40. 40
Donna joined the women around the seating area, some gave her looks as if they knew what she and Savage had been doing and it wasn’t talking, at least in their mind. Then again, they likely hadn’t heard what she’d said to Noah. They would have no idea how upset Savage might have been.
She didn’t know how long they’d been gone but yeah, they’d had time for that, if not the inclination. Well, not yet. If they hadn’t been called back here, for some unknown reason, they might have gotten there.
She listened into the talk but didn’t add to the conversation. Her mind was still on her talk with Savage. He wanted to marry her. He wanted her and this baby to have his name. She knew she should feel something about that, but right now, she couldn’t. She was numb. She didn’t know if it was because Noah had shown back up or that she’d had to lock most of her emotions down to confront him, or maybe she’d just dealt with more than she could handle today.
It was good that he wasn’t looking for an answer now. Especially with Noah’s threat that they were legally married. And that she might have to legally divorce him before she could do anything else. How would she be able to afford something like that?
“Babe?” Savage’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
She blinked several times and dagged her mind to the present instead of inside her head. She found him sitting on his heels in front of her, his hands braced on the arm rests of her chair, as if he hadn’t wanted to startle her by touching her when she hadn’t been aware he was there.
“There you are.” He smiled gently. “Let’s go for a little walk. I need to talk to you a moment.” He tilted his head toward the main house as he watched her.
Her heart seemed to double its pace as he stood and held out a hand for her. She laid one hand in his and let him pull her to her feet. He kept her hand in his, weaving their fingers together as they turned toward the main house and started walking.
Savage was silent for a couple of minutes, until they were far enough that no one would overhear what they were saying.
“Your ex didn’t leave when the truck left. Somewhere between here and the road the guy driving stopped, and your ex got out.”
Donna’s entire body flashed hot, then cold and the world seemed to spin. Her chest tightened and she couldn’t breathe.
“Babe.” His voice centered her. “It’s okay. We realized it when the truck left the ranch, and they went out and found him. We have him. He’s not going to hurt you or try to take you back.”
The band around her chest seemed to loosen and she was able to draw a breath. “Tell me the rest. Is he dead?”
“Do you want him dead?”
There was no judgement in his voice, just the question. She stared at him for a moment as she thought about it, really considered did she want Noah dead?
She took a deep breath and tried to untangle her feelings. Did she want Savage to kill Noah? No. She didn’t want that, not for Noah’s sake or even her own, but for Savage’s. She didn’t want him to have that guilt. Did she wish Noah was dead? Not really but she did wish him somewhere he would never bother her again. Dead did qualify for that.
“Not exactly. I just want him to leave me alone. Forever. Dead would accomplish that.”
“He’s not dead. And we aren’t going to make him that way, at least not this time.” He kept his eyes on her face as he spoke, keeping his voice soft, as if he was afraid of scaring her off. “I can’t guarantee that if he comes after you again.”
“Tell me.”
She did her best to keep breathing and stay calm as he explained what had happened, that he’d decided to call the police and why.
“You’ll need to talk to them. To tell them what’s been going on and what he’s done to you. We need to get it all documented, just in case.” He wrapped an arm around her and held her close, so she didn’t feel awkward, even once she realized they were standing in the middle of the path between the house and the clearing where everyone still gathered. “Once we get to Tucson and get you settled, we’ll be in touch with an attorney to take care of anything we need to in order to make sure he has no legal claim to you.”
“Or the baby.”
“Or the baby. That’s the one thing I want you to keep from the police. You and I are the only ones who know for sure. Kinard knew from the texted questions that someone he’d been around was or might be pregnant, but not who. I haven’t had Gizmo work up a negative test yet. We’ll get that done soon, too. Until then we need to keep it to ourselves. If no one knows he can’t use the baby as an excuse to try and stay in your life. If the baby is mine, and as far as I’m concerned, it is, then a whole world of options opens up to us. Understand?”
Donna nodded. She could do this. “Will you be there?”
“I’ll stay with you every step. The only way you could tear me away is if you tell me to go, even then I’d be hard pressed to leave you to go through something like this on your own.”
She stepped closer and dropped her forehead against his chest. “I don’t want to do it. I mean I know it has to be done but I don’t want to.” She took a deep breath and continued with what she knew needed to be said. “I can do it if you’re with me.”
“Then I’ll be there,” he said it as if it was that simple, and maybe to him it was.
“I don’t know if I could do this without you.”
“You could. I know you could. You’re strong and smart and you do what needs to be done, but I’m glad I can be there to make it easier for you.” He used one finger under her chin to gently lift her face until she looked up at him. “I’ll do everything I can to make it all easier for you. I’m not saying any of this will be easy. I’m sure it will be hard and times when we want to give up. But I won’t give up if you don’t.” Savage paused, his gaze searching her face. “I realize now that I’ve said I’ll be there for you, and I’ll help you but there’s something big that I’ve forgotten to tell you.”
She held her breath, wondering what bombshell he was about to drop on her. Was he married? Was he committed somewhere else? Somehow, she couldn’t believe that.
“Somewhere along the line, I fell in love with you. I didn’t plan to but between your strength and your heart, you found your way into mine.” He pressed his lips to her forehead and stayed there for a moment.
Emotion filled her chest, making it hard to breathe, but she managed. Liquid pooled in her eyes, but she didn’t want to ruin the moment, so she stayed where she was, her arms around his middle as they stood together. “You’re not the only one,” she managed to whisper after what felt like several minutes. “I love you too. I didn’t think I could love again after what Noah did to me, but I was wrong. You amaze me.”
“Savage? Donna? The sheriff’s department is here. They’ll want to talk to you,” Ghost’s voice called out, drawing them both back to what was happening.
Savage took a deep breath, then lifted his head. “Come on. Let’s get this over with so we can move on with our lives.”
“We can do this. Just like we’ll do everything else.” She let him keep his hand in hers as they turned back to the clearing where everyone was gathered. “I think as long as we’re together we can face anything.”
He lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of hers, his gaze meeting hers as he spoke. “Together.”
Thank you for reading Savage, part of the Demented Souls series.
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