His Lucky Penny (The Penny Books, #1)

by LL Meyer

The hand on my shoulder is back, but this time I welcome it. “Jason?”

  “Yeah. Come here.”

  I look up and yes, it’s him. Relief swamps me, leaving me weak and unable to respond.

  He pulls me up and carries me to a nearby bench where he sits me on his lap, holding me like a baby to his chest.

  The adrenaline draining from my system leaves me trembling from head to toe.

  “It’s okay now,” he whispers. “No one’s going to hurt you. I’ve got you.”

  I bury my nose in his neck, taking deep breaths of him, trying to put myself back together again. My head spins; did a man just try to take me away? A sob breaks from deep inside me.

  While I cry, Jason holds me and murmurs calming, comforting words into my hair. I don’t know how long we sit there, but now I can hear people around us. I open my eyes and see that the exam has let out and there are students milling around on the grass in front of the building.

  “Pretty Girl?”

  I peek at him.

  “We have to report this,” he says, sitting me up a bit so he can look at me better.

  My breath hitches. “What?” I shake my head. “Just wanna go home.”

  “I’m sorry, beautiful, but we have to,” he says, his blue eyes sad but firm.

  He can see that I want to argue, but he leans forward and kisses my forehead to forestall my words. “I got hold of his hood when he ran. He unzipped himself, but his wallet’s in the pocket.”

  Jason points to the ground at our feet. I recoil from the black hoodie. He steadies me with the arm behind my back, and then lifts my chin so I have to look at him.

  “You’re strong. This needs to be done and you’ll do it. I’ll be with you every second, okay?”

  New tears begin to well. He runs his fingers along my jaw, cupping it with his palm and pulling our foreheads together. I feel his breath on my lips as he speaks. “I know you can do this. Dane would want you to.”

  The mention of Dane tightens my chest, and the welled tears fall into my lap. As if reading my mind, Jason whispers, “Don’t worry about that. I’ll tell him what happened.”

  Finally, I nod against him and then I realize how close we are, our lips just inches from each other. I pull back, not because it feels wrong, but because it doesn’t.

  Jason sits me on the bench beside him. He grabs my backpack and the guy’s sweater from the grass, and then, pulling me up on shaky legs, he tucks me under his arm. And even though I know I shouldn’t, I wrap both my arms around his middle.

  I don’t even consider not sitting right beside him in the pickup. Before we leave, he pulls out his phone and texts Dane. I don’t know what it says, but we haven’t even left the parking spot before the phone starts buzzing with a call.

  Jason takes a deep breath before answering.

  “Yeah.”

  Pause.

  “Yeah, she’s okay.”

  Pause.

  ”Yeah, we’re going there now.”

  Pause.

  “I don’t know if that’s a great idea.”

  Pause. He pulls the phone away from his ear. “He wants to talk to you.”

  I’m so hesitant to take the phone, but Jason nods encouragingly at me.

  “Dane?” My voice breaks, and I’m crying again.

  “Oh, Lil, are you okay?” The obvious stress in his words is painful, making it almost impossible to talk.

  But I have to reassure him, so I take a deep breath to steady myself. “I’m,” gasp, “okay.”

  “I’m coming home now. I’ll be there soon.”

  “Kay.”

  “I love you so much,” he says desperately.

  My breath hitches again. “Me too.”

  “Let me talk to Jason again.”

  I give the phone back and lean into his shoulder. They talk for a bit more, but I don’t listen. I’m too tired and too stressed. On the way to the UO police station, I stay as close to Jason as the seatbelt will allow, resting my head on the outside of his shoulder, and he keeps his hand curled around my thigh.

  Inside the station, Jason installs me in a chair and goes to talk to the man behind the front desk.

  I jump when I hear Jason speak, not having noticed his return. “They said someone will call us to take your statement soon.”

  I just nod as he sits and slips his arm around me again. The sign for the restrooms catches my attention.

  “I’m going to go to the bathroom,” I say, avoiding his eyes as I extricate myself from him.

