Waiting on April

by Bella Settarra

  April stared at him, horrified. “What?”

  “You heard! Don’t ask me why but my sister thinks the sun shines out of that guy’s ass so don’t you dare try to split them up! He’s only fucking with you because he can’t get it from her right now. But he’s her man and you’ve got no right ruining this for them! You lay off him, do you hear me?” He was right in her face now, his hot breath blasting her cheek as he yelled down at her.

  “I didn’t! I mean, I don’t want him, that’s what I was telling him, for fuck’s sake. She’s welcome to him. It’s got nothing to do with me!” April saw red and grabbed for the door, but his thick hands caught hold of her shoulders.

  “Bullshit! I saw you two with my own eyes! He was here the other night when you slept with him and then yesterday you were together at the diner! You’re history, do you hear me? He’s using you and you’re too fucking dumb to see it! You mean nothing to him. You’re nothing!” He shouted at her as he swiped her with his hefty fist, sending her flying into the coffee table.

  “Aah!” she screamed as her forehead thumped into the thick oak and she tumbled to the floor.

  “You fucking stay away from him or you’ll get a whole lot worse than that, slut!” he hollered at her.

  Her mind whirled as she lay on the carpet, staring up at him. Her head throbbed and she was finding it hard to compute exactly what was going on.

  “I didn’t!” she protested as tears began to trickle down her face.

  “How the hell would you like it, bitch? Mary-Lou’s pregnant for fuck’s sake! What sort of a low-life are you fucking with her man?”

  He kicked a small side table toward her and it caught her arm, causing her to cry out once more as he headed out of the house.

  April felt the cold wind sweep in through the open door before it slammed shut behind him. She sat, curled in a tight ball on the floor next to the upturned coffee table, clutching her sore arm. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she buried her face in her knees, rocking slowly as she tried to figure what had happened.

  How dare he come into her home and attack her? How could he accuse her of sleeping with Greg fucking Preston? Had he really been watching them yesterday and the night before that? Was he watching her house the whole time? She felt a shiver run up her spine as fear gripped her, and she howled into her arms.

  It was so unfair! She hadn’t done anything wrong. It was Greg who had wanted her back…and while his girlfriend was pregnant for Christ’s sake? It looked like she had had a lucky escape from him if he could fuck around after starting up a family! She shook her head. She had been so wrong about the guy. And what fucking right did the brother have coming around here and threatening her? He hadn’t even got his damn facts right.

  It crossed her mind to call the cops. After all, she had been attacked in her own home. But what about all the questions? She’d let him into her home—a total stranger, for fuck’s sake. They’d tell her she was asking for it. And not even putting the chain on the door when she opened it? Steve Ratner would have a field day with that one!

  Oh God, what about all the self-defense he had taught her? What happened to that? She had been so shocked at him hitting her that it hadn’t even occurred to her to defend herself, let alone fight back. No, she’d brought all this on herself. And if they started asking about what she was doing with Greg Preston, first inviting him into her house and then going to the diner with him, they would only draw the same conclusions as Mark “scumbag” Trammell did! Who wouldn’t?

  She sank her head deeper into her arms while she bawled her heart out. How could she have been so fucking stupid? Maybe he was right about one thing though. She was nothing!

  CHAPTER THREE

  Steve Ratner was having one hell of a day. He’d been called to investigate a possible rape and assault, and it was a real complicated case. The victim was a female submissive and the guy, a wannabe Dom, was claiming that everything they did together was all consensual.

  Trouble was, she’d been left unconscious and was therefore unable to give her version of the events, but all the evidence pointed to him being the worst kind of monster. Without her testimony—and with his damn good lawyer—they’d had to let the fucker out on bail. They had no proof that he had been with her at the time of the attack, although he had admitted to having rough sex with her earlier that night, instigated by her, of course.

  Yeah, right! In Ratner’s book, scum like that needed to be locked up and the key thrown away.

