--
Fishing the keys to her apartment out of his pocket, he unlocked the door and entered quietly. He noticed the alarm was still on and punched the code to disarm. Glancing around the darkened interior, he saw no sign of movement in the outer rooms of the spacious apartment.
He passed the bathroom, the light still on and the clothes she had worn lay haphazardly on the floor. Quietly, he opened the bedroom door. The bed was still made, although the bedspread was mussed. "Ashling?" he whispered. Where was she?
His gaze moved around the room until he spied her. She was huddled in the corner of the room between the nightstand and a large dresser. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her forehead rested on her folded arms.
He moved to her quickly, kneeling down in front of her. When she made no acknowledgment of his presence, he lightly touched her shoulder. He was unprepared for the screech of fear and her subsequent lashing out, which caught him roughly on the chin. He fell back onto his rear with a loud thud.
He caught her flailing arms. "Ash...Ash...calm down, baby. It's me..." he offered soothingly.
She quieted slowly as recognition set it and gazed at him wide-eyed, the fear still evident in the murky blue depths. In the struggle her robe had fallen open and he saw the large darkened bruise above her knee. He cupped her chin tenderly and could see her bruised lips. "Baby...what happened to you?"
The nightmare still behind her eyes; it was all she could see. "Ha-Ha—Jorge...he did...did the most...awful things..." she trailed as a fresh round of sobs overtook her.
He pulled her onto his lap and rocked her gently. "Baby...he's gone. He can't ever hurt you again. Now...tell me who did this to you."
"I...I...was his WHORE!" she screamed and punched at his chest.
Again he caught her wrists and tried to calm her. "My God, Ashling...baby, you've got to tell me what happened to you." He had never seen her this bad, and it tore him to pieces. "Baby...baby...it wasn't your fault. Remember that...we've been all over this. You did what you had to do to survive. And I thank God every day that you did." He released her wrists and pressed his palms to her cheeks. "We would never have found each other if you hadn't. And I'm nothing without you, mon cadeau."
Her struggling lessened, but her breathing was rough and unsteady. Her chest heaved with the effort and the robe fell open further, exposing her breasts fully. "Oh dear God," he whispered, appalled as he caught sight of the bite mark impression around her nipple.
She tore her face away from between his hands and looked away. He was disgusted with her. She was disgusted with herself. "You hate me," she whispered through her tears.
He could not tear his eyes away from the mark. "I...I..."
"You do...you blame me..."
Hearing her voice, tortured and defeated, he tore his gaze from her bruised breast and looked into her face. "Never...never would I hate you. Never would I blame you. Do you feel this?" He placed the palm of her hand to his chest, covering his heart. "It beats only for you, my beautiful Ashling."
She shook her head, unable to believe him.
He touched his forehead to hers, their eyes locked onto one another's. " Le soleil, la terre, la lune; ils vivent seulement avec la force de notre amour. Sans notre amour; sûrement ils brûleraient et mourraient."
Shay hiccupped as a sob caught in her throat. Such beautiful words; she knew he meant every one of them. Knowing that and that she had let someone touch her, no matter how unwillingly killed her inside.
He tenderly wiped her tears and whispered, "I failed you, Ash. I'm your husband...I'm supposed to protect you. Instead, I was off on some ridiculous fake date."
She shook her head. She could not, would not let him blame himself for this. "Dans tout l'univers, il y a qu'une zone de sécurité. Et quand je ne peux pas être dans vos bras, je porte votre amour avec moi. Toujours."
"Oh, Ash..." he placed his hands on either side of her neck and stroked her cheeks softly with his thumbs. His eyes welled with tears and his heart felt so large with its love for her that it might burst from his chest.
"Kiss me, Frank. Kiss me and make it all go away..." she whispered.
He touched his lips to hers softly, a caress so tender it felt like a silky breeze against her skin. When he deepened the kiss, she melted against him as the comforting warmth of his kiss and touch bathed her in a love that cleansed her down to her very soul.
He shifted enough so that he could move to his knees and then lifted her as he stood and carried her to the bed. He tossed the covers aside and laid her down gently. He needed to call Captain George, not to mention letting Cody know what was going on. What was going on? He still did not know who had hurt her.
"Don't go," she pleaded in a small voice.
"I'm not going anywhere, Baby," he assured her. He lay down next to her and gathered her into his arms. Whispering words of comfort and love, he waited until she drifted off into a peaceful sleep before he reached for the phone to call George and tell him Brenna had a run in with someone and as soon as she felt up to questions, they would be coming into the office.
--
Le soleil, la terre, la lune; ils vivent seulement avec la force de notre amour. Sans notre amour; sûrement ils brûleraient et mourraient = The sun, the earth, the moon; they live only with the force of our love. Without our love; surely they would burn out and die.
Dans tout l'univers, il y a qu'une zone de sécurité. Et quand je ne peux pas être dans vos bras, je porte votre amour avec moi. Toujours. = In all the universe, there is but one safe haven. And when I cannot be in your arms, I carry your love with me. Always.
************
to be continued...