate things to me, and I’m sure he’s doing things with Candace.”

  Simon frowned. “Like what?”

  “He’s constantly hitting on me and calls me fuckable all the time, while just before leaving work last night I saw him coming out of Candace’s room. Security guards aren’t allowed in a patient’s room unless there’s a counsellor with them.”

  “I’m fully aware of that.”

  “Which is why you should fire him. After all, you’re the acting manager until Royce gets back.”

  “I’ll have a talk to both him and Candace as well as take a look at the video footage of the fight with the blonde woman. And regarding you and Clara. You should stay at my place. Roxanne lives too far away. She’s all the way out in Clevedon.”

  “You know we can’t,” I said, drawing his attention back to me.

  He slipped his phone into his back pocket. “Why not?”

  “We just broke up. It’ll be too awkward.”

  It looked like he was going to disagree, but instead nodded. “If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.” He glanced at Georgie. “I won’t phone the police until I check the footage, and don’t worry about Andrew, I’ll fix things.” He walked off, disappearing into the manager’s office.

  My gaze went to Georgie. “You did the right thing reporting Andrew.”

  She nodded, quickly picking up the phone as it rang.

  I let her get on with her work, making my way to my own office, my first appointment of the day starting in ten minutes.

  9

  Clara

  I smiled at the man sitting across the desk from me, Tyler having come so far. He looked completely different from the emaciated young man who’d walked through the rehab’s doors quite a few months ago. Simon had suggested that Tyler be admitted to a hospital instead, but Tyler had pleaded to stay at the clinic. So, we accepted him, which was the best decision we could’ve made, because he now looked both happy and healthy, his sweet smile full of gratitude.

  He rose up from his chair. “Thank you, Clara, I really appreciate everything that you’ve done for me.”

  I walked around the desk to him. “You’re more than welcome, Tyler.”

  He held his arms out, looking like he was going to hug me. I went to step back, since we weren’t allowed to have physical contact with patients, but stopped myself. Tyler’s discharge had already gone through, so he was no longer a patient.

  I returned the hug, pulling away a moment later. He brushed his blond hair off his face, the once badly hacked locks now reaching his shoulders, showing just how long he’d been with us. He’d told me that he’d hacked it off when he’d gotten a video call from his abuser, doing it to put the man off him.

  “You’ve helped me so much,” he said. “I really didn’t think I would ever make it out of here.”

  I smiled at him. “This isn’t about me, it’s about you. You pulled through, remember that.”

  He returned my smile. “Only because of you. Anyway, I should go, my taxi will be here soon.”

  “You don’t have family picking you up?”

  He shook his head. “My sister doesn’t have a licence, while my stepmum would probably be passed out by now.”

  My eyebrows rose. “In the morning?”

  His face saddened. “She hasn’t gotten over my dad’s death.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry, you never mentioned that your father died,” I replied, Tyler not having spoken much about the man. He’d mostly talked about his abuser, using the clinic as a means to expel all of the repugnant things the man had done to him.

  Tyler dropped his gaze, appearing uncomfortable with my question. “I don’t like talking about my dad. He was a horrible person, while my stepmum’s not much better.”

  “What about your friends?” I asked, feeling sad that he had no one he knew picking him up. “Couldn’t one of them have come? You mentioned you’re still friends with your ex.”

  He shook his head. “Corey doesn’t know I’m here, he thinks I’m in Australia. I don’t want him knowing what happened to me.”

  “But you got hurt saving him. He should be there for you.”

  Tyler shook his head again. “I don’t want him to feel guilty or obliged to stay with me. He’s also finally got the guy he really wanted. I was just a fill-in until Sledge admitted he had feelings for Corey.”

  “Sledge as in Sledge Rata?” I asked, only having heard that name once before. Dante had mentioned he’d nicknamed his younger brother Sledge, after the boy had hit his twin sister’s hand with a sledge hammer when they were seven or eight, the nickname having stuck.

  Tyler nodded. “His brother’s here. He’s that gorgeous tattooed guy with the incredible hair.” He shook his head. “Looks like Dante got all the looks, because Sledge is a brute, both in looks and personality. I really don’t know how those two can be brothers.”

  “Sledge isn’t blood, he’s adopted,” I said, the words out of my mouth before I could stop them.

  His eyebrows rose. “You know the Ratas?”

  “Only Dante, I’m his counsellor,” I said, quickly covering myself. “He’s told me a bit,” a lot, “about his family.”

