Jack clenched his jaw and tried to fight off the rage coursing through him. His hands shook but he pulled Adrianna tightly to him again and kissed her head, thankful that she was okay.
“What happened?” he finally asked, pulling her away from him again to inspect her one more time. Adrianna took his hand and guided him to sit down next to her, back across from the police officers.
“Officers Cross and Hurston, this is Jack,” Adrianna introduced.
The two cops, one of them a man who looked to be in his late forties, the other a baby-faced kid who looked about twelve, nodded in acknowledgement towards Jack.
“I’m her boyfriend,” he clarified. He turned towards Adrianna and asked, “What happened?”
Adrianna took a sip from the cold soda one of the shop employees had kindly provided her with and explained, “I was walking and then all of a sudden someone grabbed me by my shirt from behind. He pushed me down the alley, shoved me against the wall and pressed something into my back. It could have been a gun but I didn’t see anything. He told me to keep my eyes closed and then grabbed my purse and said not to move until I counted to a hundred. I heard him run off but I did what he said. When I was done counting I came back out to the street and called nine-one-one. Luckily, my cell was in my pocket.”
Jack closed his eyes and heaved, swearing he would rip the mother fucker to shreds if he was given the chance. Adrianna could see Jack was trembling with ire and she scooted closer to him to let him wrap an arm around her shoulder. “I’m okay,” she repeated once again, looking straight into his burning, blue eyes.
“Is there anything you can tell us that would help to identify your attacker?” the younger officer asked. “A shirt color, skin color, even what kind of shoes he was wearing?”
Adrianna shook her head and answered, “I’m sorry, but no. All I saw was a brick wall and then I closed my eyes. It happened so fast.”
“Well,” the same officer continued, “chances are he’ll just take your cash and then dump the rest but if he has your wallet he’ll have your address. You’re going to want to change the locks on your doors.”
Adrianna hadn’t thought of that and she tensed with fear. Jack squeezed her shoulder and said, “She’ll stay with me for awhile until all that is straightened out.”
“Also, call up any credit cards you might have and cancel those. We have your statement and a description of your purse. We’ll make sure a lookout is kept for it. In the meantime, if there’s anything else you think of, give us a call.” Officer Doogie Howser handed Adrianna a card which she accepted with thanks.
When the officers left, Jack pulled Adrianna from her seat and led her back to his apartment. He kept her tucked under his arm the entire way there.
Adrianna sat numbly on Jack’s sofa while he fixed her a cup of tea. She didn’t really like tea and it reminded of her when she was going through withdrawal but she accepted it nonetheless and took a few sips before setting it down.
“You’re awfully calm for someone who was just held up at gunpoint,” Jack pointed out. He smoothed her hair behind her ear and then tugged gently on her lobe. The fact that she was so stoic was actually alarming to him. Was she in shock?
“I’m fine,” Adrianna stated. And then she burst into tears.
Jack pulled her to him and she straddled his lap, burying her face in his shoulder. While she sobbed quietly, Jack held her and whispered, “Shh, it’s okay, sweetheart. You’re okay.”
“I’ve missed you,” Adrianna choked out, hiccupping around her sobs. She was still shaken from her attack but she was crying more from relief of being in Jack’s arms. She hated that it had taken another traumatic incident to bring them together.
“I’m sorry,” Jack told her and the fact that he didn’t say his missed her too made Adrianna cry harder. Maybe she really was losing him.
She pulled her face from his neck to fix her brown eyes on his. She couldn’t decipher what he was feeling. Was it anger she saw? Pain? Guilt? Jack wiped his hands across her cheeks to brush her tears away, careful of the injury below her right eye. More tears replaced the ones he removed but Adrianna leaned down to crush her lips against Jack’s.