No Contest

by Harper St. George

  Something slammed against her front window, maybe Jason’s fist, and she shrieked and jumped, clutching the phone so tightly that her fingers ached. “Someone’s trying to break into my house. Please, hurry. He’s going to hurt me.”

  There was another crashing thud against one of her front windows, and adrenaline surged through her. She started moving through her house, shutting off lights.

  “What’s your address, ma’am?” asked the dispatcher, his tone calm and detached.

  She told him and he assured her that the police would be there shortly, and then asked her to stay on the line with him.

  She crept to the top of the stairs, still listening. The racket Jason had been making had disappeared, and she wondered if he’d given up and gotten back into his car. She’d just turned around to head back to her bedroom to peek out the window when she heard a sickening crash, followed by the almost melodic tinkle of glass as something, a fist, a boot, a rock, she didn’t know what, smashed out a window.

  “You’re going to be so sorry you weren’t nicer to me, Ash,” came Jason’s taunting voice, now definitely inside the house. “I’m going to fuck you till you bleed, you little slut.”

  The blood in her veins turned to ice, making her limbs feel heavy. She turned and bolted into her bedroom, locking the door behind her and then moving the armchair from the corner in front of the door, doing her best to barricade it. But she knew Jason was determined, strong, and irrationally angry.

  “Please hurry,” she said into her phone before disconnecting the call, and then dialing Leandro’s number. He was the only person she could think of to call, the only person she wanted to talk to if things were about to go very, very wrong for her. She sent up a silent prayer that he hadn’t yet gone back to Brazil or blocked her number.

  Please, just let him answer.

  He answered on the first ring, and he’d barely gotten her name out when the words came rushing out of her. “Jason’s here. He broke into my house, and I’m barricaded in my bedroom. I’ve called 911, but the cops aren’t here yet. He’s threatening to rape me. I’m so scared.”

  There was no hesitation in Leandro’s voice. “I’ll be there in three minutes.”

  CURSING THE TRAFFIC on the Strip, Leandro turned onto Flamingo and gunned the engine of his Ferrari. He maneuvered around the cars ahead of him and blew through a red light, relieved that he’d postponed his trip to Brazil until the end of the week. He hadn’t wanted to leave without saying good-bye to Ashlynn, but he’d been hesitant to call her, hoping she’d reach out to him. He’d never expected her to reach out quite like this. Fuck. Any relief he’d felt at hearing her voice had vanished the second she’d started talking.

  “Stay with me. Tell me what’s happening.”

  Her breaths came fast through the phone, nearly matching the frantic beat of his heart. “He’s still downstairs. I think he’s looking around. I just heard a door slam.”

  Dammit. Her house was too small for it to take Jason longer than a minute to figure out she was upstairs. Leandro was at least two minutes out. Cold terror made him tighten his grip on the steering wheel as he realized there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop Jason from getting to her. The most they could do was try to slow him down.

  “Hide, sweetheart. I’ll get there soon.” A car horn blared behind him as he blew through another intersection.

  “I’m in the closet. I closed the bathroom and closet doors so it wouldn’t be obvious where I am.”

  “Good.” He was trying to stay calm for her sake, but he kept imagining Jason with his hands on her and wanted to beat his fists against the steering wheel in frustration. Thank God he’d been on his way to meet some friends at a casino instead of staying home, so that he was closer to her.

  “Oh God!”

  His heart stopped. “What?”

  “I hear the stairs creaking. He’s coming up the stairs!” Her voice shook, a harsh, squeaky whisper.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He was going to be too late. “I’m close, sweetheart. I’ll be there soon. Stay quiet so he doesn’t find you.”

  “I’m so scared.” Her soft voice cracked on the last word.

  “I know, minha linda. I swear to you I’ll be there soon.” Her neighborhood was up ahead. Only a few blocks away, but how much damage could Jason do in the time it took to drive them?

