“No way. Forty-five. That's the age I've got in mind for settling down,” Colten said. “Well, old friend, good luck. I hope she turns out to be the one. Although when she sees how well hung you are, she'll probably run a mile.” He looked at his black friend and laughed. So did Chris.
“She already has seen it, and no, she didn't run. She liked it,” Sylvester replied, a sparkle in his eye.
“Here's to you then,” Colten said. There was a chink of glass on glass and then they all downed their drinks in one.
A group of scantily clad women came into the bar and looked at Colten. “Hi, Colten,” Nikki said. “Are you up for a good time tonight?” She was tall, blond, and well proportioned. Her black dress clung to her hips and buttocks as she walked across the room.
“Sorry, Nikki. Not tonight, darling. We had a great time on Saturday—it was really nice—but I'm a bit busy tonight.” Nikki pulled a disappointed face, turned around, and joined her friends again.
“Did you just turn her down?” Sylvester asked. “I've never seen you turn down a broad that hot before.”
“Avaline's my choice for this evening,” Colten said.
“Who's she?” Chris asked.
“My new, super attractive, sexy PA.”
“You're terrible. Do you know that?” Chris said. “You've tried it on with all your PA's.”
“She's different,” Colten said.
“How?” Sylvester interjected.
“I can't put my finger on it, but she's classy, intelligent, and so sexy you won't believe it. This one really does something to me,” Colten concluded.
“How old is she?” Chris asked, swirling around the champagne in his glass.
“Twenty-two,” Colten said.
“Ten years in it then. No too bad. She'll be able to supply you with innumerable babies.” Sylvester laughed. The thought of Colten changing nappies was too much for him.
“Funny,” Colten hissed.
*****
Avaline hadn't seen the man hiding in the alleyway next to Raylene's. As she made her way along the sidewalk toward the Rolls, he jumped out and grabbed her bag. Avaline didn't want to let go, so she put up a fight. Before Robert could get out of the car, the man hit her over the head with a club and ran off, leaving her unconscious and bleeding profusely.
Raylene heard the screams and ran out of the shop. Robert dashed over the road and squatted next to Avaline.
“Call an ambulance,” he said to Raylene.
He took out a clean handkerchief and pressed it to the wound on her head. A crowd of bloodthirsty spectators gathered around them as Raylene shouted into her cell phone.
Robert had spent long enough in the army to know that Avaline had now stopped breathing. He let go of the handkerchief, pressed her nostrils together, and gave her the kiss of life, followed by three sharp presses to her chest. He waited, but nothing happened. He repeated the process and waited again. This time, Avaline spluttered and began to breathe. Shortly after, the ambulance arrived and took Avaline to UCLA Medical Center.
Colten was halfway through his seafood platter, wondering where Avaline was, when Robert called him. He left the restaurant in a taxi and hastened to the hospital.
“How is she?” he asked Robert.
“I don't know. They told me to wait for her while they do the tests they need to do.”
“First day at work and mugged. Did you see the man who did it?”
“Not that well. There were some parked cars between me and the incident.”
Colten felt responsible. He'd sent her to town, and all because of a bikini. His thoughts turned to his sister, who had been raped in a park in LA. She'd also just run out to do something trivial. The rapist had been sentenced to just six years, but Colten had made sure his life inside was unbearable. He hadn’t been able to believe how cheap it was to have someone's legs broken, although having the man raped in the showers had cost considerably more.
The doctor came out of intensive care and looked at Colten and Robert. “She's concussed, but we can't find any lasting damage. We'll keep her in for observation for two nights, and after that she can go home. But she'll need to rest. A couple weeks off work should do it.”
“All right doctor. Thank you,” Colten said.
“I believe you are to thank for saving her,” the doctor said, looking at Robert.
“I gave her mouth to mouth, if that's what you mean.”
“Yes. Well, you did it very well. She's got a lot to thank you for. Does she have any relatives we need to inform?” the doctor asked.
Robert didn't have a clue, so he looked at Colten. “No. She's alone in the world,” Colten said. “Can we see her?”
“When we get her onto the ward, in an hour or so.”
It was two hours before Avaline was on the ward, by which time Robert was snoring in a waiting room arm chair and Colten was checking his bank accounts on his cell phone. A nurse came and fetched them. Avaline was sitting up in bed with a bandage on her head. The first thing Colten noticed was how pale she looked.
“So you didn't want to come back to the Hopeless Sinner?” Colten asked jokingly.