Love and the Assassin Ch. 05-06

Chapter 5

Ike picked up the phone and dialed one of the most familiar numbers she knew, Dr. Miller. She needed to get Twist in there; they needed to know what shape her wrist and hand were in. If Twist was going to join them, she needed to get to work like yesterday.

By the third ring Daphne, the receptionist, answered the phone. "Dr. Miller's office, how can I help you?"

"Hey girlie, did you think you would ever hear from me again?" Ike smiled.

"Hey girl, what can I do for you?"

"Tell me you can get Davis out to Justin's this morning, and I promise you'll have a shopping spree to Victoria Secrets. How's that sound?" Ike asked. Daphne had always been a fan of lace and frilly things, especially since she started dating Jackson. There was no way she could turn down an offer like the one Ike gave her.

"You got it, I'll cancel Ms. Roman's arthritic knee check up," she laughed, "woman's been driving Davis mad the last couple of weeks. We'll be there by eleven-fifteen."

Ike smiled; she knew if anyone could hook her up, Daphne was her woman. "Nice, the currier will be by the office in an hour with your gift card. Have fun; pick something racy out and tell Jackson it's from me."

She was happy for Daphne, when she came to work for Davis; she had been in a very abusive relationship.

The first time Ike met her, her right eye was swollen and her lip was busted. She tried to tell Ike that she walked into a door on accident, but like Davis, she knew better. On one of her many visits to see Davis, which back then were numerous, Ike had the pleasure of meeting the slime, Daphne called a boyfriend. He was greasy and hyena like, always looking for one way or another to torment her. Pulling her hair, stepping on her foot, smacking her hand with his elbow, it was all done in an effort to gain her attention.

Ike slammed into Davis's office, demanding to know what he was going to do about the rat bastard that was making it virtually impossible for Daphne to work. Of course he told her everything that he had tried to do, but nothing seemed to work. The restraining orders that were given, the trespassing arrests that had been made, hell even the court was tired of the man. No one wanted to do anything about the situation.

That was all Ike had to hear.

Walking back out of the office, she limped into the receptionists sitting area and grabbed the man by the collar, he turned to hit her, Ike stepped on his foot and punched him in the face when he looked down.

"That was for hitting a woman." She said hitting him again. "And that's for thinking you could hit me."

The man growled, "You little bitch."

Ike hit him again, this time in the stomach. His body doubled over in pain, "I got your bitch right here, mother fucker. Get up!" Ike was beyond mad, she was infuriated.

The man tried to get up, but sat back on his haunches, he could tell Ike was leaning more of her weight on her right foot then her left. In one swift movement he rose slightly and knocked her left leg out from under her. Climbing up on top of her, he laughed. "I got you now bitch, mmmm, and I'm going to have some fun with you." He licked his lips; a nauseating smile filled his features.

Ike reached for the knife she had strapped to her leg; she almost had it when he punched her in the ribs. Ike gasped and fell back fighting for air, he had over a hundred pounds on her, but she was smarter. She made him believe he was in control the whole time, when an opening appeared, she would take it.

He was laughing now, spittle fell on her check as he leaned over her, smelling her and licking her neck. Ike shivered with revolution, she was more then sure none of her other targets had been this putrid, this vile.

"I'm gonna make you scream my name bitch, and you're gonna like it too." He said ripping Ike's shirt down the front. His callous hand ran up the cup of her bra, his fingers searching for a rosy nub. When he found it he squeezed and pulled until tears formed in Ike's eyes. "Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about, God you got me so fucking hard right now." His breath reeked of stale beer and cigarettes.

Ike held back the stream of curses that filled her mind at that moment and reached for the knife again, this time hoping he was too distracted with getting off on her situation. Her fingers popped the snap quietly and her hand wrapped around the cool steel of the knife's handle, instantly her body began to relax, she was ready for anything. The knife slid from its sheath silently, the man was still rubbing on her when her hand came up and plunged the knife into his back.

Ike pulled the knife out of his back, pushing him off of her she laughed. Straddled his body his eyes went wide in terror. "Come on son, we're just getting started. This thing," she waved the knife in front of him, "is just one of my favorite toys." Ike smiled. Any fear she had was replaced with anger and rage. She was going to teach this lowly piece of shit a lesson he would never forget.

