His eyes were as cold as ice. Staring and lingering seeing into the most inner depth of her soul. She remembered that glare, the glare of malice and appending pain. She had memorized it's feeling and the painful after affects that always followed.
But what was he doing here? In Australia thousand upon thousands of miles away from their home. Had some one told him? Or was it just cruel fate playing yet another one of it's cruel games.
His lips parted slowly curling into a malicious grin. "Brianne."
Her name sounded so cruel on his lips not sweet and soft like it did with Jack. Her lips sputtered for words but all they could do was whimper.
"Scared of me are you Briey lass?" He took a step forward hardening his gaze. "Aww what a shame... almost as much of a shame as when you left me without a single word of explanation."
"You-you-you beat me..."
He grinned again. "Wasn't breaking the law was I? Never once did * I beat you with a stick bigger than my wrist."
"How bout a belt?"
He chuckled letting his fingers sink into her hair. "Only when you were bad."
There was so many things she wanted to scream at him but they all jammed in the back of her throat. Why was he here? How could he be so cruel to a woman who he had sworn to love and cherish for the rest of his life and maybe most importantly what he was going to do with her now?
His hand dug deeper into her hair now painfully tearing at the dozens of tiny curls. "But that won't compare to what I'm going to do to you now of course..."
He dragged her to the floor with a hard slam. Pain radiated up the left side of her body.
"Hey I'm talking to you!" He took a step towards her. "You listen when I'm talking to you, you got that?"
Quickly she nodded. Perhaps if she acted subservient the beating wouldn't be so bad-that sometimes worked...
He kicked her abdomen knocking the air out of her lungs. Why wouldn't God just kill her now, hadn't she suffered enough in life already? She was tired of this life , tired of pain and never catching a break wouldn't it be better just to go to Heaven? To a place where there was no death or pain where she could be completely happy in the presence of her saviour?
He slapped her then began to beating she was so used to after six months of torturous marriage. Time and space blurred masking itself in endless pain. She closed her eyes mid way through pretending she was somewhere else but the pain was still there.
"I'm going to kill you." He said.
Good she thought.
*Victorian law was that a man could beat his wife only if the stick he used wasn't rounder than his wrist.
He could hear screaming from her cabin, loud and fearful bellowing through the outback like a shot from a cannon. Quickly Dodger shook it off. It was probably just her and her cabin mates having some fun after their friends wedding reception.
Not that he cared though. Brianne was probably too busy day dreaming about her stupid handsome husband to join in.
Speaking about stupid husband... how could she? She let him go on loving a married woman, kissing a married woman and worst of all proposing to a married woman. He had loved her and she had betrayed him in return. That's what happened when you opened your heart to somebody they held it, dropped it then stomped on it. He should have known better then to fall for a woman while serving time. He was born to stand on his own-and he would die standing on his own.
What had he been like? Was he good to her, handsome, young? She would have to practically been a baby when she had married him. What had caused her to make such a choice, love?
Yes she must have really loved him...
He shook his head. He couldn't let himself think about her. He would have to get over Brianne Kelly like he did with every other heartache, a pack of cigarettes and numbing himself with a night with the boys.
He had a feeling she would take a lot more than that.
"Dodger!"
He turned. He squinted towards a thin brown haired woman. She looked familiar he thought but he couldn't place her. The woman hurried her gate breaking into a sprint.
"Dodger!"
Her face was grief stricken aged, hard and worried. "You're you're Brianne's man aren't you?"
"Not anymore."
She shook her head. "Please...I-please she's in trouble you have to help her."
"What do you mean in trouble?"
"A man-her husband...please he's beating her and I tried to get him off of her but-but he's too big and-please help!"
What- "What do you mean-is she all right?"
"Of course she isn't all right he's beating her to a bloody pulp." She grabbed his arm yanking him towards the cabin. "I walked in and he was there yelling he was going to kill her, she was screaming but she wasn't moving and and-please help her!"
"I-where is she?"
"In the cabin now please!"
He glanced over his shoulder then burst into a sprint.
She was right there was a man beating her when he burst into the cabin. The woman of his dreams was lying limp now, red crimson blood surrounding her in a bloody puddle. He leaped forward tackling the man by the shoulders and dragging him to the floor.
Just before he was about to punch the jerk in the eyes and knock him into eternity he caught the man's eyes.
John Kelly.
The man who he had suggested visit Brianne.
In his distraction the man leaped on top of him hovering his fist above his nose. "Oh look it's the little dodger... thank you for giving me my wife's address. I had a great time beating her to death."
"You little..."
He swung but Jack grabbed his fist, he was on top now he swung knocking the man straight in between his eyes. He punched him again then again feeling nothing but complete and utter joy John attempted to swing back but he stopped him, punching harder.
The other man was unconscious now but it didn't stop him from punching. He would kill him, kill him once then again and again.
"Dodger!" He turned slightly.
"She's not breathing."
He rolled off of the man then hurried over to Brianne. He had misjudged the seriousness of her condition, her chest had stopped rising and the back of her head was sticky with crimson blood her face was blue with bruises, eyes shut and not flickering. "Brianne Honey?" He pulled her to his chest. "Brianne sweetie wake up."
"I'll go get a doctor.'
He nodded.
He gave her cheeks a gentle tap but she didn't respond. "Love speak to me love..."
Oh God please don't let her die... he couldn't live with himself if she was gone. He couldn't remember why he had ever been mad at this beautiful woman. All he could feel as she lie limp in his arms was an overwhelming wave of love. He loved Brianne Kelly, loved her more than life itself and would die if she left him.
"Brianne?" His voice cracked. "Brianne please-just breathe, for me love?"
It had been his fault this had happened. He had given that monster her address, how couldn't he read into the scars on her back? He had done this before, the woman Jack loved had been beaten like a dog and he had yelled at her for it.
He was crying now like the big baby he was for yelling at a girl who had already been through so much.
"Oh darling please...please don't leave me."
He kissed her forehead savouring the feeling, oh God don't let it be the last.