Chapter Seventeen #2
“The only thing I care about right now is taking care of you.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead. “We’ll talk once you’ve relaxed in a hot bath, have on some comfortable sweats, and a full belly.”
He took her hand and led her to the bathroom.
“Arms up, baby.” She raised them over her head and let Sully pull off the police station’s thin orange shirt.
He immediately shoved it in the trash, followed by the elastic-waist pants.
He turned off the faucet and helped her step in.
Then he waited as she sunk beneath the steamy water.
He’d added her favorite shower gel to the bottom of the tub, adding a thick layer of bubbles to the top.
“Call me when you’re ready to get out if you’re feeling unsteady.
Your towel is in the dryer, so it’ll be nice and hot when you’re ready to get out.
I’ll bring in some comfortable clothes in a few minutes but take as long as you’d like. Anything special you want for lunch?”
She shook her head, and he crouched beside the tub. A wince crossed his face, and she narrowed her eyes. “You shouldn’t be bending your leg like that. Not if it hurts.”
“Please humor me. I just had the woman I love taken from me. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I’ve been questioning if what I did at the traffic stop was right. Going over it again and again, wishing I didn’t let them take you.”
She shook her head. “There was nothing you could’ve done. When I saw you, Red, Jude and Thalia in the courthouse this morning, I was sure I was imagining it.”
Something pained flashed across his face. “You didn’t call.”
“I didn’t call anyone. I thought… I didn’t think you’d want to hear from me.”
“I will always want to hear from you. Relax. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
He returned after she’d languished in the tub, relishing in the hot water until some of the chill that had seeped down to her bones dissipated.
As promised, Sully returned with a dryer-warmed towel and a matching Navy sweatshirt, pants, and her fuzzy socks.
This type of care and attention was something she’d never experienced before.
When she padded out into the living space, Sully had lunch set up on the kitchen island.
He’d gotten takeout from a café down the street.
“I figured you could use some calorie-laden comfort food.” He motioned to the mac and cheese, tomato bisque, and paninis spread out on the granite counter.
“Good choice.” She took a little of each and sat down at the table across from Sully.
She lifted her spoon and ate some of the soup, the rich taste of tomatoes and cream warmed her from the inside out.
Still, she couldn’t eat much. Her stomach still clenched at the thought of the conversation she needed to have with Sully.
When they were finished, Sully cleaned up the kitchen and motioned toward the couch.
He pulled her onto his lap, wrapped a blanket around them both and held her tight.
“Why didn’t you trust me to have your back?” he whispered, but she could hear the edge of hurt slicing through the soft sound.
She swallowed hard. “I—It would’ve been too painful if you hadn’t. When you got in your truck, I assumed you thought I was guilty.”
“Me standing by your side has nothing to do with innocence or guilt and everything to do with me loving you. You need to know that my love isn’t conditional. You don’t need to be a saint to earn it.”
“Those drugs weren’t mine.”
“I believe you, Jane.”
“I was so afraid I’d lost you. That you’d never look at me the same way again. I have a prior arrest for possession. I got it when I was a teenager.” He didn’t say anything, simply tightened his arms around her and held her close to his heart.
“I skipped out of school one afternoon with my friend. We were meeting up with another kid to smoke weed under a bridge like we’d done dozens of times before.
This time was different though. We were caught, my friends bailed, and instead of chasing after them, the officer, my stepfather’s boss—” She stopped and swallowed hard, choking back the tears.
“Raped me under that bridge. He said if I kept my mouth shut, my stepfather would never find out about the drugs.” Sully’s arms tightened around her.
“God, Jane. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“When I got home, I was scared and bleeding profusely. I showered, thinking I could wash everything away, but I couldn’t.
I couldn’t get warm. I couldn’t stop shaking.
I decided I didn’t care about the drug charges.
I just wanted to be safe from that ever happening again.
I told my mother and stepfather what happened, but they didn’t believe me.
Not fully. And when they confronted the police chief, he said I was simply trying to take the focus off myself so I wouldn’t get in trouble.
” She let out a bitter laugh as more tears beaded over her cheeks.
“He said out of respect for my stepfather, he was going to let him know he was formally charging me for possession when he came in for his shift. That he didn’t arrest me because he didn’t want his officer to be embarrassed.
The people who were supposed to protect me didn’t believe me.
I felt like I didn’t matter. Nothing seemed to matter after that.
My drug use spiraled. I dropped out of school and left home.
I couldn’t stand seeing the police chief in town, knowing what he’d done.
What he might do to someone else. I left home, taking odd jobs to afford a shitty apartment with friends.
It took years for me to get my head straight.
Get my GED and go back to school to become an RN.
Even then, I had to disclose my history and go before the nursing board about my record. ”
“Where is he now?” Sully asked in a barely suppressed growl. His muscles were corded, his jaw tight as he tried to keep a lock on his emotions. His anger on her behalf soothed something inside her. Sully had believed her story without question.
“His obituary popped up on one of my social media accounts a few years back. He died of a massive heart attack.”
He hung on to her fiercely, as if someone might step out of the shadows and snatch her away.
“Knowing about your past trauma only makes what you did for those abducted girls on the boat even more staggering, Jane. Baiting them to rape you instead so you could take them out and swim for help. You’ve been through so much, but you still stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.
The way you protected me when I was in the hospital.
Putting me before your own care when you’d been viciously assaulted.
I swear, nothing, no one will ever hurt you again. Not while I’m breathing.”
“You can’t promise that. Bad things happen.
Knowing you’ll be here for me though? I’ll always do everything I can to survive.
To get home to you. Just like I know when you return to active duty, you’ll fight your way back to me.
” She cupped his face, running her fingers along the now clean-shaven skin of his jaw.
“Would you think less of me if I didn’t?” His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.
“Didn’t fight to get back to me?”
“No. Never that.” He shook his head, pinning her with an intense gaze. “Didn’t return to active duty. Not in the same capacity, at least.”
“Is it because of your injuries?” Pain burned in the back of her throat. If he couldn’t return to what he loved because of the sacrifice he’d made by saving her, she wasn’t sure she could live with it.
“No, baby. I’ve been actively deployed in combat roles for nearly fifteen years. I’m tired. My body is tired. Red and I have been talking with our lieutenant commander about transitioning into training roles at the base.”
She let her shoulders slump forward slightly as relief loosened her muscles. “I don’t care what you do, Sully. If it makes you happy, that’s all I care about. I love having you close, but if returning to a combat role is what you want, we can make that work, too.”
He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.
“What makes me happy is being with you. Going to bed at night holding you. Seeing your face first thing in the morning. Doing normal stuff with you, like visiting my parents’ ranch or going grocery shopping.
Everything just feels that much more incredible when we’re together.
Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to miss a second of life with you. ”
“What happens if I’m charged with theft and possession? I might be looking at jail time.” The thought of that made her shudder.
“It’s not going to come to that. We are using all our resources to prove you’re innocent.
Vivienne and Thalia have retained the same lawyer who helped them navigate large sums of money and immigration policy.
I let Iron know what was going on, and he already reached out to the lawyer on our behalf. ”
“You have amazing friends,” she said kissing him.
“They’re your friends, too.”
“Thank you for sharing them with me, then,” she murmured before he drew her deeper into the kiss.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t share with you. Nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“I love you, Sully. Thank you for being on my side.”
“I love you, too, and you never have to thank me for being there for you. It’s exactly where I want to be.”