Another Saturday Night and I Ain't Got No Body (A Page Turners Novel) (31 page)

“I called the police from my cell phone as I was breaking into your house,” he explained.

The sirens drew steadily closer as the police car came down the street and pulled into the driveway. Jake moved down the stairs toward the door as they heard the car doors slam.

He opened the front door to see Officer McCarthy rushing up the sidewalk, followed by a female officer, her red hair pulled back into a neat ponytail.

“He’s upstairs in the bedroom, first door on your right,” Jake said.

Officer McCarthy nodded at Jake, then climbed the stairs to where Sunny still sat on the floor with Beau. He touched her shoulder and looked her directly in the eye. “Are you okay, Ms. Vale?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Sunny wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. “Just get that guy out of here, please.”

Officer McCarthy cautiously peered around the door jam, then looked questionably back to Jake after seeing Hank’s prone body lying on the floor. “What happened to him?” the officer asked.

“Uh, gosh, I’m not really sure,” Jake said. “I think he fell.”

“Ri-ght.” McCarthy turned and disappeared into the room, and the female officer came up the stairs.

“My name is Officer Delaney. I am here to assist you. Can I help you downstairs?” she asked Sunny.

Sunny was almost afraid to let go of the dog, as if he were a drugged-up, furry security blanket. She looked from the red-haired officer, to Beau, then to Jake, who nodded his assurance at her.

“I’ve got Beau,” Jake told her.

Carefully, Sunny set Beau’s limp body back onto the floor, adjusted her t-shirt and stood up. Her knees were a little shaky, and Officer Delaney took her arm as she helped Sunny down the stairs and into the living room. Sunny sank onto the sofa, and Jake was there, pulling the sofa throw around her shoulders.

He bounded up the stairs to where Officer Delaney had returned. Sunny could see through the stair railing slats as the policewomen placed the half-eaten cupcake into a Ziploc baggie. Jake came down the stairs, Beau's body cradled in his arms. Sunny’s eyes filled with tears as he carefully laid him on the sofa next to her so Beau’s head could rest in her lap.

“Thank you,” she mouthed to Jake. She was so choked with emotion that she couldn’t seem to make her voice work.

“No problem.” He smiled encouragingly.

Officer Delaney called down to Sunny. “This guy says he just poured Benadryl onto a couple of cupcakes and fed them to the dog to get him to go to sleep. He should be fine after a long nap.”  

“That’s good. Thanks,” Sunny croaked out and ran her hand across Beau’s furry head.

“I’m going to get you a glass of water,” Jake said and headed into the kitchen.

“What in the sam-
hell is going on here?”

Edna stood in the doorway, her scrawny legs sticking out from under her plush pink robe. Her eyes were wild, and one side of her hair was smashed against the side of her head while the other stood up in unruly silver curls.

“What did
you
do?” she asked and narrowed her eyes at Jake as he came back into the living room carrying a glass of water.

Before he could answer, the sound of movement caused her to look up the stairs. The two officers pushed and dragged Sunny’s attacker from the bedroom, his arms handcuffed behind his back.

Edna watched the officers bring him down the stairs, her eyes narrowed in an accusatory stare. She looked toward Sunny. “Hank the Tank?” she asked.

Sunny nodded and tried to keep her bottom lip from trembling.

Edna walked to the bottom of the stairs to meet them, her Sassy Girl slippers slapping the floor with each step. Fearlessly, she stepped up to Hank. He was at least a foot taller than her, but she tilted her head back and glared at his drooping face.

“You son-of-a-bitch,” she hissed and brought her knee up full force to land smack in his family jewels.

“Get him outta here,” she directed Officer McCarthy.

He smiled down at her and replied, “Yes, ma’am.”

They pulled Hank to the door, and Officer McCarthy stopped and looked back at Jake. “You’ll bring her down to the station tomorrow to file a full report?” he asked.

“You bet,” Jake answered.

