Freed by Him Page 4

  This frustrated and angered me more than anything, and I tried to spend as much time as I could helping to build up their confidence and self-esteem.

  I caught sight of Emily as I walked into the room. She was relatively new and hadn't seemed to settle at all, every time I came she appeared to be on edge and nervous.

  I smiled and said hello to the girls I knew, before heading over to the window to talk to her.

  "Hey, Emily, how you doing? I'm Lena. I came last week. Do you remember me?"

  Her eyes darted about and she refused to look at me directly but nodded slowly.

  I smiled at her and tried to seem as non-threatening as I could. Speaking softly and slowly and keeping my hands at my sides, I tried again.

  "Do you want to sit and chat for a while? I don't know much about you..."

  I smiled in what I hoped was an encouraging way, but she looked at me blankly.

  Her phone vibrated in her hand, and she jerked it up quickly to her face to see it.

  She was probably around my age, maybe slightly younger - 23 or 24 - but already she looked world-weary - not old as such, just worn down with it all. She seemed worse than usual today. She reminded me of a frightened puppy, so easily startled by everything around her.

  I tried to engage with her again just as her phone began to ring; her eyes flicked to me and I registered fear.

  Before I could reach out towards her she began backing away into the middle of the room. The ringtone was increasing in volume and pitch, and now the other women were turning to look. Just as it reached a crescendo, there was silence.

  Emily was standing in the middle of the room now.

  I could see her hands visibly shaking as she clutched the phone, her eyes frantically scanning the room without focusing on anything.

  I began to walk towards her again as some of the other girls began to moan at her to get out of the way of the TV.

  The ringtone started up again and I saw her stiffen, her eyes continuing to flit about like a frightened animal. Cries of "For fuck’s sake" and "Turn it off!" rang out, but she seemed completely oblivious.

  I stood right in front of her and raised my arms slowly so that she could see me clearly. I placed them on her hands, which were gripping her phone in front of her so tightly her fingers were white.

  "Emily, honey, listen to me. You don't need to be scared here. Let me take that phone from you…"

  I gently tried to release her fingers, guessing that the reason for the reaction was the caller on the line.

  Her fingers held on tightly and she looked up at me with terror on her face. Her reaction was painful to watch.

  I felt my heart ache for the horror and pain she must have experienced to have her so worked up.

  The other girls had quietened down now obviously realising that something was amiss.

  Suddenly the door to the room slammed open, the glass smashing hard into the wall. Everyone jumped and screamed in shock.

  My eyes flew to Emily, who stood frozen like a statue, looking over my shoulder. The fear was still there, but resignation seemed to be taking over her features.

  Before I even had chance to turn, the girls around me began to scream and cry, running to each other and huddling in a group towards the back wall, shared experiences having taught them the danger of an angry man.

  I heard him yelling before I saw him, his voice loud and harsh in the room.

  "You worthless fucking slut, you answer the fucking phone when I call ya! Come here!"

  Emily's posture was one of defeat. Shoulders slouched, head down, she looked completely submissive as she began to move towards the source of aggression.

  Standing in front I blocked her and turned to face him, holding her behind my back.

  He was about 5 foot 10 inches and stocky. He might have been described as attractive, with dark wavy hair, tanned skin and big tattooed arms, but with his red angry face and spittle flying from his mouth, he repulsed me.

  I stood straight and glared at him. "No!"

  The force of my voice stopped Emily in her tracks from moving past me, and he looked at me stunned for a second.

  "You cheeky bitch! Who the fuck do you think you are, you fucking whore!" he roared at me, his face red with rage.

  I stood my ground, hoping that Marjorie or someone had contacted the police by now, and they were on their way.

  I couldn't work out how the hell he'd managed to get in but I couldn't dwell on that for the moment.

  He took a threatening step towards me.

  "Emily, stop being a bitch and get here now. We're going!"

  I felt her move against me again, and I put my arms out, shouting "No!" again.

  She froze, thank God. I don't know what I would have done if she'd tried to carry on, but she stopped, stood again rigid behind me.

  I wanted to look at her to see her face, try and gauge her reactions, but I didn’t dare turn my face from his.

  Adrenaline had put all my senses on high alert.

  I could feel her body trembling behind me.

  The thumping of my own heartbeat was amplified inside my head, I could hear the sound of my blood rushing through my veins, my skin clammy.

  He laughed nastily, shaking his head at me.

  "Feisty, feisty! Tell her, Emily!" He cocked his chin up at me "Tell this silly little bitch what being cocky gets you, eh!"

  I could feel her shaking; my own legs felt like jelly, but I couldn't let him see that.

  "You're in a refuge; this is a place of safety and security for these women. I suggest you leave."

  I spoke calmly, loudly and firmly, with an authority that I didn't have or feel.

  He advanced on me again, waving his arms erratically.

  "Fuck off, bitch, I'm here to see my girl. Emily, move your fucking arse over here now before I come there and drag you outta here."

  I didn't speak to her this time, instead throwing my arms wide and speaking directly to him.

