Designing Woman (The Sloan Brothers Book 2) (22 page)

Getting back to the course of events.  I thought I was Queen Shit of Turd Mountain.  He was turning gray with his balls in his hands.  I had his penis in lockdown and he couldn’t move.  The blood was getting worse and I was getting queasy, but I’d be damned if I was giving up.  He could keep on screaming until somebody broke down the door and came to his rescue.  They’d also have to rescue ME, and he wasn’t the one in handcuffs and spread eagle.  I’d take my chances with the cops, thank-you very much.

I had the plan, the timing, and the execution.  What I didn’t have, was an inkling of a clue as to what he’d do out of desperation.  We all do what we gotta do to survive and that’s what I’m chalking it up to.  If I dissect it too much, I have nightmares.

He drew back that ham of a fist and he punched me right in the face.  He’s a boxer folks.  He knows how to throw a punch.  I don’t know what was stranger.  The fact that I saw it coming and that only made me bite down harder, or waking up naked and battered in a park while Paramedics worked me over.  I knew I was broken up pretty good this time.  I’d felt bones crunch when he landed the blow, right before the world went black.

If I were tempted to say anything in his defense, it would be this: No, it’s not okay to hit a girl.  It is definitely not okay to punch a girl in the face if your hands are trained to be used as lethal weapons.  On the flipside, I’m pretty sure it is equally frowned upon to bite a man’s dick off.  Just sayin’.

There I go getting sidetracked again...

Why did I feel like I’d spent the better part of the last twenty four hours freezing my ass off?  Granted, it was winter in New York and as I moved my hand to my stomach, it became apparent to me and everyone that had gathered around to gawk at me, that I was still naked.  I couldn’t see much, but I could move everything.  That was good.  I reached up to touch my face and the pain hit me dead on.  It felt swollen to at least three times it’s size and I could only imagine what I looked like.  I bet I looked like I’d gone three rounds with a heavyweight boxer.  Hey!  Guess what?  I did go three rounds with a heavyweight boxer.

I was still grinning though.  I knew three things for certain.  One: I was free.  I was naked, but I wasn’t handcuffed anymore.  Two: Some lucky E.R. nurse and doctor would have something to laugh about when this gorilla of a man walked in, dropped trou, and showed them what a captive one hundred and eighteen pound woman was capable of, by god.  And three: If he didn’t get it treated, he’d still be easier to find because he’d be a giant asshole walking around in the loosest fitting pants he could find.  Maybe he could find a pair of those parachute pants that that Hammer guy used to wear back in the eighties.  I would even hazard to wager that he’d be limping for awhile.  Then there was a little something called going to the bathroom to consider.  Man, he wasn’t gonna forget my ass for a very long time.

I was lying on the gurney, getting loaded into the back of an ambulance (where hopefully it would be warmer), and I was giggling like a loon because of where my train of thought had taken me.  The EMT’s thought it was the morphine they’d injected and maybe it was, but I didn’t think so.

I was in pain, but my spirits were high.  Then I heard the voice of vengeance and judgement and all laughter ceased.

“Where the fuck is she?!... I’m her damned husband, THAT’S who I am!... Don’t TELL me to calm DOWN!  If she’s going to the hospital, I’m riding with her or I’m taking her out of your shitbox of a noise maker and I’m taking her myself!  Are you clear on the finer points there Doogie?”

The Paramedic at my side, clucked in sympathy and rolled his eyes.  He didn’t know the half of it.  When the whole story got out, I wouldn’t be surprised if Anton bit MY dick off while he handcuffed me down for good measure.

I saw his handsome but exhausted and terrified face appear through the still open door.  I was raised up on my elbows peering through slits that would have to work as eyes for the time being.  I couldn’t see much, but I could see that the sight of my battered face didn’t put him even the slightest bit at ease.  I tried smiling, but that seemed to make it worse.  I didn’t understand why.  My smile should have reassured him.

As Anton was jumping into the back of the ambulance, the Paramedic leaned over and whispered to me.

“Your teeth are coated in blood.  When you smiled, you looked like that Carrie chick at the prom.”

