She stiffened. When her eyes opened again, they were sharp as ice. “Why are you doing all this?” she snapped, her tone almost venomous.
I drew back, blinking at her. I wasn’t sure how to read that reaction. She almost looked…betrayed.
“What do you mean?”
Her nostrils flared as she let out a shaky breath. “What do you want?” The venom bled out of her voice, leaving something else behind—something raw. “You have to want something from me. There’s no other reason you’d be doing all of this.”
I stared at her blankly, thrown completely off. I shook my head. “I don’t want anything from you.”
She glared at me. “I don’t believe you. Everyone wants something.”
I tilted my head. “I want you to be safe.” I tried to pour every ounce of sincerity I had into those words. “I know you don’t want to report this to the police—for whatever reason—and I thought if there was any way to make it a fraction easier for you, I would.”
She searched my face like she was trying to find the lie. But gradually, the edge slipped from her. The fight dissipated like the steam from her coffee.
“I don’t think whoever attacked me will hurt someone else,” she said slowly. “Whoever it was said that if I was going to defend monsters, they might as well treat me like one.”
Rage lit through me, hot and sharp. “I’m sorry, Quinn,” I said, my voice tight with restrained anger. “You don’t deserve what happened to you.”
She gave me a look that made my heart sink, like she didn’t believe that.
“My point,” she continued, “is that it seems like I was a particular target. I doubt this person will attack anyone else but me.”
She said it with almost no emotion, like she was simply stating facts about something that had nothing to do with her.
I opened my mouth to reply, but she cut me off before I could.
“However,” she went on, “I can’t argue that this person is dangerous. Though I don’t think anyone else will be hurt…I suppose you have a point about reporting it.”
I stared at her. She’d composed herself again—shoulders pulled back, face schooled into that cool mask of indifference.
I wanted to tell her that even if the attacker never hurt another person, she was worth seeking justice for. She was worth protecting.
But I didn’t say it. Because I wasn’t sure she’d hear me anyway.
Instead, I lowered my voice, and looked her directly in the eyes.
“Thank you. I’ll set everything up.”
13
Quinn
Grahamdidn’tbringmeback to my car right away. We both decided it was best to get the report done as soon as possible. Instead of heading back to the B&B, I stayed a little longer while he set everything up with that Detective Whize.
I wasn’t excited about it. At all.
The whole time, I had to keep pushing back flashes of being questioned when I was a teenager—how I could barelyremember what had happened, and no matter how hard I’d tried to explain when I finally did, the police hadn’t understood anyway. Or maybe they just hadn’t listened. Because they’d arrested the wrong man after it was all said and done.
I tried to remind myself that this was different.
This time, I wasn’t doing it for me.
I was doing it because I wanted to protect other people.
And, if I was honest, I was also doing it for Graham.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that he wanted something from me, but…I appreciated his help. So, I made the report. I talked to Whize—who, admittedly, wasn’t all that bad. Graham had been right. He was a nice guy who actually seemed to listen and to want to help.
