Chapter 26

Trigger warning in this chapter: sexual assault

He had been watching her. Paul's girl, Bella. She was a fine piece of ass. He was mesmerized by her pureness and youth, her round sexy ass, perky breasts, and that long hair that screamed him to wrap his hands around it while he would be fucking her.

After seeing her and Paul fucking against the wall last week, he wanted to taste her. It had been a close call; Bella had almost caught him. It was his luck that Paul was so lost in that pussy that he didn't have his senses sharp. Paul would have killed him if he had seen him there. He had noticed his interest in Bella on the boat trip and had made it clear that he didn't want anything to do with him anymore. Well, he didn't need him to get what he wanted.

That fucker was dangerous, but it added to this game of his, a threat to his life; it made the hunt more thrilling. After all these years, he still missed all the action in Afghanistan, and everyday life was fucking boring.

He had been on his way to the bookshop to chat with Bella two days ago, asking something about the whales or some shit, when he had seen Paul rushing out of the bookshop, Bella following him soon after. They had discussed, she had soothed him, and then they have fucked. He'd been jerking off watching them. Best live show ever.

He was all for sharing. Fuck, Paul had had all the changes to fuck his Libby, and it was his own choice that he hadn't done that. Libby wasn't that bad. And now he was going to take his peace of that fine young ass. He felt confident, he knew he was good-looking, and ladies tended to drop their panties for him. He usually went after older women, but this chick was too tempting. He could charm her, he was sure of that, and he was no stranger to forcing if it came to that. Chicks never complained after.

He walked towards the bookshop. He had kept an eye for a while, and he knew there hadn't been any customers in the last half an hour. It was close to the closing time. He knew today was the day when the owner was in Seattle. He happened to see him yesterday in the pub. The owner had been there with one of his buddies, and he heard them talking; hence he was here now.

His whole body vibrated when he thought about Bella alone in the bookshop. He thought about those creamy legs wrapped around him, shouting his name. His mouth watered.

The bell at the door chimed when he opened it and peeked inside. He looked around but didn't see her. Where was she? Well, that was good; now he could lock the door. He slid the toggle button up and silently closed the door. He double checked; it was locked. He turned the closed sign.

Then he saw her coming from the back room.

"Oh, hi James, what brings you here?" Bella asked. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was carrying a heavy-looking box.

"Let me help you with that," James, ever the gentleman, offered.

"Thanks. You can carry it to the kids' corner. There are new books from Sesame Street," Bella smiled at him.

So fucking cute. He watched her lips and licked his own. She must taste fucking divine.

"I was just driving by, and I remember you telling me you work here. My wife has a birthday next week, and I was wondering if you could recommend a book she might want to read."

Like that bitch had ever read a single book.

"What kind of books does she like?"

"Romance, of course, don't all women love romance," James said and smirked.

"Hmmm, there is this series called 'The Seven Sisters'," Bella said and walked to the window, and James followed her. "Sixth book has just been published. Do you know has she read these?"

Bella showed him a thick book with an orange cover labeled "The Sun Sister".

"No, I don't think so. Is there a Moon Sister too?" James said with a chuckle.

"Well, there is," Bella giggled, "not very original, is it."

Like he knew, but damn she was cute.

"I have written reviews about these, and they are alright. They have multiple timelines, and the history parts especially are quite good. Light reading, my favorite is the Shadow Sister. It is set in the Lake District in England," Bella told James.

He nodded, wanting to appear interested. He tried not to stare at her tits that the thin and soft-looking fabric couldn't hide. Round and perky. He rolled his tongue inside his mouth, mimicking how he liked to tease tits. His dick was getting hard.

"If she would like to read books with more edge to them, she could try Lianne Moriarty's books. I like them," Bella said and walked away from the window.

"It's not a series. I like this one, Big Little Lies, probably the most. But it has an abusive husband so it might be a bit too much. There is a tv-series made about it too. It is excellent."

Why the fuck would anybody want to read about abusive husbands?

"I'll take those Seven Sisters books. Is there a bulk discount if I buy them all?" James joked.

"Well yeah, actually there is; if you buy them all, you save almost 20 dollars and get them for 100."

