Morgan, Nicole - Love Knows No Boundaries (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Love Knows No Boundaries (lit)

  Sean turned to his sergeant as if asking permission. When he got the nod of approval, he reached to pick up his phone, but it had already gone to voice mail. He dialed his messaging system and waited. After punching in the numbers he listened to Izzy’s jumbled message about being late. She was so out of breath, he could only make out half of what she said. Deciding to wait until he had a little more privacy, he held off on calling her back.

  * * * *

  Ten minutes later Isabelle turned off the shower and reached for her cell phone, which was on the bathroom counter.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, babe. You’re gonna be late?”

  His soothing voice sounded so good.

  “Yes. It’s been a hectic afternoon. I just got out of the shower, I need about a half hour and then I’ll be on my way.”

  “All right, but drive careful. It’s Friday night. I’m actually gonna be a little late myself. I did some mighty fine civil service duty tonight, if I do say so myself. As a matter of fact I think it’s your duty as a citizen to give me my just rewards.” A smile spread across his face as he thought of just how he would like to be rewarded.

  She laughed.

  “Oh, I suppose if you’ve been a good officer then I have no choice. Look, let me get dressed and out of here. I should be there,” she glanced at her watch on the counter, “no later than midnight. Bye, I love you.”

  “I love you too, Izzy. Drive carefully.” He hung up.

  Izzy made quick work of drying off and haphazardly throwing lotion on her body. With a brush in hand she ran into the main room. She dropped the brush.

  “Justin. What are you doing here?” she said, stunned, as she stood there naked, trying to conceal her body.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Hi, Isabelle.” He sat on her bed. He was leering at her body with a look of hunger in his eyes.

  “Justin, I—.” She glanced at the pile of clothes across the room. There was nothing within her reach. “I’m not dressed, Justin. You’ll have to leave—.” She told him as she frantically searched for something to cover herself.

  “No!” Justin jumped up from the bed and went to her. His eyes glinted in the dark room and she caught the flash of something shiny in the corner of her eye. “Don’t.”

  Isabelle looked down, she saw the small knife that he held in his hand. She recognized it as the one that he had shown her at his home when she went there for Thanksgiving. His father had given it to him on his sixteenth birthday. It was his favorite hunting knife.

  “Justin, why do you have that knife?” Fear crawled up her spine, because she was afraid she knew all too well why he had it.

  * * * *

  Sean had remained calm until about ten minutes ago. He was now pacing as he dialed Izzy’s phone over and over again. Every time it just went to voice mail. It was only 12:30 and she really wasn’t that late, but something kept gnawing at him. She should have been here by now. And why wasn’t she answering her cell phone?

  He scribbled a note to Izzy in case she showed up and he ran for his SUV. Placing a call to his dispatch, he asked them to check for any accidents between here and the college. He hung up when he was told they would call him back.

  He slid behind the wheel and nervously gripped it. After he was on his way, he dialed information for campus security. Using his influence as a police officer, he was able to get them to agree to do a drive by of her dorm and check for her car.

  He drove impatiently down the highway, speeding recklessly as he anxiously waited for any word. Finally his phone rang and he snapped out the word, “Yeah.”

  He sighed in relief when he heard that there were no accidents reported along Izzy’s route. He was about to set his phone down when it rang once more.

  “Yeah,” he said again, almost breathless with fear.

  Sean’s knuckles tightened even harder on the steering wheel as he heard the security officer tell him that Isabelle’s car was still in the parking lot. His knuckles turned a stark white and were close to crushing the wheel beneath them when the officer then refused his request to go up to her room and check on her, saying they were short staffed and he had several calls that he was backed up on.

  Sean slammed the phone down and pushed the accelerator all the way to the floor. He was driving way too fast, dangerously fast. And he didn’t care. Something was wrong. If something happened to Izzy to cause her to stay behind, she would have called him. He was sure of it. But then it hit him, and he knew it. Something had happened to Izzy. He hated that he knew it was true. His stomach roiled and he fought the nausea. Dear God, let her be okay. Please.

