by Marla Monroe
She pulled into her drive Friday after work planning on a nice, relaxing bath and a night of watching movies on Lifetime. She knew someone had been there as soon as she walked in the house. Expecting one of the guys, she just sighed and dropped her keys on the little table by the door. What had they done this time?
There was nothing in the living room or the kitchen to suggest they had been there. When she walked into her bedroom, someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her arms up behind her back. She screamed, and he threw her down on the bed and slapped her. Amber wasn’t going to just lie there. She struggled to sit up and tried to kick out at her attacker. He was wearing a ski mask, so she couldn’t see his face.
He avoided her kick and pinned her to the bed, pinning both her hands by the wrists. He transferred one hand to his other hand and held both of hers over her head. Then he ripped at her blouse. She screamed again and tried to head-butt him, but all it did was hurt her head. He just grunted and ripped her blouse further open.
She heard someone crashing in her front door yelling for her. It was Bryan. Her attacker let her go and climbed out of her bedroom window where he had obviously broken in. Bryan ran into her bedroom to find her shaking and crying, holding her ripped blouse together.
“Fuck, baby. Aw, fuck. He hit you.” Bryan grabbed her and held her close. Then he pulled out his cell phone and called someone as he held her.
“Tanner. Get over to Amber’s, now. Someone attacked her.” He listened then growled. “She’s shaken up, and the bastard hit her.”
Amber could hear Tanner’s voice talking over the phone.
“Yeah, call the police for me.”
Bryan hung up and stuck his phone back on its holder. Then he picked her up, carried her to the living room, and sat down with her on his lap. He pulled her hands away from her face and kissed her softly at her temple.
“Baby, it’s going to be okay. Shh, don’t cry.”
Amber turned her face into his neck and held on to him for dear life. She couldn’t believe she’d been attacked. The man had been going to rape her. For once, she was glad that Bryan and Tanner had keys to her house. If not for Bryan… She wouldn’t let herself finish that thought. Fresh tears fell to soak Bryan’s neck and shirt.
He rubbed circles on her back holding her until the police arrived. The front door was still standing wide open, so they walked on in. One of them was Officer McKenny, and the other one she didn’t recognize.
“I understand someone broke in and attacked Miss Reynolds. Ma’am, do you need an ambulance?” he asked.
“She’s basically okay. He hit her but my brother is on his way.”
“He’s here. Let me look at her.” Tanner burst into the room past the officers and pulled Amber from Bryan’s arms. “Hell. You’re going to have a bruise on your cheek, Amber, but he didn’t break the skin.” He held her close and looked up at the policemen. “You find this asshole before I do.”
“Don’t go making threats, Doc. We don’t need to hear them,” McKenny said with a shake of his head.
“We need to ask her some questions,” the other officer said, pulling out his pad.
“Amber, baby. Do you feel up to talking to them?” Bryan held her hand and squeezed it.
“I need to so they can find him.” She hated going back over it, but knew she had to.
“Ms. Reynolds, it’s possible all of this is connected,” McKenny told her.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“The attempted break-in last month, the car trying to hit you, and this.”
“Someone tried to break in before?” Bryan cursed. “Why didn’t you say anything, Amber?”
“I didn’t think it was anything, and it was before I met you two.”
“Let’s go over what happened,” McKenny said again.
Amber led him through her coming home thinking that one of the guys was in the house.
“They have keys to your house?” he asked.
“Yeah. They had better locks put on my door. Didn’t do me much good, though.”
“Go ahead.”
She went over what happened and ended with Bryan coming to her rescue, sending the attacker back out the window. The officer she didn’t know walked through the her house to the bedroom to look at her window.
“Was he wearing gloves?” McKenny asked.
“No, but he had a ski mask on.”
“We might be able to lift prints off the window, then. If he’s in the system, we’ll find him.”
“She’s going to be coming home with us, while you process her house,” Tanner said.
