Page 26 of Desire

Chapter 19

I didn’t typically workon the weekends, but I was so far behind on my inventory that I needed to get caught up. I also figured it was a great way to keep my mind busy after meeting Alex today. Even Gina made mention of how neglectful I’d been with it lately. Between worry about Alex and my frustration with Connor, my focus was constantly elsewhere. I was glad I had great employees like Gina to pick up my slack. The customers loved her, and she had an eclectic sense of style that surprised most people, considering the borderline frumpy clothes she wore outside of Eden. For a woman in her mid-twenties, she more often than not dressed like someone’s grandmother.

I worked at the boutique much later than I had planned, and it was dark by the time I finished my task and locked up. I didn’t worry about walking home alone this late, even being this close to downtown. While we had the occasional break-in and car theft, there wasn’t as much crime as you’d think for a town our size. I enjoyed the crisp, night air as I took in the smells of the city. I could faintly hear the thumping beat of music coming from the bar-lined street a few blocks away.

I thought about the college kids who were just starting their lives and had no worries beyond partying and having to get up early for a class. They had no idea about real life. It must be wonderful to be that free. Shaking off my melancholy, I opened the front door of my building and headed up the flights of stairs to my condo on the third floor. I could have taken the elevator, but I liked the exercise.

With my mind elsewhere, I didn’t notice my front door was slightly ajar until I reached out to stick my key in the lock. I knew I’d closed it tightly and locked it before I left, so my senses were now on alert. I cautiously opened the door further and peeked my head in before stepping inside, not sure what to expect. I flipped the light switch next to the door, but the room remained dark. I attempted it again, but still nothing. Slowly my eyes adjusted to the darkness. As I warily walked inside and headed toward the kitchen to see if another light would work, I dug out my phone and dialed 9-1-1. All was quiet, but my hair stood on end. I couldn’t tell if anything was out of place until I tripped over something and fell to my hands and knees with an oomph just as the operator answered. My phone skidded across the hardwood to the other side of the room.

“Shit,” I muttered, as I picked myself up off the floor, my knees burning from the impact. No sooner had I stood and dusted myself off as I was grabbed from behind. A strong arm wrapped around my waist, trapping one of my arms against my side while the other covered my mouth to stifle my scream. The intruder hauled me up against his chest and dragged me toward the back of the condo where my bedroom was located. Oh my God, was I about to be raped?

I kicked and struggled, and using my free hand, I tried to pry his hand from my mouth to no avail. I couldn’t get loose. Panic threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced myself to calm down and think. My dad made me take a self-defense course when I first moved into my place, and I tried to remember my training. I forced myself to go limp, suddenly making myself dead weight. With the unexpected move, he almost dropped me and had to readjust his handhold. I grabbed my chance.

In one fluid move, I tightened my body suddenly and jerked my head up, feeling a crunch when the back of my head made contact with his face.

“Fucking bitch, you broke my nose,” rasped the nasally complaint behind me. My ears rang when the punch came to the side of my head. My vision blurred, and I shook my head to clear it. Before he had a chance to cover my mouth again, I drove my bony elbow into his gut and started screaming loud enough to bring the house down.

The man recovered from the jab I gave him and threw me to the ground. He dropped to his knee and started punching me, first in the face causing my head to snap to the side and my teeth to rattle. Blood filled my mouth. Punches continued to rain down on me, most hitting my ribs and kidneys, but occasionally he aimed for my face. On the verge of passing out from the pain, I heard the faint call of sirens in the background. Thank God.

As abruptly as the assault started, it stopped. I lay frozen on the floor, and out of the one eye that hadn’t swollen shut, I saw the man run out the front door. I hissed in pain when I tried to move so I continued to lie there, helpless while I waited for someone to come to my rescue. I hadn’t waited long when I heard footsteps racing down the hall. They stopped just outside the door and then the yelling came.

“Police! Is everything okay in there?” one of the disembodied voices outside my door asked. I almost laughed at the ludicrous question, but it hurt too much. Fuck no, everything wasn’t okay in here. I groaned in agony, and a raspy, “I’m in here” came out. I cleared my throat and spoke louder. “I’m in here. I’m hurt pretty badly.”

“Ma’am, are you alone?”

“Yes, he ran away right before you got here. Please, I think I need to go to the hospital.” I winced when I tried moving again.

“We’re coming in,” the same voice warned. Two shadows crossed in front of my doorway, and I could tell that whoever it was had guns. I flinched and blinked when a flash of bright light shone down on my body. One of the cops rushed over to me while I heard the other calling for backup and EMS on his radio.

He dropped to his knees next to me. He started to reach out and touch me, but thought better of it. “Jesus, ma’am. The ambulance will be here soon. Do you know who did this?” he questioned.

I started to shake my head no, but every inch of my body hurt. “No, he was here when I got home. My door was open and when I walked in to investigate, he grabbed me after I tripped over something.”

The second police officer called out, “There’s an ottoman pushed out in the middle of the floor. It’s the only thing that seems to have been disturbed.”

The police officer next to me was young and cleared his throat before asking his next question. “Ma’am, I’m sorry to have to ask you this, but did he hurt you or touch you in any other way?” He looked extremely uncomfortable, shifting uneasily, and didn’t make eye contact with me.

I knew what he meant, and I reassured him that I had not been sexually assaulted. The roar of more sirens came louder as additional emergency personnel arrived. Commotion sounded in the hall as the stretcher and paramedics exited the elevator and made their way into my place. The paramedics questioned me about my pain. They took vital signs and a cursory exam of my injuries before rolling me as gently as possible onto the stretcher. I couldn’t help but cry out in pain with the movement. Just as they loaded me onto it, a familiar, but now grim, face came into my line of sight.

Daniel stopped directly in front of me. He reached out, pushed my hair back, and gently touched the left side of my face that had been spared most of the earlier punishment. He wiped away tears I had no idea were even falling. “Who the fuck did this to you, Bridget?”

“I don’t know. There was someone in the house when I got home. He ran when the sirens got close.” My head was pounding, and I didn’t know how much longer I could take the pain.

As if reading my mind, the paramedics instructed everyone to move so they could get me to the hospital. I closed my eyes as they transported me out the door and into the waiting ambulance. I knew Daniel would follow and call Connor, so I kept my eyes closed and tried to ignore the pain. We hit a bump and the pain was so agonizing I couldn't take it, and I sank into oblivion.

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