The knife; having a mind of its own sliced and stabbed him in random spots, his screams filling the office. His eyes closed and Ike snarled. Slapping him she said, "Come on pussy, stay with me, I thought a big man like you would enjoy a little play time."

Davis came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder, Ike didn't know how long she sat on top of his body cutting him, but she wasn't done with him, he deserved more for what he put Daphne through, and for touching her. "I'm not done yet. Give me five more minutes." She said never looking up from the bleeding carcass.

"The police are on the way, Ike. I don't want you getting into trouble for what he's done here today." Davis's voice was calming and reassuring.

"No worries Davis, I'm almost done." Ike used the knife to cut away the belt that held his pants in place; she then undid his pants and cut the underwear from his body. Flaccid the man was small and Ike laughed. "It looks like someone here suffers from baby dick." She said slapping him back to consciousness.

His eyes grew big as he saw where her knife was going, as she lowered the knife his eyes rolled back into his head. "Oh hell no, you are so not going to pass out right now." She slapped him again and his eyes opened. "Hello sunshine, now where were we? Oh yes, now I remember." She took her knife and thrust it into his sac; his high pitch shrill filled the office as blood began to pool around his genital area. "Ok Davis, now I'm done."

Davis helped her up from the man's body, his face was pale as green began to creep up his jaw and into his cheeks. Daphne stood by the door as the first of the police officers walked in.

Ike tried to cover up, but her shirt was badly tattered and torn. The first police officer that walked through the door radioed for an ambulance as another came around the reception area holding a container of gauze from Davis's store room.

"What happened here?" He asked.

"Well besides the obvious?" Ike asked mocking the officer.

Davis shook his head, "Now is not the time for this Ike, just tell him what happened, please."

"Here's the deal, this piece of shit," she said kicking him for good measure. "Had been harassing Daphne non-stop since I walked through the door at ten-fifteen. He was slapping her and stepping on her toes, anything he could do to get her to pay attention to him. I got tired of it and this was the result of his assuming he could man-handle me like he could her." Ike pointed to her own face, "I'm not vain, but when you hit me, you better knock my ass out, and then run, because I'm going to find you, and when I do, I will take it out on your ass. He happened to think he could also rape me, hence the knife to the nuts. I feared for my safety and the safety of others in this office." She smiled.

"What about the cuts on his chest and arms, how did he get those?" The officer asked her.

"Well when he knocked me down and decided I didn't need a shirt any longer, I grabbed for my hunting knife and we wrestled with it, he got cut and I got my knife." Ike said grimacing from the pain in her leg.

The officer looked from Davis to Daphne for confirmation, he was sure there was more to the story but they wouldn't be any help to him. "Why are you limping ma'am, was it from the attack?" He asked looking at Ike.

"Actually officer, I had a little hunting accident. I fell out of my tree stand, and yeah I guess everything happens for a reason." Ike turned red, the majority of the time she was very steady, but that morning she was distracted.

The officer nodded, "you're free to go ma'am, I guess a thank you would be in order from these people. It looks like you saved both of their lives today." He walked back over to where Daphne's boyfriend was being loaded onto a stretcher; the officer pulled out his handcuffs and locked him the gurney.

Davis grabbed Ike by the arm and walked her back to one of the rooms, she was too tired to fight him and at that point she was just lucky to be in one piece.

From that day forward, no matter what Ike may have needed, Davis and Daphne were always there for her. Six months after that day, Daphne's ex was sentenced to ten years in prison, a little favor Ike called in and she met Jackson. They had only been married a year now, but still acted like cooing teenagers, it made Ike gag.

"What are you thinking about?" Twist asked walking into the living room.

"Oh nothing, really. Dr. Davis will be coming by this morning to take a look at that cast of yours."

"Fuck that." Twist said backing out of the room.

"Excuse me?" Ike said standing up.

"I don't do doctor's! There is no way in hell you are bringing them into this house and touching me." Ike could see the fear in her eyes. "The only reason I have a cast is because I was unconscious when they did it."

