Lowe strolls over to me as the other men tuck themselves back in their pants. I just lie here, limp and used. I need him to think he’s defeated me, maybe he’ll let his guard down. He looks at one of them. “Untie her legs now. I’m going to fuck her and then I’m going to hang her from one of these meat hooks and leave her for her fellow agents to find.”
Once my legs are untied, they fall from the table and I leave them hanging. The other men are walking away, I guess to give him his time, like they got theirs. Lowe stoops down, getting right in my face. “Look at you now, Ms. Gilliland, nothing but a broken cum dumpster. Not so tough now, are you?” He stops as if he’s waiting for me to speak. “No smartass comments, huh?” He starts laughing but before he can move, I jab the knife in the side of his throat where the artery should be. If I’m lucky, it’s there. He tries to yell, but he can’t. He’s grabbing his throat as I try to get on my feet, but I fall. I land on top of him and keep choking him with the last of the adrenaline I have.
Suddenly, there is glass shattering above me, then a lot of yelling. I hear the words “Freeze federal agents!” followed by gunfire. I drop my naked body on top of him just as everything goes black.
CHAPTER 25
JACOB
The team is stacked outside of the doors and we have local leos at the perimeter, when I hear commotion inside. The door is kicked in and we go in, along with a team coming in from a few skylights on the roof. As soon as we enter, Frank Weeks draws a gun and Raines shoots him in the chest. I don’t pay attention to anyone else. My tunnel vision sends me across the room. Roxanne’s naked body is draped on top of Wes Lowe. My body is boiling with anger; I want to kill him. That is until I reach her.
She has blood on her legs and all over her hands that are around his throat. Grabbing her to pick her up, I want nothing more than to hold her close to me. My heart is pounding, like it’s going to shatter into a million pieces. The professional in me, though, says I can’t mess up any evidence we may need here. I won’t do that to her, I won’t fuck up the evidence that could end all of this. Everything that’s on her could put anyone who survives here away for the rest of their life. I glance down and see a small knife sticking out of Lowe’s neck. He’s gasping and choking on his own blood. At the rate it’s pouring out, she got an artery. I have to chuckle watching him struggle. “She got you, motherfucker.” I make no move to help him.
The gunfire has ceased. I look around the room and see seven other bodies on the floor.
Shit, Lucas. “Raines! Lucas is in the corner over there.”
I pick Roxanne up and lay her on the table, because I don’t have much of an option. “Get me a blanket or something!” I yell to anyone listening.
One of the other local guys helping runs over with a wool blanket. I carefully wrap her in it. “Get the paramedics in here!”
I keep trying to shake her face. “Roxanne. Talk to me.”
She jolts to and I see the fear in her eyes. She starts coughing and turns her head, throwing up. I brush her hair back from her face. “You’re going to be okay, sweetie. You got him. That motherfucker will never hurt you again.”
She gives me a nod, but her eyes are vacant. The blood and the fluids all over her body tell me a story that I’m not sure I want all of the words to.
The paramedics are soon there, pushing me away. “Sir, we need to check her out.” I reluctantly step aside, but not too far. I can’t leave her side. I realize now what everyone saw but me. I’m in love with this woman. Sure, this case brought us back together, but there’s no one like her. I need her.
I look to Raines, who has walked over to me. “What’s the story with Lucas?”
“He’s alive, but I think he has some internal bleeding. They beat the hell out of him with something. It wasn’t just fists.” He motions to Roxanne. “What about her?”
I shake my head. “I have a feeling they did some fucked up shit to her. She’s got blood on her, her face is bruised, fuck, she’s even got cum all over her. It’s the shit nightmares come from. But from what I can tell, she stabbed him in the neck and he choked to death on blood or bled out. I don’t know, I didn’t go out of my way to save him.” I won’t tell him that after looking at Rox, had Lowe not been so close to death, I would’ve probably shoved the knife further in to finish the job.
“I didn’t figure you did.” He puts an arm around me. “Come on, man, they’re loading her up. Go with her, I’ll get everything in writing from you at the hospital.”
I take off my vest and toss it to him before running to catch the ambulance just before they shut the doors. “I’m riding with her.” They ask me for her personal information on the way and I give them as much as I can.
My adrenaline is still pumping so hard, I’m shaking. The paramedic looks at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Just still amped up from busting in there.” She nods, understanding.
We’re brought to one of the hospitals on the edge of Gainesville. County General Hospital.
Rushing through the ER behind the paramedics, I’m stopped at the doors by a nurse. “Sir.” She places her hand on my chest. “Officer, you’re going to have to stay back here. We need to examine her. Can you tell us anything about when you found her?” The hospital knew we were coming in from a crime scene with a hostage situation so they’re prepared.
I shake my head, trying to think. “She, um—she was found naked.” My words clog in my throat. I have to bite back the emotions. “You should probably check for sexual assault. She um—sh-she passed out when I found her. She never spoke to me, but I could see the evidence on her body.”
The nurse gives me a soft look. “Okay, sir. Do you know if she has any family we should call?”
I shake my head. “No. I’m her only family. Foster.”
