Club Thrive: Predator Read online

  Cooper chooses that moment to come walking into the room with a bag and three coffee cups. “I can see I’ve chosen a bad time to arrive.”

  I wipe away my tears. “You’re fine. Come on in.”

  “I brought breakfast and coffee,” he says with a huge smile on his face. It’s infectious, causing me to smile as well.

  “You’re a sweet man, thank you very much.”

  He places the cup down on my table and slides it in front of me while Mikey helps me sit up in bed a bit more. “There’s cream and sugar in the bag, since I didn’t know how you like it.”

  “Thanks, man.” Mikey shakes hands with Cooper. “Do you have an update at all?” he asks.

  “Not really. We don’t think he’s gone far, but we haven’t been able to locate him. We know he had help because he left his burner phone in the apartment he was sharing with some other guys. The landlord told me he rented it in only his name, but has been having a bunch of people in and out.” He turns to me. “He has a ton of pictures of you and Ryker in his apartment. He’s been watching your every move for quite a while now. He only seemed to make his presence known after Mikey came along, and he has it out for him too.” Looking back at Mikey he says, “You two need to watch your back.”

  “Do you have what you need to put him away?”

  “We do, and I think he knew we were onto him and that’s why he attacked when he did. He had a timeline set up in his office, and on it he says he was planning to kidnap you and Ryker, but it wasn’t supposed to be until after you graduated. He has everything he needed in his apartment to give all three of you new identities.”

  “That’s crazy. What makes him think I would just agree to be with him and take a new identity? Besides, he mentioned a girlfriend while he was attacking me.”

  Cooper shakes his head. “I have no idea, but apparently he believes he could scare you or convince you to stay and live a new life.”

  “He’s insane.” I shake my head.

  “Don’t say that too loud. That could be exactly what the defense tries to use to get away with this.” My eyes go wide. “Trust me, we aren’t letting him get away with anything. I’m just saying.” I nod my head. “Now, I need you to tell me everything you remember from the other night.”

  I go into the story, not looking at either man. I can’t do it. I stare off toward the window, but I’m not seeing what's outside. I’m only seeing that night replay in my head like a movie on a screen. I can’t look into their eyes and tell them how my ex attacked me and tried to rape me. I actually hadn’t known if he succeeded in the rape until I got here and they told me they had found no evidence of rape. I got lucky, and trust me, I believe it was nothing but luck. Something spooked him because I will never forget the look in his eyes as I fought that bastard off with every inch of my being, but he was just too strong and I lost. A tear runs down my cheek. I feel Mikey take my hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “He said something about ‘I’m not allowed to see my son but you’re shaking your ass like a whore.’” I exhale a slow breath. “That was when he dragged me into some closet. He said he was originally just going to kill me, but he decided to rape me first.” More tears I can’t control slip down my cheek. “I was so scared, but I wasn’t letting him rape me without a fight.”

  “You put up one hell of a fight too. We took some skin samples from under your nails when they brought you in and we have him on camera dragging you off. There’s plenty to convict him but we have to find him first.”

  My head whips back to his and my eyes meet his. With fear etched all over my face I say, “You don’t know where he is?” My body begins to shake uncontrollably.

  Cooper shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Shelly. He slipped out of the club before we knew he got to you. When Sky came out of the bathroom and saw you weren’t there, she went to see if you had gone back to the dance floor, but you weren’t there either. All the girls went back to your section and when they discovered you weren’t there, they found Slade and told him they didn’t know where you were. At that point the music had already started to lower and the club started to empty out. They had bouncers at the door looking for Eli while Slade and a few guys searched the club for you.”

  Slade comes walking in the room with some guy we don’t know. “Shelly, I’m sorry.” He looks down at me. He looks so sad. “I can’t believe he got past me.”

  “Slade, I’m going to tell you like I told Logan. This isn’t your fault. He had a plan and it worked. You did what you had to do.” Mikey tries to make him feel better.