Ike sat back down, a lump formed in her throat; she couldn't even imagine what else could have happened to her when she was unconscious. "Look I get it Twist; I don't even like doctors. This guy, my friend Davis, is good people. I don't trust anyone, but with him I make the rare exception. He is going to bring his assistant Daphne with him, and I can tell you, you'll like her; she is a good friend of mine too. I won't leave you alone at any point. I promise."

"Promise; what is a promise when no one full fills them?" She asked tears streaming down her checks. "Fuck that, there is no way I am going to let some doctor put his hands on me just because he has some license that says he can." She ran from the room and slammed the door locking herself into her room.

Ike sat back, unsure of what to do; she had never been in this type of situation.

"What was that all about?" Justin asked, walking into the kitchen.

"I called Davis this morning, him and Daphne should be here in about an hour." Ike sighed.

"Good, that means we can see how long it will take before Twist is ready to train." He said taking the coffee out of the cabinet.

"I wish it was that easy, something is going on with Twist and I'm afraid of what will happen once Davis finally gets here." She got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen table.

"What did she say?" He asked.

"I wasn't what she said, it was what was left unspoken, that has me worried."

***

Ike was outside when Davis and Daphne showed up, she could see from the broad smile on Daphne's face she was happy with the gift card. What was a couple of grand among friends? Plus she deserved it more then what she would ever know. Ike put the shovel down and walked over to Davis's Jeep Liberty. The jeep was his own birthday present last year. He was tired of coming out to Justin's ranch to work on the trainees and getting stuck in the mud with his little hot rod, a Lexus LS7.

"It's good to see you again Davis." She said hugging him as he exited the car.

"Same here." He said closing his door. "So where's the kid?"

"Inside, but I better worn you, she said she will not see you. She also said you better knock her ass out before you even think of touching her." Ike shrugged. "I don't know what to make of what she told me to tell you the truth."

Davis nodded, "It sounds like something or someone has taken advantage of her, I won't take it personal if it comes to be kicked a time or two." He smiled.

Ike lead the way back into the house, in the living room Twist sat in the same spot on the couch, her ear buds in place; her sketch pad in her lap as she finished the picture she had been drawing the day before. Ike walked up to her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder so not to scare her.

Twist looked up, her eyes connected with a man she had never met before and she instantly began to shrink away from him. "What do you want?" She asked, trying to sound tough.

"This is my friend Dr. Miller and this is his assistant Daphne. He is here to help you." Ike said trying to sooth her.

"Fuck that, I'm out of her." Twist stood up and tried to make a run for her room.

Ike grabbed her and stopped her, "I'm sorry Twist but you have got to let him check you out. I promise you, I will not leave your side and he would never hurt you."

Twist thrashed and kicked trying to get away from Ike. Tears filled her eyes as Dr. Miller got closer to her. "You don't understand," she cried. "I can't do this!" She screamed.

"It's okay Twist; nothing is going to happen to you. Please you have got to believe me." Ike pleaded while wrestling with her.

Davis stepped forward, "Twist," he said, his voice soothing. "I am not like the other men you have gone to see, I will not hurt you, but you have got to trust in that even though that is hard for you." Behind him Daphne fixed a sedative for him to inject Twist with.

"Fuck you!" She screamed.

Ike held onto her with everything she had, hating herself for having to hurt Twist. Davis stepped forward; his hand behind his back, in it was the sedative Daphne finished mixing. Slowly he removed his hand from behind his back and showed Twist the needle with 10cc of valium. "I don't want to have to use this, it would be better if you could talk to me and tell me where your arm hurts, but I will use it if it makes you feel better."

"No, I don't want to." She cried. "Ike please, don't do this my arm is fine, I promise. Make him go away." She pleaded with Ike.

Ike wiped a tear from her eye, "I'm sorry Twist; you have to do this if you want to come work with Justin and me."

Resigned Twist held out her arm, when Davis went to hand the needle back to Daphne she stopped him and said. "Sorry doc, I don't trust anyone. It would be in your best interest to use that on me. You might not like what happens if you don't."

Davis nodded and injected the valium into Twist's arm. "I will take care of you, I promise." It was the last thing Twist heard before she passed out in Ike's arms.

