Breaking Free

by Teresa Reasor

  “Did you know he was abusive, Brett?” she asked.

  “I suspected something with his last girlfriend. I tried to talk him into some counseling. Then there was something---”His gaze shifted away from Zoe and he grew silent. A familiar look of concentration settled on his face as he grappled with a memory. “Something happened over there I was going to talk to Hawk about. It’ll come back to me.” He swore, a frustrated scowl marring his features.

  He straightened and reached for the makeshift icepack. “I’ll take this to Marjorie for you. She needs to know not all of us are like that.”

  It was going to take more than a few acts of kindness for Marjorie to regain what Derrick Armstrong had taken from her. But she’d have to start somewhere. “Take her some Ibuprofen too, it will take down some of the swelling.” He filled a glass of water, found the tablets and left the room.

  Zoe opened the freezer door and rummaged through for something to thaw in the microwave and fix. A package of chicken breasts lay on top of a bag of rice. She took both out and placed them on the counter.

  A puddle of water on the floor had her frowning. Had the line for the icemaker sprung a leak? Or had something tipped over and spilled as she opened the door? She closed the freezer door to peer closer. She caught a whiff of chlorine as the toe of a man’s shoe came into sight next to her own. Shock like an electric jolt flashed through her. She grabbed the package of chicken breasts from the counter and swung them. Derrick blocked the blow with his forearm and the package went flying.

  Zoe’s startled squeak cut off as he covered her mouth with a hand that easily obscured the lower half of her face. Something hard dug into her side and she glimpsed the grip of a gun he thrust into her. Her insides turned to liquid. She bent away from him bowing her back against the counter.

  The hot tub. He’d hidden in the hot tub. Had he been there all the time?

  His wet clothes pressed against hers. Her blouse and pants absorbed the clammy moisture and she shivered. He raised a gun that looked like a cannon and rested the barrel against her temple. His body pushed against hers, hard and unyielding, pinning her to the counter.

  “You know that little surprise I left for you in the living room a couple of weeks ago?”

  The flash-bang. It was Derrick. Zoe nodded tentatively.

  “That’s nothing compared to what I can do. Make one peep and I’ll snap your neck like a twig, you nosy bitch. I heard Marjorie’s voice. Where is she? ” Derrick Armstrong’s voice was barely a rumble of sound.

  Fear, icy cold raced through her, numbing her limbs and stealing their strength. If she told him, what would he do to Marjorie?

  His hand tightened against her face, mashing her lips hard against her teeth and squeezing her jaw until she thought he might break it. Zoe squeaked in pain and clawed at his fingers.

  “I could kill you, you know. And I’ll still find her.”

  ****

  Hawk placed the duffle bag, he’d carefully packed with all his gear, in the Saturn’s trunk. He should have insisted Zoe and Marjorie stay on post until he’d finished his meetings with the NCIS and the FBI. But it was good they hadn’t. It was nearly seven o’clock and he was just leaving.

  They’d be safe with Brett at the house.

  He’d been telling himself that for the last hour and still anxiety nagged at him.

  As he drove off the base, he looked northeast toward Mission Beach where he and Zoe had spent the day only weeks before. The gold ribbon of sand stretched down the coast against the backdrop of buildings that sprawled behind it. The azure blue sky extended along the horizon wisped with a scattering of clouds.

  The two months they’d known one another was not enough time for him to ask Zoe to marry him. After their recent break up, she’d want him to woo her a little, and he’d have to regain her trust before he asked her for anything permanent.

  Hawk rubbed a hand over his face. Damn, he was pathetic. Why would any woman in her right mind want to carry on a long distance relationship with a man who had withheld his love from her? He’d really screwed things up.

  And now they had to deal with the debris left behind from Derrick Armstrong’s behavior.

  Damn him!

  The team members he’d sent out to hunt for him hadn’t had any luck finding him. As long as he was out there, he was a danger to himself, to Marjorie, and to anyone close to her. His stomach hollowed with anxiety every time he thought of Zoe driving around town with Marjorie while Derrick ran loose. Helping Marjorie was Zoe’s MO. And the woman had to be protected.

