Broken Dreams (4 page)

“Can I help you?” Mike wasn’t the friendly sort so Henry wasn’t looking forward to having a conversation with him. He had more muscles than personality.

Mike watched Henry a lot, as if he was studying him. Which made him a little uncomfortable, but Henry did the same to everyone else, looking for more alliances. This guy was simply an asshole.

“You’re on my treadmill,” he growled.

“I’m sorry.” Henry looked around for a second. “I don’t see your name on it anywhere.” He added an eye roll for good measure. Henry turned around and hit the start button.

Just as he hit full stride, he saw Mike’s hand snake around and yank out the safety key. Luckily, Henry was quick enough to catch himself on the bars.

“What the fuck is your problem?!” Henry yelled as he spun around to face him.

“I said, you’re on my treadmill. Now, I expect you to get off of it, pretty boy.”

“Fuck off.” Henry turned back around. He took enough shit in training. He wasn’t going to take any shit while he was just warming up.

“What’s the issue over here?” Geoff addressed Mike as he approached.

“Nothing, I guess.” Mike started to walk away, as did Geoff. Henry chuckled. Then, without pause, Mike turned around, grabbed Henry by his arm, and swung him off the treadmill. He slammed him onto the floor, back first.

The fall knocked the wind out of him, but he had fought with broken limbs, concussions, and blindfolds hundreds of times so it was no big fucking deal.

Henry realized that he had blood trickling down the side of his temple. He must have hit his head on the treadmill when he went down.

Mike got in a few punches to his face before Henry shifted into program mode. He flipped Mike over and wrapped his hand around his throat, choking the life out of him. Geoff heard the commotion and made a beeline for them.

“Henry! Let go!” Geoff was pulling on his arm, but his grip was so strong that nothing could pry him off. “Henry! Come on, man! Shit! Vanessa! Call 911!”

After several attempts to pry his fingers from Mike’s throat, Geoff finally got him to let go. Mike was gasping for air, and had pissed his pants. Geoff grabbed Henry and pulled him to his office.

“You stay here! I will be back.” Henry sat down in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his face and discovered that he had blood all over his hands.

“Shit.” He felt around, looking for the source of blood, and remembered hitting his head somewhere around his temple area. He growled when he touched the spot.

The door swung open several minutes later and there was Geoff, along with an EMT. He dropped Henry’s backpack on the floor next to him. “He’s going to check you out real quick. He only has a few seconds. The other EMT is wrapping up Mike.” Henry nodded. The EMT looked over his head wound.

“Hmmm…just a small gash. I would suggest that you get it stitched up and get checked for a concussion, but I can’t transport you. We need to transport the other guy.” The EMT left the office in haste. Geoff handed him a towel for his wound.

“What the fuck was that? Did you snap or something?” Henry shook his head, while pressing a towel to the gash. “Your face was blank. It was fucking mental, brother.”

“I’m sorry. He just took me by surprise and I retaliated. He yanked me off the treadmill after you walked away.” Geoff stood with his hands on his hips, frowning.

“Are you some fucking bionic man or something? How the hell did you do that? The EMT’s think you crushed his larynx. They had to trach him.” Henry shut his eyes for a second, wishing he hadn’t done what he did.

“Christ. I didn’t mean for that to happen. He fucking attacked me, though. Let’s just say my self-defense training goes far deeper than you realize.”

“Remind me not to piss you off.”

“Suppose I need to find another gym.” Henry sighed, feeling sick about what had unfolded.

“No. You’re cool. He’s the one who initiated things and attacked you. The way I look at it, you were defending yourself. It may have been a little over the top, but…meh. We’re cool. I’m revoking Mike’s membership, though. This wasn’t his first scuffle here. Police will be here soon so sit tight. I’m going to get you a wet cloth so can clean up your head some.”

“Fuck me. Just what I need.”

Geoff patted Henry on the shoulder. “Relax. It’ll be fine. Let me do most of the talking.” Henry nodded. What Geoff didn’t realize was that Henry could talk himself out of most situations, but he was going to allow Geoff to do most of the talking this time.

Henry grabbed his phone out of his backpack.

“New York Blood Bank.”

“Jennifer. It’s Henry.”

