Bodychecking (3 page)

“What are you thinking?” Cedric asked, staring her down in the mirror.

“About us,” Bella admitted.

Cedric moved behind her, rubbing the points of her shoulders with his big hands. “Is there an
us
?” He sounded hopeful.

“Do you want there to be?” Bella wanted to kick her own ass for asking that loaded question.

Cedric nuzzled her neck. “
Ja, ja
, I do.” He grinned, knowing she loved it when he talked with a Swedish accent, which he actually didn’t possess in normal conversation, having been raised primarily in Canada.

Bella opened her mouth and closed it multiple times, rendered speechless, which didn’t happen often. Part of her wanted to say yes, but she bit back the words. She couldn’t do this to him or herself. She was still recovering from the sting of turning twenty-six and realizing she’d spent her life doing very little constructive and a lot of destructive. Guys hooked up with women like her; they settled down with women like her sisters.

“I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

Cedric frowned in the mirror. In fact, he looked downright depressed about it, but he bounced back quickly, like he always did, and flashed her his most disarming grin.

“Can’t blame a guy for asking.”

“Can’t blame a girl for turning you down.”

“Stay the night with me.”

Now there was an offer she could sink her teeth into. “You still have those handcuffs?”

“Absolutely. For me or you?”

“We’ll see,” she teased.

He wrapped his strong arms around her belly and pulled her back against his chest. “I want more, Bella, and I will get it.”

“Resistance is futile?” she joked.

“Damn right.” Only he wasn’t joking. Conviction burned in his blue eyes.

“Cedric.” Bella turned in his arms and laced her fingers behind his neck. “Let’s not ruin this good thing we have with commitment.”

“What if we could have an even better thing?”

Bella pulled away from him. “You’ll get tired of me. I’m not a deep thinker; and beyond sex, I’m not someone you’d want to keep around for deep, meaningful conversations.”

His brow furrowed, and he frowned. “Whoever told you that, Bellani Maxwell? You’re the most intriguing, fascinating woman I’ve ever met.”

“Only because I’m the only woman you’ve never managed to catch.” She wouldn’t be pulled into his web. She didn’t have a clue what his sudden penchant for settling down was all about, but his insistence that they have a real relationship sent her running away out of fear, even though she kept circling around the block and coming right back to him.

The man was a player. He liked her, but he’d never fall in love with her, because she knew the truth, even if no one else did.

Bellani Maxwell was not lovable.

Bella paced the floor of her small apartment. She couldn’t concentrate. Whenever she felt restless like this, things were about to change, and not necessarily how she wanted them to change.

Her past MO was to force a change before something blew up in her face, like transferring out of a psych class required for one of her many majors before she flunked out, or quitting her waitressing job before she was fired, or moving out of her apartment before she was evicted. Yeah, her life was a long line of quitting-before-it’s-obvious-you-failed incidents. Izzy swore over and over again that someday life would throw up an impenetrable roadblock on a one-way street, and she’d have to face whatever difficulties were thrust in front of her instead of flipping a U-turn every time it got tough.

She hated it when Izzy was right, which was almost always.

No one really understood. Bella didn’t run because she was afraid—she ran because she was easily bored. She was a kick-ass, take-no-prisoners kind of woman who loved to have a good time and didn’t give a shit about the consequences. Because for her, there’d been no consequences. At least, not until recently.

Yet now she was twenty-six fucking years old. She could do some deep soul-searching or give introspection the finger and go out and party.

Bella hadn’t planned on going out this Saturday night. Being one day after Christmas, it’d be dead, and none of her usual partners in crime happened to be available. She kept glancing at her phone, hoping Cedric would text her to hook up for a booty call. He didn’t, and she recalled him saying something about a charity auction tonight. In fact, now that she recalled, he’d invited her to attend, but she’d declined. They already had a date for the wedding, and she didn’t want to give him more encouragement.

Staying home with only her confused self for company wasn’t an option either.

Bella finally succumbed to her restlessness by texting George and Hank, a married couple she knew, to join her for a drink at O’Reilly’s. After debating what to wear, she decided to dress down rather than dress up. She couldn’t bring herself to go to the bother to put on her party clothes. After all, she wasn’t on the make tonight, and it was just O’Reilly’s, definitely a jeans-and-sweatshirt establishment.