Amber didn’t argue. She didn’t feel up to arguing, and secretly was glad they wanted her to stay with them. She was scared to death to sleep in her house now.
“I need you to walk through your bedroom and let me know if anything’s been disturbed or is missing so we know what to check for fingerprints.”
Amber nodded her head and climbed out of Tanner’s lap. She swallowed hard, then led the way to her bedroom holding Tanner’s hand as she did. Inside her bedroom she found the other officer wearing gloves and checking her window out.
“There’s footprints underneath the window, and what looks like a knee print. He must have had to scramble to get out,” he said. “I’m going to call the crime unit to dust.”
He squeezed past them and left the room to make the call. Amber looked around the room. Nothing seemed to be missing that she could tell, but her underwear drawer was partially open. She always shut her drawers when she got dressed. She pointed out the partially open drawer.
“I don’t remember leaving that open.”
Officer McKenny pulled on gloves and, using two fingers, pulled it the rest of the way open at the edges.
“Anything missing that you can tell?” he asked.
“Um, I’m not sure.” She looked at the mess the intruder had made of the drawer. “I keep my clothes neat in stacks, so he must have gone through them. She shuddered.
“Okay, let’s look at the other drawers. He pulled open each drawer to find that the only one to be disturbed was her underwear drawer. “Did you have dirty clothes anywhere?”
“Huh? What has that got to do with anything?” Bryan asked
“Um, the intruder might have taken a souvenir. Underwear that has been worn would be a possibility.
“Oh—my—God! I keep my dirty clothes in my bathroom.” She started to go look, but McKenny stopped her.
“Wait. Don’t touch anything, Miss Reynolds. Let me show you what to do.” He followed her into the bathroom.
“I keep them in this basket.” She looked inside and noticed everything seemed there, but her panties.
“Let me lift things up for you.” He used one finger and picked up her clothes to let her look beneath them.
They weren’t there. Amber thought she was going to be sick.
“Easy, baby.” Bryan had followed them into the bathroom. “What is it?”
“He took my panties. He took my panties out of my dirty clothes.”
“Are you sure, ma’am?” McKenny asked.
“Yes I wore black panties that matched the bra to work with my black slacks and sweater yesterday.” She began to tremble all over. Bryan pulled her into his arms.
“Is that all you need her for?” he asked.
“For now, anyway. I know where to contact her if I need her.”
“Can she take some clothes with her?” Bryan asked.
“No, I’m sorry, but we need everything to stay like it is to process the rooms.”
“That’s okay,” Tanner said from behind them. “We can pick her something up in town. Let’s go, Bryan.”
Bryan led her back through the house where Tanner had her purse and keys waiting, with a jacket for her to put on to cover her torn blouse. He led the way out to their vehicles. The other officer nodded to them and moved the police car that was blocking Bryan’s truck in. Tanner helped her into Bryan’s truck then closed the door and walked ove
r to get into his truck. They all pulled out and headed for town.
Once they arrived, Tanner led the way to a boutique on the corner of Main Street. When she would have gotten out, Bryan stopped her.
“He’ll get you what you need so you don’t have to go in, baby.”
“He doesn’t know my sizes or what I need,” she argued.
“We know your sizes, baby. Remember, we undressed you the other night. And he’ll know what you need. Trust me.”
Amber just sighed and looked out the window. Everything was screwed up now. She had loved her little house, but now she didn’t feel safe there. How would she ever be able to sleep there again, especially when the bastard was still out there?
“Don’t think about it, baby. Everything will be okay. We’ll make it okay, baby. I promise.” Bryan reached over and squeezed her hand. “Just lean back and close your eyes and rest.”
Amber didn’t think she would be able to rest at all. Closing her eyes just ran the entire event through her mind again and again. She shuddered and opened her eyes to stare up at the ceiling in the truck.