“And you are?”
“Jacob Foster, I’m her fiancé. We were both agents on this case.” I know that’s stretching the truth, but fuck this. I have to know and she has no one but me.
Once again, the nurse gives me a soft look. “I understand. If you’ll follow me quickly, I’ll put you in a private waiting area where we’ll send the rest of the agents as they come in, because I know they will. I will keep you updated.”
Lucas pops in my head. “Can you also keep us posted on the other agent that was brought in? He’d been beaten extremely bad. I’m not sure if he has family, we’ll have to check with his handler to find that out, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do.”
She nods as she opens the door to the small waiting area, motioning me inside before she leaves.
I slump into the chair and stare at my hands. They’re covered in blood. I’m not sure if it’s Roxanne’s or Lowe’s. Seeing a small bathroom, I step in there to wash my hands. Looking at my face in the mirror, I’m pale and beaten. I’m thinking about her face when I turned her over. A psycho let her body be used for some lowlifes’ playground. I see the blood, all of the semen, her vacant face, that’s when nausea takes over and I turn, vomiting in the toilet behind me. I want to cry, I want to scream, I want to break shit, but that won’t help her now.
Soon, several of the agents, along with Raines, join me in the small waiting room. After Raines takes a seat, I tell him that they need personal information for Lucas, so he makes the call to the ATF to apprise them of the situation.
I hear a scuffle in the hallway. “I’m sorry, this is a private waiting room.”
“Look, lady, my brother is in there and I’m going to check on him. Now move it or they’ll have to pull me off of you.” That’s my little sister.
I jump to my feet and open the door. “Sloan.”
She looks to me and then back to the nurse as if to say, “I told you so.” “Will you tell Nurse Ratchet here that I can come in?”
I stare up to the ceiling to pray for some patience. “Yes, she can come in.” I glance at the nurse. “I’m sorry. She’s upset.”
The nurse gives me a curt not and walks away.
“I had Gibbs bring me and my husband didn’t let me do anything. I fucking told him what I was doing,” she says with her hands on her hips.
“How did you find out I was here?”
“Mack called Chelsea, Huck called Lox. I guess Mack was part of the backup. Anyway, he let her know that you’d came in the ambulance with someone. I could only guess it was Roxanne. So, I told Lox I was coming here. He said no. We argued and his ass is on the couch. He called Gibbs to come get me since he didn’t want me driving and because Gibbs used to come here all the time to pick up Jade.”
My sister is nervous. She’s rambling, she’s always done that since she was a kid. “Sloan, stop. Chill out for a second. Now, where is Gibbs?”
She looks behind her. “Oh, he’s in the main waiting room. I bullied my way back here. Jade should’ve come, that way she could use her ID. She’s one of the pharmacists here.” I can tell that idea just hit her and she would’ve totally used Jade had she thought about it earlier.
I nod. “Okay.”
“So have you heard anything?”
“No, but with everything going on, it’s been crazy. They got eight people back to back. I’m sure some of them were DOA, but Roxanne was alive.” I put my arm around her shoulder. “Thank you for worrying about me though.”
Finally, she does what I know she’s going to do. She starts balling and turns into my chest. “I was so scared. Even though I knew from what Huck said you were fine, I’ve been a ball of nerves all night. I made Lox tell me what you said to him on the phone. I was so worried we were going to get a call that said you were hurt or dead. You can’t do this anymore.”
“I don’t intend to. This was it. The only reason I did this is because it was so close to you,” I say, kissing the top of her head.
She looks up at me. “So it’s over?”
“As far as I know.” I take her under my arm and go back in the waiting room. “Come on, let’s sit.”
A few minutes later, the nurse I spoke with earlier comes in. “Mr. Foster.” I stand and walk to the door with Sloan in tow behind me.
Once we’re out in the hall, the nurse speaks softly. “This is Dr. Smith, she’ll explain everything.”
The doctor steps forward. “We’re in the process of moving Ms. Gilliland to a room. She’s going to be sedated for a little while.” She takes a deep breath. “She was—” She stops. “Are you sure you want to hear all of this?”
I sigh and nod. “Yes. I’ll hear it all in court anyway, so I might as well hear it now so I’m prepared. Sloan, you may want to step back inside. This may be too much.” I know the evidence I saw when I picked her up. This isn’t going to be pretty and I’m not sure Sloan can take it. Hell, I’m not sure I can take it.
She shakes her head. “No, I’m fine. I’m here for you.”
The doctor continues. “There were anal tears, that was some of the blood found on her, and there is some trauma to her vaginal area, although it appears there was no semen found there, just in her anus. You saw the fluids all over her body as well as her mouth. She had a couple of severe bite marks on her breasts. One of her cheek bones was fractured. The rest is mostly bruising on her face, chest, arms and legs. She had someone else’s blood on her, I’m assuming it was from the altercation. She’ll be fine physically, but mentally I think she’s going to need some time and I would suggest counseling. I’ve given her some IV antibiotics to ward off infection and STDs. Like I said, we’ll keep her sedated until in the morning. She needs rest.”
