In Love by Design (The Adventures of Anabel Axelrod) (21 page)

“
Happy to hear I alleviated your boredom,” I responded dryly, but I was smiling. He can laugh all he wants at my efficient and effective analytical skills; I was just relieved he didn’t overhear me muttering about my problems. “But thank me for what?”

“For
bending over and flashing me repeatedly. Now that really alleviated my boredom.” His voice was husky, “But then, I think you already know how much I love your stockings.”

“You quit talking to me like that or I won’t let you finish your story,” I warned on a
little, breathless laugh.

Luke’s arms tighten
ed around me and his mouth was against my ear. “The garage was about fifty feet diagonally away from my current position. The immediate area around you was lit up like daylight, so I was thoroughly enjoying the show of your ass peeking out of that short skirt.” I made another warning noise and he hugged me closer. “Something sneaking in the shadows from the direction of the alley behind you caught my attention. I saw this man with a baseball cap pulled down low step into the light. He was carrying something in his right hand.

“I a
utomatically started to move and yell out a warning, but then I stopped. Instinctively, my brain had kicked in. I knew I couldn’t get to you before the man did whatever he was going to do.”

“
Holy Hannah, how scary for you to witness that happening to me,” I whispered, never having thought about it from his perspective.

Luke
’s voice was flat, “I haven’t felt so powerless since I was a kid. My gun was in the truck and so was my knife.” Even knowing the outcome of the night, I can hear that he’s still pissed and blaming himself. “I’d left them deliberately, not knowing how wild you’d get when I kidnapped you.”

“That was smart
, I do go a mite wild,” I agreed, rubbing his shoulders and hugging him close. “Remember the bat on my first turn? Given half a chance, I would have knocked your block off without a second thought.”

Snorting
a little, Luke’s said, “Yeah, and shouting out a warning would have probably only confused you and panicked the attacker, so bottom line, I knew I was too far away to prevent what was going down.”

I wait
ed in silence for him to go on, my heart pounding.

“
The professional in me concluded that if killing you was the attacker’s intention, I couldn’t stop him. But fuck the facts, I wanted to run over there and protect you anyway. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I had to clamp down on these emotions, Princess, because there was no way to hide my approach across the open parking lot to the garage. Not knowing then it was Dickie, it was almost guaranteed the attacker would spot me coming and could do something drastic.” His hands were moving again on my back and I snuggled into Luke’s warmth. “I wasn’t willing to take that risk. My only option to save you was to stay hidden and wait for my chance.”

“I’m glad I didn’t have
to make that kind of decision.”

Luke laugh
ed shortly and it wasn’t a happy sound. “I buried the rage to kill him and did what I’m trained to do--observe.”

“My war-god
,” I murmured in admiration, this time kissing both his cheeks.

“Dickie was
good, I’ll give him that,” Luke said grudgingly. “He stepped up from behind, dropped that burlap bag over your head, and took off into the alley. All in all, it took maybe three seconds. I saw your purse was hanging over your shoulder by the strap, and I remember praying that I was right about you carrying.”

“That F’ing
burlap bag,” I growled into Luke’s ear.

Luke’s voice lighten
ed up. “At least you got in one solid kick. I heard Dickhead yell out something before he threw you over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.” He patted my hip. “That had to hurt.”

I sniff
ed. “I’ll say—it knocked the wind out of me.”

“I caught a
glimpse of Dickie’s face when he kicked those trays under the jeep before running off with you. That’s when I saw it was the same man from the plumbing truck.”

“So your spidey
sense was right about the van.”

Luke’s reply
was quiet with disgust. “Yeah, for all the good it did us.”

I pat
ted him consolingly this time. “Hindsight’s a bitch.”

My boyfriend’s sigh
was loud in the dark room and he said, “The fact you were kidnapped rather than outright murdered meant you were wanted alive, and that gave me some time.”

“Which was
the only advantage you needed,” I murmured, running my hands through his hair and kissing him softly.

He smile
d against my lips. “I’d already run back across Fourth St. and was at my truck when the van came barreling out of the alley by your garage. It roared off to the left. This time, Dickie didn’t turn on Division but caught the green light and kept going straight on Fourth. He was going for the bridge to cross the Cannon River and heading to the intersection at Hwy 3. The van would pass right by the cop shop, but I didn’t call 911. The last thing I wanted was to deal with the cluster fuck of a high speed car chase.”

I
heartily agreed, wincing at the thought of a spastic Dickie driving the van while being chased by the police. Rolling around in the cargo hold, there was just no happy ending in that story for Bat Girl.

“I
gunned the truck and had just taken a right onto Fourth St to follow the van when another car flies out of the alley from across the street.” Luke snickered and said, “Christ, tires squealing, this little car barely slowed when it hung a sharp left. Fish-tailing all over the place, the driver went racing past my truck into the oncoming traffic lane on my left side. That’s when I recognized your cousin, Candy MacKenzie behind the wheel.”

“Ex-cousin,” I said softly,
smiling while envisioning Luke’s surprise.

Luke ignore
d my interruption and said, “She flew by the truck and didn’t give me more than a quick, wild-eyed look before wrenching the Civic to the right. She cut in right ahead of my truck,” he exclaimed, the disbelief still in his voice. “I had to stand on the brakes to avoid ramming several tons of steel right up her ass. Without a backward glance, that crazy woman caught the tail end of the yellow light and zoomed off across Division St. in the same direction as Dickie.”

“Then what?” I urged on a laugh.

Luke snorted. “I stomped on the gas, followed them both, and called Stella to get Candy’s cell number. I spent the next twenty minutes dealing with Candy while we both tailed the van. She did nothing but argue with everything I said.”

