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Calum beat Duncan to the punch by asking, “What did he say?”
Duncan felt Kayla take another deep breath before saying, “He said that I shouldn’t act like I wouldn’t give it up, that he knew I was playing hard to get, that he knew I wanted him just as much and that he would have my p-pussy that night.”
Damn it to hell, who was this motherfucker? Duncan tried to calm down before he scared Kayla, but it must’ve taken him longer than he’d hoped. She looked up at him as if she could feel his rage. Hoping to reassure her, he stroked her shoulder, and she continued her story.
“I left immediately. I was so disgusted by him, but he also scared the crap out of me. I went to the bathroom and told Isabel what had happened. She acted all shocked and couldn’t believe Tom had said that. We were all pretty hammered, and I didn’t think she truly believed me, honestly. She’d always thought that Tom was such a nice guy. I did too, once.”
Maureen picked up Kayla’s hand, and Kayla smiled softly at her before continuing. “When I left the bathroom, I didn’t see him sitting at the table anymore, so I immediately took an Uber to my apartment building. The moment I stepped outside of the car, it felt as if someone was watching, and even now I can feel the goose bumps coming.” Kayla shivered in Duncan’s arms, and he tried to comfort her as much as he could.
“In front of the door of my apartment, my home, he attacked me. I was struggling with my keys because I was freaking out after I sensed someone in the hallway. I should never have left Loco’s alone. I should have called you, Calum. I....”
Kayla sobbed, and Duncan turned her into his arms and hugged her close. “Shh, wildflower. No one is going to hurt you ever again. You’re gonna be all right. Let us take care of you.”
Calum came up and put his arm around her back while she was still standing in Duncan’s arms. “He’s right, Kay-Kay. We’re here for you, sis. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
Kayla didn’t answer Calum; it was as if she needed to get it off her chest now that she’d started telling her story. She stopped sobbing and took a deep breath. “I felt a hard blow as he kicked me over. He kept kicking my stomach as he shouted, ‘Shut up. Shut up.’ But I kept screaming, and then he jumped on me and put his hand over my mouth.
“He told me to shut the hell up or he would kill me. I was so scared. I believed he would have, but luckily voices came up from the staircase. He then pulled me up by my hair and knocked my head against the wall. The next thing I knew, my neighbor was hovering over me. She’d called an ambulance and was waiting with me for them to show up.”
Duncan looked over Kayla’s head at Calum, and the two men had a silent conversation. If they could, they would find this Tom guy and he would be dead. And he would suffer, no doubt.
Kayla continued. “I went to the hospital and told the nurse it had been an accident. I said that I had too much to drink and that I’d tripped on the stairs. I told them that I’d tried to crawl my way to the door. They believed me, and the police weren’t involved.”
Kayla smiled warily through her tears and chuckled. “God, I’m a mess. I’m sorry.” Nobody was laughing with her, and Duncan sure found the whole situation not to be a joke.
Kayla was relievedshe’d finallytold her story, not only to her brother, but she was also glad Maureen and Duncan now knew as well. She didn’t have to put up a front any longer, and she was so grateful for the way they had consoled her.
Although telling her story felt good, she still thought Tom stood around every corner wherever she went. Every day she checked all the locks and windows, and she looked in all the rooms of the apartment to see if anything was out of order.
She figured Tom wouldn’t let her get away this easily. She had told her boss that she went on a trip, and she’d made sure not to tell a soul where she was. Not even her family knew exactly where she was. She’d said that she would travel the country and would be back in a year. When her family contacted her in the past weeks, each week she would say that she was in a different state. She couldn’t risk Tom finding out her location.
Kayla shook her head at the thought. As if her family would go along with such an absurd plan. As if they would just let her go and not ask questions. But the longer she stayed away, the harder it got to tell them the truth.
Tom appeared almost every night in her nightmares, staring at her with his piercing blue eyes. He was a lean but muscular guy with short brown hair. He would smirk at her in her dreams, as he’d always done in the office, and then out of nowhere he would jump on top of her, punching her and shouting that she needed to shut the hell up.
After Maureen and Duncan left, she talked with Calum a little more, and he told her that she needed to talk to someone professionally. He’d seen similar cases on the job, and he knew that most victims suffered mental and health issues after an attack.
