Chapter nine

The next few days passed by quickly and Lenny had time to reflect on her acceptance of Jack's offer of a date. Her brother said he wasn't a good man, but so far he had only been nice to her. He wasn't Kevin, though, and she sighed despondently. When had she started really feeling anything for the big man other than as a family friend? Now all she could think about were his eyes and the way he kissed, his big arms and hands and...she sighed again and squeezed her eyes closed, willing away the image of him. He didn't matter right now, what mattered was that tonight was her date with Jack and she had no idea what would be appropriate to wear. She supposed she'd have to wear a dress, although she would be more comfortable in jeans, but if he was taking her to dinner then she wanted to look nice. She opted for a simple black dress that hung straight down, only hinting at the curves underneath. It wasn't low cut or short skirted, and she thought it would give out the right sort of message. She looked classy in it, she thought, for a change. Adding kitten heels, she went to her dressing table and brushed her long hair until it hung in a shining curtain down her back. Her face needed very little make up and she only added a touch, then went downstairs to await her date.

She was surprised to find Kevin sitting with her brother as he hadn't been around since he had come to dinner, and she managed to keep the pleased expression off her face, her eyes feasting on him briefly. Jack was definitely a poor second to a man like that, she thought, and then mentally kicked herself because she shouldn't be thinking that way.

"You look very nice," her brother said, looking fairly solemn. He really wasn't happy about her date, she thought, and he had been quite vocal about it for the last few days. But she ignored him, she still had something to prove to Kevin Nash, and this was the only way she knew how. He thought no-one would date her, and she was going to prove him wrong!

Kevin looked at her almost reluctantly and then froze, his mouth parting on an indrawn breath. She looked more than nice, she looked stunning. He looked her up and down slowly, trying to analyse why he thought that. It wasn't the dress, or the shoes, or any of the peripherals...it was just her. He had missed the sight of her since last week, and he was only just realising it. Dragging his eyes away he stared at the television fixedly, frowning. He had to stop thinking that way, he had to. He was too old for her. Maybe this Jack person would be the best thing for her, even if he hated the idea of her going out with anyone at all.

A knock on the door startled him and he glanced up again as Lenny rushed off to answer it, his eyes narrowing angrily as he saw the stocky cowboy come into the hall and give her a kiss on the cheek, taking his hat off as he did so. The gentlemanly conduct made him wary for some reason, and he frowned as he watched the other man. Something about him wasn't right, but he couldn't for the life of him decide what it was. Just a gut feeling, but he had learned to trust them over the years. Sam walked out to greet him, his whole demeanour stiff and unyielding, and the look he gave the other man conveyed a message which should be unmistakable, providing Jack Penn wasn't stupid.

As soon as Lenny left the house with him, Kevin stood up and joined Sam, watching out of the window as they drove off. "Right, I guess I should get going," he said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Did they say where they were going?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, something about a steak house on the edge of Lake Street...you know the one?"

Kevin nodded and opened his mouth to answer, frowning when a faint noise came from behind him. Both men turned around and Sam's eyes widened when he saw Rachel leaning against the wall looking white. He rushed over to her. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I don't know...I feel dizzy and sick," she said, swallowing down the extreme nausea with some difficulty. She raised panicked eyes to her husband. "Sam, what if something's wrong with the baby?"

He shook his head, and pulled her into his arms. "It's probably fine, but we'd better make sure. We'll go to the hospital."

Kevin shifted behind them. "I'll drive you," he offered, forgetting about Lenny for the moment. This was more important.

"Thanks, Kev," Sam said gratefully, helping Rachel out of the house and onto the porch, where they waited for Kevin to go get his truck. Lenny was the furthest thing from all their minds at that moment.

*******

Jack Penn pulled out a chair for Lenny and made sure she was seated before he sat opposite her. For some reason women liked all that gallantry shit, he thought, hiding his irritation. Why they couldn't just sit down like a man did was beyond him. Still, it could turn out to be worthwhile. Lots of women had fallen for the charm, and those who hadn't...well, he had pretty much had them as well. His eyes ran over Lenny's figure and he had to restrain himself from licking his lips. This one was a nice juicy little package, and he couldn't wait to try her out.

Lenny looked up and caught his stare, and she shifted, feeling a little uncomfortable. There was just something in his eyes that she didn't like, but otherwise he was okay. And it was only a date, just one little date, she reminded herself.

"Decided what you'd like?" he asked her as she scanned her menu, and she nodded with a small smile.

"I think I'll have a small steak and salad," she said, folding the menu and laying it on the table.

Jack frowned. "That all? You sure? What about a drink?"

"Er...just coke, thanks," she told him.

"Come on, you can't just have coke. How about a glass of wine? That won't hurt, you know," he teased, smiling warmly at her, his eyes sparkling as she smiled back.

