Chapter 44

Chloe's Point of View

I wasn't good at making decisions in the heat of the moment. I always had to think decisions through. I wasn't a girl that just 'jumped.' No. I thought everything through. Well, I did until it came to Chase. In that case, I didn't think anything through although I wouldn't change a thing that happened because I loved him, and I missed him like hell.

"Come on Chloe, you have to leave."

Jenkins was standing in front of me in the rain, trying to get me to leave with him.

"I can't."

"Chloe, you aren't safe here."

I knew that. I knew this day would come where it would get out of control and I'd have to make a decision. I guess this was it.

I took a step down the porch steps and, just as I did, the lights from the car parked across the road went on high beam.

I put my hand up and looked the other way. Just like that, my stomach dropped.

"You have to go, Jenkins."

"Hell no. Not without you." He was more determined than ever to get me to leave with him but my gut was telling me to stay put. I don't know why. I knew I was in a dangerous situation but still, I couldn't leave.

"You don't understand, he is back! Go!" I pushed Jenkins away and high-tailed it back into the house, closing the front door just as Joe’s car parked in the driveway.

How would his temper be? Would he be up for round two? I can't believe he took mom to the hospital. He had never taken me. I wondered what he told the staff. I rolled my eyes. It would be anything but the truth.

I heard the back door open. My heart rate went up and my palms got sweaty. All of a sudden, I was imagining all the ways I could fight back. I was positioning myself, ready to take a hit but, this time, I was ready to punch back.

"Chloe."

"Joe."

He walked into the living room where I was prepared for the worst. Did I dare say how was mom?

"You are up late." Joe tilted his head, slightly studying me. "Were you waiting for me?"

What? Where would that come from? Why the hell would I be waiting for him? Sure, I was up waiting for a beating. Was he insane?

He took a step closer to me, and then something clicked in my head. I was in danger and panic ripped through me. I knew that look. I had seen it in men's eyes before, but this time I was alone. I wasn't in public. I wasn't with Chase. It was me and him.

"I always knew there was a reason you stayed."

Reason I stayed? My eyes slowly widened as he advanced towards me. This was a dangerous situation. A beating I could take, but rape? No. Tears swelled in my eyes as I looked into Joe's drunken ones.

"I'll scream," I threatened.

"No one to hear you sweetheart."

Disgust rolled through my veins, while my mind quickly came up with another way to get out of this.

"I'll fight back."

I wouldn't just take it. I would punch. I would scream. I would kick and hell, if needed, I'd bite too.

"We both know you are no fighter." Joe was within reach now, so I was only half taken by surprise when he reached for me.

"NO." I pulled my arm from his grasp, but walked backwards into the couch, which made me stuck between him and it.

"We don't need to make this more difficult than it should be."

Neighbors. I would have to rely on the neighbors. I pushed him with all the force I could muster, which gave me enough time to bolt over the couch to the front bay window, ripping the curtains back and opening the window. I didn't have enough time to make it to the front door, otherwise I would have. "HEEELLLP!!" My attempt at getting help was quickly over when Joe's hand wrapped around my mouth, dragging me backwards away from the window and suffocating me with his hand at the same time. I breathed heavily through my nose and kicked his knees as he lifted me from the ground.

He would have to have me cold dead knocked out before I let him rape me.

My fingers ran over the piano keys as he dragged me back into the lounge room. His hand slipped from my mouth.

"LET ME GO!" I elbowed him to the stomach. "SOMEONE HELP ME!" I continued to scream as he dropped me on the floor, my head hitting the coffee table, and, if it wasn't for the state of terror I was in, I was sure that alone would have knocked me out.

But it didn't.

I quickly attempted to scramble to my feet but, just as I was getting up, he grabbed my ankles, causing me to fall back down, this time hitting my side on the coffee table.

But right now I didn't care about the bruises I would have. I only cared about one thing, and that was trying to find a way to get away from him.

I only had myself to rely on.

Think smart, Chloe.

I was still screaming as he flipped me over, one hand holding both my ankles while the other undid his belt.

Sick.

I felt physically sick.

Oh my God, what was I going to do.

I couldn't do this. I couldn't be in this situation. A smart woman would have left with Jenkins. God! Why did I let him leave! I was in the middle of having a panic attack when I noticed Joe pulling down his pants.

This was the moment where the hero would run and save me if this was a movie, but I had no hero, and this was far from a movie.

Wouldn't something kick in now? My body's way of defending itself? Or something? I was waiting. I was waiting for someone else or something else to deal with this situation but no one was coming, and my body wasn't about to lash out a new superpower so I did the only thing I could.

Fight.

My hand landed on the coffee table, and I reached for the vase of flowers. With all my abdominal muscles and upper body strength, I crunched up and threw the vase at his head.

As I hoped, he dropped my feet. While he dealt with water, roses and broken glass in his face, I scrambled up.

As soon as my feet hit the floor, I bolted. Couldn't make it to the front door and there was no point going upstairs as I'd get trapped. Back door. That was my only chance.

I ran so fast I could hear my heart beating in my ears and my veins ran ice as I entered the kitchen.

Joe was only three steps behind me.

One scan of the kitchen and my eyes landed on the knife block.

I was pulling the butcher knife out just when he went to reach for my arm.

"Stay back or I swear I'll cut your dick off." I waved it around, looking and sounding like a frantic crazy person. "I mean it Joe, one step at me and I lunge."

