Nathan watched as Elizabeth held Faith in her arms on the couch, rocking her gently back and forth as Faith cried out her hurt, pain, and fear. Taking his phone out of his pocket, Nathan dialed Carson's number.
"Hey, Nathan," Carson said, his tone easy-going. "What's up?"
Nathan couldn't speak for a moment, and Carson repeated his name. "Nathan? Are you there?"
"Yeah…" Nathan said, choking on the words. How was he supposed to break this to Carson? "I need you to come over right away, Carson." He hesitated before plunging on. "And I need you to bring a rape kit."
"What?" Carson gasped. "What happened? Is Elizabeth…?"
"It's not Elizabeth, Carson," Nathan said, his heart breaking for his friend. "It's Faith."
There was a dead silence on the other end. Nathan could only imagine what was going through Carson's mind as he took in that information. When he spoke, his voice was calm but cold. "I'll be right there."
Nathan tucked the phone into his pocket and walked back into the living room, sitting on the couch next to Elizabeth and Faith. He placed a hand on Faith's shoulder, knowing words were useless in a time like this. After several minutes, Faith's sobs lessened, and she slumped in Elizabeth's arms, taking in shuddering breaths.
"Faith, honey, are you ready to talk?" Elizabeth asked. Faith sat up slowly, wiping her eyes.
"M...maybe," she said, the word stilted.
Elizabeth rubbed a hand over her back. "If you tell Nathan what happened, there's a good chance he could catch whoever did this. And you know he'll do everything in his power to get this man."
"I...know," Faith said with a hiccup. "That's why...I came...here." She shuddered. "And...he...he said…" She shuddered again before hiding her face.
"He spoke to you?" Nathan asked, surprised by that revelation. "Did you get a good look at his face?"
Faith nodded. Nathan's brows raised. That was not typical. "He wasn't trying to hide his identity?"
"N...no," Faith said, sucking in three breaths in a row. "He...came to the coffee shop...first. He even...introduced himself."
Nathan's brow furrowed, but he decided to let Faith talk before asking any more questions. She seemed to be ready to get her words out, and he didn't want to stop her.
"He seemed so...nice," Faith said. "He was pleasant, and even told me he was new in town and wanted to frequent the local hangouts. And my cafe is one of those. He...he drank his coffee, said goodbye, and left. I thought that was that." Her throat worked. "I went to meet Carson...for dinner. He was at the restaurant. All by himself. He was watching us." She sniffed. "I thought that was strange. Then when Carson dropped me off at the cafe, he was there again. Not inside. Standing outside, looking in. I started to get nervous, but he left before it got creepy. When I closed the cafe…" She shut her eyes, shivering.
Nathan reached out to squeeze her hand. "Take whatever time you need, Faith," he said gently.
She nodded shakily, her entire body trembling. "I walked to work today," she said, her voice barely audible. "When I locked up, he was standing at the end of the street, just staring at me. I freaked out and decided to walk home a different way. But when I got to the next street, he was there again." The tears started to slip down her cheeks. "He was toying with me. It was like he knew my next move and got there before I could. I started getting scared, so I ran blindly, trying to lose him. And just when I thought I had…" The tears were flowing in earnest now, and she began to sob again. "It felt like a game of cat and mouse. A horrible, horrible game. I turned a corner...and there he was. I couldn't get away. I...I fought him...but he hit me...hard. I felt paralyzed for a minute...then started fighting again…" Her shoulders shook as she cried, hiding her face in her hands. "I couldn't...stop him."
Toying with her...knowing her next movie...cat and mouse…
Nathan's blood ran cold. No. Please no.
"Look at me, Faith," Nathan said. She did, her eyes raw and haunted. "This was not your fault. Men like this are sick individuals who deserve life in prison. And if I have my way, this man will be in prison for life." He took a breath. "You said he introduced himself. What was his name?"
"I just...got a first...name," Faith said, leaning against Elizabeth once more. "Ray."
Nathan's heart dropped. He pulled out his phone and did a quick search, pulling up a picture of Ray Wyatt. He showed the picture to Faith. "Was this him?"
Faith recoiled so fast she nearly knocked Elizabeth over. She nodded, burying her face in Elizabeth's shoulder. Nathan groaned out loud. His worst fear was true: Ray Wyatt was back in Kauai. And he had already started hunting down those close to Nathan.
A knock sounded on the door, and Carson let himself in. Faith jumped up and ran into his arms, holding onto him tightly. Carson dropped his medical bag and engulfed her in an embrace. They rocked back and forth together as Carson gently stroked her hair. "I'm here, sweetheart," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her head as she cried in his arms. "I'm here."
Nathan held Elizabeth as Carson held Faith. He knew his wife was hurting simply because her friend was hurting. After some time, Carson whispered something to Faith. She looked miserable, but she nodded. Carson turned to Elizabeth. "I have to examine her and...collect evidence," he said, his voice strained. "I'll need your help."
Elizabeth nodded, leading them to one of the guest rooms. Nathan took that time to write down everything Faith had told him. He could have her sign it as her statement later, but for now he didn't want to put her through any more pain. He called Lee, asking him to come over. Within minutes, Lee knocked on the door and came in. "What's going on?" he asked. "I see Carson's car is here."
Nathan nodded, his face grim. "Faith was raped, Lee," he said. At Lee's horrified look, Nathan pressed on. "It was Wyatt."
Lee's face hardened. "He's coming after you already. You were right; he's attacking people close to you." His throat worked. "Poor Faith. How is she holding up?"
