by Marla Monroe
“Be still so I can taste you.” He licked across her cheek again.
She squealed and turned her head away from him. He grabbed her by the hair and held her still as he licked all over her face. She couldn’t help crying. He was going to kill her. He had told her that before. Now that it was happening, she couldn’t do anything about it. She didn’t want to die.
He pulled out a knife and slit her nightgown from hem to neck and then each arm hold until it fell away from her body. He ran the knife around her breasts and down along her belly. He laid the knife aside as she whimpered. He pulled her panties down. She fought to try to keep them on, and he jerked them off and threw them on the floor.
“Fight all you want. It will only make things more fun,” he said.
She tried to calm down. She didn’t want to make anything fun for him. He ran his hands up and down her body, pinching her here and there to elicit a cry from her. He twisted her nipples until she had tears in her eyes. He bit them until she screamed into the gag. Finally, he unfastened his pants and pulled them down until his engorged member poked out short and thin. He climbed up on the bed and tried to enter her. She fought at him with her legs. He slapped her hard enough she saw stars, and she woke up.
Right into another nightmare.
She looked up into the crazed green eyes of her stalker. She tried to scream, but found she had something in her mouth. The lingering odor of something foul threatened to choke her. She felt bile rise in her throat. She’d choke to death if she threw up. She struggled but found her arms taped to the headboard.
He laughed low in her ear. “You belong to me.” He began easing a knife up her nightgown, cutting as he did. Tina managed to get her feet up between him and her body and pushed back at him. The knife slipped and cut her abdomen. He fell backwards into the wall. She felt blood trickle down her side. She pushed with her feet to try to move up in the bed, so maybe, she could keep him away from her with her feet.
He lunged for her again and managed to get his hands around her throat. She kicked and screeched through the gag. She kicked him back again and again until he hit the wall again. When he got his hands around her throat this time, he was lying across her body. She couldn’t use her legs against him again. The room grew dimmer as he cut off her oxygen supply. She began seeing spots before her eyes and the edges of her vision began to grow black.
The bedroom door flew open hitting the wall behind it. Someone grabbed her attacker from behind and pulled him off her. She gasped for breath. The French doors flew open and someone else entered the room. Riley spoke into a phone, she thought, then he dropped it and pulled the tape off her mouth so she could spit out the gag. He tore at the tape holding her hands to the headboard above her head. When he noticed the blood soaking the bed, he left her hands to pull back the remainder of her gown to expose the wound on her belly. He pulled a knife from his boot and cut off a piece of the sheet, and folding it, applied pressure to the cut.
“Logan, get over here man. She’s bleeding.”
Logan was pummeling the intruder over and over with his fists.
Riley yelled again. “Logan! She’s bleeding. Get the hell over here.”
This time he stopped and dropped the limp figure. He raced over the bed to her.
“Here hold this tight against her while I finish getting the tape off her. The ambulance is on the way.
Logan took Riley’s place and Riley cut the rest of the tape off her hands and slowly lowered them to the bed.
“Easy, baby. It’s going to be okay. We got him. He’s never going to bother you again.”
Tina couldn’t stop crying. Shock must have set in since all she could do was sob. The pain in her belly was beginning to grow now.
“I got you, baby. It’s going to be all right. I’m so sorry he got by me. I don’t know how he did.”
The distant wail of sirens let her know help was on the way. She would be okay. Logan promised she would be.
Riley must have gone to check on the intruder.
“He’s alive, but he isn’t going to feel too good when he wakes up. You did a number on him, Logan. I’ll go let the cops in.” Riley disappeared from sight.
A few minutes later, cops ran up the stairs to find the intruder out cold and Logan holding pressure on her stomach.
“Put your hands up.”
“I can’t she’s bleeding.”
One of the policemen holstered his weapon and came over to assess her wound. He held pressure and Logan put his hands up. Tina kept trying to tell them he wasn’t the intruder. He was helping her.
“I’ve got a gun in the back of my pants,” Logan told them.
They took the gun and turned him to face the wall while they checked him all over.
“Ma’am, can you tell me what happened?” The one holding pressure to her wound asked her.
Tina told them the best she could what happened. She begged them to let Riley and Logan go.
“They were helping me. Please don’t do this to them.” She started crying.
He nodded his head, and they let Logan go and called down to let Riley go. The paramedics arrived and started asking her questions. She answered the best she could, but she wanted to know that Logan was okay.
“He’s fine, ma’am. They are just getting his statement downstairs.”
They applied a pressure bandage and loaded her up to go to the hospital. ‘
“You’re going to need some stitches in this,” one of the paramedics said.
Before they took her to the ambulance, she got to see the man that had attacked her for the first time. It was the man, Jack, she had danced with the other night.
“He told me his name was Jack the other night. I danced with him. I didn’t know it was him. I should have. He had green eyes.”
She spent four hours in the emergency room. It took ten stitches to sew up her wound. It was deep, but it hadn’t perforated anything. She was very glad. She expected them to let her go and she asked to be released. Instead, they gave her pain medicine and she began to fade in and out of consciousness. She remembered seeing Riley and Logan at some point, but she couldn’t say anything. She was too far under.
