by Tami Dee
"Okay. Don't be late. Time is money," she called back in her thick Cantonese accent.
Putting the receiver back in place, Kat continued, "I saw the pendant."
"The Pendant?" Rosie at least sounded interested now. "How do you know it was the pendant, Kat?"
"When I touched it, it became warm, then it started to glow. Just like Amma said, the pendants did when the priest was ready to join them. Rosie, it glowed green, like kryptonite."
There was a long pause. "You almost had me, Kat girl. Like kryptonite. Good grief. You better lay off the Smallville re-runs."
"That's just an example to explain how it looked," Kat said, exasperated. "I'm not saying it was kryptonite, just that it glowed green, like kryptonite. And what do you mean lay of the Smallville re-runs. I love Smallville, just like I loved Lois and Clark before that and each and every one of the Superman movies."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's all well and fine until you start acting like you believe that the guy you picked up off the beach is a time traveling Viking that lived and should have died over a thousand years ago. Get serious, Kat. This guy probably escaped from a mental institution or something. And if you go around telling people this story, you're going to be locked up in one before you know it."
"Fine, don't believe me. But I still need you to help me out today. You promised," she reminded her quickly. "And he's expecting you. I gave him the money I picked up last night to give to you and don't you dare tell him how I got it if he presses you to know. He asked me last night if I had a lot of money and I said no without thinking. He was more than a little curious how I came across the dough I handed him this morning."
Kat paused, considering how she wanted to see her Norse jarl decked out. The image of his marvelous nude body swam before her eyes. Fanning herself with her free hand, she cleared her throat.
"Anyway," she continued. "Leif will need some regular clothes and at least a couple of really big meals."
Rosie sucked in an audible breath.
"Before you argue with me, listen," Kat went on. "He has a knife -- don't say a word, he's not dangerous -- the reason I'm mentioning it is because it's got jewels on the hilt. The thing's got to be worth a small fortune. I need you to help me decide whether to go legitimate with him and have him sell it to a collector, or whether to have him take it to Slippery Ed, that fence that lives in my building. What do you think?"
"I think I see the nice people in white uniforms coming your way carrying big nets," Rosie told her. "But that's beside the point. If you insist in going through with this delusion of yours then I think you should definitely go legitimate. Look Kat, you've been walking a thin line between straight and crooked for too long now. You're twenty years old, girl, if you get caught taking your little walks on the dark side, you're going to be sent to prison for at least most of your child-bearing years. And I would have to spend my Saturdays visiting you in the clink. Yuck."
Kat laughed. She did love Rosie. She knew she took to many risks as far as the law went. But she had been on her own in this city since she was fifteen. She would, and had, done whatever it took to avoid selling herself for the money she needed to survive. And she had an interesting array of friends both in the law-abiding and in the city's underworld to show for it. But most importantly, she had her self-respect and a roof over her head. Such as it was.
"I'll be careful, Rosie," she told her friend. "I wouldn't dream of making you loose your Saturday's just to visit little ol' me."
"Very funny," Kat heard the sound of a bag tearing, then something crunching in her ear. "Oh," Rosie said, swallowing noisily, "I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you. You need to watch your back. Word on the street is that Big Benny is looking for you. He's mad as a hornet about Annie. And really Kat, did you have to be so bloodthirsty when you had Tiny roughed up?"
Oh yes, Kat thought bitterly, she did have to be so bloodthirsty. For the last five years, she has been struggling to save the city's runaways from scum pimps like Big Benny and his scummier clients like Tiny. Almost every dime she earned, or stole, depending on how desperate the situation was, was spent on bus fare home for the girls she managed to snatch away from their kind.
She had been just twenty-four lousy hours away from handing Annie a bus ticket home. If only she had gotten to her one day sooner. The freckled faced, thirteen-year-old girl would not have undergone an ordeal that would traumatize her for the rest of her life. Kat pushed a breath through the tightness in her throat. But she hadn't gotten to her in time and Kat had made sure that Tiny paid dearly for his brutality.
