Curves Ahead: a romantic suspense novel

by Andi Jaxon

  In my arms she’s practically vibrating, crying into my dress, and starting to hyperventilate. My arms tighten around her. I hate that I can’t see the door, can’t see what’s coming. The door opens and Angel and I both scream as loud as we can. Terror pulsing through us.

  “Found her!” someone yells. Opening my eyes, I turn my head toward the doorway and see someone with a large rifle and covered head to toe in protective gear. A sob rips from my chest when it hits me that we’re being rescued.

  “Kristen!”

  Alex appears in the doorway but adrenaline is pumping through me so hard I can’t move. Completely overwhelmed, sobs rack my body. He drops to his knees behind me but stops short when he sees Angel.

  “We’ve got a second victim! Tell the EMT’s we’ve got a child in here!” Alex hollers into the mic attached to his ear.

  Lights flick on and Angel and I both flinch.

  “Fuck. What did they do you babe?” Alex leans over me, not touching my back and kisses my temple. “I love you, Kristen. I’m going to get you out of here.”

  All I can do is nod, my arms locked around a hysterical Angel while my own emotions run wild.

  Alex

  FINDING THE DECOY HOUSE wouldn’t stop me from finding my girl. Mike’s car was there and there were no other tire marks, that told me he had to be close by. We spread out and looked for tracks or a well-worn path. By a stroke of luck, we found the little trailer in the middle of the fucking woods that no one knew about. A Mercedes Benz parked out front told me it was either Jonathon or Mary Beth inside that fucking piece of trash, maybe both. We observed for a while but saw no movement, so we get set and on the count of three, we breach.

  In the door, the stench of rotting food, stale sweat, and mold hit me like a brick to the face. How does anyone live like this? Trash is everywhere, every piece of furniture is old, broken, stained.

  From my spot at the back door, I watch as all hell breaks loose. From down the hallway, Mary Beth appears with a shotgun in what seems to be a stained, formerly white shirt of Mike’s.

  “Get out of here! Nobody asked you to interfere!” she chambers a round and raises the nozzle, but the officer closest to her gets a shot off first. The impact of the bullet knocks her back, blood seeping from her chest and pooling on the floor under her.

  High pitched screaming comes from one end of the trailer and I’m on the move with the rest of the team, rifle at the ready. In my ear, the team talks, clearing rooms, and finding Mike trying to hide in a damn closet.

  “Get on the floor!” and “Hands on your head!” ring through my earpiece from multiple people. The space is small so we don’t make it far into the trailer, most of us filling up the hallway. Mike struggles with the officers in the room he’s attempted to hide in, but he’s quickly overtaken and cuffs are slapped on his wrists.

  Two other officers and myself, continue down the hallway, checking any door we come across.

  “Found her!” rings out in my ear and I forget everything but getting into the room. The door for the last room down the hall is open and I make a beeline for it.

  “Kristen!” I holler as I get to the doorway. Through the opening, Kristen is curled into a ball on her side lying on the floor, screaming, and crying.

  Swinging my rifle behind me, I drop to my knees behind her. She turns to look at me but doesn’t move. Leaning over her, I see a small child clutched to her chest.

  “We’ve got a second victim! Tell the EMT’s we’ve got a child in here!” I holler to the rest of the team through the mic.

  Lights flick on and both girls flinch away from it. The little one is still shrieking, completely panicked. Kristen is shaking from the force of her tears and probably adrenaline. Getting a clearer look at her back, all I can see is dark stripes on the back of her dress. Dried blood, rips in the fabric. Someone beat her and I’m on the verge of snapping. Taking a deep breath, I focus on getting them out of here.

  “Fuck. What did they do to you, babe?” I lean over her, careful not to touch her back and kiss her temple. “I love you, Kristen. I’m going to get you out of here.”

  The child flinches when I lean over, so I don’t stay close, no matter how badly I want too.

  “Officer Bennet, EMT’s are here.”

