Closing her eyes, she tried to go back to sleep. When she heard her bedroom door open, she barely registered it. It didn’t matter how old she was, her parents still checked on her.
But the violent pain in her left shoulder made her scream and roll over.
In the darkness, a dark shape hovered over her, raising something over its head. In the dim light, Chelbie couldn’t tell, but it looked like a baseball bat.
The attacker swung again. Chelbie threw up her left arm to deflect the hit, screaming in pain—and more than a little rage—and her brain clicked into gear and realized what was going on.
As she scrambled across the bed and away from the attacker, another blow caught her in the back of the head. Chelbie got tangled up in the bag and Rich’s shirt, which had been on the other side.
Then her hand fell on something round, and she grabbed it, lunging toward her attacker, who fell back as Chelbie screamed with rage.
The Silencer.
Blindly, Chelbie moved in close, taking a few more glancing blows from the person, but Chelbie knew they needed distance to be effective. She slashed, screamed, jabbed at the face concealed in the shadows of a hoodie. The attacker was slim, maybe a teenaged boy, nearly her height, and let out high-pitched cries when Chelbie landed hits on them.
Then Chelbie threw her weight on the person and they tripped backward, the bat going flying.
Slashing at their face, Chelbie tried to climb on top of them, but after she landed a few blows the attacker got free and ran.
Chelbie got her feet under her and followed. “Get back here you son of a bitch so I can fucking castrate you!”
The attacker reached the front door and yanked on it, fumbling with the latch as Chelbie caught up and spun them around, taking one more jab at their face and getting a satisfying high-pitched scream in return as she felt the Silencer hit its target.
Then she was shoved, hard, losing her balance as the attacker opened the front door and ran.
Chelbie started after them, then realized that might not be the best idea. Especially when the world suddenly felt off-kilter and pain filtered in.
Slamming and bolting the door shut, she remembered hearing the garage door go up and went to check.
Sure enough, it was.
“What the fuck?”
Feeling more pain crowding her conscious—bad pain—she fumbled for the wall button to send the door down, then locked the inside door.
Call…
She sank to the floor as the shakes hit and she crawled her way across the room. Now crying, she managed to make it to one of the house phones and sobbed when she punched in Nick’s phone number.
His sleepy voice filled her ear. “Babe? Why are you calling from the home phone?”
“Come here. Please,” she cried. “Please, it hurts so bad.”
Now he sounded awake. “What? What happened? Are you okay?”
“Someone just attacked me.”
“Rich! Babe, did you call 911?”
“I…no I called you. Please—”
She heard pounding, like on a door, over the phone. “Rich, wake the fuck up! It’s Chelbie, something happened! Babe, you stay on the line with me, we’re going to call 911, and we’re on our way. Are they gone?”
“I think so.” Everything hurt. She slumped against the wall, her left arm feeling numb. “Hurry. Please.”
“Hold on, baby. We are. We’ll be right there.”
* * * *
Nick drove, keeping Chelbie talking, relaying info to Rich, who relayed it to the 911 dispatcher as they raced to Chelbie’s. By the time they got there, the first marked deputy unit was already in the yard.
The driver’s side window of Chelbie’s VW was smashed, but Nick didn’t have time to contemplate that as he slid to a stop, parked askew in his hurry to get to her.
They pounded into the house, nearly running into the deputy, who was kneeling next to where Chelbie sat propped up against the wall by the front door. She’d managed to drag herself to the front door to unlock it for the deputy when he arrived.
Only now that Nick was here, with her, did the adrenaline shock hit him.
The deputy tried to order them out, a hand going to the butt of his gun, but Chelbie burst into tears. “Please don’t shoot them! They’re mine, they’re the ones I told you about. It’s okay, they didn’t do this.”
The deputy backed off, radioing back to the dispatcher to ask where the ambulance was.
Blood ran down her face from a cut on her forehead and she had her left arm cradled in her lap and reached for them with her right.
“Babe, where’s it hurt?” Rich asked.
“Everywhere,” she said. “Fucker hit me with something.”