"That jerk weighs three hundred pounds. He almost killed Annie and he deserved every thing I paid for. He'll be lucky if I don't send Bubba and Clyde after his butt again when he recovers from this beating."
"God, Kat. Don't tell me these things; I swear I can't sleep nights worrying about what could happen to you. One of these days, you're going to get hurt, you mark my words."
"Well, until then, I'm going to do what I have to do. Anyway, Mrs. Chan is watching the second hand, I have to go. You'll take care of Leif for me today?"
Rosie sighed loudly into the receiver. "You know I will. I'll see you tonight. Promise me you'll be careful?"
Kat kept silent rather than make a promise she wasn't sure she could keep.
*****
Kat had just finished with the day's receipts when the dry cleaner's front door burst open. Kat's heart leapt to her throat when she saw Big Benny stroll inside, close the door and click the lock into place behind him.
Mrs. Chan's scream alerted her that Big Benny wasn't alone. His goons had entered in through the back door. Looking over her shoulder, she watched as Benny's three regular sidekicks -- three stooges whom she personally referred to as Larry, Curly and Mo -- dragged Mrs. Chan into the storeroom and locked her in.
Fear clenched its icy fingers around her throat threatening to strangle her. Rosie's warning echoed through her mind.
This wasn't going to be good. She eyed Benny warily as he took his time approaching the counter. The man was known throughout the city to be a master of cat and mouse, a guru of intimidation and torture. She broke into a cold sweat.
He reached the counter smiling widely, his gold front tooth reflecting her fear-tightened face. Kat backed out of his reach and threw the phone receiver at him as hard as she could. When it hit his chest with a satisfying thud, she turned to run away, only to find herself in Moe's meaty arms. She kneed him in the groin and he dropped to the floor like a boulder, grabbing himself and howling in pain.
Kat frantically looked around the shop as Larry and Curly stalked her. Benny leaned against the counter with his long legs crossed at the ankles in a lazy pose, apparently content, for the moment at least, to watch.
They all knew how this would end but she wasn't about to go down without a fight. Catching sight of an iron still plugged in and sitting on a hot plate, Kat sincerely wished she had followed Mrs. Chan's instructions regarding turning off the dry-cleaning equipment before taking care of the day's receipts. With a sinking stomach, Kat had no trouble imagining the many painful ways there were for Benny and his goons to kill her.
When Larry and Curly were an arm's length away, Kat made a dive for the iron and, pointing it at them, pressed the steam button, sending them back a pace. Mo had disappeared from her sight, and she realized the fact too late. His breath was hot at the back of her neck as he grabbed her in a painful bear hug, which sent the iron clattering to the floor at her feet. As he took the opportunity to grope her breast, bile burned her throat. Her knees were shaking so badly she knew if Mo were not holding her upright, she would fall.
Apparently tired of the game, Benny stepped forward. "Where's Annie?"
"Annie who?" Kat stalled.
Benny backhanded her, hard. His ringed fingers split her lip and made her nose bleed. Pain radiated through her face and she was afraid, but she braced herself, certain the party had just begun.
"How many does that make
, Kat? Twelve, Thirteen? Fourteen girls? And this one owes me the bones she earned from Tiny."
Benny's bronzed face was flushed with anger. His black eyes were as hard as stones as they bore into hers.
"You've cost me a fortune helping my girls escape."
"That's right, Benny," Kat retorted. "Girls. Girls! Not women, girls. You have no right to exploit them you perverted son of a--"
Another backhand, this one so hard she saw white lights swim before her eyes.
Despite her better judgment, she kept yelling at him. "Annie is only thirteen. Did you see what Tiny did to her? I thought you were supposed to protect her? Where were you when Tiny went off on her? He almost killed the child."
At Benny's bored expression, she screeched, "She didn't want to dance anymore, you filthy pimp!"
