CHAPTER TWENTY
1985
"Anything I need to know?" Hannibal asked, his voice low as he walked slowly down the hallway toward the kitchen.
"Left Kelly's brother Randy out cold in the kitchen," Face answered, just as quiet. "His father's going to be pissed."
"I got that much. We need to worry about the father?"
"Mom's a battered woman; Randy's keeping the family tradition alive. I haven't talked to the father at all, but Randy's got a hell of a temper. He got it from somewhere."
"Kelly's father owns this house," Stacie added. Hannibal glanced at her. She'd been waiting outside the door for them to emerge, a worried look on her face. "She pays the upkeep; he's got the title. He's not going to take kindly to you telling him to take a long walk off a short pier, if that's what you have in mind."
Hannibal continued to watch her for a moment. When he looked away again, he was grinning with utter amusement.
This was going to be interesting.
Kelly's father had already made it into the kitchen, along with her mother. Randy was as docile as Face had seen him since he'd arrived, holding an ice pack to his cheek as his mother checked for other wounds. He pushed her aside roughly the moment his eyes found Face. But he could barely stand, much less advance. He needed the counter for support.
"That's him! That's the fuckin' -" He cut off with a cry as his mother touched his forehead again, and whipped his head around to her. "Will you stop that!"
"The guy who knocked you out cold?" Face offered.
Randy tried a step towards Face and nearly fell over. "Fuck you!"
Face smiled as though he'd just received the nicest compliment ever - as though there were no threats in the room, no toes to tread on and no worries to be had. A sense of satisfaction warmed him from the inside as he looked at Randy. The bastard was lucky he was supposed to be playing nice this weekend.
His father's attention was equally locked on Face. Face didn't waver under the family's scare tactics. He'd be more than happy to read the same lesson planner to Daddy Dearest given the opportunity. Randy was a moot point, despite what he might like to think; the father was entirely unknown. However, he seemed just as inclined to throw his weight around in order to prove a point.
"I don't know who the hell you think you are," the man growled.
Face smiled. "Well, we could go over that again if you'd like."
"Alright, enough," Hannibal said, his voice cutting through the conversation - and Face's thoughts - with complete authority.
Face's eyes locked hard on Randy's father, but he kept his mouth shut. Hannibal would deal with dancing around this guy and Face was more than happy to sit back and watch. He'd had his fair share of handling these people. Sucking it up for Murdock was one thing; letting these guys walk all over them was another.
Kelly's father glared for a moment longer at Face, then turned his attention to Hannibal. "Who the hell are you?"
"John Smith," Hannibal answered immediately, with no hint of challenge. Face slipped his hands into his pockets, his posture slowly relaxing. Still, he was no less ready to react. "I'm a friend of Kelly's."
"Kelly sure does seem to have a lot of friends lately," the man shot. "And every goddamn one of them seems to be fixed on causing us problems."
"Well, I'm not here to cause any problems, Mr. Stevens," Hannibal said smoothly. "Please, allow me to apologize for what happened here, and offer my assurance that it won't happen again."
If there was any part of Face that was offended - or should have been offended - by the condescending speech, he didn't show it in the least. He remained quiet, watching Stevens watch Hannibal with a wary gaze. But it was Randy's voice that spoke up. "Yeah, it better not!"
His father's head snapped towards him instantly. "Shut up!" he snapped at him. "When you can't hold your own with a goddamn choir boy half your size, you don't have any right to be makin' threats."
Face felt a slight smirk pulling at the corner of his lip, an antagonizing twinkle in his eye as he put an arm around Stacie's waist and pulled her in slightly closer to him. "Choir boy" comment aside, Face had no problem playing off of Daddy's disapproval of Randy's inability to be a real man and put Face down. And that embarrassment on Randy's side of things would only be amplified by his inability to mark his territory with Stacie.
"What can I do to make this right for you?" Hannibal asked, attention focused on the older man as he continued in that serious and commanding tone. It was a direct and blatant appeal to the man's need for control and dominance. And it was working.
