23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Lucy

"S tay here," I say, my voice shaky with fear. I blow out a breath to keep calm in front of Pearl, but I'm anything but calm.

I push aside Aaron's old coat and what looks like some of Cynthia's old scarves. They're hand-knitted and probably made by Cynthia herself and saved by Aaron for his daughters to wear someday. I pull a red one down and wind it around Pearl's neck. Maybe one of her mom's scarves will comfort her enough to stay quiet.

Pearl doesn't argue with me. She doesn't put up a fight when I also push Mickey into the closet. I lovingly run my hands through the dog's fur, trying to comfort myself. "Good dog. Stay with Pearl."

I hand Pearl her tablet and look into the eyes that look so much like Aaron's. "Text your dad. Can you do that for me? Tell him there's a man in the house. After you do that, contact 911. Did Daddy show you how to do that from a tablet?"

She nods, and I shut the door, ignoring her whimper at being left in the dark. I toy with the idea of locking the door, but it won't do any good. She wouldn't be able to get out, but Geoffrey would still be able to get in from outside the door.

How did he even find me? I guess he knows I date Aaron and put two and two together. Did he go to my apartment first? Wait around for me? When I didn't show up, he must have figured out where I was and waited until dark. How long has he been outside? He obviously waited until Aaron wasn't home and wanted to make sure it was dark.

Of all the nights for Aaron to be late. This is also the one time in a year that I let my phone die and just plugged it in before I heard Ruby's muffled scream. When I went to the banister to check on her, I heard Geoffrey laugh and tell me to come find her.

I knew his voice from the gala, and I'll have nightmares about it the rest of my life if I make it through tonight.

But I have to get Ruby. I can't leave her down there with him. Pearl will contact Aaron, and he'll come. I trust he's on the way and will help me. With Pearl contacting Aaron, there's no use me going back for a dead phone.

I creep down the stairs and pause only a few seconds as my eyes adjust to the darkness. Nothing seems amiss in the living room or dining room. He must be in the kitchen.

Of course, he's in the kitchen. If the door is locked, there's no way police can get in from the outside.

I tiptoe to the kitchen, looking around for a weapon on the way. Grabbing nearby candlesticks off the dining room table, I silently push the door open.

I'm silent and slow, but he's still there waiting for me. Geoffrey jerks me into the dark kitchen and pulls me so hard that I fall forward to the island counter when he lets go, hitting my head. The candlestick holder skitters across the room.

His hands fist my hair from the back, and my eyes flick around the room. In the moonlight, I can barely make out Ruby curled into fetal position on the floor two feet from me. Did he hit her? My blood boils, and I grip the kitchen counter until my fingertips hurt.

"Hi, bitch," Geoffrey breathes in my ear.

He jerks me back with him as he shuts the kitchen door, propping a chair under the antique knob so the door can't be easily opened. How the hell will the police get in with the impossible kitchen door and a chair against the door to the dining room?

Fear grips my stomach at the realization that I'm trapped in a kitchen with Aaron's innocent daughter and a mafia thug with a bunch of dead friends and nothing left to lose. "What are you doing here? What do you want from me?"

"I want my money."

"You can't be serious. Your boss is dead. Your coworkers, or whatever they were, are dead. Why aren't you on a flight to Guatemala? Why are you here for money you know damn well I don't have?"

He lets go of my hair, and I grimace as he pushes my head forward when he releases me. Something pointy pushes against my shoulder, and warm liquid runs down my back. It takes me a moment to realize it's my own blood and that Geoffrey has a knife.

I turn around and frantically look for another weapon. Unfortunately, Aaron stores the knives on the other side of the island, and I'd never get there in time.

Geoffrey points his knife to just under my chin just as loud banging and kicking sounds fill the silence in the kitchen.

"Lucy?" Aaron's voice yells from the other side of the back door, and I nearly sag with relief. Only Geoffrey's slimy hands hold me against the counter. "Fuck!" Aaron yells, hitting the door one last time.

I know he's notified his staff. They'll get in eventually. Geoffrey turns his head and smiles an evil grin at Ruby, and fear that it'll be too late when they get in sinks into my stomach. I slap his face so he looks back at me, and I hit him as hard as Beck slapped me for fun. "Look at me, asshole. If you're going to pick on someone in here, you pick on me. Don't you look at her again!"

He belts me across the face and Ruby screams my name from somewhere near the floor. I hold my hand out, silently telling her I'm fine. My cheek stings, and my ears ring. But I know Geoffrey's cornered.

Unfortunately, a cornered and desperate man doesn't make the best decisions.

He pushes me to the floor, and I slide until I'm a foot from Ruby. She reaches out, and a tiny hand runs over my shoulder. "Lucy?" she pleads.

But there's a look in Geoffrey's eyes that I know, even in the dim light of the kitchen.

Aaron's given up on the back door, but frantic footsteps come from the entryway as I hear the front door open so hard it hits the living room wall. Aaron's in the house. Geoffrey grips my throat, and my eyes bug out of my head. The door between the dining room and the kitchen rattles, but the propped door on the old brass handle is holding. "Lucy! Fuck. Lucy, answer me, baby!"

"Daddy!" Ruby frantically screams so I don't have to.

