I reached for my cellphone on the chair beside the bed, thoughts of dialling the police the only thing now in my head, but a tap on the window and low spoken words stilled my hand. And also confirmed that the intruder could see every little thing I was doing.
"I wouldn't do that, Eva." Bailey. It was Bailey's voice. "I just wanna have a chat."
"What about?" I semi-shouted back. If I woke Dad, then maybe he'd use the phone next to his bed to call the cops. Yeah, right.
"Open the window and we'll chat," he insisted.
"Not happening!" I shot back and knifed up out of the bed, grabbing some track pants lying on the floor in the corner and slipping them on under the Kenny Chesney T-Shirt I had on.
"Don't make me break your god-damned window, Eva!" he snarled, rapping twice on the pane of glass.
"Piss off, Bailey. It's," my head swivelled to look at the time on my phone beside my bed, "five in the morning. Go home to Mummy, before I call the cops on your dumb ass."
By the time my head came back from looking at my cellphone, he'd managed to pry the window open. They don't make council flats like they used to, especially council flats in Eden Terrace. I frantically searched the room for a weapon to whack him over the head with. I knew Bailey - and the rest of the Russell boys - there would be no chat, Bailey was here for one reason only: to make me call Nick's guys off.
My eyes latched onto the Breedlove, for a fraction of a second I considered it. It wasn't my Martin, so the fraction of a second could be attributed to that. By I am a Country singer in my heart and Dreadnoughts of any description do not deserve to be used as a hammer on a Neanderthal's head. Instead I picked up my hair brush, the only other thing in the room with a suitable handle, and began beating Bailey over the head. As his body was stuck halfway in and out of the window it was actually a little of an unfair advantage on my part, but the jerk was breaking into my room in the middle of the night and had seen me doing something extremely private and interrupted a ghost cowboy dream.
He started screaming like a little girl every time the heavy brush came down on his shaved head, but he did manage to get one arm unstuck and when I came back for another blow, he grabbed me by my leg, beefy hand around my knee and pulled hard. I lost my balance and went down with a thump, jarring my behind and losing the brush. Not to be put off, I began scratching the dumbass around the face, ignoring the whacks back from his fist to my torso - I was somehow keeping my face out of the line of fire and the angle he was stuck at meant he was punching blind - and just kept on attacking. He was going to be a mess when I was done, I only wished it was Levi instead.
But of course, Levi would have ordered his brother to do this, there was no way he'd be getting his stubby fingered hands dirty.
"You little bitch!" Bailey shouted and managed to coat me in spittle at the same time. "Levi's gonna enjoy teaching you a lesson."
"Levi ain't got the balls, you low life piece of trash!" I shouted back, scratching harder and now aiming for the eyes. I did not want to see what Levi had in store for me.
"Oh, he's got it planned, bitch. The bed, the rope, the mood lighting."
Holy hell. I was so stunned at the obvious threat my cousin had just made, I stopped scratching and striking out for a second. Long enough for Bailey to dislodge his other arm and reach two enormous mitts towards my neck. I watched in stunned horror as they got closer and closer, somehow unable to shake myself out of the shock of hearing a relation say those words.
But suddenly Bailey was not there.
I jumped to my feet, heart thumping in my chest, mouth absolutely dry. Taking two steps to the window, I cautiously peered outside, unsure if I'd see Levi's cruel face there or not - ready to exact his plan.
But it wasn't Levi. Nick had Bailey against the house and was beating the ever-lovin' crap out of the guy. I was so stupefied, I climbed straight out of the window and jumped down to the dirt below, watching as Nick proceeded to punch Bailey in the face again and again and again.
"Get back inside," Nick instructed, not taking his eyes - or fist - off his target. But I knew he was talking to me.
"I think you've made your point, Nick," I said, keeping my voice level.
"Get the fuck back inside, angel, before one of his brothers turns up to help him out."
