Christmas Cowboy (A Standalone Holiday Romance Novel)

by Claire Adams

  Dominic ignored my plea and continued caressing my skin. There was something about his touch that frightened me, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of the past or the present. Either way, my mind was spinning as I watched him.

  Please wake up, Brian. Please. Please. Please.

  Dominic lay down next to me and continued stroking my skin as he slid his other arm under my neck. He still had the gun in his hand, but at least it wasn’t aimed at anyone. He looked down at me as he raised his free hand and brushed the hair away from my face.

  “You really should make an attempt to keep your hair out of your face, Kitten,” he scolded. “Your face is too pretty to be hidden.”

  I nodded and forced a smile as I said, “I will do that from now on, Dom. I promise.”

  “Ava, don’t you wonder why I went to all the trouble to get you back?” he asked in a tone that made my blood run cold in my veins. I knew that he had a plan, I just didn’t know what that plan was or why he was doing what he was doing.

  “I thought it was because you loved me and you wanted me back,” I replied as innocently as possible.

  “Oh my goodness,” he laughed as he grabbed one of my breasts and squeezed so tightly that I gasped. “Aren’t you absolutely darling! Naive, but darling.”

  “Then why are you doing this, Dom?” I asked in a trembling voice.

  “Because you humiliated me and I want that rectified,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You left me and you told lies about me and everyone thinks I’m a monster, and now I’m going to prove that I’m not only not a monster, but that you and I were actually meant to be together.”

  There was no way to hide the terror in my eyes now. He saw it and it made him stronger. The only possible way out now was to fight, and I was well aware that this choice might end badly for me—and the others—but it was my only choice left.

  “What…what do you want me to do?” I asked.

  “You and I are going to take care of these problems together, and then we are going to go tell our story to the police,” he explained. “Your father hired a crazy bodyguard who held you hostage and abused you. I tried to rescue you from him, but he’d brainwashed you and convinced you that I was the enemy based on false evidence and lies.”

  I stared at Dominic, wondering what had to happen in a person’s brain to make them believe the lies they told. He was living in a fantasy world of his own making and he had no intention of recognizing reality. All I could do was nod and listen to his grand plan for us.

  “It took me a long time to track you down because he was very adept at hiding, but when I received a cryptic email from you inviting me to come talk, I knew you were trying to let me know your whereabouts. I came to the hotel, enlisted the help of the room server, and broke in just as Brian was about to allow Cheese to have his way with you.”

  “What on earth?” I was truly perplexed by this.

  “You thought I didn’t know?” he smiled. “Cheese got kicked out of the Fijis because of your little friend’s antics at the party. He wanted to get even with you for that humiliation and to have a little fun while he was at it, so your bodyguard agreed to give him what he wanted in exchange for a little cash.”

  “You are twisted,” I couldn’t hide my disgust any longer and it seemed useless to even try. Dominic had planned everything and wasn’t going to deviate from his plan. Now all I could do was fight back.

  “Ah, the kitten has claws!” he laughed as he forced his hand between my legs and grabbed my crotch so hard I screamed. “I knew they’d show themselves sooner or later. You’re no shrinking violet, baby.”

  “Get your hands off of me!” I yelled in his face. “You are not allowed to do this!”

  “Allowed? Oh no, no, no, my dear,” he grinned. “I don’t need to be allowed to do anything. I’m going to take whatever I want and you will have no choice but to let me.”

  “You have always been a sick, sick man,” I spit as I twisted to try and escape. In an instant, Dominic had the gun pressed to my temple as he gripped my arm so hard I swore I could feel the bones beginning to crack.

  “I’m not sick,” he growled. “I’m perfectly normal, I’m just angry at you for embarrassing me the way you did last year. I treated you like a princess, and you treated me like dirt.”

  “Because you beat me,” I said in a flat voice. “You beat me until I couldn’t move. You are sick.”

  “I beat you because you asked for it,” Dominic said in a casual tone. “You know you did. You misbehaved and I punished you. There was nothing wrong with what I did. In fact, you liked it.”

