by Rachel Clark
“Jay Evans?”
“Yes,” he answered feeling a slight smile flit across his face. He may have to pay the piper, but he wasn’t going to regret giving that asshole what he deserved.
“We’d like you to come down to the station regarding an incident that happened earlier this evening.” He was surprised not to be under arrest already, and his expression must’ve given him away because the officer relaxed just a little. “We had a report of an assault, but several witnesses have come forward with testimonies that counteract the charges, so we’ve been sent to collect you and see if we can sort out this mess.”
“I’m coming, too,” Kat said from behind him. “If that asshole wants to lay charges against Jay, then he can answer for his actions against me.” Moving awkwardly, she pushed her sleeve up to expose bruised and swollen flesh. God, if he’d realized that Kent had done that sort of damage he may not have stopped with one punch. He closed his eyes as adrenaline pulsed through him and he tried to talk himself down from blind rage.
“Okay,” one of the officers said agreeably. “We need to take Mr. Evans in the squad car, but you can meet us at the station to file your statement.”
“But,” she said, looking confused, “I didn’t think he was under arrest.”
“Technically, he’s not, but he needs to come with us.”
“It’s okay, Kat. I’ll be fine. Why don’t you follow in my car? That way we’ll be able to get home.” He kept his voice low in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. She frowned at him but nodded slightly.
“All right,” she said sounding annoyed. “I’ll meet you there.”
He nodded to her and then stepped out the front door. As the officer stood back to let him into the rear seat of the squad car, Jay spoke, hoping that the policemen were as reasonable as they seemed. “Do you mind waiting for her to get in the car. She had a bad scare tonight.”
“Of course,” the officer said amiably.
They waited in the squad car until Kat was behind the wheel and backing out of the parking spot before the officer put the car in gear and headed to the station. Jay sat back, relaxing just a little with the knowledge that Kat wasn’t far behind.
* * * *
Halfway down the driveway Kat realized she’d left her cell phone on the coffee table. She put the car back into drive and parked back in the visitors spot, intending to run into the house, grab the phone, and get to the police station quickly.
What she hadn’t planned on was running into a wall of muscle.
A hot, sweaty hand clamped down over her mouth as a deep, familiar voice told her all the horrifying things he intended to do to her. Her heart pounding hard, her breathing harsh, she twisted in his grip, trying to scream, trying to dislodge his grasp on her. He growled, and tightened his hold around her chest, squeezing harder, stopping her ability to breathe. She scrabbled for a grip with her fingers, trying to pry his arm away, desperate for air, but he laughed in her ear and continued to whisper all the things he planned to do.
Desperately she bit down on the fingers pressed hard against her mouth, but he only grunted, loosening his grip for a moment before squeezing even harder. Panic invaded her. She tried to gasp for air, but couldn’t move, couldn’t get oxygen into her lungs. Her sight blurred, black spots pulsing and fading in her vision. She felt her knees weaken, and would’ve fallen if he hadn’t held her so tight. She closed her eyes as vomit climbed her throat.
“Shhh…shhh…shhh,” he said in a mocking tone of voice. “I’ve got you.”
His voice sounded a long way away. Everything felt fuzzy, strange, like she floated underwater, unaware, uncertain. He may have said something else, but her head pounded so hard, she wasn’t sure. She felt herself lifted, cradled close, held in a comforting embrace, but a part of her realized it was to fool anyone who might be watching, not a sign of caring.
She wriggled, able to gasp a small breath before he held her tight once again.
“I have big plans for you, whore. Don’t go to sleep just yet.”
To unlock her door, he had to put her down. She fought him then, trying to push past his bulk, but her legs felt weak and he held her pinned against the wood. He shoved her through the doorway as soon as he got it open. She landed hard on her hands and knees and dragged air into her burning lungs. She tried to scream, but he landed on her, forcing her face down, crushing her to the ground.
