by Elisa Leigh
Kingston puts two fingers between his lips and lets out a piercing whistle, getting everyone’s attention. It as the desired effect. “Here’s the plan. Anderson, call the sheriff and let him know what’s going on. We are taking point on this. Owens, you’re monitoring tracking. Donovan, you’re driving. Do what you need to do to get ready. We rendezvous in fifteen minutes. Oorah!”
“Oorah,” everyone shouts back, and disperses to get themselves armed and ready for our mission.
****
MACI KATE
I knew David was an asshole, but I didn’t think he was crazy. When he first started driving, I figured he was bringing me back to his place so we could talk, but when he passed his road and got on the interstate, I started to freak out. When he dragged me out of the car by my hair, my fight or flight finally kicked in. As he walked me in front of him up to this worn-down cabin, I knew I had to do something before I was trapped inside. All I could think about was getting back to Bennett and Reece. I caught him unawares, and stupidly tried to run off. I never in a hundred years would have thought he would put his hands on me.
I’ve been gone a few hours now. The sun went down while we drove, and I can see the stars bright in the sky out the dirty windows. My head is still pounding from where David backhanded me for fighting him and trying to get away. I’ve been sitting here, handcuffed to the iron rails of the headboard of the bed in the corner of the single room cabin. I’ve been watching him pace around since we’ve been here. His eyes are bloodshot, and his body is a sickly pale tone.
He keeps pulling on his greasy hair, pacing around and around. Every few minutes he sits, but then his hands and legs begin to twitch, and minutes later he is up again, walking around. What the hell is he doing? It’s almost like he’s gearing up to something, trying to figure out how to solve a problem.
I can’t keep my eyes off him. Horrifically fascinated by the sight before me, I watch as he unravels. What will happen when he’s completely gone? How can I get out of this disaster? It burns my ass that even in this state, he can overpower me. Unable to stand the silence, I try and reason with him. In a calm voice, I ask, “David, why did you bring me up here?” He stops his pacing and stares at me, pinning me to my spot on the floor. The look he’s giving me makes my heart beat triple time. “Didn’t you want to talk?” I try again, hoping I can get him out of his head.
A wicked smile spreads across his face, and he approaches me with slow, unsteady movements. With my heart beating erratically in my chest, a sick feeling fills me. God, this is so fucking wrong.
He crouches down in front of me and runs the back of his fingers up my neck and into my hair. I shiver at his touch, bile rising in my mouth. He tangles his hand in my hair and pulls me roughly into him. I cry out from the pain. “That’s it, Maci. I want to hear you scream when I take you the way I’ve imagined all these years.”
His hot, whiskey-scented breath assaults my senses, burning my nostrils and making my eyes water. His flat stare holds my eyes captive. I’m too afraid to look away from him, worried what he might do to me. He kisses me roughly and tries to shove his tongue in my mouth, but I refuse to let him in. David doesn’t care; he bites my lip, and as the iron taste covers my tongue, he attacks my mouth. I jerk my head away from his, but with his hand in my hair, he pulls me back. I bite back my cry, but can’t help the tears that fill my eyes.
“You are MY wife, and you’re spreading your legs for that washed up Marine. How could you bring up Bennett around him? You are a terrible mother. You’ve been lucky in the past. I haven’t given you the punishments you deserved. That’s changing now.” He unbuckles his belt, pulls it through the loops, and then sets it next to him. When he undoes his fly and pulls his zipper down, fear consumes me. I know what’s coming next. “Don’t fucking cry, now. I’m going to teach you. Show you how to be the wife and mother you were supposed to be the first time around. I’m going to show you who you belong to, and what that means.”
David runs his hand up my thigh, but I clamp my knees together, keeping him from touching me. I know that in this position he can take exactly what he wants. His evil laugh frightens me more than I already am. “You always were a cold bitch, Maci. It’s your fault I had to fuck other women. You didn’t know how to fuck a man right. That’s on me, and I should have taught you better. I didn’t see the point of putting much effort into your training back then. Dad can’t get over what you did to our family, and froze my trust fund until you are back to being the good little wife I know you can be.”
