by Taylor Lee
She walked over to his desk and sat down, trying to regain her composure. Looking down, she saw a stack of fliers. Shocked, she realized they were meant to be pictures of her. She spent the next half hour methodically going over the pictures again and again until each one of them was firmly impressed on her psyche.
An hour later, it was getting dark. Lei made her decision. She was going back to the ranch. She started to leave, walking quickly to the front door. Tom saw her face from across the room and came up to her. He gently eased her back into Wyatt’s office.
“What are you doing, Lei? Please tell me that look on your face doesn’t mean that you are leaving? I know you are upset. You have good reason to be. But, please, understand. Wyatt has been waiting for you to come. He has thought of nothing but being with you. Please wait for him so that he can help you through this.”
Lei glared at him, her face contorted with pain and anger.
“The last thing you need around here, Tom, is another woman. Both you and Wyatt seem to be well cared for. I would have appreciated one of you telling me ahead of time about your work “associates.” Apparently, you are so accustomed to women falling all over you, neither of you thought it was important to warn me.”
She stared at him for a moment, trying unsuccessfully to fight the tears rolling down her cheeks.
In a choked whisper, she said, “Just so you know, Tom, those ugly pictures over there? The ones of me? That is exactly what I feel like. Leave it to Grant to picture me so well. He has captured the real me. An ugly whore who must enjoy being raped, or why would she stay in the situation she is in?”
“Jesus God, Lei. What are you saying? Tom was stunned. Ih glanced over at the desk and saw the stackof fliers that lei had carefully spread across the top of the desk. His fac paled with horror as the reality hit him.
“Fuck! My God! How did you see those pictures? Ho did they get there? Wyatt will go crazy!”
He reached out and grasped her arms and pulled her up next to him.
“Please, Lei. I won’t let you go like this.”
When she pulled away and continued toward the doorway, he tried unsu Christ, where the hell is Wyatt? He will kill me if I let you go under these circumstances. Please, Lei, sit down. Let me get you something to drink. Anything you need to help you understand what’s going on here.”
“You don’t have to help me understand anything, Tom. I understand much better than either you or Wyatt knows. Please get out of my way.”
She pushed past him and went out to the stables. Minutes later, she rode furiously away on Stealth, as her bodyguards rushed to saddle up their horses and catch up to her.
~~~
Chapter 13
Tom waited for Wyatt in the hotel bar, drinking more bourbon, more steadily than he had in years. Try as he might, he could not get the memory of Lei’s face out of his mind. More agonizing were her words. Goddamn, he wished Wyatt was here. Someone had to get to her. Tom knew Wyatt was the only one who could. Sure as hell, he hated to be the one to tell Wyatt what happened. Wyatt was going to arrive at the hotel excited to see Lei, and then get this news. Goddamn it!
Tom struggled with what to do about Sarah. He was surprised—no, in retrospect, shocked—a at the way she attacked Lei. What the hell was that about? He knew Sarah had fucked as many men as Wyatt had fucked women. Why was she so hot for Wyatt? Was it just that he had been put off limits by Tom and by Wyatt? Or, that she wasn’t used to – what did Ella say? She didn’t like being dismissed.
He also had a horrible feeling that Sarah might have put the fliers out for Lei to see. Who else would? He knew if she did, he would fire her immediately. He had worked with her for over fifteen years. As brash and bitchy as she was, Tom still found it hard to believe that she would do something as cruel as shoving those gruesome pictures in Lei’s face. But someone did, someone on his team.
Finally, after midnight, he heard Wyatt, Chief, and Alono come into the lobby. He had told the night manager to send them to the bar when they arrived. He felt a little unsteady. He didn’t know if it was the bourbon or his angst about Lei.
Wyatt saw his face and immediately knew something was wrong.
“What, Tom? Where’s Lei?”
“She’s okay, Wyatt. Sit down. She went back to the ranch.”
“What the hell? Why?”
“Oh, Christ, Wyatt. I don’t know what we were thinking having her come here. Especially when you weren’t here.”
“Goddamn it, Tom. Tell me what the fuck happened?”
“I’m trying to. Okay, here goes. First it was all the women. She was shocked. Then Sarah got on a rant and said some unacceptable things. The worst part of it, Wyatt, is that someone put the fliers of Lei on your desk. She went there to be by herself, to wait for you after the upset with Sarah. About an hour later, I saw her leaving with a look on her face I never want to see again.”
Wyatt’s face was hard, his eyes like ice.
“Christ, Wyatt. She said one of us, you, me, or Chief, could have warned her, let her know what she was walking into. She said there were more than enough women here and you didn’t need one more. And then, oh, goddamn….
“What, Tom? Goddamn it, tell me everything!”
“At that point I didn’t know that she had seen the fliers. Then she said that she felt just like those ugly pictures. She said, leave it to Grant to capture her as what she was; an ugly whore who liked being raped or why else would she stay in the situation she was in.
“Christ, Wyatt, I am sorry as hell. I don’t know how the goddamn pictures got there. But somebody—somebody who works for me – put them there purposefully to hurt Lei. And by god, they did!”