  It was one of the things the detective hated about his job. The helplessness of it all engulfed him as he sat in the hospital waiting for the once-beautiful young lady to wake up. One thing Steve Ratner hated was not being able to do anything about an injustice and right now that was exactly where he was at.

  She hadn’t regained consciousness by the time he finished his shift and handed over to Dave Preece, his colleague and friend, and he left the hospital with a heavy heart.

  He tried to forget about work as he drove home and took a hot shower. He was looking forward to going to the club tonight and was determined to speak to April, whether she liked it or not. Somehow she seemed to be regarding him as the enemy, but he knew it was only because she was embarrassed that he had seen her in such awful circumstances. Not that it was her fault. Anyone with half an eye could see it was the fuckwad who was to blame yesterday, and walking out without even paying his own tab had really put the guy over the top in Ratner’s eyes!

  Feeling a little better in fresh clothes, he decided to treat himself to a meal in the club’s restaurant. It wasn’t usual practice for him, but then today hadn’t exactly been a usual day. He could do with a change.

  “Can you fit me in on one of April’s tables tonight?” he asked Dominic when he arrived at the club.

  Dominic grinned. He was a shrewd judge of character and it didn’t take a detective to figure out he’d caught on to the chemistry between the cop and the tiny waitress.

  “Table for one, eh?” Dominic jibed.

  Steve grunted. He knew it looked a little sad, and he had considered taking someone with him—Nathan or Dan, maybe—but he really wanted to talk to April and it would be awkward with an audience. He nodded to the maitre d’.

  “Twenty minutes? Give the poor girl chance to get here first,” Dominic suggested.

  Steve frowned. April was usually one of the first to arrive for her shift. He figured she must be a little reluctant to come into work tonight after last night, so he nodded. “I’ll take a drink at the bar while I’m waiting.”

  He was only on orange juice tonight, wanting to keep a clear head for his encounter with the little sub. From his position at the counter he was able to watch all the staff arriving for their shift. They all seemed cheerful as usual. A real friendly bunch of girls. It was impressive to watch Dominic rally his staff, go through the menu with them, and then appoint them their stations. It all seemed to work like clockwork. The girls dutifully took their places and stocked up their sideboards, or “dumbwaiters” as they called them, and service commenced at a steady pace.

  Steve was already on his third drink when Dominic approached him. “April hasn’t turned in. Has she said anything to you?”

  The cop frowned. He had noticed she hadn’t arrived yet and was already beginning to worry. “Has she rung in sick or anything?”

  Dominic shook his head. “I’ve even checked with the front desk. No one’s heard from her.” He looked concerned.

  Steve felt a jolt in his gut. “I’ll get on over there.” He quickly hopped off his bar stool and headed for the exit.

  “I’m coming with you,” Heaven announced, throwing her serving cloth aside as she ran over to him.

  Dominic nodded, and Steve took the redhead’s arm as they ran out to the car.

  Steve’s heart raced as he gunned the engine and rushed off toward April’s little house.

  “She’s seen that damn Preston again,” he told Heaven.

  “After everything he put her th
rough? Tell me they’re not back together!”

  “Not if I can help it.” His teeth clenched as he spoke.

  The place was in darkness when they arrived. He thumped the door, calling her name. “April, darlin’, are you in there?”

  At first they couldn’t hear anything. He called again, afraid she was out.

  “April? It’s Steve Ratner. Are you there, baby?”

  He heard a moan and tried the door. He was relieved, but also unhappy to find it opened. He quickly went inside and looked around. The living room door was ajar so he went in there first, Heaven following. His heart was in his mouth as he saw his girl slowly emerging from the floor beside a couple of upended occasional tables.

  “April, what happened, darlin’?”

  He was beside her in a flash, holding her arms to help her up. Her hands covered her face and she was trembling. He could only just make her out in the dark, but the curtains hadn’t been drawn and there was some light streaming in from the street.

