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  An Unexpected Gift

  By Lily Zante

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Lily Zante

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

  The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book through the internet or any other means without the prior written consent of the author is illegal and is punishable by law.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously and do not bear any resemblance to any real person, alive or dead.

  Copyright © 2012

  www.LilyZante.com

  Table of Contents

  An Unexpected Gift

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Booklist

  An Unexpected Gift

  By Lily Zante

  Website: www.LilyZante.com

  Email: [email protected]

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lily.zante

  Twitter: @LilyZanteBooks

  Please visit my website or get in touch with me through Facebook or Twitter or perhaps even drop me an email.

  I would love to hear from you!

  Chapter One

  If she ran now, he would know that she knew. And she didn’t want him to know that she was scared, or that she knew.

  Her breath, fast and shallow, sent out silvery white puffs of air into the still and silent night. Caitlin’s heart beat louder still. She quickened her footsteps, almost breaking out into a semi run.

  She cursed the high heeled boots she had on; running wasn’t an option. She glanced to her side and in her periphery she saw the lone figure behind her.

  I wish I hadn’t drunk so much.

  Why hadn’t she left the restaurant earlier or got a cab home or an earlier train? The three glasses of wine were clouding her judgment. She had to put as much distance between herself and the hooded man behind her. Fast. The December night frost sobered her slightly. She wasn’t drunk, but her senses weren’t as sharp as she needed them to be. Not if she wanted to outwit the silent figure on her tail.

  She walked as fast as her legs could manage and got out her phone. Trying to concentrate, and walk, without dropping the phone or tripping in her high heels, was not easy. Especially since her heart was pumping faster than she had ever known and her hands were shaking.

  She speed dialed Kerrie’s number, her fingers struggling to hit the right keys. Kerrie would be at home waiting for her. Caitlin heard the ringing. Pick up, please pick up! And Kerrie did. But just then a strong, rough hand, almost the size of her face, barricaded her mouth. She immediately went into lock down, knowing it was too late. Then, fighting to breathe, Caitlin's gloved hands shot up towards her mouth as she tried to prise the attacker’s hands off her mouth.

  He spun her around roughly, for a moment loosening his grip on her mouth and grabbed her by the shoulders instead. She gasped for air and found herself face to face with a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt. In the dark of the night she didn’t get a good look at his face clearly but saw enough of his features to know that she didn’t know him. Panicked and fearful, she looked into his eyes and kicked him in the groin, surprising even herself. He buckled back in agony and she felt her own legs buckle and her mouth go dry. In the split second that he bent double, she turned around and ran, screaming as loudly as she could. Then she stumbled on her right foot but managed to steady herself in time, running wildly as fast as she could.

  It was way past midnight and the streets were empty. If only she had hailed that black cab. This was the only thought that came to her. The walk home wasn’t long and the road was busy. London never slept, especially around Tower Bridge. But this small stretch of road was always the quietest and she had taken a chance on it today. Unlucky.

  She staggered around, trying to get her bearings and get away but she didn’t feel in control of her body. It felt as though she had floated out of it and was looking on as an observer; she heard her own gasping and breathing, as though it was someone else. She didn’t get very far before he grabbed her roughly from her waist this time, throwing her down backwards and landing on top of her.

  That’s when she screamed in terror. A loud, gut wrenching, primal scream, because she was terrified at the thought of what might be next. He had pinned her down but she still had her house keys clasped tightly in one hand, just as Kerrie had taught her, with the long end sticking out, like a dagger. As she struggled to break free, he punched her hard across the face so that her head slammed backwards. Her face red and raw from his slap, stung sharply. She felt the anger rising within her, like a jet stream of lava bubbling up from her stomach. Raising her right arm swiftly she jabbed him hard across the cheek. His animal shriek confirmed she’d got the right target. As he rolled off her, holding the side of his face in his hands, she scurried backwards, throwing her handbag at him. Take what you want.

  Quickly raising herself up, she tried to find the right direction to run in. She felt paralyzed and heard herself screaming again at the top of her voice. Why was nobody coming?

  In the precious few moments that her attacker fumbled around with her handbag, Caitlin managed to run a short distance. Then she heard a thump of what must have been her bag falling to the ground followed by thick, heavy footsteps coming towards her.

  Now she felt weak and empty knowing that it was only a matter of time. This time he grabbed her hair roughly from behind and she could feel his fury.

  “No! Help me! Someone please, HELP!” she screamed as he yanked her hair so hard that she stumbled and fell backwards. He dragged her brutally across the hard ground.

  Where are you taking me? she wondered in terror.

  Unable to see a way out and knowing she could not run, Caitlin screamed as loud as her lungs would physically let her.

