“Give me five before you call it in. I’m on my way,” he said and disconnected the call.
I breathed a small sigh of relief knowing Phoenix was on his way. I turned my attention back to Avery. “If anyone asks, you called Phoenix from my phone when you saw Mark in the kitchen.”
She nodded quickly and squared her shoulders. “I called Phoenix. Got it,” she said with steely determination in her eyes.
It was only then that I noticed the unevenness of her face. She flinched when I used the bottom of my shirt to carefully wipe the blood covering her cheek and I saw red all over again. “Did he hit you?”
She sniffled and whispered, “Twice.”
“Fuck,” I cursed and took a closer look at her.
“It’s okay. I didn’t even notice it until just now.”
“When Phoenix gets here, ask him to call Patch. He’s a doctor in the club. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
She shook her head. “No,” she choked out and covered her mouth. “Not physically.”
I wrapped my arms around her and held her while she cried. I heard him confess to trying to kill her children and me. I also heard him admit to being the reason her husband walked out on her, and I couldn’t help but wonder what else he was responsible for.
“Avery,” I rasped. “I can’t wait any longer to call.”
“I know,” she said against my shirt.
I didn’t let her go while I dialed 9-1-1 and held my phone to my ear.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
“Someone broke into my house and attacked my woman. I shot him. He’s dead and we’re outside,” I said and gave her the address.
“Officers are en route. Is anyone injured?”
“Yes, my woman’s cheek might be broken.”
“And the intruder you shot. Are they—?”
“I am one-hundred-percent certain he’s dead,” I interrupted.
“Okay, sir, if you’ll stay on the line with me until the officers arrive on scene—”
“No need. We’re no longer in danger. Please let the officers know my weapon is inside the house on the kitchen counter. We’re on the back porch and completely unarmed,” I added before disconnecting the call.
A small amount of tension left Avery’s body when the rumble of several bikes in the distance broke the silence of the early morning, but I didn’t let go of her until Phoenix rounded the corner with Carbon and Shaker.
“What happened?” he asked without preamble.
“He broke into the house and attacked Avery in the kitchen. He was Ian Parker’s best friend and co-worker. Apparently, he’s had an obsession with Avery for several years. He also confessed to being the one who hit me and the kids,” I said quickly.
“Where’d you shoot him?”
“One shot to the head. From the front. Put my gun on the counter and got Avery out of there as fast as I could.” When I heard the sirens, I added, “Avery called you from my phone.”
“Give her your phone. Her bloody prints need to be on it,” Phoenix said calmly.
I nodded and passed my phone to Avery. “Can you have Patch or someone look at her face? I think her cheek might be broken.”
Phoenix’s eyes hardened and he nodded sharply. “If you’re not around to do it, I’ll make sure it’s looked at, but Savior, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. This seems pretty cut and dry to me.”
“But he’s a police officer,” I argued.
