by Kylie Walker
He threw another punch.
She dodged it.
She danced around him, letting him throw a few more until he was visibly breathing harder and his broken rib had to be screaming in pain. That was when she threw her own punch. She threw three, actually, just like Max taught her. A right cross, left jab, right uppercut. Jesse went down and on the way his head struck the side of the coffee table. This time, he didn’t come up cussing.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
He lay there not moving. She couldn’t tell from where she stood if he was still breathing. She wasn’t about to get that close to him. Instead, she retreated into the little kitchen and stood next to the glass door and waited, and waited and waited. It was probably close to a twenty minutes later when he started making grunting noises. He tried to sit up.
“Fuck!”
“Does it hurt?”
“Fuck you!” He said through gritted teeth.
There was blood around the edges of his mouth. Chloe wasn’t sure if it was from his nose, or if she’d knocked out a few teeth. She hoped it was the latter.
“Was it worth all of this, Jesse? You wasted your life…and for what?”
“My life is not over, bitch! Yours is. You’re pathetic. You hang around with rich people and all of a sudden you think you’re worth something. You’re still trash! Daddy’s little scarred whore!”
His words tore a path of rage straight through her chest. That’s what they were designed to do. He was taunting her, wanting her to come close so he could grab her again. That wasn’t going to happen.
“I’m not your victim anymore, Jesse. I’m nobody’s victim.”
“Stupid cunt! You think you can take a few self-defense classes and beat me? If you wanted me dead, you would have bought a gun. You think you’re so tough that you can beat me? You’ll wear yourself down and then I won’t have to fight you while I carve you up. You’re doing me a favor.”
“You’re not going to kill me tonight, Jesse.”
“You’ll have to kill me to stop me.”
“Okay.”
He choked out a strangled laugh. “You’re too pathetic. You won’t kill me. You would feel too bad about taking a human life…”
“I would…if I thought you were a human, Jesse. Killing you would be like stepping on a cockroach. I will happily watch your guts spread out across the floor once your shell is broken.”
He snorted. “You’re not only pathetic and stupid, you’re delusional.”
“Come here, let’s see.”
“You think I’m afraid of you?”
“I don’t see you moving off that floor. Feel safe there do you?”
Jesse reached down and pulled up the leg of his jeans. He reached into his sock and pulled out a knife with a blade that had to be six inches long. It was serrated on one side. He held it up and said, “When I beat you into submission, I’m going to string you up by your feet and gut you…truss you up like a prize kill. Then I’m going to carve you up one little piece at a time.”
“Bring it,” she said.
The sight of the knife brought a new wave of fear and nausea inside of her…but she would die before she let him see it. She watched him push up off the floor with one hand while holding the knife in the other. He grunted, loudly and when he got to his feet, it was easy to see that he was way off balance. He just stood there for several seconds and Chloe wondered if he was going to pass out.
Suddenly, he lunged at her with the knife blade pointed out. She stepped out of the way and he hit the glass door with his face. If Jesse even had a modicum of self-control before that, it was gone now. He screamed like a wild animal and came at her again. Chloe threw a punch that landed on his sore nose, but the tip of the blade he was holding caught her forearm. She felt it slice through skin and muscle, all the way down to the bone.
She didn’t hesitate though…she couldn’t afford to. Attack! She kicked him in the chest and he stumbled back, landing against the glass doors. Attack! She kicked him again, harder this time and the entire door pushed up off its hinges and popped out. Jesse was propelled back with it. As the glass door hit the little wrought iron bistro table on the patio, it shattered.
Jesse’s skull sounded like it did the same thing as the back of his head hit it, bounced up, and hit it again before his body went limp and he crumpled to the ground…on top of the glass. Chloe reached for a dishtowel and wrapped it tightly around her arm. She was starting to get light-headed because she was losing so much blood.
One more scar…but it wouldn’t matter, if he was dead. It was one scar that she would wear proudly like a badge of honor.
She slayed the dragon.
Chloe stood about three feet back and watched him. She didn’t see his chest or his back moving. She couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. She thought about calling 911…let them decide…but if he wasn’t dead, then she’d have to continue to live in fear.
She took a deep breath and told herself once more, “I’m nobody’s victim anymore.”
She slowly walked over to where he lay on his side. She went around behind him so he’d have to turn over to reach out and grab her. When she was about a foot away, she leaned down and put her hand against his back. His skin was bloody and cold and his chest wasn’t moving at all. Just to be sure she moved her hand up to his neck. She could see the blade of the knife still glinting in the moonlight as he clutched it in his hand. She shivered, sucked in another breath and pressed her two fingers to the artery in his neck. He had no pulse.
Jesse the monster was dead.
Chloe could finally breathe.
Even though she was convinced that he was dead, she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. She backed away from him quickly and when she reached the front door, she opened it and ran to the truck. She fished the key out of her boot and opened it. She climbed inside and locked the doors again. The adrenaline was starting to leave her body and in its wake it left anxiety so severe that her teeth were beginning to chatter.
She picked up her phone and saw that she had three missed calls. Roxi, Jake and Derek…She ignored them for now and called 911.
