Desperate Strangers

by Carla Cassidy

  Her scream was a mere gurgle as he tightened his hold on her. She tried to gasp for air, but there was none. He growled like a wild animal as he kept her pinned to the floor, his hands squeezing...squeezing...squeezing the very life out of her.

  Her instinct was to grab his hands to try to pull them away from her throat as she weakened with every second. Instead she poked at his eyes in desperation as darkness began to seep around the edges of her consciousness.

  One of her jabs finally hit its mark. He roared in pain and released his hold. She rolled away from him, gasping for air, and then staggered to her feet and ran.

  “You bitch,” he yelled.

  The darkness was her friend now. She knew the inside of the pawn shop like the back of her hand. She moved silently among the shelves, working her way toward the office where she could either lock herself inside or escape out the back door.

  Nick, where are you? How much time was left before he arrived? She stifled a scream as the man snarled again. He was like a panther hunting prey. A crash sounded, followed by another curse. Another crash...this one closer.

  Suddenly he was there. She saw only the big, dark bulk of him, standing between her and the back door. She veered to the left and headed toward the second room.

  She entered the room, her mind frantically trying to think of a hiding place. The man was definitely too big and strong for her to try to fight. The only way she would survive this night was if she hid until Nick arrived.

  Nick. Her heart cried his name. Wasn’t it time for him to be there? God, it felt like a lifetime had passed since the lights in the shop had gone off.

  Would the man find her behind the genie? She definitely didn’t want to run into the bathroom. Even though it had a lock, she knew the man could get through the flimsy hollow wood door and then she’d be at a dead end with no escape possible.

  She suddenly remembered the large penguin had a hidey-hole in its belly and that’s where she went. She crouched down and slapped a hand over her mouth to silence the screams that begged to be released. Her heart beat so fast she felt dizzy.

  “Julie.”

  The voice whispered so close by she imagined she could feel his fetid breath on her neck. Her heart stopped beating as she realized despite her frantic thinking she’d put herself in a space with no exit.

  If he found her, she’d have nowhere to run.

  Chapter Eleven

  Nick parked outside the pawn shop’s back door and got out of his car. He paused and drew a deep breath. He was exhausted. Trying to maintain emotional and physical distance from Julie was much more difficult than he’d imagined.

  After Debbie died, he never thought he’d fall in love again, but now he couldn’t figure out how to stop loving Julie. Was this his karma for even thinking about taking somebody else’s life? That he would fall in love and see a future filled with happiness for himself but it would not be his to obtain?

  He looked up at the moon, a thousand regrets sweeping through him. He felt as if he were a locomotive barreling down the tracks into a brick wall.

  He released a deep sigh. The last thing he wanted to do was to stand outside in the dark and think of all the crazy twists and turns his life had taken since he’d made the pact with five other grieving men.

  He opened the shop’s back door and blinked at the darkness that greeted him. Every muscle tensed. What in the hell was going on?

  “Julie?”

  “Nick!” Fear laced her voice, which was oddly muffled and came from someplace to his right.

  He took several steps in that direction and gasped as somebody shoved him from behind. He turned in time to see a man disappear out the back door.

  “Hey!” Nick yelled after him at the same time his heart did a nosedive. Julie! What had the man done to her? Was she hurt someplace in the dark?

  “Julie, where are you? Are you okay?” Dammit, without the lights he would have a hard time finding her.

  “I’m here.”

  “Keep talking, honey, and I’ll find you.”

  “Max left early and...and...the man must have hidden in the shop.”

  Her voice came from his right again and even though he wanted to run to her, he walked carefully through the darkness.

  “He...he attacked me when I locked the front door.” Her voice was louder now. “Is he gone?”

  “He’s gone. Honey, it’s safe for you to come out now.”

  “Okay, I’m coming out.” He heard her words right before she flew out of the darkness and into his arms.

  “Thank God,” she cried, her entire body trembling against him.

  “What happened? Did he hurt you?” he asked.

  She shook her head, unable to speak around her deep sobs.

  “Come on, let’s go outside.” He wasn’t comfortable standing in the dark shop. He didn’t know where the man had gone when he’d run out of the shop. Or if he’d come back.

  She clung to him as he moved them out of the shop and next to his car. He gazed around in all directions, tensing for any danger that might come out of the night. But he saw nobody.

  Finally Julie’s sobs eased enough that she could talk.

  “He wanted to kill me,” she said. She raised her head to look at him and in the depths of her eyes he saw her terror. “He...he said he’d make sure I never told what I know.” A burst of hysterical laughter escaped her. “It must be one hell of a secret I’ve got in my stupid mind.”

  “We need to call the police.” Nick grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket.

  “And call my father,” she said. “He needs to know what’s going on.”

  Julie sat in the safety of his car while he made the calls and then he joined her there to wait for the others to arrive. He started the engine so the air conditioner would cool them down.