“I need to clear the house to be sure,” the deputy said. “You two stay here with her until I get back.”
Nick and Rich nodded as he did just that, this time drawing his sidearm and heading down the hall. Only after he checked the entire house did he reholster his weapon.
“You said the garage door was open?” he asked.
“The big one,” Chelbie said. “I thought it was my parents coming home early. They must have gotten in somehow.”
“The window of her Bug’s smashed,” Nick said. “They probably reached in and hit the remote.”
“There’s a baseball bat on the floor of your room,” he said. “And I found an…odd piece of metal rod with holes in it on the floor in the living room.”
“The Silencer,” she said. “I guess I dropped it on my way to the garage. I hit the fucker with that. First thing I grabbed. The fucker hit me with the bat. He smashed the Bug’s window? Are you shitting me? Goddamned motherfucker!”
The deputy looked at the men. “She always swear this much?” he asked them.
Nick actually managed a laugh. “Yeah. If you want to know the truth, I think it means she’ll be okay.”
The deputy walked outside and checked and saw that the clicker was still in place on her visor. He returned as the ambulance pulled into the yard. “I know you’re in a lot of pain, miss, but we need a statement from you, if you can.”
“Damn right I want to give a statement. Can I state I want the fucker hung up by his balls? I bet it was TRO guy.”
Rich rubbed at his forehead as he sat back on his heels. “I know I shouldn’t be laughing right now, but I’m so fucking relieved she’s okay it’s just good to hear her feisty.”
“I’m with you,” Nick said. They had to back up so the EMTs could check her out. They got her loaded on a gurney by the time a detective showed up to talk to her. After guiding Nick to her purse and cell phone, he sent them with Rich, who rode with her in the ambulance.
Nick watched as it pulled out and turned to the deputy. “How badly is the guy hurt, do you think?”
“From the looks of the blood on that thing she nailed him with, he should have some visible marks. She got him good.”
“Good.”
“What did she call that thing again? And what is it?”
“The Silencer. Believe it or not, it’s a sex toy.”
The deputy snorted. “Apt name. But not the weirdest thing I’ve seen used as a sex toy in my years on the job, trust me.”
Chapter Seventeen
They’d just gotten Chelbie settled in a room over six hours after her arrival at the hospital when she heard her mom’s frantic voice from somewhere down the hallway.
“Prepare for the mompocalypse,” Chelbie snarked, not sure if that was really funny or only funny in her head because of the painkillers.
“What?” the men said.
She didn’t have time to explain, because then her parents were rushing through the door.
“Chelbie!” her mom practically screamed, racing over to the bed and nearly knocking Nick out of the way.
“Hey, easy with the manchandise there,” Chelbie said, snickering. She looked up. “See what I did there?” she asked Rich.
He smiled. “Yes, I saw.”
&nbs
p; “Are you all right?” her dad asked.
“I’m fine. See?” She held up her left arm, the one with the bandage and IV. “Sorry.” She dropped that arm and picked up her other one. “See? Fine.”
Nick moved around to the other side of the bed. “They gave her a dose of painkillers,” he said.
“Good shit, too,” Chelbie said. “Really good shit.”
“Who are you?” her dad asked.
“Gee, and I’m the one on the meds.”
“He means us, Chel,” Nick said.
She pushed herself up on the bed. “Oh, them. Mom, Dad, this is Nick and Rich Hurst. They’re twins. And they’re mine.”
“Your what?” her mom asked.
Rich patted her shoulder. “Chelbie, you’re kind of out of it—”
“Mine!” Chelbie said, knowing this wasn’t the best idea, but unable to stop herself. Plus, she figured the painkillers were giving her an IV dose of courage. “You know, like we’re together.” She smiled up at her guys, who now looked decidedly uncomfortable.
Nick raised his hand. “Hi,” he said. “Nice to meet you.”
“That’s Nick,” Chelbie said. “They’re twins, but here’s a secret.” She leaned in. “They’re not identical.”
“She’s really doped up,” Rich said.
