Sweet Heat Rising (Thoroughbred Men Series) (14 page)

20

They left the apartment together fifteen minutes later. Sarah was going to take her car, however, Matt said that he would drop her off and pick her up instead. Sarah finally confided, “Well, I considered going by my place and getting some cleaning done so I can move back in,” she said quietly.  She watched as Matt stood silently at the car door, saying nothing, his eyes searching her face. “I just thought that maybe I was in your way. Things are moving fast, and maybe we need to get to know each other a bit more?’ she explained. “I am not trying to hurt you or break up with you. I love us…the idea of
us
,” she continued. Sarah reached out to him, trying to reassure him.

Matt grasped her hand and pulled it to his chest. “Sarah, if you need space and time, I understand. I like being with you; there is no doubt for me. I just want you safe and if you want to move back into your place, I understand.” He did not want to lose her by pushing her away if she was not ready.

Sarah had always been independent and it was far too easy to need him. She said to him, “I’ve been thinking of putting an alarm at the house too, maybe you could come with me tonight so I can do a bit of work cleaning up. How about we have our hot date at my place,” she said suggestively as she drew circles absently on his chest over his heart. She wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him and lighten the mood.

Matt nodded, held open the car door for her as she slipped inside his car. He was a bit surprised. He almost resented the fact that she was wanting to move back into her place. He was just so comfortable with her and thought she was too, but he never expected her to want things to change. Maybe he was naive? Of course, she had a life, a home of her own and things to do, but the last week or so had been just bliss.

Matt quietly drove her to work, same pattern as before. He drove in front, looking to make sure no one was there and then circled the building. He pulled into the lot to let Sarah out close to the door. Tyler’s car was already parked out back of the small shop and the light was on inside.

Sarah leaned over, gave Matt a lingering kiss. Matt grasped at her hand that was stroking his cheek. “Sarah, just try to be safe okay?” he said watching her. She had quickly grown to mean so much to him and he could not imagine being alone again. “Of course. See you later?” she asked, giving him a soft kiss. She opened the car door, keys in hand, and exited the car. Matt waited to pull out from the parking lot until he saw her duck inside the door and wave from the small window pane high on the panel.

Sarah turned from the door and saw the small kitchen was lit up, but did not see Tyler. “Tyler?” Sarah called out as she walked in further and flipped on the fryer. She slipped the apron over her head and heard a loud bang from the front counter area. Sarah’s heart began to thud in her chest as she slowly peeked around the corner of the door.

She gave a sigh of relief when she saw him and quickly changed her mind at the expression of anger on his face.  “What is wrong?” she asked alarmed, thinking they had been robbed again. She was pretty certain she had counted the till the night before and deposited the funds. There should still be over one hundred in the register to start the day.

Tyler stood at the counter, both hands clenched. “How could you?” he whispered. His body shook in fury. He was so angry and felt such betrayal. He could feel his pulse pounding in his chest with every breath.

Sara could hear bells going off in her head! “How could I what, Tyler? What is going on?” she walked up behind him to see if the place had been vandalized or if the register had been opened. She saw everything looked normal.

Tyler turned on her and grabbed Sarah by the upper arms painfully. “Ow! You're hurting me!” he heard her exclaim, frightened. He had a harsh grip on the tender part of her upper arms and his fingers dug painfully. Tyler shook her and asked again, “How could you? How could you do this to us, to me?”

Sarah felt her mouth drop open in shock. “To us?” she questioned. What was he talking about? There was no ‘us’ however she was not about to say that while he had a hold of her! “Tyler, you are hurting me. Let me go,” she said calmly.

“Yes! Us! You and me!” Tyler yelled at her, tightening even further the grip on her arms. “To us! To our shop! To me!” he shook her again with each word. He jerked her body close against him and looked at her with a hostile glare, dropped his voice. “How could you?” he ground out between clenched teeth. She was so soft and so close; why could she just not have chosen him?

Sarah pleaded, “Tyler, stop it! You're hurting me!” and tried to break his grip. She eventually freed one arm as she squirmed trying to pull away from his large body. She swung away from him as far as possible and jerked hard at her arm as she tried to free it from his grip. “Tyler, this is my shop,” she said evenly trying to calm him down.

Tyler felt something snap in himself. He flung Sarah bodily towards the chair that was perched along the wall.  He was more than angry. He was enraged. He had seen them, her and Matt together, at the shop. He had come by to pick up his keys he had forgotten in the pocket of the smock she had him wear. He hated that damn smock, he thought angrily.

Sarah was shocked and winded as she landed hard on the chair and toppled over. She raised up on her hand and scooted back from him. Her side throbbed deeply in pain. She had hit the chair hard.

