The Stand Off

by Z. Stefani

  “I should have just let her rob me,” she whispered to herself as she turned her back to the door and kicked it. She kicked it a few times before she gave up. It was pointless; the music was too loud for anyone to hear. Besides, she had a sinking feeling that everyone else in the house was distracted by Dean and Clifton.

  Dean froze in his tracks when he saw the man standing by the door holding a dozen red roses.

  “I know you,” Dean barked aggressively as he pointed an accusing finger at Clifton.

  “Um no, you must have the wrong guy,” he smiled and looked at Pixie. “I get mistaken for people all the time.”

  Dean felt a rush of rage the likes of which he’d never experienced. He began to breathe through his nose like a bull and had the posture of a wild animal ready to charge. Dean glared at him through eyes that promised certain death.

  “Outside,” Dean hissed through clenched teeth as he nodded towards the door.

  “Good idea,” Clifton rushed outside.

  “Oh shit! How do they know each other?” Kiki gasped as she looked at Pixie.

  “I have no idea. I expected Clifton to recognize Dean, but I would have never guessed that Dean knew Clifton,” Pixie said in shock.

  “Where the fuck is Lux?” Graves asked.

  “Oh, I’m sure she will be down momentarily,” Kiki answered.

  “I think we should monitor this situation to make sure that Dean doesn’t kill the Detective,” Pixie suggested.

  “Good idea, but we’re going to monitor it from inside. I’m not going out there; Dean is scary when he’s pissed,” Kiki frowned.

  Once they were outside, Clifton stopped, but Dean kept walking, pushing him back.

  “You thought that you could hide behind a new hair color and contacts? You honestly believed that I wouldn’t recognize the man that tried to destroy my reputation?” Dean asked, chest butting Clifton for a second before he stood still.

  “Says the man who stole my fiancée.”

  “I told you, I never stole her from you. She offered sex and I took it; there was nothing else.”

  “But you know that she believed there was,” he said with a touch of madness in his eyes.

  “There wasn’t. I was upfront with her from the beginning.”

  “You should have tried to explain it harder.”

  “I explained it; anything after that is not my job,” Dean said.

  “You ruined everything, you destroyed her, and you destroyed me in the process,” he cried as if her were in pain.

  “This is your attempt at revenge? Trying to take Lux from me? You picked the wrong girl for that. Not only would she not allow it, but neither would I.” He grinned as he took another menacing step towards Clifton, who immediately took a step back.

  “That’s where you’re the fool. I know Lux a lot more than you think I do. In fact, I know her better than you.”

  “You don’t know her at all.”

  “I’m her Private Detective.”

  “Bullshit.” Dean was a moment away from slugging him in the jaw.

  “Where do you think she got all of that evidence against you? Who do you think gave her those pictures of you and the governor’s wife?”

  “That’s a lie.”

  “Who else would give her those pictures of your brother’s fiancée?” Clifton suddenly grinned with delight when Dean’s face dropped. “Oh she didn’t tell you about the pictures of you and your brother’s fiancée? You do know about the pictures correct? Well of course you; it should be a household topic by now; Lux made sure of that.”

  “You fucking liar,” he seethed, ready to attack.

  “See for yourself; she keeps the pictures in her top dresser drawer. We’ve been working together all along; working together to destroy you, from the inside. Why do you think she’s with you? You tried to destroy the one thing she would kill for; do you really think she’s forgiven you? Now who is the fool?” He chuckled.

  Dean felt his rage explode like a Molotov and without another thought, he tackled Clifton to the ground. He began to swing his fists, pummeling Clifton’s face. Clifton tried to punch back but found himself in defense mode, trying to block the blows raining on his head.

  “Oh fuck!” Pixie cried as she and the rest of the girls ran out of the house to break up the fight.

  “You fucking liar! You stay the fuck away from her!” Dean roared as he continued to punch him. Clifton was covering his head, so the majority of the blows landed on his arms and upper body.

  Pixie and Kiki grabbed Dean by his arms but realized instantly they were no match for his strength.

  “Please Dean, you’re going to kill him,” Pixie pleaded, holding onto Dean’s arm. Her grip tightened when her body was flung forward with the strength of the punch he delivered to Clifton.

  “Someone go find Lux!” Graves screamed as she tried to grab Dean from behind.

  As if the name Lux was attached to some deep, magical spell inscribed on his brain, Dean automatically stopped swinging the moment he heard it.

  “I’m warning you, you stay the fuck away from her,” Dean threatened Clifton in a murderous tone as he slowly stood up. “If I see you near her or if you come here again, I will beat you to within an inch of your life.” Dean stepped away from him and headed into the house.

  “Wait, Dean!” Kiki tried to stop him, but Pixie grabbed her arm.

