by Deborah Camp
Levi reached back, blindly, grabbed the handle and closed the door.
“Got the right one this time, don’t I?” Taser said. He tightened his grip on Trudy’s wrists, forcing her arms back until her shoulder sockets burned. He pressed the butt of the handgun harder into the underside of her jaw.
She saw Levi’s gaze flick to the St. Andrew’s cross and his eyes widen a fraction before he focused on her again.
“Take your fucking hands off her. This is between you and me.” Levi’s voice was surprisingly calm. No, deadly.
“You take something from me – something I’ve trained and molded for my pleasure – and I take something from you.” He pushed Trudy’s head back against his shoulder with the gun barrel and then ran the flat of his tongue up the side of her face from her chin to her temple once, twice, three times, leaving slime on her skin.
Trudy steeled herself against any reaction. Instead, she kept her gaze locked on Levi. His eyes went dark – glinting blue/black – and he flexed his hands at his sides. He stood on the balls of his feet, his legs slightly apart, ready to pounce. She didn’t want him to make any stupid moves. Just wait, she pleaded silently to him. Wait for the cops. Wait for Gonzo. Wait. She mouthed the word.
“I’ve been trying to kill this bitch for weeks,” Taser said, licking her face again. “She tastes good. Does she fuck good, too? Or would you even know? You had Liz fooled, but not me. You a dom? More like a dame.” He wiggled the gun so that the tip bit into Trudy’s skin. “Ready to die for your pussy boy?”
She refused to look away from Levi. Something changed in his expression. His jawline firmed with determination. Oh. No. No!
“Get ready, baby,” Levi whispered. “Poke.”
Poke? And then she knew what he was about to do. The next seconds were like minutes as time slowed. Levi’s eyes narrowed and she knew he was doing that thing he did – that thing with his mind. Tensing, she waited for the man gripping her to react when he felt that weird, hot, hard push in his brain. When he grunted and jerked in confusion and shock, Trudy burst into motion as his grip slackened and the gun against her throat wavered. Wrenching her wrist free of his grasp, she ducked as she shoved the gun away from her face. She kicked backward with her right boot heel, straight into his shin. She wiggled loose from his grasp and dropped like a stone. She rolled across the concrete floor, her breath whistling in and out of her as she tried to make herself a moving target.
A black blur shot across the space. Trudy came up on all fours, looking frantically toward where Taser stood, but he was on his back now and Levi was on top of him, hitting him over and over again. Taser landed a punch on Levi’s jaw, rocking him back, and then slammed his other fist into Levi’s stomach. He shoved Levi off him and connected a fist to the side of Levi’s head. Blood flew from Levi’s mouth like droplets of red rain. Levi came at him again, his fists slamming into Taser’s face. Bones and cartilage splintered as blood spurted from Taser’s nose and lips. The big man fell backward again against a metal tool cabinet and tried to block Levi’s fast, furious punches. Landing one blow after another, his eyes blazing with rage, his mouth twisted into an animalistic snarl, Levi never let up, even when Taser went limp against the cabinet.
He’s going to kill him. “Levi, stop!” Trudy gained her feet and stumbled toward him. “Levi!”
He speared her with a glare that cut right through her. “Get away,” he snarled.
“Levi!” she yelled at him again as she grabbed his arm, desperate to get through to him.
The garage door rattled and flew open. Trudy released a sob of relief as Gonzo, Reynolds, and two police officers cannoned inside. Quickly assessing the situation before him, Gonzo caught Levi’s arms and dragged him off Taser. He hooked his arms through Levi’s from behind as Levi struggled, cussing a blue streak.
“Wolfe! Wolfe! It’s over. He’s out, man!” He flung one big arm around Levi’s neck and the other around his middle, pinning Levi’s arms to his sides, and holding him in place. “Get hold of yourself, Levi!”
One of the police officers picked up Taser’s gun where it had fallen when Levi had tackled him. Reynolds was at the cross, unfastening the shackles at Lizzie’s wrists and ankles.
