Page 15 of Chains

Knowing that he’s out there somewhere, free to finish the job, makes me want to break out of here and go hunting.

But I’m going to have to wait, and hope against hope that Zoe recovers and I get out of here. Then Caleb Thatcher won’t know what hit him. I guarantee it.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Zoe

He descended upon me with his fists and his feet. I couldn’t get away, no matter how I tried. The pain he was inflicting was unbearable. Assaulting me was the ultimate humiliation, and when the faceless woman who appeared towards the end of my torture raised the gun and shot me, I fell into blissful darkness, glad to get away from the horror.

My eyes flew open, and the beeping surrounding me grew incessant and noisy. I wanted to scream for it to stop, but I was immobile. My lips refused to work because there was something down my throat preventing me from opening my mouth, which was sore and bone dry. The smell of antiseptic made me want to hurl.

Not knowing where I was, as I came out of my nightmare. For surely it was a nightmare? It couldn’t have been real. Could it? My anxiety intensified as I struggled to remove the object in my mouth, hindering my ability to talk.

“Poppet, it’s alright. You’re safe.” A deep, familiar voice crooned, and I tried to regulate my breathing. Only one man ever called me poppet. Even now, at twenty-eight; and that was my father. He would adopt his proper English accent during stressful situations, even though he had been living in the States for years. He stubbornly held onto it.

The sound of other voices made me feel less calm, and my anxiety escalated, resulting in a full-blown panic attack. Then finally blessed relief and complete darkness descended yet again.

***

I tentatively open my eyes, feeling groggy and so out of it as I slowly look at my surroundings. The beeping of machines tells me I’m in a hospital, and the smell of antiseptic is prevalent. I can’t help the frown that mars my face. There’s a sudden flurry of activity around me, lights flash in my eyes and I flinch away from it. I had no idea what was going on around me.

“Hello there, Mrs Thatcher. It’s good to see you awake,” an unfamiliar voice spoke. I was totally freaking out, flinching at the sound of my married name on the lips of the woman who I now realize is a nurse. I couldn’t remember all the details of my attack, but I knew Caleb was still out there, I knew he was going to finish the job once he discovered I survived. I was sure of it.

“Baby girl, please calm down. The doctor just wants to check you out to make sure you’re okay.” A deep, familiar voice cooed in my ear, and a sob escaped when I recognized it as my father.

“I’m Doctor Murphy.” Another, this time, male voice spoke, and I finally opened my eyes, focusing on him and his white lab coat. He was older than my father and had kind brown eyes.

I stopped flailing long enough for the doctor to remove the tube from my mouth. As the pain in my body intensified, I couldn’t stop the whimper from escaping as a flood of memories of what had happened assailed me. Caleb and what he had done to me. He had beaten me to a bloody pulp, then raped me; and I could do nothing to stop him. A pained whimper escaped at the thought that the man I thought loved me could do something so heinous to the woman he promised to love, honor and protect. What a crock of shit.

There was a bandage covering my belly, I opened my mouth to ask, but my voice came out raspy, and my throat was sore.

Quick as a flash, my father was there, holding a small plastic cup to my lips with a straw, and I took a long, grateful sip, letting the cool liquid soothe my battered throat.

“Thanks, daddy.” I whisper. He rewarded me with a bright beaming smile, and gently took me in his arms, being careful of all the wires, enfolding me in a tight hug.

“I thought I’d lost you,” he replies gruffly in my neck, and tears streamed down my face.

“As you can see, I’m still here.” I reply, trying to make light of the situation, but failing miserably.

“No thanks to that arsehole who did this to you.” My father growled under his breath, and I gasp in shock.

“Did they catch him?” I ask. Terror filling my face.

“Yeah baby, he’s in jail. I could’ve killed him with my bare hands when they told me what he’d done to you.” He placed the cup of water back on the nightstand by the bed and turned to look at me again. “I’ve been trying to contact Caleb, but he’s not answering his phone. It’s like he’s dropped off the face of the earth.”

Wait! What? My dad saying my husband's name freezes me solid. I thought he said they had taken Caleb into custody?

My dad sees the puzzled expression on my face and lovingly touches my cheek, giving me a quick kiss on the forehead. “I’m sure he’d be here if he could, darling.”

“B-Bodie?” I question, my throat still feeling croaky, and watch with a feeling of dread as my father’s face turns into a look of anger and disgust. Why, I don’t understand.

“Do not speak that low life’s name. He’s locked up where he belongs. With the other animals for what he did to you.”

I was so confused, and my head was swimming with many unanswered questions I couldn’t form around my voice. But I was so tired; I needed to sleep. Just a little, and then I’ll get my answers.

When next I awoke, I was alone, with just the sound of the machines beeping around me, and a nurse inputting data into what I assumed was my file. I wondered where my father was, and it was as if just the thought of him conjured him up as he appeared in the doorway, a to go cup of coffee in his hand. His face transformed from tired to a huge smile when he saw I was awake.

“There’s my angel,” he spoke, his voice raspy, as if he’d smoked an entire pack of cigarettes.

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