  I move to the side to give them room, but I won’t leave her side again. Never again. Running my hand over Kristen’s hair, I stay close. She’s starting to calm down now, but she’s not looking good. She’s pale, sweaty, her lips are dry and cracked, plus her back is a mess.

  “Ma’am, can you sit up?” the female EMT asks. The sound of her voice seems to help the child relax some. She stops shrieking and peeks up to look around the room. Most of us are men and probably look terrifying to an already scared kid.

  The EMT smiles at the child. “Hi. My name is Tarah, I’m here to help you.”

  “I… it… it’s okay… Angel.” Kristen stutters over the words as she trying to get her breathing back under control.

  Picking up a blanket, Tarah holds it open for the little girl to see. Kristen sits up finally, taking it slow and groaning as her dress sticks and pulls to her skin. She reaches for my hand and I immediately lace our fingers and kiss the back of her hand.

  “I’ve got you,” I whisper against her cheek when she leans into me.

  “I knew you would come for me.” I brush the tears from her cheeks and place a soft kiss on her lips.

  “Ma’am, we need to get you on a stretcher,” Tarah says.

  “No problem, get me out of here.” With the help of myself and Tarah, we get Kristen settled on her side with Angel against her chest. They drape a blanket over them and stand to wheel them out.

  Standing, I stretch and follow them into the ambulance.

  “Officer, you can’t come in here.” The male attendant says with his hand held up.

  “That’s my girl, there’s no way you’re leaving without me in here.”

  “Fine, but no rifle.” Taking the rifle off, I hand it off to a sheriff’s officer walking past. “I’m going in the ambulance.” He nods and takes it.

  Without waiting for permission, I climb into the ambulance and sit down by the head of the stretcher.

  “My name is Will,” the guy says, closing the doors. “I need to get some vitals from you, okay?”

  Kristen nods and lifts an arm for the blood pressure cuff. As we drive away, Kristen and Will talk to Angel, explaining what is happening and what they need to do. I’m surprised at the bravery of this little girl, letting them take her blood pressure, listen to her heart. I don’t know how long she’s been locked in that heap of junk with that twisted mother fucker, but she’s letting him work.

  Kristen

  ANGEL IS HORRIBLY UNDERWEIGHT and dehydrated. The doctors wanted to place an IV but I couldn’t convince her to let them, honestly, they should probably sedate her so she can rest and they can get fluids and calories into her. She’ll feel so much better afterward, but since she’s an abuse victim, it’s important for her to let them.

  Alex hasn’t left my side since we left that horrible place. Kissing my hair, holding my hand, running a hand over my hair, he even got Angel to almost smile at him. He’s determined for her to like him. They took her picture and some fingerprints to see if they can find out who she is and where she belongs, so far, they haven’t come up with anything.

  Jane has been here almost the entire time we have and I couldn’t be any more grateful for her. She brought a bag of clothes for Angel to be able to find something clean to change into. She also brought toiletries, a hairbrush, a stuffed animal, a crocheted blanket, some little toys, coloring books and crayons.

  There’s been CPS workers, officers wanting statements, evidence collection, and doctors. Blood samples were taken, the nurses gave Angel some crackers to munch on. Since she’s so malnourished, they have to be careful of how much food and water they give her at a time, so she doesn’t get sick.

  Every time someone comes in, I can’t help
but tense up, expecting my mother. Any time now she’ll waltz in here and tell me how much of an embarrassment I am, how I’m over exaggerating and need to apologize for wasting everyone’s time. I close my eyes and drop my chin to my chest.

  “Okay, it’s time to look at your back,” a nurse says, making me jump when she enters. Alex stands from the chair he was sitting in and helps me sit up.

  “Do you want to lean on me or do you want me to unzip?” he asks me quietly.

  “Lean please.” I open my knees so he can stand between my legs then I rest my forehead against his abdomen.

  “She can’t hurt you anymore, baby.” He says against the back of my head. “She’s dead. She can’t hurt anyone anymore.”

  Alex carefully picks up my matted hair and moves it out of the way so the nurse can unzip my dress. When she starts to pull the dress open, I hiss as it pulls.

