Chapter 6 Freya
SIX
FREYA
The ocean was a beautiful backdrop to the drive over to the bar.
I followed the guy in his car as he led me, going slower than the rest of the traffic.
He was kind, and I wanted to thank him for his kindness toward me.
As we cruised the coastline in search of this bar called Chopper’s, I rolled down my window.
The soothing waves that battered the empty private beaches made me smile.
The smell of the salted air warmed my soul.
The twinkling stars over the ocean on the horizon made me want to stop and look at them.
How lucky someone could be to live by all this.
By such beauty and reverence. I felt the relaxation in the air.
I smelled the pursuit of truth within the salted wafts of air flying from the ocean and propelled by the lapping of the waves.
I made a mental note to come back and sit at one of the lookout points.
This was my night. The night things changed.
I felt it, I breathed it in, and it settled my gut.
Something good was on that horizon. Something brave and wonderful that was about to open up my future.
I smiled as we came to a stop at the only stoplight we hit on the highway.
I saw the car in front of me turn on his right-hand signal, so I did the same.
As we turned onto the road, the bar came into view.
Right there on the corner with a gorgeous view of the ocean that wasn’t being used.
What a waste.
The street we turned on dead-ended right into the highway. And off to our right was a small, deserted parking lot. He pulled in, and I followed suit, parking my car quickly.
Then, I slammed myself out of my vehicle and raced to the sidewalk.
It was right there. Maybe five hundred feet in front of me.
The cliff-face drop-off into the sandy beach that bled straight into the ocean.
The sound of the waves was louder than ever.
The smell of the salted air was so strong that it slapped me across the face.
I slowly made my way down the sidewalk, gawking at the beauty and heading for the entrance of Chopper’s.
But the feeling of someone wrapping their arm around my waist pulled me from my trance.
“You know, I’ve never paid much attention to this view. But the sight of its reflection in your eyes makes me take a second look at it,” Rhett said.
I blushed at his words. “Thank you so much for all this. For helping me find my half-sister.”
“If I can be of service to even one person tonight, it’ll make my night worth it.”
“I saw the bar right there on the corner. Right?” I asked.
“Mhm. I’ll escort you inside. It’s one of those ‘members only’ type of deals. You’re my guest for the night so you can get in.”
We continued walking toward the bar, his arm wrapped tightly around my waist. And while he held me a little closer than I would have liked, it didn’t bother me. After all, I was in an unfamiliar place, and he seemed like a strong guy.
If trouble came our way, I had a feeling he’d help me handle it.
“Just past this alleyway is the entrance to the bar,” Rhett said.
I smiled brightly. “I have no idea how I’m ever going to repay you for something like this. I really appreciate it.”
“Well, I have a few ideas in mind.”
His statement caught me off-guard, and I turned my eyes to look up at him. He still had that calm smile on his face, but he led us down the alleyway.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To Chopper’s. See?” he asked, nodding his head.
I looked forward and saw the side entrance to the bar. I looked back over my shoulder, hoping and praying for the best intentions. His grip on my waist tightened, and I grew nervous. Despite seeing the side entrance to the bar in the alleyway, I didn’t see a knob on the door.
“How are we going to get in?” I asked.
“Got a buddy who lets me in the side whenever I come. All I gotta do is knock on the door,” Rhett said.
But pretty soon, we blew past the side entrance as he tugged me along.
“What are you—Rhett, let me—we passed the entrance!” I exclaimed.
I pulled myself away from him, but he wrapped his hand around my wrist. I struggled to get free as red flags finally waved in my mind. Shit. It had been a mistake to follow this guy. And we were in a dark alley with no one around.
“Help! Help me!” I shrieked.
I wrenched away from him and started running, but his hand wrapped itself within the fabric of my shirt.
He tugged me back to him and pinned me against the wall, his hands pressing my wrists into the cold brick.
His lips fell to my neck as my ass bucked against him.
I grimaced as he grew hard, tears rushing my eyes.
“Please, stop. What are you—Rhett, stop it!” I exclaimed.
“You’re too beautiful to waste,” he growled.
He whipped me around and pinned my hips to the wall.
I slapped him across the face, but all it did was spur him forward.
He crashed his lips against mine, and the taste of him was disgusting.
Tears slipped down my cheeks as I bit down into his lip.
I bit and held until I tasted blood on the tip of my tongue and then I let him go.
He doubled backed and brought his hand up to his lip as I took off running.
“You little bitch!” he roared.
I took off for the sidewalk. I tore past the side entrance of the bar and sought my salvation in the dim lights of the sidewalk.
