The growl surprised him as Jane launched herself at him,
knocking him off his feet, his father’s laughter ringing in his ears.

“I said leave her alone, this is between you and me,” she
grunted as they rolled into the wall.

“Come on boy, you’re gonna let that ***** whoop you?”  The elder Rodriguez egged his son on,
enjoying the show.

“What’s she to you, another girlfriend, like Dr Isles?” he
mocked.

Punching him in the face, “Don’t say her name you…motherless
*****!”

His roar of anger told her she had gone to far. Rolling her
over, he mounted her and started punching her about the abdomen.  Jane tried to block the blows and was
successful with most but the ones that got through were stealing the breath she
had left. She could feel herself slow down with each blow and she could hear
screaming.

JJ had jumped on his back and was screaming at him to
stop.  She had her arms around his neck
in a chokehold until his father yanked her off.
She slammed into the wall and slid to the floor.

“Let her go son, she won’t last if you do it all now.”  Rolling off Jane, Max pushed himself up.

Looking from one to the other, he smiled, he could use the
blonde against her and he would have Jane begging him to kill her.

Walking out, they left the women to ponder their fate.  When the door slammed shut, JJ hurried over
to Jane lying prone across the room.

“Oh my God Jane,” JJ looked at her, her breathing uneven,
she hadn’t moved since Rodriguez had stopped hitting her.

“Jane?” she said cautiously, relieved when Jane opened eyes,
JJ saw the pain in their depths.

“Can you move?”

“No,” she groaned, trying to take a deep breath, the pain
stopped her.  “Just let me lie her for a
minute okay” she whispered.

“Why did you do that?
Why didn’t you let him take me?

“You’re a friend now JJ and you…you’re like Maura…too gentle
for this *****…you don’t…deserve to be here.”
Closing her eyes she realized she could only take half breaths because
of her ribs, she knew more than one was cracked.

“Jane don’t close your eyes honey, look at me, please.”  JJ could hear her trying to take shallow
breaths and didn’t like the wheezing she heard.
Tentative, she reached down and pulled her shirt up, hissing when she
saw the bruises already forming on her torso.
One area was darker than the others and when Jane took a breath that
area did not move.