“Did he attack you?” I asked, even though the answer was clear.
“Yes. I thought it was you when I heard the front door open, but he came into the bedroom.” Tears coursed down her cheeks, gutting me. “I couldn’t get away from him.” She choked on her sobs. “Where were you? You said you’d be right back.” The way she looked at me made me feel helpless.
My guilt shook me harder than I ever thought possible. “I had to go to three different stores. I didn’t intend to be gone for so long. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.” Her voice quivered. “It’s his.”
My blood thickened with rage. “I’m going to kill him.”
“You won’t do anything, Mr. Crew,” Officer Baker said, stepping toward me. “We’ll handle this.”
“I doubt that, since he’s one of your own.”
“He’s not one of us, sir,” Officer Marston said, pulling my attention from his partner. “We don’t protect abusers.” Whether he spoke the truth, I wouldn’t know, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I was going to find that fucker and annihilate him for what he’d done to Sophie.What else did he do to her?The officer swung his focus back to the woman in my arms. “I’m assuming you want to press charges?” She nodded. “Okay. We’llneed you to come to the station to give a formal report, and we’ll document any physical trauma as well.”
“We’ll be there tomorrow,” I said, pulling Sophie as close as I could.
Officer Baker gave Trevor his card, and both men walked out, leaving the three of us alone. But after a moment, my friend headed for the door.
“Thank you, Trevor,” Sophie uttered as she tightened her hold around my waist.
“Of course.”
He shot me another glance, and I understood the warning laced behind his stare. He didn’t want me to make a move against her ex, and because I couldn’t promise anything, all I did was return his stare.
I reluctantly stepped back and grabbed her hand. “Why don’t we go back to your place, and you can tell me what happened.”
She shook her head so quickly, I thought she’d fall over in dizziness. “No, I can’t go back there. Not yet.” The strain in her voice riled up my protectiveness to a whole other level. But I had to remain calm; she needed me right now.
“You don’t have to. We’ll go to my place. Is that all right?”
She nodded, squeezing my hand in either distress or appreciation. Maybe both.
I held on to her as we walked up the steps and into my apartment. Every time I looked at her, I was filled with regret that I’d left to go to the damn store. If only I’d stayed behind, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attack her. How long had he known where she lived? How long had he been waiting for the chance to get her alone? I had no doubt he’d seen me leave her place, but he had a lot of balls to go into her apartment, having no idea when I’d be coming back. If I had caught him in there, the cops would have been called for a different reason.
“Can you lock the door?” she asked once we’d entered.
“Absolutely.”
I didn’t bother to remind her that I wasn’t going anywhere, that she’d be safe with me from here on out. I’d make sure of it. She was never going to be out of my sight again. I could already predict the arguments she’d give me in the near future, but if anything ever happened, if he ever came after her again and…. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
Unfortunately, I had experience dealing with battered women, so when I approached Sophie, I did so slowly. The marks around her neck were darker now, but she needed me to remain calm.
“I know we have to talk about it,” she said, moving toward the couch, “but do you have a shirt I can wear?”
“Yeah, sure.” When I held out my hand, she slid her palm into mine. “It’s going to be long on you, but I don’t think you care.”
“I don’t.” Her attempt at a chuckle fell short.
I rifled through my dresser and pulled out a plain white tee. “Do you want me to leave while you get changed?” After what Sophie had been through, I wanted to give her as much privacy as she needed.
“No, but can you turn around?”
“Of course.”
She reached for the shirt, then untied the belt of her robe. Before I turned, I caught a glimpse of several bright contusions that were already showing signs of bruising on both her breasts. It took me several deep breaths to calm my sudden wave of nausea. How could a man do that to a woman? Or rather, a coward, because that was exactly what Mitch was.
“Okay, you can turn around now.”
