Seth had gone rigid against her. With firm hands, he moved to set her aside, his gaze intent on the man staring back at him from the office doorway. “Get in your car, Rachel,” he said, and she’d never heard his voice sound so hard or so coldly furious.
“Seth, no.” She caught at his shirt again, knowing exactly what he’d do if she let go. “Let’s just call the police.”
Seth looked down at her, and touched her bruised cheek with one tender fingertip. “He hit you,” he growled. “I’m going to beat him to a pulp.”
“You can try,” Holder blustered, but he suddenly looked much less confident. Much less brave. Fighting with a woman half his size had been one thing. Facing this angry, muscular young man was quite a different prospect. He inched toward the battered, rusty pickup he’d parked behind Rachel’s car.
Seth shifted toward him, making Holder move more quickly, his steps weaving now from a combination of alcohol and the blow he’d taken to the temple.
Rachel clung determinedly to Seth’s shirt. “You are not going to fight him,” she said, keeping herself stationed between Seth and Holder. “We’re calling the police. Leon will take care of this.”
Seth moved her out of the way as easily as if she’d been a chair, or some other lightweight, inanimate object. “You go call the police,” he instructed her. “I’ll make sure Holder is here to help us welcome them when they arrive.”
“I can’t call them,” she said, suddenly remembering. “He’s done something to the telephones.”
“Use the phone in my car,” Seth replied, reaching out to catch Holder’s sleeve just as the older man put his hand on the driver’s door handle of the pickup. “You aren’t going anywhere, Holder.”
Holder snarled and tried to throw off Seth’s hand, but Seth subdued him by the simple method of catching Holder’s ankles with one well-placed foot and sweeping his feet out from under him. Holder landed on his backside with a graceless thud.
“You really don’t want to get up,” Seth advised him conversationally, poised with fists at the ready, looking as though he would gladly welcome any excuse to beat the older man senseless. “I’d only have to knock you down again.”
Holder responded with a string of expletives that made Rachel gasp even as she hurried to Seth’s car.
Seth didn’t bat an eye. He only crossed his arms at his waist and remained where he was, looming over Holder in quiet menace.
Holder subsided into silence, nursing his wounds with one dirty hand and giving both Rachel and Seth threatening looks that would have been more ominous had he not been sitting in the dirt, bleeding and defeated.
* * *
Rachel placed two calls, one to the police, the other to Celia. Shaken by Rachel’s explanation, Celia agreed to pick up the children at the day-care center and take them home.
“You’re sure you’re all right?” she asked for the third time, her concern evident in her voice.
“I’m fine,” Rachel assured her. “Just a bit bruised.”
“Why don’t I keep the children overnight?” Celia suggested. “That will give you a chance to get yourself together.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” Rachel protested automatically.
“I didn’t have any other plans,” Celia persisted. “I’ll tell the kids it’s a surprise slumber party. They won’t have any reason to worry about you.”
“Well—”
“Please, Rachel. Let me do this.”
Rachel sighed and agreed. To be honest, she was relieved that she didn’t have to face the children until she’d put the trauma of the attack behind her, and had a chance to come up with a reasonable explanation for the bruises she would wear for several days. “Thank you, Celia.”
“You’re welcome. And tell Seth to give you a little extra TLC for me, will you?”
Rachel hastily brought the call to an end.
The police arrived quickly. Seth looked rather disappointed that Holder had given him no excuse for violence.
Leon was right behind his uniformed officers, having been informed of Rachel’s call. He watched as Holder was loaded into the police cruiser and Rachel gave a preliminary statement, then lingered behind when the cruiser bore Holder away.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked, studying Rachel’s battered face with intent ebony eyes. “Maybe you should have that checked before you go home.”
“She will,” Seth assured him before Rachel could say anything. “I’ll make sure of that.”
Rachel frowned at Seth. “I don’t need to have it checked,” she insisted. “It’s only a bruise.”
