Reunited Ch. 07

Flipping on the television, Alec found a show the two had watched together back in college. "You still like this one, Els?" She'd nodded with a small smile before taking up one corner of the couch and curling up with a grimace. That position had to hurt her ribs, but it was one she always took when tired. "You can't sleep yet, darlin'. I don't know if you have a concussion or not, so we need to make sure you stay awake awhile." He scooted over next to her. "Come on. No curling up in the corner tonight." She sat up, leaning back slowly against the couch.

"Do you want some Tylenol?"

"No. It's fine."

Alec smiled to himself and tried to force himself to relax. He was still keyed up from the night's events, but he didn't want Ellie to feel any worse than she already did, so he tried to present an easy-going and caring front to cover his rage and dismay at the situation. He had called his boss in the car while driving over, though he'd glossed over how hurt Ellie had been since he didn't want to chance taking her to a hospital. One of his work buddies had texted him later saying that while the alley in question had shown signs of the struggle, the attackers had escaped. The Chief had said he could wait until the next day to come in with the knife and make a statement, and that he could take some files and work mostly from the apartment.

For tonight though, he just needed to get Ellie to relax yet stay awake so he could keep monitoring her for signs of a concussion. That meant relaxing himself. He glanced down at her, but her eyelids were drooping.

"Hey, darlin'. You've got to stay awake." He gently slid an arm around her, pulling her toward him as carefully as possible. "C'mon, Els. Stay awake for me."

She shook her head clear and tried to focus on the television, but it was late and the day had been stressful. Alec started rubbing her arm, trying to keep her awake but it felt so soothing that it made her still sleepier. She nuzzled into his chest, too tired to care that they shouldn't be snuggling and too sore to want to move from that position.

Alec gave up. She had thrown up, but other than that she seemed tired rather than concussed. He glanced at his phone; it was nearly three-thirty. No wonder she was so tired. He continued rubbing her arm. Though she was sleeping now, the action relaxed him. Feeling her softness against his chest and under his hands gave him certainty that she was safe. He traced her arm with his fingertips as unbidden, the image of the scars on her back came to mind. Taking a deep breath, he tried to dampen his rage, but he couldn't release his tension. Even though she was here and safe, she had been harmed, probably in ways far worse than a physical whipping. Just the thought of anyone doing that to her set off a boiling sensation in his veins. He needed some way—any way—to channel this anger. He couldn't let her see him this upset.

He leaned down and softly kissed her hair. The action mollified him slightly. She was here now; that was the important thing. However, until the man who did this was behind bars—or dead would be fine too—he couldn't fully relax. He tuned back to the sitcom, trying to distract himself. It half worked, but the real distraction was the girl in his arms. After another episode, it was time for bed, so he awakened Ellie, asked her some basic questions to see how she was functioning, and helped her to her room and to the bed. After closing the door on his way out, he listened for a few minutes, and, hearing nothing but her even breathing, made his way to his own bed.

*****

This time whimpers brought him out of his slumber. Though he was glad she wasn't screaming this night, he wished she weren't having nightmares at all as he hurried to her room. Opening the door, he rushed over to the bed, where Ellie had tangled herself in the sheets.

"Els. Darlin' wake up. You're dreaming." He lightly shook her, rubbing her arm and forehead to try to wake her up, but she was solidly asleep.

"Come on, dear. Wake up." Now he crawled into the bed alongside her. The jostling woke her and she rolled toward him, reaching out for comfort. "Hey. I'm here, ok?" he said as soothingly as he could.

"Can you stay awhile? I'm afraid they'll come back for me," she whispered.

"I'll be here as long as you need me, Els. No one will find you here, I swear." He stayed on his back and she lay next to him with her head resting on his shoulder. It was her favorite position for snuggling, he recalled. With one hand, he played with her hair, hoping the action would help lull her back to sleep. The other hand held hers against his chest, and both were asleep within minutes.

