"Phone companies hate these girls, read chapter 9 and find out why!"

Your reviews and thoughts on chapter 9 are such food for our hearts! We never thought while starting this story that it'll receive so much attention and love from all of you, lovely people. So SO thankful, it always makes our day to read your impressions, what you liked and what you're excited for. Sadly, we are not able to update more than once a week due to the lack of time, hopefully you understand and forgive us.

Sending tons of love your way!

IWC

P.S. Trigger warning- slight mentions of sexual assault and violence.

Alex arrived at the station in 10 minutes, now walking into the building, his deputy meeting him at the entrance.

"Tell me what happened." he commanded while walking in the hallway, his deputy following him.

"We got a report of a sexual assault this evening. When we got to the address, corner of Stanley's and St. Louis, near the mall, we found a woman there who called. The man was gone but she memorized his appearance and when we got her to the station and showed her a few photos she immediately recognized him. The woman is hundred percent sure it was James Cohen."

"Where is she now?" he asked in a stern voice, heading towards the office.

"Still here, in the interrogation room. She agreed to wait for the sheriff to give a statement." the deputy explained, handing in the file. Alex now turned without another word, walking straight where the interrogation room was.

Alex was trained to deal with these type of situations. But it was never easy to talk to someone who has been a victim of sexual assault. That must be the hardest one for him to face. But it was part of his job and it needed to be done, without complaining.

He walked in carefully into the interrogation room. The woman was sitting at the table, blankly staring at one point, not even turning her head to look at Alex, who was now standing at the opposite side. The bottom corner of her dress was torn, light blue material stained with the mixture of blood and dirt.

"I'm Sheriff Romero," he started, receiving no reaction from the woman. "here's some coffee if you want." he put the cup in front of her, taking a seat in the chair, facing her.

He waited a minute, to see if she would take the coffee or at least look at him. When she did neither of these things he had to start somewhere.

"I know it's hard, but the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can catch him and get you home safe." he said gently, not wanting to push her, but having in mind that they can't sit here the entire night.

She raised her head carefully, brushing a tangled blond curl from her face. Avoiding eye contact, she took the cup with both of her hands that were slightly shaking, slowly sipping on the warm coffee. He could tell that her eyes were puffy and red. From crying he assumed.

"So... miss..?" he asked. He knew her name, but he wanted to ease his way into a conversation with the woman.

"Young. It's Sarah Young." she whispered, not letting go of her coffee.

"Okay. Sarah, would you like to tell me what happened?" he asked, taking a sip of his own coffee.

"Not really. But I guess I don't have a choice." she muttered out bitterly.

"No one says that you have to. But it would make my job much easier. I understand that it's hard to talk about but we need all the information we can get to catch this guy who did this to you." he tried to explain in a calm voice, looking at the woman who shifted nervously in her seat.

"Okay…" she started in a weak voice, eyes glued to the cup in her trembling hands. "I… I was on my way home after I had done my shopping. Just a regular Wednesday's grocery shopping, I always do it on Wednesdays as I leave earlier from work and..." Sarah's voice trailed off, pausing for a second, quickly sipping on the coffee to calm herself down. "And today I parked my car at the very corner of the parking lot, behind the mall. I- I never park there and today I just, I don't know, I-" her voice started to break, eyes running wildly.

"It's ok. It's ok, take your time." Alex tried to calm her down, watching as she took few deep breaths trying to compose herself.

"As…" she started again, after a pause, "as I was packing the bags in my trunk, I felt a hand over my mouth. I tried to push it away as another one took a hold on my wrist making it impossible for me to move and I could feel his breath near my ear as he whispered how glad he was we finally met." The horror could be seen in her deep blue eyes, her mind bringing back the horrible events with every word that was escaping her mouth. "He dragged me to the alley nearby and pushed me to the ground, so I fell on my knees... hard." her hands went to her knees, rubbing them gently, feeling the dried blood there. "I tried to scream but the sound just wasn't escaping my lips… It was dark, so dark, and there was no one around and he just kept talking to me, whispering how I should not fear and how I probably missed him too." she quieted again before continuing, "Then… then he flipped me over in one fast move and I just remember his hands all over me and his mouth on my neck, whispering over and over again… and when he pushed me back up against the wall, taking my face in his hands, he just stopped. He looked at me, just kept staring, his eyes scanning my the face in some mixture of confusion and disbelief and I used that moment and kicked him. I kicked him with all the strength I had left, pushed him off of me and started running. He didn't chase me. He just went the opposite direction and that's when I took a moment to call the police…"

"That's very brave what you did. You're a very strong woman." Alex saidy in a encouraging tone, "My deputy told me that you recognized the man?" he asked in a serious voice, opening the file and taking out the photo, "Can you confirm again that it is him, that is the man who assaulted you near the mall?"

