I couldn’t breathe. The guy mashed my face down so I couldn’t see and yanked my arm up behind me.”
“Did he touch you any other way? Kneel on you or kick you or anything?”
“No.”
“But he was strong enough to hold you with just your arm back and your head down.”
“Well, I couldn’t breathe, so I wasn’t exactly fighting him.”
“I’m just trying to get a picture here. Do you remember anything about his hand? Did he wear gloves?”
“No, no gloves. He had a huge hand. The palm covered my eyes, and the thumb was all the way down below my chin.” She tried to show him what she meant, but winced when she brought her arm up. “Come over on this side, I can’t reach across with this arm.”
“He yanked up your left arm?”
“Yes. Does that mean he’s left handed?”
“It could. It could also mean that was the angle he came in at. Did he have any calluses or were his hands smooth?”
“I don’t remember. It happened so fast, and I was focused on trying to breathe.”
“Did he say anything to you? Try and steal your phone or purse?”
“He didn’t take anything. He just said for me to go away, that they didn’t want my kind around here.”
“Here, have some juice. It’ll get your blood sugar up.” Mary Ellen started to crouch down, but J.T. stopped her.
“I’ll help her. If you get down on the floor, you may never get up.”
“I can probably get up now, I’m feeling much better.”
“No!” both J.T. and Mary Ellen shouted.
“You about scared me into an early grave when I saw you topple over. I can’t go through that again. Now I know why Bill would get so white when I’d faint during the first trimester.”
“I think you should go to the hospital and get checked out. We can rent a hotel room for the night.” And until he caught whoever was after her. He didn’t say it, but she must have read it in his face.
“No. I want to go back to the cabin. I got a little shook up because it reminded me so much of the last time I was attacked, but I’m okay now. Honest. A hot shower and some ibuprofen and I’ll be as good as new. Although, I won’t be winning any beauty contests, that’s for sure.”
“You’re going to be awfully sore tomorrow,” Mary Ellen said. “If you go to the hospital they’ll give you some good pain killers at least.”
“No hospital. I was chased out of this town once. I’ll be damned if I let it happen again.”
J.T. looked at Mary Ellen and shook his head. Nadya wasn’t budging on this. And he really didn’t blame her. But shit, he wanted her safe.
“You can make your statement tomorrow. Let’s go home now.”
He scooped her up off the floor and held her to his chest as if he were cradling a baby. For a second, he just held her close and inhaled the scent of her. He’d been so fucking scared when Bill had told him she’d been attacked. His heart had literally stopped beating.
If this morning in the kitchen had been heaven, the drive from the state forest had been hell. Had he any doubt about his feelings for her, this would have taken care of them. He’d been half in love with her when she was eighteen, now he was in love up to his eyeballs.
All he had to do was convince her she was just as in love with him.
A flash had him spinning with Nadya in his arms. Mary Ellen stood there with her phone, snapping another picture.
“What the hell?”
“You two just looked so darn romantic, I needed to capture it forever. Don’t worry, I’ll tag you in it.”
“Mary Ellen Farley, if you put that picture on the Internet, I’ll get even,” Nadya yelled.
J.T. figured this was as good a time as any to make a quick getaway. “We’ll see you in the morning, Mar. I’ll want a statement from you too.”
He had to cross the street to get to his truck, as he’d driven the police cruiser straight to the store. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten about the church auction being held at the town green, which just so happened to be right next to the police station. No wonder there were so many people in the general store. They were all on their way to the green and stopped in for a pop or something.
Dale had a population of three hundred or so people, and J.T.