Chapter 6

Davis worked fast and efficiently his electric saw cut through the cast in no time. Twist's arm was black and blue still; the swelling had gone down giving Davis a glimpse of where the break probably occurred. Daphne placed a bowl of water and the box of wrapping next to Davis so that he could recast her arm.

"It looks like it could have been a clean break, so if everything goes right, she should be able to use the arm in about six weeks." He said putting the last touches on her new neon green cast.

Ike nodded, "Can you come back out and take it off for her when its time?"

"No problem, call Daphne tomorrow and we will set it all up." He picked up Twist and carried her into the room Ike showed him. He laid her down and covered her with a light blanket. "You know you're going to have to get her to talk, tell you what happened to her. I can only do so much as a doctor; she needs a friend and someone who she can confide in."

Ike blew out a breath, "I know. I just don't know where to begin with her."

"How about you start with yourself?" He said walking back out to the living room. "Look, I don't know what you do for a living," he held up a hand stopping Ike from saying anything. "You don't have to explain or deny anything, Ike. I can tell you this though, something happened in your life that made you want to be the person you are today, for that reason, you are her only hope." He shook her hand and walked back out to his vehicle, Daphne followed squeezing Ike's hand as she went out the door.

Great, just great, She thought. Now I've got to tell this kid about me, and what I've been through just get her to go to the doctors, whatever. Ike walked back into Twist's room, she was curled in a ball lying there, for the first time, her brow wasn't creased and she looked comfortable. All too soon though, Ike knew her frown would return and suspicion would be front and center. Right now though she was at peace and Ike wasn't going to take that away from her.

She walked out of Twist's room and went back outside. Justin was out with the ranch workers, the grass had grown fast and heavy this year and they needed to get the tractors out there to cut it and fluff it so tomorrow they could bale it for sale. No matter where Justin maybe in the world, by the second week of April, he would make sure he was here on the ranch doing what needed to be done.

It had only been a couple of days since she had been there, but she was already getting antsy. She knew she needed some down time, but in all honesty she wanted to get back out and do something, she felt useless here.

"What's going on?"

Ike turned around and saw Twist coming out the back door of the house. Her eyes were still a little heavy from the sedative, but she seemed fine, like nothing had happened only a few hours ago. "Not much, just trying to get a spot set up for the hay Justin will be baling tomorrow. Do you want to help?" She asked.

"Sure, what can I do?" Twist asked.

"In the barn there are two twenty foot tarps, if you could bring those here, I can show you what we need to do with them."

Twist nodded and went to the barn. "I like Doc. Miller by the way." She said over her shoulder. "I won't need the drugs next time."

Ike stood still; nothing could have prepared her for that statement. Hell, she was willing to bet that Twist was not going to forgive her for calling Davis in but this, this made her head spin. Ike went back to smoothing out the ground, breaking up the clumps of dirt and filling in any of the mud holes that had formed from when it rained the night before.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Twist held up a grey tarp.

"Those would be exactly what I am looking for." She said smiling.

Twist walked back over to Ike, one of the tarps was under her arm and the other was in her right hand. "So, I like the color, green is pretty cool, better then blah white. Do you think when he checks it again; he can change the color, maybe purple or something?"

Ike stood back and stared at her, "Okay, where is Twist and what have you done with her?"

"It's me you idiot, I just like the doc." She shrugged. "Anyway, what do you want me to do with the tarps?"

Ike put her shovel down and grabbed one of the tarps; unfolding it she laid it out and straightened it. Each tarp could hold over two hundred square bales, which would sell before the end of the month. Twist followed what Ike was doing making sure it was as straight as she could manage.

"When will Justin get done?" She asked.

"I don't know, I only know that it takes usually two to three hours to cut the field so he should be back with in an hour or so, why?"

"I was hoping we could go back to the reservation. I want to see if the baby's been born." She said innocently.

"Uh huh, sure you do." Ike smiled. "Now tell me why do you really want to know when Justin is going to be back?"

Twist sighed, "Fine, you got me. I just wanted to stare at his butt a little longer, that's all." She giggled.