Stripped (24 page)

“Ron!” she cried. “What are you doing?”

His lips curled into an evil smile as he delivered a
punch to her face that made the world spin for just a second before it all
disappeared in a flash of darkness.

The sting of an icy wind gust hit Abby’s face, and
she picked up a faint noise. It was a rumbling. As she felt a quick bounce, she
realized she was moving.

“Here, I’ll take it,” a woman’s voice said. Abby
wanted to open her eyes, but she didn’t have the energy. She was scared, but
she couldn’t remember why. And she was so tired.

The noise intensified suddenly, and she felt the
body heat of someone standing over her.

“Vitals?” a man asked. The woman rattled off some
numbers and Abby got distracted as she tried to place the familiar smell she
sensed. She knew it. What was it?

A pounding sound got louder as it neared, stopping
right next to her.

“Oh, Jesus, Abby!”

“Chris,” she mumbled, forcing her eyes to open and
find him.

“Abby,” he said, bending down over her. “I’m here.
Don’t be scared, baby. I’m here.”

“Where are we?” she tried to say. She was woozy, and
she couldn’t tell if the words came out or not.

“Abby,” Chris said again, laying his hand on her
arm, “You’re at the hospital. You were beaten in the woods by the club. We’re
going to give you some medicine now, to help you sleep. Just relax and I’ll be
here when you wake up.”

She wanted to keep looking at him, to talk to him,
but the urge to let her eyes close was too strong.

Chapter 12

The rhythmic beeping sound was getting louder and
louder. It must be the alarm clock. Abby groaned, eager to turn it off. She squinted
as bright light flooded her eyes when they opened.

She wrinkled her face in confusion as she saw Chris slouched
in a recliner next to her, snoring lightly. His hand was up on the bed next to
her arm.

She tried to say his name, but nothing came out. Her
mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. She reached a hand toward his,
pulling along the lines that snaked out of her arm. As soon as she touched his
hand, he jolted awake.

“Abby?” His eyes met hers and she was reassured by
the sight of his messy golden waves. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but he
made her feel safe.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Want some water?”

She wanted to nod, but her head was too heavy. A
small croak was all she could manage.

“Justin,” Chris called. “She’s awake.”

“Abby!” Justin stumbled out of the bed next to hers,
and she was alarmed by the look of concern on his face. “How do you feel?”

“She probably can’t talk much right now,” Chris
said, reaching for the small pitcher next to the bed and pushing the call
button.

“You might not be able to talk, but there’s
something I need to say to you,” Justin said, approaching her bed. “You can’t
work there anymore, Abby. You can’t go back there. I’ll quit school if you do.
We’ll manage without that job.”

Abby’s heart broke for Justin as his voice cracked.
He was a man, but to her, he would always be a boy. Her little brother. Seeing
the tears in his eyes reminded her of everything they had survived together.
His sandy brown hair was a mess and his clothes were wrinkled, and she hated
that she had caused him such worry.

She looked to Chris, unsure she could speak well
enough to explain.

“She already quit the club, Justin,” he said. “This
was her last weekend.”

Justin nodded, looking numb as he sat down on the
other bed.

“Yes, Dr. Reneau?” a nurse said as she entered the
room.

“Can you fill this with cold water, please? And page
Vetrovski.”

“Nice to see you’re awake, Abby,” the nurse said,
taking the pitcher.

As she left, Chris approached the bed, looking down
at her.

“You were attacked in the woods outside the club. Do
you remember that?” he asked. She managed a slight nod.

“That’s good. You have internal injuries and a lot
of bruising and swelling on your face. Right now you’re on pain medication and
it’s probably making everything kind of hazy. We think you’ll make a complete
recovery, but you’ll need a lot of rest. The girls are with Marla, so don’t
worry about them.”

The nurse returned with the water, pouring some into
a plastic cup with a straw in it. She approached Abby, but Chris reached for
the cup before she made it.

“I can do this, Lori,” he said. She handed over the
cup and he gingerly placed the straw between Abby’s lips. As she sipped, the
cold water seemed to bring her some clarity.

“Thanks,” she said, leaning her head back against
the pillow before jumping forward again with a start. “Amber! Where’s Amber?”

Chris sighed and reached for her hand.

“Amber’s here, too. But she’s in really bad shape.
It’s too soon to tell how badly she was injured.”

“Tell me,” she said. “Tell me what you know, Chris.”

He sighed as he met her eyes.

“She was sexually assaulted. It was brutal. Then she
was beaten. She probably has brain damage, but we don’t know yet.”

“Oh, God, Chris,” she said, a sick feeling rising
from her stomach to her throat. “Was I raped?”

“No,” he said firmly, reaching up to stroke her
forehead and hair. “Mickey and one of the guards got there in time.”

Abby’s body went slack with relief.

“She never liked him,” she said, hot tears burning
her eyes. “If only I hadn’t told her he was probably harmless…”

“Who? You know who did this?” Chris asked, looking
surprised.

“Ron. It was Ron.”

“Go call that detective,” Chris told Justin.

“He got away?” Abby asked sadly.

“Yeah. When Mickey found you guys, he was already
gone.”

Tears slipped down her cheeks as Abby cried softly.

“No, don’t cry,” Chris said, rubbing her hand. “This
wasn’t your fault. The only one to blame is him, Abby.”

“It’s not that,” she sniffed. “We were about to
finally have a normal relationship and now here I am … a beat-up stripper … in
your hospital. And you were right all along about the job.”