The officers pulled the door shut behind them and dragged Hank to the car. Their voices drifted through the open front window, and Officer McCarthy’s laughter as he said, “See, I told you, that neighbor lady cracks me up.”

That ‘neighbor lady’ now turned to Sunny with such compassion in her eyes, her emotions overflowed, and once again, Sunny started to bawl. Edna came to her and perched on the edge of the sofa so she could wrap her arms around Sunny without dislodging Beau.

“What happened, honey?” Edna asked.

“I don’t really know. I woke up and he was there, in my room. I thought he had killed Beau, but he just knocked him out. I tried to scream and fight him off, but he was so strong.” Sunny’s words tumbled together as she tried to explain the events of the evening. A shiver ran through her as she continued, “He had his hand on my mouth, and he was talking into my ear, and he started kissing me, and he pushed my legs apart…” Sunny rubbed her hand across her lips as if to erase the taste of him.

“Did he…?” Edna asked and scrutinized Sunny’s pajama bottoms and t-shirt for any rips or tears.

“No, thank goodness. He didn’t get that far. But I think he would have, if Jake wouldn’t have been there.”  Sunny turned to Jake and quietly thanked him again.

His gaze never left hers as he nodded. “Sorry I wasn’t there sooner. If only I hadn’t dropped the damn key.”

“Why were you there at all?” Edna asked. “And how do you have a key?”  She looked questionably at Sunny, who shook her head that she hadn’t given him one.

“I saw this dark car parked by your house, and I’ve noticed it in the neighborhood quite a bit lately. I checked it out and thought I recognized the Sky Sox hat and the kid’s baseball stuff in the back seat. I thought it was Hank, but when I heard you scream, I didn’t care who it was, I just wanted to get to you.”

“But that doesn’t explain how you got in,” Edna said.

“The secret hide-a-key isn’t much of a secret,” he said. “Just being out in the yard, I’ve seen Sunny use it several times. And if this guy has been watching her, he’s probably seen her use it, too. I’m guessing that’s how he got into the house tonight.”

Edna looked accusingly at Sunny, then Jake turned to her. “And I’ve seen you use it a couple of times, Ms. Allen, when you’ve come over to let Beau out.”

“Well, shoot,” Edna said, sheepishly.

“Well, I’m glad you saw it. You really did save me.” The tears built up in Sunny’s eyes again.

“Sunny, the hide-a-key was just a convenience. I would have broken down the door to get to you.” Jake’s eyes never left hers, the sincerity of his statement evident in his look.

And there they went. More tears spilled from her eyes. Edna passed Sunny the box of tissues from the coffee table, and Sunny took one and blew her nose.

“You’ve had quite an ordeal tonight.” Edna patted Sunny’s leg. “Do you think he was the one who has been calling you too?”

“Oh, yeah, he admitted he had been calling me. And he was also the one who tried to break into my room before. That’s why he drugged Beau, because last time he alerted me and scared him off,” Sunny explained.

“Well, that’s one mystery solved.” Edna looked at Jake with one eyebrow raised.

Unfazed, he turned to Sunny. “Can I get you anything else? You want me to make you a sandwich or get you a bowl of ice cream?”

“No, I’m good.” Sunny smiled and gave her nose one last honking blast.

“You want me to stay with you again, honey?” Edna asked.

“Actually,
I plan
on
staying
this time,” Jake said.
Edna and Sunny both turned to him in surprise.

“I’ll sleep on the sofa, so you’re welcome to stay as well.” He nodded to Edna. “But I
will
be staying all night. I want you to feel safe.”  He smiled that crooked grin and winked at Sunny.

Sunny’s heart warmed.
Really, how could a girl say no?

“Are you all right with Mr. Hide-a-Key sleeping on the sofa?” Edna asked.

“I’ll be fine,” Sunny assured her. “You go on home and sleep in your own bed. I know how your back gets. I’ll call you in the morning.”

“If you’re sure…” she said and eyed Jake warily as Sunny got up to walk her to the door.

