Authors: Alicia Dean
In the time they’d been together, she’d taken dozens of other lovers, so it was unlikely
he
was her reason for existing.
“Veronica, please. Knock it off. It’s over.”
“It can’t be.” Her voice was raw with pain. She shook his arm. “Dimitri, listen to me. I’ll do anything. Just tell me what you want.”
“All I want is for you to leave.”
She flinched as if he’d punched her. “You can’t mean that.”
He jerked from her hold. “Trust me. I most definitely mean that.”
“You’ll be sorry.” The anguish in her voice was gone, replaced by cold rage. “I vow to you, Dimitri. You’ll be sorry.”
“I’m already sorry.”
Hope lit in her eyes. “Sorry about what?”
Flashes of memories assaulted him…a lifetime of feeding his urges, taking what he wanted with no thought for others, driven by lust and greed. Then the night it all culminated in tragedy…waking to flames and a woman’s agonized screams…
Pain shafted through his chest, so severe it paralyzed him. All the strength left his body. Dropping his head, he whispered, “Everything I’ve ever done.”
A large stone from Audra’s flowerbed lay among the broken glass. Chilly air blew in through the shattered window.
Maria screamed, and Audra put an arm around her shoulder. “Come on,” she hissed in her ear, just as Scott hurtled through the window. A teenage boy came in behind him, looking confused and miserable. The boy was slightly taller than Scott, good-looking with longish, dark blond hair, and barbell earrings in both ears.
“Joel?” Maria said, but Audra was pulling her out of the room and toward the kitchen. At least she had knives in there. Why hadn’t she grabbed the poker? Her cell phone was lying on the table, out of reach. Besides, why call 9-1-1? She’d already called Shane. He’d be here soon.
Before they made their destination, Audra heard Scott approach and felt Maria being yanked away from her. Maria cried out in pain. Scott had ahold of her hair and had nearly jerked her off her feet.
“Where do you think you’re going, bitch?”
“I’m sorry,” Maria sobbed.
“Hey, please let her go,” the kid said from behind them. “She’s had enough.” He rushed to Maria’s side. “You okay, Aunt Maria?”
She nodded, tears leaking from her eyes.
“Let her go and get out of my house!” Audra shouted.
Scott shot a look at her. “Who the fuck you think you are? You’re already on my bad side. Don’t go making it any worse.” He released Maria and shoved her away. She stumbled and fell to the floor. The boy started toward her, but Scott stopped him with a fist to his chest. “You’re a pussy, boy, you know it?”
The kid dropped his head and didn’t respond.
Audra started toward Maria, but Scott got there first. He grabbed his wife’s arm and hauled her to her feet. Pointing a finger in Audra’s face, he said, “I’ll deal with you later, cunt.” Then, to Maria, “Come on. We’re going home.”
Maria looked miserably from Audra to Scott, then nodded. “Okay.”
“No!” Audra shouted. “Are you out of your mind? You can’t go with him.”
“Please, miss. Just go along,” Maria’s nephew said quietly. “It’s better this way.”
Audra frowned and turned to study him. That voice. There was something familiar about it...
Please, miss, don’t fight ‘em...it’ll be better that way...
That night...a voice whispering in her ear...sounding almost regretful...while he and his buddies beat the shit out of her. Or maybe he hadn’t actually thrown any punches? But it was him. Or was it? She looked at the navy blue Adidas hoodie he wore. One of them had worn a hoodie that night. She’d seen some kind of emblem but hadn’t been able to make out details. She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to think about it.
“You can’t go,” she repeated to Maria, ignoring the boy.
“I have to.” She seemed deflated, fatalistic.
This is my life. It’s all I’ll ever have.
Audra hardened her voice. “If you go with him, all bets are off. Every deal we made is null and void.”
“Please. You can’t!”
“Don’t go with him.”
“What deal?” Scott cut in. “What the fuck you hens cackling about?” He released Maria and started toward Audra. “I’ve had enough of your butting in. Your smart mouth. Time you learned to keep it shut.”
Audra circled around—her limp hindering her progress—but managed to stay out of his reach as she backed toward the center of the living room…toward the fireplace poker resting against the couch, waiting for her.
