“Will I be able to go anywhere without one of you worrying about me?”
Fuck.
“What about sleeping at night? I’m not sure I’ll even be able to.”
She would if she was with us. I would make sure of it if I had to stand guard over her every damn night.
Not that I wanted it to come to that. For Amy’s sake. She’d been through enough already.
I fucking hated this shit. I hated all of it. I wanted to find this fucking bastard and beat him within an inch of his life and make him suffer for what he did to Amy. For what he was still doing to her.
“My point exactly,” she added when neither of us spoke. She glanced between us. “On a more positive note, I think we came out to your family today.”
That pulled a smile from me. We had definitely done that.
“Do you think word will get out to the rest of the town?” Amy appeared genuinely concerned.
“Not unless the detective says somethin’,” I answered. I knew my family. They weren’t the gossipy type. Not when it came to things like that, anyway.
“Which I seriously doubt she’ll do.” Rhys glanced between us. “Lynx drove her to the diner. She had to head back to Houston.”
“Do you think she’ll confront Kelly?” Amy looked fearful of the notion.
“Doubtful. She’s been keepin’ this off the books for a reason,” Rhys said. “I really believe her motives are pure. She’s a detective and Kelly brought out those instincts in her. She followed a lead and it led her here. I truly believe she’s lookin’ out for you.”
“Maybe he’s forgotten all about me,” Amy mused, her eyes dropping to the floor.
I knew she didn’t really believe that. No one believed that.
Rhys stepped closer. “He deserves to pay for what he did, Amy. Too often, victims of domestic violence don’t come forward. Their abusers go without punishment. And I get why they don’t. Fear, shame. Those are some powerful emotions. They cause people to pretend nothing happened when, in reality, they suffered. Their abuser deserves to be punished.”
Amy peered up at him.
“He won’t stop,” Rhys continued. “If he did this to you, he’ll do it to someone else. Hell, it’s possible he already has. Considering his age, you were probably not his first victim, either.”
I watched as Amy processed that information. Her eyes widened in horror, and I could feel her pain. She didn’t want to even think about that man hurting someone else the way he’d hurt her.
“I need some time to think about this,” she finally said, her eyes fixed on my face.
“You let us know when you’re ready,” I told her, pulling her against me and wrapping my arms around her. “And what you decide. We’re not goin’ anywhere.”
Amy nodded, her gaze bouncing back and forth between Rhys and me.
When she pulled back, I reluctantly let her go.
“And I don’t want either of you thinking you have to save me.”
Those words felt like a slap to the face. I took a single step back. “Why would you say somethin’ like that?”
Amy didn’t move. “Because … that’s how it feels. I’ve burdened you both with my problem since day one. And I’ve seen the way you are. Both of you. You’re looking to save me.” She shook her head as though that made no sense. “No one can save me from him.”
“I… Are…? Holy fuck.” Hell, I couldn’t even form a sentence. I was completely thrown by her words. Did she honestly believe that I only wanted to play the hero here?
“Is that what you really think?” Rhys asked, his tone ringing with the same confusion that I felt.
She glanced between us before finally nodding her head and looking down at the floor.
Taking a step closer, I tilted her chin up, forcing her to look me in the eyes once again. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
