by Anita Kidesu
“Your roomie told me.” Jon wanted to wipe the smirk from the man’s face.
“I don’t have a roommate.”
“Well, there was some broad coming out of your place. She told me.”
Reenie slumped against his side. Jon put an arm around her.
“Oh, God. Ashley.” Reenie jerked upright and took a step toward Perry. “If you hurt her, you bastard, you’ll not only have to deal with the cops but me, too.”
Perry flipped a hand in the air. His smile made Jon’s skin crawl. “The bitch will be all right—eventually.” He made a grab for Reenie, but Matt seized Perry’s wrist in a move Jon had only seen when they practiced Tai Kwan Do.
“Don’t you ever touch her again,” Matt said between clenched teeth.
“Or you’ll what?” Perry looked Matt over. “I don’t see a shield this time, prick.”
Probably wasn’t wise to start a fight with so much security around. “Matt, let him go,” Jon whispered.
Jerking Perry’s hand away, Matt stepped back in front of Reenie. “See the two of us, prick?” He wiggled his forefinger between him and Jon. “If you ever come near this woman again, you’ll not only have to deal with the cops but the two of us.”
Perry huffed out a breath and shook his head, as if he didn’t believe either of them could take him. “Fine. But you haven’t seen the last of me, Reenie.” He pivoted, but before anyone could blink, he swung his arm back and punched Matt in the face.
Screams echoed around him. His brother was hurt, but Jon’s first reaction was to get Reenie out of harm’s way.
“Move, Reenie. Get into the line before security comes.” Jon looked at the people in front of them, staring at the altercation. “That man’s a stalker and is trying to hurt her.” He pushed Reenie and her suitcase under the black rope and past people. “Please, help her.”
When his words finally seeped through the crowd’s minds, they opened a space and sent her forward. He waited a few moments to make sure she was hidden from not only Perry, but the airport security racing toward them.
“Get on the plane,” he yelled to Reenie. “We’ll be behind you.”
Reenie bit her bottom lip. Her eyes filled with tears. At her reluctant nod, Jon slid back through the people watching the altercation and recording it on their cell phones. Jerks. Both men were on the ground. The black metal poles holding the line straps clanked to the floor. His opened suitcase lay on its side, the contents tangled among Perry and Matt’s legs.
Perry flipped Matt onto his back and sat on his stomach. Jon jumped over his suitcase and grabbed Perry’s outstretched arm before he could hit Matt again.
“Freeze!”
Shit. He’d bet his bottom dollar they weren’t going to make their flight. Reluctantly he released Perry’s fist, and in that second, the man swung again at Matt. Jon cringed at the sound of crunching bone and his brother’s howl. No way was Perry going to get away with breaking Matt’s nose.
“You bastard!” Jon jumped on Perry’s back, knocking them both to the floor.
Someone grabbed Jon from behind and flipped him to his back. The muzzle of a black gun stared back at him.
“I told you to freeze,” a brawny man dressed in airport security said.
Several other men dressed in black surrounded them. A woman dressed the same way urged the line forward. Someone kicked Jon’s suitcase toward them. Matt lay on the ground, his hand covering his bleeding nose.
“Stand. All of you. Now,” the officer said when no one moved, his voice deep and menacing.
“Can I get a towel or something?” Matt asked.
A guard kicked one of Jon’s shirts to him.
Jon cringed. It figured it was one he’d purchased yesterday. Hell, the tag was probably still on it.
“They started it,” Perry said when he finally got to his feet. He picked up another of Jon’s shirts and held it to his bloody hand.
The bastard. “We did not. He—”
An officer interrupted Jon. “We’ll settle this in the office.” Cuffs were clicked over their wrists.
Jon glanced at Matt. Even though Perry’s and his hands were constrained behind their backs, Matt’s were locked in front so he could hold the shirt to his nose. Through the throng of travelers moving through the ropes, he saw Reenie toward the front of the line.
