The shirt fell to her mid-thigh, and in any other circumstance, I’d enjoy the sight of her in my clothes, but all I could do was pray she’d come through this in one piece.
“Where do you want to talk?” I asked.
“Here is fine.” She sat on the edge of my bed, her eyes never leaving mine as I sat beside her. “When I heard the front door open, I thought it was you. Thank God I put a robe on, but I guess it didn’t matter because when he jumped on top of me, it came open.” Unshed tears filled her eyes, but she continued. “He had his gun. He came there to kill me. Before tonight, though, other than my fall down the stairs, the worst thing he’d done to me physically was push me or grab my arms. He never punched me or slapped me. And he never choked me before.” Her fingers flitted over the tender skin of her throat. “This was a first. He kept pinching my breasts, too, which is also something he’s never done.” Sophie shook her head as a tear fell. “I didn’t want to make things worse by mentioning you, but I thought maybe if he knew you were going to be there soon, he’d rethink what he was doing and leave. But he said his buddies were going to keep you busy.”
“He lied. No one ever approached me.”
“I should have assumed, but I was too worried that he set you up for something.”
“You were worried about me while he was attacking you? Sophie….” My voice faltered, her admission making me feel some type of way, but I couldn’t determine if it was guilt or gratitude or something else entirely.
“I never wanted to involve you in this. I just didn’t think it would go this far. I hoped that after he saw I wasn’t coming back to him, he’d eventually give up. But something happened to him. He didn’t look like himself. There was a blankness behind his eyes. He was terrifying.” An involuntary shudder wracked her body. “I lied and said nothing happened between you and me. I thought if I confirmed what he accused me of, it would make things worse. He didn’t believe me, though.”
My next question rested in my throat, unsure I wanted to hear the answer, but I needed to know.
“Did he….” I staggered over my words, fearing the worst. “Did he rape you?”
“No. He might’ve, but he didn’t get the chance.”
I didn’t know what I would’ve done had she answered yes. “How did you get away from him?”
I saw a flicker of a smirk. It was gone before it fully registered, though, so I could’ve been mistaken.
“I broke his arm.”
My eyes widened to twice their size. “You what?”
“I had to do something. He had my arms pinned above my head, and I needed him to release me before I attempted any of the moves you showed me.” Another tear fell, then another. “I said things to him I didn’t mean. I swear I had to. I’m sorry.”
I immediately cupped her face in my hands. “Don’t ever apologize for doing whatever was necessary to save your life. Do you hear me? You did what you had to in order to survive. Don’t be sorry for that.”
She slowly nodded as I wiped away her tears.
“Once my hands were free, I asked if I could kiss him, and when he was close enough, I did the move where I extended his arm.”
“And you broke it.” I didn’t think I could feel rage, fear, and pride all at the same time, but there I was, harnessing all three emotions.
“I broke it. It was the only thing that would give me enough time to get out of there without worrying he’d come after me too quickly. I’ve never had a broken arm before, but based on the sounds he made, it was excruciating.”
“And that’s when you ran down to the gym?”
“Yes. Then Trevor saw me, and he called the cops.” Her shoulders deflated. “What do you think will happen to him?”
I pictured myself beating him bloody before I killed him, but she didn’t need to hear any of that.
“Once they find him, they’ll arrest him. After that, I’m not sure. But I can promise you that he’ll never come near you again.”
“How can you promise that?” she asked, the worry behind her eyes slicing me apart.
“Because I can.”
I was still working out how to keep her safe, but for now, all she needed was reassurance.
36
I’d finally fallen asleep only to be woken by a noise outside. Sophie rested her head on my chest, and I didn’t want to wake her, but I needed to make sure Mitch hadn’t come back looking for her. I didn’t believe that to be the case, since she’d broken his arm, but I learned a long time ago not to underestimate people. After gently rolling her onto her back, I headed toward the front door and that’s when I heard a man shouting Sophie’s name in between banging on her door.
I rushed outside expecting to see Mitch, but instead, there was an older gentleman with dark hair standing in front of Sophie’s apartment. He turned toward me, his expression filled with panic.