  "You are not doing this here or today. Emily isn't going anywhere. I'll tell you again - LEAVE!"

  The sobbing and crying had died down a little as they all listened to the exchange, but, as he charged forward, I heard them suddenly increase dramatically.

  It all seemed to happen at once; reacting with almost five years’ worth of training and a huge amount of adrenaline, I met him as he tried to grab me. We scrambled; I twisted around and caught his arm, yanking it aggressively up around his back.

  He yelled loudly and I kicked out his knees, forcing him down onto the ground. I took him roughly to the floor, pinning him there on his front with his arms behind his back. I kneeled on him hard.

  He may have been bigger than me but he was a coward, used to attacking without any resistance. He went down easily.

  My breath only seemed to return when minutes later, police officers burst through the doors.

  The moment they pulled him from me I collapsed on the floor, trying to get my harsh breathing under control and stop my heart from exploding out of my chest.

  Nate

  I rubbed my hands together as we exited the youth club, muttering and cursing under my breath. It had been a hell of a long day, finished off with a safety talk to a group of local children.

  The plan had been to finish there by 5pm to get back to the station to complete any paperwork, before clocking off at 6pm.

  It wasn’t going to plan.

  It was already just after 6pm, and we were still out on the street. The paperwork would have to wait until tomorrow.

  I was getting back, clocking out and heading home.

  Marcus caught up with me and grimaced, "I blame you for this.

  I looked at him confused, and he continued, "For all of it." He gestured wildly with his arms. "The bitch strop you pulled last night forcing me to consume way too much alcohol, hence the fucking woodpecker in my head all day, and now we're late, thanks to..."

  The sound of static interrupted his grumbling, and he answered automatically, d
espite us officially being finished for the day. He glanced at me.

  Disturbance reported at the women's aid refuge. We're literally on the doorstep..." He trailed off, and I nodded my agreement.

  He advised dispatch that we were almost on scene and would attend.

  Marcus took off, running down the street and I chased after him.

  Within minutes we were directly in front of the refuge, where a distraught older woman was standing just outside the door.

  Marcus went straight to her and she began talking so quickly that in her upset state she was incoherent.

  "Madam please, who is in there? What's the situation?"

  She looked at us with her tear-stained face.

  "A man got in; I don't understand how…" She shook her head in confusion.

  "Did he have any weapons that you saw?" Marcus asked.

  She shook her head again. "No, no, nothing, but oh God, he was so angry, yelling and shouting. There's children in there too. Oh my God the girls..."

  Before she could carry on I interrupted again, more harshly than I'd intended, but if there was an irate man on the loose with vulnerable women and children, we really didn’t have time for her hysterics.

  "Can you get us in? Open the door!"

  Continuing to cry, she tapped the code in and I immediately moved past her.

  I could hear the faint sounds of crying but it all seemed relatively subdued, rather than the hysterical women in fear I'd been expecting.

  I didn’t know what I was going to find and moved carefully through the building. I could hear angry grunts and curses coming from in front of me.

  I brandished my baton and walked quickly through a short narrow corridor, glancing about and listening carefully.

  It opened into a communal area, and immediately in front of me on the floor was a man being held down by a petite blonde.

  Within a few strides I was with her, kneeling down onto his back, wrenching his arm up into the cuffs and quickly securing the other.

  As soon as I'd restrained him, she seemed to slide off him. She didn't get up; only twisted her body to the side.

  I couldn't see her face; most of her long blonde hair seemed to have escaped its tie and was hanging down like a curtain, obscuring her.

  I heard Marcus racing into the room and indicated that he should deal with the prisoner.

  He was beside me within seconds and grabbed the guy, pulling him roughly up to his feet.

  I heard Marcus reciting the Miranda rights as I moved over to the woman on the floor. I could see that she was fighting to control her breathing and shaking uncontrollably.

  "Hey, you're OK now, c'mon, let me look at you?" I asked, with concern in my voice.

  I went to place my hand on her back, but she tensed as if she sensed my movement, so I held it there, frozen in mid-air.

  She was trying to take deep breaths to calm herself, so I gave her a minute.

  Taking what looked like considerable effort, she lifted her head up and pulled her body upright, so that she was sitting back on her knees, looking directly at me as I knelt beside her. She looked at me with watery eyes, her body shaking but she sat stiff and rigid.

  "I'm OK," her voice trembled ever so slightly and she glanced up at the guy in cuffs; who was now pressed up against the wall with Marcus holding onto him.

  Her jaw set, and I saw a spark of defiance in her eyes, she looked at him in disgust.

  "I’m ok,” she repeated, her voice stronger this time. “He didn't hurt me," she practically spat out, her voice laced with venom.

  "Impressive stuff!" I grinned offering my hand to help her up, drawing her attention back to me.

  She ignored my outstretched arm and stood.

  Despite the fact she was still clearly upset she smirked back at me, "Fucker had fair warning..."

  She turned away from me, and I caught myself chuckling, watching her arse sway as she walked over to the group of women and grabbed one in a tight embrace.

