Yesterday's Roses

by Heather Cullman

  It wasn’t until Hallie slipped into a narrow alley that she finally dared to pause for breath. Lord! Not only had she behaved like a loose woman with Jake, she was now being mistaken for one on the streets.

  She peered out of her hiding place, anxiously scanning the passersby for familiar faces. With a sinking feeling, Hallie noted that the streets were becoming crowded now, and she shrank back into the shadows as she recognized two men who were elders of Ascension Tabernacle.

  She groaned out loud. Since it was the day before Christmas, every good Samaritan in town would be out on some sort of mission of mercy. Like angels cut from their heavenly bonds, they would indulge in a head-spinning frenzy of spreading cheer, feeding the hungry, and, of course, saving every vagrant soul within miles.

  Which meant that Hallie couldn’t risk being seen on the streets in her current state of disarray. She glanced into the passage behind her. Perhaps if she kept to the alleys …

  Another drop of rain made up her mind for her, and she slipped back into the foreboding gloom of the alleys. So be it, then. Somehow she would find her way through the maze of Chinatown’s alleys.

  She walked for several blocks, shivering violently as the wind whistled through the narrow passages between the buildings. With the wind came an awful stink of rotting debris.

  By the time she reached the end of the alley, the smell had become so overwhelming that she was forced to take her breaths in quick, choking gasps. It wasn’t until she heard a slosh beneath her boots and skidded on something slippery that she peered into the shadows at her feet. What she saw made her gorge rise sharply.

  There before her was a large pile of putrid fish heads lying amidst what appeared to be fish entrails. The stench was appalling.

  It was too much for Hallie. She decided then and there that she would rather risk the scandal of being seen in her current disheveled state than brave more such slimy horrors in the alleys. Having come to that decision, she veered sharply to her left in the direction of the street, lifting her skirts high as she carefully sidestepped the malodorous mess.

  The wind came racing around the corner like an over-eager sweetheart and engulfed Hallie in its chilly embrace as she paused at a break between the buildings. Leaning back against the uneven surface of a shingled wall, she took several gulping breaths of the clean, crisp air. Just as her stomach began to right itself and she’d steeled herself to reenter the street, a small body hurled itself into her with a force that knocked her on her backside.

  Hallie could only stare in dazed wonder at the Chinese girl sprawled across her lap. What in the world?

  With a moan, the girl clutched at her belly and rose unsteadily to her feet. Still doubled over, she took several stumbling steps forward before uttering a piercing cry and collapsing to her knees.

  “Did you hurt yourself?” Hallie asked, moving to the spot where the girl lay huddled. When she received no answer, she laid her hand on the girl’s shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. “I’m a doctor. Perhaps I can help you.”

  “She’s going to need a doctor, and quite badly, when I’m finished with her,” replied a beautifully modulated voice.

  A dark shadow fell across Hallie as a man loomed into the opening. He was a tall man, richly dressed, and, from what she could see of his face, not unattractive. Ignoring Hallie, he sauntered over to the now whimpering Chinese girl.

  “Thought you could escape, did you?” he inquired, jerking the girl to her feet with one hand. “It was stupid of you to run. I paid dearly for the privilege of your company, and I intend to take my pleasure with, or without, your cooperation.”

  With that, he pulled the limp form closer an gave her a vicious slap across the face. The girl let out a strangled scream laced with equal parts terror and pain; he smiled with satisfaction, pleased by the sound.

  “That’s better.” Laughing triumphantly, he lifted his palm to administer another blow, but before he could land the strike, a pair of restraining hands clamped onto his arm. Infuriated by the interruption, he let out a string of foul curses and flung the Chinese girl hard against the wall. Then he rounded on his opposition.

  He felt the blood rush to his face as he glared down at the unkempt, red-haired spitfire clutching at his elbow. She seemed unafraid of his fury, and he could have sworn he read a challenge in those glowing gold tiger eyes.

  That very lack of fear enraged him beyond reason. When Nick Connelly frowned like he was doing now, people—especially women—were supposed to dissolve into an intimidated mass of quivering flesh. Obviously this particular female was in need of a lesson in the meaning of his scowl.