“Come on, man,” Joel said. “Let’s just get the fuck out of here.”
“Keep your mouth shut, too, boy. You’re about to learn how a real man handles a woman.”
The back of Audra’s legs hit the coffee table, and she knew she was close enough.
Scott grinned. His prey had nowhere else to go. He lunged toward her. She felt behind her until her fingers gripped the poker. Swinging upward, she caught him on the side of the head. He shouted a hoarse, pain-filled curse and went to his knees. Maria screamed and rushed to his side.
“Are you okay?” she cried, dropping down next to him.
Blood poured from the side of his head. Audra’s heart pounded in fear. Had she killed him?
No. He wasn’t dead. He was still upright, cursing and holding his head, blood pouring from his fingers, tears pouring from his eyes.
“I’ll kill that fucking bitch.” His voice was a mix of rage and weeping. “Swear to God. I’ll kill her.”
He lurched to his feet and whirled toward Audra. She gasped and skirted around the coffee table. Eyes bulging in fury and one side of his face red with blood, he looked like a deranged accident victim. He slowly came toward her, menacing and purposeful. Her heart crawled into her throat.
Shane will be here soon. Shane will be here soon. Please, God. Let Shane be here soon.
“Scott!” Maria shouted. “Don’t.”
“Stay the fuck out of this.”
“The cops are on their way,” she said quickly.
He halted, glaring at Audra, then turned to Maria. “You called the cops?”
Maria pointed at Audra. “She did. Please. Just go. I promise, I’ll come home. Just get out of here while you can.”
Uncertainty crossed his face, then fury. “You have no idea what you’re in for, calling the cops,” he said softly to Audra. Oddly, the quietly spoken words were more chilling than his blustery threats had been. “Come on, Joel. Maria. Let’s get the fuck out of here.”
“I’ll be home shortly,” Maria said. “Let me smooth this over with the police.”
“No way. You’re leaving with me.”
“Scott, please. They’ll be here any second.”
Audra wasn’t sure if Maria was protecting herself and Audra, or Scott by insisting that he leave. She actually hoped he was still here when Shane arrived. Let the son of a bitch try to screw with Shane.
Scott shot one last intimidating look at Audra, then left, using the door this time, leaving it ajar.
Audra started to shut it but didn’t. The bad guys were gone. Shane would be here soon. Nothing to be afraid of now. Besides, the house still wouldn’t exactly be secure. There was that gaping hole where the window used to be.
She turned to Maria. “Why did you warn him? Protect him?”
“I had to.”
“As long as you keep protecting him, you’ll never be safe.” She threw her hands up in frustration. “None of us will.”
“I wasn’t protecting Scott.”
“Your nephew. He was there that night. I recognized his voice.”
“That’s who I’m trying to protect. I can’t let him go to jail.”
“But he was involved.”
Maria groaned miserably and dropped to the couch. Tears shimmered in her eyes, running down her battered cheeks. “He’s a good boy. He doesn’t want to go along with Scott, but he can’t say no. Scott’s like a father to him.”
“Yeah. Father of the fucking year.”
Maria glanced up at her but didn’t respond to her jibe. “Joel’s my sister’s kid. She was always gone, looking for a fix or a lay or both. His dad skipped out when he was a baby. Me and Scott practically raised him. He worships Scott. Scott has a lot of control over him.”
“There’s no excuse for—” She stopped at the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.
In a few seconds, she heard footsteps on the porch. “Son of a bitch. Audra? You in there? You okay?”
Giddy with relief, she rushed to the door, smiling when Shane pushed it open and stepped through, crunching over the broken glass.
She went into his arms. “Thank God you’re here.”
“What the hell happened?” He looked over her shoulder at Maria. “Your husband did this?”
Audra released him and stepped away, immediately missing his warmth, his strength.
Maria didn’t answer.
“Yes,” Audra said. “He beat the hell out of her then came here looking for her.”
He cupped Audra’s cheek and stared into her eyes. “Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “Not much. I hurt him, though.”
His brows rose. “What?”
“He was coming at me. I hit him in the head with a poker.” She pulled away from his touch and pointed to the drops of blood on the carpet. “See?”
