BeyondAddiction (26 page)

She made it to the fourth house down the long street, up the
stairs from the sidewalk to the front porch and leaned on the bell.

“Help,” she croaked. “Please help me!”

She banged on the door but her spurt of energy was
dissipating. She saw someone peering out through the blinds at one of the
windows and leaned on the bell again.

“Please help!
Please!
”

But that was all she had left in her. She collapsed on the
porch, blackness surrounding her.

“Okay, sweetie.” Claire fixed the covers on the bed where
Fallon lay and fluffed the pillows behind her. “Can I do anything else for you?
Help you shift around? In a minute I’ll give you some meds and then you can go
back to sleep.”

“I’m so sorry to throw myself on you like this.” Fallon
wondered if she wouldn’t have been better off if someone had just plucked her
up off the stranger’s stoop and tossed her out with the trash. And here she was
imposing on Claire again. “Sorry, sorry, sorry.”

“Oh honey.” Claire perched at the edge of the bed and took
Fallon’s hand in hers. “Please don’t apologize. I’m just so thankful you’re
here with me instead of back at that bastard’s house.”

“Thanks for getting me out of the hospital. I know they
wanted to keep me, but I just needed to—I had to—”

“Be someplace private. I understand.”

“And where he can’t charge in and get at me. He has the
influence to do that.”

“I know.”

Fallon’s bruised lips managed a smile. “You…were a real
tiger. The doctor was…pretty pissed off.”

“Honey, given the shape you’re in, no one in his right mind
would agree to let you leave. We had to sign you out AMA—Against Medical
Advice.”

“Thank you,” Fallon repeated. “I just couldn’t—”

“It’s all right. I took care of everything.”

“He might show up here, you know. Like he did the last
time.”

Claire smiled. “I’m keeping my little pistol at the ready.
He won’t get in here no matter what he does. And I’m sure he wouldn’t want to
face charges of breaking and entering along with everything else.”

She brushed Fallon’s hair from her face, a gesture Fallon
found so full of love and sympathy she nearly broke down and cried.

There was a lot she didn’t remember, nor was she ready to
ask questions yet. She remembered waking up in a hospital emergency room
covered with a blanket with a young cop standing beside the bed, an angry yet
concerned look on his face. And her body one steady beat of pain.

“She’s got to file charges,” he was insisting to the nurse.

“She’s not doing anything until I take care of her and treat
her injuries.” The nurse didn’t seem too happy to have her procedure
interrupted. “X-ray for broken bones.”

“But—”

“But nothing, Davis. I’ll let you know when she can talk to
you. We don’t even know her name yet.”

Fallon hadn’t wanted to talk to anyone. She hadn’t even
known how she got there. She was vaguely aware the nurse found Claire’s number
in her purse on her emergency notification card and called her. Then she passed
out again. The next time she opened her eyes, Claire was standing beside her,
holding her hand and tearing the cop a new one.

“You have my information,” she’d snapped. “Give me a card or
something and I’ll call you when she’s up to being questioned.”

“No questions,” Fallon had managed to mumble and closed her
eyes again. “Not now.”

She recalled arguing with the doctors about keeping her and
Claire backing her up. Then the prick of a needle in her arm, some jostling
then falling into a bottomless sleep and not waking up until Claire was urging
her out of the car and supporting her up the steps to the house.

Now, safe in Claire’s house, in her luxurious guest room,
she felt safe for the first time. She licked her lips, her mouth feeling dry as
dust. Claire, apparently anticipating everything, held a straw to her mouth
while Fallon took several sips of water.

“Slowly,” she cautioned. “I don’t want you to choke.”

Even the simple act of drinking exhausted Fallon. She lay
back on the pillows, drained and, yes, embarrassed. At her stupidity and for
ignoring everything Claire had said.

Fallon blinked away tears. “I don’t deserve your
friendship.”

“Of course you do.” Claire sat next to her again, concern
lining her face. “You’d do the same for me.”

“You’d never get yourself in that kind of a situation,
though.” She looked at Claire. “How did I get to the hospital? The last thing I
remember is trying to get someone to open a door.”

Claire snorted. “No kidding. Apparently you collapsed on
some woman’s porch, totally naked and looking like you’d been tortured by the
Spanish Inquisition. I guess you rang her bell and pounded on her door but
passed out before she decided to open it.”

