by Liz Bradford
Patrick greeted the women as they sat down, “Good evening, Detectives. Hello, Ella.”
Adam watched Ella give Patrick a slight nod and the weakest smile possible. A smile that barely even made it to her lips, let alone beyond. Adam slid into the booth after Ella and sat close to her.
Patrick was saying something to the others; Adam looked at him to try and get back into the conversation, but Ella’s tender fingers drew his attention. She slid her hand into his. His heart took flight. He looked at her and his heart drooped a little. She looked very unsettled. That had not been the look on her face when she left the bathroom. What had changed? Patrick?
Adam stroked the back of Ella’s hand with his thumb. She smiled at him, but her grip on his hand tightened the longer Patrick hung around. As soon as he walked away, Ella let go of Adam’s hand. He leaned close to her and stretched his arm across the back of the booth. “You okay?”
“Eh. I guess. I’ve really never liked Patrick. He gives me the creeps.”
“Know the feeling.” He desperately wanted to tell her that he really liked holding her hand, but there would be time for that later.
The group sat around at the restaurant a little while longer after paying their bill. Ella couldn’t figure out why she was feeling off now, maybe it was the cry in the bathroom, maybe it was seeing Patrick, or maybe she regretted holding Adam’s hand? No, that last one wasn’t it. She smiled to herself.
Adam still had his arm across the back of the seat behind her. An unseen force seemed to pull at her to lean against him, but she resisted. She wasn’t ready for that much contact yet.
She was getting antsy.
“Can we get out of here?” She leaned a little closer to ask him quietly.
“Sure. Want to go for a walk? I could use some fresh air.”
“Me, too. A walk would be nice.”
She couldn’t breathe. His eyes sparkled, and she felt like she was just a pile of goo in the seat. She was falling hard. She took in a shaky breath. She needed to get control over her emotions. He touched her shoulder as he removed his arm from the back of the booth. She struggled to get the air into her lungs.
While she tried to gain her composure, Adam spoke to the others, “Ok, y’all. We’re gonna head out and get some fresh air. I’ll bring her home in a little while.”
Caleb smiled, “Don’t keep her out too late; it’s a school night, ya know.”
“Ha. Yes, ‘Dad.’” They all laughed.
“But seriously,” Amelia added, “Be careful.”
“Of course.”
Adam and Ella slid out of the booth, and Adam grabbed his hat from the hook on the side of the booth where he had hung it when they came in. He twirled it and plopped it on her head. She giggled, and they exited the restaurant.
They turned towards the downtown avenue that was only a block away from the pub. Adam walked on her right. His hand swung next to him as they walked. She wanted to hold his hand again. His hand was strong yet gentle and fully encompassed hers. But she didn’t want to presume anything. Just because he had squeezed her hand earlier and had rubbed it with his thumb, didn’t mean he thought anything more of this than friendship.
She diverted her eyes back to the sidewalk in front of them. This whole thing was going to drive her crazy.
Her hand collided with Adam’s. She jumped. Instead of pulling his hand away he took hers and wove his fingers between hers. She was beyond happy, all reservations swept aside. She wanted to say something to break the silence, no matter how comfortable it was, but she didn’t know what to say. Everything she thought of just sounded stupid and childish.
Adam broke the silence instead. “I didn’t tell you earlier, but you look beautiful this evening. Well, all the time.”
Her cheeks warmed. “Well, maybe not when you burst into Carter’s room the other morning when I had that nightmare.”
“Even then.”
“Not even—gnarly hair, plastered to my face with sweat—hardly beautiful.”
He shook his head. “Yes, even. Don’t argue with me about this. You’re beautiful.”
He was the only one who had ever told her that, well other than her mother. She had believed him when they were kids, and he said it so genuinely now that she almost believed him again.
He stopped and turned towards her without letting go of her hand. His eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t believe me, do you? You don’t think you’re beautiful?”
She shrugged.
His eyes looked sad. His free hand came to her face and swept a loose strand of hair out of her face.
“I’m just average. I’m not a twig like that waitress. My hair is crazy most of the time. I’m not at all like the girls you’ve dated over the years.” She instantly regretted saying that. What difference did it make if she was like the girls he had dated? Was she expecting that he would date her? That was awfully presumptuous. She wasn’t his type.
“Ella, I’ve never dated anyone as beautiful as you. I love your hair, always have. It’s gorgeous when you straighten it, but it’s awesome when you don’t. The wildness reminds me of how wild you were when we were little. You were always chasing me with frogs or what not. And the red in it matches the fire in your spirit. And as for your body,” he looked her up and down and raised his eyebrows and a sly smile formed on his lips.
The heat rose in her neck and cheeks. She was unfamiliar with the look he gave her, but she knew what it meant, and her embarrassment caught her breath in her chest.
“Let’s just say it’s perfect.”
She couldn’t handle the attention. She started walking again and tugged on his hand.
He squeezed hers. “I don’t mean to embarrass you, but I wish you’d believe me.”
“I’ll try.” She gave him a little smirk.
His smile broadened showing his perfectly straight teeth.
