Love Under Construction (The Love Under Series Book 1) (19 page)

I wasn’t sure what day it was anymore, but certainly someone had to notice I was gone. Maybe not. I didn’t have a set schedule; I came and went as I pleased. I mainly worked on the weekends at the auction house or when Kristi had a delivery coming in and needed some extra help. Most of the time I just went there to hang out and get out of the house. 

It had to be the weekend already.
How many days have I been here?
Only slivers of light at any given time peeked in-between the wooden cracks of the barn or building I was in. The barns all had lampposts outside of them to run electric, so even the light was misleading. 

I tried to sit up, and my face scraped against the rough bristly hay that lined the floor. My left eye was swollen shut, and I tried to prop myself up on my arm so I could look out my right one to gain my bearings, but the restraints binding my hands behind my back were too tight. I couldn’t get enough leverage. 

However long time had passed since Bill kidnapped me, I woke up to him pouring water or whiskey down my throat or another blow from his hand or foot. Usually, it was water; why should he waste his good whiskey on me? I didn’t care for whiskey much, but it helped dull the pain somewhat with the couple of mouthfuls that made it down my throat. 

I was parched, and Bill was nowhere that I could see or hear him. Just the rustling of the breeze and crunch of the hay beneath my body weight echoed in the barn. I spied a water spigot across the aisle between the stalls and lurched like an inchworm along the floor to reach it. My feet were bound, my arms tied behind my back, and I was stuck on my right side. My belly hurt from the night before’s kicks, and I was afraid to know what my face looked like, or anything else, for that matter. The crunch motion contracted my abdomen to a state of agony, and my shoulders were sore from the immobile position and squirming along the barn floor. Hay poked through my clothes and scratched my face and neck, poking me in the eye. 

When I reached the spigot, I rested my face in the puddle of damp hay at its base and rested. The cool hay felt wonderful on my face, and I rubbed my cheek into it in an attempt to wash some of the crud and mud off of it. My lips were chapped, and my lower one was busted open from Bill’s anger. My scratchy throat screamed for relief. I inched as close as I could to the wall leaning against it. In a fetal position, I rocked back and forth until I was able to get enough momentum to sit upright against the wall. 

I prayed the spigot was not tightened like it would never be opened again. Since the hay was damp, I knew there had to be water and it was used recently. I nudged the bar lever with my cheek and leaned against it to open the flow. Using my body weight, I lurched forward, and the lever moved to the parallel position. My chin banged as it met the resistance of the stopping point, undoubtedly adding to my bruise collection. Slow flowing cool water ran out of the spout and into the hay. Still leaning against the spout, I attempted to slide down and lap at the water. 

My cheek slid off the spout, and I face-planted into the hay. Rolling over, I landed in the wet puddle soaking my clothes but the coolness kissed my skin. I inched down and let the cool water pour down over my face. Taking big gulps and turning my head to the side to swallow and not get water up my nose, I drank my fill, quenching my thirst and refreshing my skin. 

The reserve of energy now spent, I pushed away from the wall just out of reach from the water and rested. Thank goodness for small favors; my abrupt landing off the spout gave my right shoulder a break as I rested on my left side. I needed to get out of here but couldn’t find my voice to cry out for help. I didn’t know if anyone would even hear me since I didn’t know where I was to begin with. 

I heard creaking and slamming, and it roused me from my dream state. Playing possum, I held my breath while I tried to focus on the sound. 

“This wasn’t like this when we cleared the back field.”

“Damn, I hope we don’t have some hay thieves on our hands. We are going to need this rich stuff for the winter.”

“No, nothing looks missing. Maybe kids just messing around.”

“They definitely were. There are at least three empty bottles of whiskey here.”

The clink of the glass bottles startled me, but I tried to stay still. I didn’t know who the guys were or when Bill was coming back. 

“Little bastards left the water on.” I heard the footsteps near, and I braced myself for a kick or a hit. 

“Carlos! Come here! She’s here!” I tried to move, but my body would not obey. One swollen lid wouldn’t open, and I couldn’t see clearly through the slit and my other was buried in the wet hay. “Suzie, is that you?”

I feared the mess I must have looked like, and all I could muster was a weak nod. My voice was hoarse and came out like a balloon squeaking air. It was all the affirmation I could give. 

“Quick, Carlos. Call Mike. She needs to get to the hospital.” He touched my shoulder, and I cried out in pain. Everything hurt, and if I just laid still I could forget. “Suzie, it’s Danny. I will be right back. Let me go grab a blanket.”

I drifted in and out of consciousness as the flurry of activity ensued. Someone cut the binding from my arms and legs. The pain of my stiff shoulders was blinding and too much to bear. I faded in and out of consciousness. I heard Mike’s raspy smoke riddled bass, and it soothed my mind. 

“We got you. You’re going be all right. We got you.”