  “I’ll wait for you outside the door,” he states, getting up with me.

  My polite protest dies on my lips, because I don’t want to go by myself.

  My reflection in the mirror above the sinks is shocking. I’m painfully pale, and there’s mascara smudged all over. Pulling my purse out of my backpack, I do my best to fix my image with shaking fingers. Then I notice that a few of my nails are broken and one is even bleeding. Taking a deep breath, I wash my hands, and then brush my hair. When I’m done, I feel a bit stronger.

  Fifteen minutes later, a police officer calls us back behind the counter to a small, windowless room. The air conditioning is cranked up so I pull on my hoodie.

  Despite having her hair pulled back severely from her face, the police officer is polite and puts me at ease with her smile, her teeth white against her dark skin. She introduces herself as Officer Clarke, and then she asks to see my ID and makes sure that I want Jason with me while I give my report.

  I take his hand and nod, horrified at the possibility that they’ll take him away from me. My tears start up again as I’m telling her what happened in as much detail as I can remember.

  “Pretty Girl,” Jason says gently when things seem to be wrapping up. “You have to tell her everything.”

  My brows draw together, and I shake my head imperceptibly at him. Jason knows?

  Officer Clarke looks up at me. “Is there more, Lily?” Her voice is coaxing, but no words come out of my mouth, my lower lip just wobbles pathetically.

  “She was roofied her freshman year,” Jason announces bluntly, spilling my horrible secret like it’s something that doesn’t need guarding, like it’s something I shouldn’t be ashamed of.

  “Jason.” It comes out as a strangled whisper. “I don’t think . . .”

  “That’s when these things started happening,” he continues, addressing the woman.

  She looks concerned now. “This has happened before, Lily?”

  Jason squeezes my hand, reassuring me. Our eyes meet and his expression isn’t horrified like it should be. It’s full of compassion, and it gives me the courage to finally tell my entire nightmare in detail for the first time in my life. Slowly, I peel the layers of fear and disgust of each encounter away from me. Shedding them leaves me lighter, but absolutely exhausted.

  When we’re done, the officer takes a picture of my nails and my arm, which now has a faint black and blue ring around my bicep. She says she’ll bring a preliminary report and case number out to us in a few minutes.

  In the waiting room, Jason sits first and then pulls me onto his lap, settling my head on his shoulder. I put my feet up on the chair beside us and relax into his arms.

  “You did awesome,” he tells me, stroking my hair.

  I can’t answer; I’m just so tired. Jason is here so I close my eyes and flirt with sleep despite being in a public place.

  A voice rouses me and I find myself staring into Dane’s very worried brown eyes. Immediately, my breath catches in my throat and tears start for the hundredth time.

  I reach for him and they transfer me to his arms and I swear I almost pass out from the relief.

  The time since I received Jason’s text until I arrived at that police station to find her in his arms has been a horrible blur. I read that text three times before it finally made sense.

  Some guy tried to grab PG outside her exam. All ok. Going to report it now.

  And it wasn’t until I spoke to her that I grasped the mean
ing of how he was using the word grab. The tremor in her voice had cleaved my chest wide open.

  The drive back had been interminable. The longest fucking hour and a half of my life, but I’m here now and she’s in my arms. She may be okay physically, but she’s crying and shaking like a leaf. I keep telling her it’s okay, that she’s safe, that I love her, and slowly her breathing is returning to normal. She doesn’t want to look at me though, just has her nose buried in my neck.

  A few minutes later a lady cop comes out from behind the counter and seems taken aback to find Lily sitting on my lap, her gaze going from Jason to me and back again. Jason gets up and speaks to her for a few minutes and then comes back with some papers.

  “Is that the report?” I ask him.

  “Yeah.”

  “See if they’ll make a copy, so we can drop it off at her work.” There’s no way she can work tomorrow. I’m not sure what I was expecting when I got here, but seeing her like this is a shock to my system. And I haven’t even heard what exactly happened yet.

