Sean told me that he could drop me at my apartment, but that was the last place I wanted to be. I loved Vira, but the thought of explaining what happened to one more person tonight was daunting. Logan pushed for me to go back to the hotel with him and I finally relented, just wanting to take a shower and go to sleep.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Logan
I could tell that Cece was doing her best to hold it together. She basically stared into space the whole drive back to the hotel. I was pissed when she didn’t want me there with her when she gave her statement. She wouldn’t let me in. It was like she expected me to walk away at any moment. She had all her defenses up before, but now it was even worse. She wouldn’t even look at me.
When I got her text, I thought it would be nice to surprise her with dinner. I was trying to find a way to get to know her better. She let me know very bluntly that she had no intention of making this into something more, but I knew if I worked at it enough I could wiggle my way in. We had a connection that I was sure would turn into something more.
I was stepping off the elevator when I heard her screams. I dropped the food and ran, but I had no idea where to go. The whole floor was a maze of hallways and cubicles. I almost missed her because it was so dark where she was, but then I heard her scream again and anger fueled me at what I saw as I got closer. I attacked the guy on top of her and I thought I had him down, but then I got distracted looking for Cece and he got in a good punch to my eye. His punch was like a hammer and momentarily stunned me. It was enough time for him to run off. I could have chased him, but I was more concerned about Cece. My priority was making sure she was okay.
We parked at the hotel and I got out and helped her out of the truck. I’m sure her body was sore after fighting that guy. I held her hand in mine and I knew she was exhausted, otherwise she would have tried to pull away from me. We made it to the room and she walked in, staring at a spot on the floor. It was like the lights had shut off in her mind for the night.
“Do you want a shower or bed?”
When she didn’t respond, I moved closer and put my hand on her shoulder.
“Sweetheart.”
She finally looked up at me and I could see that she hadn’t heard me speaking.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“Do you want a shower or bed?”
She looked over at the bed and then down at herself. After a moment she headed towards the bathroom without another word. She shut the door and after a few minutes, I heard the shower turn on. I took the opportunity to call Sean and find out what had happened.
“Hey, Logan. How’s Cece?”
“She’s …I don’t really know. She was quiet the whole way home. She’s in the shower now.”
Sean blew out a breath. “Well, there wasn’t much to get from the scene, but we did contact security to get the video feed of the hallway. I have a feeling it’s not going to show much. It was too dark in the building to get an accurate picture.”
“I need you to tell me about her statement.”
“Logan, if she doesn’t want you to know…”
“I just need to know if she was raped. She’s staying with me and I need to know so that I don’t do something to scare her.”
“She wasn’t raped. He grabbed her, but he didn’t get any further. Everything else, she’s going to have to tell you.”
“Alright. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Call me if you need anything. Maybe stick close to her until this guy is found.”
“Already on it.”
I hung up with him and sat down in the armchair, thanking God that it hadn’t been worse. After twenty minutes, she still wasn’t out of the shower and I was starting to get worried about her, but just as I was about to walk in, the shower shut off. Remembering that she had gone in there without a change of clothes, I grabbed a t-shirt and boxers from my bag and knocked on the door.
“Cece, I have a shirt and shorts you can wear to bed.”
The door opened slightly and her arm poked out to grab the clothes. She shut the door and a few minutes later came out. She was pulling at the t-shirt, like she could make it longer. She looked so vulnerable standing there, so I walked over to her and wrapped my hand around hers. Her gaze jerked to mine and I could see her mind spinning, trying to decide if she should accept my comfort or not.
“How about we go in the bathroom and I’ll dry your hair?”
“Okay.” I barely heard it, but at least she had spoken.
“Are you hungry? I could order some room service.”
“No. I just want to go to bed.”
I walked behind her into the bathroom and brought the hair dryer over to where she sat of the toilet. Her hair had a few knots, but I did my best to finger comb her hair as I dried it. It took a while to dry her hair because it was so long, but she didn’t seem to mind. Her eyes were closed and I half wondered if she was sleeping. When I finished, she opened her eyes and stared at me for a minute.
“Will you stay with me in bed?”
“Of course. Why don’t you go climb in bed and I’ll be there in a minute.”
She walked out of the bathroom and I got cleaned up for the night. I made sure to dress in boxers and a t-shirt. She didn’t need a naked man in bed with her tonight. I turned off the lights and was about to climb into bed when I heard her breathing accelerate.
“Logan, can you…I need….turn on…”
I could hear the panic in her voice, but I didn’t know what was wrong.
“Turn on the lights!” She yelled it at me and I immediately turned on the lamp on the nightstand. Then I went over to the corner of the room where the floor lamp was and turned that on low. When I looked back at her, her chest was rising rapidly and there were tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
She shook her head. “It’s not you. I just need to adjust.”