At his words my whole body stiffened and I spun in a circle, hands already in fists, to see if it was true. I couldn't see anyone lurking in the shadows or peering over the neighbour's fence, but that didn't mean Nick didn't have a point. Still, if all four of the Russell boys turned up to help Bailey, Nick would be dead meat. Sure, he was clearly in control of this little confrontation, but five against one - not that Bailey would be much use to his brothers now - was impossible odds.
"I'll call the cops," I suggested, going to climb back in the window to retrieve my cellphone.
"No need," Nick grunted and my head spun back to see Bailey - unbelievably - landing a solid blow to Nick's guts.
I didn't think, I just acted. I was on Bailey's back wrenching his head on his neck, aiming my fingers for his eyes and screaming before I realised what I was doing. Nick had doubled over and taken a step back at Bailey's - I'm going with lucky - punch. But he straightened up and watched, with what could only be called an amused look on his face, as I proceeded to attempt to gouge out my dumbass cousin's eyes from my vantage point on his back.
"A little help here!" I shouted as Bailey spun me around like a rodeo bull.
"Oh, I don't know, angel," Nick drawled from the side, "you seem to have it all under control."
Siren's could be heard approaching and I wondered briefly if my Dad had in fact called the cops to come to my aid. But as Bailey managed to get a good elbow to my side, I dismissed that thought with a grunt. My Dad would be cheering from the sidelines and placing a straight bet, not phoning the cops to come to my aid.
Nick swore loudly, having heard my grunt and seen Bailey's elbow, and stepped into the fray, wrapping an arm around Bailey's neck in a headlock and stilling his spinning top motion enough for me to stumble off. I tripped in the process, landing again on my butt, as Nick threw Bailey against the house's side, head first. He crumpled into a pile of bruised and battered fatty flesh and suddenly Nick was in my face.
The sirens stopped, but eerie red and blue lights could be seen alternating from the front of the house. It all seemed a bit surreal actually. Having been woken so abruptly to fall head first into a fist fight, not to mention the fear of having someone break into my room, I was more than a little stunned.
"Angel," Nick murmured, brushing my hair back off my face. "Are you hurt?"
I shook my head, my eyes fixed on the now still body of my cousin and all at once I was consumed by rage. How dare they. What the darn hell was Levi thinking sending his brother to do what? Beat me up? Kidnap me and take me back to the bed with ropes? What freakin' planet were these boys on? And what the hell was Aunty Jessie thinking letting them behave like this? I was sure, despite her undying love for her boys, that this behaviour tonight would cross some sort of line for my aunt.
Levi and Bailey, at least, were in a world of trouble.
But before Bailey had his ass arrested, I was determined to get one more kick in. I jumped up and rushed past Nick to land a solid kick to Bailey's guts.
"That's for scaring the crap out of me, you dumbass," - kick - "low life" - kick - "trailer trash" - kick - "piece of... oomph!" A breath of air escaped me as Nick's arm wrapped round my middle and hauled me hard back against his chest, just as two plain clothed cops came running from the front of the building.
Their eyes took in Bailey crumpled on the floor groaning then moved to Nick's arm wrapped around my waist. Ah oh!
The surfer looking one, with sandy blond hair and an awesome tan started to smile, but it was the other one, a bad-boy with dark brown hair curling just above his shoulders and awesome goatee beard just like Garth Brooks' that spoke first.
"You know, it works better if you're wearing shoe
s. Bare feet just don't carry the right amount of pain."
"Of course, you didn't hear that from us," Surfer added, then turned his attention to Nick. "And what were you doing while your girlfriend took out the bad guy?" Girlfriend?
"Enjoying the show," Nick shot back, receiving grunts of approval from both men.
Oh boy, Twilight Zone here I come.
"So, who is he?" Bad-boy asked.
"My cousin," I offered, trying to disentangle myself from Nick's arms. He wouldn't let me, they just became bands of steel around my body, accompanied by a heat coming off him that burned into my back and right through to my core.
"Levi?" Surfer asked. I blinked at him knowing about Levi at all.
"No, Bailey," Nick answered for me and my head twisted to get a good look at his face. He seemed disgusted by the whole event. I sighed and frowned down at the ground. Another night ruined for Nick, by none other than me. Some blast from the past I was.