  I couldn't make out what she was saying, but she seemed to be trying to comfort the woman despite still trembling herself.

  There are not many women I’ve met who’ve impressed me, but she’d sure as hell just got my attention.

  Marcus took the guy back to the station to get him booked and processed, and we agreed that I would stay and get statements from the women.

  To say they weren't very forthcoming would be an understatement. I was met with outright hostility. Now that the danger had been removed they were completely uninterested in my presence.

  The hysterical woman from the main door, whom I now knew to be Marjorie, as I'd been introduced to her, looked at me, her face still blotchy.

  She smiled sadly. "You've got to understand; these women have lost any respect they may have had for you people-” Her own voice holding a trace of disdain, she shrugged and carried on, "Due to their circumstances they've had brushes with the law themselves; they often have other issues with alcohol and drugs; they've been let down too many times by people in authority who should have helped…"

  She looked at me accusingly, as if she couldn't decide how much blame could be laid at my door for these women’s current predicaments.

  She shook her head before adding, "And of course, you're a man." As if it were the worst possible insult she could offer.

  Looking at her sincerely, I smiled my most professional, disarming smile.

  "I'm truly sorry for every occasion that these women were let down, I'm sure it was too often, which is why I need assistance, yours and theirs, to make sure that justice is served this time."

  I smiled at her openly, despite my own feelings. As disheartening as it was, it was unlikely that anything would come of this, nobody had been injured and there was no real harm or damage that had occurred. Even if there had been, I had no doubt in my mind that these women would balk at the idea of standing as a witness.

  These situations frustrated me. It was times like this I questioned my ability to remain as an officer of the law, putting your faith in justice when you knew that it wasn’t going to be served. It was quite clear that he was a thug, if the blonde hadn’t taken him down who knows what kind of scene I could have been walking into.

  She looked at me for a moment, seeing me properly now that she’d calmed, she appeared to be weighing up my words, then smiled at me, much more openly this time, clearly happy with my response.

  "Come, I'll introduce you to the staff, I presume you’ll want to speak to everyone." She turned and began to walk away. "Marjorie," I called after her, causing her to glance back to me, "I hope you can forgive me, but I won’t ever apologise for being a man." I spread my arms wide and fixed her with a grin, watching as a blush spread over her cheeks, flustered she turned and walked away muttering.

  I spent the next hour taking basic information from the staff members present. They all said more or less the same thing: nobody knew much about Emily; she was new, quiet and always seemed nervous; but that was usual with most of the women when they first arrived.

  They couldn't say how the man had managed to get in as the door was always closed securely, and there was a keypad entry system. Lena, who I had been advised was the blonde that had restrained the assailant, was the last person to enter the building, but everyone had been adamant that she would have closed the door properly behind her.

  They all said that he seemed to do a lot of shouting and swearing before charging forward, when he met and was taken down by Lena. I glanced occasionally in her direction and I saw Lena laughing and joking with the young children, trying to make them laugh and forget the upset that had just occurred. She seemed to be making her way around everyone, checking that they were Ok, offering reassuring smiles and hugs where needed.

  I made my way quickly through the members of staff, nobody had much to add other than the same basic information. As I’d suspected, the residents of the refuge were unwilling to speak to me.

  I tried to get information from Emily, but she was refusi
ng to speak and I was asked if I could leave it until tomorrow, as she was so upset. I was more than happy to leave anyway; there was just one more person I was interested in speaking to…

  Marcus called just as I saw Lena walking towards me. I sent him to voicemail and slipped my phone back in my pocket.

  I watched her as she walked over to me, feeling strangely relieved that I’d finally get to speak to her.

  She was dressed casually in jeans and a plain tee shirt. Her long, blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her face was devoid of make-up; she looked effortlessly beautiful.

  I stood as she got near, and she smiled at me.

  "Hi, I'm Lena. I thought I'd better introduce myself and check if you wanted anything from me before I shoot off."

  I smiled back at her, but it turned into a grimace as, up close, I could see a small bruise starting to appear high on her left cheek.

  I had to resist the urge to reach out and touch it. "He caught your cheek..." I started, and she instinctively raised her hand to touch it.

  Shaking her head, she grinned widely. "Nope, bastard didn't get a hand on me. I guess it happened when I put him on the floor." She looked pleased with herself, and I couldn't help but laugh.

  "You must have some badass ninja moves."

  She grinned and flopped herself down in the chair, so I sat back down next to her.

  "Krav Maga,” she explained.

  I quickly ran through the same questions as I'd asked previously, but she couldn't tell me anything new.

  My phone began ringing again, and she made to stand.

  "I'll let you get that. If you need anything further, please let me know."

  I silenced the call again before she could leave. Marcus would likely just head over, and I'd no doubt have earache from him for not answering.

  "It's my colleague. He's probably heading back to get me. Can you just confirm your role here? And I still need your contact details. We’ll need to get in touch..."

  She stood up and I followed.

  "Oh, I don't really have a role. I've been just calling in here for the last few years; volunteer I suppose, though I don't really do much." She shrugged and I frowned at her.