  “I what?” I gasped. “I never liked anything you did to me. You beat me so badly I couldn’t leave the house for days at a time. Have you forgotten that?”

  “Oh no, I’ve not forgotten anything at all,” Dominic grinned. “I’ve got it all on tape and I watch it whenever I’m in the mood for you.”

  This revelation knocked the wind out of me. He had my beatings on tape and he watched them for entertainment. What kind of monster was he? And then another thought struck me; he has the beatings on tape. Evidence. All I had to do was escape and I could tell the police about the tapes, and they would put Dominic away for good. But first I had to escape.

  “You’re so disgusting,” I said calmly. “Do your parents know that they’ve raised an absolute monster? If they don’t, they’re going to be sick when they find out.”

  “You bitch,” he spat. I’d hit a raw nerve and I knew it. “You really shouldn’t be talking about parents who are disappointed, now should you?”

  “My parents aren’t disappointed in me,” I said truthfully. “They just don’t care what I do. Unlike your parents who care about everything you do and every move you make. Man, this is going to suck when it comes out that you’re a woman-beater and a murderer. I’d be surprised if they didn’t totally disown you.”

  The sting of Dominic’s hand hitting my face surprised me only a little. It was the way my neck snapped to the side that shocked me. He’d hit me many times before, but he’d never hit me this hard or with this much rage. For a moment I was frightened that he would unload the gun in my head, but then I remembered how much he enjoyed watching me suffer and knew that he’d be far more likely to kill the others and make me watch. Dominic’s sickness was ego and attention, and when I was forced to pay attention, his ego swelled. I had a good idea of what was coming next, so I closed my eyes and came as close to praying as I ever have in my life. Just let us live. Just let us live. Just let us live. I didn’t ask for any favors, just the gift of life, and hoped that someone up there would hear me.

  The next thing I felt was Dominic yanking me up off of the bed and dragging me by my hair to the front room. The others were conscious now, but since they were tied up, they were also helpless. I bowed my head as Dominic pointed the gun at the room server and said, “Tell him you’re sorry, Ava. Tell him that it’s all your fault that he’s going to take a bullet to the brain. Tell him that you feel terrible about it, but that you appreciate his sacrifice so that you can live.”

  I looked down into the terrified eyes of the teenager and held my breath.

  I opened my mouth and found myself pitching forward toward the floor. I landed on top of the terrified room server who let out a loud “Oof!”

  “What the hell!” I yelled as I felt someone land on top of me, forcing an “Oof!” out of both me and the poor room server on the bottom of the pile.

  “I wouldn’t move if I were you,” said Dominic as he pressed the barrel of the gun to my head. “Are you going to attack me, Mr. SEAL, or are you going to let me get up?”

  “Get up, you coward,” Brian growled as he backed away from the pile.

  Dominic slowly lifted himself off of me as he kept the gun aimed at my head. He then yanked me off of the frightened teenager and pulled me against him so that my back was pressed against his chest and I could see Brian’s face. I could feel the cold metal of the gun against my temple, and I smiled
weakly at Brian so that he wouldn’t know how scared I was. He looked right through me as he fixed his gaze on Dominic and the gun.

  “You see, SEAL, I win. I get the girl. You lose,” Dominic proclaimed. “You are nothing more than a hired hand.”

  “Oh, you have no idea what I am, you arrogant prick,” Brian shot back as he watched Dominic closely. “But the one thing I’m not is you, thank goodness. Who would want to be such a pathetic loser?”

  “You’re good at what you do, but you’re not going to get me worked up,” Dominic chuckled. “You see, I win. I will always win. I have money and money makes everything work. You don’t have money, so you are nobody. You can’t have girls like this because you have nothing.”

  “Is that what you think? That I want your girl?” Brian laughed loudly as he began circling us, forcing Dominic to turn on the spot where we were standing in order to follow him. “That’s just ridiculous. Why would I want used goods?”

