I stepped back and let them in, desperate for news and a plan of action.
“Nothing?” I asked.
“No. You?” Jesse said.
“Nobody’s been here,” I said. “I was just on my way to her place.”
Trace plopped down at the dining room table. “Where else can we look? Where else would she go?”
“Home to her parents?” Blake suggested.
I stared at him. Would she have gone home? Why? It made no sense, but I couldn’t dismiss any possibility. “I’ll call them.”
I startled when my cell rang before I could dial. My heart lurched when Jewel’s smiling face lit up my screen. I fumbled to answer with shaking hands.
“Hello?”
“Micah Christian?”
“Yes.”
“This is Detective Rawlins.”
Oh, God. I sagged against the closest wall.
“Jewel asked me to call you,” he said. “There’s been an incident.”
All I could focus on was that she’d asked him to call. She had to be all right then, right? “What kind of incident?” I met my friends’ concerned faces.
He must’ve heard the fear in my voice. “She’s okay, son. Well, a little banged up, but the paramedics say she’s fine. They want to take her to the hospital, but she’s refusing to go. She’s insisting on seeing you. Can you meet us at her apartment?”
“What happened?” I grabbed my keys and loped to the front door. My friends followed me outside, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw them load up in their own cars. I knew instinctively they’d follow me, no questions asked.
“Let me reiterate that she’s fine, okay?”
“What. Happened?” I ground out as I roared the Jeep to a start.
“He found her.”
There was no point in explaining who ‘he’ was. It was clear. “And he hurt her?”
“I’ll explain when you get here, okay? I’m not sure how long she can hold herself together and she’s refusing to talk to anyone but you. Please get here as fast as you can.”
I sped out of the lot, my phone still pressed to my ear. In my rearview, I saw my friends on my tail, just like I knew they would be. “I’m on my way.”
“Good.”
“Just tell me one thing. Did you catch the fucker?”
“We did thanks to a quick-thinking neighbor.”
Relief pooled inside me. “Tell her I’m on my way.” I hung up and threw the phone in the passenger seat and hit the accelerator, a driving need to lay eyes on my woman nipping my heels.
I flew into her apartment complex and skidded to a stop between a police cruiser and an ambulance. The whir of the red and blue LED lights on the brick of the building made my stomach churn with nausea.
The other guys pulled in behind me, but gave me space as I dashed toward her apartment door. I ran smack dab into an officer, who gave me an ugly glare and blocked my path.
“Where is she?” I demanded.
“Who are you?” He did not budge as he held me back.
“He’s okay,” said a voice behind us.
The officer frowned, but let me go and stepped out the door. Det. Rawlins nodded in acknowledgment and tilted his head to indicate for me to follow him. Paramedics and cops milled around all over the place. Blood stains on the carpet made me sick all over again. That asshole had better thank his lucky stars they had him, because if I ever got my hands on him, he was dead.
We got to Jewel’s bedroom, but she was nowhere to be found.
The detective pointed to the closed bathroom door. “She’s locked herself in there and won’t come out.”
“Thanks.” I turned away and padded to the door. I knocked softly. “Jewel? Baby? You in there? It’s me.”
Silence. Then the click of the door unlocking. I took that as my signal it was okay to enter and pressed the door open slowly.
She was huddled in a tight ball on the floor next to the toilet, legs bent to her chest, arms wrapped around her shins, face on her knees.
I closed the door and knelt down. “Baby?”
Silent sobs shook her shoulders, obliterating my heart. I sat and grabbed one of her hands. It was freezing. “Please. Talk to me. I’m scared out of my mind over here.”
She lifted her head and my heart stopped. Her left eye was black and swollen, her cheek was bruised, her lip was split and crusted with dried blood. Rage boiled up inside of me thick and black and ugly. I squelched it. For now.
I cupped her jaw gently, running my thumb under her fat lip. “God, baby. Why won’t you go to the hospital?”
Tears slipped from the corners of her eyes. “I needed to see you first.”
I tugged her hand and cuddled her into my lap, rubbing her back in rhythmic circles to calm us both. She cried into my shoulder with a fierceness I’d never witnessed before, as if she’d been broken beyond repair. I was helpless to do a fucking thing to help her and I hated it.
I kissed the crown of her head. “Is anything broken?”
She shrugged.
Then I noticed her ripped pants and the earth fell out from under me. “Jewel.”
She lifted teary green eyes to mine.
“Did he . . . rape you?” The word was thick and painful on my tongue, but I had to know.
She glanced down at her pants then back up to me. “He tried.”
“But . . . ?”
“But I fought back. I did what you taught me and I got away.” A hint of a proud smile touched her lips, but was gone before I could be sure. “Thank God for Mike down the hall. He stopped Nolan from chasing me.”
I wanted to hear the whole story, but I needed to be sure she was whole and safe and get the evidence of this attack off of her. I moved her to the side and stood.
I poked my head out the door and found Det. Rawlins sitting on her bed, his head bowed. He snapped up as soon as he heard me. “She’s fine. I think,” I said. “I need to get her cleaned up and I’ll make sure. Do you want her clothes for evidence or anything?”
He nodded. “Hold on.” He left the room then returned with a plastic evidence bag and gloves. “Just put those on and carefully put everything in here.”
I accepted the items with a nod.
“He didn’t rape her, did he?” The question seemed to pain him. “If so, we really need to get her to the hospital for an exam.”
“He tried, but, no.”
Relief washed over his features.
“He did beat the shit out of her and I plan on examining every inch of her right now. Is that a problem?”
He shook his head. “No. Go ahead. If she’ll consent, we’ll need photos today or tomorrow at the latest for evidence.”
