by Lee Rose
He put his hand over her mouth and placed the knife against her ribs. “Shut up, bitch. Where is your car?”
Jasmine struggled hard hoping someone would notice. She kicked out at him and bit his hand as hard as she could.
“Oww.” He slapped her and grabbed her by her long hair. They fell to the ground together and she felt a pain in her side. His eyes widened with shock. “Oh shit. I didn’t mean to stab you. You fell on the knife.”
He started running across the street and down an alleyway. Jasmine looked at her hand and saw bright red blood. She laid her head back on the ground, feeling dizzy. Please God, let someone call the police.
* * * *
Drake and Noah were going over some ideas for the autumn festival. “I can’t believe summer is almost over. I feel like Carlos was just born yesterday.” Noah smiled, thinking of his six-week-old son.
“I know. He is old now.” Drake laughed. “And getting chubby.”
“What can I say? He loves his mama’s milk,” Noah said proudly. “He’s a smart boy.”
“Too much info, bro. Alana is like my sister. I don’t need that image in my head.” Drake teased. He had babysat Carlos just two days ago with Jasmine. It made him think of marriage and babies with his own woman. Things between him and Jasmine were running smoothly. His family adored her sweetness and kind heart. He hated spending any time away from her. He always thought his job was number one in life. He still enjoyed his career but it didn’t consume him. A black-haired beauty with big blue eyes did. Maybe he should ask her to move in with him. She would be closer to work, he thought, and that sounded like a good selling point.
“There was a stabbing.” Helen came in the office with tears running down her cheeks. “Harvey from the hardware store called it in.”
Noah stood up right away his expression turning hard. It must have reminded him of Alana’s stabbing. “Who?”
“Jasmine,” Helen whispered, looking at Drake with sorrow. “He ran off with her purse.”
Drake felt his vision get blurry and his knees get week. He couldn’t have heard her right. “Jasmine?”
Helen nodded. “I called the EMTs already.”
Drake ran for his car but Noah beat him there insisting on driving.
“She’ll be at the hospital already, Drake,” Noah said calmly. Drake couldn’t feel calm. He felt nauseated and his heart was thumping hard. Noah called over the radio for Sam to interview Harvey and get as much information as possible.
They arrived at the hospital with sirens and lights blaring. Drake jumped out of the car before Noah could even stop completely.
He ran into the sliding doors at full speed. “Jasmine Garrett?”
A nurse frowned but pointed down a long hallway. Drake ran and almost knocked Liam over.
Liam prevented him from toppling over. “Whoa there, buddy.”
“How is she? Where is she?” he asked wildly.
“They wheeled her into the operating room,” Liam told him. “Holly is there with her.”
“How bad is it?” Drake was afraid of the answer but he couldn’t stand not knowing either.
Liam sighed and Drake didn’t need to hear the words.
“She lost a lot of blood, buddy. She was stabbed once in the ribs and it went pretty deep.”
Noah came in and looked around the empty area. “What is going on?”
Drake found a chair and sat down. Why did he always end up sitting in the waiting room waiting for news on one of the women? From Alana to Faith and now Jasmine. He closed his eyes and just took a deep breath. He couldn’t lose her, not when they just found each other.
Noah sat next to him. “I sent Matt to get Kate.”
“Shit man. My mind is blank,” Diego muttered. “How did this happen? She was having lunch with the girls. Who would mug her in broad daylight?”
“Alana is calling Alicia right now.” Noah stood back up and brought his cell phone out. He walked away while talking into the phone. He came back five minutes later, looking grim.
“Sam talked to Harvey. All he saw was a thin male dressed all in black wrestling with Jasmine. They fell to the ground and the guy ran off with her purse. He called us and ran out to where she was on the ground. He stayed with her until Liam arrived.”
Drake soaked it all in. He would worry about who did this later. Right now his only concern was Jasmine. He asked Noah to call his sister for him. He needed her here with him but his hands were shaking badly.
Matt and Kate walked in just as Holly came into the room. Her eyes were red as if she had been crying. She was wearing green scrubs and had her hair pinned up.
“God, no,” Drake whispered. “Please tell me—”
“She is still alive,” Holly said in a hurry. “She is in surgery right now. She lost a lot of blood. It went in deep and punctured her spleen. They’re going to remove it.”
