Retribution Boxed Set (Books One and Two) (25 page)

Noah narrowed his gaze. “This seemed different. You
kept staring at her, and she kept glancing at you.”

“We were
all
staring at her. We were
questioning her. Don’t you usually look at the person you’re talking to?”

“Yeah,” he nodded slowly, still watching Sam with
his detective’s eyes. “Did you think she was pretty?”

“I don’t know,” he spewed the words, growing
short on patience. “I guess. Did you?”

He nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe that’s what threw
me off.” He smiled then. “There was some serious chemistry firing between the
two of you.”

“Chemistry? It seemed wrong to acknowledge his
attraction to her when she’d just been through hell. “I think you need some
sleep and some coffee. What the hell are you doing here so late on a Sunday night,
anyway? He wasn’t the only one acting out of character.

“Me? What about you? I thought you had some party
or something.”

He wanted to accuse Noah of turning the tables,
but let it slide instead. The more relaxed he appeared, the less suspicion he
raised. “I did. I left a phone number I needed on my desk, so I figured I’d
stop on my way home and grab it. Guess we were both in the right place at the
right time with Grimes and Snell out of the office working that case.”

“Guess so. I hope the chief appreciates our
dedication.”

Sam’s laugh came easy. Whatever suspicion Noah had
had of him seemed to have disappeared. “Hell, we’ll probably get reprimanded
for having too many hours.”

His partner chuckled. “Probably.”

Sam unlocked their office. “I’m going to call her
friend and get the note with my number. Let’s start on this fresh in the
morning. That’ll give the officers on scene time to process their information,
and you know the hospital won’t let us interview the dickhead before then. I
think I’ll have them bring in the drug dogs, too, since she mentioned he did
coke.”

“Good idea.” Noah shifted toward the direction
they’d just come from. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

Sam turned on the desk lamp and waited until the
sound of his partner’s footsteps disappeared down the hall before he shut the
door. He dialed Xander’s number, speaking when his friend responded on the
line.

“You here?”

“Waiting in the car.”

“Good. Give it about fifteen minutes and then
come and get Janie. I’ll let the front desk know her friends will be arriving. Take
her to the safe house, and I’ll meet you there.”

Sam hung up the phone. An unwelcome darkness
crowded in around him, bringing with it mental snapshots of what he’d found in
Janie’s apartment. The haunting memory of the horror on her face when he’d
walked in.

Why did women stay with men like that? Janie was
pretty enough to get any guy she wanted. Why subject herself to that kind of life?
He’d never understood his sister, either.

“Damn.”

*        *        *

When the female officer finally walked into the
interrogation room, Janie was surprised that she was accompanied by Detective
Holden. The woman had her blond hair pulled back in a no-nonsense ponytail, her
face void of makeup.

“My name is Officer Hales,” the officer said, her
voice all business. “I’ll be documenting your cuts and bruises. Detective
Holden asked to be present. Do either of you have a problem with that?”

Janie’s attorney looked to her for an answer.

“No. I guess not,” Janie said, wishing she could
leave and not have any of them witness the proof of her stupidity and pain.

Sam nodded and resumed his seat at the end of the
table.

“Let’s start with the cut above your eye,”
Officer Hales said.

“I can help you with the bandage,” Eliana
offered.

Janie sat motionless, trying to ignore the
humiliation of needing these people to help her while her put-together,
tough-talking attorney removed the gauze from her forehead. She was sure Eliana
would never allow a man to brutalize her beautiful skin and features the way
Paul had done to her.

The female officer snapped several pictures of
her face, the flash of the camera highlighting her mistakes at having been
slowly fooled into staying with an abusive man. “Detective Holden said you had
bruises as well.”

Janie held up her wrist, rotating it so the
officer could get various angles.

“Where else?”

Hot tears burned the backs of her eyes as Janie
lifted her shirt sleeve to show the bruise on the back of her arm. She then
lifted her hair in case there was one on her neck.

“Got them. Are there more?” Officer Hales asked.

Janie lifted the hem of her t-shirt and allowed
the woman to photograph her stomach, and then she turned her back on them.

Eliana’s soft gasp was overridden by Sam’s curse.
The flash continued to illuminate the room as absolute mortification consumed
Janie. Never again would she allow another person to control her and determine
her self-worth.

