“Get out.” She sobbed. “Let go of me and get the hell out of my house. I will not fall for your lies again. I won't be fooled a second time. You don’t really love me. You’re just bored and lonely so you thought you might look up you ex-wife for a little entertainment.”
“That is not true. I came back here to show you that I mean what I say. I plan on coming here every day until I can convince you of that and show you how very sorry I am to have hurt you the way I did. I was young and foolish and did not know how to take care of the most precious thing in my life. I missed out on so much by leaving you. Let me make up for it now. Let me show you that I can love you openly without fear or worry.”
Lorraine wrapped her arms around her middle. “I’ve never let anyone into my heart after you. I’ve never been with another man. You were my one and only.” She whispered hoarsely.
“Lori,” he moaned and moved to kiss her but she pressed a hand to his chest.
“Don't. I no longer love or trust you. That door closed a long time ago.”
“Then why are you still so angry? You would not show such passion if you no longer had feelings for me.”
“Just do us both a favor and go back to France Nicky. There’s nothing for you here.”
Gently he turned her head to face him. With infinite care he lowered his mouth to hers brushing her lips in a fleeting kiss. “On the contrary my love, everything I have ever wanted is right here and unlike back then I am more than prepared to fight for it.”
Chapter Seventeen
Tony gave Sarah a quick kiss. "All closed up downstairs. Is everything done up here?"
She nodded. "Yup, I can't wait to get home and relax."
He stroked her cheek and frowned. "You look tired Baby. Was it a long day for you?"
"Yes, and I have a mad craving for shrimp tonight so let's hurry home. I'm starved."
"With an invitation like that I can't wait to get home either. Every time you get a craving I get fed well. I just hope you don't go overboard with dinner this time. I really hate leftover fish."
She gave him a slightly indignant frown. "That is so not fair. I can't help it if I misjudged how much stew to make that one time and we ended up eating leftovers. That's how some people save money and time by the way. We'll need to keep that in mind when we start having kids."
"I agree, but Baby do we have to eat the same meal three nights in a row? As much as I love your cooking even I get tired of eating the same thing that long."
"Ha- ha, just for that you get to peel the shrimp."
Tony laughed when she gave him a pat on the ass before grabbing her coat and bag and heading for the door. "Hurry up. I'll meet you downstairs."
Sarah stepped outside, her mind already on the items she would need to prepare dinner that night. She knew Tony wouldn’t be that far behind since he only needed to shut down his computer and lock up. Unwilling to wait in the store anymore since the night was so beautiful she headed across the small parking lot to Tony’s truck. The sky was clear and a myriad of stars hung overhead. It was a perfect fall night in New England, the air was cool and crisp with a hint of the holiday season around the corner to lend excitement to the night. Sarah had heard stories and seen on television where people would spend long snowy winter nights in the arms of the one they loved but now that she had her own to look forward to she couldn't contain her joy.
She had come within feet of the big red vehicle when she heard the sound of crude male laughter behind her. She turned to see who it was. When she did, two men, she'd encountered earlier in the day, were standing there. She remembered them because they had been acting strangely with one of the puppies and she had been worried they might harm it. She’d quickly scooped up the little German shepherd and tucked him safely back in his cage. When the taller of the two had tried to enter the glass enclosed kennel where only employees were permitted, Tony had quickly stepped in and ushered them out. They left but not without causing a scene first. Now they were standing there looking menacing and she wasn’t sure why they were there. Straightening to her full height she tried to appear confident despite the fear she suddenly felt chilling her bones.
“Can I help you?”
The two men exchanged a looked and laughed as some private joke. The taller of the two was smoking a cigarette. He took a long draw on it letting the smoke billow out his mouth in a white cloud before nodding. “You sure can. My friend here’s never been with a black chick before. I keep telling him how hot and wild you girls get. Care to show him what I mean?”
She couldn’t believe the crude offer but tried her best to appear unaffected. Carefully she took a step back and prayed Tony would hurry up and make an appearance. She didn’t dare scream for him because she had a feeling they would be on her faster than she could take her next breath if she tried. “Uh, n- no thanks.”
The smaller man moved in closer. He was dressed in ripped jeans that looked as if there were traces of motor oil on them along with other things she’d rather not know about. His t-shirt looked just as well used and one of his sneakers had a hole in the toe. He reached out a filthy hand to touch her hair. “Oh, I think you will. In fact I know you will. If you behave yourself, me and my friend here will be real gentle with you.”
He shared a laugh with this friend. “She might even thank us when were through.”
Sarah tried her best to avoid his touch. Her back was to the truck’s door at this point so she couldn’t go any further without turning her back on the two to unlock the door. She took a breath then wished she hadn’t. The acrid scent of unwashed bodies, alcohol, and cigarette smoke assaulted her nose causing her stomach to roil.
“My fiancé is going to be out here any minute now so you better leave me alone.”
Something evil glinted in the taller man's eyes and his grin turned sadistic. “Then I guess we’d better get started. We wouldn’t want him spoiling our fun now, would we?”