“Call for an ambulance!” Reynolds shouted. “She’s alive! Oh, Christ. Her flesh is just hanging off her . . .” He gently placed Lizzie’s limp body onto an old, lumpy sofa in the far corner.
Trudy crumbled to her knees, her whole body trembling.
“Hey, you okay?” Gonzo asked, staring at her as he slowly, warily released Levi.
She nodded, even though her pulse thrummed so loudly in her head she could hardly hear anything else. Levi jerked away from Gonzo and closed the distance between them. He lifted her to her feet and enveloped her in his embrace. She breathed in the scents of rain, leather, blood, and – ah, Levi. He kissed her forehead, her nose, her lips and drove his fingers through her damp hair.
“Did he hurt you, baby? Talk to me.” He was panting for breath. “I got your text. They had a unit rented over there, but . . . I got your text.”
“I’m f-fine.” Clinging to him, she felt her knees wobble. “I need to sit down.”
He picked her up in his arms and strode out of the garage, past a couple of Gonzo’s men and a cop. “I’m taking her home,” he announced. It was raining harder as he strode to the car and deposited her gently in the passenger seat.
“Kenner?” she asked.
“He has a bump on the head, but he’s okay.”
Levi slid in behind the wheel and fired up the engine. Gonzo ran up to the car and tapped on the window.
“I’ll follow the ambulance to the hospital,” Gonzo said when Levi lowered the glass.
“Text me which one they take her to and I’ll meet you there after I make sure that Trudy’s all right.”
“Will do. Drive carefully.”
Levi nodded and shut the window again.
Trudy closed her eyes. Home. She wanted to go home.
Levi punched a number on his cellphone as he steered with one hand.
“Yes, boss?” Wes Statler’s voice floated from the speaker.
“I need you at the penthouse.”
“Okay. Are you there?”
“No, but I will be in a few minutes. It all went down tonight. I want you to stay with Trudy while I’m gone. They’re taking Lizzie to the hospital and I know the police will want to talk to me.”
“I’m leaving now.”
Aftershocks rattled through her and Trudy opened her eyes to slits as Levi disconnected the call. His knuckles were split open and bleeding and blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth. The rage she had always sensed bubbling deep inside him had erupted tonight and witnessing it had frightened her. She wasn’t afraid of him. She was afraid for him.
He glanced at her and his eyes softened. “Do you still love me?”
The question startled her. She blinked at him. “Of course.”
“Of course?” he repeated, scoffing. “I would have murdered that motherfucker right in front of you if Gonzo hadn’t stopped me.”
“Thank God, he did.” Her voice broke and she swallowed a sob. The red lights from the dashboard bathed his face. Red. Blood. Lizzie hanging on that cross, her back ripped open, crimson everywhere. She shivered. His gaze touched hers and she shivered again, this time at the possessiveness she saw there.
“What he did to you . . . how he touched you . . . I wanted him dead. I still do.”
“Levi, don’t.” She shook her head.
“Trudy, you’re mine.” His voiced rang with fierce ownership. “Nobody touches you. Nobody threatens you. You’re my life.” He gathered in a huge breath and released it in a shaky sigh. “We have to figure something out. I can’t go through this again. I want to protect you, to make sure nothing harms you. When I tell you to stay home, you should fucking do it! No negotiation. No defiance. Just fucking do what I say!”
She felt the tears build in her eyes and she reach
ed out, her fingers drifting through his wet, tousled hair. Oh, her bossy, alpha, Mister Moody Blues! What was she going to do with him? “When you say things like that to me I want to punch you.”
He cast her a quizzical look, then the bloody corner of his mouth kicked up. “I’d rather have a kiss, if it’s all the same to you. I’ve been punched enough tonight.”
Leaning into him, she kissed his cheek and then his mouth – blood and all.
Chapter 17
When Trudy awakened, her eyes slowly opening to see sunlight slanting across the dark blue carpet, she smiled. It was December fifth! Finally! At one-thirty she, Levi, and Mouse would board a plane bound for Tulsa where they would stay until after New Year’s Day. At least, that was the plan. She wouldn’t be surprised if Levi had to dash back to Atlanta a couple of times on business, but he’d promised her that, should that be the case, he’d return to her as soon as possible.