I heard her sniff and then the tears started streaming down her face as she attempted not to cry. I could see her throat working as she tried to gain control of her emotions, but she was failing miserably. I climbed onto the bed and pulled her into my chest where I let her cry. After about ten minutes, she seemed to be all cried out. I had no idea what to say to her or what to do, so I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. It seemed to me that she needed a distraction so she could go to sleep. I kept the volume low as we watched While You Were Sleeping.
After five minutes, she had relaxed in my arms and ten minutes after that she was asleep. I pulled her down into the bed with me further and continued to watch the movie. I couldn’t shut my mind off and I kept replaying what had happened and what would have happened had I not shown up when I did. The chances of catching this guy weren’t that good based on the video footage, so I hoped that she could identify him by company photos.
I watched TV for a few more hours before I finally fell asleep. When I woke the next morning, the TV was still on and I saw that it was only six in the morning. I pried her from my arms and got up to shut the curtains. I wanted her to sleep as long as possible today. She didn’t need to go anywhere first thing this morning, so it would be best if she rested. I went to the bathroom and ordered some breakfast. I wanted something for her to eat as soon as she got up, so I got croissants and orange juice. We could order a bigger breakfast later, but I was sure she would be hungry right away. I flipped through the channels as I waited for room service and when I heard the knock on the door, I went quickly to the door and tipped the waiter, hoping that it hadn’t woken her.
I wasn’t particularly hungry yet, so I climbed back in bed and went back to sleep while holding her. I didn’t want her waking up and panicking because she was in my arms, but she had fallen asleep that way, so I wrapped my arms around her again.
The next time I woke up, the bed was empty next to me and I immediately thought she had left me. That hurt more than it should. She probably needed space, but I couldn’t stand the thought of her not wanting to stay with me. I
needed her near me right now to know that she was okay, but the thought of her not needing me or wanting me tore me up inside.
As I was beating myself up with these thoughts, the bathroom door opened and Cece stepped out. Relief flooded through me at the sight of her. She stopped when she saw I was awake and started fidgeting with her hands. Then she walked over to the room service tray and piled on some croissants. She poured two glasses of orange juice and brought it over. She sat down on the bed and snuggled under the covers again and then tore pieces off her croissant.
“Thank you for last night.”
“Anytime, sweetheart. Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
We sat in companionable silence while we finished our breakfast, then Cece set her plate on the nightstand and laid down again. She stared at the ceiling and I sat there watching her without a clue as to what to do or say. I didn’t know what she needed and she wasn’t being very forthcoming with that information. After a few minutes, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep. I turned on the TV, keeping the volume down, and channel surfed for a while. A buzzing phone pulled my attention from the TV and I rushed to find it before it woke Cece. The noise was coming from her purse and while I didn’t want to snoop, I didn’t think checking the caller ID would hurt. When I saw it was Vira, I thought it best to answer.
“Cece, where the fuck are you? Sean told me what happened and you’d better start talking.”
“This is Logan and Cece is fine. She’s sleeping.”
“Logan? She’s with you?”
Surprise was evident in her voice and that made me wonder why that was surprising. Surely, Vira knew that we were seeing each other, so why was it such a shock?
“She didn’t want to go home last night and explain everything. It was a pretty rough night for her and she just wanted to go to sleep. We’re at the Hillside Hotel.”
“I can’t believe she didn’t come to me. I could have been there for her.”
“She didn’t want to talk about it. She still doesn’t. However, maybe you could do her a favor and bring over some stuff for her. She didn’t have anything with her last night and I’m sure she would appreciate a change of clothes and toiletries.”
“Of course, I’ll bring that over, and when I get there, you’re going to open the door and let me talk to her.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Just give her a few more hours. She’s pretty wiped out.”
“Yeah, I’ll come by around eleven.”
“See ya then.”
I walked back over to the bed, my stomach growling. I hadn’t eaten dinner last night and now I was starving. Waiting for Cece could take a long time, so I went ahead and ordered half the menu for us to share. If she didn’t get up to eat, I would order her more later. I hopped in the shower and quickly soaped off the grime from yesterday. Drying off, I looked at my face in the mirror and saw a pretty shiner staring back at me. My eye was swollen and I should have put ice on it last night, but it was the last thing on my mind.
Breakfast arrived a few minutes later and I quickly made myself a plate and devoured my meal.
“Is there any left for me?”
“Of course. I ordered the whole fucking thing cuz I was so hungry. Come grab a plate.”
She walked over to the cart and made herself a plate, piling it high with eggs, bacon, and french toast. Then she walked over to the small table I was sitting at and sat down.
“I’m starving. I didn’t have a very big lunch yesterday. My boss wanted me to finish a project before the weekend, so I just grabbed a quick sandwich.” She stared at her food a minute before rubbing her forehead. “Shit. I didn’t finish the project.”
“I’m sure, given the circumstances, that he’ll give you a break.”
“I know, but I’m still trying to prove myself at the company and I want to make a good impression.”
