Authors: Beth Cornelison
"Make me," Ray returned, his eyes dark and uncompromising.
Pushing down her irritation, she repeated her request, adding, "Now, Ray. I don't appreciate your childish, caveman tactics.
"Honey, I'm all man in every way that counts." He ground his hips against hers to prove his point, and bile rose in her throat. His beefy arms tightened around her, and he stroked the side of her face. "All I want is a little of that sugar you were giving Kevin earlier today. Come on, Claire. Give it up."
Ray's friends whistled and whooped, egging him on.
She tried to raise her knee to his groin, but he pressed himself too close for her to move her leg. She'd missed her window of opportunity for that move. Struggling against his grasp, she shoved against his chest. "Let go of me, Ray! You're not funny!"
The cold look in Ray's eyes sent a shiver chasing down her spine. "I'm not laughing. Now get in my car."
For the first time that evening, Claire knew real fear.
C
HAPTER
S
IX
When Ray reached for Claire, Kevin bristled. Even without hearing what was said between them, Kevin read disgust, irritation and a bit of fear in Claire’s body language. He wanted to do something to help Claire make a get-away, but he remembered her vehement objection to his interference as recently as this afternoon with Bud Renfro.
Ray backed Claire against her car, and protective rage surged through Kevin's blood like liquid fire. He didn’t have time to debate the issue any longer. Without any particular plan in mind, he stalked silently across the blacktop with determined strides.
"Ray!" Kevin squared off, his mind working double time to devise a strategy to distract the teen. All Claire needed was a few seconds to escape, a moment where Ray's focus was diverted so she could lock herself in her car and drive away. Surely he could manage something that simple for her.
"Lowery, I want a word with you." Kevin’s tone was less than polite.
Ray glanced over his shoulder and regarded Kevin as he might a bug on his freshly washed windshield. "Go away, Fuller. I’m busy."
Kevin’s eyes met Claire’s, and the fright, the silent plea for help reflected in her gold eyes wrenched his heart. "Leave her alone."
Ray shook his head with a humorless laugh. "Buzz off, man. We're off the clock, and I don't answer to you."
"Leave her alone." Kevin enunciated each word emphatically, a slow burn building inside him.
Ray grunted his annoyance. "Take a hike, loser, before I kick your ass!"
"Hey, Ray, who is this clown?" Ray's friends had climbed out of the car and strolled up for a closer view of the confrontation. Kevin heard Ray's buddy crack his knuckles, and he winced internally. The apes were clearly itching for a brawl with Claire as the prize.
"Three against one? Now that’s sportsmanlike." Kevin stepped closer to Ray. "Let’s settle this like civilized adults instead of playground bullies, okay?"
"Not likely. He’s neither civilized nor an adult."
Kevin, like Ray, turned a startled glance to Claire. Her eyes flashed with defiance before appealing to Kevin. "He’s not worth it, Kevin. Don’t...—"
"Shut up!" Ray barked, fury and alcohol emanating from every pore.
Ray's anger and inebriation disturbed Kevin. Ray was volatile at best when sober. This situation had the earmarks of serious trouble. Kevin drew a slow breath, trying to calm the tempest raging inside him, then growled through gritted teeth, "Get away from Claire, get in your car, and drive away. And maybe I'll forget to mention your underage drinking to your father."
"Listen, you sonofabitch—" Ray lunged, planting his hands in Kevin’s chest and sending him stumbling backward. "I ain’t gonna warn you again! Now get outta my face!"
Kevin's fist balled at his side, and his muscles twitched with the urge to smash Ray's nose. But the bloodied face of another nemesis flashed in Kevin's memory, along with the sickening horror and guilt he'd known as a twelve-year-old, learning his power to hurt, the capacity of his hands to inflict harm. He shuddered and pushed the disturbing memory aside.
A great deal of practiced restraint and the determination not to abandon his principles stopped him from swinging at the belligerent teen.
Ray glared at him, his linebacker body teeming with suppressed rage, ready to blow. Ray's buddies had moved in to flank Claire, keeping her wedged against her car. Her pale face and trembling hands spoke for her apprehension.
Kevin shook the tension from his hands. He wouldn't,
couldn't
let Ray push him into betraying the beliefs he'd sworn to uphold. The one time he'd succumbed to violence had taught him how easily rage led to pain and destruction, neither one a legacy he wanted to leave the world.