Tyler stood over her, glaring and breathing hard. “How dare you!” he seethed, “bring him here and fuck him in my shop?” he finished screaming at her, getting louder with each word. He could not believe they had been so involved with each other that they did not hear the bell up front announce his arrival. He walked in and found his Sarah bent over the table, crying out in passion. It should have been him making her excited like that. It should have been him making love to her in their shop.

Sarah was shocked. How did he know? Did he see them? Did he watch or walk in and how could she not have noticed? She scrambled to get away from him and he grabbed her by the hair as she stood and turned to run. Tyler tugged back on her braid and Sarah yelped in pain. She felt her hair yank and felt something tear, bringing her almost to her knees.

Tyler pulled her against him. “I have tried to be nice... I have tried to be polite. We have built this shop up … and you had to go and fuck it up for us!” he said angrily against the side of her neck and he held her braid tightly. “You said you didn't date employees but I am not your employee, I am practically your partner in this business.” Again, he pulled hard on her braid as if to enunciate that he was in control. He held her arm tightly and smiled maliciously when he heard her groan in pain.

“This is our place,” he repeated again. “What’s yours is mine … and what’s mine is yours. I did not steal that money. That was our money for the day and I needed it,” he said and shook her again and threw her against the wall.

Sarah was in trouble. He was crazy! She suspected he might have been the one that had taken the money but did not want to accuse him wrongly and had nothing to go off of. She had hoped differently because he was such a help around the shop and she didn't want to have to fire him. Sarah was stunned as she hit the wall hard and more shocked when he slammed into her bodily, grinding himself against her. She could smell his breath near her face and felt him shaking with rage.

Tyler thought of how her body looked last night bent over the table and jealously clouded his vision. “You gave it to him. Now you are gonna give it to me, whore!” he said menacingly “I cannot believe you fucked him in our kitchen,” he said tearing at her shirt. He knew how she liked it, based off of how she was taken last night and the sounds she had made.

He could tell she liked a man in charge and he was in the mood to hold absolute control over her. He saw that Matt had taken her aggressively. He was so angry, he would do the same as Matt did. He would take her roughly and then tell her he loved her. That seemed to work last night for Matt, it better damn well work for him too.

The sound of the fabric tearing away put Sarah in survival mode. She was not going to let him rape her. Sarah started slapping and kicking at him. She felt the same fear all those years ago when Josh held her by the throat, choking her. She screamed out “No!” and started fighting him, trying to protect herself and get away.

Tyler reared back and punched her hard in the jaw. He watched her collapse on the floor, stunned from the impact of his fist. He assumed she liked it really rough then, because she finally got quiet and she had let a moan slip out. Tyler sat on her hips, pinning her to the ground. He reached down and grabbed her hands in one of his and held them over her head, smashing them into the cold linoleum floor. He grabbed at her shirt with his other hand and ripped at it, buttons popped off everywhere.

Sarah screamed again. “No!” she yelped. Her shirt fell completely open and she started bucking underneath him “No! NO!” she shouted, panicked. She could feel the cold air on her body and struggled.

Tyler let go of her hands and bunched them in front of him tightly. “Shut up, shut up! I am going to get what I have coming. You are mine dammit!” he said hotly and punched her again and again. Sarah went still and felt the pain wash over her, the blackness welcoming her.

21

“Hello?” Sarah heard a female voice call questioningly, “anyone home?” the voice tried again. The voice was so familiar and so welcome, as long as it was not Tyler returning to finish the job, Sarah hoped dazedly. “Help me, please” Sarah tried to scream in pain but it only came out as a moan. Everything hurt. She hurt to breathe and her face was so tender and sore.

Sarah saw one of her customer’s, a favorite and a good friend, Millicent Clark peer around the doorway and scream.  She came flying around the corner, her high heels clacking on the floor and crouched down next to Sarah.  “Oh my word, Sarah! Are you okay?” she grabbed her purse and called 911 and rushed to Sarah’s side. “Are you okay” she repeated, scooping Sarah’s head into her lap and telling them to send an ambulance on the phone. 

Sarah cried in relief that it was over, help was on the way. She also cried in fear and self-loathing. She felt so dirty and hurt so much. Millicent just held her and made crooning noises until the police arrived. Sarah felt her smooth her hair on her sore head, that now rested in her lap.

The police officer arrived, surveyed the scene and took Sarah’s statement. She was mortified because it was the same officer that had picked her underwear out of the yard not too long ago. He looked at her sympathetically and wrote down everything. Several other police patrol cars began to arrive and officers filled the tiny bakery.

