by Lee, Taylor
~~~
Lexie parked alongside the police car and dragged her aching body out of her Camaro. In the short time it took to drive home, the muscles in her neck and shoulder where Chang had struck her tightened painfully. By the time she arrived she was beginning to feel the effects of a four against one sparring match, that she reminded herself with a grimace had also involved weapons. Seeing Master Wan in the doorway, she wearily pushed aside the thought of the hot bath that had preoccupied her thoughts on the ride home.
When she got inside, it was worse than she’d expected. In addition to Master Wan, she saw a stern Dan Rourke and a troubled-looking Mark Peterson. Standing against the wall was a clearly shaken Ming, tear tracks marking her pale cheeks. Beside her, looking almost as pale and visibly upset, stood Dewa.
Bracing herself, Lexie looked to Master Wan and swallowed hard.
“Are you going to tell Jake?”
A very familiar and dangerously low voice came from the office entrance.
“No, but you are.”
Chapter 12
Lexie had always known that that Jake was a powerful man. Men who served on his special ops teams told her he could reduce a platoon of hardened soldiers to quaking silence with a glance. First-hand she’d seen him overrule a room of Army brass who wanted him to pull away from a mission. But he had never looked at her the way he was looking at her now. Like an owl eyeing a very small mouse. She could only imagine what she looked like—shocking pink hooker clothes and all. Actually she didn’t have to imagine it. She saw it in his eyes. They were dark blue stormy with anger and another emotion she couldn’t read. His jaw was rigid, his brows met in a deep furrow. She couldn’t see his hands but if they weren’t clenched in fists she’d be surprised. The corded muscles on his neck were like twisted ropes. He exuded the aura of a dangerously powerful man who was furious—at her.
She stammered. “I… I thought you were in Washington.”
Without taking his hard gaze off of her, he was silent for a long moment. “Yes, I can see that you did.”
Lexie shrugged. She was damn tired and not up to an argument, especially in front of this audience. A quiver at the corner of Jake’s eye telegraphed his concern.
`”Are you hurt?”
She shrugged. “A little banged up, but no worse than usual after a sparring match.”
Dan Rourke broke in, his voice gruff with concern.
“Jake, Lexie, I’m sorry to do this. You look like hell, Lexie. But given what Dewa has told us, we’re going to need to ask you some questions, Lexie. Tonight.”
Jake turned to him and nodded.
“Can you give us thirty minutes, Dan? So that Lexie can get cleaned up?”
The burly officer nodded.
“Hell, yeah. Take your time.”
In two powerful strides, Jake was at her side. Ignoring Lexie’s surprised squeak, he scooped her up in his arms. Over his shoulder, he focused his gaze on Master Wan’s troubled countenance. “Please see that our guests have refreshments. I don’t know if the officers can imbibe, but if so, I recommend some of the good stuff you hide in that cabinet in your office.”
When they got to her quarters, Jake strode to the bathroom and deposited her in front of the full-length mirror. She was shocked at her reflection. Her face was streaked with dirt. Her hair was a tangled mass of unruly curls partially held in place by the hairpins she used to secure the wig. The black eyeliner she’d used was smudged making her look like a very pale raccoon. Dried blood marked a long cut on her arm. She was surprised. She hadn’t felt Sanchez’s knife. Maybe it was just a scratch. Seeing Jake glaring at the blood, she didn’t think it was. He yanked over the stool from her dressing table and sat her on it. Crouching in front of her he jerked off one thigh-high boot then the other and tossed them over his shoulder.
“I’d put you in the bathtub but because Dan needs to talk to you tonight, the best we can do is a shower.”
She nodded. To her surprise, he pulled her to her feet.
“Can you stand?”
She frowned. “Of course I can. I… I’m just tired… what the hell?”
Lexie clutched at his forearms, shocked. He’d stood her in front of him, and then unceremoniously took down her shorts, pulling one foot free then the other. When he reached for the hem of her halter, she shoved at his hands.
“What are you doing, Jake?”