"Okay, then," she said, smiling and telling herself to relax and enjoy the evening.

Jack ordered for them and then started asking her questions about her life, what she thought of ranching and how she felt about the world of wrestling. He didn't know very much about Mark Calloway, except he was the big boss, and he hadn't ever met the man. He said how he'd watched him on the TV occasionally, and how he also knew Kevin Nash from his days in WCW, when he used to watch Nitro on Monday nights. Eventually he managed to get around to talking about himself, and Lenny was sort of grateful, as it meant she really didn't have to say anything, just listen. She ate her dinner slowly while he talked and then they ordered dessert, and she hoped the evening would end soon, because it occurred to her that she and Jack Penn had nothing in common except the ranch.

When the bill came he looked at it briefly and then pulled out some notes, throwing them on the table and getting up. Lenny smiled when he helped her up and they left the restaurant and got back in his car. She turned to him and smiled. "Thanks for the meal, it was really nice," she said, trying to inject a tiny amount of enthusiasm into her voice even though she felt none.

"I'm glad, but the evening isn't over yet darlin'," he said, grinning as he started the car and drove further into the City.

"Where are we going?" she asked him, a little worried.

"Just to a bar I know, you'll like it. It's got a real...old-fashioned feel about it. I thought maybe we could have a couple of drinks and then head back, is that okay?"

"Oh, well, yeah, I guess that would be okay," she said, relaxing a bit because he had actually asked. She didn't really like bars herself, but if it was old-fashioned then it probably wasn't too bad. She pictured something like the bar in Cheers, and a smile tilted her lips.

But that picture didn't last long. When they stopped and he walked her along the street to the bar in question, she looked up to find a huge neon sign with a dancing woman on it. Not knowing what to say, or what she would find inside, she allowed him to lead her into the dim confines of the packed building and guide her to the bar. Her eyes widened as she looked around. Sure, the place was old-fashioned, but the topless women who were dancing on top of the tables and sitting on some of the men's laps were very modern, and she found herself blushing. Someone pinched her backside as they reached the bar and she turned to find out who it was, only to find several men leering at her and she quickly spun back around and moved closer to the relative safety of Jack. He shouted to the enormously fat bartender and then ordered their drinks, handing her another glass of wine as the fat man spoke to him. She didn't hear what they were saying, she was too numb, and she wanted to go home. A huge sip of her wine helped a little, and she risked looking around again, finding herself the object of some attention. The music in the place was so loud she could barely think, but no-one else seemed to care, and several people were dancing drunkenly on a lit up dance floor, some of the topless women nearby.

Jack finished chatting to the bartender and turned to her, giving her a smile that made her shiver, but not in a good way. "You okay?" he asked her, raising one eyebrow.

She nodded reluctantly and let him take her over to a table. "Jack? Can we leave soon, I don't really like it here," Lenny said, having to raise her voice to be heard.

"Why not? This is a great place, just give it a chance," he said, turning his head away and staring at the nearest near naked woman, his grin widening as he leered at her.

Lenny stared at him and then took another swallow of her drink, wishing she had the guts to make her way out of here on her own. But trying to get out through the crowd of mostly men would be almost impossible, and she doubted she would be untouched throughout the trip. She looked nervously around her, feeling trapped in her seat and a small group of men next to her starting talking about her. She heard comments about her legs, how her ass would look without the dress in the way and how well endowed she was up top. Turning her red face quickly away from them she tugged at Jack's sleeve and he turned reluctantly to look at her. "What?" he asked, his eyes harder than they had been.

"Jack, those men keep saying things....I want to leave, right now!" she said, injecting a note of authority into her voice to make him listen to her.

"Oh, come on, they're probably just complimenting you! Don't be so uptight," he said, going to turn away again.

She couldn't believe his attitude, and it made her really angry. "If you don't take me home right now, I'll go by myself and Sam will fire you!" she threatened, hoping that would get his attention. Luckily it did, and she breathed a sigh of relief when he rolled his eyes and stood up, holding out his hand to draw her through the crowd.

"Okay," he shouted at her, "fine, we'll go. Better go by the back door, though, it's quicker."

She didn't bother asking why, she was too glad to be leaving the horrible place, and she wondered why anyone would ever come to such a bar. Apart from men, of course.

Once they got out of the door and the music was finally shut in behind them, she had time to look around, and she found they were in the back alley to the building. "What are we doing out here?" she asked, sounding a bit dumb.

"You wanted to leave, I wanted to get you alone...so, here we are," Jack said, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around to face him.

"What?" she asked.

"You heard me, I wanted to get you alone. Come here," he said, pulling her towards him. Lenny put her hands up and pressed against his chest, turning her head when he bent to kiss her. "Oh, come on, Lenny. You know why I wanted to go on a date, you aren't that stupid!" he said, pulling her harder until he had his arms wrapped around her and she was trapped. "Or maybe you are, but that don't matter." He bent and pressed his lips to hers, having difficulty because she kept trying to turn away, but he moved one of his arms and held her chin in place, moving them both back so she was pressed into the wall and couldn't move.

