HARDER (13 page)

“
Y
ou know
what your problem is?” Rolland sneered as he shoved me towards the bedroom.

I didn’t respond, my body had shut down and I didn’t think I could speak even if I’d wanted to. It didn’t matter; Rolland had me along by my hair and arm, my feet stumbling across the hardwood floors of my apartment.

I didn’t want to speak anyhow. I knew Rolland would let me know what he thought my problem was whether I replied or not. Once he got going on a rant there was no stopping him.

“Your problem is that you’re stupid.
So
fucking stupid
,” Rolland continued and slammed me onto the bed. I groaned at the impact, my head hit the nightstand and I felt pain radiate through the area. “You thought you could just disappear, didn’t you? You thought you could slip away and steal my baby girl.”

“Can we talk about this?” I gasped and wiggled away from him to the other side of the bed.

“I’m through talking,” he glowered. “I’ve been talking to you for years and look where it got us. You’re too fucking stupid to talk to.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I thought you’d be happier without us.”

“It’s not about my happiness. I am happy no matter what because I make my
own
happiness. It doesn’t matter if I’m balls deep in some slut I picked up at the bar or if I’m slamming my fist into your stupid gaping maw, I’m fucking happy. This is about you thinking you outsmarted me. But you know where you fucked up?”

“Where?” I rasped, trying to keep him talking. “How did you find us?”

“The school. You had to register her and I hired a guy to find out. Easy peasy, lemon breezy, you dumb fucking cunt.” He still held the hunting knife in one hand and waved it around as he ranted.

My mind raced and I realized that’s exactly where I’d messed up. The school had needed identification for her registration but I hadn’t realized the information might be available beyond the little elementary school’s records.

“All he had to do was pay a fee and access state records. Boom, Lucy’s name cropped up. You didn’t even change her last name, how fucking stupid can you be?”

“It had to match her birth certificate,” I said, hot tears forming in the corners of my eyes. “They wouldn’t let me use mine.”

“Of course not, even the school recognizes what a bitch cunt you are. Even the school knows I’m the authority, that Lucy belongs to me.”

“She’s not here though,” I said desperately trying to stall him. I thought maybe he’d want to go pick her up and that would give us some time out of the apartment for me to signal for help or get away. This wasn’t playing out how I’d imagined at all.

“I know that,” he said, “I was watching you. I’ve been planning this.”

“How long have you been watching?”

“Long enough to know you’ve got your pretty boy visiting every night. Long enough to know you’re a little lying whore who needs to be taught a thing or two about a thing or two.”

I’d never realized how rough Rolland’s speech was, how uneducated and low class he sounded. When I’d been young and impressionable I’d been attracted to the fact that he didn’t seem to care about what anyone thought. Now that I was older I realized this was just another symptom of how deeply broken and horrible he was.

“Just let me go and I’ll go get Lucy,” I pleaded.

“Oh sweetheart,” he grinned, an evil oily grin that made my skin crawl. “We’re just getting started.”

He undid the belt on his jeans and I scrambled backwards, away from him and off the bed. I made a break for the door, trying to circle around him while he was zipping down his jeans, but he stepped wide and caught a fistful of my hair.

“Awe, come on, don’t be like that. Used to be you couldn’t get enough of my dick,” he said and slit my arm with the tip of the knife as he slammed me back onto the bed. “Pretty boy got you so filled up with pretty boy seed you forgot about me? That hurts, Brooke, I ain’t gonna lie.”

“Leave me alone,” I begged and he laughed, a dry and bitter noise that fell from his lips like broken glass on my ears. My arm ached and began to bleed.

He dropped the knife on the nightstand, kneeled on the bed beside me and grabbed me as I tried to wiggle away from him. He grabbed my arms behind my back and pulled them tight, making me cry out in pain.

“Cry all you want, your pretty boy is on his way home with a broken heart,” Rolland snarled. “He’s long gone and it’s just you and me now, babe.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself for his attack. I silently prayed that I would survive this one and that I would see Lucy and Caleb again.

The attack never came.

I felt Rolland fly backwards, he released my arms and I fell forward.

I rolled around and sat up to see Caleb holding Rolland by the collar in one hand and pummeling his head with the other.

“Fuck that,” Caleb growled, “you ever fucking touch my woman again and you’re dead. You got that? Dead!”

“She’s mine,” Rolland bellowed and pulled away from Caleb. They were definitely evenly matched pound for pound, but Caleb had more muscle. Rolland was a good ten years older and his beer drinking was catching up to him as evidenced by the belly he had on him.

They circled each other, breathing hard and ready to destroy their opponent.

“She was never yours,” Caleb said carefully. “She never wanted to marry you, you know that. But did you know she’s already agreed to take my name? To be my wife?”

