Chapter 1
CHAPTER
ONE
Cruz
I’m sitting in the waiting room since they finally took Mindy to a private room to start her SANE exam.
The nurse took the evidence I bagged up once I explained how I knew what to do and what precautions I took as far as putting on gloves before I picked anything up.
I know this is going to take hours, but I’m not willing to leave her here by herself since she was adamant that I not call Jolie.
Prison did a number on my head, and I find myself sitting in the back of the room against a wall so I can watch everyone who comes in.
My parole officer has already come to see me because I reported to him that I had to leave the house and take my neighbor to the hospital.
I didn’t share why she had to go; that’s her business and not mine to share and spread and when he pushed the issue, I told him she was currently being examined and I was waiting until she was finished to take her back home.
If he keeps it up, I’ll go over his head.
I was a model prisoner, all things considered.
While I didn’t put up with anyone’s shit, I somehow garnered enough respect from the other inmates that I was left alone for the most part.
The few times that someone tried to fuck with me, I didn’t have to raise a hand in defense of myself, my new ‘friends’ took care of the problem.
It could’ve been because I always had money for commissary use and I was willing to share.
It could’ve been because I have medical training and was more than capable of handling minor injuries that kept my cellmates and a few others out of the infirmary.
Regardless of the reason, while it wasn’t fun filled by any means, I know it could’ve been a helluva lot worse.
“Mr. Dempsey?” A female voice calls out to me, and I glance at her, recognizing her as the SANE nurse.
“How is she? Can I take her home yet?” I question, standing up.
“No, no, the thing is, we’ve got the most invasive parts of the exam completed, and she’s hysterical so we thought you might calm her down by being with her,” she explains.
“We barely know each other,” I mutter, mainly to myself.
Then I remember how she wanted me to bring her, not Jolie, because she felt I would be more objective. Nodding, I motion for her to precede me while I follow behind, my thoughts whirling a mile a minute.
Once I breach the door to the room where the exam is taking place, I go to Mindy’s side and take her hand. “Shhh, hey, pretty girl, I’m here,” I murmur, as another nurse continues to take clippings from Mindy’s nails.
“C-c-cruz, why would he have done this to me?” she asks, sobbing hysterically.
“Honey, I don’t know,” I reply. “But these ladies are getting all the information an attorney’s going to need to nail his ass to the fucking wall.”
“You’ve got that right,” the fingernail nurse murmurs. Glancing at Mindy, she smiles even though it’s tempered with sadness. “Mindy, you did nothing wrong at all, do you understand? Hell, we’re impressed at the fact that despite being drugged, you fought like a caged tiger, sweetheart.”
“And you, Mr. Dempsey,” the SANE nurse adds. “We want to thank you as well, because you knew to call someone and find out what Mindy should and shouldn’t do. A lot of the survivors we see often shower because they don’t know any different.”
“My sister, Camille, is a SANE nurse at our hometown hospital,” I admit. “In fact, my mom’s an ICU nurse, my younger sister is a physical therapist, and my older sister is a pediatrician.”
“Shit, y’all’s conversations around the dinner table must be wild,” Mindy murmurs, finally calming for a moment. “Hey, so I had this patient who did this after surgery, can you pass the peas?”
The comment is so out of left field, I can’t help but chuckle.
Even though we’ve spent minimal time with each other, the day I helped her move in I could see she had a wicked sense of humor.
Hearing her now gives me hope that she’ll eventually recover from this nightmare she currently finds herself embroiled in.
Both nurses join me and the tension that was in the room dissipates significantly. I wince as they clean the various lacerations and burn marks that dot Mindy’s beautiful, creamy skin, and when I see her doing the same, I ask, “Are y’all not able to give her any pain medication?”
“Not yet,” the SANE nurse admits. “We have a rush in with the lab on her stomach contents, but until we know what she was given, we don’t want to give her something that could cause a medical emergency.”
“Okay, that makes sense.” When I see them pull out a comb to start working on her hair, I say, “If y’all will give me a pair of gloves, I’ll help as long as Mindy’s okay with it.”
“Well, I’m not freaking out at you holding my hand, so I say we give it a whirl,” Mindy sasses.
Shaking my head, I take the proffered gloves and start working on the other side with the fine tooth comb the second nurse hands me.
A chux pad is spread across Mindy’s lap and occasionally, either myself or the first nurse shake our combs off.
The goal, I know from my sister, is to gather as much DNA as we possibly can.
When Mindy winces after a particularly brutal snag is worked out, I murmur, “Steady, pretty girl, we’re almost done.”
I’m actually surprised and impressed by how well she’s doing but she could also be in shock for all I know.
Or the drugs she was given by that viper might also still be in her system.
Once I have the side I’m working on as smooth as possible until she’s allowed to shower and clean up, I look at the SANE nurse and ask, “Are y’all okay with her so I can go back to her place and get her some clean clothes? ”
“I don’t want you to leave,” Mindy murmurs, her voice full of panic.
“I know you don’t, but they’ve still got more stuff to do, and I know from my sister that once they’re done, they’ll let you take a shower over there,” I reply, pointing to the attached bathroom.
The door is open, and the stall is visible to all of us.
“It won’t take long, I promise, but I think you’ll feel a little better using your own hygiene products.