*        *        *

Sam’s stomach clenched with each of Janie’s
reveals. The red around her wrist was enough to make him want to punch Castell
in the face. Seeing the purple on the back of her arm escalated that feeling. When
she lifted the back of her shirt, the varying colors of bruises, enough for one
each day of the week, made him want to beat Castell until he bled from all his
orifices.

He would never, in all his years, understand how
someone could do that to a weaker, innocent person. Especially a
supposedly
loved one.

“No more?” Hales asked, and Sam had to curb the
urge to ask if that wasn’t enough already.

Janie shook her head. The beaten-down look on her
face made Sam want to pull her into his embrace until she felt safe enough to
smile again.

“Give me a minute to pull these up on my computer
to make sure they’re good shots, okay?” Officer Hales asked.

“Sure,” Eliana agreed.

Sam stood when the junior officer reached the
door. It would be odd for him to stay in the room after his co-worker had
completed her business. “I called your friend,” he said to Janie. “She said
she’d be here soon. I’ll go check to see if she’s arrived.”

“Thank you,” Janie replied, her voice sounding
stronger than she looked.

He headed out to the front area near the dispatch
office and filled a paper cup with water from the cooler. He needed something
to calm him. Seeing the bruises on Janie’s back sickened him and made his blood
boil with rage. He needed a moment to regain a professional attitude.

A prickle of awareness crept up his back, and he
turned. Eliana made her way down the hall from the interrogation rooms toward
him, her hips swaying, her auburn hair moving about her shoulders. It wasn’t
the first time he’d thought she looked like a woman on the prowl. With her
looks and outgoing personality, he was certain there were many men lined up to
be her prey.

He’d even thought about it once or twice, though
he’d never acted on it.

A smile played across her glossed lips. “I
haven’t seen
you
in a while, Sam.”

The underlying current that normally raced
between them was absent this time.   At the moment, Janie was the only woman on
his mind. “Yeah. It’s been busy around here. Ms. Singleton okay?”

“I think so. She asked for a moment alone.” Eliana
stopped and leaned against the wall, the gesture innocent and sexy as hell at
the same time. “I heard that suspected child molester is in the hospital tonight.
Someone physically convinced him to confess.”

“That’s what I heard, too.” Sam responded,
thinking that he and Janie had both sent someone to the hospital that day. It
seemed like a lifetime ago that he and Christian had beat enough sense into the
perp that he’d confessed. “One less criminal on the street is better for
everyone.”

Eliana agreed. “So, when are you going to buy me
that drink you keep promising me?”

Movement caught Sam’s eye, and he turned to find
Janie walking toward them. She looked from Eliana to him and back again, and he
felt like he was twelve years old coming home with the smell of cigarettes on
his jacket. “Hey.” He met her wary gaze. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I will be.” She glanced between them
again, and the awkwardness grew. “Are my friends here, yet?”

Just then Nicole and Xander came rushing through
the front doors. Nicole ignored him and pulled Janie into her arms. “Oh, my
God.” She stood back, pushing Janie’s hair away from her forehead, taking in
the bandaged gash, and then hugged her again. “I knew this would happen. I just
knew it.”

Xander made eye contact with him. “I hope you put
the bastard in jail.”

“He’s currently in the hospital, sir.” No one
would guess from the way they were conversing they’d all been at an intimate
gathering earlier in the evening. Sam preferred not to lie, but this was a
necessary evil.

“It’s better that you didn’t kill him, Janie,
even though he deserved it.” Nicole wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder,
and Janie leaned into her. Sam could tell the touch comforted her, coaxing her
tears back to the surface. He wished he could be that soft place for her to
fall, but that was an impossibility.

“I need somewhere to stay for a while,” she told
her friend through controlled tears.

“Our house, of course,” Xander replied.

“I just got the thumbs up from Officer Hales on
the photos. If you’re good now, Janie, I’m going to head out.” Eliana handed a
business card to her. “If you need anything, please call me.”

“Thanks for coming out on a Sunday night, Ms.
Conway,” Xander added.

“No problem.” Eliana gave the group a quick smile
and then departed.

