Thorns of the Past

by Gun Brooke

  “Hey, who can blame you, Darcy?” Eryn leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. “I will respect how you want to do this, but in my opinion, the public needs to know about this situation, once it’s official. You deserve to have the truth broadcast, and everyone needs to hear it. Especially the ones banging on your house in the middle of the night during those first, horrible six months.”

  “I can’t believe that both our lives have changed this much in such a short time.” She held on to Sabrina and tipped her head back. “Do you feel shell-shocked too?”

  Sabrina could barely speak. To have what happened to her fifteen years ago solved, intertwined with what had happened to Darcy, was almost too much to fathom. She had no idea how to tackle it, but she trusted they would face it together. “I do,” Sabrina murmured. “Mostly because of you. You’re the true miracle in all this.”

  “Oh, God. I think that’s our cue. These two need to figure out some stuff, and I can tell when everyone else is redundant.” Meghan stood and motioned toward the door. “I’ll be back to pack up all the cookies and thermoses later,” she said, and Darcy shot her a glance.

  “No need to take the cookies.” She smiled and nodded to the three women by the doorway. “Thank you. All of you.”

  “Hey, it’s not often I’m the bearer of slightly better news,” Lomax said. “Take care, and I’ll be in touch in a few days with another update. Call me if you need anything.”

  “Same goes for me.” Eryn hung her messenger bag over her shoulder. “I’ll be in touch regarding what you’ll allow my paper to write. Then I’m off on a new tour with my wife and the other girls.”

  “And I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Meghan said.

  “Okay,” Darcy said, her voice trembling again. “See you later, guys.”

  Sabrina waved and saw the door close behind the three women. She held on to Darcy, who suddenly felt so frail in her arms, fearing if she let go, her lover would shatter. “I have you. For as long as you want me, darling, I’m yours.”

  Darcy peered up at Sabrina. “My queen,” she said, her voice breaking. “You must know how much I hope for that. Dream of it. I can’t think of a single thing I want more, even considering what we just heard.”

  Melting against Darcy, Sabrina kissed her lips repeatedly, needing to convey more of how she truly felt. Now wasn’t the time to be overly cautious or cowardly. “I love you, Darcy Flynn.” Having said once again what was in her heart, Sabrina smiled. She felt weightless, like carbonated mineral water in a glass.

  “And I love you, Sabrina, my queen.” Darcy pulled her in for another kiss, this one more passionate. She parted Sabrina’s lips with her tongue and claimed her mouth, but oh so sweetly.

  Sabrina hadn’t kissed anyone else quite this way before. She tasted and nibbled at the mouth below hers and knew she would never grow tired of doing this. Her home was with this woman, this former cop turned private investigator who had believed in her and stood by her when Sabrina doubted most of what was going on in her life.

  “I can’t wait to take you home.” Kissing Darcy’s forehead, Sabrina slid up on the bed so Darcy could lie on her arm. “I really don’t care which house, as long as we’re together.”

  Darcy smiled through the persistent tears. “Me either. I could live in a shoebox with you and be thrilled.”

  “We can figure all that out later. I’m just so relieved that we don’t have to worry about—wait…” Sitting up, Sabrina pulled out her phone. “We forgot to ask about one thing, Darcy.”

  “Yeah?” This seemed to stop the waterfall from Darcy’s eyes. “What are you thinking about—oh!”

  “Exactly.” Sabrina heard the signals indicate that Lomax’s phone was ringing at the other end. She put it on speaker.

  “Lomax.”

  “Sabrina here, Nadine. Darcy and I want to know if you’ve figured out who broke into my office at the financial building.”

  “Are you psychic as well, Sabrina?” Lomax sounded a bit out of breath. “I’m on my way there. Someone by the name of Lacey Crawford has caught a man she claims she recognizes. She came upon him in the basement, where the local maintenance and security systems are kept, when she was doing her rounds there. She has apparently been given Darcy’s assignments a lot after proving how reliable she is the day Sabrina was taken.”

  “Lacey?” Darcy paled. “Step on it, Lomax. She’s just a nineteen-year-old kid, fresh out of high school.