Plus, I’m sure they’ll bag the stuff you wore in here, and I don’t think you want to go home in a hospital gown with your ass hanging out. ”
I catch both nurses rolling their lips inward, so they don’t laugh at what I’ve just said to Mindy. She rolls her eyes at me then finally says, “Fine. My clean laundry is folded on top of my dresser. I think I want more sweats.”
Considering she has cuts, burns, and bruises everywhere, I imagine sweats would be softer on her abused skin than anything else. “Okay, I’ll be back shortly. Behave yourself,” I tease.
“Who me? I’m a captive audience right now,” she retorts, waving her arms around.
“We’ll take good care of her,” the SANE nurse promises. “Maybe by the time you get back, we’ll have the rest done so she can shower, and you can take her home.”
I nod but don’t reply, my mind already on what I need to get from Mindy’s place. My goal is to make sure she’s as comfortable as possible.
Coming face to face with Jolie as I step out of Mindy’s place was not on my Bingo card for the day, especially when she starts yelling at me. “Whoa, hold on now,” I say, my hands up in a placating manner.
“There’s no holding on for me, buddy,” Jolie seethes. “What I want to know is why Mindy’s Life360 shows she’s at the hospital and neither of you thought to call me!”
I don’t know why she opted to come to the house instead of the hospital, but I don’t ask that question.
All I want to do is get back to Mindy, not deal with her best friend.
Glancing at Dex, I raise my brow. There’s no way I’m going to be the one to tell Jolie what happened to her best friend. Nope. Not fucking happening.
“Jolie, did you stop and consider that maybe Mindy didn’t want you to know what was going on?” Dex asks.
She turns to face him, and I nearly break when I see tears are steadily streaming down her face. “Dex, she had a date last night, so if she’s at the hospital, something went really wrong,” she whispers.
“Maybe she didn’t want to worry you,” Dex replies, trying to soothe his wife.
I damn near snicker out loud, because she’s past that point by a long shot.
Still, I have to try and turn the situation around because the last thing Mindy needs is to have Jolie showing up at the hospital and cause a scene.
There’s gonna be a time when she’ll need her best friend, but that’s not right now.
“I won’t betray her trust in me, but I can promise that when she’s ready to let you know what’s going on, she’ll tell you,” I advise.
“Now, I hate to break this up, but I need to head back and no, you can’t go with me.
As your husband just said, there’s a reason she had me take her and she didn’t call you. ”
As I walk back to my truck, I can’t get the devastated look that crossed Jolie’s face out of my head. Still, she’s not my focus.
The woman whose whole life was turned upside down the night before is… and I don’t even question the reason why.
Once back at the hospital, I’m allowed into the room where Mindy is sitting. She has a small Sprite as well as some saltine crackers on the tray in front of her and appears far more clear-headed than she was when I left.
“Oh, thank God you’re back!” she exclaims. “Now that they’ve done what they had to do, I feel like my skin is crawling.”
I hand her the bag I packed ,and she wastes no time scrambling off the bed to head to the bathroom. “Let us know if you need any help,” the SANE nurse, whose name is Jaye based on her name badge, says.
“I should be okay,” Mindy murmurs as she glances back at us. Then to me, “I won’t take long, I promise.”
Knowing from the little my sister shared that it might take longer than she’s used to, I reply, “Take the time that you need, Mindy, I’m not going anywhere.”
After the door closes behind her, Jaye says, “Thank you for all you did to get her here without showering and stuff.”
“Like I said, I called my sister because while I know some things, that’s not my area of expertise and I wanted her to have everything she could in order to get this prick locked up,” I state. “Men like him don’t deserve to get away with that shit.”
“She fought, though,” Jaye whispered as she looks at the closed bathroom door. “I’ve done more of these exams than I ever thought I would, and we got so much DNA off of her that there’s no way he’ll be able to weasel his way out of anything unless the prosecuting attorney is a complete dumbass.”
“Good. I don’t know her well, but from what I do know, she’s got a brother who’s rather protective, and a best friend who’s like a rabid honey badger,” I say.
“In fact, her friend was waiting for me when I left her house because she saw from some app that Mindy was here. I didn’t tell her anything simply because it’s not my story to tell, of course, but more importantly, Mindy didn’t call her to come.
I don’t understand why, though, because from what I’ve observed, they’re thicker than thieves. ”
“It’s because you can be objective,” Jaye replies. “Right now, she needs that… someone who will guide her on what needs to be done. There’ll be time enough for her best friend to smother her with attention.”
Rubbing my hand down my face, I realize how exhausted I am right now. Normally, I’ve eaten, showered, then scrolled through social media before falling asleep. Instead, I’m hungry, slightly sweaty from working, and a slight headache has formed because I’m tired.
“I’d have done it for anyone,” I admit. It’s difficult being in a hospital setting as a regular person, not someone who’s prepared to save lives, but that nurturing, caregiver mentality didn’t shut off the day the cell doors banged close.
Before I can respond, the bathroom door opens and Mindy walks out, looking so small it makes my heart hurt. Every time I’ve seen her out and about, she’s always so full of life it’s like being on the surface of the sun. Bright, beaming, and inclusive; she draws you into her orbit.
Now? Her arms are wrapped around her torso, her shoulders are slumped, and I don’t miss the fearful glances she darts around the room. It’s time to get her back home so she can begin to process what happened. After the police talk to her, of course.