  The call went silent except for her breathing, and Leandro mumbled a prayer that he’d get there in time. The muffled sound of Jason yelling her name came through the phone. He was taunting her. The sick bastard. Leandro couldn’t wait to get his hands on him. He punched the gas and accelerated through a turn, tires screeching on the pavement. His blood ran cold when there was a loud bang, like the sound of a door being forced open and slamming against the wall, followed by Ashlynn screaming.

  Please God, don’t let him hurt her.

  Turning onto her street, he tossed his phone onto the passenger’s seat. Somehow he’d expected things to look different, but every house sat quiet and dark. Tranquil. Even hers. He pulled to a stop at her curb, but there was no sign of the horror going on inside. He’d barely come to a full stop before he vaulted out, not even taking the time to close the car door as he ran across her small lawn.

  The front door was locked, so he backed up and aimed a kick right at the dead bolt. It gave way, flying back on its hinges and hitting the wall. He could hear a struggle going on upstairs, Jason’s angry voice, muffled thumps against the carpet, and the sound of glass shattering into tiny pieces. Anger started to edge out his fear.

  Taking the stairs two at a time, he ran into her bedroom. Jason had her on the bed, one hand on her throat while the other tore at her sweatpants. Ashlynn struggled against him, arms flailing, legs kicking. Dark, savage emotions crashed over Leandro. For the first time in his life he knew what it felt like to want to really hurt someone. To want to take them in his hands and break them.

  “Get the fuck off of her,” he growled.

  Jason looked over, having been too focused on what he was doing, or maybe he was too stupid to realize Leandro had come in. He lifted his hand from her throat to block Leandro’s punch, but Leandro was faster. His fist landed on Jason’s jaw, throwing him back on the bed. Ashlynn scrambled to sit up, and Leandro put an arm around her waist to help her off the bed. She seemed okay, but he didn’t have time to look closely for injuries. She’d probably have finger bruises on her neck. The thought of that motherfucker daring to put his hands on her made Leandro shake with fury.

  “What the fuck?” Jason rubbed his jaw.

  “Go! Run outside and wait for the cops.” Leandro let her go, needing her to get as far away from Jason as possible.

  “Oh, you’re gonna pay for that.” Jason bounced to his feet. Leandro noted with satisfaction that Jason had fingernail scrapes on the side of his face.

  “Come on, asshole. Hit me! Fight someone who can take you on, fucking coward.”

  Jason lunged at him, and Leandro braced himself to take it as they fell against the wall. The son of a bitch was strong, but he had no idea what he was doing. He was sloppy, and his extra bulk made him slow. Leandro brought his knee up, catching him in the stomach. Jason stumbled back, and Leandro followed up the knee with a one-two punch. Jason wobbled, but recovered just enough to lunge forward, driving his face into Leandro’s fist. This time he fell to the floor and Leandro followed him down. Jason managed to recover enough to hit Leandro in the jaw, but the minor pain only spurred him on, adding fuel to his already out of control anger.

  Leandro laid into him, letting his fury pour out of him, and didn’t come up for air until strong hands were grabbing both of his arms and pulling him off. It took him a second to realize the cops were there. Two had him and a third was hovering over Jason, still groaning in pain on the floor.

  “Thank fuck,” he said as his anger drained. All he wanted to do was hold Ashlynn and make sure she was all right. It wasn’t until they were pulling his hands behind his back to handcuff him
that he realized what was happening. “What are you doing? He’s the one who broke in here.”

  “Save it, man,” one of the cops said. “Right now I’d advise you to be quiet.”

  Leandro blew out a breath and let them lead him downstairs. Ashlynn stood on her front porch talking to a fourth officer. Her eyes widened when she saw him. “No! No! What are you doing? You don’t need to take him, please. He was protecting me. Don’t take him.” The words tumbled out of her as she came running over.

  The cop raised her hand. “Ma’am, we need to get your statement first. We’ll get his too.”

  “Better call an ambulance for the other guy,” the officer holding Leandro’s right arm said to the woman.

  She nodded and started talking into her radio.