“I don’t know if they’ll even allow you up there yet. It could still be considered a crime scene, but if you really want to get up there, I’ll go with you.”
“That’s really not necessary. I can go into work without a bodyguard.”
“That guy is still out there and if he works in your building, no one will think twice about letting him up there. You really shouldn’t go anywhere alone until he’s caught. In fact, we could call Sean and see if he has the employee photos yet. Then you could go to the station and identify the asshole. No faster way to get your life back.”
She poured herself a cup of coffee and added cream and sugar. “Go ahead and call him. The sooner we get this over with, the better.”
After talking to Sean, we agreed to head to the station this afternoon. The HR department was getting together photos and security had contacted the building manager to get photos of all building staff. Cece was taking a shower when Vira arrived.
“Where is that bitch? Let me see her.”
I opened the door for her and she came storming into the room.
“Good morning to you too. Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”
She spun around and glared at me. “Were you attacked by some pervert last night?”
“Actually, I was,” I said as I pointed to my face, “but I get what you’re saying. She’s in the shower right now.”
Vira tossed the bag for Cece on the bed and flung open the bathroom door.
“Bitch, why the fuck didn’t you call me yesterday? Do I need to start going everywhere with you now so you don’t get yourself killed?”
“Hey, hoochie, I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I had him right where I wanted him when Logan came running in and got himself punched.”
I rolled my eyes. These two were nuts. I ignored their banter and looked through my emails on my computer while I waited. Twenty minutes later, Cece came out of the bathroom looking totally refreshed.
“So what did you bring me to wear?”
“Don’t worry. I only packed the best for you.”
Vira reached into the bag and pulled out skinny jeans and a black top. I turned around so Cece could get dressed and turned back when she was finished. The top was low cut and showed a respectable amount of cleavage. This was something Cece would wear without any qualms before, but I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. Her attacker said that she dressed to get men’s attention and now that comment was causing her to rethink what she wore. Cece didn’t dress slutty. She was an attractive woman and she dressed to impress, but I never thought that her clothes were leading men on. No rational man would think that.
“We have to get to the station, so Vira, could you excuse us so that we can finish getting ready and head out?”
I posed it as a question but the look I gave her left no room for her to say no. I knew that was exactly what she wanted to do, but I gave her a slight shake of my head. She took the hint and gave Cece a hug.
“I have to work later today, but call me if you need me.”
“Thanks for the clothes, Vira.”
Cece rummaged through the bag, looking for something and I watched her for a minute before walking over.
“Cece, look at me.”
She continued to look in her bag, so I placed my hand on top of hers, stopping her search.
“Look at me.”
She looked up and I saw defiance, but I also saw that she was trying to hide the tears that were threatening to spill over.
“You look great. You weren’t attacked because of the way you dress. If that asshole took it as an invitation, then he’s fucked up. There is nothing wrong with the way you dress and you can’t let him change who you are.”
A tear leaked down her face, but she quickly wiped it away and swallowed thickly. “I know it’s not my fault, but it makes me wonder about how I’ve dressed all these years and how every day could have ended differently. Come on. Just think of how we met. I wasn’t exactly dressed like a good girl.”
“No, you weren’t. You looked fucking hot and we both know what that did to me, but Cece, a
real man doesn’t take what he wants just because you’re dressed sexy.”
After a few minutes, she nodded and she pulled herself together, slipping on her black heels and grabbing her purse. We headed down to the station and Cece walked in there with her head held high. I could tell she was trying her hardest to appear confident. No woman wanted to be seen as a victim and this woman was definitely too strong to let her guard down in front of others.
Sean met us and took us back to a conference room to go over photos. Cece spent a good hour going over all the photos, but none of them matched her attacker. Next she went through photos of building employees, but she had no luck with those either.
“Okay, well our next move is to look at employees from other companies in the building. That may take some time to get. Give us a few days and we’ll have you come back in when we get the rest of the photos. In the meantime, maybe you should stay with someone since you and Vira work opposite schedules.”
She nodded, but didn’t say anything.
“We need you to sit with a sketch artist also. Since we can’t easily find this guy, we need something to go off of. Then I can take the sketch to your apartment building and ask around.”
Cece’s head jerked up. “What do you mean? Why would you need to go to my apartment building?”
Sean scratched his beard and didn’t look at her right away. He looked a little uncomfortable with what he needed to say. “We have to consider the possibility that this guy has been following you. He didn’t work for your company, but he followed you into your place of work. We don’t even know if this guy works in the building. His comments about watching you and how you dress for men leads me to believe that he may have been watching you for a while, waiting to get you alone. He could be someone that passed you on the street and became obsessed with you, but either way, we need to expand our search for him. Unfortunately, if we don’t have any luck at your apartment building, there won’t be much we can do other than pass his sketch around.”
“What about the evidence you collected from her? Anything there?” I asked.
Logan Page 11