A lot of thanks to all the reviewers! Without you, the second part of this story would never have seen the light the day ...
Part 2 – A hero, or not?
The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.
Ernest Hemingway
The scent of musky freshness following the rain lingered in the air. The city dust had settled, making it easier to breath. Normally, Gill loved the distinct scent of ozone, but today she was completely oblivious to it.
The resentment contracted her throat as smothering heaviness filled the chest, but she determinately refused to cry.
The woman angrily whipped away a sole tear that had managed to escape her eyes. Psychologist in her knew that she was overreacting, that the whole situation was just a misunderstanding and Cal must have had his reasons to react the way he did, but the bitter aftertaste of his unfounded accusations and earlier humiliation was still too vivid. She shouldn't have allowed the man to rile her up like this, but he had a remarkable ability to get under her skin.
Almost stepping into a freshly formed puddle, Gill took a deep steadying breath trying to gather her thoughts.
Luckily, the official working hours finished long ago. Taking a quick glance at the dark skies, the woman absentmindedly drummed accurately manicured fingertips against the strap of her handbag contemplating between the metro and bus. For financial reasons, she and Alec agreed to have only one car. While it was supposed to be shared, Gill drove their silver Volvo only when in had to be serviced or inspected but did not mind the imbalanced arrangement as long as Alec was content. From the experience she knew how difficult her spouse could become when things did not go his way.
Normally minor decision did not come easily, because her mind stubbornly returned to the earlier confrontation. Familiar ringtone brought the woman out of her murky thoughts.
By the force of habit, she first checked the pocket of her coat only to find it empty. It took her a moment to realize that the muffled buzzing was coming from the depths of her purse.
When she finally found the piece of plastic, the screen had gone blank. Checking missed calls, Gill realized that the battery was running low. Cursing under her breath, she prayed that it would last long enough to return the call, "Alec? Hi!"
Listening to the overconfident voice of her husband, Gill suddenly felt very lonely, "Where are you? … Where? … Oh … I would rather go home, it was a long day …"
The objections on the other side of the receiver made the woman moan inwardly, "I understand … No problem … I will meet you there … around 20 minutes' walk …"
Hearing the beep of low battery, Alec berated her forgetfulness.
Gill frowned, "Yeah … sorry … I'm on my way … See you soon."
Hanging up she pressed the phone against her chin mentally calculating the shortest route, ultimately opting for the quicker but mainly unilluminated side pathway leading through the park.
The toe of her shoe softly hit a pebble sending it rolling down the wet asphalt, when the phone buzzed again. Praying that Alec had a change of plans and she would not be forced to spend another evening in the company of stuck-up people she didn't care to know, Gill retrieved the gadget.
She almost hit the reply, but at the last second her thumb intuitively halted midair.
Staring at the flashing screen, Gill indecisively slid her finger between the reply and decline buttons until the battery died, mercifully saving her from any course of action. In all honesty, she did not expect his call so soon after her hasty departure, assuming that they both needed some time to cool down.
The woman put the phone back into the purse and after a moment of hesitation resumed her course along the deserted alley. She was not ready to face Cal just yet.
Almost halfway, a sound from the nearby bushes distracted her. A quiet whimper followed by a loud curse broke the silence of the evening.
"Hey!" noticing a movement in the shadows, Gill cautiously stepped closer and making out four silhouettes froze. It was difficult to see in the dark, but from what she could gather three masculine figures had cornered a girl either intending to rob her or, God forbid, having more sinister thoughts in their minds.
"Leave her alone!" Gill demanded in the haste of the moment overlooking her own safety.
Surprised by the sudden interruption, the guys turned around, slacking the hold on their pray in the process. Terrified, the girl broke free and, never once looking back, run away with a speed that would put into shame a professional athlete.
"I'm calling the police," Gill threatened searching her purse for the phone completely forgetting that it discharged just minutes ago. She almost reached her supposed 'lifeline', when the taller figure jumped right to her face, making her take an unconscious step back.