“Hey, bossman! What’s going on? Will you be running late today?”

Henry sighed. “You could say that. I’m in a bit of a pickle right now. I may not be in until later, if at all. Are Steve and Sandy both in?”

“Yeah. Why? What’s going on?” She sounded genuinely concerned. She adored Henry and enjoyed working for him.

“I kind of got into a fight at the gym.”

“What? What do you mean
kind of
? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I need a few stitches, but I fared much better than the other guy. He’s on the way to the hospital.”

“Jesus.”

“If you are the praying type, you might want to. Anyway, the transport will be in later today, around three. If I’m not in by then, go ahead and sign off on the paperwork. I have it all separated and labeled in cooler number one. If there are any issues, please call me. I will do my best to get back to you...depending on where I am.” He worried that he would be in an orange jumpsuit within the next couple hours.

“All right, bossman.” Geoff and a police officer walked into the office. Geoff handed Henry a wet cloth.

“I’ve got to go. I will call you and let you know if I will be coming in.”

“Alright. Take care.” Henry hit the END CALL button and sat back in the chair, pressing the wet cloth to his temple.

The officer proceeded to ask Henry and Geoff what happened, asking him if he would be pressing charges against Mike for the initial attack. Henry declined. The officer gave him fair warning to control his temper. He also said that he may be charged, depending on the outcome of Mike’s condition.

The officer left and Henry breathed a small sigh of relief. Even though he was a smooth talker, he had still worried that he would be leaving the gym in handcuffs, which would fuck up everything for him. He really hoped that he wouldn’t hear about the situation ever again.

“My aunt is an ER doctor,” Geoff said. “I gave her a call. She said she would be willing to come down and stitch up your head so you don’t have to go to the hospital.”

“That would be great. Thanks.” At least that was a relief.

Once Geoff’s aunt stitched up Henry’s head, he headed home. He sat down on the dark gray couch in his apartment, cursing at himself for losing control. After examining his blood-stained hands, he knew he was going to need a fix soon to combat the blood loss. He decided he needed to shower and head to the office.

***

Henry walked into the blood bank and Jennifer gasped as soon as she saw him. He didn’t think he looked
that
bad when he checked his mug in the mirror before he left his apartment. He had a few light bruises but, considering his perspective on injuries, his condition was no big deal.

“Oh my! You look like a wreck.” She stood up. The few donors that were in the waiting area watched the exchange.

“Thanks. I got a couple of stitches.” He pointed at his temple. “Luckily, my epic hair should hide them until I can get them removed.” He sported the disheveled hair with ease.

“Christ! Are you okay, for real? You should just go home. We have it all handled.”

“I just came in to grab a few things, then I’m getting some food and heading home.”

“Okay. You let me know if you need anything. Don’t hesitate. You can call my cell, if need be.”

“Thanks.” Jennifer sat back down, still worried. Henry rushed off to his office, grabbed his ball cap, drank a couple vials, and headed back out. He was in and out in about ten minutes.

He stopped at the local burger joint for lunch. Their food was great and their bar was even better because they stocked what he liked to drink. He sat up at the bar, like usual.

“Let me guess…the usual?” The barmaid leaned over and rested her elbows on the bar, making sure that her cleavage was available for Henry’s viewing pleasure. She always flirted with him. When he visited the joint, she would practically crawl over everyone to wait on him. He figured she would shove an elderly person or a child in the way of a moving vehicle just so she could get to him first.

She wanted him, and he had considered her a few times. But, after seeing that black-haired beauty at the bookshop, he wasn’t interested in the barmaid anymore.

“You know me so well. Make the food to go today, please,” he said with a flirty smile. She grabbed the bottle of Walkers and poured him a double.

“You in a hurry to get out of here today?” Then she squinted at him. Her eyes darted around his slightly bruised face. “What happened? Did you get into an accident or something?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Henry picked up the glass of whiskey and took a sip, feeling the heat hit the pit of his stomach. “I’m fine. I’m just busy today.”

“Well, if you need someone to nurse you back to health…”

Henry held up his hand. “Look, you’re nice and quite beautiful, but I’m interested in someone else.” Her face dropped. Everyone at the bar was giving side glances toward him, then looking at the barmaid.

