KILTED DESIRE 2 - Russian Roulette (12 page)

Suddenly, Scott jumped up from the table, and made his way
over to the other side of the room. He witnessed Brooke being harassed by a
small group of guys who were standing by the bar. He couldn’t hear what was
being said, but as she tried to make her way back from the ladies room, he saw
one of the men put his arm across in front of her, which prevented her from moving
past. He got there quickly and moved up behind the guy who tried to stop her
from walking by. Scott towered over him. He wasn’t very old, maybe early
twenties, with a slight build. His two friends looked to be about the same age,
neither of them
were
much bigger.

“Is everything okay, Brooke?” he asked, as he stood there
with his arms folded. He was wearing a white t-shirt which was quite tight
around his arms and showed off his muscular biceps. The guys quickly backed right
off.

“I’m good, thanks Scott. These guys were just having some
fun.”

“Okay, nae problem.”

She walked through and Scott followed directly behind her.
They arrived back at the table.

“Where did you go?” Tiffany asked Scott, as she had seen him
walk back to the table with a different demeanor about him.

Without a chance or time to have answered, Brooke spoke.

“He saw me getting harassed and came to rescue me.”

“What happened?” asked Tiffany, as she glanced smiling at
Scott.

“Just a bunch of drunken guys at the bar,
it’s
okay,” she replied.

“I didn’t see anything. It’s a really good thing you were
here, Scott. You didn’t hit anybody did you?” Tiffany said, still with a smile.

“Nae at all.
I just saw that Brooke
may need a wee bit of help getting past those guys.”

“Wow! I didn’t see anything either,” added Travis.

“It’s nae big deal. It’s just kind of what I’m used tae
doing.
Looking oot fer people.”
Scott said, knowing
that Tiffany knew about Britney in Baghdad.

“Yeah but it could have turned into a big deal if you hadn’t
been paying attention and gone over there,” said Rachel.

“I think they were just kids who had too much tae drink. It’s
over now. Now what did yer all decide? Are we walking, or going in a taxi?”

Taxi was the decision. The ride home was very short. It only
took a few minutes. They all stayed up and talked for an hour or so in the
living room. They all shared a couple bottles of wine. Scott was the first one
to head up to bed. The bar had been quite noisy and he still suffered from
headaches occasionally. This was one of those occasions. So, just after
midnight, he turned in to bed.

The next day consisted of all in the house sleeping in late.
Then, they lounged around the pool, which they all enjoyed before they all flew
home later in the afternoon. Everyone’s flights were scheduled to leave at
around the same time, so they all shared a taxi to the airport. Scott learned
that they had all flown together on a small private jet. Which was of course, was
owned by Tiffany’s parents. He laughed when he heard that. ‘Is there anything
they don’t own?’ he thought. Scott’s plane back to Denver was due to leave
first. So when it was time to go, he said his goodbyes to Tiffany’s friends,
telling them he had enjoyed meeting them. Brooke thanked him again for helping
her the previous night. Scott turned to Tiffany.

“Thanks fer inviting me oot here. I really enjoyed it.”

“Thanks for coming. It was really great to see you again.
We’ll have to do it again sometime.
If, you would like to?”

“Aye, I would. Maybe yer can come tae see me in Ohio. Although
will I warn yer, my house is nae quite as luxurious as the places yer used
tae.”

“I’m sure it’s lovely.”

Scott smiled and hugged her tightly. As he was letting go he
placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“Thanks again Tiffany. I really hope I see yer again soon.”

“Me too, Scott.
Call me. Have a
safe flight home.”

Scott walked away towards his gate. He turned around, smiled
and waved. The weekend had gone well. He really hoped he would see her again, and
soon.

It now approached the end of June. Scott enjoyed the long,
hot, summer days. The weather was great and he was feeling really good too. He spoke
to Tiffany almost every day over the past few weeks, since their Aspen trip.
They continued to learn a lot about each other. They texted each other a lot,
it always made him smile when a message from her came through.

