by Ruby Vincent
Icy terror ran through my veins. That one word ricocheted in my screaming mind.
Sofia. Sofia! No! Please, no!
“We do her too,” replied a deeper voice. “Quick. And then we grab Richards.”
No sooner had the order left his mouth than a hand flashed out and grabbed my necklace. They tore it from my throat.
Tears soaked my face. They ran down the arm penning in my screams and splashed down my chest. I wailed my throat raw as the earrings were torn from my head and the bracelet from my wrist. I fought harder, jerking until my limbs ached.
Muggers. Filthy, disgusting, fucking muggers and they’re after Sofia! I have to do something.
They found my phone and flung it at the wall. It shattered into pieces that struck me.
“Hurry up and take the pictures.”
One of them unzipped my jacket. I knew what he was going to do.
Horrid visions of nightmare and reality fueled my panic. I drew my leg up, found his head, and kicked with all my might.
His neck snapped around as he went flying, releasing me.
“I said hold her down!”
Two of them grabbed my legs. They forced them to the floor and sat on them.
The one I kicked righted himself and reached for me again. He forced my zipper down and sought the rip in my collar. My shirt fell in tattered pieces on either side of me. Then he reached for the bra’s clasp.
My screams were hoarse, smothered cries that did not reach help—or them.
The two not holding me down turned their flashlights on my bare breasts. Frigid air chilled the sweat dripping down my body. I shivered in cold and disgust.
The man holding my head in a vise held out his phone. The other guy took it and pointed it at me. I didn’t understand why until the first flash went off.
Click.
Click.
Click.
“Get her pants off.”
I bucked and twisted under them. The captors on my legs put more of their weight on me. My bones crunched under the pressure and I cried out in more than fear as one of them worked my pants down to my knees.
Click. Click. Click.
“That’s enough. We’re here for Richards. If she comes back and sees the mess, she’ll freak.”
One of the guys on my legs spoke up. “Someone has to stay with this one until we get her.”
A hand snaked over me and squeezed my breast.
I jerked away. “Hmm!”
“What the fuck are you doing?” The guy standing on my left sprang forward and slapped his hand off. “Don’t touch her! That’s not what we’re here for!”
He clasped my bra and tugged my pants up to punctuate his point.
“Just keep her here and quiet. We’ll grab Sofia.”
My eyes widened.
That voice... I know that voice...
The guy on my right ripped my shirt completely off and used the strips to bind my wrists and ankles. When he was done, the weight on my legs vanished.
A band of light fell on me as they opened the door. I saw my surroundings clearly... and I watched the four of them leave to attack my best friend, abandoning me with their quiet, violent partner.
He moved the moment the door shut. He grasped my head with both hands—clamping one firmly on my mouth—and dropped me to the floor.
He ripped open my bra, breaking the clasp. Freely, he pawed me.
Trashing side to side, I tried to escape him. I threw my head back and freed my mouth for one blessed moment.
“Help! Help me!”
He scrambled to cover me again. I snapped and trapped the tip of his finger between my teeth.
“Argh!”
Pain exploded in my face. He slapped me, and in the shock, I released him.
The sound of a zipper being drawn down echoed in the air.
Nightmare and reality took hold, and the only safe place was neither.
I retreated. The thing on my mind as I sank was Sofia.
Light flooded the space. My eyes bugged as a man burst into the shed. My attacker fumbled to stuff his dick in his pants as the man grabbed a tool and swung.
The shovel connected with his neck. He smashed against the riding lawnmower, clutching his throat.
The man raised the shovel over his head.
Gasping, the attacker shot to his feet and raced out of the door. The man didn’t chase him.
He dropped to his knees next to me.
“Fucking hell,” he raged as he freed my legs. “Are you okay? Fuck! Of course you’re not okay.”
A thick, British accent poured from his mouth. As the shock cleared, I saw him properly. Thick, brownish-blond hair clung to his forehead. The adrenaline impacted him. Beads of sweat collected over his stormy blue eyes and his hands shook as he freed my wrists.
I clapped my hands over my body and he instantly pulled off his sweater.
He put it on me and then helped me into my jacket.
“You’re safe now,” he soothed. “My phone is charging in the other building. We’ll go and call the police. That bastard won’t get far. What’s your name?”
My jaw worked. The rasp forced itself out of my raw, aching throat.
“H-Hudson.”
His brows snapped together. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”
I tried again. “S-Sofia.”
Hudson’s eyes sharpened. “Sofia?”
“Sofia,” I croaked. “She’s in d-danger. They’re after her. We have to go now. Sally house.”
Hudson moved faster than I’d ever seen. He scooped me up and ran out into the night.
The wind beat and tore at us, powerful as the heart thundering against my ear. Hudson didn’t stop or slow down. We saw no one as he tore up the familiar path.
Please be safe, Sofia. Please be safe.
Greek Row loomed ahead of us. Hudson sprinted to the end of the street and bounded up the porch.
“Hello? Hello, Sofia! Open the door! We need help! Hel—”
It flew open. Leighton stood at the threshold, eyes wide. “What the hell is going on?”
“Sofia,” I croaked.
