Once Phoenix entered the room and closed the door, Ronan nodded at Ethan to continue. I steeled myself for what was to come next and locked eyes with Ethan just before he opened his mouth.
Chapter 8
ETHAN
My body felthot all over as Cain’s gaze swept over me. It didn’t take a genius to know what he was thinking, especially considering at what point of my story he’d interjected the suggestion of a break.
How could you let him do that to you?
It was a question I’d asked myself over and over that night and in the months that had followed as I’d continued to work my plan to get free of Eric. As a doctor, I’d encouraged victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault to come forward and press charges. I’d taken pictures of broken, battered bodies and performed exams on people at the most vulnerable times in their lives. But it wasn’t until that night as I’d limped into the ER, blood and tears coursing down my face and the proof of Eric’s depravity pooling in my underwear, that I’d truly understood what my patients had been feeling and why so many had remained silent. Since I’d known that calling the cops was one of the first things the hospital staff would do when they got a look at me, I’d told the nurse who’d been sitting at the triage desk that I’d leave if the police were called. I’d spent the rest of the evening enduring being put back together and listening to the same argument I myself had often given to mypatients. I’d been strong up until they’d asked me that one question that had hurt more than any injury Eric could have inflicted upon me.
Is there someone we can call for you, Ethan?
There’d been no one.
Because I’d pushed them away.
For Eric.
“Ethan,” I heard Cain say softly and I looked up to see him and Ronan watching me with concern. I finally noticed that Cain had some bruising on his knuckles that hadn’t been there before and his hair looked damp. His shirt was different too.
“Sorry,” I murmured as I realized I’d gotten lost in the past. “After that night, I had to take some time off work for my injuries to heal. I was hoping the medical records and recordings would be enough proof to convince Eric to stay away from me, but I still needed money to disappear…to start over somewhere. I…I got better at not pissing Eric off as much, but it was taking a toll on me and people started noticing. But I was able to put them off with excuses about stress and being tired. About three months before Lucy and I took off, Eric’s former partner on the force came into the ER to be treated for a burn to his hand. He was one of the only people who knew about me and Eric…I’d seen him a couple of times when Eric would do one of his random check-ins to make sure I was at home or work like I’d said I’d be. His name was Tom Douglas.”
I paused as a wave of pain went through me. “He was really nice,” I whispered. “Eric had hit me the night before so he saw the black eye and asked me about it. I told him what I’d told everyone else…that I’d taken up a self-defense course and had gotten hit while sparring with a partner, but I knew he didn’t believe me. I could see it in his eyes. He told me he could help me if I just told him the truth. I denied it at first, but he kept telling me it wasn’t my fault…that Eric was sick in the head and he’d help me get out of the situation and he’d make it so Eric could never hurt me again.” I felt tears sting my eyes as I softly said, “So I told him. Everything.”
“Did he tell Eric?” Ronan asked.
I shook my head. “No, not like you’re thinking,” I said when I heard the anger in the man’s voice. “He tried to keep his promise.”
“What happened, Ethan?” I heard Cain ask, his voice gentle, like it’d been in the shower when he’d held me.
“He was killed in a home invasion two nights later. His wife too. I saw it on the news.” I wiped away the tears that started to fall. “I didn’t know the truth until Eric came to see me the next day.”
“Eric killed them,” Ronan offered.
I nodded even as fresh tears fell. “Eric told me they were dead because of me. That if I’d just kept my mouth shut, their daughter wouldn’t be an orphan…she was sleeping at a friend’s house that night.” My voice broke as I said, “She was only twelve years old.”
“It’s not your fault,” I heard Ronan say. A fresh tissue was thrust into my hand, but I had no clue who put it there. I didn’t bother correcting Ronan.
It was absolutely my fault.
“He beat me so bad I could barely walk.”
“What about his admission?” Cain asked. “Did your digital recorder capture it?”
I shook my head. “No, I’d taken it to work that day to get the recordings transferred and left it in my locker.”
“I went back to work about a week later after telling my boss a family member had died and I needed some time off. I was working my regular shift when this girl showed up in the ER complaining of stomach pains. I knew she was faking right away because her symptoms made no sense. I thought maybe she’d been assaulted or something and was making up the stomach pains as a way to work up to admitting to what had really happened to her.”
“Lucy,” Cain murmured.
I nodded. “I didn’t know that’s who she was though. She’d given a fake name at the check-in desk. When she wouldn’t tell me what she was really there for, I told her I’d have to call children’s services since the number she’d given us for her parents was fake too. That’s when she told me who she was and that she knew who I was.”
“How’d she find out about you?” Ronan asked.
“She’d heard her mother and Eric fighting. Her mother hadaccused Eric of cheating, though she’d had no clue he was cheating with a man apparently. I guess Lucy’s mom was threatening to divorce Eric, but he’d threatened to expose her drinking problem which would have ruined her career. And since he’d adopted Lucy, he could have fought for custody if they separated. Lucy hated Eric…had from the moment her mother met him. So she started following Eric – one of her friends was old enough to drive – in the hopes that she could catch him in the act and give the information to her mom for the divorce.”
“And Eric led her to you,” Ronan offered.
