Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Riley
A sudden noise just as I’m turning the corner a few steps from my building, makes me shiver. Ever since I left the parking lot, I’ve been having a strange feeling. Almost as if I can feel someone is following me, but every time I turn around to check, no one is there.
When I look up, I see a bird going to perch on one of the balconies. I laugh, relieved that it was the animal that made the mysterious sound and there is indeed no psychotic killer on my heel.
I need to stop watching true crime documentaries with Elena.
“Hey mamasita…”
Realizing it wasn’t the bird after all, I speed up. I ignore Noah, hoping to get inside before he catches up to me. But before I reach the entrance, he grabs my arm firmly pulling me back.
“Leave me alone, Noah,” I slide out of his grip easily, having done this dance before. If I wanted to, I could easily kick his ass. And I intend to do so if he doesn’t leave me alone.
“Why do you always tell me that?” He whines, clearly intoxicated. “Don’t you realize how great we could be together? I can take you to the stars, mama.”
“I don’t want that, and neither do you,” I try to remain calm as he keeps blocking my way into the building. “You don’t want to do this, Noah.”
“Says who?” This time, he takes me by surprise and he suddenly pushes me, pressing my body to the cold, stone wall.
Before I can draw a breath to punch him, his hand shoves up under the hem of my shirt. Rough, calloused skin scratches against my ribs and the world goes dead silent.
Suddenly I’m not 25-year old Riley anymore. I’m taken back in time to when I was only ten and my dad would get physical with both my mom and me. Mom was too drunk in the corner to even care, but I still can’t shake how powerless it made me feel.
Just… move.
All the self-defense classes, all the training, and all the healing I’ve done over the years, don’t matter anymore. I can’t move my body. I can’t even yell at him.
A tear slides down my cheek and I close my eyes shut, frozen to the spot.
And then, I hear a loud, heavy thud and I open my eyes to see another figure tackling him. I blink a few times, thinking my mind is playing tricks on me.
Ezekiel has pinned Noah to the ground and one fist after the other keeps finding its way to Noah’s face. For a heartbeat I just stand there, watching him beat the guy up.
He had that coming.
Then I remember Ezekiel’s wound. If he keeps using so much force, he’s going to rip his stitches. I take a look at Noah’s body barely moving on the ground.
“Stop it!” I run to them, begging Ezekiel to stop. “You don’t want to take too far, stop it!”
“Are you defending this piece of shit?”
“No,” I shake my head. “He had it coming. But please stop.”
“Did you hear that?” Ezekiel buries his face into Noah’s as he speaks, his hand firm on Noah’s neck.
“You deserve it. That means if you ever get near her, I will not stop before spilling the little brain you have onto this pavement. Don’t even look at her or breathe in her direction.
If you do… It will be the last thing you ever do. ”
He strongly slams Noah’s head on the pavement one more time before getting up. I watch him clean his pants with the casual expression of someone who accidentally got some dirt on their clothes, not as if he was about to kill a man with his bare hands.
I shiver one more time.
“What was that?” I ask, my mind struggling to process the image in front of my eyes. “You were going to kill him!”
“Are you seriously telling me this right after what he just did to you?”
“He’s a lowlife jackass,” I snap. “But we could have just called the police and reported him.”
“Oh, really?” He raises an eyebrow as if I had just said the most na?ve thing in the world.
“How many times did the police help you or anyone you know when you were in a difficult situation?” When I don’t answer, he continues, adjusting his shirt.
“Police doesn’t do anything until it is too late, and I’m sure working at the hospital, you already know that. ”
I swallow. Ezekiel is right, I have seen more than one case of women in the ER because the police couldn’t protect them. Even when they managed to report the jackass who had hurt them, they still ended up with stitches. Or worse.
But it’s not the memory of those women that make my heart sink. It’s the memory of my own mother being beaten over and over again by my abusive stepfather. No one did anything to help her.
“You’re right.” My voice is weak when I speak again and I hate showing in front of Ezekiel how affected I am by all of this.
He gives me that annoying, knowing smile. “You owe me a favor now,” Ezekiel’s face is back to that neutral, cold, expression that I’ve gotten to know before.
