Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
R ayna stiffened, her body sending out little alarm bells that made adrenaline spike in her veins. Keeping her voice calm, she said, “You’re drunk, Louis. Did you drive here?”
He barked harsh laughter. “Did you hear me? I want Red back. Go get him.”
“I don’t have him,” she said. “He’s not with me.”
“Bullshit, he ain’t,” Louis snarled. He produced a flask from his pocket and took a big swallow before shoving it back into his coat. “Give me my dog.”
“I’m telling the truth,” Rayna said. “Besides, you surrendered him, remember? You signed the paperwork. He isn’t your dog anymore, Louis.”
“He’s my dog!” Louis shouted. “You stole him, and I want him back.”
She backed up a few steps when Louis stumbled toward her. “Stop. You’re drunk, and you shouldn’t be driving. Give me your keys, and I’ll call you an Uber. Go home and sleep this off.”
“You think you’re all fucking that, dontcha, bitch?” Louis slurred. “Stealing the dogs of hard working, God-fearing people in this town. Well, I ain’t gonna stand for it no more. Give me my dog before I have to do something you ain’t gonna like.”
Cold fear settled in Rayna’s stomach. “Don’t you fucking threaten me, Louis Hapson.”
“It ain’t a threat. It’s a promise,” he growled.
“Get off my property,” she said. “I won’t ask again.”
“Not without my fucking dog,” he screamed, his voice echoing in the cold air.
Fuck! She stared at the house, wishing like hell she’d brought her phone out with her instead of leaving it on the counter.
With a heavy grunt, he pushed away from the porch and walked toward her. His body swayed and wobbled, but he still looked dangerous and mean. He was blocking her path to the house, but she was fast on her feet. All she had to do was get past him, and she’d beat him into the house. She’d lock the door and call 911.
More adrenaline surged through her, and she ignored Louis’s shout of surprise when she ran toward him. She zigged to the left, triumph rocketing through her when she easily dodged Louis’s flailing hand and ran past him.
Fuck you, she thought hysterically as she ran toward the steps. Fucking asshole thought he could -
She screeched out a cry when her feet slipped on some ice, and she went down like a graceless deer. Her left elbow slammed into the hard ground, and she shouted a curse as pain shot up her arm. She rolled to her back, but before she could scramble to her feet, Louis dropped on her like a fucking bowling bowl, straddling her and grinning down at her.
She grunted and shoved at his chest, ignoring the pain in her elbow and arm. “Get the fuck off me, Louis.”
“All you had to do was give me my dog, but you just had to be a bitch about it, didn’t ya, Rayna?” Louis sneered.
“I said get the fuck off me!” she shouted before punching him in the gut.
His breath hissed out in a startled oof, and she heaved her body upward. Louis shouted in surprise, his body nearly tipping off of hers before he caught his balance and shoved her flat to the ground again. He snarled out a curse and slapped her hard across the face.
“I’m going to kill you, motherfucker!” Rayna screamed, hot anger flashing through her body.
“You stole my fucking dog!” Louis raised his hand again, this time balling it into a fist. Rayna cringed, but the blow never came. A thick arm wrapped around Louis’s throat, and he was dragged off her, kicking and sputtering.
She sat up, staring wide-eyed at Stark as he tightened his arm around Louis’s neck. His eyes blazing with anger and his face a hard mask, he squeezed tighter. Louis clawed at his arm, his body twisting and his face turning a dark red.
Rayna scrambled to her feet. “Stark, stop!”
He ignored her, squeezing even harder as drool slipped from Louis’s mouth, and his hands weakened around Stark’s arm.
Rayna yanked on Stark’s arm, but it was like trying to bend steel. “Stark, let him go. You’ll kill him!”
It was like he didn’t hear her, and his arm didn’t loosen one bit. Panic rushed through her, and she cupped Stark’s face, forcing his gaze to hers. “Isaac, please stop.”
He stared at her before his face twisted, and relief washed over her when he released Louis. Leaving Louis gasping and coughing in the snow at his feet, Stark pulled Rayna against him. He wore just a t-shirt and sweatpants, but the cold didn’t seem to affect him. He studied her cheek before rubbing his thumb over it. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she said.
Keeping one arm wrapped around her, he pulled his phone from his pocket and called 911.
* * *
Stark leaned against the counter in Rayna’s kitchen. He studied Rayna, who sat at the table with a bag of frozen peas pressed against her elbow. Thick silence filled the room, broken only by the sound of Bea’s snoring from her bed in the corner.
Rayna glanced at him, her gaze immediately skittering away to land on the table. He didn’t blame her. Despite how hard he tried to contain it, the rage inside him was a living, pulsing thing, and he was confident his expression didn’t hide how angry he was.
He’d listened silently as Rayna told Sheriff Walker what happened with Louis Hapson, and that terrible rage had only intensified. He welcomed the anger. It was an easier emotion to deal with than the terror that had washed over him when he’d seen Louis on top of Rayna on the ground.
He took a deep breath, his hands clenching into fists. What would have happened to her if he hadn’t heard the screaming?