“911 what is your emergency?”
“I just killed my ex-boyfriend.”
“I’m sorry ma’am; did you say you “killed” someone?” Chloe was shaking so hard that she could barely speak. She said it again, “I killed my ex-boyfriend. He was trying to kill me. I need the police and an ambulance.”
“What’s your name?”
“Chloe Green.”
“Address?” Chloe gave her the address.
“Ma’am, do you have a weapon on you?”
“No.”
“They’re on the way, stay on the…”
Chloe hung up. She pushed Jake’s number.
“Chloe! Where are you?”
“I’m at the condo, Jake. Jesse’s dead.”
“Oh my God! Dad and I flew back this afternoon when Derek told us you went to Rhode Island. I was already on my way. I’ll be there any second. Hang on, Chloe…Shit!”
She could hear the sirens coming. They were getting closer. She called Derek next. Trevor answered the phone.
“Chloe? Are you okay? Everyone has been trying to reach you!”
“I’m fine…Jesse’s dead. Is Derek okay?”
“Jesse’s what?”
“He’s dead. I killed him. Is Derek okay?”
Trevor’s voice had a slight tremor as he said, “He’s fine honey. Are you okay?”
“I will be,” she whispered. “I’m free now.”
She let the phone slide out of her hand and reached up with her good arm and rubbed her eyes hard with her hand. She had to stay awake so that she could tell them what happened. She pushed the unlock button as the police cars came screeching up to her vehicle.
She opened the door as they were opening theirs. She stepped out of the truck with her hands in the air. The bright lights shone in her face, she knew they had their guns drawn on her. Once she was out of the
truck, she dropped to her knees, her arms becoming heavy. That was when she saw Jake run across the sand. The police yelled at him to stop and everything went black. Chloe gave in to the strong pull of sleep as the darkness consumed her.
PART SIX
CHAPTER ONE
Jake was running across the sand towards Chloe when she suddenly fell limply forward. He felt the invisible hand of panic seize him around the throat. He could barely breathe as he tried to maneuver the shifting earth underneath his feet. He could hear nothing but chaos behind him, people yelling and sirens blaring. “Stop! Get on the ground! Put your hands in the air! This is your last warning! Take one more step and you will be shot.”
Jake was about three feet from where Chloe went down when he finally stopped and dropped to the ground like the police officer on the megaphone was ordering him to do. He could see her from where he was now…that’s what he needed. He needed to know that she was still breathing before they separated them and whisked her away in an ambulance. Her back was moving, ever so slightly up and down. She was still breathing but he could see that there was a thick pool of blood underneath her arm in spite of the makeshift bandage she had tied around it. She was quickly bleeding out.
“She needs an ambulance!” Jake yelled. He saw one when he drove in. They were waiting for clearance from the cops. “Now! She’s bleeding to death!” Cops suddenly surrounded him, guns drawn, and still yelling at him to stay down. Jake was on his belly with his hands behind his head. Chloe was facedown and they were losing her… “My name is Jake Stark. I’m an attorney out of New York. Miss Green is my client and trust me if you value your jobs and your freedom, you do not want to let her bleed to death in front of me. She needs medical attention now!”
One of the cops knelt next to Chloe and then said something to one of his partners that Jake didn’t hear. He lay there for what seemed like forever…praying in his head because at that point he felt completely helpless and there was nothing else to do. At last he heard the beeping sound of the ambulance backing up and a few seconds later he saw them approach from the side, carrying a stokes basket and a bagful of equipment. They put Chloe in the basket and began taking vital signs on her. One of the men was on the phone with the hospital as he put a pressure bandage on her arm. The other finished her vital signs and started an IV. Jake was watching them when suddenly he felt hands on his arms and he was pulled up out of the sand by a couple of less than gentle cops. Then, he was immediately handcuffed.
“What the fuck are the cuffs for?”
“We need to secure this scene and find out what’s going on.”
“I need to talk to the officer in charge of this mess. I’m her attorney. My brother is her fiancé. I need to call him. I need to let her family know what is going on…” None of them seemed to be listening as he was led to a police car. He was getting frustrated and suddenly knew how his clients felt who had pending charges for assault on the arresting officer. He raised his voice and said, “You saw me run the fuck over here from my car. I wasn’t here when any of this happened! She called me!”
The cop shoved him into the back of a police car and closed the door. He could see Chloe being loaded in the ambulance, thank God. He sat quietly, it wasn’t going to do any good to kick and scream the way he wanted to, but he was freaking out inside. He had no idea how Chloe was and he hadn’t even been able to call Derek. She was going to be at the hospital alone.
“Why is my son in the back of a police car?” Jake felt relief wash over him when he heard the sound of his father’s voice.
The officer in charge was an older man in a crisp blue uniform and hat. Whether it was Kevin’s sharp looking expensive suit or commanding voice, something caused him to suddenly take interest in Jake. “We were securing the scene, sir.”
“I don’t see what that has to do with my son being in the back of your car.” Jake’s dad walked over and looked into the window of the car that was rolled about a quarter of the way down. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but they took Chloe to the hospital and they’ve had me sitting here for I don’t know how long. I told them I’m her attorney. We need to call her parents, Dad and Derek.”
