“Fuck. Bloody women ruin everything,” Reed grumbled.
“Would you like me to give Carmen a call and remind her of that?” Eden asked him and we all watched Reed visibly pale.
“Who’s Carmen?” Ari asked me quietly.
“Reed’s wife.”
“He’s married?” she said, visibly shocked.
“Hard to believe, but yeah. Carmen is a sweetheart and the boofhead actually behaves around her.”
We all talked and drank for a few more minutes, then, I felt Ari stiffen in my arms and I looked up from my conversation with Xander and dad.
Leo and Arnie had walked up. I looked up and Arianne moved from my lap to allow me to stand. These weren’t the sort of men you met sitting down.
“Good evening, Dane. I just wanted to drop by and offer my congratulations.” He held out his hand and I shook it politely. “It was an excellent fight and you’ve made me an even richer man.”
Ari looked at Leo in disgust. “Excuse me. I need to use the bathroom.” She disappeared into the crowd before I could say a word.
Leo was up to something. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re getting at?”
A smug smile settled over his face. “I just cleaned out a few bookies. I’m very good at reading people, Dane. After meeting you last night, I knew what the outcome was going to be. I’m a business man and I took advantage of that.” Mark was all ears and I could tell he wasn’t happy about things either.
“Oh, don’t worry detective. It was all one hundred percent legitimate, through the regulated sports betting houses. I can’t help it if they’re a lousy judge of a fighter.”
Mark rose. “Make sure you keep it that way.”
“You have my word I’ll no longer be any trouble to you.” Leo looked between Mark and myself. “As I said, I just wanted to give you my congratulations; I’ll leave you to your celebrations.” He turned to leave. Then turned back. “It was an admirable decision Dane putting your family first. You’re a good man. Arianne chose well. She deserves the best after what she’s been through.”
That I could agree with. This time Leo and Arnie did move away.
“Who the hell was that?” Dad asked the question that everyone at the table wanted to know the answer to.
“That was Leo Goldstone. Ari has known him for years.” I left it at that. Those that knew Ari’s story would know who he was.
“I think you also made him even richer tonight, Son. He made ten million bucks off you tonight.”
“What?”
And people wondered why the fight game wasn’t for me…fuck!
Arianne
Leo. Why couldn’t I just get on with my new life without my old one pulling me back? How dare he? The next thing, I’d have bloody casino surveillance all over me with my luck of late. What part of done, didn’t he get? All these thoughts and emotions rolled through me as I headed into the bathroom
I used the facilities then stood at the basin and splashed some water on my face and hands. I was hoping it would cool my temper. I just wanted to enjoy the night with Dane. Surely, we deserved that?
Hopefully when I got back to the table, Leo and Arnie would be gone.
No sooner had I stepped out of the bathroom door to head back to Dane, than a hand clamped over my mouth and I was reefed back against a body into the shadows.
I’d know that cologne and body anywhere. He’d haunted me for years. Marcel. I was overcome with both terror and rage.
Stupid Arianne. Stupid! I’d been so pissed at Leo I hadn’t been taking in my surroundings and senses.
“I thought I’d never get you away from those people. How convenient for me our good friend Leo walked up. Seems you have almost as much distaste for him as you do me. After all our families did for the poor little orphan girl…”
I tried to scream, but his hand held the sound in. All that came out was a muffled noise. I thrashed around backwards and forwards, but he was too strong. Why didn’t I take Dane up on his offer of teaching me some self-defence? Idiot Arianne. Idiot. If I lived through this, he’d be teaching me.
Why the devil, wasn’t he behind bars. He’d been arrested this afternoon. Had he been bailed already? What the hell, was wrong with the legal system?
Then I felt the cold barrel of a gun trail down my neck and I stopped struggling. Marcel had never used a weapon before. That could only mean one thing…he was more than desperate now.
“Ah, so you haven’t completely lost all of your intelligence living with those people. Not them, or the cops are going to stop me from getting you back. This is what’s going to happen, Annie.”
“You’re going to take my hand and walk out of here like we’re still very much in love.” My mind and every pore of my body wanted to rebel. I hated him. Dane—I loved Dane.
“If you don’t, you’ll never see the retard you care so deeply for. He’s safe for the moment, but that can be quickly remedied if you don’t do exactly as I say.”
Isaac—he had Isaac. A new load of terror dumped into my system.
Think Arianne. Think. Was it true?
“I’m going to take my hand away from your mouth. You scream and I’ll kill him.”
I had no doubt he would, too. Marcel had threatened me with that before.
He removed his hand slowly, testing me.
“How did you get out? Why Marcel? We’re divorced. You didn’t want me. You fucked around on me during all our time together, so it’s obvious you don’t want me…You hurt me.”
“Stupid cops can’t hold me with a good lawyer. You belonged to me from the start, Annie. You need to get back to work.” His eyes were glazed and he had a bruise on his cheek from where Mark had hit him before. He grabbed my hand and tugged me along the corridor.
“But you made sure I couldn’t work anymore in Queensland.” We took a sharp turn and he was tugging me down another corridor that must run beside the Casino gaming floor. It was vaguely familiar.