  Two hours later, Sean screeched into the parking lot. Students were scattered about the grassy lawn as they were returning from parties and bars. He took the steps three at a time as he ran to her floor.

  Finally he was in front of her room. He reached for the handle without even knocking. It was locked. Damn it!

  “Izzy?” He waited, but she didn’t answer. “Izzy, baby, are you in there?”

  He quieted his breathing and leaned his ear against the door.

  “Izzy, baby, please, if you’re in there just answer me.” He still didn’t hear anything. He was about to walk away, to start asking around to see if anyone had seen her when he heard a small sound. It sounded like a muffled cry. No. It didn’t just sound like a muffled cry, it was a muffled cry.

  “Izzy. Baby, open up. Please.” He started pounding on the door.

  He was about to break down the door when finally he heard her speak.

  “Sean. Please go away. I’m not feeling well. I—I got sick. I don’t want you to catch it.”

  He heard her shaky voice, heard the cries she was trying to conceal as they ripped from her throat. There was no way in hell she was sick. Something was horribly wrong. Not waiting any longer for her to unlock the door, he slammed into it with everything that he had. The cheap door went flying off of the hinges.

  Isabelle sat up in bed, startled by the sudden burst of noise and light. Squinting she said, “Sean. I—I said I don’t—.” She couldn’t do it. She brought her knees up to her chest and cried. She couldn’t even look him in the eye, so she looked down at her body, which she now found utterly disgusting, and prayed that he would just leave.

  Sean stood there for a moment. He saw her, before she curled up, he saw all of her. She was bleeding and naked and she had a bruise by her mouth. And, Oh my God, Izzy! He went to her, careful to sit on the bed gently. He reached his hand out to her. He had to fight the tears when she jerked and pulled away from his touch.

  “Baby. Are you okay?” He could barely speak. His eyes stung from the tears he was holding back.

  She said nothing as she shook her head, still facing downward.

  “Baby, Izzy. Can you tell me what happened?” Please let me be wrong. Please don’t let it be what I think it is. God in heaven, do not let me be right.

  She looked up at him. She was shaking uncontrollably.

  “I’m sorry Sean. I tried. I tried to stop him. I–.”

  No! He screamed inside his head.

  “Izzy, baby, oh God. I—baby, we need to call someone. Have you done that yet?” Sean used every amount of strength that he had to keep his voice calm and soothing, hiding the tormented emotions just barely below the surface.

  She shook her head again.

  “I couldn’t. I didn’t want you to find out. I’m so sorry, Sean. I tried, I swear I did. I was just so scared and he had a knife and—.”

  His heart broke. Why did the victims always blame themselves? He never could understand that. But now, as he saw the shame in Izzy’s eyes, he knew it wasn’t about understanding why. It was about making sure she knew how wrong she was to blame herself.

  He went against everything he had been taught in the police academy. He reached for her and grabbed on to her, pulling her to him. The cop in him knew that he was never to touch a rape victim, but the man in him had no choice. He had to show her how precious she w
as. How loved she was. How it wasn’t her fault. And while she didn’t fight him as he held her and cradled her in his lap, he could feel her body become tense and rigid as she continued to shake from the constant tears streaming down her face.

  Sean slowly reached for his phone, but he stilled when she jerked up to see what he was doing.

  “It’s okay. I’m just going to call them now, okay, baby?” She nodded and buried her head back against his chest. Sean quickly relayed the information to the 911 operator. When he hung up he wrapped his arms around her tighter.

  “Izzy, they’re gonna be here soon. Have you—baby, did you wash yourself?” He hated asking her. He hated the anguished look in her eyes. But he couldn’t forget that there was a rapist out there. Someone who needed to be punished.

  She looked at him.

  “Oh Sean, no. I’m sorry. I should have. I feel so dirty, I should make myself clean. I’ll go and—.” She started to pull off of him and push him away.

  “No, no Izzy. Listen to me, baby. You did everything right. Okay? You did good.” He forced her face up with his fingertips. “Baby, you are not dirty. The man who did this is. You did nothing wrong. I need you to know that.”

