Chapter 18
She shouldn’t be following Cy to his house.
He was a stranger, and she knew enough not to trust strangers.
But so far, people she knew had been the most harmful toward her.
She wasn’t stupid and was fairly well informed, but Cy seemed like her best hope for escaping Robert’s cycle of pain and humiliation.
Before he pulled out of the lot, Cy texted her his address just in case she lost him on the road, but she wasn’t going to lose him. She would rather run a light than lose track of his car.
Not once had she received this level of help from anyone while dealing with Robert. She’d asked for assistance more than once, but even the police blamed her. Maybe she was to blame for being with a man like Robert.
When they’d first gotten together, she hadn’t known how bad he was. He’d showered her with gifts and love, telling her lie after lie. At the time, she hadn’t known they were lies. Now she knew beyond a doubt the man had been lying to her from the moment she’d met him.
But how could she have known that everything Robert had said to her had been a part of a plan to manipulate her? By the time he used his fists to control her, she’d already moved in and felt trapped.
That was the hardest part of it all. She’d known she was trapped, and every time she’d tried to escape, he’d dragged her back in. He’d used everything he could think of to manipulate her.
When their relationship had been new, they’d had a cat.
He’d pretended to love the cat, but then any time she’d gone against him, he’d hurt the cat.
If she disagreed with him, the cat ended up being abused.
When he threatened to kill the cat, she took the risk and left home with the animal, finding a place that would take the cat in.
She’d made sure the pet she’d loved would be safe.
She should have run at the time, but too much of her life had been tied up with Robert.
At least her cat would have a safe home, even if she never saw it again.
He’d wanted her to have kids, and couldn’t figure out why his attempts at getting her pregnant hadn’t worked. He’d beaten her more than once for being infertile. What he hadn’t known was that she’d gone to the doctor in secret and had an IUD put in.
Now that she was free, she knew she should have left Robert much earlier. She should have walked out the first time she had doubts about him.
Cy turned, taking them down a street with cars in driveways and small patches of grass with trees and bushes.
Some of the houses had flowers in pots. She liked the area.
It was a lot better than where she’d lived with Robert.
She half wondered if Robert moved them to shitty locations so she would be afraid to leave the house without him.
Had it just been another way to control her?
She parked in the driveway behind Cy, amazed at how secure she felt that this was the right move. It didn’t hurt that he was very good-looking. But that wasn’t why she was here with him. She needed safety, and he seemed very capable of delivering it.
“Is it okay to park behind you?” Willa asked after she stepped from the car.
“For now, sure. I’m not headed into work in the morning, so it’s fine.”
“What time do you usually head to work?”
A chuckle escaped his lips. “Way too early.”
“Thank you for letting me stay here tonight. I swear I won’t make this a habit.”
“Let’s see how it goes. Robert may back off.”
She shrugged. “I doubt it. He’s going to keep causing problems.”
Cy’s lips turned down. “I’m sorry you’re having to deal with this.”
“Maybe I brought it on myself.”
“No, the guy is a jerk. He’s doing this because he can.”
“Thank you for helping me.”
“Sure. Come on in. We’ll get you something to eat, then you can get some rest.”
She followed him inside. “I know if I were at home, there would be nothing stopping him.”
“The guest room is upstairs. He won’t get up there if he dares to break in.”
“Do you think he will?”
“Heck no. I have an alarm because I’m out of town often.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Not you being out of town, but that you have an alarm. The place where I rent a room doesn’t have an alarm. There are too many people in and out.”
“Where do you rent?”
“Not too far from here. It’s an older house, and the owner made each room a place for rent.
I mean, it’s a little crowded, especially if you live on the second floor where the only people coupled up live.
That floor is crazy because they have one bathroom between all eight of them.
I’m on the third floor, which is great, except when you have groceries or heavy stuff to carry up. ”
His chuckle warmed her. “Yeah, that would be awful. When I moved here, I was so thankful the kitchen was on the first floor. I spent three years living in an apartment complex on the fourth floor.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah, it was a pain. Sometimes when I’m bringing in bags, I wonder if I’ve gone soft.”
Now it was her time to laugh. “No way. You’re not soft. I mean your…” she trailed off, not wanting to point out that she’d been checking him out. He was built, and it was obvious he was strong.
He lifted one arm and flexed. “I have muscles. Necessary in my job.”
“You’re military, right?”
He nodded. “Yep.”
“I guess that means you know firearms.”
“I do, and I respect them. They are great tools if you know what you’re doing. Too many people are idiots and don’t know what the hell they are doing.”
“I’ve never fired a gun. I wouldn’t know what to do.”
“Well, if you’re interested, I could take you to the shooting range, just so you understand safety.
It would be best to show you how to make sure a gun is unloaded at the range.
That way, we can set everything up where the gun is pointed down range, and if you accidentally set it off, it wouldn’t hurt anyone. ”
“Does that happen often? You know, them going off by accident?”
“No, but people unfamiliar with guns are unfamiliar with them. It’s best to set it up where you won’t be afraid to touch the pistol or rifle. Also, you can fire it after you’ve learned to load and unload.”
She nodded. “I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable firing one.”
“I get that. I don’t think everyone should shoot, but with Robert as a threat, it would be good if you’ve handled a gun. Just for your understanding.”
What he said made sense. She wouldn’t ever be someone who owned a gun, which wasn’t what Cy was suggesting. She just needed to know what one felt like.
“Okay, I would be willing to learn.”
“Good. Now for food. Let’s see what I have.”
“You don’t have to—“
“I need to eat something, too. You don’t have to eat a lot, but it would be good to get some calories in.”
“Thank you.”
His lips tipped up in a small smile as he turned to the refrigerator.
It was nice having someone willing to help her.
That he was offering to feed her, not demanding that she cook something for him, was nice.
She wasn’t looking for a relationship, and she was sure Cy was just being nice, but this was the kind of guy who would make a great partner.
He wasn’t love bombing. He was just nice.