"Whoop-ti-doo," narrowing his eyes the bulky bloke whistled ogling over her feminine forms like she was a candy in the store and nastily chuckled, "Hey, men, look what a tasty hussy decided to join our party..."
The second, slightly shorter and thinner guy flanked her from the behind effectively cutting off her escape route, "Yum!"
Gill tightened the grip on the strap of her purse considering how hard she could hit. She wanted to believe that they would not dare to attack her in an open to the public place, but recent history suggested otherwise.
A small hope lingered at the back of her mind that maybe she could talk her way out of this mess before the situation went out of control, "I suggest you get out of my way!"
"Or what?" the third guy approaching her from the side maliciously hissed.
"Or nothing," she could not resist imitating his tone, refusing to be intimidated.
Suddenly the guy behind her sharply twisted her left arm making her yelp in surprise.
"Let me go!" Gill wriggled trying to pull her hand out of his bruising grasp, but the man grabbed the strap of her purse and harshly pulled her towards him.
"Now we will have some fun," the taller bloke moved closer, his face just inches from hers.
The woman cringed when the hashish filled breath hit her nostrils. Feeling a strong arm wrapping tightly around her neck, she stiffened, the growing horror paralyzed her and did not allow to think clearly.
A hand crudely grabbed her chin pulling her face upwards while filthy fingers explored her breasts.
Staring at the cold, arrogant eyes, Gill's face lit up with anger. First Cal with his quirks, then Alec with his ignorance and now these morons, did she have a target for jerks tattooed on her forehead or what?
The anger was rarely a good advisor, but right now it helped the woman to clear her head.
Early on, she had learned the key commandments of Cal's religion he followed to a fault. First, the attack ALWAYS was the best defense, and, second, winning was not holding good cards but playing a poor hand smart.
Come on Gill, you're strong, you can outsmart these scumbags, she gave herself a mental order clenching her small palms into the fists.
Taking a deep breath, she held it as long as she could and then exhaled. The fear eased and she managed to relax her stance, even to pull a wicked expression on her face, her lenient body language making her bluff more believable.
Never taking her right hand out of the purse, she smirked with false sweetness, "I suggest you take your claws off me and get the hell out of here before I put a round of lead though your obnoxious faces..."
The conviction with which she spoke puzzled the attackers who had never seen anything but fear and panic on their victim's faces. Gill rather sensed than saw the confusion and alarm her words caused, making the blokes question whether she indeed was armed. As long as she kept the fear at bay, this could actually work!
However, she would never know whether her bold plan succeeded or not, because the next moment a hurricane swept past sending the man facing her several steps backwards. Not fully grasping the significance of the new arrival, but using the distraction to her advantage, the woman opened her mouth and bit hard on the hand holding her in place.
The guy let out a muffled cry and sharply pushed her. Tripping on a rock, Gill stumbled and ungracefully fell landing hard on the wet asphalt just next to a large puddle, biting her tongue in the process.
At the same time an angry roar split the nightly sky, "Get away from her!"
It took her a moment to recognize the voice.
Cal?!
His sudden appearance was no less confusing than the fight unfolding just above her head.
"Bloody morons," Cal swore under his breath landing one painful blow after another. Well aimed kick to his opponent's torso made the taller man double over in pain.
"Fuck you!" with an angry roar, the second guy attacked him. Unprepared, Cal missed the moment and receiving a blow to his jaw cursed. For a moment he staggered losing his bearings.
Using the opportunity, the third guy grabbed a loose rock and approached Cal from behind intending to land a deadly blow to his skull. Only Gill's quick reaction saved her partner from meeting his creator.
Despite being awkwardly sprawled on the ground, the woman managed to regroup and rapidly sliding sideways she landed a well-aimed kick to the attacker's shin, making him trip-up and miss his mark. Losing his footing, he landed hard on the ground just next to Gill. His dark stare didn't promise anything good.
Before she had a chance to react, he growled something threatening and grabbing her by the neck shook her so hard that the back of her head hit the concrete, his fingers dug into her skin with such force that her body involuntarily jolted. Gill gasped as her chest contracted from the lack of oxygen.
