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"I'm fine. Tell her I'm being released today."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Gabe asks, looking concerned.

"She's coming home with me."

I watch Sully and Chase exchange a look, and I sigh. No amount of protesting is going to get me back in my parents' home and in my own bed. I resign myself to that here and now. All the while refusing to acknowledge the fact, I'm a little relieved I won't be alone with the nightmares I'm sure I'll have once I have time to sleep deeply.

"I'd like to hear the answer to Jasmine's question," Chase says, his tone serious. "Do you have reason to believe the robbery is related to your ex?"

The question leaves me floundering.

"She's had some weird stuff happen lately," Jasmine says.

Sully sits straighter, his hand tightening on mine.

"The flowers you asked me about?" Sully asks.

"What kind of weird stuff?" Chase says at the same time.

I look at Jasmine and wish she'd kept her mouth shut.

"One thing happening, okay. But all of them? Vi…" my sister says with a nod toward the men. "It's too many."

The guys are getting impatient, so I dig deep and tell Chase about the roses, the fridge getting unplugged on Betty and Betty not starting, the mix-up with the Richardsons' party and now the robbery. "It's unconnected."

"Maybe," Chase agrees. "Or someone is playing it smart because the issues have been so random. None of it can be traced back to him, but it is a lot to pass off as being mere accidents, though. What do you remember about last night?"

The shock of the robbery has worn off, but the question still brings a flood of emotions. Enough to speed up the heart monitor I'm attached to.

"Hey, shh, you're okay, Vi," Sully says. "Do we have to get into it now?" Sully asks the man.

"It's best to get details while they are fresh," Chase says. "She's more alert than last night so… Yeah, we need to do this now."

"It's okay. I'm okay," I say to Sully before taking a steadying breath and pressing my back deeper into the pillows behind me. "Ty and I closed up, cleaned up and headed out the back. I carried the deposit because Ty insisted on hauling out the trash. I walked out first. To hold the door for him."

I swallow hard, remembering the feel of the man's hands grabbing me and yanking me against his body, his hands sliding into places I didn't want him to touch.

Sully's thumb rubs soft swipes over my knuckles, soothing me. Reassuring me and grounding me in the here and now. "A man grabbed me from behind the door. He must've been waiting right outside. Ty tossed the trash down and tried to help me get loose, yelling at the guy. He barely took a step when two more guys jumped him."

"Do you remember distinctive features? Tattoos? Did they say anything to you?"

I shake my head. "They barely said anything. The two—they kept hitting Ty even though he told them to take the money and go. I tried to get free, but the man holding me was too strong. He didn't say anything. He just held me and…groped me."

"When did your shirt rip? How did you get the bruises and busted lip?" Chase asks.

I lift and brush my fingers over the cut on my lip, wincing. The swelling in my eye has gone down considerably but is now purple and quite the shiner.

My thoughts darken as I return to the alley and what happened. Hear the man's heavy breathing in my ear, feel his hard hands hurting me, gripping me painfully. "I got loose, and he hit me. Then he shoved me against the building. I fought him, but he…ripped my shirt when he trapped me and…touched me.”

I don't look at Sully. I can't. The man already has to deal with my past. Now this? It's too much to ask of him.

"I notice you’re wearing a necklace. And a smart watch. They didn’t take any of your personal items? Did you have a purse? A phone?"

"They didn’t take those," I say, shaking my head and frowning at the realization. "I use a protective case on my phone where I keep my bank card and ID, so I don’t carry a purse, but no, they didn’t take anything like that from me.”

“They did from Ty,” Chase says.

I’m not sure what to think about that except to count myself lucky that I’m not dealing with a phone replacement and card fraud on top of everything else.