by Khan, Jen
Braden spins me in his arms, I tip my head back to look at him smiling as his lips meet my own.
When he lifts his head, he whispers, “The most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
God, I love it when he makes my belly feel all squishy.
He kisses me one last time, short and sweet, giving me a light squeeze, and releases me.
For the next hour, I walk around the party, talking to everyone, making sure that they all get equal attention.
I drink beer, eat wings, and wipe tables while throwing out empties that lie scattered about the place. I know it’s supposed to be my birthday party, but I can’t help myself. Even after several pleas from everyone to “leave it,” and “let someone else take care of that,” I still can’t help it. Whatever. It’s my party and I can do whatever the hell I want to.
Chapter Twenty One
I am throwing the trash in the dumpster in the alley out back when my face suddenly hits the metal siding. I feel the grip on the back of my neck as my head draws back and I find myself pinned against the wall by someone much stronger than I am.
“You have ruined my fucking life, darlin’,” he growls into my ear.
Oh God! Oh no, no, no, no, no!
I attempt to stifle back the cry that is trying to fight its way out, and instead I whimper.
“Shut up, you little bitch.” My face is lifted and slammed into the brick wall nearby. I let out another cry. “You ruined. My. Fucking. Life!”
I choke back a cry and remain silent.
I am whirled around and facing my attacker. He has one hand around my neck, the other on the wall next to my head wielding a blade. Jose Delgado. Shit.
This man is crazy. I can see the wild in his eyes. I want to scream but I can’t. Not with his hand squeezing me and the stinging bile that is threatening its way up my throat. He isn’t just crazy. He is flat-out insane.
His eyes shift to the parking lot, back to me, then to the door, and return to me.
He is in my face, narrowing his eyes. “I should’ve gutted your sweet little ass when I was finished with it.”
The tears are making my vision blurry, and I try desperately to swallow down the bile, but it keeps its march up my throat. Maybe if I throw up he will back away and I can make a run for it. Something tells me that this man before me would have no problem slitting my throat if I did throw up on him.
I know he is here to kill me tonight. He is about to go on trial for rape and attempted murder. There is strong evidence against him. Plus, I can pick him out of a lineup. I guess he didn’t think that I would ever be bold enough to do it. Hell, I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for Braden.
Before he kills me, he is going to torture me first. I know it. Just by the look in his eyes and what he did to me before, I know that he is going to torture me and leave me for dead—or worse, he’ll leave me alive after he has his way with me so that I can live with it for the rest of my life.
Jose takes his knife and slits my shirt revealing my black lace bra. I close my eyes and scream before I am lifted and slammed back into the brick wall. It leaves me seeing stars and a bit woozy.
This cannot happen to me again. I won’t survive this happening to me again. Seeing this disgusting, vile human being get locked up for life and Braden having my back won’t help me to survive it this time. I can only hope for death if he succeeds in having his way with me.
He puts his callused hand on my breast and my knees wobble before giving out. That is all it takes for me to know for a fact now that I won’t survive this. I either have to get away somehow or let him kill me. Hell, I will beg him to kill me.
I am not ready to die or become a shell of a woman. I have too many great things in my life now. A wonderful man, great friends, and a new, very unconventional kind of family. My only option is to get the upper hand somehow and escape.
“I’m going to take your ass this time.” The bile in my throat rises even more and I swallow it down as hard as I can. The tears spill out of my eyes. It’s now or never.
I close my eyes and nod my head to Jose.
He growls, whirling me around to the wall again with his arm hooked around my neck and shoulders putting me in a hold so that I can’t get away.
And that’s when I hear it—the zipper of his pants. He undoes my top button.
“I’m going to need you to take off your pants, darlin’.”
I shake my head. “No,” I whisper.
“Take. Off. Your. Pants. Now,” Jose grits out.
“Go fuck yourself!”
He tightens his hold on me, and that’s when I move.
Solar plexus, instep, nose, and groin. Tristan’s voice is chanting in my head.
I draw back and nail him with a strong elbow to his side. I stomp on the instep of his foot with my heel and feel the cracking of his bones beneath it. Jose cries out. I spin around, and with a swift upwards movement, I drive my palm right in his nose. He doubles over, covering his face with his free hand, blood spraying from his now jacked-up nose.
I shove him repeatedly until he is backed against the dumpster. He takes one hand and curls it into the collar of my shirt, but I don’t stop fighting. I grab for the arm that is still holding the knife. He tries to swing it at me, but I snatch his wrist and hold it out, trying to keep the blade from making any contact with me.
I start screaming. Ear-piercing screaming. I scream, I shriek, and I shout. What I shout is unintelligible. I am scared and alone, but I am not going to go down without a fight this time. I am not going to become a victim who didn’t try her hardest to get out of this alive and mostly unharmed. As long as I don’t let this animal get his filthy hands on me again, I can survive. I would be able to go on living.
Now please, for the love of God and all things holy, please let someone come out here and help me or call the police.
“Stop screaming, you little bitch!” Jose demands as we both fight for control of the knife.
“Fuck you!” I scream again.
