3. Knox
KNOX
“You know I can drive myself, right?”
I smile over at Audrey. “Yeah, I know you can.”
She rolls her eyes. “So then what are we doing here?”
I pull up to a stop sign and take the opportunity to look over at her. “Are you okay?”
She blurts out a laugh. “Well, let’s see. My little brother is hooked on drugs, my dad is literally losing his mind, and I just found out that he has a hit out on me. How do you think I am?”
I reach across the console and wrap my hand around hers. “That’s not going to happen, Audrey.”
She looks at my hand, and when she tenses, I pull it back.
The silence in the car lasts for all of five minutes, and then Audrey stuns me with her next question. “So, uh, what’s the deal with you and Bennett?”
I glance over at her. “What do you mean?”
She hesitates. “Well, you are close… you live together… and, well, …”
I keep driving and try to focus on the road in front of me. “What are you asking me, Audrey?”
“Are you and Bennett together?”
My eyes snap to hers, and then I stare back at the road. “Are you asking me if we’re gay?”
“Well… yeah.”
I finally pull into the parking lot for her apartment building and put the gear shift into park. Instead of getting out, I turn in my seat to face her. “We like women,” I tell her. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her we like a certain curvy blonde, but I leave that part out.
She nods. “Oh.” She tilts her head and watches me almost as if she’s trying to figure me out. She puts her hand on the door and is about to get out as Tony and John pull in beside us. I stop her by putting my hand on hers. “Wait. Let them check the apartment first. Then we’ll go in.”
She is frustrated and doesn’t try to hide it. She leans back in the seat and blows out a breath. “This is ridiculous, you know that, right?”
I remind myself to be patient with her. She’s spent most of her life under her father’s thumb, and when she finally got away, she thought she’d be free.
Now with Knox and me trying to protect her, I know it probably feels like she’s just traded one set of rules for another.
“We’re just wanting to make sure you’re safe. ”
She closes her eyes and leans her head back on the seat. I stare up at her open apartment door, and my phone rings. I see John’s name on the caller ID and answer. “Yeah.”
“We got a problem, boss.”
Instantly alert, I look around the parking lot. “What is it?”
“The apartment is trashed.”
Shit. “Is anyone inside?”
“Nope. Long gone.”
I groan, and Audrey looks over at me. “What is it?”
Fuck. She’s not going to like this. “Hold tight. I’ll be right up,” I tell him.
She reaches for the door, and I stop her. “Your apartment is…”
I stop as her eyes get big. “My apartment is what?”
I grit my teeth, hating to have to say it to her. “Your apartment is trashed.”
She tries to get out again, and I put my hand on her thigh. “Audrey, you can’t stay here. You’re coming home with me.”
For the first time, there’s real fear in her eyes. “Honey, it’s going to be okay.”
She stares up at her open front door. “I wanna go in. I wanna see it.”
I pull my phone up and hit the speed dial for Bennett. He answers immediately. “Everything okay?”
I speak into the phone. “Uh, I’m sitting in the parking lot of Audrey’s apartment with her. John and Tony went in, and the apartment has been trashed.” I look over at my passenger. “I’m going to take Audrey in to salvage some of her stuff.”
I can already tell that Bennett is on the move. I hear the keys jingle and the slam of a door and then the start of his SUV. “Is Audrey okay?”
I know what he must be feeling. If I didn’t have my eyes on her right next to me, I would be feeling the same. “She’s okay. I'm with her.”
“Don’t let her out of your sight. I’m on my way.”
Normally, I’d give him shit for telling me how to do my job, but I get where he’s coming from. “On it. See you in a few.”
I hang up the phone and look at Audrey, who still seems to be trying to process everything. She shakes her head. “I need to go in and get my things.”
I have no idea what the inside of her place looks like, but I do know she’s not going to let me stop her from going in. “Stop. Let me come around, and I’ll go in with you.”
She wants to argue with me, but she surprises me by nodding.
I get out of the car and look around before walking to her side and helping her out. She’s silent as we walk down the sidewalk, up the stairs, and into her apartment. I knew it would be bad. But I didn’t know it would be this bad.
Audrey stops with her mouth open and stares at the inside of her once cozy apartment. “Why?” she asks as she moves into the room. “Why would someone do this?”
I don’t want to tell her that we’re pretty sure it was her father’s men. They were obviously looking for something.
She grimaces at the writing on the wall. In big letters it says TRAITOR. I put my hand on her back and steer in her the opposite direction. “Let’s grab what we can of yours and get out of here.”
She walks into her bedroom. I find a bag in the closet and am disgusted when I see that all of her clothes have been cut, ripped, and destroyed. I’m not sure what she needs the bag for, but she may want to grab something.
I hold it open. “Let me know what you wanna take and I’ll help you.”
She looks around the room, and everything is a mess. I grip the bag in my hands. “Or we can just buy you all new stuff.”
Very calmly, she starts moving the nightstand. I help her, not sure what’s going on. When she tries to step up onto it, I stop her. “What are you doing?”
She blinks at me, and it’s scary to see the look on her face. She looks so defeated. She points up at the ceiling. “I have a jewelry box… and other things up there. Things I didn’t want my dad or anyone else to find.”
I put a hand on her to stop her from climbing. “Here. Let me.”
I climb onto the nightstand and lift the tile out of the way.
I peek inside, and sure enough, there is a backpack and jewelry box.
I take them out and hand them to her before climbing back down.
She lets out a sigh of relief. It’s as if all this materialistic stuff doesn’t matter and all her important possessions are contained in a jewelry box and a backpack.
“That’s all I need.”
I wipe my hands together to get the dust off, and Audrey puts the jewelry box into the bag and then slings it over her shoulders. She pulls out her phone. “There’s a shelter a few blocks away. I’m going to go there.”