Fractured

Chapter One

My beautiful girl is almost completely nude and lifeless. Her pants are around her ankles, and her panties are lying to the side, visibly torn. Her shirt and bra look like they've literally been cut from her body. There are marks, which resemble handprints all over her small body. Her face is noticeably swollen and streaked with either dirt or mascara. Her nostrils are rimmed in red and were bleeding at some point. Gashes on her stomach and thighs steadily drip blood. I hear a gasp from behind me and feel a hand on my shoulder. "Oh, Christ, Luc," Sam says as he steps slowly forward. I am shaken from the trance I had fallen into when he drapes his jacket over her. I hear sirens wailing in the distance as I sit next to her.

I cup her head in my hand, saying, "Baby, it's Luc. Can you hear me? Lia, please open your eyes, sweetheart. I've got you; I'm right here."

Sam holds her wrist. "Luc, her pulse is slow, but it's there." I am stroking her hair, afraid to touch her anywhere else. I whisper repeatedly that I'm here, that I have her. I have no idea if she can hear me; she's so still. Sam has to pull me away when the EMTs arrive. "Let them work on her. She needs them now." He has Rose tucked against his side, trying to calm her down while they work on Lia.

As they are loading Lia onto the stretcher, she moans low in her throat and I leap forward. "Baby, can you hear me?"

Tears leak from the corners of her eyes as a cry like that of a wounded animal escapes from her throat. She struggles to move and seems to panic when she feels the straps from the gurney around her. I speak soothingly against her ear, trying to calm her before she hurts herself further. "Luc." She gasps before collapsing back as if that little bit of effort was too much.

They rush her into the waiting ambulance. We follow closely behind, and I am momentarily surprised at the crowd of people who have gathered outside the apartment building. Word has spread quickly, and I want to push them all away; I don't want strangers gawking at her.

I try to accompany her into the ambulance but they refuse, saying they need the space to work on her. Instead, Sam pushes me toward the Mercedes and both Rose and I get in the back. Sam takes off at a fast clip, following the ambulance through the city and to the emergency entrance of Memorial Hospital. Rose sobs quietly beside me, but I am incapable of offering her comfort. I can't get past the image of Lia's broken body. Guilt reaches out to choke me. I should have taken better care of her. How could I have let her out of my sight? Jim Dawson is a fucking dead man. It's too coincidental to me that he was released earlier today.

When my phone buzzes, I pick it up with the intention of hitting the ignore button. When I see Max's name on the ID, I decide to take it instead; I need him on this, now. With no preliminaries, I say, "Max, he fucking got her."

He doesn't need to ask whom I'm talking about; he knows. "Goddammit to fucking Hell! What happened?"

"He pulled her into a damn storage room in her apartment building. He beat the hell out of her and I think...shit, I think he raped her." I choke on the last words, feeling them burn like bile in my throat. I take a deep breath as Max curses, sounding as shaken as I feel. "Her clothes had been cut off in places, and Jesus, she was bleeding and bruised all over. She was unconscious but came to for a moment as they were wheeling her out."

"Which hospital, Luc?" When I answer, he says, "I'm sure the police will be waiting when you arrive, but I'm going to call my friend, Carly, and have her meet us there. She's an investigator in the violent crimes division, and she'll do what she can to get things moving. Luc...I'm so sorry." I end the call without replying. There's no shortage of sorrow and guilt right now. In such a short amount of time, Lia has gained the admiration of my friends. Everyone in my inner circle cares about her, and this will hit them hard. Even now, in the rearview mirror, I see Sam wiping away tears.