I landed a punch, but was soon bested by this skinny, balding, man, who flat out reeked. He smelled like hobo pee crossed with a pig farm. I had to focus on defending myself instead of gagging. This fucking guy was super insanely strong, He threw me off of him and then found his way back on top of me. I tried to shove him off me, but he punched me in the eye.
It hurt.
It hurt way worse than when Jared accidentally punched me. Before I could recover and try to block my face, he hit me again, right in the face, but this time more on my cheek.
Somehow I managed to put my hands up in front of my face. Of course the asshole changed tactics and punched me in the ribs causing me to gasp for air. I heard Annie scream something I couldn't understand, just high pitched and frantic.
I was trying to suck in a breath of air as Annie continued to yell. My eyes, mouth and lungs started to burn, almost like I was breathing in fire and someone poured jalapeno juice on my eyes.
"Holy fuck!" I yelled.
"Sorry. Shit! So sorry," I heard her say, as she pulled me away from the stinky ass man. My eyes were watering, nose running, and the guy was still going bat shit crazy. It was all blurry, but I saw Annie holding her pepper spray prepared to strike again. I saw an opportunity.
Payback's a bitch, and I kicked him as hard as possible in his nuts. He went down groaning. Annie sprayed him with more pepper spray. She grabbed our purses and led my partially blind ass to the front door. I barely noticed the second asshole on the floor, as we passed him.
"What'd you do to him?"
"Hit him with the tray of cinnamon rolls. Repeatedly."
"Oh, good job," I muttered between sniffles.
She kept a killer hold on the pepper spray but managed to dig out her phone and called the police. Annie and I huddled together to keep warm and waited for the police to arrive. My hands started shaking, probably the adrenaline, but the frigid wind wasn't helping either.
I wasn't sure which one of us looked worse. Annie had a cut on her cheek, another cut on her forehead near her hairline with a big goose egg, along with a bloody lip, and torn shirt. My face was wet, not just from my eyes watering, but I had a river of snot running down my face as well. Annie handed me several napkins and I tried to staunch the snot flow. Unsuccessfully.
"Are you okay?" I asked pointing to her shirt. "Did they try to ..." I couldn't even finish my question without feeling sick. I felt a chill run up my spine.
"He copped a feel. I'll be fine as soon as I can go shower. What about you?"
Damn.
I didn't even want to look in a mirror. My ribs hurt almost as bad as my face. I wouldn't be able to go light on my makeup anytime soon.
"I'll be fine. You need to tell the cops they touched you."
"Believe me, I will. I'll start locking the door until we open from now on," she said.
I had to admit, I was freaked the hell out. "Good idea," I agreed.
######
The cops arrived, and the burning from the pepper spray finally subsided. I had no idea where Annie got that pepper spray, but I wanted the same stuff, mainly because I've now experienced the potency. You'd have to be a bad ass motherfucker to not be incapacitated by it.
The intruders were whisked away, both to the hospital, since we did some damage. I was a little proud Annie and I whooped some ass. I should've been ashamed of hurting another human being, and maybe in shock, but I wasn't. We stay behind giving our statements. I taped several 'closed until further notice' signs in the windows of the bakery.
I was surprised to see Randy walk-in. He glanced our way, but started talking to one of the uniformed cops. The cops at this point weren't really doing anything accept standing around, mooching coffee, not like we could sell it now anyways. Randy continued talking to the uniform, but turns his eyes on Annie. His eyes swept up and down her body, he kept staring not even pretending he's not.
Annie tapped my shoulder while clearing her throat. I turned my attention away from Randy and focused on her.
"Um—I kinda forgot to tell you something that happened while I was at UM," Annie mentioned her voice still low.
"What did you forget to tell me?" I asked.
"Well—" Her voice drifted off, like she was still debating on telling me her secret. Which was ridiculous because I didn't think we had any secrets between us.
"Seriously, Annie, just tell me," I snapped.
"Fine. Remember I told you about that party, where I ran into Matt and he was being a dickhead about homecoming?"