*****

The next morning, Alec went to work as planned. Ellie had been sleeping peacefully when he left bright and early, so he hoped to finish and return before noon so that she wouldn't have to spend much time alone. Everything went as planned, and he returned to a suspiciously silent apartment. He figured Ellie would have awakened by then, so he strode to her room and knocked lightly. When he heard nothing, he opened the door.

Ellie was lying prone on her bed, and her shoulders were shaking in silent sobs.

"Oh honey," he stated softly.

She heard and rolled over. "I'm sorry," she stammered. "I just...I thought I was dreaming but everything really did happen and I woke up and it all came back." She sat up, wiping at her face as silent tears continued to stream out of her eyes.

Alec sat himself on the foot of the bed, sitting cross-legged and facing her. "Do you want to tell me about everything?"

She shook her head, but before he could protest, she continued, "I don't want to, but I suppose I should. Gosh, where do I start?"

After a quick pause, she started on the tale.

*****

Mendon was incensed. His men had had her, and somehow she'd gotten away again. He'd called hospitals searching for his "sister Ellie," but no one bearing her description had been admitted. It seemed she had a helper from the story his guys told. Perhaps the man who had so easily beaten them could also take care of the girl?

The boss was livid. Mendon had made that call himself, knowing he'd need to deliver those words himself because Davidson would have killed the others immediately. He always killed first and asked questions later. Except with the girl. If only Mendon had permission to throttle her, he would. That would solve all their problems, really. Davidson had countless whores as well as numerous women after him. Yet this inconsequential, insipient female was the one he wanted enough to keep alive despite her escape and the disappearance of the ledger.

Of all the men in Davidson's circle, only Mendon truly understood the consequences of the loss of the ledger. If that fell into the authorities' hands, they might as well handcuff themselves because eventually it would lead straight to them and to further incriminating evidence.

It was imperative to catch the bitch, so he devised a plan, one that would give his men access to every apartment building in the vicinity. Ellie hadn't been in any hospitals, and since the guys had reportedly roughed her up pretty badly, the fella who'd saved her had to live pretty close to the area where she been caught. He was ready for this to be over, and—no matter what the boss wished—he didn't care if the whore was brought in alive or dead.

*****

Though it took her awhile to start flowing, the story came out of Ellie, for the first time ever. Sure she had given some of it to the small team who had taken the ledger and the case, but never had she opened up and shared her life with Rob before.

Alec listened as she recounted the months after they had split. They had kept in touch for a couple months since she was taking classes and found a summer job, but once his job had started, he'd had less time and had thought he was over her, so some of this was new.

Ellie had done well in her classes, found comfort in working, working out, and knowing that she was graduating soon. She'd started her medical school applications, applying to a handful of schools around the country with the option to apply to more later in the application season. During the semester, she had interviewed at those schools and received acceptances, so she worked on deciding where to attend based on cost and location.

After graduating, she moved to the town of her school of choice and found a volunteer opportunity in the emergency department of a hospital there. She found an apartment within walking distance of her school and began to acquaint herself with the area.

Then Ellie paused in her story.

"Els?"

"It's ok, I just needed a minute. I haven't talked this much in ages."

She took a deep breath and winced as her ribs protested the move, "I had met a few girls in the area, and they all wanted to go out for drinks at a nearby ritzy bar. I knew I wouldn't be able to afford it, but they said the guys at these bars buy drinks freely because they're rich, so I figured I could score a free drink or two from some desperate guy, you know?

"We got there, and after a few minutes, the guys flocked over, and one in particular seemed interested. I tried to flirt—oh it was embarrassing—but he seemed beguiled and bought me a second and a third drink. Then we were dancing, and after a few hours, he asked to take me home. I declined, saying I don't go home with strangers, and he looked offended and left.

Well a few days later, a huge batch of flowers shows up at my apartment, with a note saying 'Let's Not Be Strangers' or something like that, and he spent the next couple months trying so hard that I figured I had to give him a shot. He was the first man interested in me since..." she trailed off.

"Since me."

Ellie nodded, and Alec pondered her words. It would be hard for anyone to remain aloof in that situation. Ellie had undoubtedly been lonely, and—though he hated to admit it—she could have still been hurting from their relationship. Male attention would be a welcome respite from those feelings.

