Chapter 29

"What?" Jack gasped for breath as he tried to stand up from the bed. "What happened to her?"

"We're waiting on a report from the coroner but it looks as though she's been strangled. I'm very sorry to have to be the bearer of this news but it's important that we protect you both. We believe that Cal Hockley is behind it. I've got a search team out looking for him right at this moment. He should be picked up soon." The detective tried to reassure him but Jack wasn't buying it. He suddenly jumped to his feet as the buzzer rang at their door.

"That's the door." He told the detective.

"That should be the officers that I've sent to you. Keep me on the phone whilst you answer it." He instructed.

Jack nodded to himself as he made his way out of the bedroom and towards the door. Slowly he reached up and pressed the button.

"Hello?" he said slowly, his voice trembling.

"Mr Dawson? This is Officer Reynolds."

"That's him Mr Dawson. You can let him in." Detective Munroe said, clearly hearing the voice over the phone. Feeling slightly better, Jack pressed the button to allow the policeman to enter. "I'll come round tomorrow to check on things." The detective said, hanging the phone up. Jack waited until he heard footsteps behind the door and a typical policeman style knock rattled next to his face. Slowly Jack unlocked the door and pulled it open, finally letting go of the breath he was holding as he saw two policemen standing in front of him.

"We just wanted to let you know we were here. We'll be patrolling outside. You can see our car from your window. If there is anything wrong, at all, dial this number." The policeman handed Jack a card with a phone number on it. "That will bring you straight through to us. We would advise you to stay in the apartment until we bring Mr Hockley back into custody."

Jack nodded, taking the card from him. He closed the door quietly as the officers made their way back outside. He wandered over to the window as he watched them stop outside and stand at the bottom of the stoop. He leaned his forehead against the cool pane of glass and sighed, turning when he heard a noise behind him. He forced a smile as he saw Rose standing against the door frame with the sheet wrapped loosely around her.

"What's happened?" She walked towards him slowly.

Jack turned back to the window, pulling Rose to him. "We have twenty four hour security right now." He said, pointing to the patrol car sitting outside.

"But why?" she turned back to him.

"Stacey's dead." He said sharply, the words almost hurting as they fell from his lips.

"What?" her mouth gaped as Jack told her everything the police had told him on the phone. "I can't believe this." She finally said, moving over to the sofa and sitting down.

"I know." Jack nodded. He walked over to the large unit at the other side of the room and pulled a bottle of scotch from it. Lifting two glasses, he poured them a drink. He walked back over to Rose and sat down beside her and handed her the glass.

"So they think he may come after us?" Rose asked taking a drink.

Jack shrugged. "I'm assuming so. Who knows what he's capable of."

Rose gulped as she thought back to the time she had spent with him. The violence. The abuse. She knew exactly what he was capable of. Taking another large drink, she knew it was finally the time that she had to be completely honest with Jack about her past. She had told him that she had left Cal after he became unbearable to live with but she hadn't gone into the details and thankfully Jack hadn't pushed her but now she knew that he had to know exactly what type of person they were dealing with.

After an hour and half a bottle of scotch later, Jack sat in shock as he took in everything that Rose was telling him. Rose watched him intently, waiting on his reaction. He looked as though he was staring into space until he suddenly stood up. He walked across the living room towards the kitchen, twirling his glass in his hands.

"Jack?" Rose watched him, trying to work out what he was thinking. She could see his shoulders rising up and down quickly and his arms had fallen down to his sides. She stared at his hand that held the glass and could see his fingers tighten onto the rim.

"Jack?" she said again, standing up slowly. He seemed as though he was in a trance until he finally let out an animal like roar and threw the glass against the wall.

"Jack! Stop this! You can't keep breaking things because you're angry. You're scaring me." Rose cried, backing away from him.

Jack turned, his eyes wide and his face was deathly pale. He was sweating and little beads of water were dripping down his forehead. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he ran to her and scooped her up in his arms. "Rose." He cried. "I'm so sorry. I just could kill that bastard for what he's done to you."

"I know Jack, I know." She said, wrapping her arms around him. "But I left a relationship that started like this. I don't need it again. This was how it began. Cal started throwing things around before he finally got fed up with hitting the wall that he started on me."

"I'm so sorry Rose. Please forgive me." He cried into her shoulder. They moved back to the couch as Rose held him to her chest, running her fingers through his hair. She slowly rubbed her fingers up his spine and neck before tangling them back up in his hair until she finally felt his body go limp beside her. She kissed his forehead softly before finally allowing herself to drift off, wishing that when she woke up, she would find that this had all been a dream.