My Savior Forever (13 page)

Willie tightens his reins on me and
again I wince. “Nah, ain’t gonna be locked up again. Won’t happen,
I’d rather die first.” Jesse’s eyes go back to the door quickly
again and looks back at Willie. “That can be arranged.” He
sneers.

Everything after that is a blur as it
happens so fast.

Jesse runs across the room and lunges
at Willie. My captor reacts by throwing me against the wall so hard
that I ram my head into the wall causing me to stumble. At the same
time when Willie is letting go, he pulls so hard on my left arm, I
hear a pop and excruciating pain. I am wobbly, my head is throbbing
and my arm is hanging from me, useless.

“RUN, CASSIE, RUN. YOU KNOW WHERE TO
GO! HURRY!” Jesse is screaming at me as he wrestles with Willie on
the ground.

My adrenaline soars, and I run out of
the room literally flying down the stairs. I keep looking all
around me, looking for Mick.

I run down the hall and get to the
bookshelf by Jesse’s office. I hear them yelling upstairs. I am
panicking, rushing trying to find the book that will open the
secret door. I start pulling on all of them.

I hear a gun shot, and I jump,
startled. OH, my God! Jesse!!!! No, he told me to go hide so that’s
where I am going. I finally find the right book, and the door
slides into the wall. I go in, turn around and hit the hidden
button on the wall to close the door. I am afraid to turn on any
lights, so I hold onto the spiral staircase railing and try to
hurry down the stairs.

I get to the bottom and run as fast as
I can to the alcove Jesse showed me. Once I get there, I start
feeling around on the wall for the switch. Ugh! I can’t find the
damn hidden switch! I hear the wall upstairs moving. Oh, my God!
Where’s the damn switch? I start hitting the wall everywhere. My
heart is beating so fast I feel like it’s beating out of my
chest.

Finally! I found the switch and hit
it. The door slides into the wall. I go into the little room, turn
around and hit the switch in there. As the door begins to slide
back to close, I slide down the far wall until my bottom hits the
floor. I pull up my legs and put my right arm around them, hugging
them to me.

I lay my head back against the wall
and wait. My head is throbbing so much worse now, and I can hardly
feel my left arm or shoulder. I think about Jesse and wonder if he
is ok. If something happens to him, I will die. Tears are flowing
down my face now. I am so scared! Scared that the men will find me,
scared that Jesse is dead. I don’t know what to do. How long should
I stay in here?

I hear something. It sounds like
someone running this way. I’m so scared that I feel like I am going
to throw up. It would take someone a long time to figure out there
is a hidden room here. How will anyone know I am in here to rescue
me? I’ll die here because I’ll be too scared to leave. But, if
Jesse really is dead, then I will die here because I don’t want to
live without him.

I hear someone hitting the wall
outside the room. The door begins to slide into the wall. Here we
go, I’m gonna be killed. I put my head onto my knees and
pray.

“Cassie? Baby?” I look up slowly and
see Jesse come into the room. He lowers himself in front of me. I
can barely see him through my tears. The blood on the right side of
his head seems to have slowed down but a black eye is forming. His
lower lip is cut and bleeding.

I launch at him, wrapping my right arm
around his neck, burying my face into his chest, causing him to sit
down hard on the floor. He wraps his arms around me and I cry out.
Jesse pulls me back a bit and frowns. “Baby, where are you
hurt?”

I look up at him. “I think my left arm
was pulled out of its socket and my head is killing me.” He wraps
his right arm under my legs and his left arm around my waist. He
grunts as he gets on his knees with me in tow and then puts one
knee up to put his foot on the floor and hoists us both
up.

He turns his head to mine and kisses
me on the lips softly. “OH, my God, baby. I’m so glad you’re ok. I
don’t know what I would have done if he had hurt you any more or
killed you. I would have gone crazy,” he says as he leans his
forehead against mine.

Jesse carries me up the spiral
staircase and into the living room and sits on the couch, me across
his lap. I hear sirens outside.

I start to panic. “Oh, my God! Where,
where is he? We need to get out, hurry Jesse! He’ll see us. We
should have stayed in the safe room.” I begin to shake and try to
get up.

