Thank you once again for your kind words in the previous chapter. I am grateful for your feedback and any and all suggestions. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the ones that follow.
Chapter Seventeen
Sonny had finally had enough, he could sit still no longer, it was time to do something, so that is exactly what he was doing.
Instead of knocking on the door, he tapped it once, and then walked in. His eyes tried to adjust to the sight before him, but what he saw boggled the mind. "Umm, excuse me!"
Sonny's voice was drowned out as a shrill scream was dispelled from Elizabeth, as she tried without success to hide herself behind Jason's large frame. She couldn't run anywhere, she was without a doubt, trapped, seeing as how Jason was still holding her firmly against his hard body.
"Sonny, haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Jason growled, his displeasure at his bosses inability to remember simple manners, causing Jason to be even angrier than he was at first.
"Of course, but since when do we ever knock, we always just walk right in." Sonny said, hoping the lightness of his voice would dispel some of the awkwardness.
"If you know what is good for you, you would turn around now Sonny!" Jason exclaimed, looking at the now lobster red Elizabeth. "I'm sorry, I guess next time, if there is a next time, we should lock the doors and perhaps take it up stairs." He whispered, but he saw the mortification, and knew they probably just took twenty steps back from the place where they had just managed to get.
A small squeak escaped Elizabeth closed mouth, the mouth Jason wanted nothing more than to plunder with his own. "I'm going to go upstairs and…" Elizabeth said as she ran from the room.
"There better be a good reason why you came barging in here Sonny, did you forget that Elizabeth is living here." Jason asked, looking angrily at his boss.
"Actually, that was why I stopped by, I wanted to see how she was doing. She has been on my mind all day, and not being able to get any work done, I figured I might as well stop by." Sonny said, unable to hide his dimples and he didn't have the good grace to even look embarrassed.
"She's doing as good as can be expected, but I do believe it is time that she talked to someone, I am not capable of handling something of this magnitude, and while I would like to think I can help her, I think it is going to take a professional." Jason said, finally giving in to Sonny's concern.
"Has she said she wanted to talk to someone about the events?" Sonny asked, knowing Jason would do anything for the young woman.
"No, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to, but even if she doesn't, it is something she needs. Sure it would be a great boost to my ego, if I could save her, but she needs someone who can relate, someone who knows how the mind works, and that so isn't me!" Jason replied.
"Well, I wouldn't suggest pushing her right now, unless you think she is ready. By the way, Stan has yet to come up with anything on Lucky, I don't know what is going on with that boy, but his father definitely taught him how to go on the run. He isn't using any means by which we can track him." Sonny said, disappointed he couldn't offer his friend better news.
"Have you had Stan keeping an eye on newspapers and police reports. Lucky is unstable, if he couldn't go a day without beating on Elizabeth, what's to say he is no going to find control. Have Stan look for domestic abuse cases and other such information. I believe Lucky will sooner or later revert to his stupidity, it is only a matter of time before he makes a mistake, and when he does, we will be ready to pounce." Jason said, obviously having thought long and hard on the subject.
"Not a problem, I will get Stan looking into things like that, can you apologize to Elizabeth, I didn't mean to interrupt your time together." Sonny said, being oddly tactful. "I'll talk to you later."
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Lucky knew he had made a big mistake, whatever happened from here on out, he would have to find some control, and perhaps, lay of the liquor.
Doing the only thing that he could, Lucky pulled the comforter off the bed, then slipped the young woman onto it. With her situated, Lucky bundled her up and deposited her body in the bathroom.
"Excuse me, house cleaning." A voice on the other side of the door said.
Lucky quickly surveyed his lack of attire, confident when he didn't see any splatters of blood, he swiftly moved to the door, to prevent the woman's entrance.
"Sorry, I was just getting ready to take a shower, if you don't mind, just a clean set of sheets would be fine, I'll put them on. I was taught by my mother to fend for myself, just because I am staying in a hotel, doesn't mean I should forget my manners." Lucky said, hoping the little Asian woman was buying his story.
"Really sir, it is not a problem, I can be in and out in a matter of minutes, it is my job after all." She said a smile touching her lips.
"Thank you, but no thanks. Just the sheets, and I will handle the rest. Tomorrow I will be gone, so you won't have to worry about me getting in your way." Lucky replied, hoping his smile didn't look as false as it felt.
"Alright sir." She said as she pulled a fresh set of sheets from her cart. "Have a good day."
"Thanks, you too." Lucky said as he shut the door.
He tossed the sheets on the table that stood in the far left corner. That was a close call, he thought to himself, it's time to move quickly, time is of the essence.
