by Tanith Morse
“No, thank you,” I snapped, trying to extricate myself from his vice-like grasp. “Please let me go.”
“Aw, what’s the matter, sweetheart? You don’t like dancing?”
In one swift movement, he’d swept me into his arms and pushed himself against me, forcing me to move in time to the music. I screwed up my nose. His breath smelled foul and there were pools of sweat trickling down his face. He was like a horrible, hairy ape.
“Let me go!” I shouted. “Get your dirty mitts off me.”
But my cries fell on deaf ears.
Laughing cruelly, his meaty fingers ran down my spine and attempted to squeeze my bottom. That was it. With all my might, I swung my fist back and punched him full in the face, sending him flying.
“Why you …!” Clutching his hand across his injured cheek, his Neanderthal features twisted into a grimace. “You’ll pay for that you little …”
“Back off!” Lee bellowed, stepping between us. “Just back off, okay? Be cool. We don’t want any trouble.”
The man’s scowl melted into a gap-toothed grin. “Neither do I. Let’s forget this happened.” He strolled off, still holding his face, and Lee exhaled an enormous sigh of relief.
“That could have ended really badly,” he said sternly. “What the hell were you playing at? You can’t just go around hitting people.”
“Excuse me, but he was trying to molest me,” I spat. “He got what he deserved. I have no regrets.”
Lee’s eyes narrowed. “You’re drunk, aren’t you? Don’t lie to me. I can smell it on you.”
“I am not drunk.”
“Yes you are.”
“Is everything okay, guys?” Becky cooed, skipping over. “What just happened? That skinhead looked absolutely furious.”
Lee opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Quite a lot of people were watching us, and not all their expressions were friendly.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said. “There’s been enough drama for one night.” Grabbing my arm, he started dragging me toward the cloak room, his fingers digging into my flesh so deeply it was painful.
“Where are you going?” Becky shouted. “You can’t just leave me!”
“I’m taking Sam home,” he shouted back. “She doesn’t feel well. Tell Frasier we’re sorry.”
As soon as we got outside, a gust of cold air hit me, helping to sober me up. The street was virtually empty, as most of the clubbers were already inside.
“Goodnight folks,” one of the bouncers said. “Make sure the lady gets home safe, okay?”
“I will,” Lee muttered darkly.
“Let go, you’re hurting me,” I hissed when we were safely out of earshot. He released his grip and I rubbed my arm reproachfully. “Jeez, you’re almost as bad as that ape. What is it with you men? Why do you always love throwing your weight about?”
“Excuse me, but I’m not the one who punched a skinhead stranger in a bar. Out of the two of us, I’d say you’re the one who’s violent.”
“No I’m not. I just know how to take care of myself, that’s all.”
“Yeah, you were really taking care of yourself in there, weren’t you?” he said sarcastically. “What would have happened if I hadn’t intervened? Do you think that creep wouldn’t have knocked you out?”
“Nobody asked you to butt in. I don’t need you fighting my battles for me.”
“Yeah, yeah. Look, can we please talk and walk? I don’t want to spend the rest of the night arguing. My car’s parked just around the corner.”
We walked in silence to a little side alley around the back of the club where sinister-looking tower blocks surrounded us. The whole place seemed eerily deserted and smelled of old waste and urine.
I shivered as we stopped beside his Lotus. The air felt frosty and stale against my goose-pimpled flesh.
Lee fumbled through his jacket, searching for his car keys. “Damn, where did I put them?”
“You didn’t drop them somewhere did you?” I asked fearfully.
“Ah ha!” His face broke into a smile as he retrieved them from his back pocket. “Now we’re in business.”
Then, out of nowhere, I heard the echo of running footsteps, and the bald-headed thug from the nightclub materialized from the darkness brandishing a knife. Before Lee had time to defend himself, the assailant lunged forward, knocking him to the ground. Back and forth the two of them fought on the pavement, Lee struggling to pry the knife from his opponent’s hand.
Then I heard a loud groan, a cry of agony, and I saw the blade skid across the ground, landing just beside my feet. Picking it up gingerly, I saw that the tip of it was covered with blood.
One of them has been stabbed.
With a blood-thirsty cry, Lee’s opponent continued the onslaught, raining blow after blow down on him with frightening rapidity.
“Get off him!” I screamed, throwing myself into the mix. Turning sharply, the thug elbowed me out the way, sending me sprawling into a brick wall. For a moment, I lay crumpled on the ground in a daze of horror, sweat dripping into my mouth, my nose, my chin. Then I scrambled to my feet and ran at him again, This time he whacked me full in the face, the blow stinging my jaw so badly it brought tears to my eyes. I doubled over and tried to catch my breath again, fighting the urge to throw up. My ears were ringing, my vision blurry with swirling images of what was unfolding around me.
As Lee struggled to his feet, the thug aimed another blow, but this time Lee was too quick for him. In one lightning move, he blocked the punch and slammed his knee into the thugs’ groin. Then, Lee gripped his opponent’s shoulders and hurled him to the ground, in what can only be described as a magnificent Judo throw. I heard a horrid cracking sound, followed by a loud moan of pain, as the thug’s body twisted and writhed on the pavement, blood gushing from his head.