His voice was ice cold. “Be still. I’m taking off your clothes, if that is what you call this.” He held the ripped piece of neon pink fabric in the air, then tossed it on top of her boots.
Lexie was outraged. “Jake, for God’s sake. I can take off my own….”
Her protest died in her throat at the expression on his face.
“Lexie. Be. Quiet. I want to look at your body. And before you ask, let me tell you why. If you have injuries, we are going to press charges against whoever did this. Do you understand? If you prefer that Dan or Mark record your injuries, I will call them in now.”
Lexie huffed out a heavy sigh. She hadn’t thought about pressing charges, and of course they should. In fact perhaps she could use the injuries in her video…Seeing Jake’s expression, she put up her hands and decided not to suggest the idea.
“Fine. Look me over. See for yourself. I got banged up. But believe me, the guys who did it look worse that I do.”
She stopped seeing that Jake was staring at her breasts. Looking down she saw the bruises on both breasts. One nipple looked swollen.
His voice was silky soft.
“Who did this?”
When she shook her head and frowned, he continued.
“A name please, Lexie.”
“Three… all three of them did.”
“Names?”
Lexie reeled off the names and the descriptions of the animals as he turned her slowly pointing out each bruise and mark. At each injured place, Jake stopped and snapped a picture on his phone. As he was cataloging the injuries on her back, he ran his hand over her bottom. His voice was casual as if he were asking if she’d ever had pizza.
“I’m curious, Lexie. Have you ever been spanked?”
In the mirror, Lexie saw the hot flush stain her face. She shoved at his hands.
“Stop it, Jake! And, no, I’ve never been spanked. And furthermore, you wouldn’t dare.”
Jake moved next to her. He took hold of her arm and held her up close to his chest. His voice was low and dangerous. The vibrations strummed through her core.
“Darlin’, if I wasn’t as angry as I am and you weren’t hurt, I promise you, I’d turn you over my knee and wallop your ass so hard, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week.” His voice dropped lower, sinking to a husky drawl. “Oh, and Lexie? I dare. I goddamn fucking well dare. This is a conversation we’re going to have, sweetheart. Later. Count on it.”
With that, he picked her up and walked over to the shower and flipped on the faucet. He held her in his arms until he was satisfied with the temperature, then turned the shower head to the wall and stood her in the shower. First he gently washed each cut and scratch. He poured shampoo in her hair and massaged her scalp as he worked the shampoo through the long tangled strands. When he was finished, he removed the hand held shower head and carefully rinsed her body and hair. At his gentle touch and soft murmurs, Lexie felt the tension from the hideous episode begin to loosen. As it did, the full horror of the evening hit her and she moaned, her legs starting to shake. Jake turned off the water and reached behind him for a towel.
After he’d dried her off, he wrapped her in one of her fluffy terrycloth robes.
“Tell me, Darlin’. Are you up for this? If you want, I can put you in bed. Dan can come here to interview you. Especially now that I’ve documented your injuries.”
Lexie shook her head. “I’m fine, Jake. My sweats are in the bottom drawer, the sweatshirts are in the next one.”
Several minutes later, they joined the others in the small conference room. Madam Juen was bustling around
the room in her nightgown and robe. When she saw Lexie, her eyes filled with tears and she pressed her hand to her mouth.
Lexie put her arm around her and gave her a hug.
“I’m fine, Madam Juen. I got a little banged up. No more than I get in a hard sparring match. Don’t listen to these men. You know how men are. They exaggerate everything. I can’t get in a little fight. Oh no, they have to call it a brawl—”
“Be quiet, Lexie.”
Jake’s command was soft, but it stopped her in mid-sentence. She heaved out a heavy sigh. Her attempt at humor had backfired, and now Jake was angry all over again. Watching his reaction to Dan’s questions and her answers, she realized the rage she’d seen in his eyes when she first came in was more intense than ever.
The door banged and Brady appeared in the entrance.
“Hot damn! A post-midnight party and I just now get an invitation? C’mon, Jake, tell me for once you’re gonna share hotshot, not make me and Lexie sneak off after we dose up your drink—”
Brady stopped in mid-sentence, glancing from Dan Rourke to Master Wan, and then finally to Lexie and Jake.