“You’ll learn your place, slut,” he whispered against her ear as he pressed a knee to her spine, pushing her hard against the cold tiles of the entryway. “And this time that smart-ass friend of yours won’t be able to save you.”
Chapter Two
“She should be here by now,” Jay said, his agitation growing with every passing minute. “She was right behind us. She should be here already.” The policeman nodded his head in agreement. Even he seemed a little concerned.
“Let’s just get your statement on paper and then you can head home. I don’t really want to charge anyone until I understand what actually happened.” Jay nodded his agreement, grateful that the officers were willing to listen to all sides, but more than a little distracted by Kat’s absence.
“She was coming to make a statement. She went into shock after Kent attacked her, but I thought she was okay. Oh, hell, I shouldn’t have let her drive.” He could feel himself starting to shake all over. She should have been here by now. Surely something was wrong.
“Mr. Evans…Jay,” the officer said in an authoritative tone. “Let’s just get this done and I’ll drive you home. My shift ended twenty minutes ago. We’ll do the paperwork quickly and then we’ll go look for her.”
Jay took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. Until he knew what the story was, he shouldn’t panic. Kat had been taking care of herself for a long time now, and she was notorious for being late. Knowing her she’d probably stopped to fill his car with gas as a thank-you for driving her home.
He nodded to the officer and turned to read the printed copy of his report. He was tempted just to sign the damn thing, but knew how important it was to get these things right. There was no way he would let that asshole walk away without paying for what he’d done to Kat.
Jay quickly read through it, initialed and signed where the officer indicated, and then stood immediately. It seemed to take forever for the rest of the process to be completed, but finally they hurried out of the police station and were on the road heading for Kat’s home.
Relief swelled through him when he saw his car parked in the visitor’s spot, but he wouldn’t completely relax until he knew what had happened. He’d rung her cell phone several times from the police station, but it had gone straight to voicemail. Kat was notorious for letting her phone battery go flat, so even though it hadn’t done anything to relieve his worry it wasn’t necessarily a sign of something horribly wrong.
He was about to leap out of the car and thank the officer for the lift home, but something about the policeman’s demeanor froze the words on his lips. Jay watched the man closely before realizing that he was studying the front of Kat’s home intently.
“Stay behind me,” was the only instruction he gave before leaving Jay sitting dumbfounded in the car. He shook the feeling off quickly and followed the officer to Kat’s small porch. The door was open just a crack, but even that small sliver showed the devastation. The officer glanced back at Jay. “Call nine-one-one,” he whispered as he pushed the door open.
On the floor in the middle of the room, Kat lay bleeding. Vomit and blood covered her face, the acidic smell reaching his nose as his stomach rebelled. Terror grabbed Jay as he spoke into the phone. His mind screamed at him to back away, to close his eyes so that he could deny what he saw. He had to fight the urge to flee even as he forced himself to move closer.
“My friend has been attacked,” he whispered breathlessly into the phone as the emergency operator answered. He heard her question but the words meant nothing to him. The roaring in his ears drowned out everything else. All he c
ould see was the bruised and beaten body of the woman he loved.
“Is she alive?” the officer called from the doorway. He’d obviously checked the other rooms making sure her attacker was gone.
Jay touched her neck, moving his hand several times before he found a slow, faint pulse. “Yes,” he said frantically as he tried to gauge her injuries.
“Don’t move her,” the officer said as he dropped to his knees on the other side of her prone form. He held his hand out for Jay’s phone. “We don’t know the extent of her injuries. Moving her could make it worse.”
Jay nodded as he handed the phone to the officer and then tried to find a non-injured part of Kat so that he could offer her comfort. She lay on her side, her legs curled close to her body. Her clothes were torn, her pants halfway down her legs. He wanted to cover her but he had no idea if it was the right thing to do. He grabbed the blanket that used to be on the back of the sofa and held it in his hands, uncertainty freezing him to the spot. Somehow, in the back of his head a calm little voice catalogued the injuries he could see. She didn’t seem to be bleeding from any major injury, just dozens of scratches and splits…and bruises. Fuck.