"So he charmed his way in and you agreed to date him."

Ellie sighed, "I was soflattered, you see. Idiotic really, but the idea that someone who could have any girl in the world yet wantedme? It was a heady feeling. Of course, my girlfriends were all a titter about how rich he was once they figured out who it was. That didn't help because they all encouraged it. No one could see what he was underneath that charm."

"When did it change?"

"We'd dated a few months, and everything was great. He'd been a perfect gentleman, never pushing for anything beyond a kiss on the cheek, buying me gifts...he secured the best study room on campus for me and my friends by bribing someone. At the time I was a giddy schoolgirl because I had no worries. Everything was provided for me, I was doing well in school, my friends were able to reap the benefits as well so they loved him, naturally. Then one day I refused to attend something with him; I think I wanted to go home and visit my family. He went berserk; he'd been waiting all along for that moment, wanting to see how I'd react. We fought bitterly and I wanted to leave and then he just hauled off and backhanded me."

She brought her hand to her cheek, as though feeling it again. "I was so surprised, I didn't even have time to recover, I just fell to the ground. My lip was bleeding; I could taste blood, but I couldn't figure out what had just happened."

Alec watched her eyes grow distant, haunted as she relived the turning point. He wanted to interrupt, but he figured this was hard enough to get through without losing momentum.

"He, umm...well he was excited by this turn in events. I was so dazed and shocked that I hardly noticed him pick me up. I thought maybe he was taking me to the bathroom to let me clean my face or that he was apologizing somehow, but he brought me to his bedroom. I'd seen it in passing but hadn't been there; we always just cuddled on the couch in his home theater. We hadn't done anything physical really."

Ellie shut down, stopped talking, just looked at her hands with horror in her eyes.

Alec realized what must have happened, he knew what had to have followed, but he needed to hear everything. Just as he was about to prompt her, she gathered herself and continued on her own.

"That ended that night. I was so shocked, I didn't even protest. I should have fought it, screamed, anything," she trailed off again.

"It wouldn't have stopped him. You couldn't have stopped it."

"You're right," she said, looking up into his eyes. "I lay there afterward—everything hurting, my thoughts spiraling out of control, wondering what had just happened and knowing the answer but refusing to accept it. And he got up, caressed my cheek, and said I brought it on myself, that I had deserved what just happened, and that he had been lenient with me. That sounded...wrong...but my mind accepted it, at least for the moment. I had no other explanation.

"So I cleaned myself up, went home, and tried to avoid thinking about it. We had a midterm in our advanced physiology course coming up, so I spent the week studying, avoiding everyone. No one thought anything of it because that was our most challenging class. We were all avoiding everyone because the semester was picking up pace. I took that exam, somehow passed despite my brain still being in a fog, and Rob wanted to go out and celebrate. We went to a fancy restaurant and it all felt normal again. I wondered if maybe I had imagined it all, but I'd been wearing makeup for days to cover up a bruise and my lip.

We had dessert and he said, 'Come home with me tonight.' I declined politely, but I could see that wasn't what he wanted. He was angry when we left, and I was lost in my thoughts, so I didn't notice where we were going until we pulled up to his place.

"We fought again, right there in the car. I refused to get out because I wanted to go home. He screamed at me for a minute, then went quiet and got out of the car. He came around and grabbed my arm, reached across to undo the seatbelt, and hauled me out of the car. I was kicking and fighting it but he slammed the door and then grabbed my arms and pushed me back against the car. I'll never forget what he said, 'You do what I want, when I want it, you little tease. You don't get to make decisions anymore.'

"His eyes were just so angry, and his hands were digging into my upper arms. I could hardly feel my hands because the circulation was being cut off. He released my arms and started kissing me fiercely. I could feel how hard he was and I was scared he was going to hurt me again, so I didn't kiss him back, but he pinched my nipple through the dress I was wearing and demanded I reciprocate, so I opened my mouth and bit his tongue hard."