  “He must have been hiding inside,” she said. Her voice trembled and her face was shockingly pale in the light from the dash. “He waited until Max left. I locked the front door and the lights suddenly went out and then he attacked me.” One of her hands rose to her throat. “He tried to strangle me but I managed to poke him in the eye and get away. I hide in that big penguin.”

  “I’m so sorry, Julie.” He reached out and grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.” It was obvious now that they had underestimated the enemy. The danger was real. It had come out of nowhere and had almost been deadly.

  He squeezed her hand. “Thank God you got away.” The back of his throat threatened to close up as he thought of what might have happened tonight.

  Before he could say anything else, a police car pulled into the parking lot. The lights swirled blue and red colors that splashed across the back of the building.

  They both got out of the car to greet the two officers who had responded to his call.

  Nick placed his arm around Julie’s shoulder as she explained what had happened.

  The officers asked them both questions about the description of the person who had attacked her, but neither of them could say anything that helped. Nick hadn’t even known the man wore a ski mask until Julie told the officers. Julie also told them about the phone call and the doll that had been left hanging in the doorway on her deck.

  By that time George arrived. He jumped out of his car, a grim expression on his face. “What in the hell happened here?”

  Julie briefly filled her father in on what had occurred in the shop.

  However, the one thing she didn’t tell George was about the man making it clear that he intended to kill her because of a secret she possessed.

  With the aid of the officers’ flashlights, George discovered the breaker in the office had been flipped, causing the electricity to shut off.

  With the lights back on again, they all went inside where George cursed at the loss of a large decorative vase that lay shattered on the
floor and a television that had been knocked over and cracked.

  “There had to be more than one person involved,” Julie said. Her face was still void of her natural color. “Somebody had to be in the office to flip the breaker while the other person attacked me.”

  Nick’s blood chilled. He hadn’t considered that before. Having one person threatening her by phone and by leaving a horrible doll on her deck was one thing. Knowing there was more than one person involved was far more ominous.

  He and Julie stayed in the office while Officer Jason Killion and Officer Mark Bradford checked out the place with George.

  Nick and Julie waited in silence. The situation didn’t warrant small talk and Julie appeared too shell-shocked to want any conversation.

  She looked small and frail sitting in the chair in front of the desk. He hated it. He never wanted to see her as frightened as she was for the rest of her life.

  Finally, George and the two officers joined Nick and Julie in the office. “There isn’t much we can do at this point,” Officer Killion said. “You told us he wore gloves, so there’s no point in trying to fingerprint anything. And without any kind of description of the perp, we wouldn’t know where to begin to find him.”

  “Call us if anything else occurs to you or if you remember something that would help us get the perpetrators,” Officer Bradford said to Julie.

  “Trust me, you’ll be the first people I call,” Julie replied.

  Within minutes the officers were gone. “From now on, you aren’t left alone in the store,” George said to Julie.

  “From now on, Julie is on vacation,” Nick replied.

  Julie gazed at him gratefully and George frowned in obvious irritation.

  “Julie knows this place can’t function without her, especially on such short notice,” he said. “Tell him, girly. Tell him I need you here.”

  “I think I need some time off,” Julie said softly. She didn’t look at her father. “Dad, somebody tried to kill me tonight. I’m sorry, but until we figure out what’s going on, I don’t want to come in to work.”

  Nick watched as George’s expression softened. “Okay, I’ll figure things out here,” he said. “Take all the time you need, honey.”

  “I’m taking her home right now,” Nick said, knowing what she needed now more than anything was the sense of safety she would find at home behind locked doors.

  George nodded. “Call me and let me know how you’re doing,” he said to Julie. “You know this was probably some sort of robbery attempt. Probably some druggie looking for a quick score of things he could fence.”

  “You need to install a camera in the second room so we can see from the office if anyone is in there at closing time,” Julie replied.

  “I’ll get it done this week,” George replied.

  Minutes later Nick and Julie were headed home. “Thank you for telling my dad I was taking a bit of a vacation,” she said. “I don’t think I could face going back in there tomorrow night. I’ve never been so afraid in my entire life.”

  “I never want to see you that afraid again,” Nick replied. Even thinking about what she’d experienced caused his heart to leap into his throat.

  “I just wish I knew what was going on.” She released a deep, tremulous sigh. “Maybe it’s time I contact the doctor and get a referral to somebody who can help me retrieve my missing memories. Maybe I need to see a hypnotist and see if he or she can help me.”

  “I want you to do whatever it takes to get well.” It was true. Nick wanted her to regain her memories because that might be the only thing that saved her from the people who wanted her dead.

  It would be the death of his relationship with her but, more than anything, he wanted her safe. Eventually she’d forget about the man who had lied to her and she’d find a good man who would fulfill all her dreams.

  A wave of dark depression descended upon him. It was the same feeling he’d had in the days and weeks after Debbie’s murder before the rage had overtaken him.

