Page 30 of Exile

“Yeah, sure. Wouldn’t want to upset the Karens and lose their business. That would be tragic.” My tone is thick with sarcasm as I leave my post behind the bar to take out the trash. The route to the bathrooms takes me by the table near the back, occupied by Brad and his crew. I do my best to ignore them, but I catch a snide “slut” comment as I walk past. Clenching my teeth I press on, determined to stay as far away from them as possible.

After gathering up the trash from the ladies’ room, I head out the back door that leads to the parking lot. The dumpsters are at the back of the lot, which is mostly empty this time of night. My breath forms a cloud in front of me when I step out into the cold night air. “Fuck me—it’s cold.”

“Gladly.” A deep voice comes from behind me, and a second later my head slams against something hard as I find myself pressed up against the rough brick wall next to the door, garbage bags abandoned on the ground. Brick-head has me pinned against the wall with his beefy hand wrapped around my throat, cutting off my oxygen. Brad looms next to him, a hateful sneer marring his generically handsome face.

“Where’s your boyfriend, slut? Did he break up with you already? Is this gorgeous ass back on the market?” I close my eyes against the spit that flies from Brad’s mouth, the reek of shitty beer wafting over me like a noxious cloud.

“Yeah, I think you owe me a turn with that tight little cunt of yours for what your pig of a boyfriend did to my nose. Then my boy here is gonna take your ass.” Brick-head uses his free hand to cup my breast and gives it a painful squeeze that brings tears to my eyes. I reach up, clawing at Brick-head’s arm, desperate to make him let go. Desperate for air. He hisses in pain when my nails dig into his flesh, but he doesn’t let go. His grip on my neck gets tighter, and my vision begins to go fuzzy around the edges.

Brad grabs my arms and pins them against the wall above my head. Terror floods through me; my heart pounds erratically in my chest so hard I’m afraid it’s going to burst. I feel the hot, wet slide of his tongue up my cheek the same time Brick-head yanks at the fragile buttons of my shirt, ripping it open. Bile rises up my throat and the bitter taste coats my tongue and the urge to vomit becomes overwhelming. They’re going to rape me. I know it in my bones, and there is nothing I can do to stop them. As his rough hands fumble clumsily with the button on my jeans, I hear an angry shout in the distance.

Suddenly the crushing pressure on my throat is gone, and clean, cold air rushes into my lungs.

“Hey man, it’s not—” Brick-head doesn’t finish his sentence. The deafening crack of a gunshot silences him. I watch in horror as his eyes go wide in shock before looking down with a dumbfounded expression at the red circle blooming across his chest. It feels like it takes an eternity for him to fall. It’s almost like his mind doesn’t recognize what has happened to his body, so he stands there, in shock, the color rapidly draining from his face. Brad releases his grip on my arms and starts backing away, freaking the fuck out.

“Fuck. Fuck. You fucking psycho! You fucking shot Todd. What the fuck? What did you do? Fuckfuckfuck.” We both watch, transfixed, as Brick-head, A.K.A. Todd, collapses face first onto the pavement. I let out a scream the same time Brad turns to run, and an angry voice shouts, “Freeze! Police!”

An hour later, I’m sitting in the back of an ambulance, blanket wrapped around my shoulders while an EMT assesses my injuries. The parking lot is illuminated by flashing red and blue lights as police officers secure the perimeter of the crime scene and redirect the crowd forming at the edge of the parking lot. Todd’s body lies under a sheet, still on the ground. Brad has been taken to the police station already. I scan the crowd of officers milling about, trying to find my rescuer. My eyes finally lock on Dominick standing off to the side, a dark rage clouding his expression. He’s speaking to the detective who seems to be in charge, and I can feel the tension radiating from him all the way from my perch in the ambulance.

Everything after Todd being shot is a blur for me. Brad freaking out. Dominick yelling. My screams. Vomit. Shouts for help. Sirens.

“Hey, Kitten, baby, are you okay? Serena, talk to me.” Suddenly Dominick is in front of me, cupping my face, peppering it with kisses.

“Oh God…Dom…You…I—” I break. Sobs burst forth from my chest with abandon and I find myself engulfed by Dominick.

“Ssh, ssh. It’s okay, Kitten. I’m here. I saved you. You’re safe now.”

I sob into Dominick’s shirt, all the emotions that had been held in check by shock now crashing out of me with the fury of a dam burst.

I don’t know how long he holds me like this. It could be seconds or minutes or hours. My mind is still trapped in those moments when I watched the light go out of Todd’s eyes.

“You killed him. You killed him. Youkilledhim.” I can’t stop repeating the mantra. My mind is locked in an endless loop, short-circuited by trauma.

“Damn right, I did, Kitten. I’d do it again. He was assaulting you. He was going to rape you. I protect what’s mine. I won’t let anyone touch you.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to get her to the hospital to be checked out and make sure she doesn’t have a concussion.” The female EMT who had been doing my exam interrupts us. “You can ride with her if you want.”

“Oh, I will be. I won’t be leaving her side.”

After a CT scan of my head and neck and a rape kit that I refused—much to Dominick’s chagrin—I am forced to recount my story to the officers who came to take my statement. Dominick only leaves my side for the duration of the CT scan and only at the insistence of the radiology tech. He is back holding my hand as soon as it is over.

Dominick holds me as I tell the officers how Brad and Todd had pinned me against the wall and groped me. Threatened me. Violated me. I can feel Dominick tense when I speak of how they said they were going to fuck my ass and pussy. When I get to the part where Dominick shot Todd, I freeze. My mind won’t process what I saw. It won’t accept that I watched someone die. Die because of me. Dominick takes over telling the officers our story, and they seem to be familiar with him. I can sense their admiration for him, and I can tell they don’t believe Dominick will be in any trouble for killing Todd.

“Sounds like you did this town a favor, D,” one of the officers mutters as he closes his notebook.

“Let’s just say I won’t be losing any sleep over that piece of shit.” Dominick gives me a reassuring squeeze and I nestle closer into his body, eyes heavy from exhaustion.

The adrenaline that had been keeping me going through this whole ordeal has finally been depleted, and staying awake becomes impossible. I hear Dominick say something to the officers taking our statement, and they mutter their goodbyes.

“Lie down, Kitten. Rest. I’ve got you.” Dom’s soft, reassuring words are the last thing I hear before sleep finally claims me.

“Let me see her.”

“Fuck off, Malakai, she’s sleeping.”

“I swear to God, Dominick, if you don’t let me check on Serena, she won’t be the only one admitted to this emergency room tonight. Let. Me. See. Her.”

The hushed, angry argument filters into my sleep-fogged brain, rousing me. I crack one eye open to see Dominick blocking the door to my room, barring Kai from entering.