by Molly McLain
“No harm, no foul,” I reassure. “Let’s exchange numbers and insurance info and you can get out of here and get your daughter.”
“I…” she stammers. “I have my daughter now. But let me get my information.”
Quickly, she rushes back to her car. I see the kindergartener in the back buckled into her car seat.
Hadn’t she said she was late picking up her kid?
She nearly jogs back over and passes me her insurance card from her Coach bag.
“By the way, my name is Kendra Aldrich.” She flips open a small notepad and asks, “Yours?”
“Joshua North.”
As she writes down my address and number, her cell goes off.
“Shit,” Kendra exclaims peering down worriedly at her phone and thinking for a moment before adding, “I have to take this…”
“You’re good. I’ll copy the card.”
She walks over and starts pacing between her car and the other side of the breakdown lane as if to get some privacy, but I can still hear her.
“I didn’t mean to hit him,” she cries into the phone defensively. “It was an accident.”
Looking down at my own watch I remember that Sophie is waiting for me and I hope Kendra keeps her call short so I can get the hell out of here.
A moment later, I realize she’s quietly listening to whoever is speaking on the other end of the line. Tears begin falling down her cheeks that she quickly blots with the back of her hand.
Soon a terrified look crosses her face and she stares at the phone in her hand as if it’s just become alive and dangerous.
Kendra pulls herself together, drops the phone back into her bag, and approaches me. “Did you get all of the information you need?”
“Yeah, looks like it’s all there.” I pass her back her card. “Are you alright?”
“I already told you I was.”
“I’m talking about your phone call.”
She licks her lips nervously. “Yes, my husband just got out of work so he’s on his way to check the damage to the car.”
“I’m sure he was happy to hear you and your daughter are fine.”
“Yeah, happy,” she states as if chewing on the words sourly.
I’m not really sure I’m judging the situation correctly, but I’ve seen that expression before, on Sophie’s face when she’s talked about her abusive ex-husband.
She looks… afraid, and is watching down the road as I try to give her my own insurance card.
I clear my throat.
“Oh yeah! I’m so sorry. What’s wrong with me?” Kendra scolds herself harshly then snags the card from my fingers and hurriedly jots the information down.
“Thanks again. And I hope you get home safely,” she says dismissively once she’s finished.
“You too,” I answer back.
I find myself walking slowly back to the Porsche, almost not wanting to leave her and her kid there alone.
I think, Kendra Aldrich looks like a woman who has everything: money, an education and a family. She strikes me as the kind of woman the other women at the gym and PTA meetings admire, even envy.
She jumps as the bright orange Hummer comes tearing to a stop behind her car.
Jesus, the guy nearly rear ended her.
“Jesus Christ, Kendra! What were you thinking?” This must be her douchebag husband. Nice how he spouts off at her before bothering to check on their wellbeing.
“It was an accident, Alex. I was driving too fast.”
“Of course you were. Not only did you damage the car, you put our daughter in danger. What kind of a mother are you?” he sneers. “Your problem is you can’t think on your own! You should’ve listened to me. Instead you went over to see Patti anyway!”
“I thought I’d be back in time.” Kendra lowers her head and answers softly, “Her husband just left her. She needs a friend right now.”
“I don’t want you to see her anymore, she’s a bitch who won’t put out, that’s why he left her. I wouldn’t put up with that shit from you either.”
“Alex, please lower your voice Cassie can hear you.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe Cassie won’t become a bitch like Patti. Maybe she’ll learn to listen to her husband when he tells her what to do and won’t argue and balk at him. Obviously, you’re not teaching her to respect me.”
The conversation sends an icy chill up my spine.
Son. Of. A. Bitch.
Too many thoughts rush through my mind at once. First: Kick his fucking-arrogant-entitled-ass to the pavement and let him feel a little fucking humiliation for a change?
Second: I think about my own Sophie and what she went through with her abusive ex, Jim, and the conversations she’d relay to me about the past before she had to take her baby daughter Charlie and go into hiding to get away from him.
I walk away from my car and back towards Kendra.
“You must be the guy she hit.” He looks at me sympathetically. “Your beautiful Porsche. I’m sorry for her. You okay?”
I ignore him and talk directly to her. “He’s abusing you. You know that deep down inside. Stop doubting yourself. You don’t ever have to put up with this kind of treatment.”
Her mouth falls open as she hitches in a surprised gasp.
“Hey! Fuck you, asshole!” Her husband turns his rage to me. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
I can’t help but smile. He doesn’t recognize me.
Focusing on her I ask, “Do you have a safe place to get away from him? Maybe a relative or friend?”
Mixed emotions cross her troubled face.
I continue, “Do you have access to money? Because you don’t want to live with him being like this anymore, and I know you don’t want to subject your beautiful baby to it either. You and your daughter don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
In my peripheral I see his right fist curl up and his arm flex.
Inwardly I dare him. Go ahead, take that first swing.
She’s still trying to process what’s happening as scumbag roars at me.
“How fucking dare you?” He coils his arm back, lunges at me and swings.