The officer glanced up at the blanket and nodded to Jay, indicating that he should cover her. He spoke calmly, efficiently into the phone as Jay moved around to sit beside Kat’s head and gently touched the red-blue swelling across her cheek. She moaned at the soft contact, and he snatched his hand back quickly. “It’s okay, Kat,” he said trying to hide the wobble in his voice. “The ambulance is on its way, and I’m here now. I won’t leave you alone again. I’m so…sorry.” She moaned again, shivering under the blanket as she tried to move, but he managed to stop her with a touch on her shoulder. “Don’t move, Kat. The ambulance will be here soon.”
He continued talking to her, trying to calm himself and offer her the comfort of a familiar voice. God, he prayed she’d be all right, that her injuries weren’t as bad as they looked, but a part of him realized that under the bruises things could be a lot worse than they seemed.
The arrival of the ambulance was a blur of activity. Two paramedics worked efficiently, assessed her injuries quickly, and then gently lifted her onto the stretcher. She groaned and woke as they rolled her out of the house.
“Jay,” she cried plaintively.
“I’m here, honey.” He walked beside the gurney as the paramedics headed toward the ambulance.
“Jay, I’m sorry,” she mumbled. His heart squeezed in his chest. “I should’ve known he was dangerous.” Jay glanced up to find the officer listening intently.
“Kat,” Jay asked anxiously, “did Kent do this to you?”
“Yes,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry, Jay. I should’ve known.”
“No, honey, this isn’t your fault.”
“Kat,” the officer said in an official-sounding tone of voice. “Can you tell me the full name of the person who did this to you?”
“Kent Michaels,” she managed to mumble around her swollen lips.
“Thank you, Kat,” he said and stood back to let the paramedics load the gurney. He grabbed Jay’s arm just as he went to step up into the ambulance. “We’ll pick him up. I’ll meet you at the hospital in a few hours. Hopefully we can collect enough forensic evidence to convict this bastard.”
“Thank you,” Jay said holding his arm out to shake the other man’s hand. He wasn’t even sure he knew the guy’s name, but he felt certain that the officer would do everything he could to track down the bastard who’d done this to his best friend.
* * * *
The wait at the hospital was the worst experience Jay had ever lived through—even worse than the night his parents had died. At least then he’d had Kat by his side, sharing his fear and grief. This time he was completely alone and he fervently hoped he’d never have to live through something like this again. He’d been able to sit with Kat through most of the hospital’s tests and examinations—he’d learned the extent of her injuries, including the fact that Kent had brutally beaten her, causing severe damage—but now Jay sat in the family’s waiting area while she had surgery to maybe remove her spleen. It hadn’t been enough that the bastard had broken her arm in three places, damaged her nose, eye, and cheek bone, and cracked a couple of ribs. No, the animal pretending to be human had also given her life-threatening internal injuries. The only small amount of good news was that it seemed Kent hadn’t raped her, even though it appeared that he’d tried. Judging by the severity of her injuries, Kat had probably fought him with everything she had.
Tears filled Jay’s eyes as Kat’s medical diagnosis began to sink in. He hadn’t protected her. If anything, his actions had made things much worse. Shit, maybe if he hadn’t resorted to violence, this might not have happened at all. Heat exploded through his chest as the agony of regret swept through him. If only he’d handled this differently, maybe he could’ve kept her safe.
He wasn’t aware of the tears rolling down his face until a kind voice spoke softly to him. Jay kept his eyes closed, not wanting to identify the voice. Not wanting to interact with anyone.
“Is there someone I can call for you?” the person asked again.
“No,” he said gruffly, trying to wipe away the evidence of his emotional breakdown. Fuck, Kat had depended on him and he’d let her down. God, how would she ever forgive him?
“It’s okay,” a male voice said. “I’ll sit with him.”
