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Suddenly she felt slightly sick and her hands began to shake. ‘I started to clean his head and he turned on me like a madman. First he just hit me.’ She broke off, her breathing more rapid. ‘And then he drew the knife.’
‘No!’ Mark’s groan of denial was the final straw and she started to sob.
‘He stabbed me, Mark.’ Tears poured down her cheeks and suddenly she felt herself lifted bodily onto Mark’s lap, his arms locking her firmly against him as if he was trying to protect her from the memory. ‘He stabbed me—again and again—and just when I thought I was going to die one of the receptionists came in for something and she pressed the alarm.’
‘Oh, God.’ Mark swallowed hard, his face buried in her hair, his hands holding her tightly against him. ‘Oh, Holly, sweetheart.’
His anguish brought all her emotions to the surface and she sobbed into his chest while he held her tightly, soothing her with gentle words as she cried.
‘Tell me he didn’t get away,’ Mark said softly, his voice shaky with emotion as he stroked her hair away from her face and rummaged in his pocket for a handkerchief. In the end he gave up looking and mopped her tears with the edge of his shirt. ‘Tell me they got the bastard.’
Holly sniffed and nodded, her breathing jerky. ‘Two of the GPs came in then and managed to get the knife from him. They saved my life.’
‘That two weeks I couldn’t get hold of you—’ Mark’s voice was a hoarse whisper ‘—you were in hospital, weren’t you?’
She nodded slowly. ‘For some of it, yes. Then I went home to my parents. I didn’t want to be on my own in the flat.’
‘Why didn’t someone tell me?’ Mark rubbed a hand across his face and breathed out heavily. ‘My mother—your mother—what the hell were they playing at? They should have told me.’
‘You’d just started your new job,’ Holly muttered, reaching for the edge of his shirt again. Damn. She had to stop crying. It was ridiculous! ‘I asked them not to tell you. I knew you’d drop everything to be with me—’
‘Damn right I would!’ Mark’s voice was a growl. ‘And you had no right to stop me.’
‘I had every right,’ Holly mumbled, wiping her eyes and sniffing hard. ‘Your new employers would have taken a dim view of you gallivanting off to London at the first excuse. Your mum wanted to tell you but I persuaded her to see sense.’
‘I’ll have words with her,’ Mark muttered, raking long fingers through his dark hair and taking a steadying breath. ‘I’m your best friend, Holl. I should have been there. God, when I think about it...’
‘You couldn’t have done anything,’ Holly said logically. ‘You just would have put your own career in jeopardy.’
There was a long silence and then Mark frowned. ‘You said the GPs saved your life.’
‘Well, they dragged him away from me and got a drip in—two drips actually.’ She was matter-of-fact now, the storm of emotion suddenly burnt out by its very intensity. ‘They pumped me full of fluid and did what they could to stop the bleeding. Most of the stab wounds were superficial fortunately.’
‘But the others?’
Holly gave a small shrug. ‘They had to remove a small section of my bowel but it hasn’t caused any long-term problems. Physically I’m mended.’
‘And mentally?’
&nb
sp; ‘I thought I was doing all right until today.’
‘You were. You are,’ Mark said firmly, pushing her blonde hair away from her face, his eyes gentle as he gazed down at her. ‘You’re bound to feel anxious when you come up against a drunk male after what happened. How the hell did you cope?’
Holly stared down at her hands. ‘I don’t think I did. After it happened I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw his face.’
Mark nodded, his jaw tense. ‘And that’s why you looked so awful when you first arrived.’
‘Yes.’ Holly nodded. ‘But I actually did feel a lot better, being here. It was the right thing to do.’
Mark stirred and shifted his position slightly. ‘Because Cornwall feels safer than London?’
‘Not just that.’ A flush spread over her cheeks and he frowned and tilted her chin towards him.
‘What, then?’
‘It was having you in the house,’ she said simply. ‘Having you nearby. You made me feel safe.’