“But we have a plane to catch,” Jon said, watching a female guard scooping up his clothes and shoving them into his suitcase. He nearly cried when the box of condoms split open and scattered across the floor.
“Not today, you don’t.” With a curled lip and a low growl, the woman picked up the foiled wrappers and tossed them in the garbage. She slammed his suitcase shut, not caring that underwear and other clothing stuck out from the sides.
Jon was beginning to hate boxes of condoms. Next time, if there were a next time, he’d put them in a plastic bag. No, make that several plastic bags. Zipped shut. He’d have to make sure he bought more before they left for Greece. With his luck with the damn things, he should make Matt buy them.
As they were led away, he searched for Reenie. Being tall had its advantages, and over the heads of the passengers in line, he found her, putting her bags on the conveyor belt at security.
As if she sensed his stare, she looked over her shoulder. Tears streamed down her face. “Thank you,” she mouthed.
“At least she’s safe,” Matt whispered as they walked side by side.
“Yeah. Fat lot of good that does us.” He ignored the stares of gawkers, many probably thinking they were terrorists instead of three lovesick saps.
“Just a small chink in our plan.”
Was Matt kidding? “Small?”
“No talking,” one of the guards said.
They couldn’t talk to each other? Then why the hell didn’t they make Perry shut up? The man had done nothing but make up lies as they were escorted to the security offices. Would they get through this in time to catch a different flight today?
****
Matt rubbed the bandage on his nose and tried to ignore the sledgehammers pounding in his brain. Five hours. Five excruciatingly long hours of sitting in this small room, answering the same questions over and over to different officers. Each time the door opened, a new person entered to have him repeat and repeat the incident.
At least a doctor had been sent in to stuff cotton up his nose and give him an ice pack. He was pretty sure it was broken, and unless he could get it set right, and soon, Reenie would be able to tell him and Jon apart by more than the scar at the corner of his mouth. His crooked nose would be a dead giveaway. Every time he blinked, it started bleeding again. He couldn’t imagine how he must look.
In between interrogations, he thought of ways the situation could be used in another book. Perry would, of course, be the villain. Reenie, the heroine, and Jon and he would be the heroes, just like they had been this morning.
His stomach growled. They hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. The least they could have done was given them a donut or something to eat with the swill they called coffee. Before long, his stomach lining would deteriorate.
The door creaked open. Who did they send this time to grill him?
“You’re free to go,” the burly officer who’d first pointed a gun at him said. “We finally got the reports showing this Perry guy had a restraining order against him and how he had attacked you in Chicago. A few bystanders this morning also came forward with videos from their cell phones. You saved that young woman’s life. That guy was nuts. You and your brother are heroes.”
Matt rose and staggered away from the chair. “Yeah, some hero I am.”
The officer grabbed his arm. “Are you okay?”
Matt steadied himself. “Other than the fact I may have a broken nose, my stomach is rubbing against my spine, and we missed our flight to Greece, I’m just great.”
“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” the man said, opening the door and gesturing for Matt to go before him. “We’ll get so
meone to re-book your flight at our expense. We’ll take you to an emergency room. Someone will bring you food while you wait.”
As they stepped into the narrow, dim hallway, Jon came out of his interrogation room.
Matt asked, “How will my brother and I get home from there? We took a shuttle to the airport.”
“Someone will take you home and pick you up. The airport will cover any expenses you incur while getting back to the airport. I doubt you’ll get a flight today.”
Reenie probably hadn’t landed in Greece yet. How was she feeling? Did it bother her that they’d missed their flight, or was she glad to have dodged the bullet with Jon and him? “The sooner we get to Greece, the better. We have an appointment to keep.”
An appointment with a green-eyed, dark-haired, sexy woman with whom both he and his brother were infatuated.
“You look like hell, man,” Jon said, bumping shoulders with him.
“I feel like hell.”
The trio got on an elevator. He had no idea where they were, only that they were somewhere in the bowels of the airport.
