Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
Steff sat hugging herself on the one chair that hadn’t been damaged by whoever had violated her apartment.
“Here, have some water.” Cynthia handed her a glass, another one that hadn’t been broken.
She took it and swallowed some of it down.
Who would do this to her?
Why?
How did they get in? Because there was no damage to the door.
How did they get into the building?
The place she’d chosen because of how secure it was, wasn’t that secure after all. Not if someone could get in and access her floor.
The police were still there talking to Dalton. They’d already asked her endless questions. All through the process, she’d felt like she was outside of her body, watching it all, but not really being in the moment. She had no idea if she’d answered sensibly or not.
The police told her they were going to bring in the forensic team to see if they could pull prints. There’d been something in their tone that suggested they didn’t think they’d be successful. At this point in time, Steff didn’t care.
She didn’t care about anything.
All her stuff was ruined. Her clothes had been slashed. Her bed shredded. Whoever had done it had been in a rage.
Why hadn’t her neighbors heard? That was a question that went round and round in her mind. There was no way any of what had been done could’ve been quiet.
“Steff? Sweetie, look at me?” Cynthia’s voice penetrated the fog that surrounded her. If she couldn’t have Jag near her right now, she was glad Cynthia was.
The concern in her friend’s eyes almost had the tears welling up, but she swallowed; she wasn’t going to waste any more time crying over whoever was doing this to her.
Anger ballooned from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, and Steff embraced it. Clutched it tight around her.
How dare they do this her?
She’d never done anything wrong in her life. If anything, she should be the one causing misery to others considering she’d lost her parents. She’d been kidnapped, held against her will, and violated in the most horrid of ways. She was all alone in the world.
You’re not alone.
The thought pulled her up short, and she looked around. Amongst the police presence in her apartment were people she’d just met. Dalton and his team were all there, supporting both of them.
Cynthia was by her side. Her hand rested lightly on her leg. She placed her hand over Cynthia’s and squeezed it. “Thank you. Thank you for being here. I know I’ve said it before, but thank you for not giving up on me.”
“Aww sweetie, you’re my best friend. I gave you time because you needed it, but I was never going to cut you out of my life.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I should’ve done better after.” She took a breath before continuing. “After everything that happened. We went through it together. It wasn’t just me. It was you and all those others.”
Cynthia shrugged. “We all had to deal with it our own way. I know we haven’t talked in depth about what happened to each other, and,” she looked down at their joined hands, “I don’t think I want to know.
It’s better to leave it all behind us and move forward.
As hard as it is, we have to look ahead.
We’ve got two amazing men who like us and want to be with us. There’s so much good stuff happening.”
Steff, once again, looked over to where Dalton stood, and as if he was aware of her scrutiny, he lifted his head and their gazes met.
His expression softened, and the corner of his mouth ticked up.
The half smile melted away the anger that she’d been so happy to embrace.
It was still there, but not as fiery as it had been moments ago.
“You’re right, we do.”
“He’s so smitten with you,” Cynthia teased.
Steff dragged her gaze away from Dalton and looked back at her friend. “And Fox is the same with you.”
Cynthia ducked her head as if embarrassed, before straightening her shoulders and finding Fox in the room, as if she’d given herself a mental lecture not to be shy. “He’s pretty special. I like him. A lot,” she finished quietly.
It finally hit Steff that Cynthia and Fox had come here together.
She knew Fox lived close by, which meant that the two of them had to have been together when Dalton had contacted him.
“Are things starting to get serious between you two?” Steff asked.
Surprised, considering they’d only just met.
Then again, Dalton started staying at her place less than a week after they connected at Angelica’s birthday party.
“I know I said we should look forward, and I am, but I’m also cautious.” She smiled brittlely. “You know it’s not easy to let yourself get close to someone, especially a man who’s as alpha as Fox is. It’s a bit intimidating.”
Steff understood where she was coming from.
The thing was, when she was with Dalton, his alpha nature didn’t scare her; if anything, it made her feel more protected.
No way was she going to discount Cynthia’s feelings though, every emotion she had was a valid one.
“You’re right, they can be a bit intense.
I sense that when it comes to the people they care about, they’re not quite so intimidating with them.
” At least Dalton wasn’t with her. She didn’t know how Fox would be with Cynthia in private, but considering the two were the best of friends, she believed Fox would be very similar to Dalton with the people they cared about.
They didn’t say anything for a few moments, everyone moving and talking around them. Eventually Cynthia turned to her again. “Do you want to come back to my place for the night? You can’t stay here; you have nowhere to sleep.”
In the past, Steff’s response would’ve been an automatic yes, but that was before Dalton and how she’d gotten used to being near him. Being able to sleep well knowing that he was in the next room should she need him.
The thought of him not being close was one that didn’t sit well with her, but she couldn’t assume that he would want to take her back to his place, even though she wanted that.
