panic. That didn’t ease when he spotted Julie tied naked on the bed with an equally naked and shot Pete lying on top of her.
She’d never been so happy to see anyone in her life. “Chris,” she gasped, her breathing becoming more erratic.
He rushed over to her and yanked Pete’s lifeless form off her. Dropping him to the floor, Chris began ripping at the bindings on her ankles. His hands were shaking when he reached up to free her wrist. As the second wrist became loose, Colton draped a blanket over her.
Spots danced in front of her eyes as Chris pulled her up into his embrace. “Shh, relax Butterfly. You’re hyperventilating. It’s okay. It’s all over now.” The room had become an explosion of activity, but Julie couldn’t focus on any of it. For a single moment, her eyes met Toni’s bleak ones across the room and then the world faded to black.
Chapter 40
Chris pulled himself into the driver’s side of the cab of his truck and looked over at Julie’s pale face, illuminated by the soft glow of the hospital parking lot lights. The harsh dark bruise on her head stood in stark contrast to the extremely pale hue of her skin and the edge of stitches. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to call Cassie or Penelope?”
She wrapped her arms around her waist as she shook her head. “No, I don’t want them to know about this.”
“Julie, they’d want to be here to help.” She’d hardly said two words to him since she’d regained consciousness. He didn’t want to think about what that might mean. She seemed so fragile and if she wouldn’t talk to him, then she needed someone here that she could talk to.
“No!” She looked up at him with fierce determined eyes. “I don’t want you to say a word about this to them. They both have too much on their plates already and don’t need any more worries right now.” Her voice softened. “Please, Chris. Please don’t tell them about this. I know they’ll find out eventually, but not tonight. I just don’t want to deal with anyone else right now.” Her eyes filled with tears as she looked out the window.
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Okay, for tonight I’ll agree, but only for tonight.”
She started to tremble in reaction to either the stress of the night or the thought of going home.
He reached into the back seat to grab his sweatshirt and motioned to the center of the bench seat. “Come here and put this on.”
He wrapped his arm around her and tucked her under his chin trying to shield her from the world. “Do you want to go to your house or would you rather stay at my place for tonight? Or if you want, we could even go to a hotel. Whatever you need to feel safe right now, we can do. Just tell me what I can do.”
He could feel her shivering and her voice cracked as she spoke. “Thanks, but can we take the long way home? I’m not ready to be there yet.”
“Sure.”
As they drove, the country music playing through his speakers lilted softly in the darkened car. Slowly she began to relax. The stress of the day paired with the movement of the truck made for a good sedative. As they drove in circles around Lubbock, Chris thought about the awful events of the day.
The bastard would never have a chance to touch Julie again. He’d died instantly from the bullet Toni shot at him. Thank God, because that saved Chris from serving a prison sentence for killing him. He laid a soft kiss on top of her head. She was asleep and now she was safe. He needed to keep her that way forever.
Finally, Chris couldn’t drive any longer. Exhaustion pulled at him. He parked his truck in front of his house and brushed the soft hair across Julie’s forehead. Another few minutes and it could have been a very different result to the day. As it was, he wasn’t sure what the extent of the trauma was on Julie. He had no idea if Pete had time to consummate the rape part of his attack. He hadn’t been allowed in the room while they examined her in the hospital. A chill swept over him. If he had, they’d deal with it.
“Butterfly,” he swept a kiss across her forehead, “we’re home. Let’s go inside and get you to bed.”