Chapter 12
Roman
Roman needed food and he needed it fast. There was just time to drop in to Diner 43 for a quick takeout at the end of the Monday lunchtime rush.
Near the doorway, he sidestepped to let a woman pass him on the sidewalk. It was Josephine Alberty. Roman paused to speak to the librarian and they exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes.
“Will we see you back on the baseball field soon? I’ve heard impressive things but I’d like to see the proof.”
She was a good deal more approachable out of the presence of her mother.
“That depends on the workload. I’ve hit the ground running, but once things quieten down I might get the chance.”
“At least you found time to take in the fair!”
Josephine laughed.
“Wouldn’t have missed it.”
He immediately thought of Elenie and her quicksilver mind and something occurred to him.
“How are you doing for staff in the library?” he asked.
“Oh, we’re always short-staffed.”
Josephine’s reply was rueful.
“I’d like a day off here and there, if only the budget allowed.”
“Well, if you’re ever looking to hire, Elenie Dax would be a good candidate to consider. She’s smart and hard-working.”
The smile disappeared from Josephine’s face.
“I’m not sure she’d be the right fit.”
“No? And why’s that?”
Josephine glanced away, up the street. She swapped her purse to the other shoulder.
“The Daxes aren’t popular in town.”
“I get that. But we’re more than the sum of our parents, aren’t we?”
Listen to him, the hypocrite. As if he wasn’t keeping Elenie at arm’s length, just like everyone else. Roman rubbed at the scruff on his jaw.
“No, no, you’re quite right.”
Josephine Alberty backed up a few steps.
“But, as I said, our budgets are tight. We’re not hiring right now. And I’d better head off and open up again for the afternoon!”
She scurried away from him, practically jogging along Main Street toward the library.
Roman tugged at the door of the diner. His eyes scanned the tables as he crossed to the serving hatch, pulling his wallet from his pocket.
“One fiesta wrap to go, please, Delia.”
The dumpy diner owner grunted an acknowledgment and turned from the hotplate.
There was a flash of burgundy by the far booths and Roman caught sight of Elenie from behind as she leaned over a table, offloading drinks from a large tray. Delia packaged the wrap and pushed his lunch across the counter.
“Thank you.”
Dropping the money into her hand, he scooped up the takeout bag.
Elenie turned with the emptied tray and froze the moment she saw him. Her damaged face hit Roman with the force of a sledgehammer.
“What the—”
In an instant, she went into reverse. She spun away, dumping the tray on the counter. Jerky steps took her through the doors leading to the restrooms and staff area. He caught up with her in the corridor beyond and grabbed her elbow.
“Elenie. Talk to me.”
She looked everywhere but at his face and fury whipped through his stomach like a fire devil. The embarrassment in her eyes made him want to smash something. A livid bruise darkened her cheekbone and the socket of her left eye. It highlighted the exhaustion that pumped off her in waves. Her lip was raw and blood-crusted. Elenie vibrated in his grip and Roman, his nostrils flaring, held her gently upright.
“Take off your apron,”
he ground out.
“You’re done here for the day.”
She pulled her arm away from him, still without meeting his eyes.
“No, I’m not. I’ve got one more hour and then I’m finished.”
Roman swore violently and Elenie flinched. When she finally looked at him, his heart twisted at the defeat in her eyes.
“People like me don’t get second chances. I need this job.”
He looked at his watch.
“You finish at three?”
Elenie nodded.
“I’ll be back then,”
he promised.
It took every ounce of will he possessed to turn and walk away from her.
There was a bite in the air as he waited outside the diner an hour later. Clouds split the sky, blue to one side, black and threatening to the other. A downpour would be on them before the afternoon was out. The sidewalk was quiet.
When Elenie finally emerged, slowly, carefully, holding her ribs, she looked like someone at the very end of their tether. Roman had no idea how she’d thought she would get home.
He stepped forward, steering her carefully toward his truck, just a couple of yards away, pulled up on the verge. He’d gone home to swap the police Interceptor for his own F-150, aiming for a lower profile.
“This way.”
Roman opened the passenger door and stepped aside, waiting for her to climb up.
Elenie shook her head.
