So once again a big thank you to those who read-and especially review-my story! It's you guys that motivate me to make it all happen ;) Enjoy!
LPOV
"This was fun," Christian said quietly, as we walked hand in hand across one of the any bridges. It was all lit up and completely and utterly magical. I looked at him, and suddenly felt so…full. Happy. Complete. He was everything I had ever wanted, and so, so much more. We'd had a beautiful day, and then a beautiful night as we watched the sun set over the river. I rested my head on his shoulder.
"Yeah," I said smiling. "It was great."
"Just do me a favour?" He asked, squeezing my hand. I nodded. "Don't drive down tonight." I frowned, and shook my head.
"I told Rose I'd be back tonight. I've been away for a while, Chris, and we're only just getting right again. I can't jeopardize that, I'm already so lucky she has forgiven me." He kissed my hair.
"Yes. Your Rose is a good person, Liss, but so are you," he told me gently. "You need to forgive yourself as well. I know you don't want to, I know you feel like you can't. But you were young, Liss, and you were stupid. You made a bad choice. It doesn't have to define you," he whispered. "You're a wonderful, sweet, smart, beautiful girl." I regarded him for a moment, and then flung my arms around him.
"Oh, gosh, what did I ever do to deserve you?" I mumbled.
"Funny. I ask myself the same question every day. "
"You're such a big cheese ball," I teased him as we neared his apartment, where I'd been staying with him.
"Please," he breathed his lips tickling my ear. "Please, Liss, don't drive down tonight. It's dark, and there are some real idiots on the road on Friday night. Rose'll understand." I scowled at him.
"Puppy dog eyes should be illegal for persons over the age of five," I informed him, and he grinned wickedly, pulling me up towards the elevator.
"You sound so sexy when you get that voice on, babe," he told me. C'mon. "It's only seven-thirty, let's get a movie." By the time we were up in the apartment, I had lost my blouse and he'd lost his shirt, earning us a very disapproving, but amused, glare from the elderly woman who was waiting for the elevator on Christian's floor. He chased me, giggling, into the apartment, and just as we were about to engage in lewd sexual activities on the kitchen table, I heard a beeping from my skirt, and realised it was my pager. Christian groaned, but handed me the phone. I mouthed a thank-you apologetically, and flipped it open.
"Hello?"
"Vasalissa, this is Detective Petrov," the woman's voice informed me. I sat up straight, covering myself with Christian's shirt when his eyes nearly fell out of his head.
"Alberta, hi. Something wrong?" She sighed.
"We're not sure. Our detective who was undercover tailing Jesse lost him about a half-hour ago, and they can't find Aaron, either." I gulped, uneasy at the thought that both of them were roaming the streets of this city, perhaps looking for others to prey on.
"Okay, that's not good."
"No" she agreed. "I wouldn't have bothered you until tomorrow if I didn't have to ask you something, though. There was word going around in their circle that he was seen getting into a car, getting on the motorway down south." I could almost hear her frown. "You know why he might be going down south?" I shrugged.
"Maybe just to get out of town, he could have known we were following him." The next thought hit me like a ton of bricks.
"Oh, no," I gasped.
"Lissa, what is it?"
"Rose," I breathed. "Rose is down south. Alberta, he must know where she is. He's going to try and find her." She cursed.
"God damnit!" I heard her bark an order to somebody, asking them to get her a line to the Westlake police.
"What's that?" I heard her say. "The power's out own there? Christ. Some vandal's cut the phone lines to the police. Doesn't help there's a big-ass storm out there, the reception is shit." She came back on the line fully.
"Lissa, contact Rosemarie. Tell her to stay inside, lock all the doors and windows, get a hold of the police when she can."
"Of course," I said, my own voice sounding choked. "I'm going to get down there tonight. He's got a head start of about an hour, but I still might be able to do some good." The phone call ended then, and a fully clothed Christian appeared from the bedroom. He was holding two packed suitcases, then crossed and helped me find my clothes.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Coming with you," he replied. "I'll drive you down, plus if that Aaron's there, or this Jesse asshole does try anything, I still have my blowtorch." His blue eyes gleamed with vengeance that was not at all playful. I gave him a quick kiss as we walked down to the car, and I punched in Rose's number. Time and again, it went to voicemail.
"C'mon, pick up, Rose," I muttered, leaving about ten voicemails telling her to call me. On the eleventh, I switched from subtlety and told her outright what had happened. As we entered the motorway, there was still no reply.
"I don't have Dimitri's number," I said fretfully. "She's the only contact I have in Westlakes."
"Hey," Christian said, trying for a soothing tone. "Liss, she's probably working, or in the shower or something. Try again in ten minutes." I curled up into my seat, my heart hammering in my chest. Even though he was trying on being cheerful, Christian looked grim. As we drove south, we were driving straight into huge, black, swollen rainclouds. I shivered. I had always had good intuition, a lawyer needed it. And now, there was only one thing I knew for certain.
