Dangerous Embrace (Embrace #1) (28 page)

“Didn’t you get my note? You still owe me one,
Sweet Sarah
,” he said, panting his disgusting breath at her.

A thrill of terror raced up her spine at the sound of his voice.

“Please stop, don’t touch me.” She stomped hard with her heels on his feet. It didn’t slow his progress. His cold hand up the back of her dress spiked her pulse in panic. At the same time, he started licking the side of her neck and shoulder. The hot wetness of his mouth forced a scream to come bubbling out of her throat. She squirmed away, shivering at the sensation. Sick with fear and anger.

“Get off me. Get off me. Don’t touch me!” she shrieked as he clawed at her panties. Sarah pushed and twisted to free herself from his grip. Again, she managed to brace herself in the doorjamb, if he got her into the bathroom, she was dead. When they swung around, she let her knees weaken and tried to drop to the floor, but he pulled her tighter, lifting her off her feet this time.

Sarah threw her head back, hoping to make contact with his face. He slammed her face first into the wall.

“Bitch, if you fucking break my nose again, I’ll kill you.”

Sarah saw stars for a few seconds, and her face throbbed from the impact.

She felt him reach for his pants as he held her flush against the wall. His erection pressed into her thigh, and his hand came back up her dress. Sarah screamed again, desperately praying for someone to come. His grip was so tight around her torso she could hardly breathe.

When he ripped off her panties, blood pumped through her body, pounding in her head where her face hit the wall. She cried out again for help, but the sound seemed to echo in her head, and she wasn’t sure if anyone could hear her. She tried to keep fighting, but she didn’t have the strength. He was too strong.

Pins and needles broke out over her entire body when his hand reached between her legs, before she could react, she was pulled backward and knocked off her feet. Midway through her fall, someone scooped her up into a tight embrace.

Sarah looked up to see Gabby. He dragged her up by the waist and pulled her away from the fight happening behind her. Mark had the attacker by the throat against the wall, until the barrel of a gun was waved in front of his face.

“No—Mark—no!” She reached for Mark but gripped thin air. Gabby wouldn’t loosen his hold around her waist. She was shaking and pushing at her restraints as she watched Mark back away with his eyes locked on the gun.

“No-no-no, Mark!” When she cried out, the attacker looked at her, and Gabby swung her around behind him and out of his sights.

The sound of a shot echoed around the room and her heart stopped. When she twisted out of Gabby’s arms to find Mark, everything moved in slow motion. Within seconds, he had her in his arms and held her against his warm chest.

“Are you okay?” she cried as she ran her hand over his chest and then his face. “Did he shoot you—did he shoot Gabby?” she asked, looking around frantically.

“No, he shot at the ceiling. Are you okay?” he asked, obviously panicked as he examined her from head to toe.

Sarah nodded throwing her hand over her face to cover her sobs. “Oh my God—I thought he shot you.”

She wrapped her arm around him, gripping him tightly, beyond thankful that he was okay. She inhaled his scent and started to cry again, unable to vocalize her relief.

“Baby, I’m fine.” He held her close, keeping her from slipping to the floor when her knees gave out. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.”

~

Mark stayed at her side, holding her hand while the emergency room doctor set her shoulder. She tried not to cry out too much. She could see how difficult it was for Mark to watch. He looked just as beaten up as she felt, but he never left her, never released her hand.

They’d been there for hours. The sun was rising and all she wanted was her own bed. While they waited for her discharge papers, Mark kissed the bruise on the side of her face and then lightly kissed her shoulder. “I’m sorry I broke my promise,” he whispered.

“What are you talking about?”

“I promised I would never let him hurt you again, this is my fault. I never should have let you out of my sight,” he said with regret heavy in his voice.

“Stop—I should be able to walk myself to the bathroom. It’s my fault. I’m one of those stupid women I usually laugh at.”

“What?”

“I’m freaking stupid.” Her eyes pooled with tears. She tried to push them away, but the medication was making her loopy. “I let myself get distracted. My stomach was full of butterflies and my head was full of you. I should have been more aware of my surroundings.” She covered her eyes in embarrassment. “I can’t believe I let myself—I never even saw or heard him coming. Stupid, stupid...”

“Stop calling yourself stupid.” Mark pulled her hand away and leaned close to her face. “You don’t really believe this is your fault, do you?”

“Of course, I do. I know better than that, and I should have been smarter and stronger than him. I can’t freaking believe I let myself get victimized again.”

She shook her head as her tears fell down her face.

“Sarah, you’re being ridiculous, stop saying that. What if he would have put that gun in your face?” He put his hands carefully on her face and turned her, bringing them eye to eye. “He came prepared to win the fight this time.”

“That’s not the point. If I would have looked around at my surroundings, been more aware...”

She pushed his hands away, trying to hide her face again. Sarah knew she was right. She’d let herself get wrapped up in her feelings for Mark, and when she did, she let her guard down to the rest of the world.

~

Mark waited outside, watching through the window as Brian finished taking Sarah’s statement. He couldn’t stand to be away from her. This was his fault. He shouldn’t have let her out of his sight—much less in a freaking dance club.

His feelings for her were clouding his judgment and he had to stop. But stop what? Stop protecting her or stop feeling for her? He grimaced at the term feeling, not yet ready to say love, but...it was there. It had been there for a while. He couldn’t pinpoint the moment he realized it. Maybe when they were at the beach or when she’d told him about her past. Maybe when they’d made love. Sarah giving him her complete trust—God, and look what he’d done with it—he’d failed her.

