Surviving Broken(94)

Shaking uncontrollably, she nodded swiftly. He swayed slightly, caressing and petting her with long comforting sweeps down her bare arms. The waiter disappeared and returned to clean up the mess. Her desire for food fled out the door right behind Luca.

“Reed, can we just go? I appreciate all the effort you went through to make tonight special, but I’ve lost my appetite.”

The waiter briefly exchanged glances with Reed while changing the bloodstained tablecloth.

“Sure,” he murmured, flipping the waiter a hefty tip. He shoved the money in his apron, acting as if he’d been ignoring their conversation.

Leaving the restaurant, they realized they’d driven two separate vehicles. Reed sat with her for thirty minutes, allowing time for both of them to calm down before he followed her home.

JC changed into her baby blue bathrobe and curled up on the couch with a steaming cup of tea. Curiosity and tension weighed heavily, she wondered how Luca found her at the restaurant. Was it a chance meeting or did he follow her? Had he been watching her? Reed reassured her, promising Luca wouldn’t be stupid enough to approach her again. His vanity wouldn’t allow it. If there was one thing Luca was fond of, it was his face, and Reed would rearrange his features with one swing.

Reed was angry and agitated. He paced restlessly through the house, checking the locks on the doors and windows. Neither of them slept that night. At four in the morning, JC climbed out of bed to make breakfast. They hadn’t eaten dinner and now that the adrenaline wore off, both were famished.

She stared numbly into the refrigerator at the empty shelves in her panties and tank top. Yawning, she pulled out a half empty carton of eggs, cheese, and an avocado, but cursed aloud reaching for the ketchup. “Shit.”

He rested his chin on top of her head, taking the empty ketchup bottle from her hand. “I’ll just have toast.”

Stress and no sleep caught up to her. “No,” she grumbled. “I’ll run next door and grab some.”

“I’ll tell you what. You make breakfast and I’ll go next door and grab the ketchup.” He kissed the top of her head and swatted her butt. “Then we’re going back to bed. You’re kind of grumpy.”

The eggs sat warming in the skillet. Reed had been gone for twenty minutes when JC slipped her jeans on and walked down the long driveway. By the time she reached the road, her mind raced as fast as her feet. Panic took over, allowing her mind to blow the situation out of control, fearing everything from he slipped and hit his head on the kitchen floor to a mountain lion attack on the back patio. She avoided the gate, opting to hop the wall instead.

Dawn was breaking, but the sun hadn’t yet risen. She approached the open sliding glass door on the back balcony and maneuvered silently through the house, heading for the kitchen. JC expected to see Reed standing at the counter, squashing her foolish suspicions, but the kitchen was empty, filling her with dread.

Paranoia mounted as JC crept down the hall, hugging tight to the wall lurking into each room. Peering into her bedroom, she saw Reed slumped over the end of her bed in the darkness.

“Reed!” She darted into the room. A hard object came across her chest with bruising force from behind, imprisoning her against the intruder. A familiar citrusy cologne burned her flaring nostrils.

“He’s not going to save you, JC.” The long narrow piece of wood bore painfully into her chest and upper arms. Every nerve ending in her body sparked with desperation as she focused on Reed lying face down. She struggled madly, grasping at the bat, her father’s bat, but she couldn’t move, pinned up against the length of Luca’s body. “You are my woman!”

“What are you—”

He spun, slamming her to the wall, knocking the breath from her lungs. Each hand gripped onto both ends of the bat. Luca wedged his knee between her legs, crushing her with his entire body. “How could you love him? I am your family!” His eyes blackened with jealous need as he attempted to crush his lips to hers. “Ti amo!”

JC shook her head violently back and forth. “No, Luca!”

She didn’t care if he killed her. She’d never submit to him. She bucked and kneed at his groin in a fierce struggle. The sweat on her hands made it nearly impossible to keep hold of the bat, so she let go, striking aimlessly at his face. A right hook connected and Luca groaned with hatred, throwing the bat to the floor.

Grabbing a fistful of her hair, he nearly yanked it from the roots. Spit flew from Luca’s mouth as he screamed in her face. “I meant nothing to you! Niente!”

He grasped her throat, squeezing with his hands.

“Stop, Luca!” she cried through gulps of air. Every pain-filled memory came flooding back. He held her to the wall, grinding into her hips. Tears slicked her eyes, blurring her view. The surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins weakened as her back slumped against the wall.