  He knew with certainty the self-destructive fury he’d felt at that time was gone forever, and yet it had been that anger that had brought Julie to him.

  If he hadn’t gone to Brian McDowell’s house to kill him, then he wouldn’t have been on the street when Julie had wrecked her car. He wouldn’t be with her now, already mourning the loss of her in his life.

  “I need to take a shower,” she said the minute they got inside. “I need to wash off the feel...the smell of him that I have on my skin.”

  “Is there anything I can do?” he asked. God, he wanted to do something—anything—to help her wipe away the memory of her attacker.

  Her gaze held his and in the depths of her eyes he saw the shadowed darkness of trauma. “Just be here for me,” she said.

  “Julie, I’m here for you and only you,” he replied.

  She held his gaze for another long moment and then nodded and walked slowly up the stairs.

  He watched her until she disappeared from sight. Just be here for me. Her words haunted him as he sank down on the sofa. Tonight had scared the hell out of him. While he’d been standing outside and ruminating about his life, Julie had been inside fighting for her very life.

  What if he’d waited three minutes longer before entering the back door? What if he’d waited five more minutes? The odds were good the man would have eventually found Julie’s hiding place. What if she hadn’t been able to physically fight him off in the first place?

  He’d lost love once to a violent, unspeakable act by another person. The last thing he wanted to do was to lose Julie to the same kind of death or any other kind of death.

  He thought of the gun he’d hidden on the top shelf of his closet. Maybe it was time he go to his house to retrieve it. Maybe it was time he started carrying it with him at all times to make sure nobody ever got close to Julie again.

  Hell, he was no hero. Every decision he’d made lately had been particularly unheroic because it had been made to serve only him. He didn’t care about himself anymore. He didn’t care if the police somehow managed to link him to McDowell’s death. He didn’t give a damn if he spent time in jail. All he cared about was keeping Julie safe.

  If he was caught with the gun on him, he had no idea what might happen. He had no idea if the gun had a history that would lead him straight to jail. That no longer mattered. The only thing that mattered was that he needed to protect Julie through this deadly threat.

  He certainly couldn’t rely on the police to do anything. They were as clueless as he and Julie were in this madness. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard her coming back down the stairs.

  Despite the trauma she’d been through, she looked beautiful in a short, soft pink robe. She walked to the sofa and melted down onto the cushion next to him.

  The scent of minty soap and spring flowers wafted from her as she snuggled against his side as if she belonged there. She believed she belonged there. He couldn’t help but put his arm around her and hold her close.

  It was amazing to him that she had accepted him so readily in her life. Without any memories of him, she had taken his word for it that they were engaged. She’d just assumed she loved him and he loved her. Such trust humbled him.

  “I always feel so safe in your arms,” she said with a deep sigh.

  “I want you to be safe always,” he replied.

  She raised her head to look at him and he saw her need there. She needed him and tonight he needed her. He had a feeling the end was quickly approaching and when it slammed into them he would not only crush her world, but he’d wind up back in that dark space of loneliness and pain once again.

  Chapter Twelve

  Julie awoke in Nick’s arms. His naked body was spooned close to hers and his arm was flung around her. Dawn light barely crept into the window and the last thing she wanted to do was to think of moving from this
place of feeling so blissfully loved.

  Their lovemaking the night before had been wonderful, but with a touch of desperation. It had begun slow and gentle, then had quickly moved to fast and frantic. It was as if they’d both known there was no promise of tomorrow.

  She frowned and closed her eyes once again as thoughts of those horrifying moments in the pawn shop with her potential killer raced through her mind.

  Her ankle ached with the memory of his tight fist wrapped around it. Her throat threatened to close up as she remembered his hands squeezing her.

  Who on earth wanted to kill her? And why? What could she possibly know that was worth her death? She couldn’t imagine even possessing a secret that big—that important—to somebody else. She worked in a pawn shop, for crying out loud. She wasn’t the type to get involved in anything illegal.

  But apparently she did possess a secret that threatened somebody else. And that somebody wanted her silenced forever.

  Damn, she’d forgotten her cell phone. Now she’d have to drive back to work to get it. The memory of that night began to replay in her mind again, this time with more vivid detail.

  * * *

  THE NIGHT AIR had been hot as she’d driven to the shop. Her car air conditioner had barely started to cut through the heat when she arrived. Clouds had chased away the moonshine, making the night darker than usual.

  She hurried from her car to the back door and breathed a sigh of relief as she went into the shop’s coolness. She flipped on the light in the office and spied her cell phone right where she’d left it, but just after she grabbed it, the back door flew open and she heard the sound of a man laughing.

  The laughter stopped abruptly as she stepped out of the office and saw...

  * * *

  DAMMIT. The memory flew away and she released a sigh of frustration.

  Nick’s arm tightened around her. “Are you all right?” His sleep-deepened voice filled her with pleasant warmth.