  Hawk wove his way down several streets toward home. A block from the house, he saw a canary yellow Jeep parked on the street and slowed. He whipped into a parking space down the street from it, and leaving his car running, walked back to the vehicle. A Trident symbol on the window had his heart racing. He looked inside on the passenger side of the car. A belt and empty holster lay on the seat.

  Hawk’s heart kicked into a sickening rhythm. He ran to his car and drove the vehicle around the corner and parked it three houses down from his drive. He exited the car and retrieved his duffle bag, then walked through the neighbor’s yard to the back of his house.

  The lock on the rec room sliding glass door appeared intact. He leaned forward to look through the window at the attached wiring to the alarm system. Fuck! It had been cut.

  He withdrew a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. Scanning the room, he eased the entrance open. The alarm system didn’t make a peep. Son-of-a-bitch. What if Derrick had already hurt someone? Cutter wouldn’t take any shit from him unless Derrick had snuck up on them and was armed.

  From the duffle bag, he retrieved his Sig and a clip of ammo and loaded the gun. His movements slow and cautious, he eased up the stairs to the back porch sunroom. The cover on the hot tub was shoved to one side. A trail of wet footprints led to the glider and then to the back door. His gun up and ready, he followed them to the entrance and peered through the window.

  The kitchen appeared empty until he shifted to one side to get a better view of the entire room. Derrick stood to one side, his arm around Zoe’s waist, his hand over her mouth. The barrel of a gun rested against her side.

  A wave of rage and fear tore up through Hawk’s chest to his throat and for a moment it was hard for him to breath. Shit-shit-shit- If he attempted to enter the house, the fucker might shoot first and ask questions later. He couldn’t take any chances with Zoe’s safety. Oh God, please don’t let him hurt her.

  Hawk’s stomach lurched, and his temples pounded. He fell back to the rec room and took out his cell phone. His hands were shaking as he flipped it open and pushed a button. Langley’s voice had him drawing a deep breath of relief. He spoke in a hushed tone. “There’s a problem at my house. Derrick’s broken in and he’s armed. He’s got Zoe. I know Brett and Marjorie are somewhere in the house. I can’t enter the premises. It might cause him to do something stupid.”

  Langley swore. “Have you called the cops, yet?”

  “No. If we alert them they’ll call in SWAT and somebody will get killed. We need to handle this ourselves. I need you to call Bowie and get over here. I’ll call Doc. Bring your gear.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Hawk stared at the phone. If Derrick hurt her he’d kill him. But it wouldn’t bring her back. His life would be empty--empty. He had finally tasted real love, and he’d nearly blown it. He’d only had a taste of the second chance Zoe seemed to be willing to give him. He wanted more.

  Stay strong, Zoe. I’m coming. I’m coming.

  ****

  Fear poured through Zoe stealing her strength and making her limbs rubbery, her breathing harsh. Please, don’t let Brett come in here. Derrick’s grip on her jaw tightened. Though her mouth was uncovered she couldn’t utter a sound. Tears stung her eyes and her vision blurred.

  “Damn you, tell me,” Derrick said and turned the barrel of the .357 Magnum against her side. All the facts about the gun Brett had recited day after
day flashed through her thoughts. If he pulled the trigger there was no way she would survive. Zoe raised a trembling hand and pointed toward the hall. Derrick twisted her around, his arm around her neck holding her back against him. He forced her forward.

  Brett came out of the bedroom down the hall. He jerked to a stop when he saw them, his lips parted in shock. He recovered quickly and his eyes went flat and hard. “Let my sister go, Derrick.”

  “Not until I’ve seen Marjorie.”

  Zoe tried to shake her head, but Derrick dug the gun into her waist and gave her jaw a painful warning squeeze.

  “Don’t do this, man. You’re just digging yourself a hole you’ll never be able to climb out of.”

  Derrick’s muscles bunched. “Shut up, Cutter. Get Marjorie, or I’ll twist your sister’s head off.” His voice sounded hoarse.

  “I’m here, Derrick,” Marjorie appeared in the doorway. Her eye looked grotesquely swollen, her cheekbone, eye, and temple purple. The rest of her face looked paper white. “Let Zoe go. I’m here.”

