Teacher: The Final Act (A Hollywood Rock n' Romance Trilogy #3)

by R. L. Merrill

  She smiled. ”It’s no trouble. I know how scary it is to be a victim of something like this. I also gave him the name of a therapist we work with that is great at helping victims deal with trauma. You might experience some post-traumatic stress, and I wouldn’t want this to impact your life. You’re a tough cookie, for a dancer,” she said and winked at me.

  Danny must have told her a lot about me.

  “Thank you, Detective. I’d like to start as soon as possible.”

  “We will. In a couple of weeks or so, when you’re feeling stronger. I’ll see you soon.” She walked out and Danny came back in looking concerned.

  “You okay? Was it okay?”

  I smiled at him, as much as I could. ”It was fine. I like her a lot. Thank you for talking to her about the training. I want to do it. I want to be able to protect myself, and Jane.”

  He motioned for me to scoot over so he could sit beside me on the bed. I sat up and he wrapped me in his arms. I just breathed him in, desperate to get Stacey’s stench off me.

  “I just want to go home and take a shower with you,” I murmured and I felt him sigh.

  “Me, too, honey. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to protect you. I can’t fucking believe I let this happen to you.”

  I jerked him around to face me. ”Danny, if I’m not going to blame myself, you can’t either, okay? This is not your fault. It will only make it harder for us to move on if you blame yourself. So stop. I just need you to hold me. And get me out of this joint!”

  He laughed, kissing my cheek. I must have winced because he got that disgusted look on his face. “Your poor face.”

  I pouted, which hurt my lip. ”How bad is it?”

  He shook his head. ”Well, you look like you got into a fight. What do you think? But you’re okay, and he didn’t...hurt...you?”

  I shook my head, holding him close. ”No. He tried, but my head-butt put an end to that. I’m pretty sure I broke his nose. Then he bled all over me. God, I hope he wasn’t sick.”

  “We’ll make sure they test you, and him I guess. You’ll be fine. You have to be. God, to think I almost lost you, Jesse! I almost fucking lost you.”

  We held each other and cried for a good long while until the Mannings came in.

  “Hey, Jesse. Here are some clothes for you. Patricia left them with us. She’s going to pick up Legs, too, and bring her to her place. We called Nora, Danny, so she won’t go inside. She’s going to Connie’s. We thought maybe the two of you could come back to our place tonight.”

  Danny looked at me to see if that was okay. ”That would be great, guys. Thank you.”

  The doctor came back in, then, and Danny asked him about the blood test.

  “We took a sample from Jesse when she came in and one off her attacker. We will let you know just as soon as the results are in. For now, let me just check your vitals, Miss Martin, and if everything looks good, you can go home.”

  He did a quick exam and he said everything looked good. ”You’re going to be pretty sore. You got yanked around quite a bit. You might want to wear a neck brace.”

  I shook my head. ”I think it’s fine. When can I get these stitches out?”

  “Go see your primary physician in a few days. They shouldn’t need more than a week.”

  I thanked him and his staff for taking such good care of me. He squeezed my hand and left. Danny came over to check on me and I laughed.

  “We really know how to rock the medical visits, don’t we, baby?”

  He smirked and said, “Let’s get you the fuck out of here!”

  He kicked the Mannings out, said we’d be over soon, and helped me take off the hospital gown. He teared up when he saw the bruises on my arm and on my legs. He bit down on his lip and I squeezed his arm.

  “Bruise easy, remember? It looks worse than it feels,” I assured him. It really did hurt as much as it looked, but I didn’t want him to beat himself up any longer.

  “As soon as you’re up to it, you’ll start training with Sandra, and I’m going to have Bob start watching the house, too.”

  “Bob?” I asked and he nodded.

  “He’s my security guy. My bodyguard. I haven’t used him a whole lot in the past few years, but he’s going back on the payroll. Full-time. Anytime you and Jane go out, anytime I’m not home, I want him there.”

  I took a deep breath. ”Baby, I’m tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow? Right now I just want you to guard my body.”

  He snorted and helped me into a loose fitting sundress, careful not to bump my head.

