Layers Peeled (5 page)

A.
Green:
Out of club following an asshole. Turn right. May need
help.

I ran faster
than my thoughts allowed me to process the situation. Where was he
taking her? If I screamed now he’d speed up, so I just kept up the
pace, to slowly shorten the distance between us, hoping Laura would
get my message. Two was always better than one. Since I still
hadn’t recovered from my injuries, my legs began to ache more
quickly than usual. The lack of proper exercise over the last month
hadn’t helped, and running in boots was not the most comfortable. I
contemplated removing them, or at least ripping those damn heels
off.

As I reached
the corner where they’d turned, I looked back toward the distancing
club. The alley here had darkened. I removed my phone again and
texted Laura my last intersection.

A moment of
doubt whether I should continue swept through me, but the loud
scream I heard dissolved any hesitation.

A few feet
away from them, my voice found my lungs again as I yelled, “Let her
go, you son a bitch!”

Obviously
shocked, the bastard froze. The girl peeked at me from between her
arms that she’d used to cover her head. Her face was smeared with
running mascara and her eyes glossed over. A visible tear at the
side of her dress signaled the man’s intention.

“Mind your own
business, twat.” He flipped open a switchblade, all the while
holding the girl with one hand. Boy, was he ever threatening the
wrong person. The sweatshirt hood he wore slid off his head and a
bush of curls puffed out. The street light reflected on his sweaty
forehead. Why did the name Larry seem so appropriate for him?

“She is my
business. Let her go and I’ll spare you one broken leg.”

In my mind I’d
already crushed his other one; right at the knee. He had no chance
to get away from that.

“Come with
me,” I motioned to the girl. Warily she tried to move toward me,
but the bastard only tightened his grip.

“Are you
afraid to fight?” I taunted. “Ah, you’re a momma’s boy, aren’t you?
All strong when weaker women are around, but like a stray cat à la
douche bag when someone stands up to you.”

He cracked his
head to one side then the other, saying, “You’re asking for it,
bitch!” He finally let go of the girl, who backed up into a corner
where the wall protruded. She lowered down into a crouch.

“It takes one
to know one, bitch!” I spat back.

From the
corner of my eye, a shadow moved on my right. Another thug wobbled
out of an alley. His buzz cut and not-so-lean figure didn’t seem as
threatening as he wanted to appear. His name had to be Curly.

Shit!
I
thought. Still I could handle the two. Maybe not as well as a
couple of months ago, but I knew I could take them both down,
especially Curly.

“Let us leave
and we can forget about it.” I gave them another chance which I
knew they wouldn’t consider. After all, to them I was just a weak
little woman they could handle. Well, nobody handles Allie Green!
And as expected their response was a bellowing laughter.

“Fine, I’ll
break your right leg and his left.” I pointed to the new arrival,
who wore the same type of hood. “That way you’ll have a combined
bigger pair than you do now.”

“When I’m done
with you, I’ll make you see my dick up close.” Larry grabbed his
crotch, jiggling it up and down.

“You actually
have one? It looks more like a pussy under there,” I laughed.

His brows
furrowed and fists clenched.

A third shadow
appeared to my left. This guy looked like someone had shoved a bowl
over his head and chopped his hair even all the way around.

Great, I’m
dealing with the Three Stooges.

But I didn’t
let their looks and demeanor undervalue the situation. An ounce of
pure panic set in, but I hid it under the protective layer I’d
learned to wear as a cop. Three opponents was a lot for a healthy
capable police officer, let alone a frail pregnant one who hadn’t
recovered from a gunshot and a near deadly combat. Hopefully Laura
was on her way. My body totally disagreed with what was going on in
my mind. I parted my feet wider for extra support, thankful for the
pair of pants I wore instead of a dress, and my muscles tightened
in preparation. I slowed my breaths and my heartbeat.

“Let the girl
go and we can avoid trouble,” I warned in the commanding tone I
knew surprised most offenders. It was one last effort on my part to
spare their broken bones.

