Maybe, I can get him talking…
Get him to calm down…?
“I’m… sorry,” I tell him.
He’s looking at me like I should be sorry.
So, sorry, I shall be.
“Are you?” he sneers at me.
“Yes…” I nod slowly. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“Then why did you let him do it?” he snaps. “I saw! You enjoyed it!”
What the hell is he talking about!?!?
“Er…” I trail off.
“Chief Cole,” he spits the name out, “fucking you against that fucking tree!”
Oh… My… God…
My eyes widen and I take in a sharp breath; my face changing to one of anger and disgust.
I quickly rearrange my face, hoping he doesn’t notice, lest it upset him more.
Thankfully, he’s too absorbed in his version of Story Time for Bad Little Girls.
“I saw you,” he says again. “I saw you with him at your house, out to dinner, out in town. Didn’t you get my pictures?” he asks and I nod, too shocked to speak. “I tried to warn you Azaria. I tried, but you wouldn’t listen.”
“I…” I clear my throat again. “I know, Jerry. I’m… I’m sorry.”
“Are you?” he asks with a mocking edge to his voice.
“Yes… I am.”
“It’s time to leave this rundown town behind, baby,” he softens his voice. “It’s time for us to start our life.”
“What do you mean?” I ask cautiously.
“We’re going to Colorado,” he explains. He grabs a chair and pulls it over in front of the mattress I’m sitting on in the middle of the floor. “I know you’ve always wanted to go. I’ve heard you talk about it.”
Good, God. When?
“But… Jerry,” I swallow. Don’t piss him off. Don’t piss him off. Don’t piss him off. “What about my family?”
“They never cared about you!” he glares at me. “Not like I do. We leave everyone behind. We can never talk to them again.”
“Jesus…” I murmur.
“Azaria, you’re gonna have to watch that tongue of yours if you want to make this work,” he snaps.
Okay. That’s it!
Fuck this shit!
“Jerry,” I say, my voice clear and strong, “if you think I’m going anywhere with you, you’re out of your God dammed mind. And if you thought, for one fucking second, that I would ‘watch my tongue’ then you don’t know me even an eighth as well as you think you do.”
“Azaria…” he warns.
I ignore his warning, “You can’t just take people from the woods after drugging them with chloroform! You’re fucking crazy! I was drunk when I slept with you. I didn’t even give you a second thought until I woke up in this piece of shit room, bound on this fucking bed!” my voice raises through my spiel, until I end on a screech.
“Shut the fuck up!” he roars, spittle spewing from his mouth onto my face (Ew…) causing me recoil with revulsion. “I know you’ve thought about me!”
“No. I. Did. Not,” I grind out through my teeth, disgusted. “Let me go right now. Go home and leave me alone.”
“Fuck you!” he screams.
I didn’t even see it coming.
One second he was screaming, the next his hand was smashing across my cheek causing massive pain to explode through my entire head.
The room spins and, by the grace of God only, do I keep from falling face first into the ripped and stained mattress.
Damn!
Getting hit hurts!
“You asshole!” I yell out once my brain comes back on track. “Well. You’re seriously delusional if you think I’m going anywhere with you after you lay your hands on me!”
“Azaria, baby,” he cajoles.
“Don’t call me ‘baby’,” I spit at him.
“Let’s start over,” he whispers, brushing my hair out of my face.
I jerk my head back from his touch.
He stands up and… (oh my God) begins to unbutton his pants.
“If we just make love again, you’ll see,” he says softly.
“Oh, hell no,” I scoot back on the mattress.
“Azaria… We can do this the easy way,” he drops his jeans, his boxers (thankfully) still on, “or the hard way,” he picks up the knife and begins to sit down on the bed, crawling towards me.
“Well, you sure as hell are not having sex with me while I’m alive,” I say and thrust my feet up, catching his chin with the heel of my foot.
“Fucking bitch!” he screams, rubbing his jaw.
He jumps at me, but I put up a better fight this time, using my bound legs to kick him in the stomach… the chest… the face… the groin…
Until, he finally drops the knife. I scurry toward it and begin to cut at the tape that is wrapped around my ankles.
I just get them free and begin to stand up when I’m hit from behind on the back of my head.
The room fades to almost completely black, but I fight it. I manage to stay conscious and try to keep fighting, but I’m weakened by my woozy state…
He gets me on my back and lays over the top of me to pin me down. He uses the knife to cut through my shirt and rips it completely open.
I continue to thrash under him, but I still don’t have all of my strength back… no matter how hard I try.
“You just need to remember what we had,” he mumbles, pressing his mouth against mine.
My stomach rolls once his lips touch mine.
I open my mouth and bite down hard on his bottom lip.
“Fuck!” he jerks back.
I squirm and thrash to get away, but he rears his hand back and slaps me again. This time harder.
So much harder… that everything goes completely black…
And I can’t fight it…
***
“There!” Chance calls out.
Grayson looks up and sees a run-down cabin less than a mile away. He pushes the gas all the way to the floor.
