by Nashoda Rose
I nodded. But it felt as if fleas were biting my skin making me anxious and uncomfortable.
Lance kept his arm around my waist as he led me over to the table. I kept my chin up, my usual sway in my hips, and I tried to look like I wasn’t ripping apart on the inside as Ream’s face took us in. I saw the hurt flicker in his darkened eyes, the narrowing, and then something different, as if he was contemplating.
Lance was the perfect gentleman and shook hands with the band and then graciously nodded to Emily and Georgie. But when he went to shake hands with Ream, I swear each one of us held our breaths. There was a slight hesitation as Lance held his hand out and Ream didn’t take it. Ream’s eyes narrowed and he looked him up and down, as if he was trying to figure out whether Lance was worthy or something.
Then Ream chin-lifted and shook hands. It was only after their hands separated that Ream blew it. “Hurt her and I’ll fuckin’ kill you.”
“Jesus, Ream.” I expected Lance to grab me and walk out of there. Instead, he nodded to Ream and then sat and pulled me onto his lap. I knew it was done on purpose because I never sat on Lance’s lap.
The tension broke except for mine. I was strung so tight my nerves acted up and I could do nothing about it except try and stay calm and hope they passed.
“Well, aren’t you looking the hottie in an expensive suit,” Georgie purred. “Why hasn’t Kat brought you by my shop yet?” Georgie twirled a pink strand around her finger. “But just so you know, hotties don’t get free passes in the in-gate.” What was she talking about? “Hotties, still need to pass my test before they get in. Non-hotties don’t get into the group—period.” Oh God, Georgie was drunk and rambling. There was no test. She was making this up as she went. Where was Deck when you needed him?
Bringing Lance by Georgie’s Perk Avenue coffee house meant Deck would be checking into Lance because Deck checked out everyone who came by the coffee shop. His security cameras made sure of it.
I squeezed Lance’s leg to get his attention and leaned back into him and whispered, “We should go.”
Lance grinned. “No. This is amusing. And if I need to pass a test to be with you, then I’m game.”
Okay, Lance was sweet and nice—and brave.
Georgie propped her elbows up on the table and rested her head in her hands. “So, can you make a girl come multiple times? My girl here needs to know what she’s getting into.”
My mouth wasn’t the only one that dropped open, and I glared at Georgie. “Shut it, Georgie. Jesus. I swear Deck needs to reel you in, strap you down, and teach you some manners.”
She laughed and then chugged back her beer before slamming it down on the table. “Deck’s not here—again. He’s probably making some girl come multiple times right now.” I thought she said Deck would suck in bed. “So, Mr. I-look-hot-in-a-suit. You up for an answer?”
I felt Ream’s eyes on me, not on Lance or Georgie, and I squirmed on Lance’s lap, which to my horror made something hard press into my butt and I immediately stilled. Lance looped his arm around my waist and pulled me back against him then whispered in my ear, “Yeah, better to stay still, princess.” Then his voice rose so the table could hear, but his eyes remained on me. “Multiple doesn’t seem like quite the right word. I’d use,” he paused for effect, “copious.”
Oh fuck. I knew it before it happened. Ream was controlled, calm, and had a head for business, but that all detonated when it came to me and him.
The scrape of his chair echoed as Ream violently pushed it back then grabbed the edge of the table and flipped it over on its side. Glass shattered as the drinks crashed to the floor. Emily and Crisis were covered in beer, and Georgie had fallen over backwards in her chair and was laughing hysterically on the floor.
I wanted to be mad at him, but I understood why he flipped the table. I couldn’t imagine if I saw him with a chick on his lap and we were talking about orgasms. I might not flip the table, but I’d have freaked. Maybe dumped my drink all over the girl and Ream.
Logan, being the ex-underground fighter, took him down. He grabbed his arm when Ream came for Lance then threw him to the ground, bending Ream’s arm behind his back at an odd angle. I didn’t hear what was said between them, but Ream nodded, got up, and without a single glance at anyone, he went into the back of the pub. I saw Molly go after him and hoped she could calm him down, but a part of me wanted to be the one to go talk to him. Okay, fine, I was jealous that Molly was with Ream and I wasn’t.
