Downtown Girl (Lipstick Red #1) (7 page)

‘Kevin asked me to keep my distance.’ 

‘Why would he do that?  And why would it matter?’

‘Because he seems to be in love with you, and if I’d jumped in, he’d have left the company.  We can’t afford to lose him.’ 

‘Well then, I’d say you made your decision.  It’s too late to come calling now.  How did you know I’d be here anyway?’

‘Did you think I wouldn’t notice your absence at the financial meeting on Friday?  You left a massive trail Taylor Griffiths.  It was easy to find your phone tracking details.  Kevin handed them over.  He was very concerned about your safety this weekend.’

‘I had no idea I needed to be secretive, or protected.’ she pouted.

Taking a step towards her, Jack leaned a hand against the wall behind her head.  He ran a finger across her top lip.  She flinched, his touch burning her skin, and causing her stomach to churn nervously.

‘I don’t think this is…..’ she started to speak, as she tried to move away.  

Jack swiftly grabbed her hands, pulling her hands above her head, like David had done on the balcony.  He pushed his knee into her, pinning her body against the wall and covered her mouth with his, just like David had done.  Pushing his tongue into her mouth caused waves of nausea to rise from her stomach, spilling up and into her throat, making her want to vomit. 

She relaxed her body, locking tongues with him, pretending to moan, tricking him into thinking she’d given in to his desire. 

‘Good girl,’ he said, his breathing quickening as he released her mouth and reduced the tension on her body, letting her pull her knee up hard, crashing swiftly and painfully into his groin.

Letting her go as he crumpled to his knees in pain, she covered the distance to the door in a few steps, as his pained breathing continued.   

‘You bitch.  You’re sacked.’ She gripped the door handle.

‘I already quit,’ she sneered, wrinkling her nose as she looked down at him.  ‘I’m not a toy for your gratification.’

‘It looked like you like it rough!’ he snorted as he pointed towards the balcony where he’d spied on them.  She turned to leave.

‘Before you go,’ he hissed.  ‘Ask your new boyfriend about Lindy Brady.  Better still, check the newspaper archives in London.  He battered her black and blue before he gave her an overdose of heroin.  That’s what he did the time for.  I saw him pinning your hands up against the wall.  You’re obviously into being led by a chain dangling round your neck.  That’s only a taste of what you’re going to get before he’s finished with you!’

‘Are you done,’ she said, the shock making her voice waver.

‘No, I’m not.’ Jack continued, finally managing to pull himself upright.  ‘Alan Inglebrook’s a friend of his.  He’s going to jail, and if you breathe a word about this to anyone, I’ll
sack
Kevin
!’  She felt the hair rise at the back of her neck. 

Angling his head to one side, he made it clear that he wasn’t finished yet.  ‘I’ll have you by the end of the month, mark my words.  You’ll come running back with your tail between your legs, begging me to take you to bed, where we’ll fuck each other’s brains out, and you’ll enjoy every blasted moment of it.’  His dark eyes matched her stare, daring her to challenge him. 

‘You’ve got to be kidding me!  If I’ve no job, I might as well go back to America.’

‘But you won’t do that.  You’re planning to stay here and be with
him.
Ask him about Lindy if you don’t believe me.  He can’t lie to save his life.  The man’s a liability.  He was a liability ten years ago and he’s a liability now.  Oh, and don’t play the naive innocent with me Taylor.  It doesn’t suit you.  For someone who gets their kicks from being pinned against a wall, you don’t know very much about the wrath of rejected men.’ 

She wouldn’t cry in front of him. Walking out with her head held high, she ran to the ladies room, and safety.  Grateful to be alone, she collapsed into a red velvet chair, sobbing uncontrollably. 

Determined to pull herself together, Taylor concentrated on breathing in and out, in slow rhythmical breaths.  She began to regain control of the heaving breaths that threatened to turn into a full blown panic attack.  She'd been away from David for nearly half an hour.  He'd wonder where she was.

The words Jack had spat at her wouldn't leave.  What if he had beat Lindy black and blue? With shaking hands, she searched for Lindy online, finding an old newspaper excerpt.

Lindy Brady was found unconscious in the apartment of David Burton, the vicious leader of a prominent south east gang.  Beaten and drugged, an anonymous tip off led to her discovery in the nick of time, before she was rushed off to hospital.  David Burton has been charged with battery and supply of illegal drugs, with four other gang members arrested on suspicion of drug dealing.

She didn't need to read any further.  Kevin was right.  She should have stayed away from him.  David might have served his time, but he'd still be a risk.  Straightening her unruly hair, she pulled herself upright before walking back to their dining room.  Her heart tried to pull her away from the decision her head was making.  She’d no reason to believe he’d hurt her physically, yet her heart was breaking already.

