“Hey baby, you heading this way?”, Cade asked warmly.
The other end was quiet except for her heavy breathing. Kresley was trying to get the words out, but it was like finding Fiona had made her mute.
“Baby? What’s going on? Kres? Kresley! Answer me baby. Where are you?”
“C-Ca-Cade?”
“Baby, what’s wrong? You’re freaking me out!” Cade yelled into the phone. Kresley could hear him moving frantically around as he talked and she knew she heard him grabbing his keys.
“Fiona. Oh God. Fiona. Cade, Fiona.”
“What about Fiona, baby? Is she hurt?”
“N-N-No. She’s dead. Naked. Dead, Cade. She’s dead. So much blood”, Kresley got out before she began to cry heavily. She could hear Cade talking to her, but she couldn’t understand anything he was saying.
Cade roared her name and it finally broke through. “I’m here. I’m listening. Are you coming?”
“Kresley. If you’re still in the store, get out now. Hold your keys in your hand like a weapon and walk out to your car and get in. Then lock the doors, baby. Sit there and wait for me. Do you understand me? Wait for me. Do not open the car door for anyone else until you see me at your car. I’m coming for you. I’m coming baby. Now walk and tell me when you’re locked in your car. I just text Boomer to call in a 911 and he’ll be there shortly, too. Are you there yet?” Cade’s heavy breathing filled her ear with noise, but helped Kres know she wasn’t alone. She could hear the rumble of his truck engine, telling her he was already driving.
“I’m at the car. Just opened the door. Okay, I’m inside. The doors are locked. Hurry Cade. Oh, please hurry. I need you.” Kresley sat in her car, keys gripped tight in her hand, her eyes moving over the parking lot for anything that looked evil. Tears trailed down her cheeks quietly as she pictured Fiona, lying on that floor, naked and bloody.
“I’m on the way baby. Almost there. Two minutes away sweetheart. I’m so glad you called me baby. You know I won’t let anything happen to you, don’t you?”
“I know Cade. I should have called you when I first went into the store. I could feel something odd.”
“We’ll talk about that later, Red. Not now”, Kresley could hear Cade growl out the words, voice deep, but controlled.
“Okay. Cade? I hear sirens. Is that Boomer?” Sirens soon grew louder and louder and Kresley saw several police cars, a fire truck and an ambulance arrive in the parking lot. Kresley remained locked in her car.
“Baby, that’s responding officers and rescue coming to you. I’m pulling in right behind them. Do you see my truck?”
Kresley looked and saw Cade in his truck, racing towards her car. “I see you. Thank you, Jesus, I see you baby.” Kresley began to cry and hung up the phone, laying her head on the steering wheel. Cade was here. She didn’t have to be alone anymore.
She heard a knock on her car window and looked. Cade stood there, fingertips on the glass, silently begging her to open the door. She looked up into his eyes and saw the fear there. The love, the need to touch her. She also saw a severely imprisoned anger in the very back of his blue eyes. Oh boy. She was going to get it.
“Baby, open the door. Please.”
Kresley quickly unlocked and opened her car door and Cade was there. He roughly pulled her out of the car and tightly pulled her against him.
Cade had no words for the fear he had inside of him. Seeing her, feeling her against him helped him some, but the fear was clawing at his insides still. The drive from his house to Kresley was an eternity. He felt her sobs against his chest, felt her hot tears as they soaked his shirt. He stood, holding his woman and let her use him to lean on, anchor herself to. Finally, her sobs began to quiet and her tears diminished. Cade pushed Kresley back so he could look down at her face. Eyes puffy and swollen, nose red and runny. Kresley Anderson was beautiful no matter the circumstance. But it about killed him to see her this upset.
“Baby. Talk to me. Please. Tell me you aren’t hurt.” Cade breathed a sigh of relief when Kresley shook her head no and stated it softly. “Good. That’s good Red. Now tell me who did you see insi....”, Cade wasn’t able to finish that sentence because Boomer had walked up, his face grim, mouth in a hard line. Cade looked around at the other responding officers and emergency response. Officer Sloan Smith was across the parking lot, talking with the crew from Fire Station 5. Several other officers were taping off the front of the store and others were walking in and out of Fiona’s Fabric’s, with booties on their feet and gloves protecting any evidence inside.
“Cade, it’s not good in there. Female, Caucasian, dead, naked. Throat slit and hands bound. ME will have to let us know about evidence of rape, but there is significant bruising, scratches and……bites….on the inside of her thighs. Kresley needs to answer questions. Like right now. How do you want to run this since she’s with you?”, Boomer quietly stated over Kresley’s head.
“Let’s take her over there where it’s quiet and I’ll sit and you ask the questions. Can you record it?”, Cade asked his friend and colleague, watching how Kresley reacted to Boomer’s clinical listing of the victim inside the store. She became very pale, losing her focus on the present.
