CHAPTER 20
DELLA
Making sure I have all the papers that I’ll need for Jamie, I go down to the copy room. Most of the staff is on lunch, but I chose to stay in the office so I could get everything ready for tomorrow’s visit to the school.
Someone closes the door of the copy room, and I look over my shoulder. I watch as Stew saunters closer to me.
Damn, why couldn’t he be on lunch, as well? I haven’t spoken to him since my first day.
“Afternoon,” I say, looking back to the copy I’m making of Jamie’s last report card. She’s going to be so excited when she hears about the school.
Suddenly, Stew grabs hold of my hair and yanks me backwards. The shock of the attack draws a cry from me. For a moment, I’m too stunned to realize what’s happening.
I manage to rip myself free from him, but I lose hair in the process which makes my scalp sting something fiercely.
When I swing around and I see the mean look on his face, my body starts to shake as adrenaline starts to pump through my veins. Quickly, I dart to the side, putting some distance between us.
This man is crazy! I have to get away from him.
A million horrible scenarios start to race through my mind, as I watch him glare at me with hatred. It makes an icy grip of panic tighten its hold on my insides.
I glance at the closed door, and knowing that I have to make a run for it, I dart forward.
Stew moves fast and comes right at me. He looks like psycho that’s about to rip my heart out. As he reaches for me, I scream and duck to the side, but he grabs hold of my arm, yanking me backwards.
Stew’s voice is a vicious growl that agitates every nerve ending in my body, and leaves my insides quaking. “It’s because of you! It’s your fault that I got demoted. It’s your fault that I was forced to take a pay cut.”
I lose my balance but it doesn’t stop him from dragging me away from the door. My knees scrape against the carpet and I try to rip free from his hold.
“Let me go,” I shriek as panic starts to override my common sense. I try to pull my body away from his, but he’s stronger than me.
“Don’t do this, Stew. I can talk to Carter. I can make him listen.”
I’ll tell him any lie to make him calm down.
My movements grow frantic with panic and the air grows hot and stuffy in the room.
Oh my God! I don’t want to die in a copy room.
Stew lets go of my arm but before I can get up, he takes hold of my feet and drags me forward. The movement makes my dress bunch up around my thighs and cold horror washes over me. I’m not wearing any panties. If the dress goes any higher, this madman will see that I’m bare.
I stop fighting and grab at my dress, forcing the material down. While he drags me over to the far corner I do everything I can to keep the dress in place.
I start to panic as a suffocating feeling of fear weighs heavily down on my chest.
“Let me go,” I spit the words at him.
When I see the crazy look in his eyes, I know for certain that he’s planning on killing me. I let go of the dress and start to kick at him with every bit of strength I have in my legs.
My heel slams into his neck and he falls back on his ass, gasping for air.
I quickly turn my body around and crawl away from him. I don’t get far before he grabs hold of my foot, yanking me back to where he wants me.
He crawls over my back and wraps his disgusting fingers around my neck. He starts to slam my face against the carpet and I try to turn my head so it won’t hurt as much.
“You,” he growls. “Because of you, I lost it all!”
His fingers tighten around my throat until his nails dig into my skin. I start to gag for air, and when I don’t manage to take a breath, I go insane with fear.
“I’m going to kill you so he knows what it feels like to lose everything,” Stew hisses.
This can’t be my end.
I want to see my daughter grow up. I want to see Carter walk her down the aisle. I want to hold her babies in my arms. I want to grow old with Carter.
My vision starts to blur and my body spasms. I hear a crashing sound and then voices are yelling.
Stew’s weight is lifted off me, and then more hands grab at me.
I yank and hit, but it feels like I’m moving in slow motion. All I hear is the ragged sound of my lungs gasping for air.
I keep hitting, kicking and growling like a possessed person while I crawl away from Stew. Dread has taken over every part of me. In this terror induced state, there’s only one thought - I have to survive for Daniele. I have to survive this somehow.
Nausea overwhelms me and I start to vomit. I try to keep moving, but my strength is fading fast.
Oh, God! I need to survive for my daughter.
Someone grabs me from behind and I try to swing my elbow into them. The movement throws me off balance and I fall to the side, as my body starts to convulse and another wave of nausea overwhelms me. The person pulls my body against theirs and pulls my hair away from my face.
My throat is on fire when I finally stop vomiting. “Stop. Just stop,” I cry.
“Della,” someone cries through the haziness of hysteria that’s enveloping me.
When the person doesn’t let go of me I start to scream until my throat feels like it’s raw and bleeding.
“Get him out of here,” the person holding me shouts. “Get him the fuck out of here before I kill him.”
Through blurring tears I see people move around me. Someone kneels in front of me and for a moment I don’t recognize him.
“Della, you’re going to be okay. The paramedics are on the way,” he says.
I try to suck in some air but the pain is too much. A wail tears through my ravaged throat and I slump forward.
The man frames my face with his hands, and his touch is cool on my overheated skin. He lifts my face to his and it’s only then that I recognize him.
“Logan?” I rasp.
“Yeah, Sweetheart. Try to stay still for us. Rhett’s holding you. You’re safe.”
“Rhett?”
“I’ve got you, babe,” I hear him say from behind me. His voice is thick with tears. Every bit of strength I have vanishes and my body sinks against his.
***
CARTER
My phone rings but I ignore it. I need to finish signing these documents so Charlotte can have them back before I leave for my two pm meeting.
Finally, the thing stops ringing.
I get another three documents signed before my office door burst open. Charlotte’s pale face has me up on my feet in a second.
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?” I rush to her just in case she faints.
She grabs my arm and starts to pull me from the office. “You need to go. They’re in the copy room. Someone attacked Della.”
Shaking my head, I frown at Charlotte. “What?”
