Chapter 22
Jaxon
I kick the basement door in and see darkness, it takes all of two seconds for my eyes to adjust and find my girl. My blood boils from the sight I see before me. Her naked, limp body is tied down to a bed and she is covered in blood from the waist down.
She whimpers when she sees me at the top of the stairs and it quickly turns into full-blown sobbing. I rush towards her but am afraid to touch. My heart shatters at the sight but I know she is hurting so much more. I drop to my knees beside her. “Are you ok?” I whisper, trying to soothe her at the same time. My eyes rake over her body to take in her injuries. Red weeping blood catches my eye first and I quickly realise she has been cut. Her tattoo is sliced deeply in the shape of an ‘X’. I follow the blood down and notice it has been smeared between her legs. The need to run back up those stairs and kill the fucker who dared put his hands on my woman races through me, but she needs me here.
I force my eyes to continue their inspection. Her right breast is red raw, her face appears to be hit and there is a massive lump to her temple. My teeth grind together in fury. How dare he?
I gently run my hand over her hair as I furiously look around the room for something to free her binds. “He touched you?” I ask even though I already know the answer.
Her eyes squeeze closed and big fat tears escape between those beautiful lids. Please, Jax,” she whimpers, “Just get me out of here.” Shit. Of course. I latch onto the binds but can’t get them undone and pulling only tightens them. It’s then I notice her bloodied fingers and cracked nails and realise she was trying to get herself free.
“He has a knife in his pocket,” she tells me with absolutely no emotion in her tired voice.
I press my lips together, hating the idea of leaving her right now but I have to. I dash up the stairs and find the guy I had left knocked out cold on the hallway floor. I quickly search through his pocket and find the knife. I give him a swift kick to the ribs before I flick the knife open and see the blood still staining the blade.
I fly down the stairs two at a time, desperate to get back to Cass. I do my best to put her injuries out of my mind so I can focus on getting her out of her binds and to the hospital. I slip the blade as gently as ever under the fabric and free her wrists before moving to her ankles. All four binds leave deep bruising on her skin and I can’t help but wonder if it is this bad because Cass had been fighting against them.
She tries to sit up but cringes in pain and I gently push her back down. “Don’t move,” I tell her. “Let me find your clothes and then I’ll help you.”
She nods her head slowly and I get to work searching the darkened room for her clothes. I find them in a pile near the bottom of the stairs, completely torn up and decide they aren’t worth saving. I grab a slip of fabric and hand it to her with instruction to hold it against her wounds to try and stop the bleeding but all that does is make her hiss in pain.
I slip my jersey over my head and help her to sit up before pulling it back down over hers. The jersey comes down over her body and bunches at her waist so it will at least come down past her thighs when she stands and hopefully that will make her feel a little more comfortable. “Come on, babe. Let’s go,” I tell her softly as I bend down and gently scoop my hand under her knees. She automatically wraps her arms around my neck and allows me to lift her.
The movement jostles her and she cringes in pain, most likely from the cut through her tattoo. I make my way up the stairs being careful with my movements and turn my back as I walk past the fucker who did this so she doesn’t have to see him.
As I walk through the house, the front door is flung open and Cassie’s brothers all pile through, looking as imposing as ever. They take in the scene before them and relief washes over their faces until they have the chance to look her over properly. I see the moment their eyes take in the bruises and the blood covering her legs. Instant rage takes over them with Logan and Carter disappearing first.
“He touch her?” Sean demands.
“Not sure how badly,” I explain.
His eyes find Cassie’s and she instantly looks away, ashamed of what happened to her. Sean’s heartbreak is obvious as he takes a breath. “Get her to the hospital.”
With a nod, he follows after his brothers but I call out after him. “I’ll give you ten minutes before I call the police. I want that fucker behind bars.”
He doesn’t acknowledge me but I know he heard me. I make my way out of the truck knowing Sean is the brains behind this operation, he will be able to reign the boys in before the cops arrive and leave without anyone the wiser.
The cops will storm the place and find enough evidence to put him away for a long time.
I gently slide her into my truck and make sure she is comfortable before heading around to my side. I flick the ignition and the truck roars to life. I take off in the direction of the hospital.
We’re a few minutes in and the silence is killing me. “Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, hesitantly.
She shakes her head ever so slightly as a few stray tears stream down her cheeks, “No,” she whispers.
