Burning Submission

by J. Richards

  After drying off, she pulls open the top drawer in her dresser, the one containing all her underthings. Vicki’s hand slaps over her mouth. The drawer is completely empty save for a small slip of paper. In thick bold, block letters it reads:

  “I want no barriers keeping me from you when I am around.”

  Someone was in her house while she was at work. She backs up, eyes glued to the drawer. The edge of the bed bumps into her knees, and she sits before she falls. Her stomach twists, and her dinner tries to make a second appearance. She runs into the bathroom and bends over the commode as the fear and stress shove her last meal back up her system.

  She staggers to the sink and splashes cold water over her clammy face. Twice she nearly knocks over the bottle of mouthwash, her hands are shaking so hard. She swishes some in her mouth and spits, then picks up her toothbrush and brushes away the aftermath.

  Kane is sniffing around the closet, and she doesn’t even want to look inside. She pulls on a long, cotton nightgown she always keeps hanging on the bathroom door and runs back out of the house, stopping only to grab her keys and phone from the side table, Kane at her heels. She shoves him into the Jeep and locks the doors. She dials the officer whose number she’d programmed in her phone after the accident and prayed she would never have to use.

  “He was here! He took all of my underwear!” she shouts into the cell phone as soon as he answers.

  “What’s your address? I’ll be right there,” he says in a voice meant to keep her calm. “Are you still inside the house?”

  “No, no. I am in the car. It’s 1206 Secret Lake Drive.”

  “OK. Good job. Stay right there,” he instructs her. “Stay on the line. I have you on speaker, but I need to call this in. I’ll be speaking with dispatch but yell to me if anything happens.”

  “OK. Please hurry.” She hugs Kane’s neck and listens as the officer repeats everything to dispatch.

  Ten minutes later the officer parks next to the Jeep and signals for her to stay put. He slips into the house and returns a few moments later.

  He speaks to her through the car’s open window. “No one is inside. Again, there are no prints on the note. I’ll take it in, but that’s all I can do for now.”

  “What am I supposed to do?” she asks.

  “I’ll walk you in if you’d like. Lock the door once you’re inside and call me if anything else happens. We’ll step up our patrols in the area, but I’m very sorry I can’t do more.” His face proves he is sincere, but that doesn’t help the fear gripping her throat.

  He walks her and Kane to the door and waits to hear the dead bolt slip into place. She watches from the decorative glass as he leaves her alone in her house. It’s now way past the time she had planned to go to bed. She calls to Kane and they both slowly make their way to bed. She climbs under the covers, but Kane investigates the closet now that the officer has left the door open.

  “Come on, buddy. I need to have you close.” She pats the bed near her thighs. She can hear chewing from within the closet and sits back up. “What do you have?” she scolds him.

  He slinks out of the closet and jumps into bed. He appears defiantly guilty, but no signs of her shoes or clothes hang from his mouth so she snuggles against him to force her body into sleeping.

  The first rays from the sun kiss Vicki’s cheek and fall across her closed eyelids, turning her dream world a bright red. With a groan, she rolls over to bury her face into her pillows. Morning is her least favorite time of the day. One eye peels open, and she looks at the digital clock on her bedside table. Seven a.m., time to wake up anyway. She stretches out her left leg, toes peeking from under the covers. She searches for Kane’s body heat. Normally the beast sleeps against her thighs, his body as close to hers as he can get. When one of them rolls over, the other does as well. But now her foot meets nothing but rumpled sheets.

  Lifting up on an elbow, she looks down the bed. No Kane. Unease flows through her limbs. The beast hates morning as much as she does. More than once she has had to push his big butt off the bed to go out for a walk before she had to leave for work.

  “Kane?” she calls as she climbs out of the bed, pushing the mess of her hair from her face before leaving the bedroom. All the way down the hall and the stairs there is no sign of Kane. She listens, but the house is silent.

  She finds him lying in front of the door. Fear freezes her heart as she watches his chest. Kane is sucking in air through small, quick, shallow breaths. His tongue hangs from his mouth.

