Chapter Twenty-Four

Leandra

Just when I think things can’t get any more bizarre, Sam comes at me like a man possessed and gives me the hottest kiss of my life.

What the hell was that?

One minute I’m taking a lightning fast piss in order to get back to my bodyguard and Elly May before any funny business has a chance to go down, and the next thing I know I’m being mauled by a feral animal.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed every second of it.  Sam doesn’t do anything in life half-assed.  I’ve realized this after spending so much time with him.  The man is all or nothing, and let me tell you, that was everything.  He poured his heart and soul into that kiss.  It left me with no doubt of his feelings for me.  You can’t fake passion like that.

But why?

Why here and why now?  What finally made him act that way?

I wouldn’t be able to relax unless I got a straight answer out of him.  Part of me was afraid to ask since I had a suspicion it involved the blonde whore.  That’s not the reason I want him to give in to his feelings.  Am I just a substitute warm body because she’s off limits?

No.

That can’t be the explanation as to why he came at me like that.

Fuck my life.  Sam finally lets loose and I have to question it.  But it’s necessary.  I need to know he’s in this for the right reason.

I caught up to the asshole and got in his face, standing up straight and trying to look as menacing as possible.

“You have ten seconds to explain yourself, cocksucker.  Did that cunt get you so riled up that you needed an outlet for a release?  I want answers and I want them now!”

I expected to him to growl at me, getting as worked up as I was, but he simply shook his head in defeat.  All the primal emotion that had been present during our kiss was now completely drained, leaving a shell of a person standing before me.

He ran his hand through tousled hair and mumbled something inaudible.

“What?”

“It has nothing to do with her and everything to do with you, Leandra,” he admitted, a look of pain and anguish in his eyes.  “Will you let me explain without freaking out and interrupting me?”

“Yes,” I whispered, dying to hear what he was about to say and not wanting to jeopardize the moment and have him clam up.  Sam had a way of retreating into himself when things got too tense.  I was eager to avoid that.

“You left the room and she immediately began flirting with me.  Said she always pictured me as the father of her children, said it was fate that brought me back here, and said she never stopped loving me.”

Shit.  I never should have left those two in the same room together.

“Then she…she put her hand on my thigh and squeezed,” he continued in disgust.  “She began to slide it toward my crotch—”

“That fucking whore!  I will destroy her!” I shouted, instantly turning to march my way back into the hospital and rain down hell the likes of which this town has never seen. 

Before I could storm the place like Godzilla cutting a path through the city, Sam grabbed me by the upper arm and held me firmly in place.

“What did I say about freaking out?  Will you listen to me before you go off half-cocked?”

I nodded my head, body pulsating with unspent fury and a need for revenge so palpable I was shaking.

“I brushed her hand away and walked out, Leandra.  I felt like throwing up.  Do you know why?”

I wanted to reply that she’s a fucking gutter slut and her behavior made me want to puke too.  But I didn’t feel that was a wise move, so I kept my mouth shut.

“Tell me,” I quietly urged.

“It wasn’t necessarily her words that upset me so much, but more the whole situation.  Her husband is in a coma.  The man she vowed to stay with in sickness and health, the father of her unborn children.  And how does she behave?  She flirts openly with her ex-boyfriend right in front of the guy she’s supposed to love, not only professing her feelings for me, but making a physical move on top of it,” he explained in shock and revulsion.  “Do you know what ran through my mind the entire time?”

Why does he keep asking me questions?  Just tell the damn story so I can get this over with and go kill the bitch.

“What?”

“I kept picturing you and how you acted at the hospital after I got shot.  Do you remember?”

Of course I remembered.  It scared the shit out of me to see him lay in bed so helpless after he got out of the operating room.  I sat with the heroic man all night long, posted two of my best guards outside his door, and made sure Sam got the best treatment money could buy.

“I do,” I admitted.

“I do, too.  The doctors said that I would be fine, they got the buckshot, it didn’t hit an artery or do any major damage, and I would be released the next day.  Yet you acted as though I just got out of a quadruple bypass surgery and might flatline at any second.  I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it sure as hell means something now.  You stayed with me, held my hand, and refused to leave my side.  If memory serves, I think you threatened to have a nurse fired after she brought me the wrong breakfast.”