'Just in time,' he smiled as she walked in to find the main course being extravagantly decorated and presented on the table.  Searching his strong jaw with her eyes, and scrutinizing his high cheekbones and bright blues, she couldn’t find any reason to be frightened of him.

Surely he couldn’t be heartless, or could he?  Why hadn’t he told her?  She found it difficult to differentiate between the gentle man who’d saved two little girls, then fed a homeless dog, from the one who beat a woman unconscious before drugging her up to the eyeballs.

Waiting for the waiter to leave, she spoke quietly but firmly.  'What happened to Lindy?'

The smile wiped from his face as the color drained from his cheeks.  He pushed himself up, walking towards her with his arms out.

'Don't touch me!'  Her voice croaked, charged with emotion. 

'Is it true?' she asked, a silent tear escaping.  She'd expected him to lie, but his gaze dropped, confirming what she'd been told. 

‘When did you last get tested for HIV or Sexually Transmitted Diseases?’ Her mouth twisted in agony at asking the question.’

His eyes closed momentarily, while he considered what she’d just asked.  ‘I’m clean Taylor, that’s all you need to know.’

'It’s a start, but that’s all.  When were you planning to tell me that you like to beat women up,' she asked, carefully, her voice more measured.

His hand raked through his hair, as she imagined him trying to think of a sensible answer.  She’d put him on the spot. 

'It's not the kind of thing you tell someone you've just met.  You'd have run a mile in the opposite direction.'  He paused before whispering quietly.  'But I'm not the kind of man you think I am.  Hear me out.'

'I don't want to hear it.  Not right now.'  She'd phone Kevin first thing, to find out if he could arrange her travel back to the UK, then remembered she'd no job to go back to.  She'd phone him anyway.  He had a right to know she wouldn't be back.

Throwing money on the table, he moved to follow her, catching her elbow before she left the room.  She rounded on him furiously, with her eyes blazing. 

'Don't touch me.  I'll see myself back to the hotel.'  She wrenched her arm from his grasp and fled the room.

Outside the restaurant, she hailed a cab, with tears streaming down her face, annoyed at her own stupidity.  Jack leaned against a door at the bottom of the steps, and then slowly moved forward as she climbed in and closed the door.  He touched his forehead in a salute with a sleazy smirk. 

Watching the doorway as the cab drove away, she saw David leaving the restaurant, while Jack stood gloating.  As the cab drove out of sight, she saw Jack and David face each other.  She’d no doubt that if David knew what Jack had done to her, there would be a fight.

Nobody is fighting over me!
She had a lot of thinking to do, but she couldn’t imagine herself begging Jack Collins for sex.

Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine David as the thug described in the newspaper cutting.  The image of the shaven headed youth that she’d forgotten, seared into her brain.  She couldn't imagine the man she’d been intimate with, to be capable of what he'd been accused of.  Her head overruled her heart, pulling her insides apart with the pain.

In her hotel room, she locked the inner and outer interconnecting doors to the shared suite.  The only access left to her room was from the corridor outside.

A shower, that’s what she needed.  To wash away the pain of David, and her brutal encounter with Jack. 

She remembered that Kevin thought David was a good man.  She'd speak to Kevin before she left for London in the morning.  As devastated as she was, she knew there would be more to the story than she already knew.

Christ, it was a mess.  His heart was thumping so hard in his chest, that it felt as if it would explode.  She’d run from him, scared.  He felt like he’d been punched in the gut.  Damn, but he’d grown more fond of her than he’d have liked. 

On Friday, he’d been looking for a weekend in bed with no strings sex, but this girl was getting under his skin. 

What did he want from her?  His brow wrinkled as a frown crossed his handsome face.  He’d no idea, but her body was a good start.  She made
him
feel safe.  No woman had ever done that for him before, not even Lindy. 

He wanted to testify on behalf of Alan, but it would rake up his past.  He knew he’d have to decide which side of the fence he sat on soon, and Taylor was one person he needed to know he could trust.  It would’ve been easier if he hadn’t been so attracted to her, but at least he had twenty more hours to decide if he could trust her.  If she’d listen to him! 

David stood in the hallway outside Taylor’s bedroom door, hesitating to knock in case she threw him out.  Jack Collins was responsible for this, he was certain of it.  David hadn’t paid much attention when they’d first met him in the street, thinking it was a coincidence, but now, he was almost one hundred percent sure that it was a deliberate meeting.   