  She rushes to his side. His eyes are closed. Gently she places her hand on his chest. He gives a small whimper and tries to move his body. The effort appears great, but he doesn’t move more than an inch of two.

  “Jesus, buddy. What’s wrong?” she whispers to him. His only answer is another low whine. “OK, that’s all I need to hear.”

  Leaving him on the floor, she grabs her keys and cell phone from the small table near the door. She pulls a light jacket from the hook above her head and shoves her arms through the sleeves. After biting the key ring to keep from dropping it and pushing her phone into the cup of her bra, Vicki puts one arm under Kane’s belly, just under his hips. Her other arm slips between his front legs to cradle his big chest. With all her might, she heaves the dog up into her arms. Saying a brief prayer of thanks for all her time at the gym, Vicki carries Kane to the Jeep. She leans into the body of the vehicle to hit the unlock button on the fob.

  She risks a balancing act to pull the back door open. As gently as she can, she places Kane on the bench seat. His eyes open slowly and blink back closed. Vicki leans down and kisses his forehead.

  “Hold on, baby,” she begs him before jumping into the driver’s seat and starting the car. She slams her foot against the accelerator. The nearest vet is fifteen minutes away. Concern for Kane makes her hyper-focused. She speeds around the curves and hills to get him to help.

  Vicki pulls out her phone and scans the contacts for the vet’s number. Her eyes bounce from the road to the screen. Finding the number, she swipes her thumb over the call button.

  “Lakeside, how can I help you?” a pleasant voice sounds from the other end of the line.

  “Annie? It’s Vicki!” she screams into the phone, panic making her crazy. “Kane’s done something, I don’t know what. He isn’t moving! I’m about ten minutes out.”

  “OK, OK. Vicki, calm down, honey. Are you driving now?”

  “Yeah. I woke up and he wasn’t in the bed. He was just lying on the floor!” Her voice cracks, and tears burn her eyes. The road blurs and she hiccups over a sob. Pressing the phone into her shoulder, she runs the back of her hand over her eyes.

  “It’ll be OK. He probably just ate something bad. You know that boy will eat anything.”

  Vicki knows Annie is just trying to ease her mind. One look at the backseat and the kind words flow in one ear and out the other.

  “I didn’t see him get into anything…” Vicki replays last night through her mind, and then she has it. “He ate something in the closet before we went to sleep last night.” She shakes her head and rounds another steep curve in the road. “After that he cuddled up beside me and I guess we both passed out.”

  “All right, Doc’s just coming in the door. We’ll get set up, and you focus on driving here safe!”

  “Thank you,” she whispers into the phone, her voice no longer wanting to work.

  As soon as Vicki speeds into the parking lot, Doc and Annie rush outside to meet her. She shuts off the engine at the same time as Doc opens the back door. He uses a small flashlight-like thing from his coat pocket. His thumb lifts each of Kane’s eyelids in turn and flicks the light back and forth. He makes a small grunt before leaning in the Jeep to place his stethoscope to the dog’s chest. Vicki’s heart speeds up way too fast as she watches.

  “I’ll need blood to confirm anything.” He looks up at her as he picks up Kane, lifting him with much more ease than Vicki managed. Following Doc into the clinic, she wrings her
hands together.

  “Whatever you need. Please.” She bites into her cheek to keep the tears at bay. Annie pulls her into a tight hug. Doc and Kane disappear into the examination room to the left of the front desk.

  “We’ll do all we can, honey.” The older woman’s hand smoothes up and down Vicki’s back. “I have to go in there and help Doc. Another tech should be in, in another twenty to thirty minutes. When she gets here I’ll come out and check on you.” She pulls Vicki back to arm’s length and squeezes her shoulders firmly. “He is a strong dog and in the best of hands.” Annie nods before leaving to assist Doc.

