by Vinson, Tami
He still delivered a hard kick with his booted foot to the little creep’s leg for good measure because he felt somewhat cheated out of unleashing a full can of a good ass whooping on him. And right now in his book, Randy was the poster boy for one.
He turned quickly when he heard a faint distressed moan come from Winter’s direction. With his heart in his throat, Eric moved quickly over to her and went to his knees besides her. The sight of her battered tearstained face tore at him and made him want to go back and murder Randy with his bare heads. The only thing that stopped him was the acute need to comfort Winter.
Reaching out to do so, a wave of helplessness engulfed him when she flinched away at his tentative touch. He quickly snatched his hand away as her frightened reaction gutted him.
Oh, god did he save her in time?
He had to try and reach her. If his familiar touch wouldn’t do, maybe his voice would.
“It’s okay sweetheart. It’s me, Eric.” He tried to make his voice as soothing as possible to break through the fear he felt pouring off of her in waves. He clenched his jaw in suppressed anger as he took in the tattered and ripped dress falling off of her now violently shivering body.
“Winter, please…let me help you.” He pleaded. He couldn’t stand it, he had to hold her. Running his fingers restlessly through his hair, he was at a lost to see her so distraught.
He reached down and got his phone to flip it open. Just as he was about to dial 911, he heard the whisper of her voice.
“Eric...?” The sound of her hoarse voice had his full attention.
“Yes, sweetheart I’m here.” He prayed he had gotten through to her.
Watching the silent tears roll down her smooth cheeks made his own eyes burn. With all his strength, he’d never felt so helpless as he watched her valiantly try to pull herself together.
Slowly sitting up, Winter tried to cover herself as best as she could with torn dress she’d worn earlier.
“Sweetheart, please…let me help you.” He uttered those quiet words. As he watched, a ragged breath shuttered through her body right before she fell into the warm cocoon of his chest sobbing like her heart was breaking.
He had seen many things in his life both in and out of his line of work. But he had not been affected by any of it as he was now by the woman in his arms. So many different thoughts and emotions were going through him and the most prominent of them was to protect her with his very life.
He loved this woman with all that he was and all that he was going to be. Looking back, he regretted every moment of every second that he hadn’t realized that. And as he rocked her in his arms, he struck with the fact that tonight he’d almost lost the chance completely to tell her.
He was only sorry that he hadn’t listened to his first mind and taken care of the situation earlier. But if she allowed him to, he would spend the rest of his life keeping her safe with every breath that he took from this moment forward.
“Winter, if you’re listening…I want you to know that it’s gonna be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.” The thick huskiness of his voice betrayed his strong emotion as he murmured the words softly in her ear.
The next thing he did was his least favorite thing to do, but it needed to be done.
“Sweetheart, I’m going to call the police.” He hated having to put her through the interrogation he knew was coming. The only other alternative was to finish the beat down he’d started on Randy and bury him in an unmarked grave.
Shaking off that sadistic train of thought, he grabbed his phone and dialed 911 to give the address to the apartment and a short and concise description of the crime that had taken place.
The whole time, he soothingly stroked his hand over Winter’s back to comfort her.
When he finally got off the phone, he went to move them both off the floor. He wanted to at least give her something to cover herself up without disturbing any evidence until the police got there. Adjusting her in his arms, he easily lifted his precious cargo and carried her into what he assumed was her bedroom by its neat appearance.
He fought the need to keep her wrapped up in the shelter of his arms as he laid her comfortably down on the bed. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea he thought, based on the shattered look about her tearstained face. Instead he sat beside her and held her hand.
“Baby, the police are on their way here to arrest Randy. They’ll want to ask you some questions…do you think you’re up to talking about what happened?” He asked fully prepared to stand by whatever she wanted to do.
“Yes…I’m okay.” She said faltering over her words as she laid there holding his hand in death grip.
“Sweetheart, I’ll be right here by your side the whole time.” He quietly assured her. He was proud of her in that moment for her bravery that he forgot himself and leaned down to kiss her brow. Right as he made contact, she flinched away from him.
“I’m sorry—“ Grimacing, she apologized. She hadn’t been able to stop the knee jerk reaction.
“It’s okay, baby. I’m not going anywhere.” Conviction rang from every word he said.
Eric stayed with her for a few more minutes until she settled back down. Getting up to check on things, he left her lying quietly in her room and went back out in the living room to check on Randy.
But when he got there Randy’s once limp body was nowhere to be found and the door lay wide open to the cool April desert evening. Silently cursing a blue streak, he closed it and went throughout the small apartment, but the man was still nowhere to be found. He had pulled a Houdini.
What he did find was Cheri’s cold body lying haphazardly across the bed in her room with a syringe sticking out of her bruised up arm. Her sightless eyes looked up at him and he felt a cold weight drop in his stomach.