Looking down at Suzie, my heart broke. She was battered and bruised from head to toe. Imprints marred her back, and the outlines of shoe heels were clearly visible. Her eyes were various shades of blue and purple and swollen shut. The doctors said one of her eye sockets was cracked and two of her ribs were broken, but otherwise, she was a mass of bumps, cuts and bruises. It didn’t matter—she looked broken. 

The beeps of the machines droned on, and I waited patiently for Suzie to wake up. The doctors told me it would be a while since they sedated her, but I refused to leave. I was afraid if I left I wouldn’t be allowed back in. We weren’t kin and not married, so by rights they didn’t have to allow me in her room, so I stayed put until she could tell them otherwise. 

I hoped she wouldn’t, but Suzie and I hadn’t spoken in weeks. When Danny and Carlos brought her back to the house before Mike and I drove to the hospital, I thought the worst. There wasn’t a visible unbruised length of skin on her. Whoever Bill was, he was an animal. The guys were still looking for him, and since Suzie had been found, it was now a criminal investigation so the police and the sheriff's department had to respond. I couldn’t even imagine what shape Suzie would have been had we sat around and waited for the police to begin their search. 

When darkness fell and the guys stopped their search for the night, Mike and Kelli came up to the hospital. Mike clicked his tongue, gaining my attention, and nodded his head toward the doorway he stood in drawing me out into the hall. 

“Any change?” he asked.

“No, she is just sleeping. I guess the doctor gave her some pretty heavy-duty painkillers. She hasn’t moved.”

“At least she won’t be in pain. The guys found her in the back hay storage barn. This guy likes to drink and was camped out there for a while.”

“The barn closest to my property line?”

“That’s the one. It’s pretty quiet back there. We haven’t used those pastures in a long while because the beef keep busting up the fence, so we planted some hay and just mow.”

“The doctor said her stomach and intestines were completely empty so she had to be out there at least two or three days. They are giving her lots of fluids, IV nutrition, and pain meds.”

“You staying here?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna stay until she wakes up. You going back out to the ranch?”

“It's been a long day. Call us if anything changes.”

“Would you pass by my house in the morning and check on things? I haven’t been out there in a couple days.”

“Will do.” Mike extended his hand for a shake and brought me into a back-slap-half-hug. Kelli grabbed my face and kissed my cheek and reminded me to call my mother and tell her the update. 

I settled back into the armchair next to Suzie’s bed and thought of happier times. Her smile gleaming brightly in the sun on horseback galloped in my brain as I snoozed to the metronome of monitor's beeps. 

“Max?” Her soft whisper brought me instantly to attention and by her side. 

“I’m right here.” Through the small sliver of her right eye I could barely see her blue iris past the white that was red with broken blood vessels. 

“Thank you.” I held her hand gently, not wanting to disturb the tube that protruded from her arm. 

“For what? I’m so sorry, Suzie.”

“There is no reason to be sorry. You didn’t do this to me.”

“This was your ex? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“There wasn’t anything to tell. I thought it was over. He hadn’t bothered me or contacted me since I went back to Dallas.” She winced as she forced the words through her raspy voice. 

“He threatened you. You should have listened to Mike and filed a report then.”

“It wouldn’t have stopped him. He was waiting for me. It happened all so fast,” she whispered. 

“Did he … you know … violate you?” I wasn't sure if I really wanted to know the answer, but I asked anyway. 

She squirmed in the bed and wiggled all her fingers and toes. “Not that I remember. I don’t think so. I can honestly say that is probably the only thing that doesn’t hurt.”

I couldn’t have been more relieved and selfish at the same time. It didn’t erase the obvious injuries anyone could plainly see. 

"I'm so sorry." I laid my head on our joined hands, and she ran her fingers through my messy hair. I wasn't well-kept or groomed. My stubble was three days beyond scruffy, and my hair was stringy with grime. Nothing a shower or a hot soak wouldn't fix, but being with Suzie superseded my own comfort. 

"You saved me."

"That was Danny and Carlos, not me."

"You saved me long before they found me. I prayed for you."

"I was a dick. This should have never happened."

"You are here now. Where is Bill?"

"I'm not sure, but police have all his information and his photo. They are looking for him."

"He will never stop." Her heart rate increased setting off the alarm on the monitor. A nurse responded to her bedside to check on Suzie. Turning off the alarm, she asked, "Are you in pain, Miss? I can get you something for the pain."

"Yes, please. I hurt all over."

"I will be right back." She exited, leaving the door partly open behind her, and Suzie squeezed my hand. 

"Go shower you stink. I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't want to leave you."

"I'm just going to sleep. Will you come back later?"

"Of course. If I had my way, I would never leave your side again."

"Are you getting soft on me, Max Brewer?" The nurse returned and injected medicine into Suzie's IV, and it wouldn't be long before she was in la-la land. I leaned over and kissed her forehead gently. 

"Even cement has to get soft every once in a while to build a wall of protection. I will be back in a little while," I whispered in her ear and left her to sleep off her pain.