Her Pride His Prejudice

by Jessie Rose Case

  He nodded and got out better than he got in. With his good arm over her shoulder, she helped him into the house, pushed the door open, going to the table in the kitchen. She put down the gun, her bag and phone.

  “Your place?” he asked. She nodded. “How far did we get?”

  “About an hour and a half from where I picked you up.”

  “You don’t lock your doors?”

  “No. If they want in, they’ll get in and this way, it saves me having to buy a new door. I only lock them when I’m here.”

  “Good. Lock them now.” He told her as he looked around.

  He sat out of breath. “I will. Here.” She gave him some more water and went around closing shutters and locking down the front and rear doors. Grabbed some ice, then produced a first aid kit bigger than the last one.

  “Do you need food or first aid first?”

  “Food.”

  She put the ice in a clean tea towel and gently held it to his eye. “Can you hold that, it will help with the swelling.” He held it with his good hand, as their fingers touched Will got a small shock and withdrew her hand quickly.

  What the hell? Static. He didn’t need more injuries.

  Going back to the kitchen area she got on with producing some food. She wasn’t sure this was the right order at all, but opened the fridge and quickly pulled out makings for sandwiches checking over her shoulder that he was at least trying to use the kit. He was, then leant over and checked her phone. The location app was still working she’d checked too.

  Grabbing soup out of the cupboard, she poured it into mugs and put it in the microwave to heat and started on the sandwiches.

  “I don’t know how long your people are going to be so I’m making some sandwiches and soup ok and while you’re eating, I’ll check your wounds see what we can do.”

  “Thanks.”

  Pulling the mugs from the microwave, the beef and veg soup smelt good. She plated two large beef, mayo and salad sandwiches and took them over. He stopped working on his body immediately and even with his injuries he practically downed the soup in one go and inhaled the sandwich. By the time she was back with her own it was nearly gone. Hungry much? He must have sensed her as he looked up apologetic. Will smiled at him. It was a bit of a relief to see him do something normal.

  “Sorry, food helps.”

  He said the weirdest things and she shrugged it off passing him her soup going back for more. She returned and saw him eyeing up her sandwich. She moved it over towards him taking his away. “Help yourself.” He did. By the time she’d got more substantial first aid supplies most of that was gone too. She gave him her mug as well. She could always do something later.

  He must have been starving…. Will hovered. He knocked back the last of the soup. And just….. wow. With all that damage going on, he was still GQ man and more.

  She got a little nervous. Which was stupid because he was a good ten years younger than her, was beaten to shit and no way was she or he ever going there.

  “Okay so let me have a look.” She bent down and he dropped the blanket. Holy shit….. It was a wall of muscle. His chest wider than she’d first thought. Packed and then some. Her mouth got dry.

  She blinked sure she’d seen a multitude of stab wounds earlier and took a closer look. Shit some were still bleeding. Others now looked like deep gashes. She walked around to his back and started cleaning them. Adding patches where needed, then worked around his sides to his front. He didn’t say anything, and she was glad about that. She then looked at the deep ones around his neck and hesitated.

  “Jesus…. Were they playing peek a boo with your internal organs?” she mumbled putting pressure on two, it would help. She hoped. She grabbed his injuried hand on his good arm and gently placed it on the worst of them. “Pressure will help,” she mumbled not sure who she was trying to convince, him or her.

  Leaning over him towards the first aid kit she reached in for butterflies, catching his broken arm, he jumped, her face hit his shoulder right by an open wound covered in blood. “Fuck, I’m so sorry,” she told him and came away with it smeared across her face.

  Bennet hissed. He’d watched the female under his lids see to his wounds. She was worried by all the blood, her scent was a mixture of fear, worry, determination and sexual desire. It was intoxicating. In such a weakened state, he dare not act on it.

  The female looked good in his blood. It was across her lips and cheek. He watched as she wiped it away with her cuff. Then put butterflies on the open wounds trying to close them. Moving on to cleaning and doing the same with each in turn.

  “Those were some serious assholes.” She told him cutting his pant leg, she looked at it. Yep it was broken all right. She cleaned up the cuts, then made a splinter, she hesitated again before applying it to his leg. It was going to hurt like a bitch. “Look, you need a hospital….“

  He shook his head. She handed him some more painkillers. It was too soon but she didn’t know enough about the medicines and injectables Billy had purchased to use them. They would have to do.

  “My friends will deal with it.”

  He watched her closely. Her blood calling to him. He was spent. It was only her fast actions, with food and water that had staved off what he really needed to fix the damage. Blood. He’d gritted his teeth through the pain as she’d splintered his leg. She stood and hesitated looking at his arm. She’d been so brave up to now.

  She wiped her hand across her chest. “Shit. That looks broken in more than once place.”

  She looked at his face then and caught him staring intensely at her. She frowned and swallowed as he held out his damaged arm to her. She cranked her neck. “Okay, I can do this… no hospital.” She bent down and cautiously moved in closer trying to avoid touching him and causing him more pain. “Talk to me. Distract me. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “You’ve got caught up in something you wouldn’t normally know about.” She cleaned it gently. “My people are at war. Seeking alliances. Some good, some bad. Some trusted, some not. I went to a meeting of supposed trusted alliances and found instead something else.” She moved it back into alignment. The pain was excruciating but he didn’t voice it for fear of scaring her.

