Chapter 25 Patience
Chapter Twenty-Five
PATIENCE
Safe.
Hadn’t it just been a couple of days ago that I thought about how much my friends had gone through and felt thankful I was safe?
As I clawed at the gloved hand covering my mouth, desperately needing oxygen, I wasn’t sure I knew what that word meant.
Things had been going great. Dusty and I were enjoying a little girl time before we headed home. I’d taken her to Brinley's bookstore and Capri’s bakery, which were side by side, so she could check them out.
We laughed at our new friend’s antics as she joked about the romance books. Dusty would pick one up, and after flipping through the pages to find the perfect spot—a sex scene, of course—she’d read it aloud. She was a hoot, and the ladies liked her as much as I did.
Before we left, Brinley decided she’d close up and come over to Capri’s with us, then presented Dusty with a gift—two of Alley’s books to take home. We told her she’d love them and promised we’d make a romance junkie out of her in no time.
Then, Capri closed her place, and the four of us talked while we stuffed our faces with Capri’s wonderful goodies and drank coffee way too late in the day. By the time we left, it was a toss-up as to whether we would stay wired on caffeine or fall into a sugar coma.
“Let me give you some stuff to take home for Jett and Griffin,” Capri said before we could leave.
“I can’t promise it will make it there,” Dusty teased.
Brinley gave us hugs goodbye before running off to use the restroom, and I told Dusty to grab the treats while I headed outside to call Jett to double-check on dinner. He’d mentioned grabbing stuff, but I wanted to be sure in case we needed to pick anything up.
I walked out the door into the early evening light, the area quiet since most stores closed by six on a Monday, and we’d surpassed that a bit. As I headed toward the corner where my car was parked, I rummaged through my purse for my cell and pulled it out.
Stopping next to the passenger side of my vehicle to dial, I paid no attention to my surroundings. It was a good area, and it wasn’t dark.
I had no reason to be scared.
Why would I when—
My feet suddenly left the pavement as a gloved hand covered my mouth while another wrapped around my waist, dragging me backward around the side of the building. I kicked my legs, twisting and wiggling to try and free myself as I clawed at the hand that covered my face.
Unable to scream or barely breathe, panic rose as the front of my body was slammed into the brick building, my forehead crashing against the hard surface and causing stars to dance across my vision.
The large figure behind me caged me in, and fabric—maybe from a mask—brushed my cheek as a deep, muffled male voice began to speak into my ear.
“Don’t try to—”
Strong arms that were around me seconds ago were gone; a thud and deep grunt sounded as my body dropped to the ground, my knees smashing against the concrete. Excruciating pain raced up my legs, the vibration of the impact felt throughout every part of me.
That same voice from a second before yelled, “What the fuck!”
Another thud and grunt echoed in the alley. “You’re going to think what the fuck even more in a second, asshole!”
Is that Dusty?
My heartbeat pounded in my chest, the sound pulsing through my head, and I couldn’t quite focus on what was transpiring. Panting for breath, I almost missed the crunching noise and scuffle of retreating feet before someone was on the ground next to me.
“Patience. Are you okay?” Dusty’s voice was filled with anger and concern as she peeked around me, my body still faced toward the wall. “Shit, you’re bleeding.”
I managed to maneuver so I was sitting on my ass, back against the building.
Did she say bleeding?
“Try not to move,” she said softly, her eyes frantically scanning me before she glanced over her shoulder.
Does she think the person is coming back?
The thought of that made my breathing pick up, the sound whooshing through my ears like I was stuck in a windstorm.
At the sound of footsteps, I froze, panicked that my attacker was coming back, but Capri and Brinley both rounded the corner, horror on their faces.
My friend whipped a phone out of her back pocket. “I need an ambulance at…” Dusty looked up at Capri, who rattled off the address, which Dusty repeated into the phone. “Yes, we’re safe, but there has been an attack, and my friend is injured.”
I was only safe because of Dusty. But what if she hadn’t come out and around the corner in time? What had she done to free me from that monster's grasp? Staring at her, I tried to get my mouth to work to ask, but my lips trembled, and my body shook as the reality of what had just happened sank in.
