Winning Streak

by Alice Ward

  I could hear her yelling into the phone, giving the dispatcher my apartment number and address. She was crying so hard, I didn’t think they could hear her. I waved her to come over and stay with the baby while I took over.

  Fifteen minutes later, paramedics came rushing into the door. By then, Dustin was sleeping again. Still hot, but no longer shaking.

  “Probably febrile seizures brought on by a high temperature. Has he seen a doctor?”

  Jan shook her head. “He was only running a little temperature this morning, just enough to not go to daycare. I brought him to work with me and…” she shook her head again, “he seemed fine.” She looked up at me, her eyes pleading for me to agree. To not accuse her of being a bad mother.

  I did agree, and I told the paramedics so. “He was happy. I played with him, fed him. He went to sleep and bam, the seizure hit.”

  The paramedic nodded. “In babies, fevers can spike, and things can happen fast. But we’ll take him in to make sure there’s nothing else going on.”

  As they strapped Dustin on the stretcher, I pulled Jan aside. “Do you have insurance?”

  Her eyes welled with fresh tears. “Yes, but the co-pay for an emergency visit is…” she shook her head miserably.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll drive you to the hospital and sign as the guarantor. They can bill me any balance. I’ll take care of it.”

  As I closed the door behind us, Jan was still thanking me, and I was still telling her to stop.

  Taking a deep breath, I glanced at that folded piece of paper.

  Fuck it.

  Right now, I had a frightened mother to get to the hospital.

  Eliana and I would deal with the video fallout later.

  Together.

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  Eliana

  Bruno was being a bigger little shit than normal. The elderly Chihuahua had already nipped me twice, although he hadn’t drawn blood. To be fair, he wasn’t normally a morning dog. Mr. Lancaster and Bruno were heading out on vacation tomorrow, and the stinky fella needed a sprucing up for the trip.

  I stuffed another treat into the demon’s mouth so I could trim his front nails without having to leash his head too high. It was easier that way, but it sometimes frightened the dogs, especially the little nervous yippy ones I hadn’t built up a trusting relationship with, like this one

  “All done,” I promised the dog and then stretched my back. I was eager to leave and feed my other babies. I was later than normal because of Bruno’s vacation emergency. I should have gotten up earlier and made my rounds, but it was too good waking next to Kane and then making slow, sleepy love for an hour.

  The bell over the door jingled, and Mr. Lancaster stepped in, and the little dog’s entire body trembled with anticipation.

  “Was he a good boy for you, Eliana?”

  I smiled and lied through my teeth. “The best. His glands looked much better.”

  Mr. Lancaster beamed at me like a proud papa. “Thanks to you. The cyclosporine therapy Bruno’s vet prescribed is working. The vet credited you for catching it early.”

  I beamed back. The old man slipped me a hundred. “Thank you for adjusting your schedule for us, Eliana.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Lancaster. I hope you and Bruno have a great trip.”

  I was still smiling when I left the shop, locking up behind me. Readjusting the straps of the heavy bags on my shoulders, I took off, enjoying the crisp air of early fall.

  Because I was coming from the shop, my route was backward this time. Stopping in each alley, I fed and petted my charges, their humans too.

  The last alley was always my favorite, even though I’d never admit it to anyone. Joseph and Target had started it all, and I had a soft spot for them both.

  The alley was dark and stank as bad as usual. No matter how many times I’d pleaded for Joseph to find a better place, he wouldn’t. He liked it, for some reason.

  Walking past the dumpster, there was no Joseph. No Target. I went farther in, whistling a few times. Nothing.

  I was running late, but not terribly so. I walked back to the dumpster, and the pile of blankets told me Joseph had been here not long ago. He wouldn’t have gone far without his possessions, as meager as they were.

  There was a sound, and I stopped to listen.

  A whine. A yip. Target?

  I stood still, trying to figure out where the sound had come from.

  There it was again. Another whine, this one much longer.

  “Target! Joseph!”