Some of David’s old hatred had began to rise to the surface.  Jack was one of his old gang.  Jack had been older than David, and not on the front line, but he’d been there, on the fringes and he’d been responsible for David going to jail.  He’d tried to cover his shock at seeing Jack, and thought he’d pulled it off, but she’d sneaked behind his back to talk to him.   

He made a fist as he stood with his back to the wall, wanting desperately to fix what had gone wrong.  He was beginning to make a real connection to a woman, and Jack had gone and ballsed it up for him. 

His first instinct had been to call Jack out, and beat the living daylights out of him, but he knew where that would land him.  No-one is going to let the guy who’s just battered a high flying lawyer off the hook.  He’d be stupid to try.

In the old days, men like him would make a phone call and the problem would go away, but David wasn’t like that.  What kind of role model would that make for the kids he took off the streets, if he was sent to jail for doing exactly what he was taking them away from? 

He knew Taylor was pissed off.  She’d not expected him to be involved in anything as seedy as his past life, but it wasn’t as if it was something he could change. 

He’d been hurt to the core when she’d asked him if he’d ever been tested for AIDS.  He’d not had sex for four years until Taylor came along, and now she was accusing him of being some sex addict freak, but dammit, he still had twenty hours of his forty eight left, and he’d no intention of giving up on her yet.  He’d introduce her to some of the kids he’d taken off the streets if she’d let him.

He rapped on her door with a lump rising in his throat.  He
had
to find a way to get through to her. 

‘Go away,’ she shouted, knowing who it would be. 

He rapped on the door again.  ‘I’m not leaving until you speak to me,’ he said, his chest heaving as he spoke through the door.

‘You’ll have a long wait then!’

‘You can let me in, or I can keep speaking this loudly, and the whole floor will hear every single word of what we’ve been up to this weekend.  It’s
your
call because I’m
not
leaving.’  He braced himself for another blow off, standing in front of her door with his arms folded across his chest.  Doors creaked open in the corridor, as people gave in to their inquisitive natures.   

Taylor opened her door with the chain fastened. Through the narrow gap, he saw black rivers of mascara running down her face, with hiccups heaving her chest up and down.  ‘Open the door, or so help me, I’ll break the bloody thing down.  I’m not taking no for an answer.’

‘Oh, so you’re going to bully me now then?  Is that all part of the game plan?’ she spat the words through the crack in the door.

‘No, it bloody well is not, but you’re going to listen to me.  If you want to walk away after we’ve talked, then I won’t stop you.  I’ll even take you where you want to go!’

She closed the door quietly, pulling back the chain to let him in. 
Thank fuck,
he thought.  He wanted to scoop her up and hold her in his arms, but he resisted reaching out to her.  He knew she’d think he was trying to force her into something she didn’t want to do. 

She flashed her eyes as they narrowed, still beautiful in spite of the make-up smudged around her tear stained face.

‘Go on then, you’ve got half an hour!’  She turned her back to him as she walked to a sturdy winged chair.

Christ, half an hour was no time at all.  He ran his hand through his hair, not sure where to start.  His stomach churned with the fear that he’d lose her, and anger at Jack Collins for telling her in the first place.  It was obvious Jack had decided to try and pull her for himself.  The added attraction of getting back at an old enemy was probably the biggest bonus that Jack could have got this weekend.

‘Sit down,’ he said, as calmly as he could.  Her shoulders were still defiant, but she complied, obeying him without question.  In another situation, he’d find that a turn on, but not today. 

He’d push those thoughts and desires to the back of his head forever.  She wasn’t like that.  His old life had no place in his new one.  There could never be any cross over. 

‘I knew Jack years ago,’ he began, nervously picking at his shirt collar, pacing the room.  His white shirt billowed behind him as it remained untucked from his trousers.  He’d paced the room for several more minutes, conscious of her silence, before crouching down in front of her and taking a hand in his.  She began to pull hers back, but he held firm, the touch of her hand sending electric pulses to his brain.  Pulses he needed to ignore.

‘Jack was in the gang!  I had a girlfriend back then.  Actually, she was the only girlfriend I’ve ever had.’ A tear escaped from the corner of his eye as he thought about Lindy.
What the hell was that all about?
 

He’d loved Lindy passionately, but pushed thoughts of her aside for years.  It was time to face it.  Taylor’s free hand began to rise to his face, to brush away the tear, but she resisted, dropping it again to her side.

‘We had an unconventional relationship,’ he said, looking closely into her eyes.  ‘Lindy liked to be spanked, but not as a punishment.  It turned her on.  It’s not an excuse, as I enjoyed it too, but I fell asleep one night after a long day on the streets, and an hour in bed with her.’  David watched Taylor’s face, expecting to see disgust, but her expression was unreadable.   