“What’s happening to Perry?” Hopefully, the guy would be locked away for good.
“The police have him in custody. His attack in Chicago, his disregard for the restraining order, resisting arrest, and coming to the airport to accost Miss Anatole have proven he shouldn’t be free. Hopefully, a judge will continue to see it that way.” When they reached their floor, the guard held the elevator door open.
People stared as they walked the concourse. Matt figured that was going to happen often in the next few weeks.
“I need to hit the can.” Shit, his voice sounded like a bullfrog. Whispering sweet nothings in Reenie’s ear would probably make her laugh.
A look in a bathroom mirror verified the worst. Both eyes were swollen and black and blue. Was his nose crooked, or was his imagination going down a dark path? He couldn’t have a broken nose before the trip. He just couldn’t. Matt removed the gauzes stuffed up his nostrils and replaced them with clean ones.
Eating hamburgers at an airport restaurant proved difficult since he couldn’t breathe through his nose while he chewed. The guard’s phone beeped, and he answered it. Matt didn’t like the way he frowned when he hung up.
“Uh, I have some bad news,” he said, pushing his chair back as if he expected to make a run for it.
“Go ahead with it,” Jon said. “This day couldn’t get any worse, could it?”
The guard toyed with his water. “Uh, the airlines can’t get you on a flight until the day after tomorrow. All the flights are full.”
“Shit,” Jon said, tossing his napkin on the table. “That means we won’t get there until after the cruise starts.”
“Sorry, man.” The guard shook his head. “The only reason they got you on a flight so soon, was because of some cancellations.”
“It’s not your fault.” Matt stood, flinching as pain shot through his head. “Can you take us to the hospital now? We might as well get that over with.”
The drive to urgent care was taking a toll on Matt. By the time he was called into an examination room, he was ready to cut off his head.
“How did this happen?” A doctor, followed by a nurse, swung back the curtain and stood alongside the bed. He read through some notes on the hand-held computer and set it on the counter.
“A fight.” Matt flinched, holding back a groan as the doctor examined him.
The doctor snorted. “I figured that much.”
“A guy who was stalking a woman we know showed up at check-in line at the airport and tried to attack her,” Jon said. “We stepped in to help.”
“Looks like you stepped into his fist,” the nurse said, removing a blood pressure cuff from his upper arm. “But any guy who protects a woman is a hero in my mind.”
“We’ll need to get some X-rays first to see if it’s broken, then take it from there.”
****
Matt dozed off while waiting for the x-rays to be read and the doctor to return. He jerked awake when the curtains swished open. Jon set down the magazine he was flipping through.
“I understand you were going on a trip?” the doctor said, staring at a computer screen. “Where were you heading?”
“Greece,” Jon said.
“I hate to tell you this, but your nose is broken. I’d advise against air travel. The plane’s pressure when you land will be unbearable. The bleeding could start again.” The doctor two-finger tapped something on the computer. “Breathing is going to be difficult. I’ve had a broken a nose before, so I know what it’s like. Can you sit up?”
Matt swung his legs to the side. “But we’ve got a flight out the day after tomorrow.”
“You’ll probably feel even worse by then.” The doctor leaned toward him, raised his arms, and placed his fingers on either side of Matt’s nose. “This is going to hurt a bit.”
Shit. He was going to throw up. Or pass out. Or kick the doc in the groin. The room spun, and his stomach rolled. Hell, how could he feel worse than he did now? There had to be a herd of elephants dancing on the inside and outside of his nose along with a conga line across his brain. One eye was so swollen, he should just close it completely for all he could see.
“We have to go,” Jon said.
“What’s so important that you can’t delay your trip? Let me guess…a woman.”
When Matt didn’t answer, the doctor raised his eyebrows and taped Matt’s nose. “The same woman you protected from the stalker?”
Matt nodded and swore the pain went clear down to his toes.
“I’m going to give you a prescription for pain pills.”