Easily, I catch his fist in my palm like a stray baseball. Without hesitation, I squeeze, twist and force him to the pavement on his knees.
As he whimpers and writhes in pain, I give my attention to his victim.
“He’s a scumbag and he’s never going to change. Even though he keeps telling you he will. Think about it – how many times has he promised that?”
She looks at me pleadingly, confused.
Terrified.
“There is a domestic abuse shelter over on West Charleston Blvd. I can Google the number for you.”
“FUCK YOU!” he spits at me. “That’s my wife you’re talking to!”
I roll my eyes with disgust. “Like she’s a piece of property.”
“YEAH! MY FUCKING PROPERTY!” he shouts.
“Don’t talk. You have no manners.”
With that, I flip him onto his back and anchor my knee against his throat. “That’ll shut you up for a while.” To Kendra I say, “Take your little girl and that nice car and drive yourself over to the shelter. They’ll give you a safe place to stay, a lawyer, and counselling.”
“Do it and I’ll fucking kill you!” he rages and tries to break out from under my knee.
She again looks nervously at her husband.
I add more pressure. “If anyone’s getting killed here, it’s going to be you,” I retort. “I have your name, Alex your phone number, I know where you live and what kind of car you drive. And you can’t even begin to wrap your head around the kind of connections I have. Do you understand me?”
“You’re threatening me?”
“I’m promising you. Hurt her or that little girl, I’ll come find you,” I add. “And I know everyone who works in this town.”
Kendra looks back and forth between the cars, her daughter, the situation she’s found herself in and then
talks like she’s making a decision she’s been working on for a while.
“Thanks, Joshua North. It’s been a really tough three years.” She stares back down at her abuser before finishing, “Our daughter deserves better than you and so do I!”
Her voice shakes and tears stream down her face, but she says it to his face. And… I make sure there is enough pressure on his Adam’s apple for him not to respond.
As Kendra and her daughter drive away, I dial 911 and call in the assault. Now the police can come deal with the angry asshole.
When she’d first stepped out of that car, I had no idea who she was or what her life was like. I could’ve been a prick – even a justified prick – she’d just hit my car, instead I found out she was having a life experience I couldn’t have imagined by just looking at her.
All of this really makes me want to go home and hold my wife and daughter.
Chapter 2
I’ve been in one hell of a high mood all day. Even with the douchebag encounter. My good friends, Gavin “The Ripper” Jones and Johnny “The Bone Crusher” Rodriguez, are fighting for the title belt. Later in the evening Sophie and I will attend the charity event for VET Sports, and it is New Year’s Eve – one of my favorite holidays – and Vegas’s MGM always promises a rocking party. And most importantly, Sophie and I are getting a three-day weekend alone. It’s like a mini-vacation, being here in Vegas and not having to fight or speak at a press conference. Sophie and I have been so busy the past six months, it is a welcome respite.
We are even childless at the moment, our beautiful three-year-old daughter Charlie is staying with her Auntie Quinn and Uncle Liam in Minnesota. With my back to back schedule the last six months, we’ve had almost no real time alone together. This is good for us.
But plans don’t always work out the way you hope they will.
Leaning against the closed bathroom door of our penthouse suite, in my tailored jet black tux, I keep peering down at my watch. Not that I care we are running late, which we are by nearly a half hour, but because Sophie isn’t feeling so good.
Still.
For over a week, she’s been skipping breakfast and can barely hold down lunch. I should’ve had my manager cancel our trip. Or at the least flew in on my own, stayed the night to attend the charity event as planned, then flown back home on the private jet before the stroke of midnight.
“Baby, maybe it’s a better idea for you to stay in the room and rest. I’ll go down and skip out early and we can be on the plane first thing tomorrow and get you home.”
“No, no way…” her tense voice calls from behind the closed door of the bathroom. A moment later the toilet flushes and then a moment after that, I hear the water in the sink running. “Just fixing my mascara.”
Damn she’s stubborn.
I honestly think she needs to stay in. I open my mouth to protest her going out at all and default back to my previously considered scenario for the night when I hear the bathroom door finally open.
When she steps out, I have to catch my breath.
Sophie is adorned with a glittering silver evening gown. Its neckline is cut low and plunges between her ripe, voluptuous breasts all the way down to her navel, showcasing the gorgeous mounds that are mine, to the envy of every other man on the planet.
Yep, I’m going there.
As she steps forward, on a glittery, jeweled stiletto, the gown parts with a sexy slit that rides all the way to her upper thigh showing off her toned, tanned legs.
“Yeah, we’re not making it to the fight or the benefit,” I growl. And it’s not because she’s feeling under the weather, it’s because of the heat and testosterone that just ripped through my belly and surged into my pants.
Sophie is well acquainted with the look and fire of desire in my expression, she smiles as her eyes trail down below my waistline.
I adjust the growing hardness between my legs. “Baby, you’re a sex goddess and I’m going to be rock solid the entire night.”
“Good then you’ll be good and ready for me when we get back.”