But before I could get there, a pair of hands came down onto my shoulders.
I struggled against him. I cried out for help.
He backhanded me across the face, hard. I felt a large ring he was wearing connect with the bone right underneath my eye, and I whimpered out in pain, but I refused to let him get the best of me.
“Help! Somebody, please! Help me! HELP!”
Everything was a blur. The way his hands pawed at me.
The way he pinned me to the brick. The way I kept stepping on his toes and bashing my forehead into his nose.
My father taught me over the years how to defend myself against attackers, and I was thankful I had listened.
At least, partially. I employed all the tactics I could conjure in my panicked state, and I finally made it to the sidewalk.
But not before someone barreled into my back and pinned me up against the facade of the building next to the bar.
“You’re really going to wish you hadn’t struggled,” Rhett hissed.
He turned me around and palmed my breast a little too hard.
I pressed my thumbs into his eyes, pushing as hard as I could.
He knocked my hands out of the way and held them at my sides, his eyes coming into contact with mine.
There was nothing but the intention to hurt.
There was nothing but the intention to rape.
And before I could blink my eyes, he was ripped away from me.
I cried as I slid down the side of the building.
My chest jumped with my sobs as my eye began to swell shut.
My wrists ached, and my back felt as if it had been scratched by a thousand kittens.
And the hope I had for my night ceased to exist. I heard voices off in the distance.
I saw what looked like a black and blue blur before I heard a thud on the ground.
I scrambled to my feet, trying to get away on my shaking legs.
“Ma’am. Ma’am. Can you hear me?”
A hand came down on my arm, and I swatted the grip away. I had to get away. I had to get back to my car. I fought against the gentle touch as panicked breaths fell from my lips. The world felt like it was spinning around me as I drowned in my own adrenaline rush.
“It’s okay. Hey. He’s out cold. Look at me.”
My eyes focused on the man in front of me. He had on a leather jacket and dark blue jeans that clung a little too tightly to his legs. His auburn hair glistened in the dim lamplight of the sidewalk, and I wasn’t sure what color his eyes were. Blue. Or maybe green. Were they hazel?
I honestly wasn’t sure.
I looked down at my feet and saw Rhett sprawled out. He had a bruise already forming on his jawline to match the blood caked on his lip from where I bit him. I raised my hand and wiped at the dried blood on my own lip, grimacing as I tasted it.
“Here. Wipe off with this,” the man said.
He handed me the cuff of his shirt and I took it gladly.
I wiped at the man’s dried blood on my lips, pulling the shirt away from his torso.
And in the dim light of the lamp posts on either side of us, I saw what looked like tattoos.
My eyes danced around his skin. His leathery-tanned skin.
I saw the outlines of the rings of his abs and lines that disappeared beyond the loops of his jeans.
My eyes slowly raked up his body, taking in the swell of his chest. And as my eyes danced up his neck, I saw more tattoos.
He was covered in them.
I dropped the cuff of the man’s shirt, unable to talk. His eyes studied me from his perched point of view, seemingly towering over me. Then again, that wasn’t hard to do. I was only five-foot-two. Got my height from my mother, who was barely over five feet tall.
Was my half-sister short too?
“Are you all right?” the man asked again.
My eyes came back up to his and I found them to be brown.
What color are your eyes?
I nodded softly, unable to speak.
“I can help you get wherever you need to go. Were you headed into the bar?” he asked.
I paused before I nodded my head. Could I trust this guy? Should I tell him anything?
“It’s okay. You don’t have to speak. But we should at least get you away from the alleyway and back to your car. You’re going to need help getting wherever you’re going with that eye swollen shut the way it is,” he said.
I brought my fingertips up to my eye and danced them across my swollen lids before I heaved a heavy sigh.
I’d never had a black eye before. And while it hurt initially, there was only a dull ache left when I touched it.
More tears crested my eyes. I didn’t want to shed them, but they fell anyway.
Effortlessly. Destined to drown me in their saltiness the way the waves of the ocean drowned out the edges of the sand.
Then, Rhett groaned on the ground.
“Come on. Let me get you to your car. I can deal with this asshole when he wakes up,” the man said.
Then, he placed his hand on the small of my back and turned me around and led me toward the empty parking lot. And the only thing that brought me hope was the lack of command in his touch. It wasn’t harsh and it wasn’t guiding. It was only meant for comfort.
I was the one in the lead, and he was simply following to make sure the endgame was seen through.
I think I can trust him to my car.
But after that, I was on my own.
Even if it meant never meeting my half-sister during my stay in San Diego.