Without saying another word, Wyatt, Chief, and Alono headed out to the stable. Minutes later, Tom heard the three of them ride off together back to the ranch.
~~~
When they arrived at the ranch, Wyatt jumped off Master and handed the reins to Alono. He headed toward the cottage first, not knowing where he would find her. It was nearly three a.m. and everyone in the household was sleeping. He went to their bedroom and saw the empty bed. He headed over to the retreat room. To his surprise, that bed was empty, too. He stopped at the dojo, but it was dark, empty. He was beginning to panic, then remembered that sometimes Nicolas Deshi would wake in the middle of the night and he or Lei went to him. He ran back to the cottage. He took the stairs to the children’s rooms in four easy steps. She wasn’t in Nicolas Deshi’s bed, but to his surprise, when he went to Elena’s room, he saw Lei lying next to Elena. He touched her shoulder softly, not wanting to frighten her. She was awake. He knew then that she had heard him come into the cottage the first time. He had a rush of anger that she was tormenting him in this way.
He reached down to pick her up and whispered, “C’mon, Lei, we’re going to our room.”
She pushed him away. “No, I’m staying here. Elena had a nightmare. I don’t want her to be scared.”
At that moment, Elena awoke. She looked up and saw Wyatt.
“Daddy, I didn’t know you were here.”
“I came home for a couple of days, honey. Lei said you had a bad dream. Are you okay now?”
Elena nodded sleepily and snuggled back under the covers.
“Okay, honey. Lei and I will be in our room if you need us. Come down if you do.”
Elena had already gone back to sleep.
“I’m staying here, Wyatt, in case she wakes up.”
“No, Lei, you’re not. You’re coming with me.”
Lei struggled away from him, but he tightened his grip on her. He lifted her up and put his hand over her mouth to stop her protests.
He whispered, “Lei, stop it. I don’t want to wake the children and upset them. Stop fighting me. Do you understand?”
By this time, they were in the hallway. Wyatt took his hand away from her mouth. He carried her into their room and put her down on the bed.
His face was tight with emotion, his eyes were hard. She ref
used to look at him.
“Okay, Lei, what the hell is going on? Why did you leave the hotel? Why didn’t you wait for me?”
She turned away, burying her face in the pillow, and didn’t answer him.
“Lei, I asked you a question. Please answer me.”
“Why should I?” she demanded in a muffled voice.
“Pardon me? What did you say?”
“In case there is something wrong with your hearing, I said, why the fuck should I care if you asked me one question or a hundred?”
“Lei, for god’s sake…”
Lei leapt off the bed and backed away to the door. Her face was white with rage. Wyatt couldn’t remember when he had seen her angrier. She had her hand on the doorknob and was turning to leave.
“Ask me as many questions as you wish. I don’t intend to answer any of them. I want you to leave me alone.”
She started to run through the doorway, but he caught her and pulled her back into the bedroom. He closed the door and locked it.
He held her tightly in his arms and carried her back to the bed and laid her down. She broke away from him, struggling to get free. He wrenched her tight against him with her back to him, his arms wrapped tightly around her. He spoke quietly. “I already know what you said. I want to know why you left.”
She refused to look at him. Her tone was sharp, caustic. “I have a better question, Wyatt, why the fuck should I have stayed?”
He ignored her question.
“Lei, Tom told me what happened.”
“Why did you ask me then?”
“Because I wanted to hear it from you.”
She tried to twist away but couldn’t break his hold. Her fury was barely controlled. “No, Wyatt, you wanted to torment me. Well, I’m done being tormented. I have a question for you. Why are you here? Go back to Cheyenne. Run for the fucking governorship. I hope you win. You will be great. But, goddamn you, leave me alone!”
“Be quiet, Lei. Now. Stop talking.” He put his hand over her mouth and held her tight against him.
She broke free and started to get up. “What are you going to do if I don’t?” She was almost to the edge of the bed, but he pulled her back hard and held her down against the bed.
“Well, let’s see, I guess I could stuff a gag down your throat. No? Then do as I say and be quiet.
“Lei, I didn’t tell you about the fliers because I couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you.” She started to answer, but he put his hand hard against her mouth, “Goddamn you, I said be quiet.
“Listen to me. I am only going to say this once and, so help me god if you speak, I will put a gag in your mouth!
“If I ever hear you say anything about yourself even close to what Tom said you said about those hideous pictures, I will spank your ass so hard you won’t be able to sit or stand for a week. Do you understand me? Nod if you do.
“Don’t talk!” He had his hand hard against her mouth and she was whimpering.
“It’s obvious you are unable to carry on a conversation. Since it is almost morning and I am so goddamn tired I can barely see straight, I am going to hold you like this with my hand over your mouth. Maybe by morning you will be able to act like an adult and have a civilized conversation. For the next couple of hours, I don’t want to hear a word out of you.
“Good night, Lei.”
She lay beside him and stopped trying to struggle. In a few minutes she felt his hand relax on her mouth. Carefully turning, she saw that he was sound asleep in his clothes. She saw the exhaustion on his face. For a moment, she wanted to hold him, and whisper loving words. Then she remembered the scene at the office and her rage flared again.
