Rock Chick 02 Rescue (49 page)

Guess talking was out too.

I decided to wait for my opportunity. There had to be one, there just had to.

I hung onto that thought as he drove.

* * * * *

We went underneath the mousetrap interchanges, a mass of highway above us, nothing around us but hardscrabble cement and litter, likely left by homeless people and drug addicts none of whom were in attendance for the evening’s festivities.

Vince stopped, pul ed me out of the car through the driver’s side and before I could struggle or break away, he yanked a gun out of the waistband of his pants.

Then he put it to my head.

“Been lookin’ forward to this for a long time,” he said as he walked me forward, “Undo your jeans.”

I was getting a little fidgety.

My opportunity wasn’t arising and I was beginning to get scared.

Therefore, I hesitated.

He took the gun away from my head and squeezed off a round.

I jumped, thinking he’d shot me but realized he’d fired away from me.

He put the gun back to my head.

“Undo your fuckin’ jeans.”

I did what I was told. Maybe death before defilement was the way to go but I couldn’t think at that moment.

The minute I unbuckled my belt and slid the zip down my jeans, he whipped me around and forced my torso to the hood of the car. He pressed his crotch into my behind, the rest of his body against my back and the gun against my temple.

“Gonna fuck you against the car,
then
I’l do you doggie style,” he said into my ear.

My heart was racing, my breath coming in jerks and my mind was absolutely blank.

He wasn’t done.

“Then, got me a bottle and I’m gonna fuck you with that too, break it and fuck you with it. Hard. Tear you apart. The next time your wetback boyfriend puts his dick in you, you’l fuckin’ scream.”

It was then I decided death before defilement was the way to go.

“First, you gotta beg,” he said.

He tried to pul down my jeans. Problem was, it wasn’t easy with one hand pointing a gun to my head and my body bent at the hips.

“Beg, bitch!” he demanded.

Real y.

Enough was enough.

“Fuck you!” I shouted and then did a backwards head butt, catching him somewhere pointy and I hoped it hurt because, for me it hurt like hel .

I lifted up, taking him with me.

He tried to force me back and I started to go with him but I got turned a bit and was wedged sideways against him and the car.

I struggled, managed to slide around front-to-front and got my hand on the gun.

Both our hands scrabbling for control of the gun, I put my ass on the car, forced my knees up, put my feet to his bel y and pushed.

He went flying and I came off the car and jumped on top of him before he could recover.

Maybe I should have run, but I didn’t. I was
way
too pissed off to run. He’d made my life a living hel and that’s al that was in my head. It was probably stupid but I didn’t real y care. I straddled him, reared back a fist and slammed it into his face.

“Fucking bitch!” he snarled and brought up the gun, trying to point it at me. I saw it, did a sideswipe, hit his forearm and the gun went flying.

“Motherfucker!” I shouted, my hands going to either side of his head, I lifted it up and cracked it against the cement.

I’d never cracked anyone’s head against cement and it caused a weird sensation that could only be described as a repulsive, but kickass rush.

I didn’t have to ask myself if I was a bad person. At that moment I just was.

My arm went back, cocked at the elbow to hit him in the face again, but he grabbed my wrist, bucked and rol ed me over onto my back, him on top.

Hmm.

This was probably
not
an advantageous position.

I had little time to muse on it because one second he was there, the next second he was flying through the air.

I blinked and looked up.

Mace was standing over me, looking down, face rock-hard. He must have ascertained I was okay because he moved around my body and advanced on Vince.

I laid there a beat, breathing hard and feeling weird as the sudden relief that I wasn’t alone tore through my body.

Okay, so I learned my lesson.

God didn’t deal with the piddly-ass stuff, God kicked in when shit was important.

Good to know.

Good to know.

I got up shaky and realized we were not only not alone.

We were
really
not alone.

People where forming from shadows. Darius came forward and so did Lee. Hank came from behind me. Wil ie Moses, the police officer that came to Eddie’s house what seemed ages ago, also materialized, this time, in plain-clothes.