As soon as the words were out they lunged for her. She screamed and the larger of the two slapped her so hard her head snapped to one side and her eyes began to water at the sudden burst of pain. She tried to kick out and managed to catch the smaller one between the legs. He grunted but increased his hold to a punishing embrace. The larger man’s face descended on hers in an effort to kiss her trying hard to shove his tongue in her mouth. She wriggled and twisted away feeling his tongue on her cheek instead. This earned her another slap on the other side of her face.
“Hold still bitch or this ain’t gonna be nearly as pleasant for you as we’d planned.”
He grinned evilly at her and took a half a step back to reach for the belt on his pants while the smaller man forced her around and pressed her face to the side of the truck while fighting to pull down her pants. She screamed and fought for all she was worth, terrified of what would happen next. She thought she heard a grunt but couldn’t be sure. She was afraid to even turn her head to investigate the strange sound. But then she heard Tony’s voice.
“Get your hands off her before I kill you.”
“Hey, we ain’t doin nothing to her she don’t want us to.” The mouth piece of the duo said managing to sound jovial but the tone sounded off as if the guy were now gasping for air. “You should have heard her. The little slut was begging for us to do her. You can join us if you want but you’ll have to wait your turn.”
The two disgusting men laughed.
“I bet you know a lot about taking turns on a woman. I heard about you, boy, seen some of your videos too. Nice work by the way.”
There was a loud grunt followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground. The sound of vicious animalistic growls filled the air then along with the sickening thud of fists connecting with flesh. For a moment Sarah wasn’t sure what was going on and was afraid to even turn her head to find out even though she no longer felt hands roughly pinning her to the hood of the car. A second or two more and it finally registered. She spun sharply braced for a mad dash back into the store. But the momen
t she turned to flee she saw Tony standing there. His chest was heaving. His hands and shirt were specked with blood. He had a crazed look in his eyes she had never seen before. At his feet were the unconscious, bloodied and bruised bodies of her two attackers. The scene was so surreal and her relief so great she felt herself crumpling to the ground as everything faded to black.
When Sarah came to she was lying in a narrow bed with a woman dressed in hospital scrubs standing over her taking her pulse. She looked around the room trying to determine where she was. There were curtains surrounding her bed and next to her was some kind of monitor but it was shut off.
“Tony,” she cried. “Where’s Tony?”
She knew she sounded frantic but damn it she was scared. Did those two men get to him? Had she been violated? No, she didn’t think that had happened but she had been hit and they had been rough with her. A nurse poked her head in between the curtains and smiled calmly at her.
“Ah, so your finally awake. Your boyfriend is fine. He’s with the police right now giving his statement. He won’t be allowed in until after you’ve been examined.”
“I need to see him. I need to know he’s alright.”
“I’m fine Sarah. I'm right here. See?"
Tony’s deep masculine voice was a soothing balm to her frayed nerves as Sarah saw him striding in just then. She tried her best not to lose her tentative hold on her sanity as she held out her arms to him. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed and gathered her close. He held her while she cried in relief. Hysterical sobs wracked her. She shook so badly she wondered if she would ever stop or if she would just fall apart. Finally he’d reached for a handful of tissues to help Sarah mop her face. Gently he dabbed at her eyes and cheeks.
“Baby, please calm down. It's alright. Those men are never going to hurt you again. I promise. Just sit still so they can take care of you and make sure you haven’t been hurt too badly.”
She hugged Tony tight and tried her best to calm herself. Just as her shivering abated an older woman dressed in a doctor’s lab coat stepped into the room along with the same nurse as before. They both wore sympathetic expressions.
“Miss Fournier? I’m Dr. Nelson. I understand you had a rather nasty run in with a couple of men this evening.”
Tony’s hold on Sarah increased at those words. She said nothing. Instead she continued to bury her face in his shoulder and fought for control. His large warm hand at her back helped to keep her calm. He spoke for her instead.
“Yeah, when I found her one of them had her pinned to the hood of my truck. While the other - well the other was trying to undo his pants.”
Sarah lost her battle for control and started to cry again. “Shhh, it’s OK baby. I’m right here. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Do you think you can let go of me long enough to let the doctor examine you? They need to check to make sure you haven’t been hurt anywhere we can’t see.”
She shifted her gaze from the two women that waited patiently for her answer to Tony. “Will you stay with me?”
Before he could respond Dr. Nelson stepped closer to put a gentle hand on Sarah’s foot. “We’re going to take you to another more private room for the examination. Your young man can sit right outside the door while we check you out. Alright?”
Sarah nodded silently and within minutes her bed was being pushed out of the small enclosure and down a brightly lit hall. They passed through a big set of double doors and into another area were they passed a large desk with various staff members looming about reviewing charts and monitors or just talking. Several doors down they came to a stop and her bed rolled into the room. Tony held her hand the entire time they walked and offered her looks of encouragement.
“Alrighty then,” the nurse said as she set the brakes on the bed. “Mr. Mason, why don’t you make yourself comfortable outside while we get started.”