It’s been five hours since he woke up this morning; his world shifting…
Jimmy Phillips had talked with a young guy a few days ago on the streets of Belton and learned that he was ‘visiting’ friends from the area.
“I thought it was weird, because I’d never heard of any Sanchez’s around here,” Jimmy had told them who the guy was staying with.
This got them to doing some digging and they discovered that twenty-five years ago there was a Sanchez family in the next county over. They had all died in a car accident, the parents and the two kids, around twenty years ago. They left everything they owned to their good friends, Gary and Rebecca Pint, who then left it to their son, Jerry Pint. The only thing inherited, though, was a cabin located ten miles north of Saylorville Lake in the woods, very much off the beaten path.
The same cabin Grayson just slammed his breaks in front of.
He jumps out of his truck at the same time as Ryder, Blaine and Chance, each of them pulling their guns from their holsters. The rest of Belton PD, shortly behind.
The outside perimeter is quickly secured, not that Grayson expected there to be any top of the line security or even any booby-traps, but he had to make sure…
Reverting back to their special ops training, he signals silently for half of the team to go around back; for Declan, Ryder and himself to go through the front door and for the rest to cover any other exits then signals for them to count down from twenty.
They all nod and split off.
Ryder signals with his fingers, counting down from five seconds, his hand descending into a fist.
Grayson’s foot slams into the worn, wooden door, opening it with ease.
The scene he comes upon sets fire through his veins.
Ree is unconscious on a mattress, Jerry Pint above her in just a pair of underwear.
The fury that takes over his mind and actions forces all thoughts of any kind of protocol to be expunged from his mind.
He lunges through
the air, in the split second it takes Pint to realize he’s surrounded, and tackles him off of Ree (who he notices is, thankfully, still fully clothed; apart from her shirt being ripped).
He pins Pint on his back and begins to lay blow after destructive blow onto his face.
His brain registers nothing other than: KILL.
The anger is so severe, he can feel it tearing him in half, knowing the only way to make it stop is to kill the cause of it.
Pint’s face swells and bruises after each impact made from Grayson’s large and bloody fists.
He keeps hitting him long after he passes out, only stopping when someone (or rather a few someone’s) pull him off the piece of shit.
“We’ve got to get Ree to a hospital, Chief,” Ryder says in his ear, completely shifting all of his attention away from the Kill Order in his brain to the Rescue Order.
He looks around the room, but doesn’t see her anywhere.
“Outside,” Ryder tells him, “Blaine’s getting her in your truck.”
Grayson picks his gun up off the floor and jogs outside. Blaine is sliding Ree carefully into the back cab.
“Owens,” Grayson barks, calling his attention, “you drive,” he tosses his keys to Blaine, needing to be closer to Ree.
Blaine catches them and waits for Grayson to get close before he lets go of her.
Grayson slides into the backseat, placing Ree’s head on his lap as Blaine gets in the front, fires up the truck and puts it into gear, quickly speeding off. Grayson looks up and sees Ryder in the front passenger seat.
He places his fingers along Ree’s carotid, “Pulse is strong,” he tells his men, sighing in relief, then checking her breathing as he does and noting it is normal.
They both nod, but don’t respond.
Grayson closes his eyes for a moment to say a short and silent prayer.
He’s never been a big believer in bothering God. He always figured he had better things to do than bother with a simple man who could take care of most of his own problems.
But this one time… he knows he needs help…
Please, God… Just this once… Grant me this… and allow this beautiful woman that you have seen fit to bless me with… be okay…
He lowers his head and opens his eyes to stare at Ree, brushing her hair back in a repetitive motion… repeating his prayer over… and over…
ChapterSixteen
Gumdrops and Fairy Dust
Holy shit-balls, my head hurts.
And I’m so groggy…
I can’t remember what happened…
My eyes flutter open to a white ceiling. I focus on just that as I try to get my bearings about me.
What’s the last thing I remember…?
The cabin.
My brain, quickly, comes into complete focus making a burst of panic run through me.
I sit up quickly. Too quickly.
“Ow…” I moan, placing my hand on my head and beginning to look around.
“Ree?”
I look to my left and see Grayson sitting up in a chair next to the bed I’m in. He quickly leans forward and squeezes my hand, making me realize he’s had a hold of it.
It’s then, that it dawns on me that I am in a hospital bed.
I look up into Grayson’s beautiful caramel eyes.
“Chief…” I sigh in relief. “I’m so glad to see you…” I close my eyes and lay back down, my head pounding.
“How are you feeling, babe?” his voice soft and concerned.
The bed depresses. I open my eyes and see him sitting on the edge of it. He reaches toward me and brushes my hair back.
“My head hurts,” I complain with a wince.
“I know…” he says quietly.
I notice a bandage wrapped around his other hand, “What happened to your hand?”
“Nothing, babe,” he deflects the question. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“Okay…”
We’re silent for a moment, my eyes wondering around the room trying to get all of my thoughts in order.
“What happened…?” I ask. “After… I… uh, blacked out…?”