Hot rage consumes me, and I snap. “Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!” I scream louder and louder in his face.
The bastard laughs, and I can see the crazy in his eyes. “Now, now, Maci girl. That isn’t how you talk to your husband.” He’s enjoying stirring me up.
“I’m not your wife,” I mumble under my breath, unable to contain my anger.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” I bite back bitterly, knowing my temper is going to get me in trouble.
The slap across my face stings, but at this point, I’m not surprised by it. “Tell me what the fuck you said,” he screams, spittle flying into my face.
I unleash all the fury coursing through me. “I said, I’m not your fucking wife, you bastard! I hate you! Being your wife tainted the best years of my life! I can’t stand the fact that your blood runs through Bennett’s veins. You’re a good for nothing bastard who deserves to rot in a pile of your daddy’s shit. You are nothing, you vile motherfucker!”
His fist flies at my face making my head bounce off the headboard and slump to the side. Dazed, I watch him pull his pants over his hips and jerk his dick out. Blood trickles down my face and over my lips while David shoves my thighs apart, settling between them. I close my eyes, squeezing them tight, unwilling to watch what is about to happen to me. I barely feel my panties get ripped and pulled to the side. Instead, I see Bennett as a baby, giggling while we played peekaboo for the first time. I watch my parents slow dance in the grass behind their house as the sun goes down. I get lost in the moment Reece placed his ring on my finger, declaring we were getting married. The peace I felt knowing I was going to be his forever devours my body and soul, and I let that wash over me, saving me from this—from David.
Eighteen
Reece
My muscles are bunched tight. The thought of any harm coming to my angel is so beyond my comprehension. Realistically, I know she could be hurt or, God forbid, worse. We parked a mile back and hiked the rest of the way to the cabin, not wanting to alert David we were here and give him time to do something even stupider. We didn’t know the situation we were walking into, so we prepared for all possibilities.
Looking through the window, it takes me less than a minute to assess the situation. As soon as he punches her, I lose all reason. The motherfucker is going to die. Die. I shoot the lock on the door until it opens. I toss the gun to the ground, and I’m hurtling myself at the monster on top of my sweet angel.
I take him to the ground. The only thing I know is that I need to make him bleed and hurt. The piece of shit is underneath me, trying to fight me off. After a couple of punches to his face, he stops fighting me, lying still with his limp dick still hanging out of his pants. I’m shaking with unspent fire, but I’m unwilling to fight an unresponsive man. I want to see the pain I inflict on him, hear the screams of pain come from his lips, but I won’t get that from him right now. I stand, needing to get to Maci, but the stupid fuck grabs onto my boot, tripping me. I kick him in the ribs until he’s holding his sides, crying out in pain.
I look up to see Anderson checking a still unconscious Maci’s pulse, and Cutter covering her bared bottom half after unlocking the handcuffs that held her captive to the bed. This fucker touched her; he abducted her and hurt her. I pray we got to her in time. From what I saw, he hadn’t started raping her, but he was close—seconds away from it.
I can’t stop myself from kicking him in the dick, the balls, anywhere, ever
ywhere until eventually, blood is spraying from his face. My boot connects with him again. Spader pulls me back, telling me to stop before I do something I can’t talk my way out of. I brush him off, needing to get my pound of flesh for all that he’s done to my love, my angel, my everything.
“Reece,” Maci cries, and her fragile, broken words are the sweetest thing I have ever heard. I stop my attack on the piece of filth below me and lock eyes with her. “Reece, please. I need you.” My girl is a mess, but she’s alive, with tears streaming down her bruised and bloody face. I march over to her and sit beside her on the bed, pulling her onto my lap and her head to my chest. I hold her to me, letting her cry it all out with one arm around her waist pulling her into me with the other covering her head. I need her safe, secure, and alive.