“Oh my Lord,” Kate cried as Matt hugged her tightly. Kate sobbed into his chest.
Holly patted Drake’s hand with sympathy and refused to look at Matt. She sat next to Drake, keeping her eyes away from the big man. “I was just with her an hour ago. I left early to come to work and she stayed behind talking with Alicia.”
“Was this a random mugging?” Matt asked, looking upset and angry. Drake knew the big man considered Jasmine and Kate family.
“We think so,” Noah answered. He repeated what Sam reported.
They all sat down to wait. The room was silent and filled with tension. Drake couldn’t believe this was happening. Eva showed up alone and just held his hand silently. He couldn’t hold it together long enough to speak. Just when he thought his life with her was coming all together and he had dreams for the future.
“I can’t lose her,” he said out loud, unable to keep his thoughts contained.
Holly patted his arm. “She’s strong, Drake, and she has a lot to live for. She loves you and brags about you all the time.”
Kate said on the other side of him and agreed with Holly. “She loves you so much, Drake. I have never seen her so happy and so filled with hope. You are her world and for that she will fight to help the doctors keep her alive.”
“Thanks Kate. I love her too. She is my life,” Drake choked out.
Eva leaned her head on his shoulder. “She is strong and that will help. I believe this, Drake, and you need to. Faith is everything.”
They sat in silence with only the sound of phones ringing in the background. People walked up and down the hallway oblivious to the somber mood in the waiting room. Drake was beginning to hate hospitals.
Finally after what seemed like forever the doctor came out.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat this. It was touch and go there for a minute. We removed her spleen and stopped the bleeding. It was one wound but it went deep,” he said to the worried group. “But she is a fighter and a young, healthy girl. She fought and I think she is going to make it through this. She hasn’t woken up yet but we’re moving her to ICU.”
Holly stood up. She smiled with relief, shaking the doctor’s hand. “I knew it.”
Noah and Liam hugged Holly while whooping with joy. Holly hugged Kate and almost reached out for Matt. She sent daggers his way instead and moved to the other side of the room.
“I’m going to patrol the streets, see what I can find,” Matt said out loud. He turned and left the waiting area without looking back. “This creep will pay.”
“Can we see her?” Drake and Kate asked the tired looking doctor.
“Just five minutes,” he warned. “She will be out of it until tomorrow or longer. Her body needs to recover from the trauma.”
Noah and Liam left with a promise to come back the next day. Noah told Drake to take the next couple of days off. Drake planned on staying here until she opened her eyes no matter how long it took.
Chapter 21
Jasmine sat on a black leather chair at Second Hand Treasures. She stared out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of the small trick-or-treaters
heading her way. She loved the idea of all the businesses along the main road staying open late and passing out candy. What a great idea the city council had come up with. It gave adults the chance to see what was available and the kids got their treats. She couldn’t wait to see all the creative costumes. After the horror of the last two months she learned to appreciate the little things in life just as much as the big things.
She still remembered the day she woke up in the hospital to see Drake sleeping in a chair. She had repeated the whole story of the mugging while he held her and rocked her.
He told her she had been sedated for two days but she would be fine. He would make sure of it. She could see by the look on his tired face he had been there the whole time. She had stayed another three days and then went home. It had been a painful experience both physically and emotionally. She had nightmares of the hooded man and her recovery had been slow.
Alana visited often. Sometimes with Alicia. Since Alana had been through a similar experience she helped Jasmine work through a lot of emotions. Jasmine felt like she made a new friend in Alana. Everyone in town had been great. So many people had pitched in and helped Kate at the store. Even Eva had spent quite a few days with Kate and Kelly, who made a great employee.
Matt and Tony left no stone unturned and finally caught the culprit just days after she was released from the hospital. He still had her cell phone in his apartment. He confessed Nancy had paid him fifty bucks to mug Jasmine and give her a good scare. The stabbing had been an accident. He blamed that on Jasmine but it didn’t matter. He had been charged along with Nancy, who denied the whole thing.
Nancy’s parents pleaded with Noah to let Nancy go but he charged her for her part of it. Jasmine and Drake had to testify in a few months. She did not look forward to it but Drake promised to be there for her along with his family and all of their friends.