“Thank you, that’s really nice of you,” she started, and then cringed inwardly at how insincere that sounded. “I-um…”
Cynthia chuckled. “Stop, Steff, it’s okay. I have a feeling if you said yes, Jag wouldn’t let you stay with me anyway. You know, all those protective vibes and stuff he gives off. He wouldn’t want you out of his sight.”
“I don’t think I want to be out of his sight either,” she murmured.
“I say this with all of the love in my heart, but be careful, Steff. There’s so much going on in your life.
You’re going back to therapy and reliving what happened to us.
Then there’s tonight. All your emotions are heightened.
You should be cautious when it comes to making any personal decisions right now. ”
Cynthia wasn’t being anything but a good friend, yet Steff couldn’t help thinking she was treating her a bit like a child, as though she was unable to think clearly.
She’d been on her own for a long time. She’d had to deal with planning her parents’ funerals all alone.
Dealing with lawyers to finalize their estate, along with financial advisors who helped invest the money from the sale of her parents’ property and the proceeds from both their life insurance policies.
She’d done all that long before she’d met Cynthia.
“I hear you, but I’m good. I’m not reacting because of the circumstances that are surrounding me right now.”
“Everything good?” Dalton came up, and she was grateful for his interruption.
She stood. “Yeah, we were just talking.”
Dalton glanced between the two of them, as if trying to determine if she was telling the truth or not. “Okay. The police are about to leave. The forensic guys should be another hour, but Deal said he’d stay and see them out.”
The support Dalton’s friends were giving her was more than she expected, but she shouldn’t be surprised.
The couple of times she’d been with them at Alliez, she’d seen the camaraderie between them.
The way they joked with each other. It was clear when they’d go on a mission they’d have each other’s backs and would make sure they came back alive.
“He doesn’t have to do that,” she protested, no matter how pointless it was going to be.
“He wanted to. You’ve got us now, Steff.
” Dalton pulled her into a hug, and she sank into it gratefully.
There was something so perfect about being in his arms. The sense of safety that constantly surrounded her.
Not in a stifling I-can’t-breathe way, but in an I-will-slay-all-your-dragons-for-you way.
“I know.”
“You ready to head out too, Cyn?” Fox joined them, and Steff watched her friend with interest, noting that she didn’t seem as relaxed in Fox’s embrace like Steff was in Dalton’s.
Or as she had been earlier in the evening.
Given the way she’d talk about how she liked Fox and things were getting a little serious between them, she thought Cynthia would be more comfortable.
Or it could simply be because the place was full of strangers. Like her, Cynthia was still dealing with the aftermath of what she’d been through, and being here had to have brought up memories for her regardless of the fact that she’d been strong for Steff.
She pinched the bridge of her nose as a sharp shaft of pain permeated her skull. There were so many thoughts running through her that it was inevitable her head would begin to ache. It was late. Her home had been destroyed. Was it any surprise her body was telling her enough was enough?
“Come on, hon, let’s go.” He kissed the top of her head, a gesture she was beginning to love a lot, and tucked her against his side.
“Are you even going to ask her if she wants to go to, I’m guessing, your place, Jag? Or are you just going to assume she’d be happy with you thinking for her?” Cynthia’s sharp tone surprised them all, even the forensic people stopped what they were doing and looked over at them.
Regardless of them being good friends, Cynthia had gone too far. “Where else would I go, Cynthia? I don’t care if he assumed. I don’t want to be anywhere but with him.”
Dalton’s fingers flexed on her shoulder.
“My only concern is getting Steff away from here. Once we got to my car, I was going to ask her where she wanted to go. If she wanted to go to your place, I would take her. Same if she wanted to go to a hotel. Or if she wanted to come to my place. I don’t make decisions for her.
Steff has her own mind and her own will in this relationship between us. ”
Cynthia’s face flushed bright red, and she worried her bottom lip.
Tears welled in her eyes as her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“I’m sorry. It’s just … after what we went through, having our free will taken away from us…
After all this.” She waved her hand around the room.
“It stirred things up for me. I guess I’m a little protective of having the ability to make our own decisions and not being told what to do. ”
Steff shook off Dalton’s arm and rushed over to her friend, giving her a hug that she hoped gave Cynthia as much comfort as Dalton’s gave her. “I’m sorry for snapping back. I get it. I do.”
Cynthia hugged her back. “I’m sorry too for saying what I did. I care, that’s all.”
“I know.”
She gave her friend one last squeeze before releasing her, aware that Fox was nearby and would want to offer Cynthia comfort as well.
Dalton came up and rested his hand on her lower back, and she turned to him. “Take me away from here.”
He nodded and ushered her out the door. Steff should be concerned about leaving a group of strangers in her place, but she didn’t care. That wasn’t her home anymore. It didn’t matter if she’d get penalized for breaking the lease. She was never walking back into that building ever again.