Eddie was also there. By the time I’d scanned the scene, he already had Vince cuffed and pressed against the hood of the car exactly as Vince had pressed me (except for obvious differences).

A squad car, driven by Wil ie’s partner Brian, quietly swung in next to Vince’s car.

“Holy crap,” I whispered.

It was like the Justice League of Super Heroes but instead it was the Justice League of Hot Guys.

My heart was stil racing and I was stil panting and I felt strangely super-cold.

I stood there staring at them al , stunned immobile, except for the trembling.

Eddie looked at me, yanked Vince from the car and shoved him toward Wil ie, turning away from him and not looking back.

Then he came to me.

He got close, blocking everyone from view and his hands went to my jeans. I didn’t move, maybe didn’t even breathe as he buttoned then zipped them up and did the buckle, his eyes looking into mine the whole time.

“You okay?” he asked when he was done.

I nodded.

It was a lie. I was seriously ful of shit. I wasn’t okay. I was terrified.

“I’d be more assured if you’d breathe,” Eddie said.

I let out of a gush of air.

He closed his eyes, put his forehead to mine, then opened them.

“Better,” he murmured.

“Takin’ him to the station,” Wil ie cal ed.

Eddie turned and nodded. Wil ie walked away, talking to Vince and Brian had the backdoor of the squad car open.

It was over.

Dear Lord, it was final y over.

I didn’t know what to do, laugh out loud or burst out crying.

I didn’t have a chance to decide.

Lee got close.

Eddie turned to Lee, his face changing, registering anger, as in,
a lot
of anger.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t over.

“You and me got to have words,” Eddie said.

Uh-oh. Words with Eddie.

Eek!

“It was under control,” Lee returned.

I looked from one to the other in confusion. Confusion was good, I was embracing confusion, it made the super-cold and the trembling go away.

Darius, Hank and Mace also got close, but I think they got close in case Lee and Eddie came to blows.

“
Hombre
, he shouldn’t’ve got his hands on her and he
definitely
shouldn’t’ve got her pants unzipped,” Eddie said in Scary Eddie voice.

Maybe Eddie wasn’t feeling anger, maybe it was something else a few notches above anger.

“He went from two counts of kidnapping to two counts of kidnapping and attempted rape with her pants unzipped,” Lee answered, calm as you please.

I blinked.

Um… pardon me?

“Pardon?” I whispered.

Eddie moved about an inch, but it was a frightening inch.

He ignored me and his body and face now registered out-and-out hostility, but his voice was stil quiet.

“Yeah? That okay with you? You al right with that?”

“Darius was here the whole time,” Lee said.

“Fuck, Lee. You used my woman as bait!” Eddie shouted.

Eek!

The w-word with an even more scary b-word.

“What are you talking about?” I said.

Lee turned to me and Eddie pul ed a hand through his hair. “I slipped a tracking device in your jeans today at the hospital and Vance told Lottie the plan at Eddie’s place.

Mace had found Vince and we knew he was watching you.

Lottie went out unprotected with her own device. Vince took the bait. Now, it’s done.”

At his words, a red film covered my eyes.

At his words, a red film covered my eyes.

Luckily, I was there to tel you, scary or not, Lee was going to get a dose of Jet’s Newfound Attitude.

“You used my sister as bait!” I shouted, took my life in my hands for the second time that night, and shoved his shoulder.

Eddie grabbed my wrist and pul ed my back to his chest, wrapping my arm around my waist at the front.

“I had her tracked, Lee. She was covered. Wil ie had her,” Eddie ignored me and (selfishly, if you asked me) kept on his own subject.

“Wil ie was five minutes late,” Lee said.

I struggled against Eddie’s hold.

“You used my sister as bait?” I shouted again, feeling, for the first time in my life, that attention should be centered on me.

Lee’s eyes turned to me.

