He frowned. “I’m not leaving without Jenna. We love each other.”
He took another step closer and from behind Rosa, Jen made a small sound of panic.
“Jenna. Go inside. Call nine-one-one.”
She must have made a move toward the house because several things happened at once. Aaron Barker growled out a sound of frustration and lunged for her. Fiona jumped into protective mode and latched on to his leg and he kicked out at the dog, who whimpered and fell to the ground.
“No! Fi!” Rosa cried out. The coward pulled his leg back as if to kick again and Rosa instantly dropped to the ground, her body over the dog’s.
Seconds later, she felt crushing pain in her back and realized he had kicked her instead of the dog.
This was the first time in fifteen years someone had struck out at her in anger. Instantly, she was transported to another time, another place. The past broke free of the prison where she kept it, the memories pouring over her like acid.
Other boots. Other fists. Again and again until she was in agony as vicious words in Spanish called her horrible names and told her she was going to die.
Something whimpered beneath her and the past suddenly receded—she was back in the present with her back throbbing and her dog wriggling beneath her.
Fiona was alive, and was just winded like Rosa. Thank God.
She could not just lie here trying to catch her breath. She had to protect her friend. Already, the man was making his way past Rosa and the dog toward the porch, where Jenna was desperately trying to punch in the code to unlock the door.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Rosa said to Fi, then rose shakily to her feet. Her amazing dog was right behind her and she realized Fi had been whimpering for her to get up so they could both keep fighting.
Rosa ignored her pain as she limped after him.
“Stop. Right now,” she said. He had almost reached the porch and Rosa did the only thing she could think of to slow him down. Though her back groaned with pain, she jumped on him, her arms around his neck as she had been taught in the self-defense classes Daniel had insisted she take.
He cried out in frustration and swung his elbows back, trying to get her off. One elbow caught her mouth and she tasted blood but still she clung tightly.
“Stupid dog!” he cried out again and she realized Fiona must have bitten him again to protect them.
She was so busy hanging on for dear life, she almost missed the sound of the door opening as Jenna finally managed to unlock it. She could see the other woman looked undecided whether to go inside to safety or come to Rosa’s aid.
“Go,” she yelled to Jenna. “Call nine-one-one.”
An instant later, she heard the sound of the dead bolt. She was so relieved, she relaxed her hold slightly, but it was enough for him to shake her off as Fiona would with a sand fly.
She fell to the grass, barely missing the walkway, and rolled out of the way of his kicking boots. Fiona was still growling but had retreated also, and now came to stand in front of her.
“You bitch,” he growled. “You stupid bitch. This is none of your damn business.”
She could hardly breathe, but she managed to squeeze out a few words. “My friend. My house. My business.”
He started for the door and she grabbed the closest weapon she could find, a rock from the flower garden. Rosa stood up and held it tightly.
“I will not let you hurt her,” she gasped out.
He appeared genuinely shocked by that. “I would never hurt Jenna. Never. I love her and she loves me.”
He ran a hand through his hair. The man was definitely unhinged, whether from his obsession or from alcohol, she did not know. What did it matter? She only knew there was no point in arguing with him. She longed for the safety of the house, but didn’t know how she could get inside without him following her and having access to Jenna.
“How can you say you love her? She ran away from you.”
“I’ve been out of my head, worried about her. She disappeared in the middle of the night and no one would tell me where she went.”
He sounded so plaintive that she would have felt sorry for him if she didn’t know the torture he had put Jenna through these past few months.
“How did you...find her?” She was so afraid and in pain, she could barely breathe enough to get the question out, but had some wild thought that if she could keep him talking, perhaps the police would arrive before he killed her.
“Luck,” he growled. “Sheer luck. A friend who knew how broke up I was about her leaving said he thought he saw someone who looked like her working in a gift shop when he was here on vacation with his family.”
Rosa closed her eyes, remembering that day Jen had thought she saw someone she recognized. She had been right. Completely right.
“How did you know it was Jenna?”
He shrugged. “I’m a cop. I’ve got connections. I traced her Social Security number and found an employment record here at some shop in town. I figured they wouldn’t tell me where she lived so I asked at the shop next door.”
All their efforts to protect her hadn’t been enough. Rosa had never thought of putting their neighboring stores on alert. She felt stupid for not thinking of it.
“As soon as I heard she might be here, I had to see if it was her.” His face darkened. “I have to talk to her. Make sure she’s okay.”
“You have seen her. Jenna is fine. She wants you now to leave her alone.”
“I’m not going to do that. We love each other. She’s just being stubborn.”
Rosa stood in front of him on the porch, Fiona growling at her side. “You cannot see her now.”
She could see his talkative mood shift to anger again.
“Get out of my way,” he said slowly and deliberately, and moved a step closer.
“No,” she said, gripping the rock more tightly.
“You think I’m going to let some stupid little bitch keep me away from the woman I love after I’ve come all this way?”