“Come on up.”
Adjusting his weight from one foot to the other, he motioned with
his both hands toward him. “Let’s see if we can add a bit of color
to that pretty face of yours.” Larry sucked in the phlegm from the
back of his throat and spat on the sidewalk.

The dweebs
closed in, and I was forced to step closer to the girl against the
wall, letting them surround us. And with the instinct that had been
tucked away, waiting its turn, I rushed toward Larry and pushed my
feet forward, swinging my right leg up into his face. My leg
whizzed through the air. A crack later, blood flowed from his nose.
His blade crashed to the concrete. The moment of his surprise
passed in seconds, and he swung at me, missing my face by an inch
as I ducked. The other two paused for a momnet, probably surprised
at my skills.

The girl found
an opening between the men and ran off, which was the smart thing
to do. But now I was the center of the trio’s attention. Larry
picked up his blade again, checking his broken nose with his other
hand, adjusting the new crooked feature. Blood gushed down his
mouth. I must say it stunned me he didn’t howl in pain; which only
meant he was stronger than he appeared. Within seconds he took
another shot, running past me when I ducked. As he turned around I
locked my foot on his knee cap with all my might. The cracking of a
bone echoed in the alley, followed by a scream. He curled on the
concrete in pain, bloody spit foaming at the side of his mouth. The
position was so much more appropriate for Larry. With that broken
leg he’d remember me for a while.

What a
wuss!
I thought.
Not that strong after all. One down, two to
go.
I wasn’t wasting time with assholes who chose to prey on
women.

The other two
stepped back, regarding their friend. After a moment of hesitation,
they removed knives from their pockets, the surfaces of which
glistened under the streetlight, sending bright reflections against
the building’s wall. With a quick breath in and a knowing gaze at
each other, they both attacked at the same time, swinging their
brave armed hands at me like maniacs. They didn’t even know how to
handle a knife. But as I fought them off, ducking and punching,
tiredness slowly rolled over my body.

I frowned. Not
long ago it would have taken much more than a street fight to drain
me so quickly. This new fatigue I felt swallowed my breaths. Sweat
dripped down my back and my chest. The side under my ribcage, where
the bullet I took a few weeks ago had entered, began to ache.
Feeling dizzy, I shut my eyes for a moment and lost my balance
while over-extending. Curly slashed the inside of my arm, right at
the bending point. Blood squirted out like from a hose under
pressure. I pressed my hand to the wound only to feel Moe cut below
my knee. I buckled down by the wall.

The duo
relaxed their shoulders, smirking with a
we’ll finish you off
now
kind of grin.

Shit!
This wasn’t good. How had this turned from bad to worse so fast?
And where the hell was Laura?

Feeling
lightheaded, I cursed my cocky attitude.
How much blood have I
lost? Will the baby be all right?
I lowered my arm to my belly,
praying I hadn’t done anything stupid. No, I knew it was too late
for that. I had been irresponsible and I hoped I hadn’t jeopardized
my baby’s life. But I couldn’t have let them take that girl either.
That would be acting like a coward, and I was done with that years
ago.

I growled in
my mind.

“Tie her up,”
Larry ordered through his gritting teeth. “Then take me to a
hospital.”

Curly and Moe
approached, their earlier caution disappearing.

Come on,
Green, get up!
I imagined the devil on my shoulder resembled a
boxer in the ring, but everything inside me shut down. No matter
how much I wanted to get up, I couldn’t. It was like that day when
I’d rescued Kendra, except then I’d been drugged with a dart
gun.

A loud bang
echoed through the alley, bouncing off buildings. Curly and Moe
stopped before they reached me, turning their heads toward a
commotion I couldn’t see. Somewhere in the distance a gunshot
sounded. Familiar voices approached. I tried to focus and saw the
girl who had escaped pointing toward me. Blue and red lights
flashed against the brick. Then the alley faded from a yellowish
glow to black and white. Curly and Moe ran off like the cowards I
knew them to be, and I turned just in time to see James, the guy
I’d met at dinner and was supposed to work with at Cross
Enterprises. Now I recognized him as the one who’d been dancing
with Laura.