“I need to go back to the apartment to get some
things. Clothes. I want to go before Paul’s out of the hospital.” Janie looked at
Sam. “Will you help me?”

A protective rush of emotion washed through him. This
was something he
could
do for her. “Sure. We can go right now.” Going
while Paul was incapacitated was the best thing. If Sam had his way, Paul
wouldn’t see Janie again except in court.

Janie walked out of the police station, into the
cool, dark night flanked by Sam and Nicole. Light traffic cruised past, leaving
behind the sounds of tires against the pavement and the scent of exhaust. People
went about their business with no idea they were driving past a woman with a
shattered life.

Shattered, but not dead. Growing up in the
Midwest in an area where life and comfort levels could be destroyed by a
drought or a vicious tornado, her family had taught her how to bounce back, and
that time would heal most wounds if a person let it. Her family might not have
been loving, but they’d taught her how to be strong. The one thing about having
something reduced to nothing, including her life, was that it gave her the
opportunity to build something better, something stronger.

That, she could do.

There was no doubt she was a different person
than when she’d walked into the police station. The adrenaline had dissipated
from her system, and she’d managed to ensnare, if not tame, the fear Paul had
instilled inside her. Her terror had been replaced with a determined desire to
reclaim her life. The weak, crying woman was gone…at least for the most part. There
was no time for fear. No time for what-ifs. Stabbing Paul with a knife hadn’t
been her preferred way to sever ties, but there was no going back now. She was
done and would move forward with her life.

Sam stopped them on the brightly lit street
several feet from the main door. “I can handle this if you two want to still
try to make your flight,” he said to Xander and Nicole. “Since I have a
legitimate reason for leaving the police station with Janie, there’s no need
for pretenses. I’ll drive her to the safe house after we finish at her
apartment.”

“Wait. What? Janie raised her brows at Sam. “I
thought I was going to Nicole’s.”

“You can’t stay there,” Xander responded. “Paul
knows you’re friends with Nicole. If he tries to retaliate, he’ll check there. It’s
too dangerous.”

Nicole took her hand, compassion warming her expression.
“They have a safe place where no one will find you.”

Her newfound resolve shook like the wind against
her grandpa’s barn. “They? She glanced between Sam and Xander, before turning
her questioning gaze back to Nicole.

“I know it doesn’t make sense right now, and
that’s okay. If you’d like, Xander and I can postpone our honeymoon to stay
with you.”

“No.” Janie didn’t want her friend to suffer
anymore for her bad choices. “I can stay in this safe house.” She wouldn’t be
there long anyway. First word she heard from her potential new employer, and
she’d be gone. “Where is it?”

“It’s on the outskirts of town. It’s a decent
place, kind of secluded with the Willamette River only a few hundred yards
away.” Sam put a hand on the small of her back as though to reassure her it
would be okay. A sharp tinge of sexual attraction pricked her, making her
stiffen under his touch, leaving an awkward space between them.

“Are you sure?” Nicole asked.

“We can stay,” Xander offered.

She wanted desperately to say yes, but couldn’t
be that selfish. “No. I’m fine. The worst is over. I just want to get my stuff
and get on with my life. You both need to do the same. I’d never forgive myself
for ruining your honeymoon.”

“I’ll be here for her if she needs anything,” Sam
added, his words comforting, yet leaving her uneasy at the same time.

Nicole searched both their faces, and then smiled.
“Okay. I’m counting on you, Sam. We’re going to be off the radar for a while,
but I know if she’s with you, she’s safe.” She hugged Janie one more time.

“Thanks, man.” Xander shook Sam’s hand, and Janie
held back the urge to run after them as she watched them walk away toward
Xander’s SUV parked along the opposite side of the street.

*        *        *

Sam held open the passenger door of his black Charger
while Janie slid across the soft leather seat that molded to her body. The
scent of his cologne surrounded her as he shut the door encasing her in the
darkened vehicle. She inhaled deeply, secretly enjoying the smell that reminded
her of a forest path after a rain. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about the
man who’d suddenly nudged his way into her life. She was grateful he’d been
there, for sure, but embarrassed, too. There was more than a little attraction
sparking between them, and she had no idea how to handle it.

Sam entered the car, and she quickly exhaled.

“Are you doing okay?”