  “Really? She sounds mature and clearly knows her shit. She’s restrained the person and is merely guarding him until we get there.” Lomax now had the sirens going, and they filled the hospital room completely. Obviously, she was stepping on it. “I’ll call you back as soon as I have the situation under control, okay?”

  “Okay.” Sabrina disengaged. “Someone Lacey, your trainee, recognizes? From where?”

  “I haven’t a clue. She hasn’t been with us for very long.” Darcy glared at Sabrina’s cell phone, as if willing it to ring.

  * * *

  “Put her on, Lomax.” Darcy was lying on her side in the hospital bed to take pressure off her stitches on the other side of her body. “I want to talk to my trainee.”

  “All right. Lacey? Here’s Darcy for you. She sounds kind of pissed.”

  “Darcy?” Lacey’s bright voice echoed in the room as the speaker made sure both Darcy and Sabrina heard her.

  “Are you nuts?” Darcy was about to sit up when a gentle but firm, hand pressed her down. “Since when do they send trainees into the basement all alone?”

  “It’s the middle of the day,” Lacey said. “I was—”

  “What? Fine? In that windowless basement, it’s like fucking midnight no matter what time of day. It’s no place for a trainee to go when matters around a recent break-in are still unsolved.” Darcy gripped the side railing on the bed.

  “Don’t be mad, Darcy. I was being safe. I was in radio contact with the boss the whole time, and he was driving like a madman to reach me. Listen, that guy that acted so creepy? That ogled my chest? It was him! He was in the basement and had some weird machine that looked like an old-fashioned calculator hooked up to the electronic lock, opening it just as I turned the corner.”

  “What did you do?” Darcy asked, intrigued now, and so very relieved Lacey was all right.

  “I gave my best battle cry, got my baton out, and jumped him. He may be a super-whiz high-tech person, but he’s not trained in hand-to-hand combat. I had him flat on his stomach with handcuffs on before he could say ‘gigabyte.’”

  Darcy couldn’t help but start laughing. Her incision hurt like hell, but she held on to the railing, howling with laughter.

  “Darcy? You okay?” Lacey sounded concerned. “Ms. Hawk there?”

  “I’m here, Lacey. Darcy’s fine. She just needs to get a grip on herself before she chokes,” Sabrina said.

  “I’m here,” Darcy said, wheezing. “It’s just…I can picture you tossing that guy and what he must have looked like.”

  “He looked rather shocked, and then he started cursing and swearing. When that didn’t help, he tried to bribe me. Ha! Fat chance. I called Lomax, then my boss again, and now Lomax and he are here—all is well.”

  Thanking whatever deity was responsible for Lacey’s safety, Darcy said good-bye and disconnected. “I swear that took at least a year off my life,” she said warily to Sabrina. “I’m so tired now I can hear myself slurring.”

  “I can hear you slurring as well,” Sabrina said and kissed Darcy on the lips. “And I’m tired too. Let’s have that nap, please.”

  “Your wish is my command, my queen.” Darcy felt Sabrina warm her back and carefully place a hand on her hip.

  Sabrina nuzzled the back of Darcy’s neck. “Then I rule that we rest.”

  And so they did.

  Epilogue

  The courtroom was filled to the last seat with people waiting to hear the sentencing of Charles Ivers, Mark D’Angelo, and the third man, Patrick Ryder. Sabrina
didn’t recall ever having met him. It hadn’t taken Nadine Lomax long to piece together who the unknown culprit was, and during the trial, the ADA had managed to get Patrick Ryder to confess to being one of the men trying to break into Sabrina’s beach house, together with the other two defendants.

  Sabrina let her gaze wander back and forth from one of the three men to the other. Patrick Ryder was crying. He seemed less hardened than the other two, but he still could have done so much to set things straight—and he never did. Charles Ivers and Mark D’Angelo held on to their stone-faced expressions as if none of this fazed them in the slightest. It was most likely an act, and Charles had to be furious. He had counted on getting away with everything. His entire demeanor, when he still hoped his cop brother might pull some strings, had spoken volumes. When Steve had gone down for his own crimes, more of Charles’s true nature came on display. He was simply enraged.

