Forever Branded (Billionaire Love Series #1) (29 page)

“I know you didn’t. Nobody knew,” I said quietly.

“How can I help you?” she asked as she cut the engine.

“There isn’t anything to do. I just want to shower and go to bed.”

“Marla, I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to be alone. Shouldn’t we call the police? The paramedics?”

“No. Plus, I don’t want to get Beau in trouble.”

“He’s not going to get in trouble for defending you. That scumbag Jeremy deserves to be in jail for what he did to you.”

“I know, but I can’t focus on that right now. I just want to feel safe.” I twisted toward the door, my body protesting in pain. “Ow!” I cried as I put my hands over my ribs and bent forward.

“Here, let me help you,” she said, opening her door.

“Okay,” I agreed, feeling like I couldn’t get up to the second landing on my own.

She pulled me out gently and put an arm around my waist. We slowly made our way up to my apartment. With each labored step, the pain of my attack increased. Once inside, she helped me sit down on the couch.

“What do you need?” she asked.

“Nothing. I’m okay. I just need time, Stacy,” I said, exhaustion filling my bones.

“I don’t like it, Marla.”

I didn’t like it either. But the truth was I didn’t want her to see me fall apart. Tears were threatening to bust out of me at any moment.

I just needed to be left alone.

But she wasn’t going to go away without some reassurance. So, I gave her a comforting grin and hoped she would believe me. “How about I call you in the morning and let you know how I’m doing?”

I could tell she was thinking it over. “Do you promise?”

“I do.”

“Okay, but if I don’t hear from you by eleven, I’m coming over.”

“Okay,” I agreed.

She reluctantly left after extracting a promise from me to call her if I needed anything, even in middle of the night.

After I locked the front door, I went into the bathroom and stripped. The physical violence I’d suffered was already evident. Bruises were forming on my torso and arms, and my thighs throbbed from being wrenched apart.

I got in the shower, scrubbing myself down while I tried to let go of the trauma I had endured. The hot water beat down on me as I wished I could erase Jeremy’s touch from my body and soul. It was a fight not to give into the terror lurking below the surface.

I couldn’t.

Emma would be home tomorrow and I needed to be strong for her.

I would survive this....

After my shower, I fixed a cup of tea and curled up on the couch in the dark, listening to the whoosh of cars going by. It was oddly comforting.

The evening had started out with such promise and possibility. All I had wanted to do was have fun, to be a teenager for once.

That desire had royally backfired on me.

My mind churned as I thought about Jeremy holding me down, ready to hurt me. If only I had gotten to the door sooner or managed to get away somehow. If only I’d stayed with Stacy instead of racing to an empty bedroom. I tried to remind myself I had been lucky, that Jeremy hadn’t actually raped me.

But it didn’t really matter.

I still felt…

Unsafe.

Violated.

Alone.

The tears came bubbling up at that point and I let out a long wail, wishing my mom were there to comfort me. If she were alive, I probably wouldn’t have been at that stupid party. Sobs shook my body as I grieved for all I had lost.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Beau:

My favorite steakhouse was a bit of a hole in the wall, but it served the best rib-eye steak on this side of the Atlantic. Patterned after a log cabin, it was a jumble of knick-knacks on shelves with red and white plastic checkered tablecloths. It had a homey vibe and I came here when I wanted comfort food.

One night in late July, I sat at my regular table near a window.

“Here you go, Beau. Cooked medium rare, just the way you like it,” the waitress announced as she arrived with my steak.

“Thanks, Pepper. It looks delicious,” I said as she put my plate in front of me.

I threw my napkin in my lap and dug into my steak. Bernie, the owner, dry-aged the meat for weeks, making it tender and more flavorful. It melted on my tongue as I savored the garlic and salt coming out in the meat.

I had just taken a drink of beer when a commotion across the restaurant caught my attention. A large man dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans was harassing one of the other waitresses, Jeannie.

“Don’t tell me that!” he yelled, grabbing her arm and making the tray of drinks she was carrying tumble to the floor with a loud crash.

The busy steakhouse, full of chattering patrons, suddenly grew quiet as this drama unfolded. I casually threw my cloth napkin down on my plate and stood up.

Violence against women wasn’t something I stood for.

The out of control man didn’t let go of Jeannie as she cowered under his aggressive actions. She was a sweet lady and didn’t deserve whatever crap this loser was dishing up.

I quickly strode across the restaurant. “Jeannie, is everything all right over here? Do you need any help?” She glanced at me, her brown eyes wide with fear as tears streamed down her face.

“No! She doesn’t need help! Mind your own fucking business!” Wife-beater snarled at me, looking red-faced with drink as he staggered a couple of feet away from his victim after he pushed her to the side.

Good, now he was all mine.

I smiled as I took off my jacket. “I’m gonna give you one more chance to apologize and leave her alone before I kick your ass.”

“Who do you think you are? Jackie Chan?” He gave a hard laugh at his lame joke.

“You’re about to find out.”

He glared at me, his little eyes dull with anger.

I put one foot in front of the other, creating balance as I lowered my core. Smelling like a cheap brewery, he curled his fists, ready to strike. He threw the first punch, swinging wildly at my head, clumsy in his alcohol-induced state. I ducked and punched him squarely in the gut.

A whoosh of air escaped out of his mouth as I moved forward swiftly and attacked him in the Adam’s apple with a quick throat jab. As he staggered backward, I quickly swept my leg behind his, making him fall backwards onto the hardwood floor.

I leaned down as he struggled to breathe with his throat temporarily lodged in his spine. “You don’t touch a woman, dude. If I ever catch you harassing Jeannie again, I won’t be so nice.”