Despite his stand against brutality, neither could he walk away. Claire needed his help, needed an escape. He inhaled deeply, searching for the cool head and frame of mind to work a peaceful solution to the confrontation.
The rich scent of ozone and damp earth from the recent rain filled his lungs, and inspiration came like an answer from the heavens.
Kevin edged back from the bowed up teenager, keeping a wary eye on his opponent. "All right, Ray. You want to sling dirt?"
He made his way to the edge of the parking lot and scooped up as much mud as he could carry in his cupped hands. As he marched toward Ray's idling Corvette, he accepted that he’d pay dearly for what he had in mind.
But Claire was worth it.
Honoring his convictions was worth it.
But, damn, it was going to hurt.
"Hey, Lowery," Kevin called, his voice taunting.
The look on Ray’s face, as mud slung across the hood and windshield of his Vette was worth it.
Ray yelled an obscene epithet and charged to his car to inspect the damage. Rounding the tailpipe, he lunged toward Kevin.
Backpedaling, Kevin drew Ray away from Claire. His Neanderthal friends followed.
"Claire, go home!" Kevin shouted.
Ray’s vise-like grip seized Kevin’s throat.
"Ray Lowery, don’t you dare!" Claire screeched
"Get outta here, Claire. Go home!" he repeated with his last gulp of oxygen. He knew she’d heard him, yet she stood frozen and watched.
Please, God, don’t let her watch
! This would hurt enough without knowing Claire witnessed it.
"You sorry sonofabitch!" Ray shoved him so hard that Kevin's backside landed on the pavement. His breath whooshed out of lungs. Still Kevin’s eyes stayed glued on Claire.
"Please, Claire, go home!" He coughed, fighting for the air to speak.
Ray caught on then and unleashed his fury. "Thought you were saving her, huh, Fuller?"
A booted foot crashed into Kevin’s ribs, and pain streaked through his chest like lightning. Again and again...
"You’re the one who’s gonna need savin’ by the time I’m done with you!" Ray snarled as he grabbed Kevin by the shirt and hauled him to his feet. "Can’t you even defend yourself, you wimp?"
"Can, but won’t." Kevin's voice was steadier than his knees.
"You are pathetic." Ray smashed a fist into Kevin’s jaw and another into his eye socket before Kevin even registered the first blow.
The rest of the beating became a blur. He could hear both Claire and the Neanderthals screaming at Ray to stop, but time and again Ray’s fists and feet crashed into him. The pain in his head merged with the burn under his ribs. Salty sweat and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, and his vision grew fuzzy. The last thing he heard before he succumbed to the pain was Claire’s panicked voice.
"Stop, or you'll kill him!"
Then a blissful darkness veiled his eyes.
***
"Oh, my God! He’s not moving. I think you killed him!"
"Y-you don’t really think..."
Voices buzzed around Claire. She heard words, but nothing truly pierced the fog of horror and shock that enveloped her.
"Well, I ain’t hanging around for the cops. Let's go, Lowery!" Claire didn't know which of Ray's friends spoke. Not that she cared. Her attention remained locked on Kevin's still form, sprawled on the damp pavement.
A sinking dread and alarm lodged in Claire’s chest. No air moved in her lungs. She stood rooted beside her car, trembling. Ray backed away then and, with his friends, scrambled for the red Corvette.
"What about her? She saw everything!"
"Forget her. Let’s get out of here!"
With a squeal of rubber, Ray shot out of the parking lot, leaving a pungent cloud of exhaust.
Claire struggled for a breath, numbed by what she’d witnessed. She had to do something.
The police. 911. Help.
Somebody help!
her mind screamed, but her limbs remained frozen.
Finally, shock gave way to tears. She raised a shaky hand to her mouth, and with a little hiccupping gulp for air, she inched toward Kevin.
This is your fault. He was defending you.
Dropping to her knees beside Kevin’s still and bleeding body, she reached for his wrist to search for a pulse. Her hands shook too much to tell anything. Frustrated with herself, she gently turned his head and slid her fingers along the side of his neck, whispering a prayer. "Please, please!"
The gentle pulsing under her fingers was the sweetest thing she’d ever felt. Tears of relief bloomed in her eyes. She pushed to her feet, headed back toward her car for her cell phone.