  Mark had clearly entertained the idea that his grandparents, whom he had scammed for millions of dollars, would step in and save him. They did provide him with a top-notch attorney, but that was it. According to Nadine Lomax, the old couple hadn’t visited him once while in prison, and they hadn’t posted bail for him. It had been set at five million dollars and had kept him behind bars.

  Sitting behind the assistant district attorney, Sabrina clung to Darcy’s hand, having faith that her lover would never let go. Not long ago, the situation had been reversed when Steve Ivers had stood trial for the shooting of the young man and then blamed it on Darcy. After today, once the judge had sentenced the three men for assaulting Sabrina in 2002, stalking, kidnapping, and assaulting her nine months ago, as well as Charles Ivers shooting Darcy, it would all be over.

  “Wonder if the judge buys Ryder’s defense that the other two blackmailed him to be part of the terror against Sabrina?” Daniel muttered from the row behind. “I mean sentence-wise.”

  “Who know? Relax, honey,” Lorna said. “I know you want to throttle the lot of them, but we can’t have you going to prison for doing something stupid.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Don’t you ‘yeah, yeah’ me,” Lorna said. “I had to caution you the same way when the dean was in the witness stand. Not to mention when Sabrina’s college friends testified.”

  Dan snarled. “Can you blame me? He was getting off scot-free for testifying, and those people that were her so called friends—”

  “I know, babe. Trust me. I felt the same way.” The low growl in Lorna’s voice seemed to settle Dan.

  Sabrina knew her brother had gone through a dark period after the kidnapping. Being so protective, he struggled with unjustified guilt that he hadn’t been able to protect his sister or smart enough to figure things out. Only very lately had she, Darcy, and Lorna gotten through to him. When Darcy finally asked him if it was fair to expect a sixteen-year-old kid to go after much older college boys, even if he had known who they were, did Dan begin to relent.

  The judge, a diminutive African-American woman in her late forties, raised her voice. “I will now hear from the victim and her family and friends before I go on to the sentencing.”

  The tall, gangly ADA stood and placed a gentle hand on Sabrina’s shoulder. “I received this statement just moments ago. I’ll read this and then you read your own, all right? I think that will have the most impact.”

  “Oh. Yes. Of course.” Surprised and also concerned, Sabrina drew a trembling breath.

  “And you haven’t changed your mind, Ms. Flynn? You don’t want to address the court with a statement of your own?”

  “No, thank you. This is Sabrina’s case. I was more or less collateral damage because I interfered. They really weren’t after me. I don’t have anything to say from my own perspective.” Darcy looked at Sabrina. “You understand, don’t you?”

  “I do.” Sabrina nodded and squeezed Darcy’s hand. The physical connection grounded her more than anything else right now.

  The ADA cleared his throat. He was a thin-haired man in his fifties and, though quite dry and plain in his ways, a true shark in the courtroom. He stood, holding a paper in his hands. “I will start by reading a signed witness statement from Glenda and Ian Hawk.”

  Sabrina whimpered, unable to stop the sound from escaping.

  “Shh. It’ll be okay,” Darcy said and put her arm around Sabrina.

  Fearful of what the statement made by her parents—the people who never believed her, who didn’t support her or demand justice for her, might contain, Sabrina swallowed, her throat dry.

  The ADA stood and walked up to the podium holding the microphone. Coughing lightly, he placed the document in front of him again and began reading.

  Sabrina flinched and fumbled for Darcy’s other hand. Darcy squeezed hers, grounding her instantly.

  Our daughter, Sabrina Hawk, has suffered the consequences of being assaulted at the age of twenty, when she should have been enjoying college, dreaming of her future, and falling in love. She should have been able to go on spring break and have outrageous fun with her friends. We, as parents, never again saw the girl she was before the assault. She was taken from us, and instead we faced a stranger—and we allowed our fear to rule us. Not only did we lose the daughter we knew, but she lost her parents since we couldn’t handle what happened to her. Over the years, her resentment of our having failed her became like a wall we couldn’t climb. And, to be honest, we didn’t even try.

  We are career-oriented people, but we could not reach Sabrina even on that level. We had once and for all disqualified ourselves as her parents. Why would she meet us on the one level where we actually had something in common? She didn’t trust us—and why should she?