  “Ashlynn! Sweetheart, are you okay?” he called over his shoulder as he was marched toward one of the waiting cruisers. It was killing Leandro not to be able to go to her. She seemed so lost and pale, standing there shivering in her tank top and sweatpants. He wanted to pull her against him and tell her how goddamn afraid he’d been. He noticed she held a hand at one of the straps and realized it was because her top had been torn. Fresh rage burned through him and he wanted to hit Jason again.

  She nodded. “I’m okay.”

  He didn’t have a chance to say anything else as he was put into the back seat of the police car. He wanted to kick the seat in frustration, but realized that wouldn’t get him anywhere. Instead he let out a slow breath and laid his head back against the seat, content with the fact that she was safe and he’d stopped Jason.

  Neighbors had started peeking out their windows to see what was going on, especially when an ambulance pulled up and Jason was loaded onto a gurney. A few minutes later, he was taken away, sirens wailing. Leandro didn’t feel any regret that the filho da puta would spend the night in the hospital. He fucking deserved worse.

  After the ambulance left, the cop who’d put him into the cruiser came back, opening the door and asking Leandro questions. What was his name? How did he know Ashlynn? Then the cop asked him to go through everything from when he’d received Ashlynn’s phone call until he’d been put in the cruiser. Did he know Jason? Had Leandro ever been arrested before? As he talked, he kept looking for her, but they’d led her inside once Jason had been taken away. He wondered how she was feeling. If he’d get to talk to her again or if they’d take him to jail. She’d called him, but he didn’t know if that meant anything. Emotions had been running high. She’d been terrified. He was glad she’d reached out to him, but maybe only fear had driven her to do it. Maybe he’d be a fool to read anything more into it than that.

  Finally, the cop asked him to step out of the car and took the handcuffs off. Leandro was still rubbing his wrists when the other officers walked up. “Sorry about the handcuffs, Mr. Oliveira. Just following procedure.”

  “Saw you fight Murphy the other night,” another one said. “Mind if we get a selfie?”

  Leandro was a little surprised they all seemed to know him, but he smiled for a picture and gave out autographs while talking shit about Murphy. The whole time he was aware of Ashlynn standing on her front porch, a sweater wrapped around her shoulders, and he really wanted to get to her. To hold her and make sure she was okay.

  Yet when the cops left, Leandro still didn’t know if she wanted that. His heart kicked against his ribs as he came to a stop at the bottom of the steps leading up to her porch. In the yellowish glow of her porch light, he could tell there were faint bruises emerging on her neck. He wanted to pound on Jason all over again.

  She was smiling as she took a few steps down so they were at eye level, as if she hadn’t just lived through a nightmare. “You know, my mother always warned me about guys like you.”

  He couldn’t help but smile back. “Guys like me?”

  “Bad boys. She said they always end up in the back of police cruisers.”

  “Yeah?” He laughed and looked down, wondering if she was hiding more bruises under her sweater. “I guess she was right. How are you, minha linda?” His eyes met hers, trying to figure out how she felt, not only about tonight, but about him.

  “I’m fine. No real damage.” She looked unsure, and her teeth tugged at her bottom lip.

  He wanted to hold her, to know that she was whole and well. To feel her against him. Finally, he broke and reached for her, closing the distance between them. Her arms immediately went around his shoulders. She felt so damn good against him. He breathed in the scent of orange blossoms. Fuck, he’d missed that smell. “Are you really okay?” He wanted to pull back and look again but couldn’t let her go yet.

  “Yes, just some bruises.” Her voice was muffled against his neck.

  Finally, he pulled back enough to look at her face, hoping to read something there that would tell him how she felt. “What happened? Why was he here?”

  She shook her head and quickly told him about the texts she’d received and everything that had happened before Leandro got there. “I think it’ll be fine now. Officer Sullivan, the one who took my statement, told me—off the record—that he probably has a few broken ribs and a broken nose. I’ll get a restraining order, but I think he’ll leave me alone now.”

  “What if he doesn’t? I can’t stand the thought of . . .”

  She smiled and put her hand on his chest to soothe him. “Don’t worry. He’ll be in jail for a long time. Breaking and entering, assault and battery, attempted rape . . . I’m sure there are more, but I’m too tired to think of them.”