  His words pierced my heart and I wondered, Is that what he thinks of me? I was trembling as Dominic spun in place. The gun was hard and cold against my head, and I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as I realized that one wrong move and he’d fire a bullet right into my brain. I wouldn’t stand a chance. My eyes searched wildly for Brian, but he was on the move and was keeping us moving, too.

  “Used goods? Is that all you think of her? My, my, my, that’s not very complimentary, is it, Kitten?” Dominic looked at me as he asked the question. “How do you feel about being called used goods?”

  “I’m not used goods,” I whispered.

  “What did you say? You need to speak a little louder, dear,” Dominic ordered. “We can’t hear you.”

  “I’m not used goods,” I said more clearly.

  “Well, I believe the SEAL here thinks you are,” Dominic reminded me. Brian continued moving, his attention focused on Dominic, but I could see that he was holding something in his right hand. I couldn’t tell what it was, though. Dominic pressed the gun against my head harder and more insistently. “I think maybe he might be right. Maybe you are used goods, and you know how much I hate it when something that is mine has been used.”

  I couldn’t hold it in any longer, and the tears began sliding down my cheeks. I had done everything I could to try and save all of us, and now I was going to be the first one to die. Dominic was going to win, again. I’d done everything I could to escape from him, and he was going to have the last word here in this hotel room with Brian watching. I closed my eyes and willed myself to breathe deeply. If I was going to die, I wasn’t going to fight it. I would stay calm.

  Seconds later I heard Brian yell, “Duck, Ava!” and without thinking I pulled away just as Brian flew across the room and grabbed Dominic’s arm. He let go of me and turned the gun on Brian. I heard myself screaming as the gun went off and the sound rendered me deaf for a moment. Was I shot? I didn’t feel like anything hurt, and it didn’t look like I was bleeding. I looked up and saw Brian punch Dominic in the face as he swore a blue streak. Dominic punched back wildly, but only landed one to every four of Brian’s.

  Where is the gun? I couldn’t see it in Dominic’s hand. I frantically searched the room with my eyes and finally located it on the floor just under the sofa. Dominic had dropped it when he’d fired a round, and Brian must have kicked it out of the way. I scrambled across the floor and grabbed it from its hiding place as Dominic landed a vicious punch, and I heard the crunching of bone against bone as his fist connected with Brian’s cheek.

  I winced as I lifted the gun and pointed it at Dominic. His earlier punishment had left my arm an aching mass of bruises, but I held the gun up as I stood and yelled, “Dominic, stop! Now!”

  He turned and looked at me holding the arm that was holding the gun and then burst out laughing. His laughter struck a nerve, and I nearly pulled the trigger. I would have, too, had it not been for the fact that this gave Brian the opportunity to connect one very brutal punch to Dominic’s ribs. I watched Dominic crumple to the ground holding his side as he writhed in pain, then looked up at Brian and held out the gun.

  Brian quickly crossed the room and took the weapon from me and tucked it back inside the holster under his hoodie before moving back over to where Dominic lay crying in pain, and gave him a swift kick in the ass for good measure. Wide-eyed, I looked up at him.

  “Hey, he tried to kill both of us,” he shrugged as he pulled out his phone and quickly punched the 911 key. He told the operator where we were and what had transpired then hung up the phone, tucked it in his pocket, and moved over to help me off the floor saying, “I think we should get some clothes on you, don’t you think?”

  The rush of adrenaline had made me completely forget that all I was wearing was a pair of panties. I shivered as Brian wrapped an arm around my waist and walked me back to the bedroom, where he retrieved my clothes and helped me pull my T-shirt over my badly bruised torso. I left my bra on the floor, knowing that to try and put it on would be more pain than I could handle. After he’d helped me dress, he walked me back out to the living room and sat me on the couch.

  “Just stay there, okay?” he advised as he moved around the room and untied the room server and Cheese. He brought the frightened teenager to the couch and sat him down next to me. Cheese was still groggy on the floor, so Brian went into the bathroom, ran some cold water over a washcloth, and brought it out to put on Cheese’s face. Dominic lay silent on the floor until Brian nudged him with the toe of his sneaker, then he groaned in pain and tried to roll over.