  With lightning speed, he shook his arm free from her grasp, breaking her hold as easily as if he had been bound by chains of paper. Emitting a feral growl, he brutally backhanded the little busybody across the side of her head. She reeled from the blow.

  “I’ll teach you to interfere!” Nick hissed, catching the other side of her head with another loud whack. He chuckled as the impact sent her flying backward.

  Pain burst through Hallie’s head as the man’s fist made bruising contact with the area just above her ear, and as she was thrown up against a brick wall, it jolted down her spine. Stunned, she slid silently to the ground. Then everything blurred before her eyes.

  It was the revolting sensation of fish entrails beneath her hands that snapped her back to the frightening reality of her plight.

  “Just who the hell are you? And what gives you the right to stick your nose into my business?” Nick ground out as he hovered over the figure on the ground.

  But Hallie was gagging uncontrollably and was unable to answer. She heaved drily for several seconds before being seized by her cascading hair and hauled to her feet.

  “Answer me!” he growled, punctuating his words by banging her head against the wall.

  Struggling to escape the man’s hold, Hallie managed to gasp, “I’m from the Mission Infirmary! I’m Dr. Hallie Gardiner.”

  “An angel of mercy from the mission,” Nick purred, abruptly ceasing his battering and pulling her close to study her features. There was fear in her eyes now, and tears slid unchecked down her pale cheeks.

  How he hated these so-called good women. He hated the way they avoided him, hated the way they crossed the street when they saw him coming, acting as if to pass him meant to risk some terrible contamination. And all because he’d roughed up a couple of the girls who were under the protection of the Mission House.

  Hell. Once a whore, always a whore, he’d figured, though that high and mighty Davinia Loomis had made it very clear that she disagreed. When she’d publicly called him to task for his deeds, she’d effectively ensured that he would be snubbed by every decent woman in the city.

  From that point on, he had dreamt of wreaking vengeance on the sanctimonious goody-goodys at the mission. Now that his chance was at hand, he intended to make the most of it.

  “Well, Dr. Hallie Gardiner,” he began in a falsely cordial tone, “it seems as if my companion is no longer in any condition to fulfill her duties.” He nodded at the motionless figure of the Chinese girl. “A fact that sorely disappoints me. I’m not a man who copes well with disappointment.”

  Nick coiled the length of Hallie’s hair around his hand and wrenched her head back cruelly. Lightly tracing the deep valley between her breasts with one well-manicured finger, he mused, “I know you wouldn’t want me to be disappointed, would you, Doctor?”

  Hallie shrank from his intimately probing fingers, too stunned from the blows to her head to do much else. As he pressed against her, trapping her between his body and the rough surface of the wall, she could smell the cloying scent of his cologne.

  “Mr. Connelly,” she pleaded, feebly attempting to push him away. “I don’t—”

  In one savage motion, he ripped open the tattered remains of her bodice and watched hungrily as her breasts were exp
osed. He groaned with pleasure. They were perfect. All round and white, with nipples like ripe cherries. Nick couldn’t resist the temptation to swoop down and sink his teeth deep into one creamy globe.

  Shrieking with pain and outrage, Hallie lunged forward, throwing all of her weight against him. The surprise of her counterattack knocked him backward a few inches, freeing Hallie’s hands, which had been pinned between their bodies.

  Blindly she clawed at his face. Nick Connelly howled like a wounded coyote as her nails found their mark, and he released his hold on her hair to grab at his lacerated face. As he drew back to stare at the blood on his hands, Hallie took her opportunity to escape and darted toward the street.

  But she had seriously underestimated Connelly’s recuperative powers. She was shocked by the impact of his body as he hurled himself at her back. Tumbling to the hard-packed ground with Nick on top of her, she heard him shout, “I’ll teach you to cut Nick Connelly! I’ll make you sorry the notion ever entered your mind!”