There was a storm coming.
RPOV
"Come on!" Dimitri yelled as the rain hammered down on us, plastering his dark hair to his forehead and making his eyes seem to shine. Suddenly he cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable.
"Um, Rose, your shirt…"I glanced down to see my white shirt completely soaked, clinging to my polka-dot bra.
"Oh crap." I arched an eyebrow. "See something you like?" I asked him with a grin. He blinked and glanced away, mumbling something incomprehensible, probably in another language. Laughing, we ran down the main road from the gym, through the streets like madmen. There's something completely liberating about running in the rain, it made me feel fearless and invincible, like finally I was getting a hold over some aspects of my life. We arrived back at my apartment and my landlord waved me down.
"Whoa there, Hathaway." He handed us towels to wipe ourselves down, then caught my sleeve.
"Hey, Rose. You ought to know, your kitchen window was broken today." I frowned.
"By what?"
"I'm not sure, but the whole window was shattered. Vandals." He cursed. "Nothing was disturbed, anyway, as far as we can tell, and I had the window boarded up after the police left."
"Thank you," I said warmly. He rolled his eyes and shooed me away.
"Go get warm; you'll both catch your death." Dimitri saw me up to my apartment as we walked in companionable silence.
"Same time tomorrow?" I said brightly, and he nodded.
"Of course." We stood at the door, looking at each other for a moment, before he leaned in towards me, his lips brushing my cheek.
"Take care, Roza," he murmured, then, as quickly as it had happened, he disappeared down the hallway. Feeling a little dizzy I stumbled inside, then remembered Lissa was supposed to come down tonight. I looked at the deepening clouds, and hoped she didn't risk driving down. The motorway was dangerous, not to mention slippery and dark. We'd spoken during the week and she'd told me she would be back by six-ish- it was now seven-thirty and there was no sign of her. I concluded that Christian had convinced her to stay another night and drive down in the morning, which put my mind at ease. Still, I wanted to check she was okay, so I crossed to the kitchen table for where I'd left my phone charging. I frowned. My phone was gone-the charger was still plugged in to the wall, but it had been removed. That was strange. Had I taken it to work? No, because it had only had, like, ten percent battery left.
I searched around the table, then swore when a little shard of glass from the broken window cut my finger. I frowned thoughtfully. Maybe whoever broke into my house intended to steal stuff, and got disturbed, so they grabbed the nearest thing of value-my phone. That was an inconvenience, but maybe I had left it at work. I'd talk to Raya tomorrow, I told myself.
I swung open my fridge and groaned. I had meant to go grocery shopping after training with Dimitri, but the storm and one very super-hot Russian had served to distract me. Gah. Now I had to go out again, with the rain and everything. I didn't want to be out on a night like this, and deliberated about just being a slob and ordering takeaway, but then figured I'd have to do the shopping sometime, so it might as well be now. I hunted around for my wallet, frowning when I realised it was still on the counter where I'd left it-right next to my phone. What's more, it had two hundred bucks in it-why wouldn't a thief steal my wallet as well? I shrugged, concluding that he'd probably been dropped on his head or something. Westlake wasn't known for its intelligence.
Quickly I changed into jeans, a red sweatshirt and comfy long brown boots, throwing my wet hair up in a topknot and stuffing my wallet in my back pocket, kicking the door shut as I left. I was lucky that the stores around here were open late-in Brea, all the shops shut at seven, it was nearing quarter past eight by now. The cheerful oriental man greeted me with a smile as I grabbed eggs, milk bread, a can of baked beans and a tub of ice-cream-my bare essentials- then stopped for some fruit and veg at the greengrocer's across the street. The streets were lit and I whistled happily to myself as I walked back along the mostly-quiet main road.
I failed to notice the familiar white ford parked at the entrance to the alleyway.
I failed to notice the familiar smell of marijuana.
At least, that was, until it was too late. I didn't even have the time to scream as hands grabbed me, dragging me into the alleyway. Hands covered my mouth and I fought to be free of them, y groceries now long forgotten. My hair was gripped so hard I cried out, no choice but to follow the hands wherever they dictated, which happened to b into another side alley. The moon cast light onto the person's face and I gasped, a wave of revulsion hitting me. Jesse. I fought harder against him with renewed anger, but he cut me off, sending me stumbling to the ground with a powerful punch that filled my mouth with warm blood. He towered over me and I scrambled to stand, my heart hammering painfully. He backed me up against the wall of the alley, one hand gripping my throat.
"I heard about the case," he breathed. "Just thought I'd drop in and let you know what'll happen if you go through with it."
"We both know what's gonna happen," I snarled. "You'll go to jail for rape, drug trafficking and now, assault." He chuckled, and the familiar sound sent uncontrollable shudders up my spine.
"Cute. Rosie grew a backbone." His smile deepened into a sneer. "A backbone I'mma have to snap, I'm afraid." He smirked. "Relax, Rose. I'm not going to kill you, that'd be too easy. Lissa, on the other hand…"He grinned. "Aaron's got a bone to pick with her."