Finally, the next day they let her go home that afternoon. Jenna picked her up to take her home. Logan helped her out of the car and carried her up to her room. He carefully laid her on the bed and turned to leave without saying anything.
“Wait, Logan. Thank you so much for saving me. I was so afraid.”
“I should have been there to stop him from even putting a finger on you. I still don’t know how he got by me,” Logan said. He spoke in a quiet voice. “I’m sorry.”
“The detective told me that he was a salesman for the security company I used. He knew how to bypass the codes. He slipped in the back door and up the stairs when you went to the bathroom.” Tina took a deep breath and continued. “It wasn’t your fault, Logan. You can’t be everywhere at one time. No matter what, you saved me. Thank you,” she said.
“You’re safe now. That is all that matters. He’s in jail and won’t get out anytime soon. I don’t think he will try to bother you again even when he does get out. Riley promised to give him a new smile if he did.
“He threatened him?”
“So did I. Only I wasn’t so nice about it,” Logan said.
He turned and left. Tina felt a tear escape her eye. She knew he wouldn’t be watching her anymore.
Jenna brought her something to drink and another pain pill.
“You’re supposed to take this and the antibiotic every four hours for the first twenty-four hours.”
She sat with her until Tina fell asleep. When she woke up again, it was dark. Fear rushed over her. It felt too much like before. She managed to sit, and then stand up. It took her awhile to negotiate the stairs without pulling on her stitches. When she entered the kitchen, she found Jenna sitting at the kitchen bar crying.
“What is it, Jenna?”
“I’m sorry. You’ve already b
een through so much, and now I’m sitting here crying. You’re supposed to be upstairs in bed recovering.”
“It’s just a scratch,” Tina said.
“It took ten stitches to close it up. It could have been more serious,” Jenna said.
“But it wasn’t. Now what’s wrong?” she asked again.
“Todd has been calling me non-stop since six o’clock. I told him to leave me alone, but he keeps calling. I’m going to get my number changed tomorrow, but I’m scared he will find me tonight. He will figure out I’m over here, and I don’t want him near you. I need to move my car.”
“You’re not going anywhere alone,” Tina said.
“I can’t leave you alone either. I don’t know what to do.” Tears slid down her face.
“I’ll go with you to hide the car. We can take a taxi back.”
“You can’t be out yet. You aren’t even healing yet.”
“I’ll call Logan to come and hide your car. He’ll do it.” Tina didn’t want to have to call him, but she didn’t know what else to do.
“Don’t do that. I don’t want them involved in my problems,” she cried.
“I’m calling him.” Tina got her cell phone from her purse and eased down into a chair in the living room.
She dialed Logan’s number. It ran several times, and she was about to hang up when he answered.
“Hello?”
It didn’t sound like him.
“Logan?”
“No, this is Riley. Logan’s in the shower. Is this Tina? Are you okay?”
“Oh, good. I mean, never mind. Can you come over and move Jenna’s car somewhere?” she asked.
“What’s going on?” he asked
“She’s got a restraining order against this guy, but he’s been calling her. She’s afraid he will figure out where she is and come looking for her.”
“Has he hurt her?”
“She’s fine,” Tina said.
“Has he hurt her?” he asked a little firmer.
“She has some bruises on her arms is all.”
“I’ll be over in a minute. Don’t open the door to anyone but me.” He hung up.
Ten minutes later, both Logan and Riley showed up at her door. Jenna let them in. Riley took her arm and rolled up her sleeve. The bruises were a multicolor rainbow now. Tina could tell he was angry, but he was very careful with Jenna
“Why didn’t you say anything at the hospital?” he demanded.
“I didn’t think about it then. I was so worried about Tina.”
“Will he come here?” Logan asked.
“I don’t know.” She wrung her hands. “I’ll go back home, then he won’t come here.”
“No!” all three of them said.
“You’ll stay here where we can protect you both.”
“If you’ll just move my car, he won’t know where I am.”
Logan looked over at Tina. He seemed to be searching for something in her eyes. She didn’t know what. She dropped her eyes and looked over at Jenna.
“I’ll go take her car and hide it. Morgan can go in my truck and bring me back here. I’ll need your keys.”
Riley walked over and picked up Jenna’s purse and handed it to her. She pulled out her keys with shaky hands and handed them to Riley. He threw them to Logan.
“I’ll be here with them till you get back,” Riley said.
Logan looked over at Tina. “You need to be in bed. I’ll carry her up, and then leave.”
“I’ll do it for you,” Riley offered.
“No! I’ll do it,” he said in a calmer voice.
Riley shrugged. “Doesn’t she have some pain medicine she can take?”
Jenna nodded and stood up to go get it. Riley followed her into the kitchen.
“I can climb the stairs without your help.”
“Nope. You’re not going to do it. You’ll pull out your stitches. I know. I’ve had them before.”
“I’m not ready to go to bed yet,” she said.
