Chapter 35
“Three fucking stores,” I mumbled to myself as I drove back to the gym.
An errand that should’ve taken me no more than ten minutes took me almost a half hour.
I hoped Sophie wasn’t too upset about having to wait, but if she was, I’d certainly make it up to her.
I’d purchased four boxes of condoms, and even though I didn’t appreciate the judgmental look the female clerk threw my way, I didn’t want to run out of them anytime soon.
Finally, I reached the gym only to be greeted by the sight of two police cars parked out front. An uneasiness slinked through me as I pressed on the gas and turned the corner, parking my Audi behind the gym, near the entrance to the apartments.
I grabbed the bag and hurriedly climbed the steps.
Sophie’s door was slightly ajar. Alarm slammed into me.
I rushed inside, but she wasn’t there. The bed was disheveled, but nothing looked out of place.
Perhaps she’d gone next door to my apartment.
As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I dismissed it because she didn’t have a key, and I’d locked my door after I’d searched for the condoms.
Could someone have called her with an emergency, and she just hadn’t been able to reach me yet?
I checked my pockets for my phone, but it wasn’t there.
Where the fuck is my phone? I reentered Sophie’s place and found the device on the kitchen counter, but hers was missing.
And now that I thought about it, I noticed her car was still parked a few spaces away from mine.
Confused by the entire situation, I rushed back down the staircase, the creak of the wood echoing with each step. I entered the back of the gym. We were open for several more hours, and it was the only place I could think of where Sophie might have gone.
I ventured into the main room, my footsteps muffled by the rubbery cushioning of the floor.
I searched for her. However, she was nowhere to be found.
Men and women conducted their workouts, but nothing out of the ordinary was going on here.
It was then my gaze shifted toward the office, where I saw two police officers talking with Trevor.
He appeared visibly agitated, gesturing feverishly as he spoke to them.
“What’s going on?” I asked, rushing into the room, my attention bouncing between Trevor and the cops. “What happened?”
“I called them,” Trevor answered but before he could tell me why, Sophie pushed him aside and ran towards me.
I hadn’t noticed her when I first walked in.
She was in her robe, and her eyes were red and swollen.
Her arms tightened around me, and she clung to me as if her life depended on it. I held her close, still confused.
“Does anyone want to fill me in on what the fuck happened?” I yelled, anger clipping every word. I ran my hand soothingly up and down Sophie’s back, waiting for someone to answer.
“We got a domestic disturbance call.” The officer who replied was my height with blond hair and a thin build. He struck me as cocky. I already didn’t like him. I clocked his badge for his name. Baker.
The other officer, Marston, took a step toward me. He was similar in height to his partner but sported a bigger build, his dark hair cut close to his head.
“Mrs. Delaney told us that her ex-husband assaulted her. We were just finishing up here.”
I barely heard anything after he said the word assaulted. I gently pulled back and looked closely at Sophie. I scoured the length of her and saw the red marks around her neck. I caught a glimpse of another mark on her chest, but I wasn’t going to ask her to show me in front of these men.
“Did he attack you?” I asked, even though the answer was clear.
“Yes. I thought it was you when I heard the front door open, but he came into the bedroom.” Tears coursed down her cheeks, gutting me. “I couldn’t get away from him.” She choked on her sobs. “Where were you? You said you’d be right back.” The way she looked at me made me feel helpless.
My guilt shook me harder than I ever thought possible. “I had to go to three different stores. I didn’t intend to be gone for so long. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.” Her voice quivered. “It’s his.”
My blood thickened with rage. “I’m going to kill him.”
“You won’t do anything, Mr. Crew,” Officer Baker said, stepping toward me. “We’ll handle this.”
“I doubt that, since he’s one of your own.”
“He’s not one of us, sir,” Officer Marston said, pulling my attention from his partner.
“We don’t protect abusers.” Whether he spoke the truth, I wouldn’t know, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
I was going to find that fucker and annihilate him for what he’d done to Sophie.
What else did he do to her? The officer swung his focus back to the woman in my arms. “I’m assuming you want to press charges?
” She nodded. “Okay. We’ll need you to come to the station to give a formal report, and we’ll document any physical trauma as well. ”
“We’ll be there tomorrow,” I said, pulling Sophie as close as I could.
Officer Baker gave Trevor his card, and both men walked out, leaving the three of us alone. But after a moment, my friend headed for the door.
“Thank you, Trevor,” Sophie uttered as she tightened her hold around my waist.
“Of course.”
He shot me another glance, and I understood the warning laced behind his stare. He didn’t want me to make a move against her ex, and because I couldn’t promise anything, all I did was return his stare.
I reluctantly stepped back and grabbed her hand. “Why don’t we go back to your place, and you can tell me what happened.”
She shook her head so quickly, I thought she’d fall over in dizziness. “No, I can’t go back there. Not yet.” The strain in her voice riled up my protectiveness to a whole other level. But I had to remain calm; she needed me right now.
“You don’t have to. We’ll go to my place. Is that all right?”
She nodded, squeezing my hand in either distress or appreciation. Maybe both.
I held on to her as we walked up the steps and into my apartment.
Every time I looked at her, I was filled with regret that I’d left to go to the damn store.