Scott asked Tiffany to come visit him in Ohio, but as of yet,
it hadn’t happened. She was very busy at work in her store. One of her best and
most trusted staff members left to further her education and become a full-time
student. Tiffany was sad to see her go, but also wished her well. She tried to
find a good, honest replacement, but it so far proved to be difficult and took up
a lot of her time. Tiffany promised him that she would come and visit him soon.
Scott told her he was going to hold her to that promise. Nothing ‘physically’ had
ever happened with her, and Scott didn’t know if it ever would. He did know
that he really liked her and wanted to spend more time with her. He hoped she
felt the same way too. He was pretty sure that she did.

It was a very humid Thursday evening as Scott drove home
from work. The roads were fairly quiet and it was a really dark night. His cell
phone started to ring and he quickly answered it. He didn’t normally answer the
phone when he drove; he usually let it go to voicemail. But, due to the time of
the call, he thought it was Tiffany and he wanted to talk to her. He was wrong.

“Hello.”

“Hi Scott.
It’s Katie. Please don’t
hang up, I want to apologize.”

Scott was surprised. He never expected to hear from her again.
Let alone have her say she wanted to apologize.

“What do yer want Katie?”

“I’m sorry Scott. I really didn’t think it was you that stole
my ring. I just wasn’t myself. I guess I let Keith talk me into thinking it was
you.”

“Yer ought tae have known me better than that, Katie. The
guy is an idiot. Yer can do so much better.”

“I know. It was just hard being on my own. I went for the
first guy who showed any interest in me. I know it was a mistake.”

“Aye it was. Did he make yer take drugs, too?”

“How did you know that?” she asked, sounding surprised.

“Katie, yer were high when yer came in tae the bar! And yer
did nae look guid. Yer need tae get away from that guy and get yer life sorted
oot. If nae fer yerself, then fer yer girls.”

“I know, I told him I was going to leave him and move back
in with my parents. But, he told me I wasn’t going anywhere.”

“So, just call the police if yer want tae leave.
He
cannae hold yer against yer will.”

“He’s scary Scott. He said that he’d burn down my Mom’s
house; one night; if I move back there.”

“Och, he’s all talk Katie. He did nae seem too scary when he
was laying the ground asking me tae let his arm go.”

“I know, but he scares me.”

“Go tae the police then.”

“I already reported that my ring was stolen. I gave them a
good description.”

“Well that’s guid. It was a custom-ring, so there is nae
another one like it. Hopefully, the police will send the details tae all the local
jewelers. If someone goes in and tries tae sell it, they can get it back fer
yer.”

“I hope so.”

“So did yer tell the police aboot any of the threats he made
tae yer.”

“I haven’t yet. But, I will.”

“Okay, guid.”

“Scott, it isn’t just me that he is threatening. When he’s
talking about burning down my parent’s house, it’s frightening. My girls sleep
there. He threatened you too, when I told him I wanted to leave. He
automatically decided it was because of you, and that we were getting back
together. He said he was going to come after you. He knows where you live,
Scott. I’m so sorry.”

“Katie, yer have tae get the police involved. I know it will
be hard as it’s just yer word against his. But, yer
cannae
let him intimidate yer like this. As fer him threatening me, I’m nae too
worried aboot it. I’d rather avoid all the hassle. But, if he does want tae
come
doon
and take me on again, then that’s up tae
him.”

“Just be careful if he does Scott. I don’t trust him. He
plays dirty.”

“Dinnae worry aboot me. Just take care of yerself and the
girls. Thanks fer the warning. I have tae go now.”

“Okay Scott. Bye.”

Scott arrived home, got out of the car, and went inside his
house. He was glad that Katie called, but wasn’t looking forward to the
seemingly imminent conflict. He thought about going to the police himself, maybe
get a restraining order. But, he had no actual proof. He was just going to have
to be patient and hope things worked out.

