Chapter 3 #2
“This will sting,” he warns as he uses alcohol wipes to clean my legs, but the burning fire is akin to a feather brushing my skin.
“I am going to butterfly bandage the deeper cut Summer, but the wounds are not bad.” Next, he wipes my wrists that aren’t bleeding, but, raw and chafed from the ropes, then he focuses on my arms, lifting one at a time to inspect and photograph. “Any other injuries?”
“My stomach,” I say, but I can’t exactly show him my belly with only a t-shirt on.
“I have shorts for you. They will be big, but there is a drawstring. Can I slide them on for you?”
Alex must have read my mind. “Thanks,” I nod.
Alex grabs a pair of shorts from behind his seat, lifting each leg, putting my feet through the openings.
He softly instructs Bay and E to turn their heads as he lifts me up so I can slide the shorts over my butt, minimizing the contact of his skin with mine.
I sit back down and notice Alex gazing at the ceiling.
I lift Nick’s tee to tie the shorts as tight as I can below my cuts, then cover up. “All done.”
Alex looks back down before grabbing more wipes.
I lift my shirt, scrunching it below my boobs so he can work.
One of the three cuts needs butterfly bandages, but the others are only deep enough for blood to spill.
“No stitches required,” he smiles, wrapping gauze over the deeper cut and taping it in place.
Alex passes me a water bottle and some pain meds next. “This should help. How is your head?”
I swallow the pills gratefully with a few mouthfuls of cool water. “It’s only a headache now,” I explain to him.
“Z is here,” E tells us as Alex hops out.
“She is in here, Z,” Alex calls, motioning to the back door.
Zander skids to a stop at the open door. He looks terrible with flushed cheeks, messy hair, and a wild look in his eyes. “Summer,” he chokes out, looking me over and sliding into the seat beside Bay. “Come here, darling, please,” he requests, holding out his arms.
Bay gently transfers me to Zander for a hug. I can feel tears hitting my hair, but I say nothing as we quietly hold one another for a few minutes. I feel him take a shuddering breath, then pull back. “Are you hurt?”
“Not badly,” I reply. Alex explains the cuts to him and that he cleaned and bandaged me already.
“Is Ben still alive?” He asks, looking at the guys.
“We left Nick inside with him, so…” E offers with a shrug.
“Okay, I’m going into the cabin. Are you comfortable here with the guys?” He asks me. I nod, so he passes me back to Bay and gets out, walking towards the cabin.
Zander
My beautiful, brave daughter is not wearing her track uniform anymore. I can’t think about that now, or I’ll kill him slowly, with my bare hands. I enter the cabin and notice Nick seated in a chair next to a bed. “Nick,” I say, announcing my presence.
“Z,” he answers. The metallic tang of blood mixes with a musty smell as I approach. Ben’s face is a bloody mess, and he is bound to all four corners of the bed. Nick, legs open and relaxed, has his gun sitting on his lap, but is shirtless. “How much time do we have?” He asks me.
Checking my phone, I tell him 20 minutes. “Let’s see what he has to say.” He gets up, stores his gun in the holster, and saunters over to the kitchen, filling a pot with water.
Ben sputters awake as Nick dumps water over his head. “What the fuck?” he shouts. It seems Ben is missing a tooth. He coughs blood as he tries to sit up, quickly realizing he can’t. He turns his head and spots Nick and me, the color draining from his face. “Let me go,” he demands, thrashing about.
Nick’s dark chuckle cuts through Ben’s struggle. “No,” he says, “who helped you today?” This is a side of Nick few people see, but Troy and I have witnessed it before. His interrogative skill is unnerving, and his calm never breaks. Something he has his father to thank, or curse, for.
“No one,” Ben spits at Nick.
Nick remains unfazed as he pulls out his gun, flicking off the safety. “Answer the question,” he tells Ben quietly.
“I’m no snitch,” he replies. “Besides, what are you going to do to me? You won’t kill me.”
A yelp reaches my ears as Nick swings his gun around and pushes it against Ben’s groin.
“I won’t kill you. I’m not getting locked up for a piece of shit like you.
No need. I’ve got a lot of friends in prison who would happily do me a favor.
” Ben pales even further, trying to distance himself from Nick.
“Sean is here,” E calls, popping his head inside.
Nick raises an eyebrow, looking at me. “He must drive really fast,” I reply.
Summer
E tells us another car is pulling up, opening his door and hopping out. I hear murmurings, then the door beside Bay opens. I involuntarily yelp and try to move back because my nerves are frazzled.
“It’s okay, Summer. This is Z’s friend, Officer Sean. He’s ex-military too,” Bay explains quietly to me.
A man crouches down in front of us with a small smile. He’s around Zander’s age with short reddish hair and hazel eyes, wearing jeans, a polo shirt, and a gun holster on his waist. “Hello Summer. Can you tell me if you need an ambulance or the hospital?”
“No, I’m okay.”
Officer Sean seems to inspect me. “I’m sorry to ask, but those clothes don’t look like they belong to you. Do you require an SSRI kit?” Bay and E suck in harsh breaths at his question.
“What is that?” I haven’t heard that term before.
“It is a rape kit, Summer,” Alex tells me, turning his head to meet my eyes from the driver’s seat.
“No,” I shake my head, legs automatically clenching. “The guys got here before it happened.” All three boys seem to deflate at my response.
“That’s good. I’ll head inside to check out the situation. We will get you home as soon as possible, okay?”
I nod and lay my head on Bay’s shoulder. I watch him walk away, stopping to capture photos of the blue car before climbing the stairs and entering the cabin.
Zander
I hear the front door creak open as Sean enters. “Z. Nick,” he nods. “Fill me in.”
Nick begins without removing his eyes from Ben.
“I arrived first at the cabin. Ben was leaning over Summer with a knife in his hands,” he says, pointing behind himself to the floor.
I glance in that direction, spotting a knife handle sticking out from beneath the couch.
“Summer was naked, tied to the bed in the same position as Ben is now. I listened to her scream twice before I entered. She had blood on her legs, arms, and stomach. I snuck up behind him and put him in a chokehold. Alex entered through the back and covered her with a sheet before proceeding to untie her. When Ben passed out, I dropped him on the floor and helped Alex. I gave her my shirt and told Alex to hold her, then tied Ben up on the bed. Alex left to get our vehicle at the end of the driveway. I waited with her until Alex returned, at which point he carried her out.”
I’m vibrating with anger at my daughter’s condition when they found her. “She wasn’t raped,” Sean informs us as I sag into the back of Nick’s chair. Thank goodness for some positive news. “How did Ben end up like that?” He asks, pointing to his face.
Nick breaks contact with a surprisingly quiet Ben to look at Sean, raising an eyebrow. “Do you really want me to tell you?”
Sighing, he shakes his head. “No, just tell me if I’ll find any surprises when he’s examined.”
“He’ll be pissing blood for a while, and he may lose his right nut,” Nick responds without emotion.
“I can explain him being beaten easily. Anything else I need to know?”
“He didn’t work alone, but I didn’t get enough time with him to find out who he was with,” Nick says.
“Okay, I’m calling this in. You two get out of here. Z, I’ll visit in the morning to get Summer’s official statement. We’ll find the car’s owner and question them.” Nick gets up and heads outside without another word.
Sean motions for me to step further away from the bed. “I’m happy you found her, man,” he tells me quietly. “Officially, you were out searching for her yourselves. The boys’ friend claims to have seen Ben driving the Ford Focus in this direction, and you were lucky. Our tech has found nothing yet.”
“Got it. Thanks, Sean,” I reply, clapping him on the shoulder as I pass. Time to get my daughter home.