“Excuse me? Miss? Are you okay?” I asked, lifting her up.
In the darkness, it took me a while to realize that it was her.Hillary.She clutched my shirt, looking at me with wide eyes. She was bleeding, but she didn’t seem to care.
“He’s after me!” she gasped. “He has found me! He will kill me! You have to save me! I can’t go back to him!”
I looked up to where she was pointing, and I could make out the shadow of a man running away. I clenched my jaw and said, “It’s alright. He is gone now. I am here, don’t worry. Are you okay?”
“Just a small scratch,” she said, her voice shaking.
I examined her wound, and after determining that it wasn’t too serious, I picked her up in my arms. I sat her down in my car and got into the driver’s seat, my mind in overdrive. My mind went back to the voice message I had heard her listening to and the man I had just seen. I wanted to stay as far away from this girl as possible, but it was proving to be impossible.
It seemed she was in far deeper trouble than I realized. I just hoped I wouldn’t get dragged down with her.
Chapter 9
Damsel in Distress
Hillary Beck
Ishivered as I sat in his car, my heart thumping in my chest. I could still feel the waves of anxiety and fear rolling over me. I had left work late, courtesy of my ever-caring boss. He had loaded me with so much work that I thought I would be there all night. When I finally finished and started to make my way out, I was exhausted. After the first Uber driver had cancelled the ride after waiting for 20 minutes; I’d decided to just take a long walk back home.
I’d been walking down the chilly street, freezing in the cold breeze. My mind was occupied by Gale, once again thinking over the moment in his office and how badly I had wanted him. And then, I had heard his harsh voice. I could recognize it everywhere. It was the same voice that had tormented me for years.
“I found you,” he had whispered.
Panic rushed through me. My mind told me to run, but my body froze.No, I couldn’t let him take me.I couldn’t go through that again. I’d snapped out of my fear and remembered those self-defense lessons I had taken after leaving him. An elbow jab towards his nose, and a right kick to the stomach. He hadn’t anticipated that I would physically fight back. He doubled over, and I ran. I ran as fast as my legs would allow me. I threw my heels off, making it easier for me to run. All I knew was that I wanted to get away. I had been far away from him. I had to get help.
Despite my attack, he caught up to me easily. I could hear his footsteps behind me as he started to catch up. I ran into the street blindly, only thinking of one thing.Get away from him.
And then I saw headlights. Fortunately, the driver had braked, and the car was slow enough that I didn’t get seriously hurt.I had to run away. I couldn’t let him get to me. Not again.
And then I had seen Gale. His familiar eyes and his comforting face. I remembered begging him to save me, and he did. He carried me to his car, where I now sat as he drove silently. I wondered if he would ask what had happened, but then I pushed the thought out of my mind. He didn’t care enough, that I knew.
“I think it would be best if we reported this to the police,” Gale said.
“No, he has contacts in the police,” I said, my voice still shaking. I felt weak as I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to bring some sort of comfort.
“Here,” he said, suddenly.
I looked up and saw him holding his coat out to me. I took it with trembling hands. I wrapped it around me, feeling the warmth and his familiar scent waft over me.
“Don’t worry,” Gale said. “I have contacts in the police too. Really good ones.”
I thought about what he would do to me if I ever told him. I still remembered that one time I had reported him and what he had done to me. I couldn’t go to the police.
“No, you don’t understand!” I said. “You can’t tell anyone. He’s dangerous! You can’t. Please, I’m begging you!”
He looked at me and then returned his attention towards the road.
“Okay,” he said softly. “We won’t. Calm down.”
I took in deep breaths, trying to steady my quivering heart. The fear and trauma were still too fresh.
“I will take you back to my place,” Gale said. “So he can’t track you down. You can sleep there and recover, and we will see what we can do tomorrow, okay?”
I nodded, feeling a wave of gratefulness that he was here. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t shown up at that moment.
We reached his house, where a stern-looking butler let us in. I hated to imagine what he must think about me.
