Love Survives (34 page)

Chapter 39

I don’t know
why I set an alarm, because I woke up every day without it. I quickly turned it off and got dressed, trying not to wake either of the females sleeping, one of which was in my bed, taunting me to climb back under the covers. She faced me with tired eyes as I whispered. “I’ve got to go into work. Will you be okay here until I get back?”

“Are we staying here another night?” She asked.

“You’re not going home. Listen, when I get back, I’ll go with you to the courthouse to file for the protective order. We can see about getting an attorney if you want to get a jump on it.” I knew I was pushing, and maybe she wanted some time to settle down, but I wasn’t about to let it slip her mind. I’d slept with a married woman. It was something I always told myself I’d never do. Of course, the woman had been Kat, and technically I felt as if she belonged to me. It still bothered me.

The cutest little girl caught our attention. Her big beaming eyes were taking us both in. “Me go bye bye’s?”

I sat down on the bed next to her. “I have to go to work, bug, but I’ll be back later and we can play.”

“We can pay?” I loved how excited she was about that.

I pretended to be as happy as she was. “Maybe we can go swimming.”

“In da pool?” She got ecstatic.

“Yeah, baby, in the pool.” I picked her up and kissed her. “I love you.”

While Kat got up to put a dry diaper on B, I finished getting my boots on. It sucked that it was so hot outside and I had sweat my ass off all day, but there wasn’t a shorts option. “If you need anything, you call. I’m right down the road. I love you.”

I kissed her twice, making sure I savored each one. “Love you, too.”

I’d no sooner reached the door when I came back into the room, stealing one more chaste kiss. “That was just in case you plan on leaving me again. Just know, I will come hunt you down. I have government resources this time.”

She pushed me out the door. “Will you stop it? You’re stuck with us now.”

“See you girls later.”

It was pretty difficult leaving them in the hotel all alone. Even though I knew they were just down the road, it was still too far. I wondered if Kat would need money for anything. I thought about her crying, and B not understanding what was wrong.

Before I got caught up and didn’t have a way out I knew I’d have to pay a visit to my superior. I knocked on his door, hoping he had time to talk. “Valentine, come on in.”

I saluted him. “Sir, permission to speak freely?”

“Have a seat.”

“I’m coming to you first with this information, because time is of the essence, sir.”

“Is this about your surgery?” He asked.

“No. It’s about my family. I’m going to need some time off.”

“When would you need this to happen? We have forms to fill out for leave requests. They’re located down the hall…”

I cut him off, making his brown raise. I’m sure he wasn’t prepared for me to be so rude. “It’s an emergency, sir. I can’t wait to have it approved.”

“Listen son, I’ve got a meeting in a few minutes, but I’ll be done in two hours. Can it wait that long?”

“Yes, sir.” I stood up. “I’ll come back then.”

When I walked out I half expected to get yelled at though it never happened.

Next I called my parents. Since they were due to come visit I wanted to make sure they hadn’t booked any flights yet. Our plans were about to change.

“Hello?”

“Mom, it’s Brooks. How are you?”

“I’m good. We’re excited to come visit.”

“Listen, about that, I’m coming to you instead. I’ve got some leave available and thought I’d come home.”

“That would be wonderful. I can’t wait to tell your father.”

“Expect me in a couple days. I have a big surprise for you. I’ll see you then. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Since I had that part taken care of, all I had to do was convince Kat it was a good idea.

An hour had gone by before I couldn’t take it any longer. I dialed Kat’s number, wanting nothing more than to hear her voice. “Hello?”

“Hey, I’m just calling to check on my girls.”

I could hear the television playing in the background. Kat took a few seconds before she spoke again. “I listened to my messages.”

I could hear that she was upset. I wished I could make all of this easier for her. “I imagine he’s pissed about now. He knows you’re with me and he ain’t going to lay a hand on you ever again.”

“Pretty much.”

“Listen, I have a plan to keep you both safe. I’m meeting with my commanding officer in an hour to see if I can take a few days off. I’m due, so it shouldn’t be an issue. Considering the circumstances, I doubt he’ll have a problem. He’s got a family, so he knows how important you are to me.”

“Am I going to like your plan?” I wasn’t going to give her a choice.

“Do you trust me?”

“With my life.” That was good news because she wasn’t going to like my idea at all.

“Kat, I’m going to keep you safe. I need to go. Stay inside until I get back. I love you.”

“That will never get old.”

“It better not. I’ve been practicing it in front of a mirror since I was twelve.”

When the call ended I felt better. I knew they were safe, and that I’d be with them as soon as I could. Fingers crossed, I’d be able to take time off. My next training course wasn’t coming in for a while and I already had my plans in order. There was no reason why I’d have to stay on base.

I’d no sooner come out of the meeting to request leave, with good news, when my phone began to ring. I pulled the vibrating device out of my pocket and put it up to my ear. “Sergeant Valentine.”

“Brooks, he’s here at the hotel. B and I are in the elevator. I hit the emergency stop button. He’s going to hurt me. You’ve got to call the police. Tell them he’s going to hurt me.”

