Now That I Found You: A Tortured Heroine Standalone Romance (Heart's Compass Novella)

by Brooke O'Brien

  Hudson offered me more than a place to live. He gave me this job. He took me in, he looked out for me, and watched over me. There were many nights I would lie awake in bed and pray to my dad he’d get me out of Garwood. I believe he brought Callum and Hudson into my life for a reason and despite wishing it were my dad who walked me down the aisle, giving me away, I know he’d be happy I had Hudson step in for him on my big day.

  I walk back to the break room and drop off my keys and jacket before punching in and heading back to the front of the store.

  “You have it from here?” Hudson asks, as he finishes stacking candy before breaking down the box. “I promised June I’d meet her for lunch, and I need to make a run to the bank. I won’t be gone more than an hour.”

  I wave him off, reassuring him I have it from here as I take over stocking the shelves with more Halloween candy.

  A short while later, after I’ve finished sorting the goodies, I head back toward the front of the store and do more organizing. A group of kids came in earlier looking to spend their allowance on candy, tearing through the aisle and leaving it in a disarray.

  The sound of a voice clearing from behind startles me.

  “Hello.” The ominous voice acknowledges me.

  “Hi there, you ready to checkout?”

  “Yes.”

  Tossing the candy onto the shelf, I turn to smile at the gentleman behind me. Expecting to find another friendly face from Arbor Creek, I have to force a smile on my face when I find the opposite.

  His dark hair is longer, tucked behind the back of his ears, with his red trucker cap pulled down covering most of his face. That’s not what sends off alarm bells in my mind. No, it’s the stench of alcohol on his breath hitting me from the moment I turn around, mixed with the strong aroma of cigarette smoke.

  Forcing myself to breathe, I paste a smile on my face while mentally telling myself to get through it. Help this man purchase his items and send him on his way.

  Everything in me wants to fall to the ground and curl into a ball, but I don’t. I’ve come so far in the past few months. I have fought hard to move on from the torment of my past following me. It’s not just me anymore. I have so much more to live for now, and I’m not going to let my PTSD cripple me any longer.

  I can do this. I know I can do this.

  My fingers quickly type in my employee number on the old register, as he sets the case of beer down on the counter. I quickly slide it over the scanner, ringing it up.

  “Will that be all for you, sir?”

  For the first time since turning around, I look up and make eye contact with him. It’s like a snap of the fingers, and I’m back in the dirty old basement of the abandoned house.

  “I think you know what I want,” he slurs.

  Struggling to swallow, my vision gets hazy as my heart rate picks up in speed.

  “I’m sorry?” I ask, not understanding what he means.

  Tingles spread out across my skin, as I suddenly feel dizzy. I concentrate on the words my therapist went over with me.

  Focus on your happy place.

  Breathe in.

  Picture sitting by the pond in your backyard with Callum.

  Now breathe out, Ellie.

  “Empty the register,” he commands, jostling me from my thoughts.

  “I don’t, I - I - I don’t have any money in here. We just did a shift change. The register was emptied, and the deposit was taken to the bank.”

  “I don’t fucking believe you for a second. Listen here, bitch. I want you to call up Hudson and tell him you need him to get back here. I know he keeps a safe in the back. I want you to call him, tell him you need some help. I want him to empty that safe and you’re going to help me do it.”

  “O-O-Okay,” I stutter.

  Bending down, I reach for the phone we keep beneath the counter.

  “The fuck you think you’re doing?” he shouts. “You put your hands in the fucking air where I can see ‘em or you’ll be eating this.”

  He raises a knife in the air, pressing the blade against the column of my neck. Just like that, once again, one man threatens to hurt me, taking everything I’ve ever wanted right along with him.

  Chapter Six

  Ellie

  Keeping my hands up in front of me, I see Callum’s name on my watch as the phone begins to ring. The vibration in my back pocket gives it away immediately, as his eyes dart to me.

  “What’s that noise?”