  She shook her head. “I should have been stronger; I should have been able to stop him. But I couldn’t. And now, now I’ve ruined everything.” She turned away, not wanting to see his eyes. Those eyes that she loved so very much. The ones that she knew would never look at her the same again.

  God, he wanted to scream. Not only was she in shock but she was blaming herself for what some bastard did to her. What was wrong with this world?

  “Izzy, you didn’t ruin anything. You did nothing wrong. You have to believe that.” Sean turned his head at the sound of sirens. “Baby, they’re here. I need you to get up so we can get something on you okay? Good. It’s okay, honey, I’ve got you.”

  “Don’t call me that!” she snapped at him. “Don’t ever call me that again!”

  Honey? Jesus, had her attacker called her that?

  “Okay, Izzy, okay, I’m sorry. Listen, baby. They’re gonna be up here any second. Let’s go in your bathroom and get your robe, okay?” He walked with her in the room and with the bright lights shining overhead he saw more bruising on her body. He gritted his teeth and his jaw tensed. It took everything he had to not scream at the heavens for allowing this to happen to her.

  Isabelle looked up at him in the mirror’s reflection. Tears continued to spill down her cheeks.

  “Sean, I’m sorry. I know that I’ve let you down.” She looked down, the guilt too strong to meet his gaze, knowing that she would lose him forever. There was no way he could love her now.

  Dear God why? Sean placed his hands on her shoulders and brought her closer to lean against his chest.

  “Izzy, you did not let me down. You are going to be fine. We’re going to talk to the police, get you to the hospital and you are going to be fine. I promise you.”

  She didn’t ask aloud what she was thinking. Would they be fine? How could they be? How would he ever be able to look at her the same way again? He wouldn’t be able to still love her. There’s no way. How could any man love a woman after—?

  “In here officer.” Sean called out from the bathroom. Slowly he guided Izzy to sit on the bed as another officer ushered curious onlookers who appeared at the sight of police away from the door.

  “Ma’am, I am Officer Pitney. First I need to ask you if you knew your attacker.” His relaxed voice did nothing to hide the fact that he felt uneasy dealing with a rape victim.

  Isabelle looked up at the officer, and then she turned her gaze to Sean. She nodded her head yes. Sean’s arm tightened around her and she felt his support. Looking back up, Sean spoke to her.

  “Izzy. You need to tell the officer who hurt you.” A frown washed over his face at the fear that he saw in her eyes. “It’s okay, he can’t hurt you anymore. But we don’t want him to hurt anyone else either. Please, Izzy, tell him who it was.”

  She hesitated before quietly murmuring, “It was—oh God, I still can’t believe–.” She dropped her head in her hands and started to cry. Although it didn’t seem possible, the cries seemed deeper, sadder.

  Sean held her closer.

  “Izzy, please. Would it be easier if you spoke to a woman? Or maybe would you like me to leave the room?”

  Her head snapped up at his question.

  “You want to leave?” Her voice shook with every word.

  Sean had to bite back a curse. He should have known better than to ask that. Surely she would think that he wanted to leave, the guilt of her attack being too strong for her to rationalize her shame and anger and where it should be directed.

  “No, baby. I don’t want to leave you. Ever. But I want you to feel comfortable. And safe. Whatever that takes.”

  “I feel safe with you. I don’t want you to go, Sean. Please, will you stay?” She held onto him as he tightened his embrace and he didn’t miss the sympathetic gaze that he got from the other officer standing in the doorway.

  Sean took a steadying breath.

  “Izzy, do you trust me?” He waited for a response, but she only nodded against his chest. “Then you have to tell them who hurt you, baby. Please, will you please tell them?” He heard her whisper a name but he couldn’t make it out. “Who? I didn’t hear you. Who hurt you?”

  She looked up; with her face pointed toward the ceiling she screamed a horrific cry of agony as she yelled his name.

  “Justin! It was Justin. He raped me.” She turned to Sean. “I’m sorry. I love you. I’m so sorry.” She collapsed against Sean as he held onto her.