“K,” I murmur. “I’m going to call the police the moment we get to the hospital,” I warn her. “They are going to ask you questions.”
She closes her eyes but nods her head. “How’d you find me?”
I give her a tight smile knowing that any other day, what I’m about to tell her would infuriate her, though I know today she would be thankful for her brother’s overprotective qualities. “Uh, your brothers sort of put a GPS tracker in your phone when you went to New York,” I explain. “I called Logan and he told me where to find you.”
She gives me a half smile as she lets out a breath. “I should have known.”
I look her over and she seems to be doing a little better, there is a little more colour in her face and a relief behind her eyes. She still has a million miles to go before she is her normal self but at least it’s a start.
“You’re really ok?” I ask.
She looks up and reaches across the console to laces her fingers through mine. “I will be,” she tells me. “Thank you,” she adds, “For coming for me.”
“Always.”
We pull up to the hospital and I double park in the emergency area. I get out and rush around to Cassie’s side before helping her out. I take her inside and briefly explain what has happened to the lady at the check-in.
Cass is taken into a room and told to wait there while they call a doctor to come and examine her. They warn Cass they are authorised to call the police and I let them know not to bother as I already have the number up on my screen.
I duck out into the hallway but stay where Cass can see me and call the cops even though I’m almost certain the nurse is doing the same thing. I let them know the address of where I found her and they send some officers out while some are sent to meet with Cass and to take our statements.
I quickly call the boys and let them know the cops are on their way and to get out of there. Cass overhears my call and yells out to me. I walk back into the room and she indicates that she wants to speak to her brothers. I hand the phone over and she wastes no time. “That creep has my phone with all my songs on it,” she says. Sean must reply as she continues. “Good, now get your asses out of there. I’m not leaving here only to have to stop by the station to bail you fuckers out.”
I hear a strained laughter coming through the receiver and I know Sean is putting it on just to reassure Cass but who really gives a fuck, whatever Cass needs right now, she is going to get. She hangs up the phone and hands it back as I take a seat beside her bed.
We sit in silence as we wait for the doctor when she sucks in a breath and looks to me. “Your game,” she says horrified.
Shit, I’d completely forgotten about that. “Don’t worry about it,” I tell her. “Coach was fine, though I should probably call him and let him know what’s going on.”
She nods her head and I get up once again. She grabs hold of my hand stopping me. “Don’t give him too many details,” she begs.
“Of course,” I say with a nod, she lets me go and I head back into the hallway, already dialing coach’s number. He rarely has his phone on during a game but I know he would have it today, waiting to hear from me.
“You far off? The boys need you,” He questions as he answers the phone. The noise of the game in the background makes it near impossible to hear.
“Sorry, Coach, I won’t be making the end,” I tell him.
“Your woman ok?”
“Will be. We’re at the hospital now, just waiting on the cops.”
“Shit,” he curses. “Is it that bad?”
“Yeah, Coach,” I sigh.
“Alright, son. Go be with your girl.” He says as the crowd go nuts and drowns him out. He hangs up quickly and I hope that was for a good reason, not a bad one. The thought is gone from my mind as soon as I see the nurse from earlier escorting two chick cops down the hallway. I’m thankful they are women as I have no idea how Cass is going to handle strange men right now.
I duck in before them and warn her they are here. They gently rap on the door as they enter. The two cops glance at me quickly before turning back to Cass. The one on the left starts. “Hi Cassandra, I’m Officer Samuels and this is Officer McNaught. We’ve come to talk to you about the ordeal you’ve been through today. Would now be a good time to ask you a few questions?”
“I guess,” Cass shrugs.
Officer McNaught takes a slight step forward. “Now, I know this can be uncomfortable and awful to talk about,” she says with her eyes flicking towards me. “Would you prefer we do this in private?”
Cassie’s hand flies out and takes hold of mine, squeezing it within an inch of its life. “No, he stays,” she demands.
“You’re sure?” Samuels asks.
“I better be,” she says. “After all, I’m going to marry him one day.”
My head whips in her direction and I catch her eyes. I raise a questioning eyebrow and she gives me the smallest nod in return.
“Alright, Cassandra,” Samuels says as she pulls out a recording device and places it on the end of the bed while the other one pulls out a notepad and pen. “Why don’t you start from the beginning.”