  “I’m going to kill you, SEAL,” he muttered as he tried to get up off of the floor. The pain in his ribs made him cry out and sink back down to the floor.

  “Yeah, promises, promises,” Brian replied as he pushed Dominic’s face into the carpet a little harder than necessary. I looked away. I understood why Brian was doing what he was doing, but I still didn’t want to see it.

  Despite everything that had happened, I felt sorry for Dominic. He was a sad, sick man, and he was going to pay the price for his desire to get revenge, but I also knew he was a broken boy who never felt like he’d been loved. I shook my head and looked at the poor little room server who’d gotten caught in the middle of all of this and thought he was going to be killed. I put a bruised arm around his shoulders and reassured him that it was all going to be okay.

  Brian looked at me from across the room, and then looked away.

  *****

  Five minutes later, the police pounded on the door, and when we opened it, they came streaming in like they had prepared to storm the entire hotel, and it occurred to me that maybe they had. The first thing they did was bring in the EMTs and have them check us all out. Dominic was put on a stretcher while we were all questioned, but they didn’t roll him out.

  Brian gave a detailed account of what had happened, and I was shocked to hear him telling the officers about what I had done to try and divert Dominic’s attention so that he could free himself. He’d been conscious the entire time. I felt the shame rising in my chest as I realized he’d heard me say some really terrible things about him as I’d tried to figure out how to save us all. I looked over at him, but he was deep in conversation with the officers, so I shifted my attention back to the room server who’d been obviously traumatized. I told the medics what had happened to him and how he’d stayed remarkably calm for someone so young. They took turns reassuring him that he would be okay, and then slowly led him out of the room to the waiting ambulance. Other EMTs had collected Cheese and quickly driven him to the hospital. It sounded like they feared that he had a concussion from the blow to the head, and they wanted to get a CT scan to make sure he wasn’t bleeding into his brain.

  I told the police what had happened with Cheese and that while he was certainly responsible for his actions, he had not signed on for the kind of action that Dominic had decided on once they’d gotten in the room. I didn’t want to absolve Cheese of any responsibility, but I also didn’t want him taking the fall for Domini
c’s evil plot to kill us all. The officers took my statement, and then finished up with Brian before they signaled to the EMTs that they could move Dominic out of the room.

  “I’m not done with you, Kitten,” Dominic ranted as the EMTs wheeled him toward the door. “I’m going to find you and hunt you down! You will be sorry that you ever messed with me when I find you!”

  I shot a frightened look in Brian’s direction, and he moved in next to me and put his arm around my waist as he softly said, “They will never let him out of prison again. Don’t worry, Ava. It’s a done deal. You’re safe.”

  I gave him a grim smile as I watched them wheel Dominic away from the room, and then turned to the officer in charge and said, “He has evidence of all the horrible things he did to me.”

  “What do you mean?” asked the officer.

  “He was my boyfriend, but he beat me badly and I finally left,” I replied. “Today he said he has videos of the beatings that he would watch when he missed me….” I trailed off as the tears started to flow. Brian turned and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against his chest and stroking my hair as I cried.

  “Do you know where he keeps them?” the officer asked.

  I shook my head against Brian’s chest, not wanting to have to think about where Dominic might keep such awful mementos of his abuse. For the hundredth time since this all started, I wondered how I could have possibly ended up here. Is this all my fault?

  “Ava, none of this is your fault,” Brian whispered as if reading my thoughts. “Dominic is a sick individual, and you had nothing to do with that sickness. You were a victim of it as much as the rest of us.”

  “But I couldn’t stop him,” I sobbed.

  “None of us could, alone,” Brian soothed. “It took all of us to stop that level of sickness. You can’t blame yourself.”

  I nodded, but I wasn’t sure I believed him. Brian held me as the officers finished up their preliminary work and told him that we’d need to come down to the station to file reports and give statements the next day. Brian took the officer’s card and assured him that we would be there the next morning.