It felt so strange. The only person he wanted to talk to right now was in surgery, but a small spark of hope had flashed through him at the officer’s strong voice. Fuck, he didn’t even remember the man’s name, and he owed him so much, but he was desperate to learn if they’d found Kent. He managed to look at the man through the tears that blurred his vision.
“We found him. He was still covered in her blood. Once we collected that evidence, he confessed everything, but Kat will probably still need to testify.”
Panic and anger swelled through Jay, the pain like a vise around his ribs, cutting off his air. “Fucking, stupid, fucking system,” he whispered angrily. “After an experience like that how the fuck is a woman supposed to face her attacker in court and explain in minute, embarrassing, fucking detail every-fucking-thing that son of a bitch did to her?” His volume rose with every word, his anger warring with grief as he gasped for breath. He sniffed constantly, trying to hold back the sobs that shook his entire body.
He leaned over, grabbing his gut, feeling like his world was crumbling around him.
“What did the doctors say?”
Fuck, he didn’t want to talk. Didn’t want to explain. Didn’t want to relive every horrifying fucked-up detail.
“I’m sorry,” Jay said as he sobbed harder, gulping air into his lungs when he couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen. His vision swam as his head pounded. He couldn’t breathe. It felt like an elephant was sitting on him, the room, the walls, the furniture all crowding in and making it impossible to breathe.
Gasping, he pushed from the chair, pacing the floor as he tried to drag in enough air.
“Jay,” the officer said softly. He said it again as he reached out to stop him. But that’s when it all came crashing down. Jay fell to his knees, fear, terror, exhaustion, regret all rolling through him in hot waves of emotion. Strong arms wrapped around him, holding him safe in a comforting embrace, keeping him anchored, keeping him sane, holding him together as his world fell apart.
* * * *
Ryan held Jay in his arms, rocking him slightly as the man very literally cried himself into exhaustion. He had no idea how long he held him, but when he glanced up he found a couple of nurses loitering by the door. He knew they probably had a medical reason for being there—the man in his arms was completely distraught and would probably have benefited from a sedative—but Ryan leaned over and closed the door in their faces anyway.
Eventually Jay quieted, and for a moment Ryan wondered if he’d gone to sleep, but slowly the younger man moved and lifted himself out of Ryan’s arm
s.
“I’m sorry,” Jay said wiping his eyes with the heels of his hands. He opened his mouth to say something else, but no words came out.
“It’s okay,” Ryan said as he lifted himself back onto the sofa where he’d first found Jay. “Did they estimate how long she’ll be in surgery?”
“They weren’t sure. There’s a lot of internal bleeding, so they want to be certain that it’s only her spleen that was damaged. They won’t know for sure until they start operating.” Jay looked uncomfortable and Ryan guessed that he’d never really cried in front of another man before. His skin looked grey, his eyes red-rimmed and swollen. Ryan wanted to suggest he sit back down, but he remembered all too well how he’d felt when his sister had died many years ago. He wasn’t going to tell the man what to do. Jay had lost enough this day. Losing his independence would likely cripple him completely. He could tell that he was usually the man in charge. Ryan could see that just by the way Jay felt about the woman in surgery. Even though he’d made it clear in his statement at the police station earlier that he and Kat were not a couple, it was obvious that Jay felt responsible for her welfare. It was also obvious that he was a man who took his responsibilities seriously.
The door opened and Jay turned his head away from the newcomer, but swung back quickly when the doctor called his name. The surgeon glanced at Ryan, dipped his head, and mumbled, “Officer McDougal,” by way of greeting. Ryan shook the proffered hand and then stepped back to let him speak.
“Miss Johnson’s surgery went well. We removed her spleen and found no other internal bleeding. We needed to insert several screws and a plate into her left arm to hold the bones in place, but the orthopedic surgeon believes that with time and physiotherapy it should heal without lasting damage. The cosmetic surgeon is also confident that the injuries to her face will heal without significant scarring. Fortunately, the damage wasn’t as bad as it looked. We found nothing to indicate that she’d been raped, but we did a kit just to be certain that we’ve got everything covered.”