  “When I heard there was a fight and they needed back up at first, I thought maybe it was him fighting with the bouncers, so I went over to make sure that he wasn’t causing problems. I would have immediately called the cops and had him arrested, knowing it would have helped you. It took us a while to break the fight up, there were eight people involved, and it was tough getting them apart and out the door. When I finally got back, the girls were looking for me in a panic because you were missing. We turned the club upside down looking for you, and the only reason we found you is because he left the closet door open when he left and Sky noticed it. She pushed it open and found you on the floor.”

  “Well, we believe the two incidents are linked. Logan is getting me images of the fight so I can confirm, but once I know more, I’ll stop by. I have what I need for now,” Cooper announces. “You get some rest.”

  “Thank you, Detective.” I give him a tight smile. It’s funny, everyone calls him Cooper, but I can’t bring myself to do it. He tries to correct me, but I’ve been calling him Detective from the beginning. He shakes hands with Mikey and walks out the door.

  “Listen, I need to get back out there so I can watch over you, but I wanted to say that I was sorry for not taking better care of you.”

  I give him my signature one eyebrow raised look. “You will not apologize for this. You didn’t attempt to rape me and you were doing what you thought was protecting me. I shouldn’t have left the bathroom alone and I should have paid more attention to my surroundings, but I got lost in the fun of the night. I just want him found so we can move on.”

  “I promise we’ll find him.” He gives me a tight smile and goes back to standing outside the room.

  A yawn escapes me and my eyes are getting heavy. Discussing what happened is exhausting, but I get a second wind when I see Ryker give Slade a high five before he runs into the room. “Mommy!” he shouts.

  “Hey, buddy. Mommy misses you.”

  Mikey picks him up onto the bed for me and he snuggles into my side. “I miss you too, Mommy. When can you come home?” He sounds so sad.

  “Well, let me take a look at her chart and see if we can make some decisions on that,” a man in a white coat with a stethoscope says. “Hi, I’m Dr. Callahan. I checked in on you yesterday but you were sleeping. How are you feeling today?”

  “Tired and sore. It hurts to talk and my side hurts, but other than that, I’m fine.”

  “That’s all normal. I think we’re going to keep you another day or so just so we can keep an eye on your progress, and as long as you continue to heal okay and you have no problem eating, we can send you home. For now, I’m going to put you on a soft food diet. It will be a lot of liquids, but you can have eggs and things like that too. If you have no problem eating that, we’ll try something else, but I’m worried about your throat affecting your eating.”

  “Sounds good, Doc.”

  “What do you say? Does that work for you?” the doctor asks Ryker.

  He shrugs. “I guess so.” We all start laughing. The doctor goes on to ask him how old he is and things like that. The doctor lets him listen to my heart after he does. Ryker thought it was so cool. “My mommy’s going to be a doctor too,” he brags.

  The doctor looks at him, surprised. “Oh really?” He nods his head and the doctor asks me about my schooling. I tell him that I’m almost done, and then I just have to finish my clinicals and then go onto my residency next year. The doc
tor smiles at me proudly. “Well, I wish you lots of luck with it. I’m sure being in here isn’t helping you, but I’ll get you out of here and back to your studies as soon as I can.”

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  “You’re welcome,” he says before he turns to Ryker and adds, “And you, young man, take good care of your mommy.” He holds his hand out and Ryker shakes with him.

  “I will.” He smiles at the doctor.

  “I’ll be back later to see how the soft food diet went.” I give him a gentle nod and he exits the room leaving me with my family.

  “Well, that sounds promising.” My sister steps closer to my bed.

  I can tell she’s trying to sound positive for Ryker, because the reality is I may be healing, but if they don’t catch Eli we are all still in grave danger. I have no doubt in my mind if that man has the chance, he’ll kill me. There will be no fighting to take me first. I’ll be dead and he’ll get to Ryker. The thought keeps playing with my head. His words repeat themselves over and over. “I’m gonna fuck you and leave you dead in this closet. Then there will be no one to stop me. I’ll get Ryker and hit the road. No one will ever find us.