A few minutes later, Bryan cranked the truck. She looked around and saw Tanner loading packages into the backseat of his truck. There looked to be too many for what she needed. She frowned, worried that he’d gone overboard. Well, they could take back what she didn’t need.
Bryan backed out of the parking place and headed for their ranch. She watched the scenery fly past. Then when they passed her house again, she noted the extra vehicles around it with guys milling around. She hated strangers going through her things. She would have to wash everything she owned to feel comfortable in them again. Hell, that was if she could ever stay in her house again and feel safe.
“You’re thinking too hard over there, Amber.” Bryan reached over and grabbed her hand again. “Let it go for now.”
“It’s hard to. What if I can never stay there again? I’ll have to move, and I loved that house.”
“We’ll get good locks put on the windows so you don’t have to worry. Just leave it to us, baby.”
“You’ve already done so much for me, Bryan. You and Tanner can’t keep taking over everything.” That was how it felt. They were controlling her life, just like her ex had done.
“We’re not trying to take over, Amber. We just want to make things as easy as possible for you. That’s all.”
She didn’t say anything because deep down, she felt like he was telling the truth. Her mind didn’t want to accept it, though.
They pulled up in front of a two-story house that took her breath. It had a front porch that wrapped around the sides with rocking chairs and a swing on it. She unfastened her safety belt and climbed out of the truck before either Tanner or Bryan could get to her. Amber couldn’t believe how perfect it was. She couldn’t wait to see the inside.
“This is your house? It’s beautiful.”
Tanner put an arm around her and pulled her toward it. “Wait till you see the inside.”
“I’ll get the packages,” Bryan said with a chuckle.
Tanner led her up the steps to the porch, then unlocked the door for her to step inside. It had a large entrance hall that led into the living area. She gasped at the huge stone fireplace. It took up most of one wall, with built-in bookshelves on either side. On the opposite wall was a built-in entertainment center surrounding a huge, wall-mounted flat screen TV. There were shelves and shelves of DVDs on one side, and a CD player and CDs on the other side. A couch faced the fireplace while two recliners faced the TV. She smiled, big surprise there.
“This way to the kitchen.”
Tanner led her into a huge eat-in kitchen with new-looking black appliances and granite counter tops. There was a bar separating the kitchen from the eating area with three barstools. The kitchen table sat six easily.
“I put the packages in the bedroom, Tanner. She probably wants to get out of those clothes. We’re supposed to put them in a paper bag and call for someone to pick them up.” Bryan walked in and settled a hand on her shoulder.
“Yeah, I really want a shower, if you don’t mind.” She wanted to scrub off the feel of his hands on her and the memory of the attack if that were possible.
“Of course. I should have thought of that. Bryan, why don’t you show her the way, and I’ll call the police. By the time they get here, we’ll have them in a bag for them. I’m sure we have a paper bag around here somewhere.” Tanner walked around the bar to disappear through another doorway.
“You’ll like the bedroom. It’s perfect for you.” He led her back through the living room and upstairs.
At the end of a long hall he opened a set of double doors that led into a large master bedroom with a giant four-poster king-sized bed and matching furniture. It was breathtaking. Soft maroons and greens decorated the room. Hardwood floors with throw rugs made the room warm feeling.
“Through here is the bathroom.” He indicated a doorway between two other doorways. She figured those two were his-and-hers closets. This was the master suite she was positive. Surely they didn’t plan to put her in there?
“Don’t you have a smaller room for me? This has to be one of your rooms.”
“Nope, no one stays in here. Tanner and I each have a room down the hall. I put all of the packages on the bed. You can go through them and find something comfortable to put on. Knowing Tanner, they’re going to be very comfortable,” Bryan said with a grin.
“He got way too much. He can take back what I don’t wear, though.”
She walked over to the bed and pulled off the jacket Tanner had given her to cover up with. Then she opened the bags and pulled out soft shirts and pants in every color. There were six pairs of matching underwear, and they were in her size. They really had paid attention to her sizes. Everything he had gotten would fit. There was just too much of it.
