Chapter 17 #2
Without hesitation, I leaned forward into Chief Carterson’s broad chest and threaded my arms around his waist. We both remained seated while his heavy arms answered my call. I let myself linger in his embrace.
It was all I had.
It didn’t matter how strong I thought I was; the tears found me.
His words had entered my veins like they were the most lethal injection ever administered to a death row inmate. Instead of killing me, they only ignited every doubt about Jesse I’d ever had.
“I’m sorry. I just … I can’t believe he could do this to me …” I sobbed. My mascara liquefied, smearing the sleeve of the uniform my face rested against.
“Shh, it’s okay. Don’t apologize. Please just let me get you out of here. I’ll take you back to your hotel.” Hesitantly, he stroked my head.
I barely knew this man and certainly wasn’t making a great second impression.
I contemplated my options and immediately scratched off the one that took me back to my hotel.
There was no way I could return to that room to witness more of my wasted efforts.
The rose petals, the lingerie that shithead had requested—it would push me past my limit.
Leaving the support of Chief Carterson’s arms, I composed myself enough to ask, “Do you know of any hotels around here that might have vacancies tonight? The thought of going back to mine makes my skin crawl. I set it up for a romantic night and …” Murkiness reentered my peripheral vision.
“Of course you did.”
He shook his head, looking past my face. Could he see the darkness too?
The clench in his sharp jaw pulsed with something that evolved into what I recognized as fury.
“Honestly, the hotels around here get booked months ahead of graduation weekend. You could stay in Chicago, but I wouldn’t recommend a young woman like you to take the train into the city or stay there alone.”
Yep, I was screwed.
I slumped backward into my seat and searched for the courage to accept my fate for the evening.
Chief Carterson interjected, “I completely understand if you wouldn’t be comfortable with this, but my house isn’t far from here … I have a guest room. Would you consider staying with me tonight?”
A slow swallow swam down his throat. It was silent, but tattled on whatever was fueling his proposition.
“Ummm …” I squinted my eyes and bit my cheek to avoid deciding too quickly.
The offer was incredibly kind, but had it knocked my senses loose? How could I even consider staying the night at his house? He wasn’t quite a stranger, but I didn’t know much about him either. Staying together felt personal.
Almost intimate.
What I did know was that he was a very large, high-ranking Navy chief and that he cared enough about my well-being to show me the video.
His hardened hands and face full of experience told me he was several years older than me, too, which proved he’d come this far without being arrested and sentenced to a lengthy prison stay for doing bad shit.
He presented himself as an honorable man—a protector.
So, yeah, perhaps taking him up on his offer would be a bit personal.
But at least it wouldn’t be as depressing as going back to my hotel.
Hesitation cradled my lingering pause.
“If you’d prefer to stay there alone, I could drop you off and then come back and sleep on base tonight. I keep a bunk here for overnights, so that wouldn’t be a problem. You should feel one hundred percent comfortable.”
His empathy was impressive, leaving me with two choices: I could call all the hotels in the area and beg for a room—but even if one was available, I couldn’t afford to pay twice—or I could let Chief Carterson take me anywhere but here and rely on my senses convincing me he was a decent man.
Clearly, character judgment wasn’t my strong suit after what Jesse had pulled off. But I vowed to give actions more weight than words, moving forward. So far, Chief Carterson’s told me he was a good guy.
“Fuck it. Put your knowledge of human behavior to good use for once,” imaginary Ruthie whispered in my ear.
“We met two years ago, right? I mean, we’re practically old friends …” I reassured myself aloud.
“Practically.” He chuckled, though his smile was strained. Was he trying not to let it grow too fast? “My friends call me Austin.”
That’s right. His first name was Austin.
“Okay then, Austin. I’ll take you up on the guest room. But only for tonight, until I can make other arrangements, and I’m definitely not kicking you out of your own house. Aside from the inevitable sobbing, you won’t even know I’m there.” Awkward.
My attempt at a joke fell flatter than my nonexistent relationship. There would be tears. I was sure of it. He needed to know he would likely witness their downpour.
“Sadly, sobbing might be sort of a good thing. It’ll mean you’re that much closer to getting over the asshole that made you cry in the first place.”
Using humor to soften a bad blow was a very effective way to defuse a bad situation.
He was good at it.
“Well, I’m glad that’s settled,” I said, accepting the plan I wasn’t fully sold on. It would be better than the hotel, surely. It had to be. “I’m ready to go.” I needed many things, but staying in the office that had forever broken my trust in Jesse wasn’t one of them.
“You’ve been through a lot today. I need you to know you can trust me,” Austin revealed.
Could he read my mind?
I nodded.
He stood.
I stood.
“I trust you enough to get me the fuck out of here. Can we go now?”