“Got it,” she bit out, then put his order in for his meal. He wondered if she was going to have the chef spit on his food. It was probably a good time to find another place to get his lunches, liquids, or otherwise.

He nursed the double whiskey, and tuned into the conversations all around, as usual. Then he realized he heard a familiar raw and raspy voice. He peeked around his left shoulder, and what dumb luck did he have?

There she was.

The black-haired beauty with the meaty ass. She was finishing up lunch with a guy he presumed was her brother, considering they looked quite similar. Christ. Henry had a momentary thought of her using his lap as the seat. He had to shake his head to get the image out before he got hard right in the middle of the fucking joint. He turned back around and tuned into their conversation.

“See, you asshole? See what happens when you don’t show up? I could have totally avoided that whole confrontation.” Her voice was full of bitterness.

“I’m sorry! Jesus, Elaina. How many times do you want me to apologize?” Her brother had a smooth and rich voice, unlike hers.

“More than you have,” she muttered. Henry chuckled. Her attitude was priceless and he loved every bit of it.

“I don’t know what to tell you.” Henry could tell that her brother was absolutely annoyed by her. He guessed she was the younger sibling.

“Whatever, Nick.” He could hear the eye roll in her voice.

“How’s the new job?”

She groaned. Henry closed his eyes, imagining that groan while she was in a compromised position…preferably while he was at her apex, making her writhe with great pleasure under his tongue.

“Let me just tell you, that hag is a total fucking bitch.” His eyes popped back open.

“Christ, Elaina.”

“She accused me of flirting with a customer because I was chatting with him about the books he was purchasing. And she did it right in front of him! Hello, you hag, it’s a fucking bookshop. Aren’t I
supposed
to talk to the customers about the product we sell?” Henry worked hard not to burst out in laughter. He could have used a good laugh after the morning he had.

“Bite your tongue, for once in your life. If you get fired from this job, Mom is going to disown you!” There was a moment of awkward silence between them. “Can we talk about Mom and Dad’s party?”

“I’ll call you about that later. I found some ideas online last night, but I left the details at home.”

“Typical.”

“Oh, shut the hell up.”

“Well, give me a call then,” he said. Henry heard her laugh. It was beautiful. It was almost a giggle, but not quite. “What?”

“Are you going to be out with the next love of your life?”

“I do have a date.”

“Of course you do! Well, I’ve got to get back to the hag.” Henry looked back over his shoulder and saw her stand up. It looked like they were getting ready to pay. His heart raced. He wasn’t ready for her to leave. He wanted to follow her, but his meal hadn’t arrived yet. Normally, he would just leave the cash and run, but his gut was three levels of angry hungry. He needed to eat.

She walked past him, and he glanced at her as she stopped at the register, which was two bar stools down from him. He inhaled as she passed by him. She smelled like vanilla. Goddamn, it was delicious. He wanted that wrapped around him, enveloping him. When she spoke with the cashier, her voice was like music to his ears.

A soft smile graced his face. He watched her ass sway back and forth as she left the diner. Antsy didn’t even describe how he felt at that moment. He wanted to get out of there so he could follow her.

Several minutes, and another double whiskey later, his meal finally arrived. He tipped back the rest of his drink and turned to get off the stool with paper bag in hand, full of greasy deliciousness. Then he saw that her table still hadn’t been cleared. His eyes darted around the table, trying to see what she was eating. A burger and fries, obviously. There was some ketchup smudges and a few fries still lingering about with the dejected lettuce. He liked a girl who could eat. None of that “I only eat salad” bullshit. Then he saw it.

Her phone. Dumb luck was on his side. He grinned.

Henry took a quick glance around the diner and then walked to the table, pocketing the phone. It was so busy in there that no one noticed. He left the diner with a huge motherfucking grin on his face.

He rushed out to his truck and pulled out her phone. The teal silicone case smelled like vanilla, just like she did, which was heavenly. He felt like a complete jackass for holding the phone to his nose, inhaling the scent, but he wanted his nostrils full of her scent forever. He didn’t know if it was a perfume or a lotion, but he didn’t care. He just wanted it all over himself.