I gasped when Xander pulled his gun and held it to Armand’s head.
“I should fucking kill you for talking about her like that. I should fucking blow your brains out for thinking you could talk about her like that in my presence.”
God…I’d never seen him look like that.
This was clearly a side to Xander I wasn’t supposed to see. It was one where Armand was defenseless.
Xander pulled the trigger back and my heart jumped in my throat.
It was then that Frankie stepped in and rested a hand on Xander’s shoulder.
Xander glanced back at him and Frankie shook his head.
“Don’t do it kid,” Frankie told him. “Not worth it. Not worth it at all.”
Once again Xander eased off, backing away.
He pointed his gun at Armand though and held it there while Armand actually looked shaken.
“Armand somewhere along the line you mistook me for some kind of weakling.” Xander seethed, glaring at him. “I’m not sure why. Armand Ricci, I’m not the kind of guy to fuck with. Don’t you dare fuck with me or my girl. Please, take that as an invite to come for me. I hope you do.”
Xander lowered his gun to his side and snarled.
Armand in turn scampered away like the fucking rat he was.
As soon as he left Frankie came to me.
“Doll, God are you okay?” he asked. I covered myself. I was wearing a bra but the top was completely torn.
Tears ran down my cheeks.
Crying again, it was all I ever seemed to do - cry.
This time I started weeping from deep within my soul.
Armand tried to rape me. He hit me and tried to rape me. That was the man I was leaving for Europe with in two days’ time. Him.
There would be no one to save me.
No Xander. No Frankie. Nobody.
I’d get to Europe and that would be it.
Xander came to me. I noticed his hands were shaking.
He’d called me his girl.
Was I?
Nothing sounded better to me than that. Through this mess nothing had sounded sweeter than being called his. Being his girl… what a dream.
I fell into his embrace when he reached for me.
“Take her home kid and take care of her. I’ll make sure you guys get the day, get out of here.” Frankie nodded.
Xander and I both looked at him at the same time. “Thank you Frankie,” I breathed. I was so weak I could barely talk.
“Thank you,” Xander told him and Frankie nodded.
“I mean it. Get out of this place.”
We didn’t need to be told a third time.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jia
Xander took me home and made me something to eat.
It was a sandwich and the cheese had been placed in the bread in chunks. It was like that was how he made his sandwiches.
He brought it to me on a plate while I sat in bed.
“I’m sorry. You probably want something hot. I can’t cook all that well, and I’d rather make you a sandwich than embarrass myself.” He smirked with a little nod.
“This is perfect.” I grinned. “Also, I’m certain your cooking can’t be that bad.”
“Trust me it is. We’re talking no skill at all. It would either be burnt or uneatable. I never learned and by the time I should have, I’d discovered take out.”
I smiled up at him. “That’s one more thing I know about you. Take out though? You look amazing for a guy who has take out. Is that what you have every night?”
I couldn’t believe we were talking about food.
“Nah, not every night. My best friend, Wes, cooks. He’s the cook.”
“You have a best friend?” I mused with another grin. It was nice getting little bits of details about him he hadn’t previously mentioned.
“I have a best friend. A guy I trust with my life and my food.” He chuckled. “He’s the health freak. When I’m not eating his food I have Japanese or Chinese. They’re cooked the healthiest and I make sure I get all the good stuff that way.
“So no pizza? You don’t have pizza?”
“I love pizza, but wave that in front of a guy that loves take out and see how fast he piles on the pounds.”
I actually laughed. “I can’t imagine you gaining weight like that.”
“Oh yeah. It’s happened, nearly couldn’t apply for the marines because of it.”
He handed me the plate and looked at me in my stupid unicorn pajamas.
Armand must have hit me hard because I didn’t know why I chose the most unsexy thing I could find to wear. A stupid t-shirt with a big unicorn on the front and a pair of shorts.
Xander sat on the edge of the bed and gave me a warm smile.
As I looked at him I thought it would be nice to know more, more about him.
Not anything work related. Just stuff about him as a person and things he did. I didn’t know any of that stuff.
Did he like sports? Did he read the morning paper? If so which one?
What did an ex-marine like doing?
He’d said he’d served in Afghanistan. What was it like?
“You’re giving me that look again. Can’t tell what you’re thinking baby.” He chuckled.
“I’m thinking about you. About stuff I don’t know and want to know.”
“Like what?
I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and gave him a playful smile. “Like how long you were a marine.”
“Four years. I joined up when I was twenty two and thought it was the best thing ever. But I hate rules.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” It didn’t at all.
“I don’t like being told what to do. I guess I have a problem with authority.”
“That’s not always a bad thing.”
“No, it is not,” he agreed.
If he’d followed authority there were several instances when he would have looked the other way, and who knew what would have happened to me? It was anyone’s guess as to what extent either Pa or Armand would have gone.
The seriousness came back to his eyes and he reached out and touched my face. There was a bruise on my cheek and I was sure I’d have a shiner in the morning. I used to hear guys talk about that. I knew now what having one felt and looked like, twice now.
“That’s the second time a man’s laid their hands on you and I wasn’t able to stop it from happening,” he said more to himself than me.
“You stopped other things from happening to me.”
He shook his head. “Have I? What happens Monday? What happens then?”
“Xander, I hear you but what can we do? My father…” my voice trailed off when I thought of the crux of the matter. “I’m scared of him Xander. I’m scared of what he can do. People don’t defy him, they just don’t. I think we’ve been lucky so far because of the distraction of what’s going on. That’s what I think. It’s also made him act in this overbearing crazy way. He’ll kill you Xander. He would kill you right in front of me to teach me a lesson.” That was what I could see happening.
I was certain that today’s ruckus wouldn’t go down well if Armand told Pa what had happened.
“Jia, I’m not scared of your father, or the fact that he could kill me. It doesn’t scare me. What does scare me is failing in my duties because I’m torn. Over the years I’ve learned there comes a time when the choices you make can have an impact on others in a really big way. For good and bad. A big part of me is always trying to do the right thing. But…sometimes doing the right thing conflicts with what I want most. That’s where I am now.”