After a second he sighed, sensing my distress. “All right.” He looked over my head. “I’ll take her in. Thanks for coming so quickly.”
After I signed a waiver that I’d refused care, Travis deposited me gently in the passenger side of his Jeep, and headed for the hospital.
I stared straight ahead, knowing that if I closed my eyes I might get sick again. I could get car sick on a good day.
“Your statement, what are you going to tell them?” he asked after a few moments of silence.
I bit my lip. Lying to the police felt wrong, but I was genuinely terrified of the threat Roy had delivered.
“It was muffled, but I heard who it was, babe,” he informed me.
I looked over at him in surprise. “I don’t understand what he was doing there, I think he was trying to steal something. He reeked of alcohol.” I winced at the acrid memory. “I was surprised he knew who I was, but he did. Did you hear what he said about knowing people on the force?”
He nodded, his jaw clenched. “I want to validate that. He could somehow have connections with LAPD, especially if he was successful at one time as May mentioned. I’ve had my fair share of dealing with crooked bureaucrats. For now, tell them you didn’t know your attacker. We can always claim short-term memory loss due to stress later.”
“You want me to lie,” I stated quietly.
“For now,” he responded. He looked over at me, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel hard. “We haven’t talked much about what I do, but I’m well positioned to take care of this myself. I will take care of this,” he stated firmly. “He’ll never touch you. But in order to ensure that I need to avoid all the red tape.”
“Travis, we just met… I don’t want—”
“I don’t give a shit when we met. You’re mine,” he growled. “And I protect what’s mine.”
Sensing there was no use arguing with him, and frankly relieved to have Travis at my back, I nodded, giving in to his command and to him.
Being his was something I’d daydreamed about since the first moment I laid eyes on him. When my foggy head cleared, I’d begin to digest that reality.
Right now, it felt like a beautiful dream billowing out of a nightmare.
****
“She’s told you what she knows,” Travis growled several hours later. I’d been seen by a doctor who confirmed I indeed had a concussion and swelling around my neck. He’d prescribed an anti-inflammatory and asked that someone watch over me for the next twenty-four hours.
Travis had quickly volunteered to be that person.
“Just a few more questions, McAllister,” Detective Harris responded. Travis really did seem to know the entire Los Angeles Police Department.
“She’s dead on her feet, Harris,” Travis returned impatiently. “We’ll be at my place, you know where to find us,” he added, making it clear the interview was over.
I looked up from my hospital bed in surprise. It was news to me I’d be staying with him.
“Come on, Harris.” His partner, Detective Morales, who had much better bedside manner, cajoled. “She’s had enough. Give her your card, and she’ll call if she thinks of anything. Right?” He turned to me with a raised brow.
“Right,” I agreed readily.
“Fine.” Harris sighed, shutting his notebook, appearing frustrated. He’d been pushing surprisingly hard to get more details out of me, as though he knew I was holding back. He handed me a card. “You call me if you think of anything, anything that might help us catch this guy,” he told me.
Guilt snaked through me as I nodded dutifully and watched him walk out the door.
“Let’s get you to bed, baby,” Travis said as soon as we were alone. “I’m taking you to my place.”
“But Able needs to be let out. I haven’t fed him or Buster yet.” I protested softly, too tired to muster a louder decibel. “Able doesn’t do well staying by himself.”
I thought back to the destroyed couch incident a few months back.
“I’ll have him picked up.” He shrugged easily. “I assume Buster will be okay?”
I snorted. “As long as he’s fed, Buster will be thrilled to have a dog-less house for a night.”