He nodded quickly, his beady glance full of real fear.

“I need to hear you say it.”

“I’ll leave her alone!” he coughed out. His vocal chords were definitely compromised.

“Now apologize,” I demanded as the cops showed up.

“I’m sorry!” he whispered at Jeannie, who was standing behind me.

The officers quickly interviewed me and a few eager witnesses, before they handcuffed the drunk loser and hauled him away.

“Now, Jeannie, if you have any more trouble with this guy, let me know,” I said, handing her my business card.

Relief filled her hazel gaze. “Thanks, Beau. He’s been terrorizing me for weeks. I can’t believe he just showed up here.”

“Guys like that, don’t go away quietly. Call my lawyer. Tell him I sent you and I want him to help you out,” I said, writing my attorney’s number on the back of another business card.

“Really?”

“Yeah. That guy needs to be locked up.”

She threw her arms around me. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Don’t hesitate to call.”

“I won’t.”

I made my way back to my seat and realized my food was gone.

“Your steak got cold, so I brought you a new one,” Pepper informed me as I sat down.

“Thanks,” I said as she put a fresh plate of steak in front of me.

“This one’s on the house. Thank you for helping Jeannie out. She should have reported him weeks ago.”

“Yeah, she should’ve. He won’t change.”

Unfortunately, I’d learned that lesson the hard way when I was in high school. For too long, I had ignored the warning signs that Jeremy was a cruel guy who could beat up special needs kids and rape women.

That all changed that night at Chad’s house. I charged up the stairs after Marla witnessed Ashley kissing me. I checked a couple of rooms, before I heard a scream and ran toward it. When I opened the door, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Jeremy was on top of Marla, attacking her.

“Jesus Christ!” Rage swept through me as I tossed him off her. “I told you not to fucking touch her, man!” I bellowed as he crashed into the dresser.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

He gave me some bullshit answers, inciting my fury more.

I caught him with a right hook, knocking the evil smirk off his face. He stumbled back, falling to the carpet. I landed solidly on top of him, unleashing on his sadistic ass.

I wanted to kill him, tear him limb from limb.

But I settled for annihilating him as I rained down punches, blood spurting from his mouth. He put his hands up trying to ward off my punches, but I just kept hitting him. My fists were moving so fast, he didn’t have a chance.

By the time I looked up, Marla was gone.

Using the last shred of my self-control, I got up and walked toward the door to track her down. As my hands dripped with Jeremy’s blood, Ashley DeGraw sauntered in acting as if she owned the place.

“What happened in here?” She cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms as she saw Jeremy passed out on the floor. “I told you Marla was trouble, Beau.”

There was something off about the way she said those words. I wouldn’t have put it past her to put Jeremy up to hurting Marla.

This girl was wretched and I wasn’t about to let her get away with it any longer. She already has a red handprint bright across her cheek along with some fresh fingernail scratches. I bet Stacy had gotten to her first.

I approached Ashley with a smile, letting her think I couldn’t see through her bullshit.

Her aquamarine eyes glittered with desire as I came within striking distance. “Oh Beau, I knew you wanted me.”

I grabbed her by the throat, pushing her against the wall next to the door. “That’s what you have to say?” I asked. “What fuckin’ planet do you live on? I don’t know what sick, twisted part you played in this whole thing, but we aren’t happening. You are going to leave Marla Matthews alone, you bitch!”

“I don’t know what you mean. I had nothing to do with this!” she claimed, her eyes wide with horror.

“I don’t give a shit about your little I’m-so-innocent act. Stay the fuck away from Marla or I will make sure everyone knows the truth about you.”

“You wouldn’t. You don’t have the balls for that,” she sneered as I held her by throat.

“I don’t have time for your crap, Ashley. You are going to leave Marla alone. If I even get a whiff of a rumor about her, I will let everyone know what a skank you are!”

“I don’t believe you,” she said, her aquamarine gaze full of defiance.

“You willing to risk all the things I know about you?” I let my gaze fill with disgust.

“You don’t know anything.”

“I know plenty and I have proof you gave Chad a blowjob at Cameron Larson’s party last year. You were too busy to notice the picture being taken as you went to town on Chad’s dick.” I let her go and she clung to the wall in horror. “I won’t have any problem letting it get into the wrong hands, so everyone can see what a good little whore you are.”

She gulped hard, her eyes glazing over in defeat. “Okay, okay. I’ll back off and leave her alone. Geez, do you love her or something?”

Now, it was my turn to gulp hard. “That’s none of your business.”

She smirked again, her eyes lighting up in twisted delight. “Oh, you’ve got it bad. She has you wrapped around her finger. Good luck with that, Beau. When she breaks your heart, you know where to find me.”

“That will never happen, Ashley. Not in a million years. Now get the fuck out of my face.”

She hustled out of the room as Jeremy groaned in pain.

Bastard.

I left him there as I hoofed it out to my car. Marla had to be shaken up and I wasn’t about to let her suffer alone. I drove to her apartment, wondering what I could say to make it better. I had one ace up my sleeve. I could only hope it was enough to get back in her good graces.

As I approached her door, I could hear her crying. It almost broke my heart as I put my hand on the door. I knocked softly a couple of times and it took a few seconds for her to open it.

Her dark hair was wet, her eyes watery. She looked like she had been put through hell as she stood there in a pair of purple sweats and a white T-shirt.

She leaned against the front door of her apartment. “Hey.”

I stuck my hands in my jean pockets. “I just wanted to check and see if you were okay.”