She fingered her necklace, smiling at the memory of him giving it to her. She’d never take it off. Not ever. She raised her head from the pillow and glanced at him behind her. His long, sooty lashes dusted his cheeks and he looked so young! He must have been a gorgeous little boy. She wondered if there were photos of him as a child anywhere.
He’s sinfully handsome, she thought, sighing as she snuggled her cheek into the pillow again. Anxiety fluttered in her belly when she imagined him meeting her parents, her brother, and her sister. She shoved those thoughts aside – for now.
There weren’t that many loose ends left to tie up. Lizzie had been discharged from the hospital and had been deported to England where she’d entered a drug rehabilitation center in Exeter. Dr. McLain had made that happen. Her back and buttocks were healing and would bear deep scars left by Taser’s whip. Nothing could be done about that.
As for Taser, he was in jail and charged with first degree murder of Nicola Bartlett and Heather Asher and assault and battery against Elizabeth Darwin. His trial was set for the end of February. The death penalty was on the table.
Levi had been working long hours, taking care of as much as possible in his various businesses before he left for Tulsa. No wonder he had made a success of himself! He had a daily schedule that made her eyes cross. In addition to his psychic work and construction business, he was a silent partner in GSI, owned a real estate company, and he’d just purchased a small publishing firm!
He’d also had to make time to visit the dentist to repair a cracked and chipped tooth, courtesy of Taser’s beefy fists.
Trudy sighed, enjoying being covered in Levi Wolfe. His arms were around her and one long, hair-roughened leg separated hers. His bristled cheek was against her nape and his breath warmed a patch of her skin. She rubbed her rump against him and felt him stir.
“Good morning to you, too,” he mumbled, his lips brushing against her neck, then her shoulder.
“We leave for Tulsa today,” she said, lifting one of his hands and pressing a kiss to his healing knuckles.
“And you’re happy about that.”
“I’m ecstatic! You know I am.” She shifted around to face him. “Thank you for clearing your calendar so that you can spend time with me there.”
He gave her a sleepy smile. “A deal’s a deal. I’m looking forward to seeing your place – and meeting your family.”
“Are you . . . honestly?”
His brows met in a frown. “I’m always honest with you, Tru.”
She ran a hand down his chest to below his navel where his happy trail began. “You must be a little nervous to meet my parents.”
“I am. Some.” He pushed a lock of hair from her eyes. “Have I told you how cute you are in the morning?”
“Yes. Nearly every day.” She kissed him. “Have I told you how handsome you are morning, noon, and night?”
“No.”
“Good. Your head is big enough where that’s concerned.”
“Which head?” He rocked his hips, pressing his hardening cock against her.
She rolled her eyes, then her gaze fell on his hand where it rested on her shoulder. “Will these scars go away eventually?”
“Hmmm?” He followed her gaze to his healing skin. “Oh. It’s doubtful. I’ve had some of them for years.”
“Did you get them during your debauchery period?”
“Yes, and before that.”
“At school?”
“Yes.”
She chewed on her lower lip, worrying with the questions and concerns swimming around in her head and heart. Had school ever been enjoyable for him before England? Did the anger in him start building when he was sent away by his parents or before?
“What is it?” he asked, his tone slightly exasperated.
Swallowing hard, she peeked at him through her lashes. “When I first met you at Quintara’s Psychic Roundtable and we shook hands – do you remember that?”
His eyes sparkled salaciously. “Yes. I wanted to fuck you then and there.”
She rolled her eyes again at him, making him chuckle. “Whatever. Anyway, I felt your anger.”
The humor in his expression blinked out. “Anger? I wasn’t angry at you – or anyone.”
“I felt the anger that boils deep inside you all the time.” She turned her head and kissed his hand still resting on her shoulder and then pressed her cheek against it. “I worry so about you. If you don’t find a way to release that anger – against whatever or whoever – you’ll never know complete peace.”
He flopped onto his back and ran his hand up and down his chest, clearly agitated. “Don’t, Trudy. It’s too early in the day for you to psychoanalyze me. You can’t fix me.”