“You’ll have it checked,” he replied, his patience clearly at an end, “if I have to drag you into the emergency room.” His eyes dared her to argue with him.
She came very close to letting him know that she had had enough of pushy males for one day. The only thing that held her back was knowing how badly she would hurt him by comparing him to Frank Holder. Holder’s arrogance had been motivated by a vicious craving to dominate and humiliate her. Seth, on the other hand, was genuinely concerned about her, and still frustrated because he hadn’t been able to physically vent his hostility toward Holder.
As though he’d read her thoughts, Seth’s expression suddenly gentled. He gave her a smile and touched her hand in apology. “Sorry, guess I’m still just itching for a fight. But I really do wish you’d have a doctor look at you, Rachel. Just to reassure those of us who care about you,” he added.
There really was no good argument to that particular excuse. She sighed and nodded.
Leon unsuccessfully fought a smile. “Looks like I’m leaving you in good hands,” he said.
Rachel hoped her cheeks didn’t look quite as pink as they felt.
Leon turned his attention to Seth. “Good thing you arrived when you did.”
Seth shrugged ruefully. “Rachel was handling herself quite well without me.”
Rachel appreciated the stroke to her ego, but she wasn’t nearly as confident about her ability to get away unscathed had Seth not arrived when he had. “I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my life,” she assured him fervently.
Seth looked at her thoughtfully, as though trying to decide whether to take the words personally or to assume she would have been just as glad to see anyone at that moment.
The police chief cleared his throat. “Guess I’d better be going. I want to have another little talk with Holder.”
Rachel smiled at him. “Thank you for coming, Leon.”
He leaned over to lightly kiss her cheek. “You just take care of yourself, lady,” he murmured gruffly. “Dolores will probably call tomorrow to check on you.”
“Tell her I’m fine. But I’d love to hear from her, anyway.”
Leon nodded, then offered his hand to Seth. “You take care of her,” he said.
“I intend to,” Seth replied. Something in the somber looks they exchanged made Rachel suspect they were talking about more than the evening ahead.
Seth waited only until Leon had driven away before turning to Rachel. “Let’s go see about that cheek,” he said, sliding an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll leave your car here and pick it up later, okay?”
She let out a long, shaky breath and allowed herself to relax against him. “Okay,” she agreed.
The way her hands were suddenly shaking in delayed reaction, she wouldn’t have wanted to try to drive, anyway.
Chapter Eleven
Seth never wanted to feel again what he’d felt when Rachel had tumbled into his arms outside her office, her beautiful face swollen and bruised, her dark eyes wide with fear. He was absolutely certain she’d taken a good ten years off his life in that moment.
He’d never wanted to hurt anyone as badly as he’d wanted to hurt Frank Holder for daring to lay a hand on Rachel. For the first time in his life, Seth had been filled with a violent, totally primitive rage. He’d wanted blood, and he’d wanted it to flow at his hands. He’d restrained himself only beca
use he could tell Rachel would have been further upset if he’d given in to his bloodthirsty urges.
But, he thought, pacing the confined space of the Emergency waiting room of the tiny Percy Memorial Hospital, if Holder ever came near Rachel again...
“Seth? Where’s Rachel? Is she okay? What the hell happened?” Cody Carson burst into the waiting room in a frenzy of questions, his usually laughing blue eyes filled with panic.
Seth held up both hands in a calming gesture. “Rachel’s fine,” he assured his friend. “The doctor is checking her out just to make sure, but she was more shaken than hurt.”
“I was told that Frank Holder attacked her at her office this afternoon. They’re saying he tried to—to rape her.”
“It’s true that he attacked her, but he didn’t rape her.” Seth had to fight down a renewed surge of that deadly anger. It took him a moment to get his voice back under control. “He hit her a couple of times, but she held her own. You should have seen him,” he added with a sudden, unexpected little smile. “She clawed his face and smashed a lamp against the side of his head, and got in a few pretty good punches. He’ll have as many bruises as she does.”