Carefully, quietly, she unwound herself from his arms and slipped from the room. She knew Wyatt would come back to the ranch when he discovered she left the hotel. She decided she was not going to speak to him unless she absolutely had to. She knew he had commitments that he couldn’t break. He would have to return to the campaign, in a day or two at the most. She could figure out ways to avoid him for a couple of days. She’d use the children to make her avoidance less obvious to the rest of the family. When she got back to the ranch, she had arranged with Alex to go for an early morning ride. They planned to have breakfast at the stream, something he loved to do. More important, it meant Lei would not be at the breakfast table.
Wyatt woke up, still exhausted, and discovered that Lei was gone. Seeing how late it was, he assumed she was at breakfast. He couldn’t believe he had slept in his clothes, but knew how tired he had been. All he wanted to do now was to take Lei somewhere they could talk and hold each other.
He was surprised to see Elena and Nicolas Deshi and the adults at the breakfast table, but not Alex or Lei.
“Where is Lei, and Alex?”
Theresa looked surprised. “Oh, I thought you knew, Wyatt. They planned last night to go for an early morning ride and have breakfast at the stream. Alex loves to do that.”
Wyatt pushed down a wave of annoyance. He knew it was likely that Lei had arranged for the ride to get distance from him. He waited for her, thinking about where they could go to be alone.
He was working in the barn with Alono when he heard Alex’s childish voice and Lei answering him. He walked out to meet them as they rode in and hopped off their horses at the edge of the training ring.
Alex saw him and shrieked with excitement.
“Daddy, Daddy! I didn’t know you were here!” He ran to Wyatt, his eyes shining, thrilled to see him.
Wyatt looked directly at Lei who walked by, apparently not planning to speak.
“I’m surprised that Lei didn’t tell you that I was here.”
He reached out and reached for her arm as she went by, ignoring her attempt to twist away.
“Lei, I want to talk to you. Now.”
She jerked her arm free of his grasp and walked quickly away.
“Sorry, Wyatt. I am sparring with five students today. I‘m late for my first session. I know that the children will enjoy your company. I have a full schedule.”
Lei broke into a fast jog, heading to the dojo. She didn’t look back, which was just as well. Wyatt’s face was hard, his eyes were flashing with anger. With a concerted effort, he pushed down the feelings, turning to the excited little boy beside him. With a big smile, he picked Alex up, and tossed him up in the air, eliciting a rash of excited giggles from his solemn little boy.
“See, Alex, you’re not too old to be thrown in the air. Must be all that work you are doing with Lei on your aerials.”
When Lei didn’t show up for lunch, Wyatt no longer tried to hide his annoyance. After lunch, he walked over to the dojo to see what she was doing. He saw her sparring with one of the more advanced students. He went to Joey’s office to say hello and see if Joey knew her schedule for the rest of the day.
“I think she has one more session with Neiko. At least I think that is her last one. Look, Wyatt. I’ll take over if you two have something planned. I know you don’t have much time here. I was surprised when I saw that Lei had scheduled all of those private sessions today. But, as you know, the students prefer her to me any day. They all lined up when she said she was available.”
Wyatt walked back in the dojo. He decided he was going to drag her out physically, if necessary. He was furious. He’d given her all the rope he was going to. To his surprise, she wasn’t there. Neiko said she had told him she needed to reschedule - that something had come up. He went back to the cottage and asked Theresa if she had seen Lei. Theresa saw his face and knew they were arguing.
“Sorry, Wyatt. I haven’t seen her since this morning. She said she wouldn’t be coming to lunch or dinner. I think she has a special class tonight.”
“Thanks, Theresa. If you see her, please tell her I am in my office. That I’m looking for her.”
He had just sat down at his desk, when he saw her go by.
He stood up and moved toward the door, calling out to her. “Lei, come in here. Now.”
She tossed her head and came into his office and stood close to the entrance.
His voice was tight, hard. “Lei, I have about had it.”
She tossed her head. “Good! Does that mean you are leaving soon?”
Wyatt’s face flushed with anger. He started toward her.
She heard someone and turned to see Chief coming down the hallway. He smiled and came into the room.
Lei turned to him and edged out next to the door. She said with a bright smile, “Hello, Chief. How was your trip? Was Wyatt as sensational as ever? That’s okay, you don’t have to answer that. He’s always sensational, right, Chief?”
Chief looked at her, surprised, picking up on the harsh edge in her voice. He looked over at Wyatt and saw the anger on his face. He knew that he had stepped into the middle of an argument.
He started to answer, but Lei said again in a bright voice, “Really, I don’t need to hear. We all know how wonderful he is. There’s no need for you to tell us again, and again, right? How many times do we have to agree? Is it asking too much that you spare us the ‘isn’t Wyatt wonderful’ accolades? At least occasionally?”
She headed out the door, then looked back at both men who were staring in disbelief at her rudeness. While she was often rude to Wyatt when she was angry, she never was to Chief.