Sheriff Walker returned to the kitchen. He sat in the chair next to Rayna and gave her a reassuring smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine,” she said. “What did Louis say?”
The sheriff glanced at Stark. “He’s pretty drunk, but he wants to press charges against Mr. Stark.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rayna said.
“Unfortunately, no,” Gideon said. “I’ll toss him in a cell for tonight, let him sober up, but you know what Louis is like. I doubt being sober will change his mind.”
“He trespassed on my property and attacked me,” Rayna said. “Stark was saving my damn life.”
“I know,” Gideon said. “If you press charges, I can keep him in jail until -”
“When Louis sobers up tomorrow, tell that asshole I won’t press charges if he doesn’t press charges against Stark,” Rayna said.
“What? No,” Stark said. “Absolutely not.”
She glared at him before turning back to the sheriff. “Tell Louis if he presses charges against Stark, I’ll not only press charges for assault, but I’ll sue the fucking pants off of him. Tell him I won’t stop until I own everything he has, including his goddamn farm.”
A slight grin crossed Gideon’s face. “I’ll pass on the message once he’s sober.”
“What a fucking shitshow,” Rayna muttered before rubbing at her cheek.
Gideon examined her closely. “You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital, Rayna?”
“I’m sure,” she said. “It’s just a bruised elbow.”
“And cheek,” Gideon said. He sat back in the chair. “I think you should press charges, Rayna. If Mr. Stark hadn’t been here, Louis would have really hurt you.”
“He’s right,” Stark said. “You need to press charges.”
“No, what I need to do is get that piece of shit off my property,” Rayna said wearily. “I appreciate what you’re saying, Sheriff, but we both know Louis is a coward. Once he’s sober and realizes that I can and will press charges against him, he’ll leave Stark alone and slink away like the slime he is.”
“I don’t care what he says or does to me,” Stark said heatedly. “Rayna, the issue is your safety.”
“He won’t do this again,” she said.
“You can’t possibly know that,” he snapped.
She gave him a look before glancing at the sheriff. “Can we talk about this later?”
“No,” Stark said. “We’re talking about this now.”
Rayna sighed before smiling faintly at Gideon. “Is there anything else you need from me, Sheriff?”
He shook his head. “No. You and Mr. Stark have given your statements to Darryl, and that’s all we need. I’ll call you tomorrow once Louis is sober and I’ve talked to him.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“Goodnight, Rayna.” Sheriff Walker nodded to Stark. “Mr. Stark.”
“Goodnight, Sheriff.” Stark stayed where he was, telling himself repeatedly to keep his cool as Rayna walked the sheriff to the door. She returned and, without looking at him, stuffed the frozen peas back into the freezer.
She tightened the belt on her robe and crossed her arms over her torso before staring at him. “Thank you for helping me.”
“You’re welcome,” he said.
Silence descended, and she gave him an awkward smile. “Okay, well -”
“Why did you open the door?” he asked as that slow pulse of anger beat in his temples.
“What?” She frowned at him.
“Why did you open the door?” he repeated. “You’re a woman living alone, and you opened the door to a guy who hates you.”
“Did you forget what I said to the sheriff?” Her body had gone stiff. “I didn’t know it was Louis.”
“That’s not the point,” he snarled. “You shouldn’t be opening the door at all at that time of night.”
“Are you victim shaming me?” she asked.
He raked his hands through his hair. “Oh, for God’s sake… No, I am not victim shaming you, Ms. Abrams. What I’m asking is for you to be smarter, to use that damn brain of yours and not open the door when you have no idea who’s out there.”
“People drop off animals on my doorstep all the time,” she said. “It’s the middle of winter. Do you expect me just to let them freeze to death in their cardboard boxes?”
“I expect you to use common sense for once and start caring about your safety more than some random animal that is not your responsibility!”
“I run a goddamn rescue!” she shouted. She stalked forward until their bodies nearly touched, glaring up at him. “I do what I do to save animals, not to let them freeze to death in my fucking yard, and just because I have one bad experience doesn’t mean -”
“One bad experience?” Holy fuck, her refusal to accept how dangerous it was for her would give him a fucking heart attack. “Rayna, he could have killed you!”
“He didn’t,” she said. “I’m fine, and I’m not hurt or -”
“You are hurt,” he snarled. “Jesus Christ, are you even listening to yourself? It’s like you want to be in danger.”
“There goes that victim shaming again,” she snapped. “That’s a real dick move, Stark.”
He was pretty sure he was on the verge of a stroke. “I am trying to keep you safe!”
“I don’t need you to keep me safe!”
“Well, someone has to because you obviously don’t give one fuck about personal safety. You are calling the sheriff’s office tomorrow and telling them you’ve changed your mind and want to press charges against Louis. Do you hear me, Ms. Abrams?”
She barked out angry laughter. “I’m not doing what you tell me to do, Stark.”
“It’s for your safety,” he repeated. “You’ll do what I say.”
“The fuck I will,” she said.
“Oh my God,” he said. “Why does everything have to be a goddamn fight with you? Just listen to me for once and -”
He made a muffled sound of surprise when Rayna grabbed the front of his t-shirt and pressed her mouth against his.