Control (22 page)

Put
that way, my response seemed a little ridiculous.  But I could tell he was
angry about something, that he was holding something back.  I didn’t
manage anger well and I avoided it as often as possible.  I felt uncomfortable
and I needed to change the subject.

“Where
are David and Annie?  Are they awake, can I see them?”

Defeatedly,
Daemon sighed.  “At some point you and I are going to talk, Paige.”

I
nodded.  There was nothing I could say to that.

“David
and Annie are here.  Annie is awake.  She’s not well. 
Physically, she will recover, but mentally…” His face looked pained. “…Her
family told me that she may need psychological care after she leaves the
hospital.  She hasn’t told anyone exactly what Chris did, but the physical
evidence is enough for the doctors to make an educated guess.”

My
heart broke.  Chris was demented.  Within the short amount of time he
had me, he had managed to inflict a significant amount of pain.  Although
I fought against it, I knew that his twisted perversions were serious enough to
have terrified Annie.  Tears welled in my eyes when I imagined what Chris
would have done if he had more time with me.  He had at least a couple of
hours with her.

“And
David?”

Daemon
took my hand into his.  His thumb absently brushed across my knuckles and
he visibly struggled with what he had to say.  “He had swelling on the
brain.  He hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”

The
bottom dropped out from underneath me.  Shock took over my body and mind
and I froze.  David wasn’t awake.  He could still die.

My body
shook with uncontrollable sobs and Daemon leaned down to take me in his
arms.  He didn’t speak, didn’t try to console me.  He just held me
while the pain rushed out of me.  I cried for David and I cried for Annie.
I cried for Buddy.  But I didn’t cry for me.  Tears weren’t needed
for me. Chris hadn’t taken me; not my body and not my spirit. 

Momma
reentered the room.  She gasped when she saw me crying and she hurried to
the bedside.  Daemon removed me from his arms and handed me over to my
mother’s embrace.  I looked up through my waterlogged eyes as he turned
and walked out of my room.  He never looked back as he passed through the
doorway and my heart shattered a little bit more.

Three
days had passed as I recovered in the hospital.  I was restless and
irritable with all the attention from the staff.  Checking vitals is an
important task, but does it have to be at three in the morning?  Sleep
eluded me due to the three hour check schedule.  I didn’t understand the
necessity of the nightly interruptions when I was already hooked to a machine
that checked my heart rate and blood pressure automatically.

My
parents left to go home yesterday. All my questions about who had been watching
the Center were avoided.  They wouldn’t discuss anything with me that they
thought might upset me more than I already was.  I attempted to reassure
them that I was intact, that I hadn’t been broken.  They politely lied and
told me they believed me, but I knew there was no way that they could. 
Their life had been dedicated to women that had been hurt.  They knew the
symptoms and they knew what was needed to recover.  But I wasn’t like
them.  I saw that heartache growing up.  I saw the bruises and the
cuts, the busted lips and the broken bones.  I heard the regrets and the
anger and the betrayal.  My walls were built when I was young, and I was
not going to let someone break me.

They
asked me to go to a counselor when I got out.  They also asked me not to
go back home; at least, not until Chris had been arrested.  I was polite
in my refusal of both.  I knew they were worried, but I refused to live in
fear.  Chris was lucky to get in the first time, but he wouldn’t do it
again. 

My
thoughts of my parents were interrupted when a person entered the room.  I
had my eyes closed as I laid back on the bed and I was too lazy to open them
for my visitor.  It would only be Daemon or the nurses.  Since goose
bumps weren’t running up my arm when the visitor approached, I assumed it must
be a nurse.

I
waited to be poked or prodded, but several minutes went by without a touch or a
sound.  I opened my eyes to identify my visitor and my breath caught when
I saw Alex’s pain-filled silver eyes.

His
body was ridged and he stood a few feet from my bedside.  Every toned
muscle in his body was held tight and his jaw was clenched.  I watched as
his eyes took in every visible injury on my body. Horror flashed across his
face when he saw my wrists.  Slowly, he stepped closer and he took my hand
into his.  His grip was soft and unsure, but he needed the contact to know
that I was okay.

His
eyes were stormy and bleak.  Too many emotions flitted across his face for
me to keep up and I waited for him to speak.  His eyes met mine and a pain
erupted in my chest.  Until now, I hadn’t realized how much I missed him.

“What
happened?”  His voice came out in a whisper and I was confused by his
question.

“What
do you mean?”

It was
obvious he was struggling to control his emotions and his hold over himself was
weakening.  “Why are you here, Paige?  What happened?”