The signs had been right in front of him and his slip up had cost this woman her life and had almost cost the woman he loved hers as well.
****
When the police arrived, everything fell into a mode Eric was familiar with. He spoke with the lead detective and gave a detailed description of the events that had taken place as far as he knew. After he was finished, the detective asked to speak to the other victim. At first it took a considerable amount of self-control not demand that Winter not be referred to as the victim by the detective and the few officers roaming around the apartment.
He was reminded of all the times he had been on past assignments. He too had been just as impersonal as the detective and had thought nothing of it at the time.
It was just a job.
Now after seeing the sight of Winter’s terrified face and torn clothes, all the names and faces of past clients and situations had greater meaning. He now found that he was anything but professional and impersonal.
But he realized he had to get a hold of himself. They were just doing their job. He had to drill that into his brain if they were going to get anything done and catch that slippery sonofabitch Randy. Plus the sooner he could get her away from this place, the better.
****
Winter sat quietly in the passenger seat of Eric’s car an hour later as they rode in silence to his home. The images in her head were stuck on replay with no signs of relenting behind her closed eyelids. The most shocking image of them all had been the glimpse she’d seen of Sheri’s unresponsive form being put in a body bag as they were leaving the apartment. The image played a dominant role in her troubled mind and was still vibrating through her.
Cheri’s slight form being carried out in a sterile black body bag was the very last thing she had expected to see. The sight had been almost more than she could take. She opened her eyes in an effort to dispel the image. It never occurred to her that Cheri had needed help too from an apparent drug overdose when Randy had been trying to rape her less than a hundred feet away. She shivered with the thought.
A short while later as they drove through the wrought iron gates of Eric’s well lit home, Winter felt a sense of relief wash over her. She watched the f
amiliar paved curve of the driveway lead up to the front of the house and a semblance of normalcy returning at the sight.
After bringing the car to a stop, Eric got out and came around to her side to open the door. When he saw Winter try to stand unsteady to her feet, he smoothly swept her up off her feet into his strong arms and made his way up the great stone steps that lead to the massive front door.
“Eric, you don’t have to—” She protested slidding out of his arms.
“Winter.” The quiet command in his voice stopped whatever protests she might have continued on with as he gently clasp her tear-stained face in his hands and made her meet his intent gaze.
“Sweetheart, don’t ask me to stand here and watch you struggle. Whatever you’re dealing with right now, I promise you that we will deal with it together.” Eric prayed that his words got through to her.
Winter closed her eyes tightly as his words seeped in. She knew she had to get a grip if she was going to pull through this and pushing Eric away was not gonna help matters.
Right then and there she made a conscience choice to replace every moment of terror she’d spent at Randy’s hands with her absolute and unshakeable love for Eric.
Sighing, she found herself easily accepting the sure strength of his body against her own again. And when his arms instinctively closed fully around her, she felt the pull exhaustion move through her as she finally let go of all the negative emotions of tonight’s trauma.
Sensing the change in her, Eric turned to unlock the door and guided her inside the familiar surroundings of his home. His goal was to just get her inside and make her as comfortable as possible.
While he typed in the code of the security system, Winter stood looking around the familiar entryway she hadn’t seen in two weeks. As her eyes were caught by the hallway mirror, the sight of her own reflection in the dimly lit foyer shocked her.
At first she didn’t even recognize the reflection of her slightly swollen tear streaked face. It was like watching another version of herself as she reached up and touched her face to connect with what she was seeing. The sight made tonight’s episode all too real along with the aches and pains she’d gained while she’d fought with Randy. She quickly turned away not wanting to give it anymore thought and walked in the direction of the dining room.
Soon after walking into the room, she knew something was up. She slowly made her way around the elegantly set up table staring intently at the detail display before her.
The beautifully carved table she had cleaned countless times was set up with a beautiful floral arrangement of vividly colored flowers whose delicate scent gently teased and soothed her. Slowly reaching out to touch the soft petals of the perfect blooms, her eyes fell on the delicate crystal wine glasses set for two with unlit candles strategically placed beside them.
Tears filled her eyes as she figured out what the romantic setting meant.
She was seeing Eric’s plans that had fallen through. Wiping the tears now tracking down her cheeks, she ran her hand over cream colored table cloth.
Oh Eric.
She wished so much in that moment that she would have come here straight from the airport. The ending to this night would have been so different if she had.
Except for one thing…Cheri. Would Cheri’s fate have been any different? Her heart hurt at the thought. There was no way she would ever know. That question would haunt her for some time to come.
Eric came up behind her and soothingly rubbed a hand on the tense muscles of her back in comfort. He could feel the tension and sense the shift in her thoughts as they both stood looking at the elegantly set table before them.
“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart.” He said trying to put her at ease.
“I want to believe that so badly right now…”She said trying to find the words to express all the jumbled up emotions she was feeling.