“Exactly. Did you think that was an accident? I need you back here, earning.” He was insane. There was no way that could happen.
“So what I’m supposed to be, some sort of captive slave that goes to work and earns money for you? What about Isaac? Who will look after him? Who will look after your son while I’m out gambling?”
“I don’t give a fuck about the kid. I never have. You wanted a baby. Not me. Then you give me that retard.” Tears were streaming down my face now.
He was so cruel. Dane, where the hell, are you? Then I remembered Marcel had a gun. There’s no way he’d beat Dane in a fight. He’d shoot him. I wanted Dane, but I didn’t want him to be hurt.
God! I had no idea what I wanted.
Carpark. He was dragging me off to the carpark.
“Where are we going, Marcel?”
“Did you become stupid or something over the last couple of years? Home! You stupid bitch! That’s where we’re going.” We burst through the door from the corridor into the VIP carpark. It was where the high rollers parked, so they could come and go with a level of anonymity. Everyone would be at the tables this time of night. You could fire a cannon though here and nobody would know.
Cameras. There were cameras.
I started looking up. Surely one look at my face and they’d figure out I wasn’t going of my own accord.
He was half dragging me. I needed to slow him down, give them time to catch up. The curb to the entrance was just a few feet away. I knew what I needed to do.
As he dragged me to it, I stumbled purposely and twisted my ankle in the stiletto heels I wore with jeans. Pain radiated up my leg and I didn’t have to fake the blood curdling scream I unleashed.
My body crumbled to the ground; Marcel still roughly held my wrist.
He tried to jerk me upwards and I screamed again and let my body flop. “It’s broken.”
Just as I knew he’d have to, he tucked the gun into his trousers. Marcel needed two hands to get me to his car.
His hands went under my a
rmpits, and he started to lift me.
“Let her go, Marcel.” It was a voice I recognised, but couldn’t immediately place. Whoever he was, he was behind us. “Step away from her.”
I felt Marcel at my back hesitate and drop me the few inches to the ground. More pain radiated up my spine.
He was figuring out what to do; I could feel the indecision in his body. I crouched lower and gripped my throbbing ankle, and tried to glance under my arm at who it was behind us. I made a smaller target this way.
“Don’t even think it, you son of a bitch. I should have killed you a long time ago.” That voice I did recognise—Leo. “I should never have let you have her.”
Then I felt Marcel move and a fraction of a second later, I heard a shot fired. Before I could even understand that, Marcel was crumpled over me. The dead weight of his body pushed me down hard into the concrete.
I screamed and screamed and tried to push my way out from under him, but my body wouldn’t do what I wanted it to in the position I was in.
It was horrible.
My screams became sobs and then I felt arms come around me.
I’d know those arms anywhere.
Safe. I was safe.
Chapter 36
Dane
I was so pissed about the Leo thing. It wasn’t so much that he’d made the money off my fight. It was that he’d upset Ari. That’s why I was so mad.
Mark’s eyes connected with mine at the same moment and we were both on our feet. “She’s not back yet.” Panic flooded my body.
Fuck, I’d let her head off and I hadn’t given it a thought. If something had happened to her…Marcel? Was he here?
The whole table rose, realising something was amiss. I grabbed Sophia’s arm. “Check the bathrooms.” Sophia nodded and took off.
Mark had moved away and was talking to a security guy. I kept looking around frantically; had I missed her?
She wasn’t anywhere in the bar. I was certain of it.
I moved towards the door and my crew moved with me, I stepped out in to the thoroughfare and Sophia came running around the corner.
“He’s got her, that guy you showed me the picture of Mark. I saw them head through the door just over there.” She took off running towards it and I was hot on her tail. I had no idea how many of the guys were behind me.
It didn’t matter; I had to get to her.
As we entered the long corridor I saw the door at the end return to its closed position. Someone had gone out there.
I brushed past Sophia. She had long legs, but mine were longer and my woman was out there with a mad man.
Almost there, almost there, it was the longest fucking corridor in the history of man.
Boom!
The fear I had before was nothing to what I felt now. The adrenalin moved me quicker than I’d ever moved before. I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. I was halfway through, before I realised it was probably a really stupid idea to go charging into God knows what.
That thought vanished from my mind as I saw Ari slouched over with Marcel’s lifeless body pushing her to the ground.
Bile rose up into my mouth, at what I saw.
No. No.
Then her screams broke through the fog my brain had descended into.
She couldn’t be dead and scream.
I raced forward and pushed Marcel from her. Then grabbed her into my arms and moved us a few feet from his body before I collapsed to the ground.
Was she okay? There was blood all over her shirt. Where was it coming from?
She was sobbing in my arms.
“Ari baby, where does it hurt?” I was trying to run my hands over her looking for the bullet wound. Had she been shot as well? I needed to put pressure on it.
“Get an ambulance,” I shouted behind me. Surely, someone would figure it out.
“My ankle. It really hurts,” she sobbed.
“Your ankle? That’s it?”
“Yesss. It really, really hurts.”
A nervous chuckle of elation slipped out.
Her ankle.
Ankles were easily fixed.