Georgie struggled to her feet, stumbled, then fell on her ass again. Crisis took her arm and pulled her drunk ass up and set her chair upright and shoved her down in it. “Well, so now we know how Ream’s really feeling. Hope you’re not lying about the copious, Lancey-baby.”
Gah … everyone looked at me, and I grabbed Lance’s hand. “Let’s go. You can drop me at Matt’s.” I had no intention of going back to the farm and running into Ream tonight.
Lance politely nodded to everyone and said goodbye while I tapped my foot and tried to head for the door before Emily and Georgie could trap me in a snare of girl talk about Ream that I so wasn’t ready to talk about. Not with Lance around.
Lance took me back to the condo, although he’d suggested his place and I knew why; I felt the why while sitting on his lap.
He escorted me to the door where he pulled me into his arms. With the tip of his finger, he pushed my hair out of my eye. “You want to tell me what that was about?”
I leaned up against the door. “I told you, we had a thing.”
His brows rose. “Looked like more than a thing.”
“Not really. He was there when I needed him, and then we hooked up for a couple of nights. That’s it.”
“But he doesn’t think that’s it.”
I shrugged. “Ream’s … intense.” And I couldn’t stop thinking about him. All I saw was his face when he flipped over the table, the devastation, the rage, the pain. I wanted to take it all away.
“Listen, Kat. I like you. And I’m not scared of some ex who isn’t man enough to control his temper. But I’d like if we could step away from that to see if what we have is something more. After the gallery opening, I have a place in Vegas that I’d like to take you to for a few days.”
“Lance.” Shit, I hope he wasn’t going to cancel my show. “I think it’s better if we stop seeing one another. I like you, but I need to sort some stuff out.”
His brows rose with surprise. Then he stepped back and scowled. It was the first time I’d seen him kind of pissed off, and it made me really uncomfortable. “With Ream.” A shiver coursed down my spine at his tone, and I put my hand in my purse and searched for my keys. “That’s not the best idea, Kat.”
“Whatever I decide to do, it’s my decision, not yours.” God, why was I suddenly pissed off? Because Ream was fucking things up for me. I’d met a good guy and now I was breaking it off with him because why? … Because Ream couldn’t let me go?
No, it was because I couldn’t let Ream go and I needed to do that before I could be with Lance.
I found the keys and turned around putting them in the lock. Lance’s hand came down on my shoulder. “You going back to him?”
I stiffened and my hand gripped the key hard, the metal pinching into my hand. “No, but what Ream and I do is none of your business.”
He put his hands on my waist, and I wanted to shrug them off. “You are my business.”
I turned to face him again and suddenly I didn’t like him very much with the way he was confronting me. “Are you going to cancel my show?”
“No. But I wish you’d think about this before deciding. Do you really want to be with a man like him? Jealous. Uncontrollable. A rock star that has women all over him. He’ll never be faithful. He’ll cheat on you the second he goes out of town.” I flinched at the thought. Seeing all the girls around him tonight had put that thought in my head. Cheating was a deal breaker. “You obviously aren’t together for a reason.” His eyes narrowed and his fingers dug
into my side. “You choose this, you’ll regret it.”
“Wow, Lance. That sounded like a threat.” I pushed his hands off my waist. “I’ll see you at the show. And then I’ll move my art to another gallery.” I’d been wrong about Lance. He had a side to him I hadn’t seen or anticipated. Maybe he wasn’t so nice and safe after all.
“That’s not necessary, Kat.” He put his finger under my chin and stroked his thumb down my cheek. “Your face—gorgeous. I wish …” He sighed. “I really wanted this to work. Will you think about it? Take a couple of days?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t need time to think about things, Lance.” Especially after what he’d just said.
“A real shame, princess.” He turned and strode away.
I sagged against the door as I watched him walk past the elevators and push open the door to the stairwell. The door slammed shut behind him.
