Courted by Karma (The Adventures of Anabel Axelrod) (46 page)

Luke’s mother threw back her head and laugh
ed. She assured me, “I won’t, dear.”

“Watch his texting fingers, too!” I gasped, not used to full out running across rough terrain.

“I’ll smash his phone to smithereens should he even attempt a text!” Damaris called to my back.

Laughing, I
turned my head and started to say something extremely witty back to her, but what came out was, “Eeeeeek!”

T
ripping over the raised edge of an unseen rut on my path, I flew headlong into the ditch. I do remember the thought flashing across my brain that the poltergeists at this accursed farmstead have finally gotten me, but then my head bounced off a good-sized rock lying in wait beneath the brittle, dead grasses in the muddy ditch.

I blacked out.

Chapter XXI

“Bad To The Bone
” by George Thorogood and the Destroyers

Thanksgiving, 11/22/12

8:00 A
M

Lying with my eyes closed
, I could tell by the smells that I was in the barn and on the large sofa.

I hadn’t been
knocked silly in the ditch for longer than a second, but I was rattled by this latest head bouncing and my body felt skinned up. I was lucky that it was my cranium that made contact with the rock, instead of a more vulnerable body part, but maybe the constant head injuries I’d received lately had rendered me incapable of being the best judge. I knew one thing; rather than answer questions, it felt too good to quietly lay with my head on Damaris’ lap in the back seat of the car and have my forehead gently stroked by a mother’s cool fingers while John drove us to the barn.

S
o after verifying I lived, I played possum.

John’s busy fingers must have texted Luke because he met the car at t
he ramp. I peeped to verify Luke was not running around dressed in his towel loin cloth. He was wearing sweats and a T-shirt. I kept my eyes closed when he gathered me carefully into his arms and carried me into the barn.

His fingers stroking my forehead
were warm and I sighed. Along with my dignity in the tumbling fall, I’d lost the momentum of my determination to shout my love from the rooftops the minute I saw Luke. Aware of the hovering audience now, I felt a little tongue-tied.

So I did the only thing I
could do when feeling a little shy and uncertain.

That’s
right; I gave him a hard time.

Fluttering my eyelashes, I
tossed my head and said with a fretful frown, “Why do I keep seeing a wet towel and the color bright orange, Luke? Make it go away, it’s hurting my head.”

Damaris and Paul murmured in sympathy off to the side while I heard a sharp intake of breath from
behind Luke. My Love was sitting on the edge of the leather sofa at my side and Svettie was hovering behind him. Even before I opened my eyes, I could feel her glowering down at me. Luke’s fingers hesitated for the merest moment on my forehead.

“Where’s Svetlana? Is she here?” I waved a hand in agitation and looked around unseeingly. “I want Svetlana!”

She stepped forward a little, nervously tightening the belt of her orange robe, and responded warily, “I am here, An-a-bel.”

“Oh good! Come here closer, please. Yes, lower your head like that
. I just want to say…,” with a sharp flick of my wrist, I slapped her smartly across the face, “that we’re far from even.”

Holding her red cheek, a shocked Svettie jumped back while crying out in pained anger. “Everyone, did you see that! Luke, vy is she slapping me?”

John gave a sharp yip of laughter and Svettie glared at him hatefully before running over to seek comfort from Damaris and Paul. They were both wearing identical composed expressions of neutrality, but I saw Damaris’ lip quiver while she absently patted Svettie’s arm.

Looking up, I
met Luke’s veiled eyes and asked sweetly, “Yes, why did I slap poor little Svetlana?”

John
, pacing like a caged lion in front of the sofa, put in cheerfully, “My guess is you have a concussion again.”

Luke said softly,
“No John, like I told you before, she’s always this way.” Without taking his gaze from mine, Luke added, “Will you all excuse us and give Anabel and me some privacy?”

Damaris
spoke briskly, “Of course, son. Come along, Svetlana. You need to get dressed, anyway. What are you thinking wearing a summer robe outside?” She stopped by the sofa and squeezed my hand briefly. There was an enigmatic smile on her narrow, elegant face. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt too badly today, Anabel.”

I tore my gaze from Luke
’s to smile ruefully up at his mother. “It’s that fighting spirit at work.”

“I see that,”
Damaris answered drily and I giggled. Svetlana huffed loudly and marched angrily out of the man-cave. Her white fur boots scuffed noisily on the cement and her bright orange robe barely reached mid-thigh. Seen from behind, I couldn’t help noticing her legs were so thin that she’s bowlegged.

‘Hey, I’m not being catty; it’s just a
factual observation!’
I smirked along with the laughing, hooting voices in my head.
‘If I was being catty, I’d say something about the old growth forest around her Kamcha-chatka region.’
The voices loved that one.

John and Paul followed behind the departing
Russian women. I heard Paul say on a sigh, “I suppose I should talk to the poor girl.”

I rolled my eyes inside and
now understood where the patience in Luke originated.

Damaris said evenly, “Not until the poor girl gets dressed properly
, dearest.”

I smiled inside and
now understood where the brains in him originated, as well.

Paul only sighed louder and complained, “See how she ruins all my fun?”

John chuckled and slapped Luke’s dad on the back as they left the room.

I glanced back at Luke to see him ignoring all this chatter
. His black, satanic eyebrows were almost touching in the middle.

Before
leaving, Damaris tapped Luke on the shoulder to get his attention.

Looking down into her son’s face, Damaris smiled
. “I received a call. The missing witness showed up this morning. She’d left town without word to help a sick relative.”

Luke nodded and squeezed his mother’s hand affectionately. “That’s g
ood news.”

