KILTED DESIRE 3 - New Blood (3 page)

   “What are yer doing in my house?” Scott asked angrily.

The man mumbled something but it did not make any sense, he was still dazed and confused. Scott slapped the side of the man’s face with a lot of force.

  
“What are yer doing in my house?” he repeated.

  
“Get off me you psycho,” the man demanded, Scott’s last slap had livened him up.

  
“Yer in my house with a gun at this time of night, yer going tae tell me why yer here afore I let yer go.”

  
“Go to hell”.

  
“Okay, if that’s the way yer want tae play it, that’s fine,” Scott said as he slammed his fist into the man’s nose. He cried out in pain and blood started to rush from his face.

  
“Now talk, or yer’ll get another one. Why are yer here? Who sent yer?”

  
“I’m not saying a word, just get off me.”

  
“Wrong answer,” Scott shouted, seconds before pushing his forearm into the man’s throat, cutting off his air supply. The man struggled but Scott was too strong, he was helpless. After about 15 seconds, Scott pulled his arm away. The man gasped for air.

  
“Now who are yer? And who sent yer?” he demanded.

  
“I’m not telling you anything.”

The man had barely got
the last word out when Scott reapplied his forearm to the throat. This time he left it on for nearly 30 seconds before releasing his struggling captive. Once again the man gasped for air, Scott could see the fear in his eyes.

  
“Last chance tae talk, next time I kill yer.”

The man hesitated, Scott started to move his arm forward towards the man’s throat again.

   “Keith, it was Keith Green, don’t kill me,” he blurted out.

Scott thought he’d heard the last of Green, but obviously he was wrong. Apparently the man who Katie had dated after
she and Scott split up was still out to get him, even though he was in prison.

  
“Reet, get up and walk doonstairs,” Scott ordered him as he got off the man and showed him that he had his gun. The man slowly got up and made his way down the stairs, closely followed by Scott. When they got into the living room Scott grabbed his phone and called the police.

   About 10 minutes later, two
police cars showed up at his house. Scott let them in, then went to put some clothes on before explaining everything that happened. One of the cops was Officer Maloney who Scott had dealt with a few months earlier. The intruder was arrested but an ambulance was called to take him to the hospital. The Officers took Scott’s statement, he assured them he’d used reasonable but not excessive force in the circumstances and they were quite happy with his version of events. The paramedics arrived a few minutes later and took the man out of the house. One of the cops went with them to the hospital. Just before Officer Maloney left, he turned to Scott.

   “So, how did his nose get blood
ied if you punched him on the side of his head in your initial confrontation?”

   “I’m nae sure, I guess he must have slipped and fell,” Scott replied smiling.

The officer laughed, he knew what had happened and was secretly quite happy about it. Slipped and fell would be on his report.

   “And how did you get him to admit that Green had hired him? He didn’t seem very talkative when we tried to question him!”

   “Och I guess I must be quite persuasive.”

Once again Office
r Maloney laughed.

  
“Thanks Scott, we’ll take care of it. I’ll be in touch to let you know what we get out of him and what’s going to happen regarding charges. Good night.”

   Scott said farewell to the Officer and proceeded to board up the window that the intruder had broken to gain access to his house. He thought about calling Tiffany but there was no need to worry her. He’d tell her later when he talked to her. Scott went back to bed to at least try and get a few hours sleep.

   The next day, late in the afternoon Scott got a visit from Officer Maloney. He explained that it was definitely a man who Green had hired. Apparently it was an old friend who’d visited him in prison. Allegedly Green had offered to pay the man but hadn’t mentioned too much about Scott to the potential hit-man. He had no idea what type of person he was trying to ‘take out’. Scott was happy to let the police deal with it, he’d had enough. He just wanted to move and start his new life. He’d had enough of all the drama. Was it too much to ask for a quiet peaceful life, he thought.

Chapter 3

  
The last few days in Ohio went by quickly. All loose ends had been taken care of and Scott had said his goodbyes. He even sent a quick text to Katie telling her he was leaving the state to start a new life. She replied and wished him well, saying she’d keep in touch via email. Scott didn’t expect that she would but he didn’t mind if she did, in fact he didn’t really care either way. He still had some good memories of his time with Katie and her girls, but it was time to move on. He was so happy and excited about moving out west to be with Tiffany, and to start his new job. Officer Maloney had called him a couple of days before he left to explain about all the charges that were going to be pressed against his intruder, and the new charges against Green. Scott was happy to let the police and the justice system deal with everything but he was aware he may be called back to Ohio to testify if necessary.

