Crumbling Cakes

Part XLIII (43)

"I'll be back in a second!" I shouted over my shoulder. Lips still tingling.

"Damn it, Lia. I'm almost done." Sebastian grumbled as his cell rang. I turned in time to see his head popped out of his office. His fingers tightened on the frame and he knocked his forehead twice against the framey grains. "Damn. It." 

"Answer your phone, Ronaldo. This will take but a moment." I waved him away. Bouncing away on the balls of my feet like a pixied-up sugar fairy. My heart was soaring, my brain was singing, and my feet were dancing. "Back in a flash." I singsonged then pushed out the back door with gusto. 

I saw naught the icy patches in the cracked asphalt, nor the shine of the distant light posts, but my stupid grin was visible to anyone who dared to look at me. Which they wouldn't. Because not a sane soul was out in this freeze. 

My noggin was filled with gentle caresses, lingerie, and Ronaldo lips. The tidal wave of change that had come forth—and was still moving—put me in a fantastic mood. None of this was a secret, of course.

My Beets loved me. Strawberry Fields just kept proving that he couldn't care less where I came from or what my muddled past could mean for his future—even though he's had more than his fair share of warnings. He simply lurveeeedddd me. And I obviously thought he was the bee's knees. Because I do have two eyes that are currently functioning.

This warm feeling of belonging was superglue and I, its unsuspecting victim. It was all I could think of while I walked to get the car.

The approach was stealthy. Quiet. Undetected.

When the arm wrapped around me, pulling me up and back, it was too late for me to fight the hold.

Before I could feel too badly about the ambush, I spotted that a tinted town car sat half a block down. And in that moment, I knew why my senses hadn't given me a warning. She'd kept herself at a distance until I'd been grabbed. Secured and locked down.

Well, Fudgeruckers.

I caught the reflection of the man that was holding me in the blacked-out window on the building across the alley, his face held not a single feature I recognized. The relentless cow had found a loophole in our connection. Common sense kicked in and I started screaming. Kicking my legs, trying to gain some kind of distance. Any kind of wiggle room. I was disheartened when a well-placed kick to the shin didn't even manage a dent.

My chances of really breaking free we're slim. But if I could just delay his progress, luck might finally be on my side. I knew Sebastian was only inside that building. Yearning for the carefree laughs and kisses minutes earlier pressed on my chest like a dying dream.

"Let me GO!" I screamed. I was rewarded with a rough palm slapped over my mouth. And by slapped, I mean this douche canoe had combined smacking with covering. His grip was unrelenting around my jaw and I got the sense he was restraining himself from crushing the lower half of my face. Most likely only because Bathilda needed my face intact. This was not a warming thought.

What this man lacked in size, he made up for in brute strength—the combination reminding me of a certain other handsy douche and I vaguely wondered if they were brothers. This troubling discovery made me realize I may actually be up shits creek. It appeared the luck timer in Dalia's slot has officially run out.

"Shut your mouth or I'll make sure it stays shut permanently." He growled in my ear. Let it be known that this man's growl did nothing to my lady bits. Sebastian's unfurled a hive of horny hornets looking for a wondrous sting when he so much as opened his mouth. This man sounded like he would try to unfurl a knife to carve off said hornets wings. Therefore, I was colossally screwed and the looming "literally" was not far from my mind.