  Tangling his hands in her hair, he gave it a scalp-rending yank that made her scream in agony. “Shut up,” he hissed and jerked her head up to deliver a glancing blow across her cheek.

  Hallie sobbed as she felt the sickening sensation of blood welling her mouth, though the rest of her face was numb from the impact of his assault. This had to be a nightmare! How could something so awful be happening to her? But another slap reassured her that it was no dream.

  Nick groaned aloud as the sight of his victim’s humbled state heated his lust to a fever pitch. With her cheeks red from his repeated strikes and blood seeping from the corner of her mouth, she was too exciting to resist. Damn it! And he had looked forward to making her suffer for a good, long time. Yet, as he stared down at the lady doctor lying helplessly beneath him, her face a tear-streaked mask of terror, he was filled with an aching need to take her now—and quickly. Right here in the filth of the alley.

  Panting with desire, he wrestled Hallie onto her back, easily pinning her fists to the ground above her head with one sizable hand.

  Straddling her hips, he hissed, “I’m going to enjoy hearing you scream while I force you to take this—” He ground the swollen evidence of his need against her belly.

  Hallie willed herself to go limp as Nick Connelly twisted slightly to draw her soiled skirts up her legs. She didn’t dare move or make a sound, for fear that he would beat her completely senseless. As he ran his hand up the length of her thigh, stopping to claw impatiently at her sheer batiste pantalettes, a desperate idea blossomed in her muddled brain.

  Cursing, Nick bent down to loosen the waistband of her drawers, widely straddling her legs. Hope gave Hallie courage, and with all the strength she could muster from her abused body, she brought her knee up and slammed it into the sensitive juncture between his legs.

  He released an agonized scream. Stunned by the intensity of the pain, he clutched at the damaged area and then crumpled to the ground beside Hallie, where he lay in a whimpering heap.

  Shivering uncontrollably, Hallie forced herself to rise to her knees. She glanced over at the Chinese girl, who hadn’t moved or made a sound since Nick had thrown her against the wall. She had to get help! But as she tried to gain her feet, she was overcome by a fierce queasiness that doubled her over, making her retch miserably. By the time her stomach was empty, her head was reeling crazily and she buried her face in her hands in an attempt to regain her equilibrium.

  Hallie remained in that position until a groaning threat from Nick pierced her agony-filled haze. Staggering like a sailor with three pints of rotgut down his gullet, she wove in an unsteady gait toward the end of the alley. Clutching at her head, she was about to step out into the safety of the open street when she fell against the unyielding wall of a solidly built body. As her arms were grabbed in an iron grip, her mind shrieked in panic, Oh, Lord! What now?

  With a choked sob, Hallie forced her eyes to focus on the bright buttons of the man’s dark uniform. Rolling her head back, she stared rather stupidly into the scowling face of a policeman. Relief penetrated her disoriented mind, and with a sigh, she collapsed against the man’s chest.

  “How often have I warned you doxies to stay off the streets?” he lectured, giving her a shake that made her stumble. “I won’t have you accosting decent folks, do you hear? And just look at you! Drunk as an Injun! Why, I have half a mind to—”

  But the officer’s tirade was cut short by a moan that escalated into a gasping sob.

  “What’s that?” bellowed the policeman, staring suspiciously into the shadowed darkness of the alley.

  Roughly dragging Hallie behind him, the officer stalked over to the whimpering figure on the ground. Squinting down at the prostrate man, he expelled, “Jeez! It’s my man, Nick Connelly!”

  Nick sobbed mournfully, “Not much of a man anymore, Tully. The whore kicked me in my privates.” He rubbed at the damaged area, moaning with renewed drama. “Hired her and her Chink friend for a little fun. Paid them generously, too. They lured me into the alley, promising me a real good time, and then they tried to rob me. Seems as if a man can’t take his pleasure these days without risking his life!”

  “That’s a lie!” shrieked Hallie, shaking an accusing fist at Nick Connelly. “I’m certainly no prostitute! This filthy excuse for a man tried to rape me.”

