Designing Woman (The Sloan Brothers Book 2) (24 page)

“So on the day that you were abducted, it was you that suggested meeting him for a drink?”

“Well, yeah.  Ayla had pissed me off over my engagement to Anton.  Tony was trying to tell me that Ayla had never used a safeword the whole time they were together and his own parents had practically disowned him.  He sounded pitiful.  I also thought that maybe if we were face to face, I could get a read on him.  Find out if it he was telling me the truth when he said he wasn’t anywhere near the bar on New Year’s eve.  It sounded good in theory.  I was going undercover, so to speak.  I was the only one in the group that he was talking to.”

Chase exhaled and rubbed his face.

“The strange thing is, I know you well enough to know that those were probably your exact thoughts.”

“They were Chase.  I thought I was doing you a favor in an odd way.”

“So you put yourself out there as bait?  It never occurred to you that if he was still stalking her after three years, he was probably dangerously unstable?”

“Hindsight is always twenty-twenty Chase.”

“Finish the story.”

I ran through the events in the bar, and Tony’s rush to get us out of there.  He seemed to understand that at the time, it felt like a wise move to leave.  He also agreed that with the odds against us, he could see why I’d get into the car with Tony without asking any questions.

“Cliff told me the same thing.”

“What?  Who’s Cliff?”

“The man that approached you in the bar.”

“Unibrow?”

Chase started laughing for the first time since we started our conversation.

“He was upset that you called him that, but yeah.  Unibrow.  This is strictly between us Mel’.  He’s an undercover cop.  He was working a narcotics case.”

“I threatened a cop?”

“Baby, that’s the least of your worries right now.  Keep telling the story please.”

I didn’t like that I had other worries I was unaware of, but I finished the story like he asked.

He was silent for a good long minute, while he mulled something over.  I could see the wheels turning and I waited patiently.

“I’m going to ask you a few questions and I want simple yes or no answers.  No explanations, no rationalizations.  Just yes, or no.  Got it?”

“Yes.”

“Good.  You willingly got into an elevator with Marconi, even after he told you that he was living there at the time?”

“Yes.”

“You turned your back on him and accepted a drink from him?”

“Yes.”

I did NOT like where this was going.

“Even after you woke up naked and in restraints, you flirted and propositioned him?”

“Now wait a minute...”

“Yes, or no.”

“Yes...”

“After he fed you dinner and refused to allow you access to privacy in a bathroom, you flirted with him again?”

I swallowed hard and squeaked out my answer.

“Yes.  I had to get him close enough to kick.”

“So you planned to assault him, even though your other three limbs were still restrained?  How did you plan to escape?  Did you have a handcuff key between the toes of your free foot?”

“Well no...”

“Did you ever, at any time, scream for help?”

“No, I was afraid of what he might do.”

“You say you were afraid, yet you continued to put yourself willingly in harm’s way by offering him sexual favors?”

“Who’s side are you on Chase?”

“Yours.  That’s why I’m breaching the rules and telling you something I’m not supposed to.”

“Go on...”

“The fact that you were naive from the beginning will only get you so far.  You were acting in self defense the first time you assaulted him because he came to your residence and you felt threatened.  Your actions were understandable and you ran away to get help.  This time is different.”

“Different how?”

“You knew he was a Dom and you should have known he was dangerous from your first encounter.  You should have learned a lesson and steered clear.”

“But he called and apologized for that!  He was being nice to me!”

“It’s a well documented fact that Ted Bundy was charming and likable as well.  He was still a serial killer.  Naive won’t work in your defense this time.  Let me spell it out for you.  You willingly took his calls without telling anyone, including me, that he’d made contact.  You knew the police wanted him for questioning, yet you made no effort to bring the authorities into your relationship.”

“We never had a relationship!”

“Hey, I believe you, but it looks like you were protecting him.  That’s what a Sub would do.”

“I’m no Sub and you know it.”

“I know nothing of the kind.  I believe you, but we’ve never had an intimate relationship so I can’t speak from experience, can I?"

I know I sounded pouty, but this was not going like I’d hoped.

“No, guess not.”

“Want me to finish?”

“Please do.  You’re on a roll.”