“
Poor Luke, now I don’t blame you for being so grumpy when you arrived to rescue me tonight,” I said, oozing sympathy for my fed up Hero. “A dark night, an abandoned house, a convenient patsy in Dickie to take the blame…did snapping her neck ever cross your mind?”

Luke
retorted, “Too quick and too painless.” He did a masculine version of a shudder. “Now I don’t blame you for warning John off hitting on any Northfield girls after being around your…ex-cousin.”

The reminder of John
getting it on with Crazy Woman could put a damper on anyone’s good mood. “Yeah, I didn’t want Northfield women to get any incurable diseases. So, John told you about our little talk, huh?”

I
heard the grin when Luke replied, “Oh yes he did, and that’s another conversation I wished I’d overheard.”

“If you like, I’ll be happy to
do it again when I see John next. I’m sure he could use the reminder,” I offered demurely.

“Trust me, whatever you said hit home.
” Luke’s laughter was deep and loud. “In all the years we’ve been friends; I’ve never once seen John pass up a signal from a woman that was marginally attractive. If he was drunk enough, even that didn’t matter.” He chuckled and said, “I saw this miracle happen a few days ago.”

“
What happened?” I asked skeptically.

“
We met for a beer after work. This knock-out of a girl was giving him the eye over the bar. She was too young and innocent for my tastes, but the type John would usually be all over like white on rice. I asked him why he wasn’t hittin’ on that, and if he was dying. He told me to fuck off and went back to watching the game on TV.”

“Wow, that is proof the snake’s shedding his old skin,” I murmured
, earning a hard squeeze from the hands idly stroking my lower back. “Do you think it could be due to Jazy?”

Luke still
ed and repeated cautiously, “Jazy?”

“Yes,” I replied
, grinning in the dark. “I think John’s smitten with my sis.”

After a beat, he answer
ed, “That’s news to me, but I also don’t give a damn who John’s interested in.” He ran his hands up my sides and then through my hair, tilting my head to the side to place a kiss on my exposed neck. “Story time is over, Anabel.”

“
Mmm, have I told you lately how much I love my birthday present?” I murmured into his ear, licking and sucking on his other lobe.

“Give me actions, you damn woman.”

Laughing,
my lips found his in the dark. I kissed that smart mouth quiet. Kissing, licking, and nibbling my way down his body, I grabbed his other head and kissed it quiet, too, before it got too big for his britches.

Not even the nastiest smelling monsters could
penetrate the unconscious depths I sank into this time when passing out in sated blissfulness surrounded by Luke’s arms.

“
Hey Soul Sister” by Train

Friday, 12/07/12

8
:45 AM

My eyes opened to a
n unfamiliar white ceiling. Rays of sunshine were pouring in through the wooden blinds on the double windows. Propping myself up on both elbows, I blew a strand of hair out of my eyes and looked around. Except for the four poster playground I was lying on, the black dresser with pewter knobs and pulls, two bedside tables and two lamps, and a black leather bench at the end of the bed upon where Anna’s huge suitcase sat open, I was alone in Luke’s bedroom.

Glancing at the bedside clock, I
did a double take at seeing it’s almost nine. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept in so late, especially in a strange bed. Luke’s king-sized bed has all the comforts of home with plenty of soft pillows and a down comforter, but I was sure Dickie’s drugs were the main culprit.

Sitting up fully, I stretched my arms overhead and evaluated my physical well-being. My butt fe
lt tight and sore, but overall fine. My cranium was a bit tender on the side that bounced off the floor in my futile kitchen escape attempt. Luckily, it had been a couple of weeks since my last head injury, and it wasn’t in the same spot, so I’m not too worried about permanent damage.

I
was also tender in all my girly parts, but that’s what I got for being a horny greedy-guts after two weeks of erotica and abstinence, and Dickie’s aphrodisiac. I was so happy Anna packed the coconut oil.

Luke promised we’d have my first self
defense lesson this morning in the barn. At the flare of excitement when remembering this, all my aches and pains took a backseat.

Flinging off the
white comforter, I swung my legs off the side of the bed until my tootsies touched the hardwood floor. I shivered at the chill, but hurried to snatch the black robe off the carved post where it landed when Luke tossed it last night. Wrapping its velvet warmth around my nakedness, I searched through the suitcase for my sweats and running shoes. I dug through dresses, frilly blouses, skirts, shoes, and pretties, and finally at the very bottom, I found my workout clothes. Eyeing all the clothes Anna had packed, I’m worried she knows something I don’t, and I’ll never see my apartment again.

My toiletries bag was left in the attached master bathroom last night, so
I went to get dressed, washed my face, and put the coconut oil to good use. While brushing my teeth, I glanced around Luke’s bathroom in the morning light. It’s nothing special and on the small side, but sixty years ago bathrooms in the average house were not the large rooms we now take for granted. The room was very clean, and I appreciated that more than anything.

Combing my hair, I braided it quickly into one thick rope down my back.
I took a second to give a little kiss to my sparkling new ring and wish it, and the Italian poison ring, a good morning before slipping them into the cosmetic bag for safekeeping. Luke might have me MMA fighting this morning and I didn’t want to hurt him with my rings.

I went
to sit on the bed to put on my shoes and heard my phone vibrating from somewhere under me in the rumpled covers. Digging around for it, I smiled and shook my head when seeing the text:

Awake?
I gave you an extra hour!

Calling
Anna’s cell, I straightened the white bed linens by habit.

Anna answered
on a laughing rush of words, “Say you forgive me! Being kidnapped is so romantically sexy and Luke gave me those dreamy eyes. Besides,” Anna’s voice went into heckling-mode, “you work too damn much and need the time off!”