Questions rattled around in my already scrambled brain. Who was the guy? Why did he attack me? And what was he about to say? Would we ever know?
The women all had their phones to their ears, but now all three were on the ground around me—like a circle of protection—as sirens sounded in the distance. My head pounded, blood trickled slowly down my face, and I needed…
“Jett,” I whispered.
Brinley’s hand lightly touched my arm. “He’s coming, sweetie.”
Before any more could be said, the once quiet street was filled with noise and buzzed with activity. Multiple police cars, along with the ambulance, pulled up at the same time. People were suddenly everywhere, but one familiar face in particular put me a bit at ease.
“Let me through!” Lake yelled, pushing her way past the cops.
Dusty, Brinley, and Capri stood, backing up slightly to give our friend space to do her job. It was a relief to have her show up.
Lake squatted down beside me, her gaze scanning my body like Dusty had moments ago. Her eyes landed back on my head, and I wondered just how bad it was because it hurt like the dickens. I started to raise my arm, but her hand softly stopped my motion.
“Sweetie, don’t move, okay? I promise I will take care of you as soon as I can.”
As I moved my hand back to my lap, Lake began to ask me questions in a soft, soothing tone. “Can you tell me what happened? Where are you hurting, honey?”
I was unable to form a reply while my body still trembled with fear and my pulse thrummed wildly. I felt like I couldn’t get any air again.
Lake gently touched my hand. “Take a deep breath; you're safe now.”
There was that word again. Safe. While I knew nobody was going to get to me, I still couldn’t seem to grasp it fully.
“I want to get you to the hospital,” my friend said as a stretcher was pulled up beside us.
Not wanting to go, I tried to shake my head but winced at the pain that sliced through it. I couldn’t seem to gather all my thoughts. Only one was clear in my mind.
“Jett,” I quietly said again.
I knew he would make sure Griffin was okay first, but I really needed to see my husband. Something inside me said he was the only one who could make me feel truly safe.
Lake turned to the group of ladies who were talking to a couple of police officers. Dusty’s face was contorted in anger as she waved her free hand around, animated and clearly pissed off.
“Where’s Jett?” she asked the group.
Dusty stopped talking, her eyes softening as they landed on me, but it was Brinley who answered again, just as she had earlier. “He’s on his way.”
Turning back to me, Lake grabbed something from her partner and began putting it around my neck.
“See that, sweetie? He’s on the way. Let’s just get you ready for transport.
” She gave my hand another soft touch. “This is just for precaution until we get you checked out,” she said of the cervical collar she just fastened on me.
“I’ll clean up your head a little bit when we are in the ambulance. ”
I blinked in understanding. It was as if words beyond my husband’s name had eluded me. Tears gathered in my eyes until my lids were too full to contain them, and they began cascading down my cheeks—a waterfall of emotions.
Capri rushed up on the other side of me, dropping to her knees. “Oh, sweet girl. Jett is close; he’ll be here soon.” She touched my cheek, her hand warm and comforting.
“Let’s get her on the stretcher,” I heard Lake tell the other paramedic.
With fluid grace and tender care, I was lifted onto the flat surface before being moved toward the ambulance. Capri followed, and as we passed the other ladies, they fell in behind her.
“I gave my statement; now I’m going to the hospital,” I heard Dusty say. “You need more, come find me there.”
Later, when my mind wasn’t a mess and terror no longer gripped me, I knew I’d remember what a badass my tiny sprite of a friend had been.
Trepidation took hold as we reached the back of the ambulance. My gaze frantically scanned the faces, but none were the one I wanted to see. It was an awful thing to think when my beautiful, amazing friends were right there surrounding me, but I needed—
As my hand shot out to grab Lake’s wrist, I heard him.
“Patience, baby. I’m here.” The frantic tone in his voice and the fear in his eyes as he rushed to my side made me feel bad for scaring him. But once his gaze met mine, his features softened.
The moment he took my hand in his, that’s when I felt it.
Safe.
While precautions were good, the only place I wanted to be was home with my family.