  Alone now, Vicki melts down to the floor, her back against the solid desk. She pulls her knees up and drops her forehead against them. Tears streak down her face, wetting her legs as they fall. It’s then that she realizes she ran out of the house in her pajamas. Her tiny shorts offer barely any coverage. Thankfully she’d grabbed a jacket to wear over her thin tank top and bra. Using the collar of the jacket to dry her face, Vicki begins chanting silent prayers.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Eight a.m. couldn’t have come any slower, but finally it’s here and he is free. Another volunteer shift finished. Gavin gathers the few things he brought in from the truck and looks for Smith. After finding him in the small weight room, Gavin watches him finish his last set before letting him know he is heading out.

  “Hey man, I’m off. I fixed breakfast this morning since you made dinner.” He smiles at the other man, whose stomach takes the cue and growls. “I’ll see ya next weekend.”

  “Oh, didn’t Chief catch you?” Smith racks his weights and brushes his hands off on his shorts. “Jay is gonna be out for a while, and Chief was going to ask you if you could take all his shifts for the next few days.”

  Gavin blows out a breath. He really likes helping the community but hates waiting around for something to actually happen that would require helping someone out.

  “I know, man, I know. It’d only be tonight and tomorrow. Jay only works three days a week.”

  “Yeah, sure. No problem. Uri’s opening the gym again, and I bet he and Stacy can close it for me.” Gavin runs his hand over his bald head. A habit from when he used to have hair. Now he just shaves it to avoid that one dreaded bald spot in the back. “Guess I’ll see you tonight instead then.”

  Gavin gets in his truck and leans back against the seat. Now that he isn’t waiting for action, exhaustion takes over. His eyelids get heavy and his limbs feel like lead. He begins to back out and sees Victoria’s Jeep across the street at the vet.

  The itch to see her outweighs his better judgment of going home and crashing. He pulls back into the space and hops out of the truck, walking across the street. There’s not even a car in sight. Their sleepy town is taking its time to get going this morning.

  The two left side doors of the Jeep are wide open. He must have just missed her. She wouldn’t leave her doors open while her pet was being seen for a regular visit. Something must have happened to the big dog. He shuts the doors before stepping into the clinic.

  There on the floor, right in front of the desk, is a puddle of woman. She’s huddled into a ball, her knees are pressed against her chest, and heart-rending sobs are coming from her. Carefully, he gets to his knees in front of her and places his hand against her thigh.

  “Victoria?” he says, and she looks up at him, her eyes bloodshot and pupils huge. This can’t be good. “Can I hold you, sweetness?” he asks in a soft tone.

  She doesn’t speak. Instead she leans forward, falling into his arms. He wraps his arms around her tightly. Victoria presses her face into the hollow of his shoulder and her crying gets worse. He scoops an arm under her thighs and lifts her. He moves them to the cushioned benches across the hall where the waiting room is. Having her on his lap feels so right. Now he just has to find out what exactly is going on.

  Rubbing her back, Gavin waits for the sobbing to slow. For her breathing to return to normal. He looks down and uses a finger to brush some hair from her forehead. Her cheeks are bright red, sinuses swollen from crying so hard. Careful not to jostle her, he reaches to the small side table for the box of tissues. He leans the box against his thighs where she will be able to reach it.

  “Th-thank you.” She weeps softly. Grabbing a fistful of tissues, she sits up in his lap and blows hard. He continues to rub her back in slow circles. “I’m s-sorry for getting your shirt wet,” she stammers while grabbing more tissues to dab at his soaked shirt.

  “Tears are the least of my worries.” He dabs his knuckles down her cheeks. “Wanna talk about it?”

  Victoria takes a deep breath to steady herself, as if to gather her courage to speak words she doesn’t want to utter.

  “Kane, my dog, he isn’t feeling well. Annie was supposed to come out and let me know how things are going but she hasn’t yet.” She turns to look at the door. Probably trying to mentally summon the Doc’s assistant. “The other tech clocked in so long ago, I thought they would trade places, but…” Her teeth sink into her lip and he can tell she is trying to fight another flood of tears.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll wait with you if you’d like.” He gives her a reassuring smile and pulls her back against his chest, able to offer her comfort at least.