  “It’s my phone. It’s my husband,” I pause, not sure where to go with it. “He always calls me on my break. If I don’t answer, he’ll wonder if something is wrong.”

  “NO!” he shouts, cutting me off. His eyes turn frantic.

  “Okay, okay.” My voice breaks as the panic starts to rise up my throat. “I won’t answer it. I just know if I don’t, he’ll start to wonder if something is wrong and drop by here. He worries a lot about me, he’s kind of overprotective.”

  The words “kind of” are loose in this situation. Callum is a lot worried where I’m concerned. After what happened to me with Royal, if he had it his way, I wouldn’t leave his side. That’s extreme though, he knows it, and I know it. We’ve talked to a therapist a lot about how we have both coped with our fears that still torment us today.

  Callum holds a lot of guilt over not being there to protect me. If he had any idea the situation I was in, I know without a shadow of a doubt he’d be coming in guns blazing to get me out of harm's way. It’s just the way he is. Life has changed us, but I love him for always wanting to take care of me. I wouldn’t change that about him whatsoever.

  My phone vibrates again and, once again, as Callum’s name flashes on the screen.

  “He’s just going to keep calling,” I say calmly. “I can turn it on speaker phone. I’ll tell him I’m having lunch with a friend. He won’t think anything of it, I swear. I just don’t want him to worry.”

  His face looks maniacal, darting from me to the front door of the store before falling back on mine.

  “Yeah, yeah…” He hesitates. “Make it quick. Don’t try to pull anything or I swear to fucking God, it will be the last time you’ll ever talk to him again.”

  He raises the knife back up to me, forcing my heart to hammer in my chest as I nod my head frantically.

  “Okay, it’s okay. Please just don’t point that at me. I can’t be calm on the phone with him if you do and if I’m scared, he’ll hear it in my voice.”

  He clutches the knife into his fist, leaning against the edge of the counter, before nodding his head toward me to answer it.

  Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I swipe the screen answering the call and put it on speaker.

  “Hey, baby,” I greet him.

  “Hi sweetheart.” Callum’s voice filters through the phone. Just hearing his voice, I feel the smile on his face, wrapping around me like a warm hug. It’s almost startling how calm I am compared to the way I felt just a moment ago. “How’s work going?”

  “Okay,” I say, looking up at the man. His jaw locks, his eyes widening as he nods to me, not liking my response. He wants me to speed it along, so I do as he wishes.

  “I have you on speaker. I’m just eating a sandwich, sitting here in the break room. You’ll never guess who stopped by to see me.”

  “Who’s that, baby?” I know he’s expecting me to answer with one of my girlfriends’ names.

  “Royal,” I say, pausing to make sure he heard me. He goes silent, and I know he’s probably holding the phone against his ear, praying he hadn’t heard me correctly.

  “Are you, are you there?” I ask, my voice growing shaky. I force myself to stay calm. If I let on that I’m nervous or scared, I’m afraid the man will pick up on the clue I’ve given Callum.

  “You said Royal?”

  “Yeah, he stopped by to bring me lunch. Isn’t that sweet of him?”

  There’s a sound of a chair screeching in the background. I imagine the terrified look on Callum’s face, but he doesn�
��t say anything. He knows something’s not right, and I’m grateful he knows me well enough to pick up on my warning for help.

  “That’s very sweet of him,” Callum says. His sweet voice earlier has gone cold. There’s fear laced with a threat in his tone now.

  “Is Hudson there?”

  “No, he is with June.”

  The man moves his hand, urging me to end the phone call. In doing so, he adjusts his knife pointing it at me as his eyes grow wide in warning.

  “I gotta go,” I say matter-of-factly. “Um, I’ll call you when I get off work. Callum, I love you.”

  The emotion and the fear of it being the last time I could ever say those words to him are like a ball of cotton lodged in my throat.

  “I love you, too, baby. I’ll see you soon.”

