“What the hell are you talking about?” Erin yelled.
“Don’t you guys watch television? He’s all over the news. He always gives the girl a red rose on the night he’s going to rape and kill her,” Nichole raged. “This guy’s a murderer. Call the police.” The phone went dead. Nichole sobbed and prayed for Kate as she dialed the number of her travel agent. She was going home.
• • •
As soon as Nichole started yelling to call the police, Ranae grabbed her cell phone from her purse. “Oh God!” Her fingers shook as she struggled to turn it on and dial 911. While she ranted at the police to go find this guy, Erin called the only other law in town, the Spencer’s.
She swore as it rang and yelled into the receiver as soon as Leona picked it up, “I need to speak to Blake Spencer right damn now. It’s about Kate!”
Since Erin had called to cuss at him a time or two in the past when he had made Kate cry, Blake didn’t know whether to come to the phone or not. Something in his gut told him to. When he heard what was going on, he grabbed his rifle and headed to the door. Jack and Leona weren’t far behind him in their truck.
• • •
He’d tried to keep the anger away, but it was his master. It won. He needed to do what it commanded. “Kill her,” the beast said. “Kill them all.”
CHAPTER 7
As Kate walked with Luke through the door of The Out West Steakhouse and into the dimly lit air-cooled seating area, she tried to push her friends’ worries out of her mind. In their place came other thoughts.
The last time she’d come here was with Blake. They’d sat in the corner by the potted tree at that round table with the flickering candle. They’d had crab legs. It was her birthday and they’d ridden horses all day. She’d worn the red dress she and Nichole had just purchased.
Absentmindedly, Kate sat in the chair the waiter pulled out for her.
“Hello. Where are you?” Luke tapped his fingers on the table. “You’ve been being weird all night.”
“I’m sorry, Luke. I’m just having a bad day, I guess. This place is really nice. The chicken fried steak is good.”
Luke nodded to the waitress. Both of them would have the same. “I’m sorry you’re having a bad day. Do you want to talk about it?
“Not really. It’s the same as it’s been. I just miss Lady Bug.” And Blake.
“Okay.” Luke shrugged his shoulders. “What movie do you want to see tonight? There is a new one that seems funny. I think that — ”
As Luke talked, Kate looked around and remembered one of the best nights of her life. Blake had been so handsome and so nervous that night. It had been their first real date. Kate remembered how he had peeled her crab legs for her because he didn’t want the shell to be rough on her hands. I need you, Blake, Kate almost whispered.
“Kate, your food is here.”
“Oh.” Kate noticed for the first time that there was indeed food in front of her. “I didn’t mean to spoil the evening. It’s just that this place has some memories that aren’t easy for me.”
“What kind of memories?”
“Old rodeo stuff.”
“Maybe we’ll take another trip.”
“I think that’s easier on me than being here in town.”
“Well, eat your food.”
Kate ate as much of her food as she could then went to the restroom. Taking a few deep breaths and pressing her hand to her churning stomach, she tried to clear her mind. Luke was being strange, the same as he’d been in New Orleans. But so am I, she reminded herself. No wonder he’s upset. I was so preoccupied that I didn’t even notice my food was right in front of me. Vowing to do better, Kate went to meet him. He was pacing and Kate smiled as brightly as she could.
“I’m ready.” Kate looked at her shoes and wondered how she could feel so lost in her own body. She wasn’t used to the roller coaster of emotions she felt when she was with Luke.
“Fine.”
“Thank you for the great meal. The chicken fried steak was good, wasn’t it?” Kate tried to lighten the mood. It seemed to work too, because by the time they were back at her place, he was chattering away about some crazy thing he had seen on TV.
“It’s barely eight. Do you mind if I come in?” Luke smiled. “Maybe we could find something to watch.” He reached behind the seat and brought out another red rose and held it out for Kate to take.