“We need help. She was attacked.” Hudson brushed past her and carried me inside. “She said they were after Sofia Richards too. We have to find her right now!”
Leighton put up her hands. “Whoa. Slow down. I can tell you that Sofia Richards is safe. She’s upstairs.”
“Are you sure?” I cried. “Tell me she’s here!”
She looked at me steadily. “She is, Val. I walked past her myself only five minutes ago. She’s safe.”
I went boneless with relief. Then the floodgates opened. I sobbed loud, wrenching cries that shuddered my body.
I felt a hand on my forehead. “Bring her in here,” Leighton said softly.
Hudson carried me into the living room. Paisley and Reagan sprang up and he set me down in their place.
“She was attacked,” Hudson explained. “Assaulted. The guy got away, but I hurt him.”
His voice was gruff, but his hands were gentle as he rested my head on a pillow and draped the throw blanket over me.
“Call the police. I’ll give as much of a description as I can.” He peered into my eyes as he said, “They’ll find him.”
“Sofia,” I sobbed.
“I will check on her right now,” he promised. “Everything will be okay.”
“Thank you,” said Leighton. “Thank you for saving her and for bringing her here.”
“I could have done nothing else.” Hudson tucked me in like a father putting a child to bed. “Rest now. You’re safe. I’m going to Sofia.”
Reagan put her arms around him and guided him out. “She’s upstairs. Third door on your left.” She shut the door behind him.
“Val.” Leighton knelt beside me. “Do you feel up to telling me what happened?”
“The police,” I whispered.
“Reagan will call.” She addressed her. “And a washcloth and something for Val to drink.”
/> “Yes, Leighton.”
Reagan swept out, leaving the three of us alone. Leighton sought my hand under the blanket and laced our fingers together.
“Whenever you’re ready,” she said.
I was ready. I was more than fucking ready.
“They mugged me.” My wretched throat made my hiss low and menacing. “Five guys in black masks stole my jewelry and my money. T-they stripped me and took pictures. After that, four of them left and I was alone with the o-one Hudson h-ad to save me from.” My semblance of calm was cracking.
“Did he try to...?” Leighton did not have to finish the sentence.
I nodded.
Patricia clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes huge with horror.
“They had a plan,” I continued, “and it was to take Sofia.”
“Why Sofia?”
Wetness washed down my cheeks. “She’s usually there alone, tucked away in a different spot while she waited for Hudson.”
“Shit.” Leighton punched the floor. “I should have had you girls man the stall in pairs!”
I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. Two of us were out there tonight.” The blanket balled in my fist. “And I don’t think it’s a coincidence a guy came up with a hundred-dollar bill, forcing one of us to leave to get change.”
Leighton’s gaze sharpened. “You can identify one of them?”
A sob escaped my lips. “Not just one. The guy who tried to rape me. I know who he is.”
She shot to her feet. “Who?”
“I can’t be sure,” I added reluctantly. “He didn’t speak and I never saw his face.”
The hard set of her jaw was fixed. “Then I’ll make certain.” Leighton marched to the door and stuck her head out. “Reagan, get my stuff.”
“What?” I fought my way out of the blanket to sit up. “What are you talking about?”
“That guy said your attacker was injured.”
“Yes,” I said slowly, understanding dawning. “Hudson hit him in the neck with a shovel. There will be a bruise he can’t hide.”
“What’s his name and do you know where he lives? I’ll find him and if there’s so much as a hickey on his fucking neck, I’ll have the cops there in minutes.”
I threw the blanket off. “I’m coming with you.”
“No, Val. You should stay, get cleaned up, and—”
“I’m coming with you!” The scream shocked even me, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. “He hit me, touched me, and tried to hurt my best friend! I will find him and I will see him put in cuffs!”
Pat stepped forward. “Val, just let me...” Pat trailed off as Leighton raised her hand.
“Okay,” Leighton said. “Can we come with you? We want to help.”
“Yes. I might... need help getting there.”
Patricia and Leighton immediately encircled me under the arms and lifted me up. I leaned heavily on them as we made for the door. Reagan reappeared in the hallway, holding a bag.
I pulled to the right. “I have to check on Sofia first.”
“After,” said Leighton. “If they’re making a run for it or destroying evidence, we’re giving them too much time to do it.”
“I need to make sure—”
“You need to make sure the people who tried to hurt her pay for it. That’s what your best friend needs right now.”
The words pierced through me. She was right. Their plan didn’t go the way they thought. I got away. There was a witness. The stand was all over the ground. And they didn’t get Sofia. As a result, they might be running or retreating to plot a second attempt.
“Let’s go. Hurry.”
The girls carried me to the door and I passed the hall mirror. My reflection stared grimly back. A knot the size of a fist purpled on my forehead. My lip was cut and swelling. The redness on my cheek sharply brought his slap to memory.
Tears collected in my eyes, but I did not let them fall.
No more crying. It’s his turn.
“Let’s go.”
Four of us slipped out into the night.
“It’s not just the one Hudson hit,” I said. “I think I could identify another one, but I’m not sure and I won’t be sure until we speak to the guy who assaulted me.”
