“Yeah, yeah, let’s go home. The boys decided to stay the night at their friend’s house again and grab a ride to the game tomorrow. You can come to my house. It’ll be quiet there. We can take my car.”
It was a change of roles for me to be comforting him and not the other way around. We’re both quiet as I lead him out of the emergency room and to my car. It’s ridiculously small for his long legs, but he folds up in the passenger seat without a protest and doesn’t say a word until we get back to my house.
“Do you mind if I take a shower and change? I left some clothes here when I was cleaning up for your mom.”
“I’ll start your shower while you go grab them, if you want.”
“You don’t have to wait on me.”
“If you could see your face, you wouldn’t be saying that. You’re as white as a ghost.”
He pauses in the front doorway, his hands flexing against his side and I recognize it as a fighter on the edge, priming to face his opponent, and I have the fleeting thought, is that opponent the monster that did this…or me? Or are they one and the same?
He turns without responding and disappears into the house to hunt down his clothes. I don’t bother arguing with him and start the shower anyway, needing to keep my mind and hands busy. Too much time to think and I’ll remember he’s still out there. Hunting. Waiting. Maybe even searching for his next prey.
Sneakers squeak against the hardwood and then I feel his hard chest against my back. “For a second, I thought she was you. I pictured you there at seventeen and alone. Wanting your family to be there. Wanting me to stay with you, fight for you. And I just walked away.”
“Jack—”
“I just left you to deal with it on your own. He hurt you. God only knows how, and I let you go.” His lips course down my hair. “I’ll never forgive myself for abandoning you that way.”
“I’m fine,” I insist, as his hands wrap around my stomach. His heart beats a wild tattoo I can feel in my own chest.
“Because you’re the strongest woman I know.”
Shaking my head, I say, “I’m not. I ran away. From you, from my family. I gave up everything that mattered to me.”
“He took everything that mattered, and you picked up the pieces and fit them back together the best way you knew how.”
“I don’t know where you get this vision of me, but I’m not the person you think I am.”
He starts undressing behind me. I hear the rustle of his clothes as they plop on the tile floor at my feet. “No, you’re not. You’re better.”
He starts undressing me, too. First my prim button-up, then my pencil skirt. I toe out of my heels—for the first time, I don’t care where they land. Then he helps me under the hot spray with him, tucking me under his chin as we stand, locked against each other until the water turns cold.
Jack gets out of the shower first, wrapping a towel around his waist and holding one out for me to step into. He wraps me up like a child and leads us both back to my bedroom, where the curtains blot out the dim evening sunlight, draping the room in shadows. Pulling me to the bed, he drops both of our towels to the floor and wraps us up in blankets until we’re skin against skin in a cocoon.
“I want you to talk to her,” he says, his voice hoarse with sleep and emotion.
“To the girl?”
“Her name’s Emma. She could use the support, I think. I don’t know. Either way, I think it’ll be good for both of you. I want her to file a report.”
I sit straight up in the bed, my heart pumping viciously. “And you want me to what? Provide additional evidence? A key eyewitness?”
“Yes, to all of those. You both need it.”
“And who are you to tell us what we need?”
“I’m the man who’s seen the damage it’s done. To both of you.” He turns flat on his back and runs a hand through his hair. “I just want you to talk to someone. Logan’s still on leave, but we can consult with him to see what steps to take. Emma’s scared, but I think if she had you, she’d be up to visiting the police.”
“There’s nothing they can do to help me now, Jack. Too much time has passed.”
He props himself up on one arm. “Yeah, but there is something you can do to help her. I wasn’t there for you when you were attacked, but I can do this. We can do this.”
I recline on the bed, my arms rigid by my sides as he watches me. “I don’t know. I’m not saying no, I just…can I think about it?”
He presses a kiss to my shoulder. “Of course.”
Silence descends between us until I can’t stand it any longer. “Did you want to go with me to the boys game tomorrow? With everything that happened today, I forgot to mention it.”
“Damn right I will. Who do you think taught Rafe that jump shot?”
Shivering, I give in and burrow into his warmth. “I’m glad you’re here.”
He answers with a kiss against my forehead. “I’m not going anywhere,” he says.
For the first time since Jack started staying over at my house I don’t sleep well. I keep expecting to wake up and find Damian’s haunting face leering over me. We’re both quiet as we make the drive to Ben and Livvie’s house.