by A. C. Arthur
Barkley followed her, his blood pumping fiercely through his veins now. She was so worth the wait. This chase, this master plan he had to bring them together, had been brilliant. And while it started out as revenge against his father, he’d managed to finagle a way to please himself, as well as his mother, in the process. Jonathan Peterson was embarrassed by the emails and afraid that company stock would plummet once they became public. His mother, on the other hand, was gaining lots more in the divorce settlement because his father was so desperately trying to keep the peace. As for him, he wanted Reka. “We’ve been in this conference room so many times. You sitting on one side of the table and me on the other.” With every step he took, she took two more. Her eyes were ablaze, with desire, he was sure. Her blouse wasn’t buttoned completely and he could just see the swell of her breasts. He licked his lips. “I’ve so often imagined you on top of this table, open and waiting for me.”
“You have a very vivid imagination, then, because I wouldn’t be caught dead waiting for you.” She was on the other side of the room now, debating if she could make a dash for the door. Maybe if he hadn’t locked it she’d have a chance, but since she’d undoubtedly have to fiddle with the lock he’d be on her in an instant. If she screamed for help, would anyone hear her? There had to be plenty of people in the office by now. Maybe she could get close to the phone and call the front desk.
Barkley removed his jacket, undid his tie and the first few buttons of his shirt. “That’s okay, I knew you wouldn’t be compliant. That makes it even more exciting.”
“No, that makes you a rapist, among other things.” She watched the shift in his eyes and had enough forewarning to duck when he lifted a chair and threw it in her direction.
“Don’t call me names! I’m a very rich man, and you’d be lucky to sleep with me. They all are!” he roared.
Okay, whereas before she was mildly irritated by this little scene he’d created, now Reka was feeling the first jolts of real fear. Barkley was definitely unstable. But she wouldn’t cower, she wouldn’t beg him to leave her alone. And she wouldn’t give up without a fight. Standing again, she folded her arms over her chest. “Then maybe you should go and chase one of them around a table.”
In a move that looked too smooth and too easily accomplished, Barkley jumped up on the table, came across with a few steps, and landed directly in front of her. Reka backed into the wall at his approach, her heart thudding in her chest, a scream stuck somewhere deep in her throat.
“I don’t want them. I want you.” With his hands planted firmly on the wall on either side of her head, he boxed her in. “And you want me too.” Leaning closer, he licked the line of her jaw because she turned her face before he could get to her lips.
Her stomach roiled at his closeness, at the fact that his tongue was on her. Her palms went to his chest to push him away.
“That’s right, touch me, baby. We are going to be so good together.” His tongue trailed down her neck towards her collarbone.
Reka pushed against him. “You are going to be so good to some man while you’re rotting in a jail cell!”
Barkley grabbed her wrists, squeezing them tightly as he dragged her away from the wall and turned her so that her bottom was now pressed against the table. “Maybe so, but I’ll have you first.” He pushed her back.
Reka struggled, swinging her fists wildly and thrashing her feet as much as possible. Anything to keep him off of her. He was touching her, his hands pawing at her breasts, moving down to the hem of her skirt, pushing it up to her thighs. “Stop it! Get off of me, you idiot! Get off me!” she yelled.
“You like it!” Barkley breathed heavily. “You know you do!” He groaned and lifted her hands above her head.
“No!” The scream she’d been holding back escaped, resonating throughout the office.
* * *
Khalil walked into his office with a handful of pink message slips. Cienna wanted to see him immediately. With a sigh and a curse, he remembered the emails and the break in the case he’d had yesterday before his life had fallen apart. Moving quickly to his desk, he retrieved the papers he’d printed out, dropped his bag on the chair and headed back for Cienna’s office.
She was on the phone when he walked in, but she motioned for him to close the door and take a seat. He did and waited impatiently while she finished the conversation. He wanted to see Reka as soon as possible. He’d take care of this business with Cienna, then go straight to her office. Everything else was second in his mind to making things right with her.