“You asked for pancakes, not eggs.  Dumb bitch,” I muttered under my breath.

“Anyway, your actions were a stark contrast to Betty Jo’s behavior.  It finally sank in.  If it were me in the coma, you would be at the hospital around the clock, screaming at the doctors to fix me, and making sure every available option was explored in order to bring me back to life.  You wouldn’t betray me by flirting with some other guy as I lay there immobile.  You’re a good woman, Leandra.  It shouldn’t have taken something so stupid to make me realize it.”

Holy fuck.  Was he declaring his undying love for me?  Were things finally taking a turn in our relationship?  I should be shaking Betty Jo’s hand instead of throat punching her.

“But it doesn’t matter.  I refuse to act on my feelings for you,” he declared, looking me straight in the eye to show how much he meant those words.  “You are my boss and I can’t risk losing this job.  You see my family situation.  You know why I need the money.  Nothing can ever happen between us.  I’m sorry.”

What?  How did we go from pawing at each other like wolves during mating season to…to…this?  This is bullshit, is what it is!

I licked my lips and forced myself not to do anything rash.  That’s what he expected.  I’ll be damned if Leandra Donahue begs a man for anything.  That’s not how I operate and it won’t get me anywhere.  I need to use the brains God gave me.  If my dad told me once, he told me a thousand times, “Keep your temper in check and walk away if need be.  Hasty decisions are what gets you killed, princess.”

“I understand.”

“You do?  Really?  Just like that?  I didn’t think you’d let it go so easily.”

I haven’t let go of shit, honey.  You may have won the battle, but I’ll win the war.  There’s no question of that.  I’ll retreat for now, but make no mistake, this bitch is coming back guns blazing.

Making a big show of pulling out my phone to check the time, I asked, “So what are we doing now?”

“Honestly, I haven’t had a day off in a long, long time.  I was hoping, if it was okay with you, I could take a night for myself.  There’s a dive bar back in town that has the best bacon burgers you’ve ever eaten.  I plan on getting completely shit-faced wasted tonight.  Are you in?”

“It’s about time you came up with a decent plan.  What took you so long?”

And that’s how I found myself at a hole in the wall bar called ‘The Edge’ on a lovely Thursday night.  Due to the fact that I have never seen Sam drink so much as a single beer, I was greatly looking forward to this.

“Do you like the place?” he asked, nodding his head at the décor.  It was a classic shithole in every sense of the word.  I felt like I was in a time warp stuck in the eighties.  The bar itself only held five stools and there wasn’t a bottle of top shelf liquor to be found.  I asked for a rum and coke, but the brands of alcohol were not anything I’d ever heard of so I just had a plain coke. 

“Would you like to play pool?” I offered, noticing that our options for entertainment consisted of a jukebox, one pool table, one dartboard, and a Ms. Pac-man video game.  There were four small round tables scattered about the room haphazardly, and that’s about it for patron seating.  Very sparse.  I had the feeling this was a place where the regular customers drowned their sorrows and it didn’t serve much purpose for anything else.  Such a shame.  They could have had dancing, live bands, pool tournaments, and shot girls. 

“Why do you keep looking around?  Are you expecting someone you know to walk in the door?  We’re pretty far away from home.  It’s safe.”

“I’m just sizing up the joint and trying to quiet the businesswoman in me that could come up with eighteen suggestions on how to make this dive profitable.”

I was also trying to get him to play me at pool so I could stick my ass in his face and further torment the guy.  This whole ‘hands off my boss’ policy was starting to annoy me.

Sam chugged his beer and motioned me over to the pool table.  I think that was his seventh bottle, but I’d honestly quit counting.  It was becoming plainly evident that I would be driving home tonight.

Racking up the balls and choosing my stick, I raised an eyebrow and asked Sam if we were making any bets.

“It’s always more fun when something is at stake, wouldn’t you agree?” I purred seductively. 

He had just opened his mouth to reply, when we got rudely interrupted.

“Well, well, well!  Look who we have here!  I never thought I’d see your ugly-ass face back in town, you son-of-a-bitch!”

I slowly turned my head to see what new threat we were faced with.

Ah, fuck.