She nodded. “I’ll be better once I have my
stuff.”

“How much are we talking here? We’re not going to
be able to fit too many things in my car.”

“Not much. My clothes. Some books.” She’d left
most of her personal things back home in Kansas, but she needed her clothes,
and she wanted her cookbooks. The dishes she’d leave, except for her
grandmother’s tea kettle, and the stainless steel measuring spoons and cups Nicole
had given her for her birthday. She’d purchase new knives when she reached
Texas. “Everything will fit.”

The rest of the drive to the apartment passed in
silence. She could sense that Sam wanted to talk, but she didn’t know what to
say. Normal people got to know each other before they learned each other’s
secrets. In the span of a few hours, Sam now knew what she’d hidden from most
people,
and
he’d seen her nearly naked.

God. How much more vulnerable could she be to
him?

Sam parked in front of the building and cut the
engine. “Ready?”

He must have realized how difficult this would be
for her, and she appreciated his concern. “Let’s hurry, okay?”

He placed a comforting hand on her back as they
walked to the building. He held open the main door and let her precede him
inside.

Silence followed them up the flight of stairs. She
paused outside the door. “You’re sure he’s still in the hospital?”

Her question brought a grin to his lips, and she
found her gaze tracing the curve of his mouth. He had a really nice smile.

“Honey, I’m an armed officer.” To prove his
point, he slid back the edge of his jacket, revealing a gun.

The sight of it intrigued her and frightened her
at the same time. She wanted to ask if she could handle the weapon, but she
didn’t dare. It wasn’t like she’d never been around guns. Her dad owned several
rifles, and she’d shot her grandpa’s pistol several times. He’d even given it
to her before he died, and she now kept it hidden in a safe deposit box so Paul
couldn’t find it.

Paul also had a gun in the house, but he’d kept
it out of sight, and she never went looking for it. Thank God he hadn’t had it
on him earlier that night.

But this was different. This gun belonged to Sam,
a man who already oozed strength and power without it. Maybe it wasn’t so much
the gun that frightened her, but the man behind it.

Sam placed the tip of his finger under her chin,
and her skin sizzled. “Never doubt that I’ll keep you safe.”

“Okay,” she said breathlessly. He would think her
quiet voice stemmed from her nerves, but that was only partially true.

She removed her key and unlocked the door. Quiet
darkness met her. It was a drastic change from the last moments she’d been
there. Thoughts of Paul trying to punish her resurfaced with brutal clarity.

Sam took her elbow, guiding her forward before he
flipped the light switch. The living room remained as it had been when she’d
left. The police must have finished with whatever they needed and, of course,
they wouldn’t have straightened anything.

A vicious echo of terror shuddered through her. She
needed to get out of there and fast. “This won’t take me long.” Paul’s congealed
blood on the kitchen floor caught her attention, but she didn’t stop. She
couldn’t deal with that demon right now. Instead, she headed straight for the
bedroom and turned on the lights. Nothing here had been disturbed, and she was
grateful for that.

She pulled her suitcases from the back of the
closet and tossed them on the bed.

“Can I help? Sam’s deep voice came to her from
the doorway.

“Could you get the shiny measuring spoons and
cups from the first drawer by the sink? And the kettle from the stovetop that
was my grandmother’s. If you’d grab those plus the four cookbooks by the fridge…”

He nodded. He would understand why she couldn’t
go back into that room.

While he was gone, she piled shirts, pants and
shoes into her suitcases. What little jewelry she had went into the front
zipper pouch. She grabbed a smaller carry-on bag and headed into the bathroom
to gather the rest of her stuff.

She stopped short, the sight of the shower
sending a sickening shiver through her. He would have hurt her, scarred her if
he could have. Or worse. She opened a drawer and started tossing makeup and
lotion into her bag.

Her gaze snagged on the red spatters on the edge
of the counter. Her blood. She tenderly touched the bandage on her forehead as
hot tears flooded from her eyes. She’d been so stupid. So naïve.

Her mother had smacked her around from time to
time when she was younger, and she’d survived that. It had been a costly
mistake on her part to think Paul would keep the same boundaries—a few bruises
and cuts, but nothing serious.

A soft touch on her shoulder made her jump.