  I got a bark in return and located the direction. Glad my bags were mostly empty now, I hurried, following the sound.

  “Target!”

  Bark.

  The sound seemed to be coming from an abandoned apartment building. I stepped closer and put my hand on the door and was surprised to see that it was already open a few inches.

  “Target!”

  The bark I got in return seemed even more excited. I walked farther in and listened hard.

  “Target!”

  There, up the stairs.

  “Joseph?”

  Another bark.

  Navigating around the loose boards, I began to climb.

  Motes of dust filled the air in front of me each time I crossed in front of a window. It was cold in here, much more so than outside.

  At the top of the stairs, I called again. “Target! Here, boy.”

  I turned right, following the sound of constant barking to the end of the hallway. How in the world did he get in that room?

  Pushing on the door, I found the jumping dog. He was tied to a rusty radiator, and Joseph was on the floor beside him, unconscious.

  An adrenaline surge caused my hands to shake as I dug through my purse to call 911. I backed out of the room so I could hear over the dog’s barking. “Joseph, I’m calling for help. I’ll be right—”

  The last word was lost in the glove that covered my mouth.

  Target went crazy, jumping and pulling at the leash. The man holding me reached forward and pulled the door closed. I brought an elbow back and connected with the side of his head. He let me go, but only for an instant.

  An instant was all I needed, and I began to run but was caught as a hand twisted in my hair, pulling me back.

  When I was against the man’s chest, he whispered, “I heard you’ve been a very bad girl.”

  I froze. This man knew me. This wasn’t some random vagrant I’d stumbled into. I’d been set up. By who?

  His breath was hot in my hair as he grabbed my breast, squeezing it hard. “So you only put out for baseball players, huh? Football players too.” I focused on his voice. It was low. Raspy. Artificially so. Like he was changing it on purpose. So I wouldn’t recognize him.

  Who was this?

  Renewing my struggles, the man just laughed as he pushed me face-first into a wall, his weight holding me against it. “Go ahead. Fight me. I like it that way.” The heat from his breath was humid against my ear.

  “What do you want?”

  He laughed again. A deep gravelly sound. “I want so much I don’t even know where to begin.”

  I shuddered. “Please. Don’t do this. I won’t tell anyone. I—”

  He growled. “You better tell someone.”

  That wasn’t what I had expected. “What?”

  “I want you to leave here and tell your rich boyfriend that what happened today was all his fault.”

  I didn’t understand. “How?”

  “He’ll know. All you need to care about is letting me have my turn. Maybe if you pretend I’m in the NBA, you’ll spread ‘em fast enough.”

  A new surge of anger and adrenaline pushed through me, and I lashed out. Pushing away from the wall, I turned and used my fists and feet and teeth. The huge engagement ring became a weapon as I slashed at his covered face.

  He smacked me. Hard. So hard that the black mask he was wearing blurred.

  Tears sprang to the surface. The tears I’d tried so hard to force bac
k. “Please don’t.”

  “Why? I enjoy this. It’s more fun this way. Can you feel how hard I am?”

  His erection pressed into my hip, and I lifted my thigh, trying to hit him in the balls. And connected. But not nearly hard enough. He turned at the last minute, but he still grunted, cursing me with every breath.

  Shoving him with all my might, I took advantage of him being momentarily off-center. I ran. The sound of Target’s barks faded as I got closer to the steps.

  Then my foot went through a rotten board, and I stumbled, waving my arms desperately to keep upright. It was too late. He was on me once again. This time knocking me to the floor. Knocking the breath out of me as he crashed down on top of my back.

  “Yeah, keep fighting, sweetheart,” he said, and I did. I fought even when he flipped me over and tried to unbutton my jeans.

  I fought when he laughed at my efforts.

  When he screamed, I didn’t recognize the change in his tone at first. But then he was off me, and Target was going for his throat.

  Scrambling backward, I saw Joseph staggering down the hallway, trying to help. But he stumbled forward, falling, then not moving.