  “Come and sit down. Heaven’s with me.” He helped her over to the sofa where he cradled her in his arms, rocking her gently.

  After a few minutes he pried her hands from her face and gasped at the sight of a massive bruise on her forehead. Her left eye was slightly swollen, but he couldn’t tell whether it was from the bruise or the amount of crying she had done. Her right cheek was bright red too, which, again, could have been down to her tears, but he doubted it.

  “Jesus, darlin’!”

  She sniffed and sobbed again.

  “I’m gonna turn on the little lamp, here, OK? Get a better idea of the damage.”

  She nodded and he leaned over and switched on the small lamp sat on a side-table behind the sofa. The light was dim, but she winced as it hit her eyes.

  “It’s all right, darlin’. That’s one hell of a bruise you’ve got there.” He was looking at her cheek, and turned her head slightly to get a better view of her left eye. “Looks like a black eye on its way too. You wanna tell me what happened?”

  “I’ll find some ice,” Heaven said as she left the room.

  April’s big eyes looked up at him and he could see she didn’t want to speak. “I fell,” she whispered, looking down at his chest. Her tiny hands were gently stroking the fabric of his shirt, and a couple of fingers toyed with the short hairs peeping through his partially open buttons.

  He shook his head. She’d have to do better than that. She owed him that much.

  Her eyes darted everywhere but his. “I tripped on the table.” She pointed to the oak table upended on the floor.

  “Aha.” He looked over to the table. It was far too heavy for someone as small as her to just trip over and would have taken quite some strength to have been tipped over onto its side like that. “What about the other table?” He nodded toward the little side table upside down near the window.

  “It knocked that one over,” she mumbled.

  “I see. You tripped over the heavy, oak table and then it hit the table which usually stands over there by that chair and brought it over to the window, you mean?”

  He could tell by her expression that she knew he didn’t believe a word of it.

  “Here.” Heaven returned holding a few ice cubes wrapped in a washrag. April winced as she put it to her head.

  “Did you black out?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Well, that’s good.” He breathed a sigh of relief. Her injuries weren’t severe enough to trouble her further with a hospital visit.

  Steve held her in his strong arms, slowly rocking her as she sniffed and sobbed. He wondered how long she’d been in this state for, as her face was all puffy and her eyes looked tired. Quite a while, he surmised.

  “Did Preston want you back?” He purposely kept his voice low and soft as he sat back and held her close to his chest. She seemed much calmer now and had stopped sobbing.

  She seemed a little surprised by his question, but nodded.

  He felt as though someone had grabbed his gut and twisted it into a knot. “What did you say, darlin’?”

  She sniffed again and clung tighter to his chest. She shook her head. “I told him I wasn’t interested. I don’t want him back.”

  “Good girl.” Relief swept through him. Heaven sighed too. “Is that why he got annoyed at the diner yesterday?”

  She nodded sadly.

  He caught a quizzical look from Heaven.

  “It’s all right,” he assured April as her face clouded over. He guessed she must have been embarrassed that he had seen her like that. Poor little thing. None of it was her fault and yet she felt so bad about it. There was only one way to fix this.

  “I’ve gotta go,” he announced, carefully handing her over to Heaven as he stood up.

  “It’s all right. I’m fine now, honest.” Her voice sounded so small it made his heart lurch.

  “Heaven’s staying with you. I won’t leave you on your own,” he clarified, kissing the top of her head.

  “I won’t be long,” he told Heaven as he reached the living room door.

  “Go. I’ll be with her.” Heaven ushered him out as she held April in her arms. Heaven was good to have around it a crisis. She was almost thirty, a little older than the other girls, and as sensible as they come.

  Although Steve was reluctant to leave the poor little sub, he knew she couldn’t be in safer hands.