  The Mannings lived in a huge house off of North Beverly Drive. It was understated from the road, but once inside, it was modern decor to the max. It totally looked like a bachelor pad. Julian let us in, hugging me gingerly, and told Danny to take his old room. Danny chuckled as he led me down the hall.

  “That’s right! I forgot you lived here.”

  He laughed, setting down his wallet and keys on the dresser. ”You hungry? Bronson ordered from Mulberry’s.”

  My stomach did feel pretty empty. ”That sounds great right now. I haven’t eaten since... What time is it?”

  “It’s after midnight,” he said quietly. He walked over to where I was standing next to the bed, putting his hands on my shoulders. ”If you want me to sleep in a different room—”

  “What? No! Why would you sleep in a different room?”

  He cleared his throat. ”I just, if you were uncomfortable... I would understand.”

  “Jesus, Danny! He didn’t rape me. I told you I’m fine, and I’m fine! I’ll probably be a little more jumpy than usual for a bit, but I’m okay. Okay? Now will you please come take a shower with me? I just want to wash all of this off me. I’ll probably want to burn this dress.”

  He nodded solemnly and took my hand.

  The bathroom was attached to the room and had a door leading to the hallway. He got the water ready and pulled out a towel.

  “Grab two towels. You’re getting in here with me. There’s blood on you, too.”

  He looked down at himself and grimaced. I started to pull my dress off over my head and he grabbed the bottom to help me. I didn’t wait for him. I grabbed the hem of his shirt and started undressing him. He watched me as if I was going to break at any minute. I was determined not to, and determined that he was going to get on with normal life, too.

  We showered and dressed in some sweats Julian had brought in for us. He was thinner than Danny, so they didn’t totally fall off of me, but he was taller so I had to roll them up. The sweats Danny put on fit him really snug across his ass, a fact that made it difficult to keep my hands to myself. I kept touching him and he kept dodging my hands to get away.

  “I can’t help it! You are definitely not allowed to wear those in public. It’s hard enough keeping women from throwing themselves at you without you putting your goods on display like that.”

  He burst out laughing and put an arm around me as we went out to join the brothers in the kitchen.

  I smelled pizza as soon as we entered and my mouth started watering. ”Oh, that smells so good,” I moaned, accepting a slice from Bronson, but then I frowned. I couldn’t bite into it. I looked at Danny with a pout and he laughed.

  “Only you could make a fat lip look adorable and sexy at the same time.” He got a fork and knife from Julian and started cutting my pizza up into bite sized pieces.

  “Thank you, Danny,” I said and he kissed my unmarked cheek.

  Julian and Bronson had heard what happened already pretty much in detail. They apologized again for Stacey’s behavior.

  I made them stop. “Guys, he wasn’t well. I’m just sorry for his family. Does he have any?”

  They looked at each other and shrugged.

  Danny said, “I’m sure Jerry knows.”

  “We told him what happened. The guy is blaming himself, too. He didn’t want to fire Stacey, but the last time he was scheduled to work, he came in five hours late and they got into a huge brawl. He had to ha
ve him removed from the premises by security. Guess we should have known he was capable of anything.”

  I rolled my eyes and said, “Alright! No more blaming! I’m going to say this one more time. I. Am. Fine! I’m just a little pissed I can’t eat my pizza the correct way.”

  Mulberry’s pizza was New York style and meant to be rolled in half and savored.

  Danny snickered. ”I promise to take you back when your widdle wip is aw bettew.” I pinched his side and he jumped out of his chair and scooted over to the fridge. He grabbed a beer from the door. My expression stopped him.

  “Can you, um, not? I’m sorry. I just don’t want to smell that smell tonight. It’s kind of turning my stomach.”

  He nodded, understanding. He came back to sit next to me with a ginger ale and muttered, “But you’re fine, right?” I narrowed my eyes at him and he held up his hands. ”Alright! Alright! I’m sorry. I’ll take your word for it.”

  Julian and Bronson watched the two of us like observers at a tennis match and then made disgusted sounds.

  “Dude,” Bronson said, “She’s going to kick your ass.”