I won’t do life without her. I refuse. I won’t live in this world if she’s not breathing in it. She’s the soothing balm to my battered heart, putting me back together, pulling me through when I can’t. God forbid someone ever tries to take her away from me again and succeeds. I’ll go to hell to bring her back, if need be. I’d give up my soul to get her back in my arms, loving me.
I sit and rock her, watching as the cabin fills with cops and paramedics. Jet walks in and stares down at the broken mess I left the unconscious bastard in. He looks at me, and runs his hands down his face. “Fuck,” he curses, then starts taking command of the situation around us. He orders another ambulance for David, and I don’t feel one ounce of regret for his current condition. He deserves so much more.
****
When we arrived at the hospital the nurses started in on me about not letting me go back with Maci. When Garret joined me, he put a stop to that real quick. While I waited with Maci, I called her folks and let them know I had her and where we were. I suggested that they should wait before bringing Bennett. I knew they needed to see her and wanted to assure themselves with their own eyes that she was safe, but she needed time to get through this without her son seeing her. I didn’t go into details when her father questioned me, not wanting to upset Maci any more than she already was. He wasn’t happy and made me promise to keep them updated through the night.
It’s now three-thirty in the morning, and in the quietness of the exam room, I sit next to her while she lays broken in a hospital bed. I hold Maci’s hand while she stares blankly at the wall. Her silence is scaring me. What I would give for her to show me any kind of emotion, but she doesn’t. Instead, she remains detached. Rubbing my thumb over her hand, I wait for her to release the poisonous thoughts tormenting her.
Eventually, she looks at me and frowns. She pulls her hand from mine, and as much as I want to snatch her hand right back, I don’t. She looks away from me, staring at the tiled floor below her. “You were right,” she finally whispers. I say nothing and wait, silently begging her to continue. “I never…” She clears her throat. “I never thought David would hurt me like that. He was a shitty husband, and an absent father, but he never put his hands on me or Bennett.
“When you asked if he was abusive, I thought you were overreacting. I keep thinking about my relationship with David, from start to finish, and I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. How was I so stupid?”
I lace my fingers through hers and squeeze her hand. “Don’t. You will not talk about yourself that way. You were stronger than you even know. When you’re in a relationship like that, you’re right in the middle of it. You don’t see it from the outside like everyone else. It becomes your reality. Sometimes, our brains can’t handle it. You probably made excuses for his behavior and didn’t even realize you were doing it. You get me?”
She nods hesitantly. I bring her hand up to my mouth and kiss it. “I love you, angel.” A tear falls from her eyes and I wipe it away.
“I love you too, Reece. Thank you for saving me.”
“You never have to thank me for that. It’s my honor to be your protector. I only regret that he got to you in the first place.”
Knock, knock.
The doctor walks in with what I can only assume is her chart. He reads over it a minute and then holds out his hand to my girl. “Maci, I’m Dr. Rashad.” He shakes her hand, then turns to me where I introduce myself to him as her fiancé. He nods and gets to business immediately. “I know you’ve been through a lot tonight. My nurse, Helen, has told me a little about what happened to you. You are a brave woman for surviving that. I’m going to take a quick look and get you on your way home as soon as I can. Is it okay if your fiancé remains in the room for the exam, or would you like him to leave?”
“Reece stays,” she states quietly, but firmly. I stand to the side and watch as he looks her over, checking her body over from the attack, all the while asking her questions.
“Maci, I need to ask you a couple of questions. I know this is going to be difficult to talk about, but I need you to be honest, to make sure you get the best care possible.”
My brave girl nods her head and answers his questions. She doesn’t elaborate much about what happened, only giving specific details when asked. I’m relieved to learn the attack was physical and didn’t quite escalate to being sexual, although we know she came very close.
“My initial assessment is that you need time to heal from this. I recommend you take a week off from work to rest. Your body needs time to recover. I’m going to have the nurse come in and give you a few butterfly stitches. Your wrist is red and swollen. I’m concerned you may have a fracture, so I’m ordering an x-ray to be sure. I’d rather be safe than sorry. Any questions?”
