Seducing Lauren

by Kristen Proby

  “I do!” She takes my hand in hers and holds it up to her cheek. “It’s just—”

  “Talk to me, sweetness.”

  “I don’t know if he raped me.” The words are barely audible.

  “What?”

  “He was holding the knife to my throat and was unbuckling his belt, and he said he was going to—” She can’t finish the statement. Tears roll down her cheeks and she bites her swollen lower lip.

  “Hey.” I lean in and kiss her temple. “It’s okay, Lo. We’ll find out, okay?”

  She nods and I press the call button, and before the nurse answers the call, Dr. Black walks through the door.

  “What’s up?”

  “Was Lauren found dressed?” I ask bluntly.

  The older man frowns and tilts his head in thought. “I’m not positive. I’m not an emergency-room doctor, so Lauren didn’t come into my care until she was transferred up here.” He scowls at both of us and then asks Lo, “Are you worried that you were sexually assaulted?”

  She nods yes. “He threatened to, but then he knocked me out, and I don’t remember anything after that.”

  Dr. Black leans back against the wall and crosses his arms. “Given the severity of the assault, and the fact that there were no witnesses and you were unconscious, we performed a rape kit, Lauren.” He looks up at me with sober eyes. “There was evidence that you’d had sex.”

  “We made love not twenty-four hours prior,” I confirm.

  He nods. “But there was no evidence of violence or forced penetration. The rape kit was negative.”

  I sigh in relief and shake the doctor’s hand in gratitude. “Thank you.”

  I sit beside Lo as the doctor leaves and caress her hand.

  “Thank God,” she whispers, her eyes drifting closed.

  “Tired?” I ask softly.

  “Yeah.”

  “Can you open your pretty eyes for just a minute more?” I lean toward her so she can see me clearly. She pulls her eyes open and offers me a small smile. “I love you so much, sweetness.”

  Her eyes flare in surprise and then soften and fill with tears again. I brush a drop away with my thumb and cup her face in my hand.

  “I love you too,” she whispers. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for. I just didn’t want to go another minute without telling you that I love you and you’re stuck with me. Nothing like this will ever happen again, I promise you that.”

  She begins to cry in earnest, wincing in pain.

  “Don’t cry, baby.”

  “He could have killed me and I never would have told you that I love you,” she whimpers.

  “You’re right here, right here with me.”

  “He was so cruel. So evil. I was sure that I wouldn’t survive it. Thank God he didn’t—” She shakes her head in misery. “I couldn’t bear it if he’d done that.”

  “You’re safe.” I kiss her softly. “Go to sleep for a while, love.”

  She finally calms and slips into a deep sleep, and as each minute passes, I feel the rage building in me. Hearing how cruel he was to her, what he threatened to do to her, is the final straw in my resolve.

  “Can we come in?” Jill asks softly as she opens the door and peeks around at us.

  “Sure,” I whisper back. “She’s sleeping.”

  All four of them file in.

  “Can you stay with her?” I ask the girls, my eyes pinned to Zack.

  “You’re leaving?” Jill asks, surprised.

  “I have something to handle. We won’t be long.”

  The girls nod and I motion for Zack and Josh to follow me out into the hallway.

  “Are we going to do what I think we’re going to do?” Josh asks with anticipation.

  “Fuck yes,” I reply. “Tell me Brad is on today.”

  “He is.” Zack nods and leads us out the doorway to my Jeep, holds his hands out for my keys, and starts the engine. “You shouldn’t be driving.”

  “How are you going to get to him, Ty? Just walk in and say, ‘I want to kick the shit out of Jack’?” Josh asks.

  “There are rooms in pretty much every jailhouse where attorneys and clients can speak without any kind of recording devices or monitors.” I grin over at my friend smugly. “I’m thinking about taking Jack’s case.”

  “Awesome.” Zack rubs his hands together as he parks before the police station. “Let’s go.”

  The three of us walk in, and I have one thing in mind: get to the motherfucker who hurt Lauren.