Jasmine had only been back at work for a few days. She knew Kate and Drake worried but she was completely healed. She could bend and walk without any pain. Even the doctor had told her she was fully healed.
The bell above the door rang and Holly entered with her niece Hope. The toddler was dressed as a cute little ladybug.
“Oh, how adorable,” Jasmine remarked, giving her a lollipop. Hope sat on the floor ready to open her candy immediately.
Holly shook her head after attempting unsuccessfully to put the candy in a small bucket. “Oh fine. Your mother will kill me but go for it.”
Jasmine laughed. “You are an indulgent aunt.”
Holly shrugged. She was dressed in a colorful hippie outfit from the seventies. She and Alicia were going to a Halloween party at the bar. Jasmine didn’t feel up to dancing yet. “I’ll probably never have kids of my own. I might as well be the best aunt possible.”
Jasmine knew she was still hurting over Matt breaking up with her. Matt refused to talk about it when Jasmine asked him. “Don’t say that, Holly. You are beautiful and smart and fun. Matt is an idiot. Don’t let one bad apple ruin it for you. Look at me. I came here with a broken heart, determined to stay single. If I hadn’t taken a chance I would not have allowed myself to fall in love with Drake. Now I can’t imagine my life without him.”
“Me either, mi amor,” Drake said, coming in the doorway and hearing Jasmine’s last sentence. He leaned down and kissed Jasmine’s head. “And I am glad to see you off your feet.”
“I aim to please.” Jasmine joked but rolled her eyes.
Holly laughed. “I’d better get Hope out of here before you two get too mushy. She is much too young for this.”
Holly picked up her niece, candy and all, and waved goodbye.
“We need to find someone nice for Holly.” Jasmine frowned, watching Holly kiss her niece. She wanted her friends to be happy too. Alicia seemed much better these days.
Drake patted Jasmine softly on the back. “Holly’s a great girl. Things will work out the way they should. Maybe Matt just wasn’t right for her.”
Jasmine could have sworn she had seen real emotion in Matt’s eyes for Holly. Holly had taken the break-up hard and looked so sad.
“No sadness,” Drake chided her. “I am off duty and here to help you pass out candy. Where is Kate?”
“She went out to dinner with Linda. She needed a break and I convinced her I can sit and pass out treats.” Jasmine sighed.
“We love you, baby, so we worry.”
She smiled and leaned over to kiss his lips. They all had a scare but she really was okay now and she was ready to get on with the rest of her life. “I love you so much, Drake. I am so glad I got a second chance at love and life. What would I do without you?”
“You will never have to find that out,” he assured her seriously. “Our life is settling down into a boring routine of domestic bliss and I couldn’t be happier about that.”
Jasmine giggled. “Boring, huh? Guess I am not doing a good job at being your lover.”
Drake planted a hot, steamy kiss on her lips. “I will show you how hard you make me with just a simple smile tonight.”
“Hey now, this is a family event,” Matt teased, coming in the door. “Good thing I am here to supervise or you two will give the kids a show they do not need to see yet.”
He grabbed a lollipop even though Jasmine swatted his hand away. Matt was dressed in uniform.
“The little munchkins are coming this way. Tony ran for the hills, that coward. Took Greg with him. Pretty soon he is going to turn Greg into a hermit too.” Matt snorted, opening the candy and popping it in his mouth.
Drake chuckled. “Noah told them to go scare the kids hanging out by the fields. They’re celebrating the holiday too. I heard the grocery store sold out of toilet paper. Sam is off tonight. He is guarding his house. Says he gets TP’d every year.”
Matt and Drake got into a discussion of some good pranks they thought they could do on the teens who liked to party out there. Jasmine smiled as little costumed children started coming into the door. Red Hook had been her salvation. She entered this town one stormy night with a broken heart and no hope for a bright tomorrow. She had reconnected with her aunt, made new friends, and started a new career. Best of all, she fell in love with a wonderful man. Someday they would settle down and start a family, but not yet. She wanted time to explore and learn all about love with her own handsome deputy.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I have always loved reading, especially romances. I believe in a happy ending and that love does indeed conquer all. Now I love writing romance stories just as much. When not writing I spend my time with family and friends. I enjoy hearing from my fans and can look me up on Facebook.
For all titles by Lee Rose, please visit
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
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