“Thanks.” Kate took the rose. “I think that staying here is fine. And speaking of staying here, I wanted to talk to you about next weekend,” she continued as they walked into the apartment. She had a brief moment of surprise when she saw that it was empty. “The girls and I haven’t been able to do much lately and they’re feeling a little neglected. So we wanted to spend tomorrow together, if that’s okay?” Kate shut the door to the apartment behind them and locked it out of habit.
“It’s a guy you remember ,isn’t it?” Luke’s voice was crude and completely different from the calm voice Kate had always known. He ripped the rose she carried from her hand.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to give you something to remember,” Luke whispered into her ear as he spun her to face him and slammed her back against the wall with his weight. He ground his mouth against Kate’s. His grip bruised her shoulder. Holding her in place, he ripped his mouth away.
“No. No. I don’t know what you mean.”
Kate tried to talk. A fast sharp slap shocked her silent. Then his mouth was back, harder and more vicious. Kate tasted blood. Her stomach clenching tight, she tried to escape his iron hold. Grabbing and bending his fingers back, she tried to move. Edging to the door, she tried the knob. Locked. His laugh filled the air.
“You’ll never forget me.”
His breath seemed to rot the air. He slid the long stemmed red rose around her throat. The thorns tore her flesh. Kate fought him.
He laughed. He shoved her.
She slammed to the carpet. Dimness filled the air. Time seemed to stand still. Her breathing raced. Get away, screamed through every part of her. Kicking. Biting. Crying. She caught hold of his skin and scraped with her nails. Her fingers felt sticky.
“Bitch!” Luke screamed, feeling warm blood on his face.
“Why are you doing this?”
“You deserve it.” Luke laughed. “It’s extravagant, don’t you think? I’ve never given you a rose before. I think it’s time.” Luke yanked Kate up to face him. He slapped her face with the rose he held. The thorns cut deep. Luke took her hand and twirled her into a dip. Crushing the rose, he let the petals fall above her. They drifted like drops of blood to touch her face. His grip imprisoned her, but his lips grew soft.
They moved their way to Kate’s mouth, when they were barely touching her lips Luke said, “I’ve waited long enough.”
He jerked her to her feet and released her. His eyes held hers. Those same eyes that always seemed so searching were indeed searching, for weakness. Using the evil they possessed to crush her like he did the rose.
Fear sank in Kate’s gut. But courage was there, too. She used the moment of freedom to run.
Luke grabbed her from behind and flung her to the floor. His body smashed into hers. “Shall I put your hair up for you?” His voice grated as he grabbed it by the handfuls and jerked it up. Where hairline met neck, his lips burned as he ground his teeth. Kate stopped trying to push up from the floor and started feeling around for something.
“What are you doing?” Luke captured her shoulders and twisted her to face him.
She couldn’t get up. His legs were clamped around her back. Looking at him through the dim light she could see his face framed in fury. She saw the shiny glint of a blade. Panic grew from deep inside. The screaming turned to a roar pounding inside her head. Squeezing her eyes shut, Kate held her breath waiting.
Luke pressed the cold steel to her neck.
Live! Fight! Live! The words chanted, roared, echoed through her brain. Kate tried to push away from the knife. The blade seared her flesh. She kept fighting. She kept living. Eyes open and filled with panic, she struggled. She didn’t notice the deep gash in her arm or the rushing blood. She fought. Kicked, screamed, crawled.
He ripped her shirt away.
The air felt frigid.
“No!” Kate lunged up and pushed him back. His fist spun and connected.
“No.” She curled into a ball, sobbing. Holding her throbbing face. Keep your eyes open. Live! Fight! Her eyes stung with tears.
Kicking her legs, she tried to reach him, but he caught them, first one and then the other. Kate felt the cold sharp steel of the knife as it cut in a slow rhythm. The knife traveled the seams of her pants from her ankles all the way to her waist. She could hear the ripping. She was beyond fear now. Please someone help me, she prayed. Trembling and crying, she tried to crawl away.
“You will remember me. I promise.” Luke laughed. “When you dream, in that time just before death, you will dream of me. I will be the last face you see, just as I was the last face your precious horse saw.”