   It was the end of October when Scott arrived in California. He’d traveled on the private jet. He didn’t have many things that he wanted to take with him. Most of his furniture had been left in the house as it was rented out as a fully furnished property. Plus he sold his car because he would be getting a company car as one of the perks of his new job. He basically had a couple of suitcases full of clothes and various papers. Tiffany met him at the airport and they went straight back to her house. They’d been apart for several weeks so needed some alone time. It didn’t take Scott long to settle in and the first week out on the west coast flew by. Scott basically just took it easy for the first few days, concentrating more on getting to know the area and just relaxing. He went into Tiffany’s boutique a couple of times with her when she was working, just for something to do. He was enjoying the weather. Back in Ohio the cold weather would be on the way soon, but out in California he’d been experiencing warm sunny November days. He was happy living at Tiffany’s house in Santa Monica but they had planned to look for another place together after Scott settled in at his new job.

   It was Sunday evening. Scott and Tiffany were at home relaxing. Scott was due to meet with Jim the next morning. They were going to fly out to Vegas to have a look around the casinos and later that week Jim was taking him to see all of his other businesses. Scott was going to have a busy week and he was looking forward to getting started in his new role.

   “I’m so happy you’re here Scott, did you enjoy your first week out here?” Tiffany asked as she snuggled up to him on the couch.

  
“Aye I did, it’s been great. I love spending time with yer and I cannae wait tae get back tae work too. I’m really happy.”

  
“Is Dad picking you up in the morning?”

  
“Aye he said he’d be here pretty early. I’m looking forward tae it, I have nae been tae Vegas fer a long time. In fact I think the MGM Grand was the newest hotel the last time I was there.”

  
“Wow that must have been a long time ago, that’s been there as long as I can remember. But you are a lot older than me,” she teased.

  
“Och there’s nae need fer that!” he replied as he tickled her ribs and made her squirm around.

  
“Let me go you big bully!” Tiffany struggled and finally broke free, moving across the couch momentarily before sliding back and snuggling back up to him.

  
“I’m definitely nae a bully,” he smiled as he took her back into his arms.

  
“I know, I’m just teasing.”

  
“So what’s Kyle up tae? I’ve nae seen him or heard yer mention him this week.”

  
“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to mention this to you but I kept forgetting. He decided not to invest in that casino, he’s thinking about going into business with another friend who owns a gym.”

  
“Okay, sounds interesting. What kind of gym? And whereaboots is it?”

  
“It’s mainly for mixed martial arts, he’s always liked that kind of thing but over the last few months he’s starting working out more and learning how to defend himself.”

  
“That’s cool, I’ll have tae go and watch him one of these days.”

  
“Yeah it’s down near Venice Beach so it’s not too far from here.”

  
“What aboot Alexei, are they still friends?”

  
“Yes, they’re still close. I think he goes to train with him sometimes but he’s not as into it as Kyle is.”

  
“That’s guid. Yer should do some kind of martial arts or self-defense. Yer dinnae ever know when yer might need it,” Scott smiled, although he was serious. He thought it was important that she had some basic defense skills.

  
“I don’t need to, I have you to protect me,” she said and looked up at him smiling cheekily.

  
“Aye, that’s true but it would nae hurt yer tae learn a few moves, I can even teach yer myself if yer want tae do it.”

  
“Okay, maybe I will. How about I make it a New Year’s resolution?”

  
“Sounds guid tae me,” Scott said and kissed her on the cheek.

  
“It’s a deal. We should probably go to bed now if you have an early start, it’s getting late.”

  
“Aye, yer persuaded me bonny lass,” he said playfully as he stood up, lifted her off the couch and carried her towards the stairs.

   It was now early December and Scott was enjoying his new job. His first few weeks working had gone really well and the changes that he was implementing were starting to take place. He had been on various trips with Jim and had visited virtually all of the businesses. There were a lot of improvements that needed to be made and Scott was slowly taking care of it. It was a dream job for him, he was able to use his skills and yet it was relatively safe – well, compared to the jobs he’d done in the past. He was also loving his new company car. He’d never owned a brand new car before so was taking pride in it. He even washed it himself every week and polished it, he refused to take it through a car-wash or let anyone else do it. It was his now and he liked to look after his things, his way.

   Things with Tiffany were still going great too. They were enjoying living with each other immensely and had even started browsing real estate listings on the computer, searching for a house that they could buy together. Scott couldn’t remember ever being so happy. He was in a relationship with a great lady who he thought the world of, they had lots of fun together, he had a great job, they had no financial worries and the climate where they lived was perfect. Everything was perfect, Scott literally felt like he was dreaming every single day. But everything was about to change.

   It was late Friday afternoon. The sun was beginning to set over the Pacific Ocean. It had been another fabulous late fall day in Southern California. Tiffany was at home. She’d finished work early that day and was busy making dinner for when Scott arrived home. She was expecting him anytime now. He’d also finished work early as he had a doctor’s appointment to follow up on the head injury he sustained in Baghdad. Tiffany heard a car pull up on the driveway and within a couple of minutes she heard the front door open. She walked across the kitchen towards the living room to greet Scott. As soon as she saw him she knew something was wrong, his head was down and he wasn’t smiling and walking towards her for a hug and kiss like he usually did.