I dropped the smile and kept my slits trained on Anton.  He knelt on the floor next to me and took my hand.  The ambulance started moving and the Paramedic placed his hand on Anton’s shoulder.

“Sir, I need you to take a seat and buckle your safety belt.”

“Get your fucking hand off me Scooter or she won’t be the only one exiting via stretcher.”

The poor man jerked his hand back and made a note on his clipboard.  I sincerely hoped that medical care didn’t work on the demerit system, or I’d be left in the alley behind the hospital, in line behind the giant in Hammer pants, whining about his dick.

In a move that was purely Anton, but completely unexpected, he leaned over and kissed me gently on the forehead as he smoothed the hair out of my face.  Then he kissed my hand before he kissed my neck, his lips lingering near my ear.

“When I get you home, you are in so much trouble, you’ll be lucky to see daylight before next year.  Do you understand Melody?”

Now THAT was my Anton.

I patted his cheek and kissed his hand.  He was so warm and the love in his eyes overwhelmed me.  I knew if I cried, the salty tears would be horribly painful.  So I did my best to blink them back, but my eyes were so swollen, blinking was a joke.

We took a corner rather sharply, throwing me against Anton, who wrapped his arms around me in reflex.  I clung to him and he clung right back.  I never realized how close I’d come to losing him until exactly that moment.  This could have ended so much worse.  As it was, Tony had beaten the shit out of me, and then he left me in a park stark naked in the middle of winter to die.

I hung on tighter and started to weep openly.

“Anton I was so scared.  I am so sorry baby.  I should have listened, but he’d called me before and we’d ironed out our differences.  He seemed okay, friendly even.  I didn’t see any harm in meeting him for a drink.  I thought I could get information off him.  Something we could use.”

Anton stiffened and then he pulled back.

“Wait a minute.  You talked to him before today?”

I knew that tone.  He’d used that tone at the farm when he walked away from me.  This was going downhill fast.

“He called me a couple of times, trying to explain.  He apologized for the incident at the condo, and then he started talking.  He said he didn’t torch Austin’s bar or trash their apartment and I believed him.”

“You believed him?  Mel’, are you crazy?  Have you lost every ounce of your common sense?  Why the hell is he in New York when he has nothing here other than Ayla?  Did you bother to ask him that?  Wasn’t it rather convenient that every one of us other than you, was in the bar the night it was torched?”

My tears came faster and my sobs grew louder.  I’d been through a lot in the past several hours and the man that supposedly loved me more than anyone else, was yelling at me, making me feel even more more foolish than I already felt.  I couldn’t take it.  I’d reached my breaking point.

“Stop.  Just... stop.  I fucked up, okay?  I’ve spent the last twelve hours naked while handcuffed to a bed, while the scariest fucking man alive touched me and threatened to rape me.  He forced me to use a bedpan because he wouldn’t uncuff me.  I kicked him in the head and then caused permanent damage to his favorite appendage.  That’s what forced him to punch me.  I wouldn’t let go of it.”

The Paramedic was listening because the story was getting interesting.  Anton ignored him and narrowed his eyes at me.

“What do you mean you caused permanent damage?  How could your grip cause permanent damage?”

“It’s easy if you’re gripping with your damned teeth.”

Both men flinched and their free hands slipped south in reflex.

“Melody.  Are you saying the blood on your teeth isn’t your own?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Anton sat back on his heels and ran his hand through his hair.

“He punched you because you wouldn’t let go?”

“I was clamped down Anton.  I’m pretty sure he needs surgery.”

“So he punched you, spit it out...”

“No, I blacked out.  I woke up because Riley here was shining a light in my eyes and asking me questions.  They loaded me onto a stretcher and put me in here, or I would have frozen to death.”

“You don’t remember how you got to the park?”

“Nope.  But it must’ve been tricky because he lives in a Penthouse suite at the Box House in Brooklyn.  I have no idea how he got me out to the car when I was naked as the day I was born and he was bleeding like a stuck pig.”

“Holy shit Mel’.”

Anton jerked his phone out of his pocket and hit a number from his contact list.

