‘Be quiet.’
One of the men had held her from behind and the other had searched her, feeling her neck and hands for jewellery. Then he’d cut the strap of her bag and taken that.
That might have been the end of it. Kate had been praying they’d just take what they wanted and go. But they hadn’t. She’d felt someone push her backwards, and in a moment of helpless terror she had known there was no way she could avert what was going to happen next.
She’d felt herself crash down the metal-edged stairs. Lying at the bottom, against the closed gates that led into the station, she’d sobbed for Mark—but he had already gone.
* * *
The sound of the door opening brought Kate back to the here and now, her heart thumping to the beat of memories that suddenly seemed new and raw again. Whatever had made her think that moving away would allow her to leave all that behind?
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you jump.’
She wasn’t aware that she had jumped. Just that the familiar feeling of dread was back again, threatening all she’d done to chase it away. Kate couldn’t let it back in.
‘I’m okay. Really. I just have to get back to normal.’ She wasn’t even sure what normal was at that moment. Her nerves were jangling with alarm, and she was acutely aware of every sound outside the window—even the cars, passing in the road outside, which normally went unnoticed.
‘Sometimes normal doesn’t quite hack it.’ He spoke quietly and Kate realised that she must have snapped at him. She took a deep breath.
‘I’m sorry. It’s just a shock. I thought I’d be safe here...’ Kate pressed her lips together. Something about Ethan made it all too easy to talk.
‘Safe?’
‘I moved up to Yorkshire from London a couple of years ago. I reckoned it couldn’t happen...’ Kate shrugged. Of course street crime happened here. It just hadn’t happened to her, and that had given her a false sense of security.
‘S
omething like this happened to you in London? Were you hurt?’ Not only did he make her want to talk, he listened as well, reading between the lines. It was a lethal combination.
‘I... Look, I appreciate your concern, but I’m all right.’ Kate hung her head, squeezing her eyes shut. Maybe he wouldn’t see that she was crying. ‘I know what to do next and I really need to just get past this. I don’t want to talk about it any more.’
She felt the brush of something on her cheek. When she opened her eyes, Ethan was wiping a tear away with a tissue.
‘Okay.’ He gave her a smile. ‘But I should warn you that closing your eyes builds up the pressure.’
Despite everything, Kate choked with laughter. ‘That’s your considered medical opinion, is it? That if I close my eyes my head will explode?’
‘Risk averted.’ He gave her cheek another dab with the tissue and handed her a fresh one.
* * *
She was trying so hard to get on top of this. And she wasn’t giving herself any time to be hurt or frightened—just swallowing it all down, to a place where it could do the most harm. Her free spirit seemed crushed under the weight of it all.
But she clearly wanted him to back off, and she was probably right. Ethan had no qualms about tending to her injuries, but anything else... That was wandering into the realms of emotional support, and Kate would be better off looking for that elsewhere.
‘When did the police say they’d be coming?’ She’d dried her eyes and seemed more composed now.
‘About another half hour. I’ll wait with you.’ He held up his hand to quiet her protests. ‘They said they wanted to speak with me as well. I saw the guy’s face.’
She nodded, and Ethan wondered whether Kate had. If so, she seemed intent on burying that as well.
‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a look at Jeff now.’
Actually, he did mind. She’d just had a frightening experience and she should be concentrating on herself. But, if Ethan couldn’t calm her, it seemed that Jeff could. When she stroked his head she stopped shaking and a little colour returned to her cheeks.
‘When you’ve finished your tea...’
CHAPTER TWO