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  A groan of nausea came from behind the beast holding Megan, and then with her head hanging upside down, she puked all over the back of the guy’s pants. He threw her down to the ground with a vicious thud. I struggled to free myself but it was impossible.

  “Let her go now, and I won’t have to wipe up that puke with your ugly face.”

  Tears flowed before Jude had gotten the first words out. I hadn’t seen him walk up, but I could feel him standing behind me.

  The attention on the otherwise deserted sidewalk had turned to the guy who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The jerk holding me pushed me aside and I spun around. Jude was standing with his hands in his jeans pockets, facing down all three guys as if they were made of paper. His gaze softened as he glanced toward me. “You all right?”

  I nodded. “There are too many.” The pleading tone in my voice had no effect.

  Jude looked over at Megan. “Peel her up off the sidewalk and drag her into that diner. Lock the door behind you.”

  The guy with puke on his pants shoved the sleeves of his jacket up over his forearms. “Yeah, girlie, you’re not going want to see this.”

  “Go, Eden,” Jude said.

  My heart was slamming against my chest as I ran over and grabbed hold of Megan’s arm and pulled her to her feet. She moaned in pain and both her knees were bleeding as she stumbled toward the diner. I shoved her through the door and looked back through blurry, wet eyes.

  The guy drew back his arm and threw his fist at Jude. Sobriety was on Jude’s side. He easily ducked out of the way, and the giant staggered forward. Jude raised his foot and shoved the guy face first into the sidewalk.

  His two friends lunged toward Jude.

  “Jude!” I screamed, hoping to warn him, but it had the opposite effect. And in the split second that I’d had his attention, the other two jumped him. Jude managed to throw one of them off just as the other landed a solid punch to Jude’s face. The first guy had recuperated and rage steamed off of him as he stooped over, roared with anger, and plowed into Jude as if he was on the football field taking out an opponent. Only in this game there was no ref and no rules. Jude groaned as the guy slammed him hard against the building.

  My feet took off before my brain had even told me to move. The sidewalk seemed to have magically stretched and it felt as if it took me forever to reach them, and in that time, I wondered just what the hell I would do once I got there. My adrenaline rocketed me into the air and I jumped on the guy’s back and clawed his face. He threw me off with hardly any effort, and I fell back hard on the sidewalk.

  Annoying little pest gone, the guy concentrated on his real prey. Jude had held his own for a few minutes but the three against one scenario had definitely turned the odds against him. Blood dripped from Jude’s mouth and nose as he staggered forward to hit the guy in front of him. I was still at ground level and with his drunken state to help me, I kicked my leg and toppled one of the beasts. He fell to his knees with a thud, and I could have sworn the sidewalk shook from the impact. The guy pushed to his feet and swung around with a look that told me to get the hell up and run.

  It was time to do what I should have done in the first place. I raced to the diner to call the police, but before I reached the door, headlights lit up the sidewalk. I twisted back around. The scene on the sidewalk looked as if it was under the spotlight on a stage. Two of the guys had taken hold of Jude and the third one was pummeling him, seemingly ignorant of the car that had pulled up in front of the bar. I squinted into the harsh headlights, hoping it was a police car. But, oddly enough, it was a limousine.

  The car door opened and a familiar figure stepped out. The guy administering the beating finally stopped and looked around at the person standing next to the limo. Then another figure stepped out of the car, and this one made the three attackers look petite. I’d seen Nicky King’s bodyguard once but the sight of him slapped the breath from me. He had to be close to seven feet tall, and I half expected the sleeves and legs of his shirt and pants to be tattered, his Hulk transformation complete.

  I wandered over to the scene, wondering if I’d been knocked senseless by the fall to the sidewalk or if I was actually witnessing the sight in front of me. The two guys holding a rather bloody and limp looking Jude kept their hold on their victim, but their mouths dropped open in a perfectly suited apelike fashion.

  “I don’t fucking believe it,” one of the guys muttered, “it’s Nicky King.”

  “You better fucking believe it,” Nicky answered in that awesome British accent, “and that’s my kid you’re beating the shit out of.” Nicky’s bodyguard took several steps toward them, and they released Jude and stumbled back with eyes as wide as marbles. Jude sank to the ground. “Jude!” I ran to him and dropped to my knees.

  “Hey,” he said weakly.

  I winced at the pain in his tone. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, but everything from chin up hurts like hell and the ribs ain’t feeling great either.”

  “I wish there was something I could do to help.”

  He shifted his green eyes toward me with minimal movement of his face and head. “I’m sure I can think of something.”

  Conveniently having missed all of the fight action, some of the bar patrons finally emerged from the dark saloon to see what was going on. Immediately phones came out of pockets and an excited murmur rolled down the line of onlookers. Never mind that a guy was slumped on the sidewalk with a swollen face and blood loss, there was a rock star standing in front of their bar.

