Not a tame lion #2
He straightened. “Elaine!” His voice was hoarse.
The movement revealed Molly behind him with a wireless shaver in her hand. The goddamn White Witch cutting off Aslan’s mane before the sacrifice. Over my dead body.
Side-stepping to clear my line of sight, I aimed the pistol at her head. “Back the fuck up! Now, before I double-tap your skull.”
She skidded backwards, dropping the clippers. “Jesus, it was just a joke.”
Most of the men raised their hands and backed away as well.
“Jokes are supposed to be funny.” More backup poured through the door, emboldening me. “God, Rafael! What have they done to you?”
His mouth split into a crocodile grin. “You should see the other guys. Plural.” Rafael stretched his neck to the right, revealing a series of small burn marks just above the torn collar of his shirt. “Remind me to get you a better taser to use on me. This shit tickles.”
“A violet wand is good enough for everyone else,” Benson muttered under their breath behind me, “but oh no, not for Rafael Nazim, patron saint of pain pigs.”
Rafael’s eyes narrowed as Benson came into view. Deandra wisely said nothing.
I handed Benson the gun. “Safety’s off.”
They nodded, covering the room.
A stocky, balding man blocked my path to Rafael. It was the guy who’d tried to stop us outside the salon. Just tall enough to look down at me, but not tall enough to be truly intimidating, the man’s ridiculous tactical vest was too big for him, like it was his first day on the job.
“Turns out these guys get very uncomfortable if you moan and say, ‘harder, Daddy,’ when they hit you.” Rafael jerked his chin toward the man in my way. “Jeremiah Sapp here will definitely be thinking of me when he goes home to fuck his wife. Tell me, Jerry, are my tits bigger than hers?”
I bit lip to keep from snickering.
Jeremiah’s face turned blood red, and he reached for me. “Ma’am, stay back. This man is dangerous.”
Rafael snarled, “If you touch my girlfriend, I will crack your skull open like an egg.”
The possessiveness made me a little giddy. Even if he was sassing too close to the sun, given the state of him.
Jeremiah sneered and lightly pushed my shoulder. Rafael surged up from the chair and head-butted him. Bone crunched and blood sprayed and men yelled. Rafael raised a boot, ostensibly to stomp the fallen man’s head.
I scooted in front of him, planting my hands on his chest. “Stop!” A growl rumbled under my hands. I summoned up every bit of dominance I’d ever had in the dungeon and threw it into my voice. “That’s enough. Back down.”
Rafael lowered his foot, looking down at me.
To my surprise, I didn’t have to slap him; the rage bled away on its own.
As he stepped back, his shoulders flexed.
He lowered his head and grunted, arms straining.
With a pop, his hands came free. The swarming thugs stopped moving like they’d been flash frozen.
First, how did he do that? Second, why was that so hot?
“Goddamn,” Deandra whispered.
“Fucking zipties,” Rafael grumbled, rubbing the red lines on his wrists and shaking out his hands. The blood trickling down his forehead added to his general air of menace.
Chaddington Techbronius III peeked out from behind one of the bigger bruisers. His eyes slid from Rafael to the unconscious Sapp.
“Gentlemen, ladies, and, uh…” he trailed off, looking at Benson.
Benson grinned and raised both fists. “My pronouns are ‘fuck’”—one middle finger went up—“and ‘you’.” The other middle finger went up, still holding the gun.
He blinked and turned his back on Benson. “Mr. Nazim, I think we’ve both made our points.”
“Have we?” Rafael raised a fist, and the blonde man flinched. “I was reasonable this time. I will not be in the future if you start this fuckshit again.”
I rushed into his arms. He kissed me roughly on the top of the head and herded me out of the shed.
Deandra followed, and Benson took up the rearguard.
The moment Rafael stepped through the door, the crowd cheered.
He paused, clearly surprised by the gathering.
Cops pushed through the search party, yelling orders.
“Rafael Nazim is a dangerous criminal who beats up women,” Molly shouted behind us as the police moved in. “I had to have reconstructive surgery because of him. He assaulted my boyfriend in public earlier this month. You should be arresting him, not me! Rabid animals should be put down.”
The police didn’t even have their guns drawn; they just herded her outside. Like they’d known all about this.
Rafael stopped dead. “Really, Molly? You terrorized my innocent girlfriend to get back at me for a PTSD reaction I could not control. One that you knowingly triggered. Truly fucking evil.”
Molly laughed like a Sailor Moon villain, complete with a hand in front of the mouth.
Ever since a high school classmate tried to get me to date him by telling me I looked like Sailor Jupiter, I’d clung to the association with the tall brunette who beat up boys.