  Crawling, crying, I went to him, turned him over, checked his pulse.

  And when I looked up, Target and the masked man were gone. There was a sharp yip. Then only the sound of boots as the man ran away.

  “Joseph, hang in there. I’m calling for help.” I scrambled for my phone.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw a movement and sprang to my feet. But it was only the dog. He was limping but looked otherwise alright.

  As I called for help, Target laid down next to his master. The man who had fed him even when he couldn’t feed himself.

  “Good… boy,” Joseph rasped and turned his rheumy eyes to me. “Take… care… my… boy.”

  I took his hand. “I will, but only until you get better, okay. You need to get better.”

  But he didn’t.

  Joseph died, his loyal dog beside him, as the sirens announced the ambulance’s arrival.

  ***

  I was still numb when the ambulance pulled up to the emergency room. Joseph’s cold hand was in my still trembling one, Target’s leash in the other.

  The paramedics had been kind enough to let Target ride along although I knew the hospital wouldn’t be as accommodating. I was arguing with a nurse, fully prepared to reject medical attention rather than leave the heroic dog alone outside, when I heard the screech of tires, then the roar of an engine.

  “Eliana!”

  Target growled, and I put a comforting hand on his head as I turned to see Kane running toward me. I was so glad to see him that I burst into tears and fell into his arms.

  “What happened?”

  I was still crying too hard to answer, so the paramedic filled him in. When the kind man finished the story, the grumpy nurse jumped in, “We’re trying to get her treated, but she won’t leave the dog outside.”

  “Do you blame her?” Kane yelled. “The dog probably saved her life, and you want her to abandon him?”

  I placed my hand on his arm. “It’s okay. I’m not hurt. That’s why I don’t want to go inside.”

  He stared at me, looking at every inch of my face. He raised a hand to the bruise on my cheek. “But you are hurt.”

  “It’s just a bruise. It’ll heal. I’m okay otherwise. Just shaken.”

  Kane looked at the nurse. “Well, you heard her. I’ll take her home.” He looked down at Target. “Guess you’re going home with us too, huh.”

  Target growled low in his throat but didn’t seem as threatened when Kane held out his hand for him to sniff. After a few seconds, he gave him a tentative lick.

  The dog’s attention changed focus when a paramedic rolled Joseph out of the back of the ambulance. He whined, and I led him over to say goodbye. It was heartbreaking and almost impossible to watch as the good dog nuzzled his good friend. The kind paramedic stayed outside until Target seemed to be ready. With a last whine, he turned away to stand with me again.

  “Where will you be taking him?” I asked the paramedic before they rolled Joseph away.

  The policeman assigned to the case answered for him. “Coroner will collect him for an autopsy to determine cause of death so that, when we find the person who attacked you both, we can press charges.”

  It made heartbreaking sense.

  “Where will he be…” I swallowed down the emotion that wanted to assault me again, “buried?”

  The policeman shook his head. “His remains will be in the morgue for thirty days, and if no one claims him, he’ll be cremated and his ashes buried then.”

  A sob escaped.

  Strong hands came down on my shoulders. “We’ll claim him and give him a proper burial. I’ll see to it.”

  I sagged back against Kane. “Thank you.”

  Kane’s phone rang, and he kissed my hair before stepping away. Target whined as Joseph was rolled inside the hospital. “I know, boy. I miss him too.”

  Not really listening to Kane, I tuned in when he said, “No, come to my place. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  I lifted an eyebrow when he turned to me. “Feds?”

  When he nodded, my stomach sank. I dreaded going through everything again.

  Kane kissed my hair. “Don’t worry, we’ll do this together.”

  With Target by our side, Kane led us to his car. When he slipped behind the wheel and closed his door, I remembered something. “Why were you even here at the hospital?” I glanced down at his leg. “Are you okay?”