  Brad meets us in the foyer and shakes our hands. “How is she?”

  “Hurt,” I reply. “I’d like to see Jack.”

  “In an attorney capacity?” Brad asks.

  “We can call it that. I’m going to need a privacy room.”

  “I can do that. Follow me.” Brad leads us down a hallway to a room with no windows and leads us inside. A table and two chairs are in the center of the room. “I’ll be back with your client in a moment.”

  “Are you sure there’s no camera in here?” Josh asks.

  “I’m sure.” I fold my arms over my chest, waiting impatiently for the piece of shit to be escorted in.

  Finally, the door opens and Brad leads Jack inside. “Your lawyer would like to speak with you.” Brad unlocks the handcuffs and backs toward the door. “Just let me know when you’re done. I have some phone calls to make.”

  “You’re not my fucking lawyer,” Jack growls when Brad leaves.

  None of us respond; we just watch Jack start to squirm.

  “Sit.” Zack plants his hand on Jack’s shoulder and pushes him into the chair.

  “You won’t touch me,” Jack sneers.

  “You like beating on women?” Josh asks in a low voice.

  “She deserved everything she got,” Jack replies, his chin in the air.

  “You like putting women in the hospital?”

  “Oh, you mean she isn’t dead?” Jack chuckles. “I guess I’ll have to go back later and try again.” He pins me with his gaze and leans forward in his chair. “Did she enjoy me fucking her again?”

  Zack lunges, making Jack flinch, but I put my arm out. “No.”

  “See? You won’t do shit to me. How will it look around town if I tell everyone that Ty Sullivan, the attorney who can do no wrong, and his cronies beat me up in jail?”

  “I think you came in here already bruised up,” Josh replies with a laugh. “You must have pissed off your cellmate. Did he fuck you, too?”

  Jack swallows and watches me, fear beginning to seep into his eyes. “Bullshit,” he sputters.

  Josh and Zack are circling the room menacingly, but what Jack doesn’t know is that they aren’t whom he should be worried about.

  They aren’t going to touch him.

  I’m going to make him wish he were dead.

  “Where is that shithead of a cop?” Jack asks nervously.

  “Oh, we’re having an attorney/client consultation,” I inform him quietly. “He won’t come until I tell him to.”

  “So, what, you want a shot at me?” Jack stands and pushes the table out of the way. “Take your shot already.”

  “You’re such a piece of shit,” I reply deceptively calmly. “You’re not a man. Real men don’t beat defenseless women. Trust me, I know. I come from a man just like you. You’re a pussy.”

  “I beat the fuck out of that bitch of an ex-wife of mine. She couldn’t even try to fight back. That doesn’t make me weak.”

  Zack growls and flexes his hands in and out of fists as he walks behind Jack, glaring holes through him.

  “Let me tell you why I’m here.” I lean against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest again. Jack’s eyes bounce from me to the two large, intimidating men pacing about the room anxiously. “I’m here to make you wish you were dead.”

  “This is bullshit. I’m here for a stupid assault charge, and I’ll be out in a matter of hours. I’ll kill her later.” He shrugs, but his hands are shaking as he wi
pes his mouth.

  “Oh, they didn’t tell you?” I laugh and shake my head at him. “It’s an attempted-murder charge, and you won’t see the light of day for years, you miserable motherfucker.”

  Jack’s eyes go wide and then he frowns.

  “But that’s the least of your worries. Do you know what they do in prison to men who prey on children and women?”

  I push away from the wall slowly and saunter over to him. “You’ll be lucky if you survive the first year. You can bet that you’ll be someone’s bitch. You’ll get your ass fucked on a regular basis.”

  “Fuck you!”

  “You’re not really my type,” I reply as though we’re having a regular conversation, and turn to walk past him, but then I pull back and punch him square across the jaw, knocking him on his ass.

  Josh picks him back up again by the hair.

  “And given that I know a lot of people, ’cause I do, I’m going to make sure that every fucking inmate in that prison knows that you like to bully women.” I walk past again and thrust my elbow into his nose, sending a spray of blood across the room.