“Just tell us where to go,” Leighton said.
I did.
We were a silent group marching across campus. Though I didn’t speak, my mind spun with a thousand different endings to tonight.
What if it’s who I think it is? What if it isn’t? How do I tell Sofia? What do I tell the boys?
I physically jerked as the thought punched the air from my lungs.
When they find out, Jaxson, Maverick, Ezra, and Ryder will kill them. No exaggeration. No hesitation. They will kill those men with their bare hands.
I’ll deal with this, another voice broke in. I’ll find them and have them arrested. Leighton was right. I have to bring the police on them now before my boys get there first.
Reagan got out in front of us and pulled open the door. It wasn’t late enough for the dorm to be quiet. Music, laughter, and television poured out of the gaps beneath the doors.
“What floor?” Leighton asked.
“Second.”
We bypassed the elevator without giving it a look. I had to keep moving.
The hallway we stepped out on was no quieter than the first. What sounded like a party raged three doors down from the one I focused on.
“That’s it.”
They helped me to the door. My heart pounded loudly in my ears, matching my sharp raps on the wood.
“Coming,” a voice shouted from within.
My nails drove deeper into Pat’s forearm. She didn’t utter a sound.
The door flew open. A billow of steam and fresh, piney scent seeped out.
Logan blinked at us over the threshold. His damp hair dripped water onto the towel around his neck.
“Hey, can I help—” He looked at me and his eyes bugged. “Val? Are you okay?”
My muscles bounded tighter. The arm crushing my head. Rough, groping fingers in the dark. The sound of the zipper. It all roared through my mind.
“What happened to you?” he cried. “I—”
“Take off the towel,” I croaked.
He frowned. “What?”
“Take it off.”
“I’m not—”
“Excuse me.” Leighton sprang forward. She ripped the towel off so violently his head snapped to the side and smacked the doorframe.
My knees gave out.
Patricia strained to hold me up as I gazed at the red, angry bruise on his neck.
“It was you,” I rasped.
Logan clapped his hand to the wound, but it was far too late. “What are you talking about?”
“We’re not playing this game, fucker,” Leighton snarled.
She shoved him. Logan staggered back and she went with him into the room. Patricia and Reagan helped me through and then shut us in.
“What the hell is your problem?” Logan snapped.
“You attacked me,” I said. “You and your friends.”
I straightened and pushed the girls away. Looking him in the eyes, I said, “The police are on their way.”
Logan swung his head around, gaping at us. He was the picture of confusion. “On their way to do what? I didn’t attack you, Val. How could you even think that?”
He advanced on me and jerked back.
Leighton and Reagan jumped in his path.
“Don’t go near her,” snarled Leighton.
“Whoa.” He threw up his hands. “Okay, that’s enough. I want all of you out of here right now.”
“Playing innocent is not going to work,” said Reagan. “Val identified you. The guy who rescued her whacked your rapist ass with a shovel and that mark on your neck is telling the rest of the story.”
“Rapist?” he repeated, eyes bugged. “You’re insane! I didn’t rape anyone! I fell in the shower!”
I pressed my li
ps together, body shaking. Who knew he was such a good actor? But then, he would have to be.
“I was here all night studying.” He gestured at the pile of notes and textbooks on his desk. “I didn’t leave my room once.”
I lit on something partially buried beneath his papers and my eyes flared.
“Leighton, that’s it! That’s the phone!”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than they both darted for the desk. Leighton closed over the cell.
“Get off!”
Logan seized her by the back of the head and shoved her face-first into the wall.
I ran to help. Patricia and Reagan were faster.
Reagan hooked him around the neck. He fought for breath as they pulled him off and wrestled him into the desk chair. He thrashed in her chokehold, gasping as she wrapped tighter still. His eyes bulged and desperately he kicked out at Patricia who held his arms to the chair. Logan was going nowhere.
“Easy.” Leighton straightened and dusted herself off. She appeared completely relaxed for someone who had just been attacked. “Let him breathe.”
Reagan eased up. He gasped, sucking in deep lungfuls.
“I’m going to guess by your reaction that there are some incriminating photos on this phone.” Leighton handed it to me. “I’m sure the police will be very interested in seeing them.”
“Wrong, bitch!” Logan’s pleasant, faultless mask was nowhere to be seen. “There’s nothing on that phone! You can see for yourself. One, nine, eight, seven.”
Dread weakened my spine. No. We can’t be too late.
I typed the password in and hurriedly flipped through the gallery.
“Nothing,” I said, laced with disbelief. “There’s nothing here.”
“Are you sure?”
I let Leighton take the phone.
Harsh, grating laughter filled the room. “Look all you want. You won’t find anything. I was here all night and I got this from falling in the shower. When I call the police about this, that’s exactly what I’ll tell them.”
“I see.” Leighton let the phone drop on the floor. “You and your friends attacked her. You mugged her, stripped her, photographed her, and then, you tried to rape her. You terrorized Val and I could see from the ridiculous act you pulled, that you pretended to be her friend.”
Leighton’s deadened tone didn’t match the emotions swirling in me as she laid out each horrible crime.