“Hey,” he said when he spied her tears. “It’s
going to be okay.” He tugged her against his chest, and she fell into him. The
feel of his strong, warm body against her cheek kept her from crumbling.

She stayed that way for a moment, indulging in
the comfort he offered. Then she pulled away. “Sorry.” Her voice broke, and she
cleared her throat. “It’s still too fresh.”

“Of course it is. Take your time. No one is going
to rush you.”

“No. You don’t understand. The longer I stay
here, the worse it is. I should have left….” A long time ago. She couldn’t say
it out loud. Not now. Not to this man who barely knew her, yet knew her too
well.

“Do you have everything you need here?”

She grabbed her brush and tossed it in the bag. Threw
her toothbrush in after it, and then nodded.

He zipped it shut for her and then handed the bag
to her. “Take this out and wait by the front door. Your other things are there,
too. I’ll get the suitcases from your room, and we’ll leave.”

“Okay.” She didn’t want to walk past the kitchen
again, but she had no choice. This time when she did, some of her backbone
returned. She forced herself to face what she’d done, and then shut down the
emotion that accompanied it. “You deserved it, you bastard,” she whispered.

She set her bag on the coffee table near the
other items that Sam had placed in plastic grocery sacks he must have taken
from the pantry. She went to lift her grandmother’s tea kettle when the front
door swung open.

Her scream lodged in her throat.

But it wasn’t Paul. It was Brent, the scrawny
meth-addict Paul allowed to run errands for him in exchange for drugs.

The seventeen-year-old’s eyes grew wide, making
his scabbed cheeks stand out even more. “Janie. What are you doing here?”

“Getting my stuff.” She wasn’t quite sure how
he’d react. He’d always been sweet to her in the past, but that was when she
was Paul’s girlfriend. Since that status had changed, she wondered if Brent would
try to do something heroic to earn points from his dealer. She could only
imagine how favored he’d be if he helped Paul get his vengeance.

He shut the door softly behind him. “You
shouldn’t be here.”

She was tempted to yell for help, but something
kept her quiet.

“I heard what happened.” He eyed the stuff on the
table, and then turned his dull eyes back to Janie. “He’s going to kill you,
you know?”

She wasn’t sure if that was a threat or a
statement of fact that they both knew. “He’s not going to find me.”

Brent gave her a look that suggested he wanted to
believe her, but couldn’t. “I hope that’s true.”

“Don’t move.” Sam entered the room from behind,
his voice carrying a deadly threat. Janie turned, and the sight of the powerful
detective holding a gun sent a shiver racing through her.

Brent threw his hands up in the air, ignoring
Sam’s warning. “Hey, man. I don’t want no trouble.”

“What are you doing here?”

The junkie narrowed his eyes. “Are you a cop or
something?”

Sam’s voice had commanded authority, and
apparently, Brent had been around enough police officers to recognize the tone
when he heard it.

“I asked you a question.”

He shrugged, trying to act cool, but Janie could
see the nervous shadows hovering in his eyes. She was sure hers reflected the
same. “Just stopping by to help out a friend, ya know. Paul wanted some
personal items.”

A sword of panic sliced through her. “He’s
awake?”

Brent’s features grew more anxious. “Uh…yeah. He’s
out of recovery, in his room. They let close family see him. Since he don’t
have no family that I know of, I said I was his brother. Might as well be
‘cause we…” He shut his mouth and glanced at Sam.

Janie swallowed, the need to escape bearing down
on her. She shifted her gaze to Sam. “I’m ready to leave.”

Sam gave her a quick nod and then shifted his
steely gaze to Brent. “I want you to go back in the bedroom and shut the door. When
you hear us leave, you can come out. If I see your face again tonight, I’m
going to shoot first and ask questions later. Understood?”

Brent nodded rapidly. “Yeah, sure, man. I ain’t
got no problem with you, and I don’t want none.” The malnourished kid hurried
toward the bedroom and shut the door.

Sam retrieved the two suitcases from the hallway
where he must have set them before pulling his gun. “Can you carry the rest of
your things?”

“Yes.” She slung her smaller bag on her shoulder
and picked up the plastic grocery sacks. She opened the door for them both,
allowed Sam to move into the hallway before she closed the door behind her.