  He blew out a breath before reaching over and taking my hand. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything later.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  Kane

  In the space of a few weeks, I’d gotten a girlfriend turned fiancée, and was in the middle of planning a rushed wedding so I could get hitched before my beloved grandmother took her last breath. My dick had been viewed by nearly five million people, most of which had given it a thumbs up, thank you very much. I was still very disappointed that I’d missed my first road trip — hell, first game — since signing on to the majors.

  And now I had a dog.

  A big-footed brown dog that looked part Labrador, part Weimaraner, and part terrier. And he was awesome, especially when he got to lay in the bathtub and get his belly scrubbed. He hadn’t once peed or pooped on the floor, and every shoe in the house was still intact.

  At first, Target seemed depressed and wouldn’t leave Eliana’s side, but it didn’t take him long to come creeping over to me. Especially when I started sneaking him dog treats on the side. I’d swear he winked when he took them, a little our secret, Dad expression in his honey-colored eyes.

  It was the last day of the road trip, and I was itching to get back on the field when the Beasts returned to New York the next day. They’d lost two on the road, taking us back out of being a series contender, but I felt positive that we would get our place back as wildcards at least.

  The bruise was now purple and yellow, but the muscle was stretching fine. I was nearly back at top speed when I ran the bases at the stadium today, and although the thigh stung when I pushed off to dive for a ball, it didn’t affect my movement. I was ready.

  As far as the crazy shit stuff went, Eliana and I were both laying low as we waited for the agents assigned to our case to discover something new. The autopsy showed that Joseph died from a blow to the back of his brain, which caused a bleed that he had been unable to survive. But he’d survived long enough to open that door and let Target loose. The good boy had done the rest.

  For the past two days, I’d received threatening emails asking for money in trade of videos. I’d ignored them. Eliana and I had decided to ride things out and deal with anything that came our way. Rhett Hamilton and Katrina Delaney agreed, and we had their, and my family’s, full support.

  In record time, a public service announcement was created regarding revenge porn and the damage it di
d to innocent people. The Beasts’ social media pages had been ablaze with public support. And many more women had come forward to share their stories. In fact, Eliana was at the stadium at the moment, filming another announcement, Target in tow. Along with the bodyguard, Deke — who she thought was a driver.

  Overall, things were going great.

  That was why it surprised the hell out of me when Eliana’s mother came to visit.

  “Kane, darling, it has simply been too long,” she declared as she swept through the door I held open.

  “How did you get up here?”

  She simply laughed and waved her hand, wandering around the living room. “My darling daughter resides here, of course. Are you telling me I can’t visit on a whim?”

  Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. And I’m going to have someone’s balls downstairs.

  “What can I do for you, Alize?”

  I gritted my teeth when she laughed again. She shrugged off her coat and tossed it on the sofa, revealing a tight neon blue wrap dress underneath. She preened, and I knew she was expecting me to say something complimentary. I didn’t.

  With only a slight tightening of her mouth, she continued to walk around my living room, touching leather and carefully studying my art. At the wall of glass, she pressed both palms to the newly cleaned surface. With what appeared to be a practiced maneuver, she bent at the waist, giving me a clear view of her scantily clad ass, and looked down. “Oh my, you could get a nosebleed from up here.”

  “What do you want, Alize?” I asked.

  She turned and batted those baby blues. “Have I already worn out my welcome?” I said nothing, and she huffed. “I was actually in search of Eliana. I’ve missed her and wanted to catch up. Can you fetch her for me?”

  “She isn’t here.”

  The baby blues widened, and her bottom lip pouted out. “I’m so disappointed. I’ve heard rumblings of some terrible things that have been happening to her, and you of course.” Her eyes flicked down my body, and I reached for the t-shirt I’d taken off earlier and pulled it over my head. “I just wanted to provide some sisterly support or advice.”

  Sisterly? She has to be kidding.

  “But this is actually better, Kane.” She came my way. “I feel we got off on the wrong foot, and I would adore the opportunity to clear the air. I truly do want to have a positive relationship with Eliana and you. Can we talk?”