  He climbed behind the wheel of his SUV and gunned the engine. His fingers shook a little as he considered his next move. He knew only too well that taking the law into his own hands could land him in big trouble, which wouldn’t do April any favors either. On the other hand he couldn’t just let this go. That bastard hadn’t worried about the law when he set upon that poor girl, why in hell should he worry about it now? The engine roared as he took off. He was going to find that fucker and make damn sure he paid for this!

  Steve had been to Preston’s place once before. He’d gone to lay into him about what he’d done to April on that occasion too, although that time it wasn’t physical. She’d just spent the night crying in his arms because the fuckwad had cheated on her. Poor April took it real bad; she really liked the guy up until that point. Steve was glad to be the one to put her back together again. Just like he would this time.

  He called his buddy, Dave Preece, for back up on the way over. Having had a few minutes to think about it, he knew it would be a mistake to go in there alone, especially in the mood he was in. Dave wasn’t far away and was glad to help when he told him the fucker had just hit his girl. He paused after the call to linger over those words. His girl. Oh well, no time to worry about that right now.

  Steve drew up outside the apartment. Dave was waiting for him.

  “Thanks for this, bud.”

  “No worries. How’s your girl?” Dave wasn’t so dumb. He knew his friend had deep feelings for April Myers. Heck, she was practically all Steve talked about some days.

  “Massive bruise on her head and a black eye.” Steve’s teeth were clenched as a vision of the poor little sub flashed in front of his face.

  “Fuck! Well, we still can’t pin anything on that shithead from earlier, but I’m damned if we can’t do something about this one.” Dave was seething.

  “Yeah, how is that girl? Kayleigh Watson, isn’t it? She woken up yet?” Steve hadn’t forgotten the poor woman he had left in the hospital bed a few hours ago. His heart wrenched, knowing that that could so easily have been April.

  Dave shook his head. “Nope. We’ve got more evidence on the scumbag though. We managed to pull him in for more questioning about an hour ago.”

  “Good. Let’s hope we can hold onto him for longer this time.” Steve shook his head.

  They had entered the building now and were on Preston’s floor. Music thrummed from his apartment.

  “Having a party to celebrate!” Steve growled angrily.

  “Keep it cool, buddy.” Dave was a good friend to have around. Steve knew it was better to do this with a witnes
s, especially as he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep his fists off the bastard if he started goading him. Besides, Dave was on duty and he wasn’t. It was hard, but he’d decided there was no way he was going to be accused of victimization or letting his personal feelings get in the way of his judgment.

  They both thumped the door hard. Raised voices could be heard from inside, but no one bothered to answer.

  “Police. Open up!” Dave shouted over the racket.

  An elderly lady poked her head out from the apartment a couple of doors down. “Good. I’m glad you’re here. I tried asking them to turn it down, but all I got was a mouthful of abuse. Disgusting language!”

  “Don’t you worry, ma’am. You won’t have any more trouble,” Steve promised.

  She nodded gratefully and quickly closed her door.

  “Open up or we’re coming in anyhow!” Dave hollered.

  The door in front of them slowly opened and a girl stood there with a pint glass in her hand.

  “You got an invite?” she sneered.

  “No, but I got a badge.” Dave flashed his ID at her and she tutted. “We want Greg Preston. Is he coming out or do we have to come in?”

  “What the hell do you want?” Preston appeared behind her in the hallway.

  “As if you didn’t know!” Steve felt the blood boil in his veins.

  “You need to come down to the station,” Dave ordered.

  “What the heck for? I ain’t done nothin’!” Preston swayed a little on his feet.

  “Well, let’s just see about that, shall we?”

  Steve seethed. Just like the scum to deny it!

  Dave must have felt Steve lurch forward as he barred the big guy’s way and tried to pacify the situation.

  A couple of guys appeared in the hallway, drinks in hand.

  “You here about the noise?” One of them jeered. “That old witch said she’d call the cops, but I didn’t think she actually would.”

  “Yeah, turn it off. It’s late and your neighbors deserve some sleep,” Dave snapped.

  They sneered, but went back into the room they had just come out of.