Switched

by O'Connell, Anne

  He took his time taking four coffee cups out of the cupboard, putting out the sugar and cream, and pulling the now cold pizza from the refrigerator. He looked at the clock again. Only four minutes had passed. Grinding his teeth together he opened the pizza box and took out a slice. It was pepperoni and onion, Kali’s favorite. Taking a bite he discovered it didn’t really taste good. It was doughy and cold and with it the bitterness of helpless anxiety clung to the back of his throat. He washed it down with a glass of water.

  Eric finally wandered into the kitchen. “Oh, I forgot about the pizza, I’m starving.”

  Brad pushed the box toward him a little, realizing neither of them had eaten since at least lunch. “It’s all yours.”

  Eric grabbed a slice and started devouring as if he hadn’t eaten in days. He grabbed himself a glass of water, looking at the coffee pot to see whether or not the pot was done brewing. It wasn’t.

  “Coffee should be ready in a few minutes.” Brad looked at his partially eaten slice of pizza.

  “You have to eat something, man,” Eric told him. “You’re no good to Kali tired and cranky because you haven’t eaten. Just be tired.”

  Eric made it sound like everything was going to be alright.

  “What if one of them gets shot?” Someone had to say it.

  His friend shrugged. “Kali is wearing a vest. Brocco promised me they’d make sure Amy was as safe as they could make her… there’s nothing we can do. You’ve been benched.”

  “It’s a flesh wound. I could have easily walked it off.” Even as he said it, his thigh throbbed a little. That Vicodin was sounding better and better.

  The coffee finished brewing and they each took a cup and headed back to the living room.

  Eric sat down and changed the channel to one showing Men in Black. It had just started.

  “Hey, there’s coffee and cold pizza in the kitchen. Cups are on the counter, help yourselves,” he told the agents, then sat down and resolved to watch the movie. If anything maybe he could convince himself nothing was wrong and Kali and Amy would be walking through the front door in a matter of hours.

  Chapter Twelve

  She felt comfortable leaving Amy upstairs where it was relatively safe. Gary said nothing as he led her back through the hall, down the staircase, and back to the large living room area where Alexi was sitting with Brocco and Salazar.

  “Now you see,” Alexi said, waving his hand in her direction, “This is more like it.”

  It was hard to keep from cringing when he talked. While most women might have found Alexi’s accent attractive, it only reminded her of Victor and the years of her life she wasted being his. She shoved the memory out of her mind and carefully found herself a seat, making sure to sit with her knees bent and ankles crossed like more refined women did.

  “I think you should sit here next to me when Victor arrives. He should be here very soon. We don’t want to seem distant lovers, no?” Alexi winked at her.

  Her stomach jumped. No, despite her musing about what it would have been if she had been Alexi’s instead of Victor’s for all those years, he did absolutely nothing for her. Men who winked were creepy. Or at least he was creepy when he winked. “Sure. When his car gets here, I’ll move.”

  Alexi tipped his head thoughtfully. “I like feisty women. I have to say I am somewhat surprised you were with Victor. He likes his women more… spineless.”

  She gave him a bored look. “It’s because of Victor that I am the cold-hearted bitch I am today.”

  “Would you like a drink?” he offered.

  “Ice water would be fine.” She looked at Brocco and Salazar who sat politely on the couch, every so often glancing at their watches.

  Gary went behind the bar and grabbed her glass of ice water and brought it to her, then returned to his position standing in front of the bar. She wondered if they were trained to do that, or if these men just figured out where to stand and what their duties were without really being told. Alexi hadn’t told Gary to get her water at all.

  It was while she mused on the idea of having minions that the man by the door answered the intercom and announced that Victor had arrived with two cars and five men total. “Do you want us to check for guns?”

  Alexi sounded exasperated. “Of course. Disarm all of them, except Victor.”

  “Brilliant plan,” she told him, knowing damn well that Victor was going to be furious when he saw her.

  Alexi patted the couch next to him. “Come and sit next to me, my darling. We need to make nice to keep up appearances. We wouldn’t want Victor to realize this isn’t real.”

  With an inward groan she put on her best party smile and sat next to Alexi. Close even. She could act. She spent at least the final three years with Victor acting and out of necessity; she’d gotten good at it.

  He leaned back into the couch and put his arm on the couch behind her. She stayed perched on the edge.

  When she saw him her stomach did a somersault, but she kept her expression calm and even. Victor surveyed his surroundings and finally allowed his eyes to settle on Alexi and at last, on her. There was a glint of cruelty in his eyes.

  “Have a seat,” Alexi said, gesturing to the chair to Alexi’s left.

  For that moment she was thankful she was sitting to Alexi’s right.

  “This isn’t a social call,” Victor spat.

  The mere sound of his voice made her skin crawl.

  “Of course not,” Alexi agreed with a malicious smile. “You and your men think you can come into my town and take my fiancée at your whim?”

  Victor frowned at him. “You would marry this Kúrva?”

  “She was only a whore because you made her one. To me she is a princess, because I made her one.” Alexi’s hand found her knee and he squeezed, clearly gaining pleasure by watching Victor’s eyes follow his hand.