They walked on, hand in hand. Until they came in front of a little convenience store on the corner, and Adam stopped. “I want to get you something.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “What?”
“You’ll see. It’ll just take a second.”
“I’ll wait out here.”
Adam’s face turned serious. “I don’t know about that.” He looked up and down the street. “Just stay under the streetlight.”
“Of course. I know how to be aware of my surroundings.”
“I know. I’ll be back in a flash.” He winked at her and spun and disappeared into the shop.
Maybe it wasn’t the wisest thing to be by herself out on the street after dark, but she actually needed a minute away from Adam. This was all moving too fast for her. Or was it? She looked up and down the street, staying aware of what was going on around her. It was a quiet evening in Hazel Hill. It was pushing nine o’clock and even though most of the stores were still open, most the patrons had gone home. There was a couple walking out of a shop down the road on the other side of the street. Other than that, no one else was around. Half a dozen cars or so were parallel parked along the sidewalk on either side. Nothing nefarious seemed to lurk about. She always loved downtown Hazel Hill. It was so quaint with its old-time shops and rot iron lampposts. The cobbled crosswalks were the finishing touch that made it perfect.
Ella continued to scan up and down the street until her phone chirped in her purse that was hung across her body. She pulled it out and found a new email from her mom. Another stupid ‘cute’ animal video. They were her mom’s new obsession that she just had to share with Ella. If Ella was honest, she thought they were adorable too, but the volume that her mom sent was getting obnoxious. She pressed play since Adam hadn’t come out of the store yet.
She laughed at the silly antics of the baby animals. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Someone was behind her. She dropped her phone. She tried to turn but a man’s arm was around her neck before she could spin around. The cold steel of a blade against the side of her neck. He had a knife. It was him. He was going to try to rape her a
gain and kill her.
Without a thought her training kicked in. She hadn’t taken fifteen years of martial arts to let this guy get at her again. She stomped on his foot and grabbed the arm around her neck. She pulled it away from her neck and further across her body; she raised the shoulder that his arm was over. He was big. Easily six foot, it was definitely the same guy. She continued to pull on his arm and spun out and under his arm. Keeping one hand on his wrist, she rotated the other one to his upper arm and pushed down with all her might. She swung her knee up and jabbed it into his head. She took her knee to his head again pushed him to the ground with all her might.
The knife fell out of his hand, and he hit the concrete.
She dove for the knife.
He tripped her.
She fell. Her palms scraped across the ground, setting them on fire. But she was able to grab the knife. She turned over, raising the knife off the ground. He lunged toward her. His fist hit the side of her face; she swung the knife. Her vision blurred as her head reeled from the punch. She kept her arm steady and swung the knife. It made contact with his arm. She scrambled backwards away from him as she took a deep enough breath to scream. “HELP!” He lunged toward her again; his pale blue eyes glared at her from under his ski mask. She kept the knife up as she scooted farther backwards.
“ELLA!” She heard Adam scream behind her. “POLICE! STOP!”
Her assailant jumped to his feet and ran.
It sounded like Adam was a mile away. “Call 911,” he yelled to someone, “tell them a plain clothes officer is in pursuit.”
She watched Adam take off running after him. And watched Adam disappear down the alley that the attacker had gone down.
Ella’s vision tunneled. She couldn’t fight it. Everything around her seemed to disappear. She looked at the knife in her hand, but she couldn’t see it. Her hands shook. Her whole body shook. Shock was setting in. Her mind replayed what just happened over and over. She couldn’t get it out of her head. She was only slightly cognizant of the flashing lights and people gathering around her where she sat on the sidewalk. Someone touched her arm. She jumped.
“Ella, it’s Jared; you’re safe.”
Her mind reeled as she processed what was said. How long had she blacked out? She slowly closed her eyes and reopened them. ADAM! She became fully aware. “ADAM! Where’s Adam? He ran after the guy!”
“ELLA! I’m here.” She lifted her head. Adam ran towards her.
“Ella,” Jared spoke, “I need you to let go of the knife.”
She looked at it. Jared had put an evidence bag over the knife and was holding it and her arm. She let go, and Jared took it. Her hands were still shaking. Adam collapsed onto the ground next to her and put his arm across her back. She fell into his chest.
“Shh.” Adam’s voice was soft, and he rubbed her back. He stroked her hair with his other hand, and she turned her face a little further into him. She clutched the front of his shirt and didn’t want to let go.
“Hey, Ella,” Caleb said, but she didn’t want to lift her face to look at anyone. “Ella, the paramedics want to check you out. Are you hurt?”
She turned her head and looked at Caleb.
“Looks like you might have a shiner. Anywhere else hurt?”
She stared at Caleb like she didn’t know what he said. Hurt? Did anything hurt? She couldn’t feel anything. She let go of Adam’s shirt and looked at her hands. They hurt. And for good reason, the skin was broken where they had slid against the sidewalk.
“Let’s clean those up. How are you feeling?”
She sat there with Adam’s arm still around her, and a paramedic in uniform started cleaning her hands. Another paramedic brought a blanket over and Adam helped him drape it across her shoulders.