Then the words sink in. Della has been attacked.
I run from my office and when I reach the elevators, I repeatedly slam the button until the fucking thing opens.
I step inside and impatiently wait for the doors to close. When they finally shut in front of me, I slam my fist into the mirror. A crack splinters through the mirror and I quickly step back as it crashes to the ground.
I open and close my fists as fear overwhelms me.
Della.
My Della.
My mind races, not really focusing on anything of substance.
The elevator doors open, and as I step out shock shudders through me. The building security is all over the place. I watch as paramedics run towards me. The run by me and into the copy room, and it’s only then that life returns to my body.
I follow the paramedics, and when I step inside the copy room my world starts to spin. Della is on the floor and Rhett is holding her. Logan is on his knees in front of her and he starts to move so the paramedics can get to her.
My eyes dart around the room and if feels as if someone is throwing punches at me. I see the vomit. Fuck, the stench hangs sour in the air.
I look back to Della as a paramedic reaches for her neck. She starts to struggle in Rhett’s hold, raw wails tearing from her.
I start to walk towards her. It feels as if something else has taken over my body. I want to run, but for some fucked-up reason, I can’t.
Logan places his hand against my chest. I see his mouth move but nothing he says makes sense. I can only hear Della.
Rage engulfs me, and I walk right by Logan. One of the paramedics tries to stop me, but I shove him out of my way.
I reach for Della as she looks up and the fear on her face fucking destroys me. I sink to my knees next to her. My heart is thundering in my chest as Rhett let’s go of her. Her body shoots forward and I catch her as she slams into me.
Her breaths sound like painful gasps that are grating her throat raw. I wish I could breathe for her.
“Babe,” I say, but it doesn’t sound like my voice.
She tries to pull herself up against me but there’s no strength in her body.
Abruptly, the reality slams into me and it feels as if I’m thrust into a nightmare.
I wrap my arms around her and hold her shaking body to me.
“What the fuck happened?” I growl at Rhett.
“Someone attacked her. We were in the printing room when we heard her screaming,” Rhett says. I’ve never seen him so pale and upset before. “The fucker was on top of her, strangling her.”
“Who?” I hiss.
Rhett shakes his head. “I don’t know. The guards dragged him away.”
“Sir, we need to get her to a hospital,” the paramedic says, drawing my attention back to him.
Fuck, he’s right.
I start to pull back, but Della just moves with me.
“Babe, let them look at you,” I whisper.
She shakes her head, burrowing deeper against me.
The paramedic reaches for her arm, but Della starts to scream. “No.No.No.No.No.” She practically crawls through my arms to get behind me, and it makes me lose my mind.
“Don’t you fucking touch her!”
“Carter, they have to check her,” Rhett says, half positioning his body between me and the paramedic.
What he says makes sense, but I can’t let anyone near her. I gather her in my arms and pick her up. She buries her face in my neck and her body shudders in my arms.
I shake my head at Rhett. “I can’t let her go. She will never forgive me if I let her go. You go -” Tears overwhelm me and I swallow hard to try and control them. “You go get a doctor. I don’t care what you have to pay. Get a doctor and bring them to the apartment. I’m taking her home.”
“Fuck, Carter,” Rhett hisses. “You can’t just take her. She needs to give a statement. This is a fucking crime scene.”
I glare at him as I hold her tighter. “You will have to pry her from my dead fucking body. I’m taking her home. The cops can take her statement there. A doctor can look at her there.”
“You can’t -”
“I fucking can and I fucking will.”
I walk out to the room, not paying attention to anyone. When I exit the building, I’m relieved to see Peter already waiting with the car. He’s supposed to take me to the two pm meeting.
I slide into the backseat and cradle Della on my lap. I press kisses to her tangled hair. She’s fucking cold. I sit forward and without moving her from my lap, I struggle out of my jacket.
I wrap it around her before holding her tightly. She’s stopped crying but the blank look on her face really worries me.
My phone starts to ring and I quickly fish it from my pocket.
“What?” I hiss, barely in control of my emotions.
“The paramedics are following you. Please don’t give them shit. Let them look at her while I get a doctor.”
“Fine.”
“Danny,” Della croaks.
“What’s that, babe?”
“Danny. Don’t let her see me.”
“Fuck.” I forgot. I quickly phone Jamie. When she answers the phone I can hear Danny laughing. “Jamie, take Danny to the park. Buy her an ice cream and let her play there for a little while.”
“Why?”
I take a deep breath so I don’t lose my temper. “Please, kiddo. Take Danny to the park.”
“Okay. I’ll take her for an hour.”
“Thanks.”
When we get to the apartment, I’m careful not to jar her body as I carry her to the apartment. I take her upstairs so Danny won’t see her by accident. I’ve just placed her on the bed when there’s a knock at the door. I quickly cover her with a blanket, then run to open the door.
I’m relieved when Logan comes in with the paramedics.
“Will you stay down here for in case Jamie and Danny come back from the park? Call me so I can talk to Jamie.”
“Sure.” He gives me an encouraging smile.
I quickly race back up the stairs with the paramedics behind me. I walk around the bed and sit behind Della.
“Babe, they need to look at you. I’m right here. Let them fix you up.”
I haven’t even had a good look at her face. When the paramedic starts to work on her, my eyes are drawn to every bruise. The marks around her neck are the worst. They’re purple and on places her skin is broken.
I don’t know how much time passes before a doctor arrives. The paramedics leave the room, allowing the doctor to take over.
People start to come and go. Everyone asks questions which Della answers as if she’s on automatic pilot. I guess she is, considering everything that’s happened.
I find out from the police that it was Stew Roberts. It was revenge for what I did to him.
I should have killed him when I had the chance.