Cody didn’t smile in return. “He’s going to have more when I get through with him.”
Seth shook his head. “The police have him in custody. He won’t bother Rachel again.”
“Damn straight he won’t. If he comes near her again, I’ll kill him. I’ll make sure he knows that before he makes bail.”
Seth had never seen Cody look more seriously determined. He was rather surprised by the intensity of his friend’s reaction. “Cody, don’t go throwing threats around,” he said, feeling compelled to warn. “Rachel won’t appreciate it if you get yourself into trouble on her behalf.”
“I won’t get in trouble,” Cody replied, gradually looking calmer. “But he won’t bother her again, either. Besides,” he added just a bit more lightly, “once Adam finds out what happened, Holder may decide he’ll be safer living in some other state. Alaska, maybe.”
“You think Adam will get involved with this?” Seth asked curiously.
“You can bet your boots he will, if he hears about it. Which he will. Adam seems to find out about everything that goes on in the family, even though he doesn’t get involved that often. He’s very protective when his family is involved, particularly the women. I wouldn’t be surprised if Holder gets a visit from some hairy-knuckled guy named Vinnie.”
Seth’s eyes widened. “You mean your cousin would hire someone to, uh...”
Cody smiled and shook his head. “Just kidding. Sort of.”
Which didn’t sound particularly reassuring. Seth was beginning to wonder about Rachel’s cousin Adam.
Rachel joined them then, distracting both Seth and Cody from thoughts of anyone else. Seth studied her closely while Cody gathered her into his arms for a quick, fervent hug. The right side of her face was puffy and discolored. She’d have quite a shiner by tomorrow morning, he predicted. She looked tired and pale and still a bit shaky, but other than that, he could tell she was going to be okay. He let out a sigh of relief.
“What are you doing here?” Rachel asked Cody when he gave her a chance to speak.
“Mike Smith called me at the bar to tell me what happened. He said you’d been taken to the hospital.”
“I wasn’t taken to the hospital, Seth drove me here,” Rachel corrected. “And how did Mike Smith know about it, anyway?”
“Sherm Bostic called him. Sherm’s dating that new police dispatcher—the tall blonde.”
Rachel shook her head. “The Percy grapevine,” she muttered. “Heaven only knows how badly the story’s been exaggerated by now.”
Cody’s smile was a bit shaky. “It was bad enough when I heard it.”
She touched her brother’s face, obviously sensing the fright he’d had. “I’m fine, Cody. Really. But thank you for coming.”
“You need anything? Want me to drive you home or buy you some dinner or...or something?” he offered, at a loss for further helpful suggestions.
“I’m taking her home,” Seth said quickly. “And I’ll see that she gets something to eat. You probably need to get back to your club.” It wasn’t that Seth didn’t want Cody to hang around, but he was going to be the one to take care of Rachel tonight. He wanted very badly to believe that she needed him tonight, if only a little.
“Where are the kids?” Cody asked, glancing curiously from Seth to Rachel.
Rachel answered him. “Celia has them. They’re going to spend the night with her.”
“I’ll pick them up in the morning and take them to an early movie,” Cody said, and it wasn’t an offer, but a statement of intent. “You get some rest.”
“Cody, you—”
“I want to do this, Rachel.”
Seth realized, as Rachel must have, that Cody wanted to feel as though he was doing something to help her. Seth knew exactly how Cody must feel. Rachel was so darned independent, so fully self-sufficient, that there were times when it was hard to believe she ever needed anyone else. And yet those who loved her wanted very badly to feel needed by her. At least, that was the way Seth felt.
Rachel nodded. “All right. The children have been wanting to see the new Disney movie. There’s a one-o’clock showing tomorrow afternoon. You can bring them home afterward, if you’re sure that’s what you want to do.”
Cody grinned.
“It’ll be fun. I’ll feed them candy and popcorn and sodas and nachos and bring them home happily sick to their stomachs.”
“Thanks so much,” Rachel told him wryly.