The woman's eyes scanned the photo, her body starting to tremble again. "Yes. Yes that's him. It's him, those eyes… I'm sure." she sobbed.

"And you've never seen that man before? You've never met him?"

She looked again, shaking her head, "No. Never."

Alex had heard everything he needed, the statement being recorded and enough to start the investigation. He didn't need more information from her, his deputy taking it from here to file all the details in the process. He stood up, carefully, still thinking about the vulnerable woman in front of him, not wanting to startle her in any way.

"My colleague is gonna take over from here for some more details, is that okay, Sarah?" he asked..

"Yes, that's fine. I really just wanna go home." she said in a low voice.

"I understand. We will be done here soon, I promise."

He was opening the door as her weak words reached him again. "It was one more thing…" voice half of a whisper, "I don't know if it's relevant but it's just his voice, echoing in my head over and over again, the way he called me…" she frowned as if trying to remember. "He... he kept calling me Norma."

Alex could feel his whole body going numb, the air becoming thick and all he could hear for a second was the heavy beat of his heart. He walked out without another word, storming into his office. Pacing around the room, feeling of sickness making his head spin, his mind going a hundred miles per hour. He needed to think, and think fast.

"Regina! Come in here." he yells. He doesn't even use the intercom, his mind too focused on other things.

"What is it Sheriff?" she puts her head inside the office, standing behind the door.

"Put three more patrols on the streets for James Cohen. I want them scanning every fucking corner of this town." he said in a stern voice.

"Roger that."

Without waiting any longer, he stormed out of the station, heading towards his SUV, strong wind making it harder to walk. He grabbed his phone in his pocket, one hand opening the car's door, other one holding the cell phone. He could feel the sweat on his palms and fingers while typing her number.

"Hey Alex, are you on your way?" she answered after the third signal, his mind already making up the worst scenarios.

"Listen Norma, I need you to listen to me." he started, starting the engine at the same time.

"What? What happened? What's going-" she dropped a series of questions, sensing the alarming tone in his voice immediately.

"Just listen to me and do as I say." he cut her off raising his tone, "Lock the front door and turn the lights off."

"But Alex..."

"Do it, Norma. Now." words a strict command.

"Okay okay, hold on." she hissed, running to the door, doing exactly as he had told her, still not understanding any of this craziness going on over the phone. She locked it, even doubled checked to see if she really did it properly, using all of the locks that were on his door. Then she went back to the kitchen, turning the lights off there, her quick breathing heard over the phone.

"Okay. It's done." she said after a minute, voice slightly trembling in the silent house.

"Good. I will be right over. Don't go anywhere, just stay inside." he said in hurried tone, now feeling guilty for scaring her so much, but he had no choice. "Everything is fine, just wait for me, I will be there in 5 minutes."

"I'm not even gonna ask now what is all of this, but please, Alex, please just be careful." she whispered gently, voice a plead.

"I will. Just stay there, Norma." he hung up, hands pressing hard into the wheel.

Norma now sat at the kitchen table in the dark, not knowing what was going on but hands slightly shaking from that fear of unknown. She looked through the window, the strong wind was still moving the branches outside but the rain had stopped. It was the sound of a house telephone that broke the silence, the sudden noise of ringing startling her. Assuming it was Alex again, maybe not being able to reach out to her on her mobile because of the storm, she rushed to the phone, picking it up.

"Hey, is everything ok?" she asked in a worried tone as soon as she answered it, frowning when she heard no response. "Alex?" holding the phone to her ear, she was now listening to the hoarse breathing from the other end.

"Hello, Norma." throaty voice finally reached her, making her breathing stop. "It's good to finally hear your sexy voice."

She stood there, the hand that was holding the phone now going numb, rapid beating of her own heart filling her ears. "Who is this?" she whispered in a shaky voice, even though she already knew who it was. She recognized the second she heard it.

"Oh, don't tell me you don't remember me, kitty." he let out a breathy chuckle into the phone, the sound making goosebumps appear on Norma's skin. "I know you do. And I know you missed me. I missed you too, baby, missed watching you in that window stripping down your clothes… I know that show was for me, that you liked me watching you, that you wanted me there to-"

"Listen, you sick fuck, I don't know what's wrong with you but the thing I know is that you're gonna be rotting in jail soon." she hissed, rage taking over her body as she gripped the spiral cable, nails digging into the phone.

