by Tracy Ellen
Everything happened fast after that, and seemingly all at once.
I vaguely was aware of cop cars pulling up in front of Bel’s, lights flashing and sirens wailing and doors slamming.
I was aware of Stella running towards me, tears streaming down her face.
I was aware of the freed Larissa lurching away, sobbing and falling to her knees on the floor behind the checkout counter.
I was aware of Anna’s piercing voice screaming my name from somewhere behind me.
I was aware my hair had tumbled completely down in my face and Anna’s cheaters had gone flying off somewhere.
I was aware of Trent and Billy gently, inexorably pulling me away from the screaming, heaving man on the floor. I had been kicking furiously at him, shrieking the word “BASTARD!” repeatedly with supreme satisfaction in time with my kicks.
Once they had pulled me a couple of feet away, I shook the guys off. I held out my hands to let them know I was calming down.
They were shaking like I was in the throes of a severe bout of malaria.
Trent and Billy stood protectively between me and the man on the floor; never taking their eyes away from him for long. The bastard was in a fetal position, crying and blubbering.
Billy was bouncing nervously and talking fast, nonstop. “That was some serious fucking shit! Anabel, are you okay? Man, he caught us all by surprise. Dude suddenly came out of nowhere, shaking and hitting Larissa!” Billy appealed to Trent. “Right, man? He said if any of us tried anything he’d break her neck. He was trying to drag her out of the store. Is this her ex or what? The crazy fucker warned us not to touch our phones, but I texted the cops from my pocket. Then you come flying in the back door like…like, hell, some sort of librarian gone wild. What was that? It was so fuckin’ unreal! I can’t believe I saw you do that!”
I patted his shoulder. It took a lot of effort to lift my arm and I was absently surprised by its heaviness. “It’s cool now, Billy. We’re okay, right? Right, Trent?”
Billy and Trent looked at each other and they both nodded quickly. Trent tentatively cupped my shoulder and peered down at me.
Face white, his voice was cautiously solicitous. “Yeah, we’re okay, Anabel. Are you okay? Do you need some water or something?” He motioned towards my shirt and joked weakly, “Not that I mind, but do you want to button up your shirt, or maybe sit down over there?”
I didn’t answer and my hands were clumsy. I gave up after one button. I noticed the cops were coming our way led by Jack. He took in the scene, gave me a cursory once over- pausing at my chest. Then Jack turned away and started giving orders.
Stella rushed up and grabbed me in a fierce hug then, and I hugged her back tightly. I pulled away to look her in the eye. “You’re fine, right?”
She nodded, wiping her tears away. Unable to talk, she nodded quickly again.
“Go help Larissa, okay? Ask Jack if you can take her into my office and close the door until the EMTs get here. Call her parents.” My words felt sluggish and slow, but Stella nodded a third time and took off without another word.
I should go to Larissa, but I didn’t know if seeing me would traumatize her further after yelling the way I had. I could hear her continued sobbing, even over the ex’s mewling cries and curses from the floor.
I turned as Anna enveloped me in another hard hug. “You crazy…God, you kicked the CRAP out of him! If you EVER do anything like that again …”
I whispered, “I don’t feel so good.”
She didn’t seem to hear me. She released me and turned to Trent and Billy. From far away, I could hear her voice talking urgently to them. She hurriedly left to go tend to her crying employee, Brenda.
I felt adrift, not knowing what to do with myself. ‘Where was I needed?’
The few customers in the store gathered around closer to Trent, Billy and me. They kept a wide berth from the police and the man on the floor a few feet away. They were all chattering at once and exclaiming over what I had done. Two of the elderly ladies I now recognized as the sisters, Millie and Ethel. They played bridge here every Thursday afternoon.
Millie was saying, “Anabel, my dear girl, are you…”
I lifted my hand, mumbling, “Sorry…excuse me.”
I then rudely walked away from them all- my customers, my staff, and the police. On increasingly wobbly legs, I headed towards the back door. I needed air desperately.