“Shhh, no baby. It’s ok. He’s dead. I
hit the silent alarm to get the police here. It’s over, it’s ok
now,” he says holding me back.

“No, no, Jesse. There’s the other guy.
I didn’t see him anywhere. He has to still be in the house
somewhere!” I am pushing against him now, trying to get out of his
hold.

He holds me tighter and takes my face
in his hand. “Baby, baby. Listen. Calm down. I’ve checked
everywhere and he isn’t here. Ok? I’ve checked. Everything is ok
now. Shhhh.”

“I-. I-. I heard a gunshot. Are you
hurt, Jesse? Did, did you get shot?” I look all over him trying to
see if I can see a wound anywhere.

He looks at me puzzled. “No, baby. I
shot that guy. I killed him. I would do it again if it means I
would protect you. But, he deserved it. Not only for what he did to
you, but for what he did to my mom. It’s over now. Everything is
going to be ok.”

I start shaking really bad now. What
is going on? He holds me close, still holding the side of my face
and rubbing my cheek. I lay my head on his shoulder.

The sirens are really loud now. The
front door bursts open and several policemen come in all in their
stances with their arms stretch out front with their guns pointing
around the room.

“Freeze! Don’t move!” One of them
yells. Jesse stands up with me but with my shaking body he is
wobbly. “Look officer, we are the victims. You will find the dead
killer upstairs, end of the hall, in the master bedroom,” he tells
the officer angrily.

The officer that yelled at us looks at
the men around him and cocks his head towards the stairs. I see
three officers, still guns pointing around, begin walking to the
stairs.

I lay my head down on Jesse’s chest. I
am so tired that I can hardly keep my eyes open.

Two paramedics come into the house.
They see us and immediately jog over to us carrying their
equipment. “Hello. We are here to help. What are your names
please?” A big burly guy asks.

“Her name is Cassie and I’m Jesse.
Please help her first. I think she’s hurt really bad, please help
her,” Jesse says back. The paramedic that was talking with us looks
over at the other one, which is a woman. She walks over and looks
at both of us. “Jesse, can you lay Cassie down on the couch please
so we can take a look at her and assess her injuries?” She
asks.

I look up at Jesse and shake my head.
“No, no, don’t let me go, please don’t let me go,” I cry. He looks
at me with sadness in his eyes. “Shhh, baby. I will be right here.
I’m not going anywhere. They have to see how hurt you are, honey. I
will be right there with you, I promise,” he says
pleadingly.

I nod slowly. I am so scared, and I
can’t stop feeling that way.

He lays me on the couch carefully. He
kneels on the floor right by my head. “Cassie is it?” The woman
paramedic asks. I nod looking up at her. “Good. Cassie, can you
tell me what all hurts, please?”

I look over at Jesse and then back at
the woman. “The left upper side of my head. I-. I hit it against
the wall really hard. And. And.” I start breathing really fast. My
chest is rising and falling quickly.

The woman looks concerned. “It’s ok
Cassie. Take a few deep breaths for me, ok? You’re going to start
to hyperventilate if you don’t slow your breathing
down.”

I look over at Jesse and try to take a
deep breath but it’s really hard to catch my breath.

“Shhh, baby. Shhh, calm down for me,
ok? It’s ok now. It’s all over. I’m right here. Shhh,” Jesse says
soothingly while stroking my hair.

I begin to take a few deep breaths.
It’s starting to get a little easier now. In, out. Wait. In,
out.

“Good. That’s good, Cassie,” the woman
says to me, “now can you finish telling me what hurts?”

I look back over to her. “Um, my left
shoulder and arm hurt, but I can’t feel them very much right now. I
think that man. That man.” I start to breath heavy again and my
body begins to shake uncontrollably.

Jesse moves closer so I can see him.
“He’s dead, honey. He can’t hurt you anymore. It’s ok. Take deep
breaths again, ok, baby?”

I start taking deep breaths again and
my breathing begins to slow down.

I look back at the woman. “He pulled
my arm really hard. I think he pulled it out of the socket. I heard
a pop.” Whew! I did it, I finally got that all out.