  She glanced up worried, like she’d heard him anyway, then went to find something else to splinter it with. Coming back wrapping it in cotton wool and bandages as she had his leg.

  “Doesn’t sound very safe.” She whispered concentrating on her work.

  “No,” he told her. “It isn’t. A kind of truce exists until one party pushes another and then all bets are off.”

  “And they pushed you.”

  He sneered. “Yes. One they will regret.”

  She checked his neck and face last. She gently wiped at some cuts then pulled the ice away and gulped. She thought it looked a little better, she wasn’t sure how that was possible but it was still a bloody mess.

  “Shit, I think your eye socket is broken, your cheek too. Can you see out of that eye?” She put the ice back on it gently while feeling him staring at her.

  “No.”

  She felt flush and ignored the crawling heat at her core. So not the time.

  “Right, they probably are.”

  She cleared her throat as she wiped his neck. “So, I never actually got your name.”

  “My people call me Bennet.” His voice was rich. Strong, like he was. How he’d managed through all her ministrations without crying out in pain she just didn’t know.

  “I’m Will Darcy, most people call me Darcy. Nice to meet you Bennet. Although under better circumstances would have been good.”

  She stood and put the last of her things back in the box and the names registered. “Bennet and Darcy. Darcy and Bennet.” She started to laugh she couldn’t help it. She took the first aid kit back to it storage area in the pantry.

  He pulled the ice from his face, looked at it and put it back. “What’s so funny?”

  She came back, starting to stack the dishes
. “Did you not read the classics?” He shook his head. She smiled taking the dishes to the sink. “Jane Austin. You should check her out. Both our names are lead characters in one of her novels, only the other way around. The man’s name was Darcy.”

  They sat in silence for a bit while she started to wash up. Will was glad of the space. Being near him mixed her up. She cleaned up. Wiped down and put things away.

  Suddenly he stood catching her eye. She frowned turning to him.

  “Darcy, they’re coming. I feel them. I need something solid at my back and weapons. I can’t fight like this. Or a better place to hole up in so I can wait out my people getting here.”

  Fight? Was he joking, there was no fucking way he could fight. “They’re here now? The bad guys?”

  “Yes.”

  She didn’t know how he knew that and didn’t ask, he was already up looking around, it was good enough for her. She went straight to him, picking up the shot gun and her phone. She placed his good arm over her shoulder once more and led him.

  “Over here.”

  Bennet looked around. They’d entered the pantry and she’d hit a door button as they’d stepped through. He saw it slid into place clocking them in and artificial light came on. The door was steel. He looked up at her in surprise. She smiled.

  “We got this.”

  She led him to the wall standing in front of them and pressed something to the right by a storage rack. To his surprise, the wall gave way leading to another room behind it. She helped him through heading to a couple of chairs that stood away off in the corner that had seen better days. Helping him into one of them, he realised that there was a gap between the wall and shelving they’d walked passed and lines and lines of shelves going back beyond it. What was this place?

  Will saw him checking out what she affectionately called ‘the bunker’ it was actually Billy’s safe room or house or whatever the hell he called it.

  “So this was your lucky day. This was a ‘Peppers’ house before I owned it. This is his safe room/house whatever you want to call it. Two foot thick walls, reinforced floor and ceiling. Steel door that is part of the wall itself, failsafe and the entrance steel door to the pantry. Obviously, we have plenty of supplies, despite Leesons best efforts.” She snorted. “Basic bathroom at the back if you need it. Take this.” She handed him the shot gun, then a box of ammo. “You said you can use one, so safety off,” she showed him, “point and blast, got it?”

  Bennet smiled. The female was one surprise after another. So was this house. They had a chance because of this ‘Pepper’ person. “I can use weapons, got it.”

  She handed him a couple more bottles of water. “Hydrate.” Then watched her go through the wall doorway. Grabbing a bottle of bleach, she threw it down in front of the pantry door and wedged in a cloth. Basic survival. Ammonia. It would hide their scent. She understood why he’d thrown his T into the trees. He’d hoped his scent would lead them away.

  She came back through the walled doorway. “Ammonia?” he asked. She nodded.

  He watched the female in fascination. She continued to surprise him. Smart and cool under pressure. She opened a lock box and took out a semi-automatic rifle, loaded it and placed more ammo near her facing the open doorway. His surprise registered.

  She looked at him then and gave a small wink. “Things go south, I’ll close the wall. I’m not sure how good the ventilation system is in here. I’ve never had it checked and Leeson said it was supposed to be a closed system in case of gas or something. I don’t want to close that door too early in case breathing isn’t an option.”

  “I understand.” She’d placed herself between them and him. Taking point. Was she guarding him?

  “There’s a sound system in here that relates to the house that’s still working. I guess so Billy would be able to hear anyone who got in. There was probably video too but those are gone.”