Approaching the table very menacingly was a solidly built biker that stood well over six feet tall.  The guy had a dark buzz cut, full beard, and black leather vest.  I had no doubt there would be a Harley in the parking lot belonging to him.  Tattoos ran up and down his arms, making him look extremely rough around the edges.

“Hi,” I began innocently, stepping in front of the beast to halt his progress toward Sam.  I then pointed behind me and explained, “He’s well on his way to getting black-out drunk, so I’m going to have to step in.  If you have any intention to lay a hand on Sam, you’re going to have to get through me first.  Let me assure you, I won’t make it easy.”

I twirled my pool cue like a ninja stick and raised an eyebrow in invitation.

“Do your worst, big boy.”

Simultaneous laughter erupted from my bodyguard as well as this jerk standing in front of me.

“Wow!  I love her, Sam.  Please, please tell me this isn’t your new wife.  If she’s single, I’m gonna get down on one knee and propose right now.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Grizzly, but she’s all mine,” Sam replied, coming over and lifting the guy off the ground in a huge bear hug.  “How have you been, man?”

Grizzly clapped Sam on the back and broke into a wide grin.

“Evidently not as good as you, buddy.  One minute you’re busting ass on the farm, and then you disappear and come back married to the hottest thing in a hundred mile radius.  What the fuck?”

“A hundred miles?  It’s a hell of a lot farther than that!” I scoffed in offense.

“Leandra, I’d like you to meet Grizzly,” Sam said, finally making an introduction.  “He’s one of my best friends from high school.  We were on the wrestling team together.  If anyone could tell you stories about my wild youth, it’s this guy right here!”

Grizzly winked at me and pointed to my pool cue.

“Are you any good at the game, little lady?”

I shrugged as humbly as possible and lied through my teeth.

“Sam was just going to teach me a thing or two, but he’s getting kind of drunk right now.  What if you and I play instead?  We can bet on it…how about…um…fifty bucks?”

Naturally I hustled a hundred dollars from him in about half an hour.  It would have been a lot more than that, but he caught on too quickly.

“This is Kansas, Leandra,” Sam explained, pointing out where I went wrong.  “You should have started out with ten bucks and worked your way up.  Fifty is too high right off the bat.”

I used my winnings to get drinks for the guys, making sure to stick with plain coke for myself.  During one trip to the bar to buy a round, Grizzly followed me.

“Hey, how come he’s drowning himself in beer?  Sam has always been one to have a few drinks and not get sloppy.  This is a new side of him.  What gives?”

“We’ve only been in town a couple days and have already had to deal with his parents and ex-girlfriend.  It’s taking a toll.”

“That says it all,” Grizzly admitted with a knowing nod of his head.  “Doug and Katherine can be difficult to handle on the good days.  I can’t imagine they were too happy when Sam took off.  As for Betty Jo…well…she’s just trashy.”

“You’re not telling me anything I haven’t already figured out.”

“Don’t let her get to you, okay?  That ship sailed a long time ago.  Sam has no interest in her.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I see the way he looks at you.  He’s finally happy for once.  It was a long time coming.”

Why the hell does everyone keep commenting on the way he looks at me?  First Chrissie and now this guy! 

Before I had a chance to reply, our little party of two got a lot larger.

“Hey baby, how about you leave this dump and let me take you home,” a bald headed man with a huge mustache remarked rudely, leering at me and sticking out a hand to touch the merchandise.

Grizzly instantly shoved him out of the way, effectively preventing the guy from pawing at my assets.  Never one to sit idly by while shit went down, I immediately grabbed an empty beer bottle, smashed it against the bar, and was left with a convenient jagged-edged weapon.

“Who’s next?” I snarled, pointing my make-shift sword at his three companions.  Imagine my shock to recognize one of the guys…it was Sam’s douchebag cousin, Todd!

Wherever violence went, my bodyguard was never far behind.  Sam jumped into the melee and punched the mustached loser in the face, sending him sprawling.

“You don’t touch her!  No one touches her!” he slurred, struggling to regain his balance.

As if things weren’t messy enough, a tiny redhead pushed her way through the crowd to stand front and center.