“No!” Rolland roared, “She would not!”

I widened my eyes and caught Caleb’s glance. I of course hadn’t had a marriage proposal or agreed to anything, but I decided to play along.

“I have,” I said desperately. “I’m going to marry him, Rolland. I never wanted to be your bride but I will marry him because I love him. I never loved you.”

“You did love me,” Rolland rasped and darted forward. He grasped Caleb’s arms and attempted to pin him down. Caleb twisted hard and pushed Rolland off him.

“I never did,” I yelled. “I never did, I was scared of you but that was never love!”

“Fear kept her with you,” Caleb said softly and stared Rolland down. “It was fear, not love. But she loves me, and that will set her free.”

Rolland looked down, crouched as if defeated. Caleb smiled at me and I relaxed assuming we’d beaten him with our words.

I was about to reach for his hand and celebrate our victory over Rolland when I saw Rolland’s move forward and lunge for something near my bed.

“He’s got a knife!” I screamed in complete horror as I remembered the hunting knife he had thrown on the nightstand.

As if in slow motion Rolland stood and turned towards us, his eyes blazing with hatred and locked directly on me. My arm still dripped with the blood from his first attack and my heart stuttered in nervous rhythm.

He was going to kill me, he was going to stab me and make sure I never had a chance for a future with Caleb.

He was going to destroy my life.

“Bitch!” he screamed and spittle flew from his twisted lips. He leapt for me with the knife raised up, but Caleb threw himself in front of me, blocking Rolland’s attack.

I cried out Caleb’s name when I heard him grunt with pain. Rolland’s knife connected, but it was a glancing blow off his collarbone, leaving a streak of blood along his tee shirt.

“Caleb!” I screamed again and tried to rush to his side.

“Stay back,” he commanded and grabbed Rolland’s wrist. He twisted it until I heard a snap and the knife dropped from Rolland’s hand and clattered to the floor.

Rolland sunk down and screamed in agony, his wrist limp and his hand hanging at an odd angle.

“Oh my god, Caleb,” I exhaled in a rush of words and pent up energy. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Caleb replied and turned towards me. “We should call nine one one though, he’ll need medical attention.”

“And police attention,” I said pulling out my phone. I punched in the numbers and told the operator where we were. My hands were shaking too hard to hang onto the phone, so I hung it up against her wishes. I couldn’t stay on the line when I needed to feel Caleb’s arms around me.

He wrapped me in them, his muscled arms. He held me there safe while Rolland groaned on the floor behind us.

I heard the rustle of Rolland’s movement before I could comprehend what was happening. In an instant Rolland had his hunting knife in his hand and slashed towards Caleb’s legs.

I felt Caleb tense up and exclaim in pain. I stepped back as he released me and I saw the knife glancing off his upper thigh.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I screamed at Rolland and kicked his broken wrist. He screamed in pain and I kicked him again and again. He tried to roll away from me but I felt like a warrior woman, I stomped his bad wrist one last time and he screamed in agony.

I helped Caleb to the bed and wrapped my pillowcase around his leg to stop the flow of blood. He winced as I made contact with the knife, but I decided to leave it in until the paramedics arrived.

Caleb smiled at me as we waited and watched Rolland roll around on the floor holding his wrist.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, applying pressure to his leg wound to stop the bleeding.

“You’re pretty fierce when you’re pissed off,” he said.

“I wasn’t before you got here,” I replied and lowered my eyes. “I went limp again, I was pathetic. If you hadn’t shown up…”

“You’re not pathetic,” he said and tilted my face to look at him. “You’re courageous. It was so brave of you to leave him in the first place, but what you did just now was pure bravery. You’re an amazing woman, Brooke.”

We heard the paramedics at the door and I got up to let them in before Caleb saw how hard I was blushing from his compliment. I certainly had never felt brave, but he had a way with the power of his words. I did feel courageous when he said it and it was something I wasn’t used to.

It didn’t take long and soon both Caleb and Rolland were being tended to, but Rolland had extra police presence. Two officers stood flanking him as the paramedics took care of his broken wrist.

I didn’t even stay to find out what happened to Rolland, I left with Caleb, glaring at Rolland on the way out. I followed in the van while he rode in the ambulance all the way to the only hospital in town.

I had a little time to process what had happened along the way. Rolland had attacked me, Caleb had saved my life, I’d finally stood up for myself and both men had been injured.

I didn’t care what happened to Rolland, but I prayed the entire way that Caleb would be okay, that his leg would heal.

I also fought off the pangs of guilt that I’d brought this kind of thing into his life. He wouldn’t have been injured if it weren’t for me.

I just hoped he didn’t figure that out on his own.

“
Y
ou should be fine
, Mister Harder,” the doctor told Caleb in the emergency room. I held his hand tightly and he exhaled in relief.