  The nurse lets out a deep sigh. “Okay, here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to get some wet towels. We’re going to let the dress soak up some water and loosen up where the blood has dried. Sound like a plan? That will make cleaning you up easier as well.”

  “Sounds good,” I say, not lifting my head.

  She digs around in the room until she finds what she’s looking for, then the water turns on. I don’t bother to watch her. I’m soaking up the comfort of Alex being with me. For now, I’m letting him take care of me. He’ll protect me. I can tune out and just exist for a while.

  “Would it help if you saw a picture? To see with your own eyes that she can’t hurt you anymore?” Alex asks in a hushed tone.

  I lift my head to look up at him, tears threatening to fall again. His hands cup the back of my neck. “I had one of the team snap a picture in case you needed to see it for yourself, I have a picture of Mike in the back of the cop car too. Tell me what you need and I’ll get it.”

  “I… I think… I think I want to see.”

  Keeping one hand on the back of my neck, Alex pulls his phone from his pocket and flips to what he’s looking for.

  “Once you see it, you can’t take it back. Make sure this is what you want.” He holds the phone so it faces his body. Reaching out, I take it from him and turn it. On the screen is a picture of my mother, laying awkwardly on the floor with a big red stain on her shirt. Her eyes are open but she’s not in there, not really. Her skin color is off, almost white and her lips are blue. It’s obvious she’s dead and I don’t know how to feel about it. Some part of me is still the little girl who just wants her mother to love her, but the adult part of me says she was a horrible person and deserves what she got.

  Handing the phone back to Alex, I hug him around his waist and cry. Cry for the little girl who will never have her mother’s approval, for the fact that I never can reconcile with her, and for the fact that she was such a horrendous person and no one cared enough to look into it.

  It takes a while, but we get the dress off and my back cleaned up. Alex only moved when he had to, in order for me to get the dress off and my hospital gown on. Through numbing injections and stitches, he stayed right there holding me, telling me everything is going to be okay. Once the stiches are finished, I’m slathered in a protective gel and bandaged, then sent to radiology for x rays.

  By the time I return, I’m exhausted and just want to sleep. Jane is sitting on the bed with Angel, reading her another book while she cuddles with her new blanket and stuffed animal. Looks like Jane was able to at least wipe her down with some warm water, since her face looks much cleaner than I’ve ever seen it.

  Alex pushes the wheelchair I’m sitting in next to the bed and helps me stand. Pulling the blanket down, I climb on and scoot over to give him room. He returns the wheelchair to the nurse’s station and comes back. He smiles when he sees me, kicks his shoes off, then climbs on but doesn’t touch me.

  Feeling rejected, I curl my arms around myself and close my eyes.

  “I’m afraid to touch you,” his words heavy with sadness.

  Opening my eyes, his eyes are filled with pain. “Why?”

  “I don’t want to hurt you by accident. I don’t know if you want me to touch you.” I’ve never seen him unsure. He’s always confident and cocky, this is heart breaking.

  Sliding closer to him, I drape my arm over his waist and lay my head on his arm. The moment I touch him, he sighs and closes his eyes for a minute. From hip to chest, our bodies are flush. Tossing my leg over his hip, his thigh pushes between my legs and his hand settles on my ass.

  “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known,” he says, his warm chocolate eyes peering straight into my soul.

  “I’m the luckiest woman in the world to be loved by you.”

  Alex kisses me, a slow, deep, kiss that curls my toes and sets my heart free. I need him. I can’t live without him.

  The kiss ends and we relax into each other, falling into the deepest sleep I’ve had in days.

  The next morning, I’m slowly waking up and feel like someone is watching me. For a moment I think I’m still locked in the dirty room, but it doesn’t smell right. This smells like antiseptic and Alex. I smile a little to myself before opening my eyes directly into Alex’s.

  “Stop watching me sleep, creeper.”

  He chuckles and kisses my nose. “Morning, Gorgeous.”

  “Mmm…” I grumble, my stomach empty and my bladder full. “I need to pee.”