If his feelings were clouding his judgment, there was only one solution. Another agent. He wouldn’t leave her, but he could bring in someone else to take over the detail—if he could make her understand. Would she believe him now when he said she wasn’t safe?

When Brian walked out, Mark nodded at him before turning to enter the room.

Brian put his hand on Mark’s shoulder. “Wait, bro, I need a minute with you first.”

“I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“She did okay, she’s strong—she handled it well.”

“Thanks, Brian.” Mark reached for the door again.

“This won’t take long. I have the information on the note you fished out of her mailbox.” Brian reached into his pocket to pull out his little note pad and flipped it open to Mark.

“’An eye for an eye. A nose for a nose. A bullet for a bullet. We’ll be together again soon, my Sweet Sarah.’”

Mark’s stomach turned.

“Blue ink, all caps again, we got his DNA off the envelope.”

“And...?” Mark asked, wanting to hear the rest.

“
And
, it’s a match to the other rapes
and
to Jennings’ attack on September twenty-second. When we get this guy, we get him on everything. Not to mention the DNA picked from under your girlfriend’s fingernails tonight.” Brian smiled in satisfaction.

“You have to catch him first,” Mark pointed out, making his disappointment in the investigation clear.

“Yeah.” He squinted at Mark. “And what the hell were you thinking? How did he even get to her tonight? You need to get your head out of your ass. You do this shit for a living. C’mon man, what happened?”

“Thanks, Brian—thanks for jumping right into my nightmare with both feet.” Mark yanked on the door and turned his back on Brian.

“I’m just keepin’ it real, man,” Brian said before Mark closed the door behind him.

Sarah woke, wrapped in Mark’s warmth. She wasn’t sure if he was still sleeping. She gently turned her head to look at him. She wanted to reach up and touch his face, but her arm was tied up in a sling.

She wasn’t confused this time, not like the last time she’d woke with a sling on her arm, although her arm hurt much worse this time. Everything hurt much worse this time.

Mark’s relaxed face comforted her. He was like a blanket of safety she could wrap around herself. Even though it killed her to give him up, she had to do it. Yesterday she was ready to give it a try, but Mark represented a life she couldn’t have.

He shifted and pulled her closer to him. She sucked air through her teeth and tried to hide her grimace too late. His eyes popped open and he released his grip.

“Sorry,” he muttered as his eyes closed again. Then his eyes popped back open, and he looked down at her. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been beaten up,” she said, her breath hitching again. “It pretty much hurts to do everything, even breathe. Other than that, I’m fine.”

“I’ll get you a painkiller.” He kissed her forehead and slowly started to get up.

“No, don’t move yet, please.” She gripped him and held him in place.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m not ready to face reality, wait please.” She breathed in deep and sighed in pain again. He slid his arm out from around her to get up. “I’m okay really. You don’t have to get up.”

This would be the last time she’d let him hold her, and she wasn’t ready to let go of him.

“No, it’s not okay if you’re in pain. I’ll be right back.”

He returned a minute later with a glass of water and a pill. “What time is it?” she asked after she swallowed the pill.

“It’s about three o’clock in the afternoon. Are you still tired?”

“No, since you’re forcing me to face reality, I really want a shower. I feel kind of gross.” She slowly lifted herself off the bed.

“We can certainly accommodate a shower.”

“I don’t understand why everything hurts much worse today. I feel like my ribs are broken and my arm’s been ripped off.” She grimaced as she looked down at her bruised arms. “Back to long sleeves.”

“I’m sorry...you were just starting to feel normal again.” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She shook him off and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

When her clothes were off, she stared at herself in the mirror, starting at her feet and up to her face. As bad as the body bruises were, it was the bruises on her face that really broke down the sturdy façade she’d been wearing.

The bruising traveled up the side of her face, around her cheekbone, to her forehead, and both eyes were black. Sarah looked at herself as memories of her past flooded her mind.

She remembered the weeks she’d spent with black eyes, heaviness in her heart, and pain so bad she wished for death. For weeks, every morning she’d awaken and cursed God for making her spend another day in a world without her child.

Sarah started to sob and had to suck in painful breaths as her chest heaved. The pain in her ribs forced her to cry out. She turned the water on so Mark wouldn’t hear her cry. He’d feel worse if he saw how wretched she was. If she could just have some time alone to get it out of her system, she’d be stronger when she had to face telling him.

Now she had to find the strength to take back everything she’d said the day before. The thought of losing Mark made everything in her body ache worse. She sobbed mercilessly, knowing she would hurt him and hurt herself in the process.

The tears continued to stream down her face, mixing with the flow of fresh water as she stepped into the shower. She hoped the water would rinse away the horrible feeling of loneliness she felt at having to walk away from Mark.

She scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to rid herself of the nasty layer of filth and heavy thoughts that consumed her. When the water went cold, she turned the shower off and stepped out, all the while trying to push away her emotions and face her decision with certainty.

Her scrubbing left raw and red marks all over her body, enhancing the black and blue from the bruises. Sarah gently toweled off and dried her hair hoping the extra few minutes would give her time to rebuild what little was left of her façade.

She tried to dress herself without calling for help, but when she couldn’t pull her injured arm through her shirt, she gave up. She had her sweats on and one arm in the shirt when Mark entered the bathroom. He helped her get both arms through the shirt and hooked the sling.

“What happened here?” he asked, gesturing to the red and irritated skin above her collar. She turned and looked in the mirror, rubbing at the marks on her neck.

“I scrubbed a little too hard with the washcloth,” she said, lowering her eyes.