Chapter Thirty-Six
Luke
I woke first, caught in a contradictory haze of being in agony, and horny as hell. Mia was still asleep, wrapped up in her coat, blond hair splayed over my pillow. I itched to rouse her, strip her clothes, and bundle her into my bed properly, but I didn’t dare wake her. The memory of her crying herself to sleep would haunt me forever, and I wasn’t ready to facethe pain her eyes again just yet.
Besides, a glance at the clock told me we’d only been asleep an hour. If I could just get comfortable and ignore the steel column my dick had turned into, I’d—
A knock at the front door made me jump, and then groan loud enough to wake Mia. She raised her head, her pretty blue eyes bloodshot and drawn. “What is it? Are you okay?”
Grimacing, I pointeddownstairs and forced myself upright. “Someone’s at the door.”
“I’ll get it.”
“No!”
God no. I was in no state to fight, but I’d kill whoever was on the other side of that door before they got to her.
“Luke, it’s okay.” Mia got in between me and the bedroom door. “It’s Rebecca. I’m so sorry, I forgot she was coming.”
“Rebecca?” The codeine I’d swallowed before we’d passed outhad left my already disorganised brain slow and stuffy. It took a moment to place the name with the policewoman handling Mia’s case. “What does she want?”
“Hopefully to tell us Morgan Benson has been charged. They arrested him, remember?”
Perspective hit me like a truck. I sat down heavily on the edge of my bed, dizzy, sick—all the things they’d warned me about when we’d left the hospital.
Mia knelt in front of me. “It’s her, I promise. I can see the police car out of the window.”
The window. Fuck, my life would be a damn sight easier right now if I possessed an ounce of common sense. “You sure?”
“Yes. I’m going to run down and get the door, okay? Stay up here if you’re not up to seeing anyone. I’ll tell you everything, I promise.”
Her promises would always be enoughfor me, but there was no way in hell I was hearing whatever Rebecca had to say second-hand. I let her go ahead, then made my best attempt to put myself back together. Sleep, though it had been fleeting, had stiffened the muscles contracting around my broken ribs, and it hurt to breathe.
By the time I’d plastered a bland expression on my face and manoeuvred downstairs, Mia had apparently heardenough to set her temper alight.
She paced my small living room like a lioness. “How can someone be convicted of this shittwiceand still be free to reoffend?”
Rebecca spread her hands. “It’s never been this serious, and even if it had, no one gets locked up forever anymore.”
I was missing something, but the sight of Mia bubbling with rage, face flushed, fists clenched was comforting.For days she’d seemed so apathetic about her own safety.
There was tea on the coffee table. I snagged one and gingerly lowered myself into the armchair. Mia came straight to me, her stare searching, like she was checking me for cracks.
I tried for a reassuring smile, but her frown remained. Confused, I turned to Rebecca. “What have I missed?”
Rebecca closed the folder in front of her.“I’ve been explaining to Mia what’s happened since we last spoke at the hospital. How are you feeling, by the way? Pretty sore, I’d imagine.”
“I’ll live,” I said flatly. “Tell me what’s happened.”
If Fran had been there, she’d have flicked my ear for being rude, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t interested in discussing my health. I needed to know this was over.
Rebecca darted a glance atMia, then finally held my gaze. “As you know, we arrested Morgan Benson this morning. Our enquiries have led us to search his house and other properties, and we’re now fairly certain that he was not only responsible for hitting you with a vehicle yesterday, but also for the recent incidents of harassment you and Mia have reported to us.”
I nodded. It made sense, though I couldn’t begin tounderstand why.
“There’s more,” Mia said when I didn’t speak. “He’s inflicted this on other people—twice, that he’s been done for.”
“He has a history of stalking and harassment,” Rebecca supplied. “Though he’s never been violent before, that we know of.”