Lindy made a couple of calls and must have scored some heroin.  When I woke up, she’d gone.’

‘Gone?’ Taylor whispered, her tears stopping as she watched a dimple appear on his chin with the emotional tension.

‘She collapsed outside the flat and was taken to hospital.  She’d overdosed.’  His hands began to shake as his emotions took a hammering. 

‘And you’d battered her before she left to get the drugs?’ 

Bloody hell, that hurt.  Battered wasn’t the word he’d use for it, but to someone who had very little experience of sex, it wasn’t surprising.  No matter how he explained this, it wasn’t going to look good, but he had to try.

‘We’d been playing,’ he continued carefully.  ‘Her behind was laced with finger marks.  I was arrested on the suspicion of grievous bodily harm and supplying illegal drugs.’  He pulled his hand away, kneeling on one knee, with an elbow leaning on the other, resting his head in his hand as beads of sweat dripped from his brow.

She said nothing, looking at him with judgmental eyes. 

‘Her injuries were proved as superficial.  Consistent with light bondage, but the state went for the drug charge.  It stuck.  I couldn’t prove I hadn’t supplied her.  Lindy’s phone was a throwaway, and her records conveniently disappeared.  Whoever supplied her had influential connections.  To cut a long story short, five of the gang were jailed for supplying heroin, even though it was never our poison.  Jack Collins was at law school and just on the fringes of the gang, but he was on work experience with the prosecutor trying my case.  He was involved with it all.  I suspect he knows where the drugs came from, but I’m never going to find that out.  I can’t believe he brought all this up now, considering he came out on top.  Lindy married him when I was in prison.’

‘He’s married!’  Taylor’s voice raised a couple of notches.  ‘I don’t think anyone actually knows that at work.  We all thought he was having it off with his partner.  Why didn’t you tell me any of this?’ Taylor’s voice finally lowered, not so angry or upset, but still shaky.

‘When was I supposed to tell you?  Oh, thanks for a blinding orgasm, but I was accused of grievous bodily harm against a woman a few years ago.  Don’t worry, the charges were dropped, even though her behind was criss crossed with finger marks.  By the way, do you want me to lick your booty and make your lungs constrict as you come again?’  David began to pace the floor again, as his anxiety rose. 

He’d gone too far. ‘Look, I’m sorry.  Damn it, I’ve just met you.  If we made it as a couple, you’d have found out in time, but this weekend didn’t seem the right time to bring up something as personal as spanking and a heroin overdose.’

‘I think I’ve a right to know if I’m sleeping with someone accused of a horrible crime!’  Taylor’s eyes began to fill up with tears, again.  He turned back to her and tried to take her hand.  This time, she swatted it away in anger and he knew he was beat, for now.  There was nothing more he could do on a personal level.  It was no less than he deserved.  He’d blamed himself for the last ten years, and he’d blame himself for the rest of his life. 

He hadn’t been fair to Lindy.  When she’d visited him in prison, he’d told her he didn’t love her.  Grateful for the glass screen between them, he’d cast his eyes down to the table, instead of into her eyes.  He’d wanted her to find a good life for herself, but he hadn’t planned on Jack Collins taking what he’d seen as the spoils of war.  By the time he was released, Lindy and Jack had been married for a year.  He’d wanted to make Jack pay, but stopped himself in time.

History was repeating itself.  He knew he wasn’t being fair to Taylor now, and Jack had got involved again. 
Damn Jack for always waiting at the edge, looking for another chance to twist the knife.
  With a sigh, he realized that Taylor needed to know more. 

‘We’ve still got ten hours,’ he said, looking directly into her eyes. 

‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ her lashes widened as she watched his serious face.

‘You’re here to try and help Alan Inglebrook.  There are things you need to know before you go running wildly into the dark with his case.’

‘How do I know I can trust you?’ she asked quietly.

‘Jesus Taylor, I’m not going to hurt you.  Christ, I’ve never deliberately hurt a woman in my life.’

‘No?’ she questioned, angry.  ‘You didn’t paddle Lindy’s arse black and blue before she went unconscious then?’

That stung.  He wondered who the hell she thought she was.  He’d paid his price for what happened to Lindy.  He’d lost her, and spent time in jail for something he hadn’t done.  There was more to tell Taylor about Jack Collins, but now wasn’t the time.  For now, he needed to concentrate on getting out of this mess.

‘Four am Taylor!  Get yourself packed.  We’re heading to London.’ 

He left the room, gripping his fists into tight balls.  Never again would he put himself in a position like this.  His gut felt as if it was twisted into a thousand knots.