Chapter 9: Jocelyn
It was Wednesday, and I was eager for the workday to be over. I wanted to pack some of my personal things tonight. While Bull had said the guys would do it, I didn’t want them packing my underwear or my adult toy collection. How embarrassing would that be? Yesterday, Devyn finally agreed to move to the compound with me. She said Bull had talked to her and assured her he wanted her there and she wouldn’t be imposing. I told him later how sweet he was. He growled and made love to me until we dropped off to sleep.
I shook away those thoughts as I stopped in Lloyd’s office. “Do you have a minute?”
He smiled. “For you, always. What’s up?” I looked around but didn’t see Meg or Jonathan. I didn’t care if Meg heard me, but Jonathan still gave me the creeps, though he’d stayed more distant since the parking lot fiasco. It was all I could do to keep Bull from paying him a visit for that. I knew it would only end with Jonathan in pain. I didn’t care if he was, but I didn’t want Bull to get in trouble for it.
“I wanted to let you know I’m moving this weekend. I need to change my address in my personnel file, and I also just wanted to let you know.” He looked surprised.
“I had no idea you were thinking of moving, Jocelyn. I assume Devyn is going with you?” I nodded. “Well, good. Where are you moving to if I may ask? Anywhere I know. Hopefully not out of Hunters Creek.”
“It was a last-minute decision. In the last few days, in fact. Devyn is moving with me, and we’re moving to the Warrior’s compound. We’ll be living with Bull,” I told him. I waited to see how he responded. He got a surprised look on his face.
“Really! I had no idea. I knew he seemed interested in you the day he brought lunch, but I haven’t seen him since then. I’ve known him for a lot of years. He’s a good man. Never thought I’d see the day he settled down. Congratulations. You’re a catch. He was a smart man to nail you down.” I laughed and thanked him.
“Thank you, but I’m the lucky one. He’s moving us this weekend, on Saturday. My daughter is dating one of the other Warriors, Ace. I admit it was a little scary saying yes, but we love each other and want to be together.” We spent another few minutes chatting. When I left his office, Meg caught me.
She looked excited. “I’m sorry, Jocelyn, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I heard you tell Lloyd you’re moving in with Bull at the Warrior’s compound. I have to say that’s wonderful. How you can stand to be around all those sexy men, I don’t know. And Bull is a silver fox! I had no idea the two of you were dating.” I smiled. She was a sweetheart.
“Yeah, we have been for a little while. Thanks Meg. What’s been happening with you?” She told me about her and her husband’s latest weekend adventure. They were always outdoors doing something. Sometimes it was kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, or camping. By the time we stopped chatting, it was time to go home. I cleaned up my desk and gathered my purse and coat. I’ll be honest, I was so lost in thinking about what I had to do when I got home, I wasn’t paying attention to whether Jonathan had already left the office or not.
When I got to the parking lot, I realized he’d left ahead of me. He was leaning up against my car with a scowl on his face. What in the hell was his problem now? I kept walking toward him. I made sure I had a hand on the pepper spray in my coat pocket. I had carried it there ever since his last confrontation with me. I stopped about five feet away from him and raised my eyebrows.
“What are you doing leaning on my car, Jonathan? Please move. I need to get home.” He sneered at me.
“Yeah, I heard. You’re moving in with that fucking biker! Really, Jocelyn, do you have no self-respect? They’re nothing but a bunch of criminals and womanizers. If you think he’ll be faithful, you’re crazy. You want to be a lawyer. I don’t think consorting with scum will help you achieve that.” His remarks sent a bolt of anger through me. I knew I shouldn’t respond to his remarks, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“You know what, Jonathan? I couldn’t care less what you think. You’re a creep who can’t take no for an answer. Bull and his guys are ten times the man you are. I’d rather be associated with them than you any day. Now get the hell away from my car.” He looked stunned, then pissed. He stepped away. I watched him until I was in the car and had my doors locked. What a fucking moron. I zipped out of the lot with him staring daggers at me the whole time. I breathed a sigh of relief. I wouldn’t tell Bull about this latest run-in. If I did, there was no way I could keep him from beating the hell out of Jonathan.
After I got home, Devyn and I spent much of the evening packing then fell into bed exhausted. The next day, I went to work dreading seeing Jonathan. However, I got lucky. Lloyd said he’d called in sick. Good. I hoped he’d stay out for a few days. That evening we packed more. Bull came over for dinner and then stayed to help, though he spent more time kissing me than helping. I had to threaten him to get him to stop. He spent the night with me. I didn’t get much sleep, but I didn’t care.
