“The Navy?” She arches a brow. “I didn’t see that coming.”
I cross my arms. “You said you don’t know if someone is after you. Why would they wait outside your apartment after tossing it?”
“I have no idea. I’d just gotten a new job, and things were starting to look up.”
“Where?”
“An environmental agency in Savannah. I was working as a secretary.”
“How long?”
“Three months.”
“What was the name of the company?” I press.
“Southeast Environmental Commission.” She crosses her arms. “What made you decide not to become a doctor?”
It’s the third time she’s asked that question, and although I really don’t want to answer it, I need her to keep answering mine. “You.”
“Me?” Her eyes widen in surprise.
“When you went missing, I put everything I had into finding you. The police couldn’t do much, and I was angry. Weston was headed into the Navy, so I went, too. Because I’d already done four years of college by the time I was nineteen, I went in as an officer, and the rest is history.”
“But you’d always wanted to be a doctor. You were supposed to start med school after we got back from our—” She trails off, but I know what she was going to say.
When we got back from our honeymoon, we were going to move into an apartment in Charleston so I could start med school while Tessa worked on her bachelor’s at the University of South Carolina.
“Things change.” I clench my jaw. “Was the company in any hot water?”
“They’re an environmental company,” she deadpans. “So I doubt it.”
“You’d be surprised.” My gaze travels over her bruised cheekbone and the cuts and scrapes on her arms. “I need to know about the night you were attacked.”
“Why? You’re not a cop. Why does it matter?”
“It matters to me,” I reply. “And if I know, then maybe I can find out if someone is actually after you or if you’re going to be safe.”
She closes her eyes for a moment, then takes a deep breath. “I don’t see how that’s possible since you’re not a cop, but fine. If you really want to know, then I guess we can consider this show and tell.” Her voice quivers.
She’s afraid.
And that just infuriates me even more.
Unable to do anything else to get rid of this anger inside me, I clench both hands into fists and wait.
“Like I said, I went home after picking up some dinner. It was the first thing I’d eaten that wasn’t out of a can in months, so I was pretty focused on it. When I saw that my door was partially open, I thought I’d just forgotten to close it. But when I looked inside and saw everything was a mess, I knew that something was wrong. I dropped the food and turned to run.”
“Where were you going to go? The police?”
“No. I was going to leave and start over again. I’ve done it before.”
When you left me. That’s why I couldn’t find her. Because she didn’t want to be found.
“What happened next?”
“There’s an alleyway between the apartment building and the restaurant beside it. I was passing by, and someone grabbed me.” She crosses her arms, and her bottom lip quivers. “I didn’t get a good look at him because it was dark. He hit me first, which is what sent me back onto the ground and gave me this.” She gestures toward the bruise on her face.
It's all I can do to keep my head.
