Khan (Bowen Boys, #2)(12)
Going to the bathroom, she turned on the shower. She didn’t want one, but it would cover the noise of what she was really doing. The window had opened easily enough earlier when she thought she was going to have to leave that way. Tony had forced his way into her little area, and she’d barely made it to the bathroom and locked the door before he came in. She tossed her bag out the window and then stood on the toilet.
Moving out the window hurt, but she was suddenly on the other side. Picking up her bag, she moved down the alley and behind two buildings. Every few minutes, she would look to see if Khan was following her, and when she was able to slip into a vacant building, she pulled out the cell phone and dialed the first number she came to. Unfortunately, it wasn’t George. But she thought maybe Caitlynne would help her anyway.
“I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m Monica Preston. Your husband helped Marc when I was hurt.” She wasn’t assured by the laughter, but decided she might be her only hope. “That Neanderthal man that claims to be related to Marc has ordered me around for the last time.”
“What the f*ck has he done now?” There was still humor there, but also a bit of steel. “Where are you, Monica? I’ll come and beat the ever-loving shit out of him and make him behave. Has he talked to you about anything yet?”
“No. I don’t think he knows what the word talk means. He can order just fine, but I don’t take them well.” She wiped at the useless tears and looked out the window to see if he was coming yet. “I left him in that hotel that your father-in-law took me to this morning. The landlady said I can’t go back because Tony showed up and tried to get me to go with him. Then Khan shows up and tells me that while he’s not particularly fond of me or his responsibility to me, he’ll allow me to stay at his home. I want to kick his nuts up around his ears.”
There was silence on the other end, and Monica was sure she’d gone too far. When Caitlynne started talking, she sounded like she was speaking a foreign language; it was full of words that Monica was sure would make a sailor blush. When she finally slowed down, Monica thought maybe that she’d like this woman if they had met under different circumstances. The woman was a lot of fun.
“I’m going to come and find you. I don’t suppose you know where you are, do you?”
Monica told her the name of the street she’d been on when she’d entered the building.
“Okay. About four blocks to the south is a restaurant. It’s called Mild Pepper. Do you know where that’s at?”
“Yes. It’s on Sandalwood. I know where it is.”
She told her to go there.
“But what about Khan? What if he comes looking for me and finds me there?”
“He’ll be coming home soon. I’m going to talk to his dad and tell him what I know. George won’t be happy, but he’ll help us. I’m going to take you with me, do you have a problem with that?”
She did, but wherever they went, she was pretty sure that neither Tony nor Khan would find her. “No. I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t have any money, though. Is that going to be a problem for you?”
Caitlynne laughed. “No. I have enough for this trip. You let me handle things here and I’ll meet you at the Pepper. If you see Khan, which I highly doubt you will, I want you to find Mr. Shaver. Tell him that I sent you and that you love baseball. Tell him that you love baseball. He’ll know what to do. And, Monica?”
“Yes?” She was afraid of what she was going to say, of what she was going to demand of her, and she waited, holding her breath.
“I like you. I think you’re going to do just fine.” The line went dead and Monica stared at the phone for several seconds before she put it in her pocket. What on earth was that supposed to mean? She had no idea, but made her way out onto the street and headed toward the Pepper.
It took her longer than she thought it would to get there. Her ribs were hurting, but that wasn’t all of it. She was afraid she’d be seen. Twice she saw Tony’s car, and another time, she thought she saw Khan, but knew at the last second it wasn’t him. That man was much shorter and fatter than Khan. But Tony, she knew.
Anthony Barr had been hurting her for nearly two years. The police in her hometown had done nothing to help her. She knew that going to them had been a waste when she found out that Tony was the senator’s son. And that everyone was afraid of him.
But Tony had decided that she was his. And after he nearly drove her nuts for two weeks, she went out with him. Hoping that he’d leave her alone afterwards, she tried her best to make it the worst date he’d ever had.
About halfway into their dinner, he reached across the table and hit her. Her head swam with pain, and she stood up to leave him. But he pulled out a gun, put it to her head, and made her finish her dinner.
No one helped her. The waitress that served them never looked at her and continued serving them as if Tony wasn’t forcing her to sit there. When it came time for dessert, he asked her politely, even with the gun still to her head, if she wanted some chocolate. He said he knew it was her favorite. While she was shaking her head, he ordered them both coffee and talked to her as if this was a perfectly fine way to dine. After that, things got really bad.
The police told her to let him have his way and when she’d tried to get in to see the senator, Tony was there waiting for her. He had hit her again then and had used one of his father’s statues on his desk to beat her. She’d ended up in the hospital where she had run the first time. And she’d been running since.