Annie ran into Matt at a party. He was really drunk, which wasn't an excuse for his behavior, spewing shit about how she owed him for homecoming. Worst first kiss ever, homecoming, freshman year. He was adamant that she offer up her body in payment. The skeez tried to corner her, and take advantage. A good Samaritan stopped him before anything worse happened.
"Yeah, and?"
She watched me for a beat.
"Well, um, Randy was at that party. Things got a little heated and we left together."
My mouth flew open at her admission. "You hooked up with Randy? Wait, was it Randy that punched Matt for cornering you?" I asked. She tilted her head trying to give an unnoticeable nod.
"Yeah, and we made out, not hooked up, hooked up," Annie clarified. "That party is also the reason I now carry pepper spray in my purse."
What. The. Hell.
"How could you forget to mention that?" I asked, a little more loudly than I intended.
"I was drunk, and it was embarrassing. We made out until he called it quits then strangely we cuddled, and in the morning he was gone. He's hot, but clearly not interested in me."
I stared at her, while I processed this information. Randy randomly stops by the bakery. I thought he was just being a supportive friend, but him checking-in on Annie made a hell of a lot more sense.
"Shit. You're pissed at me."
"Um, yeah. My so-called-best-friend failed to mention making out with Randy. Hello, hot-boy-next-door, Randy. I even told you Logan kissed me, before I left Denver. Sweet Jesus. We're gonna have a talk about full disclosure, once we make sure your head's okay."
I was a tall-dark-and handsome kind of girl. Guys with light brown to blond hair, like Randy, aren't my cup of tea, but Randy was still hot. He's also down to earth and easy to talk to. Which ups his hotness level.
Randy made his way to us, and he did not look happy. Our store was in shambles, okay not really shambles, but there were cinnamon rolls mixed with blood across the floor, and I was sure we both looked equally like a train wreck.
"CiCi, have you called Logan?"
Crap. I didn't want to tell Logan what happened over the phone either.
"No, I haven't." I wanted to add that I've been a little busy, but he did not look like he was in a mood to hear my sarcasm. So I bit my lip instead and glance at Annie.
"I have a friend that will wire this place with a better security system." He looked at Annie. "I'll drive you both to the hospital. They will call you if they need anything else for your statement, but they need to document the assault for court. The more evidence they have against these asshats, they'll be more likely to plead out and you won't have to go to court and testify. So that means you need to be treated for the injuries you sustained." He handed us our coats as he finished speaking.
Annie might not want to go to court, but I didn't care about having to testify. I wanted those motherfuckers to pay.
######
There was a wait at the Emergency room, and I insisted Annie be seen first. I was worried about her having a concussion, but I also had an ulterior motive since waiting would leave me in the waiting room with Randy.
"How long are they facing? Do we need to worry about them getting out and causing us trouble?" I asked, more for Annie's sake, and I needed peace of mind knowing they wouldn't come back.
"I suspect they're both on meth, if that's the case, bail will probably be denied. As for how long it will depend on the charges and the District
Attorney's willingness to prosecute or plea them out."
"Okay." I waited a few beats before continuing, "Look, can you call Logan for me? I'd rather tell him the details in person, and I'm afraid I'll make this seem worse than what it is."
"Honey, it is bad, you all were just extremely lucky. Taking on two meth heads is a quick way to get you killed—"
I opened my mouth to speak, but he shushed me and held up a finger for me to wait.
"I know you were defending Annie, and she'd do the same for you. I'm taking care of the new system. I'll wait for you to go back then call Logan, so keep your phone on you. He'll probably call. I know you're on the outs with your mom, but I'll call Nathan too."
I nodded. "I know this isn't the best time, but you and Annie?" I questioned.
"Me and Annie?" he asked.
I quickly relayed the story Annie told me earlier, watching his face for any sign of emotion. He kept his face blank, emotionless. Mental note: Do not play poker with Randy.
"I didn't think she remembered."
"What?" My gut twisted.