Cienna finished talking to one of her clients while keeping an eye on Khalil. He looked tired, antsy and broken-hearted. A part of her felt sorry for him. Another part wanted to tell him that’s what he deserved for being such a jerk. She’d probably go with the latter part the moment she hung the phone up.
“Yes. That sounds fine. I’ll have that ready for our meeting next week,” she was saying when Khalil caught her looking at him. And in that instant he knew this meeting wasn’t going to go well.
Cienna hung up the phone, closed the file she had opened, then sat back in her chair, surveying him. “You want to tell me how you managed to come into my office to find an email stalker, fall in love with my assistant, then break her heart, all in the span of two months?”
Khalil took a deep breath, expelled it. “Which explanation do you want to hear first?”
“Let’s go with the personal, since I don’t think I’ll be able to discuss business with you until I’ve gotten a few things off my chest.”
Khalil shook his head. “Married people really do tell each other everything, don’t they?”
“Everything,” Cienna conceded. “Especially when their best friend messes up royally.”
He sighed. “You didn’t see the pictures,” he began. “Imagine how you would have felt opening a package of pictures like that with Keith in them.”
Cienna took a minute to do just that. “I would have seen red. I would have gone to his office and thrown the pictures in his face.”
“My point exactly.”
Cienna held up a hand. “But then we would have talked about it. I would have given him the chance to explain. I would have listened.”
Because he knew her, because he knew the point she was trying to make, he relaxed a bit. “And then?”
Cienna cracked a smile. “And then I would have beat his ass and the trick who was in the picture with him.”
“My point exactly,” Khalil repeated. “I went to her. I showed her the pictures. I waited for her to explain. But she never did.”
“Did you want her to explain or confirm?”
“It’s the same thing.”
“It’s not, and you know it. You went to her believing that she’d done this horrible thing to you, to your relationship. You didn’t stop to think that there was a possibility that you were wrong. She was guilty before proven innocent,” Cienna said matter-of-factly.
Khalil lifted a brow. “Do I get the chance to rebut that statement, counselor?”
“By all means.” She nodded. He was suffering, she could tell. Just as she suspected Reka was doing. She only hoped that Khalil was ready to do battle, because with Reka’s stubbornness that was exactly what he was going to need to do.
“I was quick to believe the pictures, even though a part of me said she couldn’t possibly have done this. And when I saw her, when she didn’t, not once, say that it wasn’t her, I was crushed. She treated me like I was the fool all along.”
“You were the fool for believing she’d cheat on you. Had she ever given you reason to believe she’d do something like that, Khalil? Reka, of all people, would be the last to cheat on a man. With as much as it’s been done to her, you can bet that she’d dump you first before betraying your trust like that.”
He let his head fall into his hands. “I know. I know. That’s what she said. She said that she never cheated on me. But I couldn’t see past the anger, the hurt.”
Cienna stood then,
walked around her desk and put a hand on his shoulder. “Love’s a painful thing. I know, I’ve traveled that road before.”
“Then you should have warned me.”
“It wouldn’t have been worth it if you didn’t experience it for yourself. Besides,” she said, still rubbing his shoulder, “it’s worth it.”
He lifted his head. “Is it?”
Cienna smiled down at him, seeing the hope in his eyes. “Definitely.”
Khalil managed a smile.
“Now, tell me about Jack.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot all about him.” Khalil lifted the papers he’d put in the chair beside him and gave them to her. “Read for yourself.”
Cienna stared down at the papers in disbelief. “Are you sure, Khalil? This can’t possibly be true. Why would he do this?”
Khalil shook his head as he watched her go back to her desk, her eyes riveted on the papers. “Yes, I’m sure. Positive, actually, because I ran a second check. I was hoping you’d have an answer as to why.”
Cienna sat in her chair, shaking her head. “No, I don’t have a clue.”
Her phone rang. She hit the intercom button. “Yes?”
“Mrs. Page, ah, I think we have a situation,” Clara stammered.