He laughed. “Seems you can take care of yourself.” Moving over to the couch, he stood next to Maria. “You need to file charges. Provide a statement that he hurt you so we can lock him up.”
A bitter smile twisted her mouth. “Lock him up like before, then let him go so he can do this again?”
“We’ll do all we can. He needs to be put away.”
“How long would he go away for assault and battery? Attempted murder? Conspiracy?” Audra asked.
Shane turned to look at her. “What are you talking about?”
She focused on Maria. “Tell him.”
Maria shook her head. “I—don’t know. I...”
“Tell me what?” Storm clouds gathered in Shane’s dark eyes. He pushed to his feet. “Is he the one who beat you up? He was in jail that night.”
“He was behind it,” Audra said. “He put his buddies, his ne—”
Maria jerked her head up and shook it violently from side to side.
Audra sighed. “Uhm. He put his...ne’er do well cohorts up to it.”
Shane frowned. “Ne’er do well?”
“You know. Thug friends. Anyway. Maria can tell you all about it.”
He nodded. “We should go down to the station so you can answer some questions.”
“No, please. I don’t want to go anywhere. Can’t I answer questions here?”
“You have to stay somewhere tonight where you can be protected. Your children. Are they at home?”
“No. At a relative’s house. Scott has no idea where they are.”
“We’ll take you down to the station and when we’re done, you can go stay with the children.”
“She’s been injured,” Audra said. “I need to keep an eye on her. The kids are in a safe place. Maybe she should just stay here.”
“
You
can’t stay here.” He pointed to the broken window. “Not exactly safe. In addition to her maniac husband, there might be a serial killer on the loose.”
“I can stay with Riley.”
“And put her and her little girl in danger?” He stood. “For now, you can come to the station with us. We’ll take statements from you both, then figure out where you’ll stay tonight.”
“I have to go home,” Maria insisted.
“You can’t go home to that asshole. Especially not after what happened tonight,” Audra argued.
“I have to eventually. He’ll hurt my children.”
The skin on Audra’s face tightened. “Does he abuse the girls?”
Maria shook her head. “He never has. But if I leave him, no telling what he’ll do. I should withdraw the divorce papers.”
“So, that’s it? You just stick by him and let him use you for a punching bag? Big bad Scott gets his way because no one can stop him?” She turned to Shane. “You can arrest him, right? Put him away? Keep Maria and the girls safe?”
“I can. He’ll most likely post bail and be back out on the streets in no time.” He took Audra’s hands and looked into her eyes. “But, if he ever hurts you again, I’ll kill him.” He turned to Maria. “You need to do something. We can’t put him away forever, but the longer, the better. You have to tell us everything you know that will go against him. The asshole’s not going to stop hurting you until you’re dead.”
She rose slowly to her feet and rubbed a hand over her face, giving a bitter laugh. “If it wasn’t for my babies, I’d pray for death.”
~*~
The next morning, Audra moved around the hospital in a daze. She’d been at the police station most of the night, and by the time they finished, she only had a few hours before she had to be at work, so she’d gone to Riley’s to shower and grab a quick cup of coffee. Shane promised to have her window replaced and the mess cleaned up by the time she got off work. She was more grateful than words could say. Not only did it save her the trouble—the last thing she wanted was to go home to a visual reminder of last night’s events.
She carried her tray holding a grilled chicken sandwich and potato salad through the cafeteria, feeling eyes on her, seeing the condemnation, the speculation. She hadn’t actually heard anything, but she’d engaged in hospital cafeteria gossip herself often enough to know when it was happening.
She chose an empty table and kept her head down as she ate.
“Can I sit?”
She looked up to find Wilton standing next to her. So much for solitude.
“Help yourself.”
“Thanks.” He took the chair across from her, forking a huge mound of spaghetti and shoving it into his mouth, almost before he was completely seated. He aimed the fork in a circular motion around the room and spoke with his mouth full. “If you’re wondering if they’re talking about you, they are.” He chewed for a few seconds, then said, “Talking about how you almost died, now two patients in a week. Saying you got a black cloud hanging over you. Either that, or your accident made you nuts and you’re offing your own patients.” He finally swallowed. “Depends on who you talk to.”