Run to You

by Lynne King

  Arriving with five minutes to spare before the doors were open to the general public, Liz refused to acknowledge Mark Hunter. He had unlocked the door and held it open for her, his embarrassment clear as he lowered his gaze. Rushing past, she headed for the powder room, pausing in front of the mirror to apply her lipstick and clip back her hair. As she was about to leave, Lorraine and Julie came in talking and laughing about Saturday night.

  “That cute guy we saw—you know, the one Lorraine thought was giving you the eye, Liz. We got a talking and he has a delectable Irish accent.”

  Julie went into a cubicle leaving the door open as she continued. “Joe got jealous, though, so I had to choose and Joe won. Perhaps you should have stuck around.” She started to pee.

  Not wanting to mention the incident with Mark Hunter and who had intervened, Liz called back over her shoulder. “I told you, I’m staying clear of all men, especially the cute ones.”

  “Your loss,” Julie shouted as the door shut.

  The next eight hours were spent trying to make sure Michael didn’t regret his pulling a few strings to bring her over with him. She had needed a fresh start and he had helped her get it. Now she was busy proving her worth by being the best secretary he could wish for. Having worked in the bank’s counterpart in London didn’t mean things were done the same. By the end of the day, the last thing she wanted was to return to the dismal stuffy apartment that was anything but a home.

  “You don’t fancy seeing a movie tonight, do you?” Liz asked Lorraine as they stepped out onto the sidewalk.

  “Sorry, can’t do. Tonight is mother-in-law night. Two or three hours listening to her drone on about grandchildren and the lack of them from Ben’s side along with personal digs aimed at me.”

  “I’m sure she’s not that bad.”

  “You don’t know her. Never marry an accountant. They make boring husbands and are tight arses, especially one who thinks more of his mother than his wife.”

  She didn’t know whether Lorraine was joking or serious. Her tone certainly suggested the latter. Watching Lorraine head off into the opposite direction, Liz released a small sigh and turned toward her subway entrance.

  “Tell me, what does it take to bring out a smile on that pretty face?”

  Liz looked into the face belonging to the Irish accent.

  Even feeling a little apprehensive, her first thought was that in daylight he was more attractive than she remembered, his hand coming up to run through short jet-black hair. Her second thought came out as an accusation.

  “How did you know where I work?”

  A boyish smile appeared. “Let me buy you a coffee and I’ll tell you?”

  Standing still on the sidewalk was causing a jam as people started jostling her to get past. “I don’t make a habit of accepting coffee from complete strangers.” She started walking again only to find he was right by her side.

  “I can soon alter that. Shaun O’Riley, at your service.” He stepped out right in front of her and held out his hand expecting her to shake it.

  Liz could do no other than to accept his formal gesture, her hand firmly encased in his. A hesitant smile appeared at the same time.

  “Well is my offer accepted now you know what a perfect gentleman I am and how honourable my attentions are?”

  She felt afterward that he could have said he was Jack the Ripper and would still get his way. He wasn’t the type to take no for an answer.

  The coffee bar was around the block. Usually it was packed out whenever she stopped there on her way home, but luckily they managed to grab some seats at the counter before the real rush started.

  “Now tell me, how come you know so much, like where I work for instance?”

  Two cappuccinos were ordered and placed in front of them before he replied.

  “That drunken creep spoke your name out loud and I have a memory for names. In a way he did me a favor.”

  Liz glared back at him. “What, by grabbing and insulting me?”

  He shook his head. “No, I meant it got me your attention and…”

  She looked down at the counter. “I could have handled it.”

  “I’m sure you could. My apologies if I intruded.”

  Feeling as if she was being a little harsh and the situation could have worsened, Liz added, “I’m sorry, your intrusion was welcome.”

  “As for where you work, Julie was quite informative.” He smiled. “Didn’t she tell you we had quite a conversation? Though maybe she was a bit peeved that my real interest wasn’t present, namely you.”

  “Do you always make a point of going to such lengths for a woman you have barely spoken to?”