  Danny looked me up and down and said quietly, “I hope so. At least I’m going to make sure she can.”

  We finished our pizza and talked for another hour or so until I started yawning. Danny excused us and Julian followed us to bring us toothbrushes and toothpaste.

  “You guys are welcome to stay as long as you need, ok? Jane too.” We thanked him, I kissed his cheek good night, and we crawled into bed, too exhausted to do anything but hold each other.

  Chapter - Four

  Danny was up before me the next morning and I was glad for it. I was so damn sore, it took all of my energy to get to the bathroom and use the toilet. Everything hurt. I’d heard that adrenaline could leave all of your muscles sore, but I guess I’d also underestimated just how much Stacey had yanked me around. My lip was really sore, making brushing my teeth quite painful, and the bruising on my face looked freakin’ fantastic! I had six stitches just about an inch below my hairline, and my whole forehead was bruised. I had two black eyes and my right cheekbone was bruised. My lip was less swollen, but the split inside was sore. I was so glad I hadn’t had to have stitches there.

  I couldn’t stand looking at this mess anymore, so I went out to see if I could find Danny. I heard him before I saw him, sitting out on the back patio.

  “I know, Jack, and I’m sorry...I didn’t call last night because it was so late...I know. I’m sorry you had to hear about it on the news... Yeah, she says she’s okay, but I don’t know...You and me both. He’s lucky he’s dead or I would have made it much more painful...Yeah, I’m going to have Bob, my security guy, at the house when I’m not home and whenever she goes out. Maybe even drive her to work, too, if she doesn’t fight me on it...I know, I’m so sorry. Please tell Lydia I’m sorry. I’ll have her call when she wakes up...Thank you...Alright... Talk to you soon.”

  “I’m so sorry you had to take that phone call.”

  Danny spun around and stepped quickly over to me. I could tell he was relieved to see me, but it also caused him a lot of pain.

  “It was on the news late last night and this morning. I already talked to Ivana and she’s going to keep Jane out of the loop and at her house at least until tomorrow. Nora is a wreck and worried about you. She’s just waiting for the police to clear the scene so she can get the cleaners inside the house. Patricia is going to bring us clothes later this afternoon if the police say she can go in. She knows to grab your medication. And Gloria called Patricia. She said for you to call her when you felt up to it. She was really worried about you.” He looked closely at my face and then winced and shook his head.

  “You’re going to give me a complex if you keep doing that. Just pretend it’s Jane’s makeup job, please? I know I look terrible.”

  He shook his head, his hands coming up to cradle my face. ”No. You look beautiful. It just looks like it hurts.”

  “It sure hurt to see it in the mirror. Jesus!”

  He laughed and walked me into the kitchen to feed me. ”Cosmo called. He was so fucking pissed at me, he said he was going to beat my ass when he sees me, and made me promise to have you call or else he’s coming over.”

  I tried to stifle a laugh. ”I’ll get you off the hook with my other men. Just let me finish my juice.”

  Danny came around behind me and wrapped his arms around me, kissing the back of my head. ”I hope you don’t mind that I’m going to be all over you today. I just can’t get it out of my head, Jesse. I could have lost you.” His voice cracked.

  I turned around on my bar stool and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head on his chest. ”I’m sorry I scared you, Danny. There were a few minutes where I thought you might lose me, too. Thank God you have that panel right by the door. That saved my life. He got my phone away from me and the door was shut. There was nothing I could do except try to stall him until the police got there. The funny thing was, the officer that shot him was that guy I was telling you about, you know? The cop who kept hassling me? He recognized me right away and was super nice to me.” Danny searched my eyes for signs I wasn’t being totally open with him. I cringed. “I’m sorry there was such a mess. I hope the cleaners can—”

  “Don’t even fucking worry about it. I hate that fucking room anyway. I think we should just get rid of all that shit, redo it. What do you think?” I laughed nervously and he cocked his head to the side. ”What?”

  “The first time I came over I thought it was a terrible room. So uninviting. The more I got to know you I hated it even more. It’s not you. A lot of that house isn’t you.”