  Sabrina lost us, but thank God, she still had her brother. The three men that took the fun-loving, amazing daughter we knew will probably never know and understand what their actions did to Sabrina. Perhaps they don’t even care. They not only hurt her physically and emotionally, but they also were the catalyst that put us on the path of failing as parents. This failure in turn hurt our daughter even more—as well as our son. It destroyed our family. We can only hope that our children forgive us one day.

  We also pray that the court recognizes what mayhem an event like this causes a family in general—and a young, vibrant person in particular.

  Sabrina could barely breathe. Her chest constricted as she stared at the ADA as if he might produce Glenda and Ian from a rabbit’s hat. “What the hell…?” she whispered. “What?”

  “We’ll get a copy and reread it later,” Darcy said quietly. “It’s your time to have your say, sweetie. If you’re up to it? We can have the ADA read it if you’re not.”

  “No. I’m going to face them. They don’t frighten me.” Sabrina stood, adjusting the sleeves of her mauve skirt suit, and made sure her skirt was smoothed down. Gripping her notes harder, she nodded curtly at the ADA, who was just retaking his seat. She turned her attention to the judge momentarily, but then fastened her gaze unwaveringly on the defendants. The three men sat next to their respective lawyers, Charles Ivers and Patrick Ryder with their heads turned down, but D’Angelo met her gaze with a dark glitter in his eyes. Willing herself to not let him bother her, Sabrina stepped closer to the microphone.

  “I am Sabrina Hawk, and I want to explain to the court and most of all, to the three defendants, what their attacks have put me through—first after the attempted rape and assault and battery in 2002, and then after the recent kidnapping where I was held captive and physically abused as well.”

  Sabrina hardly dared to blink, as she knew she’d see images of Darcy being shot, over and over. Instead, she clutched her notes, refusing to give in to her nerves as she continued reading.

  “My parents’ statement covers some of it as well, but as our contact has been sporadic the last fourteen years, there are a lot of things they don’t know.

  “I was indeed an innocent, geeky, and quite shy young woman until that evening in May of 2002. I had been in love only once, and though I enjoye
d attending some of the parties in college, I was serious-minded and a bit of a bore. When I had a little more alcohol than I was used to, there at the beach party, I wasn’t savvy enough to anticipate danger when I needed a restroom.

  “The assault crushed my faith in people. As my parents’ statement shows, it altered my entire world, and not in a positive way. Rumors started. My former best friends turned against me due to peer pressure and fear. The dean was more concerned about protecting the young men and the college—and his position—than he was about supporting me and other victims of assault and rape.

  “I have read a lot about the rape culture at our schools…our colleges. The accounts bring back the memories, and sometimes I have flashbacks. I bought a beach house to conquer my fear of that environment because I didn’t want these three men to rule my life. Then, they tried to invade it, and later they kidnapped me and held me prisoner at my own house. My home is supposed to be my safe haven.” Trembling now, Sabrina held onto the podium, determined to continue. “I have my brother and his family, my staff, friends, and most of all, my partner, Darcy, to thank that I can stand here today and tell the court how the assault and kidnapping have and are affecting me.

  “I’m afraid every day. Not the entire day, but sometimes the fear lingers for hours. The fear and agony pop up unexpectedly. A sound, a scent, or someone might show up behind me unexpectedly—that’s all it takes to trigger a panic attack. This, I know, is textbook PTSD. I know it will never go away completely, but I also hope it will gradually lessen with time.

  “I surround myself with people who love me, and I will love them fiercely in return. I will go on. I will work on being happy every day and live my life to the fullest. I’m not about revenge, only justice, but I admit freely that it is such a relief to know that I’m out here, enjoying my freedom and loving life, safe from the three defendants who have lost their freedom due to greed and evil. Thank you.”

  Sabrina had gathered her notes and turned to make her way back to her seat when someone in the back began applauding. Another person joined, and then, one after another, the rest of the audience. The judge called out for silence, then began to slam her gavel onto her desk, but all Sabrina could see was the person leading the others in applauding. Her father stood at the back of the courtroom, just behind her mother, both of them clapping.