“Don’t worry about it. Find what you want to wear and grab a shower. If you need me or Tanner, just yell. We’ll hear you anywhere in the house.” Bryan hugged her and kissed the top of her head before walking out of the bedroom and closing the door. Then he stuck just his head back in.
“Don’t forget to leave your clothes—all of them—out for us to give to the police.”
“I won’t.” She watched as he closed the door once more.
Amber laid everything out on the bed and chose a pair of soft lounging pants in navy blue, and a light blue T-shirt to go with it. Then she pulled out the underwear and sighed. They were sexy, not really utilitarian. Still, he’d selected every color that would look good on her. She picked out a navy blue bra and panty set and put everything away in the dresser drawers. After she finished that task, she carried her treasures to the bathroom and pulled off her ruined clothes. She dropped them by the bedroom door. Then she hurried into the bathroom and closed the door.
When she turned around, her jaw dropped at the sight of the opulent whirlpool tub that had to be big enough for three people. She would love to soak in that for hours. She walked further into the room to find a giant walk-in ceramic tiled shower. She could get used to something like this in a hurry. It was a good thing she wouldn’t be staying there for long. Where would she go? She pushed that thought to the back of her mind for now. She would worry about that later.
Amber turned on the multiple showerheads and waited for the water to warm up. Then she stepped in the spray. It felt like a thousand tiny pinpricks all over her body. It felt wonderful. She scrubbed every part of her body, enjoying the soft smell of flowers from the soap. Interesting. Why would they have flowered soap in the master bathroom? She tucked away that thought to go over later.
As soon as she finished rinsing, she turned off the shower and stepped out straight into Tanner’s open arms. He was holding a towel and wrapped it around her.
“What are you doing in here?” she gasped.
“Drying you off. I wanted to check your chest and be sure he didn’t scratch you when he, um, tore your blouse.”
“He didn’t. I h
ave a red mark or two, but nothing to worry about.” She crossed her arms over the towel.
“Let me be the judge of that.” He tugged on her towel.
Amber frowned. “You don’t need to see. You’re just wanting to see my naked body.”
“As much as I do want that,” he said, “I really am concerned and want to look at what he did to you, honey.
Amber licked her lips, then let go of the towel so he could open it and look. She felt exposed when he opened it. He didn’t pull it all the way off of her, though, of which she was thankful. Instead, he checked the red line that marred her chest where his hand had grabbed at her blouse, then he looked at the bruise over her left breast. Afterwards, he covered her back up and hugged her.
“I’m so sorry you were attacked, Amber. I wish we had been there to prevent it.”
“I’m just glad that Bryan showed up when he did. That’s all that matters to me right now.”
“Okay. I’m going to go and let you get dressed. Come on back down when you finish. We had planned to go out to dinner, but I think you would probably rather eat something here.”
“Oh, I don’t want to interrupt your plans. Go out. I’ll be fine here.” She had to force herself to say it, because she really didn’t want to be alone.
“We were taking you out, honey. We can go out another night.”
“Oh. Okay.” She hadn’t realized they had planned on taking her out. They hadn’t asked her.
Once again, her mind and her heart warred with each other on how they were just assuming she would go along with their plans. Part of her wanted to balk at them taking over her life, while another part of her was thankful they had been there when she needed them both times.
She finished dressing and used the brush on the dresser to brush her hair. There had been a hair dryer in the bathroom. Maybe she should have washed her hair. Shrugging, she left the brush on the dresser where she found it, and opened the bedroom door to make her way downstairs.
Halfway down the stairs, it hit her that as much as she loved her little house, this one was perfect. It was too big for her, but it was perfect if she could have her dream house. So much of it reminded her of the house she’d designed as a teenager when she planned to get married and have a house full of kids. All of that had gone by the wayside now. She doubted she would ever get married. She had too much baggage and poor taste in men.