  They’re willing to make the copy, and then I make Jason read through it to make sure there’s nothing on it that’s none of Jerry-the-manager’s business. But it’s only a basic incident report, and doesn’t include anything that she wouldn’t want known.

  “Lily?” I nuzzle her hair. “Can you walk? We’re going now.”

  I feel her take a breath and then sit up. Once we’re standing, I catch her eye and give her a small smile, but her only answer is to snuggle herself against my chest under my arm. I gotta say, I’m pretty worried.

  Once I’ve installed her in the Audi, I go around the front of the car where Jason is waiting for me.

  “Was it bad?” I ask him.

  He looks so grim. “Yeah, it was really bad. I told her that I’d tell you, so don’t push her, all right?”

  Normally, I’d be annoyed with those words, but for once I don’t know shit, so I just nod. “He didn’t . . . he didn’t hurt her, did he?” I ask, almost inaudibly.

  “Nah. She’s got a bruise around her arm, but he let her go as soon as I slugged him.”

  I heave a sigh of relief, and a glance at the car tells me that Lily is watching us, so I move toward the driver’s side.

  “Can you sit with her while I talk to her boss?”

  “Dane, you don’t need to ask. I’ll follow you.”

  I pause, my hand poised on the door handle.

  “Jase?”

  He turns back. “Yeah?”

  “Thank you for taking care of her.”

  “Always, brother,” he says simply.

  Sliding into my seat, I jump when the door slams a bit too hard behind me. The quiet in the car is like a cocoon, and I’m relieved to see that she’s looking at me now. I reach out and run my hand along her jaw. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” My voice is hoarse with emotion, and I pull her to me and kiss her forehead.

  “Thanks to Jason.”

  “Yes,” I say, and the truth of that hits me hard. “Thanks to Jason.”

  “Did you send him to pick me up?”

  I nod.

  She gives me a weak smile. “Then thanks to you, too.”

  I lean forward and this time I kiss her on the lips, and it goes a ways to easing the horrible icy ball that’s been growing in my stomach since I found out.

  When we pull into the parking lot at her work, she looks around, confused. Obviously, I need to tread carefully here, but I know her better now than I did even two days ago.

  “Is it okay if I talk to your boss? I’ll explain things to him and get you out of work tomorrow.”

  “Oh.” There’s no emotion behind that single word, so I’m not sure which way she’s leaning.

  “Is that okay?” I ask again.

  I think I see the beginnings of defiance on her face, but she gives it up a second later and just nods.

  “Do you want to stay in the car with Jason or come in with me?”

  She so obviously doesn’t want me to go, but neither does she want to come.

  I give her a quick kiss. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  I get out and Jason gets in.

  After asking around, I luck out and catch the guy as he’s leaving his office; I hadn’t even realized that it was 6:00 already. He’s not very happy when I tell him that she needs a week off, but he can also see that I’m not going to take no for an answer. He gets it right. I leave him the copy of the police report and tell him she’ll be back a week from Monday. When he starts to protest that that’s more than a week, I give him the option of my calling his boss. He backs down right away.

  Hurrying back, I see them before they see me. They’ve got their heads together over the console, and he’s holding her hand. Something primal tugs in my gut for a second before I shove it aside angrily. Now is not the time for petty jealousy.

  Jason sees me coming then, so he kisses her forehead and gets out. Instead of just letting me take his place, he stops me with a hand on my shoulder. “She needs you to reassure her,” he says quietly.

  My brows pull together. “Of what?”

  “That you still want her.”

  “What?” I say, horrified.

  He nods.

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah.”

  I close my eyes and a second later I feel Jason’s hand at the back of my neck, pulling me down. I don’t fight him, just let my forehead rest on his shoulder for a moment and try to draw on the strength he’s offering. I pray I don’t screw this up.

  At home, Lily announces that she’s going to take a shower, and when I say I’ll come with her, she shakes her head. I watch helplessly as she climbs the stairs and disappears down the hall.