Moe's grip was breaking her ribs and she struggled to breathe. Curly stepped forward, poised to hit her. Kat swung her legs up, grabbing Curly by the neck with them and locking him in a scissor hold that Rosie's cousin Singlee had taught her just before he went to prison. With a grunt and all her might, she slammed him to the floor. His thick head made a satisfying thump as it hit the polished cement.
The long steam iron that they used to press sheets and curtains hissed its excess steam, drawing everyone's attention to it. Benny nodded to Larry and Mo. Larry rushed her and grabbed her by the legs. He and Mo carried her, squirming frantically and cursing profusely, to the board.
They tossed her down. Her feet and head hung off the edges of the machine. Kat considered herself lucky that the bottom of the machine wasn't heated. Mo fisted her hair in a cruel grip and held her neck backwards at a painful angle. Larry kept a tight hold on her ankles, she felt the bones bruising under his meaty fingers.
"I've wanted to see you on your back for quite some time now," Benny said conversationally. "Although, frankly, I thought it would be in the bed of a paying customer."
He smiled. There was a glint of sadistic pleasure gleaming from his eyes as he reached to the top of the machine and pressed the big red button. Billows of steam swirled above her.
The intense heat, even with the lid still full up, stung the exposed skin of her face and neck.
Benny lowered the lid. Kat squeezed her eyes closed and did something she hadn't done in a very long time. She prayed.
Chapter Eight
Adrenaline surged through Leif's body and anger nearly blinded him. Ignoring Rosie's warning, he burst through the wide metal door at the back of the cleaners. At the same time, glass shattered onto the floor at the front of the building and uniformed men plunged inside, each holding a small weapon which Rosie called a gun, pointing them at the warriors holding Kat.
Leif shot a look towards Rosie who mouthed the word "Police" and he realized that these must be the ones she contacted, using the purple and pink hand held object she had called a cell phone.
As Kat's assailants scattered, she propelled herself off the steam-spiting machine and into Rosie's arms. While the women hurried to the far end of the building and pressed against a wall, out of the way, Leif grabbed up one of the men who was running toward the back door by the nape of his neck. With considerable satisfaction, Leif heard the loud crack the assailant's nose made as it shattered under his fist.
"Hold it right there!" One of the blue uniformed men commanded. He was easily six feet tall and solidly built with his hair cut close to his head. His assessing brown eyes held a hardness that belied the youthfulness of his appearance. A name stitched into the pocket of his uniform read 'McCarty'.
To Leif's astonishment, Kat's assailants stopped dead in their tracks, throwing their arms into the air. Perhaps the small gray weapons were as dangerous as Rosie insisted, despite their appearance.
"Down on the ground. Now!" Another police positioned at McCarty's right ordered.
Kat's assailants dropped to the ground and two uniformed men kicked their legs apart and roughly ran their hands over their legs, waists and arms while two others clapped the defeated assailants into wrist irons.
"You, too," McCarty shouted in Leif's direction, his gun leveled against an outstretched arm. Leif let the man he was holding drop to the floor.
"He was helping, McCarty," Kat called out. "He's a good guy."
The man who had struck Kat was likewise restrained by another police and Leif regretted not getting to him first.
"You have the right to remain silent," The police began to chant. "Anything you say can and will--"
On and on he droned until Leif lost interest. He tried to suppress his disappointment as he surveyed his surroundings. Not a single slain enemy, and except for the bloody, broken nose of the one Leif had caught, no blood had been shed. How odd, he thought with a frown, to see a battlefield were no body parts were strewn about. Leif sighed, all the adrenalin that still pumped through his veins wasted.
Organized chaos prevailed as the uniformed men called out instructions to one another. Leif thought it wise that the several men still assumed their battle positions, with their weapons trained on Benny and his men. He noted that had the word 'Police' written in bold white lettering printed on the back of their garments while 'S.W.A.T.' was stitched to others. Leif assumed this was how the chieftains identified their own clansmen.
Another rush of men, with the letters 'FBI' printed on their backs, stormed into the cleaners, their feet crushing the pieces of glass littering the entrance.