  “So eloquent in the morning,” Alex snickers, moving to let me up. I manage to get up and use the bathroom then return to sit on the bed.

  “How’s your back?” he asks, pulling the gown to the side to see my skin.

  “It’s actually a lot better. Who knew medical treatment and sleeping on a bed, even a shitty one, could make you feel better?” he shakes his head at me and sits up, stealing a quick kiss.

  Once everyone is up, done eating breakfast and I have had my first cup of glorious coffee, Angel and I are coloring together.

  “Would you like to take a bath?” I ask her. One of the nurses said we could borrow one of the birthing suites upstairs so she wouldn’t have to shower but could sit in the warm water instead.

  She looks up at me, thinks about it, and nods. “Yeah? Okay, let’s call the nurse.”

  I hand her the call button and she presses it. It’s only a few minutes before a woman in scrubs comes in. “What can I do for you?”

  “Our nurse said we could use a birthing suite for Angel to take a bath,” I inform her.

  “Okay, let me get that set up for you. It’ll probably be about fifteen minutes.”

  We spend the next few minutes reading a book, she loves the colorful pictures. It breaks my heart to see her reaction to the stories, like she’s never been read to.

  “I’ll meet you up there, okay?” Alex asks as a couple of uniformed officers step off the elevator.

  I nod and give him a kiss while Jane grabs some toys and the bag of hygiene stuff. Angel holds my hand the entire time, still scared by everything that moves, but she’s walking and not being carried. I call that a win.

  In the suite, we enter the bathroom and get the water running, adding the toys and some bubbles. She’s so dirty that we need all the help we can get.

  “Okay, sweet girl, do you need help getting your clothes off or can you do it yourself?” Jane asks her, very matter-of-factly. She seems to like Jane and her take no nonsense way of doing things.

  “I can do it.” She pulls her arms in then lifts the cat pajamas Jane brought her over her head. Her little body is painfully boney and covered in scars. Old ones that have turned white and new ones that are still an angry red. Like a punch to the stomach, my breath is gone, and tears roll down my cheeks. Bruises discolor her skin, scars crisscross over her body, I don’t know how she’s dealt with it all.

  With Jane’s help, she gets into the bath and smiles for the first time. The mountain of bubbles is huge, and she loves it. Jane scoops up a handful and blows it, so they fly, and she laughs. That little sound has me crying for
a different reason now.

  A soft ‘psst’ catches my attention and I turn to see Alex standing in the doorway.

  “Angel, I’m going to go into the other room. Are you okay with Jane in here with you?”

  She beams up at me, her blue eyes so similar to mine, sparkling when she nods.

  Standing, I exit the bathroom and leave the door cracked open. Alex immediately pulls me into his arms, carefully running his hands down my entire body like he can’t believe I’m here. Capturing his head in my hands, I lift to my tip toes and kiss him. A soft kiss that’s about us purging the fear and reuniting with each other.

  His warm brown eyes meet mine and his expression is serious. “I was so damn scared I was never going to get you back. I need you Kristen, every fucking day.”

  “I never doubted that you would find me.”

  A tear falls from his eye, rolling down his cheek. I wipe it away with my thumb. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Move in with me.” His hand cups my cheek, bringing my forehead to his. “Marry me, have my babies, whatever you want, whenever you want, just move in.”

  This strong man who is rarely serious is brought to his knees by the thought of losing me. How can I say no to him?

  “Okay,” I whisper, a big smile on my face. His eyes meet mine, momentarily stunned before he smiles. “But I’m not cleaning the bathroom. I’m not the one peeing on the floor, I’m not cleaning it up.”

  He laughs, a big full bellied laugh, his head dropping back onto his shoulders. “Deal, Gorgeous.” He kisses my lips. “You got yourself a damn deal.”

  Alex

  IT’S BEEN ABOUT A week since Kristen and Angel were saved. It’s Thursday and Angel is being released from the hospital, along with it being family dinner night. Dad has been here at the hospital bonding with Angel as well as Mom, so she’s going home with them. From what has been found, she’s a ward of the State that got dropped somewhere along the way.