He
didn’t know. How was that possible? Someone must have told him in order for him
to have found me.  But who?  It occurred to me that all the people
who would know how to get in touch with Alex were here. 

“Alex,
how did you know…?”

I was
interrupted when goose bumps shot up my arm and I knew that Daemon had entered
the room. My eyes opened wider as I looked from Alex to him.  Alex
followed the direction of my vision and turned immediately when he caught sight
of Daemon.

“You
fucking bastard!  What the fuck have you done to her?!”  Alex charged
at Daemon and I tried to jump up to stop him.  I was attached to the bed
by all the cords and gadgets and all I could do was yell to stop him.

“Alex!
No!  It wasn’t Daemon!”

The two
massive men collided into one another.  Alex attempted to overpower Daemon
while Daemon only reacted to restrain Alex from touching him. 

“Calm
down, Alex, or you are going to get us both kicked out of here.”  Daemon’s
voice was controlled but menacing.

“I hope
I do you sick son of a bitch!  At least it will get you the fuck away from
her!”  Alex pushed off of Daemon and they stood nose to nose glaring at
each other. 

I
untangled myself from the net of tubes and wires stretched across me and sat up
as much as I could.  “Alex!  Stop! Chris did this. It wasn’t
Daemon.”  

Alex’s
head snapped to me and then back to Daemon.  The tension between the two
of them was palpable and highly charged.  Whereas Alex’s intentions were
written clearly in his body language and expression, Daemon just held a
defensive stance.  His face was emotionless and unreadable.

Alex
turned to me again. “Explain, Paige.”

I
sighed and reached out for his hand.  He looked back to Daemon quickly but
then accepted my hand and moved closer to my side. 

“Chris
broke into the apartment.  He attacked all of us.  David and Annie
were hurt the worst.  They’re here as well.”  I paused. “Alex, how
did you know where to find me?”

He
didn’t answer immediately.  His gaze kept returning to Daemon and his
discomfort with Daemon’s presence was obvious.  I considered asking Daemon
to leave, but decided against it.

Alex
finally settled his gaze on me.  “I went to your apartment to apologize
for the way…” He hesitated and glanced over at Daemon before returning to me.
“…for the way I had left things with you.  The door was smashed and the
place was a mess.  There was blood…” His face twisted in worry and pain,
but he shook off as he continued. “…I called your work and they told me that
you hadn’t called in for any assignments.  I went around looking for you
and finally came here.  I gave them your name and they told me where I
could find you.”

Sadly,
I could only focus on two issues that Alex inadvertently revealed in his story;
my apartment was still open and the privacy policies of this hospital
sucked.  I couldn’t allow my apartment to remain open and I started to
push myself up even farther to get out of bed.  I needed to get home and
get the front door fixed so that the apartment could be secured.

Daemon
appeared to have focused on an entirely different issue with what Alex
said.  “Alex, I understand you are probably in shock and that you are
angry to see Paige this way, but I have to ask; why did you immediately assume
I did this to her?”  Daemon’s voice was clear and controlled as he spoke
to Alex.  It was obvious that he was attempting to reign in his anger at
having been earlier attacked.

Alex
turned to Daemon and his face couldn’t contain the contempt he was
feeling.  Daemon clearly had a better poker face and I made a decision
that if I ever had a chance to go to Vegas, Daemon would be the person to take
with me.

Alex
moved closer to Daemon and pointed a finger dangerously close to Daemon’s
face.  The muscles in Daemon’s body tensed and that tick developed in his
jaw that gave away the fact that he was grinding his teeth.  “Because I
overheard what she told David about you.  You’re apparently a control
freak when it comes to women and although Paige is willing to go along with
that, I’m not.  The truth is you are nothing more than a sick fuck and I
will kill you before I allow you to hurt Paige; emotionally, physically or
otherwise.  You don’t know her, you don’t know what she’s been through and
the last thing she needs is for some power hungry prick to push her around and
tell her what to do.”

This
situation had rapidly gone from bad to worse.  Daemon held the blank
expression on his face as he processed what Alex had just said.  I
couldn’t tell if he was angry with Alex’s threat, or if he was angry at me for
having told David about him.  The tension in the air was suffocating and I
needed to get out of here.  I don’t handle awkward silences well either,
so escape was my only option at this point.

Daemon
moved to my bedside as I struggled to remove myself from the complicated maze
of cords apparently used by hospital staff to keep me pinned down to the
bed.  “What are you doing, Paige?” 

“I’m
getting up and leaving.  I need to go deal with the apartment.  The
front door needs to be fixed and I’m the only one left standing who can take
care of it.”

