Chapter four, page two

Just then the bathroom door was thrust open with a large bang.  I spun around and pulled the shower curtain open enough to reveal my wet head and bare shoulders.

“Get out of here!”  I screamed as if I had no idea there would be men with guns standing in my hotel bathroom.

The pony-tail man stood aiming his gun at me.  He lowered it slightly as he took in what he probably assumed was a naked woman in a shower.  His eyebrows bobbed with his imagination.  “Someone wants to see you.”  He sputtered out in broken English.

The next voice that spoke did not come from our Pony-tail toting mobster.  It was a deeper voice; one that rang with elegance and sophistication.  “You are looking lovely as always, Cathie.” 

The pony-tail man stepped aside to allow Dean to enter the crowded bathroom.  Although in my mind I had seen Dean and I knew it was him, his appearance still caught me off guard.

He was a solid man with wide shoulders which seemed to be tightly packed inside a white silk shirt.  His dark eyes matched his almost black hair.  It was cut short but you could still see the tell tale signs of unruly curls.

“You have graced us with a visit again, Darling.”  His voice held many suggestive cues as he watched me with his penetrating eyes.

I felt naked.  I felt sick.  There must have been a sign as Quinn’s hand came and rested on my hip.  I was thankful he was there.

“I hadn’t included you on my itinerary.” 

Dean smiled a mischievous smirk.  “Well, we don’t always get what we want, now do we dear?”  Then he stepped closer.  “Unless you are me.  And what I want is your boyfriend.”  There was no joking in his voice or his eyes now.

I pretended to think for a second.  “Hmm, I’m afraid you will have to be more specific than that.”

“You know exactly who I am talking about.  The charming and devilishly handsome young man you entered the hotel lobby with tonight.  Besides, who else could I mean?  How many other men do you have stashed around here, my Dear?”

"Well, for starters I don’t have any men stashed around here.”  Oh, I hope that isn’t counted as a lie.  It is indirectly false.  After all, ‘stashed’ sounds more like hoarding something into a small tight hiding spot.  Quinn is almost in plain view.  Almost?

“Let’s not be coy, Darling.  You know what happens when I don’t get my way.  I want you to give your boyfriend a message from me.”  Dean began to speak out the message when I rudely cut him off.

“Sorry Dean.  I am not your personal secretary or his.”

Dean stepped right up to the shower curtain and every muscle in me tightened on high alert.  I felt Quinn’s hands squeeze tight around my waist as well.  It felt like he’d be prepared to remove me from my post if Dean reached out for the curtain.

“Cathie, Cathie.  You were always too bold for your own good.  Do not cross me Darling.  I prefer to keep our relationship fun and adventurous.  It would spoil my day if I had to teach you a lesson in manners.”  His eyes bore into mine with a deep passion.  However it wasn’t the kind a passion a woman would ever dream about.  It was a dark and twisted passion that revolved entirely around power and conquering.  At that moment, I hoped that I never had a past with this man as he did imply.

“Dean.  Say your message and then get out.  Though, I will not promise you that Quinn will get it.”

He didn’t move or speak.  He watched me with intensity.  Then his head bobbed very discreetly to the right.  Instantly Pony-tail man stepped into action walking towards me with his gun poised.  He came right to the side of Dean watching me over the barrel of his long hand gun.

I had never seen a real gun close up before.  You'd think it would fill me with fear.  I should have tossed the curtain back to reveal what they wanted to see in order to save my life.  But I didn’t.  I felt safe.  I felt secure.  Strangely I felt I knew exactly what I was doing.  I wasn’t going to die.  It was just an idle threat.

So I spoke with authority.  “Speak your message and then get out of my bathroom now.  And take your thugs with you.”

Dean and I stared at each other for a moment and then he released his henchmen with a slight nod of his head again and they all left the room.  At the doorway, Dean paused and turned to see me again.  His eyes softened slightly.  “Please tell Quinn to come find me.  Preferably before I find him.  On a nicer note, I hope I will see you again during your stay in our wonderful City.  Perhaps after this mess with Quinn is cleaned up, you will allow me to take you to dinner?”

Where he gets the audacity to ask me for a date, I do not know.   “Not likely”, was the nicest response I could think of.

He took one last seductive glance before turning to leave.  “Too bad, Darling.”

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