The battle was over and Leif ignored the fresh warriors as his gaze slid across the room to where Rosie continued to sooth Kat who, although not weeping, was still clearly shaken.
The image of Benny slapping her filtered through Leif's mind. She had not cowered under his assault. Indeed she had done just the opposite, standing up to him despite the odds being so obviously against her. She was a woman of strength in body, spirit and mind. Any man would be honored to have her as a wife.
Leif's heart pounded painfully against his ribs. His legs felt as though he were standing aboard his longship toppling upon a restless sea. He drew in his brows. What was this strange feeling now gripping him? The battle was over. Kat was safe.
However, she almost hadn't been safe. If he hadn't insisted that Rosie show him where Kat's workplace was located, intending to surprise her with tales of this very successful day of trading, Rosie would not have known to call the police and the man called Benny would have succeeded in entombing Kat within the steam-spitting object.
Leif's palms began to sweat and his stomach knotted. He frowned. What was this feeling suddenly overpowering him, rendering him weak in his knees and trembling like a youthling entering his first battle? The answer came to him like a fist to his stomach, and as if he had acutely been struck, his mind and body reeled against the assault.
Fear.
Nay, it could not be! It is he who was a feared warrior, having faced death countless times in his twenty and five winters. There was no doubt in his mind, even unarmed as he was, that he could have rescued Kat alone. The appearance of the Police had simply quickened the process.
Never would such a weak emotion as fear dare to assault him. Never. What he felt was nothing more than anger, rage that someone would dare harm his woman.
Leif's frown deepened. His woman? When had he begun to think of Kat in that way? His frown eased and satisfaction replaced his puzzlement. It was right and proper to think of her thusly, for she was worthy to be the wife of a great warrior such as himself.
Unexpectedly, Kat shrugged away from beneath Rosie's protective arm. A storm churned within her sea-blue eyes as she marched over to Benny.
"I'll get you for this," he sneered as she approached him.
"Yeah, you and what army?" she replied, her voice laced with sarcasm. She stuck her face so close to Benny's that their noses almost touched. He struggled against his bounds and she laughed even as she backed up a pace.
Leif shook his head in disbelief, as did a few police close enough to hear her boast. She was a brave one, that was certain, yet h
er bravery was sorely misguided considering the dire situation he and Rosie had just witnessed.
McCarty hurried to stand between Kat and Benny, his voice harsh as he addressed her. "Kat, that's enough out of you. Leave the prisoner alone."
McCarty instructed the two police holding Benny to remove him from the building and Kat, following doggedly at their heels, continued to taunt him until one of the police striving to contain a struggling Benny threatened to 'run her in' if she didn't 'back off'. Although Leif did not like the harsh tone he used, he really couldn't blame him for his irritation.
Leif approached Kat, his stride strong and sure now that he had convinced himself that the emotion assaulting him earlier had not been fear, but manly anger, fused by the instinct to protect what was his own. It was time to get her out of this place of heat spiting machines and inform her of her new status as His Woman. At least, he amended; she would be his until he returned to his time.
A darkness settled over him with the realization. But there was no help for it. This woman could never return to his time with him if, indeed, he himself could get back. The moment his people saw her, the very image of his treacherous wife, she would be condemned to death. And he would surely die trying to save her.
"I want to have a word with you," McCarty told Kat, his face set in hard lines. Leif stepped protectively in front of her.
"Who are you?" McCarty demanded.
Before he could respond, Kat blew out a deep breath and scooted out from behind the shield of his body, boldly placing her self right between him and McCarty.
She faced him and placed her palm against his chest. He felt the heat of her hand through his new clothing, the muscles of his abdomen clenched. Desire flared to life. She must have felt it too, for her eyes went wide and he could hear the catch in her breathing.
Kat strove to get a grip on her runaway hormones. She almost hadn't recognized him when he rushed to her rescue dressed as he was in modern clothing. But she had no time to ogle him now, because it was clear she had to do something right away to defuse the tense standoff between Leif and McCarty.