“Danny,” she whispers. “I started working here as a cleaner a few weeks ago, and he made me set up the meeting… I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry…” Her voice trails off and I feel like I’ve just walked into a really shitty nightmare.
“Where is he now?”
She doesn’t need to answer me, I already know, and I’m charging out of there like my arse is on fire. My heart pounds as I shout back, “Call the police,” and I race outside to my car, quickly getting in and roaring off to go and save Cameron from whatever twisted plan Danny has set out for her.
ChapterForty-Two
Cameron
“Stop it… No, please…” I say through my tears as he drags me back into the lounge, my back seeming to burn as my top rides up and my skin rubs against the carpet. “Danny, please don’t do this…”
“You don’t know what I’m going to do yet,” he bites back, and then lets go of me as I’m left in the middle of the lounge floor. I’m shaking as he crouches down and leans over me, brushing some hairs off of my face. “I promise you’ll enjoy it.” And then he’s straddling me, his face coming down to meet mine, his lips inches away. I scream out as I turn my head to the side, giving him my cheek. Once again, I’m wrestling to try and get him off of me. I push against his chest, I kick my legs underneath him, but he’s bloody strong, and I know that I am running out of time here.
“You know, Cameron,” he huffs out as he tries to restrain me. “I never had you down as a fighter, not like this, but I have to tell you, I fucking dig it.”
“GET OFF OF ME,” I shout in his face, my fear turning to rage that he thinks he can do this to me.
He laughs, and I shout at him again, repeating my words over and over, baring my teeth to him as I do. I don’t care what I look like, I’m fighting for my life here. He manages to get both of my wrists in one of his hands as he pins them to the floor above my head, and I try to twist and turn my body from side to side. I almost give up because I haven’t achieved anything, but when his free hand runs down my front and starts to unzip my jeans, I buck and scream like I never have before.
He can’t touch me there. He can’t. I’ll never get over it. I’ll never be able to erase the memory of him defiling me like this. “GET OFF OF ME,” I shout once more, and his laughter rings out louder as the zip reaches the bottom and my heart threatens to give out.
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?” is roared from the doorway, and my heart is in my throat as Danny is pulled off of me in seconds and thrown across the floor to show me that Caleb is stood there with his chest heaving, his hands balled into fists at his sides as he looks at his son. His fucking son who was going to… I can’t even think it as I scramble to a sitting position and move back as far as I can until I hit the door to the snug. I bring my knees up and wrap my arms around them as tears blur my vision of what is happening in front of me.
Danny charging at Caleb, Caleb throwing him to the floor again, fists flying, expletives being thrown about… and then I see another two men enter, and then two more as they restrain both men, but it takes another one to hold Caleb back as his rage fuels his strength. If the whole situation wasn’t so shocking, I’d think it was totally hot, seeing him like this, but actually, I’m feeling anything but. The next few minutes are a blur as the men are dragged out of the room, Caleb shouting my name but me being unable to move, and then a woman officer is crouching down beside me, speaking in a hushed voice. I can’t really make out what she’s saying, and then another one is bringing me a cup of tea, for the shock. Yes, that’s why you have tea, for shock. I don’t move as they bring the cup to my lips, and I reluctantly take a few sips.
Tears fall down my cheeks. My heart thunders loudly and I’m sure they can hear it. And when I can finally form words, the only ones I speak are, “Caleb. I need Caleb.”
“The older guy,” one of them confirms, and I nod my head. “He’ll be back soon, sweetie, but in the meantime, let’s get you checked out.”
“No.” I refuse to be messed about with. I know what was done to me and I don’t need a doctor to clarify. “I just need Caleb.”
* * *
It feels like hours have passed since they took Caleb out of here. I finally let the doctor look me over, but she didn’t confirm anything I didn’t already know. She asked if she could take some photographs as evidence, and I let her. It’s like I’ve been having an out of body experience since Danny attacked me. Attacked. My God.
One policewoman is still here, said she’d wait until Caleb was back, if he was being released tonight. I hope he’s released tonight. I just need him to hold me and tell me everything will be okay.
More time ticks by, and when I hear the front door open, part of me is scared that it’s Danny coming back, but that’s the irrational part of my brain working overtime—understandable really. But when Caleb walks into the room, I feel like I can finally breathe again, and when I stand up, he takes me in his arms and I hold him as tight as I possibly can, my face buried in the crook of his neck as the tears fall rapidly. I let out a sob as he gently lifts me and encourages me to wrap my legs around him. I do it without hesitation, and then I hear him mutter a “Thank you,” before the front door opens and shuts, and then he’s moving us up the stairs and to the bedroom. He lies me down on the bed as I continue to cling to him, scared of letting him go because I know that once I do, it’s all going to become real, and we’re going to have a very real problem of where we go from here.
“I’ve got you,” he says soothingly in my ear before he gently places a kiss to the side of my neck. “You’re safe, I’ve got you.”
At one time, I’d have believed those words without even the slightest hint of doubt, but now… as much as I still believe them, I know there is a massive cloud hanging over us, and I know that he’s going to struggle with what to do next. Hell, I don’t know what the hell I would do, so I can only imagine what he’s going through. I don’t even want to voice it. I can’t voice it just yet.
My body wracks with the sobs still leaving me, and Caleb places kisses over my exposed skin, gentle kisses, like he’s trying to help me forget that his son touched me, hit me, and very nearly abused me in the worst possible way.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers against my skin, and then his lips are on mine, kissing me softly, tasting my tears as I savour the feel of him.
I move my hands and start to undo his shirt, needing more of him. When his shirt is undone, I push it off of his shoulders and then take it off of him, one arm at a time, all the while our lips still connected, our tongues coming together until we’re both naked and he’s at my opening.
No words are needed as he enters me and I stretch wide for him. No words are needed as he starts to slowly move in and out of me, my hands in his hair as he makes love to me. No words are spoken as our kiss breaks apart and he looks at me, his forehead resting against mine as we silently say goodbye.
We both know that this is what that is.
There is no other way.
And as much as I vowed that nothing could break us, it’s happened, and there isn’t a damn thing we can do to fix it.
“I love you,” he says, and my heart splinters into pieces. The tears resume silently as hurt works its way through every single part of me. The despair is back, making me question what we did that was so wrong that we are being punished like this.