"The next time I saw her she acted like nothing happened. I stopped from going there because I wasn't sure if they could have drugged her or not, and then she acted like nothing happened, and I didn't want to embarrass her by bringing it up. I played along thinking she didn't remember or wasn't interested." He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.
Annie had always been cool and composed around boys. She was never afraid to throw attitude or let her opinion be known. It was a test in a way, if a guy didn't like her it was no skin off her nose. She wanted a guy to prove she's worth the effort, and to be wooed. All those romance novels. So the fact she didn't confront Randy and set what happened straight worried me.
And he so liked her. I was about to break the girlfriend code. Annie and I promised no meddling in each other's relationships after the homecoming incident.
"She remembers, and she thinks you're not interested."
"Look, there are several reasons why I come to the bakery. Friends of mine busted their asses to open a business. I'm gonna support their hard work and stop by for a coffee. Nathan and Logan asked me to check-in on you. I also wanted to see Annie."
Dual purpose, but there it was.
I smiled. I should feel conflicted or maybe even pissed off about him reporting back to Logan and Nathan, but I'm not. "Are you gonna stay with Annie? Or does she need to come with me to Logan's?" If Nathan was here, he wouldn't let me stay alone, and I had a feeling Logan wouldn't let me stay alone either. I was willing to cave in on that battle, plus I'd get to spend more time with Logan.
"If she'll let me, I'll take care of her, and stay with her, but I have a late shift tomorrow." Randy's work schedule was always crazy, between work and him being in law school, I didn’t know how it managed it.
"I don't want her to be alone, at least not tonight." Annie's parents moved back to Kentucky while she was in college. She had some friends locally, but no family, except me.
"I know they touched her. I don't want her alone either, but I will try to smooth this over."
I trusted him so I said, "Okay."
The nurse called my name, I took my purse with me, and I headed back to get the 'documentation' over with.
######
They took an x-ray of my ribs, one was cracked, and I had massive bruising. This took several hours. Not only were my ribs and face bruised, but my elbows, knees, and back were also bruised. The pepper spray didn't do any major damage to my face. The only perk to pepper spray, after all the burning stopped of course, it acted as a decongestant. My sinuses and lungs felt super clear.
Strangely no one called. Either Randy did a great job convincing Logan I was fine, or he didn't get around to calling anyone.
I was tired, sore, and hungry. And I was starting to get angry this process was taking so long, or maybe that was the hunger turning me hangry? I needed A&W or Dairy Queen and fast.
The nurse finally brought my 'walking' papers along with a script for pain meds, and I made my way to the lobby.
"Hey, CiCi!" Annie called to me. She was sitting next to Randy by the sliding glass doors.
I smiled, zoning in on Annie. She had bandages on her cheek and forehead, and she was wearing an ugly green scrub top.
"I need food," I said, as manly arms wrapped around my waist. Looking over my shoulder I saw Logan. I settled my arms on top of his and leaned back into him. He was a warm wall. Strong and secure.
"You okay? What's that smell?" he asked. His mouth was close to my ear, and I nodded in reply. "You scared me," he whispered. I watched his face relax, and he linked his fingers through mine. Now I felt guilty for not calling him directly. Crap.
"A cracked rib and lots of bruises. That smell is pepper spray courtesy of Annie." His hold around me loosened a bit when I mentioned my ribs, but he didn't let go. "The pepper spray didn't do any damage."
"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" Annie asked sarcastically.
"Probably not. What about you? Stitches? Concussion?" I asked, fully knowing looks can be deceiving.
"I'll have a headache for a few days. Told me to take it easy and try and sleep through it. I'm starving and I still have to hit the pharmacy."
On a normal day, Annie and I would have ate a quick breakfast before customers started coming in. Neither of us had managed to get coffee or breakfast that morning due to processing my freak out, then the break-in. Our normally pleasant personalities were close to empty.
Randy wrapped his arm around Annie's shoulders giving her a gentle squeeze. That gesture made me melt. Guess he smoothed things over.
"I'm taking her home, and I'll get the ball rolling with the insurance, and see about scheduling the new alarm system. I talked to Nathan, but he wants you to call him."