  Justin! That son of a bitch. Sean held onto her with everything that he had. Her whole body was shaking at the gut-wrenching screams and sobs that tore from her throat. He wanted to kill him. He wanted to hunt the bastard down and torture him for every tear that she shed. But he couldn’t. There was no way he could leave her. Just the fact that she was leaning on him was a good sign. So many rape victims closed themselves off from men and the world. If she would allow it, he would be here. She was all that mattered.

  Quietly, Sean gave the officer standing in the doorway Justin’s information. He watched as the officer radioed the information in.

  “Sir, we need to get her to the hospital. Should we have a gurney come and get her?” the uneasy officer sitting across from them asked, obviously taking note of Isabelle’s frail and emotional condition.

  “No. No, I’ll carry her. I’ll ride in the back of the ambulance with her.” Sean got up with Izzy still cradled against his chest. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. I won’t let you go.” He walked past the officer in the doorway and headed toward the hall, disgusted with the people standing around gawking at her.

  Sean carried her out of her room, down the hall and descended the stairs. Once outside he took a giant step up into the back of the ambulance. Without saying a word to either of the paramedics, he sat on the gurney and held on tighter as he felt her body relax against his. Was she falling asleep? He hoped so. Maybe she could have some small amount of peace while she slept.

  It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you, you rest now. I won’t let you go.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sean paced the small waiting room of the hospital. He hadn’t called his dad or Connie yet. He knew he should have, but he could barely control his own emotions, let alone trying to calm someone else’s. His heart felt like it had been crushed. The only thing that mattered right now was Izzy. What she wanted and what she needed. He wanted to hate himself for not being there for her, for not protecting her, and for even allowing her to come back to school. But he knew he couldn’t give in to that self pity. He had to be strong for her. He knew from all of his training that she was going to be blaming herself enough. She didn’t need the added stress of dealing with his macho bullshit.

  “You can see her now. I’ve given her a sedative, so she’ll be out in a couple of minutes,” the short and balding doctor to
ld him.

  “Thank you. Is she—will she be okay? I mean physically.” Sean couldn’t even organize his thoughts to form a sentence. His head hurt and his eyes burned from holding back the tears that were dying to burst free.

  “Yes, physically she’ll be fine. Emotional scars will be her biggest obstacle. You better go on in there before she falls asleep.” The doctor gave Sean a reassuring pat on his shoulder before walking away.

  Sean walked into her hospital room. The bruises that had barely shown themselves back at her dorm room were now clearly visible. And the purplish black hue of them had him fighting the urge to run out of this hospital and track down Justin and beat him until he bled dry.

  Isabelle turned and saw him standing in the door.

  “Sean.” She reached her hand out to him.

  He went to her quickly. Taking her hand, he sat in a chair next to her bed. He placed her hand to his mouth.

  “I’m so sorry, Izzy. I love you so much. You know that, don’t you?”

  She let yet another tear fall from her eye.

  “Still?” She closed her eyes on the pain of the question she knew she needed an answer to. But was still afraid to ask. “Do you still love me? Even though—.”

  Sean instantly got to his feet and brushed a gentle kiss across her forehead.

  “Baby. Of course I still love you. That could never change. I could only love you more every day. Izzy, please don’t think that I would ever stop loving you. I can’t, baby. You’re a part of me.” He brought her hand to rest against his heart. “Do you feel that? My heart beats for you, baby. I am nothing without you. Of course I still love you.”

  She cried, although the tears were slowing. She was starting to drift off into sleep. “I’m sorry, Sean. I love you. Please—Sean please don’t leave—.” Her voice trailed off as she gave in to the veil of unconsciousness.

  Sean watched her eyes close and finally allowed his own tears to fall.

  “Never, baby. I will never leave you.” He kissed her forehead before sitting back down in the chair. He sat there, holding her hand and waiting for her to wake up. He would not leave her. He would sit here as long as it took. There was no way he would allow what had happened to her to destroy the spirit of who she was. She was his Izzy. And he would make sure that she was okay again. Come hell or high water, she would be whole again.