Chapter 18 #2
“You always blew things out of proportion, always acted like I was some kind of bad guy. All I’ve ever wanted to do was take care of you, but you wouldn’t let me, wouldn’t listen and do what I said!”
She nodded, wincing when he reached up with his free hand, grabbing a handful of her hair, pulling her face close enough that she could smell the liquor on his breath.
Her scalp burned as he yanked hard, tilting her face up, fury lining his mouth and eyes. She would be lucky if she didn’t leave here with a bald patch.
“You belong to me ,” he said through gritted teeth, his eyes blown, pupils dilated so that she could barely see any of the pale brown irises.
His face was blood red, and he ripped out more hair as he shook her roughly, her brain rattling against her skull.
She fought not to whimper, not to show any sign of weakness, but her courage was fading fast.
“You let another man touch you—fuck you. My property. You’re ruined now!”
Fear struck as Gretchen realized there would be no talking her way out of this. Suddenly, it didn’t feel like Briggs was here to drag her home.
He was here for revenge, for pain.
In the past, she would have apologized, said she was sorry a thousand times so he would stop hurting her. She could see now all that did was prove to him that he was right, and she was wrong. He took those apologies as justification for punishing her.
He released her hair and arm, and she felt a split second of relief—until both hands wrapped around her throat.
“You’re a worthless whore ,” he spat in her face, as he started to squeeze.
No.
No.
No more.
“Fuck you!” she gasped, before he completely closed her airways.
She was done cowering, finished being this man’s victim.
So she did what she should have done all those years. She fought back—hard.
She slapped at his head, dragged her nails down her cheeks, then hit him with the big gun.
Briggs’s hands fell away the moment her knee slammed into his balls. It was a direct—perfect—hit.
He staggered back in pain, and probably shock, bending at the waist and covering his crotch while coughing. He turned a sickly shade of green and for a moment, she thought he was going to get sick.
“Fuck! Fuck ,” he groaned.
Gretchen didn’t wait around to watch him suffer. Instead, she flew to the side door of the barn, bursting free, intent on running as fast as her feet could carry her.
She was instantly stopped when she ran into someone. Still in flight mode, she screamed as strong arms wrapped around her, terrified Briggs had brought someone with him.
“Shh. Gretchen! It’s me!” Theo said. “It’s me.” Theo was panting, red-faced and out of breath, a sure sign he’d sprinted all the way here from the brewhouse.
“Theo!” Tears sprung to her eyes as she sagged in his arms.
“You’re okay,” he soothed her, as the barn door slammed open and Briggs limped out, furious.
He pulled up short when he saw Theo standing there, scowling when he gently pushed Gretchen behind him, placing himself between her and her tormentor.
“She’s leaving with me ,” Briggs said, his tone gruff, pained. “She said so.”
Theo shook his head. “Gretchen’s not going anywhere. I told you before if you came back here, I’d have you arrested for trespassing.”
“She’s coming with me!” Briggs shouted, fists clenched. “This has gone on long enough. Get in the car, Gretchen, and no one gets hurt.”
Theo took a step forward, clearly not agreeing that no one was getting hurt, but Gretchen grasped his arm, shifting to his side.
“I’m not coming with you, Briggs. This is over. Leave. Now . If you ever come near me again?—”
Briggs roared with anger. “Get. In. The. Fucking. Car!” He stepped toward them, fists clenched.
He didn’t get within five feet of her before Theo reacted, lunging forward and throwing a hard punch that knocked Briggs’s head back, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Briggs grunted in pain, then tried to rise. He was so drunk and dazed—from her kick and Theo’s punch—that all it took was one shove of Theo’s foot against his shoulder to send him back to his ass.
“If you know what’s best for you, you’ll stay down,” Theo threatened.
For a moment, she thought Briggs wouldn’t listen…but then his shoulders sagged, and he bowed his head, beaten.
“How did you know I was in danger?” she asked Theo, certain there was no way her emergency call could have connected before Briggs smashed her phone.
“Billy was moving cases of beer in the brewhouse,” Theo told her, though he was staring down at Briggs, daring him to move. “Mentioned someone must have come to help you finish decorating because he saw a car drive by. Wondered who in town had Pennsylvania plates.”
