Chapter 21
Hog
“What the fuck?”
I barely manage to slam the truck in park and leave the engine running, when I leap out and run, yelling her name.
The first thing I noticed, driving down my street, was the FedEx truck parked at the foot of my driveway, which struck me as odd, since I’m not expecting any deliveries. But it wasn’t until I pulled up behind it, I took in the scene playing out in my driveway.
Anika’s mother is holding one of my golf clubs over her head, hovering over the crumpled form of a delivery driver, while Anika ducks between the car door and the frame, picking something up off the ground.
“I’m fine,” Anika says when I reach them, stepping away from the car with her hands raised, a plastic bag clutched in one, and a gun in the other.
I immediately reach for the gun, pluck it from her hand, and pass it straight to Bodhi, who caught up with me. Then I pull Anika in my arms, as Sumo—who rode shotgun with me—crouches down by the FedEx guy.
“Mom, drop the golf club,” Bodhi instructs his mother.
“Not on your life,” Nira answers, equally firm. “Not until the police get here.”
“Mrs. Jones, he’s out cold,” Sumo intervenes. “Cheddar is already calling 911.”
“Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?” I grumble.
In a shaky voice, Anika explains this is not, in fact, a FedEx guy, but Cooper’s brother, still looking for Kim.
I immediately pull out my phone and call Evans directly.
“I wentto grab something from my place and when I walked back out, the truck pulled up,” Anika relays.
My new, small house is packed. Nira is in the kitchen, making sure everyone is looked after, the boys are hovering around the food, and I’m sitting next to Anika in the living room, a law enforcement contingent across from us.
The ambulance came and went, taking the Cooper brother, with a police officer tagging along. The truck has been towed off and Livingston just finished telling us Cooper actually works for FedEx, although he has a more nefarious side job.
Evans, his partner, Jay VanDyken, and SAC Cruz Livingston stayed behind to take statements. I listen to Anika going over her story for the second time. Every so often, Livingston stops her and asks for more detail before letting her continue.
I’m about done with this. I can hear in Anika’s voice she’s fading fast, and with my arm around her, I feel the tension grow in her body.
As I’m trying to find the right words to call this interview to a halt without pissing Anika off in the process, Bill Evans suddenly grabs his phone and reads something on his screen.
“He’s awake,” he announces, drawing Livingston’s attention. “Cooper. We should go.”
All three of them immediately get to their feet.
“I’ll see you out,” I volunteer, whispering to Anika, “Eat, I’ll be right back.”
Outside, I tap Evans on the shoulder. He stops and turns.
“She needs to know everything. And not just her, it needs to be made public, the car, Kim’s death, everything.”
“Not yet.”
The answer comes from Livingston.
“Why the hell not? This is twice she’s been attacked. Clearly someone thinks she has information she doesn’t. Are you going for three? Let this organization come after her themselves? You heard her, the brother told her they’d come after her too.”
I know I’m gaining ground when Evans backs me up.
“You’ve gotta admit, the guy has a point.”
“Tomorrow. Give me a day to interview Brian Cooper, see if he’s able to provide us with what we need. One day.”
“One day,” I agree.
We’re picking up the dogs tomorrow morning, I’m hoping they’ll be a distraction for her when I have to tell her her friend is dead.
I wait until they’re gone before I return inside to find Nira shoving a plate at her daughter.
“Eat.”
Nira who, a little over an hour and a half ago, spotted her daughter being accosted by a man in the driveway when she was looking out the window and reacted. That five-foot-nothing woman snuck outside through the garage, and after grabbing one of the clubs from the golf bag I’d just stored there, walked up to the gun-toting FedEx guy, and whaled him in the head so hard, she knocked him down and out with one swing.
And Momma bear apparently isn’t done yet, trying to get her daughter to put something in her stomach. The woman has to be made of steel, because I haven’t seen her flinch yet.
But when I close in, I notice the plate shaking in the older woman’s hand.
“Not hungry, Mom, just leave it, I’ll eat something later,” Anika responds right then.