Cienna looked up from the papers. “A situation? Clara, what are you talking about?”
“Um, it’s in the conference room. There’s something going on in there.”
“What’s going on in the conference room, Clara?” Cienna gave Khalil a puzzled look.
Khalil shrugged.
“I walked by there a moment ago and I heard yelling and a lot of commotion.”
“What? Who’s in there?”
Clara hesitated. “It’s Reka. She came in this morning and her nine o’clock was already here and she went on in. But something’s, wrong, Mrs. Page, something is definitely wrong.”
Khalil stood the moment he heard her name. “Who’s in there with her Clara?”
“Ah, it’s, it’s Mr. Peterson.”
With knowing glances Khalil and Cienna’s hearts stopped.
“Jonathan Peterson?” Cienna asked hopefully.
“No, it’s the son. It’s Barkley Peterson.”
Khalil was out of the office before Cienna could disconnect.
* * *
Somebody pounded on the door, and her heart leapt with joy. Barkley looked toward the door and Reka took advantage of the moment. She twisted and wriggled until her knee gained enough leverage to slam into his groin.
Barkley growled, released her hands and stepped back a bit. She hadn’t kneed him hard, but it was enough to get him off her. She quickly slipped off the table and was headed towards the door when he grabbed her by her ponytail, pulling her across the floor.
“I like a little chase, Reka! But you’re beginning to piss me off!” he yelled when he had her in the corner. “Now you’ll have to pay for that.”
Barkley stood over her, a knife in one hand while the other hand worked at his zipper. The sleek silver blade looked way too sharp.
She felt sick and knew that at any moment now she was going to vomit all over the conference room. Never in a million years would she have pegged Barkley for a nut case. An arrogant mama’s boy maybe, but never a sex-crazed stalker. “Barkley, wait a minute. Let’s talk about this,” she pleaded.
“We can talk afterwards,” he snickered. “I know how you women like that.”
His voice sounded desperate, just on the edge of complete lunacy. She tried to get up, but he swiftly bent over and touched the knife to her throat. “All you have to do is cooperate,” he told her.
He was serious. The prick of the blade against her skin told her that. “Barkley, no,” she whispered desperately.
“I want you, Reka. I’ve waited so long, baby. Please, ” he moaned.
“No,” she moaned, tears streaming down her face.
“I’ll kill you, bitch! Don’t you understand that? I’ll kill you!” Barkley yelled, the knife shaking in his hand.
With his free hand he was touching her, violating her. Against her will, Reka whimpered. Some people said their whole life flashed before their eyes before they died. But hers didn’t. Only the last few weeks did. She thought of meeting Khalil, of their first night at the bar, of him seeing her safely home, of him kissing her. Her mind reeled with memories of her and Khalil and she cried, not for herself, but for the love that would be forever lost before she had the chance to really claim it. For once in her life she wasn’t fighting. She felt the warm tears streaming down her cheeks, heard her own pitiful moans and then felt the sting of the blade.
Suddenly the door crashed open with a loud splintering sound and Khalil was across the room in two seconds flat, yanking Barkley up by his collar. “You sick bastard!” he roared as he tossed Barkley into the wall.
Khalil didn’t see him push off the wall and come at him with the knife. With a flash of silver blade, Barkley sank it into Khalil’s shoulder.
“Aarrgghh!” Khalil roared. He struck Barkley with all the strength in him and Barkley slid to the floor, unconscious.
Then Khalil fell to his knees, scooping Reka up into his arms and hugging her tightly to his chest. “I’m so sorry, baby. So sorry for everything,” he said as he rocked back and forth. “I should have found out who he was sooner. I should have protected you.”
Reka continued to cry, although it wasn’t out of fear or loss anymore. She wept now because she knew love, real love, and it was wrapped securely around her. “I didn’t cheat on you, Khalil. I would never betray you that way,” she whispered.
