The Savior

Chapter 3

The next day Peyton skipped the coffee shop. Mostly to avoid embarrassment and the chance of spilling coffee again all over the place. But she was also avoiding Steve, like the coward she was. Part of her was intrigued by this mystery guy and the other part wanted nothing to do with him. She was on the verge of the most important promotion in her career and she didn't need distractions.
  Junior VP position opens a lot of doors for her not only in the company she currently worked for but also a lot of places country wide. She could not afford distractions.
  Four days after the coffee incident Peyton was on her four block journey to her office, when she collided again, into a brick wall of a man while scanning the inbox on her phone.
  "Whoa, we need to stop running into each other like this. Literally." She heard a familiar voice say.
  Looking up from her phone, embarrassment evident on her face, she saw Steve, holding a hot coffee at arms length preventing it from being spilled on her.
  "Oh jeez, I'm so sorry. That could have been a real mess. Again." She dropped her face into her hand in frustration.
  "It's okay. Nothing happened this time. We're both clean, so that's a start." He had a warm smile and beautiful blue eyes.
  He's got broad shoulders and definitely works out. It was evident as she scanned the arms of his button up that hugged tightly to his biceps. Trim waist and blonde hair that went wonderful with those blue eyes. He's a bit taller than her, easily over six foot but enough to compliment her tall 5'9 height. It was hard to find a guy who stood taller than her when she was in her heels. 
  They both gazed at each other in comfortable silence and she wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed, surely only a minute. He looked so familiar, she had to have seen him before but couldn't place it.
  "Can I get you a coffee this morning?" He asks.
  She all but had to wipe the drool from her chin to reply to him. Gazing down at her watch she saw she was cutting it too close this morning and break room coffee would have to do for the fourth day in a row.
  "I can't, I'm afraid I won't have time this morning. I should actually be in my office now I'm a bit behind schedule this morning."
  "Here, take this," he smirks and hands her his cup of coffee. "Not a Carmel macchiato but French vanilla latte tastes pretty good too. Haven't even taken a sip yet."
  Before she even had time to utter her protest he took hold of her hand and placed the coffee cup inside it.
  "Thank you. That's very kind of you." Is all she could say as the heat creeped up her cheeks.
  "I don't have anything pressing to get to this morning. Can I walk you to your building?"
  "That would be nice." She said with a smile.
  He turns to head in the direction she was headed and stuffs his hands into his pockets.
  "So Steve what is it that you do?"
  He gave her a quizzical look. Almost like he's not understanding her question but then quickly recomposes himself.
  "Uh, I was in the military," he says "but I dabble in a few different things now."
  "That sounds interesting." She takes a sip of her coffee. He was right it does taste good.
  "It pays the bills." He smiles
  "Are you originally from New York?" She asks trying to keep the conversation flowing.
  "Born and raised in Brooklyn. Though I live in the upper west side now, so the scenery is a little different. What about you?"
  "Me? Oh, I love it here but I'm originally from Pennsylvania. Small town girl at heart." That made him smile.
"Wouldn't have pegged you for a country girl."
She got that a lot. She smiled fondly at the thought of home.
"It's the designer clothes. It seems that's all you need to fit in around here."
He laughs as they came to the entrance of her building.
"Thanks for the company Steve. It's a short walk, but nice to have someone share it with."
"Anytime." He smiles kindly. They stand silent for another moment before he tells her to have a good day at work.