  He reaches forward, snapping the phone out of my hand pressing the end button and tosses it behind him, sending it crashing to the ground, sliding across the floor.

  “Don’t get too ahead of yourself there, sweetness. I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon. Put your hands back up in the air.”

  Bile rises in my throat, as I force my spine steel straight. I want to let the fear take over, pinning me down and holding me in place, but I don’t. I won’t submit to his intimidation. I’ve lived my whole life falling victim to the terrible things that’ve happened to me. I refuse to let someone come in here and threaten to take away the two things I love more than anything in this world. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I let that happen.

  “I’m not doing anything, I swear.” I gulp, feeling a lump in my throat.

  My watch flashes and I’m grateful my hands are still up in the air as a text message from Callum reading, “911” flashes on my screen. It’s the same message I sent to him the day Royal had taken me. Relief washes through me, knowing he picked up on my warning. He’s trying to tell me help is on the way.

  Now all I have to do is just bide my time and stay calm, as the time slowly ticks.

  “How much longer until Hudson should be back?”

  “He normally takes short lunches, so it shouldn’t be too much longer.”

  He starts to pace, walking up toward the front of the store, before pacing back to me. Stopping to glance out the window, he looks back to me before he resumes the same pace in front of the register counter. My arms have started to slouch from the pain of keeping them raised in the air.

  “Keep your hands where I can see them. I’m not playing games with you.”

  When he shifts to move, I catch for the first time the gun tucked into the back of his jeans.

  I force myself to swallow. I’m scared if Hudson comes back here, something could happen to him. I don’t want to see anyone I love get hurt again.

  “I will be honest with you. Hudson told me he was going to the bank during his break. I don’t know how much money he’s gonna have here.”

  The loud smack ricochets around the room, as he uses his closed fist around the knife to hit me. Pain radiates through my jaw, feeling like it was split in two. My ears ring as tears fill my eyes, threatening to fall. I press my palm against my cheek.

  “I don’t need your advice. I’ve got it from here. Quit talking!”

  His eyes look wild, as sweat trickles down his face. He swipes it using the back of his hand, using his fist clutching the knife to cover his mouth while contemplating something.

  I just hope and pray whatever he is thinking, he’s going to take it easy on me. Whatever it is he needs, I know if there is a way of me making it out of here alive and unharmed, I will have to appeal to what he wants. It’s clear he’s willing to go to extreme risks to get whatever money he needs.

  “You can take anything you want, anything. I’ll give you all the money in the register, but please, just don’t hurt me.”

  My voice trembles, fear and adrenaline taking over me.

  “You really don’t know how to fuckin’ listen, do ya? You just keep that pretty little mouth shut before I find something to put in it.”

  This all starts to feel like a bad dream. One I’ve relived every night I lay my head down and close my eyes. As every second ticks away, I just hold onto hope it’s one second closer to when Callum is in my arms again.

  The tears that once filled my eyes now seep out of the corners. I’m realizing no matter how far I’ve run, how hard I’ve fought, I’m always going to be scarred by my past.

  Chapter Seven

  Callum

  The adrenaline coursing through me right now is the only thing fueling my body to move. The thought of what Ellie experienced the last time she was in danger urges me to move as quickly as I can to get to her.

  Anyone who doesn’t know Ellie’s story would think Royal was just a friend of ours. Only the people closest to her would know it’s the name of the sick, vile scum of the earth who put his hands on her when she was still a child. The man who broke her down and hurt her in ways no person should ever have to experience, especially by someone you’re supposed to be able to trust.

  The only thing protecting that sick son of a bitch now is the fact he’s behind bars for the rest of his life. If he were to see freedom outside of that steel cell he’s currently spending his life in, I’d be the one to see to it he’s put where he truly belongs, and that’s burning in hell for eternity.

  Unlike the last time, I know how to find her. My hands shake as I log into my computer and pull up her Apple iCloud account. As soon as she mentioned having lunch with Royal, I needed to know if she was still at work like she should’ve been. What if she didn’t make it to work? What if something happened on the way?