“Shhh, baby. It’s okay. We’ll talk about it later.” Suddenly he noticed that she was bleeding. “Get the paramedics!” he yelled over his shoulder.
Keith arrived then, as did the police and the paramedics. As Barkley was being cuffed, Keith bent and put a hand to Khalil’s shoulder.
“I hired you to get to the bottom of some emails, not have blood drawn in my office,” he said lightly.
All at once Khalil realized that his shoulder hurt like hell. Then the paramedics were beside him, pulling Reka away and looking at his wound.
“Sir, you’re losing a lot of blood. We need to get you to the hospital.”
Khalil reached for Reka.
Cienna put a hand out to restrain him. “She’s going to the hospital, too.”
He didn’t want to be away from her, not for a minute, not for a second. Guilt weighed heavily on him. He’d told her he would protect her. She had doubted him, but he’d been persistent. He’d told her she let him down, but, in truth, he’d let himself down. He loved this woman and how had he shown her? By judging her and not believing in her, in their love. He’d spend the rest of his life begging her forgiveness.
* * *
After getting his thirty-seven stitches, Khalil went to the examining room where Reka was. Just before he pushed the curtain aside he heard her say something to Grammy and smiled to himself. From the sound of Reka’s voice she was tired of Grammy and Janell and their warnings and musings about today’s events, so he didn’t hesitate to enter.
“And you, handsome,” Grammy never missed a beat as she looked from Reka to him. “You like jumping in front of knives, too, I see. Come here and let me see if they fixed you up good.”
Khalil’s eyes were riveted on Reka. She held his gaze but he couldn’t decipher what that meant. Was she still angry with him? Where did their relationship stand? Grammy made an impatient sound and he quickly moved toward her.
She didn’t touch his shoulder but she pulled him down far enough so that she could kiss his cheek. “Thanks for protecting my baby.”
The guilt Khalil had already been feeling magnified.
“Yeah, I knew you were a good one the first time I met you,” Janell added. “Come on, Mama. Let’s go outside and get the car. These two need a ride home.”
“Ah, actually I think my sister’s around here somewhere,” Khalil added.
“Nope. We told her to g
o home to that baby. We’ll take you home and then take Reka and get her all tucked in.”
Khalil didn’t argue. The more time he could spend with her the better. He suspected he was going to need more than a few hours to make this up to her.
They were alone. Reka had both dreaded and feared this moment. What would she say to him? What would he say to her? How would they go on from here?
“What did the doctor say?” he asked as he took a seat on the edge of her bed.
He was so close and yet, she sensed, so far away. Where had things gone wrong with them? “It wasn’t deep enough to do serious damage, thank goodness. So they gave me ten stitches and some pain killers and told me to get the hell out of here before they charge me for the sheets too.” She gave a wan smile.
His heart tightened at that simple action. With no makeup, her hair tousled, dressed in an ugly hospital gown and wearing a huge white patch taped to her neck, she was beautiful. There was so much he needed to say to her, so much they needed to resolve but he couldn’t seem to find the words.
It didn’t seem that he was in a hurry to get their showdown over with, so Reka, in her signature fashion, jumped right in. “I meant what I said to you. I didn’t cheat on you. I don’t know how those pictures were made, but it wasn’t me.”
Khalil shifted on the bed and took her hand in his. Bringing it to his lips, he kissed it and closed his eyes. Inhaling deeply, he let the fact that she hadn’t pulled away settle inside. “I should have trusted you,” he said, then looked at her. “I should have trusted the person I knew you were. But I saw the pictures and I just reacted.” He shook his head because there was no other excuse he could offer her. “I was wrong and I apologize.”
She tilted her head to the side and watched him carefully. “You were jealous, weren’t you?”
Khalil laughed. “That’s an understatement. I was crazy out of my mind jealous. I’m not sure what it is about you, but the thought of you being with someone else drives me crazy. I’ve never been the jealous type. I’ve never had insecurities. But with you…” He couldn’t even begin to explain something he didn’t understand himself.