"Just stay the fuck out of my way," Mr. Stevens ordered. "My daughter invited you here, you spend your time with her." He cast a menacing glare at Face and raised his voice slightly. "I don't want any more of this bullshit going on in my house!"
Face held his gaze, not challenging him, but not making any effort to pretend to bow down to the man either. He didn't speak. He let Hannibal answer on his behalf.
"I will make sure there are no more disturbances in your home. There will not be a repeat of this."
He was giving his personal reassurance, very carefully and knowingly stroking the man's ego. But he was watching his words carefully, too. This promise had nothing to do with what Hannibal thought of the pathetic, wife-beating bully in front of him. But it spoke volumes about the respect he had for Murdock and what he was willing to do for him.
With a firm glare, the man started towards the back door, growling a rough, "Come on!" at his son. Randy set the bag of ice in the sink as he followed a few steps behind, his mother hanging back just a little with a look of frightened worry on her face.
As Mr. Stevens disappeared out the back door, Randy stopped beside Face, his voice barely a whisper as he leaned in close. "This isn't over, you fuckin' bastard," he growled low. "Watch your back."
Face's smile grew. "You're child's play, Randy," he answered quietly. "But in any case, I'm looking forward to it."
Randy didn't say another word as he stormed out the back door, closely followed by his mother. Face watched them go, then turned back to Hannibal.
"Nicely played, Colonel," he offered, glancing at Stacie. She was watching him with a concerned look, but she relaxed noticeably as he smiled and slipped an arm around her waist.
"Yeah," Hannibal answered offhandedly, looking around at the mess in the kitchen. He raised a brow as he caught Face's gaze again, briefly. "From now on, I think we should have Thanksgiving at my place."
Face only grinned as he withdrew from Stacie and crossed the kitchen to grab the pot and start cleaning up.
1985
They had to go to the store to get more ingredients for the soup. At least that's what Murdock had told her when he'd escorted her out to the car. She kept her eyes closed, forehead against the cool glass, as they drove. She didn't open them until the car pulled to a stop, and she opened her eyes to find that they were not in the parking lot of the grocery store, but the motel.
"What are we doing here?" she asked weakly, looking over at him.
He turned his head toward her, but made no effort to get out of the car or even remove the keys from the ignition. "We're hiding," he said softly. "Face gave me the key to his room."
"What? We can't! I -"
"They'll be alright 'til we get back."
"But Randy -"
"Is notgoing to take on both Face and Hannibal. Trust me. Besides, he's gon' be seein' stars for the next few hours at least."
"What about -"
"The other option is that we go back and you tell them to get the hell out of your house." Murdock's voice didn't waver in the least. Dead panned, completely serious, he continued without the slightest hint of emotion. "If you can't do that, we're staying right here. Because I don't know what just happened, but I won't have you within ten miles of a man who might do something like that to you. Because I'm not Face. And I would kill him."
Her eyes were wide as she looked at him. She knew by his expression that he meant those words. Everything she had been raised to believe should have made her appalled by the threat, but she wasn't. Instead, she almost felt relief at the idea that someone could stop him, just like Face had.
She was so tired, exhausted and raw, that she was unable to stop the only question she had. "Why?"
He stared at her, his gaze steady and calm. But he didn't answer. After a moment of silence, he pulled the keys from the ignition, stepped out of the car, and walked around to the passenger side, opening the door and ushering her out.
Feeling stiff and disjointed, she watched Murdock watch her. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking and she was in no position to try. She followed him without a word, glad for his hand on her back and his arm guiding her. Her mind was too busy trying to figure out what to do next to concentrate on something as involved as walking.
He led her across the parking lot and to the room on the first floor that matched the key in his hand. It fit the lock easily, and he pushed the door open to a room that looked untouched. Dropping the key to the room and the ones to the car on the dresser, he turned and closed the door behind them. She stood just inside the room, back straight, tense until she heard the lock slide home. Then they were safe. Alone with him, she was safe.