I nod. “Thank you. Have you heard anything on the other agent brought in?”
“No, I’m sorry, I’ve been with Ms. Gilliland the entire time. But I’ll ask one of the nurses on that case to update you guys.” She starts to walk away but stops. “I’ll have the nurse update you on the room number as we move her.”
“Thank you. If I’m upstairs with Roxanne, please have them update Agent Raines. He’s in charge of this op. He’s also been in contact with the agency to get Lucas’s personal information sent to you and they’ll get a hold of any family he has.”
She smiles and gives me a nod before walking away.
I call Raines into the hall and update him. I can’t tell him everything that happened to her in front of those other guys. I also let him know that they’re supposed to send someone to update them on Lucas. A couple of minutes later, the nurse gives me Roxanne’s room number and I find the elevator. Much to my argument, Sloan tells Gibbs to go home and that she’s staying with me.
When we walk into her room, I hear Sloan choke on a sob. Roxanne’s face has started to swell and the bruising has started to darken.
I turn to Sloan. “Hey, she’s going to be fine.”
“I, um…I’m okay. It’s just it reminds me of Kara. When that asshole attacked her.” She opens the closet to find a blanket and pillow. “Here, lay down on that sofa. You need some rest. I’m going to be over here in the corner. If someone needs you, I’ll wake you.”
Following her orders, I lie back on the small sofa and close my eyes, trying to relax as the day’s events race in my mind.
CHAPTER 26
ROXANNE
Beep. Beep. Beep.
That smell. The smell of antiseptic turns my stomach. I start to blink my eyes and see the fluorescent lights above me.
“Roxanne,” a female voice says.
I roll my head to one side to see Sloan. She gives me a sad smile. “Jacob is in the shower, I had the boys bring him some clothes. Let me tell the nurse you’re awake.”
I just nod my head. My body is sore and I have a headache. I close my eyes to try and find some relief. As soon as I do, though, memories of why I feel this way flood back into my mind. I feel dirty and nauseous. As much as my head hurts, I open my eyes back up.
Soon, the bathroom door opens and a freshly showered Jacob comes out. “Hey, you’re awake.”
I nod. My throat is so dry; I feel like I’ve swallowed sandpaper. He points to a container. “Do you want some ice chips?”
Once again, I nod for communication. He brings the container over and places an ice chip on my lips, rubbing them. “Here, let’s place one on your tongue.”
I barely open my mouth, letting him place the chip in there. The coolness brings some relief to the inside of my mouth. “Another,” I croak out.
He places another on my tongue, just as Sloan and a doctor enter the room. Jacob grabs a small cup, placing some of the ice chips in it, and hands it to me.
“I’m Dr. Smith, I was here when you were brought in last night. I’m happy to see you awake and wanting the ice. You probably have a bit of a headache, would you like for me to discuss what happened and what we found or would you like for me to come back later?”
Sloan steps out in the hallway to give me some privacy I’m guessing. “Go ahead,” I whisper.
I remember most of what they would find.
She starts talking and the words anal tearing, vaginal trauma, bruising…they all start to sound like something so far away. “I know this is,” she sighs, “so much to take in. Throughout the night, we gave you several antibiotics to fight STDs and infections. I need to offer you the morning after pill, although I don’t think you’ll need it.”
“No, they didn’t um…” I take a deep breath. “Not in my vagina anyway.”
She nods. “Okay, we will need to do some follow up in a few days and I’d like for you to stay at least one more night so we can have one of the counselors come by and talk with you.”
I just nod, because really I can’t see myself getting out of this bed at the moment. “Okay, well I’m going to leave you for a little while. I’m going to have one of the CNAs bring you something for your headache and some broth. You need something in your stomach. Take it slow. A counselor named Ms. Downs will be by soon to see you.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
After she leaves the room, Jacob comes to my side. He’s nervous. “Roxanne. I-I’m so sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
“You got there in time, though.” Because had he been much longer, I would’ve been dead.
“No. No, I didn’t. What they did to you was horrific.” He has tears in his eyes.
“Jacob. Leave it for now, okay? I’m alive at least. Please tell me that he’s dead. I do remember stabbing him.”
He gives me a solemn look. “Yes, he’s dead and you did it. Um, Raines is outside, he…ugh, he needs to know what happened from the time Frank Weeks came in contact with you.”
“Are we going to have to go to court?” I ask, praying that we won’t. I’ve testified before, but I’ll never be able to relive this in front of a jury and a room full of people.
“No. Wes Lowe is dead, Frank Weeks is dead for real this time, three of the other suspects are dead and the final one is awake and asking for a deal. So no, we won’t be going to court,” he informs me.
“What about the other agent?” I ask, remembering him dropped in the corner like dirty laundry.
“He’s hanging in there. He had some internal bleeding and broken ribs. He also had some broken facial bones. They’d beaten him with a pipe, he was in pretty rough shape. He said you told him we were coming, to hang in there.” His hand touches my face. “You did good, Rox. You’re a hell of a lot stronger than I could ever be.”
Jacob (Exposed Marco's MMA Boys #5) Page 13