He laughed as she screamed. He ripped her hair. Her head snapped back. Her body whipped flat before him. Meticulous and slow, he put the sharp edge to her throat. Kate could feel his dirty gaze eat at her naked skin. He scraped his body over hers, his slimy, hot tongue licking as he went.
“You bastard!” Kate screamed. Her frantic, searching hand grasped a hard cool object. Taking hold, thinking clear. One chance. Once just once. Slam. She smashed it into Luke’s head. He didn’t move. She pushed at his rancid form. She was on her knees. She was on her feet. She ran to the door. He was on her again.
“You god damn whore. You’ll pay for that,” Luke screamed. His fists pounded Kate’s body.
Blackness was coming. Haze clouded her vision. From a distance she could hear Luke scream, “Are you dreaming? Kate, are you? Look at me, you whore.”
She could see the edge of the dark, but she kept fighting. Screaming! Striking! Hitting! Clawing! Hitting — nothing. Was he gone? She tried to see. Tried to blink. Too many tears. Too much blood. Too much pain. Dimly she heard a crash and felt a light.
She couldn’t see. She could feel herself drifting to the edge. Beyond it would be freedom. Maybe Lady Bug would be in heaven. Maybe there would be a rodeo. But someone was talking. Who? Mama? A man.
“Oh, Jesus. Kate, darlin’,” sobbed the man’s voice as he reached to touch her.
Kate looked. She tried to see through the blood stinging her eyes. “No! Get away!” She scrambled away.
“Darlin’. It’s me. It’s Blake. You’re safe now.” He tried desperately to keep his voice soft and calm.
“Blake? You’re here.” Kate sobbed. Gentle arms wrapped a blanket around her shaking body.
• • •
Blake looked at Kate. Her long, beautiful hair was matted with her blood. Her green eyes streamed with tears of fear. Smears of blood covered her face, her body. Bruising fist marks were beginning to show beneath her skin. Deep gashes cut her hands and arms.
Fury like he had never known sliced his heart. He had a rifle in his truck. He saw the guy. He knew every inch of his stinking hide. Burning hate for him ignited when Blake heard Kate’s screams through the door. It broke open like kindling. Blake saw him, the sniveling coward. He ran. He couldn’t have run too far. I am fast and sure. I can make him pay. But he would not have left the sobbing body in his arms for any amount of revenge. So instead of moving away from her, he pulled her closer. He felt her tense. The anger surged again, but still he stayed.
“Ranae,” Blake called.
“Yes.” Ranae’s panicked voice answered.
“We should call the police, again.”
“I already did. I told them what happened and they said not to do anything, but just wait for them. What am I going to do? I’m so sorry, Kate. This is all my fault,” Ranae huddled with Erin sobbing.
“No, it isn’t. If you hadn’t called — all of you could have been hurt. I just hope we got here in time. Before — before he — ” Blake couldn’t finish. It was too horrible to even think much less say. All he felt was rage, plain and simple. Rage in its purest form.
Ranae just cried over and over. “I hope so too. Please God I hope so. I hope he didn’t rape her.” Ranae’s cries echoed through the apartment.
CHAPTER 8
A terrified Ranae opened the apartment door at the police chief’s knock on the door. As she did so, Erin walked out saying, “Nae, I’m not leaving. I’m right here, but I can’t take this shit any longer. I’m gonna try Nichole again. Maybe she’ll answer this time.”
Crying and nodding, Ranae clung to the loose hanging door as if it were the only thing holding her up. Wringing her hands, she let in the police chief. He had to duck to come through the doorway. The deep blue of his uniform matched the concern in his eyes.
“I’m Ranae. Kate’s roommate.” She held out her shaky hand.
“Chief of Police, Aaron Barrs.” He reached for her hand, holding onto it for a moment before releasing Ranae to rake a hand through his graying black hair. As though preparing himself for the worst, he stepped into the room where Blake sat with Kate on the couch.
