by Jade Winters
Rae could have finished it all there and then, had she the nerve. A bottle of vodka with mouthfuls of pills would have done the trick but she was a coward. Instead, she sat there unable to move as she absorbed the full horror of Callum’s actions.
‘Why didn’t you tell me he’d attacked you, Candice?’
Candice narrowed her eyes. They were full of hate. ‘You’d really have believed me wouldn’t you? Just like you believed your so called best friend.’
Tears stung at the corners of Rae’s eyes.
‘She’s only telling you now ’cause that animal’s behind bars. He threatened to kill her if she said anything,’ Rae’s mother interjected in an accusing tone. ‘Trust you to be the one to get involved with someone like him.’
‘Mum, I’ve said I’m sorry. What more do you want me to do?’
‘Go back to your sodding cat, that’s what!’ Candice said before running out the room in tears.
Rae looked helplessly towards her mother. ‘Mum—’
‘I’ve got nothing to say to you, Rae. I really haven’t.’
‘It’s not my fault he attacked her,’ Rae pleaded.
‘Stop thinking of yourself for once and consider what your poor sister’s been through.’
Rae had been doing little else since Candice had told her about that awful night before they left for Scotland. In her mind’s eye she could see Candice going out to his car, thinking Rae had sent him over with her jacket she’d left behind. Then Callum, twice her size, grabbing her and … Her mind wouldn’t go any further. All she could do was be grateful that Candice had managed to eventually fight him off by kneeing him hard in the groin and escaping from his clutches. If she hadn’t, Rae knew what he would have done to her.
It was now evident how Callum came to have the scratches she had seen on his back that day in the cottage’s kitchen. She cursed herself for not delving deeper into it. Callum’s charm had blinded her to his faults.
Since his arrest, several more women had come forward and added their name to a growing list of victims. It made Rae’s skin crawl to think she had opened her home and her heart to someone like him.
Callum was evil wrapped in skin. Plain and simple.
Rae left her mother’s house, not knowing when or if she’d ever return. It was plain to see that she was viewed as being partly responsible for Callum’s behaviour. Whether they would forgive her remained to be seen.
The reception she received when she turned up at Lindsay’s house wasn’t much better, but to her surprise Kim let her in.
The silence in the living room was suffocating. Normally she would have found something to say but under the circumstances she thought it best to let Lindsay lead the way. Rae had done enough damage as it was.
It was Kim who eventually broke the ice. ‘Come on you two, are you really going to let that bastard have the last say? Hasn’t he hurt you both enough?’
‘Kim—’
‘No, Linds, I know you’re angry with Rae, but she’s come here to talk to you. At least hear her out.’
Tears in her eyes, Lindsay looked at Rae. The pain and confusion etched on her face caused Rae to lower her gaze to the floor.
‘What could she possibly have to say to me?’
Rae clasped her hands together on her lap. ‘That you’ll never know how sorry I am. I know I’ve hurt you—’
‘Hurt me?’ Her voice was full of emotion. ‘That doesn’t even come close.’
‘I want to fix this, Lindsay. I need you to forgive me.’
‘Why? So you can sleep at night? Pretend all of this never happened.’
‘You know I would never do that—’
‘You’re right. The Rae I thought I knew wouldn’t have done a lot of things. But you.’ She shook her head. ‘I don’t know who you are. And I don’t think I want to either.’
‘If I could do anything to take my actions back I would. I don’t know why I acted the way I did. It was like I was in a trance.’
Lindsay glanced at Kim who was sitting beside her, then back to Rae. ‘The bond we had is broken, Rae. It will take a long time for it to heal. If ever.’
Rae looked up hopefully. ‘I’ll wait. No matter how long it takes. I promise I will never do anything to hurt you again.’
‘I haven’t got the energy to deal with this right now.’ Lindsay pushed herself to her feet.
‘Okay. I totally understand. If you need me. Call me day or night. And if … when the baby comes—’
‘There isn’t any baby.’ Lindsay wiped a tear away that rolled down her cheek.
