Ryan gently tipped her head back up, then leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips. He held her hands again, this time folding them together in Anna’s lap in a way that his large, warm hands covered hers in a cocoon of support.
“Anna, stop beating yourself up. You made the best decision you could at the time. You focused on your safety, which makes a hell of a lot of sense to me. And, that decision landed you here with me. Now we can go to the police together, you can show them the video, and hopefully that will lock Tim away for a very long time.” He lifted their hands so he could press a kiss to her knuckles. “And I will be there beside you every step of the way. You escaped him on your own, now let me be there with you when you close the door on that part of your life. Hopefully forever.”
Anna nodded, fresh tears pooling in her eyes. But this time, they weren’t tears of fear or sadness, they were tears of love. She knew without a doubt that Ryan meant every word, and that he would do everything in his power to support and protect her.
“Okay, I’ll tell them everything.”
Chapter 19
Later that morning, after finally going back to sleep for a couple more hours, Anna and Ryan found themselves parked outside the downtown precinct for the Portland Police Department. Anna’s heart pounded so loudly she was certain Ryan could hear it. The thought that Tim was just a few feet away, although thankfully locked in a cell, still filled her with trepidation.
“You don’t think I’ll have to see him, do you?” She turned to Ryan nervously, as her stomach took a nosedive at the idea of seeing Tim again.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Ryan said.
Anna smiled at him gratefully. “You can’t go in there acting allmacho protector,Ry, they might not even let you stay in the room with me when I give my statement.”
Ryan looked at her somberly. “I know, but please tell me you know that I will fight as hard as possible to be by your side every step of the way.”
Touching his cheek lovingly, Anna felt her heart grow impossibly full as she looked at the man who had shown her what true love and respect was. This was a man who would walk through fire for her.
“I know you would, and I love you for that. So very much. But I can do this, Ryan. As long as I know you are in the building with me, and that you’ll hold me when it’s over, I have the strength to do this.”
Ryan pulled her back into his arms, infusing her with that very strength she needed. “Then let’s get this over with, sweetheart. So I can take you home and show you just how amazed I am at your courage.” He climbed down from the truck and walked over to help Anna down, carefully supporting her injured arm. Together they walked into the precinct, and at the front desk, asked to speak with the detective in charge of the case.
Moments later, they were shown into a sparse office, with a desk and two chairs that faced a windowless wall. An older man sat behind the desk peering down at some papers. When the desk sergeant introduced Ryan and Anna, the detective stood up and shook their hands before he invited them to sit down.
“I’m Detective Ronson, thanks for coming down Miss Thorn. I assume this is something you feel comfortable speaking about in front of your friend here?”
Anna nodded rapidly. “Absolutely, Detective, in fact, I would feel more at ease if he stayed—if that’s alright of course.” She glanced at Ryan nervously. “I’m not sure what the rules are though. Is that okay?”
Detective Ronson smiled kindly at her, easing her nerves. “Of course it is. I want you to know, we take domestic violence cases very seriously. With multiple witnesses to what Mr. Fox did to you last night, your physical injuries, as well as your statement about your previous relationship with him, we have enough to hit him with felony charges.” He paused, his brow wrinkling as he studied Anna carefully. His scrutiny was thorough, but Anna could tell it was not accusatory.
“Unless that is, you have something to add, Miss Thorn?”
Anna sat up straighter in her chair, grateful Ryan was right beside her, his hand gently rubbing circles on her back. She could feel the heat from his palm radiating through her, infusing her with the courage and confidence to share her story one more time.
“Please, Detective Ronson, call me Anna. And yes, I do have more to add.”
Glancing at Ryan, she took in his nod and smile of support, then turned back to the detective. With a deep breath, she began.
“A few months ago, Tim took me with him for one of his meetings…”
* * *
Hearing the story a second time in less than twenty-four hours didn’t lessen the impact for Ryan. His gut clenched hearing Anna repeat the horrific events of that night in California. He knew how hard it must be for her to relive everything that she saw, and his heart ached with wanting to take away her pain, take away her fear.
He noticed Detective Ronson was paying rapt attention to every word and chose to take that as a good sign that he was taking Anna seriously. She handed over her phone, where she had inserted the SIM card she had removed from her phone in California.
“The video is saved on the SIM card. I took it out of my old phone and brought that with me when I left California.”
Detective Ronson didn’t reply, as he was absorbed in watching the video over and over, studying it closely. Eventually, he looked up at Anna, an indescribable look on his face.
“Anna, I need to call my colleagues down in Sacramento. Would you please wait here for a moment?” Without another word of explanation, he pushed back from his desk and strode out of the office, taking Anna’s phone with him.
Anna turned to Ryan, worry etched on her face. “What is going on, Ry? Why does he have to call Sacramento PD? Doesn’t he believe me?”
Ryan was just as confused as Anna, but instantly tried to reassure her. “Of course he does, that video is proof that what you said you saw is what really happened. I’m sure he just needs to check with them about something…” Ryan trailed off, realizing he also had no clue what was going on.