“I’m coming.” Just then I saw my superior officer heading in my direction.

Kat was still on the other end of the call. “No! I don’t want you hurt. Please, stay there.”

“Kat, I’m coming and you’re not going to stop me. Whatever you do, don’t let that elevator start moving. You hang tight. I’ll be there in less than five minutes.”

”I’m calling the police.”

“What’s going on, Valentine?”

“Her husband found her. He’s there at the hotel. She and my daughter are in the elevator with it stopped. I’ve got to get out of here.”

He followed me, hopping in the truck before I could stop him. “You might need some backup.” He suggested as I pulled out of the parking spot.

“Has your life always been like this?”

I scrunched up my face. “No, sir. This is the first time I’ve had to deal with abusive husbands.”

He laughed at my comment. “We’ll get them out of harm’s way. Once they’re safe you can bring them to the base. We’ll find a place for them.”

“Thank you, sir.” In all honesty it was hard to appreciate what he was saying. I was too concerned about Kat and Brooklyn. They meant everything to me. I kept picturing the worst.

When I made it inside of the hotel, I saw her husband standing outside of the elevators. He took one look at me and backed up, turning his attention to the fact that I’d showed up. “Of course the bitch called you. Let me tell you something, they’re both coming home with me. There’s nothin’ you can do about it. I knew she was here with you. I tracked her with my phone. It wasn’t hard to find her when she was this close to the military barracks.”

His threats meant nothing to me. Before I could shove him out of my face my superior put his hands between us. “Back up soldier. I’ll take care of this.”

“What are you going to do old man?” Bobby wasn’t letting the sarge scare him.

Then I watched him change his tune. “Are you familiar with the penalty for assaulting a soldier? How do you think a judge is going to handle you fighting with someone who had earned a purple heart for his services overseas? You don’t want to do this, son. I can guarantee that it won’t end well for you.”

Bobby threw his hands in the air, at the same time two police officers walked into the lobby. Right away my
sarg
e let them know what was going on, while I made my way over to the elevator.

It took the mechanic a few minutes to get it moving again. As soon as the doors opened I saw her scared face. I didn’t have to ask if she was okay, because I knew she would be, both of them would. “We’re going to make a statement and get some papers drawn up. Are you alright with that?”

I led Kat over to my boss. “Kat, this is my commanding officer, Ferris.”

He shook her hand. “It’s great to meet you, ma’am.” He turned his attention to B. “You must be little Brooklyn. You sure do look like your daddy.”

It made me so happy to hear that. I knew she did, but it still felt amazing.

B got up in my arms and let me hug her. I was so glad she wasn’t acting scared. “You need to go give a statement to the officer. I’m going to go up and get our things. I’ll meet you down here in a few minutes.”

Kat nodded and followed my
sarg
e over to where the police stood. She didn’t have to worry about Bobby. They’d already put him in a car and locked the doors.

The officers would help her get a protective order. It was a good start, but probably not enough to keep him away forever. We’d have to go to court for that to happen.

When I met her back in the lobby with all of our things, she only had one question. “What now?”

“We go back to the base. I’ve got to fill out some forms and then we’re going on a road trip.”

“A road trip?” She didn’t like the sound of it. I could already tell.

“Yeah. I’ll explain later.” I stopped walking before we made it outside. “Give me your phone.”

She looked shocked when I took it and broke it in two pieces. “The thing about cell phones is that they can be traced by anyone. Bobby had an app on his phone that told him where you were. The second you turned your phone back on, all he had to do was follow the damn arrow.”

I could tell she felt stupid, but I didn’t blame her. Everything happened too fast to consider he was that manipulative.

We all rode back to the base together. When the
sarg
e got out of the truck, Kat shook his hand. “Thank you, sir.”

“It was my pleasure, ma’am.”

It wasn’t until we were inside my room packing that she really started pushing about our trip. “So where are we going? Am I not allowed to know? Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

I picked B up just in case Kat planned on wrestling me to the ground to change my mind. “We’re going to my parent’s house, and before you say anything you need to understand that your safety is the most important thing to me. I’ve got seven days before I need to report back, so I can promise you that it’s not forever.”

It was quite obvious that she was in shock. She stood there looking as if she were about to puke. This was going to be a long road trip.

Chapter 40

We’d been driving
for a while in silence. It was obvious that she wasn’t happy with me about my decision to go home. What Kat couldn’t grasp was the fact that my parents loved her just the same as they always had. If she hadn’t been so hard-headed in the first place she never would have married that asshole we were trying to get away from. “I’m getting hungry. Do you want to stop and eat soon?”

She wouldn’t even look in my direction. “I feel like I’m going to puke. Just get something for you and B.”

It was beginning to get dark out. B was steady dozing, in the back, while Kat continued giving me the silent treatment. I reached over and put my hand on her thigh. “Kat, you can’t be mad at me forever, you know.”

“Yes, I can.” She shoved my hand away.

“You’re being a baby. We were going to let my parents visit next week anyway. Stop acting like you don’t love me anymore because I know it’s not true.”

She was adamant about making me pay for not telling her where we were going at first. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this.”