  As fast as the phones were lifted for pictures, the humongous body guard stepped in front of Nicky, shielding him like a brick wall. His voice was as impressive and frightening as his size. “Unless you want to lose those phones, you’ll put them back in your pockets now.” The group of curious spectators moved fast to follow his command.

  Seconds later, and fashionably late, a police car pulled up. The officers stepped out and looked just as star struck as everyone else on the sidewalk. I half expected them to pull out their book of citations for an autograph. It was fascinating to see everyone’s reaction. Maybe my dad wasn’t that far out of the norm.

  One of the officers gained his composure quicker than the other. He assessed the scene and pointed to the three jerks standing in the shadows of the building. “You three sit down right where you are with hands behind your heads.” They followed his command immediately. Nicky walked over to talk to policemen.

  Jude rested against me. “You were right,” he mumbled through his swollen mouth.

  “There were too many. What happened to locking the door?”

  “I did lock it.”

  “I meant for you to lock it once you were behind it.”

  I lifted his hand and traced my fingertip over his swollen knuckles. “I did, but then Megan screamed, and after that things went to hell.” I kissed his knuckles. “This time I deserve the blame,” I said. “I ran out to help Megan, but I should have just called the police instead. Where did you come from anyway?”

  He lifted a weak arm and pointed toward the trailer across the street. “I decided to stay in the construction trailer and keep an eye on you.”

  “You stayed because of me?”

  “Yeah, Valley, I did. Does that take me off the shit list?”

  “Maybe.” I leaned over and kissed the edge of his jaw, the only spot without swelling or blood.

  “I think I’m going to need a lot more first aid than that to fix everything that hurts, Doc.” He gave me his hand. “Help me up, and we’ll talk about my personalized medical treatment later.” He groaned in pain as he pressed his arm against his rib cage. It took some effort for him to stand.

  “You’ve been beaten senseless and yet you’re completely focused on sex,” I said, with a certain degree of amazement.

  He turned to fa
ce me. One of his eyes was swollen and there was an ugly gash above it. “Uh, yeah.” He reached up with the back of his hand and wiped away the blood from his mouth. “I’m not too proud to accept pity sex either.”

  Nicky walked over with the two policemen. “Jude, do you need an ambulance. I was just telling these officers how you were jumped by these drunken bar patrons.”

  “No ambulance. And yeah, that’s basically what happened. They were going after Eden, and I stepped in to help her. But how the heck did you end up here, Dad?”

  Nicky looked down at me for the first time and smiled. “Finley sent me to pick someone up.”

  His words took a moment to register. “She did?” I couldn’t keep the elation out of my tone.

  “I did.” A small but distinctive voice came from the open door of the limo, and a head of white blonde hair popped up from behind the tinted window. She looked tiny next to the ridiculously long car but as usual her impact was huge.

  “Finley!” I pulled away from Jude, and he staggered sideways a second but his dad caught him.

  “Don’t worry about me, Valley. Just a few broken ribs and brain swelling.” Jude called to me as I raced to the limo.

  I nearly knocked Finley over as I threw my arms around her. We completely ignored the scene behind us as tears and cries of joy kept us in a tight hug for several minutes.

  We finally came up for air. Finley looked up at me. She was paler and thinner than when I’d last seen her, but the overwhelming sadness, the grim aura of depression had vanished. “Please come home with us, Eden. I really need you.” She glanced toward her brother and then hopped up on her toes. “And so does the ass,” she whispered. She crinkled her tiny nose. “Wow, he really took a beating.”

  I looked back at Jude as he spoke to the officers. His shoulders were slightly hunched in pain and his face showed the same. “I told him there were too many of them.”

  Finley wrapped her hand around my arm, and it felt as if none of the bad stuff had happened, it felt as if we were still strongly connected by friendship. “That boy never listens. I guess you’ve probably already discovered that.”

  Jude looked our way and he seemed to know that we were talking about him. The poor guy looked miserable beneath the bruises and swelling. I blew him a kiss and the hurt in his face lessened some. I had to give the police my statement and then they pulled Megan from the diner to get hers.

  Megan walked past me with her arms crossed tightly around herself. Then surprisingly, she stopped and looked up at me. “Thanks.”

  I nodded. “No problem.”

  The three guys were cuffed and put into the back of the police car, but Nicky wasn’t certain they would press charges. He didn’t want the hassle or publicity of a trial. I returned to the limo. Jude was inside holding a bag of ice on his eye. Finley was tucked in next to him holding a cold can of beer against his lips.

  I leaned into the car. “Maybe he could just sit in the little refrigerator.”

  Finley laughed but Jude seemed less amused. Nicky returned to the car. “Let’s get him home. My personal physician is meeting us at the house.” He motioned me to get inside, but I stopped.

  “I can’t leave the diner. The owner is a really nice guy, and he’s expecting me to open up in the morning. Otherwise he’ll lose business.” I didn’t want to stay behind in the lonely little room upstairs, but I’d made a promise to Billy.

  “Do you have the owner’s number?” Nicky asked.

  “It’s by the phone in the diner.”