"No!" Lenny said, shocked by his actions. "Get off me, Jack!" she yelled, when he released her mouth for long enough.

"Don't play hard to get, honey," he sneered nastily, tilting her head again and attacking her mouth with more ferocity. She struggled wildly, groaning in pain when he slammed her back against the wall hard, her whole back hurting with the force of the movement.

Lenny started feeling sick when Jack tried to push his tongue into her mouth, and his hands roamed her body more freely, trying to find an opening in the dress so he could touch her. She struggled harder, managing to hit him a couple of times in the body, which seemed to make him angrier.

"Fuck, you little bitch," he yelled when she scraped her nails down his face to get him off her. He levered away from her suddenly and then slapped her across the face, hard. She slid down the wall in a daze and stayed still, trying to regain her focus after the blow. Jack rubbed a hand down his cheek and swore again when it came away with blood on it. "Stay there, bitch. Seems you're feistier than I thought, so I may need help with you. You should have told me you wanted more than one man to bang you, it ain't no problem. I'm sure some of those guys in there would be only too happy, and I don't have a problem with sharing." He laughed and turned away, making his way back into the bar. As soon as he was out of sight Lenny pulled herself unsteadily to her feet, forcing herself into motion and running down the alleyway and into the street. She had no idea where she was at the moment, but it didn't really matter. She had to get away right now before he came back and followed up on his threat. Tears blurred her vision as she ran and she noticed that it was a very quiet neighbourhood, no-one seemed to be around. Eventually the pain in her side from running so fast slowed her down, and she veered into another small alley, relieved to find it was incredibly dark down there and led out into an open lot at the back. No lights would illuminate her and she knew that in this case the darkness was her friend.

She was only glad she had remembered to bring her cell phone out with her, and she flipped it open, dialling her home number and waiting for her brother to pick up. But after several rings she realised that he wasn't there, for some reason, and the tears returned with a vengeance. She was stuck out here with no way to get home, no car, and scared to death that Jack Penn would find her. There wasn't really much choice, she had to call Kevin. She shakily dialled Mark's home number and waited, relief making a sob rise up in her throat when it was answered on the second ring. "K-K-Kevin?"

There was a pause. "Lenny?" he asked quietly, sounding unsure.

She sobbed again, her feelings coming out more now she could hear a friendly voice. "Yes, it's me. Kevin.....Jack tried to....he tried....I got away, but he… he tried...and I ran."

Kevin put his mug of coffee down and sat up straight in his chair, switching the TV off with the remote as his heart started hammering wildly in his chest. "Lenny, sweetheart, calm down. Where are you?"

"I don't know!" she wailed, really crying now as she looked around her at the darkness.

"Think, darlin', tell me whereabouts Jack took you," he said, trying to keep his voice calm.

"He took me to this bar...and it had naked women in it....I didn't like it there and these men kept saying things and Jack took me outside and he tried to....to..."

Kevin gritted his teeth at the picture he was getting, and he tried to think of the location of some of the bars he and Mark had been to over the years. It sure sounded like a few he had frequented. "Sweetheart, tell me what the bartender looked like."

"He was fat...and bald and...and I think he sounded Irish, but it was so loud I couldn't hear properly, and there was this sign outside with a dancing girl on it...but I can't think...Kevin, I'm scared," she said softly, her crying abating somewhat.

Her words tore at him and he closed his eyes. "Okay, sweetie, you just stay put. I think he took you to Murphy's. Now where did you run off to, can you remember?"

"I don't know, it's really dark," she said, her voice shaking. "We were down an alley."

"And you left the alley? Which direction did you go? Left or Right?"

"I w-went right...and I ran a long way and I found another alley...that's where I am now, but there's no lighting down here and there's an empty lot at the end. I don't know what to do...what if comes after me?" she asked, her voice rising hysterically.

"Shh, sweetiepie, it'll be okay. I'll get to you before he does, I'm on my way now. I think I know where you are. Stay put and don't make a sound unless you hear my voice, okay?" he asked, grabbing his keys off the table as he stood up, the phone tucked into his shoulder.

"O-o-okay," she stammered, sounding terrified.

"I'll take my cell phone, so if you need to call me, you have my number okay?" he told her, slipping his phone in his pocket. "I'll be with you in a couple of minutes."

Lenny made a small noise of agreement and then he put the phone down, running out of the house and leaping into his truck, glad he had left it outside the front door instead of in the garage. He knew Murphy's bar and he had a fair idea of where the empty lot was she was talking about, but it would take him at least ten minutes to get there, and he only hoped she would be okay in that time.