And I was ready to fill this shithead with regret.
Come on, Jupiter Power, Make Up. Lemme electrocute her in the name of love!
The wind picked up, and a waft of lavender perfume hit me in the face; strong enough that Molly must have purposefully bathed in it. God, Rafael must have been triggered the entire time. Why wasn’t she in cuffs yet?
She tossed her long blonde hair. “When you find a cancerous tumor, you don’t just cut away the surface. All your kind are a blight to be removed.”
Rage blistered through me, hot and choking, as gasps and shouts rippled through the crowd. Even Chadlington Techbronius III took a step back.
“My kind? What, redheads? The only cancer here is your racist ass,” Rafael scoffed. Good, he didn’t take the bait. “This is why I could never bring myself to fuck you, Molly.”
Benson cackled. “Now there’s the Rafael Nazim we all know and hate.”
Molly’s head came up, nostrils flaring. “You still slicing yourself up, you fucking psychopath?”
This was getting way too personal. Rafael’s hands clenched into fists.
His lips thinned, and a low growl rumbled in his chest. The tech bro stared at him, throat bobbing.
No doubt recalling what it felt like to have his trachea slowly crushed by that muscular forearm. He laid a hand on Molly’s shoulder.
She shrugged him off and moved closer to Rafael. “You want to hit me so bad, I bet it makes you hard.”
Rafael took a deep breath and turned away, relaxing his hands. He did it! He de-escalated! Even if it was only due to sheer exhaustion, he’d kept his word. God, I was so proud of him.
I stepped between him and the jeering Molly. “At this point, I want to hit you too, you evil cunt.”
She shoved me. My fist flew of its own accord. I didn’t mean to. I couldn’t stop myself. Decked her right in the nose with a pop!
Molly screamed.
Rafael laughed.
Hands grabbed me, yanking me backward. Cops swarmed us both. What the fuck did I just do? My hand ached. My knee ached worse. Rafael caged me in his arms, backing away.
Stabbing at me with a finger, Molly screeched, “I will ruin your libe, you funcking bitch! I’mb gonna sue you straight to hell!”
“Try it.” Deandra’s voice sliced through hers like a knife. “You got at least twenty witnesses who videoed you putting your hands on her first. The cops saw it too. Clear self-defense.” To me, she mouthed, ‘Fuck yes!’
Tears of overwhelm stung my eyes, and I cradled my now-throbbing hand to my chest like it would protect me.
Rafael laughed. “Shame you paid all that money for a new nose, just to run your mouth and have it readjusted to look like mine.”
“You’re just jealous she got to hit mbe!” Molly spat.
“Bitch, Elaine just saved your life,” he snarled. “Too bad you never fucking learn from getting your shit rocked.”
I heard it all, but barely processed anything. My body shook uncontrollably, caught in the undertow of adrenaline dump. My knuckles throbbed. Rafael lifted me into his arms, carrying me through a stunned crowd over to the medics. They parted like the Red Sea.
“Sorry I said ‘bitch’ again,” Rafael muttered to me. He set me down. “My tongue is a bullwhip, and my aim is not always true.”
I sniffled, handing him my backpack full of supplies and his phone. “Better your tongue landing a rogue shot than your fists. I’m just happy to hear your voice.”
Deandra hovered nearby while Rafael drank most of my water in one go, pausing only to swish his mouth and spit bloody saliva on the ground. I handed over the energy bars I’d packed for this specific purpose and he inhaled those too.
“How did you still have the strength to carry me?”
“You give me strength.” Rafael kissed me, deeply enough to make some people mutter and sidle away from us. “You kept Delilah over there from making good on her threats.”
“You’re Aslan, remember? Only fitting to take down the White Witch.” I tangled my hands in his hair and kissed him for all I was worth.
He snorted at ‘White Witch’. “Would you still love me if I was bald?”
I smacked his shoulder. Gently. “You could be bald, short, gain or lose weight—I don’t care. I didn’t fall in love with your hair. It’s just a nice detail.”
Rafael gasped dramatically. “Anything but short!”
Dee prodded him. “You’re going to the hospital now, right?”
He shrugged.
Benson approached with Matilda at their side. They handed me the 9mm they’d wisely kept hidden from the police, and looked to Rafael. “Hey, can we grab a coffee sometime?”
“No.” He did not look up.
“Ok. That’s ok.” They scratched at their viridian hair. “Look, I don’t expect you to forgive me or for us to ever be friends. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for what I did. It was fucked up, and I’m sorry. I’m clean and sober now, if that helps.”
Rafael snorted. “Odd fucking time to be working your twelve steps.”