“You entered a dive bar in a cagey neighborhood.  Willingly.  To top it off, you used subterfuge to do it.  You told no one where you were going, and when Anton called to ask where you were, you lied to your own fiance in order to continue the subterfuge, severing your only lifeline.  At that point, you made the conscious decision to shun protection of any kind.  Then you entered his place of residence completely free from coercion of any kind.  He drugged you, we know that’s true because you had traces of it in your bloodstream when they ran a tox screen.  You woke up compromised and instead of screaming the place down to attract attention, you aggressively sought his sexual attention.  Twice.  When he finally relented to your suggestions, you caused him bodily harm.”

“He fractured my fucking skull Chase.”

“He was protecting himself Mel’.  You made advances and then assaulted him, probably causing permanent damage.  After the fact, you bragged about it.”

“He beat the hell out of me and dumped me naked in a park in the dead of winter.”

“Baby, I’m not saying he’s blameless.  We both know that nothing could be farther from the truth.  I’m telling you what will be said in court, should he decide to press charges.”

“Press charges?!  You think he’ll come after me?”

“I’m saying that the only thing in this whole scenario that’s working in your favor, is the fact that instead of calling the police and having you arrested on the spot, he knocked you out and dumped you for dead.”

“That’s all I’ve got?”

“Sis’, he’s a documented Dom.  Dom’s restrain their Subs.  They often get rough with their subs.  Did you use a safeword?”

“Safeword?  I didn’t have a fucking safeword, I told you I’m not a Sub!”

“Ayla didn’t use a safeword either.”

He sat back and stared at me, letting that sink in.  The gravity of my situation hit me and I felt as if Tony had punched me yet again.  The prick could put me in jail and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.  I felt more helpless now than I did when I was cuffed to the bed.

I looked at Chase who had a completely neutral expression on his face while he waited for me to catch up.

“Chase?  I’m scared.”

“You should be.  Wanna know what I think he’ll do next?”

“Please.  Tell me.”

“I don’t think he’ll press charges.”

“You don’t?  You think he’ll be too embarrassed?”

“Nope.  I think he’s too smart.  He’ll dangle the threat of arrest over your head and even if he heals, he’ll have the visible scars to prove his story.  You’ll have the scars as well.  Denial of the event is not an option.  He’ll blackmail you into doing whatever he wants.  What he wants, what he’s always wanted, is Ayla.”

“I’d never give him Ayla.  Never.”

“Not even if it meant keeping your ass out of prison?  Even if it meant that your family name would be dragged through the mud, taking the Sloans along for the ride?  Think about it Mel’.  Because I can guarantee that wherever Tony is, he’s thinking about it.”

“My head hurts.”

“Sorry baby.  I’m only telling you what you need to know.”

“Okay I know.  The question is, what do I do next?”

“Excellent question.  New York’s finest will be in your room tomorrow when they transfer you to a step down unit.  They’ve only stayed away this long because you’re in ICU and you’re obviously not going anywhere.  The cop’s outside to make sure that you don’t.”

“He’s protecting Tony?”

“He’s protecting both of you.  Don’t hate him for doing his job Mel’.  Nobody knows the real story because nobody was there except the two of you.”

I placed my free hand over the hand that was holding mine.

“I’ve told you the truth Chase.”

“And I believe you.  I know you Mel’.  I know that you’re an honest woman.  It doesn’t hurt that your story matches Cliff’s.  I think you’re stupid, but I know you’re honest.”

“Tell me what to do.  Please.”

“First, don’t answer any questions from anyone but me without a lawyer present.  Innocent or not, the facts incriminate you.  When they come to question you tomorrow, you don’t say one word without a damn good lawyer present.  They can’t force you to cooperate and I’m not saying you shouldn’t.  I’m saying that they’ll take things the way they want to and unless one of them is a woman, what you did was vicious from a male’s point of view.  Nothing personal, but it makes you look more crazy than naive.”

“Holy shit Chase.  How much trouble am I in?”

“A metric shit-ton, but we might be able to use it in our favor.”

“How?”

“Tony has something to hang over your head now.  He won’t disappear again because you handed him opportunity on a silver platter.  He’ll use it.”

I settled heavily back against my pillows and put my hands on my bandaged head.