  I turn to Jason. “How do I know if that’s what she really wants?”

  “I don’t know.” Great, he looks as lost as I feel. “But I need to tell you what happened anyway.”

  I go through the Great Room and grab a bottle of vodka from the bar. In the kitchen, I reach for a glass.

  “You want some?” I ask as he sits on a barstool at the island.

  “Yeah.” He leans his elbows on the island and wraps his hands around the back of his head for a moment, and suddenly I’m very afraid of what he’s going to tell me.

  I pour us both a healthy dose and then I gulp mine down in one shot, enjoying the burn on its way down my throat. When I make to pour more, he stops me.

  “Don’t be stupid. She needs you right now.”

  My shoulders sag as he pulls the bottle out of my hands and shoves it down the counter.

  “Just tell me,” I demand, my patience finally gone.

  He huffs out a breath. “I got there and this guy was literally dragging her away. She was fighting him like crazy, screaming her head off. I’m going to have nightmares because of that sound.”

  I grip the counter, watching my knuckles turn white. “I don’t need your damned commentary, Jason.”

  He just sets his jaw before he continues. “So I clocked him and he let her go. I made a grab for him, but only got the hood of his sweater. He unzipped it and took off.”

  I open my mouth, but he holds up a hand.

  “If you’d seen her, you wouldn’t have gone after him either, so shut it. She didn’t even recognize me at first. Once I got her off the ground, I just held her. Then we went to report it, and I forced her to tell the whole story from the beginning. But the more worrying part is what the cop told me just now at the end. I knew the guy’s wallet was in the pocket of the hoodie, but I didn’t have a chance to look through it.”

  Jason takes a deep breath. “They found her info on this guy – from the registrar’s office. Her picture, her address, her class schedule, her exam schedule, everything.”

  “What?” I whisper in complete disbelief.

  Jason nods. “They say she shouldn’t go home for a while. At least until they pick this guy up.”

  “Jesus.” The shock I’m feeling is being flooded with anger. “Does she know?”


  “No, they told me just before we left.”

  My knuckles are white against the counter again as I hang my head, trying to wrap my mind around this shit. “Do I tell her?” I ask him. Again I’m at such a loss, and I hate it. If I don’t control the situation, it will control me.

  “Yeah, of course you tell her,” he says like I’m an idiot. “She’s an adult and this is her life.”

  “Okay,” I say, annoyed, but then I smile a bit. “See? I knew you were good for something.”

  He gives me a look. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”

  Shrugging, I don’t deny it. “Order something to eat, would you?”

  I’m heading for the door when he calls. “Pizza?”

  “Nah, get Chinese. She likes the one with the broccoli in it.”

  With every step I take closer to her, what’s happened really starts to hit me. I mean, what was this guy going to do? Lock her in his basement? Rape her? Torture her? Kill her? My imagination starts coming up with some really horrible shit, and my breath feels like it’s being sucked right out of me. Outside my room, I have to lean against the wall to get myself together before I go in.

  I find her in the bathroom, blow-drying her hair, wearing my Seahawks T-shirt. It falls to mid-thigh on her, and it kindles a smile on my face. Our eyes meet in the mirror and her answering smile is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever seen. For a moment, I forget what’s happened, and as she turns the blow-dryer off, I move up behind her.

  “You look awesome in this,” I say, running my hand along the hem of the shirt.

  “You don’t mind? I don’t have any clothes here.”

  I laugh. “Not at all. You’re not completely naked under there, are you?” I ask like the perv that I am, lifting the shirt up a bit.

  “No,” she giggles and the sound is so, so comforting.

  I see a flash of red bikini bottoms before I wrap my arms around her middle, over the T-shirt. “Come on. Jase ordered Chinese.”

  “Is it okay if I go like this?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  She hesitates for a second, but then she turns herself in my arms. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

  I scoff. “How can I not? You’re wearing my Seahawks T-shirt.”