In the meanwhile, Cal had regained his bearings and with a formidable force of a former boxer continued to beat the living daylight out of his foes. Adrenaline spreading through his veins made him almost invincible. Through the frenzy he barely registered a weak gasp nearby.
Nauseous black spots danced in front of her eyes while the heavy body crushed her into the ground. Suddenly, the weight disappeared, and she could breathe again.
Cal roughly pulled the man away from his partner and with a discussed growl threw him sideways like a feral pup.
"Get lost before I kill you!" venom filled roar echoing through the nightly sky scared her shitless, and from the looks of it – not only her.
She had seen Cal in anger and knew how unpredictable and uncontrolled he could become. Right now, she no longer feared for herself, but for the reckless bastards who chose the wrong time and place to play gangsters.
Seeing the wild expression on Cal's face the guys rapidly retreated.
"And you..." Cal's menacing figure looming over her sent a fresh set of chills down her spine.
His dark eyes blazed in a barely controlled furry, completely overriding the overwhelming fear present there just seconds ago, "What were you thinking, damned heroine, one against three thugs? I thought you were smarter than that!"
When he saw Gill in danger, panic covered him like a sticky spider web. Never in his life had he been as terrified as in that instant.
Now, when the threat was over, he was torn between a desire to strangle the imp of a woman for greying his hair a notch and sweeping her off her feet and kissing her senseless. The combination of a fear for her life and a guilt for his inappropriate thoughts rapidly transformed into a cruelty.
Leaning down he roughly pulled Gill to her feet, his eyes darkly roamed over her body making sure that she had not suffered any permanent damage.
Not finding any visible injuries except for the slight bruises around her wrist and neck, he gripped her slender shoulders and shook with such a force that her head jolted, "Never do that again, do you hear me?"
Hearing his icy tone, Gill shuddered involuntarily, but his angry words made her snap out of the stupor.
Seriously? Gill thought irritably, dull headache starting to build at the back of her head where it had hit the ground. Once again, he was accusing her of something she had no control over without even bothering to set his facts straight. She was not, what did he call her, ah yes, a heroine in search for 'adventures', she just wanted to help the girl. Someone had to help the girl!
Spiteful sparks lit her eyes as she snapped hastily, "Who said I needed your help, I had everything under control…"
The grimace on Cal's face would have put into a shame the nastiest serial killer, "Off course you had, right after they …" he couldn't finish the sentence, instead smirking roughly, "Forgive me for interfering with your date night!"
"Jerk," Gill furiously muttered burning with a desire to slap him, but unable to break free from his grasp.
Reading her intention, Cal pulled her tighter in his arms effectively immobilizing her movements.
A sudden gust of the wind playing with the leaves threw a naughty strand of hairs over Gill's eyes. Cal pushed it aside, his fleeting touch burning her cold skin.
Their eyes met. Her poise versus his audacity.
His hands hot on her skin while his eyes scanned her face like a laser.
Cal squinted his eyes, but despite his outstanding skills was unable to read her. It was driving him mad. All he could tell was that she was shaken and confused, which would have been evident even to a simple by passer. His desire to kiss her getting stronger with every passing minute.
Not being as skilled as her partner in reading micro-emotions, Gill nevertheless noticed a subtle spasm on his face while he scanned the surroundings to make sure that the guys were gone, proving that his earlier threat was true. He had been ready to kill for her! The realization was both, intimidating and intoxicating.
His eyes shifted to her lips lingering there for a moment. When his dark orbs reclaimed hers, her stomach tightened from the mix of longing, desire and guilt she saw there.
The almost paralyzing intensity of his dark stare made Gill feel as if she was a defenseless rabbit facing a well-rounded python. For a moment she feared that Cal was able to actually read her unsettled thoughts. Little did she know that it was quite the opposite.
A thunder growled in the distance, a flesh of lightning split the stormy skies, but the electricity charging the air was nothing compared to the voltage radiating between the two.
tbc