"Don't play hard to get. I know you would love it, to have a man in your life that would make you feel like a real woman." he whispered deeply, "And that sheriff, is he screwing you? Don't worry, not for long, kitten. I will rescue you soon and show what it's like to be with a real man, just wait."

She was standing speechless, blood running cold. His words brought all the horrible memories from her life, the feel of sickness rising in her stomach as the whole room was spinning. The second she heard the sounds of someone pulling in near the house, lights coming through the window, she hung up, smashing the phone down, running to the bedroom and locking herself in there. Her whole body was shaking now, his words and his laugh echoing in her head over and over again. She buried her face in her hands, trying to breath, but the panic was suffocating her.

Alex was there faster than ever, speeding the entire ride home, time becoming a blur to him. He pushed on the brakes so hard while driving up to his driveway that he was sure it would leave marks from the tires. But he didn't care now, all he could feel at that moment was blood rushing through his veins with such a force, that he was afraid it would rip them open.

He found his keys, unlocking the door and rushing into the house.

"Norma?" he called her into the darkness walking into the living room, seeing it empty.

"Norma! " he yelled this time after checking the kitchen, not finding her there either. He could feel the panic creeping in as she wasn't responding and he couldn't find her. Heading towards the bedroom, he found it's door locked. "Norma are you here? It's me, Alex, it's fine." he tried to keep the voice calm, not wanting to stress her even more.

She didn't answer and neither did she unlock the door, so Alex was now losing all the calmness he had, worrying tone settling in, "Norma, are you there? Please open the door, are you ok?" he listened for a second, trying to hear anything, even the slightest sound that would confirm that she is there and she's alright. He turned the knob in the door again. Nothing. There was no time left, without hesitation he stepped back, cocked his leg and kicked the door close to the knob. The door frame cracked but held, so he kicked again, a splinter of wood flying off around the lock mechanism. One more kick and the door flew open banging into the wall.

He found her sitting on the ground, knees pressed to her chest and head buried in her palms. He rushed there, kneeling in front of her, inspecting for any injuries. "Norma, it's Alex, I need you to look at me." he whispered in a soft voice, reaching to brush a hand on her head. "What happened? Please, talk to me."

Finally she looked up at him, as if his touch brought her back from some kind of trance. He could see pure fear in her eyes now being replaced by a relief, tears starting to form in her eyes as she saw him. Without saying a word, she leaned forward, wrapping her hands around him, pressing her face into his chest. His hand came to stroke her back, her hair, feeling her shuddering sobs echoing against him.

"It's ok, I'm here now." he murmured softly into her hair, cradling her in his arms, rocking back and forth slightly, "Just tell me what happened."

After a few minutes in his embrace her sobs quieted, breathing coming back to normal. Without pulling away from his chest, she turned her head to the side. "He knows I'm here, Alex." she whispered, "He called here, just before you came back, and he knows. He said a lot of horrible things… He- he said he's coming for me and and-" her voice broke, warm tears running down her cheeks, soaking through his shirt. "I'm just so scared. I'm scared he will find me no matter what… and I'm scared for you."

His body was now burning with rage and his heart was breaking for how scared she was. He pressed his lips to her temple, words a quiet whisper against her skin, "I'm gonna protect you, Norma."

After that he stood up quickly, still holding her in his hands but his palms coming to cup her face. "I need you to listen to me. Go and pack your stuff. Just take all the things you need and throw them in the bag. Quick. We're leaving."

"But where are we going?" she asked, voice still weak and filled with worry.

"Just trust me, ok?" he said looking at her as she nodded, the sky blue in her eyes making him wanna lean forward and kiss away all the fear. But he held himself from doing it, moving away instead and grabbing her bag from where it was sitting near the bed, handing it to her. He then found his, starting to walk around the room to grab the things they would need. She moved to help him, packing the limited amount of things she had brought with her to his house.

Alex did a quick check, inside the house and around it, looking suspiciously around every corner, feeling the rage inside of him boiling for being forced to leave his own home. It better be not him that finds this guy, or he will forget his sheriff's status and make him pay for all these things.

He found his cellphone in his pocket, dialing the number of the station. "It's Romero. I'll need a car change into unmarked SUV for a witness transportation. After 2 hours in Jay's underground parking lot, Portland. Can you do that?" he commanded, waiting for confirmation, "Great. And no marked police cars there, thanks."

He hung up, walking into the kitchen, seeing Norma zipping up the bag there. "You ready? We need to leave now."

She nodded, taking one last look around the room and following Alex out to the car.

This was going to be a long night.

Thank you for reading! Talk with us on twitter or curiouscat as Incognito_WC .