“Whoa….Now what you’d do, hotshot? You know how long it takes me to settle the big guy down when you go off on one of your escapades.”
Jake glared at him and tossed him his phone. Brady flipped on the pictures. He held up the one of her in her pink hooker garb and whistled.
“Hotshot, one request. Next time you wanna wear this out on the town, call me. I’m a sucker for hot pink boy shorts.…” His grin died on his face as he scrolled through the photos. After a pregnant pause, his dark green eyes flashing, he glanced up at Jake.
“Names?”
Jake nodded. “Later.”
Brady stood and walked over to Lexie and reached for her.
“C’mere, you.”
He dragged her up into his arms and buried his face in her damp hair. Lexie leaned into the comfort of him. She adored Brady. He’d been her touchstone. He could make her smile when no one else could. But he wasn’t smiling now.
His voice was low. Much like Jake’s had been.
“Gotta question for you, hotshot. Have you ever been spanked?”
Lexie reared back and shoved him away.
“What is it with you men? When you get upset with me, the first thing you want to do is beat on my ass?”
Brady nodded at Lexie as he settled her back in her chair, and then exchanged a grim smile with Jake.
“Among other things.”
Lexie answered Dan’s questions, trying to ignore the pain on Master Wan’s face. Jake’s anger mirrored on Brady’s face was one thing. She could handle them. But hurting Master Wan was another. She longed to go to him and wipe the pain off of his face but Dan wasn’t through asking her questions.
“Did you get the name of the man who joined the fight? A description?”
“Yes. He was a Korean man. A Hapkido fighter. He got the knife away from Sanchez and took down the ‘quick’ one, they called him Chang, in a couple of moves. It was impressive. We ran together. His car was a few blocks away. He drove me to my car.”
Jake frowned. Brady spoke for all of them.
“Damn, hotshot. You must have been out of it, to get in a car with a guy you didn’t know.…”
Lexie looked from Brady to Jake and shrugged.
“He had a Jaguar for God’s sake. You know us little women. We go gaga over strong men with hot cars.…”
Seeing that her impudence didn’t help, if anything ratcheted up their anger, she added, “Look, be glad he was there. I probably could have taken those animals, but the odds were getting worse by the minute. At the very least, when he joined the fight, all those creeps on the side backed off. And yes, we ran like hell, and I was glad to be locked inside that hot car. Given where we’d been, it seemed a lot safer.”
Dan broke the heavy silence.
“You got his name, Lexie?”
“Yes, I have his card….” Lexie frowned, then remembered that she’d tucked the card in her shorts.
“I had it, Jake. In my pants?”
Jake motioned to Ming.
“Her shorts are in her bathroom. Please. See if you can find the card.”
Lexie focused on Dan, who seemed like the most reasonable of the men glaring at her.
“Like I said, he was Korean and clearly a master Hapkido fighter. But it was strange. In addition to his expensive car, his clothes were different, expensive. A silk shirt, for God’s sake. He said he was a businessman. That his name was Peter Kim.”
Dan and Mark exchanged a surprised glance. Mark spoke before Dan could.
“The Councilman?”
Lexie frowned.
“No, I… I don’t think so. Unless he is new. I know all the Councilmen.”
Dan replied. “He is new. The Mayor appointed him last month to fill Chou Min’s place. When Chou had that stroke.” He quirked a disbelieving brow. “At least that’s what they said it was.”
Lexie remembered hearing the news about Chou.
“That’s right. Now I remember. But, Peter? He told me he was a businessman.…”
Dan passed the card Ming gave him to Mark, who then gave it to Jake.
“Yeah, he’s a businessman all right. Owns property all over the city, primarily in the District. People were surprised. The guy’s never been in politics. Said he wanted to represent the decent businesses. I dunno. What can I say? The Mayor seemed excited about it. Said we need more businessmen on the Council. And hell, you know as well as anyone, Lexie, those campaign contributions go a long way. Although why anyone would want to serve on that Council is beyond me. Talk about a thankless job.”