I don’t think she notices the shaking, or the spots of deep red high on her mother’s cheekbones. If I’m not mistaken, Nira is not doing nearly as well as she’d like everyone to believe.
I take the plate from her hand before she drops it, and set it down on the coffee table. Then I put my arm around the woman, but before I can guide her to the couch, her knees buckle.
“Bodhi! Need a hand.”
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
Anika reacts faster than her brother and shoots to her feet, helping me move her mother to the couch. Nira is almost vibrating under my hands as we sit her down. Bodhi rushes over, and so does Sumo, who immediately goes into paramedic mode.
“Back off a bit,” he tells us firmly.
I slip an arm around Anika and pull her back with me.
Sumo tosses his keys to Cheddar. “Car is parked across the street; kit is in the trunk.”
That’s probably his trauma kit, which would hold just about anything a paramedic might need in a medical emergency.
“I’m fine,” Nira says, sounding a bit out of breath.
“Let Sumo check you out, Mom,” Bodhi suggests. “So we can be sure.”
The fact she doesn’t argue with him is further evidence she’s not fine.
When Cheddar walks in with the kit, we all retreat to the kitchen to give Nira a bit of privacy and Sumo a chance to examine her. Anika is not too happy about leaving her mother and needs a little encouragement.
“You can keep an eye on her from here,” I assure her, before lowering my voice. “I think that incident was harder on her than she’ll have us believe. The fear of seeing you in danger, and the adrenaline it took to take that guy out, I think it’s all hitting her now.”
Half an hour later, I watch Anika and her mom hug it out by the front door. Nira was feeling a little better, after what was probably a panic attack brought on by adrenaline letdown. Bodhi is taking her home and is sticking around until Chuck gets there, and we assured her we’d drop her car off in the morning.
I tuck Anika under my arm as we watch them walk toward Bodhi’s Jimmy. The other three guys left a few minutes ago, armed with leftovers Nira insisted they take with them. There’s still enough for several meals for the two of us.
When they drive off, I turn Anika inside.
“Why don’t we pack this up and take it over to your place?” I suggest.
“Okay. I may need another lengthy bath after today though.”
I cup her face in my hands and kiss her thoroughly.
“After today, I may need one with you.”
Anika
I lean my head back and close my eyes.
The scent of lavender is soothing and the water is warm, but what is turning my muscles to Jell-O are the gentle hands of the man behind me.
It’s a tight fit, two in this tub, but I don’t mind. Neither does Hog, judging from the hard length of him pressing against the small of my back.
“I’m going to fall asleep,” I warn him.
“That’s fine,” he rumbles.
“But I don’t want to fall asleep yet.”
What I really don’t want is to wake up from yet another nightmare in the wee hours of the morning. Given this past week of poor sleep, there’s a good chance of that.
Hog’s arms tighten around me. I’m sure he gets it, he’s been up every night, trying to calm me and coax me back to sleep.
“I can help you with that,” he mutters, kissing my shoulder.
Then he reaches a hand between my legs and runs a finger along my crease.
“You know that’ll only last until I come, because I’ll pass out right after.”
One long digit slides inside.
“You’re wet.”
“We’re in a bathtub,” I point out.
He nips the top of my shoulder with his teeth.
“Don’t be a smart-ass,” he scolds me, soothing his bite with a brush of his lips.
Then he slips two fingers inside, his thumb zooming in on my clit.
I hum my pleasure under my breath.
“Good?” he asks, gently pumping his fingers inside me while rolling the pad of his thumb over that bundle of nerves.
“Yeah,” I sigh.
I languidly stretch my arms up and hook them behind his neck.
“Fuck, what a view.”
He rests his chin on my shoulder and cups one of my breasts with his other hand, lightly tugging my nipple.
“I’m not gonna last long,” I warn him, my hips rocking against his hand.
His hand between my legs immediately stills, as his lips brush the shell of my ear.
“Out of the tub, Sweetheart. Not enough room in here and I wanna feel you come around me.”
It is slippery and water splashes everywhere as he helps me get to my feet and out of the tub. Hog manages to grab a bath towel, folds it a few times and puts it on the edge of the vanity.