  “I’m not here to discuss the nature of whores. I want my money back, I want my property back. I expect to be paid back in interest.” Victor stood resolute in his demands and that smug, superior look on his face made Kali seethe with rage.

  “Well, my dear old friend. It appears we’re at a crossroads. As I see it, you’re the one who owes me. You owed me a quarter of a million dollars. What did I get? I got a beautiful woman and some cash up front. As I see it, we’re even.” Alexi leaned forward and put his arm around her shoulders. “Isn’t that right, darling?”

  She gave him a coy smile and tried not to act surprised when Alexi kissed her full on the lips, replete with tongue. She even kissed him back to make it look real even though her entire body felt like it was recoiling.

  When Alexi pulled away she saw the flash of anger in Victor’s eyes and saw him reach inside his jacket. Drawing in a sharp breath, she leapt away and hit the ground when, for the second time in a day, gunfire rang in her ears.

  The first thing she saw was Alexi doubled over and then she felt his hands on her. There was no mistaking Victor’s touch. He had her by the hair, the gun poised under her chin. Alexi’s men and the agents backed off.

  “Let her go and no one gets hurt,” Brocco started.

  Victor lowered the barrel of the gun and fired at Brocco, who immediately fell backward. The gun went back under her chin.

  She wanted to fight the trembling, she did, but she couldn’t. It was involuntary. Part of her just wanted him to kill her already, but she knew that’s not how Victor was. No, he was a special kind of asshole. He was the kind of man who wanted to torment his victims for his own pleasure and amusement; the sadistic fuck.

  Struggling against him, she stopped when he tightened his grip around her.

  “You thought you could get away from me, Laura. I should just kill you here, but I think maybe Alexi’s men don’t have the stomach for killing women. Come on,” he said into her ear. He shoved her toward the door, but she tripped and fell to the ground, almost face first. She felt arms on either side of her lift her up as two of Victor’s men led her toward the door. Victor followed,
his gun trained on Alexi’s men. None of the men pulled their guns or fired at Victor.

  It was probably part of the plan, she guessed. She hoped.

  Then she felt Victor’s forearm around her throat again as they started outside. The two men left and went ahead, probably to get the car.

  “When I get you back to the hotel I am going to tie you up and beat you senseless,” he said into her ear.

  She set her jaw and didn’t respond. Not even a whimper.

  He shook her a little. “Do you hear me whore?”

  When they rounded the corner there appeared to be no one there in the darkness. It must have been a new moon because it was really dark and all the front lights were off. There was a rustling behind them and then all around. Victor shoved the gun further up under her chin, the coward.

  When the lights went on and Victor realized they were surrounded, she began to hear the fear in his voice.

  “Stay back or I’ll kill her,” he warned.

  She didn’t doubt it. He probably would. That’s when it occurred to her that she had something that, when she was with Victor, she never had before. Her days of being someone’s punching bag and sex slave were over. If she was going to die. She was going to die fighting. With that final thought she positioned her right arm, lifted her right leg, brought the side of her shoe down his shin and slammed her high heel on his foot while simultaneously bringing her elbow back to strike him. For that brief moment Victor cried out and let go long enough that she dove to the ground and rolled away into a flower bed. There was another gun shot and a pained cry from whoever had been shot.

  She stayed put, her hands over her head. Then she heard running and voices and a siren close by.

  “Miss Stanton?”

  She heard the voice and looked up to find Agent Salazar with his hand out to her. She took it and got up, realizing the strap on the nice dress she was wearing was now broken. Forcing herself to look over to where Victor was, she saw him handcuffed and being treated by the paramedics. He must have been shot. The cry had come from him.

  Pulling away from Salazar, she went over to Victor, pushing through the agents and paramedics to get to him. There he was, handcuffed to a gurney with a paramedic applying pressure and bandages to his shoulder.

  “Laura…” he started.

  She gave him a silent glare, then spit in face. “Rot in prison you fuck.”

  Agent Salazar gently took her by the elbow and pulled her away as they wheeled Victor toward the ambulance. He led her back into the house. As they passed one of the SWAT guys he looked at Kali and said, “Good job, Ma’am.”

  She gave Salazar a puzzled look. “Good job?”

  “That little self-defense move not only saved your life, but gave our snipers the shot they needed to take him down. One bullet to the right shoulder,” Salazar even sounded a bit proud as he said it.

  An unbidden sigh of relief escaped her lips, until she remembered that both Alexi and Brocco had been shot, too. “Did he kill anyone or did the vests protect them?”

  “They’re gonna be hurting for a few days, but I think everyone is fine,” the agent assured her.

  “Oh good. I want to get out of this dress and back into my own clothes, and I need to get Amy,” she told him.

  He nodded.

  As she passed through the living area saw Alexi and Brocco both sitting up waiting for the paramedics. “I’m going to go change,” she told Gary. “Sorry about the dress.”

  “Go ahead,” he said. “Don’t worry about the dress. Just leave it on the chair.”