“Too bad. You are. Jenna will stay upstairs with you, so I’ll know you will stay in bed. You’ll both be safe with Riley watching over you.”
“I’m sorry I’m causing so much trouble,” Jenna said when she returned with a glass of water and the pills.
“You’re not causing trouble. That asshole Todd is. What in the hell did you see in him?” Riley growled.
“He was nice at first.”
“I thought he was nice, too,” Tina added.
Logan picked her up and started up the stairs with her.
“I don’t know why he started acting all crazy. I think it is just me. I bring out the worst in men.”
Logan lowered Tina gently onto the bed and pulled the sheets over her.
“Now, stay here. I’ll check in on you when I get back. Riley?” he nodded his head towards the door.
Jenna sat on the edge of the bed next to Tina. Riley came back in the room and sat in the chair next to the door. Tina could tell he was upset about something. Was it that she had dragged them into something else or was he upset about something Logan had said? It bothered her.
“Jenna, how long has he been bothering you?” Riley asked.
“About five or six weeks. I just got the restraining order on him though. They served it today. That’s why he’s so upset right now. He’ll calm down in a day or two and leave me alone.” She fidgeted. “If I had known this would happen when Tina was hurt, I would have waited longer to get it done.”
“You waited too long as it is, woman. You should have had it done the first time he hurt you. You should have told us as soon as it happened,” he said in a gruff voice.
“I didn’t know you then.”
“You’ve known us for four weeks.”
“Fine, next time I will.”
“There won’t be a next time. You’re not dating bastards like him anymore.”
Jenna’s mouth fell open. “You can’t tell me who I can and can’t date.”
“Jenna, leave it alone, honey,” Tina could tell Riley was serious.
“He can’t order me around.”
“I know, but let’s worry about it later, okay?” Tina said.
“I’m sorry. I’ll go downstairs so you can rest.” She got up to leave.
Riley stood up in front of the door. “No, you’re staying up here where I can watch both of you.”
Tina reached for the glass of water, but Jenna beat her to it. Once she took a sip she let Jenna take it back.
“Why don’t you take a nap? I’ll be right here if you need me,” Jenna said.
Tina was afraid to leave them alone in the same room even if all she was going to do was close her eyes for a while. They weren’t getting along very well. She didn’t understand it since they had been all buddy, buddy at the BBQ the other week.
She must have drifted off because when she opened her eyes again, Logan was sitting in the chair Riley had been sitting in earlier.
“What are you doing here? Where’s Jenna?” she asked. “Is she okay?” Tina tried sitting up too fast and groaned.
Logan was by her side in an instant “Don’t try to move. What do you need?”
“I want to know if Jenna is all right.”
“She’s fine. She’s downstairs with Riley,” Logan said.
“Has Todd shown up?”
“We think he pulled into the drive earlier, but saw me standing in the doorway and left. He hasn’t shown back up. I don’t think he will”
“Good. She will be safe here until all of this blows over.”
Logan sat back down on the chair. “How long has he been abusing her?”
“He hasn’t really. I mean. Well, she was abused by her ex-husband for nearly two years before she finally got away. He went to prison for nearly killing her. Then she started dating this other guy who seemed really nice. He found out we went to dinner some nights during the week and accused us of sleeping together. He hit her. She refused to see him anymore and that was that. Then Todd came along. He seeme
d so nice. I really liked him until he started pushing her around.” Tina sighed and then continued.
“She kicked him out, but he kept coming back and worrying her. Lately, it’s gotten out of hand. She finally filed a restraining order against him when he attacked her one night. She had gone out to get milk, and when she was getting in her car, he grabbed her and pulled her out of it. There is something about her that attracts guys like that. She’s going to give up dating I think.
“It’s not her fault,” Logan said with a sigh.
“I know that, but convincing her is next to impossible. She’s the ones with the bruises and broken bones.”
“Ah, hell,” Logan said.
“Look, he’ll back off in a couple of days and everything will be all right. He’s a coward at heart. He leaves whenever I’m around. I don’t want her alone though. She isn’t very strong.”
“And you are?”
“I mean emotionally. He’s a charmer and might talk her into letting him in to talk. I don’t want to take that chance. I want her to stay with me for a few days,” Tina said.
“She will. Riley will see to that.”
“What is it with them now? They were getting along fine, now he stays mad at her for some reason.”
“He’s not mad at her. He’s mad as hell at this Todd guy for hurting her.”
“He has her nervous around him.”
“Well don’t worry about it. He’ll take care of her.”
“Thanks.” She smiled shyly at him. “For everything.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. You should never have gotten hurt in the first place.”
“You still saved me in the end. That’s all that matters.”
“Here.” He picked up the water and the pill bottle. “Drink this and take your pain pills. You need to rest.”
“I can sleep now without the pills. Thanks.” Tina laid back down and closed her eyes.
She tried to relax, but it was difficult with Logan in the same room. Finally, after what seemed like forever of pretending she was sleeping she did drift off.
* * * *
“So she thinks she is some kind of loser magnet, huh?” Riley said. They were sitting outside on the tailgate of Logan’s truck.