  Once the GPS loaded on my screen, I nearly flipped the chair backward, shoving it away from the desk against the wall. Randy, my stepfather, knew something was up when I shouted at him to call the police and send them to Hudson’s Grocery. Whoever she’s with is not someone she felt safe with, and I won’t feel right until she’s in my arms again.

  I’m grateful my office at Whitt Construction is not far from where Ellie works. Tearing out of the parking lot and down the road, I quickly dial Hudson’s number. My stomach twists when he answers the call with a simple “Callum” in his jolly voice. It’s clear he has no idea what’s happening at the store, so I try to be quick and calm as I fill him in on my conversation with Ellie.

  “She said she was with Royal?” he asks. The fear and trepidation in his voice matches my own.

  “That’s what she said. Do you know if anyone was there with her before you left?”

  “No, we were slow today. It was just the two of us, but I left about thirty minutes ago to have lunch with June. I was going to stop by the bank to make a deposit on my way back to the store.”

  Pulling into the back of the parking lot of Hudson’s, I breathe a small sigh of relief when I spot Ellie’s car parked in the back of the lot.

  “I’m here now. Do me a favor and stay away. I have the cops on their way, but they’re coming from Everton, so it could still be a few minutes. The door in the back of the store, any chance you’d leave it unlocked?”

  “Not normally, but I was unloading boxes from a shipment we got in earlier this morning. It should still be unlocked.”

  “Thanks,” I say, cutting off the conversation and ending the call. I don’t have time to chat. I only have one focus on my mind and that is getting to Ellie.

  Grabbing the gun from the holster where it sits in my center console, I check to make sure it’s loaded before jumping out of the truck and sliding it in the back of my jeans. Jogging across the lot toward the loading dock, I’m cautious to avoid making too much noise.

  The sound of a buzzer goes off, and I hurry to grab the handle to pull the door closed behind me.

  “Motherfucker,” I whisper to myself, frantically looking around to make sure no one might have heard me.

  I’ve never been in the back of the store before, but I opt to cut across to the other side. If Hudson is on lunch, I know it’s not possible she’s on her
break too. I quickly check the rooms in the back for any sign of Ellie. When I find the break room in the back corner, I quickly flip on the light and see Ellie’s purse hanging from the wall before turning the light back off.

  I decide to come around from the back of the store, knowing if she is with someone, the element of surprise will be in my favor if I approach from behind. Pulling the gun from my waistband, I reach up and wipe the sweat from my brow with the sleeve of my shirt.

  The closer I get, the more I make out the sound of his voice. What I hear next makes the blood in my veins run cold.

  “You can take anything you want, anything. I’ll give you all the money in the register, but please, just don’t hurt me.” Her voice comes out a whimper. The sound makes me want to run to her and wrap her in my arms.

  Hearing him threaten to hurt her flips a switch inside me, one that I’ve worked to contain for so long after Ellie was hurt.

  Keeping the gun pressed against my side, I look over the aisle and see a man pacing back and forth in front of the counter where the register sits. He takes a step forward and Ellie’s beautiful and heartbroken face comes into my view and the ache in my chest lessens.

  Her face is red, tears streaming, as she’s struggling to contain her emotions. There’s a bruise forming on her face. The anger coiling in me tightens like a knot deep in my gut. Her arms are raised in the air, but the way her shoulders sag, I know the pain of holding her hands up is weighing on her.

  His pacing continues. By the look of his jerky movements and unsure footing, he’s been drinking. If I had to guess, he’s probably had one too many which works in my favor.

  When he stops in front of Ellie again, pointing the knife in her face, he demands she stop crying. He runs a hand through his hair before adjusting his hat, muttering to himself, but his words are hard to make out.

  “You’re gonna have to come with me,” he finally says. My eyes are wide with fear. I can’t let her leave with him.

  Thinking about where he could take her, what could happen to her, I won’t let it happen.