  “Oh, of course,” he replied, looking like he’d said something stupid, although he hadn’t, my knowledge of the Ratas more than professional.

  He continued, “And to tell you the truth, I hadn’t actually seen Dante in person until he turned up here. I only recognised him from his videos. He worked for the same family as I did, but in straight porn. He was their star.” His hand shot to his mouth. “Oh, I probably shouldn’t have told you that.”

  I bit back a grimace. “Don’t worry, his file mentioned he’s worked in porn,” I replied, what I’d read having shocked me, although it had saddened me even more.

  “That’s why I never introduced myself to him,” Tyler added. “I couldn’t exactly go up and say, ‘Hey, you worked for the same pricks as I did, and oh, by the way, I’m a real big fan of your porn videos’.” He let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I didn’t like people recognising me from my videos, so I wasn’t sure he’d like it either. Plus, his brother hates me, so I kept my distance.”

  I nodded, wishing I could keep my distance from Dante too. “It’s probably for the best. And let’s get back to you. If you need to talk to anyone, just call. You have my number, and don’t worry about the cost, all aftercare is free.”

  “Thank you, Clara.” He leaned forward, giving me a peck on the cheek. “You’re such a sweet person. I wish you all the happiness in the world.”

  He turned to go, leaving me standing for a moment in stunned silence. I’d never thought of myself as sweet, and for a genuinely sweet person like Tyler to say that… It hit me in the heart. I wanted happiness more than anything, just knew it would never happen for me.

  After a quick moment to compose myself, I followed him to the reception, wanting to see him out. I gave him a wave as he got into his taxi, the sky having darkened outside, storm clouds hovering over everything. I went to return to my office, spotting the object of our conversation exiting the doorway at the far end of the corridor just as the sky opened up, bucketing down.

  Wondering why Dante was going out into such bad weather, I walked briskly down the corridor, stopping at the door that overlooked the back of the clinic. The rain was coming down so hard that it was blurring Dante’s form. He disappeared around the fence, heading down the pathway that led to the caretaker’s home, the place off-limits to patients.

  I ran back to my office and picked up my phone, dialling the security guard’s number. As it clicked through, I hung up, realising I could get Dante booted out of the rehab program if he was caught breaking and entering the caretaker’s home.

  My thoughts went to the time he’d broken into Killer’s house when the man was away, something that had shocked me. But I’d still entered the property with him, wanting to grab as much time as I could with Dante. Still, I might have
been more cautious if I’d known Killer back then, and I most definitely wouldn’t have slept with Dante in the psycho’s bed.

  Pushing the memory aside, I grabbed my raincoat and pulled it on, leaving my office a second later. I was at the other end of the corridor in no time, slipping out the door and into the rain. I half ran, half walked down the path, being careful not to slip on the wet cobblestones. I turned the corner, my eyes on the caretaker’s property, the high fence hiding his house. I went to pass the swimming pool, stopping as something in my periphery caught my attention. I glanced to my left, what I saw through the wire fencing knocking the wind out of me.

  Dante was standing naked at the edge of the pool.

  He dived in, breaking the surface smoothly. I watched in stunned silence as he powered through the water, turning at the end of the pool, pushing off for another lap. He continued to power through more laps, flashes of colour from his arms breaking the clarity of the pool. He was truly stunning to watch, what he was doing utterly hypnotic. I knew he loved the water, had seen him surf like a pro, but to see him swim in all his glory… I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

  A loud clap of thunder made me jump, as well as stopping Dante in his tracks. He glanced up at the sky, the rain plastering his ink black hair to his head. Even though I wanted to continue staring at him, I went to back away, more afraid of being caught. My foot landed on a branch, the wood cracking beneath my heel. Dante’s eyes snapped to me, pinning me to the spot. Surprise crossed his face, then a slow smile replaced it, so wicked it made me shiver, the cold rain having nothing to do with it.

  He glided to the edge of the pool and pushed out of the water. Wearing nothing more than a wicked smile, he sauntered over to me like a predator about to leap on his prey. He stopped on the other side of the fence and pushed his fingers through the wire, obviously not caring he was naked. If anything, he seemed to be enjoying my flustered state, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief.

  I stayed where I was, too dumbstruck to move, his body commanding all of my attention. Despite a few scars, he had the most perfect body… No, the scars added, not detracted from his amazing physique, along with his tattoos, the man truly a sight to behold. From his wide shoulders to his muscular arms, his six-pack and those mouth-watering lines that I didn’t know the name of, the ones that ran from his hipbones to his crotch, like an arrow pointing to his…