“Let me see.” I gently rocked her back against my body and helped her stretch her leg out. The heel was broken on her shoe and her right ankle was starting to swell. I’d say it was a bad sprain. I’d had enough over the years to know one. They hurt like hell for a few days, but nothing major.
Xander and Seth came skidding up.
“She alright?” Xander bent down to us. Then the group descended on us and everyone was talking at once.
Seth put his fingers to his mouth and let out an almighty whistle and everyone halted.
“One at a time!” he barked. “Dane, is Arianne okay?”
“I think so. Just a twisted ankle,” I replied.
“I’ve got his blood on me.” Ari started to shriek again, and was reaching for the hem of her top. She had it half off before I could even stop her. “Get it off me. Get it off me.” Then she stopped and her face was the picture of terror.
“He’s got Isaac. Where’s Isaac?” She was trying to stand and I was trying to hold her to me.
What was she on about? “Dad ring Maddie and find out if Isaac is okay,” I yelled as I reefed my shirt off over my head and put it on Ari. She’d be freezing in a second from the shock, plus I wasn’t wrapped in every fucker seeing her in a sexy as hell lace demi bra. That was for me only.
Mark came up then. “She okay?”
“Yeah, terrified, but fine except for a sprained ankle. She thinks Marcel might have taken Isaac. I’ve got dad calling Maddie.” He nodded.
“How did that fucker make bail so quick? I saw it all from the control room. Marcel tried to drag her off and Leo shot him.” Sirens could now be heard getting closer and closer.
“Leo!” I don’t know if I said it aloud or not.
Everything was happening at once.
Ari was hysterical wanting Isaac. “Shhh, baby we’ll find him,” I crooned into her hair and pulled her closer.
I was looking up for dad; surely, he must have an answer. “Isaac is fine. Maddie was asleep and so is Isaac. They’re both fine.”
“You hear that, Ari? Isaac is fine. He’s asleep.”
Her huge tear ravaged eyes looked up at me. “He really is?”
“Yes. Dad just spoke to Maddie. They’re both fine. Marcel was bluffing.” She grabbed her arms around my neck and hung on to me for dear life and I hugged her back just as tight.
“Dane, if you can handle this, your mother and I will head back there now. I left her and the girls at the bar in case Ari turned up.”
“We’ve got this. Thanks, Dad. If you could sort that out...” I didn’t need to say any more. Isaac would be fine.
It was his mother whom I had to worry about right now.
A few moments later, the place was swarming with ambulance paramedics and police officers.
Mark took charge until the local guys took over. I had no idea what was going on. I really didn’t care; I was too busy trying to calm my girl.
She’d had a shocking day.
The local police took Leo away in cuffs and the ambulance officers checked Marcel’s body. There was a shake of heads and then one of them draped a sheet over the body.
Ari and Isaac were safe and Marcel wasn’t going to factor into our lives any longer.
The only thing I felt remorseful about was, Ari having witnessed it.
Marcel could rot in hell for all I cared.
I’d do what he couldn’t—wouldn’t.
I’d love and cherish Ari and Isaac forever.
Arianne
I woke up groggy, later the next afternoon. It must have been the pills, the doctors at the hospital, gave me for my ankle.
I yelped in pain as I rolled over. “Ouch.”
Dane was leaning over me in a heartbeat. “You okay?”
“Mmm, it’s just my ankle.” He jumped off the bed, then came back with a glass of water and some pills in his hand.
“I thought I was going to be the one attending to your wounds today. You look as fresh as a daisy and me, I’m like something the cat dragged in,” I grumbled.
He leaned over and popped a kiss on my mouth. “You look beautiful and you had a horrible day. Cut yourself some slack.”
I wasn’t sure I believed him, although it was nice of him to try and cheer me up.
“Isaac?” The last I remembered was checking in on him when we got back from the hospital. They’d x-rayed my ankle and decided it was only sprained.
Once I saw him sleeping peacefully, the tension was released l and I must have fallen asleep straight after cuddling up to Dane.
“He’s great. Wouldn’t know anything had happened.” That was exactly what I wanted to hear.
“Dane, Isaac doesn’t know anything about last night, does he?” I was worried he’d be upset.
“No, we just told him you’d tripped and sprained your ankle. Once he knew the doctors had x-rayed it and you were just sleeping from the pain medicine, he was totally fine. Mum might have bribed him and kept him a little busy as well.”
“I’ll tell him in years to come, if he asks. Isaac has always been terrified of Marcel and I’m just worried it’ll upset him. He’s doing really well at the moment despite all the changes. I don’t want him to have a setback over this.” Dane nodded his agreement. “Where is he now?” I asked him as he climbed onto the bed beside me and took my hand.
“Mum and dad took him to the zoo—apparently that’s what you’d all organised yesterday. They left mid-morning. I doubt we’ll see them for a couple of hours yet. The girls are all out shopping and I’m here waiting for my sleeping beauty to wake up.” He leaned over and pressed a sweet, but lingering kiss to my lips.
There was something damned magical in his kisses; suddenly I felt a little better, brighter.
I felt strong enough to ask the other questions.
“Do you know how last night turned out, what happened to Leo?” It was hazy in my mind.
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