“Chase?  It’s me.  She’s awake.... She looks like shit, he beat her up pretty badly.  Listen.  He’s staying at the Box House in Brooklyn.  One of the Penthouse suites.”

I interrupted him by tugging on his sleeve.  He looked at me, eyebrows raised.

“Number seven.  He lives in number seven.”

Anton leaned over and kissed me on the forehead and I passed out again.  Don’t know what triggered it, I only know that one minute I was offering information, and the next minute my world went dark again.

It would be three days and three surgeries later before I found out the extent of the damage that had caused my black out.

I opened my eyes but didn’t move.  Some lessons you learn from experience.  The first thing I saw was Austin.  I remembered having slits for eyes, but it seems that little problem has resolved itself.  Thank god.  I could feel that the rest of my head and face were wrapped in something that felt like gauze and fluff.  My lips felt dry, so I licked them.  My lips weren’t wrapped either.  Another good sign.

Austin was sound asleep, his forehead against my thigh.  I was close to a bed rail, my body at a strange tilt.  I’d been turned towards him.  I felt the pillows under my back, bottom, and legs.  I was a side sleeper by nature, so it felt comfortable.  I relaxed.  If Austin was here, then I was safe.  I was also in the hospital.  The lines leading from my body to various machines and pumps gave that away.

I studied my friend for a second.  He was seated in a padded plastic chair, his back hunched at an angle that would give him fits when he woke.  He was holding my hand tightly while he slept.  I turned my head to see if anyone else was present and the pain was immediate.  Nope.  Not doing that again anytime soon.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and started again.  Austin and I were alone and it was early morning.  Light was coming in from the window and the dim shadows told me it was just after dawn.  How long had I been out?  Hours?  Days?  What the hell had happened to me?

I found myself dying of thirst and curiosity.  I squeezed his hand and he squeezed back before he froze.  His head shot up and his eyes grew huge.  I smiled and licked my lips again.

“Bartender?  Scotch please.  Neat.”

He grinned like I’d never seen him grin before.  He sat up and I saw how wrinkled his shirt was.  His face was scruffy with a fine red beard and he had dark circles under his eyes.  The man needed sleep.  Real sleep.  In his own bed.

He kissed my hand before he pulled out his cell phone.  I waited, not speaking another word.  My eyes never left him though, and he seemed tickled to death by this.  I was glad I could please someone.  The last time I talked to Anton, he didn’t seem overly impressed with anything I had to say.

I waited while I watched him wait, his phone pressed to his ear.

He said two words and then shut his phone.

“She’s awake.”

Once he hung up he kissed my hand again.

“Austin, what’s going on?  You look like hammered shit my man.  How long have you been here?”

He blew out a breath and closed his eyes.  He mumbled something that roughly sounded like “thank-you”, and settled warm green eyes back on me.

“On and off, three days.  We thought we’d lost you a couple of times Mel’.  You scared the shit out of us.  Anton’s never left your side.  He was starting to smell a little ripe, so I made him go home to take a shower.  I made everyone go home to shower, eat, and nap.  I promised I’d stay right here in case something else happened.”

Lost me?  Lost me how?  I wasn’t going anywhere.  I’d had some weird dreams for sure, but I chalked that up to the really good drugs.  I needed clarification.

“Why am I wrapped like a mummy?”

He chuckled and squeezed my hand.

“They had to do a little brain surgery to relieve the swelling.  Once that stabilized out, they decided to go ahead and work on your face.  One of your cheekbones was shattered as well as your nose.  You had a hairline fracture to your forehead and a bone chip worked it’s way into your brain.  While they were retrieving that, you went out and they called a code blue.  Ten minutes later, you did it again.  That one was trickier.”

“You have a new cheekbone and a new nose.  I’ll warn you now that you’ll probably have a scar, but it won’t be too awfully bad.  We got you the best plastic surgeon in the city.”

I sighed and wiggled away from the pillows used to prop me.  When I could reach them, I tossed two onto the floor and put one on the bed beside me before resting our clasped hands on top of it.