As the days passed and July arrived, Scott found himself to
be constantly on edge when he was at home. He knew Keith had threatened him and
knew where he lived. It began to bother him. It wasn’t fear, he just found he
never seemed to completely relax, and always felt on-guard. At night, he never slept
well either. He considered calling Katie to see if she had left Keith yet, and
if she involved the police. But, he thought if she was still with him it may
have caused more trouble.

It was a Sunday afternoon; about ten days after Katie called
him. He never heard another thing after her last call to him. He paced in his
kitchen and tried to decide what to do. After a few minutes of indecision and
fingernail biting, he made the call.

“Hello,” she answered. There was a lot of background noise.
Scott couldn’t hear her very well.

“Katie, can yer hear me?”

“Scott, I’ll have to call you back. I’m at the police
station. I tried to leave him this morning. He hit me, so I called the police.
They arrested him and I have just given them a statement. I’ll call you later
when I get to my Mom’s house.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Scott was relieved; he went into his living room and sat
down. He was glad she was out of the situation and gotten the police involved.
Hopefully now, things would start to get back to normal.

Later that evening, Katie called him back and explained
everything. She was safely living back at her Mom’s house, and Keith was in
jail. She gave the police a statement about everything he had done and all the
information was being passed on to the District Attorney. Scott told her that
she was brave and that she did the right thing. He wished her well, and left it
at that.

The following day, just after Scott finished his dinner, he decided
to call Jim. He wanted to touch base with him personally. He hadn’t spoken to
him for a while although he often asked Tiffany how her parents were doing.
Plus, it was too early to call Tiffany for his daily chat with her. She would still
be at work. He would do that later.

“Hi Jim, How are yer?”

“Hello Scott, it’s good to hear from you.”

“Did yer manage tae get things sorted oot with Tom?”

“Hang on a moment Scott,” there was a pause for a few
seconds. Then, Jim continued.

“Sorry Scott, I needed to step outside to the deck. Kyle is
here and I don’t want to talk about this in front of him.”

“Okay, so how are things going?”

“It’s going well. Linda and I have spoken with Tom a few
times and feel pretty good about him. I know we are probably over-reacting and
being extra cautious. But, it makes us both feel a whole lot better knowing
someone will be there for him.”

“Yer
cannae
be ‘too careful’
nowadays, Jim. I think yer doing the reet thing.”

“Thanks, Tom seems like a good guy. We met him at one of our
casinos in Vegas a few weeks ago. He was very thorough. And he asked us a lot
of questions, particularly about Kyle. We gave him a number of photos, too.”

“That sounds guid Jim. I’ve always found Tom tae be very
guid, so I’m sure he’ll do a great job fer yer.”

“I hope so. We are going to talk with him once more before
the trip. Then we can finalize a few last minute details. Linda and I are both really
happy.”

“Did Tom say he was going tae be going with Kyle on his
flights. Or, is he going tae tail him from the airport after he arrives?”

“That’s one of the things we still need to decide. But, we
will talk and work it out before Kyle leaves for Russia.”

“Okay Jim. Well, since Kyle will be leaving in a few weeks, I
just wanted tae check in with yer and make sure everything was okay. It seems
like yer have got everything well in hand.”

“Yup, we’re good Scott. And thanks for all you have done.”

“Yer welcome. Bye Jim.”

Scott was happy that the Robinson’s seemed a lot more
relaxed about their son’s trip. He was pleased and stretched out on his couch.
He decided to enjoy a quiet night in. He reached for the remote and turned on baseball
on TV.

The peace and quiet didn’t last for too long. At about 7:30
p.m., his phone started ringing. He reached for it, it was Katie.

“Scott, it’s Katie, they let him go,” she sounded scared and
frantic.

“Calm doon, what happened?”

“They let him out on bail earlier today. Scott, he just
called me. He won’t come here, the police warned him not to come near me. But,
he’s coming after you. He said ‘We’re going take care of him’. I think he has
got a friend with him. And, I heard another voice in the background. Scott I’m
sorry, this has got nothing to do with you. I’m sorry I got you involved.”