Stitch by Jaime Lewis (ebook reader online .txt) 📗

“I don’t feel well.”

Stitch pulled her a little closer to him, and she wanted to melt into him.  He caressed her back lightly, sending a feeling of warmth throughout her body.

He adjusted her on his lap, and the slight jostle caused enormous pain to hit her ribs, and she let out another yelp.

Stitch froze and looked down at her. “Jesus, Mia, where else are you hurt?”

All eyes were on her waiting for her to answer. She looked down at her hands that were clasped in her lap.  Stitch lifted her chin, so she was looking at him.  His eyes were so focused and intense, but beautiful at the same time.

“Be honest, Mia.  Where else are you hurt?” He asked again.

The tears hit her eyes.

“Mia?” Ace started in on her.

“All over.” She sniffled and tried to fight back the tears, but she couldn’t.  “They beat me all over.”

Stitch hugged her to him, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck and cried. He slowly and gently caressed her back.

“I know this is hard for you, but we need to ask you a few questions.”  Stitch whispered into her hair.

She wiped her eyes and looked up at Stitch who brushed a stray hair off her bruised cheek. “I don’t know who they were.  They knocked me out once they threw me in the van.”

“You don’t know who they were? What did they look like?” Ace asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Her brother was fired up.

“I don’t. I was finishing up my run when two guys pulled me off the street. They were wearing masks, and when I woke up in the warehouse, I was blindfolded.”

They asked her more questions, and she answered them as best she could. She explained how she managed to escape and then how someone, a stranger, came to her rescue, but at the same time offered her a warning.

She looked at her brother.

“I’m sorry, Ace. I tried to do what I thought was right. I didn’t want to take the chance and put everyone in danger.”

“I was so pissed off when I saw your text this morning.”

Mia’s head snapped up, and she looked at her brother with her eyebrows scrunched together.

“You got my text?”

“Yeah, it came through around three-thirty or so in the morning, but I didn’t actually read it until later.”

“That’s interesting because I lost my phone during the scuffle with the men. I tried to send the text from my watch once I was back in my apartment, but it didn’t go through because I wasn’t in range.”

“When you left and went to catch a cab, you must have been within the range of where you dropped it because I got it.”

“Mia, can you describe the warehouse you were in? Or anything you can remember?” Derek asked.

“No, like I told you, the blindfold they had tied around my head was super tight and double-knotted. I was lucky it had slid up just a smidge so I could somewhat see what I was doing.”

“What about the men? Anything descriptive about their voice, or build, maybe?”

“From what I could tell, there were three men. One of them came later, and he is the one who had stopped the one guy from beating me. I didn’t catch any names, but again, they had drugged me with something, so my mind was a little slow and fuzzy. I did detect New York accents. The guy who grabbed me was really big; bulky, but not all muscle either. The other guy had a much smaller build. That’s about it.”

“What about the stranger you spoke of? The one who rescued you on the street. Anything descriptive about him?”

“He had an English accent. He was kind, but at the same time didn’t want to reveal himself. I’m assuming he was the person who left the note.”

Ace sat down on the coffee table in front of Mia.  He took her hand.

“Do you have any idea what these guys wanted with you?”

She shook her head, and her emotions came flooding back, remembering they had plans to kill her.

“I don’t know for sure, but I think I was targeted.”

“You’re positive you weren’t just in the wrong place at the wrong time?  That this wasn’t a mugging or random assault gone bad?” Ace asked, and again she shook her head.

“I remember one of the guys mentioned that I was the one who their boss had his eyes on. He also said that it would be a shame to not fuck me before they had to off me.”

The vein on the side of Ace’s head pulsated, and his jaw became tense.

“They said they were going to kill you?”

“That’s what they said.”

Ace’s eyes darkened, and his grip tightened on her hand. His nostrils flared, and she knew he was trying not to show his anger in front of her.

“Ace…”

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “All that matters is that you are safe now.”

She was exhausted and in a lot of pain. She tried to relax her body against Stitch, but she couldn’t fight the agony any longer. She hadn’t even realized that tears were flowing down her cheeks until Stitch wiped them away. She felt so numb and confused. Why her?

“What is your pain level, on a scale of one to ten?” Stitch asked.

She closed her eyes and leaned against his muscular frame. “Twenty.”  She started to second guess her decision not to get checked out at the hospital.  Before she could conjure another thought, Stitch stood with her in his arms and started walking. He said something to the guys, but she wasn’t paying any attention. The only thing she wanted was another pain pill to knock her out.

◆◆◆

Stitch could feel how tense Mia was and knew she was in pain.

“Please don’t let them find me again.” She whispered. She was breathing heavily, and then her body started to tremble.

Stitch looked at Ace and could see the effect this situation was having on him. His eyes were