“That doesn’t sound too bad I guess.  It could’ve been worse.”

“It was.  It seems your buddy Tony wasn’t satisfied with breaking your face.  He cracked two of your ribs and ruptured your spleen.  They had to remove it to stop the internal bleeding.  Your left lung collapsed and you have a chest tube, so take it easy with the sudden movements.  Once the drugs wear off, you’ll feel every stitch.”

“Why would he beat the hell out of me once he knocked me out?  That doesn’t make any sense.”

He suppressed a grin before he reached up and touched my nose.

“I’m pretty sure it had something to do with the reason for all the blood in your mouth babe.  Men are weird about shit like that.”

I felt my body temperature rise and knew I was one raging blush.  I was glad my face was wrapped to hide my embarrassment.

“So you heard about that.”

“Heard about it?  Anton’s been bragging about it!  I think my favorite line to date is, ‘My girl’s so fierce she bit a guy’s dick off’.  He says a pit bull’s got nothing on you babe.”

My hand went to my face and I flinched at the pain.

“Austin, I’ll never work in this town again once this gets out.”

“Wrong.  You may never get laid in this town again, but you’ll work.  People will hire you out of curiosity alone.  Everyone wants to know a freak, Mel’.  Come on.”

Great.  Now I was a freak.  Not just any freak either.  I looked like a sexual deviant.  My deviancy made Teddy Bear’s fetish look like a feather kink.  Dor’s dream of a deserted farm house out in the country was starting to look appealing.

Austin must’ve sensed my discomfort.

“Mel’, I want you to know how proud of you I am.  The guy had you cuffed and helpless and you still kicked his ass.  Again.  I’ve never known a braver chick in my whole life.  You’re a survivor babe.  Be proud.”

I tried to find comfort in his words, but I was busy working through the mortification of a bragging fiance.

“Have they caught him Austin?”

He looked down at the bed, unable to meet my eyes.  I had my answer.

“Oh come on!  For real?  He hasn’t shown up in an emergency room somewhere?  You haven’t found his car?  Something?  Anything?”

“His hotel room was cleared out and his car was returned to the rental agency.  The hospitals are on alert, but so far, nothing.  He’s disappeared again.  The cops want to talk to you of course, but I’m not sure what you can tell them that they don’t already know or have seen for themselves.”

I was nodding slowly.  Aside from the waking up thing, this day was starting to suck.

Did I say, “starting to suck”?  As I heard the grouchy booming voice coming towards my door, the day slipped into full blown, turbo charged, suckage.  Austin ran his hand through his hair and shrugged.

“...And another thing!  How come you Professionals, and I use the term fucking loosely at this point, had no clue my wife was awake?  Huh?  I got it from a bartender via a cell phone call!  You people are fucking pathetic.  I swear by all that’s holy...”

I looked at Austin.

“Did he just call me his wife?”

“He did.  He’s been calling you that since they found you in the park.”

“Have you been dealing with this the whole time?”

“We have.  He’s been an absolute nightmare.”

The door crashed open and his eyes nailed me to the bed.  He crossed the room in four strides, sat down on the bed, and pulled me into his arms.  My head raged against the sudden movement, he felt warm and soothing.  He was also shaking.  This series of events had taken it’s toll on him and guilt flooded me.

I pulled back and took his face in my hands.

“I love you baby.  I am so sorry you had to go through this.  I...am...so...sorry...”

The tears came and I was powerless to stop them.  He gently moved the gauze aside, and pressed his lips to mine.  He was pulling me closer until his tongue touched mine, then he pushed me back and leaned away.

“Jesus Mel’.  Talk about morning breath.”

And there was the douchebag I knew and loved.

I fell back to my pillows and glared at him.  He just grinned and then grinned at Austin.

“So what were her first words when she woke up?”

“She called me bartender and asked for a scotch.  Neat.”

Anton bellowed with laughter and I’d never heard anything that sounded sweeter.

He winked at me and patted my leg.

“That’s my girl.”

His face flattened and he leaned closer.

“Seriously though babe.  You need a toothbrush and half a bottle of mouthwash.”

