Page 46 of Graced
“He called me the instant Welsh showed up at the hospital,” Rhyne continued.“I tried to get there as soon as I could, but I wasn’t quick enough.”His voice broke, and he bowed his head.“I wasn’t…”
Grace moved over to sit next to him.Drawing her arms around his shoulders, she held him tightly as they both grieved for the innocent lab tech.
CHAPTER23
Nightmare
“Hey!Heyyy!”
He was coming after her.The look on the man’s face frightened her.And when he smiled, it sickened her to the core.Sheer terror was all she had, but it gave her the ability to run away.
She felt the cold metal door handle in her palm when a hand clamped down on her arm.She was jerked around so hard, it nearly pulled it from the socket.She cried out from the excruciating pain.
“Shut up, bitch!”
She tried to push him away, but his hands were everywhere—punching, squeezing, grabbing.All the while he laughed at her weakness.When she tried to hit him, he sneered.
She kept fighting him.She couldn’t stop because she feared what he’d do to her.What he’d do to her.A scream welled up in her throat.
“Stop!Help!Someone help!Marcia!Susan!Call security!Ca?—”
He clubbed her in the mouth.Pain and blood erupted as her lip split open and she bit down hard on her tongue.
“Scream again, and I’ll break your fucking neck.”
No, he wouldn’t, she told herself.He wanted her blood, and that meant keeping her alive.But he wouldn’t be nice about it.He’d make her suffer just so he could get off on it.He wanted to punish her.He wanted to make her regret rejecting his advances.He wanted her to serve his every need.She was frozen with fear, unable to move, unable to think.She was the deer in the headlights.The prey incapable of fleeing.
She was barely aware of someone leaping into the air and landing on top of him, across his back.She caught sight of a white-clad arm coming down hard behind his neck and shoulders.The blow caused Welsh to release her and turn on the person attacking him from the rear.He shoved the guy, sending him flying backwards toward the front desk.
It wasn’t until the guy staggered to his feet and came after Welsh again that she recognized who it was.“Grace, run!”Norris had appeared from out of nowhere like a superhero in a movie to save her.To protect her.
She knew whatever he’d done to Welsh wasn’t enough to stop the man, until she saw something wiggling.She recognized a syringe was embedded in Welsh’s neck just before the man reached behind him to grab it and jerk it out.
She scrambled backwards, trying to get far enough away so she could get back on her feet when she saw Norris charge the man.Welsh’s arm made a wind-up motion like a baseball pitcher, bringing his fist upward until it connected with Norris’s chin.
Grace screamed when she heard the muffled snap of bones breaking.The lab tech’s body dropped into a heap on the linoleum floor.Not done with him, Welsh dropped to one knee and rammed the syringe into the man’s eye.
In full panic mode, Grace sprinted for the rear exit again.This time she slammed down the levered handle, opening the door, and raced for the parking lot.
Welsh grabbed for her hair as she exited the building and managed to snag a bit of it.Sheer terror gave her the strength to resist the hard backwards jerk.It was followed by the sting of pain as the portion ripped from her scalp, but she kept running.
She kept running, unable to see where she was going because of the tears blurring her vision.She prayed for help to arrive.She prayed for someone to stop the man coming after her.
“Nooo!Help!Heeelp!”
Someone grabbed her by the arms.Frantic, she tried to scratch his face, to fight him off, to get him to release her.
“Grace!Grace, wake up!You’re having a bad dream!Grace!”
The voice wasn’t Welsh’s.This one was filled with worry and caring.
Lowering her hands, she shuddered in his grasp and opened her eyes to find his concerned gaze watching her.“Rhyne?”
“Yeah, honey.You were having a nightmare, but it’s over.You’re safe now.You’re here with me, and I swear I’ll do everything I can to protect you,” he whispered.
“Rhyne.”
She acted on impulse.Her nerves were raw and bleeding.She needed comforting.She needed to know, beyond any doubt, that Welsh would never get his hands on her again.