Hours must have gone by as I was checked out, cleaned up, and wheeled to another room for a head and neck CT scan. Jett hadn’t left my side except when they took me for a scan, and even then, he threw a conniption fit as he tried to demand he go with me.
Thank God his sister was working. Ruby had cut back her hours at the hospital, but it was a blessing she’d been on shift because if she hadn’t, my husband may have been thrown out of the hospital on his behind.
He’d been almost hysterical when they wanted to take me out of the room without him. I might have been exhausted, shaken up, hurting, and still reeling from the attack, but I could sense his distress. And while I knew he was worried about me, I had a feeling it was a lot bigger than that.
Jett hadn’t told me many details of what had happened to him when he’d been captured overseas. Yet, I’d seen firsthand how much torment lived in his head when I witnessed his nightmare, and heard his anguished voice telling me he couldn’t save his friends.
There was something in his gaze when Ruby held him tight as they took me from my room that told me he was reliving something else in his mind.
“I’ll be right back,” I whispered, trying to be strong for him, even though I would have liked him to have gone with me as much as he seemed to want to.
His chest was heaving, his eyes filled with despair, and my heart broke for him.
The visible relief I saw on his face when they brought me back to him was almost as heart-wrenching as when I’d left. Because I knew he’d lost three men all those months ago.
Ones that weren't ever coming back.
I lay in the hospital bed, barely able to keep my eyes open as we waited for the results, Jett’s hand never letting go of mine.
“I can’t lose you too.”
His broken voice had my eyes drifting sideways to look at him, the stupid collar making it difficult to move. It was doing its job, but it was a pain in the butt. His head was hung, and I squeezed his hand to get his attention.
When he met my stare, I told him, “I don’t know why that happened or what the man wanted. He didn’t get to say but three words. But I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
It must have been some random thing; maybe he wanted money? I was still confused about the events that took place when he released me—nobody had told me anything yet.
Jett opened his mouth to say something just as Ruby walked in with the doctor. With them, I received good news. The CT scan showed that my head and neck were okay. I had a mild concussion, along with some bumps and bruises. The best part of it all was that they were clearing me to go home.
Though as we waited for discharge papers, the headache that was already in place had gotten worse with the arrival of two police officers.
They’d been waiting like vultures to descend on me and get a statement.
I knew that wasn’t fair; they were doing their jobs.
It was just that thinking at that moment hurt and talking about what happened sparked fear inside me again.
As I recounted the events of the evening as I remembered them, anger radiated off Jett in waves. By the time I’d finished, I felt like I was being beaten over the head with a sledgehammer.
It was also beyond frustrating to know that since the attacker wore gloves, a mask, and had taken off running, which meant there was no car to visibly track, there wasn’t much to go on.
There were cameras in the area of the stores that may have picked him up before he dragged me out of view, but they couldn’t see him. He didn’t get to say enough to know what he wanted.
I was thankful for that part because who knows how it would have played out if it had lasted longer.
A shiver took hold of my body at the thought, and I began to tremble.
“I got you, sweetheart.”
Jett may have been scared, worried, angry, and sometimes stuck in the past since he’d gotten to me, but he had one hundred percent also been my rock.
Had been since I was seventeen.
After the police left, I couldn’t help but replay in my head the things they told me. Once they realized I hadn’t seen anything after being shoved into the wall, they told me Dusty’s part of the story.
I was beyond astonished and grateful. It was also clear that Dusty needed a far bigger and better word than badass to describe her. I didn’t know how I was ever going to thank her.
But I did know that she was a friend for life.
The woman had beat the large man over the head with her cane, causing him to release me. When he whirled around toward her, she threw a couple of punches to his gut, then his nose—most likely breaking it—before he ran for his life. I suddenly knew what the crunching sound was that I had heard.
I wasn’t sorry at all—he got what he deserved.
Letting out a sigh, I slowly moved my neck, which was stiff as a board. I was thankful to have that contraption off from around it.
Turning to look at Jett was a lot easier now. My eyes met his, and just as I opened my mouth, the door opened.
Ruby walked back in, with the woman who saved me right behind her, and trailing Dusty were Brinley, Capri, along with a few other ladies.
I looked straight at Dusty.
And I burst into tears.