I kept a bland look on my face
, since I wasn’t sure if Damaris knew Luke had told me of Svettie’s legal circumstances, but this was great news. It meant the Russian crime boss wasn’t killing off witnesses before the trial of his money man. Svettie wasn’t in imminent danger of dying. Not that I cared if she got picked off, but for a killer to get her, they’d have to get through Luke first. That I did care about.

Stumped for a second, I realized it also meant I
’d have to find a way to call off Godmother Jamie’s Helter Skelter grapevine now that the threat was gone. Or did I? Maybe Ron Hansen seeking revenge somehow was not that crazy of an idea and I should let the town stay vigilant on our behalf. I could tighten up the specific reporting parameters and avoid the men seeking hookers. After I picked Luke’s brain and did some research on how to run a surveillance group, the whole town could become my personal network of field operators for all sorts of fun purposes. I decided to think about my megalomaniacal idea for a while before making a decision.

R
ight now, I was alone with Luke Drake for the first time since I’ve discovered I loved him and this needed my undivided attention. He was not looking very happy.

“
Do you feel okay enough to talk?” Luke asked, and his voice was very cool. He didn’t refer to what his mother said and I liked that he took for granted I understood the significance of what it meant. Or maybe he didn’t care if I did. He really did look mad.

When I nodded,
Luke stood up and crossed his arms. He stared at me steadily and a muscle jumped in his cheek.

He got
right to the point. “You said you would not kick Svetlana’s ass.”

I winced and sat up. Swinging my legs to the floor, I brushed some dried grass and mud of
f my sweat pants while I collected myself at his words. This was not what I expected him to say and I was dismayed to see him truly angry. I held back the hurt his concern for Svettie caused in me. It was harder to hold back the images of seeing Svettie strip her clothes off before him, as if he was a God who’s feet she longed to worship at in adulation. Then I laughed grimly at my thoughts. Didn’t I want to do the same thing? Maybe every woman Luke came in contact with wanted to do this for him.

Not used to dealing with jealous
, possessive feelings and shaky from the depth of my emotions, maybe I sounded a little flippant when I answered, “It was a little slap between girls.” I tried to smile, but I failed miserably. “Listen, my Hero, I’ll be sure to let you know when I kick her ass. Then you can rush to Svettie’s rescue and carry her, and her fur…boots off into the sunset.”

Luke has been disappointed in me
for making him worry, maybe even a little jealous and possessive, but this was the first time he’s ever been pissed at me. Not liking the way any of this conversation was going, I stood up and went to walk by him.

He stopped
me with a large hand curved around my upper arm and a sharp, “Don’t go.”

I didn’t look up at him, but motioned towards the kitchen and bar area. “I am
just going to wash my hands. They’re all scraped up and muddy.”

Luke tilted my head up with a finger under my chin and his
face was harsh. “I don’t want to carry Svetlana anywhere, but you gave me your word.”

“
Yes, I did. If you don’t want to save her, then why did I need to? Besides, slapping her once is not kicking her ass.” I pushed his finger away and stepped closer. “What about your word not to chase each other around in your undies? Or should I have stipulated my happiness would be affected by nude chases, too?”

He dropped his hand from my arm and crossed his over his chest. His eyes glittered like chips of green ice. “So you did come
to the farm to work out and saw me with Svetlana.”

It wasn’t a question, but
hearing the mounting anger in his voice, I answered, “Yes.”

“You didn’t say anything and just left
me.” His fingers were drumming a staccato beat on his biceps.

I wrenched my eyes away
from those bulging muscles and met his. “Yes.”

His eyebrows met
, his frown was fierce and cruel. “You left because you thought something was going on. You don’t trust me.”

I frowned
, taken aback by the accusation and hurt in his raised, cold voice. “No and no.”

He raised a
skeptic brow. “Then why did you leave?”

I
looked at my scraped-up, dirty hands and asked softly. “Wouldn’t you rather know why I came back?”

“
Yes, after you tell me first why you left me.” He lowered his hands to his sides and spoke more calmly, but his fists were clenched.

“I
trust you, Luke.” After an uncomfortable moment, I went on honestly, “I left because I don’t trust me. I cannot be trusted. I seriously wanted to kill her and hurt you.”

Forcing
myself to gaze into those sharp, green eyes, I waited nervously. If he looked amused or disgusted, I wouldn’t be responsible for my actions.

He didn’t. Instead, the anger
disappeared from his face and he relaxed. Luke put his hands out and lightly skimmed them up and down my arms.

“Anabel, my strange and different woman, that’s why I asked you not to kick Svetlana’s ass.
I respect you’ll do what needs to be done. I love your ferociously passionate nature.” He cupped my cheek and his thumb stroked my cheek while his voice went soft. “I know that you will kill for me, as I will fucking destroy anyone trying to hurt you.” He shrugged a little. “It’s true, I feel for Svetlana. She’s been abused by men her entire life. She’s a sad case, but a nice woman. It’s not uncommon for women abused since childhood to not know any other way to express or accept affection, except sexually. I try to be gentle since I know her history, but her crush is a major pain in the ass. I saw clearly this morning, I can’t be patient anymore.”

Perhaps saying he
‘saw it clearly this morning’ was not the best choice of words, but I was glad he would no longer patiently tolerate Svettie’s seduction attempts.

Luke’s hands drifted down to my shoulders. “Anabel, the reason I asked for your word
not to kick Svetlana’s ass was not to protect her, but to protect you.” His warm hands grasped mine. “I was a soldier for a long time. You can’t be involved in fighting battles without hurting people.” He met my eyes and said flatly, “I’ve killed many times. It’s hard at first, but gets too easy. Every kill can take away little pieces of your soul. I’ve seen it happen over the years to so many people, but I’m a very fortunate man. I have a father that specializes in souls and a mother that is tough and never takes no for an answer. I could have turned into a monster, but they’ve kept me human.” Luke’s mouth kicked up and he added, “Somewhat human.”