James pinned
Larry to the ground. Laura was just behind him and froze when she
saw me. Her mouth flew wide open at my position as I protected my
stomach. At that moment I knew my friend put two and two together.
She knew I was pregnant; I could see it in her eyes. She covered
her mouth at first but then morphed into her cop mode, rushed to my
side, knelt, and wrapped her pink scarf around my arm. Her lips
moved but I couldn’t make out her words. And why was her face so
apologetic? I made a mental note to buy her a new scarf and leaned
my head back against the wall. Something tightened around my leg as
well. I think it was a belt.

The voices
around me muffled and blended into one hum, with a piercing pitch
overwhelming them all. I opened my eyes once again. Tristan scooped
me into his arms.
Where did he come from?
His mouth moved
but I couldn’t hear one thing he’d said. In fact, I couldn’t hear
anything anymore, but knew I was going to be okay, even if I didn’t
feel that way at the moment.

Déjà vu. The
same nurse who’d cared for me a few weeks ago smiled as she checked
my pulse. With six stitches in my arm, the wound would leave a
scar. The cut on my leg wasn’t as bad. Both limbs had been
bandaged, and the nurse doing her rounds was checking my vital
signs. I’d lost a lot of blood, almost needing a transfusion.
Thankfully the baby was all right. Guilt rolled through me every
time I thought about what could have happened, and I made a promise
to myself and Puss to be more careful. I was sure I’d need to make
the same promise to Tristan as well.

The nurse
gathered her tablet, packed her stethoscope into her scrubs, and
left quietly without disturbing Tristan. He sat on a chair beside
my bed, his head resting on the mattress at my hip, his hand gently
covering my tummy. Dark circles underlined his eyes. Wearing the
same clothes from the club, Tristan had been with me the entire
time. Every few seconds his thumb rubbed over my skin under my
shirt with care. I remembered him helping undress me at the
hospital and watching as the doctor stitched me up. Once they got
some fluids into my system through an intravenous machine, the
colors and sounds had finally returned. That was a few hours ago,
and the sun has just begun rising. Thankfully the damage wasn’t as
bad as I’d originally thought, but I doubted Tristan would let it
go so easily.

With my free
hand I ran my fingers through his hair. Its softness brushed like
feathers against my palm. He stirred and picked up his head.

“Hey,
beautiful, are you okay?”

“Yes, thank
you. The girl?” I pressed the button on the automatic bed to lift
me up higher.

“She’s fine.
The guy whose knee you shattered was on a wanted list for rape and
assault. He’s in custody now.”

“Thank God.
And the other two?”

“Gone.”

I frowned. My
day would be much better if I knew that Curly and Mo had been
caught as well.

“Hey, don’t be
upset. You saved an innocent girl.”

“He took her
from the club,” I let out a long breath.

“I’ve already
increased the security, and they’re reviewing surveillance tapes
for the other two.”

“Thank
you.”

“There’s
nothing to thank for. He shouldn’t have been let into the club in
the first place.”

“What?”

“He’s harassed
girls before. I’m getting someone experienced in the night club
business to review our protocols.”

Sleep
deprivation set in and I yawned.

“Allie? Will
there be a day when you don’t get yourself in a near-death
situation?”

“I wish I
could say yes, but it seems danger likes me. After all, you’re
here.”

“You think I’m
dangerous?” His brows narrowed.

“In a good
way. You challenge me. Make me feel alive. Spike my adrenaline.
Among other things.”

“That’s
good.”

“That’s
really, really good. You’re not mad?” I asked. Tristan’s calm
demeanor surprised me, but I was glad he wasn’t one of those guys
who’d scold their girlfriend for not following instructions, like
when he’d asked me to wait for him.

“There’s
nothing more that I want than to lock you up in my house and keep
you safe there. I’m not mad but concerned. Afraid that one day you
won’t have me or someone else around to help you out—especially
when you’re weak and have Puss to think about.” He smoothed his
hand on my belly. I loved when he did that.

“It’s who I
am. And believe me, I won’t do anything to place our baby in danger
again. I really thought I was strong enough.”

“You are
sharing your energy with someone else now. And it will take some
time getting used to.”