  The rest of her Friday went rather quickly. The days always seemed quicker when she had busier days. She spent the day sorting out the specifics for the contract for James Clayton.
  Before she knew it, it was 5:00pm and there was a knock on the office door. It was Andrea. The contract from earlier in the day was sent back with some renegotiated points and she had to draft up the final copy to be sent over to the Clayton's tonight.
  Andrea asked if Peyton wanted her to stay and she told Andrea to head home since it was just a newly drafted copy she would be making.
  By the time she was done after having to battle on the phone with Mr. Clayton's lawyers it was almost 8:00 and the floor was empty aside from the cleaning ladies. She said good bye on the way to the elevators after she sent the contract to the Clayton's and closed up her office. On the ground floor she said goodbye to Larry the night shift security guard in the lobby and headed out into the chilly night air. It was the end of August, but stormy weather had pulled in a cold front causing the temperature to dip to the low 60's.
  The sun had already set and there was a slight breeze that made her quicken her pace and pull her blazer shut in the front to keep in a little more warmth.
  As she crossed the first alley way at the end of the first block on the way home, there was a group of four men laughing and talking to each other. The end of laughter and conversation from the alley way made her quicken her step even more.
  The footsteps and conversation were quickly heard behind her. Not directly behind, but the group of men had definitely come out of the alley way and were heading in the same direction as her.
  She felt uneasy and hitched her purse tighter up under her arm incase it was the bag they were after. She wasn't going to make it easy for them. She was ready to punch, scratch, kick and scream her heart out if they so much as laid a hand on her. But a small glance around showed empty streets, and her heart began to pound.
  As she came to the end of the next block she had to pause, for a moment, for cars to pass before she could dart across the road to the next stretch of sidewalk. She got lucky and made it through to the next side walk knowing the men would have to wait for a couple cars to pass giving her a little bit more of head start.
  Keeping her pace quick but not quite a jog, she didn't look back to see if they were still following her. She was afraid a glance over her shoulder might be enough encouragement for them to attack her. She didn't want to provoke an attack if they saw the fear in her eyes. Keeping her arms folded against her chest, she slipped her hand into her bag feeling for the small canister that might just save her life. A feeling of dread had settled over her once she heard the men start following her once more. She kept her pace even and quick attempting not to draw attention. Coming to the end of the next block she paused and heard no voices behind her. Chancing a look over her shoulder, she was startled, and nearly jumped, when the four men were suddenly standing behind her and all around her.
  She tried to spray the man in front of her with mace, but before she could even make a sound, two of the men grabbed her arms and began to drag her into the alley way. She tried to plant her feet and make herself a little heavier for them to drag. She wretched her arms but their hands only gripped tighter, digging their fingers into her upper arms.
  One man ripped her purse away and tossed it aside, clearly stating they had no interest in her purse or money but something else entirely different. Something else more valuable.
  She tried to scream, and to turn back toward Main Street, but her attempts were thwarted by a third man who covered her mouth and slammed her back against the wall of the building. Her head hit the wall with a loud, sickening thud and her vision blurred. Pain radiated through her skull, and her legs buckled beneath her but the two men at her sides held her up and held her fast against the wall. She could feel warmth trickling down the back of her head and neck and into the middle of her back. She was bleeding, how much she wasn't sure but she couldn't worry about that, she couldn't even think at all.
  Man number three with his hand over her mouth, removed his hand during her dazed state and ripped open her blouse, sending the buttons flying all over pavement below.
  "Just wait until you see what we have in store for you tonight, you little bitch!" Man number three whispered in her ear.
  Hearing the threat in her ear jumpstarted her brain, as its natural defenses of fight or flight took over. His hand tightened around her throat when she tried to scream again and she was so sure that no one would hear her, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
  While man number one and man number two held her fast against the wall, a fourth man had a camera and was recording the events as they were unfolding. Man number three still had his hand around her throat squeezing enough to keep her controlled but not enough to make her pass out. These sick bastards wanted her awake for this.
  Not knowing what else to do or how else to defend herself she brought her left knee up as hard and as quick as she could to collide into man number three's private parts.
  He crumpled to the ground holding himself "You bitch! You stupid fucking bitch!" He rolled on the ground gasping and sputtering for air, trying to dull the throbbing in between his legs.
"You sick, bastard!" She yelled. "Help!" She managed to scream before the man with the camera shoved his hand forcefully over her mouth, muffling her words. She violently tried to shake her head to dislodge the man's hand, when she felt it slip just slightly she clamped her teeth down as hard as she could. She bit down so hard, she tasted blood and tore a bit of flesh from the heel of his hand. The man with the camera wailed in pain and she spit his own flesh back at him.
  Man number three finally composing himself stood up after a moment and smacked her hard across the face. Blood was now dripping from a cut on her bottom lip. The smack was followed by a hard punch to the stomach which forced all the air from her lungs. She lurched forward as far as man one and two would allow and gasped and sputtered for the air to return to her lungs. She heard the men laughing as she was doubled over in pain.
  Man number three still not satisfied with his retaliation landed another blow to the side of her face catching his closed fist with her right eye socket. This time the men let her go and she fell hard to pavement cutting up her hands and knees.
  Laying on the ground and somehow still conscious, man number three rolled her over to her back and began pulling up her tight pencil skirt as far as it would allow. She tried to turn toward the Main Street to call for help as she heard man number three unzipping his pants but the man pulled out knife and held it tightly to her throat.
  "Try all you want, bitch, but you're going to be awake for this. And we'll be sure to send you the video so you can relive this little nightmare!"
  She could feel his stale breath fan across her cheek as he continued to threaten her with his knife. She turned her head to look at the man as best she could, the knife cutting slightly into the skin on her neck. Her eye had begun to swell shut, and she was sure that the bones in her face were broken. He was rough looking, with sickly eyes and dirty teeth and skin. She took in as much of his face as she could, if she lived through this, she'd make damn she she could identify him.
  "You think this makes you a man? Attacking a woman while your friends hold her down? Some man you are. You couldn't even take me yourself!" She spat a mixture of blood and saliva in his face. She figured they were going to kill her after this was all done, so she wanted them to do it before they got their satisfaction.
  She wasn't sure if it was man one or two but one of the men gave her a hard kick to the ribs once again pushing the air from her lungs and forcing her to roll to her side. As punishment for rolling to her other side another man gave her a hard kick in the back. And she felt a sharp sudden pain in her back. The man with the cameras gave her another hard kick to the ribs, and she felt them crack. Trying to take in a breath through the pain man number three drove his knife into the middle left side of her back. It became near impossible for the breath to return to her lungs. Her left lung was filling with blood.
"I'll show you how much of a man I can be." Man number three said as he yanked the knife from her back causing her to yell out in agony.
  Man number three raised his arm with knife in hand ready to strike down on her, ending her completely. Having almost nothing left, she felt the tears slide down from her eyes, and as her blood spilled onto the pavement she just prayed to herself that the men would finish and leave her to die. She cried out in pain again as the knife was pushed into her abdomen. She was beginning to slip into darkness when she heard footsteps quickly approaching followed by the grunts and groaning of the four men. Everything went dark as she saw a familiar face bend down over her telling her everything was going to be okay.