“I didn’t ask for your help,” I snap back, my heart beating a little faster now. “I could have easily taken him down.” I don’t tell him how much I hate that I froze and couldn’t react.
“Right, I could see that,” His sarcasm is almost painful. “I don’t care if you think you could have taken care of it yourself, you still owe me.”
“Just take it out of my paycheck or something,” I don’t care how dangerous he is, I’m pissed that after everything that happened today, now I also have to think about owing Ezekiel Kavanagh a favor.
“I don’t give favors with people who…” I bite my tongue before finishing that sentence and I see the corner of his lips forming a smile.
He’s entertained by all of this. “With people like you.”
“And what type of person am I, Riley?”
I look away and clear my throat before speaking again. “Thank you for helping me, even though I didn’t need your help,” I decide to ignore his question.
“You’re welcome,” He grins, but there is a type of darkness I have never seen in his eyes.
“You can leave now, I live here,” I point to the building.
“No way I’m leaving you alone now,” He sounds determined. “I’m walking you to your apartment.”
I sigh, but he doesn’t seem eager to back away. “Fine, you can walk me home.”
“Why did you not fight back?” As we’re climbing the stairs, Ezekiel speaks again. “Back there, you just froze…”
“That’s a long and personal story that I’m not sure I want to share with you.”
Another memory from my childhood flashes before my eyes. My mom’s lip bruised after the beating and me crying on the bathroom floor where she made me lock myself up when dad started beating her up.
I push the memory away.
“I understand that you took self-defense training,” His tone is as if he’s discussing a grocery list, and I’m not sure if I find it comforting or scary.
“How do you know that?”
“Do you really think I would hire someone without doing a full background check first?” He looks at me as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“Not everyone is a paranoid…” I quickly stop myself before finishing that sentence, “… boss, like you are.”
“Maybe you should take some classes with my brother Cain, he can teach you stuff that no other instructor can.” He completely disregards my comment.
“Wasn’t aware you had a brother and that he is a self-defense instructor,” I pull out the key from my purse and unlock the door.
“He’s not, but he’s got experience in close combat that anyone would envy him about.”
“Even you?” I raise an eyebrow, challenging him.
I’m not sure why I do this around him. Maybe I’ve gone completely mad and have a death wish. But there is something about him that brings out this side of me. The urge of defying him overpowers my rational thinking every time.
“Let’s not push it,” He scans the hallway with a disgusted look on his face. Almost as if he wants to tear it down.
“Allergic to poor?”
“You’re funny,” He peeks into the apartment through the open door. “But you lack manners. Don’t you think I deserve an invite for a drink? Or a cup of tea?”
“Nope,” I grin, closing the door behind me. “See you at work.”
“Actually,” His foot blocks the door and he opens it with easy, walking right past me and into the living room. “Remember how you forced me to get my wound treated earlier at the hospital?”
Oh no…
“I noticed that you keep flinching every time your bag brushes against your arm where that weirdo grabbed you earlier,” He reaches out for my hand and gently lifts my arm, rolling my sleeve to reveal a bruise on my wrist. “See?”
“It’s not a big deal,” I insist, pulling my hand away from his, but suddenly feeling cold in places where his fingers touched me.
“Let me return the favor,” he insists. “Sit down and I’ll bring you some ice. You have ice in this hole, right?”
“And there he is,” I sigh, surprised that his kind side was out in the open for such a long time. “Yes, I do have ice and I thought I was the one who owed you a favor.”
“That’s a separate favor,” he says from the kitchen. Thankfully, my roommates are out, because it would be incredibly awkward having to explain this situation to any of them. “And don’t worry, that’s a debt that I won’t forget so easily.”
“I guess there is no way out, is it?” When he returns from the kitchen with the ice, I take it from him and gently press it on my bruise. I have to admit that it feels nice. If he hadn’t insisted on coming in, I would not have done any of this.
“No.” When he smiles, I could swear that for a brief second, I could see a warm, genuine emotion behind his stone-cold eyes. But just like that, it disappears again. “I thought you lived with roommates.”
“I do,” I press the ice a little harder onto my wrist and I flinch at the sudden wave of pain spreading through my arm. “Elena is sleeping at her boyfriend’s tonight, and Lexi’s parents are in town so she’s probably still out with them.”
