It made me wish I could find a woman of my own who would still look at me like I walked on water, even after she found out what I did for a living. But keeping anyone in my life was a bad idea, and not just because of how I chose to live my life, but because I didn’t really know how to care about anyone other than myself.
That was clear as I studied the bruise on Alyssa’s face. If I had been a better brother, none of this would have happened.
“Is this the worst of it?”
The shame on her face was all I needed to know that this was just what couldn’t be hidden.
“Where else?”
Slowly, she lifted her shirt, showing a massive purple and black mark that spanned the entire side of her body. Gently probing it, I cursed under my breath.
“How the hell are you walking around?”
“Painkillers. I snagged some before I got out of there,” she admitted.
“No more of that shit.” I was pissed, but I kept my voice low and even. “You don’t know what he cut those pills with. Where are they?”
She tugged a small plastic baggie out of her jeans and handed it over.
“This is all of it?”
“Yes. You know I don’t do drugs.”
She never had, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t started.
“Come on.” I held out my hand, helping her to her feet and guided her down the hall to my room. I would have to get thesecond bedroom set up for her, but for tonight, she could use my bed.
“I can’t take?—”
“You can and you will,” I cut her off. “You can borrow one of my shirts to sleep in. Tomorrow, I’ll find some clothes for you.”
Again, the tears welled in her eyes, and this time, they didn’t stop. It wasn’t over. The bruises were the only damage I could see, but I had a feeling it was so much worse.
It always was.
“Did he rape you?”
She nodded slightly. “We were already together, but…”
Just like every other man she met, she fell hard and fast, and then the shitty side made itself known, and by then, it was too hard to get out. The violence started, the demands that she could never live up to…It was a never-ending cycle that I had to help her break.
I couldn’t stand seeing her like this, and if she kept going with this pattern, she was going to end up dead, either by some asshole’s hand or her own. There was only so much a person could take.
“Get some sleep.”
“Thanks, JR. I—” Her lips pressed together in a firm line, but the words wouldn’t come. Not when she was so broken.
I pressed a kiss to her cheek and pulled her in for another hug. “I’ll always be here. No matter what.”
After grabbing some things for her to wear to bed, I shut the door and dialed Archer. He was the only one I trusted with this.
The sounds of music from the bar hit me first, making it impossible to hear when he finally answered.
“Why aren’t you here?” he shouted. The music grew softer as he moved away. “I thought you’d be working tonight.”
“It’s my night off. Listen, Alyssa’s here.”
“Aw, shit. What happened this time?”