A part of me wanted to go running back to the bar, back to Ream, the part that still needed him like my next breath. But that meant a second chance at what could be a one way road to hurt and devastation. I had a life that didn’t have a place or time for second chances. Shit, I was already internally self-destructing.
I was thankful I had the condo to myself until Matt got back after the bar closed in a few hours. Plan of attack to numb the emotions—grab a big comfy blanket, make popcorn, and curl up on the couch and watch a silly romantic comedy.
I woke to the door rattling and stretched from my cramped position on the couch. Glancing at my phone on the table, I saw it was two in the morning, Matt must have asked Brett to close the bar and came home early. The TV was still blaring; I’d put it up loud to drown out our neighbor Neville’s music from next door. The guy loved classical and Friday and Saturday nights he let everyone know it. Matt never cared because he was at the bar late.
The door opened and I got up folding the blanket. “Bro, that crap that went down with Ream. Totally my fault, but I want it known before you go ‘on the burner,’ that I asked Lance to leave and he—”
A hand curled into the back of my neck and I tried to jerk away, but it happened so fast. The pressure increased and I was violently pressed forward. My head slammed into the wood coffee table. Agony tore through my head as I collapsed to the floor, my vision blurred and it felt like heated syrup dripped down my face. Hands grabbed me and I managed a half scream before I was picked up and thrown across the room. I hit the drywall hard, biting my tongue on impact. Blood filled my mouth then dripped from the corners of my lips.
Oh God. What the hell?
I held my hand to my head where the table hit and tried to get my bearings again. I looked up and saw a tall, lean figure striding toward me. He was wearing a balaclava with black dress pants and a long sleeved black shirt. His hands … Oh God he was wearing gloves.
Fear smothered my insides like thick tar, and for a second I couldn’t move. I held out my hand and repeated “no” over and over again. As the large figure drew closer, I snapped out of the haze of frozen fear and scrambled toward the kitchen. I could hear his heavy thudded footsteps nearly upon me. My heart pounded so hard it hurt, and I was having trouble breathing.
My mind reeled with confusion, a mishmash of pain, fear, and anger. What the hell was happening?
I kept thinking I had to get to the cutlery drawer. It was within sight, if I could just … the booted foot struck me in the small of my back and I went flying into the island, hitting hard and then falling to the floor. His foot hoofed into my stomach and knocked the wind out of me, and I curled into a ball fighting to breathe.
He curled his hand into my hair and pulled me to my feet. I struggled against his grasp, swinging my arms and trying to kick out. My head was hammering with pain and my vision was distorted. I couldn’t see anything but his black clothes.
Until I saw the knife.
I stopped fighting as he pressed the cold hard steel laid against my cheek. “I like a fighter. He fought me in the beginning. Just like you will.” His voice was high pitched as if he was disguising it. I knew he was strong—big, but my vision was blurred and I couldn’t see him clearly.
I was in severe pain and yet I couldn’t control my outburst as the fury gripped me. “Only fucking cowards beat up women.”
There was no warning at what he was going to do until the pain hit me as he dragged the knife down my cheek. I screamed and he shut me up by throwing me to the floor, booted me in the ribs, then came down on top of me. His hand clamped over my mouth.
“Now, I’m going to have what he had. Just the thought of it turns me on.” The knife fell away from my face.
What the hell was he talking about? I heard the clang of his belt buckle being undone and then the distinct sound of a zipper. Oh God, no. No. I flailed against his massive weight, but I was like a mouse to a lion’s paw. My screams were muffled by his large rubber-gloved palm that pressed down so hard on my mouth that I felt the pain in the back of my head as the hardwood pressed into my skull.
His other hand was on my pajamas and pushing them down. I could feel the stickiness of the rubber against my thighs and the invisible fine hairs on my legs stuck to the rubber and pulled. I heard a loud snap like … Oh God, the glove was gone and his sweaty warm fingers slid up my inner thigh.
I screamed and screamed, but nothing but muffled sounds came out. My body was tingling and reacting to the anxiety and soon I’d lose circulation in my limbs. I winced as I felt a slap against my inner thighs.