They insisted on doing a physical on her and doing a rape check on her since she had lost consciousness. Sarah assumed she hadn't been raped since that seemed to be the only place on her that didn't hurt and her pants were still on her body. One police officer asked her to describe Tyler, and asked if she wanted to press assault charges against him. Sarah nodded. Throw the book at him, her mind screamed.

Officer Jacob Hunter asked gently if there was anyone to contact and Sarah broke down crying. She didn't want Matt to see her like this. She asked for her purse, so she could get her phone. He handed it to her, her phone was intact but the phone screen was cracked. Jacob reached for the phone off the wall, gave her the handset off the receiver and handed it to her.

Matt answered on the second ring and said, “Hey, baby,” ...and Sarah started crying again, only in big, shaky, heart-wrenching sobs when she heard his voice. The officer took the phone from her, identified himself and informed him that EMS was taking her to the hospital and suggested he meet them there.

Matt could feel his heart shatter. The officer said she was injured and would discuss if he was immediate family, which he was not. Matt wanted to be sick and was glad he was pulled over and had just dropped off a package because he was pretty sure he would have had an accident. He called his boss, and asked someone to take over his shift, explaining the call he had just received. He raced back to the depot, dropped off the delivery truck and grabbed his car.

Matt arrived at emergency and scanned the waiting area. Sarah was nowhere to be seen. He checked in at the desk, they had already taken her back and had to clear it with her since he was not immediate family. Matt paced, scared, as to what had happened?

The nurse finally came back and pulled him aside. She informed him that the doctors were still checking her and he could go back but needed to prepare himself that she had been injured but would be ok. Matt nodded anxiously. The nurse led the way down the hallway into a room with an officer that stood near the door. She walked in and pulled back a curtain as the doctor shone a light quickly from one of Sarah’s eyes to the other. Matt was floored.

Sarah had a large black eye, bruises on her jaw and her lip was swollen on the right side. She had massive bruises on her arms that were sticking out from the hospital gown and had seen one on her back where the gown gaped. She would not look Matt in the face. The doctor shook Matt’s hand and asked Sarah if it was all right to speak with him. She just nodded and curled up into a tight ball, as if to protect herself.

Matt left the room with the doctor and when the door shut, he asked him what had happened. The doctor informed him that she had been beaten into unconsciousness and that they had done a rape kit test on her to be on the safe side.

The test had shown evidence of semen, collected some hairs and blood.  They were unsure how long she had laid unconscious and what exactly had happened. She had told them that Matt had made love to her the night before but they were unsure at the semen collected was his or Tyler’s. They knew she had been beaten severely, she had several bruises on her face, upper arms, torso and one cracked rib.

The officer standing at the door, introduced himself and informed Matt that he was at the scene first. He was the one that had called him. Matt asked if they knew who it was and revealed that it had been Tyler that had beat her.

Matt thought he was going to be sick and would beat Tyler within an inch of his life if he ever saw him again. They reassured him that they would do all they could for Sarah to make sure she felt better soon and would keep her safe. Matt nodded, shocked and returned to the room.

He gently sat on the edge of the bed and tried to hold Sarah to comfort her. Sarah cried and cried as he rocked her gently. She did not talk, she just wept. Matt held her for what seemed to be hours until she wore herself out and gave a wobbly sigh.

Matt pushed the button and asked for something to help Sarah sleep. When Sarah protested, he smoothed her hair and reassured her he would be here to watch her. Sarah began cried again as she realized she was supposed to have had the alarm installed today and that there was little chance of that preventing today’s events.

The nurse entered the room and gave a small injection into the IV line, helped Sarah lay back comfortably and pulled up the blankets. Sarah would not let go of Matt’s hand. He scooted a chair right next to the hospital bed in order to be close by. He held her hand while she slept and for a long time afterwards, just thinking, he watched her.

The nurses checked on her several times throughout the night, gave her something for the pain and to help her sleep. Matt stayed with her the entire night, his heart breaking when he heard her cry in her sleep and heard her moaning in fear. He would hold her hand, kiss her forehead and tell her softly that “I’m here and it was okay” and she seemed to settle down. Sarah had not talked about what had happened yet, but he had a very good idea from what the officer and doctor had revealed to him.

His little Sarah had fought and fought hard...and Tyler? Tyler was a dead man if he found him before the police did. The doctor told him that she had not been raped according to her statement, but she had been beaten severely. The officer thought that there may have been some interruption during the assault because she had been beaten to unconsciousness and partially disrobed, however her clothes on her lower extremities had been present still and not disturbed.