“No. This is a bad idea. I—”
Her face took on a clammy sheen; she swayed on her feet. Swearing harsh and low under his breath, he gripped her gently around the waist and slid his other hand to the back of her thighs. Elenie’s protest ended in a small groan of pain as he lifted her into the truck.
“I’m so sorry,”
he said gruffly.
Roman stretched across her to fasten the seatbelt. Elenie turned her head as if it was too heavy for her neck and closed her eyes. Before he’d reached the top of Main Street, she’d tumbled headfirst into sleep. It seemed her body had reached its capacity for powering through and she was out for the count when Roman pulled up outside his sister’s house.
She stirred when he lifted her out of the truck, resettling against his shoulder with a whimper as he kicked the front door instead of knocking. Thea was frowning when she pulled it open.
“I need your spare room.”
He brushed past her into the foyer.
“What the hell, Ro!”
Thea whispered as she followed him up the stairs.
His muscles bunched solid with suppressed rage, he carried Elenie into the bedroom and laid her on the sheets. He felt the jagged sigh she expelled, her eyebrows notching in pain, like a punch in the stomach. With gentle hands, he eased off her shoes and socks, hissing out a breath at the bloom of bruises revealed between the hem of her top and the waistband of her skirt.
Thea gripped his shoulder.
“That’s Elenie Dax.”
Roman nodded. He lifted Elenie’s polo shirt just a fraction to check out her ribs. Red, black, blue—the angry discoloration spread over her left side. Fuck, that had to hurt. He straightened the material with tender hands and drew the sheets up to her shoulders. Elenie’s teeth chattered.
“I’ll fill a hot water bottle,”
Thea offered softly.
When she left the room, Roman slumped heavily into an upholstered chair facing the bed. Propping his elbows on his knees, he scrubbed at his face and deliberated calling a doctor. He guessed nothing was broken or Elenie would have struggled to put in a full shift at the diner. She might have strong feelings one way or the other but he didn’t plan to wake her up and ask. Getting medical help could wait for now.
His mind churned. He’d already known her life was more challenging than many, but seeing it spelled out this way in violence on her skin was like a kick in the balls. And he realized he knew next to nothing about her at all. He hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface of what made Elenie tick.
With her measured smiles and watchful eyes, she was so different from Thea and Flo and their casual confidence—from anyone else Roman knew. Frank and Athena Dax didn’t give out nurturing vibes. He wondered what it was like to go home to that house at the edge of the town. And suspected he might now know the answer.
Hours passed and Roman didn’t move. He sat by the side of the bed while Elenie slept, flooded with a wash of emotions that rampaged like a bull leaving a bucking chute.
As the afternoon faded to evening, Thea called him downstairs, dishing up a huge plate of pasta, topped with chicken and red peppers. She brought another helping to the table for herself.
“That smells amazing. Thanks.”
He added a couple of twists of black pepper and dug in.
When she picked up her fork, Thea’s eyes were stormy.
“What happened, Ro?”
He shook his head, mouth full.
“I don’t know, but I’ll find out. D’you know her?”
Thea shook her head.
“I’ve spoken to her a couple of times in the diner but nothing personal. She’s Frank Dax’s daughter?”
“Stepdaughter,”
said Roman, in between forkfuls.
“She must keep a really low profile—I’ve never seen her out. Although the Dax boys are always in the Rusty Barrel and they’re pretty hard to miss. Usually right in the middle of it if anything kicks off.”
She poked at a piece of chicken but didn’t start to eat.
“Did she tell you anything?”
“Nothing at all.”
Roman blew out a breath of frustration. He itched to get back upstairs to check on Elenie.
“I saw her at the town fair and she was fine. When I went into Diner 43 today, she was working—God knows how—and she looked like that.”
He gestured toward the stairs.
“She wasn’t up to saying anything and I couldn’t take her to my house. Sorry to bring this here, T.”
“Not a problem. You did the right thing. She doesn’t deserve that. Even if the Daxes are a nightmare.”
“Elenie’s not a nightmare,”
he grunted. His sister flashed him a surprised glance.
“From what I can make out, she stays out of trouble and works hard. She’s smart, too. And she helped Dougie when he got shot in the leg.”
He ate the last piece of pasta.
“Haven’t you talked to Caitlyn recently? She was out with Summer in the Barrel last Friday. They asked Elenie to join them as a kind of thank you. Seems they got on well.”