“That means we’ve got the place all to ourselves,” Ezekiel studies the room and when our eyes meet again, he bursts into laughter. “It’s a joke. Don’t be so scared.”
“I’m…” Suddenly, I feel embarrassed.
“I would never do anything you don’t want me to, Riley,” I don’t dare to look at him as he speaks. “You don’t have to keep your guard up all the time around me.”
“How could I trust you?” The words escape my mouth before I realize what I’m asking.
“Why are you so scared of being touched?” His eyes are focused on my injured hand. “I noticed earlier how you reacted when I wanted to see your bruise. And also at the club.”
“I’m not sure you’re the right person to have this conversation with,” I get up and throw the ice away as it’s already melting. “Let’s just say, not everyone grew up in a house with security and feeling protected.”
“I was just trying to understand you.” He leans back in the sofa where Elena usually studies. “You’re like a rare species to me and I really want to know what’s inside of that brain.”
“I don’t know if I should be flattered or offended by that comment,” I sit down across from him.
“Both?” He tilts his head, his eyes falling to my chest.
“Gee, thanks,” I roll my eyes before continuing. “I just grew up in a family that was incredibly poor. Living like that, with the feeling of being unsafe 24/7 taught me to fight back. And eventually wanting to build a life that I could be proud of.”
“So that’s why you’re trying so hard…”
“I guess so.”
“And that’s why your manners are so bad and you haven’t even offered me a glass of water.” His joke breaks the serious mood of the conversation and I laugh unwillingly.
“Next time don’t come in uninvited and you won’t have to worry about any of this.”
“I know how you can pay me back for that favor you owe me.” His eyes light up as he leans in closer, his elbows resting on his knees. I notice his movements are a little stiff because of his wound, but he does a great job pretending he’s not in pain.
“How?” I copy his posture, realizing how big of a mistake it is only when our faces are barely inches apart and I can smell the mint on his breath.
“Do you really think you can handle what I’ll ask of you?” His voice is deep, barely a whisper.
“I can handle anything,” I’m not sure where this bold persona is coming from but there’s an inexplainable pull coming from him, making me both terrified and curious. I bite my lip as his eyes fall lower, tracing the line of my cleavage.
“You might regret saying that.” He looks up again and when our eyes meet, it becomes hard to breathe. “So be careful.”
“I think I could say the same thing,” I lean in even closer and now I can feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. I swallow, realizing he’s probably right about me regretting this later.
“Bring it on, Riley,” he says. “Give it your best shot.”
“I’m ready when you are,” I grin.
“I want you to go topless and play with your breasts.” He licks his lips, not breaking the eye contact.
“You’re crazier than I thought!” I snap back, regretting the promise I made a few minutes ago immediately.
“Am I?” He raises an eyebrow. “It’s harmless, you do all the touching and I just sit here and watch you do it. Also, you just said that you can handle anything.”
“Anything normal!” For whatever reason, my heart starts beating faster at the thought of getting undressed and having Ezekiel watch me play with my own breasts. “Why did you think of this of all things?”
“Why not? It’s a fun way to charge for a favor.”
I remember the warmth of his skin as I was patching his wound. It was incredibly soft for such a big and rough guy, and I can’t help but wonder what it would feel like to have it pressed on my bare skin.
What the hell, Riley?
“This is crazy,” I sigh, but a part of me wonders what it would feel like. I know I should have thought it through before playing into his game but it’s too late to back down now. “If I agree to do this, will you leave me alone afterwards?”
All I know is that I need to end this as quickly as possible and get away from Ezekiel.
I don’t like the way my body reacts to his proximity, I don’t like the how distracting the bulge in his pants is, and I most certainly don’t like the thought of what could happen if I don’t distance myself on time.
“I will leave you alone,” he agrees, making my heart drop.
Get yourself together!
“And no touching?” Even though the thought of his hands on my body earlier almost made me dizzy, it’s not something I want. It’s not something I should want either.
“No touching, I promise,” he raises both arms dramatically.
“In that case,” I only realize how weak in my knees I’m feeling when I get up from the chair. “Let’s go to my room and get this over with.”