The back door to the bakery had still been locked, and they assumed he had exited from the front of the bakery, which explained how a customer had found her. The doctor said they would keep her overnight for observation, but that he didn't recommend she go home alone. Matt’s exact thoughts, as he ran a thumb over the back of her delicate hands and frowned at the bruises on her wrists.

As Sarah slept, Matt looked at the clothes that were removed from her upon arrival. Her shirt was in tatters and her bra destroyed. It angered and saddened him as he thought of his precious Sarah being attacked by that monster.  He would ask the nurse for a scrub top for Sarah, or see if they had something in the gift shop that she could wear when they left tomorrow.

Sarah awoke sometime later when the nurse came in humming a tune and placed a dish in front of her. “Here you are, sweetie, your five star meal served on the finest china!” she joked and pulled off the plastic lid with a flourish. She plumped up Sarah’s pillow and leaned the bed upwards. “How about we remove this thing today?” she said gesturing at the IV “and let’s get you home with this fine young man,” she said jovially. The nurse tried her best to lighten the somber mood in the room.

Sarah nodded and waited patiently as they removed the IV from her hand. She picked away at the food and was surprisingly hungry. Matt was very glad to see she had an appetite and hoped that it was a good sign that her spirit was not broken. She had cried so very much yesterday night and he was very worried about her.

They brought her a hospital toiletry kit and invited her to take a shower to see how she felt. There was a stool in the shower in case she felt she needed to rest. Sarah got up and walked to the bathroom, she shut the door firmly and Matt could hear her gasp clear across the room.

He ran over and opened the door. Sarah was just staring at the mirror and looking at her arms. Her eye was severely black and the cornea of her eye was red from the impact of Tyler’s fist. Her jaw was mottled purple and green. Sarah’s lip was split along the side and also swollen, discolored. Her arms were covered in bruises and there was no telling what was underneath the hospital gown.

Matt pulled her into his arms and turned her away from the mirror. “Don't worry, baby, the bruises will fade... I just need you to be okay for me.” He kissed her hair gently and smoothed his hands over her shoulders, feeling her tense up. “Want me to leave the room or stay?” he asked quietly.

“Stay” Sarah whispered. She did not want to be alone. Matt turned her around and undid the ties at the back of her gown, carefully not saying a word and masking his face. She turned and looked at him and avoided the mirror’s reflection. “It’s bad, isn't it?” she whispered softly.

“Baby, it is fine. Do not worry about it, you just need time to heal,” he reassured her and ushered her into the warm water of the shower. He did not dare tell her how bad it really was, all she had to do was look down. There were large blotches covering her chest and waist but what shocked him the most was the painful looking bite marks on her delicate chest and shoulders... where he had just touched her. No wonder she jumped, he was sure that was painful!

Sarah let the water slide all over her. She felt so dirty and so ashamed. She cried for some time in the shower. She heard Matt offer to wash her hair and declined. She gingerly washed her hair several times, and tried to clean out the tangled mess but it was so sore and did not seem to really be coming out. Pushing or scrubbing at the scabbed area was so tender! She finally finished in the shower and tried to dry off as fast as possible due to the temperature of the room. She was shivering by the time she had finished. She thanked him as he handed her the scrub top acquired from the nurses station. Sarah dressed quickly saying nothing about the lack of bra or panties (confiscated with the rape kit) and her pants. She moved back to the bed, and she saw he moved to the recliner to be close. Sarah picked at her hair for quite some time with the comb trying to undo the snarls and knots. She saw he watched her silently, not moving. She wondered what was going through his mind.

The doctor came in and spoke with her. He informed her that the rape kit had come back and was being turned over to the police for evidence. He assured her that the bruising would heal and to give herself time. He asked her if she would like to speak with a chaplain or counselor. Sarah shook her head no. He gave her instructions to rest, drink plenty of water, and allow her body to heal. The doctor said she would need to check in with the police because more information may be needed. He said the nurse would be in shortly with discharge papers and she would be free to go home soon.

Sarah began to cry. She was scared to go home and they had just discussed that the other day about how she felt like she needed to give them more time and more space. Here she was now, needing a place to stay once again. She did not want to go home. She was terrified that Tyler would show up at her house.

Matt pulled her in his arms. He tried to reassure her. “Baby, if you want to go home, I will take you and we can stay there. We will get you a gun, or a huge dog, or something,” he said trying to lighten the moment. Right now, all he wanted was for her to come home with him and to hide her away from the world so she could heal.

Sarah hugged him and nodded. She signed the discharge papers and the nurse wheeled her to the doorway, Sarah protested the whole way. Matt took that time to race down to the parking lot and pull his car around to the front of the hospital so Sarah could get inside. She was silent the whole way home to her condo.