“Nothing important was hit?” I asked. I’d heard about people having tendons and arteries and other stuff cut during knife attacks and my mind couldn’t help but settle on the worst case scenario.

“Nothing at all,” the doctor said. “I’ll prescribe some mild pain killers and you can be on your way soon enough.”

“Oh thank god,” I said and dropped to the chair next to Caleb’s bed. I laid my head on his arm on the bed and said, “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” he asked and stroked my hair with his other arm.

“For this. I’m so sorry that my ex attacked you,” I sniffled.

“Don’t be silly Brooke, I would do anything to protect you, especially from that animal.”

“How did you know to come back?”

“I knew the moment you opened the door, my love,” he said softly and continued to stroke my hair. “As you know I had my own set of keys, but I didn’t have them on me. I had to go dig through my truck to find them, which is what took me so long. I’m the one who should apologize, I can’t imagine what went through your head those moments you were alone with him.”

“I thought I was a goner,” I admitted sadly. “I thought I was saving you by sending you away and I had a plan to escape but when it came down to it I was too scared.”

“Of course you were, “ he said softly and continued to touch me and calm me with his presence. “That man tortured you for years; I can see it in your eyes when you talk about him. I could see it in your eyes when you opened the door. I will never blame you for this, Brooke, so please don’t ever apologize again.”

“What did I do to deserve somebody like you?” I asked with tears in my eyes again. This time they weren’t tears of rage or fear, but tears of overwhelming love for Caleb.

“By being you,” he said and pulled me closer. “Now get on up here, there’s room for both of us if you stay on this side.”

I climbed into the hospital bed with him, carefully avoiding his injured leg, and settled in with his arms around me and his breath on the back of my neck.

I was home, no matter where we were, his arms were now my home. I felt safe again and the fear of Rolland’s confinement melted away like snowflakes in the sun.

I was dozing in Caleb’s arms when the police came in to ask about the attack.

I explained everything and answered all their questions. Caleb told his part and squeezed me tight as he explained how he’d found me under Rolland on the bed, screaming and struggling for my life.

“Did he sexually assault you?” the police officer asked me at last. I felt Caleb tense up as he waited for my response. I knew if I had been raped, Caleb would only blame himself.

“No,” I replied and felt Caleb loosen up. “Caleb got there in time to save me.”

“Thank god for that,” Caleb said and tightened his arm around me.

“You are very lucky, your ex is wanted in three different states for aggravated assault. Did you know he had a wife in Texas who has a restraining order against him?”

“A wife?” I asked and sat up, startled.

“He was married years ago but still harasses her from time to time,” the officer said, reading from a file. “He won’t let her divorce him.”

“Will I ever be free from him?” I asked, not expecting an answer.

“Well, given the fact that this time he has a weapons and kidnapping charge against him…and if Caleb here wants to press charges for assault…and add in the fact that Caleb can afford the best lawyers around…I’d say your ex is going away for a long, long time,” he replied with a smile.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to put him away,” Caleb said with determination in his voice. “I’ll pay whatever it costs, I just want him to leave us alone and forget he ever knew Brooke and Lucy.”

“I’ll let you folks figure that out,” the officer said and folded the file shut. “I’ll let you get some rest though, I figure you need it after a night like that.”

“Thanks,” I said and leaned back into Caleb’s arms as he left us alone. “So Rolland was already married, then why was he so crazy about marrying me?”

“He was manipulating you,” Caleb said. “He sounds like the kind of man who breaks a woman down by any means necessary until she’s a shadow of her former self. Much like my father.”

“I suppose you’re right,” I said and snuggled in against him. “Never again though, never again.”

“When the doctor comes back, I’ll get the okay to go home,” Caleb said, “and you will know how safe you are from this point forward. He’ll never touch you again, Brooke. I pledge that to you.”

The funny thing was that I believed it. I felt the sincerity and power in Caleb’s words, and felt it in my bones that he would lay down his own life for Lucy or me.

And that’s what love was about. That’s what made a family, not a marriage certificate or blood or even living together, what made a family was that knowledge that they would die for you and you would die for them.

And even though we weren’t anything but dating right then, I knew in my heart of hearts that Caleb Harder was family, the only partner I’d ever need.

He was mine and I was his.

“
B
rooke
, baby girl,” Caleb whispered in my ear and shifted so I sat up limply. “Come on, we’re going home.”

“They said you could leave?” I murmured and rubbed my eyes. “What time is it?”

“It’s just past three and we can go home,” he said. “I’ve called my driver, he’s going to pick us up.”

I stood and helped him to his feet. His leg shook and you could tell he was in pain but he was stoic about it. His teeth were clenched and his hands trembled as he settled into the wheelchair though.