  “Really? I’d like that.” She lets her body relax into his wide shoulders and takes another handful of tissues to dry her face better. She peeks up at him from around the soft materials. “Oh, but you look so tired.”

  “I am, but I’ve been tired before. I am here as long as you want me to be.”

  “I think he ate something that someone left in my house to harm him. He was sniffing around and he’ll eat just about anything.”

  Gavin’s brow furrows, but before she can finish explaining the sound of a door opening has Victoria jumping off his lap. She is at the door the moment Annie steps from the exam room. The older woman grabs for her hands and talks to her softly, their voices to quiet for him to hear. He leans forward and rubs his hands over his face, scrubbing out the fog settling over him.

  Gavin watches as Annie hugs Victoria and walks back behind the door. Victoria turns to look at him. She takes one step and seems to cave in on herself. He hops up from the seat and catches her as her knees give out. He picks her up, easily taking all her weight. She clutches his shirt and pulls even closer.

  “Shhh, Victoria. I’ve got you.”

  “He’s been poisoned!” Her voice comes out in a strangled gasp. “He swallowed some rat poison! I never use it because I am always terrified he would get into it. Yesterday someone broke into the house and left another note. Whoever it was must have left some in the closet for Kane to find.” Her crying becomes hysterical.

  “Jesus,” he breathes. Who would do such an awful thing to a dog? Who is this mystery enemy? Gavin’s mind spins in circles, trying to solve a puzzle he doesn’t have all the pieces to.

  “Why would anyone do this to my baby?” She hiccups, her tiny fists curling in the fabric of his shirt. She lifts her head, and her expression breaks his heart.

  “I don’t know.” He strokes just below her swollen eyes with his knuckle. “I don’t know, but I will find out.”

  He says the words like a vow. Gavin has no idea where this undeniable urge to take care of this woman has come from, but seeing her like this only makes it worse. Whatever it was about her that caused her to steal his heart is only magnified by the way she’s holding on to him in a moment of great need.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Vicki sat in Gavin’s lap until she had no more tears left to cry. He only held her, softly rocking her when the dreadful sobs turned up a few notches. He never forced her to talk or begged her to stop. His silent strength filled her with comfort.

  Annie had come back a while later to tell her that Kane would be staying here for a few days so that Doc could monitor him. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, but Doc felt he had a really good chance. If he fought hard for the next twelve hours, he would probably be back to his old
self in a matter of weeks.

  “Let me follow you home,” Gavin says. “To make sure you get there all right.” He lifts her up off his lap, both hands on her shoulder to steady her before he rises.

  “You don’t have to, honestly. You’ve done enough already. Go home and get some rest.” She tries to smile, but it feels weak. “Thank you, Gavin. Really.”

  “I’d drive you myself if I thought you wouldn’t mind leaving your car here, but I know you’ll need it. So I am going to follow you home, Victoria. Whenever you are ready.” Letting go of her shoulders, one hand drops to her lower back, the other stretching out in an invitation toward the doors.

  Vicki simply nods and exits the clinic. She slumps in her driver seat and watches from the rearview as Gavin runs across the street. After pulling his big, sexy body into the truck, he turns the pickup around and waits for her to lead the way.

  Her body slips into autopilot, driving the Jeep home without her having to think much. Her house comes into view, and she parks as close to the porch as possible. The thought of going in without Kane hurts. Her head slams back into the headrest and she screams. Her body has no tears left for her to cry. Her nose and throat hurt, and all she can do is scream.

  The door is wrenched open, and suddenly Gavin has her unbuckled and in his arms. He takes the keys from the ignition and carries her up the steps.

  “Let me go.” She shoves at his chest. “I am fine. I-I just…” She doesn’t know what to say. Her small fingers curl into fists in the fabric of his shirt, her head dropping to the hollow of his neck. Gavin unlocks the door and drops her keys on the side table. Gently, he sets her down on the sectional. He reaches up and grabs the throw from the top of the couch and lays it over her legs. He leans over her and places a kiss to her forehead.

  “I’m going to stay here with you tonight,” he says.