Fallon wrinkled her forehead. “So was she the one who got me
to the hospital?”

“No.” Claire shook her head, her lips thinned to a tight
line. “The witch wouldn’t even let you in the house. She got a blanket to cover
you and called the cops.
They
took you to the hospital. Thank the lord
you somehow had your purse with you. Your emergency card in your wallet had my
name on it. Otherwise I’m not sure what would have happened.”

Fallon shifted slightly in the bed, every movement agony but
somehow blunted. Beneath the nightgown Claire had gotten her into, she could
feel the stickiness of different ointments but nothing seemed to ease the
pressure on her buttocks when she half-sat, half-reclined.

“When I have broken you down to nothing, I’ll decide if
you’re worth keeping.”

The words played over and over in her head like a broken
record, underscored with a viciousness that made her cringe. She was definitely
nothing now. And she’d pulled Claire right back into the mess with her again.
She reached for Claire with a hand that trembled slightly, blinking back more
tears. “Thank you for coming. I don’t—”

Claire touched her fingers gently to Fallon’s mouth. “Hush.
No thanks necessary. I’m so fucking glad you’re out of that house, I would have
walked to the hospital. Fallon, he could have killed you.”

“I know. I don’t—I can’t remember—I mean—”

“Not now. Right now you have to sleep and heal and get your
strength back. We’ll have plenty of time for you to remember. You’re in pretty
rough shape, sweetie. I asked them to test for drugs at the hospital but just
like last time, if he gave you anything, it was long gone from your system.”

“He had the housekeeper bring me some pills he wanted me to
take this morning.” Her words were barely a whisper. “I flushed them down the
john.”

“And a damn good thing you did.” Claire sighed. “Thank god
no broken bones either, but the rest of you…” She shook her head. “Okay, let’s
not discuss it now. I have some pain pills for you to take and creams to apply
to various parts of your body.”

Fallon managed a shaky laugh. “So you’ll be my nurse?”

Claire grinned. “Funny, when I thought about playing
hospital with someone it wasn’t you I had in mind.” She stood up. “Now, you
need to take one of those pain pills and sleep. When you wake, I’ll fix you
something to eat and we’ll see if you’re up to talking.”

“Does Cord know?” She was almost afraid to ask.

“That you’re finally free of that madman? Yes. I called him
on the way home from the hospital.”

Fallon wanted to crawl into a corner and hide. “He’ll never
want to touch me again.”

“Honey, he loves you. All he cares about is getting you
back.”

“Soiled.” She couldn’t think of another word to describe
what she’d become. “Who wants that?”

“Trust me,” Claire assured. “He won’t see you that way. He’d
be here right now if I let him. I had to threaten him with bodily harm to keep
him away.”

“No, no, no.” Panic surged through her and she grabbed
Claire’s hand. “I can’t see him! Not like this.”

“Ssh. I told him he’d have to wait. He’s not taking it too
well but he’ll listen to me.”

“I can’t—”

“I know. It will be all right. I promise. We’ll take it one
day at a time.”

“I love him,” she said in a weak voice.

“I know that too. And he loves you.”

“How could he possibly, after all this?” Fallon closed her
eyes, trying to gather her scattered thoughts. “Did I imagine a cop there?”

“No. The one who brought you in hung around. The hospital
took pictures and I snapped some with my phone, just to document everything.”

“Pictures?”
Oh my god.

“Honey, ssh. No one will see them except us and the cops.
But they
are
evidence.”

Fallon swallow a bubble of nausea. “I’m so humiliated and
ashamed.”

“No.” Claire leaned toward her. “You have
nothing
to
be ashamed of. You got yourself out of there and we’re going to make sure he
pays for what he did to you. When you’re ready, you’ll need to talk to the cop.
I—”

“No!” Where did she even find the strength shout so
vehemently?

“Fallon, listen to me. I know this is hard, but you
have
to file charges against Brian. He
will
keep doing this until he kills
someone. And you know it.”

Fallon lay there with her eyes closed, sick at the thought
of relating all the details to a stranger. But Claire was right. Brian
Willoughby was insane, and the sooner someone put a leash on him the better.