“Lean down, baby,” he urges me, with a firm hand between my shoulder blades.
It feels a little illicit, and a lot hot when I bend over and lean my elbows on the towel. My eyes watch him in the mirror, his mouth slack as he follows the path of his fingers trailing down my spine and sliding down my crease. His free hand is wrapped tightly around his cock, stroking firmly before fitting himself behind me.
The moment I feel the tip brush against me, I curve my back and tip up my hips to take him inside. I briefly close my eyes when he fills me with one deep stroke, and when I open them, I meet his fixed on me in the mirror, blazing heat.
A feeling so big, so overwhelming, washes over me, and tumbles from my mouth unchecked.
“I love you.”
His fingers curl into my hips in a way I know will leave marks, as he spreads his stance, and proceeds to pump into me at a furious pace. His eyes don’t leave mine and when I come minutes later in spectacular fashion, I do it with my head arched back and his teeth marking my shoulder as he shudders behind me.
The only sounds in my small bathroom are the rasping of our breaths, and the echo of my words.
I strugglewith two masked men who are holding my arms pinned against the side of a FedEx truck. Hog is on his knees in front of me, blood running into his eyes as he stares at my swollen belly. Kim is behind him, using his head as a pi?ata as she swings her golf club again, and screams at me to tell her where the money is.
“Wake up, Anika.”
I hear Hog’s voice, and part of me knows the horror movie playing in my head is a bad dream, but it’s hard to pull myself free.
“Come on, Sweetheart, open your eyes.”
I manage to peel one eyelid back to find Hog looming over me.
No blood, but he does have my arms pinned to the mattress. It’s how he’s woken me up most nights since I left him with a shiner the first time I had a nightmare.
“I’m okay,” I mumble.
“Same thing?” he asks, releasing his hold.
“The gist of it, although this time there was a FedEx truck and golf club involved.”
“Jesus,” he grumbles, rubbing a hand over his short hair as he swings his legs out of bed. “Can I get you something?”
“I wouldn’t mind some water.”
I watch him walk his fine ass out of the bedroom, looking good in his fitted boxer briefs, although I prefer him without.
Staring at the ceiling, I take a few deep breaths in and slowly release them. As my heart rate slows down, I force my mind somewhere other than back into the dream, and I end up replaying our tryst in the bathroom last night.
The memory of my prematurely released declaration of love comes surging back at me as well. Maybe I should be mortified, blurting that out in the throes of passion, but I’m not going to apologize for it. Nor am I taking it back. If I did, I’d be lying to myself.
When you think about it, it’s been years in the making. Sure, we’ve only recently had a chance to see if those sparks follow us into the bedroom, but I think it’s safe to say we burn up the sheets.
That’s why I’m not freaking out about going ungloved in the heat of the moment. I’m thirty-nine years old, I’m coming to realize life can’t be lived in a straight line. Whatever happens, I’m learning I can handle much more than I give myself credit for.
“Your water.”
I sit up and take the glass from his hand, taking a drink before setting it on my nightstand. The alarm says it’s four forty-five, and I have a feeling there won’t be a lot more sleep. So, I swing around to face Hog as he climbs into bed beside me.
“In my dream I was pregnant,” I volunteer, watching him closely for his reaction.
It doesn’t come, his expression doesn’t change. Maybe the direct approach is better.
“We didn’t use a condom last night.”
He reaches out his arm and pulls me to his side.
“I’m aware.”
“Right.” I tilt my head so I can look at him. “But if you’re assuming I’m on the pill, I’m not, it interferes with one of my medications.”
He still doesn’t look shocked or upset.
“Sweetheart, I’ve basically lived in your back pocket for the last little while. I’ve seen you take your meds every night, but I’ve never seen you take the pill. When I say I’m aware, I’m aware,” he emphasizes.
“Oh,” is all I can manage.
He tugs me a little closer.
“Would it be so bad?” he whispers.
No. It would be a shock, and an adjustment, and I’m sure tongues would be wagging, but it wouldn’t be bad at all.
When I doze off, I do it with a smile on my face.