Always, it was about him. Not about the woman or the child he had displaced from their home, forced to flee his unwanted obsession.
Rosa was shaking and she realized it was a combination of fear, pain and anger.
“Get out of my way. If you think I’m leaving, you don’t know a damn thing about me.”
Rosa lifted her chin. “I know all I need to know about you, Aaron Barker. I know you are a coward, a bully, a despicable human being. You have terrorized Jenna, one of the kindest women I know, who has already been through enough, because you refuse to believe a woman is not interested in you.”
“Shut up. Jenna loves me.”
“Then why did she move eight hundred miles to get away from you?”
His face turned red with anger. “Move. Last warning.”
“I am not going anywhere.”
He reached to shove her aside and Fiona lunged again. He kicked out at the dog, but she would not let her sweet canine protector be hurt again.
Rosa lifted the rock with both hands and, with every ounce of strength she had left, she slammed it into the side of his head. He stared at her in shock, dazed, then staggered backward, stumbling off the porch.
Rosa stared at him for only a second before she rushed to the door. She was fumbling to punch in the code when she heard sirens and a door slam, then a voice yelled out, “Don’t move!”
Wyatt!
He had come.
Vast relief poured over her and Rosa, shaking violently now, sagged to the ground, her back pressed against the door and her arms wrapped around her brave, wonderful dog.
Chapter Fifteen
Wyatt restrained the son of a bitch, who seemed groggy and incoherent, and was mumbling about how much he loved Jen and how she had to talk to him.
It took every ounce of control he had not to bash
the man’s head against the porch steps, especially when he saw blood trickling out of Rosa’s mouth.
This man had hurt Rosa. And not just physically. She looked...shattered. He wanted to go to her, but he needed to secure the scene first before he could comfort her.
“Where are Jen and Addie?” he asked. He had been at his sister’s house when Jen had called, her voice frantic. He hadn’t been able to understand her at first, but had quickly surmised through her distress that her stalker was there and he was hurting Rosa and Fiona.
She had hung up before he could ask any questions and he had assumed she was calling 911 as he heard the call go out of an assault while he was en route, screaming through town with lights and sirens blazing.
The door opened. “I’m here,” Jenna said. “I sent Addie into our apartment. Oh, Rosa. You saved us.”
She wrapped her arms around her friend and Wyatt didn’t miss the way Rosa winced. She had more aches and pains than just the bloody lip he could see.
The bastard was bleeding, too, from what looked like a nasty contusion. Wyatt looked around and found a large rock with blood on it. Had Rosa hit him with that? Good for her.
He finished handcuffing Barker and read him his rights, all while the man kept babbling about being a police officer and how this was all a big mistake.
“Tell them, Jenna. Tell them you love me.”
The woman looked down at the man who had so tormented her, driving her away from her home with his obsession.
“I despise you,” she said clearly. “I hope you rot in hell.”
Barker made a move toward her but Wyatt yanked the restraint.
“We can straighten everything out down at the station,” Wyatt said, just as backup officers arrived to help him secure the scene.
Only after they had taken custody of the man and another officer started taking Jenna’s statement about the incident and the months of torment preceding it could Wyatt finally go to Rosa, who was now sitting on the porch steps.
She forced a smile when he approached and he saw her lip was cracked and swollen.
“He hurt you.” He reached a hand out and tenderly caressed her face.
She let out a little sob and sagged into his arms. He held her, burying his face in her hair as he tried not to think about what might have happened to her.
How would he have endured it? He had already lost one woman he loved. He couldn’t stand the idea of losing another.
“I am all right,” she murmured. “Jenna is safe. That is the important thing. But I have to take Fiona to the vet. That man kicked her. She was so brave.”
They both were incredibly brave. He looked over her shoulder, where Fiona’s tail was wagging. She almost looked like she was smiling as the two of them embraced. “She seems okay to me.”
Rosa drew away a little and he instantly wanted to pull her back into his arms.
“I would still like to have her checked out. The veterinarian is my friend. I will call her.”
An ambulance pulled up, followed by a fire truck. The whole town was coming to her rescue, which was only proof about how well-regarded Rosa was in town.
Right behind them, a couple he recognized came racing up the driveway.
“Rosa!” Melissa Sanderson exclaimed. “What happened? We saw all the police racing past and hurried right over.”
“I am fine,” Rosa said. “A man came to hurt Jen but she and Addie were able to get to safety.”
“Because of you,” Jenna said as she approached with her daughter in her arms. “You saved us.”
She hugged her friend again and Wyatt could see Rosa was trying not to wince.
“You look like you’ve gone a few rounds with a heavyweight champion.” Melissa’s husband, Eli, a physician in town, looked concerned. “You should let me have a look.”
Rosa, his battered warrior, glowered at them all. “This is all too much fuss for a sore lip.”
“He kicked her in the back, too,” Jenna said. “At least once. Maybe more. I don’t know. I was so scared.”