Thea shook her head.
“I’ve been snowed under with work. Luke and I were planning to catch up with her and Milo this week.”
Without asking, Thea dished out a second helping of food for him.
“I’ll make some soup. She might be hungry when she wakes up.”
He spent a restless night dozing in a chair and jerking awake each time Elenie whimpered. Fury was a vicious, winged creature, clawing at his chest, and it kept him company during the long hours of darkness.
His heart ached when silent, pained tears leaked through her hair and onto the pillow.
Roman dropped the lid of the sugar canister on the countertop and swore at the noise. He grabbed for it, fumbled and dropped it again, glancing toward the stairs with a wince.
Elenie stood in the doorway, still dressed in her uniform, her face worse than yesterday, the bruising darker and the swelling more pronounced.
“I’m awake,”
she said, unnecessarily.
Roman assessed her and knew he’d have no luck in talking her out of working.
“How are you feeling?”
She gave him an empty half-smile.
“It’s amazing what fourteen hours of sleep can do for a person.”
He smiled back.
“And yet you still feel like shit, don’t you?”
Elenie shrugged, avoiding the question. She wrapped her arms around her body and he realized suddenly that she’d woken to find herself in a house she didn’t know.
“This is my sister Thea’s place—we’re twins. She lives with her husband, Luke. He’s away overnight visiting his dad and she isn’t up yet. She’s not an early morning person.”
Keeping his tone light, Roman reached for two mugs.
“Coffee and toast before work? Or would you prefer tea?”
“Coffee would be lovely, thank you. And a piece of toast. If that’s OK.”
Moving smoothly around the kitchen, aware of her eyes on him, Roman forced himself not to badger her with questions.
“I worked alongside a Brit in Detroit. He was a great guy, older than me by quite a bit. Moved over here in his twenties but still mainlined tea like a junkie. Since the coffee at the station was almost always disgusting, I picked up the habit and it’s stayed with me.”
He laid a plate on the table in front of her, added a slice of hot toast, and passed her a knife. Elenie slid carefully onto a chair.
“Peanut butter, if you want it,”
he pointed.
They ate in silence for a couple of minutes. Roman’s nostrils flared as Elenie tore off tiny pieces of bread to pop into the less damaged side of her mouth.
“I want you to take my number,” he said.
“I don’t have a phone anymore. It . . . went missing. I haven’t gotten around to buying another one.”
He nodded. It wasn’t a surprise.
“We will be talking about this.”
Roman made a small, sweeping gesture which took in her face and body. Elenie flushed and looked away.
“I’ll give you a ride to work on my way to the station.”
His fingers settled near hers on the tabletop and she withdrew her hand, letting it fall onto her lap.
“Could you drop me a little way out, please?”
Elenie fixed him with unreadable eyes.
“It’s best we aren’t seen together.”
His gaze sharpened. “Why?”
Elenie shrugged and, though he opened his mouth to pursue it, Roman decided to let her eat in peace and added that to the list of things to discuss later.
When he entered the diner mid-morning, he’d already achieved a lot. There was a satisfying dent in the large pile of paperwork that littered his desk and he’d had time to run a few errands, too. Roman scanned the room, eyes settling on Otto, who was bent over his newspaper, coffee cup in hand. Elenie was behind the counter, dividing a carrot cake into equal slices. She didn’t see him as he slid into a seat opposite the old man.
“Good morning, Chief.”
Otto’s greeting was subdued. He flicked a glance in Elenie’s direction.
“Have you seen our lovely friend yet today?”
Roman’s mouth tightened as he nodded.
“I have, Otto. I have. I’m on it, don’t worry.”
Otto shook his head and wiped a hand over his mouth. His clever eyes were sad.
“I don’t know, Chief. It’s just not right.”
Roman pushed a padded envelope across the table toward him.
“This is for Elenie,”
he said.
“Would you mind passing it on to her? I’d appreciate your help. And I haven’t forgotten that coffee we said we’d have, but could we make it another time? I’ve got a lot on today.”
Otto closed his hand over the package with a nod.
“Whenever you like, Chief. I’m often here.”
Roman watched Elenie for a few more seconds, then made himself look away, said goodbye to the old man and left.