Lucky pulled the dirty sheets from the bed, tossing them in a black garbage bag that he found underneath the sink in the bathroom. With that small chore taken care of, Lucky began to assess the damage to the mattress. Lucky sighed with relief when he noticed that the mattress was encased in a plastic cover, today it seemed he was living up to his name.
Returning to the bathroom, he filled the ice bucket with warm water and shampoo, seeing as how their was no cleaning agents in the room, it would have to do. Using one of the supplied washcloths, Lucky began to clean the plastic covering, grateful that the blood hadn't stained the cover.
He didn't have to worry about any blood being obvious on the carpet, the dark drown shag looked like it had seen thousands of battles over the centuries, the carpet was matted and had a decidedly used look. His luck was holding out, because he doubted they even bothered to steam clean the carpets anymore. Being cautious nonetheless, Lucky studiously inspected the carpet, unable to discern stains he had possibly made or those made by other people, he was pleasantly pleased, if things were going to fall apart, at least he had the good grace to have good luck, was that an oxymoron, he wondered to himself.
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Elizabeth sat on the bed, her cheeks still the color of a luscious red rose. She was embarrassed but she would survive, besides, it was probably a good thing Sonny had interrupted them.
She wanted Jason, she knew that. But the fact of it all, was she planning on sleeping with him, just so she could assuage her own fears. Was she taking advantage of Jason, just so she could feel something other than despair, regret and self-loathing? Maybe it was a mixture of all of that, but perhaps it was also the fact that her body reacted to him on such a level, that mere mortal thinking was not possible.
Would she ever have a moment in time, a moment of peace, where she didn't think about the abuse her body had sustained or the mental abuse she had long lived with, not just by Lucky, but by her parents, who couldn't be bothered with another daughter, her family who thought that she was the bad seed. Wasn't it about time she caught a break, or maybe, these things kept happening, because she wasn't worthy of love and affection. It wasn't something she wanted to believe, but fate had been pushing it in her face for long enough, was she a fool to not look at the facts.
Her thinking came to an abrupt end when a knock sounded on the door, she didn't bother saying anything, she knew it was Jason.
"Hi." Jason said sheepishly.
"Hey, so is Sonny gone?" Elizabeth asked, not really caring, but the mere mention of his name had the deep red blush rising back to her cheeks.
"Yeah he left a few minutes ago. He stopped by because he was worried about you." Jason said, hoping Sonny's worry didn't make her feel bad.
"Well that was nice of him, but he doesn't need to worry about me, not with you watching out for me." Elizabeth said is a saucy little whisper.
"Are you trying to tell me I hover?" Jason asked, cocking an eyebrow in her direction, while a smile flitted on his lips.
"No never, you just happen to be a little over protective." Elizabeth said, sliding closer to him.
Not bothering to answer her or reply, Jason simply took her lips prisoner with his own. He stopped the kiss before it could get out of hand, like it had downstairs, he knew it was still to soon, but she had such an effect on him, it was hard to think around her.
"Hey, no fair mister, why'd you stop?" Elizabeth asked, licking her lips.
"Because, we need to go to your grams and then to Bobbie's, I know you would like to have more stuff here and I am sure you are worried about your job, whether you decide to tell them what is going on or not, I think you at least need to let them know you are living here." Jason said.
"I-I'm, living here?" Elizabeth asked in a whisper.
"Well, I didn't want to take to much upon myself, but I figured, with Lucky out there and the threat he poses to you, I just figured you would want to stay where you are safe." Jason replied, desperately wanting her to stay, but knowing there wasn't a single thing he could do to stop her, if she decided she wanted to go.
"I suppose, but what about when lucky isn't a threat anymore, what then, where will I live?" Elizabeth questioned, her eyes full of hope.
"What's to say you won't always want to live here, I know my life is better with you in it, I know that will never change and while this may be too soon, I think you moving in here on a more permanent basis would be good." Jason said, unable to say what he truly wanted to say, the words always left him when he needed them the most.
"Wh-where would I sleep?" Elizabeth asked, her voice filled with her innocence.
"I was thinking that after we finished all those other errands, we could stop off and pick you up a bed or bedroom set. There is no need to rush our relationship, wherever we go from here, it's going to be up to us." Jason explained.
"Jason, you don't have to spend that kind of money on me, the couch is more than fine." Elizabeth answered, already feeling guilty.
"We can talk about it more later, lets just get ready and go. Besides, I am not looking forward to the talk we will be having with your grandmother, that is if you want me with you?" Jason said, suddenly unsure of himself and his place in Elizabeth's life.
"There is no place I would want to be, that didn't have you. I don't know if I need you to always be there to feel safe, but I know I want you there." Elizabeth said, unable to hide the blush that once again crept into her cheeks.
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