He gave Edna a little wave and took Sunny’s vacated spot on the sofa. He stretched his long, tan legs out on the coffee table and threw his arm over Beau’s body as he scratched him along his back. Beau groaned and stretched his legs out, then settled in next to Jake. Sunny thought Jake looked right at home stretched out on the sofa with her dog’s head in his lap.

“Go home. I’m sure.” Sunny gave Edna a hug before she closed the door behind her.

Sunny leaned against the door and eyed Jake, who watched her as he continued to pet the dog. “You want a pillow or a blanket or something?” she asked.

“Nah, I’m good. I’ve slept in worse places,” he answered off-handedly and pulled the sofa throw onto his lap.

Worse places?
Worse as in messy women’s apartments? Or worse like war-torn foreign countries?
There was so much she didn’t know about this man. But what Sunny did know was that he was there when she needed him, and that was enough for now.

“Why don’t you go on to bed, try to get a little sleep,” he said, gently.

“Okay.”  Sunny climbed the stairs, overcome with fatigue, and felt as if every bone in her body hurt.

She practically fell into the bed, but sleep eluded her as she tossed and turned, feeling as if something were missing
.

A few minutes later, Sunny heard a soft knock at the bedroom door. Her heart sped up as she heard Jake’s voice. “I thought you might need a little company tonight.”

Jake pushed the door open and came in, his arms full of a sandy-haired dog. Sunny scooted over, and he laid the big yellow dog in the bed next to her. She put her arms around Beau and buried her face in his neck so Jake wouldn’t see the tears that fell into the dog’s fur.

Sunny felt Jake’s hand on her head, and he whispered, “Sleep well.”

She nodded and looked up to see his retreating back as he stepped through the bedroom door. Sunny heard his footsteps move down the stairs and the soft whoosh of the cushions as he settled back onto the sofa.

She sighed, curled her body around her dog and slept.

25

Sunny woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and bacon. She rubbed her eyes and looked around in confusion. The events of the previous night crashed down on her, and she looked frantically around for Beau.

As if on cue, the bedroom door nudged open. Beau padded into the room, and jumped onto the bed. If his tail-wagging and face-licking were any indication, Sunny would say he was none the worse for wear from his Benadryl-induced nap the night before. She buried her face in his neck and hugged him. He returned the hug with a lick to her face, and Sunny raised an eyebrow at the dog as she smelled the scent of bacon on his doggy-breath.

She eased from her bed and slipped across the hall to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and was almost surprised to see the same woman staring back at her. Except for the puffy eyes and lop-sided bed-head, she looked the same as she did before she was attacked. There were no outward signs of trauma on her face. No bruising where Hank’s hand had clamped across her mouth. No markings to show the trails of unwanted saliva he had left on her skin.

Looking at her, there were no indications of evidence that anything had happened at all. But Sunny felt the scars in the race of her heart as she remembered the way he had held her captive with his large body, and the fear that ran through her as she thought of the way she awoke to the feeling of an unwanted presence in her darkened bedroom.

Fighting against that fear, she made the decision she would not let some washed up football player with a displaced sense of loyalty scare her. In fact, she decided she didn’t want to be scared at all anymore. How many things in her life had she let happen to her just because she was afraid to stand up to them
?

I am stronger than this
. She took another hard look at herself in the mirror. Had she let complacency and the fear of trying something new rule her life? She thought she had craved excitement in her life, but she was too afraid to go out and actually find it. She had let her friends take over her love life because she was too scared to try to find love on her own. And what if love had been right in front of her all this time, or right next-door to her, and she had been too afraid to take the step to find out?

Empowered by courage, Sunny pulled her pajamas from her body and shoved both pieces into the trash. She never wanted to wear them again.

Stepping into the shower, she ran the water as hot as she could stand it. She scrubbed at her body with the soap and shampooed her hair twice. Sunny stood under the steaming spray and let the hot water wash the last traces of Hank from her body as she vowed to let the fear and pain he caused her sweep down the drain with the soiled, soapy water.