“So I’m bait again.”

“In a way, yes.  The good news is, you’ll be wired bait and we’ll be all over it this time.  You won’t be going it alone.”

“I bit his dick off Chase.  Wired or not, the big guy is pissed.”

“I imagine he is.  I would be.  But there’s a train of thought I want you to remember.”

“What’s that?”

He leaned over and grinned slyly.

“If you don’t want your dick bitten off, then keep it out of the mouth of your enemy.”

I couldn’t help it.  I laughed.  Chase laughed with me and somehow, it made me feel better.  Oh I was still royally screwed and I’d done it to myself.  But Chase was on my side and I wouldn’t let him down again for anything in the world.  Know what made that even better?  He knew it.

Chase left a little while later and the doctor came in to remove my bandages.  I knew by the look on his face that I wasn’t at my beautiful best.

“I need a mirror please.”

The doctor looked distressed as he pulled my beside table closer.  The sneaky bastards had conveniently kept it out of my reach once they moved me into my new room.

“Ms. Lincoln, you need to understand that you’ll completely different once the bruises fade and the swelling goes down.”

I gave me my patented, “Do you really think I’m gonna fall apart?” look, and made a move to open the drawer that concealed a decent sized mirror.

“Doc, am I bald?”

He grinned and shook his head.

“No.  There’s a bald spot on your right side near the back, but I kept it as minimal as I could.”

I smiled and winked.

“And for that, I’ll be eternally grateful.  Don’t worry, I know I look scary.  It’s fine.”

I flipped up the mirror and fought the urge to screech.  Dr. Frankenstein himself could not have made me look worse.  I scrutinized my face carefully.  Then I changed my mind.  There were only a few visible stitches just along the top of my cheekbone, where he’d broken it and they’d had to go in for repairs.  My bruises had begun to yellow and fade.  The swelling around my jaw and nose was receding nicely.  Yes I looked battered, but broken?  Hardly.  I was a Lincoln.  I came from stronger stuff.

I felt someone watching me and when I looked up, my surgeon looked apprehensive.  I smiled and his face lit up.

“It’s good.  You did nice work, thank-you.”

“You’re not upset?”

I flipped down the mirror and gave him my undivided attention.

“Doc, if you tickle a gator, you’re gonna get bitten.  That’s one of those hard and fast rules of life.  I’m glad you were in my corner to clean up the aftermath.  I’m not upset at all.  I’m thankful.”

He leaned over and hugged me.  Shocked, I hugged him back.

“We thought we’d lost you once Mel’.  You had us worried.  I’m glad you’re okay.”

He leaned back and smiled at the blush on my face.

“Now.  When do you want to go home?”

That got my attention.

“I can go home?”

“Things look good on my end.  Your lab work has been stable for three days now, your surgical wounds look healthy and you’re tolerating solid food.  I see no reason to keep you here.  However...”

“I knew there would be a but.  Whenever you get good news there’s always a ‘but’ stuck in there somewhere.”

“However... I don’t want you lifting anything over twenty pounds, no driving for awhile, and if you feel dizzy or have vision changes you get here immediately.  I also want you to schedule a follow-up for ten days from now.  If you’re amenable to all of those stipulations, I’ll turn you loose in the morning.”

My face must have lit up like a neon sign in Vegas.  He grinned back and patted my shoulder.

“Alright then.  I’ll go fill out the paperwork and call Mr. Sloan.”

I narrowed my eyes and grabbed his sleeve, surprising him.

“Hang on a minute there Doc.  Why do you have to call Anton?”

“He’s made it clear that he’s to be called upon your discharge or if there’s any major changes.  He’ll need to take you home tomorrow.”

“And who exactly made him my medical power of attorney?  My keeper?  My go-to guy?”

Now it was the doctor’s turn to blush.

“You’re engaged.  He made us believe that you were married, actually.  He’s been paying your medical bills and told us that you lived together.  Is this not true?”

Well shit.  He had me there.  Besides, I would need a ride home and I suppose I could’ve called Ayla or Sean, but Ayla would’ve told Pierce.  That would mean that Anton would’ve shown up anyway.  If I called Sean, the Sloans would be offended.  I had to wonder if this would be what marriage to a Sloan meant in the real world.  My respect for my sister went through the roof.  I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle it as gracefully.