He was slightly out of breath as he looked at me and the knife. Would he take my threat seriously? I meant it, but would he think that? I watched him as seconds ticked by and then the corner of his lip twisted up into a sick smirk.

"Go for it, sweetheart."

He lunged at me, going for the knife. My grip on the knife broke as he twisted it in my hand and slicing it down my arm as he ripped it from me. My crimson blood oozed out in a rush and splashed down onto the polished white tiles.

I screamed, this time from pain.

But, before he could make another move, my right hand searched behind me, pulling another knife from the block, and I lunged it forward into his stomach. Once, then twice.

The knife he was holding dropped from his hand as his hands went to his two stab wounds. Oh my God, what have I done, but I didn't have time to worry about him as I became light headed.

I dropped the knife and my hand went to my arm, but the slice was deep and mean and my blood was gushing out in a rush to escape my body.

Joe collapsed as I slid down the side of the kitchen island. I needed to stop the bleeding. I needed…I need…fuck it. I needed help.

I couldn't apply pressure to the whole wound as it went from the inner part of my elbow to my wrist. I held it in one place, only to have it bleed out another.

My head became heavy. I wanted to laugh. Was this was how I was supposed to die? Bloody, and by the hand of a bastard. I looked over at Joe, who was shaking. No one was here to call for help. No mom to call the ambulance and no hero to save my life.

My eyelids got heavy and I knew at any moment I would pass out and die.

If this was how it ended, I really agreed with Ned Kelly's last words.

Oliver's Point of View

"Give me the bloody phone Marc, you are useless." I snatched the phone from Marc's ear and spoke to Chase. "Look, Jenkins has left. Nothing is going on. Crisis avoided."

"Did she look okay?" Chase's voice was high with concern again, like it always was when we spoke about Chloe. "Did she look hurt?"

"No. Look, she is fine and Jenkins is gone. So…"

Marc's hand covered my mouth.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I gripped his hand off my mouth and yelled at him while he wound down the window.

"You hear that?" Marc muttered

I gritted my teeth. "If you mean Chase's heavy breathing, then yes." I was not in the mood for this shit. I had done night shift for six days straight. Now Marc was getting paranoid. Why couldn't my brothers keep their shit together?

"Look, she's at the window." Marc whacked my arm.

I looked at their bay window, and sure enough Chloe was in front of it. It looked like she was saying something.

"She wants help." Marc opened the car door.

"Who wants help?" Chase was listening.

"No one. Chloe opened the curtains and Marc is taking it as a sign that she is in trouble."

"She yelled help!"

"She did not." I threw at him. "As if you would hear it from all the way over here."

"She bloody well did!" Marc swore under his breath and then whacked my arm again. "Look, he is dragging her backwards!"

"I didn't see it."

"I bloody well did."

"Who is seeing what?" Chase yelled in my ear, making me pull it away from my ear.

"Nothing, Chase."

"We are going in," Marc cracked open his door.

I reached out and grabbed his arm, making him pull the door shut. "No, we ain't."

"She's in trouble." Marc was determined that Chloe was in trouble. "Tell Chase we are going in."

We had seen Chloe being beaten before, and we hadn't interfered but, for some reason, Marc was positive this situation was different.

"Chase, what do you want us to do? Marc thinks Chloe is in trouble and I…"

I stopped speaking when I heard it. A faint scream.

"You heard that, didn't you." Marc gave me a pointed look. "Tell Chase we are heading in."

"Chase, what do you want us to do? Someone is screaming, and we don't know if it is Chloe," I spoke into the phone.

Chase was silent for a few seconds.

"Why does Marc think she is in trouble?" Chase finally spoke.

"Marc, why do you think Chloe is in trouble? And explain to Chase and me why we should waste months of work just because YOU think she is trouble?" I turned and looked at him. I think the night shift had finally got to him. He was now making things out of nothing and hearing things. Sure, I heard a faint scream, but that could be from anyone.

"Fuck the two of you. I'm going in." Marc opened the car door and slammed it shut before I could undo my seatbelt.

"Looks like he is going rogue," I muttered into the phone. "All this work, and he is going to ruin it because he is following his gut," I added, getting out of the car and running across the street to catch up to Marc.

"Maybe he is right." Chase said just as I reached him.

"Or maybe he has lost his brains," I snapped, watching Marc go for the front door. I pulled the phone away from my ear "At least look in the window and check to see if something is out of place, Marc!"

He grumbled, but we both walked to the bay window. Rose petals surrounded it; one glance in seeing the broken glass on the floor, the stray roses everywhere. Something turned in my stomach.

“Okay, maybe Marc was right."

"Why? What happened?" Chase basically screamed in my ear.

"We are going in." I pulled my gun from my jeans’ waist and followed Marc's lead.

Holding the phone between my shoulder and ear, I nodded my head as Marc twisted the door handle. The door swung open.

If you couldn't have Chase coming to your rescue, I would pick Marc as second best. Hell, all the family naturally turned to him when Chase was busy.

"You better bloody not hang up on me, Oliver."

"So you expect me to rescue your girl, keep you on the phone, and shoot straight. Geez, no pressure," I muttered back to him.

It was silent when we stepped into the foyer. No screaming, no yelling and no cries of panic.

We both had our guns raised as we walked through the lounge, stepping over broken glass, with Marc's boots crushing some roses.

"Have you found her?" Chase was in my ear.

"No."

If Chloe was asleep upstairs, I swear I will kill Marc.

Then we walked through a doorway, and every thought I did have before was gone as I saw the scene in front of me.