“Ok, honey. I have to ask you if there
is a chance you could be pregnant before I can give you anything
for the pain,” she asks.

Jesse speaks up, “Yes, there is a
chance she could be pregnant.”

She nods and goes to a bag. She is
unwrapping a syringe as she returns. “Thank you for letting me
know. I am going to give you a shot for pain and it will also help
relax you, ok? If you are pregnant it will not hurt the baby.” I
nod slowly. As she is giving me the shot she adds, “Then I am going
to put a sling around your arm. It will help immobilize it and
protect it from further injury, ok?” I nod again.

As she returns to her bag and pulls
out the sling, she asks the other paramedic to join her.

She looks at Jesse and then at me.
“I’m Morgan and this is Joe. Cassie? Joe is going to get behind you
and help you sit up so I can put this sling around you. It will be
easier that way, ok?”

I look at Jesse and then back at Joe
and Morgan. “Ok.” I look back at Jesse. “But, but, don’t leave me.”
He shakes his head. “Never.”

I smile a little. Joe comes over and
lifts my upper body enough that he can sit behind me. “Ugh!” I
groan.

“Sorry, sorry!” Joe says. Morgan
carefully puts my arm in the sling, tightening it so it’s
stable.

Morgan takes her right hand and feels
on the left side of my head up in my hair. “Ow,” I whimper and move
my head slightly. Morgan looks at me with concern. “Sorry, honey.
You have a pretty good lump there. When we take you to the hospital
they will want to get an X-ray of that. But we will make sure to
let them know there is a chance of pregnancy. Just in case.” She
smiles. “Anything else hurt?”

Jesse looks at her. “She has a couple
of cracked ribs from a week ago, that are still healing.” She looks
at Jesse. “Thank you, Jesse. That’s good to know. We will be very
careful.”

She looks at Joe and nods. Joe gently
gets up and lays me back down. “We will be back in a minute, ok?”
Joe says. They leave to go out the front door when an officer comes
down the stairs and stops them. “We need another ambulance. Can you
call it in?” Morgan nods at him and they leave.

The officer comes over to us. “Ahem.
Once you are taken care of at the hospital, I will need to ask you
both some questions,” he says gruffly.

Jesse looks at me. “I’ll give you any
answers you need but she’s really hurt. Can you wait to ask her
tomorrow?” The officer looks down at me. “Well, yeah, I guess I
can. I will see you both at the hospital. My men are finishing
upstairs. Are you ok with them locking up?” Jesse simply
nods.

Soon the paramedics come back into the
house pulling a gurney behind them. I look at Jesse and frown.
“Don’t leave me,” I whimper. Jesse looks at the gurney and then
back at me. “Don’t worry, baby, I am going with you. I will never
leave you, I promise,” he whispers by my head.

The paramedic’s carefully pick me up
and place me on the gurney securing me with straps. “I am going to
start an IV in your right hand, Cassie. Its pain meds to help you,
ok?” Joe asks. I nod and he proceeds to set up the IV.

Jesse walks out with us, holding my
right hand. I am getting so sleepy that my eyes keep blinking
constantly. The last thing I remember is being put in the ambulance
and Jesse being by my side.

Chapter
twenty-four

“Jesse, Jesse, don’t leave me,” I
murmur. My head moves back and forth slowly. I feel a warm hand
squeeze mine. “Hmmm” is all that comes out of my mouth. I hear
voices but can’t grasp what they are saying. I lose
consciousness.

“I can’t. He won’t let me go. I can’t
move. Jesse be careful. Don’t get hurt, don’t die. I can’t lose
you, not now. I” I am murmuring again. I can’t wake up fully. My
eyes are too heavy to open. I fall into the darkness
again.

I hear Jesse and Allie talking, but I
can’t tell if I am dreaming or awake. I’m still too tired to wake
up. It seems lighter, like the sun is shining.

“I’ll tell Ty to go get her some
clothes and some for me too,” I hear Jesse say. Allie laughs,
“Yeah, good idea since your clothes have blood all over them and it
would be nice if you took a shower. How’s your eye. What a
shiner!”