  There was a pause as he sipped his coffee. Then, putting the cup down, he swung his long legs round on the stall so he was fully facing her.

  “Yes, if I think they are worth it. Don’t you think life is too short to allow someone or something you immediately feel an attraction for to disappear from your life forever, an opportunity missed?”

  For a chat-up line, that was the best she had heard. She glanced to the couple the other side of her and wondered if their giggling was because they had heard. No, they were laughing at something on their Blueberry phone.

  She didn’t want to look back at him and when she did, the heat rose from her toes and kept on rising as she stared back into the depths of those darkly set brown eyes. The problem being she was remembering another, whose blue eyes and warm smile were ingrained on her memory. An opportunity missed, how true, and yet the last thing she needed was to be feeling this way over a complete stranger. Though thinking of another, Liz heard herself agree to dinner the following evening.

  At seven-thirty the intercom buzzed. Liz did think maybe he wouldn’t show up and now that he had, she was torn between feeling excited and petrified. What was she doing? This guy could be a complete wacko for all she knew, seeing all they had shared was a cup of coffee.

  Going over to the window, she peered down. There wasn’t much to see except the top and back of a dark-haired figure, the rest of him concealed by the portal. In the street sat a yellow cab, its engine running. The buzzer sounded again.

  “I’ll be straight down,” she spoke into the intercom.

  “Your carriage awaits.”

  His smooth Irish voice did make her smile and her shoulders relaxed slightly. She felt so tensed up that the temptation to have a shot of something strong and alcoholic crossed her mind. She fought against it. With a parting look around her apartment before closing the door, she hurried down the one flight of stairs to join him.

  He took her to what she guessed was a very expensive restaurant. Glancing around at the occupied seating areas, she wondered how he had managed to book at such short notice. The headwaiter showed them to their table in a part of the restaurant with a breathtaking bubbling marble pool. Viewing the art work on the walls where they were seated was like being privy to a very expensive private collection. The water colors looked as if they were originals and if not they were excellent copies, better than any she could have done in her distant past.

  “Pretty impressive,” Shaun remarked.

  “Slight understatement.” Her salary as a secretary probably wouldn’t pay for one evening here. She also felt underdressed in her white cotton slacks and salmon-pink blouse.

  “Liz, are you okay?”

  “Yes, fine.” She glanced around.

  “Look, if you don’t like it here, we could go to some other place—Indian, Chinese, Greek, you name it.” He waved the waiter away who had stepped forward to take their drinks order.

  She felt foolish now. “How can I not like it? I just hope the food is as good as the surroundings.”

  His features relaxed. “Nothing can compete with the beauty before me. I am but blind to it all.”

  There he went again, but it made her smile. “Yes, and I bet you talk that smooth Irish blarney to all the girls you bring here to impress.”

  He threw up his hands in a helpless gesture
. “Can I help it if I’m a hopeless romantic who believes in treating my ladies to the very best?”

  For the rest of the evening the banter continued. Shaun made Liz laugh more than she had in a long time and by the time coffee was served, it wasn’t simply his humor she was falling for.

  He had loosened his tie. Relaxed and sexy, he lightly stroked her bare forearm as he relayed a yarn about his visit to London a few years back. Was it the wine making her explore a few fantasies of her own while he talked, like what he might be like between the sheets? Five years spent with one person—with only a few forgettable teenage fumblings to compare them with—meant she was a novice when it came to enjoying uncomplicated sex. Shaun O’Riley could be the perfect teacher. She wasn’t looking for a relationship and she very much doubted he was the settling-down type, so why not. She stifled a small giggle.

  “Are you okay?”

  Liz coughed into her napkin and made out she had a tickle in her throat. Taking a deep breath, she picked up her coffee and took several sips with a hope of diluting the wine pretty quick.

  “How long do you plan to stay in New York?” he asked.