The sight of the injury was the final straw and I threw up on the pavement, narrowly missing my feet. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and attempted to stand up straight. My right cheek hurt like hell and I realized I’d taken a real hammering.
Breathing heavily, Lee snatched up his cap and car keys and raced over to the Lotus. He kept his face turned his away from me, as if he was trying to hide something.
“What happened? Did he hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine,” he muttered.
I froze.
His voice had gone abnormally deep and raspy, like it was a different person speaking.
Scary.
“Hurry up and get in,” he growled.
Nodding dumbly, I jumped in beside him, still sick and shaky from our ordeal.
He turned the key, but instead of starting, the engine gave off a loud, spluttering noise.
“Sweet Jesus, don’t tell me we’re stuck here.”
“Come on, come on!” Lee barked, his voice returning to normal. “This has got to be some kind of a joke.”
Thump!
A bloody palm slammed against my window. Startled, I saw the thug’s hollow eyes pressed up to the glass, leering horribly at me.
“Start the car!” I screamed.
“Don’t you think that’s what I’m trying to do?” Lee shouted back.
With a low roar, the engine returned to life and we started moving. Instantly, there was a loud thud from somewhere at the front, as the skinhead launched himself onto the hood, banging his fists viciously into the metal. Lee yanked the wheel from left to the right and sent the body flying off the car into the road. Without looking back we continued driving until the darkness had consumed all traces of the nightmare we’d endured.
“Keep driving,” I breathed. “Just keep … driving.”
ELEVEN
Lifting the Veil
“Open the glove compartment and get me some tissues.”
I did as Lee requested and pulled out a small box of Kleenex. Frantically tearing out a bunch, I passed them to him and he pressed them against his chest to help stop the bleeding. By now, the whole right side o
f his sports jacket was soaked with blood, and the leak didn’t show any signs of abating.
“That looks really bad,” I said. “We’ve got to get you to hospital.”
“No hospitals,” he snapped. “I’m absolutely fine.”
“No you’re not. Come on Lee, don’t be silly. We need to get you an ambulance.”
His hands tightened on the wheel. “No ambulance, no hospitals. Trust me, it looks worse than it is. It’s only a scratch. I’ve suffered much worse in the past.”
Folding my arms across my chest, I pressed my face against the cold window and gazed out into blackness. There were no more buildings or street lights, only grass. I suddenly realized that we’d passed my house long ago.
“Hey, where are we going?” I frowned. “I thought you were taking me home?”
“There’s been a change of plan. We’re going back to mine now. I can’t bear to be alone tonight.”
He spoke with a cool authority that made the hairs on my neck stand up. “I still think you should get that wound checked out,” I persisted.
“Pass me some more hankies.”
I gave him another handful of Kleenex and this time they seemed to halt the leak.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness for that.
We stalled at a set of traffic lights.
“You do know I hold you thoroughly responsible for what happened tonight?” He glanced at me severely. “You’ve really got to learn to control your temper.”
“Excuse me?” I spluttered. “A psychopath attacks you and somehow I’m to blame? Explain how?”
“You can’t just go around picking fights with men, Sam,” he said. “Do you have a death wish or what? One day you’ll start with the wrong person and wham! Who knows where it will end? I mean, just think what could have happened tonight if I hadn’t been there to protect you.”
“That’s pretty rich, considering you’re the one who started all this in the first place.”
“What?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” I said darkly. “All that flirting with Becky. You knew it would get to me. You wanted to create a drama.”
“No I didn’t,” he retorted.
“Yes you did.”
“Did it really bother you that much?”
I remained tight-lipped.
“Were you jealous?” he teased.
“Don’t be absurd.”
“Admit it. You were jealous, right?”
“Okay, I was jealous. Happy now?” I could see a smirk forming around his lips. “So is that how you get your kicks? Playing one girl off against the other? That’s really low, you know.”
“Do you want me to say I’m sorry?” he said. “Okay, I’m sorry. I know it was a silly, childish thing to do. But you really got me mad. You were being so rude, calling me a stalker and everything. I only wanted to teach you a lesson.”
“Yeah, you sure taught me a lesson all right.” I shook my head. “My god, this night’s been a complete fiasco.”
He smiled thinly, and I could tell the stab wound was hurting him more than he let on. He swerved the car at the next corner and Elmfield Park suddenly came into view, the trees barren and skeletal against the black sky. We waited for the light before Lee gunned the Lotus forward, turning onto the bridge. A couple of minutes later, we entered Falcon Mews and Lee drew the vehicle to a halt beside the elevator. He turned off the engine.
For a moment, the two of us sat shrouded in darkness, waiting for one of us to break the deadlock.
“I forgot to say thank you,” he said at last.
“For what?”
“For trying to defend me. You took quite a knock, didn’t you? It was a very stupid thing to do, and you could have got yourself killed. But it was also very brave of you. No one has ever done something like that for me before.” His voice broke on the last word.
Licking my lips, I kept my eyes fixed on the dashboard, trying my best to remain calm. It wasn’t easy. His velvety tone was playing havoc with my heartstrings. “Thanks. It was no big deal.”