“Sure.”
I closed and locked the door, facing her again. She stared up at me, her eyes wary. She glanced down at the bag in my hand then back up. Without a word, she stood and began peeling away her clothes like a robot, with no concern for her nudity. She dropped them into the bag without me having to touch a thing.
Every new bruise that showed up on her pale flesh fueled my rage, but I banked it, offering her as much space and gentleness as I could muster.
Once she was naked, I raked her body with a critical eye, searching for injuries. A few bruises and her split lip were the worst of it, but I was not appeased. I ran a bath and settled her into the water.
I opened the door and handed off her clothes to Det. Rawlins. “The neighbor? Mike? Is he around? I’d like to talk to him.”
He studied my face as he took the bag. “I think so.”
“Will you check?”
He nodded then silently padded out of the room, closing the door behind him.
I crouched next to the tub and grabbed the washcloth. I soaped it up and began bathing her. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the edge of the tub.
A few minutes later, there was a soft knock. “Micah? Jewel? I’ve got the neighbor outside if you still want to talk to him.”
I took in Jewel’s sweet, battered face. “Will you be all right for just a minute? I wanna talk to Mike.”
She nodded tiredly.
I kissed her head and stood. I slipped out and closed the door, following Det. Rawlins to the living room.
A dude at least twice my size rose from the couch when he saw me and held out his hand. “Mike McMahon. The officer tells me you have some questions for me?”
I shook his hand. “No questions. I just wanted to personally thank you for saving my girl.”
“No thanks necessary. I was glad to do it. Jewel’s a sweet girl and I have no tolerance for shit like that.” His voice dropped. “My sister was abused and I’d give anything to ring the asshole’s neck who did that to her, but he’s long gone. The guy who messed with your girl was a perfect substitute.”
I nodded. “Well, I hate that I wasn’t around, but I’ll be forever grateful you were. If you ever need anything at all, just call. I owe you.”
“Thanks, man.” We shook again and he made his leave.
Detective Rawlins eyed me from his post at the front door.
I tipped my head in thanks then turned to go back to my girl.
She was right where I left her, the still water showcasing each bruise. When I closed the door, she stared up at me with tired eyes. “Everything okay?”
“Perfect.” I knelt and poured shampoo in my hand and began washing her hair.
When I finished, she peered at me with sad eyes. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was wobbly and weak with emotion.
I sat back on my haunches. “What could you possibly be sorry for?”
“For worrying you. For bringing this on both of us. I shouldn’t have left the hotel, but I was sure it would be okay. It was stupid.”
I brushed the wet hair from her cheek. “You’re not stupid and it’s not your fault. He’s the one who did this. All of it. Don’t you dare tell me you’re sorry again, do you hear me?”
She studied my eyes intently for a long moment. “I love you, Micah. It was the thought of you that saved me. I couldn’t leave you. Not like that.”
“Jesus.” I ripped off my own clothes and climbed in the tub behind her. I collected her into my embrace and kissed her shoulder. “I love you, too, Jewel. So much it scares me. If I’d lost you today, it would have ended me.” It hit me then with a sudden and startling clarity how true that was. She’d saved me. She’d brought me back to myself. It was all very new and tenuous, but no less true. If she was ripped from my life, it would be over for me. I needed her with a fierceness that was overwhelming.
She shifted and spun in my arms, her wet breasts plastered to my chest as she held onto me, her face pressed to my neck. “I tried to be strong, Micah, but I was so scared. He wanted to kill me.”
“I know, baby. But he didn’t and you’re safe now. He can’t hurt you again. He can’t hurt anyone else ever again.” I let her sink into me and held her as tightly as I dared with her bruises. “I’m proud of you, Jewel. You used what I taught you and protected yourself. You saved yourself.”
She nodded against my throat, but didn’t let go or speak.
We held each other until the water cooled, and she told me everything that happened that day. I’d never felt so strong and so weak at the same time. The way she clung to me in desperation only made me want to protect her even more, but I hadn’t been there when she needed me most. As proud as I was of her strength, I wasn’t sure I could live with myself for leaving her alone.
“Don’t be stupid,” She lifted her head to look me in the eye when I said so. “You have a job, a life. We both know you couldn’t be glued to my side all day, every day.”
I opened my mouth to refute that, but she pressed a finger to my lips. “No. It was awful, I won’t deny that. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced, but I know now that I needed to go through it and stand up for myself . . . alone. That’s how
I
can live with
myself
.”
We stared each other down for several long moments as her words sank in. I could understand, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. I ran a hand down her arm. “Okay.”
She shivered in my arms. “Okay.”
I stood and helped her out of the tub. I wrapped her in a towel and drained the water. We dried off and I grabbed her brush. As I brushed out her tangles, I studied her in the mirror. “Detective Rawlins wants to get pictures of your injuries.”
“I know.”
“Are you okay with that?” I waited until she met my gaze. “I’ll stay with you if you want.”
A soft smile tilted her swollen lips. “I need.”
Overcome by her and the emotion bubbling through me, I dropped the brush and hugged her from behind, burying my face in her neck. “I’m serious, Jewel. I would’ve died if anything happened to you. I love you so fucking much, baby.”
She cupped her hands over mine. “I know. I feel the same, Micah. You have no idea.”
I lifted my head, met her eyes in the mirror.
“I think I’ve loved you from the first minute we met. I’ve always felt a connection to you, I just never dreamed you could feel anything for me. It still seems surreal.”
“Believe it, baby. I never thought you could love me either, but now that I have you, I plan on spending the rest of my life loving you.”