He backhands me right in the mouth. I didn’t even see it coming. I was too focused on the knife when he draws back and clocks me on the cheek. I know he broke the skin when the warm, wet stream runs down my face.
The pain radiates throughout my face and my head jerks back. I start to scream again and push him back, keeping a lock on this arm with the knife. I am going to get my hands on that knife.
I kick him in the groin. Game point.
He drops to his knees and rolls onto his side in a fetal position. I reach down and put my fingers around the knife he dropped when he himself dropped to the ground.
I tuck it into the back of my pants and start to run up the stairs, screaming at the top of my lungs. I try to open the door. I wiggle the handle. Someone must have forgotten to unlock the damn door.
Shit!
Jose catches me by the hair and pulls me down the stairs. I feel the tear in my scalp from where he is ripping some of my hair out. Seconds later, I fall hard to the ground, missing the last two steps. My head bounces off the pavement.
Now he is straddling me, standing over me. I am still slightly dazed when he puts his hand into his pants to free his erection. I can’t stop it. I turn my body and vomit all over his shoe.
He takes his other foot and kicks me in the side, knocking the wind out of me. It takes all of a few seconds for my brain and body to communicate and work together. I go into full-on fight mode.
I fight and scream again, the best I can after being winded. I am pushing and kicking at him. He lays down, trying to cover my body with his, and I claw at his face, blood streaming down his cheek immediately after I slice his flesh open. He rears back on his haunches and I follow him. I pull back and punch him in the face with a jab and immediately follow it with a right hook to the nose.
His head jerks to the side as he makes a pained grunting noise. I kick him in the head. There is a sickening thud felt through my boot when that boot makes contact with his head. His head snaps back again, followed
by his body, and he lands on his back on the pavement.
That’s when someone grabs me by the waist and presses me to their chest. “Hey! We’re here. You’re safe,” Jake whispers into my ear. My entire body goes from tense to relaxed. Too relaxed. I practically sink into his arms. I begin to shake. He tightens his arms around me, holding me close so that I can take in the warmth of his body.
Braden straddles Jose, wrapping his hands around his neck and squeezing. Jose’s eyes bulge as he claws at Braden’s hands.
“You piece of shit! You motherfucking piece of shit! I’m going to kill you, so help me God!”
Braden leans into Jose, putting all of his weight into the death grip he has on him. Jose’s body bucks and jerks and the color of his face is becoming a purplish red.
Tristan lifts Braden off and holds him back.
Jose clutches his throat and starts taking in deep breaths.
The sirens are getting closer. Tristan calms Braden and releases him while he restrains my rapist/attempted murderer/victim of Holt self-defense 101.
Braden comes to me and pulls me to his chest with a hand behind my head. Jake walks to the paramedic unit that is pulling in, which is followed by two police cruisers.
Tristan releases Jose and cops approach with guns drawn, all pointed at the man on the ground, who is still recovering.
The blond officer tucks his gun into his holster while the others keep their aim. He flips Jose over and crouches down on his knee, pulling a pair of handcuffs off the holster and yanking Jose's hands behind his back before cuffing them.
I can’t stop shaking. Jake walks a paramedic to me and explains to him what just went down. I let him look me over but I can’t let go of Braden. He knows this and holds my hand.
A cut right below my eye is taped up, and I have a gash on my lip. No concussions this time, no broken ribs or dislocations. I have a clean bill of health. The paramedic suggests that I visit the hospital to be checked by a doctor, but I am good. I just want to go home and crawl into bed with my man.
Braden brings me into his side, kissing the top of my head. I am now trembling and crying. He holds me tight and lets me get it all out.
Epilogue
It is a mid-June afternoon and Braden and I have spent the whole morning in bed. Six months after Jose Delgado attacked me outside of the bar, life is back to normal.
I moved in with Braden not long after that night out back at Holt's. This was his way of keeping me safe. I was a little worried about being under the same roof day in and day out. I didn't want us to get on each other's nerves, but I had nothing to worry about. Our relationship continues to get stronger and stronger every day.
Delgado is sitting in jail, awaiting his trial while being denied bond. The D.A.’s office is confident in their case against him, and he is looking at several years in prison.
We haven’t seen or heard from my father since he left Braden’s apartment the morning of his unannounced visit, and I can’t say that this is a surprise. I am almost certain he will never contact me again.
Holly and Tristan are an on-again, off-again couple. Well, they haven't exactly put a name on it yet, but it's bound to happen eventually. They just have to get their shit sorted first.
Jake is occupying his time lately with looking after this Claire girl, who we have yet to meet. I scheduled an interview with her and was planning to offer her a job at the bar.
The problem is that she never showed.
Olivia started going to cosmetology school. She still has shifts at the bar, but she's been on a, what she calls, "path to self-discovery, yo!" I volunteered to be her guinea pig a few times--until the time that I agreed to let her highlight my hair and, instead of red, she dyed my hair orange.
Braden has his arms wrapped around me and I have my head on his shoulder, a leg draped over his, and my fingers are tracing the tattoo over his heart.
I am never letting this go.
My beautiful, amazing man.
I close my eyes and sigh.