Rae’s forehead creased in confusion. ‘But—’
‘I had a miscarriage.’
Rae’s heart sank. She had to stop herself from rushing to Lindsay’s side to comfort her. The gesture wouldn’t be welcomed. The only reason Rae was sat in her front room was down to Kim. If it wasn’t for her she doubted Lindsay would have ever spoken to or seen her again. ‘I’m so sorry. More than—’
‘It’s funny, even though the baby was made in a moment of violence, I would have still loved it no matter what,’ Lindsay said softly as she placed her hand on her stomach. ‘I didn’t want an innocent baby to become another one of his victims.’
The sight of Lindsay touching where life once resided caused a lump to form in Rae’s throat. Choking back the tears she said, ‘I … I … know.’
Slowly, Lindsay crossed the room to the door. ‘I’ve got to get the kids’ tea ready. They’ll be home from school in a bit.’
Rae nodded. Now more than ever she wanted to leave as well. The sadness of the whole situation was overwhelming. She got to her feet. ‘Will you call me? Even if it’s just to let me know you’re okay?’
‘We’ll see,’ Lindsay said non-committedly.
‘I’ll walk you out,’ Kim said, gesturing for Rae to go ahead of her into the hallway.
They walked the few yards to the front door in silence. Before leaving, Rae turned to Kim. She took an envelope from her pocket and pushed it into Kim’s hand. ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but this is the money I promised Lindsay. I know it can’t make up for what’s happened but it can help you build your life together.’
Kim opened her mouth to protest but Rae said quickly, ‘Please take it, Kim. This can’t all have happened for nothing.’
Kim pushed the envelope into her pocket. ‘I’ll give it to her when things aren’t so raw. I’ll talk to her. Before all of this shit went down you two were good friends. Hopefully you will be again.’
‘I hope so.’ Rae opened the door and made her way down the path. She didn’t look back.
Chapter Forty-Two
After the emotive hour she’d just had, Rae was looking forward to getting indoors and shutting the world out. Not that it was going to be that difficult. It seemed everyone wanted to distance themselves from her. Leo had asked, no, actually insisted she take a few weeks off work until the media coverage of Callum died down. He said the negative publicity wasn’t doing much good for their image.
Arriving home, Rae groaned when she noticed a middle aged woman standing outside her front door. Another bloody reporter. When are they going to get it through their thick skulls I’m not talking to anyone?
‘Rae?’ The woman said as she neared.
‘No comment,’ she replied as she drew closer. The woman seemed familiar. Her stomach turned.
‘I’m not a reporter, Rae.’ The woman held out her hand and smiled nervously. ‘I’m Jenny, Callum’s mum.’
‘His …? What do you want?’ Rae asked, ignoring Jenny’s outstretched hand. She frantically searched for her house keys in her bag. She needed to get inside. Away from the woman who had spawned a monster.
‘Have you got a minute?’
Panic set in and her hands shook. Her heart started to race. ‘If he’s sent you here to—’
‘No, I promise. He didn’t send me here. I came because I need to talk to you. To explain.’
With the safety of her home inches away
Rae willed herself to breathe slowly. Common sense told her if she didn’t hear Jenny out now, the woman would only keep coming back.
‘Five minutes max,’ Rae said pushing the door open. With a jerk of her head she gestured for Jenny to follow her inside.
‘Your time starts now,’ Rae said, stopping in the hallway. She crossed her arms over her chest.
‘This is hard for me to say, as his mum …’ Jenny said in a throaty rasp, ‘but I wanted to thank you …’
Rae blinked rapidly. Is she insane? ‘Thank me? For what?’
‘For giving the evidence to the police. If you hadn’t, he would never have been stopped. You see, I was in your shoes once. If I didn’t snitch on his dad—’
‘Hold on a second. What are you talking about?’