"You stay the hell away from her," I hissed, and his grip on my throat tightened, making me choke.
"I have friends here, Rose. I'll be watching you. You go through with this and I'll kill Lissa, then you, then everyone else around you. Got it?"
"Fuck…you," I spat with my last breath of air, still struggling valiantly. His grin widened as his hands roamed all over my body.
"Don't tempt me." I rammed my elbow into his ribs and he snarled, I felt my head hit the concrete and instinctively brought my arm up to shield myself as a barrage of hits and strikes landed on me. It was a long time before he left, and when he did, I lay on the ground barely able to breathe, then began the familiar process of checking my injuries. Even by my standards they were pretty substantial-bruises all down my lower body, my chest hurt and I thought I might have broken a rib. I was covered in gashes, there was a pretty big one torn through my jeans and another on my hairline. I would have a concussion from hell, but I was conscious, which was saying something. I stumbled a few meters to the end of the alley near the street before my legs buckled under me and I hit the sidewalk-and this time, it knocked me out.
LPOV
"Oh god, where is she?" I mumbled to myself as we drove the streets. She wasn't in her apartment and her wallet and phone were gone. This was actually one of my worst nightmares coming true. Having to stand by helplessly whilst somebody hurt my best friend. Christian's hand was rubbing soothing circles into my back as he looked out the left window and I out the right, the atmosphere in the car tense. We had already been to the police station and they'd got a cruiser out, but the weather was making it even worse.
"Hey, what's that?" Christian asked, and I saw in the headlights of my car a figure stumbling out of an alleyway. I noticed his hand stay towards the pocket of his navy-blue hoodie, where he'd stowed the blowtorch. I squinted, unable to see any features, but before I could tell if it was Jesse or Rose, it tripped, stumbling to the sidewalk. I pulled in to the nearest parking space.
"I don't know. We should try and help anyway." Hurriedly we ran across the mostly-deserted street. About halfway there my stomach turned, recognising Rose's favourite red sweater.
"Oh my god," I gasped Rose. Crossing to her, I took her shoulder, and with Christian's help rolled her over. I fought really, really hard not to be sick when I saw what had happened to her. She had taken a heavy, heavy beating, there were a few cuts that were definitely going to need stitches, and god knew what had happened on the inside. I stood there in horror for a few seconds, whilst Christian, bless him, snapped straight into action and put his jacket on the ground.
"Liss, help me roll her onto this. Then go call the hospital so they know we're coming. Open the door to the backseat while you're there." Quickly I did so; I always forgot that Christian worked shifts at the fire station-he had seen situations where people were injured like this many times before.
"Westlakes Hospital, how can I help?"
"There's…my friend has been hurt," I whispered, but then suddenly, I found my tongue, knowing that is I showed any sign of weakness, they'd push Rose to the back of the que.
"Yes, this is Detective Vasalissa Dragomir, I'm with the San Francisco police. There is an injured woman, blood loss, likely broken bones and internal bleeding, unconscious," I said, trying to keep the tremors out of my voice. "She's being driven to the hospital, she'll be there in a blue sedan in about ten minutes. I need a stretcher waiting in the ER parking lot." I could almost hear the receptionist shift in her chair.
"Yes ma'am," she returned, and I hung up. I opened the door and, recruiting an open-mouthed passer-by, Christian used the jacket as a kind of sling to get Rose into the car. He sat in the back with her whilst I drove as quickly and smoothly as I could to the nearby hospital. A male nurse was waiting in the car park with a stretcher, and a still-unconscious Rose was pushed into the nearest emergency room. Christian and I were barred from entering, no matter how had I tried to pull rank, and were simply given assurances that we'd be given regular updates. I asked the same receptionist to get hold of Dr. Belikov, and tell him to get down here, and she obliged. Christian guided me to a seat in the waiting room, giving me a peck on the cheek.
"Hey. We did everything we could. She's safe now."
"I didn't stop him, though," I whispered. "I could have stopped her from hurting him, but I didn't. Again." Christian shook his head, and passed me a lukewarm coffee from the machine.
"Liss, you're wrong. There was no way you could have stopped that, even if you came down tonight. The point is, you're safe, Rose is safe and both of you are going to be okay."
"But Jesse and Aaron are still out there," I breathed. "They are still out there, and what if they rape some other girl tonight?" I turned my pained eyes on him, resting my head on his shoulder.
"Why do the bad guys get away with everything?" I asked, barely staving off tears. "Why do good people get hurt while the bad ones don't?" And for that question, neither of us had an answer as we settled into what was sure to be a long, stressful night.
So, a bit of C/Lissa, D/Rose, plus the return of Jesse…Is Rose going to be okay? Where do things go from here? This was a really difficult chap for me to write, but I hoped you guys enjoyed it. Please review ;))))
Em xx