While Gretchen had shared her past with the Storms, they hadn’t thought to tell the other employees on the farm.
Lucky for her, Billy was not only nosy but chatty.
There was very little on the farm he didn’t see…
and then report back to whomever was in hearing distance, simply for the pleasure of hearing his own voice.
Sam and Jace burst through the woods, as breathless as Theo.
“We called Sheriff Anderson,” Sam said as they reached them. He looked down at Briggs, sitting on the ground, and frowned.
As if on cue, Gretchen glanced down the gravel lane at the sound of a siren growing closer, echoing off the mountain.
Briggs heard it too. He rolled to his hands and knees, intent on standing up.
Sam, Jace, and Theo all shifted closer, and Briggs seemed to think better of it. Glancing around at the wall of men, he looked at her. “Gretchen. Please…”
She shook her head. “This is over, Briggs. I never want to see you again. Ever.”
For the first time, she got the sense that her words had finally sunk in. Every trace of anger in his face evaporated, morphing into deep-seated sadness and regret. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“But you did,” she said quietly.
No one else spoke as the siren grew too loud, flashing lights illuminating the trees and side of the barn as Sheriff Anderson roared to a stop next to them. He hopped out of his car, moving more quickly than she’d have thought possible for the older, chubby lawman.
He pulled up short when he spotted Briggs on the ground, surrounded by three Storm men.
“This him?” the sheriff asked her.
Gretchen nodded. “Briggs Howard, former police officer.”
Theo’s face lifted to her, when he heard the word former .
“He got fired,” she explained.
“Good.” Sam crossed his arms. “A man like him shouldn’t be wearing a uniform. He deserves to be behind bars.”
Briggs tried to rise again, stumbling as he did so.
“You drive up here?” Sheriff Anderson asked him.
Briggs was too intoxicated to understand he was walking into a trap. “Yeah. I was just leaving.”
He took two steps toward his car, but Sheriff Anderson stopped him with a hand on his chest, shaking his head. “You’re not driving anywhere. You and I are taking a trip to the station after I give you a breathalyzer.”
Whatever fight Briggs had left was completely gone now, as he lifted one shoulder, shrugging.
Sheriff Anderson looked at her. “He hurt you?”
Theo looked at her closely, his gaze taking in her face, her arms, with genuine concern. Any damage Briggs did—and she knew there would be bruises—was hidden by her clothing.
“Yes,” Gretchen answered, as she looked at Theo. “He grabbed my arm, pulled my hair, shook me, choked me.”
As she listed her injuries, Theo’s eyes traveled to those areas as if he could see the bruises beneath her sweater and hair. He looked crestfallen, guilty.
“Don’t,” she whispered, stepping closer to him. “None of this is your fault.”
“I promised to protect you,” he murmured.
“You can’t guard me twenty-four-seven,” she said, even though it sure looked like Theo intended to give that a try. “You showed up when I needed you. What happened here is no one’s fault except his.” She pointed to Briggs, who withered under everyone’s scrutiny.
“You want to press charges?” the sheriff asked.
“I do. And I want a restraining order.”
Briggs looked up, his expression equal parts surprise and devastation, even though she’d already told him she never wanted to see him again.
“That can be arranged,” Sheriff Anderson said. “I’m going to take him to the station, book him with a DUI for now, and let him cool his heels in the drunk tank tonight. You go on with Theo, let him look after you, and come see me tomorrow morning to give your statement, okay?”
Gretchen was grateful for the short reprieve. The burst of adrenaline she’d experienced while in the moment was gone, giving way to exhaustion.
Theo gently wrapped his arm around her waist as Sheriff Anderson cuffed Briggs, read him his rights, and loaded him into the back of the police cruiser. Briggs didn’t look at any of them as they drove away, his head lowered, his body stooped.
She looked around, her mind spinning a million miles an hour, landing on nothing. “He broke my phone. And trashed the decorations. I was going to finish setting out some things for the food tables?—”
“We can take care of those things,” Theo said.
