A Valentine's Day Proposal

Steph started to laugh. "Well, Jack head downtown. I know a place that should have something at least similar to what we're looking for. Please tell me that it wasn't a complex ring. Rob isn't the type to do anything special, just big."

"You got that much right. It was just a huge diamond on a silver band. I think he said it was 3 carats."

Steph scoffed and shook her head. "I don't even like diamonds. I always said that if I picked out my own ring it would be a star sapphire. There's something magic about them," she said as if she was speaking to herself. "God Rob is such an ass. How did you get involved with him anyway, Jack?"

He didn't answer her question. He was thinking about how she sounded a lot like his sister when Steph talked about the star sapphire. That only made him less inclined to settle his debt with Rob using Steph. "Where downtown is this place?"

"On 5^th and Lewis," she said with a hint of curiosity to her voice.

The rest of the ride was silent. Jack drove despondently. The deal had been that if Jack could get a 'yes' out of Steph his debt would be erased and Rob would disappear. Jack could see pretty clearly that the mission had been doomed to failure from the beginning. Rob had probably known that and was enjoying further humiliating Jack with all the Cupid bullshit. He spotted the jewelry store and pulled into the lot behind the Halzberg Diamond Co. The man dressed in the giant pink and red valentine heart costume pacing the sidewalk in front of the store with a SALE sign gave it away. In short order they were out of the van and inside the store, perusing rings to find one that looked like missing ring.

They looked at several large diamonds on platinum bands. Finally Jack spotted on that looked identical to the one that Rob had been flashing. "That one," he said.

The stuffy yet overly enthusiastic salesman's eyes sparkled as he pulled the huge rock out of the case and placed it before them on the velvet pad. "Sir, has impeccable taste," he commented and was rewarded with a double glare from both Steph and Jack.

Steph sighed. "Just wrap it up." She handed the confused looking salesman her dad's credit card and flashed an expectant look his way. The man scooped up the ring and the card. It wasn't his place to question the situation. Then he disappeared down the counter to do as he had been told. "I just hope dad hasn't cut it off yet," she whispered to Jack with a grin.

Jack rolled his eyes. He didn't find anything amusing about the fact that she could just randomly charge so much money to her dad's card and seem so nonchalant about it. Gorgeous and so far out of my league it's not funny. Rob or no Rob.

Steph felt a little guilty when she saw the look on his face. She wasn't stupid, but this was first time she considered what his van looked like, how he was dressed, and the possibility that he didn't have money to flash around. Suddenly it occurred to her that money may well be the reason he was mixed up with Rob.

A ringing from Jack's pocket had him stepping off to a quiet corner, away from Steph as he stared with concern at the caller ID. The salesman returned with the ring in a small black velvet box, Steph's card, and a receipt to be signed.

Jack watched Rob's name flash across the cell's face. He flipped the phone open and hit send. "Yeah."

"Where are you?"

"I'm on my way back. I stopped for something to eat," he lied.

"Bullshit. I don't like being lied to, Jack. You know that."

Jack heard a whimpering noise in the background. "What was that?"

"Nothing you don't deserve," Rob sneered and Jack could almost see the sneer that was probably on his face. "It seems that Leesha came to visit me and she thinks that you shouldn't be involved."

"You asshole," Jack seethed. "You touch her and I'll go to the cops."

"You go to the cops and her body won't ever be found."

Jack didn't know what to do. He didn't have the money. She wasn't capable of convincing Steph to marry Rob and he couldn't morally do that anyway. But Jack knew that Rob was serious about killing his sister. "What do you want?"

"Just my money Jack," he said almost pleasantly. "I've decided that you need some motivation to get it for me. So I think that Leesha is going to stay here for now. I know you're with Steph. I know also that she has access to a lot of money. You can either get me Steph or the money you owe me. The two things are about equal."

"Rob, don't you think this has gone far enough. Can't we come to some understanding? Doesn't our history mean anything?"

"Jack you're the one who turned on me. Remember? Get me what I want. I'll tell Leesha you said, 'hi.'" Then the line went silent.

Steph walked up to Jack slowly. The look on his face was enough to make anyone reluctant to approach him.