“Fuck you Spouse.  I was busy bein’ in a coma.  Oral hygiene was next on my list after offering you my patented oral pleasure package.”

He and Austin both slipped a hand down their bodies in a gesture of self protection.

“Don’t even kid about that Mel’.  That’s scarey.  Hell it’s scarey that the thought even entered your mind, much less that you acted on it.  I mean I’m impressed and all, but jeez louise, that’s cold.”

“Cold?  Handcuffing me to a bed spread eagle and offering it up for dessert didn’t warrant drastic action?”

“All I’m sayin’ is, your mouth is a magical place and should only be used for nice things.”

“Fuck you Anton.  And why are you perpetrating the myth that you’re my husband?  Did something happen while my brain went out to play?”

He leaned closer conspiratorially and whispered like he was giving me the code to the red phone.

“They wouldn’t let me in the ambulance with you unless I was your spouse.  Once we got here, that’s how they introduced me.  It’s even on your chart that way.  Mrs. Melody Elizabeth Sloan.”

“They can’t do that!  What’s gonna happen when it’s time to pay the bill?”

“Already taken care of.  No worries.  So how are you feeling baby?”

I blew out a breath, lost in information overload.

“I’ve got a headache I’d only wish on Tony and I’m tired of being wrapped up like a mummy.  This tube in my side is starting to poke at me and I need drugs.  Serious drugs.  The kind that make me believe in dancing bears and dragons.”

“Have they not been in to see you yet?  Seriously?  No one’s taken vitals or checked your eyes or anything?”

He jumped off the bed, balled up his fists, and started for the door.  I grabbed his arm and he stopped, looking down at my tear filled eyes.

“Honey, honey, honey, what’s wrong?  Don’t cry babe.  Everything will be fine, I promise.  We’re gonna get you home as soon as they give the okay.  I’ll line up round the clock nursing care and you’ll want for nothing.  Please, sweetheart, don’t cry...”

Who knew?  My overbearing spouse came unglued at the sight of tears.

“Please don’t yell anymore babe.  It makes the headache worse and it makes me anxious.  They’re doing the best that they can and I’m fine.  Right?”

He exhaled sharply and relaxed his stance.

“I’ll go out and see what I can do about some medicine for you.”

I smiled and he smiled back.

“Ask nicely, okay?  Please?  For me?”

“I’ll charm the scrubs off of them.  There’s a hot blonde out there that’s been giving me the eye.  I’ll ask her.”

He grinned like a teenager and swaggered out the door.

Austin shook his head and watched him go, only commenting once the door was closed again.

“Is he for real?”

“One hundred percent.  That’s Anton, and I for one am glad to have him back.  Would you do me a quick favor before he returns?”

“Anything Mel’.  Just ask.”

“Go in the bathroom and see if you can find something that resembles a toothbrush and the accessories to go with it.  I’ll need a glass of water and a rinse cup too.”

He disappeared and came back a minute or two later, placing the objects I requested on a bedside table, then positioned it over the bed.  I quickly took care of my breath and then pulled out a small drawer to hide the mouthwash in.  Inside, was a flip up mirror.

Should I?  Would I be freaked out?  Of course I’d be freaked out.  I was so wrapped up, I couldn’t even tell if I still had hair or not.  I had to know regardless.

Austin saw what I was about to do, and he reached out to stop me.

“Mel’, you don’t want to do that yet.  Trust me.”

“I do trust you.  Now trust me.  It’s my face and I have to know.”

I flipped up the mirror before he could say anything else and gasped at my reflection.

The bandages covered everything except my eyes, nostrils, and mouth.  There was oxygen tubing taped to the side of my head and two prongs delivered the required amount into my nose.  So that’s why I felt as dry as a raisin.

I gingerly touched my face and cringed at the pain when I pressed on my cheekbone.  The wrapping over my nose seemed large to me, but I chalked that up to swelling.  I mean come on.  No plastic surgeon worth his money in New York City was going to give me a Jimmy Durante, right?  If anything, he’d attempt to improve on perfection.  I knew how this worked.