Barely contained fury evident in every movement, Blake stood and motioned toward Kate. “I’m Blake Spencer and this is Katherine White.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Barrs came forward. “Katherine, my name is Aaron Barrs. I’m the Chief of Police. I’d like to talk with you if you’re up to it.”
“People call me Kate.” Kate looked at the crisscrossing patterns on the blanket that covered her.
“I need to take some pictures and ask you about what happened. Then we’ll go to the hospital. We have an ambulance waiting.” He gave her a quick appraisal, taking note of the towel wrapping her right arm. “I’m going to ask a female officer and one of the paramedics to come in. The officer is for your comfort while the paramedic examines you and bandages your arm while we talk.” He unlatched the radio from his shoulder and spoke into it.
When the officer and the paramedic had joined them, Barrs said, “We’ll need to photograph your injuries and the scene. I’ll also need you to tell me exactly what happened.”
Glancing up for the first time, Kate nodded. “If we take the pictures first, can we start cleaning?”
Barrs stared at her blood-smeared face. The cut on her chin had stopped bleeding; the area around her left eye showed the start of a huge fist-shaped bruise. “It might be a while before you can start cleaning,” he said gently. “Our forensics team will need to gather as much evidence as possible.”
Kate shivered. “We can’t leave this mess.”
“Sure we can,” Ranae said through the tears streaming down her cheeks. “We can do anything we want.”
“Right.” Barrs turned to nod at the female officer. “Make sure you document all of her injuries and get pictures of her face.” He looked back at Kate. “You just rest with your friends here and we’ll be done as quickly as we can.”
While Barrs and his officer moved around the room, Blake sat beside Kate, afraid to touch her for fear of hurting her more. He desperately wanted to hold her, to absorb the pain she was experiencing, to go back to the time before anything had happened to her. Most of all he wanted to bash in the guy’s head who’d done this to her. Instead all he could do was watch the paramedic.
When the paramedic unwrapped the towel from her arm, Kate hissed in a painful breath. Unable to watch any longer, Ranae turned and fled, sobbing, to the kitchen, the misery of her abusive childhood sharp in her mind. Barrs entered the kitchen behind her.
“Ranae?” He stood beside the sink and watched her turn o
n the tap, fill a glass. “May I ask you a few questions?”
“I guess.” Ranae turned off the water.
“We’ve been in touch with you throughout the evening. I have that all down, but what I need is for you to tell me what you saw when you came home.”
Ranae put down the glass of water and clutched the edge of the sink without looking at the chief. “The first thing is what I heard. I heard Kate screaming. We rushed in as fast as we could. Blake broke the door. It was dark in here so I turned on the lights. Kate was on the living room floor. This guy Luke was beat — ” Ranae sobbed. She tried to catch her breath. She squeezed her eyes shut.
“It’s okay. Take your time.”
“Beating her. It’s like he was crazy. We surprised him. He ran past us. We didn’t try to go after him because of Kate. She was naked and bleeding and screaming.” Her hands trembled and she tightened her grip on the sink. “It was awful. Blake got a blanket and covered her. He tried to comfort her while I called you again.”
“Luke, you said his name was? Was he fully dressed?” Aaron asked.
“Yes, I think so. I’m not sure. I didn’t really look at him. I just wanted Kate to be okay.”
“Do you know Luke’s last name?”
“Ferral. Luke Ferral. He just started college here. We never really met him until a couple of weeks ago down at the The Pub.”
“Thanks, Ranae.” Barrs looked at his notes. “That’s all for now. Let’s go talk to Kate.”
They returned to the living room where the paramedic had finished with Kate’s arm and started to clean her face. Anything more would have to wait until the rape team finished with her at the hospital.
Blake paced. He hated the sense of helplessness that came with not knowing how to make things better instantly.
“Mr. Spencer, as soon as I am finished asking Kate some questions, I’ll have some for you as well,” Barrs told him.
Blake nodded. “No problem, I’ll be right here. Or anywhere Kate goes. So I’ll be easy to find.”
The Wanting Heart Page 6