Suddenly he looked up. "You ready?"

"Yeah."

"Then we've got to get going." He thrust his phone back in his pocket and they went back to his van. "Where can I drop you? Back at your place?"

Steph gave him the box with the ring in it. "Yeah, I guess. Jack what was that call? Rob?"

"Don't worry about it," he growled.

Steph had to grab the door and steady herself as he tore out of the lot and back up the street the way they had come. She almost didn't say anything. "Is there something I can do to help?"

"Got a gun," he said in a deadly tone before he could stop himself.

Steph shuddered at the sound of his voice. There was something far too serious about it. "Actually, yes I do," she answered. "But I'm willing to bet there's a better way to deal with whatever's wrong than that. Rob's an ass, but-"
The van screeched to a stop at a red light and Steph almost went through the windshield. "You have no idea what you're talking about," Jack growled. "Shut up."

She glared at him as she put her seatbelt on. "You don't have to be like that. I'm only trying to help."

"You want to help? Fine. Marry Rob."

"You've got to be kidding."

"Either that or give him all your daddy's money. I don't think he cares whether or not he gets you. You're just a consolation prize."

Steph's eyes bored into Jack as the van sped up again. "So what do you get out of this?"

Jack was pissed and he answered without thinking. "My sister gets to live. What do you think? You wanna save a girl's life by giving up your own?"

The silence that followed his statement brought the guilt. "Never mind," he said. "Forget I said that. I shouldn't talk so much."

Steph was shocked. "How the hell am I supposed to forget that? You're serious aren't you? Why is your sister's life in danger if I don't marry Rob? I mean Rob's an ass but he's not like that?"
"You don't know Rob very well. Forget what I said," he growled.

"No," she insisted as they came to another stop light. "Explain all this now!"

Jack looked over at her. He didn't know if she'd be able to do anything about it, but he was running out of options. He knew better than to not believe Rob would follow through on his threat. "Look. I've known Rob since we were kids. I was too stupid to keep my distance from the guy. You obviously don't know how bad he really is. Just suffice it to say that if he does kill Leesha it won't be the first time he's had blood on his hands. He thinks I owe him money. It doesn't matter why he thinks it. He just does and that puts me in a bad spot. He watches too closely for me to go to the cops without risking Leesha's life. In this particular case I was given the option of getting you to marry him or getting your daddy's money for him. He doesn't care which. In exchange, he might not kill Leesha. Usually he keeps his word. He's got a warped view of integrity."

Steph sat quietly listening in abject horror of what she was hearing. "This kind of stuff doesn't happen for real. It belongs in a movie."

Jack scoffed. "Sure it does." He pulled up in front of her building and the attendant came walking toward the van. "Get out. Go back to your homework."

"You can't be serious. You don't get to tell me something like that and then drive off."

"What do you think you can do about it," Jack asked incredulously and gave her a skeptical look. The attendant was standing outside the car waiting in confusion.

"Well," Steph said contemplatively. "We can start by going to my father. He's not a cop. It would make sense for you to take me there. It shouldn't get anyone killed. We'll see what I can come up with in the mean time."

"No way," Jack snarled. "I'm not dragging anyone else into this. Get out."

"What are you going to do if I get out?"

Jack sat staring at her.

"I didn't think you had a plan. Give me a chance. What's the worst that could happen?"

"I could feel responsible for more than one dead girl."

Jack's deadpan tone turned Steph's stomach. His eyes were desolate. "From the sounds of things I'm already in this up to my neck with or without you. In some respects, you've already saved my life. I didn't know that Rob was this bad. Let me try to help."

Jack sat quietly staring at her. "You said that you have a gun. Do you know how to use it?"

Steph swallowed. "Yeah, but only on targets."

"Where is it?"

"At my father's house. I don't keep that kind of thing in my apartment. There's a gun range out there-"

"Fine," Jack interrupted. "You want to help. If you can get me a gun..." Jack didn't finish the sentence.

Steph could tell from the look on his face that he was feeling trapped and believed that this was the only way to help his sister. She figured that if she could talk to him a bit she may be able to calm him down enough to think rationally. He was staring into her eyes as if he was trying to decide something very difficult and he almost looked as though he was going to cry. Finally he nodded.

