Chapter 5
Five
T he fix to Lily’s car had been easy enough. Just a routine oil and filter change, but that didn’t stop him from checking out everything from her tire pressure and tread depth to her brake pads to make sure the hunk of junk was safe for her to drive.
She was adamant that she could drive herself, and so Gunner let her be. Well, mostly. He still couldn’t shake the sick feeling that one day soon, James was going to snap. And so, for the last four nights, Gunner still found himself parked outside of Lily’s house. Unlike that first night, he now set an alarm for twenty minutes before she left in the morning.
That must be the buzzing he felt against his leg. The alarm. But when he opened his eyes and took in the darkness all around him, his body went on high alert. It wasn’t his alarm. Someone was calling.
Fuck. His heart leapt into his throat when he saw who it was.
Lily.
He didn’t wait for the next ring to pick up.
“Lil? ”
The line was silent except for distant yelling in the background. That fucker was screaming at her. He moved the phone away from his ear for just a split second to see the time. Two in the morning. Fuck.
“Lily? What’s going on?”
“G-Gunner? I’m so sorry. He’s drunk and out of control. I c-can’t get him to stop. He keeps yelling about how better off he’d be without me and the baby. I’m afraid he’s going to hurt us.”
“Where are you? Can you get somewhere safe? Somewhere with a door and a lock between the two of you?”
“I’m in the bathroom. The door’s locked, but he’s trying to kick it in.”
Gunner pulled at the straps of the black bag he didn’t go anywhere without and jumped from his truck. He was in her yard, stomping towards the back door in less than a minute.
“I’m coming, Lily. Just get in the tub or the shower and stay calm. I promise I’m almost there. Does he own a gun?”
“Oh, god.”
“Lil, does James have a gun or any other weapons in the house?”
“Yes. He has hunting rifles in his study. I hate them and told him to take them out of the house before the baby came, but he hasn’t.”
Fuck. Gunner needed to slow down and come up with a plan, but slowing down too much could mean Lily and the baby got hurt.
“Hurry, Gunner. Please.”
“Lil, I’m right outside. I need you to hang up the phone and call 9-1-1. Can you do that for me?”
“I tried to call them first. No one answered.”
“I need you to hang up and try again, okay? Try until you either talk to someone or I come get you.”
“Okay. I can do that. ”
“I know you can. Listen, I’m coming in the house right now, Lily Kate. I’ve got you. Hang up and call for help.”
Her cries on the other end of the phone absolutely gutted him, but there was no room for emotions with what he was about to do. Slipping into SEAL mode was like finally slipping back into his natural state. Ice ran through his veins as he hurried around the house and up onto the back deck.
He could hear James screaming, banging on what he imagined was the bathroom door Lily was hiding behind. Gunner needed the element of surprise, which is why he held back every instinct that was raging inside him to get to Lily as fast as possible.
Gunner tested the doorknob. If it was locked, he’d have to spend precious time breaking into the house. But the universe was looking out for him, and Lily, because the knob twisted and the door popped open under his hand. Thank fuck.
His feet were heavy in his boots, although he still managed to move silently through the house. Another fun party trick he’d picked up as a SEAL. Every one of his teammates could move silently when needed.
The house was small, and the layout simple, which is how Gunner found James so quickly. He looked inside what was clearly their bedroom and saw the fucker with his head resting against another door, pleading with Lily.
“Baby, come out. I just want to talk. I don’t want you to be mad about what I did. I just…I needed something.”
Gunner moved into the room, immediately spotting the rifle in James’s right hand. It was resting against the floor, and had been shadowed by his body. He almost wanted to cry with relief at the fact that Lily had called him for help.
One step behind James, Gunner dropped his bag and wrapped his arm around James’s throat, squeezing as the idiot let go of the weapon and clawed at Gunner’s arms. Like that would stop him from choking the life force right out of the slimy bastard. Gunner watched as spittle flew from James’s mouth, silent gasps forming on his lips like a bloated goldfish looking for its next meal. Finally, the asshole’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and his body fell lax against Gunner’s.
He wanted nothing more than to let James lay there while he got Lily out of the house, but he wasn’t taking any chances of him waking up and somehow getting the jump on them. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Gunner registered sirens getting louder. Hell, they took long enough.
Pulling zip ties from his black bag, Gunner tied James’s hands and feet together, and then dragged him down the hallway and into a room far away from Lily.
Blue and red lights filled up the house as several police cars pulled into the driveway. God, he wanted to get to Lily, but the last thing he needed was the police busting down her door and freaking her out even more.
Holding up his hands as he opened the front door, Gunner stayed still as the officers approached him. Just a minute of explanation and they were more than happy to have Gunner lead them to the room where James was.
“I’ll need to see the weapon,” an older officer said to Gunner.
“No problem. It’s in the bedroom.”
The officer nodded, following Gunner back to the room where he’d incapacitated James. “Can you take that out of here? I need to get my friend out of the bathroom. She’s nine months pregnant and I don’t want anything more to upset her.”
