by Laura Storme
her cheeks, but she lashed out and slapped his
hands away from her, "I can't continue this way,
James. I didn't fall in love with you just to have you
break my heart. You need to get your head on
straight and decide just what you want out of this
relationship and what you want from Francine. You
can't have your cake and eat it too. It's just not
going to happen. Why don't you go home and think
about it. I'll get a cab," Alex said grabbing her purse
and scrambling down from the truck. James climbed down too and chased after Alex who
had headed for the restaurant. He caught sight of
her as she gained the ladies room and closed the
door behind her. James ran through the lobby of
the restaurant and to the door she had just gone
into. He was rapping at the door loudly, when the
maître d' came to him.
"Excuse me," asked the host, standing at his
station.
"What," James replied angrily.
"Sir, you're going to need to stop banging on the
door. "
"Why?"
"You're interrupting the patrons, sir. Please, step
away from the door and leave the premises. " James saw how unreasonable he was being and
stepped back, "Can I borrow a pen and paper,
please," he asked.
The maître d' handed over the requested materials
and watched as James jotted down a note.
"When the beautiful red-head comes out from the
bathroom, would you please give her this," he
asked. The young man complied, feeling sorry for
the other and took the message.
Alex emerged from the bathroom ten minutes
later. She had washed her tear and mascara
stained face, composed herself and stepped
through the portal hoping like hell that James had
removed himself. When she saw no sign of him or
anyone else, she sighed quietly and removed her
cell phone. "Hello," came the weary voice on the other end.
"Hi, Gray, it's Alex. Did I wake you?"
"No, I was just watching the baseball game. What's
up? Are you alright," he asked sitting more upright
on the couch and setting down his beer. He heard
the tension in Alex's voice and became more
concerned.
"No. . . yeah. I don't know. I need a
ride. Can you come get me?"
"Sure. Where are you?"
"I'm at the W."
"I'll be right there," he said, hanging up the
phone. Grayson quickly grabbed his jeans from
work and threw them on over his boxers. He
pulled out the "Metallica" t-shirt, slid his feet into his tennis shoes and charged out the
door. Grayson raced to the top of the hill,
panicking all the way. Alex sounded shaken and
scared. He didn't like it. Part of him wondered if
James had told her about Francine over dinner and
then skipped out on her to deal with it alone.
"I'll wring the sorry bastard's neck," he muttered as
he pulled up in front of the restaurant.
Alex saw Grayson's car underneath the street lights
as it made its way up the road. She moved out of
the relative safety of the restaurant and into the
dimness of the street lights. Grayson had just
brought his car to the curb, when Alex began to
approach it. She was half way to the vehicle, when
a vise like hand snaked out of the darkness and spun her around, bringing her hard against a male
body. "Hello again, beautiful," came a rough growl.
Chapter 21
Alex shuddered at the familiar voice and drew a
deep breath to scream. Dan's hard, calloused hand
clamped over her mouth, "Now, now, now, we
don't want any of that," he sneered in the
darkness. She felt him pulling her deeper into the
night away from the dull lights that surrounded the
entrance way to the restaurant.
"Hey, pal. What's up," asked Grayson approaching
them.
Alex sighed quietly in relief. She had momentarily
forgotten about him being there.
"Go away, pal, this don't concern you," bit off Dan,
continuing to half drag, half carry Alex towards the back of the restaurant. Alex continued to struggle
against Dan.
"Actually it does. That's my date," Grayson said
inching closer to the pair and reaching for Alex's
hand.
Alex put out her hand for Grayson to clasp when
Dan pulled her further away, effectively placing
himself between them. "Not no more. Go home,
Grayson. "
Grayson finally clicked on the voice, "Dan. I knew I
should've kicked your ass outside of the Standing
O. "
"Yeah, well you won't be doing much of that
tonight," he smiled. Neither Grayson nor Alex had seen second the man
hidden in the shadows until it was too late. Alex
heard the sickening thud as the bat connected with
the back of Grayson's head sending him reeling into
the side of the restaurant.
"Grayson," Alex screamed and attempted to rush to
his side.
Dan caught her halfway and jerked her up by her
arms, "Stay away from him. You're not supposed to
get hurt, pretty lady. "
Dan spun Alex around and held her tight against
him, "Just watch and see how my friend takes care
of your little boyfriends."
Alex had squeezed her eyes shut and was sobbing
as she heard the sound of a foot hitting the soft middle of Grayson's side. She heard bones crunch
as he was repeatedly kicked and stomped on.
"Please, stop," Alex begged, crying.
"You get your ass back to D.C. before somebody
else gets hurt, darling," sneered Dan's partner.