  “My visa’s for a year. My American boss in London was offered presidency in the Manhattan branch and requested I come with him on a temporary transfer to see how things were done over here.” It was surprising how sober she sounded despite feeling the opposite. At least she hadn’t blurted out how it had all come about after she had found out about her lying, cheating fiancé, Simon. New York seemed a far enough place to run away to.

  “There’s no one waiting at home for your return.” His attention was fully on her. A subtle smile and then his hand reached over, taking her fingers away from the napkin she was now fiddling with. He brought her fingers to his lips.

  She felt like a teenager all over again, heat burning a pathway to her toes and heart palpitations. Not even Simon in the early days had this much effect on her, or not that she could remember. His lips gently caressed her fingers. A master of seduction and she was falling for it.

  “No one.” She took her hand away. “Perhaps we better go.” Even to Liz, her voice sounded shaky. Simon had a lot to answer for; she felt out of practice and out of her depth with this man. Her body wanting him while her mind cried out for caution.

  Leaving the restaurant, he climbed into the taxi next to her and gave the driver her address. She gave no resistance when his arm went around her shoulder and he pulled her to him, his lips seeking hers. His tongue tasted the outline of her lips before parting them to delve deep into the moist recesses. It was exquisite and mind blowing and it was only when the taxi driver coughed loudly that they finally parted. The cab had come to a stop outside her building.

  Liz jumped out the cab, the flush going right down to her toes as she straightened her top and kept her back to the driver. She could hear Shaun paying the taxi and then he was by her side, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist, his lips against her collar bone. The sexual intensity was such that Liz couldn’t trust herself to speak as they went up the steps together to the entrance door.

  She pulled away from him, making out she was trying to retrieve her key from her purse. It was easy to find, but that small voice of caution was growing louder now she was out of his arms. Shaun had insisted she order the best of everything on the menu, not that she did. As for going Dutch with the bill, she had conveniently put aside that independent motto, fearing her credit card would be brought back to her cut in half. Had she been wined and dined with the express purpose of getting her into bed on the first date? It certainly felt like it now the fresh air was hitting her.

  Opening the entrance door, she paused and turned to face him. “Shaun, I don’t think this is a good idea. We need to take things more slowly or at least I do and…”

  She was pushed to one side, her eyes staring in disbelief as the back of a thickset, white-suited man, his head covered by a Panama hat, strode purposely up the stairs and out of view.

  “A neighbor of yours?” Shaun raised his eyebrows questioningly.

  “I don’t think so.” She couldn’t help the unease showing in her voice. “I’ve never seen him before. There is a girl living above me. He must be visiting her.” Liz had only seen her on a couple of occasions when they had met on the stairs.

  “Look, let me come up, make sure it’s safe. Fix me a coffee and I’ll call a cab. I promise I’ll behave.”

  Hesitating, she thought about going up those dimly lit stairs and not knowing who had gone up before. With just three apartments in this building, an elderly couple living on the ground floor and hers in the middle, no one entered the building unless invited. She was the one who had allowed him to gain entry, not that he gave her much choice.

  “Maybe that’s a good idea.” She started leading the way.

  “You’ll have to excuse my place. It’s not exactly the Ritz. It wasn’t easy finding a low-rent apartment in Manhattan. This place is daylight robbery but it’s only a stop gap, though I did have to pay three months advance rent.” She was talking too much and she knew it but when nervous, rambling was a great way of dealing with it. She was wondering how this place compared to where Shaun lived. He probably had some swanky apartment on the Upper East Side. Having a rich sponsor, an uncle, and working for his construction company was all she had learned about Shaun O’Riley. The rest was still a mystery.

  “I’ve lived in places that would make this seem like the Ritz,” Shaun answered as he followed her up the stairs.

  The sound of a door being kicked in sounded from the floor above.

  “You’ve been holding out on me, woman.”

  “I’ve been real sick, please, Angel, no…” The pitiful pleading and sobbing was violently silenced by a harsh slap.

  Glancing back at Shaun, Liz started running up the next flight of stairs that took her to the top floor.