Her dad started to say something when the detective who’d responded and questioned her at the house walked in. “Miss Larson, I need to ask you a few more questions.”
“Did you talk to that fucking rat bastard with the restraining order?” she asked. “He fucking broke my goddamned car window to use the clicker for the garage door. I want his head on a fucking platter!”
“Restraining order?” her dad asked.
“Whoops. Heh. Yeah, creepy guy last year. Don’t worry, I toootally handled it on my own.”
Her mom’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “Chelbie, what’s—”
“So, did you talk to the rat bastard?” Chelbie asked the detective.
He looked uncomfortable. Then again, it could have been the drugs skewing her perceptions. “Yes, ma’am. He has an alibi. He was at home, with three other people.”
“Shit. Oh, these are my ’rents,” she said, pointing to her parents.
Nick, who’d walked around to stand next to Rich, patted her shoulder. “We can go.”
“That would be best,” her dad said.
“Hell, no.” Chelbie groped for and finally grabbed Rich’s arm on the second try. “They’re here because I called them. They stay. And how do you know that rat bastard wasn’t lying?” she asked the detective. “I’ve seen him twice at the coffeeshop. Muerto Pillow.”
“Puerto Mellow,” her guys corrected.
“Yeah, that.” She giggled. “The Dead Pillow. That would be kind of funny, huh?”
The detective looked at his notepad. “You told the responding officers your attacker was about your height, slender build, and had a higher pitched voice than the average man.”
She tried to process that. “Yeah? Oh. I guess the rat bastard doesn’t fit the description.”
She thought the detective might be smiling because he was amused at how she was acting. She wasn’t sure. They were pretty good drugs. “No, ma’am.”
“What happened last night?” her dad asked, practically yelling.
Chelbie laid back and waved at the detective. “Can you please tell them?”
He pulled them aside and started talking to them while Chelbie looked up. “I love you guys.”
Rich brushed the hair from her forehead. “We love you, too, Chelbie.”
“You can’t leave.” She pointed at Nick. “Promise me. If you leave, I’ll scream, then they’ll drug me and put a psych hold on me and it’ll be all your fault.”
“I’m thinking you might need a psych hold now,” Rich joked.
At least, she hoped he was joking.
Her parents returned to her bedside.
“Well,” her dad said. “Thank you for coming to help her, but you two can go—”
“Uh, no they can’t,” Chelbie said. “They’re staying.”
Her mom tried. “Honey, you’ve been through a lot—”
“And they’re staying.” She looked at her guys. “Am I not speaking coherent English? Is it the drugs? Because I swear it sounds like English in my head.”
“You’re speaking English, babe,” Nick assured her.
“Good.” She looked at her parents. “They’re my boyfriends. Both of them.” She held up two fingers. “Did I mention they’re twins?”
Her mom looked like she was trying to find the words to respond.
Her dad looked like he’d swallowed a sour goldfish, and not the cracker kind, either.
The live, slimy, wiggling-on-the-way-down kind.
“Well? Say something.” Then Chelbie spotted the detective standing by the door. “Oh, hey, you’re still here.” She pointed at Rich. “The place he works? Best. Garlic. Knots. Ever. Evvveerrr.”
“You guys really should go,” her dad said.
Chelbie sat up in bed. “Okay, they said I was speaking English. If anyone’s going to go, it’s you two.”
“We’re your parents.”
“And they’re my significant others.” The room spun a little, so Chelbie lay back against the bed. “And I say they stay.”
Her mom finally exploded. “This is not the time or place to discuss this, young lady.”
“It tooootally is, Mom. Because I’m drugged to the gills and no longer scared of admitting what’s going on. I nearly got my skull beaten in, but don’t worry. I got some flesh on the asshole. Literally. They’re going to do the whole CSI thing on it and run tests and shit.”
“You can’t have two boyfriends,” her dad said. There was a vein standing out on his forehead Chelbie worried a little about. She started to reach out to poke at it when she refocused.
