Page 17 of Heartbreak Hero

Sprinting toward the back door, he tore it open and ran out into the alley.

Two men had Sara in their grip, her pants were gone, and they were forcing her to the ground.

“You son of bitch!” Kevin snarled and launched at the two men. He kicked one in the stomach and threw a punch at the other, connecting with the man’s jaw.

Sara toppled to the dirty concrete, and the men scrambled away from him.

They ran, and Kevin crouched down to take hold of Sara’s shoulders.

She cowered away.

“Sara, it’s okay. It’s me.”

She gazed at him, her eyes wide with fear, and then she launched into his arms.

“Shhh, it’s okay. They’re gone.” His voice came out gruff and hoarse.

Sara sobbed, and he picked her up in his arms, managed to get her pants off the ground, and carried her to the back door. Juggling her, he pulled out his keys and opened the back door before carrying her inside and into the break room.

He placed her on the couch and then crouched to help her first put one foot and then the other back into her pants. She stood to pull them up over the scratches on her legs and zip them up. The button at the top was gone, but the zipper kept her pants in place.

“Here, sit back down,” he said, running a hand over her head and hair before gently urging her to return to the cushion.

When she sank back down, he hurried over and poured a cup of coffee from the brewed pot and added a heavy dose of cream before carrying it back to her.

He wrapped her hands around the cup and urged her to take a sip.

If he had had whiskey back there, he might have added a shot.

“Thank you,” she whispered and took a tiny sip of the hot coffee and then a bigger one.

“I was taking out the trash and they were there.”

“I’ll report it to the police,” he said.

“Don’t tell them…”

“I’m calling the police,” he said firmly. “I won’t tell them they removed your pants, but I’m telling them you were attacked.”

Two hours later, Sara had filled out the police report taken by the nice female officer, who went by the name of Carie. The woman had shown up at the lounge along with her partner, whom she called Officer Rick. Sara was sure that the use of first names was to make her feel more comfortable sharing the details. Both officers were very sympathetic when she walked them through what had happened during the attack and where the assault had taken place.

“Were they vagrants? We’ve seen an influx of riffraff now that it’s warmer weather,” Officer Rick said.

“No, they were dressed in nicer clothes than that,” she said, describing the two men. “They didn’t smell like they didn’t have a home. One of them had bad breath, though.”

“Okay, we’ll go on this and alert the station to be on the lookout,” Officer Carie said with a small encouraging smile. “Do you need us to drive you home?”

Sara looked for Kevin, who straightened up from where he was leaning against the break room counter.

“I’ll take her.”

She gave him a grateful nod and the cops left.

Kevin locked up the lounge and ushered her into his car.

She was quiet on the way to Mandy’s place. The feel of the attack lingered, and all she wanted to do was wash the stench off her body and curl up and sleep.

“I called Mandy while you were showing the cops the alley,” Kevin said.

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