He’d be damned if he’d spend the trip doped up on drugs. The last time he’d broken something, he had been barely able to walk because of the painkillers. “Don’t want them,” he said. “Can’t function with them.”
“You should take them, and cancel your flight.” The doctor shook his head. “You’d be making a huge mistake flying—even in two days.”
Shit. They needed this trip and not just to be with Reenie. They hadn’t had a break since Jon had moved in, and right after coming back from Greece, they had a major convention with several others to follow.
The doctor handed the prescription to Jon. “I’m going to prescribe some, anyway. They’re mild. At least take them until you leave then switch to aspirin for the pain. The nurse will give you something until you can get this filled. Just be careful, and don’t walk into any more fists.”
Still light-headed, he slid from the bed and let Jon put an arm around him to guide him from the room. How the hell long would it take for the painkillers to kick in and stop the train rumbling in his head and the jackhammer pounding on his nose?
Why the hell was he leaning on Jon and limping? He broke his nose, not his ankle. Granted, he’d be sore tonight from a few of Perry’s kicks that had connected with his ribs, but other than that, he wasn’t an invalid. He pulled away from Jon. “Good thing you hadn’t taken your travel medication yet.”
“That’s true,” Jon said. “We’d both be in a mess. Did you see the condition of my suitcase and my clothes?”
“Yeah. Sorry about your new shirts.”
Jon shook his head. “That’s all right. I’m not even sure why I thought I had to buy something new for the trip. It’s not as if anyone has seen any of my clothes, anyway.”
Matt snorted, regretting the action as it made his nose pound even more. “Do you know how girly that sounded?”
Even through his swollen eyes, Jon’s middle finger salute was obvious.
****
It seemed to take forever to get home. Once there, all he wanted to do was go to bed and sleep, even though it was only early evening. As much as he itched to get to Greece and Reenie, a few days would give him some recuperation time.
“Soup?” Jon asked, dropping their suitcases in the living room.
Matt eased onto a recliner, flipped up the footrest, and leaned his head on the
back. “Think it’ll cure my injured nose?”
“I don’t know about the break, but it may help clear up your sinuses.”
“Couldn’t hurt,” Matt mumbled, closing his eyes. He placed a bag of frozen peas across his nose. The banging of pots and clattering of dishes seeped into his hazy brain. He released his clenched jaw. If it weren’t for that bastard, Perry, they would be well on their way to seducing Reenie into sleeping with the two of them. A vision of Jon and him sucking on her nipples at the same time sent him into dreamland.
****
The next afternoon, Matt stumbled into their office where Jon was furiously typing. If anything, he hurt even more today. Unless a miracle happened, there was no way he’d be able to fly to Greece. Shit. After spending the night trying to sleep in the recliner, his thoughts were foggy, his brain hurt, and his nose and eyes were even more swollen.
“You look like shit.”
Matt eased himself into his desk chair and rested his head against the high back. “I feel like shit. I can hardly breathe, and as swollen as my eyes are, I’d probably walk off the boat ramp and drown myself. My ribs hurt, too.”
Jon frowned. “You’re not going to be able to fly, are you?”
“I don’t think so. I flew once when I had a cold, and I thought my head would explode when the plane descended. I have a feeling I’d want to kill myself this time.”
“Should I call and cancel our flight?”
Summoning up the energy to nod took too much effort. “Just cancel mine. You can go without me.” Since opening his eyes was difficult, Matt sensed Jon crossing the room to sit on the edge of his desk.
“I’m not going without you,” Jon said.
Happy and surprised at Jon’s response, he refrained from smiling. “Why not? It would give you a chance to win Reenie for yourself.”
Jon’s sigh echoed through the room. Matt pictured him raking his fingers through his hair. “I thought we already went over this. Now that I’ve admitted to myself that I want a relationship with Reenie and you, I don’t want anything else.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. By the time she returns from the trip, you should be mostly healed, and we can pursue her together.”