Cass does just that and my anger flares more and more the further she gets through re-capping the story. She gets to the part about the knife and being cut and I physically have to hold myself in my chair to stop myself going after the bastard once again.
She comes to the ending and tells them how I cut her lose with the same knife and I pipe in to let them know I still have it on me. Samuels pulls out an evidence bag and gets me to drop the knife in. Cass finishes her story and that brings on a few questions about how I got to Cass and I explain that it was self-defense, after all, the guy had a knife. I hate telling the little white lie, but I am not going down for handing this guy a beating after everything he has put Cass through.
The cops move on and start taking pictures of her injuries just as the doctor comes in. The cops finish what they are doing and allow the doctor to take over.
The cops leave but return five minutes later letting us know that the bastard is in custody. Cass sighs into the pillow and closes her eyes. “It’s over babe. You’ll never have to see him again.”
She keeps her eyes closed but her whole body relaxes. The doctor cleans the wound over Cassie’s tattoo and quickly stitches her up. Once she is finished being checked over the doctor allows her to shower and get cleaned up, letting us know Cass will be in overnight for observation before she shuffles out the door with our thanks following behind.
Her brothers come to check on her and Sean hands over her phone. They give me an update on what happened at the house before sneaking us in some dinner and finding out the score on the game I missed, and I must say, I’m proud of my boys for pulling it together without me and still managing the win, though I’ve trained them that way.
After refusing to leave her side, a nurse wheels in a bed and allows me to stay the night with her, even though we end up squished in the one bed with me holding her all night. Before we know it, the doctor is clearing her with instructions on keeping the wound clean and I’m driving her home.
I help Cass down from my truck but she insists on walking herself to the front door even though she hisses in pain with every step. I tried to get her to take some pain meds but she is far too stubborn for that.
She pushes the door open to find her home filled to the brim with her friends and family and I must admit, I’m shocked to see the whole hockey team here, even Coach Harris. I briefly wonder where the hell all their cars are but the thought is gone the second Brianna steps forward and wraps Cass in her arms.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobs. “It’s all my fault, if I’d been there it never would have happened.”
“Shhh,” Cass soothes. “It had nothing to do with you. He was a ticking time bomb and he took his opportunity, had it not been yesterday, it would have been today or the next day.”
Brianna nods as Bobby steps forward and wraps his arms around both the girls and gives a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad you’re ok,” he says to Cass, who gives him a bright smile.
One by one, everyone checks in her on until she starts to get exhausted and her brothers kick them all out, leaving just our close circle.
I take a seat on the lounge and Cass falls into my arms while Brianna does the same with Carter. Bobby scowls at them from across the room which has Cass grinning into my side.
Beers are opened and music is played until the late hours of the night. “You ready for bed?” I ask Cass as she starts yawning.
“Yeah,” she says getting up from the couch and saying goodnight to everyone.
I follow behind her and help her get dressed into her pyjamas. She climbs in bed and I slide in behind her. “I’m sorry this happened to you,” I tell her as she pulls me in closer.
“I know,” she sighs as she turns in my arms, “I will forever be thankful that you were there and I will spend every day of forever making it up to you. You saved me, Jax.”
I press my lips to hers, not sure if she is ready for this kind of connection but she moves her lips against mine. I gently pull back, not wanting to freak her out with too much too soon. I press my forehead to hers. “I love you, Cass,” I whisper into the night, “and no matter what, I will always be there to catch you.”
“I love you, too,” she replies before pressing her lips to mine once again and looping her arm around my neck to pull me in once again. “I can’t wait to watch you go pro and get everything you’ve always dreamed of.”
“That road goes both ways, babe.” I grin. “I want to see my ring on your finger with my baby in your guts,”
“Ugh,” she groans, “Do you have to put it that way?”
I smirk as I roll us over so I hover above her, being careful not to disrupt any of her injuries. “Yes,” I tell her. “Whether you like it or not, you’ll be my wife and we’re going to have a tribe of kids running around. We’ll have a beautiful home in the hills so we can be near your parents and you’ll have the stupid Great Dane you’ve always wanted.”
She grins up at me. “I want to call him Diesel and he will probably chew all your hockey gear.”
“He better not,” I warn her.
She shrugs but can’t help the giggle that slips out. “I freaking love you so much.”
“I freaking love you, too.”