Savage Cinderella

Chapter 28 and 29

"Do you recognize any of these men?" It was Karen Sutton, the Assistant D.A. from her father’s office, asking the question. The woman’s voice sounded distant.

"He can’t see me, can he?" Brinn glared through the glass. He was older but had the same wiry frame and narrow face that she remembered. A sick pain thundered through her flesh, reminding her of the nightmares she'd had for years. Stockman’s face suspended, immortal in the recesses of her mind, affirming that even sleep was no escape.

Her nights were tormented more than ever by dreams and memories. Now, her worst nightmare was standing no more than ten feet away. The bile that rose in her throat burned. He knew she was there behind the mirror. She could see it in his eyes—that confident, cruel look that sent a wave of terror through her chest.

"He absolutely cannot see you, Brinn." The detective reassured. The woman wrapped an arm around her shoulders, supporting her as her limbs wobbled and threatened to give way.

“He knows that I’m here. I can feel it.”

“Which one is he?”

Brinn raised her hand and pointed a shaky finger. "That's him, the third one in.” Her breath came in shallow gulps. “He’s the man who took me."

"You’re absolutely certain?" Karen asked.

"Yes."

"Okay, Brinn. We have your statement and you’ll have the opportunity to testify when he goes to trial. Someone will contact you when we have more details." Detective Walker led her out and down a hallway, followed closely by the tall blonde attorney who was already making conversation with someone on her cell phone.

In spite of the voices around her, Brinn was distracted by a stabbing shot of needles that pricked her spine. She looked over her shoulder. The men from the lineup were filing down the hall in the opposite direction and as he came out of the room, Roy Stockman looked down the narrow corridor, met her eyes, and let a wide, evil grin cross his face, a facade of charm showing even from a distance. He mouthed the words, but Brinn heard it as if he had whispered in her ear. "I will find you. I promise."

Chapter 29

Bad Dreams and Lullabies

Brinn woke screaming into the darkness, her body rigid with terror. The light flicked on and her mother was at her side before she could register where she was or what was happening. Every cell in her body seized with the dread that consumed her. Uncontrollable sobs broke the surface.

“Shhh. It’s all right, Brinn. I’m here, Angel.” Her mother held her, rocked back and forth, and whispered assurances.

“Will it ever stop?” Brinn sobbed, her limbs aching and her stomach clenched so tight she could barely breathe.

“Tell me what you were dreaming.” Brinn rocked in her mother’s arms, a slow and soothing rhythm. Warmth wrapped around her like a comforting blanket.

“I-I-I can’t.” The words shuddered and shook as she sniffled.

“Letting it out is the only way to make it stop. You can’t keep it all bottled up.”

If only it were that simple. Just let it out in words and have all the pain and torment disappear from her mind. She wished her mother was right, but Brinn wondered if she would ever be free of the sense of loss she felt or the paralyzing fear that gripped her in the night. How could she make anyone understand?

“Sweetie, I know it’s hard, but you need to talk about it. Trust me, please. I think it will help.” Shimmering blue eyes looked down into her face, confident and strong.

Her mother was a doctor, a healer, someone she respected. Maybe she was right. Talking about it might bring the horrible memories to the surface enough that they could escape the confines of her dreams.

“I’ll try.” She sat up straighter, pulling away from her mother’s embrace but unable to make eye contact as she focused on the remnants of the nightmare she’d just escaped. “I was in a barn. It was cold and damp and smelled of...blood and...death.” A cold numbness seeped into her bones as she recalled the memory. “I tried to run away, but he caught me. He dragged me by the arm into the barn. He hurt my shoulder and his grip on my wrist felt like he was crushing the bones.”

She rubbed her shoulder and then her wrist. Her heart pounded and sweat beaded on her forehead, the sensations coming to life as she spoke the words. The room disappeared and she saw herself as a young girl, the event as clear as it had been in her dream.

“There were large hooks hung from the ceiling. And there were slabs of meat hanging in long rows. It was so cold. And it smelled...awful.”

A shudder quaked through her body. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks, her eyes wide with the terror of what came next. “He tied my hands together with a thick rope and then he...hung me on a hook between two...” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Her stomach churned with acid and she closed her eyes against the memory. “He left me there for two days and two nights. I thought he wasn’t coming back. I thought I was going to die...I prayed for him to come back...but then when he did...”

She looked up at her mother, her eyes refocusing and seeing the horror and anguish on the woman’s face. “He said if I ever ran away again, I would wish he had let me die.”

Her mother’s lips quivered but she didn’t speak. Her eyes were wide and clouded, the storm of emotion beneath fighting to surface.

“He was right. When I tried to run away that last time, he beat me so badly I did wish for death. I woke up in the woods and couldn’t move. My ribs were cracked. Every breath hurt. Leaves and dirt covered me and I had to claw my way out to breathe. I lay there shivering in pain until numbness took over and I couldn’t feel anything anymore. I knew he’d kill me if he found me alive. I had to get away from him. I remember hearing noises and thinking he was coming back or that some animal would come along and eat me before I was dead.” She let out a strained laugh that seemed incongruent with the intensity of the moment.

The sound of it brought her fully back to the present. She brushed the tears away. “If he hadn’t wrapped me in a blanket covered me with leaves, I would have died that night.” She sighed, pushing the dark memories aside. “Eventually, I found shelter, water and food. But those first days and weeks in the mountains were like one long nightmare. The only thing that kept me going was the lullaby you used to sing to me before bed—about the angels—do you remember it?”

A sad smile curved the edges of her mother’s mouth. “I do. The Japanese lullaby my grandmother taught to me as a child. I used to sit in your room after you were gone and sing it to your teddy bear, hoping that wherever you were, you could hear me and have something to hold on to.” The porcelain skin of her cheeks was pale and her eyes were red and puffy from salty tears, but she was still as beautiful as any angel Brinn had ever imagined.

Her mother crawled into the bed next to her and wrapped her in loving arms that warmed her to the core. She hummed the familiar tune, gently stroking Brinn’s hair, soothing the ache that had settled over her just moments ago. When her mother finished the song, Brinn smiled up into the blue eyes so like her own. “Thank you, Mama. I did hear you all those years ago. I knew you were with me—you and the Angel of the Forest. She helped me to survive.”

“You survived because you are strong and brave, Briana.” An undeniable expression of admiration and affection filled her mother’s eyes. The warmth of love spread over Brinn like a healing balm.

“I survived because I didn’t want to get eaten by bears.” Brinn let a smile catch her lips. "Come to find out, bears don’t really eat people.”