Cole

 

I jump awake, momentarily having no idea where I am. I look at my alarm clock. 5:00 am. Damn it. I never thought I’d sleep through the night. When I walked into my apartment, I headed right for the bedroom and kicked off my shoes, pulled of my clothes, and fell onto the covers. I had planned to sleep only a few hours, then head into the shop. Fuck.

 

Getting to the shop this early is crazy. The freaking sun isn’t even out yet. But the issues with the plow hang over my head. I need to get it done before the end of the week or Darren has threatened to take my nuts. That is one thing I wouldn’t look forward to.

 

I park in the lot and walk to the side door. Turning the key, I push the door open, stopping when I hear J’s radio playing. She must have left it on when she left yesterday. It isn’t like her, but what do I know? I am never here this early. I guess anything is possible.

 

Just as I step close to J’s bay to hit the main breaker for the lights, I hear a soft whimpering.

 

Whimpering? What the hell?

 

When I hit the lights, I see the shop is trashed. Toolboxes are overturned, parts thrown everywhere, drawers open, files scattered. I look around for some sort of weapon, just in case whoever did this is still here. I grab the tire iron on the floor by my feet and start walking slowly through the shop. I can still hear the whimpering, but with the noise of the radio, I have no idea where it’s coming from. Just as I am about to move over to Todd’s bay, I hear it again, louder this time. When I turn around, I see J tied up in the corner between the wall and the diagnostic machine.

 

I run over and drop down beside her. I turn her over slowly until she’s facing me. I see duct tape covering her mouth, and her face looks like she has had the shit knocked out of her. Her eyes are wide, scared. Fuck.

 

“J, is there anyone else here?” When she shakes her head, I sigh in relief. I need to figure out what the hell happened and get her medical care. “I need to cut the zip ties. When the blood rushes back to your arms, it’s going to hurt. Okay?” She nods, her eyes following my every move.

 

I stand up and search for the box cutter I know she keeps in her toolbox. Seeing it on the floor, I run over and grab it. What the fuck went on here? How long has she been like this?

 

Kneeling back down behind her, I put my hand on her shoulder. “J, I am cutting the zip tie now. When you feel it release, pull your arms in front of you slowly, then I’ll take the tape off your mouth.”

 

I put the blade behind the tie and pull toward me, breaking the hold it has on her. Her wrists are bloody and raw from her trying to pull out of them. When she tries to pull her arms in front of her, they fall limply to the floor. I don’t know how long she’s been in this position, but her arms are useless. I scramble around so I am in front of her. Her eyes are wide and scared.

 

“I need to get his tape off, but it’s going to fucking hurt. I think pulling fast, like a Band-Aid, is our best option. You ready?” I look into her eyes. Seeing the pain there tightens my chest. Jesus, what the hell happened to her?

 

She nods and squeezes her eyes shut. I get my fingers under one of the edges and give a hard pull, making her groan. I know it has to hurt when the area immediately turns red. I move to her feet and cut those ties, too. When I put my hand on her hip, she jumps. Damn it. All I want to do is hold her close and make the pain go away, but I need to move slowly.

 

“J, I’m going to straighten your legs. Just like your arms, when the blood starts flowing again, it’s going to hurt like a bitch.”

 

It takes time, but I finally got her into a sitting position, leaning her back against the wall. I’m worried she is going into shock because she hasn’t said anything since I pulled the tape off her mouth.

 

“Th…” She clears her throat. “Thank you, Cole.”

 

“Let me get you a drink. Are you going to be okay if I go into the office?” She just nods.

 

When I step into Nancy’s office, I see it’s also trashed, her desk lying on its side, her files thrown around the room. Someone was looking for something specific, but what? What in the hell happened? Who in the fucking hell ties up a woman in the middle of the night and leaves her on the floor? She is lucky they didn’t take her or rape her. Holy shit. Did they? I swing around to see J sitting right where I left her, trying to move her arms and legs. I swear, if someone raped her, they are dead. When I hear J’s soft cough, I rush into the kitchen to get her a bottle of water.

 

Running back into her bay, I sit down next to her, holding the bottle out. She’s still trying to get the feeling back in her hands. “Here. I’ll help. Just take small sips.” When I lift the bottle to her lips, she only takes a few sips. “Enough?” I ask. She nods. I put the bottle down, then pull my phone out of my pocket.

 

“What are you doing?” she whispers.

 

“Calling the cops, then your father.”

 

She looks at me and slowly puts her hand on my phone. “You can’t. Cole, promise me no police. My father can’t know about this. Please.”

 

“Are you fucking serious? Why, J? You need to go to the hospital. I don’t know who you are covering for, but you do realize they fucked you over pretty good, right?”

 

“Cole, please. He can’t know.”

 

“Then you need to start talking to me right now. Who did this?”

 

“I need more water and to use the bathroom first, then we’ll talk.”

 

“How are you going to keep this from Darren, J? It’s five thirty. He’ll be here in a little over an hour.”

 

“Fuck…”
 

“Yeah.”

 

“I have to get out of here. There is no way to hide the break-in from him, but he can’t know what happened to me. I can’t bring him into it.”

 

“But, J—”

 

“Cole, please. Are you going to help me or not?”

 

“Damn it.” I stand up and put my hands under her armpits. I slowly pull her into a standing position, hearing her painful gasps. “Just rest here for a minute.”

 

“Jesus, that fucking hurts,” she moans.

 

“Just go slowly. I’ll help you.”

 

We walk to the bathroom. I help her in, then wait in the hallway. Leaning on the wall, I watch as J opens the door a few minutes later and slowly walks out. I know she doesn’t want Darren to know, but this just feels so wrong.

 

“J, if you don’t want Darren finding out, we need to go.”

 

“I can get myself back to the house. You stay here.”

 

“You do know that’s not going to fucking happen, right? Let’s go. Darren had no idea I was coming in early today. He thought I was going to be here last night. I will lock everything back up and come in at my normal time…after you and I have a chat.”

 

I walk her to the door. “Stay here.”

 

I run back to her bay and pick up the zip ties and tape, shoving them into my pocket. I look around to make sure there is no sign she was tied up here all night. I turn off the radio and hit the breaker for the main lights on my way back over to J. As gently as I can, I lead her out to my truck, seeing her Jeep sitting there.

 

Shit. How the hell did I miss that on my way in?

 

“Is there any way you can drive? We can’t leave your Jeep here.”

 

“I don’t know if I can use a stick right now. My arms feel like rubber and my wrists are killing me.”

 

“You can drive my truck. I’ll follow you in your Jeep. Luckily, my house isn’t that far.”

 

She whips her head around. “Your house? My apartment is fine. I obviously can’t show up here today with my face looking like this. So when I call Pop and tell him I’m not coming in—”

 

“J, you do need to think of something to tell him, but you are staying with me, or Jules, or someone. I am not leaving you alone. This isn’t up for discussion. Now, get in the fucking truck.”