“But the party is tomorrow night and?—”
“Gretchen.” Theo stepped in front of her. “Don’t worry about the party. What do you need? You? ”
Honestly, she didn’t have a clue. She was too tired to think. She blinked a few times, then shrugged.
“Do you trust me to take care of you?” he asked.
She nodded instantly.
“Good.” He pulled her against his chest as he spoke to his brothers. “Call Edith and let her know what happened. Tell her Gretchen is okay, but she’s going to spend the night at the cabin with me.”
Sam nodded, his phone already in his hand.
“Jace, can you let the rest of the family know? And see if Mila and Nora can come here to clean up the mess? They helped earlier so they know what goes where, decoration-wise.”
“Will do. Sam and I will stick around and help too. We’ll fix it all, Gretchen,” Jace said to her. “Don’t you worry.”
“I should help—” she started.
All three men shook their heads.
“No.” Theo grasped her hand. “I’m taking care of you, remember?” He led her to one of the countless paths on the farm. The cabin she and Theo had been sharing was fairly close to the event barn.
“You okay to walk?” he asked.
The only car parked at the barn was Briggs’s. She’d walked there earlier when she met the women to decorate, and Theo had obviously run.
“I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.”
Theo narrowed his eyes. “Yes. He did. Maybe this time wasn’t as bad as in the past, but he still put his hands on you, kitten. I should have…” He ran a hand through his hair.
Gretchen hated the idea that he felt even an iota of guilt for what happened. “I’ll only let you take care of me if you promise to stop blaming yourself.”
The side of Theo’s mouth quirked up. “That might be easier said than done.”
“Try,” she demanded.
Theo wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “God, I love it when you get all bossy. Huge turn-on.”
“You’re a freak,” she joked, and the heaviness that had settled between them lifted. Theo always found a way to make her feel better.
Entering the cabin, Theo placed his hand on the small of her back, directing her to the larger of the two bathrooms. The smaller bathroom only had a shower, but this one included a large, old-fashioned clawfoot bathtub.
Theo started running the water, checking the temperature, then he urged her closer.
She stood still as he reached for the hem of her sweater, pulling it over her head before dropping it to the floor. His eyes slid to her neck, gaze growing dark. She didn’t need a mirror to know what he was seeing.
Theo ran a finger over the column of her neck, gently brushing the forming bruises.
“I’ve had worse,” she whispered.
“That doesn’t make me feel better,” he grumbled.
“Sorry,” she said with a sheepish grin.
Theo huffed out a laugh, but it faded when he spotted the large bruise on her arm. It hurt worse than the ones around her throat.
Bending forward, he placed a kiss on her arm.
“All better.” She was aiming for levity but failed when his lips traveled to the side of her neck, kissing those bruises as well.
Pulling away, he sighed, then helped her take off the rest of her clothing. He stripped his own off, as well.
Turning off the water, he stepped into the tub, sinking down before crooking his finger at her.
She climbed in, lowering herself until she was nestled between his outstretched legs.
Gretchen leaned back, the hot water and the strength of his arms around her washing away all the fear and pain of the past hour.
Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Then, without words, Theo reached for a cup that sat on the edge of the tub.
He filled it with water, pouring it over her hair as she leaned her head back.
Once her hair was thoroughly wet, he grabbed the shampoo and gently massaged it in.
She groaned when he hit the sore spot where Briggs had pulled, not in pain but relief.
“Okay?”
“That feels so good,” she said.
He continued massaging her scalp, then rinsed the shampoo out. From there, he scrubbed her with body wash until her skin tingled and her pussy clenched.
She twisted to face him as the last of the suds were washed away, lifting onto her knees.
“Kitten,” Theo started, clearly intent on stopping her, still worried about her.
She shook her head. “I want you. I need you.” Gripping his cock, which had been hard since they got into the tub, she guided the head to her entry, slowly sinking down until he was fully encapsulated.
They both released a long sigh of relief and passion.
“I love you,” she said, her hands resting on his shoulders, her fingers toying with his damp hair.
“I love you too, kitten. So damn much. Now,” he said, with a sexy smirk that was pure Theo. “Be a good girl and fuck me.”
Gretchen grinned because…
He didn’t have to ask her twice.