  He nodded and covered her hand with his, holding it against his heart. “I was so afraid of what he might do to you. I didn’t know if I’d get here quick enough.”

  She chewed her bottom lip, her eyes suddenly too bright. “I was scared too. The whole time I just kept thinking that if something bad happened, you’re the person I wanted to talk to.”

  He swallowed past the sudden ache in his throat and slid his fingers into her hair, cupping her head and pulling her close to him. His lips brushed her temple as he spoke. “I’m glad you called. I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too.”

  25

  A SILENCE FELL between Ashlynn and Leandro, but it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable. He stroked a hand up and down her back in a gentle, soothing motion. The night suddenly felt too quiet after the cacophony of police officers and ambulance sirens. She sucked in a deep breath, trembling slightly as her mind wandered back to what could’ve happened had Leandro not come in time, and she wrapped her arms tighter around him. She didn’t have words to describe the intense feeling of gratitude radiating through her—not just that he’d answered the phone and rushed over to protect her, but the fact that she was in his arms again when she hadn’t known if that was a possibility for them.

  “How come you’re not back in Brazil yet?” she asked, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent as she snuggled in against his chest. Everything with him felt so right, so comforting.

  He caressed her hair, his big hand warm and reassuring. “I . . . I guess I was waiting. To hear from you. I didn’t want to leave, not with the way things are, or were, between us.” He pulled back slightly, looking into her eyes. “Are you really okay?”

  She nodded, swallowing around the lump in her throat at the tenderness in his eyes. Why had she thought this man wasn’t right for her? This man who was strong, and brave, and protective, and sweet? She knew it was because she’d been scared, weighed down by her mother’s baggage, reeling from the shock of losing her job, and she hadn’t been thinking clearly. “I’m really okay.” She glanced back over her shoulder at her broken window. She’d have to pull money out of her savings to get that fixed, and while she’d never believed in alarm systems in the past, she felt the sudden urge to have a top-of-the-line one installed.

  “I don’t think you should stay here alone tonight,” he said, following her gaze. “You can come back to my place, stay with me.” There was a pause, and then he dropped his arms from aro
und her, rubbing one hand over the back of his neck. “Not that I’m assuming . . . anything. I just mean . . . Shit. I can’t think in English right now.”

  “No, it’s okay. But, uh . . . I don’t know that I’m in the headspace to deal with Thiago right now.” She pursed her lips, trying to think. She didn’t want to stay at her place, and she wanted to talk to Leandro, but there was only so much she could handle tonight.

  His expression shifted, and he lifted a hand, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her chest tightened, and she realized how accustomed to that gesture she’d become during their short relationship. “Thiago . . . Ashlynn, I’m sorry. He was the one who recorded us at the restaurant.”

  “What? Why?” She’d known that Thiago hadn’t liked her, but given his loyalty to Leandro, recording them seemed over the line.

  “Because he wasn’t the friend I thought he was. You were right. I was surrounded by wolves, but I couldn’t see it.” He paused, pain sifting through his eyes. “I made him leave.”

  She shivered as that news settled over her, and he wrapped her in his arms again, giving her some of his warmth. For someone she’d originally pegged as selfish, he gave so much. “I’m sorry, Leo. I know you guys were close. That must’ve been hard.”

  He nodded, not saying anything, but not letting her go. She let him hold her for a moment, relaxing into him when he placed a soft kiss on top of her head.

  “I’ll go get my stuff, and then we . . . we can talk some more. Okay?”

  He nodded, and followed her into the house. He roamed around while she packed, clearly not wanting to crowd her, but not wanting to let her out of his sight either. God, she’d missed seeing him in her house, more than she’d even realized. She’d spent so much time obsessing over the ways their worlds didn’t fit, and not enough appreciating the ways they did.

  Her stomach lurched as she moved around her bedroom, once her sanctuary, but now a scene of violence and fear. She was glad she had somewhere else to be tonight; she was especially glad that somewhere else was with Leandro.