“All right,” she said at last. “You’re right. But give me a
couple of days to pull myself together, okay?”

She took the pill Claire offered and swallowed it with sips
of water. Closing her eyes, she lay back on the pillows, waiting for the
narcotic effects to work and the pain to ease. In seconds, she nodded off in a
drugged sleep.

* * * * *

“No, you can’t come over here,” Claire insisted.

She’d called Cord while driving home from the hospital,
knowing he’d want to be told that Fallon was out of Brian’s grasp and in a safe
place. And as promised, she called him again when Fallon was settled and
asleep.

“Damn it, Claire. I want to look at her with my own eyes.”
He paused. “Is she in such bad shape you’re afraid for me to see her?”

“That’s not it, although her condition’s pretty rough. But
she’s doing okay,” she added quickly. She could just imagine Cord breaking down
her door.

“I can’t sit here and do nothing!”

“Okay, here’s a chore for you. She left her car at the
Cimarron Hotel. Apparently the keys are at the desk, unless Brian had them
messengered to him. Can you get it picked up and brought here?”

“If the keys are gone, I’ll hotwire it if I have to,” he snarled.
“Or buy her another car.”

“No, don’t do anything that drastic. I just know she’d
appreciate getting her car back.”

“I’ll take care of it. And then what? Just sit and wait?”

“That’s exactly what you have to do,” she said in a firm
voice. “At least for right now. Cord, I know exactly how you feel but she
doesn’t want you to see her like this.”

“How much worse can it be than the way she was after her
‘visit’ with him the other day?”

“I don’t know what her situation was then, but this is a lot
more than physical.” She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. “This is as
much mental and emotional as physical. She’s got a lot of healing to do and I
don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be in the mix right now.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the connection.

“Are you trying to tell me she won’t want to be with me?
That I’m out of the picture?”

“I’m not trying to tell you that at all—” she began.

“Because I’ll do whatever it takes. Anything.”

“Cord, listen—”

“If it’s the sex, I can be different. If it’s—”

“Cord—”

“If it’s the D/s, I’ll change. I’ll—”

“Cord!” She was shouting into the phone now. “Damn it, shut
up and listen to me!”

“What?
What
?”

Claire blew out a breath. “Just listen for a minute instead
of sounding like a lunatic.”

Silence. “Okay, okay. Sorry. I just—”

“I know,” she broke in. “So just pay attention. I’m not
saying you have to do anything or make any changes. Right now you just have to
have patience.”

“Patience,” he repeated.

She wanted to laugh. “Yes. Something you don’t seem too
familiar with. Listen, besides the physical healing, Fallon’s got to get her
head on straight. She needs to find out what drew her to Brian in the first
place and why she stayed with him for so long last time, when things got so
brutal.”

“But—”

“She loves you, Cord. She told me that. And the sex with
you? Better than she ever dreamed it could be.”

“Then—”

“But she has to forgive herself before she can ask
you
to forgive her. Before she can be any good in a relationship. Just hang on to
the fact that you are the most important thing to her and she wants to come
back to you. But when she’s ready.”

“I hear you. I don’t like it, but I understand.”

Claire chewed her lip, trying to decide if she should pass
her next thought along. Ultimately, she decided, Cord loved Fallon. So Claire
would share as much information with him as she could. “The cop who brought her
in wants to take a report. We’ve bought some time because of her condition but
I don’t think they’ll just let it drop.”

“Nor should they.”

“I’m insisting she file charges against him,” Claire said.

“Thank god.”

“She hasn’t done it yet but I promise, she’s going to. I’m
going to make sure of it.”

He exhaled a deep breath. “You can bet his high-priced legal
team will weasel him out of it, but at least it will be on public record. And I
talked to my attorney. The BDSM community will be watching him too.”

“She didn’t want to do it at first, but I insisted. And I
think it will allow her to take back some measure of control too.”

“A word of advice,” Cord told her. “This all needs to be
handled very carefully.”

“Yeah? What do you suggest?”

“I’m going to give you the name of my attorney. He’s also a
Dom, and is aware of what Willoughby does. He’d like nothing better than to put
the hurt on this guy so he can’t do this to anyone else.”

Claire’s short laugh was edged with disbelief. “The guy
travels all over the world. I’m not sure that’s going to be possible.”