Alex nodded dumbly and was thrown to the ground
where she skidded on her knees to a stop near
Grayson's unconscious form, as the tough pair
retreated back into the shadows and down the
sidewalk. A short time later, she caught the sight
of their car roaring down street and she passed
out.
"Is she alright," asked Jeff.
"Yes; better than your other employee," responded
the doctor. "When can I see her?" "Right now. She's awake finally," replied the
doctor, pointing to the curtained area where Alex
was.
Jeff thanked him and hurried as quickly as his bulk
would allow down the aisle to the cubicle. The
hospital had called him an hour ago, frantic at not
being able to locate relatives for Alex and Grayson.
They had been carrying their insurance cards with
Hasani's name emblazed on them and Alex had
Jeff’s business card with his home number on the
back in her purse. The pair had been found
unconscious near the railing of the W’s overlook on
the side of the restaurant, in what looked like a
robbery gone bad. Grayson had a concussion, four
broken ribs, a broken wrist, three broken fingers, a
busted nose and an assortment of cuts, scratches
and bruises. The doctor's assured him that Grayson would be fine as would Alex. Jeff stood in
front of the curtain indicated by
the doctor and
coughed politely, "Alex, it's Jeff. Can I come in?"
"Yeah, Jeff. It's okay," Alex responded as she
pulled the hospital gown as low as it would go and
covered her thighs with the sheet.
Jeff shoved the curtain aside and walked into the
area. Her blue eyes were red rimmed from
crying. She had bandages covering her legs from
her knees to her ankles and her right palm was also
bandaged.
"How did you know," she asked quietly.
"The hospital called me. Fortunately, you had my
business card in your purse," he smiled. Alex shook her head and began to cry again, "Is
Grayson okay? They won't tell me. "
Jeff walked over to the gurney and rubbed her back,
absorbing as much of the shock as Alex could foist
on him. "It's over now. Everything is alright," he
whispered against her hair, "Grayson's a little worse
for wear, but, he's okay. "
"How bad?"
Jeff explained the extent of Gray's injuries to Alex as
she calmed down, "The police need a statement
from you. Are you up for that?"
Alex nodded her head and requested her clothes
from the nurse who came in to check her bandages,
"I'm not sure you want your blouse," replied the
nurse setting the items on her lap. Alex thanked her and assessed the damages. Her
skirt was soaked at the hem from the cuts on her
legs as she skidded on the concrete sidewalk. The
blouse, however, was ruined. She had lain near
Grayson's face where a great deal of damage had
occurred. Her blouse had soaked the blood and
changed it from snow white to a garish burgundy.
"I'll get you a scrub top, if you want," offered the
nurse. Alex nodded absently and tossed the
blouse into a nearby trash can.
"I'll step out and check on Grayson while you
change. "
"Tell him I'll be in shortly. " Alex carefully pushed her legs into her skirt and
donned the scrub that the nurse brought to
her. She had just finished getting dressed when
the police were escorted by Jeff into the
area. "Alex, this is Officer Barclay from the
Ashmore Valley Police Department," announced
Jeff.
"Hi again, Alex," said officer Barclay, "If you'd like to
sit back down on the gurney while we do this, that's
alright. "
Alex smiled at the familiar face, "Hi Rob. I'm glad it's
somebody I know. And thanks, but I'd prefer to
stand. "
"You two know each other," asked Jeff. Alex filled him in on the incident at her house
earlier in the day. She explained that Rob and Sam
had come over to take her statement then. After
Jeff seemed satisfied with that response, he allowed
Rob to begin questioning her.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"Sure," she replied trying to keep her
composure. She didn't want to appear to be a
hysterical female, thereby possibly discounting her
statement, "I had called Grayson after my date had
left me stranded at the restaurant. We had had an
argument. I waited inside until I recognized
Grayson's car coming up the street towards the
building. As he pulled up to the curb, I stepped
out of the lobby onto the sidewalk. I was reaching
for the door handle when Dan grabbed me and started half dragging me, half carrying me towards
the back of the building," she stopped and took a
deep breath to calm her nerves once more and then
continued, "Grayson got out and confronted Dan
Reynolds. That's when Dan's friend hit Gray with
the bat. "
"Then what happened," the officer prompted.
"They ordered me back to D.C. and threw me to the
ground. I skidded on my shins and knees a little
before landing on Grayson finally and passing out. "
"Do you remember what the other man looked like?
Jeff has given us a good description of Mr.
Reynolds.” "No, I'm sorry," Alex sighed cautiously, "He stayed
pretty much in the shadows and away from me.”