Maci shakes her head. I shake the doctor’s hand. “Thank you.” He gives me a knowing look, and I wonder if he’s been in a situation like this, or if he’s just seen it too many times with his patients.
The nurse cleans and applies the bandages to Maci’s face. She leaves and returns with a wheelchair to take her down to radiology. She looks between Maci and me. “Is there any chance you could be pregnant?” My eyes shoot to Maci’s, where hers have gotten huge. She covers her mouth and tears fill her eyes, unable to answer. “It’s possible. We haven’t been preventing it,” I answer for her.
Helen, Maci’s nurse, has Maci give her a urine sample and takes some blood so they can test that, too. I hold my brave angel while we wait for the results of the test. Maci falls asleep on my chest, but I can’t stop thinking that I could have lost more than Maci tonight. When Dr. Rashad comes back, a nurse is pushing in a large machine behind him. I shake Maci awake. “Angel, the doctor is back. Wake up so we can find out if we’ve been blessed with another child.” Her eyes flutter open, and a small smile graces her lips. I kiss those lovely lips, then sit us up, anticipating the news I hope is coming.
Doctor Rashad is blank-faced, not giving anything away. “Come on doc, give it to us.” He looks to Maci, and she nods her head, ready to accept the results. “Congratulations, you two. Helen is going to do an ultrasound to find out how far along you are.”
I watch the screen in wonder, looking at my baby growing in my angel’s body. I hold Maci’s hand while Helen takes measurements of the baby and we get to listen to its heartbeat. “You are eleven weeks and four days along. You’re due July seventeenth. I can’t see what the sex is right now. You’re going to need to follow up with your OBGYN. Congratulations, Maci and Reece.”
Helen walks out and gives us the privacy we need. I’m going to be a dad. Bennett gets to be a big brother. We get to grow our family, and it’s the best news after what happened last night. Fuck. Last night. I wonder how Maci is doing with this, after everything.
Grabbing her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I bring her eyes to mine. “Tell me how you’re feeling about this, Maci love. I know this is a weird time to find out, after everything that happened, but are you happy?” A single tear slips from her eye and a beaming smile appears across her face. “I already suspected I might be pregnant. I was beginning to feel how I did when I was pregnant with Bennett. I was going to get a test and talk to you about it last nig
ht, but then David…”
I hug her to me, and rub her back gently. “Shh. God, I’m so fucking sorry. There’s no way in hell he’ll be able to get to you again after what he did. I’m going to protect our family with my life. I love you so much, Maci. Everything is for you and our family,” I promise her.
She looks up at me with complete faith. “I know you will, Reece. I’m unbelievably happy. I want us to move on with our lives, move on from this. You, Bennett, and this little one are all that matter.” She says, touching her stomach where our baby is growing.
I kiss her deeply, needing our connection more than anything. “We’re getting married this week.” When she goes to argue, I kiss her quiet. “No. You and I are getting married this week. There’s no discussion needed.”
She smirks at me and snuggles back into my chest. “I love you, too, my crazy man.”
Epilogue
Maci Kate Atwood
Our life has been a whirlwind since we found out I was pregnant with our baby girl. I gave birth to Layla about five weeks ago, and she’s as needy as her daddy. She wants all my attention. I love her beautiful face, though, and can’t deny her anything. Bennett is absolutely in love with his little sister, but he has mentioned on more than one occasion, when she won’t stop crying, that we should take her back to the store where we got her.
David spent a few weeks in the hospital, recovering from the beating Reese gave him. We spent that time pressing charges and making sure they stuck. He sure did make it easy on us. Mr. Wilson, David’s dad, encouraged him to take a plea deal. He was charged with Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, and sentenced to eight years in prison. When he’s released, he must live at least thirty miles away from wherever I’m living, and not have any contact with me. I had that last bit put in there before I would agree to the plea deal the Assistant District Attorney brought to them. They didn’t need my input, but the ADA was a friend of Panthera Security Company, and was more than happy to meet my requests.