  Officer Tully eyed Hallie dubiously for a moment, his gaze taking in her disheveled appearance. Then he snorted his disbelief. “Seems to me that only a whore would know where to kick a man to do the most damage. Jeez!” He shuddered in sympathy.

  “What do you intend to do about this, Tully?” Nick’s face was the very picture of wounded innocence as he looked up at the officer. “Surely you can’t let her continue robbing and emasculating decent men?”

  “I kicked him because he would have raped me!” Hallie shouted in frustrated rage. “He was beating that girl over there.” She gestured desperately at the still form lying several yards away. “And when I tried to stop him, he turned on me. Then he tried to rape me! Can’t you see he’s lying?”

  “I’ve known Nicholas Connelly since the strike in ’49. Worked the North Fork together. You get to know a man pretty well after sixteen years. Never known Nick to fib, and I can’t imagine he’d have a reason to start now. Isn’t that right, Nick?”

  A grunt of affirmation seemed to satisfy the policeman.

  “He lied because he’s guilty of assaulting two innocent women!” she hissed, narrowing her eyes at Nick in a menacing fashion.

  The man released a strangled cry and curled his body into a protective ball.

  “Enough!” roared Officer Tully, frowning at the exchange. “It’s high time I made an example out of one of you whores. You’re starting to get way too bold for my liking.” He roughly seized Hallie’s arm and began pulling her toward the street. “Let’s just see how impertinent you feel after enjoying a few days of hospitality—courtesy of the Broadway Street jail!”

  “Damn heathen Chinee!” snarled the young policeman running his hand over his head to smooth the few remaining strands of blond hair. “Knows how to kick up a ruckus—that much’s for sure.” Spitting on the floor, he tossed a look of undisguised contempt at the screeching girl huddled on the cot.

  “If you don’t shut up, and quick-like, I’ll give you something to holler about!” he threatened, advancing forward a step.

  But the girl was oblivious to the man’s presence, lost in her own private hell, and she emitted another series of shrieks while clawing convulsively at the rough woolen blanket.

  As swiftly as a striking serpent, the officer grabbed the girl’s shoulder and gave her a bone-jarring shake while barking something in Chinese.

  “No! Don’t!” gasped Hallie. But as she made to spring from the cot where she sat braced against the wall, she was overcome with a dizziness that made her sink back with a groan.

  The man
paused his yapping tirade long enough to glower at Hallie through narrowed eyes, then turned his attention back to the young girl squirming in his grasp.

  Giving his prisoner another jerk, he continued his diatribe, punctuating his words at intervals by jabbing his thumb in Hallie’s direction. The Chinese girl lifted her head high enough to fix the flame-haired woman with a horrified stare and then, giving a strangled moan, shrank tightly against the cot.

  Whatever the officer had said had the desired effect, and the girl, struck silent now, curled into a tight fetal position, her face a twisted mask of tearful despair. Giving his prisoner a final warning look, the man jabbered one last barrage in Chinese and then shoved her away, expectorating a foamy stream of spittle for good measure. Then he turned to leave.

  As he brushed past Hallie, she made a desperate grab for his arm.

  “Wait!” she exclaimed, latching on to his elbow. “You can’t just leave her here!”

  The officer impatiently shook his arm free from Hallie’s grip, not even bothering to look down. “Can’t I?” he asked in a taunting voice as he sauntered toward the barred door. “Just watch me.”

  “No! Please.” Hallie’s voice had taken on an urgent quality that made the man stop in his tracks. “Can’t you see that this woman has been badly beaten and is in need of medical care?”

  The policeman let his gaze travel between the two women for a moment as he seemed to consider her words. Then he shrugged and pushed open the cell door.

  “Are you stupid or just blind?” Hallie was relieved to see the man pause at her berating tone. Though his expression didn’t bode well, she forced herself to brazen it out.

  “This woman should have been taken to a hospital, not to this hellhole.”

  The man leaned against the door, stroking at his luxuriant side-whiskers, and stared at Hallie smugly. “Oh? And what hospital do you suggest?” he drawled. “Can’t think of any Chinee hospital offhand.”