  Where Derrick’s brutal grip hadn’t rung tears from her, the weary acceptance in Marjorie’s features had them welling up and sliding down Zoe’s cheeks.

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you, baby. I swear I didn’t.”

  “I know, Derrick. But you did.” Her voice sounded weary. “Let Zoe go. This isn’t between you and her, it’s between you and me.”

  Derrick released Zoe and shoved her forward. Her legs unsteady, she staggered and would have fallen had Brett not caught her.

  Brett scowled. “God Damn it, Derrick. What is wrong with you?”

  “She should have kept her nose where it belongs, just like you should have.”

  Brett’s eyes narrowed and he pushed Zoe behind him. “You want to put that gun down and come over here and shove me around?”

  Fear, abrasive as steel wool, scratched its way up along Zoe’s nerves. From behind, she grasped Brett’s arm and squeezed it tight. Didn’t he know better than to bait an unstable man?

  Looking over Brett’s shoulder she noticed how haggard Derrick appeared. His eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot, his jaw shadowed with beard stubble. He held the gun next to his side yet didn’t take his finger off the trigger. All he’d have to do was raise it and fire and one of them would be dead.

  “Come out from behind, Cutter so I can talk to you.” Derrick motioned at Marjorie with the gun.

  Marjorie shook her head and her body trembled visibly. “Not until you put the gun away. I’m afraid of guns, you know that.”

  Zoe laid a hand on her arm, offering her what comfort she could.

  Derrick focused on Marjorie, intent, unblinking. “You went to the police today, didn’t you?”

  She hesitated, her eyes straying to the gun. “Yes.”

  “You didn’t have to do that.” There was accusation in his tone.

  “Please put the gun away, Derrick.”

  “You didn’t have to do it,” he shouted, his voice cracking. The sound thrummed through the narrow hall making both Zoe and Marjorie jerk as though a jolt of electricity had leapt through them.

  Brett reached out a hand to ease Marjorie further behind him.

  “Get out from behind Brett and face me, damn it.”

  “No---No,” Marjorie started crying in earnest. “You’re going to hurt me again. You’re going to kill me. I’m afraid---I’m afraid.” She clenched part of Brett’s shirt and cowered against his side as close as she could get.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, but if I have to go through him to get to you, I will, Marjorie.” Derrick cocked the gun at his side. The soft snick echoed over and over in Zoe’s head growing louder and louder. The hallway seemed to shrink and become claustrophobic.

  “I wouldn’t have hurt you but---You won’t be here when I get back. You won’t stick it out. You’ll be with some other guy, laughing with him, touching him, sleeping with him. Doing things with him you’re only supposed to do with me. I thought you were already.”

  “You didn’t go to Jessica’s, did you? You didn’t hurt her did you?” Marjorie asked a note of panic in her tone.

  “Fuck her. Why did you go running off to her the minute I was gone?”

  “Because I missed you, Derrick. I needed to have someone with me.”

  The open pain in Marjorie’s voice punched through Zoe making her chest ache and her throat tighten. With Derrick standing just a few feet away, threatening and unstable, the words she and Hawk spoke outside his office seemed mundane and useless. Why couldn’t they have said something important to one another? Why hadn’t she told him she loved him?

  Brett’s muscles grew taut as he tried to cover them both with his body. “She’s terrified, Derrick. Put the gun down and we’ll all sit down and talk,” he said, his tone soothing.

  Derrick’s face grew flushed and he scowled. He took two strides toward them, raising the gun as he came. He pressed the barrel of the weapon against Brett’s forehead with enough force that he had to tilt his head back. “Shut the fuck up, Cutter. If I wanted your advice, I’d ask for it. Stay the fuck out of my business or I might just finish what I started in Iraq. You should have never put that kid between us, Cutter. ”

  Brett braced his feet apart to maintain his balance. “What kid, Strong Man?” Brett’s conversational tone belied the fact he had a gun pointed at his head.

  Derrick’s eyes narrowed. His tone grew scoffing. “Always the hero. That can get you killed real quick, you know.”

  Derrick reached for Marjorie’s arm and Brett blocked the attempt with his own. “What do you mean, Derrick?”