“I was covering your sister.”

Oh.

Wel then.

That was something.

I stopped struggling.

“It’s over,” Darius final y spoke. “What’s it matter how it’s done? Everyone’s breathin’. Quit fuckin’ fightin’,” he said this as if he’d had a lot of practice stopping Eddie and Lee from fighting.

Eddie and Lee stared at each other.

I waited, tense.

Hmm.

They didn’t look like they were ready to stop fighting.

They didn’t look like they were ready to stop fighting.

Yeesh. Men.

“I made chil i,” I blurted out.

Everyone looked at me and, after a second, Eddie’s arm around me relaxed.

“If everyone at Eddie’s hasn’t hoovered through it, there should be some left,” I carried on.

I was trying to diffuse the situation.

It wasn’t working.

“Gotta go,” Darius said, looking ready to fade back in the shadows.

I turned to him. “There’s plenty.”

I saw a white flash of teeth, then he was gone.

See, I was right. Darius was a good guy.

I gave Hank a look communicating without words that life definitely held shades of gray.

Hank just winked at me.

Whatever.

I turned and Eddie’s arm stayed around me but slid around my back.

I looked up at him.

“Eddie, stop fighting with Lee. Let’s go to the hospital and check on Dad and then let’s go home.” I tried to use a sweet, coaxing voice but Eddie didn’t feel in the mood to be sweet-talked and coaxed.

“You wouldn’t have al owed Indy to be put in that position,” Eddie said to Lee, pushing the point.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t,” Lee replied. “Indy would have put herself in it. And, two days ago, when we knew Vince had aligned himself with Slick and we wanted to offer this choice to Jet, you wouldn’t al ow it but I’m guessin’ she would’ve took it.”

I twisted around to look at Lee, my eyes nearly popping out of my head.

What he said surprised me. What surprised me more was that he was right, I would have taken it.

“I would have preferred you to know,” Lee told me.

Wow. That was huge. It was even kind of earth-shattering, not only that I would have taken it but that he thought I would.

“Thank you,” I said and meant it.

At that, Eddie was done. He moved, grabbing my hand and taking me with him.

Guess I was done too.

“Don’t forget the chil i!” I cal ed back to Lee, Hank and Mace.

They’d formed a huddle and turned their heads to look at me, al of them gave me the chin lift and grinned.

Eddie walked me away, far away, to where he’d parked the truck. He helped me in the passenger side and then he got in the driver’s side.

He turned to me before he started the truck.

“You sure you’re okay?”

I nodded and smiled.

“It’s over,” I told him, feeling almost giddy and thinking now was the appropriate time to either burst into laughter or tears, or both.

Wrong again.

Al of a sudden, he yanked me across the seat, twisting me and pul ing me into his lap. His arms went around me, tight, and his face went to my neck.

“Fucking hel ,” he muttered.

He was right, it was the F-word Moment to end al F-word Moments.

“You can say that again,” I said to him.

His head came up and his hand went through my hair, his fingers curled around the back of my head and he kissed me. It wasn’t deep, passionate, ful -on tongue, it was sweet and soft and real y nice.

“I would have taken Lee up on the offer,” I told him after he lifted his head.

“I know, that’s why I didn’t let him give it to you.” Wow, that was kinda earth-shattering too.

Regardless, I pul ed out the glare.

He shook his head, completely unaffected by the glare.

I didn’t push it, now wasn’t the time to argue, especial y with an outstanding issue at hand.

I put my hands to his shoulders, the fingers of one fiddling with the neckline of his t-shirt.

“Um… there’s a slight problem,” I said.

Eddie stil ed.

“You
are
joking, right?”

Hmm.

Oh wel , nothing for it…

“I kinda stole your Mom’s car,” I said.

His hand at my hair slid down my back and he pul ed me deep into him.

“I think she’l forgive you,” he told me.

“I think she’l forgive you,” he told me.

That
was a relief.

Chapter Twenty-Six