In Search of Grace (42 page)

             
“
You
bitch
.  S
o much for
the
open arm
s
’
welcome.”

             
Alex
did not
even give him a chance to finish.
Rolling towards him, she straddled his chest
pummel
ing
him with her f
i
st
s
.
 
S
he felt him shift as he tried to avoid the
attack
, grabbing
her wrist
,
pinning it down by her side while bring
ing
up
the other
fist to slam it in her face.  “This isn’t how it is supposed to be.”
He wailed. 
Alex fell to the side, groaning in pain from the blow
. 
Moaning, Peter
rolled
away from
her
,
trying to assess the situation
.  Jumping
to her feet
, Alex wasted no time and slammed her foot into his
kidney.  Lifting her foot
again,
she attempted to drive it into his face.  Anticipating her move, he grabbed her foot in one hand and her ankle in the other, twisting so that she immediately topp
le
d over
in pain
.  Scrambling up her body as she fell, he straddled her on her chest
,
sq
ueezing the breath out of her while he drove
his fist in
her
face again
.
  Alex deflected the blow with her hand, simultaneously b
ucking her lower body
off
the ground, she
managed to roll
to her side knocking him over while bring her
hands
up to scratch at his face.

             
The two were b
attling
hard
, n
either one heard Seth
moving
as he came to
. 
Rolling over to a sitting position
,
he reached up to feel
the back of his head
,
wincing as he
felt the wetness
of
blood
as it
continued to seep from the deep wound
. 
Turning to the two figures scuffling
,
he could
see Alex
in a fight
for her
life.  Rolling over
,
he raised himself
up to his hands and knees
,
shaking his head trying to clear it.
 
His
hand hit something hard
beneath him
.
Looking down
,
he saw the gun.  Shakily
,
he rose
,
pointing it at the two bodies no
w
rolling along the ground.
  Peter, getting the advantage again
,
rose above her and raised his fist again to pummel her.

             
Seth finally cleared his head enough to speak.
“Step back from her
,
or I will shoot.”  The fist hesitated in the air as Peter turned to face Seth and the
gun
that
was no
w
pointed directly at his head.  Raising both hands up, he rose to stand next to Alex still lying on the ground.

             
“
Ok
,
you
got me.  Now what?”

             
Without taking his eyes
off
Peter, Seth spoke to Alex.

             
“Are you ok, rabbit?”

             
Alex rolled over
groaning
.  Every part of her hurt, but she was alive.  Seth reached out his hand to her.  “Come over here.”

             
Peter watched as she struggled to stand
,
and as she stepped towards Seth, he jumped behind her grabbing her hair and yanking her so that she blocked his body from the weapon.
Wrapping his beefy arm around her neck, he started to squeeze.  Alex
face reddened
,
and
she
began
making
choking
noises
as she
fought
for air.

             
“I will snap her neck in a heartbeat.”

             
Seth stared deep into Alex’s eyes and nodded
.  Breathing a sigh of relief when
he knew she understood as she blinked several times.  Bring
ing
her hands up to
Peter’s
arms,
she braced herself as she stomped hard on his foot, while twisting her body.  Dropping to the ground
,
she
went
into the front roll that Seth had forced her to do time and time again.  She heard the gunshot before she even had time to rise to her feet. 
Quickly
turning
,
she watched as Peter
’
s
hands dropped to his side
,
went
first to his knees and then fell flat on his face.  He was dead before he even hit the ground.  She
continued to watch
as a bright red circle began to form on the back of his coveralls.  Looking up, she saw another officer pointing his gun at the now lifeless body.
 

             
“Are you two ok?”

             
“We are now.  Thanks
,
Tommy.”

             
Seth reached
out and grabbed Alex, pulling her tightly against
his side
,
kissing
the top
of her head
as he did
.
  “It’s over
,
baby.”  Pulling back, she stared a
t him with eyes wide
and
nodded.  He
felt
her body
began
to shake and
convulse
with spasms
before
she turned
, dropped to her knees
and vomited
.
 

             
He
knew
that she was in shock and filled with adreline. 
Kneeling down
next to her
,
he held her head, pulling the hair away from her face until she finished.  When she
was
done,
he sat on the ground, pulling her into his lap until he felt the shaking subside.  All around them was a flurry of
activity.
Someone had placed a blanket around his shoulders
,
and they sat wrapped in its warmth.
He heard the ambulance and police sirens in the distance.  He was so proud of her.  She fought hard.  She was no longer the victim.  

 
Looking down at her
,
Seth watched the many emotions cross
Alex’s
face, and his gaze followed hers
as she looked to
P
eter’s body
. 
“
It
is really over.”

             
“
Yes it is.
”  He touched the bruises covering her face
,
and she winced.  “
L
ooks like you won this fight
,
rabbit
.
”

             
“Yes
,
I did
.
”

             
“Are you ready to go home?”

             
Alex
looked up at Seth. 
“Only if you are coming with me.”

             
“There is no other place I would rather be
right now
, e
xcept maybe the hospital.”

             
Seth let himself into Alex’s house.  Walking through the living room into the kitchen, he frowned.  It was to
o
quiet
,
and there was nothing to indicate food was
being
prepared
.
  Reaching into his
pocket,
he checked the text again. 
Dinner, my place
tonight 6:00
?

             
He had been working so much lately.  Pushing himself harder than he had ever done before.  Coming to at Breakheart, watching Alex fight for
her life changed him forever. 
He wanted her.  Through thick and thin, he wanted to help her overcome ever
y
fear that she had.  He knew that, even though Peter was dead, she had a long way to go in her recovery
,
as did he.  Today was the first step in accepting his own truth.  He had driven to
New Jersey
to see Jeannette and the baby.  He was not sure how she would receive him.  His guilt
over Richards
’
death
hung heavy in his heart.  When she opened the door, she looked stunned, and then embraced him as he
fell into her
arms
crying for the first time
over the death of his friend. 

             
Now back in
Malden
, he had only one thing left to do
,
if he could find her.
 
Worried
,
he left through the back door thinking that maybe she had gone to his place
to wait for him
. 
Hurriedly
,
he stepped through the gate to his yard, taking the stairs two at a time.  His back door swung open before he could turn the handle.  Surprised
,
he took a step back.  Charles was standing in front of him
wearing
the largest apron
he
had ever seen.  A bowl
,
clutched in
one
arm was resting on his hip
,
and
a wooden spoon sticking out of
the center
,
while
a tiny face peered up at him from Charles feet.

             
“It’s about time you got home!”

             
“Is Alex ok?”

             
“Of course she is. 
Why wouldn’t she be?
She is show
er
ing right now, and you are late mister.  We were worried.”

             
Seth grinned and kissed Charles cheek - “Sorry
dear
, I had to pick something up on the way home.”

             
Blushing
,
Charles waved his hand in front of his face.  “Oh my.  You are sooooo forgiven.”

             
“Alex!  Your man is here.”

             
Seth stepped into the kitchen, his stomach growling as he
smell
ed
the roast that was cooking.

             
“That smells
really
great
,
Charles
.”

             
“Hey
,
you!”

             
Turning to the doorway, he smiled at Alex.

             
“Hey
,
yourself!”

             
Walking over to her, he pulled her into his arms.

             
“You’re late.”

             
“So
I have been told.”

             
“I hope you don’t mind having dinner at your house.  Charles thought it would be fun to cook in your kitchen for a change.”

             
“No that is perfect actually
,
because I need to talk to you
,
and having Charles here would help.”