Bella was late, as usual, and they were just leaving, which served her right for being over an hour late. She stayed for a drink anyway.

The bar was dead. Ike wasn’t working. She didn’t recognize anyone among the smattering of patrons, nor did she have the slightest inclination tonight to flirt with strangers. She could go to a nearby club, but she wasn’t in the mood for the club scene either. Even more bored than before, Bella left after one drink.

As soon as she exited the building, the rain started. Protected from the elements by a flimsy, hooded sweatshirt, she stood under the awning for a moment and shivered in the thirty-eight-degree temps. The parking was crazy-stupid downtown with all the new construction, and there was no parking in front of the building, which had forced her to park several blocks away in a neighborhood of soon-to-be-torn-down buildings. Cursing her stupidity for not wearing a raincoat, she sighed and stepped onto the rain-slickened sidewalk.

Hugging the sweatshirt tight to her body, Bella hurried past a boarded-up building looming darkly across the cracked sidewalk. The gloomy brick façade gave her the creeps, and she trotted down the street, cutting across to the other side. She’d be soaked before she got to her car.

Miserable and desperate to get out of the rain as soon as possible, she decided to take a shorter route back, ignoring the detour, which would take her two to three blocks out of her way but along well-lit streets. Instead, she veered around the corner and into the construction zone, ignoring the “Do Not Enter” signs. She’d cut through here before but not alone. It was exactly the type of area she would’ve told her self-defense students to avoid as unsafe.

Only Bella was savvy and well-trained in martial arts. She could take care of herself. She had absolute confidence she’d battle her way out of any situation. Even so, a little chill slid down her spine, and she shuddered. Shrugging it off as unfounded, she attributed her nerves to the rainwater dripping down the back of her neck.

She had very little room to maneuver as she navigated along a sawhorse-lined path made of plywood and concrete with partially demolished buildings on one side and deep utility trenches on the other. She could barely see even with the flashlight on her cell phone.

“Admit it, Bells, this wasn’t one of your smarter moves,” she muttered to herself.

She frowned as she swore she heard a noise. Only, how the fuck could anyone hear anything over this incessant rain?

There it was again. Splashing. Like boots slapping against water-laden concrete and plywood.

Her heart rate accelerated, and she increased her pace, wishing she’d brought her purse with her Mace in it. Instead, she’d grabbed a small pocketbook. She refused to glance over her shoulder, even as her senses went on high alert.

She definitely heard footsteps, and they were gaining.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck
.

She’d been a careless idiot for taking this route.

“Hey,” a gravelly voice said from behind her.

She kept walking, trying to determine how far away this man happened to be and how many blocks it was to her car. She could take off and possibly outrun him. Bella prided herself on her athleticism and her agility. But it was dark and rainy, and the heels on her boots weren’t made for sprinting. Chances were slim she’d make it before he caught her.

She glanced at her phone, just as it beeped a very sad beep and went dark.

Shit.
It’d been running on battery fumes all night because she’d forgotten to charge it.

Bella chided herself for being such a coward. She’d been trained for this. She taught domestic violence and crime victims how to defend themselves in situations like this one. She was in control here. Not him. Besides she was being stupid. He was probably harmless.

“Hey. Security,” he called as if reading her mind. He caught up with her so quickly she realized she’d miscalculated how far away he’d been. She glanced at him as he paced her, slightly behind her right shoulder, his face shadowed by a hoodie and the oppressive darkness.

He raised a flashlight and shone it in her eyes, temporarily blinding her. He pulled something out of his pocket and waved what looked like a badge. She relaxed a little.

“You’re not supposed to be down here.” His accusing tone ruffled her feathers. Damn rent-a-cop.

“I know,” she said bluntly, not inviting further conversation and praying he’d take the not-so-subtle hint.

She dismissed a twinge of panic. He was just a security guy. That was all, and he was keeping pace with her, probably to escort her out of an area she had no business trespassing through in the first place.