"That sounds like a bargain," James continued the game.

"Excellent. I'll get you the books," Bella smiled and walked past him. He stared at her ass. Fuck he was starting to lose control. The idea of fucking that perfectly rounded peach made him almost moan out loud.

He followed Bella between the shelves where she went to get the books. She was leaning down, and her ass was sticking out towards him. Bella was humming something.

He crept silently behind her and bent his knees so he could thrust his hard dick against her ass when he grabbed her hips.

Bella screamed and dropped the books in her hand to the floor.

"What are you doing, James," Bella shrieked and tried to move away, but James held her tight. Bella's movements rubbed deliciously against his hard dick.

"Ahhh," he moaned.

"Take your hands off me!"

But James had other plans. You'll like this sugar. Just wait and see. James licked Bella's ears and moaned, "you taste so good."

"James, please stop! Please stop!" Bella shouted.

Na-ah sugar James gonna…

The next thing he knew, he was thrown to the wall of books, and Paul was mashing his head with his fists.

"I kill you!" he shouted and kept mashing. James was unable to do anything. He took punch after punch and felt his nose and jaw breaking, tasting the blood in his mouth.

"I fucking kill you!"

The last thing he heard was the bookcase crashing down and Bella shouting, "Paul, stop it. He's not worth it!"

Charlie parked his car tires, shrieking in front of Armchair Books. They had a call from Bella ten minutes ago, and it was the fastest they were able to get there. Two police officers were following him. Thank God he was still at the office when Bella had called; he'd just been planning to leave. She had been frantic and cried for him to come fast. He had never in his life been so terrified than in those minutes it took him to drive to the bookshop.

He had even forgotten his cane at the office, and it was difficult to move without, but he rushed to the shop as fast as he could. He noticed the front door being smashed open, glass was broken, and there was blood on the door. His heart was in his throat. What had happened to Bella?!

"Bella!" He shouted.

When he got in, he saw Bella crying in Paul's arms and a bloody body lying on the floor next to a fallen bookcase.

"Bella honey, are you ok? What happened?" His own eyes filled with tears seeing his baby-girl crying in a small ball in Paul's arms.

Bella was sobbing, unable to talk.

"Shhh, baby, you are safe now. He won't hurt you anymore," Paul was whispering to Bella and stroking her hair. His hands were shaking. He rocketed her lightly.

"Paul, what happened?" He asked desperately.

Bella looked unharmed. It didn't look like she was hurt. She didn't have cuts or bruises, and her clothes were all intact. Paul had blood in his fists; he had obviously smashed the door open and beaten up the person lying on the floor.

Paul shook his head slightly, telling Charlie that they should talk later. He nodded.

Bella continued to sob. "Shhh, I've got you," Paul whispered.

"He is still breathing," deputy Miller said after checking the body on the floor and added, "the ambulance is coming."

"Paul, do you know who he is?" Charlie asked.

"James Donnelly," Paul spat. "I've known him for years, and I fucking knew that he had a sick interest towards Bella, but I didn't tell her. This is all my fucking fault."

"Stop, Paul! It's not your fault. It's not anybody else's fault than James's," Bella said in a small voice. She straightened herself, took Paul's face between her hands, and said again, "It is not your fault. You saved me."

"Honey, are you ok?" Charlie asked Bella.

Paul helped Bella to stand up, and she came to him. Charlie wrapped his arms around his baby girl.

"He didn't have time to hurt me. Paul saved me, dad," Bella said and started to sob again.

The piece of shit had regained consciousness and wailed on the floor.

"Did he attack you, sweetheart?" Charlie asked. He had to ask these questions so they would proceed in the correct order and make sure that he was getting what he deserved.

Bella knew this. She quickly told him what had happened. His blood started to boil, and Paul shook, closing his eyes.

"You need to show those hands to the paramedic when the ambulance comes," he said to Paul.

"He is going to be arrested for attempted rape," Charlie said to deputy Miller. "Make sure he knows that."

He glanced over at Paul and saw the same pain in his eyes he felt. He knew he would forever be grateful to Paul Lahote for saving his girl from being raped.

"Thank you, son," he said with a lump in his throat. Paul nodded but didn't say anything.