  “I guess you’re right. You’re going to have to help me make it about us, honey. It’s our place now.”

  I shook my head and sighed. ”Danny? Can we talk about something?”

  He pulled back and frowned. ”Sure, babe. What is it?” He came around and sat on the stool next to me.

  I took a deep breath for courage. Maybe with my face looking like this he wouldn’t totally get mad at me. “We’ve talked a lot about getting married lately, and I’m really happy about that. But something has bothered me about being married to you and I wanted to talk to you about it.”

  He frowned and took my hands in his. ”What is it, Jesse?”

  Another deep breath for courage and I dove right in. ”The first time you said to me ‘what’s mine is yours,’ I kind of laughed it off. It bothered me. I don’t think about it that way. Then when we started talking about marriage, and then I thought about it some more. Danny, if we get married, I think I should sign a prenuptial agreement. Your money is your money and I don’t want anyone to think, especially you, that any of that is important to me.”

  Danny fought the urge to laugh, I could tell. I raised an eyebrow at him, trying to resurrect the teacher look. I managed to look ridiculous.

  “I’m sorry, I’m really not laughing at you. But there’s no fucking way we’re having a prenup. You’ve made it more than clear to me and everyone else that you don’t want anything to do with my money, so I don’t think we even need to worry about it. Now is there anything else you’ve been ‘thinking about’ that you want to get off your lovely chest?”

  I rolled my eyes. ”Danny! I’m serious!”

  “I am too! Don’t worry, I’m not going to shove it down your throat, but I’m going to make sure you have an expense account for when you take Jane places, for gas, shit like that. Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been spending your own money on my daughter. That’s going to stop, Jesse.”

  I blew out a breath, completely not happy with how this conversation was going. “Danny...”

  He shook his head. ”Mr. Bossypants is going to win this one. I don’t care how fucking cute you look with that pouty lip. I’ve already failed in taking care of you. I’m not going to do it again. And I’m hoping you’ll let Bob take you to and from work. He’s going to be at the house—”

  “No way, Da
nny! I do not need to be driven to work. If you want to have him drive Jane around, I understand, but I am perfectly capable of taking...”

  I stopped. Obviously, in Danny’s world, I wasn’t perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I jumped up off the stool, needing to move. Danny watched me, cautiously. I shook out my hands and paced around the kitchen.

  “Jesse, we don’t have to talk about this now,” Danny said softly.

  I turned on him and tried to control my anger, but I wasn’t very successful. ”We are not really talking about anything! I’m talking at you and you’re saying ‘No, Jesse. No, Jesse.’ How is that us talking about this?”

  He took a deep breath and started pulling at his goatee. “I’m sorry, honey. I’m just trying to do right by you. I fucking love you, Jesse! I’ve told you over and over that I just want to take care of you like you take care of me. Please?”

  The goddamned ‘gimme look’ was back. I figured I might as well just give up. I sunk down on a chair and put my head in my hands, wincing when I came into contact with my bruised-to-shit forehead.

  “I shouldn’t have even brought this up right now,” I said, wishing I could have a do-over. Telling Danny I didn’t want to be taken care of when I looked like a mugging victim probably wasn’t the best idea.

  Danny came around and knelt on the floor in front of me. “Jesse, you’ve been through hell. Why don’t you just rest today? I promise you can yell at me all you want when you are feeling better. Okay?”

  I groaned. ”I don’t want to yell at you, Danny. I just wish we were on more equal ground.”

  He said in his most serious voice, “If you come down here on the floor, we’ll be on equal ground.”

  I couldn’t resist playful Danny. I smiled and let him pull me onto the floor. There was a bright patch of sunlight right where he laid us down on the thick carpet and wrapped me in his arms. It felt really good. I let myself just relax into his embrace.

  We spent the rest of the day being lazy at the Mannings’. I called my parents and Cosmo and assured them I was fine. Dad was proud of me for the headbutt, as I knew he would be, and he was very pleased to hear that I was going to be taking self-defense. Cosmo wanted to see me in the flesh to know I was okay, so Danny invited him and the guys over for dinner. I asked if the Mannings would be upset and he snorted.