Tony nodded and lifted Sarah’s hand to his lips. “I’ll be right on the other side of the door. If you need me for anything just call and I’ll be here in a heartbeat.”
Sarah settled more comfortably on the bed and watched him leave the room quietly closing the door behind him. The snap of rubber gloves being put on caught her attention and she turned her head to see Dr. Nelson preparing for her exam. The nurse helped her to remove her top so that the doctor could check for bruises and broken ribs. They documented any and all injuries and even took photographs. Sarah tried her best to ignore all the poking and prodding instead choosing to focus on other things. She didn’t think her injuries were all that bad at least not physically but she figured it would take a little while before she felt safe again. At least she wouldn’t have to sleep alone while she worked to get over the attack though. Tony would be right there with her holding her while she tried to rest. Now she sort of understood some of what he’d gone through after the war. Only, compared to what happened to Tony, she barely had a scratch.
The doctor made a strange noise when she pressed down on Sarah’s abdomen and frowned. “Is there any chance you could be pregnant?”
Sarah did a double take. “What?”
“Have you had any unprotected sex lately?”
Sarah tried to think. She couldn’t remember if they’d ever not used protection. She shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t think so. If we did I-I can’t remember.”
"When was your last period?"
Sarah had to think but try as she might she couldn't remember. "I don't know. I guess it's been awhile. I must be due for one."
“I would like to do a quick blood test to be sure. Will you sign the consent form? We need to know if you’re pregnant just in case we need to take any x-rays.”
Dazed she signed the consent form and a few minutes later a vial of her blood was being sent to the lab.
While she waited for the results Sarah asked that they not tell her fiancé. The idea of carrying Tony’s baby was hard enough to imagine. If she really was pregnant she would need time to adjust to the idea before she told him. Less than an hour later, right about the time the doctor was finishing up the rest of her exam, the phone rang. After identifying herself the doctor listened for a moment then thanked the caller before replacing the phone on the receiver and turning to Sarah.
“You have some bruising to your face, back, torso and arms but I don’t detect any broken bones. Your attackers thankfully, didn’t succeed in their sexual assault so we won’t need to do a kit.”
The doctor then took a breath and adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose. “Your pregnancy test was positive and judging from the way your uterus feels I would guess that you are about seven or eight weeks along. You’re not spotting so I have every reason to believe that should you choose to continue with the pregnancy you haven’t suffered any trauma to your womb that would put it in jeopardy. I would like to keep you overnight for observation just in case anything crops up that I wasn’t able to detect.”
Sarah was shaking her head though even as the other woman spoke. “I just want to go home and forget this ever happened.”
“I’d really like to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t have any further injuries.”
“No,” Sarah insisted. “If there’s no real reason why I have to be here I want to be discharged as soon as possible.”
The doctor tried her best to persuade her but she was adamant and pushed the sheet off her body preparing to stand. At the sound of her panicked voice the door opened and Tony barged in to investigate. He looked from Sarah to the doctor and back again.
"I was just telling your fiancé that I would like her to stay the night for observation."
"I just want to go home. Please Tony take me home now?" She was clutching his arm by now and the desperate look on her face had him agreeing.
"Alright, just let me take care of any paperwork that needs to be done while you get dressed. Once you give your statement to the police we can be on our way."
∞∞∞
Tony brought Sarah home and tucked her into bed but rather th
an joining her like he normally would he sat in a chair he'd placed next to her. The night was going to be a long one and despite the fact that nearly half of it was already gone he knew he would never be able to get to sleep. The image of Sarah forced over the hood of his car while a man stood behind her readying himself to violate her, to dare to touch her in the same way only he had, made him sick with rage. He studied her face while she slept.
It hadn’t taken Dr. Nelson much time to realize just how determined Sarah was about going home and prescribed a mild sedative to help Sarah relax and hopefully get a decent night's sleep. She also gave Tony a laundry list of things to watch out for just in case. Once Tony was satisfied that all was well for the moment he stepped out of the room and headed downstairs to the basement. It had been weeks now since he'd needed to workout in order to kill time or blow off steam but he needed it tonight.
He spent an hour on the treadmill pounding out his self-disgust at allowing Sarah to be harmed before he switched to his weights. He was half way through his second set of bench presses when he heard it. If he were honest he’d expected it but had hoped he would be wrong. Hurriedly he set the bar he'd been lifting back on the stand and raced for the door. He hit the stairs and bounded up them two and three at a time. Once on the second floor landing he flew into the master suite in time to see Sarah thrashing around on the bed eyes still closed she screamed for all her worth as if she were still in the fight of her life with those two scum bags from earlier.
As quickly as he could, Tony climbed on the mattress and gathered her into his arms. Gently rocking her he crooned nonsense into her ear to calm her. She opened her eyes then and looked at him. He wasn't prepared for the love and acceptance that still remained there.
"Thank you for saving me tonight. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come out when you did."
His Redemption Page 19