Without a word, Jack shifted the van back into drive and pulled away from the apartment building. "Happy Valentine's Day," he said under his breath as he sped off following Steph's directions.

***

Leesha heard the phone call end. Tears streamed down her face beneath the blindfold as she sobbed through the gag in her mouth. Her head was spinning and she wondered how long she had been there.

"Rob, is this really necessary," a woman's voice said. Leesha thought the voice was vaguely familiar but in her haze she wasn't quite able to place it.

"Are you able to get any more money out of our daddy?"

"How much more money do you need," came the doubtful voice.

"How much does he have," Rob said.

"This has gone far enough, Rob. The vendetta is over."

"This won't be over until he pays for everything he never gave us, using mom like his personal whore, sticking around long enough to watch her have us and then leaving us alone and pennyless. The rich bastard sits in that mansion and pampers that bitch daughter of his, who thinks she's too good for me. He owes us Valerie. He owes us our entire lives. When did you stop believing that?"

"I started having my doubts when drugs came into it, but I trusted you Rob. Then mom died. Ever since that you've been getting more and more aggressive. When you suggested that I get involved with Devon, I still trusted you. The things I've done since then, Rob." There was a tremor in the woman's voice and a long pause. "I'm still trying to trust you. But Leesha and her brother have nothing to do with any of it. I thought Jack was your friend."

"He was until he started doubting me. Are you doubting me too Valerie? I thought that if anyone could be trusted, it was you." Rob's tone was growing dangerous. Leesha was grateful that it was aimed at someone other than her.

"You're losing it. Are you on the shit you're selling? When did you become so unreasonable," the woman barked as if she was trying to be brave and assertive. Then Leesha heard a cry. "You're hurting me."

"Don't ever question me. Now go home to daddy. I have more business here."

There was another cry and some forcefully shuffled footsteps. Then a door slammed.

Leesha could feel the long silence before Rob spoke again. Fear boiled in her stomach. She didn't know how she had ever thought she was in love with him.

"Ah, my little Leesha," he simpered.

The blindfold was pulled from her face and Leesha could see that she was in a den with large leather couches and heavy mahogany furniture scattered around. There were several men lounging about the room with expectant smirks on their faces and Rob was standing in front of her.

"How are you feeling, love." Rob smiled sickeningly at her. "Do you need another fix? It's Valentine's Day. I might be persuaded to hook you up for a favor instead of a charge, if you beg nicely." The men around the room smirked.

Leesha thought back to the beginning. She should have listened to Jack when he had told her to stay away from Rob. The whole thing had gone wrong so fast.

"No? Pity." Rob walked over to a wet bar near the wall and poured himself a drink. He stared at her contemplatively. "You don't amuse me as much as you used to Leesha. Rick. She's all yours." There as a brief chuckle from several of the men in the room and Rob took his glass then left.

Leesha looked around terrified. A large pale man with freckles, shocking red hair, and a scar along his left check that bisected his ear stood up and walked toward her. His freckles would have made him look almost childlike if not for the cruel green eyes that shone down on her mischievously. He unfastened his belt and then unbuttoned his pants. With slow deliberate actions Rick unzipped his pants and pulled his massive member free.

Leesha began to wretch. There was more laughter around the room and the men started joking that they all knew Rick was disgusting, but they never thought the site of his cock could make a woman hurl. The gag in Leesha's mouth prevented the bile in her empty stomach from escaping completely and there was burning in her nose as more tears filled her eyes.

"That's fine, sweetie," Rick said with fake sympathy. "It's not your mouth I'm after."

Roughly he grabbed hold of Leesha's shoulder and pushed her face first into the carpet. She felt almost as though this had to be some kind of nightmare. Her body stopped feeling anything. The sound of ripping fabric seemed to come from all around her. There was more laughter and a horrible pressure somewhere behind her. There were strange sensations that came to her in flashes of detached realization. She knew that the carpet against her cheek was leaving an angry red burn as she was thrust against it repeatedly. She knew that the gag in her mouth was soaked with stomach acid and tasted foul as it burned into her sinuses and at the corners of her mouth. She knew that there was pain in her arms from the way they were bound behind her and being used almost like handle bars by the large man. She knew she was being ripped apart and that he was raping her. I wonder where Jack is right now, she thought.