A couple of uniformed cops were coming up the aisle from that direction. They gave me a curious look, but rushed past me to join in the excited confusion of the action behind me. I kept heading for the back door and freedom. It seemed like I was wading through water. I kept my head down, watching my shaky legs move slowly like they didn’t belong to me.
Sounding like he was yelling down a tunnel, I heard Jack’s official voice directing his men to secure the man on the floor. The wife beater screamed and cried, incoherently bellowing curses, and tried to fight them off. I heard a crackling sound and then silence. I ought to be interested. I’ve never seen anyone tasered before, but I felt strangely tingly and numb.
Some instinct had me look up. Luke stood framed in the back door entrance a few feet to the right of me. His searching gaze swept right past me without pausing, as he scanned all the activity happening in the store. Then his head snapped back to me. His eyes briefly closed tight while he murmured something under his breath. I saw he was frowning and his mouth shaped my name, but I didn’t hear any sound over the roaring in my ears.
When I felt Luke’s strong arms, a feeling of safety washed over me that I’ve only experienced before in my life when held by my grandmother as a child. My whole body was quivering with the shakes now and my head hurt. The tingly feeling was worse. I felt outside myself looking on from far away. But before I could rest my forehead against his wide shoulder for just a minute, I knew there was something important that I needed to tell him.
‘Oh, yeah.’
I whispered, “Sometimes a kick in the gonads does decide things in my favor.”
Chapter X
“King of Anything” by Sara Bareilles
Saturday, 11/17/12
4:45 PM
Anna was patting my hand and peering down at me worriedly. Even when she’s worried, her face looks like it’s trying to stop itself from breaking out into a smile of knowing a secret you don’t. This isn’t on purpose, but a nervous reaction to stress. Anna can’t help that she looks guilty as hell when she’s anxious, but you can imagine the trouble it’s caused us throughout the years.
It took me a second to realize I was lying on the sofa in my apartment. I stared around bemusedly for a moment and then it all came rushing back.
I pulled my hand back and sat up hurriedly, and then swayed with the rush. “Whew!” I pushed aside the afghan. “What happened, how did I get up here? How’s Larissa?”
Anna handed me a small glass of orange juice. I accepted gratefully and started chug-a-lugging.
“You fainted.”
At her flat words, I choked on the orange juice. She thumped my back.
“No way in hell I fainted!”
Anna’s worried visage disappeared and she glared at me. “Yes, you did faint. Luke came in the back door and swept you in his arms. You dropped like a girl in a Harlequin book.” She mocked nastily, “Even your hair swung perfectly over his arm to the floor in a cascade of shimmering blondeness.” Anna finally stopped whacking my back. “Overall, Larissa’s okay. Her parents took her home right after they all talked to Jack. Everybody else is doing just peachy. The ex, Ron Hansen, showed up only a couple minutes before we did. The bad news is, he hit Larissa in the mouth and shook the poor girl around, but luckily, he didn’t have time to do anything besides threaten the other people in the store.” She added an afterthought, “Oh yeah, and I got your purse and Stella closed the store.”
“Thanks.”
I didn’t dare laugh, but it was weird seeing Anna this upset at me. It’s unnatural for cute, chipmunky ty
pes to be mad. I plunked the empty juice glass down on the coffee table and fell back, crossing an elbow over my eyes. I was relieved all had been handled downstairs, but wondered how long I was out on the sofa.
Besides, I didn’t really feel much like laughing. Passing out was a normal reaction when dealing with the aftermath of adrenaline and shock in an average person, but I hate that I’d reacted like an average girl. I had to face the truth. I’m not some tough chick that can go kick a man in the balls a few times, then walk away and get ready for a night out with the girls. Apparently, I need a nap first.
Anna wasn’t done with me. She went on mercilessly, “Then Luke carried you up here.” Over my loud groan, she carried on, “You came out of your faint and said,” her voice went falsetto, “‘Oh Luke, you are so strong. Please be my man and take care of me’.”
I peeked over my arm at Anna. “Yeah, right. And how can you say the words ‘Harlequin book’ to me with a straight face, you mean, little vermin.”
“Listen, Junior, if you hadn’t just fainted for over an hour,” Anna loudly emphasized the words, “I’d be tempted to smack the stupid out of you for running into the store the way you did.”