“What’s going through that mind of yours?” he asks softly.
“I’m pregnant,” I reply and his body goes to stone beneath me. His hands come to my shoulders, pushing me back slightly.
We’ve discussed children many times, and we are both in agreement that we want at least two children—unless they both come out girls. We would have to try again for a boy. And we haven’t exactly been practicing safe sex since I moved in with him.
His eyes go wide as they study mine for what must be minutes but is probably only seconds.
We hold each other’s gazes before he whispers, “Pregnant?”
“Yeah,” I reply on a whisper.
His mouth slams to mine for a hot, deep kiss. His tongue darts into my mouth as his arms slide up and down my sides and legs. His fingers grip my hips, jerking me closer.
His hand trails up my side and he finds my breast. Breaking our kiss, he moves his tongue to my nipple and swirls around it before bringing it between his teeth with a light nip. I gasp into his mouth and my hips jerk to meet his.
His hands go between my legs and my breath catches. “Yes,” I breathe.
Braden kisses me again and then he is sliding inside of me. My legs wrap around his hips, my arms and legs tightening around him. He leans in, my neck arching back, and he pounds deeper and harder.
“Honey,” I whisper.
He lifts one of my legs and hooks it over his shoulder so that he can pound in deeper. Then I am coming. He continues to drive farther into me.
He removes my leg from his shoulder and hooks it around his hips. His lips make it to my neck, his breathing gets heavier, and his moans get louder. He buries himself in to the hilt, head tilted back, and he grunts.
I love to watch my man come. To know that I made him look that way.
His hands are sliding over my sides, my breasts, and when he rolls to his side, they move down to my belly.
“I’m going to be a father,” he breathes.
“Yeah, honey. You’re going to be a father.”
His eyes are watching his hand caressing my stomach, and I hold my breath.
“A piece of me is growing inside of you.”
My heart is racing and flipping and rolling around in my chest. “Yeah,” I whisper.
He brushes his lips against mine. “I love you, Em.”
“I love you too, Braden.”
We hold each other close. His head drops and he kisses my neck. I close my eyes, and when I open them again, he has lifted his head and he’s watching me.
“There’s something I want to give you.”
“I think you’ve given me enough,” I grin, and he chuckles.
“I can’t give you a new beginning, but I sure as hell can give you a happy ending.”
“You’ve already given me that,” I remind him.
“Baby, I have searched for love my whole life and never thought I was going to find it—until I met you. Then I lost you.”
My lips part, and tears fill my eyes instantly. His arms tighten around me again.
“I lived without you for months. It felt like I was wasting away. I couldn’t move on.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head. He finishes. “I should’ve fought harder. Instead, I lived a life without you for far too long. Now that we’re here, together, I’m never going back to that hell, because, baby… That’s what my life without you is. It’s hell.”
I am speechless. I should say something, maybe apologize for being the cause of his heartache. I never wanted that for him, and now that we are back and better than we ever were, it deeply saddens me to think of all of the time we wasted not being together.
“I never had a real family. Until you gave me one. No one has ever cared enough to give me what you’ve given me.”
Braden gives me another squeeze.
“My life has been shit. Never have I experience such love and light in my life until you,” I tell him.
He lifts his head and kisses my lips, giving me ano
ther squeeze. One hand sifts into my hair and tugs lightly so that I am looking right into his beautiful eyes.
“I have something to give you,” he says gently.
His torso twists, opening the nightstand next to the bed. After reaching inside, he pulls something out and closes the drawer.
“Like I said before, I’ve searched for love all my life until you. It appears love found me.”
A single tear slides down my cheek. He lifts a hand and sweeps away the tear with his thumb.
“If it weren’t for you coming back into my life, I don’t know what would have become of me. What I do know is that,—“He chokes. “I want you forever in my life. I want you to be my wife, have my babies, grow old with me, and let me love you every day for the rest of our lives.”
Shit. I close my eyes, and on cue, more tears begin spilling out of my eyes.
“If you say yes, I promise you I will spend my entire life showing you how happy you make me. I promise to make you as happy as I am. I promise—“
“Yes,” I whisper.
“What?” Braden asks.
I clear my throat and repeat, “Yes.”
A broad smile draws across his face. He opens the small black velvet box, pulls the ring out, and positions it on my left ring finger.
It is the most gorgeous ring I have ever seen. It’s a one-and-a-half carat Tiffany princess diamond with a band of channel-set round diamonds, five on each side. It is exquisite yet not too over the top. Braden knows my style and knows that I like things simple, which includes everything from my clothes to my accessories.
The ring is perfect.
He lets my hand go and wraps both of his arms around me, lifting me half on top of him while I press my face into his neck and let the tears fall.
After a few moments of silence, I raise my hand and swipe at my face. I settle my cheek to his shoulder.
“I love you, honey,” I whisper, looking at my new diamond.
“I fell in love with you after our first date,” I admit. “I fell even deeper when I saw you sitting in my hospital room sleeping in the chair. I fell even deeper when you cuddled with me on my bed after I saw my apartment. I fell even deeper after that, if you can believe it, when you showed up at the apartment a couple months later.