Then gasped as Nick lay a swift kiss against the skin behind my ear, as though to calm me. My body went rigid, my heart in my throat. What the darn hell was he playing at?
"Well, we'll book him for breaking and entering, and attempted assault," Surfer said.
"And threatening to kidnap and rape," Nick threw in, making the air stuck in my lungs rush out in absolute mortification and surprise. He'd heard Bailey's threats, he knew what Levi had waiting for me. I felt my cheeks burn hot, but it was nothing like the change in atmosphere coming from the cops.
"Really?" Bad-boy asked, voice dangerously low.
"I'll come in tomorrow to make a statement, " Nick said, ignoring the angry presence on the air. "I'm wiped tonight, I need to get some sleep. So does Eva. We'll both come in tomorrow, OK Pierce?"
Bad-boy - who was obviously this Pierce person - stared at Nick for a second or two, then reluctantly nodded. Surfer had taken a step closer to his partner, a look of concern written all over his face.
"You gonna manage with him?" Nick asked, and at first I thought he was asking about them managing with Bailey, but his eyes were on Surfer, and his head nodded ever so slightly towards Pierce. Who was glaring down at my cousin with fire in his eyes.
"Yeah, I got it. Get some sleep, you pussy."
Nick laughed - actually laughed - and said, "Only you could possibly think I would let you get away with calling me pussy, Stone."
"Call it how I see it, Anscombe."
"Need I remind you that Sherry doesn't know about your latest passion," Nick said, shifting my body so I was tucked under his arm, curved into his chest and like we were all standing around a barbecue having an afternoon chat over beers.
"You wouldn't," Stone - Surfer - said in shock.
"Can be arranged. Anonymous tip."
"You are an utter bastard, you know that?" Stone shot back, reaching down and lifting Bailey one handed off the ground.
Pierce came to help him, by yanking Bailey's arms behind his back roughly and proceeding to cuff him. Stone's eyes came to mine while his partner detained my cousin. "Be careful of him, cowgirl." His head nodded towards Nick at my side. "He never plays by the rules."
I was surprised at the friendly banter between these guys, at the oh-so-casual arrest of my cousin and not a word about Nick beating the crap out of him before they arrived. Of the fact they knew who I was, who my cousins were. It was all so darn surreal. And now this, a warning that Nick didn't play by the rules.
Obviously, if he stood here with his arm around my shoulders, pressing my body flush against his, all the while his fiancée lay in their bed at home. I pushed against Nick's hold and forced him to let me free.
"Now see what you've done," Nick said on a chuckle.
"Ah, trouble in paradise," Stone said turning to follow his partner - who was half dragging, half pushing Bailey - towards the front of the house. "I see my work here is done."
"One word," Nick shot at Stone's back. "Sherry."
Stone spun on his heel and pointed a finger at him. "You're not invited to Christmas dinner anymore. No figgy pudding for you!" And with that parting word, they disappeared.
Leaving me alone, outside my bedroom window, with Nick, cowboy ghost, Anscombe.
Neither of us spoke - me, because I was unsure how to process what had just happened and all that had been said, and was waiting for the flashing lights to disappear from around the front - but I did know Nick's eyes were on me. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes never left my face the entire time it took Pierce and Stone to get Bailey in their car and drive away to whatever police station they came from. Within minutes it was as if it had never happened.
I stood still for a bit longer, trying futilely to think of something to say to get Nick to leave.
He had other ideas.
"Can we get in a door, or do we have to climb through the window?"
"What?" I said, spinning to face him at last.
"Door or window, angel? What's it gonna be?"
"I'll have to climb through the window, I don't have my key to the door," I said in a daze.
"OK then, I'll give you a hand up." Nick walked over to the window and waited patiently for me to get my butt into gear. I considered demanding he leave, but climbing back in without assistance was going to take some effort and I was beyond exhausted now. There was nothing else for it, I'd have to take his help.