  “Okay,” she said, passing him on her way to the doorway and the staircase beyond. She made her way up the stairs and down the hallway. The other guy was still sitting there next to the door with Amy behind it. “You can probably go downstairs. It’s over.”

  The guy looked a little anxious. Obviously he’d heard the gunshots.

  “No one died. Alexi’s okay. I’m going to change and grab Amy. We’ll be down in a minute,” she assured him.

  She went back into the room where her clothes were and stripped out of the dress, upset that she’d ripped the strap. She set the dress and the stockings on a chair and took off the shoes. After inspecting them, she put them back where she got them from. Then she took off the necklace and earrings and put them back where they belonged. Then she put on her own clothes sans the bullet proof vest which she merely carried. The guy hadn’t left. He stood there, uneasy.

  She opened the door. “Ames, come on, time to go.”

  Amy jumped up, unsteady, and with a huge smile threw her arms around Kali’s neck. “I thought you were dead. I heard gunfire!”

  “No one is dead. But people did get shot. Just not me.” She took Amy by the hand and led her from the room and down the hall. The man followed.

  When they arrived back in the living room, the paramedics were attending to Brocco and Alexi.

  “I’ll be fine,” Alexi was saying.

  She saw the huge bruise on his chest and visibly cringed.

  This didn’t go unnoticed by Alexi. “It looks that bad, yes? Do you think my fiancée would notice?”

  “Yeah, you’re not hiding that from her,” she told him. Then she looked at Brocco who was just putting his shirt back on. “You won’t be able to hide that from your significant other, either.”

  Brocco winced as he stood. Evidently movement triggered pain. “I’ll be feeling this for a few weeks.”

  “Maybe someone can take Amy and I home? We’re exhausted and the sooner we put this night behind us, the happier we’ll all be,” she said.

  No one argued that point.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brad paced the living room furiously.

  “Man, seriously. Sit down, you’re driving me crazy.” Eric glared at him.

  Neither of them had gotten any sleep. What they did finally get was a phone call from Kali saying she and Amy were safe and sound, and being driven home by a few agents. The other two agents had been called away since the FBI surmised the danger was past.

  “Sorry, I can’t. I drank that Monster in the fridge. I’m bouncing off the walls,” he said. “Oh, I see headlights!”

  Eric groaned. “I don’t know how she puts up with you. You realize how lucky you are, right?”

  Brad lifted an eyebrow. “Of course I know how lucky I am. Thinking of moving.”

  “What?”

  “The Russian mafia knows where I live. I think moving might be me and Kali’s best interest.” He stared at the window, disappointed when the headlights passed his house and kept going. “That wasn’t them.”

  “Bookstore isn’t doing so good. We could always sell it and cut our losses. Maybe start a web store for our special merchandise. Work from home,” Eric said offhandedly.

  “We wouldn’t move far away. Maybe a town or two over. Or maybe out into the country. Get some chickens or something.”

  Eric chuckled. “Chickens? Serious?”

  “Why not? We could live a simpler life,” he said, still staring out the window.

  “Sounds nice. Quiet. I don’t know how Kali will like leaving Amy. They’ve become close friends,” Eric pointed out. “Not to mention your sub likes being a Domme to mine.”

  Brad nodded. “True. So maybe the outskirts of town instead of something rural,” he quickly decided.

  While he liked this house, he knew it was only a bachelor pad. He had known for years that the minute he met that special someone he’d likely move. That’s when it hit him. Was Kali the one? He told her he loved her and he meant it, but she hadn’t responded. Was it fear that made her too scared to say it? It was time he sat her down and had a talk with her. No more dancing around and no more secrets. He had to know if they had a future together because in his mind, they were already married with a couple of kids. A couple of kids who weren’t allowed in dad’s ‘study’, he quickly told himself. But for all he knew, Kali was just having fun and enjoying playing house. They hadn’t actually excelled at communic
ation lately. Tonight that was going to change, it had to.

  When the car pulled into the driveway it pulled him from his thoughts. He’d been so contemplative that he hadn’t noticed them drive up. Kali and Amy emerged from the back seat and waved to the driver, who politely stayed until he saw the front door open and Brad standing there.

  Eric stood right beside him, looking over Amy for any sign of injury.

  She seemed to notice this and hurried into his arms, embracing him. “I’m fine.”

  They went inside, Amy excitedly telling Eric everything that happened.

  Kali paused in front of Brad. She looked upset.

  When he started toward her to wrap her into his arms, she held up a hand. “Wait a minute. I want to say something before I lose my nerve.”

  His heart sank. This couldn’t be good.

  “Before, when I was getting ready to leave and you said,” she paused. “You said you loved me. I didn’t answer because I was still thinking like the me who was still running. Like the victim who didn’t believe in herself and who didn’t believe she deserved love or could be loved.”

  The tears began flowing down her cheeks freely now. “The truth is that I do love you and that scares me because it makes me so vulnerable and I’m afraid I don’t know how to do it right. I can’t be hurt like that again either.”

  Brad felt an overwhelming need to protect her emanate from ever part of his being. He stepped forward and pulled her into his chest. “I promise I’ll never hurt you. It’s okay to be afraid. We’ll take it one day at a time, okay?”