***

Jack pulled his poor excuse for a van up in front of the largest estate he'd ever seen, pictures and television included. It dwarfed even Rob's. "Your dad lives here? You sure this isn't some resort?"

There were tons of cars in front of the place and there were people coming and going en masse.

"Quite sure. Don't start. Leave the van here. It'll blend in with the rest of the delivery stuff. I don't even know if dad's home. Everyone should be busy enough with the party prep that we might be able to slip in and out without being noticed. Cross your fingers." They both got out of Jack's van and walked up the numerous steps, through the columns, and into the house, dodging bodies carrying various red or pink stuff as they went.

A man who was quite obviously a butler approached them as they walked through the front door. Steph swore under her breath, but smiled broadly as if there was nothing wrong. "Hi, Brent. Is Daddy here?"

"He's in his study miss," the balding, uniformed man answered formally, "avoiding the hullabaloo." He eyed Jack with some distaste. "Would you like for me to get him miss?"

"Uh, no Brent. I'm only going to be here a moment to get something for Sue and then I'm running back out. Forget you saw me," she smiled.

Brent gave her a suspicious look, but nodded obediently before turning back to directing human traffic.

Jack was snickering with a glower on his face as he followed Steph down one hall and then another. Eventually the crowds thinned out as they entered an area of the house that would not be involved in the party.

"The rooms where daddy keeps guns and stuff like that are this way. We're going to have to hurry. Brent's under orders to tell daddy whenever one of us comes home. He'll be off to report on me as soon as he gets a chance." Steph caught the look on Jack's face. "What's your problem now," she snapped.

"I don't think your butler liked me," he laughed sardonically. "You know I thought the traditional stereotype of the snooty, balding butler was just that, a stereotype. But put some white gloves on that guy, a little white towel across his arm, have him carry a silver tray and you'd be all set." He laughed some more.

Steph stopped, smiled, and looked back down the hall. "I know. Brent's a little stuffy. But he's good and he's been here my entire life. Be nice."

Jack stared at her. She wasn't what he would have expected of someone who came from this kind of life. She seemed sweet, honest, and empathetic. Not that he thought everyone with money was a rich asshole. But Steph didn't have any real reason for helping him with this and here she was. Their eyes met and held each other for a moment as they stood there. Jack swallowed as his mouth went dry and Steph began to blush for no reason. It was a woman's voice from down the hall that broke the tense silence.

Steph grabbed Jack by the shirt and pulled him through a door, closing it behind them. The room was dark. Steph was holding onto Jack as though something was frightening her and she leaned into him as she listened at the door.

"What-" Jack started.

"Shh, we'll get caught." Steph interrupted with a harsh whisper. "It's my step mother."

As they waited in the dark listening at the door, Jack realized that Steph's entire body was against his. She was breathing hard and her breasts brushed against his chest with each breath. He couldn't help his reaction to having her so close. He could smell a light flowery perfume in her hair and could feel her fingers digging into his arms as she tried to hear if anyone was coming.

After several moments of standing there and waiting, Steph finally calmed down. "I don't think she's coming this way." Suddenly Steph noticed how close she was to Jack. She could feel his hard muscles through his shirt and his hands had managed to come to a rest on her waist. There was something prodding her hip where she was leaning against him. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Then we should get going," Jack whispered back.

"Yeah," Steph answered uncomfortably and stepped away from him. She cracked the door a bit to look around, then stepped out, and led the way back out into the hall. They carefully picked their way through the massive house to Steph's father's gun room.

Steph led Jack through a set of double doors and into a virtual arsenal. "There's no way daddy would loan us any of this stuff. We gotta be quick. The one over there is mine." Steph indicated a decent sized shot gun she had been taught to use for no real reason. She had practiced with the hand guns, but none of those were actually hers. The shotgun had been a joke gift from her sister, who had been incredibly miffed when Steph actually took to using the weapon. "Are you sure this is how you want to handle the situation? Jack, you honestly don't seem the type to be able to kill someone."