"She's hurting," Nathan said. "Carson and Elizabeth are examining her now." He grimaced. "I feel awful that Faith got caught in the crossfire, Lee. We need to catch Wyatt, and we need to catch him yesterday."
"I hear you," Lee said solemnly. "How do we go about doing that?"
Nathan crossed his arms. "We tell Bill that Wyatt is back, and we use every officer at our disposal to find this scumbag and bring him to justice. Again."
By the time Carson had finished his examination of Faith, she had calmed enough to stop crying. Elizabeth took her into the bathroom and helped her clean up, and she cleaned and bandaged the cuts on Faith's head and body. Going into her own room, she came out with clean clothes. "Here," she said. "You and I are about the same size. Go ahead and put these on."
"Thanks, Elizabeth," Faith said hoarsely. She changed quickly, and then Carson took her home, promising Elizabeth that he would stay with Faith that night. "I'll stay up all night if I have to," he said firmly. "No one's getting by me. I have a gun in my car; I'll keep it with me tonight."
Now, weary and sad, Elizabeth sat on the couch with Nathan. Neither could speak for a long time, the weight of what had happened too much for words. After some time, Elizabeth remembered something that had puzzled her earlier. She looked up at her husband. "Nathan, how did you know about this Ray Wyatt?"
Nathan gave a sigh that rose from the depths of his soul. "That's what I was going to tell you about after dinner tonight," he said, his voice heavy. "Wyatt is a very bad man, Elizabeth. He ran a human trafficking ring here in Kauai several years ago." He heard Elizabeth's soft gasp, and he pulled her closer. "I nailed him and his cronies with the help of Lee and several other officers. We thought we'd put them away for life." A sad look crossed his face. "He somehow escaped from jail about a week ago. As soon as I saw that, I knew he would head here. He vowed revenge on me at the trial, and it looks like he started with Faith." His voice broke. "I knew he would play a game of cat and mouse, Elizabeth, but I had no idea he would go after her. And now I'm terrified for my sister and her family, for Lee and Rosemary and their kids...and you." He held her face in his hands, kissing her desperately. "Elizabeth, I'm so scared he's going to come after you." He pulled her to him tightly, clinging to her. "And I can't watch over you every minute of the day, no matter how much I want to."
Elizabeth felt a tingle of fear shoot through her, but she wanted to reassure Nathan. "I'll be vigilant, sweetheart," she said, pulling back to look into his eyes. "I'll make sure security walks me to my car after work, and I'll make sure to employ all the defensive strategies you taught me to look out for danger."
Nathan took a shuddering breath. "Thank you, Elizabeth," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple and pulling her even closer. He spoke against her hair. "You have no idea how much I want to whisk you right back to that cabin in Colorado and keep you there until this danger has passed. It's me he's after, and he wants to devastate me." He sighed. "It's already working. I feel awful about what happened to Faith. I've never been this scared, Elizabeth." He gripped her tightly, his desperation coming through. "Please, please be careful. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you." He broke down, burying his face in her neck. She could feel his tears, and it broke her heart. Her husband was a strong man, but even he had his breaking point. The assault Faith experienced had shaken him to the core. Elizabeth held him tightly, hoping her touch brought him some measure of comfort.
As she held him, she prayed that he would be able to find this Wyatt man quickly and put him back in jail where he belonged.
A week passed, and Nathan couldn't remember ever feeling so jumpy in his life. There was no sign of Wyatt, but Nathan remained on high alert. He and Lee had installed state of the art security systems. Colleen and her family were somewhere on the mainland. She had called to let Nathan know they were safe, but per his request she didn't tell him where they were and they had turned off the GPS locator on their phones.
He had taken to calling Elizabeth several times a day just to check on her. He couldn't sleep when she was on night shift. He knew his anxiety was starting to affect him physically, and he knew they had to catch Wyatt as soon as possible.
Pacing the living room, he looked at the clock. 10:10 pm. Elizabeth should be home any minute. Right on cue, she walked in the door. Nathan met her with an embrace and a hungry, passionate kiss. When he pulled back, Elizabeth put a gentle hand on his face. "Nathan, you've got to stop kissing me as if every kiss is our last. It's starting to scare me."
"Sorry," he whispered, nestling her close to his chest. "I know I've been a wreck this week."
Elizabeth framed his face in her hands, kissing him gently. He felt a fierce protectiveness arise inside, and he held her firmly, resolving that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. He had to believe she would be okay. The alternative was unbearable.
When they broke apart, Nathan rested his head against her forehead. "I need to hold you," he whispered.
She nodded. "Let me get ready for bed, and then we can snuggle." Within minutes she was dressed in her pajamas, and she joined Nathan in their bed. He tucked her against himself firmly and wrapped his arms around her. Just feeling her close by gave him a measure of peace. Elizabeth's head rested on his shoulder, and she tilted it to look up at him. "I love you, Nathan."
He kissed her, pulling her even closer. "I love you, sweetheart." And I won't let anything happen to you.
They fell asleep like that, nestled in each other's arms. Around 2:00 in the morning, Nathan jerked away. Something wasn't right.
Elizabeth blinked sleepily, woken by Nathan's sudden movement. She sniffed the air, her brow wrinkling. "Is that smoke I smell?"
"Yes," Nathan said. "And whatever is burning is close by, if we can smell it with the entire house shut up." He looked out their bedroom window and gasped audibly, springing into action.
"Elizabeth, call 9-1-1. The Coulter's house is on fire!"