Yet, no one would hear her scream over the sound of the rain. Squaring her shoulders and utilizing the glare of his flashlight, Bella strode purposely, as if he were no threat at all to her, even while every fiber of her being coiled, ready to strike.

Something didn’t seem right.

Walk with confidence and purpose
, she always told her students. Yeah, and she told them a lot of other things too. Stay in well-lit, populated areas, carry Mace or bear spray, travel in pairs. Everything she had so carelessly dismissed tonight.

“Ma’am, I need to escort you out of here.”

“I can find my own way out.” She tried to keep her voice even, but she sounded a little too affected by his presence. His low, ominous chuckle told her he’d picked up on her tone too.

Bella kept her eyes straight ahead, but the end of the block and the next streetlight seemed a mile away. Her mind spun with all the self-defense techniques she’d not only learned over the years but taught. She debated on taking the guy out with a quick kick to the groin or chop to the neck, but she couldn’t very well attack a security guard.

Adrenaline pumped in her veins, and her breath sounded loud and harsh in her ears. She assessed him out of the corner of her eye. He was large, lean, and moved like a cat with athletic grace. He met her gaze, and his eyes gleamed malevolently with a coldness that chilled her to her very soul.

Then it hit her.

She was in deep shit. He wasn’t a security guard.

“This is your lucky day, bitch,” he snarled.

She should’ve attacked, grabbed the offensive, taken him out first. Instead, she froze. For all her bravado and claims of confidence, she froze. She
fucking
froze.

He seemed to sense her hesitation and took advantage of her moment of indecision.

Without further warning, he lunged, catching her off guard, as his powerful fist slammed into her cheek. Bella tried to kick, defend herself, but her movements were slow and sluggish after his almost knockout punch. She reeled and staggered. He hit her again in the gut, doubling her over, then kicked her in a way that took her legs out from under her. Her head hit the plywood walkway, rendering her paralyzed for a few short yet agonizing moments. She willed herself not to pass out.

The truth of her predicament slammed into her harder than his fist had a moment earlier. He had training in martial arts, possibly MMA, and she had severely underestimated him. She had to fight, and fight for her life, because this guy wasn’t messing around. The iron taste of blood made her nauseous, but she refused to succumb. She was in a slow-motion nightmare and trapped like an animal.

He slammed the hard toe of his boot into her stomach once, twice, three times. She tried to rise to her feet, despite the world spinning around her. Digging her fingernails into the ground, she reached for the side of the building. He kicked her in the ass, catapulting her face first into the deep, rancid mud piled along the deep ditch. Before she reacted, he gripped her legs and dragged her down a dirty, narrow alley littered with construction debris and dumpsters.

The pounding of Bella’s heart mimicked the pounding of the rain. She lay on her back, unable to gather enough strength to move. Her attacker stood over her, forming an impenetrable blockade across the open end of the alley. His menacing chuckle forced her to lift her spinning head and try to get her bearings. Bella ignored the sharp pain stabbing her skull and rolled to her hands and knees as waves of nausea almost incapacitated her. She crawled away from him with the speed of a turtle.

“Think you’re going somewhere?” He spoke from close behind her, and she imagined a smirk on his face and lust in his eyes. Bella staggered to her feet, knowing she didn’t stand a chance on the ground. He let her stand, like a cat playing with a mouse.

As soon as he was in range she kicked, but her reflexes were too slow, and her foot connected with nothing but air. His amused laughter drowned out patter of the rain.

He advanced on her, and she managed an off-the-target kick to his upper thigh, barely missing his nuts. The close call enraged him. He was on her like a rabid wolf after a wounded deer. Bella punched and kicked out, but he easily evaded her clumsy attempts. Her legs shook as she weaved in a futile attempt to run. He grabbed her by the hair and gave her a hard shove onto her knees. He booted her in the back, sending her sprawling onto the concrete. She managed to cushion the blow to her face with her hands. Suddenly he snapped, turning crazed, brutally kicking with the hard toe of his work boots and mercilessly pummeling her with his fists. Bella curled into a pitiful little ball, trying to protect the most vulnerable parts of her body from the worst of the blows. She heard muffled sobbing and realized it was her.