A weak groan stopped her. Kneeling beside him again, Claire brushed Kevin's bangs aside. His eyes fluttered open.
"Oh, thank God," she murmured, her fingertips caressing the side of his face. "Kevin, stay still. I'm going to get help."
He brought a wobbly hand up to his nose, swiping at the gentle trickle of blood there. After staring for a moment at the dark stain on his fingers, he closed his eyes and sighed. He mumbled something she couldn’t hear, and she leaned closer.
"What did you say?"
He drew a shallow and unsteady breath. Judging from his grimace, even that much movement hurt him greatly. "That didn’t go...quite the way I'd hoped."
Claire blinked in disbelief. Surely he wasn’t joking at a time like this? But as she studied his bruised and swelling face, the corner of his mouth twitched.
"Bad plan," he rasped.
Sharp-edged guilt twisted inside her. She should have been able to prevent this. If she'd handled the situation with Ray better...
She carefully brushed his bloodied hair back from the cut over his eyebrow. "I’ll be right back, Kevin. I’ve got to call an ambulance."
He caught her hand as she tried to get up, an action that must have cost him dearly. He drew a sharp breath and winced, stopping her.
"
Now
...you want to leave me," he mumbled, his voice gravelly.
"What?"
"When I yelled...for you to...go home—" He paused long enough to take a careful breath. "You wouldn’t leave. Now, when I’m bleeding..."
Claire shook her head, not believing what she heard. "How can you think I'd leave when you were fighting to defend me?"
"Not fighting. Distracting. Fighting was...never part of the plan." He took another measured breath. "Fighting...was Ray’s idea."
"Part of the plan? What are you saying?" Claire wrinkled her nose, trying to understand his whispers while stroking the side of his face.
Kevin struggled to sit up, clutching his side and gulping for air.
"Easy." She pressed gently against his shoulder and guided him back down. "Just take it easy." She settled his head in her lap and took his hand, brushing his knuckles with her thumb.
After another slow breath, he tried again to speak. "Gotta figure...his fist is gonna...hurt like hell in the morning."
His comment startled a hiccupping laugh from her. But when she thought again of the thrashing Ray had inflicted on him, tears stung her eyes. "Why didn’t you fight back?"
"What? And drag out the beating even longer?" He tried to smile, and Claire had the urge to wring his neck herself for the way he was making light of the situation.
"If you had no intention of fighting him then why—?"
"Like I said," he started, his voice growing stronger, "I was only trying to distract him...so that you could get away." He turned his eyes to meet hers. "But you wouldn’t leave!"
Claire had to laugh then—or else cry. Her heart swelled with affection and tenderness for the brown-eyed man who looked up at her. "You are either the stupidest person I ever met or the bravest."
"Any chance I could find some middle ground on that one?"
She bit her lip, smiling at him, as a tear escaped her lashes and ran down her cheek. "Why not at least defend yourself?"
"How can I make you...understand? It was a matter...of principle. There's never a reason...to resort to violence." He scoffed. "But then my philosophy...never met Ray."
"In other words, you took Ray's beating so that your principles wouldn't?" Her heart thudded, and for a moment she couldn't speak for the emotions clogging her throat. Kevin was amazing. "I’d better get you to the hospital, then I’ll call the police on Ray and—"
"No!" His sharp tone startled her.
"No what? No police? Kevin, he could have killed you! For a while there, I thought he had!"
"Well, he didn’t. I’m fine." As if to prove it, Kevin struggled again to sit up, managing better this time, but clearly in tremendous pain.
"Fine, my butt!"
Kevin looked up at her and blinked. "Yes, you do have a fine butt," he said without missing a beat, "But no hospital. And no police. Period."
"This is no time to be stubborn or macho, Kevin. You could have serious injuries. You need a doc—" Claire stopped with a gasp as he tried to stand and nearly fell over on top of her. "See? You can’t even stand up!"
"I’ll get my sea legs back...in a minute."
She shoved herself to her feet with a frustrated huff. "Kevin!"
Shaking from frustration, from unreleased adrenaline, with fear, she stood staring at Kevin for a minute, trying to calm herself before renewing her argument. He met her steady gaze with a heartbreaking combination of pain, sadness and determination. His eyes begged for her understanding and cooperation.