Yep. Randy's in deep.
"That sounds great, Randy, and I don't want to seem unappreciative but I need to be fed. A&W, Five Guys, or Dairy Queen, I don't care but I need a burger and fries quick," I begged.
"Okay, we'll go to A&W. It's the closest," Logan promised me, then kissed the top of my head.
Thank God.
Logan and I followed Randy and Annie out of the hospital. I gave Annie a quick hug, the guys give a chin nod, and we were outta there.
Like he promised, we stopped at A&W. We dropped my script off on our way to my apartment so I could pack a bag, and change clothes because I reeked of pepper spray. Logan would probably have to air out his truck because I was covered in it and I was sure it seeped into his leather seats.
Randy told Logan it'd probably be at least a week before we could re-open due to our bakery being a crime scene. Add in having an insurance adjuster come inspect, and repairs, installations and so on.
I packed enough clothes for a week, with a few extra pairs of panties. Yes, Logan owned a washing machine but I wanted a variety. Mainly, I didn't want Logan bored with my limited selection. I also packed my laptop so that I could call and reschedule the consultations I had down for the week. Explaining that we were robbed to potential customers did not sound appealing. Thank God we didn't have a wedding this weekend or we'd really be screwed.
We picked up my prescription on our way out of town. As soon as we arrived at the ranch, Logan grabbed my bags, not allowing me to carry anything. Which I found a little insulting, but in a caring way. I was sore and a slightly uncomfortable, but I could manage to carry my purse.
Once inside, he led me down the hall to his bedroom. He pulled my boots off and softly tucked me to bed into bed fully clothed. The adrenalin crash hit, and I slept.
Chapter Six
Attention Whore
"Baby, wake up," Logan whispered, kissing my cheek.
"Mm," I replied, and tried to roll over, but pain shot through my body. Muscles I didn't know I had were screaming and stiff. My eyes shot open as I sucked in a deep breath. The deep breath caused more pain at my ribs. My eyes teared up, as I mumbled, "Fuck!"
"Easy, b
aby." He eased me into a sitting position propping pillows behind me. "Guess the soreness has kicked in?"
"I need a hot bath." I'd scoffed, yes scoffed, at the doctor earlier saying I'd need and want pain meds. Unfortunately, he was right. The doctor also recommended soaking in hot baths with Epsom salt. Logan read thoroughly through my discharge papers, while I inhaled my food at A&W, and made sure we stocked up when we picked up my prescription.
"Are you up to calling Nathan? He's called twice, but he didn't want me to wake you." He handed me a pill and glass of water which I swiftly popped in my mouth and washed it down.
"Can I call while I'm in the bath?" I asked, and he nodded then went to the bathroom and I heard water running.
I had no idea how late it was, but it was dark outside. I took a deep painful breath in, slowly swinging my legs over the side of the bed. After several slow steps towards the bathroom, the pain overtook me so I turned and faced the wall and resting my head against it. I felt tightness, and full on aches and a range of pains. The aches and pains caused my stomach to turn, but the deep breathing seemed to help settle it.
"Babe, I would have helped you get out of bed," he said, as he passed by with the bag of Epsom salt.
"I need to pee. You're not helping me pee!" I clipped. I was sore but still mobile and not an invalid. Plus I still had some dignity left in me.
He laughed at me.
Laughed.
At.
Me.
Jackass.
Ignoring the pain, I pushed off the wall, and walked into the bathroom past Logan. The toilet had its own space with a door for privacy. Thank goodness because I did not want him to watch me pee. Don't ask me why. It just seemed a little too intimate, and I wasn't ready to cross that particular line yet. I finished my business, washed my hands, and then met Logan at the bath.
Whoever designed his house put a lot of thought into it. The master bath was spacious with its own linen closet, and his and her walk in closets as well. The tub was jetted and separate from the steam shower stall. There was a gas fireplace nestled between the master bedroom and bathroom. The whole master bath screamed rustic mountain style, with an abundance of wood, stone, and tile.
Logan and Cecile Page 7
