Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
Zander
When no one answered, I knocked harder. The sound of sniffles came through the door before it unlocked. I had no expectations, but I still wasn’t prepared to see Navy with a black, swollen eye, cut cheek, and bruised neck. She had blood on her, and my knees weakened at the thought of it being hers.
I stepped inside, gently pushing her back so I could let the door close behind me.
“Where is he?” I asked softly. Her eyes blinked rapidly before she pointed behind her with a trembling hand. I walked further into the suite, and my attention shifted toward the opened patio door. There, I found Ian with a knife in his neck.
By the time I made my way back to Navy, she was sitting against the wall, knees to her chest, rocking. Tears streamed down her face as she stared straight ahead.
“Navy,” I called, not wanting to touch and shock her, because she looked completely out of it. I’d seen her dissociate before but never this bad. “Sweet girl.” I waved my hand in front of her face. When that didn’t work, I carefully put my hands on her knees. “NaeNae.”
“Hmm?” she answered, head darting in my direction.
“Have you called the police?” Her head shook and nostrils flared as more tears fell.
“I’m the only person you called?” She nodded, and for some reason, that filled me with pride, even though I knew that wasn’t the right thing to do legally.
Because she didn’t immediately call for help, it was going to look like she was buying time and trying to hide something. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“I t-told him I didn’t want to b-be with him anymore,” she sobbed before sniffling and wiping her face.
“He said he was going to propose tonight and that he would forget about me confessing my love for you if I s-said yes. I t-told him no. T-that I wanted you and he choked me. I s-stabbed him and t-tried to run away but he grabbed me and flung me to the ground. He . . .” Her eyes glazed over, so I took her hands into mine to keep her present.
“H-he hit me and choked me. I grabbed the knife again and s-stabbed him in his neck. He won’t get up, Zander. ”
When she started crying again, I pulled her into my arms. I pulled my phone out and called 911, then I called Luke and Kaos.
Truthfully, I didn’t know if it would be best for me to represent her or not.
If not, it would have to be Kaos. While this was a clear case of self-defense, on the off chance they tried to be on some bullshit and charge her with something, we had no time to waste preparing her defense.
As I held her against my chest, I kissed her temple and prayed and assured her that everything would be okay.
The police were the first to arrive, but her parents came not long after.
Once EMS cleared her, we went down to the police station so she could give her statement.
She was released without any charges, but Detective Henderson made it clear the investigation was open.
I went to her home, and after Melanie helped her shower, I climbed into bed and held her. No words were exchanged as she cried quietly. I didn’t know what the fuck to do when the sun came up, but for now, I wanted to make sure she knew she was safe.
Ten Days Later
While Navy stared out of the window, I stared at her.
All day, she battled with the fact that Ian’s funeral was today.
Though she heeded my and her parents warning that going to the funeral would not end well, we were unable to keep her away altogether.
It was just after sunset, and she’d been staring at his grave for the past forty-five minutes.
I was willing to give her all the time she needed to say goodbye.
The past ten days went by in a blur. I looked more into Ebony and Ian.
Ebony had a record littered with misdemeanor charges that showed how much of an annoying menace she could be—assault and battery, reckless endangerment, criminal trespass and mischief, property damage.
She’d taken the smart route of leaving like she said she would, not even bothering to return for her cousin’s funeral.
Initially, Ian’s mother pushed hard for charges to be filed against Navy.
When I went to her and her counsel with evidence of Ian’s past, she changed her tune.
He had several domestic violence charges from his youth that were sealed so he could go to college.
There, he would have had an attempted murder charge had his parents not paid the young lady he’d brutalized off.
I had Gino to reach out to her, and though she was required not to talk about her time with Ian because of the settlement, she made it clear she kept proof in case we needed the pictures.
With him being gone, his parents decided it was more important to them to maintain his and their family’s image. They agreed not to seek punishment if the D.A. and Navy were willing to rule his death as an accidental homicide instead of self-defense.
I advised Navy to agree since the deal was that the case would be closed with prejudice, so they would not be able to come after her in the future if any parties involved changed their mind.
It wouldn’t be on her record, and when mentioned on news stations, her name was always redacted. The only people who knew she was involved were their families and friends.
For a while, Navy and Ian were the talk of the town. A lot of people didn’t care about the specifics of the case. All they cared about was a man was dead because of a woman he was in a relationship with.
When rumors started to circulate and women spoke up about how controlling and abusive he was, people had less sympathy for Ian and more for Navy.
Eventually, her parents released a statement on her behalf that she shared on her social media, and that started the shift of people finding someone else’s life to obsess about and gossip over.
After we left here, Navy was going to drive to Memphis.
She would spend the rest of the summer there with her grandmother.
I urged her to speak with a therapist, and she agreed.
Regardless of the fact that she took a life to save hers, Navy was still understandably struggling with guilt and grief.
She was in shock for three days after everything went down.
“Okay,” she almost whispered, voice cracking because she hardly said much of anything these days. “I’m ready to go.”
Instead of responding, I took her hand into mine and kissed it before pulling out of the parking spot and heading to her home.
She’d already packed her bags, and they were in the back of her car.
I walked her over to it, and as I opened the door for her I said, “Let me know when you get to your grandma house, aight?” She nodded and stepped in front of me.
“Can I come see you when I miss you, or do you need a break from me too?”
For the first time in over a week, Navy smiled. “You can come see me any time you’d like. I’ll be back when Serenity goes into labor. I just won’t be back to stay until it’s time for me to go back to work.”
With a sigh, I pulled her into my arms. I knew she needed this time away, and I wanted her to do whatever was best for her mental.
However, I felt like I was losing my sweet girl all over again.
The longer I held her, the weaker her body felt against mine.
As she clung to the hem of my shirt, Navy sighed.
“Thank you for taking care of me,” she muttered into my shirt.
“In all ways. Thank you for making sure they didn’t arrest me and take this to trial.
Thank you for staying with me. I know I’ve been in my head and heart, but thank you for helping me try and make both safe spaces again.
I’m still hurt over this shit but having you at my side while I navigated it has been so helpful. ”
“You know I got you, sweet girl. Through any tests, trials, or tribulations. I will always be here for you.” Cupping her cheeks, I tilted her head and kissed her forehead, then her nose, and finally .
. . her lips. The featherlight brush was just as soft and quick yet tender as the one she gave me.
“Call me any time, any day. If you need me for anything, I’m only a call away. ”
Her hand wrapped around my neck, and she lowered me to her lips again. This time, the kiss was long, deep, full. Passionate. Breathtaking. The only reason I pulled away was because my dick got hard, and her quiet whimpers had my shit leaking precum.
“I love you,” she whispered against my lips. “I’m in love with you too.”
Navy brushed her nose against mine with a smile before I kissed her again.
“Take care of yourself, sweet girl. Do whatever work you need to do to release him from your soul. When you come back, I’m making you mine. Do you understand?”
Her blushing was cute, but I needed her to vocally confirm she knew what type of time I was going to be on the second she stepped foot back in The Hills.
“Nae.”
“I understand,” she replied quickly, running her hands down my chest. After placing a kiss on it, she turned and got in her car. I buckled her seat belt, gave her another quick kiss, then stepped back and closed the door.
As I watched her drive away, I prayed for her healing and peace of mind.
No one who knew her blamed her for what happened.
If she had to choose her life or anyone else’s, I would always demand she did whatever the fuck she had to do to stay alive.
Her heart was so pure I knew taking a life was eating at her, but God willing, when she came back, I’d be able to love on her so hard, so deep, so intentionally, she’d have no space left in her heart for grief.