I sat up again and regarded the pissed off Anna standing above me. My head still had a lingering trace of the pounding headache I’d felt earlier, and it felt tender to the touch. I was slightly nauseous, and even though I was no longer shaking, I felt weak as a kitten. I was in no mood for taking any shit.
“Are you mad I went into the store, or just mad I did it without you?”
“Both!” Anna yelled, shaking her fists at me. “My God, Junior, that crazy madman could have had a gun or…or…a knife! You could have been seriously fucked up. I could have helped, but no, you ran off. You left me out there not knowing what the hell was going on. That really blows!”
“Well, excuse me for not stopping to draw a play action in the dirt,” I shot back, and regretted it instantly. My head was thumping again and I rubbed my forehead in agitation. I went on more reasonably, “Come on, Anna, I couldn’t drag you in there with me. What if I got you hurt?”
Anna did a little jig of frustration in front of me. “That’s my point exactly. You left ME behind to watch something bad possibly happen to YOU, you moron woman!”
I reached for her arm and pulled her down beside me on the sofa. I wasn’t quite yelling, but my voice was still raised. “Fine. Next time I plan to go kick the crap out of some wife beating ex-con, I’ll send you an engraved invitation, okay? We’ll attack him together singing a duet. Will that make you happy, you bloodthirsty badger?”
Anna snorted and frowned, fussing with NanaBel’s knitted afghan until it covered over both of our legs and laps. “Okay, fine. Just don’t leave me behind ever again.”
“Gotcha. No behinds will be left.” I pushed her knee with mine and teased her, “Come on, you know you love me like I’m your best friend, so don’t be mad at me.” I nudged her again. “How about next time we’ll do a bunny hop together to lure whoever we’re attacking into a false sense of security before we jump him? Do you like that plan?”
Anna relented and smiled a little, pushing my knee away with hers. “That sounds like it would work. Just don’t forget about the singing part before we let loose a flurry of blows on their unsuspecting head.”
“Oh, please, like I would ever forget the need to sing with you right before commencing with some serious flurrying. Good God, next you’ll be questioning my head blowing abilities.”
Laying her head on my shoulder, Anna chuckled. “I would never question your head blowing abilities, but I think…”
“I think you two are completely bat-shit crazy, that’s what I think.”
At the sound of the caustic voice booming across the space like a cannon salvo, we both jumped sky high. Anna squealed and threw the entire afghan over her head. I sprang to my feet, turned to face the foyer, lost my balance, and nearly fell backwards over the coffee table. Only by windmilling my arms frantically was I able to stay upright.
“You scared us sneaking up like that!”
Jack stood surveying me with legs slightly spread, hands on his hips, and his ever present aviators pushed up on his head. He shrugged off his POLICE jacket and tossed it back on the bench in the foyer. “Three people come stomping up your stairs and you two were so loud you didn’t hear us? Not my problem you were scared, Sheila Shit-kicker.”
That was a gentle reminder I was doomed for eternity with a slew of new names to live down after today. Head throbbing like a bass drum, I massaged my temples.
Next to him, a grinning Stella held a tray with a trio of oversized mugs, steaming curlicues rising enticingly up from their depths. Her eyes were pink around the edges, but she was no longer crying or upset. Behind her was my hero. Luke had no expression whatsoever on his face while he steadily regarded me.
If I had thought I might be shy facing Luke after I’d passed out in his arms like a pussy, it paled in comparison to the embarrassment I was now feeling. It was cringe worthy to realize he had been listening to Anna and I act like the immature weirdinos we so often are. I wished for an afghan over my head.
I took in that Luke’s short, black hair wasn’t mussed ‘just so’, and his unbuttoned shirt over his T was wrinkled. I saw faint, dark shadows under his eyes. I’d never seen Luke looking so rumpled and unkempt when ambulatory. Usually, he looks sharp and put together, even when wearing his five o’clock shadow.
My blush of embarrassment quickly turned into confusion at being observed so coolly by this detached, expressionless Luke.