“I’m okay,” she finally said. “My head hurts a little too.”
“Can you get up and come to the ambulance?” one of the EMTs asked. “I want to check your vitals and make sure you don’t have a concussion.”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Adam helped her up, and she spotted his hat and her phone on the ground. She pointed to them, and Adam picked them up. They walked to the ambulance, and Gavin joined them. She knew Gavin was Becca’s partner and knew him a bit from church. “Ella,” he said, “when you’re ready, I’d like for you to tell me what happened.”
Ella nodded and squeezed Adam’s hand.
Chapter 15
Adam came back to the Captain's office with two cups of tea in his hands. Ella was right where he had left her, curled up on the couch. She was still shaking; it was a subtle quiver, but it consumed her whole body. They had come to the station an hour ago, so Ella would have a safe, warmer place to give Gavin her statement. They had gone into the Captain’s office, and she had managed to walk them threw exactly what happened and how her training had kicked in and saved her life.
But he was kicking himself. This was all his fault. He should never have left her for even a second. He could have lost her tonight. His whole body shuddered at the thought, and a lump formed in his throat. His voice was too tight to speak, so he sat down on the couch next to Ella. She jumped. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. I just can’t get out of my head.” She took her cup of tea from him and sighed.
“I bet. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is. If I hadn’t gone in that store…”
“Yeah, but if I hadn’t dropped my guard and watched that stupid video…”
Silence hung between them. He yearned to pull her into his arms, but even though she had leaned into his chest earlier, he wasn’t sure she would want to now.
She blew into the tiny opening on the lid of her disposable cup, before she took a sip. He was mesmerized by her. What if he had lost her? His chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself.
“Adam.” She took his hand. His skin tingled at her touch. “It isn’t your fault or mine. It’s that evil man’s fault. All blame lies with him.”
He knew she was right, but that didn’t wash the guilt away. He had put her at risk for a silly romantic gesture. She probably wasn’t even ready for that yet. What had he been thinking?
She was still shaking. The blanket had fallen off her shoulder, but he didn’t want to let go of her hand to help her with it. So, he set down his cup and reached across and lifted the blanket back onto her shoulder. He lifted her hair out from under the blanket and noticed the bruise forming on her cheekbone. That vile man had hit her. If he could get his hands on him…
“O God, our help in ages past,” Ella’s tender voice filled the space between them, “Our hope for years to come,
“Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!
“Under the shadow of thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure;
“Sufficient is thine arm alone, and our defense is sure.”
He closed his eyes and let her voice and the words from the old hymn wash away his violent thoughts. He couldn’t remember all the words to the song, but he did know the last verse, so when she began singing it, he opened his eyes and added a harmony. Their eyes connected as they sang.
“O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,
“Be thou our guard while life shall last, and our eternal home.”
Ella had finally stopped trembling and smiled at him. “Thanks for singing with me.”
“My pleasure, if I had remembered the words I would have sung more.”
“I know.” She sunk down a little deeper into the couch and leaned her head on his shoulder. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. She intertwined her fingers into his. He was a goner. He didn’t want to leave this place ever, but she needed to get some sleep. It was getting really late now.
While the other detectives were working the case, he had been given strict orders from Amelia to stay with Ella, he should at least take her back to Amelia’s house, so she could get some sleep. “I can take you home when you
’re ready to go get some sleep.”
Her hand tightened around his. “Adam, I can’t. I don’t want to sleep.” The fear in her voice tugged at his heart. Of course, she didn’t want to sleep. It was going to be a rough night.
“I have an idea.”
She lifted her head to see his face.
“Why don’t we go back to Amelia’s? You don’t have to go to bed. We can sit up and watch a movie or something. And if you fall asleep, I’ll be right there if you need me.”
“That could work.”
“You will need to sleep eventually.”
“I know, but I’d like to avoid it as long as possible.”
“So, we binge watch Netflix and eat an extraordinary amount of popcorn.”
“Is it safe to leave the station? Do you think he knows where I’m staying?”
“I don’t think he does. We’ve been careful not to talk about it at all. And you’ve got both Caleb and me there to keep you safe. Not that I did a real great job of that earlier…” he dropped his head, the guilt surging inside again.
“Don’t. You chased him. You did good.”
“No, you’re the one that did good. You kicked his butt!”
She giggled. “I guess.”
“I just wish I would have shot him.”
“But he was running, you couldn’t justify it. You wouldn’t do me any good locked up in prison.”
“The only reason I didn’t.” He winked at her.
She giggled again. And his heart did somersaults.
Adam stretched before he climbed out of his car and walked toward the police station the next morning. He was tired. The night had been long and hadn’t included much sleep, and what sleep he had gotten had either been on Amelia’s love seat or the floor. He felt worse for Ella though, because what little sleep she had gotten on the couch had been riddled with nightmares. He was so glad he had been there for her though. He had held her hand, stroked her hair, and sang songs with and to her. At one point she had woken him while having a nightmare and he had started singing. She settled almost instantly without waking up.