  “Fucking A!” Jack yells, and doubles over in pain as blood pours out of his now-broken nose.

  “Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it?” Zack growls into Jack’s ear.

  I land a hard punch to Jack’s ribs and he doubles over, falling to the floor.

  “Leave him there,” I mutter to Zack when he makes a move to lift Jack. I kick him three times in the ribs. “You are most likely going to die in prison, Jack, which suits you.” I pull him up by his hair and land a punch to his right eye, sending him crashing back to the floor.

  “I’m going to ruin you for this!” Jack screams.

  “Who’s going to fucking believe you?” Josh taunts him. “I didn’t see anything.”

  “If you ever”—I plant my heel into Jack’s neck, holding him down to the floor and restricting his airway—“even so much as think her name again, I’ll make sure you die in prison, and it’ll look like suicide, you miserable piece of shit.”

  Jack throws up all over the floor, heaving from the threat, and from the damage to his ribs thanks to my foot.

  “Put him in a chair.” I stalk away from the evil man at my feet.

  Josh and Zack each take an arm and roughly guide him into the chair.

  “I should have waited until you were with her so I could kill you too,” Jack sneers, one of his eyes swollen shut and blood pouring down his face and onto his orange inmate jumpsuit.

  “Go let Brad know he’s ready to go back to his cell,” I direct Zack and Josh, keeping my eyes pinned to Jack’s. When my friends leave, I push my face into Jack’s and reach down, squeezing and twisting his dick in my hand. Jack cries out in pain and tries to push me away, but I hold firm and whisper, “I’ll make sure you will die with your dick in your mouth if you ever try to get near her again. Are we clear?”

  He makes a motion to spit at me, so I tighten my grasp on his dick and he cries out again. “We’re clear!”

  “Good.” I stand back just as Brad opens the door.

  “You done here?” He raises an eyebrow when he sees the Jack’s condition.

  “Yep. I’m not going to take his case after all. And it looks like his cellmate must not like him much either.”

  “Jack pisses everyone off,” Brad agrees, and pulls Jack out of the chair and down the hallway toward the holding cells.

  I walk out into the rainy fall night and join my friends at my Jeep.

  “You okay?” Zack asks.

  I nod and sit in the passenger seat. “I need to get back to Lo.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  CHAPTER

  Nineteen

  LAUREN

  “Everything still fucking hurts,” I grumble as I slowly descend the stairs into the living room. It’s been a week since I’ve been home, and Emily and Ty have been here every second of every day, driving me up the fucking wall.

  I love them both, but they have got to stop hovering.

  “Are you sure you won’t take the pain meds?” Emily asks worriedly.

  “No, just the ibuprofen.” I settle into the deep cushions of the couch in the family room. “I’m sick of sleeping all the damn time.”

  Emily bustles into the kitchen to fetch the pills and water, then returns. “If you need me to stay, I’ll make some calls and stay another week.”

  I swallow the pills and set the water aside. “I’m fine, Em. Honestly, I’m getting better every day, and I have Ty here. You need to get back to your family.”

  “What will you do when he’s at work during the day?” Emily frowns. “Maybe it was too early for him to go back.”

  “He just went back today.” I chuckle. “Life has to go back to normal. I’ll probably work myself.”

  Emily nods and smiles at me softly. “I’m so happy for you, Lo. That man is totally head over heels in love with you.”

  “It’s mutual.” I sigh. “He’s just . . .”

  “Fucking hot.”

  “I was going to say amazing, but hot works too.”

  “You deserve to be happy.” Emily grips my hand in hers and squeezes gently.

  “I wish my parents knew about him.” I sigh and rest my head on the back of the couch.

  “Did they know him?”

  “Yes, they knew of him. But his parents didn’t mingle in the same circles, and he and I didn’t hang out together in school, so they didn’t know him well. I wish they could know him now, as he is as a successful man.”

  “What else would you like for them to know about him?” Emily pulls her legs up under her and rests her head in her hand.