If only I’d stayed behind, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attack her.
How long had he known where she lived? How long had he been waiting for the chance to get her alone?
I had no doubt he’d seen me leave her place, but he had a lot of balls to go into her apartment, having no idea when I’d be coming back.
If I had caught him in there, the cops would have been called for a different reason.
“Can you lock the door?” she asked once we’d entered.
“Absolutely.”
I didn’t bother to remind her that I wasn’t going anywhere, that she’d be safe with me from here on out.
I’d make sure of it. She was never going to be out of my sight again.
I could already predict the arguments she’d give me in the near future, but if anything ever happened, if he ever came after her again and…
. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
Unfortunately, I had experience dealing with battered women, so when I approached Sophie, I did so slowly. The marks around her neck were darker now, but she needed me to remain calm.
“I know we have to talk about it,” she said, moving toward the couch, “but do you have a shirt I can wear?”
“Yeah, sure.” When I held out my hand, she slid her palm into mine. “It’s going to be long on you, but I don’t think you care.”
“I don’t.” Her attempt at a chuckle fell short.
I rifled through my dresser and pulled out a plain white tee. “Do you want me to leave while you get changed?” After what Sophie had been through, I wanted to give her as much privacy as she needed.
“No, but can you turn around?”
“Of course.”
She reached for the shirt, then untied the belt of her robe.
Before I turned, I caught a glimpse of several bright contusions that were already showing signs of bruising on both her breasts.
It took me several deep breaths to calm my sudden wave of nausea.
How could a man do that to a woman? Or rather, a coward, because that was exactly what Mitch was.
“Okay, you can turn around now.”
The shirt fell to her mid-thigh, and in any other circumstance, I’d enjoy the sight of her in my clothes, but all I could do was pray she’d come through this in one piece.
“Where do you want to talk?” I asked.
“Here is fine.” She sat on the edge of my bed, her eyes never leaving mine as I sat beside her.
“When I heard the front door open, I thought it was you. Thank God I put a robe on, but I guess it didn’t matter because when he jumped on top of me, it came open.
” Unshed tears filled her eyes, but she continued.
“He had his gun. He came there to kill me. Before tonight, though, other than my fall down the stairs, the worst thing he’d done to me physically was push me or grab my arms. He never punched me or slapped me.
And he never choked me before.” Her fingers flitted over the tender skin of her throat.
“This was a first. He kept pinching my breasts, too, which is also something he’s never done.
” Sophie shook her head as a tear fell. “I didn’t want to make things worse by mentioning you, but I thought maybe if he knew you were going to be there soon, he’d rethink what he was doing and leave.
But he said his buddies were going to keep you busy. ”
“He lied. No one ever approached me.”
“I should have assumed, but I was too worried that he set you up for something.”
“You were worried about me while he was attacking you? Sophie….” My voice faltered, her admission making me feel some type of way, but I couldn’t determine if it was guilt or gratitude or something else entirely.
“I never wanted to involve you in this. I just didn’t think it would go this far.
I hoped that after he saw I wasn’t coming back to him, he’d eventually give up.
But something happened to him. He didn’t look like himself.
There was a blankness behind his eyes. He was terrifying.
” An involuntary shudder wracked her body.
“I lied and said nothing happened between you and me. I thought if I confirmed what he accused me of, it would make things worse. He didn’t believe me, though. ”
My next question rested in my throat, unsure I wanted to hear the answer, but I needed to know.
“Did he….” I staggered over my words, fearing the worst. “Did he rape you?”
“No. He might’ve, but he didn’t get the chance.”
I didn’t know what I would’ve done had she answered yes. “How did you get away from him?”
I saw a flicker of a smirk. It was gone before it fully registered, though, so I could’ve been mistaken.
“I broke his arm.”
My eyes widened to twice their size. “You what?”
“I had to do something. He had my arms pinned above my head, and I needed him to release me before I attempted any of the moves you showed me.” Another tear fell, then another. “I said things to him I didn’t mean. I swear I had to. I’m sorry.”
I immediately cupped her face in my hands. “Don’t ever apologize for doing whatever was necessary to save your life. Do you hear me? You did what you had to in order to survive. Don’t be sorry for that.”
She slowly nodded as I wiped away her tears.
“Once my hands were free, I asked if I could kiss him, and when he was close enough, I did the move where I extended his arm.”
“And you broke it.” I didn’t think I could feel rage, fear, and pride all at the same time, but there I was, harnessing all three emotions.
“I broke it. It was the only thing that would give me enough time to get out of there without worrying he’d come after me too quickly. I’ve never had a broken arm before, but based on the sounds he made, it was excruciating.”
“And that’s when you ran down to the gym?”
“Yes. Then Trevor saw me, and he called the cops.” Her shoulders deflated. “What do you think will happen to him?”
I pictured myself beating him bloody before I killed him, but she didn’t need to hear any of that.
“Once they find him, they’ll arrest him. After that, I’m not sure. But I can promise you that he’ll never come near you again.”
“How can you promise that?” she asked, the worry behind her eyes slicing me apart.
“Because I can.”
I was still working out how to keep her safe, but for now, all she needed was reassurance.