He kissed the end of her nose. “Anytime. Go home and rest now. Take care of her,” he added for Seth’s benefit.
Seth reflected that Cody’s voice held the same veiled note of warning that Chief Jackson’s had when he’d spoken the same words. Were they warning him not to hurt her further? They needn’t worry. Seth had no intention of ever hurting Rachel. In fact, after today he found himself battling a strong urge to wrap her in cotton and stash her away where no one could ever threaten her again—a possessive, overprotective impulse he was quite sure she wouldn’t appreciate at all.
* * *
Promising he’d help her collect her car the next day, Seth drove Rachel straight home from the hospital. He ushered her inside as carefully as if she were something fragile and breakable, she noted in mild exasperation, too tired for any stronger reaction to his overly solicitous manner.
“Are you hungry? I’ll make dinner,” he offered the moment they stepped inside.
“I’m really not very hungry right now,” she said, wincing a bit as she slipped out of her ripped jacket.
He was at her side immediately. “What’s wrong? Is something hurting you?”
“I’m just a little sore,” she explained. She was deliberately understating, of course. She ached all over.
She saw the now-familiar temper flare in Seth’s eyes, and knew that it was aimed at Holder, not her. He kept the emotion out of his voice when he spoke. “Would you like to take a warm bath or something? I could make a light dinner in case you’re hungry later.”
He was being so thoughtful and sweet that she didn’t want to offend him by telling him she didn’t need to be waited on hand and foot tonight. Actually, a warm bath sounded like a very good idea. For one thing, it would give her a much-needed chance to be alone for a few minutes. She could use that opportunity to quietly fall apart in private.
She didn’t bother with the scented bath powders this time. She collapsed into the tub like a handful of spaghetti melting into boiling water. And though the bathwater was as hot as she could tolerate, she started to shake the moment she allowed herself to relax into it. She wasn’t cold. She was remembering the look in Frank Holder’s eyes when he’d thrown her against that wall and loomed over her.
She had never been that frightened for her own safety in her entire life. There had been moments during her desperate fight when she’d thought
she couldn’t win. But somehow she’d kept fighting. And maybe, she told herself with a faint touch of renewed spirit, maybe she would have gotten away even if Seth had not shown up when he did.
She still didn’t know why Seth had arrived at her office at that moment. She hadn’t been expecting him. But whatever the reason, and false confidence notwithstanding, she’d been elated at seeing him. The moment his arms had closed around her, she’d known that she was safe.
She focused on that remembered feeling of safety as she fought off the last remnants of fear. Gradually her shivers stopped and her tense muscles unclenched. The warm water soaked into her skin, and she filled her lungs with deep, cleansing breaths of warm, damp air. By the time she finally opened the drain and pushed herself to her feet, she was feeling about as strong as those wet spaghetti noodles she’d pictured earlier.
She’d forgotten to bring her robe into the bathroom with her. Shaking her head at the befuddled state she’d been in, she wrapped a towel around her and walked through the connecting door into her bedroom.
Seth was standing beside her bed, holding a steaming cup.
She stopped with a gasp, startled at finding him in the room she’d expected to be empty.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly, and set the cup on the nightstand, beside Ray’s photograph. “I thought you might like some tea to—”
His words cut off abruptly. His gaze was riveted to her bare arms. She knew what he was seeing. The bathroom mirror had already shown her the rapidly purpling, hand-shaped bruises.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she said, instinctively trying to soothe the distress she saw in his expression. “I’ve always bruised easily.”
He didn’t answer, but took two quick steps forward and reached for the towel. By the time she realized his intention, it was too late. The towel was gone.
“Seth!” she gasped, automatically making an effort to cover herself with her hands.
But he was studying the dark, ugly splotch spreading across her rib cage, and the even darker one at her hip. She’d gotten those marks when she’d fallen against her desk, she remembered. And, despite her words to the contrary, they were every bit as sore as they probably looked.
A Man for Mom Page 15