  “Shelly.” Brea touches my arm, tearing me from my thoughts and bringing me back to the present.

  I shake my head. “Sorry, what is it?”

  Her brows furrow. “Are you okay?”

  Ryker is half asleep in my arms. The poor kid looks like he’s not sleeping well, worried about his mommy. I run my fingers through what’s left of his curls and I kiss him on the head. He curls in deeper and dozes off. I look up at my sister and give her a tight smile. “I’m okay. I was just remembering something from the other night. I wish I couldn’t remember, but I do. I remember every fucking minute of what I went through.” Tears begin to stream down my cheek. I exhale a deep, cleansing breath but it doesn’t help. Eric and Mikey notice I’m upset and they come to my side.

  “Shhh, baby. I promise you, I will never let him near you again. I need to talk with Slade about how we’re going to manage this with school once you’re healthy and ready to go back.” I close my eyes, taking in his words, secretly praying that he’s right and he can keep me safe. The thoughts are exhausting. My eyes are heavy, and before I know it I’m dozing off with Ryker in my arms.

  Chapter 24

  Shelly

  It’s been a week since I was released from the hospital and the doctors have cleared me to go back to school. I had to take extra care to cover what was left of the marks on my neck. I’m exhausted from the nightmares that haunt my sleep and I’ve spent most nights in Ryker’s room trying to keep him comfortable, but to be honest it’s more for my sake than his. I know it’s killing Mikey. I can see it in his eyes, but I don’t know how to fix this. I can’t heal with Eli on the loose, and the police have no idea where he’s hiding out. They’ve located three out of four of the people who helped him in the club, but they aren’t talking just yet. We do know that the female involved was the bitch that was giving me shit at Oasis. It appears she’s dating Eli and only applied to work there so she could get close to me.

  “Baby, Slade will be here in twenty minutes to bring you to school. Are you going to eat?” Mikey stares at me from the doorway of our bathroom waiting for my answer, but I just stare into the mirror, lost in my own thoughts. “Baby, if you’re not ready to go back, you can wait.”

  My eyes go wide and my head whips around. I’m staring him in the eyes. “If I stay home he wins.” My voice is shaky.

  “Baby, he’s not winning. You’re keeping yourself safe and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

  I shake my head. “I need to be strong. I need to show my son that it’s okay to get out of this house, that the people around us will protect us.” I feel like I’m trying to convince myself more than I am Mikey, but it’s what I need to hear right now.

  “Okay, I’m going to make you some breakfast. What would you like?”

  “A bagel and some fruit would be great,” I say with determination. I can do this and I need to not only prove it to Mikey and Ryker, but to myself. Actually, I think it’s really about proving it to myself. I need to get my confidence back. I stand tall, plaster a fake smile on my face, and walk out to the kitchen, where Ryker is sitting at the snack bar eating his Cheerios.

  “Good morning, buddy.” I kiss the top of his head.

  “Good morning, Mommy,” he says through a mouth full of food.

  I chuckle. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, buddy.” He nods his head and continues shoving food into his mouth.

  Mikey places a plate on the counter for me while I make my coffee. I thank him and sit down to eat, once again getting lost in my thoughts. I’m now behind in the amount of hours I need to spend working with various doctors, and I need to figure out how I’m going to make up all the hours I need to graduate on time.

  Mikey pulls me from my thoughts. “Baby, Slade is here. He’s waiting outside the door for you when you’re ready.”

  “I’m ready.” I stand with determination and head toward the door. I grab my bag and open the door to find Slade standing there.

  “Hey.” Mikey calls over, and when I glance back, he says, “Have a good day. I love you.”

  I give him the most confident smile I can muster and respond, “I love you too.”

  Closing the door, Slade greets me with a good morning and we make our way down to his SUV. I’m not driving anymore until Eli is caught. We agreed it was safer for Slade to drop me off and pick me up from all of my commitments. “How are you feeling?” he asks once we’re settled into the SUV.