The Doc was still staring at me, only now he was wondering if my mental function was intact.

“Sorry Doc.  No, all of that’s true.  It’s just that I was hoping for a little time by myself before Anton started ranting.”

The good doctor relaxed and smiled in understanding.

“He is a bit larger than life, your fiance.  But he’s only aggressive because he cares for you Melody.  He worries and wants the best for you.”

“How do you know all of this Doc?”

“I’m married myself.  Fifteen years now.  You should have seen me when she gave birth to our son.  Those poor delivery nurses couldn’t wait to see my back when we left the hospital.”

I smiled and nodded.

“It’s just that I’m in so much trouble when I get home.  I never should have put myself in such a dangerous position to begin with...”

“Well Melody, that’s easily rectified.”

“Tell me.  How?”

“Don’t do it again.”

With that he chuckled and turned to leave.  I chewed my lip and turned my head to look out the window.  Dark clouds were gathering and it looked like a first class thunderstorm was taking shape.  “Don’t do it again”.  Easier said than done.  I was going to walk right in again, wired for sound and scared to death.  I trusted that Chase had my back, but he hadn’t been there when Tony took the swing.  He hadn’t taken the punch.  How fast could one detective and a handful of New York’s finest get to me when or if, Tony Marconi drew his arm back again?

Now I know how a sideshow attraction feels.  It’s bordering on ridiculous and if I didn’t understand the reasoning behind it, I think I would’ve called them all crazy and thrown them out of my house.  But they weren’t, so I didn’t.

I was wearing an oversized gray t-shirt, one of Anton’s if I wasn’t mistaken, and a pair of average gray sweatpants.  My walking cast was gone, or rather, hadn’t been replaced, and I for one, was glad.  In it’s place sat a solid back cane, one like you’d buy in your average corner drug store.  Absolutely nothing about me screamed “spoiled rich kid”, or “famous fashion designer”.

They’d planted me in my favorite over-sized armchair with a pillow to my back, and another under my injured foot which was propped up on the matching ottoman.  My cane was leaning against the chair arm at my side.  On the side table, sat three prescription bottles and a picture of water with a simple water glass and a box of tissues.

Was I comfortable?  Yes.  Did I have everything I needed?  Absolutely.  Including an interesting show to watch.

Anton was pacing the floor with his phone glued to his ear, and every now and then he’d glance at me as if he were waiting for me to attempt a prison break.  When I smiled at him in acceptance with an innocent expression, he’d either grin and wink, or narrow his eyes in suspicion.  I guess it depended on who he was talking to and what they were talking about.  He was currently working on his sixth phone call since we got home.

Sean was in the kitchen fixing all of my favorite foods.  I think he expected the 82nd Airborne to drop in for lunch.

Ayla was in the office working on the books for the business and trying to determine if we were behind in preparations for the Spring show.

My sister sat on the sofa looking round, aggravated, and ready to swing for her spouse, who was patting her hand and trying to get her to drink a glass of milk.  He’d read somewhere that milk was good for the baby and he was intent upon her drinking at least six glasses a day.  I knew my sister.  Dorothy was two ticks away from giving the wealthy Mr. Deacon Sloan a cold milk enema.

That would have been the show to watch, as far as value for the entertainment dollar went, if it wasn’t for Pierce and Chase.  Austin was in the lobby of my building, watching for the arrival of the Detectives that were set to question me this morning.  Not that I was supposed to know that, because I wasn’t.  Chase told me that, and added that they wouldn’t be alone.  They’d be accompanied by two police officers in case they decided to arrest me and take me in for more extensive questioning.  Anton had almost popped his clogs.  The only thing that had even remotely calmed him down, was the plan that Chase had put in place to save my ass.

This is where it gets good.  I swear by all that’s holy that if I hadn’t been living it, I never would have believed that shit like this actually happens.  Seriously folks.  Some asshole ex-Boxer-has-been, abuses and then stalks my best friend, assaults me in the doorway of my own home, and then drugs and handcuffs me to a bed.  He then proceeds to threaten all kinds of shit.  After all of that, I’m the one facing potential prosecution because I may have caused him permanent physical damage when I...well, you know.  Where’s the justice in this?  Huh?