  “Great,” he didn’t say another word but walked toward the diner and disappeared inside.

  I looked questioningly at Finley and she shrugged. “You never know with my dad.” She patted the seat next to her and I climbed inside.

  The long night had taken its toll, and I rested my head against her shoulder. “Jude,” I said quietly, “thanks.”

  “So you forgive me?”

  Finley and I laughed. “We’ll see,” I answered.

  Finley lowered the beer can from his face. “I would not let him off that easily.”

  I leaned forward and looked at him. “I don’t know. He looks pretty miserable.”

  “I am miserable.”

  Nicky returned and leaned in. “All taken care of. The bloke didn’t believe me at first, so I had to sing a few lines of Oblivious. Then he decided it was really me. Anyhow, he’s going to open up tomorrow and look for a new waitress. I left a couple of hundreds on his counter to compensate him for his troubles.” He looked over at Jude. “We better get Sugar Ray home. Let’s go collect up your things, Eden.” Nicky King looked at me, and for once he didn’t look like a wealthy, famous rock star who barely took notice of people around him. He looked like a dad, a dad who was grateful that his kids were safe and that I was their friend. “I’m glad you’re coming back, Eden.”

  ***

  Finley walked around without a care in the world, but I was on the edge of a complete freak out. She smiled back at me as we headed down the stairs. She took time to tap the banisters because her doctor assured her there was no real harm in it.

  A wide grin split her face. “I think you’re the one who is going to need the tranquilizers. Not your dad.”

  “You don’t understand the depth of his craziness when it comes to Nicky King and Black Thunder. There is no telling how he’ll react when he meets your dad. I can’t even describe the monstrously embarrassing scenarios that keep running through me head. I’ve been having nightmares about it, Fin, nightmares.”

  “Jude said your parents were really cool, and I, for one, cannot wait to have a long girl chat with Sophie.”

  “Yes, my parents are cool . . . most of the time, but this is too big for my dad. I don’t think he’ll be able to handle himself, so be prepared.” We reached the massive entry and my family was standing there with the same dropped jaw reaction I’d had when I’d first seen the sea of marble. Sophie and Janie ran toward me, but Sophie veered off immediately into Finley’s arms. “Nice to see you too, Sophie,” I said.

  The sound of tiny hooves clattered behind us, and both sisters squealed in unison. “Some Pig, Some Pig,” Sophie hopped up and down and clapped but Janie stood a safe distance back to admire him from afar.

  Finley walked over to my parents who were still getting over the shock of the mansion’s grandeur. “I’m Finley King and I’m so glad to meet you. I’m absolutely crazy about your daughter.”

  A huge smile spread across my mom’s face as she looked at me. “We’re pretty crazy about her too.”

  Footsteps tapped the marble floor behind me, and I froze wondering if this was the moment I was dreading.

  “Hey, Jude,” Dad called and then laughed at the greeting. “I really didn’t try for that. It just happened. But I suppose I could have said hello, Jude. But it is sort of funny.”

  “Dad, relax and take some deep breaths, so you don’t have to spend the afternoon with a paper bag over your face.”

  He looked at me and sucked in a long breath and held it as if he were attending a yoga class. He released it. “You know, Eden, that helped.”

  “Finley, are you going to keep the guests in the bloody entryway?”

  Dad’s eyes widened, and I could hear him gasp in one more breath and then he pushed it out.

  “How are you doing? I’m Nicky King.” Nicky reached out and took his hand. And never could I have predicted my Dad’s reaction.

  “How are you doing? Jack Saxon and this is my wife Rebecca and our daughters, Sophie and Janie. I’m a big fan,” he said calmly as if he were introducing his family to the mailman.

  “Let’s all go into the living room. The chef whipped us up some snacks, Then I can take you on a tour of the grounds,” Nicky said.

  My parents walked with Nicky. Their heads bobbed
back and forth like in a tennis match as they took in all the splendor. Finley had Sophie’s and Janie’s hands, and Some Pig trotted behind them. Janie kept looking back over her shoulder at the pig as if she wasn’t completely sure about him yet. Jude and I followed the crowd.

  He took hold of my hand. “See, and you were sure your dad wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t get it. I was sure he would need a straight jacket. I guess he’s more together than I thought.”

  “Have you told your parents that you’re staying here to attend college in the fall?” he asked.

  “Not yet. I don’t want to spoil this day at all for my dad.” I looked over at him. His face still had some light yellow bruising, but for the most part, it had healed up to its original state of heartbreaking perfection. “Have you and your dad come to an agreement about art school?”

  A small grin curled the side of his mouth. “I think he’s come to grips with the reality that my passion is for painting and not music.” He grabbed my hand suddenly and pulled me around a corner and out of view of everyone else. He pressed me up against the wall and his arm snaked around my waist as he drew me against him. His mouth lowered near mine. “And speaking of passion,” his breath floated over my lips, “I’ve found one that has nothing to do with paints and canvas.” His lips grazed mine. “Eden.”

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