“Is this the whore that flirted with you at the farm, Todd?” she asked, giving me the once over and sneering in my face.  “I’m not surprised in the least.  If she’s married to Sam, then it’s no wonder she’s looking to trade up.”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t control myself and broke out into a fit of laughter.  Sam was leagues above Todd in every aspect of the physical sense.  That’s like comparing Mr. Universe to a warty troll.

“Do you have the nerve to laugh at me, bitch?”

“Yes,” I replied with a shit eating grin on my face.  “Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m Shana Lyn, Todd’s wife.  I don’t appreciate you flirting with my husband.”

“Honey, he’s the one that hit on me.  I wouldn’t fuck him with your pussy!”

She lunged at me, which was really dumb considering I still held the jagged beer bottle in my hand.  I swung it at her face, but Todd grabbed her back just in time.

Making a big show of counting the people in our little group of friends, I finally spoke up and said, “There are four guys on your side, plus one dumb cunt.  We have Grizzly, a drunk Sam, and a very pissed off bitch.  This really isn’t fair at all.”

Todd smirked, no doubt convinced I was admitting defeat before the fight even began.  How wrong he was.

“What are you thinking, Lee?” Sam asked, knowing exactly where I was headed with this.

“I’m thinking that I get the cunt and the mustache.  Grizzly gets the tall one because I’ve never seen him fight before.  You can take Todd and the guy with the ugly confederate flag hat.”

“That works for me,” he replied.  “Grizzly?  You up for that?”

“I’m highly offended your wife has no faith in my skills.  I’d be happy to prove her wrong.”

All the while we were chatting casually, Todd’s gang of misfits simply stared at us like the morons they were.  How they didn’t take the threat seriously, I have no clue.

With a battle cry, we all dove at our intended targets.  Since I was taking on two at once, I had to focus on my people and not worry about what everyone else was doing.  Obviously I had to take out the big guy before I could deal with the bitch.  Ladies like to get caught up in hair pulling and slapping, and I wasn’t ready for that just yet. 

Rushing the mustached asshole, I managed to slice him with my jagged bottle.  The guy must have had a few beers before coming to the bar, therefore causing him to sway a little, so it didn’t take much effort to get the job done.  Once he saw blood seeping through his white t-shirt, he ran for the door like a coward.

That left me and Shana Lyn.

“Not so brave now, are you?  Look, I’ll put down the weapon and give you a fighting chance,” I taunted, knowing full well I could take her with one hand tied behind my back.

True to form, she tried slapping me in the face and went right for my ponytail.

Amateur.

Reaching out to slug her in the jaw, I sent the bitch staggering backwards.  I followed up with a punch that would leave her with a nice black eye in the morning.

Taking a step back to appreciate my handiwork, I then turned to my comrades in arms.

Grizzly leaned against the bar and held out his hand for a high five, which I promptly gave him.  I noticed his tall foe was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s your man?” I asked, puzzled.

“In the bathroom tending to his broken nose.  Nice work with your two.  Should we help your husband?”

I focused my attention on Sam and instantly shook my head.  The guy with the confederate hat was cradling his arm and loudly moaning in the corner. 

That left Todd.

I had a feeling Sam would want to deal with his arch-nemesis all by himself.

“I wish I could have seen you fight,” I told Grizzly, deeply regretting that it took so long to handle my opponents.

“Why is that?”

“Let’s just say that in my line of work back in New York City, I’m always looking for good help.  If you ever find yourself in need of a change, please look me up.  I guarantee I’ll pay you at least four times more than whatever you’re making now.”

I grabbed a napkin off the bar, asked for a pen, and wrote down my contact information.

“I’m serious, Grizzly.  I don’t make this offer to just anyone.  You look me up and I’ll take care of you, okay?”

“Thanks a lot,” he said, nodding his head in consideration.  “I promise to give it some thought.”

“Excellent.”

“What exactly is it that you do?”

“That’s confidential.  You’ll find out when you get to town.  Trust me when I say that your life will get a whole hell of a lot more interesting,” I advised with a wink.

We paused in our bonding to look over and check on Sam’s progress.  He currently had Todd in a headlock and was kneeing him in the ribs.

“Should we get him out of here before the cops come?” Grizzly asked, keenly aware that we were drawing lots of unwanted attention from the other bar patrons.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”