On Friday, I couldn’t wait for the weekend to start. Bull and the guys would be at the house at nine tomorrow morning. They were out of town today on business, and he’d said he wouldn’t be back until late, so he wouldn’t come over tonight. I’d miss him, but I understood. It was funny how quickly I’d gotten used to him in bed, and I couldn’t sleep well without him. The day was another pleasant one at the office. I was busy and Jonathan had called off again. When five o’clock came, I shut down my computer, said a hasty goodbye and raced home. Tonight, Devyn would be out late. Ace hadn’t gone with Bull and the others, and they were going out to a club. I kissed her goodbye when he came to pick her up. He told me he’d take excellent care of her, then they took off on his bike.
By ten o’clock, I’d finished packing any stragglers I had. The rest we could get tomorrow when the guys came. I showered and then went to bed to read. It wasn’t long before I felt myself getting sleepy.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d been asleep, but I came out of a dead sleep sometime later. Something was wrong. The house just didn’t feel right to me. I crept out of bed and grabbed the baseball bat I kept near my bed. My shotgun was in the living room, already packed up. Damn, I shouldn’t have packed it, too late to do anything about it now! I eased open my bedroom door and crept down the hall toward the living room. I was halfway there when I heard what sounded like glass breaking. I clutched the bat tighter.
I didn’t think it was Devyn, but maybe it was. I tiptoed to the doorway and peeked into the living room. It was dark, but enough of the moonlight was shining through the blinds that I could see a dark shape—a shape that was too tall and too wide to be Devyn. Besides, she would have turned on a light by now. I didn’t hesitate, I swung the bat, connecting with a body. A curse rang out. It was a man’s voice. I turned and ran back down the hall to my room. Slamming the door shut, I locked it and ran to my nightstand to grab my cell phone. I knew Bull might still be out, but I automatically called his number.
My heart raced. A loud thump hit my door. There was more cursing and then pounding on the door. Bull picked up on the third ring. His voice was drowsy. “What’s up, darlin’? You miss me that much.”
I sobbed. “Nick, someone’s in the house. It’s a man.” I heard him swear, then I heard rustling.
“Baby, stay calm. Where are you? Are you safe? Do you have your gun?”
“I’m locked in my bedroom, but he’s beating on the door. I packed the damn gun. Oh God, Nick, I’m scared.” Just then everything got quiet on the other side of my door. I held my breath. In the meantime, I could hear what sounded like Bull running. I was just about to tell him the intruder had left when there was a loud cracking sound from my door. An axe protruded partially through the door. I screamed. Bull yelled and cussed. I stood there frozen. The man hacked at the door five more times before breaking through. I dropped my phone as I scrambled to get into my bathroom. I wasn’t fast enough.
Next thing I knew, I was tackled to the floor. I fought back like a crazy woman. I didn’t know what he planned to do exactly, but I knew it wasn’t anything good. I scratched, bit, kicked and did everything I could to get him off me. He was way bigger and stronger than me. I could hear him panting. Then he spoke. “You’re gonna give me what I want, bitch. I’m done waiting.” The voice sounded familiar, but the mask over his face was muffling the voice. I cried out and fought even harder.
He pinned me to the floor and held my hands. I tried to throw him off me. He leaned down and bit my shoulder. My nightie was hiked up around my waist. He was using his other hand to run up and down my body. I wanted to vomit. He squeezed my left breast hard, causing me to cry out. I begged him, “Please get off me. Stop!” He laughed. I felt him stick his hand down the front of my panties. I screamed even more. He tore them away. A burst of pure adrenaline allowed me to get an arm loose. I punched at his mask-covered face and bit down on his hand. He let go for a second, and I tried to scramble away on my hands and knees. He caught me before I made it more than a foot or two. He flipped me onto my back and wrapped his hands around my throat.
I couldn’t pry them off. He was squeezing harder, and spots were forming behind my eyes. I knew I was seconds away from losing consciousness, and when that happened, there was nothing to prevent him from raping and killing me. He had wedged his legs between mine and thrust them apart. I hit every part of him I could reach, beating until my hands ached. Just as my vision was fading to full black, I heard a distant rumble of bikes. Then I was swallowed up by the darkness.
Bull:
I was racing out of the house toward my bike. As I jumped on it, I could hear Jocelyn screaming. Oh God, please let me get there in time! I raced toward the gate. Several of the guys must have still been in the clubhouse because they came running out. Tank yelled, “What’s wrong?”
“Jocelyn just called. Someone is in her house.” I held up the phone, and we all heard her scream. They swore and raced to their bikes. I didn’t wait. I tore out of the compound. The entire way there, I prayed she’d be alive. Who in the hell could have broken into her house? When I caught him, he’d wish he’d never done it. I’d kill the bastard. The guys caught up to me as I was turning down the lane to her house. We had to go slower because of the gravel. I cussed and fumed the whole way.