Ellie smiled faintly, remembering her last true protest. "That wasn't what he had in mind. He leaned back, cursing, but didn't let me move away from the car. Then he redoubled his efforts but became gentle. He kissed my neck, rubbed my body through the dress, stroked my arms. My body was responding despite my fear and he started stroking my thigh with his hand. He knew what he was doing, and I finally let him kiss me on my mouth; he knew he'd won. He reached under the dress, moved my panties out of the way, and fingered me. He was a skilled lover, knew what buttons to press, where to touch with what pressure. Once I was dripping and ready, he unzipped his pants and took me right there against the car. He just kept repeating that I wanted this, wanted him, as he thrusted, and I did. I wanted it so badly, but I felt dirty for wanting sex, wanting him when I knew what he was capable of.

"We went inside and spent the night in bed. Every time I thought we were done, he'd want more. And it actually felt good. He didn't hurt me, wasn't mean. He was tender and gentle and I responded to that. The next day, while I slept in, he sent his men to my place, and they gathered my books and clothes and brought them over. When I woke up, he told me I lived there now. Naturally, I tried to fight it, but I was afraid to put up much resistance because I didn't want him to turn back into the harsh Rob. Gentle Rob was better. He did let me put some items in storage, my personal effects that he 'didn't have room for'. He didn't want evidence of my life before him lying around.

"I ran a few times, never getting very far. That brought out his harsh side, and he'd beat me or use me or something, saying the whole time that I wanted it and that if I didn't want it, why did I keep running? My only escape was school, but I couldn't tell anyone because I was ashamed at how sometimes Ididwant him and I knew he'd be angry if I told. Everyone was swamped with projects and exams, so no one noticed that I had become antisocial; we all had really.

"After the time I was whipped, I didn't try to run again for two years, afraid he would kill me or someone else if I did. But then I knew I had to leave during the third year. I had seen that family killed, found the ledger in his office filled with what he was, what he did, and I had to run. I seduced him for once. He'd been upset trying to figure out where the ledger had gone, though I wasn't supposed to know why. I'd grown adept at sneaking around the estate and listening, so I knew his plans for the thief were worse than anything even I had endured. I thought to distract him, so I—"

Now she lost that momentum she'd built up. Alec was tensed, coiled, every muscle ready to spring, but he had to get her to finish her story. "It's ok, Ellie. You did what you had to do."

She nodded, then continued. "I went to his office, a place I wasn't normally allowed, but I knocked on the door and stood in the hallway wearing nothing except bruises from the night before when he'd been especially frustrated. The sight of me battered turned him on more than any other I think. Anyway, he grabbed my arm and brought me inside. We went to his desk, and I took off his clothing and seduced him, right there. We had sex three times before he was exhausted, and I asked if I could go to the mall and get an outfit for the following night's event. He said I could, and I ran to storage, grabbed my few items, and then left the car, my wallet, and everything except my personal stuff at the mall. I had overheard Rob telling Mendon, his right hand man, that a Gibson fellow was investigating a case that was too close to them. So I used all my change in a payphone to find that Gibson guy and he came and got me. Only he and one other girl were allowed to know my name or where I was, and the two of them set me up here. I found a job and I've been here ever since, moving only once when you and Jake found me."

They sat in silence for a while when Alec started to speak, "Ellie—"

She cut him off. "Don't say anything. I'm glad I got out. That's what I try to focus on, you know? But...he was right! Sometimes Ididwant him. And I was so stupid for staying as long as I did. I thought I did deserve that treatment, and—"

Now he cut her off. "Ellie Burns!" Her eyes snapped up to his, filled with tears. "You didnotdeserve any of that, you hear me? That man is a foul, evil creature who could never in a million years comecloseto deserving a girl half as good as you." Seeing her shake her head, Alec moved from his perch at the end of the bed and settled next to her. "Come here, please."

Slowly, she crawled onto his lap and allowed him to wrap his arms around her slender frame. "Oh Ellie, someday you'll heal and believe me when I say this, but you are amazing and strong and you did what you had to do to survive that ordeal. No one will judge you for that. You held up better than most would and you escaped."