  “How considerate he is. He’s always putting my needs first. He makes sure I eat, for God’s sake.”

  “And?”

  I sigh and close my eyes, thinking of the man I love more than anything. “He’s kind. Reliable. He loves his family fiercely.” I open my eyes and meet her gaze. “He loves me fiercely. I wish they could see that.”

  “They know, Lo.”

  “I hope so.”

  “So where do you think this is all leading?” A romantic twinkle is in Emily’s eyes.

  “One day at a time, Em.”

  “Seriously, I want to know. I’m going to be two thousand miles away again in a few hours, so I need to get all the face-to-face dirt I can while I’m here.”

  “I love him,” I reply hesitantly. “And that’s unexpected, especially after my past.”

  “I get it.” She nods. “What if he asked you to marry him today?”

  “I highly doubt that will happen. He just said the L-word a week ago. This isn’t one of our romance novels.”

  “How can you write such beautiful stories and be such a cynic?” She tilts her head, studying me.

  “I’m not a cynic, I’m a realist. We don’t live inside a romance novel. I learned that lesson the hard way.”

  “You’re right.” A slow smile spreads across her lips. “But when you do get married, I get to be in it, right?”

  I chuckle and shake my head. “If I say yes, can we change the subject?”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “I am too. I just think we’re jumping the gun a bit to be picking out cakes and bridesmaids dresses.”

  “I refuse to wear teal.” She grimaces. “And no chocolate fountain. It’s not classy.”

  “Oh my God, Em, stop!” I laugh and clutch my injured ribs. “Ouch.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry!”

  “It’s okay.” I sigh and take her hand in mine, holding on tight. “Thank you for coming, and for being such a kick-ass friend.”

  “You’re welcome. You can repay me by bringing me onto the movie set with you when the gorgeous men start acting in your movies.”

  “Done.” Then I get sober. “I guess this means I can start telling people that I’m Peyton Adams.”

  “You should have done that from the beginning.”

  I shake my head sadly. “It’s going to b
e weird to see myself in photos and give interviews and all the other things my agent has been begging me to do.”

  “It’s going to be a lot of work.”

  “I know, but I’m tired of hiding who I am.”

  “Good girl.”

  The doorbell rings.

  “That must be Cara and Jill. Cara’s taking me to the airport and Jill is staying with you until Ty gets home.”

  “You’re all a bunch of mother hens,” I grumble, and follow Emily to the door.

  She turns and pulls me gently into her arms, despite our vast height difference. “I’m so happy that you’re okay, my friend. I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Tears of gratitude and love prick my eyes. “Safe travels.”

  She pulls away and opens the door for the girls. “She needs to go back to bed,” Emily informs them as she gathers her bags. “And she won’t take the pain meds anymore.”

  I roll my eyes and push her out the door. “Good-bye, Mom.”

  “Take care of her, Jill!” Em calls right before she sits in Cara’s Honda and waves through the window.

  “How are you really?” Jill asks as I close the door and set the alarm.

  “Tired. Sore.” I shrug. “The usual.”

  “Why no pain meds?”

  “Because I’m sick of sleeping all the time, and I’m ready to get back to my life.” I prop my hands on my hips and glare down at her. “Are you going to lecture me too?”

  “Nope.” She grins. “You’re a big girl. But promise that if you need them, you’ll take them.”

  “I will.” I yawn widely and then chuckle. “Ironically, I think I will go nap until Ty gets here. I’m sorry I’m such a horrible hostess.”

  “I’m used to fending for myself. You go nap. I’ll be down here answering e-mail and setting up appointments.”

  I nod and wave as I trudge up the steps to my bedroom. Jesus, I’m exhausted just from climbing this flight of stairs. My ribs are singing and my head is pounding as I strip out of my clothes and lie on the soft bed.

  I’ll just nap for a few minutes, until the headache goes away.

  “Wake up, my love.”

  Ty is kissing my forehead gently and brushing his fingers down my cheek. This is the best part of the day, waking up next to him, feeling him beside me.