I walked stiffly towards him and watched him cup his hands together, preparing for me to place a foot in them for a leg up. I noticed the backs of his knuckles were all bloody and raw, without thinking I reached down and released his hands, turning them back up to get a better a look.
"You need some antiseptic," I said automatically.
"OK," he said softly, his tone making me lift my gaze to his. His ice-blue eyes were so far from frosty, somewhere in the region of "melty", that I just stared at him - like a dork. His lips twitched at the edges. "You can take care of me once we get inside."
The spell broke.
"You can take care of yourself when you get home."
"Not going home," he answered immediately.
"Then I'll give you something for you to use in the car," I said swiftly.
"Not sleeping in the car," he shot back, equally as quick.
"You're not sleeping inside!" I said, my voice rising and threatening to wake the hard of hearing old age pensioners next door.
"Angel, I need to sleep. I've just spent the past three nights in my car watching your place, I'm wiped out. I gotta get some sleep, but I'm not leaving you after tonight's incident. Your cousins won't give up because one of them is temporarily behind bars."
Not words I wanted to hear, or think about, so I pushed them aside and concentrated on the current problem.
"I'll be fine, you need to go home to your woman."
He blinked at me and then slowly smiled. It was stunning to watch it unfold before me. Dazzling.
"No one for me at home, angel. Quit stalling and get your gorgeous rear inside."
Whoa. What the darn hell did that mean? Had he dumped Gen? What an asshole.
"Well," I said, cowgirl ice princess in full force, "you can sleep on the couch."
I placed my foot in his laced palms and let him hoist me up onto the window ledge, his hand came to my rear and gave it a swift, sharp slap - I was thinking it wasn't in an effort to push me inside.
"Not sleeping on the couch, angel," he said from over my shoulder.
I stumbled through the opening and landed hard on the floor, my hand automatically going to my butt cheek to rub it. Nick climbed through the window nimbly behind me, as though he did it all the time and for all I knew, he did.
"It's been steam-cleaned," I said, thinking that would be his argument to sleeping on the old sofa my Dad had had since the dawn of time.
"Not the state of the couch, Eva," he said, heading towards the side of the bed that had the chair beside it acting as a side table, and starting to remove various things from his belt. I watched in disbelief as a cellphone, what lo
oked like a taser, a pair of handcuffs and a gun got lined up side by side. Then in absolute stunned horror as a second gun got removed from a holster under his jeans leg. "Had a bad back for years," he said conversationally, "just spent three nights in my car. I am not sleeping on a fucking couch when there's a perfectly big enough bed for me here."
Oh. Well. But...
"You can't sleep in the same bed as me!"
"Did it once, not opposed to doing it again," he shot back, starting to undo his belt, quickly followed by the buttons on his jeans.
"What...what are you doing?" I asked, panicked.
"Getting comfortable."
"No." I started shaking my head back and forth. "No. You get the couch. Or...or I can take the couch." Yeah that would work. I didn't have a bad back, I could manage one night on Dad's couch.
"Can't keep you safe in a different room," he said, removing his jeans and in the process giving me an absolutely mind-numbingly good view of his butt through white boxer shorts. Oh, darn it all to hell.
I frowned down at the floor and heard him pull back my bedsheets and the rustle of his body sliding in between.
"Come on, angel. Climb into bed and get some sleep. I wasn't kidding when I said I was knackered. You're safe tonight."
I couldn't tell if he was talking about me being safe from my cousins or safe from his hands, but standing in the middle of the room frowning down at the floor was not going to get me anywhere. I wanted to insist on me sleeping in the lounge, but what if he was right and Levi used his mother's key and simply walked in the front door. He'd be on me before Nick could grab one of those guns and storm out the door.
I sighed, reached over and pulled the curtains closed, so the room was completely dark, then slipped out of my track pants - I hate sleeping in long trousers - and climbed down the far side of the bed, as far away as I could get from him. It took a bit of manoeuvring, the bed was right up against the wall, so the sheets and blanket were tucked in tight, but I managed. Finally settling myself down under the covers, with no sign of Nick near my side.
Sweet Seduction Serenade Page 8