  “Let him go,” Pixie told her.

  “But,” Kiki objected.

  “We can explain it all to Dean later. Right now, we should deal with the private dick while we have the chance.” Pixie scowled at Clifton.

  “Good idea,” Kiki grinned sadistically as she turned her anger towards Clifton.

  “Pixie, it’s not what you think,” Clifton tried to explain as he held his bloody nose and attempted to stand.

  “You tricked us,” Pixie said in disgust as she kicked his arm out from under him; sending him back to the ground.

  “Pixie please, it’s not me, it’s Dean,” Clifton pleaded.

  “You had ulterior motives the whole time.” Kiki shook her head slowly.

  “We don’t take kindly to manipulation,” Graves said.

  “Especially when it concerns our sister,” Pixie finished as they circled around him.

  “Wait!” Clifton cried as he threw his hands up in defense.

  “To late to wait.” Pixie grinned.

  ***

  Dean ran through the house like a battle ram. He took the steps three at a time and rushed to Lux’s room. He went straight for her dresser. He didn’t expect to find any pictures; he wanted to prove Clifton wrong. He wanted to go back down stairs and continue to beat him up while he laughed in his face. Lux would never do that, and he would prove it. He opened the top drawer and saw a large envelope. His gut twisted as he opened it and saw the pictures of him and the governor’s wife. He felt his heart drop when he saw the fake pictures of him and his brother’s ex-fiancée.

  Clifton was right.

  Dean felt his blood begin to boil as the pain in his chest increased. It had all been a lie, every bit of it. He had been a fool from the start. He’d actually fallen for the one type of woman he had spent his life trying to avoid. His father had been right all along.

  “Why Lux?” he whispered to himself, but he knew why. He’d tried to destroy her building which led her straight to his enemy. He stood there for a moment, trying to gain his composure. He felt crushed and defeated; he’d never felt so low. He sat the file on the bed and headed into the closet. He unlocked it, walked in, and felt his heart drop at the sight of her. She’d managed to do the one thing that no other woman, besides his mother, had ever been able to do to him … she’d betrayed him. Moreover, the worst part was, he had opened his life and his heart for her to do so.

  “What did you do to him?” Lux asked when he walked in. She sat with her back to the wall… glaring at him.

  “You have feelings for him?” Dean stood there momentarily stunned by her concern for h
is enemy.

  “No,” she answered honestly as she shook her head.

  “Liar.” He looked to her clothing rack and grabbed a long black scarf. He quickly wrapped it around her mouth and tied it against the back of her head. “No more lies.”

  He picked her up, slung her over his shoulder, and left the closet. He grabbed the folder with the incriminating pictures off the bed and headed out of the room. Dean left from the side entrance of the building as he carried Lux to his car. He laid her on the back seat and twisted the seatbelts to lock her in. He pulled to the street out front and stopped when he saw the scene playing out in front of the music hall.

  Clifton was naked, hand cuffed, and bleeding from the nose. He was running around the yard trying to avoid the mini firecrackers that Pixie was throwing at his feet. Graves and Kiki giggled as they filmed the whole thing.

  Dean’s frown never left his face as he sped off.

  “You should learn to pick your fights wisely, Clifton,” Kiki said condescendingly.

  “Trying to manipulate women never turns out good for sketchy men,” Pixie sang as she threw a larger firecracker at his feet.

  “Smile for the camera,” Graves said when Clifton sped by her, narrowly avoiding the last explosive.

  “And you better keep your mouth closed,” Kiki warned him.

  “I know how badly you’re itching to turn Dean in for this, but you better not, or we will release all this damning evidence against you.” Pixie grinned maliciously.

  “We’ll also let the world know that you were the one who leaked those fake pictures,” Graves added.

  “Not to mention releasing this video of you. Frolicking naked with fire crackers isn’t a good look.” Pixie chuckled as she threw another firecracker at his feet.

  The Cabin

  Dean drove for what seemed like hours to Lux; she was positive they were far from the city. Despite her awkward position, she didn’t mind the drive. From the backseat she could feel the intensity of his anger, and she hoped the length of the drive would calm him down a little.

  Dean sat silently fuming in the front seat. He kept looking in the mirror to see Lux, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest each time he did. He kept the scarf tied around her mouth so that she couldn’t speak and turned the music up loud in case she was able to make any sound. He did not even want to hear her voice right now and hadn’t said one word to her since he’d put her back there.

  He turned into the woods and followed the long dirt road down to the small dock. He parked his car before the water and got out to grab Lux from the back seat. He pulled her out, slung her over his shoulder again, and headed down the dock to his large boat. He carefully got into his boat and sat her on the seat closest to the front. He unhooked the boat from the dock and started the engine. He immediately stopped the boat when he heard her screaming. He turned away from the wheel, walked over to Lux, and kneeled down before her.

