Page 93 of Rescuing Brinley

“You don’t have to thank me for doing my job.” The doctor looked at each of the men in the room. “Twenty minutes. Then you need to let my patient rest.”

The detective nodded.

No one said a word.

Heidi huffed out a breath and headed for the door, with Torch at her back. Dash’s teammate turned at the last minute and winked at Brinley before closing the door behind him and the doctor, giving Brinley and the others some privacy for the upcoming conversation that needed to happen.

Looking back at Zero, Brinley was somewhat surprised to see him staring at the door with almost a confused frown on his face. She had no idea what that was about, but it was definitely interesting.

There was no time to contemplate the odd interaction between Zero and the petite doctor, however, because the detective cleared his throat and began to speak.

“I’d like to get your statement about what happened yesterday and last night.”

Dash had moved so he was sitting upright again, but he didn’t get off the bed, which was a relief. Honestly, Brinley didn’t want to rehash her ordeal, but it had to be done. Once she told the detective everything, she could start to heal, mentally and physically.

“I’m going to record our conversation, is that okay?”

“Of course.”

He put his phone on the small table near the bed and nodded at her.

Taking a deep breath, Brinley told her side of what happened, starting with how she’d been contacted by who she’d thought was Natasha Blue, and how she’d researched the woman to make sure she was legit. About the numerous texts and emails they’d exchanged. She told him all about the threatening messages and phone calls and emails from Tamika—and how she’d saved them all, and planned on reporting the harassment because she was getting scared and Tamika wasn’t backing off, but actually escalating in her threats.

She went through everything that happened from the moment Louis tapped on her window. How she’d stupidly unlocked the door, been forced to drive by gunpoint, the way Tamika had taunted her, telling her that if she’d agreed to design for her, she wouldn’t have been in her current situation.

It was ridiculous, now that she was safe and removed from what had happened. Tamika had to have undiagnosed mental issues. But then again, it was just as possible she was simply a spoiled rotten bitch who wasn’t winning pageants and couldn’t handle not being seen as the prettiest woman in any contest she was competing in.

When it got to the point where she had to explain what happened when Tamika ordered her to stop the car, Brinley hesitated. She didn’t want to relive the moment when she’d thought she was about to die, and she really didn’t want Dash to know what a close call she’d had.

“It’s okay,” he said gently, as if he could read her mind. “You’re safe now. Alive. They can’t hurt you again.”

Taking a deep breath—which she immediately regretted because it hurt—she spoke.

“Tamika told me to stop the car, and then she said, and I quote, ‘Okay, Louis, you’re up.’ They’d planned whatever was about to happen. Talked about it. He was going to kill me, probably rape me before shooting me. He dragged me out of the car, and even though I begged Tamika for mercy, she just looked at me with cold eyes and said I’d brought what was about to happen on myself.

“They laughed at me when I fell to the ground as he yanked me out. I got pissed, and I jumped up and shoved Louis. He fell, and I took off running. I had no idea where I was going, just knew that I needed to at least try to get away from them. I was planning on hiding, but Louis was too close. I tripped. On the run for my life and I freaking tripped. Louis was able to catch up, and he straddled me and started punching me. I tried to fight back, but he was heavier and stronger than I was.”

Brinley looked at her hands and continued quietly. “I guess I’ve seen too many of Cypress’s crime shows, because the only thing I could think about was getting as much of his DNA under my nails as I could. He was distracted by trying to undo my pants, but when I didn’t stop trying to scratch him and gouge his eyes out, I think he gave up on raping me.”

“You did good,” the detective told her quietly. “Louis was scratched all to hell. His face, his arms, his neck. Your marks were a huge neon sign indicating his guilt.”

“It didn’t matter though. He was winning. He reached for his gun—at least, that’s what I assumed he was reaching for. But he must’ve dropped it at some point. He put his hands around my neck instead and squeezed. He told me to die, and I was sure that’s exactly what was about to happen. I couldn’t breathe, and it was impossible for me to fight anymore. I lost consciousness. When I woke up he was gone, and I couldn’t believe I was still alive.”

Dash shifted next to her, and Brinley’s gaze went to him. She stared at a tear that slowly made its way down his cheek. Then another. She hated that he was so upset. It wasn’t that she didn’t think men should cry, they were human just like everyone else, but it tore her heart out when he’d cried for his mom, and it hurt just as badly now.

“I’m okay,” she whispered, trying to reassure him, lifting the hand that wasn’t enclosed in his and brushing the wetness off his cheek with her thumb.

Dash turned his head and kissed her palm before grasping that hand, as well. He gave her a wobbly smile and nodded.

Deciding to get the rest of her tale over with, Brinley rushed through the remaining story. “Apparently, he must’ve let go as soon as I went limp, thinking I was dead. When I woke up hours later, I hurt all over, but I managed to crawl back to where the car had been. I had no idea where I was, but I just followed the trail we’d driven on, hoping to eventually make my way back to the interstate, though I wasn’t sure which turns we’d made to get to the spot where we’d stopped. So I just kept going and…the next morning, Dash found me, and here I am.”

She’d totally glossed over how painful her trek had been, how she’d had to crawl for much of the way, how badly her face, neck, and head hurt, how at one point she’d thought she was going to die. All that was behind her now. She was alive and was going to stay that way.

“Can you tell me what happened with Tamika and Louis? I know they’re dead, but…how?”

“I can’t go into detail, but your car was tracked to a motel near the airport. SWAT surrounded the area, and instead of surrendering, Louis and Tamika decided to try to shoot their way out of the situation. They weren’t successful.”

Brinley was torn. She was relieved she didn’t have to see either of them again, but she felt a little cheated out of getting justice for what they’d done.