“Do you think we need to get an ambulance here?” The officer’s face blanched, and Gunner realized Lily must not have said anything about her condition to the dispatcher.
“Let me get to her first, and I’ll let you know.”
The officer nodded, leaving the room while Gunner knocked on the bathroom door.
“Lily? It’s Gunner, sweetheart. James isn’t going to be a problem right now, so I need you to go ahead and unlock the door for me, okay? I don’t want to have to kick it in and risk hurting you or the baby.”
He heard shuffling behind the door, and then the saddest sight he’d ever seen greeted him. Wet tracks covered Lily’s pale cheeks, and her arms were placed protectively around her belly.
“Lil?”
“Thank you, Gunner.” She bolted from the bathroom and ran her hands around his waist. They stood like that for a moment before the officer came back in and introduced himself to Lily.
Gunner walked her over to the bed and sat beside her, his arm protectively placed around her back. He stayed quiet as Lily gave the officer the same details she had told him over the phone.
“I’ll need some more information from you for the protective order.”
“No, we don’t need to do that.”
“Lily,” Gunner growled, his stomach aching at the thought of James getting away with what he put her through. “You absolutely need to get a protective order against him.”
“A piece of paper will not do a single thing for me. Besides, it won’t stick. His parents are friends with every judge in this county. They’ll take one look at James and just let him go with a warning. I’m too tired. I just want to be done with this night.”
“Alright, Ms. Bennett. If you change your mind, you can come down to the station and any officer can help you. Here’s my card, just in case you would feel better coming in to see me since I was here tonight.” Gunner took the card from the officer.
Once they were alone in the room, he stood, watching Lily wipe away her tears.
“We need to get moving, Lily. Can you pack up some things you’ll need for the next few days?”
“No. Why would I pack? This is my home, too. I mean, it’s rented in his name, but I pay for everything.”
“Lily. You can’t stay here. Not with him.”
“Then he should be the one to leave. He can stay with his parents. I’m the one that has no place to go.”
“He’ll just come back, Lil. You know that. I can protect you here, if you are absolutely dead set against leaving, but I’d really rather have you be at my mom’s with Gia and me.”
“I can’t put them at risk. What if he comes after me there?”
“Do you think he would?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him when he’s been drinking.” Lily looked nervously out the bedroom door. She teetered a bit and Gunner reached out to steady her.
“You don’t need to worry about that. He will not hurt you when I’m around. Can you show me what you think you’ll need? Maybe you should just sit back down on the bed and I’ll pack.”
“I’m okay. You’re right. I can’t ask you to stay here. I’ll get my things together.”
“Let’s hurry, okay? I want to get you home. I can come back and pick up whatever you leave tonight.”
“Home,” she whispered, her big green eyes filled with tears.
“Lily,” Gunner whispered as his stomach rolled at the sight of her so upset. “You didn’t say anything to the officer, but did he hurt you?”
“No. Not tonight.”
“Not tonight.” Gunner’s whole body blazed with fury. What the fuck was James thinking? He’d never let Lily be hurt by that asshole again.
Gunner watched as she moved around the room. Between the closet and the dresser, she’d been able to pack two bags with items for herself.
“Okay, this is everything.”
“Everything for tonight?” he questioned.
“No. This is all I have. We don’t need to come back.”
“Do you want to take the baby’s things?” he asked. They should have at least the bare necessities in case she went into labor.
“I don’t…” he watched as she bit the bottom of her lip. “I haven’t had time to really get anything for the baby.”
“Oh, okay.” He saw the truth written all over her face. James really was a dirtbag. Here Lily was working so hard to take care of the bills while he’d sat back after being fired, and she hadn’t even had the time to get ready for her baby. Gunner made a mental note to research baby products once he got Lily back to his mother’s house.
Lily zipped closed her bag and lifted it, walking towards the door. Gunner was up in a flash, grabbing the bag from her hand. “I’ve got this.”
“Oh,” she stopped walking.
“What’s wrong?” he watched as she twisted the engagement ring on her finger.
“Nothing. I just need to…ugh, my fingers just had to swell up tonight. I need it off. I don’t want to leave with it still on.”
Gunner set the bag down on the floor. “Here, Lil, let me try.” Before she could protest, he had her hand in his, gently twisting the ring back and forth over her skin. When she sucked in a sharp breath as it finally came free, Gunner froze.
“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked as he ran his finger over the red, swollen skin.
“No. I just didn’t think it would feel so good to have it come off.” Lily squared her shoulders and looked him in his eyes. “Will you put it on top of the cupboards in the kitchen?”
When Gunner gave her a questioning look, a small smile crossed her face. “Let him have to work a little to find it before he pawns it for more alcohol.”
“Why don’t you keep it and sell it for yourself?”
“No. I don’t want anything from him or his family. I just want to leave this all behind.”