As we pulled into the yard, I barely took time to turn off my bike before I was running for the front door. It was locked. I kicked it. The door partially gave way. I kicked it the rest of the way in and ran into the house. I could hear Payne telling me to be careful. I knew I should be cautious, but I couldn’t. My woman was alone in this house with God knows what. A rapist? A murderer? She’d said she was in her bedroom when she called, so I headed for it. The hacked to pieces door vaguely registered as I rushed into her bedroom. I saw a huddled mass on the floor, and I ran over to it. Someone came in behind me and flipped on the light switch. The breath stilled in my body.
Jocelyn was lying still on the floor. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were bruised. I could see red marks on her neck and her nightie was hiked up to her waist. Her panties were gone. Bile rose in my throat. I heard Demon curse, then he threw the quilt from her bed over her lower half. I leaned down to see if I could hear her breathing. I went weak when I heard a faint breath. I whipped around to look at the guys. All of them were standing there looking lost and angry. “I need some of you to see if you can find the bastard. Search the rest of the house and the grounds.” As some left to do as I ordered, I looked back at her. I laid my head down on hers.
“Baby, please open your eyes. Jocelyn, please. I need to know you’re okay.” She didn’t stir, and my gut clenched. I was thinking about picking her up when I heard the roar of a motorcycle. Bear swore and ran out of the room. I picked her up and held her. I rocked her, and tried to get her to wake up. I was torn about whether to call 911 or just take her to the club. I had a doc who came out anytime we needed him. I could hear Devyn yelling and asking where her mother was. I heard a commotion and then she was blasting through the door of Jocelyn’s bedroom. Ace was hot on her heels. She cried out when she saw her mom and she dropped to her knees, looking at me in fear.
“What happened?” she sobbed. Ace had his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Someone broke into the house. She called me. When we got here, we found her on the floor. No one was here. The guys are checking to be sure.”
“Did he…” she stopped. I knew she wanted to ask if he’d raped her but couldn’t. I wanted to know the same thing. If he had, how would she ever recover from it? I shrugged.
“I don’t know, Devyn. I don’t fucking know. But we need to get her out of here. I’m gonna take her to the clubhouse. Can you give Ace her car keys so he can pull her car around to the front?” I wanted to give her something to do. She was tearing out my heart with the look o n her face and the tears running down her cheeks. She nodded and Ace helped her up off the floor. She left crying even harder. As I wrapped the quilt more firmly around Jocelyn, I told Tank, “Call the doc. Tell him to meet us at my house. Tell him it’s an emergency.” I was running on autopilot now. I just kept thinking I had to get her out of here, then she’d be safe and okay.
Ace drove us while I sat in the back with Jocelyn on my lap and Devyn sat in the front crying. In less time than I’d thought it would take, we were back to the compound and pulled up outside my house. A few of the guys had stayed behind to take care of her house and stand guard. The rest were right behind us. I hurried to carry her inside and up to our room. I laid her gently down on the bed. She hadn’t moved or made a sound. I was getting more worried. What if she had some kind of brain injury? Why wasn’t she waking up? I paced the bedroom as Devyn sat beside her and held her hand.
I’m not sure how much later it was when doc came striding into the room with Demon following him. He had his medical bag. He sat it down and came over to Jocelyn. I had the others leave the room, including Devyn, though she didn’t want to leave. If the doctor found something wrong or if the attacker had raped her, I didn’t want Devyn to find out that way.
“What happened, Bull? All Tank told me was that your woman needed medical attention immediately.” I quickly ran through what had happened while he listened to her heart, lungs, and checked her pulse and pupils. “How long has she been unconscious?” he asked.
“I don’t know. At least thirty minutes, maybe.” He frowned and looked at her neck. “It looks like he choked her. That’s probably why she lost consciousness. I need to examine the rest of her.” He looked to me for permission. I nodded. He pulled down the quilt. Seeing she was in her nightie, he pulled out scissors and looked at me. “I’m going to have to take off her nightgown. I don’t want to risk hurting her more by pulling it off.”
I knew he wanted to be sure I didn’t go apeshit crazy on him. Again, I nodded. He quickly cut it away. I moaned. She had bruises on her breasts, a bite mark on one shoulder, and bruises on her stomach and thighs. Her hands were bruised and bloody. He quickly examined her. Then he sighed. “Bull, I need to check to see if she was raped. Do you want to stand outside while I do it?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ll stay. I know you have to do it. I’d rather be here, especially if she should wake up. She doesn’t know you, Bill.” He nodded and then gently opened her legs. I swallowed down the bile at the back of my throat. He quickly examined her, then covered her back up.
“It doesn’t appear that she was raped. I see no evidence of vaginal tearing or bruising that you would see when a woman is raped. However, the only way we’ll know for sure is when she wakes up. I don’t know if she has a head injury or not. She should be awake by now, but with a trauma like this, her mind may be shut down to protect her. Since all her vitals are good and her pupils are equal and reactive to light, I suggest we give her a few more minutes to see if she wakes up. We can decide what to do then, but no more than thirty minutes. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” I thanked him and opened the door. Everyone was waiting in the hallway. I got Bear to take the doctor downstairs. I pulled Devyn in the room and hugged her.