“I can’t wait that long…” Advancing quickly, I catch hold of her hips and maneuver her belly over my hard on and pull her flush against me.
She lets out a little mewl and my dick is more than grateful for the friction.
But then my brain catches back up.
I pull myself away from her and hold her at arm’s length.
“I’m sorry, I’m being an ass. You’re sick.” Come back to reality, Josh. “I really think you should stay here and get some rest. I can put in a quick appearance for the both of us and be back in an hour to draw you a hot bath and give you a massage.”
Yeah, maybe suggesting the massage — and running my hands all over her oil-slicked, naked body — isn’t the best idea when I’m trying to get my manhood to calm down.
“I’ll bring you some chicken noodle soup or something,” I say.
Sophie protests, “Nonsense, I’m fine.”
I give her a look like, yeah, right. The thin, sensitive skin underneath her deep brown eyes is puffy and swollen even if she did do a good job camouflaging with make-up. The whites of her eyes are nearly bloodshot.
“Did you…?”
“Have an upset stomach, again?” She puts the words vomit and stomach virus in such polite terms. “No. But I thought I was going to earlier. I’m really alright. I want to go. I’ve been looking forward to the event all year.”
Now she cozies back up to me and nestles against my chest.
“I love seeing you dressed in a tux. Always reminds me of our wedding.”
I smile as the rush of warm memories come flooding over me. “Greatest day of my life.”
“Honestly, I really am fine. Plus, I’m dressed to kill,” she says as she lifts her leg up and smoothly caresses my outer thigh with her inner one. “Don’t you agree?”
“I am trying to be a gentleman. Sensitive, even. But the attempt will go all to hell if you keep doing that.”
She laughs softly. “Okay, I’ll stop. For now. I think I’ll feel better once I get a little food in me.”
“All right, if you’re sure.” Then I add quickly, “If you start feeling bad at any time, we can take off early.”
The MGM is decorated to the hilt for New Year’s Eve, but the fans who are here for the title fight could care less. They’ve been waiting for months for this highly anticipated match. The crowd pulses around the octagon that stands in the center of the arena and leap to their feet as the bell rings. The fight is raw and the crowd erupts as Gavin advances on Johnny and throws an uppercut across his jaw. The two get at it fast and furious.
Because we don’t want to get caught up with fans or reporters tonight, Sophie and I keep our distance and stand towards the back of the arena ready for an easy escape.
“I wondered what celebs I might spot tonight,” a deep voice says from behind us.
I don’t need to turn to recognize who the voice belongs to. “Ian! I knew you’d be running security.” I grip the lanky man’s hand and shake.
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“’Cause you’re the best.”
“Aw, you flatter me.” He feigns humility.
“Have you had to kill anyone this evening?” I ask.
“Not yet, but it’s still early.”
The three of us laugh, but then news comes in on Ian’s ear piece.
“Duty calls, man.”
“Get ahold of me next week, I think I might have a job for you.”
“Sounds great. See you soon.” He excuses himself.
Chapter 3
Gavin kills it and wins the belt! His fans lose their minds and he’s swept up in the glory. I feel elated for him, I know how that moment feels. He deserves it, the guy has worked so hard and has come through so much.
Soon, we transition to the VET Sports charity in the ballroom. After sipping champagne,
Sophie and I take a turn on the dance floor. The music, her softness so close to me
, it’s making me high.
“Do you remember the first time we made love?”
“Yes.” I can sense her blush.
“It started right here, on a dance floor just like this one,” I begin. “You were so incredibly beautiful and so impossibly guarded. I thought I’d never break through your defenses. When we were in the limousine driving back to the hotel, I was so scared if I stopped touching you, if my physical body lost contact with yours, I’d somehow lose you forever.”
“I wanted to let you in so bad.” She thinks a moment. “I wanted you so badly. Every time you touched me you ignited a fire in my belly I couldn’t put out. I didn’t want to put it out. That night when you were holding me... your touch on my lower back, the way you felt against me —your chest pressing over mine. The way you’d look into my eyes. I felt you could see straight through my core and into my soul.”
“I felt the exact same way. I still do, Sophie. Every day I love you more. I never knew it could feel like this.”
The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” plays on as I deliberately slide my hand up her spine, crushing her breasts against my chest.
“I want you now.” My own voice sounds gruff and husky. Inside of me, I feel a whirlwind slipping out of my control.
“Let’s go back to the room.”
I nod, take her hand, and lead her off the dance floor, through the crowd and away from the event.
As I pull her toward the set of elevators, she giggles lightly as she stumbles on her high stilettos. In a flash, I swoop her up into my arms.
“I’ll never let you fall.” Her soft brown eyes with golden flecks like a Tiger’s Eye stone bore into mine. I can feel them, the gaze is so penetrating, so palpable.
“Fuck the room, we’re not making it that far,” I growl over her mouth as I take her into me closer for a kiss that scorches us both and leaves inhibition in some other universe.
Somehow I find the up button with my fingers. After I press it, the elevator doors open immediately. Lucky for us, everyone else is at the party. The elevator is all ours.