  Distracted, Derrick’s aim wandered away from Brett’s head and Zoe drew a shaky breath as the gun pointed at the ceiling.

  “That kid would have just as soon killed you as looked at you.”

  “What kid?”

  Derrick’s gaze grew steady and dark as though he were focusing on some distant place inside his own head. “It doesn’t matter now, you don’t remember, and I’m never going to tell you. You’ll just have to figure it out for yourself.”

  He lunged at Marjorie grabbing her arm. She squealed in protest and tried to pull away. Brett knocked the gun aside and twisted to one side in an attempt to shove Derrick back.

  Zoe staggered back against the wall. Brett struggled to gain control of the gun. The barrel of the 357 swung toward Zoe’s face. With a frightened cry, she grabbed both Derrick’s wrist and the barrel of the gun. She tried to twist it from his grasp.

  The front door crashed inward and Langley appeared in full body armor as Hawk stepped in from the kitchen doorway, a taser raised and ready. He fired and almost simultaneously the Magnum leaped in her hand as it discharged blowing a hole in the wall next to her. The magnitude of the sound jerked a startled yelp from Zoe. Sheetrock dust and insulation flew through the air. Derrick screamed and fell to the floor his body jerking from the electrical current as though he were having a seizure.

  Doc, Bowie, and Langley, battle ready and armed, rushed into the hall. As a unit, they pointed their guns at Derrick. After holstering his weapon, Bowie whipped out plastic handcuffs, rolled him over and secured his hands behind his back. Langley retrieved the Magnum from the floor, while Doc bent to check Derrick’s pulse. The only sounds in the hall were the dispassionate, well-trained replies of “target is secure” and “clear”.

  Hawk shoved the taser into Brett’s hand as he pushed passed him and Marjorie. He reached for Zoe.

  With a sob, she went into his arms. His Kevlar vest, stiff and rough, pressed into her breasts and his utility belt dug into her stomach. She didn’t care. They were all safe and his arms held her close.

  She drew back to look up at him, her vision blurred, and blinked away the tears that continued to fall. His gaze had never been more intent. His hands trembled as he ran them over her shoulders and arms as though checking for injuries and brushing the tufts of insulation away. “I love you, Zoe. I love you.”

  His voice sounded muff
led beneath the ringing in her ears, but she heard him. A sweet tangle of emotion rushed through her, and she smiled through her tears. “I love you, too.”

  When Hawk bent his head to kiss her, her arms went around his neck and she rose on tiptoe to meet him halfway.

  As their lips met, one word rang out behind them in a masculine chorus.

  “Hooyah.”

  CHAPTER 28

  “Come on, Ensign Clark. I know you can do it,” Zoe said as she watched the young sailor struggle to maintain his balance between the parallel bars. She gripped the gate belt around his waist to steady him as he lifted his foot just enough to slide it over the floor, lay it down, and then shift his weight. His breath came in quick gasps. Sweat beaded his forehead dampening his blond hair in front and darkening it. He paused a moment before raising the other foot.

  “Jesus, this hurts like a son-of-a-bitch,” he said as he got the other foot going.

  She grimaced in sympathy. “After having both legs nearly crushed, you didn’t expect they’d work just like new the first time out, did you?”

  “Well, a guy can hope can’t he?”

  “We certainly don’t dissuade hope around here. Isn’t that right, Tank?” She shot a look at the man standing directly behind Ensign Clark. He stood eight inches taller than the young serviceman and looked as though he could bench press a truck.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Tank retrieved the wheelchair, ran it between the parallel bars and lined it up behind Clark. He set the brake.

  Zoe gripped the gate belt harder. “Just ease yourself down now. Tank will help you. Take it slow.”

  Once seated, Clark took several cleansing breaths. Zoe grasped one rail of the parallel bars to maintain her balance and bent to pick up the paper towels she had left lying on the exercise mat close by with a bottle of water. She offered them both to Clark and he grinned.

  Another PT called to Tank for some help. After unbuckling the gate belt and removing it, Zoe leaned back against the parallel bars to wait for Tank’s return. He’d take Ensign Clark back to his room as soon as he was finished with the other patient.