My shoes squeak against the linoleum as I squirm under Geoffrey and he reaches to the button of his pants.

Aaron stops rattling the knob and nothing but silence is on the other side of the door. Did he leave to find another way in?

"Your boyfriend thinks he's going to interrupt us. Maybe he will," Geoffrey says, slapping me across the face again. I see stars, but I've taken worse from my husband. "But not before I fuck you bloody. I'm going to take out every dollar you owe out of your pussy, bitch. Then, I'm going to take the little girl and get a nice price for her. I have friends that'll pay for that young of a girl. Murphy knew them, but he's gone. Guess I'll have to deal her in Chicago myself. I'll find the other one, too. The price I'll get for both of them will more than pay your debt."

Over. My. Dead. Body.

Summoning all my strength, I ram my head into his jaw as hard as I can, hoping it buys me time. Geoffrey rears back as my forehead hits him so hard that something cracks in his mouth. My reward is a punch across the face, knocking me dizzy yet again. While I'm out of it for a split second, he takes the time to unbutton my pants.

I turn my head and spit blood from my mouth, not caring if I still have my teeth. My eyes lock with Ruby's wide, four-year-old eyes that are so full of fear I want to cry. Those eyes do it, though. They keep me going. I won't let him hurt her. I just need to keep him busy until her dad can get to us.

"Close your eyes, Ruby!" I yell as Geoffrey fumbles with my jeans. "Don't you open them until I say so or Daddy says it's OK. Do you understand?"

Only sobbing. No yes or no. She's little and terrified, but if Geoffrey's going to sexually assault me in this kitchen, she's not going to fucking watch. She squeezes her eyes shut and covers them with her little fingers.

My jeans are almost halfway down my hips when another sound from the kitchen door distracts Geoffrey. The sound of loud banging and pushing on the door fills the room. The chair at the doorknob is sturdy, not a cheap wooden thing, and even Aaron can't push it away. As I watch the door, a hatchet blade comes through the wood. Aaron's voice is talking to someone on the other side of the door, probably explaining the situation to backup, and he grunts with each swipe at the door.

Geoffrey will leave now. He'll flee through the kitchen door and run away. The police are coming. Aaron's on the other side of the door with a hatchet.

But Geoffrey laughs. Is he so manic he's not thinking straight? Is he high on the product he's probably involved with pushing around town? I don't know, and my brain can't focus on that now. All I can focus on is staying alive and keeping Ruby safe until Aaron gets through that fucking door.

Aaron hacks a small, jagged square in the wood, enough for him to see into the room and know what's happening. When I look up as Geoffrey fumbles with his pair of dingy briefs, Aaron's face pales, and there's an expression on his face I've never seen. His nostrils flare, and his eyes widen through the rectangle.

Fear.

I've seen him pissed off. I've seen him orgasm. I've seen him disappointed, and I've seen him smile with sheer joy. I've never once seen him scared.

Geoffrey grips my throat and looks over his shoulder at Aaron. "Glad you could join us in time to watch me sample your favorite pussy, Sheriff."

Aaron's eyes meet mine, and there's a loud thud as the hatchet hits the floor in the hallway. He flexes his jaw and shows me the new object in his hand at the same time he releases the safety. He doesn't yell or draw attention. He doesn't insult Geoffrey or frantically cuss. He looks me straight in the eyes and says two words.

"Our thing."

Trusting him and understanding Aaron's direction, I bring my knees to my tits, opening my legs as much as I can with my jeans halfway down my hips as I build my strength. "Yeah, bitch. You want it now, don't you," Geoffrey leers, not understanding the reason for getting my legs into position. "You like him to watch, huh?"

I push.

I send every bit of force I can muster into my thighs as I plant my feet on Geoffrey's chest and push so hard that his eyes widen in confusion as he's pushed back like I'm doing a leg press. It wouldn't be enough to get him away from me permanently, but it's enough to give Aaron a clear shot for a split second. A second is all Aaron needs to know he won't accidentally get me. I've never seen Aaron shoot, but I trust that he's a good shot because he's Aaron Dwyer. He's good at everything.

"Go to hell," I grunt as I roll to the side and press my body on top of Ruby, covering her face before the blood splatter and brain matter even hit the counter above us.

Ruby screams as her dad's gun goes off again and again, and I shield her head, aiming for her ears but unsure if I'm covering them as Aaron doesn't stop shooting until the clip empties like he's been trained. "It's OK, sweetheart. It's OK. Daddy got him," I coo to Ruby, stroking her hair as she trembles and sobs under me. "Daddy's here, baby. Your dad will always protect you."

I stay where I am as Aaron makes a larger hole in the door with the hatchet. Soon, he has it where it's enough to get his arm through the old wood and push the chair from under the knob. As soon as he's in the room, he points the gun at Geoffrey, quickly checks the man's pulse to make sure he's not getting up, and then slinks next to me on the floor, throwing his arms around us. Ruby buries her head in his neck as Aaron hugs us both, a tear sliding down his left cheek. After a few minutes, another set of arms snakes around us. Pearl. I look up into her tear-stained face and smile as she holds on to Mickey's collar. That amazing dog stayed with Pearl in the closet, protecting her the whole time.

Aaron squeezes his eyes shut and rocks all three of us like he's never letting go as sirens blare in the distance.