“Chloe called them,” Kevin told him, “But they don’t know that she’s hurt.”
Meanwhile Jake heard the older officer ask his subordinate, “Did he tell you that he’s her attorney?”
“Yes, but I didn’t have any proof of that…”
“Did you ask for his I.D.?”
“No sir, but…”
“Get him out of there and un-cuff him!”
Jake was pulled out of the car, not quite as roughly as he was put in, and the young officer took the cuffs off his wrists. “Where did they take her?” he asked the police officer in charge.
“To the Rhode Island hospital over on Eddy. Mr. Stark, there is a dead body in the home.”
Jake didn’t say anything. They would definitely interview Chloe when she was up to it. That would be the time to talk. Until then, all he cared about was that Chloe would be okay. “Is my client under arrest?”
“Not yet. Do you know anything about what happened in there?”
“I have a good idea what happened,” Jake said, “But I wasn’t here, so you’ll have to speak with my client to get the details.”
“Can you tell me who the deceased is? He doesn’t have I.D. on his person.”
Jake looked at his dad and Kevin said, “I’ll take a look at him. If he’s who we think he is I can tentatively identify him for you so you can notify his family.”
The captain nodded, and Jake said, “Can I go now?”
“Yes, I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” the captain told him.
“I’ll see you at the hospital, Dad?”
“Of course, as soon as I’m finished here, I’ll be there. You go.”
Jake sprinted back across the beach to where he parked his car. When he got inside he grabbed his phone and when he did, he saw there was a missed call from Roxi. He put the car in gear and pushed his Bluetooth button. Then he called the Whitemore’s first. Trevor answered on the first ring,
“Chloe?”
“No Trevor, it’s Jake. Chloe has a cut on her arm and I’m not sure what else. She’s being taken to Rhode Island Hospital on Eddy.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can.” Trevor hung up. Jake called Roxi next.
“Jake! What the fuck is going on? Chloe called me and said that Jesse is dead and just hung up!”
“He is. She killed him. I’m on my way to the hospital where they took her. Do you want me to pick you up?”
“Yes, I’m at the club. I’ll wait outside.” It took Jake about fifteen minutes to get to the club. True to her word, Roxi was waiting outside.
She didn’t even say hello when she slid into the car before she said, “What did that son of a bitch do to her?”
“She had something wrapped around her arm so I didn’t see the wound. I’m assuming he cut her though because it was gushing a lot of blood, even with the wrap on it. I don’t know what else was wrong with her. She passed out before I got a chance to really see or talk to her.”
“That little fucker is lucky she killed him. I would have loved to get a hold of him and spend a few days torturing him before I cut off his little pecker and shoved it down his throat.”
Jake chuckled lightly, “Somebody has a little violent streak.”
She looked at him with her beautiful eyes blazing and said, “Nobody messes with the people I care about.” Jake sobered and nodded. He felt the same way. He might not have expressed it as eloquently as Roxi…but he had his own ideas about what he would have liked to do to Jesse. As far as Jake was concerned, there were two types of low lives in this world that weren’t even worth defending…One of them was a pedophile and the other a man who likes to hurt women.
When they got to the hospital Jake told them he was her attorney…and her brother in law. Since he was the only “family” who had shown up, they
were willing to talk to him. The receptionist sent him and Roxi into a waiting room and a few minutes later a middle-aged lady dressed in a casual business suit came in to talk to them.
“Hi, my name is Rhonda Pierce; I’m the case manager for surgical services.”
“Jake Stark. I’m Miss Green’s brother in law, and her attorney. This is her employer, Roxi Danworth. Is Chloe okay?”
“She’s in surgery at the moment. She has a four-inch laceration to her left arm. It sliced through tissue and muscle, all the way to the bone. It also cut through a major artery and she’s lost a lot of blood. They’ve given her two pints, but she will undoubtedly need more after surgery. They’re repairing the artery and the muscle will be closed up as best as they are able to. She also has multiple bruises and contusions all over her body, but luckily none of her bones are broken.”
“She’s going to be okay, though?”
“I’m not a physician Mr. Stark so I’ll have to leave that one for her surgeons. When she’s out of surgery and in recovery, they will come out and speak with you.”
“Okay,” Jake said. He was hoping for more, but they’d just been through this with Derek and he knew how things worked. When they were ready, they would come out and talk to him. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. The police are waiting outside to speak to her when she wakes up as well.” Jake ran a hand through his hair and said,
“Can you send them in here?”
“Of course.” When the lady was gone Roxi said,
“Are you going to tell them what happened?”
“I’ll give them a preliminary. They’ll still want to talk to Chloe, but maybe they won’t be circling like vultures.”
When the door opened back up, Kevin came in with two men in suits right behind him. “This is Detective Case and Detective Brady from the Rhode Island Police Department. This is my son and law partner, Jake Stark and…” Kevin and Roxi had never met. Roxi didn’t wait for Jake to introduce her. She held out her hand and said,