  “Oh my God!” Liz cried out.

  Chapter Three

  He was bending over her and dragging her up by the hair. Her body limp, no sound came from her lips and there was no attempt to fight him. The thin, cream satin wrap torn from the top part of her revealed her semi-nakedness.

  “He’s killed her!”

  On hearing her voice the assailant let go of the girl and stepped away from her. She slumped to the floor in a lifeless heap.

  Liz felt Shaun grip her arm. He pulled her to one side, his hold not loosening.

  “Let it go. This is none of our business,” he hissed into her ear.

  “Yeah, that’s right, back off. This is personal between me and my woman. She freaked out and fainted, that’s all.” He was glaring at Shaun.

  Liz stared in disgust at the scene he represented. With that white suit and Panama hat and the dialogue he was using, she didn’t need Shaun’s next remark.

  “Come on, she’s a bloody pro and he’s her pimp. The odd slap or two goes with the profession.”

  “I don’t believe you can be so callous.” She turned to him. “You don’t know that about her and even if it’s true, she doesn’t deserve to be treated worse than an animal.” Pulling her arm away sharply, she rushed forward before Shaun could stop her and crouched down to the girl—just feet away from the assailant. Close up, she could see the girl’s face was streaked with mascara, one cheekbone already beginning to discolor and swell. Her main concern was met with relief when the girl began to murmur.

  “She needs an ambulance,” Liz called over her shoulder while her fingers fumbled in her purse for her cell phone.

  The man lunged and pulled her up roughly, spinning her so her back was up against him and her feet nearly off the ground. The strong muscular arm, wrapped around her neck, dragged her further back from Shaun. It was so quick her breath left her allowing for no sound, her eyes fixed in horror as he held the small switchblade up to her face. The steel blade shone in the dim light as she felt the sharp edge lightly stroking her skin. She felt numb as if this couldn’t be happening to her. Terrified, helpless eyes fl
ew to where Shaun stood, his face a mask of repressed anger.

  “Let the lady go. The cops aren’t going to be interested in no pimp beating up his hooker.”

  “Yeah, Paddy boy, well I don’t like no one interfering. You better make sure she understands, otherwise this white meat isn’t going to be so pretty no more.”

  Releasing his hold, he pushed her from him and went to drag the now semi-conscious girl back into her apartment. He was alert enough, however, to notice Shaun’s sudden approach. Turning, the knife slashed at Shaun’s stomach in a swift underhand arc.

  Liz gasped as Shaun leaped back, the knife missing him by a fraction. They were now facing each other, their bodies crouched, hands in front as if they were opponents in a wrestling ring. Aggression shone from both sets of eyes as they started circling, neither of them prepared to make the first move, the knife being a strong deterrent as it wavered menacingly in the pimp’s right hand.

  “I’ll call 911.” Her purse and phone were on the floor out of reach. Liz turned to flee down the stairs.

  “No, don’t do that, Liz.”

  His voice stopped her. Shaun appeared to back away holding up his hands. “Look, you’re right, I don’t want no trouble.”

  A sneer appeared on the other’s lips but before it could spread, Shaun leaped forward once again. The ferocity and force, combined with Shaun’s leg sweeping behind his opponent’s ankles, resulted with them both on the ground. The Panama hat, covering a shaven head, was sent skittering along the small corridor to land at Liz’s feet. Her eyes looked from the hat to the two men now wrestling on the floor. Helplessness and fear sent tremors through her body. Landing on top of the pimp, Shaun had gripped hold of his right wrist and was holding his hand away from him, but for how long?

  She carried on watching the pimp’s right hand being hammered down against the hard floor until it was crushed, and eventually the knife slipped from his grasp. Rushing forward, she kicked it out of reach. With the weapon no longer posing a threat and his opponent decisively weakened by the struggle, Shaun stood up, dragging the other up by his collar. Throwing him up against the wall, one hand locked around his neck. His other fist hammered into the man’s already bloodied face over and over again.