  
“Scott, are you okay?” she said nervously as she approached him.

  
“I’m nae sure,” he replied quietly as he put his arms around her.

  
“What is it? What did the doctor say?”

Scott took her hand and led
her towards the couch, they sat down, still hand in hand.

  
“They did a scan on my head, apparently there’s a small mass near the injury site. He said it may nae be anything tae worry aboot but he wants tae do more tests, and maybe a biopsy.”

  
“So what did he think it could be?” Tiffany asked, looking deep into his eyes. She was shaking but was trying to hide it.

  
“He would nae tell me, he just said he needed tae do more tests. I’m trying nae tae worry too much.”

  
“So when do you have to go back for the tests?”

  
“He booked me in for Monday morning.”

  
“Okay, I’ll come with you,” she said gripping his hand as tightly as she could.

The weekend went very slowly. Although they probably should have tried to keep busy, Scott didn’t really feel like doing much. He was pre
tty down, although he was trying his best not to think about it, it was virtually impossible not to.

   It was another bright sunny morning when Scott and Tiffany arrived at the hospital on Monday. The doctor had done some further checks on the scans and had determined it would be best if Scott had a biopsy done. He also wanted blood samples from Scott so that was taken care of while the biopsy was being arranged. It was going to be done there, that same day. It was an outpatient procedure and would only take a couple of hours but a general anesthetic was necessary. So it was good that Tiffany was there to drive him home. Scott was a little nervous as he was prepped for the procedure. The thought of someone drilling a hole into his skull and inserting a needle into his brain was disconcerting. Even though the doctor had tried to assure him it was a very small fine hole and needle, it wasn’t helping very much. Just before Scott was taken away for the anesthetic, Tiffany got the chance to talk to him. She bent over and kissed him, whilst holding his hand, and assured him she’d be there waiting to see him as soon as he woke up.

   The next couple of hours went very slowly for Tiffany. She watched TV and read some magazines in the waiting room. Before finally a nurse came in and told her Scott was awake and everything had gone well with the procedure. Even though she’d only been apart from him for a small amount of time, she was still very happy to see him and excitedly entered the room where Scott was coming around. He was still a little groggy but was awake.

  
“Hey baby how are you feeling?” She asked quietly as she bent down and gently stroked the side of his face.

  
“I’m nae too bad gorgeous, apart fae a wee bit of a headache. Can we go home now? I’m nae a fan of hospitals. Nae offence bonny lass,” he said as he turned to the nurse. The young nurse smiled.

   “I’m pretty sure they need to monitor you for a couple of hours just to make sure the effects of the anesthetic have worn off,” Tiffany replied, also smiling at the nurse who confirmed that they would need to monitor him in the recovery room for a while.

  Scott was
impatient, he wanted to go. He was a good patient for about 90 minutes but by then he’d had enough, and he felt fine. Scott got up and started to get dressed. The nurse was supposed to keep him there for at least two hours but all of his vital signs were good. Plus she had a feeling she wasn’t going to be able to stop him anyway, so said that he was good to go. The doctor talked with Scott and Tiffany before they left and told them he expected the results the following day, which was disappointing for Scott. He was expecting to know the outcome right away but another night wasn’t too bad. He made an appointment for Tuesday and thanked the doctor and nurses before leaving. The journey home was a quiet one, they were both tired and apprehensive plus Scott had a headache. It was going to be another long night of ‘not knowing’.

   It was indeed another long quiet night, although Scott did fall asleep quite early. The pain pills he was taking for his headache made him sleepy. Tiffany had a restless night though and was feeling tired as they drove to the hospital on Tuesday morning. Soon, they were in the office of Dr. Bjorkman waiting for him to arrive. After a few nervous minutes, the door opened and the cheerful doctor walked in. He was a short, heavily built, middle-aged man of Swedish descent and greeted the couple as he moved towards his chair, pausing to shake hands with them both. Scott had taken to the doctor’s personality the previous week when he’d met him, even though he was the one who’d initially given him the bad news. Scott’s pulse quickened, he knew he was about to find out some news and he hoped that this time it would be good. He reached over and gripped Tiffany’s hand as the doctor started to talk.

   “Okay Scott
, I have some good news and some bad news, but I don’t want you to get alarmed at what I’m about to say,” he said smiling at them both.

Surely it cannae be really bad if he’s smiling like that
, Scott thought.

   “Och I’ll try my
best nae tae get alarmed,” Scott replied as he gripped her hand tighter and smiled.

   “The bad news is we are dealing with a malignant tumor, but we’ve caught it very early and it has not spread anywhere else. If we get started with an aggressive chemotherapy course as soon as possible then I’m very confident we can
get this removed quite quickly.”