"Alright, thanks Alex. I have your number from
before in case I need to reach you. "
Officer Barclay told her that she will need her to
identify Dan, if he was picked up. She nodded her
head and Jeff led him out of the cubicle.
"She's a strong woman. First the incident at her
house, now this," commented the officer as they
made their way to the nurses’ station.
"Not as strong as you'd think. She's more brave
than strong. "
Jeff thanked Rob and watched him leave as Jeff,
himself, made his way back to the curtained area. "Can I see Grayson now," she asked as the nurse
handed her some paperwork to sign. "It's not a
pretty sight, Alex. Maybe you should wait until
morning."
"I don't want to wait, Jeff. I would like to see
him. Now."
Jeff shook his head at the demanding tone and the
stubborn stance she took. Even in her battered
state she was a formidable adversary and after the
trauma she'd gone through, Jeff couldn't say no.
"Alright. "
Grayson looked at the three nurses
mutinously. They had been a constant swarm of
activity since he was moved into the room twenty
minutes ago. None of them had any information on Alex and would only ask him if he was comfortable
or needed something for pain. He restrained
himself from biting off the head of the youngest
nurse who insisted on helping him relieve himself in
a bed pan. After drinking a few beers during the
game and the well placed kicks of his assailant, he
was lucky he hadn't wet himself then and there.
"We need the sample anyway, Mr. Laird," insisted
the pretty blonde as she held the pan for him, "to
rule out the possibility of kidney damage. "
"My kidneys are fine," he growled, "I'm fine. Can
one of you three find out if Alexandra Chambers is
all right. "
The oldest of the trio noticed his impatience with
the youngest and directed her to leave him be and determine the answer to his question. Thanking
her, Grayson finished with the bed pan and handed
it to her.
"Are you sure you don't need anything for pain,"
asked the eldest nurse for what seemed the
hundredth time.
"I'll only take pain pills if it will keep you from asking
me stupid questions," he bit off, "All I want right
now is to find out if Alex is alright. "
"She's a lot better than you are," came a voice from
the doorway.
Grayson turned his attention to the door and found
her standing there smiling at him. Even without
his glasses, he could see the disheveled look about
her and sense the fear that still existed. Alex winced as she got a full view of Grayson's
face. Dan's partner had been extremely brutal in
the beating. She mentally counted the stitches in
his forehead, chin and lower lip from a kick or
punch. The bruise that surrounded his nose also
&
nbsp; surrounded his eyes as well and made her own
head ache from the force that created them. She
watched as he tried to sit up more erect in the bed,
cradling his broken right ribs with his broken arm.
"Don't do that," she urged crossing the room to his
bedside.
"Are you alright," he asked, taking in her
appearance better since she was closer.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a few scrapes and bruises. " "But your blouse," he insisted. The scrub was a
poor substitute for the white blouse she had been
wearing at the restaurant. He wondered what had
happened after he became unconscious. Alex had
been left alone to those two animals and he
remembered Dan's unyielding voice that foretold of
things to come.
"I'm okay," she replied, reading his thoughts, "It
soaked up some of the blood from your injuries and
was ruined. "
"Thank God," Grayson whispered leaning his head
back on the pillows.
Alex reached up and brushed some stray locks from
his face, "This looks terrible," she muttered trying to
run her fingers through his matted hair. "Yeah, I know. It's weird not having a hat on or
having it in a ponytail," he replied with his eyes
closed. They were tired and Alex's gentle strokes
urged him to seek the sleep his body demanded.
"I'll come by tomorrow with some stuff for
you. Do you want anything in particular?"
"A smile. "
Alex smiled for him and looked up as Jeff coughed
in the doorway, "We should get going, Alex.”
"You're taking her home," asked Grayson half
awake.
"Yeah. The cops are looking for Dan and his
partner. The maître d' from the restaurant gave a
good description of the second guy and the car. " "Hmm-mm,” Grayson said as he finally dozed off.
Alex gently kissed the back of his hand and tucked it
under the blankets.
"He'll be alright tonight, Alex."
Alex nodded her head and wiped away the tears
from her eyes. Jeff led her from the room and to
his car in the parking lot.
"Can you take me back to the restaurant," she
asked, "I want to pick up Gray's car so it doesn't get
towed. "
"Alright, then I'll follow you home to make sure
you're alright."
Half an hour later, she arrived home and waved as
Jeff pulled away from the curb. Locking the door behind her, she tossed her purse and Gray's car
keys on the coffee table then headed for the
kitchen. She needed a drink. Not just one, but
several. Opening up the cabinet, Alex poured a