Jenny’s eyes dropped to the floor. ‘Rae, unfortunately Callum’s got his dad’s blood running through his veins. I’ve never told anyone this before. I tried to abort Callum when I found out I was pregnant but his dad threatened to kill me. In a way, I wish he had. At least I would have saved a lot of women the heartache they’re going through.’
Rae almost laughed out loud. This woman was obviously a reporter posing as his mum. And to think I nearly fell for it. ‘You need to leave my house before I call the police. If you want to pretend to be his mum at least get your facts straight. Callum’s dad isn’t a criminal. He trains polo ponies.’
Jenny snorted. ‘Is that what he told you?’
‘Well, doesn’t he?’ Rae said suddenly feeling unsure of herself.
The look in Jenny’s eyes spoke volumes. ‘I’m sorry, Rae. But no, he doesn’t. Mr Brice Sr. is currently in prison.’
Rae narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the truth. ‘For … what?’
‘He’s a convicted rapist.’
Rae took a step back. Her senses spun. ‘A …’ She couldn’t bring herself to say the word.
‘I’m not surprised Callum didn’t tell you,’ Jenny continued, despite the bombshell she’d just dropped on Rae. ‘He’s been inside for the past twelve years. You must have read about him. The Path Walker Rapist. It was in all the papers.’
Rae had read something about the vicious attacks at the time but when they caught him she hadn’t given it much thought again. ‘He’s Callum’s dad?’
‘Yes. I tried to set Callum straight. Tried to get him a good education so he’d find a decent job but his dad’s influence was too strong.’
Despite herself, Rae found herself defending him. ‘He was doing very well as a trader, that’s hardly drifting.’
‘A trader? Callum?’ she gave a short bitter laugh. ‘That boy is useless with figures. Why would you think something like that?’
So many lies. ‘His car, the money—’
‘Oh. I see he didn’t tell you. Doesn’t surprise me. He always did see himself as a bit of a player. All the flashy gear he bought was from money he received from a compensation claim he made a few years ago. Claimed he was badly injured. Of course there wasn’t a word of truth in it. But you know what these lawyers are like.’ Jenny wrapped her scarf around her neck. ‘I think my five minutes are up. I just wanted to tell you not to feel bad about what you’ve done. God knows how many women you’ve saved.’
At that moment Bourbon came running out of the living room meowing.
Jenny raised her eyebrows. ‘What’s the likelihood of that. Callum brought home a cat that was just like that. The spitting image. He stayed with us for a few weeks then we never saw him again. Oh no, he came back once after that. For some strange reason, Callum was always bringing cats home.’
‘Home? But I thought you lived in America.’
‘America! I’d be so lucky. I’ve never stepped foot out of this country in my life.’
Jenny opened the front door, took a step forward then looked back over her shoulder. ‘A word of advice, Rae. In the future, don’t be so quick to open your heart to a man until you’ve met his family. And I mean his whole family.’
Jenny closed the door behind her and Rae listened until the sound of her footsteps disappeared.
So if it wasn’t me it would have been some other random cat owner. But none would have been as stupid as me.
Rae picked Bourbon up and held him close against her chest. No more men for us. It’s just you and me from now on buddy.
This time she meant it.
COMING SOON
When one door closes, another opens…
BOOK LIST
Standalone Lesbian Romance Novels
143
Caught By Love
Guilty Hearts
Say Something
Faking It
Second Thoughts
Secrets
In It Together
Love Interrupted
The Song, The Heart
Accidentally Together
Flirting With Danger
The Ashley McCoy Detective Series
A Walk Into Darkness
Everything To Lose
Novellas
Talk Me Down From The Edge
Free Short Stories
The Makeover
The Love Letter
Love On The Cards
A Story Of You
About The Author
Based in Dorset, UK, Jade Winters is a passionate author with a particular focus on lesbian romance. When not busy creating stories and lives, Jade loves spending time with her partner exploring the Dorset coastline in their boat.
Jade always enjoys discussing her books with readers. You can visit her website or get in touch with her via Facebook or Twitter. Her books are available on Amazon.
www.jade-winters.com