“Open them.”
Oh God, I wanted Ream. He was all I could think about, and I wanted to cry for us, for what we’d lost. For the pain we’d caused one another. Whatever had happened between us, I knew Ream would protect me, he’d destroy this man for what he was doing to me.
The knife rose above me again and the moonlight streaming in through the window hit it just right so that it shimmered. The blade sliced across my forehead, and my body tensed, back arching as my skin separated.
I stomped my feet into the floor as hard as I could, over and over again, hoping the neighbor below would hear and call security.
“You’re making this worse than it has to be.” His hand slid down my body, kneading my breasts and then pinching my nipples. My eyes widened at the excruciating pain and he chuckled and then did it harder.
I shook my head side to side so violently it wrenched my neck. His hand shifted partially off my mouth and it was what I needed. I bit down as hard as I could, tasting the rubber of his glove, then flesh, then the blood filtering into my mouth. He shouted and jerked back, and I screamed as loud as my lungs would allow.
Neville’s classical music from next door stopped abruptly.
The intruder froze, stared at me, and I saw his dark brown eyes glaring. He suddenly leaped off me and darted from the condo. The door slammed.
I lay on the floor unable to move. The pain agonizing from where my head hit the table from the first blow and the cuts he sliced into my cheek and forehead.
Pounding on the door. More pounding.
Then …
“Kat?”
I choked back the sob that I tried to keep contained, knowing if I let it in, I’d break and I couldn’t. I had to stay strong. Weakness would kill me. I couldn’t let it in or I’d crumble.
“Oh Christ. Kat.” I heard his knees hit the floor beside me and then felt his hand on my head. “Open your eyes for me.”
I winced as I did. Neville had turned on the light and the glare made my head burst with a sharp jab. “Sweet Jesus, baby girl. What happened? No, no, don’t talk. I have to get my phone and call an ambulance. And … we need to cover you up.”
I heard his clothing rustle and his comforting touch disappeared. “No. Don’t leave me.” I grabbed for him and he took my hand and squeezed.
“Okay, okay. Where’s your phone, sweetie?”
I started shaking violently and I wasn’t sure if I was dying or what, but it felt like the heat had been zapped from my body and I was soaking in a tub of ice c
ubes. “You’re going into shock.” He shifted again, but kept talking. “I’m just walking over to get the blanket off the couch, okay. I need a phone … never mind I see one.” His footsteps ran back toward me, and I felt the weight of the blanket on my body. There was a beeping of my phone and then he was talking to someone, answering questions about me.
I heard him dialing again. “Matt. Yeah it’s Neville … yeah from next door. You need to get here—now. It’s Kat.” There was muffled shout echoing from the phone. “Yeah, real bad.”
Neville held my hand while he talked to me, making me open my eyes every so often and then ordering me to squeeze his hand. My mind was all fuzzy and trying to comprehend everything he said was agonizing. I lay on the floor and shivered. My only comfort was that I wasn’t going to die alone.
“They’re coming. An ambulance is on its way. You have to stay awake for me though, okay. You have a nasty cut on your head. Do you know where you are?”
“Condo.”
“And your name?”
“Kat, but … you call me … baby girl and I … hate it.”
Neville chuckled. “Okay, your noggin’ can’t have been hurt that badly if you remember that.”
“My … face.”
His hand flinched in mine and I knew it was bad.
“A few lacerations, nothing the doctors can’t fix.” His hand tightened. “Did he … were you raped, Kat?”
No. But I still felt violated and my stomach churned when I thought about his hands on me. “No.”
“Okay, hon. Just try to stay awake for me.”
It became hard to distinguish his words, and I think I passed out for a while because next I felt him shaking me and calling my name over and over again. I could hear sirens and I moaned as the pain hit me again. I wanted to sink back into the darkness, but then Neville was shouting. “Who the hell are you?”
“Baby.”
Oh God. Ream. The relief was so overwhelming that I wanted to cry, to finally let the tears escape their prison and sob in his arms. But they were trapped, and the key no longer fit the lock to open the door.