“Where did he hit you? Your cheek?”
I nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry, I’ll live.”
“Your knee’s cut quite badly, too.”
Glancing down, I saw that he was right. The skin around my knee and thigh was horribly grazed. Somehow, in all the chaos, I hadn’t even noticed. Or perhaps I’d just numbed myself to the pain.
Smiling, he reached over and tenderly caressed the side of my face, his fingers soft and warm against my skin. Then, slowly, his hand traveled down my cheek, stopping just at the corner of my mouth and lingered there for a while.
A shiver flashed down my spine.
In seconds, the soreness in my jaw melted away, replaced by the wild beating of my heart. I sighed, feeling temporarily lost, unable to concentrate on anything other than how intoxicating this sensation was. I wanted it to last forever.
“Sorry, I got blood on your face,” he whispered, abruptly taking his hand away.
I didn’t care about the blood. I didn’t care if he covered my whole face in it. All I wanted was for him to continue touching me like that, to consume me with that divine heat of his.
Looking slightly flustered, Lee got out the car and stood waiting for me to follow. He seemed confused and agitated. I took a second to catch my breath, and then got out and walked with him to the elevator. As we approached it, he stood back and allowed me to enter first.
When we got to his apartment, I felt a sudden wave of nausea. I could barely walk straight. Just as I was about to stumble into a table, Lee swept me into his arms and carried me upstairs to his room. I tried not to think about how good his arms felt around me, how strong.
Kicking open the door, he carried me to a massive, king-size bed and lay me down on the pillows. Then, with extreme gentleness, he untied my shoes and placed them neatly at the foot of the bed. He stood gazing down at me, almost as if he were deliberating whether or not to take off any more of my attire. For one heart-stopping moment, I thought he would take off my dress, but the moment passed. That was just wishful thinking on my part.
“But where will you sleep?” I asked.
“On the sofa,” he said.
“No please, you take the bed and I’ll take the sofa. I don’t want you to …”
He cut me off. “Stop fussing. You’re having the bed and that’s the end of it.”
I felt my body sinking into the comfort of the bed.
“Try to get some rest,” he said softly. “It’s been a long night and you must be exhausted.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to sleep yet,” I sighed. “I’m still so worried about you. Are you sure that wound doesn’t need a proper dressing?” I glanced fleetingly at the dried blood stain on his jacket. “What if it gets infected?”
“Stop worrying. The bleeding’s stopped, so everything’s fine. I know a bit of first aid, anyhow.”
“I’m not buying that.”
“Okay, we’ll do a deal. If it still looks bad in the morning, I’ll go see a doctor. Agreed?”
“You’d better,” I warned sleepily. “I don’t want you dying on me.”
“The level of your concern overwhelms me,” he grinned, tucking me under the duvet. He walked toward the door and placed his hand on the light switch.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” I whispered.
And then he plunged the room into darkness.
Within a couple of minutes, I slipped into a deep, troubled sleep, haunted by dreams more disturbing than any horror film. I was running through a deserted house, and the evil thug from the nightclub was chasing after me. No matter where I tried to hide, he always found me. Finally, he cornered me and his coarse hands wrapped around my throat, choking me tighter and tighter. I screamed, but no sound came out. My air supply was diminishing rapidly.
And then the thug’s face became a shapeless, featureless pulp as he morphed from Frasier to Mr. Maine to Becky and then final
ly to Lee, all the while holding his fingers against my throat, trying to kill me.
And then everything went black.
I awoke with a start, my heart throbbing in my ears like a voodoo drum. I sat up, covered in sweat. My head hurt like hell, the inevitable consequence of my overzealous vodka consumption.
Squinting through the darkness, I tried to remember where I was and how I got here. The room looked so strange—the bed, the lamp, the large blinded windows were all alien to me. Then the events from the club came flooding back. It was the middle of the night. I was at Lee’s apartment. In his room. In his bed.
My throat was parched, and suddenly all I could think of was how thirsty I was. Throwing back the covers, I climbed out of bed and padded into the landing in search of the bathroom. The laminate flooring felt icy against my bare feet.
I got about halfway to the bathroom when I heard the sound of running water echoing in the darkness. Squinting, I saw the floor up ahead illuminated by a thin shard of light. As I drew closer, I saw that the bathroom door was slightly ajar. I sneaked up to it and cautiously peeped through.
The first thing I noticed was that bloody towels were scattered everywhere. The second was how hot the room was. And third and foremost, Lee was standing in front of the wash basin mirror, wearing only his jeans. It was the first time I’d seen him topless, and he was quite a sight to behold.
For long moments, I stood looking at him, completely overwhelmed by his beauty. I held my breath. I knew I should have turned away, but I couldn’t control the urge that moved me to look. He truly had a marvelous body. Under different circumstances, I would have quite happily spent all night gaping at him.
But this wasn’t the right time. The large pool of blood on the floor indicated that he’d started bleeding again. I feared for his life.
Filling the sink with hot water, Lee soaked another towel and patted it against his chest in an effort to clean the wound. Beads of moisture stood out on the taut muscles of his back. I desperately wished I was in a better position to assess the level of damage.