My confidence and trust in the justice system was being sorely tested here people.  If I did get arrested and by some strange act of karma this thing went to trial, where in the hell would they ever find a jury of my peers?  What peers?  You mean to tell me that somewhere out there, there were twelve more cynical, sarcastic, well dressed, man munchers?  I’m not saying it would be impossible, I’m saying I’d grow old in jail while they took their time looking.  I’ve spent time in a jury pool folks.  The room was filled with two-hundred people that were too stupid to figure a way out of jury duty.  Put my future in the hands of a group like that?  No fucking way.  Thanks, but no thanks.

So, with motivation and a strong will to survive, I agreed to follow Chase’s instructions to the letter.  I’d play the perfect just released brain trauma patient.  I’d let the Sloans and my army of lawyers - none of whom I’d laid eyes on before today - be my mouthpieces.  I’d sit in my department store off the shelf clothing, my various body parts propped and proving that I still suffered physical distress.  I was not allowed to wear makeup, the ugly yellow and purple bruises were still visible and startling.  I looked tiny and defenseless in the huge leather chair and that was the idea.  We’d tried the sofa, the recliner, and the loveseat.  I looked too comfortable in all of them.  Oddly, I was most comfortable in the chair I was perched in, but perceptions were everything and I trusted those around me.

My legal team looked formidable.  After an extensive conversation with my father, who was still in Greece with my mother and highly pissed that no one had called them before now, it was agreed that Deacon would handle my legal representation.  The Sloans were here and on top of the situation.  Besides, for some strange reason that was still shrouded in mystery, the Sloans had attorneys that were more intimately acquainted with criminal law.

That’s how I came to be surrounded by no less than four legal eagles with six more on speed dial.  I was assured that other than giving my name, my job was to sit back, look pitiful, and say nothing other than, “I don’t recall”.  I practiced the line in my head and I was pretty sure I had it down.

Three men in well tailored suits and designer ties, all with briefcases that cost four figures if they cost a dime, sat having coffee with a woman that had more sharp angles than a TV evangelist.  It was impossible to determine her age, but she was old enough to have a law degree from what I imagined was the best law school in the country.  Her winter white suit was spotless and flawless, her ice blue blouse matched her ice blue eyes and her perfectly coiffed blonde hair was pulled back in a low french twist, not a strand out of place.  It wouldn’t dare.  If I was correct, the men were terrified of her and that alone earned her my respect.

There is something interesting to note at this point.  The lady lawyer, whose name happened to be Juliet, knew Pierce.  More than once he placed his hand on her shoulder and she smiled up at him warmly.  They were on a first name basis and appeared quite comfortable with one another.  I made a mental note to ask Teddy Bear about it later.

I was still smiling like the village idiot when Chase’s phone rang twenty minutes later.  Our surprise group of inquisitors were on their way up and just as Chase had suspected, there were two detectives and two police officers.

I almost felt sorry for them.  There were four of them.  I had my own detective, three Sloans, one homosexual chef, a nervous accountant, a pissed-off, milk-sipping sister, and four lawyers that probably made more in an hour than those guys made in a day.  It wasn’t fair, but neither was the situation I was in.  I don’t want to seem like I’m above the law, because I’m not.  But damn it, Tony Manconi isn’t either and where’s the justice that should be raining down on his ass?  Huh?  They can’t find him so I’m the one taking the heat?  I think not.  Just as my lawyers.

Anton answered the doorbell.  He was polite, but frosty.  He offered them coffee and when they declined, he led them to me.  The look on their faces was priceless.  They knew the jig was up when they saw the roomful of faces and the four well-heeled people gathered around me like an offensive line around a quarterback.  I sat looking pitiful, damaged, and broken.  Anton winked at me over their shoulders and I almost lost it.

Deacon introduced himself, the other Sloans, and the lawyers present.  Sean, my sister, and Ayla were left out of the introductions and they seemed fine with that.  Chase had gone into the office so that his part in this would remain under the radar.  The police officers smiled at one another and stepped back towards the door.  They knew I wasn’t going anywhere, even if the detectives hadn’t quite gotten that far in their assessment yet.