  “I’m okay. I’m a bit tired, but I’m excited to get back to my routine.”

  “Routine is good, just make sure if those nightmares don’t improve, you get some help.” He pulls away from the curb.

  My eyes go wide with shock. “How do you know about my nightmares?” I snap.

  “Shelly, relax. It’s to be expected. Everyone can see how tired you are…it’s the logical explanation.”

  I turn to look out the window. I know if anyone would know about nightmares it’s him, but I’m not sure I want to talk about this. “Did you have nightmares after you were abducted?” My voice is soft. I’m not sure if this is really an appropriate question to ask him. I don’t think most guys like talking about their problems, they would rather pretend they don’t exist.

  He shocks me when he responds, “I did.”

  “How did you handle them?”

  “I talked about it with Kara, and once Higgins was dead, it was easy to move past it.” He glances over to me while waiting at a red light. “I’m sure once Eli is caught you’ll be able to move on too. I just want you to know that we’re all here for you.”

  “Thanks, Slade.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, go treat some patients.” He chuckles to lighten the mood.

  “See you in a few hours.” I open the door, grab my bag, and hurry inside.

  As soon as I walk through the door I’m greeted by the doctor I’ll be working with. I was supposed to start with him last week but I wasn’t able to. The school notified him of my situation and now here I am at another clinic ready to make rounds and learn the ropes. He smiles and says, “Shelly, I’m Dr. Finley. Please follow me.” I do as he asks and follow him to an office where he asks me to take a seat in a chair across from his desk. “I know you have some hours to make up, so let’s talk. I spoke to the school and they were okay with you working longer hours this week to make up for your hours last week. It won’t make them up fully, but enough that if you keep working a few extra here and there, you should be able to graduate on time.”

  “Dr. Finley, you have no idea how much I appreciate this. I take my schooling very seriously and have worked hard to graduate early…this has been a huge stress on me to think I wouldn’t graduate.”

  “The Dean is most impressed with your hard work. He was more than willing to work with you on the hours you missed. It pays to work hard in class. When you’re i
n the top ten, it’s easy to be flexible.” I smile with pride. I’ve seriously busted my ass studying for that top ten spot and now that hard work is going to pay off.

  “I can’t believe this. You’ve made my day.”

  “Good, let’s get to work.”

  “Can I just text my boyfriend to let him know that I’m working late.”

  “Absolutely, and then I’ll show you where you can stow your stuff.” I pull my phone from my purse and shoot Mikey off a quick text, letting him know that I’m going to be here until six-thirty tonight. He quickly responds, letting me know he’ll have dinner ready when I get back. I tuck my phone away and follow the good doctor to an employee room. I put my stuff down and continue following the doctor. “This is Nurse Cindy.”

  I shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  The remainder of the morning is spent meeting nurses and following the doctor from room to room. They all have their own routines and how they like to handle things. This doctor has a voice recorder that he carries in with him. After he discusses what is going on with the patient, he records his notes and has a nurse send them to be transcribed for him. Some only make notes in a file, but most use a special computerized system now. He has computers in each of his rooms, but being that he’s an older doctor, he’s a little stuck in his old ways. This is the benefit of working with so many doctors in different environments. You get to learn different ways of treating the same problem and you can figure out what will work best for you. Of course being that I’ll probably work for another doctor’s office, they may have a set protocol I’ll have to follow, but I’ll figure that out when the time comes.

  It’s lunch time and Slade is outside if I need him, but Mikey packed me a lunch so I wouldn’t have to leave. When I get to the employee room, I grab my lunch bag and sit to eat. The nurses join me, but they are all deep in conversation as they’re walking in. One of them, a young girl, is talking about her plans for the weekend and how she’s going to Club Thrive with some friends. I chuckle hearing Logan’s club being talked about. She’s explaining to her friend that it’s her sister’s birthday and that she’s turning twenty-one. They want to do something over the top and one of her friends suggested the club.