“He doesn’t think she was raped, but he’s worried about her not waking up yet. We will wait and if she’s not awake in thirty minutes, we’re taking her to the hospital.” She sobbed. I yelled for Ace. He came in and sank down with Devyn on his lap in the chair next to the bed. I sat on the bed with Jocelyn. The house was deathly quiet. We’d been sitting there holding our silent vigil for about ten minutes when she moved and moaned. I leaned down.
“Jocelyn, baby, it’s Nick. Open your eyes, Duchess.” Her eyelids fluttered and then I was looking into her beautiful green eyes. She looked confused for a moment, then I saw when she remembered. Her eyes went wide, and she struggled to sit up. I held her down gently.
“Babe, you’re okay. You’re safe. You’re at my house. Devyn is right here. Do you remember what happened?” She nodded, then she tried to talk. Her voice was raspy.
“Someone broke into the house. I locked myself in the bedroom and called you. He broke in the bedroom door with an axe. We were fighting and then he was choking me. I thought I heard motorcycles right before I passed out. Did you catch him?” I could see the hope in her eyes. I shook my head.
“No, he was gone by the time we got there. I found you on the floor unconscious.” Before she could say more, the doc was back. He asked her several questions. The last one being if she had been raped. She shook her head.
“I don’t think so. Unless it happened after I passed out, but I don’t feel like anything, you know, happened down there. I’m not sore. I think Bull and the guys scared him off before he could do it.” She looked sick saying this in front of me, Ace, and Devyn. From her answers to his questions, Bill said he didn’t think she had a head injury. She told him she never hit it during the fight. She told Devyn to go downstairs and get something to drink when she saw how upset she still was. When she left with Ace, Bill finished up.
“I’d like to prescribe you a pain reliever. Do you have any allergies?” She told him no. “Good. Is there any chance you might be pregnant?” She went to say no, then stopped.
“I don’t think so. I mean we’re having sex, but I’m on birth control.”
Bill frowned. “Well, nothing is foolproof, so, I’d rather not give you anything other than Tylenol or Motrin until we know. Let me take a blood sample for the lab. I’ll put a rush on it. That way hopefully you can get the all-clear to take something stronger.” He instructed her on how often to take the pain relievers, what to report to him, and then bid us goodnight. I walked him out. When I got back, Devyn was talking to her mom. I let them chat so I could talk to the guys.
They were downstairs pacing. When I came back down, they all looked at me. “How is she doing, Pres?” Rebel asked first.
“She’s sore, traumatized, but it doesn’t look like anything permanent. He didn’t rape her.” I heard them all give a sigh of relief. “But she’s got bruises all over, scratches and even bite marks. He choked her out and ran when he heard us coming. Any sign of him?”
Demon answered, “No, other than tire tracks out in the woods. He parked down the road from the house, out in the trees. We probably passed the fucker when we were headed to the house. We’ll find the bastard, if it’s the last thing we do. Good thing she and Devyn were planning to move in here, anyway. Do you need me to go get her anything? A prescription?”
“No, not right now. Doc doesn’t want to prescribe her anything stronger than Tylenol or Motrin until he’s sure she isn’t pregnant.” I said without thinking. They froze.
“Damn, do you think she might be? I honestly hadn’t thought of it, but she is still young enough to have kids. You’re still able to father them. Fuck, what if she is, Bull? Do you want to start over, raising kids again?” Tank asked. I opened my mouth and then stopped.
I hadn’t thought about us having kids together after the one comment the first night we were together. I mean, I was fifty-two and had grandkids. But as I thought about it, I found I wasn’t opposed to it. If it were with Jocelyn, I would do it again. “Honestly, I hadn’t thought of it. But thinking about it now, if she ends up pregnant, I wouldn’t mind having a kid or two with her.”
They looked at me in astonishment. I heard one of them mutter, “Damn, he’s really in love with her.” They hung around a few more minutes, then headed out. All of them told me to call if we needed anything.
Back upstairs, I convinced Devyn to go with Ace and get some sleep. I promised I’d call her if her mom needed anything. She reluctantly left after kissing her mom. When they were gone, I crawled on the bed with her and pulled her into my arms. “Do you want to take a shower, baby? It might make you feel better.” She nodded. I helped her into the bathroom and into the hot shower. I gently washed her from head to toe. Once she was clean, I dried her and tucked her back in bed. She curled up in my arms.
“I’ve never been that scared before in my life, Jocelyn. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.” I kissed her. I held her as she broke down in tears and cried for the next hour. She finally stopped and drifted off into a restless sleep. I laid there all night holding her and thinking about what I would do to the bastard who had dared to touch her. He’d suffer before he died.