  In the distance she heard the loud roar of a car and stared up to see it heading her way. The car’s headlights flooded the once dark street with an angry glare of light and she heard a door open. The grip on her hair loosened and she recoiled in horror as a tall figure got out and looked at her.

  When he stepped in front of the headlights, blocking the bright light for a few seconds, Caitlin saw the head of blond hair and instinctively shrank back in fear.

  He had her now. She would not survive this, was the first thought that came to her mind.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, looking beyond her.

  It wasn’t him. Caitlin let out a small breath, thankful that it wasn’t him.

  She heard the soft sound of running footsteps and turned to see her attacker getting away. The blond man sprinted after him.

  She crawled onto all fours, not having the energy to get back up and watched as the blond man caught up with the attacker. He drew his arm back and then let rip with an almighty punch to her attacker’s jaw, sending him reeling back onto the ground. She kept away as the two men fought viciously and hunted around for her handbag, almost invisible in the enveloping darkness. She dialed 999 and in a faltering whisper, told them she had been attacked, giving them her exact location.

  As she turned around she saw her attacker land a hefty punch to the blond man's ribs knocking him to the ground. As he lay motionless on h
is back, her attacker kicked him ferociously over and over again, until he lay lifeless on the pavement. Then he looked over at Caitlin, who lay hunched on the ground clutching her mobile phone. She saw that he was starting to walk towards her and she froze, knowing that this time his wrath would be unstoppable.

  Covering her face with her hands, she cowered helplessly on the floor, expecting the worst. But just before he threw down his fist to unleash his anger for the last time, a hefty punch to his neck from behind sent the attacker flying to the side where he doubled up in pain.

  The comforting wail of police sirens in the distance signaled the end of a violent night for Caitlin. And as he stumbled towards her, the tall blond man fell to his knees and collapsed onto the damp, hard ground.

  The attacker threw Caitlin one last threatening look before he slithered away into the dark shadows.

  Chapter Two

  Summoning up the energy to get onto her knees, Caitlin bent over to look at the man who had probably just saved her life. His face was covered with blood that continued to spew out of his nose and he had a deep cut just above his left eye. With his head tilted back, the blood ran into his short blond hair, causing thin lines of blood to mingle and congeal. Caitlin looked at his blond hair and remembered how scared she had been.

  But she was safe now. He had saved her.

  "Hey," said Caitlin, gently touching his chin, the only part of his face that was free from blood. “Wake up." She felt for his pulse and sighed with relief that he was still alive, though his eyes were closed.

  I hope you’re okay because you just saved my life. She had forgotten about her own injuries and that her face was also covered in blood.

  "Miss? Don’t worry, you're safe now." Startled, she turned to see a policeman staring down at her. He bent over the unconscious figure on the floor and waited anxiously for the paramedics to come over from the ambulance that had just pulled up beside them.

  Caitlin stayed on the floor, holding the stranger’s hand. She didn't know him but she wanted to be there for him, just as he had been for her. Caring for the injured man distracted her mind from the trauma she had just been through. She watched as the paramedics tended to him. The two police officers came up to her then and started questioning her.

  Beginning to shiver, Caitlin told the two police officers as much as she could.

  "And you didn't get a look at his face?" asked the older police officer as the younger one got a blanket from the paramedics and placed it around Caitlin’s shoulders.

  "Just a bit, he wore a hoodie. He had bright green eyes but that’s all I saw, not much else."

  He paused for a moment. “It’s past midnight love, this is a deserted stretch of road. Why would a young lady like you be out travelling so late at night and in a place like this?” He didn’t want to admonish her but equally, he wanted to know what had possessed such a tiny little thing as her to be roaming the streets of London this late at night.

  Caitlin pulled the blanket tighter around her body and looked up at the policeman apologetically. “I’m sorry. I should have known better. We had a department Christmas party at a restaurant in Covent Garden. I should have left earlier or taken a cab. But I ended up staying later than I thought I would and got the last train home. I never get home this late. My flat is two minutes away. I was hoping to flag down a cab but it never came. So I took a chance and thought I’d walk. I thought I’d be home in no time.” Her face saddened and the shivering started again, though it wasn’t because of the cold. She was frightened because it was starting to dawn on her that she had been extremely lucky to get out of this with no more than a few bruises.

  The older policeman looked at Caitlin sympathetically. “It’s when you least expect it that things like this happen. You mustn’t take any chances like this again, promise me?” He felt sorry for her. Caitlin sniffed and nodded her head sheepishly.

  "And you don't know of any reason why anyone should do this to you?" asked the younger police office.

  "No,” she said firmly shaking her head and wincing at the pain this simple action caused.

  No, she hadn’t asked for this to happen to her. She was a normal, honest, decent girl, with a normal job, normal flat mate, normal family and a normal upbringing. Everything in her life had been normal, if she crossed out and forgot about the awful months with Carl. And now that she had broken up with that bastard, her life was slowly getting back to normal.

