Thunder Storms (#1 - Semper Fi Series)

Part VIII

“I don’t wanna beat around the bush on this one, Renee. I need to just come out and say it. Otherwise, I don’t think you’ll ever tell me. I was watching the news, and the anchorwoman spoke of a man who’d been shot recently. His name is Mark Whitmore.” He gauged her face for a reaction.

“I scrubbed in as the surge nurse for that operation. Is he okay? He’s supposed to be recovering.” Renee volunteered.

“Yes, he’s recovering. They suspect that his injury was not an accident. The person they want to question is Benjamin Jenkins.”

Renee’s face went white, and she looked like she was going to pass out. “No!” She finally said. “NO! He can’t be here. He can’t. I’ve come so far, and made too much progress to go back to this.”

“Renee. Come here!” He took her in his arms and embraced her. She beat on his chest with her fists, and he let her. She cried for what seemed like an eternity. It was an eternity to him. He wanted to make her pain and fear go away. He was beginning to care for her in a way he’d not cared for anyone before. How did that happen so quickly? Maybe it was there longer, and is just now coming to the surface. Really, if he admitted his feelings to himself, he’s been interested since she came to live here. The storm just presented a reason to become better acquainted. He kissed the top of her head. She seemed to be calming down. He kissed her head again, and smoothed her hair.

“There’s more, but I’ll wait until you think you can handle it. I don’t want you upset, but we have to take action.” 

“Adam, go ahead. I need to know. Tell me what you know.”

With a deep breath and wariness in his voice, he continued. “He’s charged with the shooting of Mark Whitmore. He also lives in Marketville at the White Sands Trailer Park. He’s neighbors with Mark and his wife, Melissa. I think there’s more to it, but the police are obviously tracking it if they suspect him of shooting Mark. Renee,” he looked her in the eyes. “I need the story: the whole story. I will make sure you’re safe, but I can’t do it if I don’t know what to expect. Start at the very beginning.”

Renee took a ragged breath before she began. “I dated Ben in High School. We lived in Central Kentucky.  We dated for three years. On Prom Night of our Senior Year, he proposed to me. I said yes. He’d been so sweet up until then. Right after graduation, he started becoming a little more possessive each day. He demanded my time. He would come to my job and harass the male employees if they were too close to me. He even threatened a few of them. The manager asked him to leave and not come back. He came back the next day. The manager had to let me go. He’d cost me my job. I didn’t break up with him, though. I chalked it up to his concern for me, and found another job.

He grew more possessive. I was not allowed to go out with my friends. One by one, they stopped talking to me. They said he would only get worse.

We had not even decided when to get married. He wanted me to move in with him first. When I said no, he hit me. He broke my nose, and didn’t stop there. He asked me another time, and when I said no and explained that I don’t believe a man and woman should live together before the wedding, he broke my arm. The third time, when I’d flat out refused his advances, he...man, this is hard... He raped me. He tied me up, raped me again, and kept me at his house for four days without food and very little water. He continued to take what he thought was his for those four days. My parents hadn’t seen me, and knew something was up when I didn’t call or come home, so they came looking for me. The police came with them to his place, but he hadn’t been there in at least four hours. I spent three days in the hospital from my injuries. My parents pressed charges. He spent a whopping fourteen months in jail for my assault and rape. I broke the engagement, and after I recovered, I joined the Army and went to Basic Training in Alabama.” Adam stopped her, and hugged her. He couldn’t say anything. No wonder she was terrified. He looked her in the eye, and cupped her face with his hands. He didn’t say anything, but reassured her with a look that he was there to protect her.