Daemon
placed his hands on me to attempt to keep me in bed and Alex shot him a
murderous look.  Daemon ignored Alex and continued to hold my gaze. 
“You’re not going back to that apartment, Paige.  You can’t.  Chris
is still out there and until he is found, I’m not allowing you to go back there
alone. I want you to stay with me until he is found and put in jail.”  He
spoke with authority which only served to irritate Alex more.

“Like I
said man, you will not tell Paige what to do.”  Alex stepped up closer
behind Daemon and I cringed when I thought a fight was unavoidable.

Daemon
turned on his heel and pointed a finger at Alex.  He spoke slowly and
articulately as he said, “I appreciate your protectiveness of my girl…” Alex
flinched at those words but he maintained the stare down with Daemon. “…and I’m
not telling her what to do for any other purpose but to keep her safe.  If
you could look past your dick for one fucking second, you would see that and
shut your mouth.”

This
is bad.

“Daemon,
I’m fine.  You don’t need to go all caveman on my ass just because of
Chris.  The likelihood of him breaking into the apartment again is slim to
none and I’m not hiding in fear from the sick bastard.  If he shows up
again…”

“Paige! 
Will you stop being obstinate for one second of your fucking life!” Daemon’s
voiced boomed through the hospital room.

Oh
crap.  I’ve pissed him off now.

Alex’s
body tensed again when Daemon raised his voice.  These two were going to
brawl in my room if I didn’t diffuse the situation and fast.

I
opened my mouth to interject when Daemon cut me off.  “No, don’t even try
to argue with me, Paige.  There’s a difference between being independent
and being stupid and it’s obvious that you have not been able to distinguish
between the two.”

My jaw dropped
at his words.  How dare he call me stupid?!  My anger was beginning
to boil inside me and there was no way in hell I was going to allow him to
speak to me that way.

Daemon
continued.  “I have been patient with you.  I have sat back and kept
my opinions to myself this entire time that this Chris situation has been
progressing.  I’ve known this entire time that you were being careless and
ignorant when it came to the damage a man like that could inflict on you. 
You have no idea how pissed off I am at myself for having not locked you up
when I originally wanted to.  That man could have killed you, Paige. 
You came this fucking close to being raped and tortured.  Had I NOT shown
up that night, you wouldn’t be here to be as stubborn and aggravating as you
currently are!”

“He’s
right.” A female voice spoke and all three of our heads snapped in her
direction. A short blond woman stood in the doorway to my hospital room. 
Her hair was cut into a straight bob and she wore a crisp black pant
suit.  She carried a file in her hand and some type of I.D. was clipped to
the lapel of her jacket. “Hello, Ms. Stone.  I’m not sure if you remember
me, but I’m Detective Susan Troy.  I spoke with you when you woke up after
arriving here.”

I had
no idea who this woman was and I briefly wondered how many times I had regained
consciousness before I could remember having done so.  Detective Troy eyed
Alex and Daemon before continuing into the room to stand between them.  I
was instantly thankful for her intuition that a buffer was necessary between
the two men.

“Paige,
after you advised who had attacked you and your friends, we determined Chris’
full identity.  We obtained a search warrant for his apartment, however we
have not been able to locate Mr. Baxter.  We founds items of…concern…among
his belongings and I would prefer that you stay with family or friends until he
is apprehended.”

Great. 
Just great.  I didn’t need to look at Daemon to know that the arrogant
smirk was pasted to his face. 

“What
items of concern did you find, Detective?”   Although I wasn’t sure I
wanted to know the types of items that had been found, I was overly curious to
know specifically what Chris had been planning.  Had he followed me? 
Had he done this to other people?  Surely, two embarrassing moments hadn’t
caused someone to snap to that extent.  His words and actions from the
other night hinted towards a deeper psychological issue and it was imperative
that I understood the level of his depravity.

Detective
Troy was a true professional.  She held herself in an authoritative, yet
unintimidating manner and the blank expression on her face closely competed
with the one Daemon had displayed earlier.  Hmmm, maybe I should take
her
to Vegas.

“We
found journals and photos that Mr. Baxter has been keeping over time.  You
and your friends were not Mr. Baxter’s only victims.  He is a sexual
deviant as far as we can tell and you are extremely fortunate that Mr. Pierce
was able to show up when he did.  Unfortunately, Annie was not as
fortunate and we have been requested to refrain from asking her questions by
her psychologists.  Review of Mr. Baxter’s journals, however, has given us
a better idea of what may have been done to her.”