“Don’t do that to yourself. The most important thing is that you’re safe now.” He said trying to not let her follow the destructive train of thought.
“I know.” She sighed running her hand over her brow.
“I just need to get—oh hell. I didn’t bring any clothes with me…” Winter was once again reminded of the pressing need for a hot shower, plenty of soap and possibly some gasoline to burn the clothes she still wore. It had felt so good to get out of that apartment that she hadn’t thought to grab any extra clothes.
“Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ll take care of it. Go make yourself comfortable and I’ll see you in a little bit.” He said walking with her to the foot of the stairs.
“Thank you baby.” Placing a heartfelt kiss on his cheek, she turned and made her way up the stairs.
A few minutes later upstairs in the bathroom, Winter finally leaned back against the warm tiles of the shower stall as hot water rained down all over her. She had never appreciated the soothing healing touch of water more than this moment. The last thirty minutes of standing under spray and washing every part of her body countless times had been a big help and went a long way in making her feel normal again.
Knowing she couldn’t stay in there all night, she regretfully turned the still hot water off. Once that was done, she stepped out into the spacious shower and grabbed for a towel off the rack. Running the towel over her long mass of black corkscrew curls, she brushed her fingertips over the faint bruises she saw appearing on her upper arms. She shivered again with the realization of how close she had come to her life being changed as she knew it. She’d been so sure she could handle the situation with Randy because he hadn’t appeared to that strong or threatening.
If Eric hadn’t…. Winter immediately shook off the thought.
Moving to the sink, she noticed a black robe neatly folded on the cool surface of the counter. Picking it up she shook it out and held the soft lightweight material up against her bare skin. It was Eric’s. Glancing at the closed bathroom door, she wondered when Eric had come in to sit it there on the counter. Had he seen her through glass of the shower? The thought made her warm all over as she instantly remembered the first time they’d made love.
Moving to slide the dark material over her naked curves, she wondered what she was going to do for clothes in the mean time. She couldn’t stay here without a stitch of clothes to her name and she immediately shot down the idea of going back to the apartment to get some.
Maybe she could buy something at one of the local discount stores in the meantime. But that thought was shot down as a quick mental picture showed her purse where she’d left it…on her dresser also back at the apartment.
It looked like she would have no other choice but to go back there sooner than she wanted to.
On that note, she opened the bathroom door and walked out into the now darkened bedroom. Approaching the bed, she turned on the bedside lamp and was surprised to see her purse sitting on the neatly made bed as if waiting on her to come and claim it.
She couldn’t help but smile at Eric’s thoughtfulness as she sat down to search her purse for her cell phone. Trust Eric to think ten steps ahead. It was one of the many things she admired about him.
Hearing a knock on the bedroom door, she called out, “Come in.”
Eric walked in to see Winter sitting in the middle of bed pulling items out of her purse. His eyes immediately ran over the damp curls framing her cleanly scrubbed face and tracked down to the over sized robe he’d brought in earlier as it fell off the smooth satiny brown skin of one of her shoulders. He remembered going into the bathroom earlier to lay the robe on the counter and had come face to face with a rerun of his fantasy come to life. It made him remember the first time they’d made love and he’d had to make himself turn and walk away from the temptation of her water slick curves.
Things were so different between now and then.
Tracking every moment of her elegant hands, he tried to keep his focus off of what he knew to be underneath the silky material molded to her lush body. Instead, he tried to focus on the situation at hand. He’d just fin
ished talking to Det. Jefferies while he was downstairs and the latest news on locating Randy was not promising.
“What are you looking for sweetheart?” He moved to stand beside the bed and continued to watch her dump the contents of her purse on the bedspread in obvious frustration.
“I thought I put my phone in my purse, but I guess I left it back at the apartment too.” When she didn’t see it anywhere in the small pile she’d dumped out, she quickly checked the side pockets of the purse in a last ditch effort.
“You can just use one of my phones, but first I need to talk to you about something.” The mattress dipped as he lowered his large frame onto the edge of the mattress in front of her.
“Something like what?” The caution she heard in his voice snagged her full attention and had her putting aside her purse as she gave him her full attention.
“Det. Jefferies called a few minutes ago and he gave me a quick update. They’re trying to track Randy through Cheri’s ATM card. It seems he used it about a half an hour ago.” He reached out to take her hand in comfort as he saw fear cross her face. He hated to be the one to take away the little bit of peace that she’d found.
“What does that mean? Do you think he’ll come after me?” No matter how hard she tried, Winter could feel fear trying to creep its way back in.
Eric heard the slight tremor in her voice and decided right then and there not to tell her about what else he’d found out about Randy Ellis. She already had firsthand knowledge that the man was dangerous and that was enough. Instead he pulled her in his arms to call an end to the panic he saw building.
“The police have some of their best people on this and it’s only a matter of time before he’s caught.” He assured her leaving out what else he himself had done.