Chapter 83
As AJ pulled in behind Howie’s parked corvette, Howie leapt from the car, Sarah right behind him. Kristina sat in the passenger seat of the car, the door open, her legs planted firmly on the concrete below. Her hair was damp, the color of her skin ashen at best and she was shaking, her hands swollen and bleeding.
Kneeling beside her, Howie examined her injuries and asked Sarah to go and retrieve the bottle of water that he had been drinking from the car.
"What happened, sweetheart?" he asked gingerly.
By the time AJ had gotten out of the car and made his way to where she was sitting, his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. He stood motionless not sure what to say or do as Sarah zipped past him with the water bottle and a scarf in her hand.
Kristina had still not answered Howie’s question when Sarah returned. "My God, Kris. What did you do?"
From behind, AJ said, "Looks like she and that sign over there had a fight."
Turning to the sign that now barely stood above the ground, you could see blood smeared across the dents that left it leaning over and visibly abused.
Finally snapping out of her trance, Kristina looked it over and then smirked. "I think I won!"
"I don’t know" Sarah smirked, "Looks like you got roughed up a bit too."
Kristina glanced down at Howie who was relatively quiet. He was studying her hands and she knew by the look on his face that he had realized that she wasn’t wearing her engagement ring.
He said nothing as he took the bottle of water from Sarah and gingerly poured the liquid over the cuts and bruises, dabbing at them with the scarf she had found, trying his best not to hurt her.
"Mi belleza terca, el amor de mi vida, qué yo haré jamás con usted?" he whispered, shaking his head in dismay.
Smiling, she asked, "Me ama para siempre y aprende a domesticar mi genio?"
Howie stopped what he was doing and looked up at her, amazed that she had learned to speak his native language. He knew that she loved to hear him speak Spanish but he was quite surprised that she had learned to speak fluently in the time they had been apart. His heart soared. It was an affirmation that she had indeed been thinking of him during their time apart and that she truly was his soul mate, the one woman that belonged only to him.
"Hermoso, mi amor. Absolutamente hermoso."
Kristina giggled, the color in her pale face slowly resurfacing. "I was going to save it for a special occasion, but seeing the pain on your face because I’m not wearing my engagement ring, I thought it was the perfect time to display my talents."
"Excuse me!" AJ said sarcastically as he cleared his throat in frustration. "Some of us don’t have a clue what you were saying. Care to share?"
"NO!" they said in unison, causing Sarah to laugh out loud.
"Fine then!" he snorted.
Without looking into her eyes, afraid his emotions would betray him, he asked, "Why aren’t you wearing the ring?"
She pulled her hands from his, and forced him to look at her. Taking the engagement ring from her purse, she held it up for display. "I was afraid that it would get damaged so I took it off. I’m sorry if I hurt you."
"At least you used your head. By the looks of that sign and your hands, there probably wouldn’t be much left of it" Sarah smirked. "You really need to learn to curb that temper, Kris."
Kristina’s eyes flashed with anger as she turned towards her friend. "I would think that YOU of all people would understand how I feel, or do I have to remind you of what I looked like after your brother decided it would be fun to slit my throat and beat me until no one recognized me? I just came face to face with the man that tried to murder me, for Gods sake, and what I saw in his eyes scared the shit out of me. How the hell do you think that would make YOU feel, Sarah? I can guarantee that you wouldn’t be as calm, cool and collected as you think. First you experience sheer terror and then it turns to anger, knowing that he will more than likely try it again, try his damnedest to destroy my relationship with the only man that has ever loved me. So, don’t stand there and tell me to curb my temper! I think I have every right to be angry."
Once again, Howie and AJ were dumbfounded and silent, both of them almost afraid to interrupt the exchange.
Sarah was silent for a moment as well, Kristina’s words sinking in, her mind processing her own emotions of the night’s events. "You’re right. I’m sorry."
Sighing, Kristina ran her hand through her hair, wincing at the pain it caused.
"Look, I know that you were worried when I stormed out of the club and I appreciate that. And you are right! I do need to curb my temper, but tonight it couldn’t be helped. Seeing him again after what he did to me, well, it brought back a lot of suppressed emotions that I thought I had dealt with."
"I still can’t believe he was there. It’s like he’s begging to be caught" Sarah said quietly.
"No. He doesn’t want to be caught and he doesn’t believe that it will ever happen. But..." Howie started as Sarah’s cell phone began to ring.
AJ turned to her as she reached for her purse. She looked at the caller id and the _expression on her face was all they needed to conclude that it was Stephen.
"Don’t answer it" AJ said, taking the phone from her. "He will only upset you."
Howie was now standing beside both of them, a fire burning in his eyes. "I’ll talk to him. I’ve had enough!"
Reaching in between the two men, a torn and trembling hand slipped the phone from AJ’s hand with ease, catching the other three off guard. "Hello Stephen" Kristina said flatly.