  "Are you sure?" the police office pressed. Holding the corners of the blankets tightly, Caitlin was defiant. "I don't know why anyone would want to attack me."

  Should she tell them about Carl?

  But her attacker was someone she had never seen before. What had happened to her tonight was purely down to her being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have happened to anyone.

  She wiped her face with a tissue that one of the officers had given her and looked down in alarm to see that it was smeared with blood. It was odd because she didn’t feel that much pain.

  The paramedics carefully placed the injured man onto a stretcher and carried him into the ambulance. As they walked past, Caitlin saw that the man who had saved her had now opened his eyes. The paramedics stopped as Caitlin took a step towards the stretcher. The man stared up in confusion and his gaze rested on Caitlin.

  "You’ll be fine," she said gently, attempting to smile but even smiling was an effort and her face ached. He opened his mouth to say something but winced in pain, holding his hand to his chest. “Don’t move,” she ordered softly before the paramedics carried on into the ambulance.

  She watched as the two police officers combed over the area around them. They were examining the blond man’s car and as she stood to the side she overheard one of the police officers saying, "Probably a random attack. We always get more of them at this time of the year."

  The older police office came over to Caitlin, “We'll follow you to the hospital, love. We'll need to get a statement from you both."

  "But I'm alright," pleaded Caitlin, desperate to get back to the warmth of her flat. “I just want to go home. I’m only two minutes away. Can’t you just take me home now?"

  "Sorry love, unfortunately, you've taken a bit of a beating yourself. You need to go to the hospital and get yourself checked out first."

  "But...." began Caitlin.

  "No buts young lady. Into the ambulance you go," he took Caitlin by the arm gently and handed her over to one of the paramedics. "Cheers Phil, see you at the hospital."

  Inside the ambulance the paramedics hovered around the blond man while Caitlin took a seat at the side. "He's going to be alright isn't he?" she asked worriedly.

  "He'll be fine, might have a couple of cracked ribs though” one of them replied.

  Caitlin was horrified. This poor man, a total random stranger had stepped in to help her and had suffered such terrible injuries himself.

  And it was barely a week before Christmas too.

  She looked at him lying with his eyes closed, silent and still on the stretcher. "I'm so sorry," she murmured, leaning over to stroke his hand which lay outstretched beside him.

  At the hospital the doctors took the man off for further examination while a stern faced nurse tended to Caitlin, completely ignoring her pleas. She cleaned up Caitlin’s face and examined her to make sure she hadn't suffered any other injuries.

  "I told you, I'm fine. That poor man took the beating for me. I got off easy.” She was annoyed that they were all so concerned about her. But when she looked in the mirror, she was shocked. Her brown eyes were bloodshot and her right eye had developed a greenish black bruise that was slowly spreading out over her brow bone and underneath. Her right cheek was swollen and puffy and bore an angry red imprint of what had most likely been her assailant's knuckle. Her upper lip stung sharply and she could see the deep cut just above it. She was slowly starting to feel sharp pangs of pain all over her body now that she had stopped to think about herself. And when she looked down at her brown, co
rduroy skirt she saw that her tights were ripped too, exposing bloody, grazed knees underneath.

  As she waited patiently, one of the police officers, the older, friendlier one, came back to her.

  “So they cleaned you up."

  "I didn’t realize I'd been hurt so badly."

  "You did take a bad beating. But your boyfriend took the brunt of the attack."

  Caitlin opened her mouth to protest but he continued, looking down his notes. "22 Winterbourne Crescent, Ladbroke Grove, is that right?"

  "No, what's that?"

  "Not your address?"

  She looked at him irritably. "No. And he’s not my boyfriend. I’ve never met him before.”

  The policeman frowned at her. "Oh. We thought you were together.” He hastily scribbled into his notebook again before looking up at her over his glasses which were slipping down his nose, “Not many people would risk their lives to save a total stranger’s."

  Despite the pain that had hijacked Caitlin’s life recently, this act of kindness by a stranger had restored a bit of her faith in people once more. “I know and I’m thankful that he did. I owe him a debt of gratitude.”

  The policeman stared at Caitlin, taking in her small frame and her elfin features. Did she have any idea how lucky she was that someone had come to her rescue? He didn’t want to think of the consequences otherwise.

  "Right," he said wearily, pushing his glasses back up his nose again. It was almost two in the morning. "Let's take it from the top again. Is there anyone you need to contact? To let them know what’s happened?”

  Kerrie. She’ll be worried sick.

  Caitlin got out her phone and dialed Kerrie’s number.

  Around forty minutes later, when the police officer had taken Caitlin's statement, he offered to drive her home. But not before she had demanded to see the man who had saved her. The nurse acceded to her request, since the man was now stable and resting.