“Do you need a cane or something?” I asked. “Or do you trust me to help you up to my place?”

“We’re not going to your place yet,” he told me. “We’re crashing at a hotel for a couple nights, your apartment needs a clean up.”

“Oh,” I said and pushed him towards the front entrance. It would be good to get out of the hospital. Even though we were in the Emergency room of a small town hospital, it was noisy and I had learned things about my fellow townsfolk I didn’t think I ever needed to know.

“I know you want to get back in there, and we’ll go pick out some things for you and Lucy when we wake up, but we need to give the cleaners time to tidy up before you go back. I can’t stand the thought of you scrubbing my blood out of your carpet.”

“Or Lucy seeing that,” I said quietly. I agreed with his assessment and we met the driver in the front of the hospital.

“I picked the hotel with a pool,” he told me on the way there, “we can tell Lucy it’s a mini vacation.”

“Perfect, she’ll be thrilled,” I said and fell into an exhausted silence. The entire night had been so much to take in I felt like my brain was melting down trying to process it. I just wanted to climb into bed, right into Caleb’s arms and dive into sleep.

“There’s got to be a way to keep him out of Lucy’s life,” Caleb said almost under his breath like an after thought.

“He might decide to stay away,” I replied.

“Not a man like that, knowing you’re living with me and I’m raising her as my own daughter,” Caleb said.

“Wait, what?” I asked.

“Well, I imagine that’s where this is headed,” Caleb said slowly and deliberately. “Let’s not beat around the bush here, Brooke. We’re both adults and we both know there’s this undeniable attraction between the two of us. I imagine it will lead to us being together forever at some point soon.”

“I know we talked about it,” I said. “I guess it’s just surprising to me that you want to raise Lucy as your child. It makes me feel so good.”

“She would be my daughter,” he said softly. “Once we make that lifelong commitment to each other, I will be her dad, her kids will be my grandkids and any other children we have will be her siblings.”

The thought of having another child or two with Caleb made my heart soar. I’d come to terms with the idea that Lucy was my only child long ago, and I’d never let myself want any more.

But now that the possibility was out there, I knew I did. I had to be honest with myself and I wanted another baby or two or three and I wanted them with Caleb.

I smiled and took his hand and held it until we pulled up in front of the hotel.

Caleb could walk with help, but again I could tell his leg hurt him. We checked in and he asked for toothbrushes and toothpaste sent to our room as well as some very late room service. All they had were sandwiches, but they would do. Until the moment Caleb mentioned food, I was fine, but my stomach was protesting loudly now.

I helped Caleb sit in an overstuffed leather chair and opened the door for room service.

I hadn’t even been aware that our town had such a nice hotel, but I was grateful for it. The king sized bed looked perfect and avoiding my blood stained apartment was just the thing to do at the moment.

We ate in silence and I didn’t make it even halfway through my sandwich before I had to go to bed. Exhaustion flowed over me and I crawled between the sheets without washing my face or brushing my teeth. Caleb joined me shortly after, I felt him slip in behind me and envelop me in his arms but I barely moved.

The mattress dipped as he adjusted himself and I rolled against him, felt his warmth against me and fell deep into a dreamless sleep.

“
W
e should head back
and get some of our clothes and then go get Lucy,” I said the next morning. Or early afternoon I supposed it was. We’d slept in and ordered brunch in our room. Caleb’s leg was still sore but he insisted it was improved greatly.

“I’ll come with you, we can stop at my place too. I should tell my father and Tara that I’ll be gone for a few days so they can make arrangements.”

“I don’t know if I ever want to go back to that apartment,” I said quietly, thinking of how Rolland’s presence had tainted it. I didn’t know if I’d ever feel safe in there again.

“Then don’t,” Caleb said.

My head shot up and I asked, “What do you mean?”

“Let’s find a house together. We can stay here until we find a suitable place, but I hate the thought of you being there, especially when I can’t be with you.”

“Are you serious?”

“More serious than I’ve ever been, Brooke. Even with Anna I had these undeniable doubts. With you, there’s nothing, just all systems go and full speed ahead.”

“I feel the same way, if I hadn’t gotten pregnant I’m sure I would have dumped Rolland early on, but you know the story now. With you I have no desire to run away or leave you. I’m all in, Caleb.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll call my realtor and we’ll start looking at places for us to live. As a family.”

I smiled and tears of joy stung my eyes but didn’t spill over. I was just so overwhelmed by the love I felt for Caleb and the obvious love he had for me. It wasn’t just that he was going to care for me, but he wanted my child to be safe and loved, and that meant more than anything to me.

I knew in that moment that this was it; Caleb and I were together forever. Everything we’d done in our lives had lead up to that moment, and everything we’d done had brought us together.

Nothing would ever tear us apart.