Bella stopped sobbing. "We need to call Peter and tell him what happened. I mean the mess here."

"Sweetheart, you don't have to worry about these things. Deputy Andersson has called him already. The forensics is coming, and the shop must most likely stay closed for tomorrow. And I'm very, very sorry to ask you this, but we must collect all the evidence from your clothes and where he touched you," Charlie said with pain. He really hated to ask Bella to come to the station, but it was the only way to get things done correctly.

"I want to come with her," Paul said.

"Sure thing Paul. We must get your statement as well. We need to know everything that happened here today," Charlie said. "I think we better leave after the paramedics have checked Paul's hands. They are here in two minutes. The sooner we can get all done at the station, the sooner we can go home. Are you ready to leave, sweetheart?"

Bella nodded. "I go and get my bag."

When Bella left, Charlie turned to Paul, "are you ok?"

"I'm fighting my every instinct not to kill that piece of shit," Paul growled.

"My sentiments exactly, but I want him behind bars not you. I'm betting my life that this wasn't the first time he had done something like this. There must be a record. But I want to thank you again. You saved her." Charlie felt the immense gratitude blocking his throat, and he clapped Paul's shoulder. Clearing his throat, he said, "the paramedics game, show them your hands, and we can go."

They left for the station after Paul's hands were cleaned and wrapped.

At the station, Bella was led to the examination room. It wouldn't take long, and Bella would get clean clothes soon. Charlie had asked one of the deputies to go to their home and bring Bella jeans and a shirt.

The situation was a nightmare for Charlie, but there was comfort in knowing it could have been so much worse.

They took Paul into one of the interrogation rooms. Charlie couldn't be in charge, but he wanted to be present as much for himself as for Paul and Bella.

"I do feel responsible, Paul told them. "He was with us two weeks ago when I took Bella to see whales, and I noticed how he looked at Bella. It was sick. He is over 50, and Bella is over half of his age. I didn't say anything to her. I decided not to have anything to do with him anymore and thought it would be enough. But then this happened," Paul said and rubbed his face.

"I fucking failed to judge this deep-shits character. This shouldn't have happened. I've noticed over the years that there was something seriously wrong with his and his wife's relationship. Now I understand that he was offering his wife to me, and I guess he thought Bella was his to take. Jesus, I feel sick." Paul grabbed a trash bin and threw up repeatedly.

Charlie asked for some water and coke to be delivered. The boy was clearly in shock. When Paul stopped heaving, Charlie gave him tissues to wipe his mouth and water to rinse it.

"Blaming yourself for something that isn't your fault won't help anybody. Bella needs you to help her overcome this terrible experience, and wallowing in self-hate won't help. If you are willing to accept my advice, take that one. I've seen it happen too often; it breaks relationships. Believe me."

"Tell us what happened when you came to the shop," deputy Andersson said to Paul.

Paul told them how he was going to the bookshop to tell Bella that he had got Jared's campervan and they could go camping as they had planned. Bella had forgotten about their plans after the shit that went down with Bane, and he wanted to surprise her.

"I saw James's car parked a bit further from the bookshop, and my whole body froze for a second. I realized that he was in the shop with her and then I heard her screaming," Paul said.

"I trashed into the shop, broke the window because the door was locked, and I heard Bella shouting and asking him to stop..." Paul's voice cracked. After taking a few long breaths, he continued, "I saw him…saw him humping her and licking her neck…"

"Take your time," deputy Andersson said.

Paul squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his neck with both hands.

"And grabbing her breasts... Bella was shouting and trying to get off… but... he was too strong. I went to them and grabbed that low life off her and quickly checked Bella wasn't harmed, and then I started mashing him. I've never felt that kind of rage before," Paul said, shaking.

"I do not doubt that I would have killed him if Bella hadn't grabbed my waist and shouted to me to stop. She told me she had called you and that I should stop; he wasn't worth it," Paul finished. He leaned against his hands and left out a shaky breath.

There was a knock on the door. Charlie was handed a folder with papers and a photo of James Donnelly.

Charlie browsed papers for a while, and a smile spread on his face, "we'll have him. This wasn't the first time."