Lexie was thoughtful. She could think of a few reasons. And not all of them would help the “decent” people in the District. A Council member had a lot of power over what happened in his ward. He could start an investigation—or stop one—if he chose to do so.
She met Jake’s questioning gaze.
“That answers at least one question: how he knew who I was. But it doesn’t answer the more important question. How he just happened to be in the alley behind the Rising Sun in the middle of the night.”
Jake nodded. “Sure as hell doesn’t.”
The silence around the table was deafening.
Chapter 13
When Jake returned to their bed, Lexie breathed a sigh of relief and rolled over next to him. When he left she didn’t need to ask him where he was going. Instead, she’d closed her eyes and hugged her pillow—wishing it was Jake. Even as tired as she was, there was no way she could sleep. Not until he came back—safe. She’d seen the look he and Brady exchanged and heard his last words to Dan, telling him to “hold up a bit” before he went to arrest the men who’d hurt her.
She snuggled against his big body and murmured, “I worry about you too, Jake. Maybe I should spank your butt when you and Brady take off in the middle of the night to do your ‘big cave-man macho’ thing.”
Jake pulled her up close and chuckled. “Spanking is not a laughing matter, Lexie, as you will find out soon enough.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’ll see. But, tell me. Jake. Tell me you’re not hurt.”
“No, Lexie, unlike you, I’m not hurt, at least physically. But there are a few bouncers at the Rising Sun whose body parts won’t be rising or doing much else for a good long while.”
Lexie didn’t have to ask what they’d done. She’d seen Jake and Brady fight. Coupled with Peter’s and her attacks, she doubted any of those goons would be harassing young Korean girls for a long time, if ever. But she didn’t miss Jake’s reference to the hurt he felt. She hated that. In retrospect, it would have been so easy just to tell him what she planned to do. But he never would have let her. Damn, the least he could have done was let her know he wasn’t going to D.C….
“Jake?”
“Yeah, Darlin’?”
“Can we talk in the morning? I’m exhausted. I just want you to hold me and maybe we can both go
to sleep.”
He pulled her up close into the hollow of his shoulder, the place where she longed to nestle her weary head.
“Yes, Lexie. I will hold you. And please, Darlin’, go to sleep. As for me, I don’t feel much like sleeping.”
Lexie frowned. She could feel his simmering anger, at her, and from the aftermath of his fight. She sighed and snuggled closer to him. Looked like she would have to be satisfied with sleeping tonight—even if Jake couldn’t.
~~~
The next morning, Lexie woke early, prepared for the ‘discussion’ with Jake that they’d postponed. To her relief, she saw that Jake was gone. He must have had an early morning meeting that he forgot to mention. She grinned. The gods were with her. Hopping out of bed, she took a quick shower, groaning at the bruises on her body. She’s known they’d hurt worse in the morning. They always did. Fortunately her body healed quickly.
Wrapped in her fluffy robe, she smelled the delicious scent of coffee – with cinnamon and cream she was sure. But, as good as it smelled, the delivery came with strings attached. Jake was sitting in one of the arm chairs in the siting area. Her coffee was on the table in front of him.
Jake’s lips twitched and a flash of humor streaked across his face.
“Don’t look so disappointed, Darlin’. You can’t think that I would leave you this morning without bringing you your coffee.”
She clipped her damp hair up on top of her head and sauntered over to him. She smiled sweetly and settled in the chair across from him. “Of course not, Jake. And this coffee smells so good, it’s almost worth putting up with the guy who brought to me.”
Jake’s smile vanished. He studied her for a long moment. Lexie’s gut clenched. She knew this was going to be a difficult discussion. She considered playing the sympathy card, mentioning her injuries, but that seemed like a bad idea. The last thing she needed to do was remind him that she’d been hurt. Instead, she waited for him to begin. And she didn’t have to wait long.
“Why, Lexie? Why didn’t you tell me where you were going, what you planned to do?”