Stella walked around the sofa. She carefully set the tray on the low table. I was distracted when she handed me a cup of hot chocolate piled high with mounds of whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. I could now sit down and ignore Luke’s strange behavior with some semblance of dignity. I could also ignore Stella’s giggles and Jack’s disgusted expression.
Jack came into the room and sat down heavily on the roomy club chair he always preferred across from me. Anna popped out of her blanket burrow and eagerly accepted a mug of chocolate. Stella served herself and then perched on the sofa on my other side. With spoons in hand, the three of us dug into the rich, cold cream atop the hot chocolate.
Still not looking back in Luke’s direction, I moaned my gratitude. “Thanks, Stell. This is just what the doctor ordered.”
“You’re welcome, but it was your boyfriend’s idea.” Stella winked with a broad smile at my startled glance. “Dr. Luke said you’d need something ‘hot and sweet’ after you woke up.” She wiggled her eyebrows and said under her breath, “That’s what she said….”
Anna snorted into her hot chocolate, almost spilling the towering spoonful being navigated to her mouth.
I snorted, too. But only due to the fact that Stella looked so lascivious when winking and being suggestive it was quite creepy.
Jack, smacking the arms of his chair, stood up. “Fun time’s over, girls. Junior, since you are feeling better, let’s get down to business.”
Anna set her cup on the tray and raised her hand tentatively. “May I go to the bathroom, Chief?”
Jack threw her an annoyed look and didn’t bother with an answer. In his shirtsleeves and shoulder holster, crossed arms bulging with muscles and chewing rhythmically on a piece of gum, Jack was the embodiment of impatient, masculine authority. Knowing Anna had seriously been asking for a hall pass, I nudged her that it was okay. She took off in grateful relief for the guest bath. Chief Jack terrifies her.
Stella worriedly asked Jack, “That man won’t be able to get out of jail and come back, will he?”
The law was one subject Chief Jack was happy to expound on at length. I lost track of their conversation when Luke sat on the sofa next to me in Anna’s vacated spot.
I finally made myself meet his hard, dark green gaze when he leaned in, not touching, but with an arm behind me along the back of the sofa. Up close, his serious expression wasn’t looking so detached. I c
ould see he was extremely unhappy. I sighed inside, wishing I was wrong and that he wasn’t mad at me, too.
Luke spoke softly, “I was relieved Anna was giving you a hard time until the end. Then I was disappointed in you both. Instead of admitting the correct choice was waiting in safety and letting the professionals handle things; you promise your friend she can help next time. How asinine can you be?”
When he paused, I was so dismayed at his unexpected words that I sat frozen. He was completely composed on the surface, yet I’ve never seen his eyes so coldly furious. Mine felt huge with surprise while I stared back into his face. The random thought crossed my mind that this was the Luke people saw on the job- whatever that was. He looked so ferocious; I’d want him covering my six any time. I just didn’t want him on my ass and disappointed in me.
“I’m a very strong man, Anabel. If we were alone right now, I would love to put you over my lap and spank some sense into your hard head via your ass until my arm was very, very tired. That’s how pissed I am at your lack of care for your own safety.”
At my sharp intake of breath, he pulled back and met my narrowing eyes with a serious, yet slightly mocking look of his own.
Now I was pissed. I couldn’t believe he was casually mentioning spankings after what I had just done to a man who was hurting a woman. I couldn’t believe he thought I was so stupid I didn’t care about my own safety. I was here, wasn’t I? I couldn’t believe he called me asinine for joking around with my friend. That really hurt. Most of all, I couldn’t believe everyone seemed to want a piece of me for kicking down that low-life wife beater.
He ignored my cold gaze. Taking his time, Luke’s glittering eyes traveled over my face before settling on my mouth. He gave an odd half-smile then, as if the joke were on him.
I faced forward and sat stiffly.
‘The ass should worry over his lack of care for his own safety with me. He obviously didn’t get me.’
Luke leaned in close to my ear. “Or should I kiss you instead and then make love to you until you can’t walk for a week?” I felt the whisper of his lips on my neck. “I wonder if you even know which you’d prefer.”