She turned to him, waiting to see what happened next. He took a step toward her, and watched his hand and he stroked it over her still-damp hair. He didn't say a word, just slid a hand behind her head, tipped it forward, and kissed her forehead softly. His touch was warm - very warm since she felt so very cold. She wanted to lean on him, hold him. But she was too uncertain, too unsure of anything, except him. At that moment she would have followed him anywhere. When he led her to the bed, she didn't even think to resist. Was this was it felt like to be taken care of? Why did it feel so very strange?
He stripped her shirt, then unfastened her jeans, hands moving over her wordlessly as he kissed her. His gentle touch broke through the odd chill that had settled in and without thinking, she moved closer to that warmth. Her mouth opened wide for him as he unfastened the clasp behind her back and drew the straps down her arms. A slow kiss, then, leaving a trail of soft kisses along her throat and down the center of her chest, he pushed her back onto the bed. She let him guide her, lifting her hips as he slowly stripped her from the waist down, then moved over her, covering her with his body.
He didn't say a word. He didn't have to. His warm presence said everything she needed to hear. Her hands moved over him, a burning need to feel him settling in as she wrapped her legs around him. Her kisses fell on his lips, chin, neck, jaw, chest, anywhere she could reach. But for every ounce of her desperation, he was equally calm and in control.
He slid inside of her gently, smoothly, pressing all the way in until he touched her core. She gasped, trying to catch her breath. She needed him; needed this - the blinding enjoyment, the fall, the peaceful contentment that came after making love with him. The completion she felt when they shared that moment of ultimate intimacy. Her nerves were already tingling. Looking in his eyes, she saw herself reflected there. She didn't have to say a word. She knew he understood.
His pace was slow and easy to follow - pressing in deep, rocking her body in time with his. Without thought, her hips moved up towards him, pulling him deeper, searching for him, for the feelings he drew out of her. His lips were brushing hers lightly with each stroke into her. As his arms tightened around her, pulling her close, her eyes slid closed. She could feel herself letting go, giving herself over to the pleasure, letting him drive her closer and closer to the edge.
The winding tension took her breath away. Everything was tingling and throbbing, his body and hers forming into one. They were the only thing that mattered; he was the only thing in her world. Trembling, she closed her eyes hard and gasped his name, her body finally contracting hard as she came.
He groaned with pleasure. A few more hard, fast strokes, and she felt him pulse inside of her. He gasped into her neck as his hips jerked on hers. The tension eased as he slowed, then finally came to rest over top of her, his erection gradually fading. Still breathing heavily, he turned his head into her neck, kissing her softly, over and over.
The slow drift back to earth was eased by the soft kisses he covered her in. She felt warm, connected, relaxed. Taking a deep breath she inhaled his scent. "Murdock, I love you."
"I love you too. All of you. Every part." His warm kisses trailed across her collarbone, over her throat, up to the soft spot just below her earlobe. "Every inch of you. Inside and out..."
He held her tight, not stopping. He didn't even slow as his kisses moved down her body, over her shoulder, her arm, all the way to her wrist, kissing and gently probing the inside of it. Her hands, every one of her fingers, then back up to the soft pressure point on the inside of her elbow.
He trailed kisses over every inch of her, all the way down to her feet and back up. His only concern was for her pleasure, and the slight chill in the room. Before it had a chance to really set in, he was over her again, pulling the bedspread up and rolling with her body against his until they were cocooned in it, safe and warm and pressed tightly together. There, he looked up at her from his back, letting her weight rest on him as he relaxed against the pillows.
He didn't speak. His eyes said everything. Love, caring, concern. Adoration. He smiled softly as he rubbed at the small of her back with his thumbs, waiting for her to either speak or rest her head and fall asleep in his arms. There was no pressure, no expectation. She watched him with a growing sense of love and peace. They were wound up tight together, and she couldn't have felt any safer or more protected.
"I want to tell you about Randy," she whispered, watching his eyes. "But I don't know where to start."
"Start at the beginning." His expression was soft, relaxed. He smiled slightly as he rubbed his fingers up and down her spine. "We've got all day. As long as you need."
She forced a smile as she looked down at him, and finally managed a slight nod. "Okay."