Had To Be You (Romance/Drama) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 3 - Reason

He ran to the cottage. It seemed calm and faerie-like on the surface, with its pastel coloring and cute shaping, but something of trouble was brewing inside. His feet pounded on the sand with each calculated step, and his blood seemed to have thickened inside of him, thumping steadily at his ears in matching rhythm to his strides. He wouldn't barge into the cottage, no, that would only alert any possible intruders, possibly causing more harm in their alarmed state to the woman that was likely alone.

That scream had been of terror. Luke was certain that woman had cried. And the sound had chilled his bones, reached his nerves. He was not going to make a mistake.

Cautiously he slowed his pace and searched his surroundings. There was a metal garden trowel hanging from a small rack on the back porch. He grabbed that, seeming that there was no other better defense weapon in sight.

The tool was made of pristine, heavy metal and bore both a sharp edge and peak. A good blow could immobilize, and Luke's stance was far from objective of a good blow. If someone was in need of help, he would help.

The large window next to the back door, facing the beach, was shaded with a thick curtain that kept him unseen and prevented him from taking a glimpse of the goings inside the cottage. He cursed, efficiently rounding the corner of the cottage, stopping at the sight of the halo of light that escaped the glass of a square window. The lights had been on throughout the house, but this window expelled such light that Luke was certain there were no curtains to cover it.

He heard another cry, muffled this time, and the growl of a man.

Luke was thrown into action. He carefully looked through the window, hiding as much of himself as he could. He caught sight of the back of a man, sturdy and muscular, and not much smaller than himself. His arm was curled in front of him, a head of dark tousled waves restrained by the crook of his arm. It was a woman, small and short in his hold, and she was struggling. She breathed heavily as he tightened his grasp on her near naked body, kicked and squirmed as she tried to escape. Then she stilled under the force of a blow at the temple of her head.

Fury laced Luke's body, and he told himself to breath, to strategize rapidly. He hadn't much time. Using his cellphone he made a call for help, and ignored the police's instructions to standby.

He was through the front door in a few seconds. It had been kicked down, hinting the man would more than likely not have been let in willingly. And it made things a hell of a lot simpler for Luke.

"I would let her go if I were you."

"Who's there?" And then, "You said you were alone."

Luke stepped out, his movements calculated. He needed a clear exit and a direct line of ambush.

"I would let her go if I were you." He repeated.

Luke saw them clearly now. Saw a concealed blade in the man's pocket, and no apparent bulging of a gun. He saw a small, voluptuous female body of creme skin, clothed sparingly by a cotton panty. He saw thick waves of dark brown hair cascade from her body, trying and failing to cover her full breasts. A dark birthmark rested at her chest, above her left breast, so familiar.

He saw a pair of wide green eyes, flecked with hazel at the irises, brimming with fear. They stared at him.

Luke felt the twitch of his hand as he started to reach for the knife, and the returning of his heart as it started to beat, frantically.

It was her.

"Let her go. Let the woman go and fight with someone of your own gender, you brute." The man's cold eyes flickered, provoked, and he reached for his weapon. She slipped away, stumbled. Luke forced his attention to the man, pouring his reserve into gutting him, beating him until he was unrecognizable. All reason and logic had been flushed down the drain when his eyes had seen her.