“You need to go to the ER,” Wyatt said.
She shook her head. “Not until Fiona sees the veterinarian.”
“You can at least let Eli and the paramedics check you out while I call the veterinarian,” Wyatt said.
She gave him a grateful look. “Yes. I will do that. Thank you.”
Chapter Sixteen
To his deep regret, that was the last chance he had to talk to her for the next few hours. He didn’t want to leave, but as the on-scene arresting officer, he had paperwork and an investigation to deal with.
He had tried to interrogate Barker but the man was sleeping off what appeared to be a large quantity of alcohol, as well as a concussion delivered by Rosa and her trusty rock and several dog bites from Fiona.
By the time he left the station, the sun was beginning to set.
He knew from the other officers on scene that Rosa had refused transport to the hospital, though she had allowed Eli to clean and bandage her cuts.
Stubborn woman.
Only now, as he walked up the front steps to the house hours later, did Wyatt feel his own adrenaline crash.
He had never been so scared as the moment when Jenna had called him, her voice thready with panic. All he had registered were her words that Rosa was being hurt.
It seemed odd to be here without either Hank or Logan, but Carrie had offered to keep both of them overnight.
“You do what you need to for Jen and Rosa,” she had told him when he called from the station. She had been half out of her mind with worry for her friend and only his repeated assurances that Rosa’s injuries appeared to be minor had kept Carrie from rushing to the house herself.
He half expected to find Rosa in the flower gardens around Brambleberry House, seeking peace and solace amid the blossoms and the birds, as she so often did. But from what he could see, the gardens were empty except for a few hummingbirds at the bright red feeder. They immediately flitted away.
The big house also seemed quiet when he let himself inside. He walked to the third floor and knocked, but Rosa didn’t answer. He couldn’t hear Fiona inside, either.
He frowned, not sure what to do.
As he headed back down the stairs, the door on the second-floor landing opened. Jenna peeked out. “I thought I heard you come in.”
“Yeah. How are you?”
“I’ve had better days.”
“It has to help to know that Barker is in custody, doesn’t it?”
She shrugged and he could see she wasn’t entirely convinced her nightmare was over. He couldn’t blame her for the doubt after the way the system had already treated her, but Wyatt was quick to reassure her.
“You should know that Barker won’t be going anywhere for a long time. He’s facing extensive state and federal charges. And we haven’t even started on the stalking charges. That will only add to his sentence. He won’t bother you again.”
“I hope not.”
He knew it would probably take time for that reality to sink in.
“Is Rosa with you?”
“No. I heard her take Fiona out about a half hour ago.”
She paused. “I never wanted her to get hurt. I hope you know that. I thought we would be safe here. If I had for a moment dreamed he would find me and would come here and hurt Rosa and Fiona, I never would have come.”
“I know that and I’m sure Rosa doesn’t blame you for a second.”
Jenna didn’t look convinced about this, either. “She was amazing. I wish you could have seen her. She was so fierce. Aaron was twice as big, but that didn’t stop her. She’s an incredible woman.”
“Agreed,” he said, his voice gruff.
“She risked her life to protect me and Addie.” Jenna’s voice took on an edge and she gave him a hard stare. “For the r
ecord, I will do the same for her. Anybody who hurts her in any possible way will live to regret it.”
Was that a threat? It certainly sounded like one. He couldn’t decide whether to be offended that she could ever think he would hurt Rosa, or touched at her loyalty to her friend. He settled on the latter.
“You and I are the same in that sentiment, then,” he said quietly.
She studied his features for a moment, then nodded. “I saw her from my window as I was putting Addie to bed. She and Fiona appeared to be heading for the beach.”
He smiled and on impulse reached out and hugged her. After a surprised moment, Jenna hugged him back.
He headed for the beach gate, his heart pounding. As he went, he carried on a fierce debate with himself.
Rosa had basically ordered him to keep his distance and told him she wasn’t interested in a relationship. He had tried his best. For a week, he had worked long hours at his house so that he and Logan could move out as soon as possible. The whole time, he had done his best to push her out of his head and his heart.
It hadn’t worked.
The moment Jenna had called him in a panic, the moment he knew they were in danger, Wyatt had realized nothing had changed. He was in love with Rosa and would move heaven and earth to keep her safe.
He pushed open the beach gate and found her there, just beyond the house. She was sitting on a blanket on the sand, her arm around Fiona and her back to him as she watched the sun slipping down into the water in a blaze of color.
She didn’t hear him come out at first. Fiona did. The dog turned to look at him, but apparently decided he was no threat because she nestled closer to her human.
He moved across the sand, still not sure what he would say to her, only knowing he had to be close to her, too.
He saw the moment she registered his presence. Her spine stiffened and she turned her head. He couldn’t see her expression behind her sunglasses.
“Oh. Hello.”
“Here you are. I was worried about you.”
“Yes. We are here. The sunset seems especially beautiful tonight.”
A Brambleberry Summer Page 16