“I’m not trying to ‘fix you.’ I’m just telling you what I feel.”
“And you’re telling me this now because you saw me completely lose it when I attacked Taser.” He drummed his fingers on his flat stomach. “Well, he fucking deserved it. Like I said, I wanted to kill the sonofabitch.”
She lay on her back and stared at the array of lights above the bed, now all doused. “But you know I’m right. Your seething anger is one of the reasons you still see a therapist. You’re always striving to remain in control and keep yourself on a tight rein.”
He cut his eyes sideways at her and the intensity was back – that penetrative stare of his that made her squirm.
“Drop it,” he said through gritted teeth, then shifted his gaze back to the ceiling.
She made a face at him, despising the shields he erected to keep her away from his core where demons ruled him. Releasing a long, cleansing breath, she reminded herself that it was a good day – a happy day.
“Just think . . . this time tomorrow we will be in my bed instead of yours.”
“This isn’t my bed.”
“Okay. Our bed,” she conceded, but it still didn’t feel that way to her. This was Levi’s penthouse, Levi’s belongings, Levi’s world.
“After we ‘christen’ your bed, then it will become our bed, too.” He shifted onto his side and rested his head in his hand, gazing down into her face. “What kind of bed is it? Not a twin, I hope.”
“No. It’s a double. Nothing like this.” She waved a hand to encompass the queen-sized bed and the floor to ceiling windows that made up one wall.
“A four-poster? A canopy . . . a lacy pink canopy?”
“No!” She laughed. “An old iron bedstead that I spray-painted white.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
She gave him a puzzled look. “No. Why?”
“An iron bedstead? Christ, I don’t think I’ve ever slept in one of those.”
“Everything I have is old, used, collectible, or antique.” She shrugged. “I have very few new things.”
“Why?”
She made a comical face. “I worked in and was owner of a pawn shop,” she reminded him. “You probably will feel like you’re in the slums at my place.”
“You’re talking to a man who lived in his car for the better part of a year,” he said, frowning down a
t her.
“Yes, but you’re used to the cushy life now. There’s no Wes at my place. No Kenner to drive you around in a limo. No fancy Corvette or Cord to drive like Mr. Big Shot. No Darla to say ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir’ to you.”
“But there’s you,” he growled, rolling on top of her. “You and your sassy mouth.” He kissed her and his tongue traced every curve of her lips. “God, Trudy, I love your mouth. I can’t get enough of it. Ever. And this chin . . .” He bit her chin, making her yelp. “This chin that jerks up whenever you feel feisty or nervous. And this crease between your eyes that shows up when I tell you to do something without saying please.”
She smiled against his lips. “Which happens all the time.”
He chuckled, drove his fingers in her hair, and plundered her mouth. The fever of his kiss heated her blood and sent warmth to pool between her thighs. Tearing his mouth from hers, he devoured her face with his gorgeous, glinting blues. “Last morning in our Atlanta bed for a while,” he whispered, gruffly. “Let’s make it memorable.”
###
Sitting on the suitcase, Trudy zipped it up. She was leaving clothes and cosmetics here, but she’d packed some of Levi’s things in her luggage because he intended to leave clothes and shoes at her place. Slowly but surely, they were blending their lives.
Mouse bounded into the closet and dropped a black sock in front of Trudy. Snatching it up before Mouse could reclaim it, she saw that she was too late. There was a hole in the gold colored heel, put there by Mouse’s sharp teeth.
“Bad dog,” she scolded. “You’ve ruined another pair of Levi’s socks!” Shrugging, she tossed it away and Mouse scampered across the floor to retrieve it, grabbed it and gave it a vicious shake. “That’s what he gets for leaving his things on the floor instead of placing them in the hamper.”
Rising to her feet, she walked slowly through the closet, the bathroom, and the bedroom to make sure she’d packed everything she meant to take with her. Levi had gone to the roof to check that all was secure – the lap pool and grill covered, the patio umbrella and furniture stacked and draped with a tarp and tie-downs. Even though Wes would be at the penthouse every week to make sure all was well, Levi had to make the rounds, too.