He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, picking my hand back up and entwining our fingers together, staring at them as he does so, “You must have lost consciousness right before we got there,” he runs his free hand up and down the back of mine, “because you… still had all your clothes on…” he raises his head and looks at me.
“Oh,” I close my eyes again.
Well.
That’s a bit humiliating…
Which just pisses me… right… the… hell… off!
“What a jerk!” I spit out. “Ow,” I grab my head again opening my eyes and seeing Grayson with a sad grin on his face, “I’ve got to remember to stop doing that.”
“Yeah…” he leans closer. “You should probably take it easy for a while,” he tells me.
“Probably…” I lower my eyes to his chest and stare at the black t-shirt he’s wearing. “I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“For what?”
I look up at his confused expression, “For being stupid and taking a walk.”
“Ree,” he says softly. “It’s okay. We got him. It’s over now.”
I shake my head slightly, my eyes wondering around the room, “He really thought I was in love with him. Grayson,” I look back at him, “he knew a lot about me.”
“Did you know him?” he asks me.
“Yeah…” I nod. “I met him about three years ago.”
I don’t bring up that he was one of many notches on my, then, very busy bedpost.
For the first time in my life, I’m ashamed of the way I lived.
I was lonely far more than I was happy.
And I’ve never been as happy as I have been the past few weeks with Grayson…
“I’ve made some pretty stupid decisions, Chief.”
“We all have, babe.”
That’s all he says.
He doesn’t ask if I slept with him….
Doesn’t ask how I know him…
I suspect he already figured it out…
Looking into his eyes, I can tell that he already knows. And that he doesn’t like the way I used to live. Or at the very least, he wishes he didn’t know about it.
Hell, he’s probably realized I’m gonna be more trouble than he thought I’d be worth and is rethinking everything.
I better get what time with him that I can…
I scoot over to the far edge of the bed, “Lay with me for a bit?” I ask.
He smiles at me, kicks off his shoes and climbs in beside me. I curl up into his side, his arm sliding under me, and inhale his amazing scent. Committing it to memory.
“You’re too good for me,” I tell him quietly.
“Why do you say that?” he asks, his hand trails up and down my side and hip.
“I just want you to know that it’s okay… you know…” I pick at his shirt, like there’s lint there that needs to come off, “if you want to walk away from the crazy. I can probably move back to Des Moines. I don’t think Mom really needs me that much.”
“Babe,” he reaches for my waist with both hands and pulls me up so that we are face to face, “I don’t care how you used to live your life. Since you and I started dating have you been with anyone else?”
“Of course not,” I tell him.
“Me either,” he grins, “You lived your life how you wanted to at the time. I don’t care if you’ve been with six thousand men, babe. You’re with me now.”
“You’re pretty remarkable,” I inform him.
“So are you, Azaria.”
“Thanks,” I whisper.
He places me back down to curl up in his side, “Now get some rest. I’ll stay with you for a while, then I’ll let your parents know you’re awake.”
“Okay,” I take a deep breath, snuggling closer to him. “Thanks, Chief.”
“Anytime, Ree.”
***
“I�
�m so glad you’re okay,” my mother tells me for the hundredth time in the last half hour.
“Me too, Mom,” I tell her, also for the hundredth time in the last half hour.
I understand that she was worried, but now it’s just getting a little overbearing.
I know she means well. I get it. Honestly, I do. But can we move on to the next topic?
When I woke up this time Grayson helped me to the bathroom to get myself together.
Then he helped me back to bed when I was done.
Then he went and got my parents so that they could see me.
I was grateful for this, but mostly I was ready to go home.
“When do you think I can go?” I look at my dad and Grayson.
“Sweetie, don’t you worry about that,” Dad says.
“But I’m ready to go,” I argue.
“Ree, just relax,” Grayson sides with my father.
Traitor.
“Azaria,” my mother frets, “you’re in no condition to go home. They have to run tests and do more scans and draw your blood and check you for signs of stroke and make sure that you didn’t have a heart attack and… and…”
I grab her hand, “Mom,” she stops rambling, “I’m okay. At the most, I only had a concussion. And I can rest at home better than I can here.”
“I still think it would be better if you stayed,” she says.
“I want to talk to the doctor,” I tell them all. “Where is he? When was he last in? How long have I even been in the damn hospital and he doesn’t come to check on his patients? This is shitty service.”
“Ree, just be patient,” Grayson laughs.
“Fuck it, I want answers,” I say, reaching for the call button to call the nurse.
“Ree! Mouth!” my mother scolds.
I roll my eyes.
“What do you need, honey?” the distorted voice comes through the speaker in the wall.
“I need to see the doctor,” I tell the nurse. “I’m ready to go home.”
“Let me see what I can do,” she says.
“Thank you,” I say with a hoity voice, grinning at my parents and Grayson.
“Stubborn,” my dad shakes his head.
“Agreed,” Grayson says.
“So what happened after you guys got there?” I ask Grayson, to pass the time until my doctor arrives.
“Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this just yet,” Mom says.
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