  She knew the door although thick steel, was the weakest point. She’d looked it up. If they got through anything, it would be the door giving way. The walls could take a nuclear blast. And knew it would be the lock side, which was why it had a six-inch steel overlap on that side from the frame. The hinge went all the way to the floor and was cemented in top and bottom so pretty secure.

  Leaning back against the wall she sat down then looked over to him and smiled. She was too old for this shit.

  “The strangest date I’ve ever had!”

  He laughed and she checked her weapon. Like he’d said, if they caught her, she’d be dead. Strangely, it didn’t cross her mind once that she might be on the wrong side of all this. Did it matter? Not really. The guy needed help.

  Well…. she was no sharpshooter, but she could blast away as good as the next guy. In fact, she was pretty good at it and at this range, she couldn’t miss. She heard the sound of breaking glass and looked back at him. He looked at her grimly and nodded.

  Anyone coming to pick someone up wouldn’t be breaking in. He’d been right again, they were here. Whoever they were.

  A large thump sounded in the main house and she turned her head back towards the doorway. Then a door crashed in. Will sighed, she’d need new doors. It sounded like things were being overturned. The place trashed. Fuckers!

  Fantastic. Where they angry at not finding what they wanted? Eventually the smashing and crashing stopped. Then someone tried the door from the pantry side, then hammered on it. Then tried to force the lock. Not happening asshat. They banged harder. They were joined by another. Then things got nasty.

  Whatever they were trying the door was kicking their asses. “Do you smell him?” someone asked.

  “No, some ammonia, its masking everything else.”

  “So he could have been dropped off anywhere and its just the human in side.”

  “Do either of you sense him?”

  “Its weak. Like he could have been here and gone.”

  Her eyes opened in surprise at hearing the human comment and went to giggle looking over at her guest. Nuts are us have arrived!

  Only he didn’t seem amused, he looked on edge, so she shut that down real quick. Okay. Note to self, sense of humour gone.

  Maybe they’d leave?

  “We need to be sure, tare it down.”

  Will groaned silently. Fuck. Couldn’t a girl get a break?

  Damn it. This would be the only time in her life that a male model would be literally locked in with her and still, she couldn’t get her mojo on. Her life did indeed suck.

  If she were honest, she’d had a little bit of wishful thinking, hoping for a bit of wham bam thank you mam even in his condition she’d take it. She held back her groan just thinking about it. That wasn’t gonna be happening now. And she didn’t even mind doing all the work! He was injured after all. She’d be only too happy to help out. Helping him regain his manly confidence was a duty, she could ride that like a prized bull. She tried not to grin at her own stupidity. Must be the stress.

  Will slapped a hand on her forehead. Get. A. Grip. O God, she really wanted a grip. She’d bet her ass, it was thick and long, and he knew what to do with it. She could cry that was so not helping!

  Why did she use sex talk to distract her from shit? It was her go to place for sure, but this wasn’t the right time. She was a slut. That’s what it was. A dirty horny cougar slut who hadn’t had it in way too long. She needed to focus on the dicks trying to get in. Dicks…. No. No. No.

  A chuckle came from the chair in the corner. She looked over at him. And realisation hit. She groaned. “I just said that aloud didn’t I?” she whispered.

  “I’d be happy to help with that need of yours but the timings crap.” The door hammered.

  Will sniggered. If she’d had any reputation at all, it was now in tatters. She was perving on an injured man. A much younger injured man. Shit. What would your mama say? filtered into her mind. Will smiled. Her mama would be screaming. Go girl, high fiving her and doing a cheerleading dance to encourage her to score!

  Yeah, h
er mama had been a hoot and a bit odd like that. Not like other girl’s mama’s, not at all. Noooo. Her mama was all about exploring what life had to offer and boy, did she. Right up to the very end. The door bashed again.

  Will smiled sadly. She’d been the most exasperating and wonderful parent a child could want and at no time, did Will feel unloved. Her mother was all about the love.

  Something bashed into the door again drawing her back to reality. Okay that rocked it a bit. It came again and the door rocked some more. They were using some kind of battering ram? She didn’t know she even had one laying around. It wasn’t on the itinerary the estate agent gave her. She knew that for sure. She’d have noticed the words, ‘one battering ram’. So what the fuck!

  “We need to hurry this, if he’s in there his people are on their way.” One of the asshats said.

  How did they know that? She looked at Bennet and shrugged questioningly at him. He shook his head like he didn’t know probably wondering that too.

  The battering got louder.

  She’d heard the squeak of the chair as he’d moved forward. She looked back at him and shook her head and waved him off. Letting him know she was fine. That she had this, and even if they got in the first door, she could close the wall with one flick of the switch. He stayed on the edge of his seat. Eyeing her and the door. His leg couldn’t take this weight, his arm near useless and still, he wanted to fight by her side. She gave him kudos for trying.

  The noise radiated around the room. She didn’t know how long it went on for. Eventually the door buckled. Bennet moved forward again. She looked at him sternly and gave a sharp shake of her head and pointed at him to stay put. The man was crazy.