“No, I obviously can,” she said. “Because I do. And they’re damn good boyfriends. They even yelled at me when I called them first instead of 911.”
“What?” her dad asked.
Nick had covered his face with his hand and was slowly shaking his head.
“I won’t stand for this.” Her mom tried to sit on the end of the bed. “I will—”
“Did you seriously just say you weren’t going to stand for something and then sit down?” She looked up at her guys. “Did she really just do that?”
“What your mother was going to say is we do not approve of this,” her father said.
“I. Don’t. Care. If this is going to be a problem, I’ll just move out early. No problem.” She snickered. “Hey, see what I did there?”
Her mom stood. “This isn’t right. You’re young. You have your whole life ahead of you. Why do you want to do something like this?”
“Because I love them. I’m sorry, but you don’t have to like the choices I make with my life. And if you don’t like it, you all can leave.” She started to give them a vigorous nod of her head for emphasis, but it made her feel woozy again so she closed her eyes.
Her dad wasn’t giving up. “You’re not feeling good, Chelbie. You’re on medication, and in pain, and—”
“How do you know what I’m feeling?” she screamed, finally opening her eyes. “You two have no fucking idea what I’m feeling! You have the perfect marriage. I barely had any friends until I met Mallory. Who—”
“Chelbie! Oh, my god!” Mallory barreled through the door, almost taking out the detective, Kel following in her wake.
“Oh, there she is. Hey, chica. That’s my bestie, right there. Great timing.”
“Mallory,” her dad said. “Can you please talk some sense into her? She’s talking nonsense. She’s saying both those guys are her boyfriends and she’s ordering us out.”
“Uh, yeah,” Chelbie said. “Because y’all are being assholes. Duh.”
Mallory froze, looked like a deer in the headlights, looked to Rich and Nick, and then looked at Kel.
Kel stare
d at the guys.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Chelbie said. “I just told them I’m poly with them and they’re having a cow. The first them meaning my parents, the second them meaning my guys, and then they’re meaning my ’rents again.”
“She’s on a lot of good drugs,” Rich said.
“Chelbie, as your father, I’m going to put my foot down.”
“I’ll put mine up your ass when I’m feeling better. Oops, can I say that in front of the detective?”
Mallory looked shell-shocked. “Um, wow.”
“Good wow?”
“No.”
“Dammit. Here’s what’s going to happen,” Chelbie pointed at Mallory. “You and Kel, follow them”—she pointed at her parents—“home and pick up some clothes and stuff for me, please? Like my laptop and iPad and phone and stuff.” She pointed at Rich and Nick. “These two are going to stay here with me. The doc said after they do another round of tests in a couple of hours, as long as there aren’t any lasting effects—”
“How can they tell?” Kel muttered.
“I heard that. Anyway, then I can go home.” She pointed at Nick and Rich. “These two will take me home to their place. Whoever did this is still out there. That means I need to go somewhere whoever attacked me won’t know.”
“No!” her mom said. “You can’t do that!”
The detective, Chelbie thought his name was Orsen, or Orphan, or Opie, or something, cleared his throat. “Um, actually, that’s not a bad idea. I was going to suggest she go somewhere else for a couple of days.”
“Ha!” She triumphantly jabbed her finger at the detective. “See? Opus said it’s good!”
“Orsbey.”
“Really good meds,” Rich said.
“Can I get some?” Mallory snarked.
A nurse appeared. “Hi, I’m sorry, but I need to ask you all to please keep it down.”
Her mom turned. “Fine,” she said. “Chelbie, last chance. Either you let us stay, or you’re choosing them over us, and you can just go ahead and live with them.”
Chelbie held up one hand, folding her fingers over in a sarcastic wave. “Buh-bye. Mal, Kel, please bring me my clothes and stuff. You know, the stuff in my bathroom and…stuff. You know what I need. Bring it back here please and give it to the guys. Guys. Guys!” She wanted to make sure her parents heard that part. “I’ll get the rest in a few days when I’m able to, I don’t know, move around since I nearly got my fucking head caved in by some random psychopath.”