“Don’t say that,” he said urgently. “Nothing’s
changed between us. If anything, it’s made me realize how much I need you. I’ve
never been as scared as I was when they brought you in that night.”

“How long?” Abby asked, confused.

“It’s Sunday afternoon.”

“I’m so tired.”

“Go back to sleep. I’ll send Justin home to rest.”
He was still stroking her hair, and the soft, comforting sensation made her
sleepy.

“I love you,” she mumbled as she drifted off to
sleep again.

When she woke back up, the room was dark. Abby
turned toward a glow in the corner and Chris looked up from the book he was
reading beneath a small lamp on the wall.

“Hey,” he said, walking over to the bed.

“Hi. How long did I sleep?”

“Several hours. It’s Sunday evening.” He sat down at
the foot of the bed.

“You don’t have to stay, Chris. Have you been here
since Friday?”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Don’t you have to work?”

“I want to be with you for now.”

“You’re just watching me sleep. Can I have some
water?”

He reached for the call button on her bed.

“I want to be here if you need something. I’m also
worried that lunatic could come looking for you,” he said.

“Ron?”

“They haven’t caught him, but the police are
looking.”

A nurse in pink scrubs walked in.

“Can we get some cold water?” Chris asked.

“How are you feeling, Abby?” the nurse asked.

“Better.”

“Are you hungry?” Chris asked.

“Yes.”

“Order some broth from the kitchen,” he told the
nurse.

“Anything for you, Dr. Reneau?”

“No, thanks. Reed brought me a sandwich earlier.”

“Abby, there’s a man in the waiting room who would
like to see you if you’re up to it. He said he’d wait a while to see if you
woke up.”

“Who is it?” Chris asked suspiciously.

“I don’t know. I’ll send him in if you’d like.”

“I’ll meet him in the hallway.”

Chris left the room and ducked his head back in the
door as Abby was gazing out the window at the night lights.

“Hey, it’s Mickey. Do you feel like seeing him?”

“Sure.” She tried to sit up higher in bed, cringing
at the burn in her chest.

“Do you want the lights on?” Chris asked.

“Sure.”

“Hi, gorgeous,” Mickey said as he entered the room
with a giant bouquet of exotic flowers. He flinched as he looked at her, trying
to cover it with a smile.

“Not so gorgeous anymore,” she said with a small
smile. Tears pooled in Mickey’s eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice a rasp.

“I’m gonna walk down to the desk for a bit,” Chris
said, leaving the room.

“Mickey, this wasn’t your fault,” Abby said. “Ron
was messed up. You couldn’t have known this would happen.”

“But if I’d had a security guard outside…”

He wiped his face quickly.

“I’m okay, Mickey,” she said reassuringly.

“Amber’s not. She’s a vegetable.”

Abby squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the
image of Amber’s bright red hair in the dirt.

“I didn’t know she was that bad,” she said, a lump
forming in her throat. “I hate that Ron got away. Chris won’t leave because
he’s afraid he’ll come back for me.”

Mickey sighed, looking out the room’s large window.

“I hope you know, even though I’m … difficult at
times, my dancers mean a lot to me,” he said. “Working so closely, we just
can’t help but grow to care about each other.”

“I know. I’ll miss everyone there.”

Mickey pulled a chair up to the bed, sitting down
and leaning in close to her.

“Listen, you don’t need to worry that Ron will come
back for you,” he said in a whisper.

Abby looked at him skeptically.

“He wasn’t gone when we got there. I had Joe and
Curtis with me. He was still beating the shit out of you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Joe took him and Curtis and I stayed with you and
Amber.”

“So where is he?”

Mickey’s face darkened with anger.

“Gone. He’ll never hurt anyone again.”

“Oh.”

“Obviously, that’s just between us.”

“Of course.” Abby sighed, her mind swimming with
emotions.

“I’m happy for you, Abby. You’re one of the few I
always knew would keep your head on straight. That boyfriend of yours seems
incredible. It’s a shame he’s straight.”

“Thanks, Mick,” she said, smiling.

“Will you come visit me sometime?”

“Not at the club, no. I don’t want to go back there.
Why don’t you come visit me?”

“Deal. Maybe we could go to the salon together when
you’re feeling up to it so you can get those roots touched up.”

“Look at my face. I don’t think anyone but you will
notice my roots.”

“I just don’t want you to let yourself go because
you quit dancing.”

“As soon as I’m better, I’d love to go to the salon
with you. Then you can gripe at the stylist instead of me.”

“We’re on. You have a standing open tab at my salon
for as long as you want.”

Chris came back in with a cup of coffee.

“
Damn
,” Mickey said softly, eyeing him from
head to toe. “I’d like to get a physical from him.”

“I ordered you some ice cream,” Chris told Abby.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Mickey said. “Abby, stay
in touch, okay?”

“I will. Thanks, Mick.”

He left the room, and Chris took the chair he’d been
sitting in.

“How bad do I look?” she asked as he traced his
fingertips along her arm.

“You were beaten badly, Ab. It’s nothing that won’t
heal, but it’s going to take a while. I think you’ll be discharged Tuesday
morning.”

“I need to see if Marla can keep the girls for a
while. I don’t want them seeing me like this. It would upset them.”

He nodded.

“I talked to Marla, she said they can stay as long
as you want. She told them I took you on a surprise vacation, so that’s where
they think you are. But when you get discharged, I’m taking you to my place.”