She tugged up the sleeve of her shirt, revealing bruises in the shape of fingerprints on her wrists. “He…he wouldn’t let me go. He was soangry.” Her breaths shortened until she was almost hyperventilating.
Cody ran his fingers through his hair, not wanting to believe it, but the evidence was right there…clearlysomeonehad touched her.
When her breathing became more ragged, he forced his voice to gentle. “Vanessa, breathe.”
Her chest rose on a deep inhale.
“I’m going to call Eastern and—”
“No!” She cut him off and shook her head vigorously. “I don’t want police involved. Definitely not the sheriff. I just…I needed to be with someone who made me feel safe.”
She stepped toward him, but he stepped back. “We’re not together anymore, Vanessa. I can’t keep saving you.”
“Cody…”
She stepped forward just as the bar door opened and Barry stepped in. He stopped a few feet inside. “Am I interrupting something?”
“No,” Cody answered firmly before Vanessa could speak. “You need to go, Vanessa. And I encourage you to call Eastern at the office if you need help.”
Harper massagedher temple between customers. God, her head hurt. She wasn’t even sure why—she’d just woken up feeling off today. Lightheaded, a bit nauseous. She probably should have stayed home and rested, but the new guy Cody was supposed to train had ghosted him, not showing up for his shift.
“Hey.”
She jumped at the feel of Cody’s hand on the small of her back. Man, that was how out of it she was, surprised by a single touch in a busy bar.
His brows flickered. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a headache.”
Concern laced his features. “Do you need to finish early?”
“No, I’ll push through.”
She started to walk past him, but his fingers slipped around her wrist. She turned to see he was close. Really close.
He lowered his head. “I don’t want you working while you’re not feeling good.”
“I’m okay, Cody.”
Before he could respond, she stepped out of his grasp, grabbed a tray, and moved to the floor. Her mind shifted back to the previous night. To the drunk guy who’d grabbed her.
Immediately, she glanced around. Even though it was a small town, and most locals were wonderful, they got a lot of tourists who came for the Smoky Mountains, so most weeks there were new faces in the bar. Tonight, she didn’t see anyone unfamiliar.
She lifted an empty glass and placed it on the tray, but the second she stepped away from the table, a wave of dizziness washed over her and she stumbled. The glass fell from the tray and shattered on the floor.
Shit.
She blinked three times to clear her vision before lowering to the floor to clean up the mess, lifting the largest shard. When she went for another, it sliced her finger. Crap! She really was out of it tonight.
Suddenly, a big body lowered beside her. Cody’s gaze fell on her hand. He cursed and lifted it. “You cut yourself.”
“It’s small. I’m fine.” Together, they gathered the remaining pieces. Cody grabbed the tray and rose, placing his free hand on her elbow.
While Cody went to ask Barry to sweep the area where the glass had dropped, Harper went into the kitchen and grabbed the first aid kit. She hadn’t even gotten it open before Cody was beside her.
She sighed. “Cody, I can do it.”
He didn’t respond, just opened the kit and pulled out a Band-Aid. Then, gently, he cleaned and covered the small cut.