  “One more scream, and I will strip you naked and fuck you hard until you settle down… or pass out,” He threatened as he glared at her.

  She could see the rage in his eyes and knew she should tread lightly. Her instincts told her to take heed, he was not himself. He was furious with her, but she didn’t understand why.

  Her curiosity was more powerful than her fear, so she screamed again, “Why?”

  Although it was muffled by the layers of silk, he could make out her word.

  “Why?” he repeated what she said, and she nodded. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  He stood up and walked back to the wheel.

  It didn’t take long before he was parking the boat at another dock with a few other boats. He grabbed Lux again and threw her back over his shoulder before he got off the boat. He put his large hand across her rear end to keep her still, and Lux felt her vagina stir despite her dilemma.

  “Are you insane, you… wanton tart? Seriously? Now? He’s furious at you and you don’t even know why. He’s thinking about revenge, and you’re thinking about him sliding that thick finger inside of your…” she shifted her weight as her clit ignited at the thought. “Damn!”

  He marched hard across the front yard, bouncing Lux mercilessly on his shoulder. Lux tried to see where they were going but between her mound of hair and his large back, she couldn’t see much. When he ran up the front steps, she attempted to wrap her dangling legs around him to prevent herself from bouncing too hard. He rewarded her with a quick slap to the ass.

  Dean stormed into the house and headed down stairs to the exercise room. As far as exercise rooms went it was sorely lacking. It was a very large room with a treadmill, a weight set, a punching bag, a speed bag, a mini fridge and a large television; but that was the extent of the exercise equipment.

  Still holding Lux tightly, he walked to the middle of the room and looked up at the large punching bag. It hung from a thick, sturdy chain attached to the ceiling. The bag alone weighted more than Lux, not to mention the force with which he’d always used to punch it, so he knew for a fact that it would easily hold her weight. Although he preferred his room at home for these types of activities, this would have to do. The cottage was isolated, and there would be no unscheduled interruptions. Holding her even tighter, he reached up and unhooked the punching bag from the large hook.

  He slid her down his body until her feet touched the floor. He spun her around and unbuckled the belt that held her wrists together behind her back. Pulling her arms before her, he refastened the belt around her wrists. He raised her arms above her head and secured the belt to the hook on the end of the ceiling chain. He weaved the hook through the belt straps to prevent her from moving too much.

  A million different thoughts raced through Lux’s mind as she watched him hook the belt to the ceiling chain. First and foremost, what the hell had happened? How did she end up in this situation? Her body was tightly stretched, but she was thankful that her feet touched the ground. When he was finished, he stood before her and removed the scarf from her mouth.

  “Why?” was her only question.

  “One more word, and I will put the scarf back over your mouth,” he said with deadened eyes.

  Lux felt her heart flutter and her stomach churn. That little sparkle in his eyes whenever she was near was no longer there. She felt nothing but rage and disappointment emanating from behind the thick wall he’d suddenly built around himself. He had the same cold demeanor as he did when she had first met him. Except now it was worse; now it seemed more personal.

  “I’ll be back,” he said as he headed towards the door.

  “Where are you going? Dean!” she yelled.

  “If you say one more word, I’m going to shove something into your mouth,” he warned her before he left the room.

  Dean walked into the kitchen and exhaled what seemed like a week’s worth of air. It felt like he’d been holding his breath since he’d found those pictures in Lux’s dresser drawer. The night’s series of events had unfolded in a shocking manner that had literally stunned him. Everything had happened so fast and he’d reacted so rashly that there had been no time for preparation. Once Dean found the pictures in Lux’s dresser drawer, he’d been so hell bent on getting her to the cabin that he didn’t think about the things they would need. There were lots of canned foods in the house, but he needed something with less preparation. Luckily, there was a family-owned grocery store that served a large variety of needs. It was located on the mainland but for an additional price, they delivered.

  He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his raging nerves before he called the grocery store to place an order.

  “Vick’s variety; Vicky speaking,” he heard the owner’s daughter say in a singsong voice.

  “It’s Dean Blake,” was all that he got out before she interrupted him.

  “Well hello Dean, I haven’t heard from you in a long time. Welcome back.”

  “I need some things delivered to the cabin.”

  “Do you want your usual order?”

&nbs
p; “Yes, but I also need quick foods,” he explained.

  “You mean like already prepared meals you can put in the oven?”

  “Quicker than that.”

  “Microwave meals?” she asked.

  “Yes, and I want a lot of them.”

  “Any specific requirements?”

  “I want a variety. Give me two of each different type.”

  “We have at least a dozen different kinds.”

  “Perfect,” he said in a flat tone.